---
title: Model Categories & Fair Use
description: How models are categorized and how premium fair-use caps work
icon: Layers
---

import { Callout } from "fumadocs-ui/components/callout";
import { ThemedImage } from "@/components/themed-image";

Every model in the gateway is sorted into a category. Categories power dashboard filtering, analytics, and — for DevPass coding plans — the fair-use limits that keep flagship models available to everyone.

<ThemedImage
	alt="Model directory with filters for use case and capabilities"
	basePath="/learn/model-categories"
/>

## Categories

| Category     | Description                                                                                                             |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Premium**  | High-cost frontier / flagship models — priced at **$15+ per million output tokens** or **$5+ per million input tokens** |
| **Standard** | Every other model — the broad catalog of fast, cost-effective everyday models                                           |

The classification is computed automatically from catalogue prices — there is no hand-picked list. To see exactly which models are premium right now, check the live [**Premium Models**](https://llmgateway.io/models/premium) page, or browse the full catalog on the [**Supported Models**](https://llmgateway.io/models) page and filter by use case, capabilities, provider, price, and context size. On the [DevPass models directory](https://devpass.llmgateway.io/models), you can additionally filter by pricing tier, since the premium/standard distinction only affects DevPass fair-use limits.

## Fair-use caps on premium models (DevPass only)

<Callout type="warn">
	Fair-use caps apply **only to DevPass** — the fixed-price monthly plans for
	coding tools (Lite, Pro, Max). They do **not** apply to the LLM Gateway API or
	pay-as-you-go credits: when you call the API directly, premium models are
	limited only by your credit balance, with no weekly cap.
</Callout>

Premium models are the most expensive to run, so DevPass plans apply a **weekly fair-use cap** on premium usage. The cap works on a fixed 7-day window: the window opens with your first premium-model request, all premium usage during those 7 days counts against the cap, and the full allowance resets at once when the window ends. It sits on top of the plan's normal monthly credit allowance. The cap scales with each plan: it's a share of that plan's total monthly credits, so higher tiers get a larger weekly premium allowance.

| DevPass plan | Premium fair-use cap (per week) |
| ------------ | ------------------------------- |
| **Lite**     | 12% of monthly credits          |
| **Pro**      | 15% of monthly credits          |
| **Max**      | 18% of monthly credits          |

<Callout type="info">
	Within DevPass, the weekly cap applies only to **premium** models. Standard
	models are limited only by the plan's credit balance, not by the fair-use
	window.
</Callout>

Once a DevPass plan reaches its weekly premium cap, premium requests are paused until the current 7-day window ends — usage does not gradually free up over time. The reset countdown runs from when the window opened, not from when you hit the cap, so the full allowance can return anywhere from moments to 7 days after you reach the limit. Standard models keep working normally the whole time. Upgrading the DevPass plan raises the weekly cap.

The fair-use window is a limiter on the plan allowance, so it stops applying once that allowance is gone: with [pay-as-you-go overflow](/learn/payg-overflow) enabled and the monthly pool fully used, premium models bill your credits balance at provider rates instead of being capped.

## Reset Passes

You don't have to wait out the window: redeeming a [**Reset Pass**](/learn/reset-passes) instantly restores the full weekly premium allowance and starts a fresh 7-day window. A pass removes the weekly limit only — it grants no extra credits, so premium usage after a reset still draws from the plan's monthly allowance. Pro includes 1 pass per billing cycle and Max includes 2; extra passes are a one-time purchase from the DevPass dashboard. See the [Reset Passes page](/learn/reset-passes) for how redemption, included passes, and billing work.

## Provider routing on DevPass

DevPass plans always use the gateway's [smart routing](/features/routing): request a model by its plain id (e.g. `claude-sonnet-5`) and the gateway picks the best provider in real time based on uptime, throughput, price, and prompt-cache support. [Sticky session routing](/features/routing#sticky-session-routing) still keeps each coding session on one provider automatically, so upstream prompt caches stay warm across a conversation.

<Callout type="warn">
	**Provider pinning is not available on DevPass.** Provider-prefixed model ids
	such as `openai/gpt-4o` — which pin a request to one specific provider on
	pay-as-you-go — are rejected with a `403` on DevPass coding plans, as is
	custom provider routing. If you need to target an exact provider or region,
	use [pay-as-you-go credits](https://llmgateway.io) with the LLM Gateway API,
	where [provider-specific routing](/features/routing#provider-specific-routing)
	is fully supported.
</Callout>
