Key facts
| API compatibility | OpenAI-compatible /v1/chat/completions, /v1/embeddings and /v1/models |
| Migration effort | Change base_url and model name; keep your OpenAI SDK |
| Plane for this market | APAC plane, Singapore (ap-southeast-1) is nearest; Indian residency needs a customer-managed deployment |
| Models | 30+ models behind one API, from free tiers to frontier reasoning |
| Pricing | Flat monthly self-serve plans, no per-token billing; see the live pricing page |
| Free tier | plugsky-micro and plugsky-lite with no credit card |
| Compliance alignment | The APAC plane is aligned with PDPA and MAS expectations |
| Roadmap endpoints | Audio, images, moderation, files, batch, fine-tuning, assistants and responses are coming soon |
TL;DR
- Keep the OpenAI SDK; switch base_url to api.plugsky.com and map model names.
- Pin the APAC plane (Singapore) or deploy in your own network to satisfy the DPDP Act, 2023.
- Flat monthly pricing replaces per-token cost surprises on self-serve plans.
- Start free with plugsky-micro and plugsky-lite, or use the 14-day full-access trial for deeper testing.
- Where Plugsky does not replace OpenAI yet: audio, image and fine-tuning endpoints are still roadmap items.
How it works, step by step
- Inventory which OpenAI endpoints you call: chat, embeddings, streaming and tools.
- Create a Plugsky workspace and API key; the free plan needs no card.
- Point your OpenAI SDK at api.plugsky.com and map model names.
- Re-run your existing tests and evaluations against the same prompts.
- Pin the deployment or plane that satisfies the DPDP Act, 2023.
- Cut over gradually and keep the old base URL for rollback.
- Document the residency evidence India reviewers will ask for.
Original data
Try it yourself
Open the OpenAI migration checker →
Why India teams look for an OpenAI alternative
Indian teams evaluate alternatives for localisation flexibility and predictable pricing, because per-token costs scale quickly across very large user bases. The pattern is consistent: forecasting per-token spend is hard, regulated data needs a residency decision, and teams want to test multiple models without adding vendors.
AI cloud sovereignty breaks into four questions: which jurisdiction processes the request, where data at rest lives, who controls keys, and how you prove all three. Plugsky answers each with configuration - a region-locked plane for regulated work, the same API for everything else.
Migration: keep your OpenAI SDK and code
The migration surface is deliberately small. Plugsky exposes /v1/chat/completions, /v1/embeddings and /v1/models with OpenAI-shaped payloads, so the change is the base URL plus a model name. Your SDK, retry logic and tool definitions stay in place.
- Inventory which OpenAI endpoints you actually call: chat, embeddings, streaming, tools.
- Create a Plugsky workspace and a scoped API key; the free plan needs no card.
- Point your SDK at api.plugsky.com and map model names.
- Re-run your existing tests and evaluations on the same prompts.
- Pin the deployment that satisfies the DPDP Act, 2023.
- Cut over gradually and keep the old base URL for rollback.
Data residency and compliance for India
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, with implementing rules taking effect in stages, sets the national framework under the Data Protection Board of India. RBI's 2018 payment-data circular requires payment data to be stored in India, and CERT-In's 2022 directions require incident reporting within six hours and 180-day log retention.
Indian teams pin the APAC plane (Singapore) for speed, or deploy in-country - VPC, on-prem or air-gapped - where RBI, insurance or government localisation applies. The APAC plane is aligned with PDPA and MAS expectations.
Region-locked planes keep prompts, completions, embeddings and logs inside the chosen jurisdiction by architecture, and Enterprise agreements add BYOK, zero-knowledge mode and right-to-audit clauses.
What it costs, and what is still missing
Self-serve plans are flat monthly with no per-token billing, the free plan includes plugsky-micro and plugsky-lite with no card, and a 14-day full-access trial exists for broader testing; current plan details live on the pricing page.
Consent notices under the DPDP framework must be understandable in the languages your users actually read, not only English. Be honest about scope: the live surface is chat, streaming, JSON mode, function calling, embeddings, RAG and agents. Audio, images, moderation, files, batch, fine-tuning, assistants and responses are coming-soon endpoints, so keep those workloads on their current provider for now.
Honest comparison
| Capability | Plugsky | OpenAI | Building in-house |
|---|---|---|---|
| API compatibility | OpenAI-compatible chat, embeddings and models endpoints | Native SDKs and API | Full rewrite |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly self-serve plans; see the live pricing page | Per-token billing | GPU plus operations cost |
| Model choice | 30+ models from one endpoint | OpenAI models only | You host each model |
| Data residency | Region-locked planes plus VPC, on-prem and air-gapped | US default with some enterprise options | Wherever you deploy |
| Migration effort | One-line base URL change | Not applicable | Months of engineering |
| Free tier | plugsky-micro and plugsky-lite, no card | Limited trial credits | Not applicable |
Frequently asked questions
Is Plugsky a drop-in replacement for OpenAI in India?
Yes for the live surface: chat completions, streaming, JSON mode, function calling, embeddings, RAG and agent loops all work through OpenAI-shaped requests. You change the base URL and model name and keep your SDK.
How does data residency work for India teams?
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, with implementing rules taking effect in stages, sets the national framework under the Data Protection Board of India. RBI's 2018 payment-data circular requires payment data to be stored in India, and CERT-In's 2022 directions require incident reporting within six hours and 180-day log retention. Indian teams pin the APAC plane (Singapore) for speed, or deploy in-country - VPC, on-prem or air-gapped - where RBI, insurance or government localisation applies. Plugsky publishes planes in the EU (Frankfurt), GCC (UAE), APAC (Singapore) and US (Virginia), with Riyadh on Enterprise.
How is pricing different from OpenAI?
Self-serve Plugsky plans are flat monthly with no per-token metering, so forecasting is simpler; the free plan includes plugsky-micro and plugsky-lite, and a 14-day full-access trial exists. See the live pricing page for current plans.
Can we keep using the OpenAI SDK?
Yes. Plugsky exposes an OpenAI-compatible chat completions endpoint, so you change base_url to api.plugsky.com and map your model names while keeping existing SDK code.
How does the DPDP Act, 2023 affect migration?
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, with implementing rules taking effect in stages, sets the national framework under the Data Protection Board of India. RBI's 2018 payment-data circular requires payment data to be stored in India, and CERT-In's 2022 directions require incident reporting within six hours and 180-day log retention. Indian teams pin the APAC plane (Singapore) for speed, or deploy in-country - VPC, on-prem or air-gapped - where RBI, insurance or government localisation applies.
Does streaming and function calling work?
Yes, streaming, JSON mode and function calling are live, as are embeddings, RAG and agent tool loops; check the docs for the per-model capability matrix.
What is not available yet?
Audio, image generation, moderation, files, batch, fine-tuning, assistants and responses endpoints are coming soon. Keep those workloads on their current provider until the status page marks them live.
How do we migrate and roll back safely?
Run both providers behind a routing flag: send a percentage of traffic to Plugsky, compare latency and quality on your own evaluation set, then switch fully. Rolling back is the same one-line base URL change in reverse.