// COMPARE
phantom vs
openai direct.
Same SDK. Same call signature. Two lines change. One side asks for your name, your card, your IP. The other doesn't.
| OpenAI direct | Phantom | |
|---|---|---|
| Account | required + verification | none |
| Email / phone | required | none |
| Payment | credit card, ACH | any major crypto |
| Prompt retention | 30 days default (zero-retention via API request) | never persisted |
| IP logging | yes | none |
| Rate-limit identity | account + org id | hashed key, in-memory only |
| Region blocks | yes (sanctioned + restricted) | none from us. Caddy + Tor mirror. |
| Models | GPT family | GPT + Claude + Gemini + Grok + ~20 open-weight TEE |
| SDK compatibility | native | OpenAI-wire identical (drop in base_url) |
| Markup over wholesale | none (vendor list) | +50% on GPT (proxy tier) |
| Refunds | card chargeback, billing support | none |
// HONEST FRAMING
what phantom hides. what it can't.
- Hidden from OpenAI: your identity, your email, your card, your IP, your org. Phantom is the only customer they see, paying in bulk through a TDX gateway.
- NOT hidden from OpenAI: the prompt content itself. To run GPT, OpenAI's servers must read the prompt. The TDX gateway anonymizes you to OpenAI. It does not encrypt the prompt against OpenAI.
- Hidden from Phantom: nothing about who you are. We hold no account record. We discard logs. We hash your key.
- NOT hidden from Phantom: the prompt and completion pass through Phantom's RAM in transit. We don't write them. We can't read them off disk. A host-level memory dump in the moment could see them.
// WHEN PHANTOM
when phantom wins.
- You can't or won't make an OpenAI account. Region blocks, KYC refusal, threat model around platform deplatforming. Phantom asks nothing.
- You want pay-as-you-go in crypto. $10 starter. 90-day validity. No subscription. No card.
- You want one key for GPT + Claude + Gemini + open-weight. Phantom is a single integration. OpenAI direct is GPT only.
- You want TEE-attested open-weight models on the same key. Switch from
phantom/gpt-5tophantom/kimi-k2.6and verify per-response attestation. OpenAI has no such option.
// WHEN OPENAI
when openai direct wins.
- You can accept the account, KYC, and card. You pay 50% less than Phantom's proxy tier. That's the headline trade.
- You need OpenAI-specific features. Assistants API, file uploads through their storage, ChatGPT plugins. Phantom forwards a strict body whitelist and drops fingerprint-rich fields.
- You need vendor SLA and refund recourse. Phantom has none.
// QUICK SWITCH
switch in two lines.
●●●
~/swap.py
# before client = OpenAI() # after client = OpenAI( base_url="https://phantom.codes/v1", api_key="sk-A1xZ9k7eF...", )