iam_fortunatus 
SynaPost 3.6.5 is out, and if you’ve been putting off AI-assisted content because every “free” plugin seems to want a credit card eventually, this update is worth a few minutes of your time.
The short version: OpenRouter’s free models are now the default way SynaPost connects to an AI provider. OpenRouter itself isn’t new here, it’s been part of SynaPost for a while, but it used to sit behind Google Gemini as the provider a fresh install was pointed to first. That’s flipped now. On top of that, this release fixes a handful of things that used to make free AI generation genuinely annoying to rely on.
What is SynaPost, for anyone new here
SynaPost is a WordPress plugin for planning, writing, optimizing, approving, and publishing content without leaving your dashboard. The idea is that you shouldn’t need to write in one tool, paste into another, fix the formatting, then go hunt down where your SEO checklist lives. It’s all in WordPress, in one flow: plan it, create it, optimize it, approve it, publish it.
Quick refresher on OpenRouter
OpenRouter is a service that gives you access to a lot of different AI models through a single API key, instead of locking you into one company’s model. Some of those models are free to use with no credit card attached. SynaPost connects to OpenRouter directly with your own key, so whichever model you pick is the one actually writing your content.
So what’s actually new in 3.6.5
A real update, not just a settings tweak. Here’s what changed:
OpenRouter’s free models are now what a brand new SynaPost install connects to first, instead of Gemini. One key gets you a whole catalog of free models to pick from rather than being stuck with a single vendor’s tier.
If a model you’re using fails, SynaPost now quietly tries a different available model from the same provider instead of just giving up. That applies to the Strategy Planner too, not only article generation.
If an article fails to generate at all, it gets automatically retried after a short delay instead of sitting there marked “Failed” until someone notices and reruns it manually.
Error messages got rewritten in plain English. You’ll see something like “you’re out of credits” or “today’s free limit is used up, try again tomorrow” instead of a wall of technical text that means nothing unless you’re a developer.
There’s a search box now when picking a model, so you can just type part of the name instead of scrolling. And switching models later takes one click with a “Change model” button, no need to dig your API key back out and paste it in again.
And for anyone on SynaPost Pro, there’s now a way to browse OpenRouter’s paid models too, with the price per model shown right there in the picker, in case the free tier stops being enough.
Getting it connected
It’s a short process. Go to OpenRouter’s site, make a free account, and grab an API key. Back in WordPress, open Settings, then AI & Images, and click “Connect for free” on the OpenRouter card. Paste your key in, pick a model (or search for one you already have in mind), and hit “Test and connect.” SynaPost checks that the key and model actually work before it saves anything, so you won’t end up connected to something broken without knowing it.
If you want to try a different model down the road, you don’t have to reconnect from scratch. There’s a “Change model” button that reuses the key you already saved.
What you’d actually use this for
It’s not just “write me a blog post.” You can use it to draft full articles that you then edit and publish, or to get past the blank page problem when you’re out of topic ideas, since the Strategy Planner can generate a batch of topics around your business and audience, and now lets you lock in specific keywords you want covered rather than hoping it gets to them eventually. You can generate an outline first if you want more control over structure before the writing happens. And because SEO review is built into the workflow, you’re not just getting raw AI text, you get a chance to check it against search intent, headings, and readability before it goes live.
This isn’t limited to blogs either. An agency could use it for client education content, a consultant could turn their expertise into articles explaining problems they solve, a software company could knock out tutorials and comparison posts. The common thread is having an actual reason for the content, not just filling a page for the sake of it.
Is it actually free, though
Worth being straight about this one. SynaPost itself doesn’t cap how much you can generate, but the free models on OpenRouter do have their own limits, set by OpenRouter and whichever lab built the model, not by SynaPost. Hit the limit and you’ll get a plain message telling you so, with the option to wait until tomorrow or switch providers.
So this isn’t unlimited free content forever. It’s a genuinely free way to start using an AI content workflow and see if it’s useful for you before you commit to paying for anything.
Still read what it writes
None of this means you can skip reading the output. AI-written drafts can sound completely reasonable while quietly getting a fact wrong, repeating itself, or leaning on an example that doesn’t really fit. Treat the draft as a starting point: read it, fix what’s off, add something only you’d know, and make sure it actually answers what someone searching for it wants to know. That part’s still on you, and honestly that’s where most of the value ends up coming from anyway.
Who this is for
If you’re a blogger trying to publish more consistently, this takes some of the friction out of getting from idea to draft. If you run a small business without time for a dedicated content person, it’s a practical way to get a website that actually says something. Agencies managing content across several client sites might want SynaPost Pro for that, since it adds support for multiple business profiles. And if your business runs on expertise, like consulting, it’s a way to turn what you already know into something people can actually find and read.
If you’re updating or installing fresh
Already using SynaPost? Updating to 3.6.5 gets you the new default connection, the fallback and retry behavior, and the clearer error messages automatically, your existing setup isn’t touched. New to it? Install the plugin, connect OpenRouter for free, and you’ll be generating something in a few minutes. If you outgrow the free models later, Pro is there with paid OpenRouter access and pricing shown upfront, along with providers like Gemini, Anthropic, and Groq, but nothing switches over automatically. That choice stays yours.
