The best free AI API for most developers is the Gemini API through Google AI Studio, which offers free Flash models with no card. Groq, OpenRouter, Cloudflare Workers AI, Mistral, Cohere and NVIDIA also have free access, and Cerebras offers a free trial. OpenAI, Anthropic, Grok and DeepSeek do not offer an ongoing free API tier. Every free option has a catch, usually tight rate limits, a ban on production use, or your prompts being used for training. This guide compares what each one really allows, as of November 2026, and what to do when free runs out.
Free AI APIs Compared
We checked these against each provider's own docs in November 2026. Free tiers change often, and several providers show your exact limits only inside your account, so confirm yours in the console before you depend on them.
| Provider | What is free | Limits | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Gemini | Flash, Flash-Lite and Gemma models | Per project, shown in AI Studio | Free-tier content is used to improve Google's products |
| Groq | Open models such as GPT OSS 120B | 30 requests/min, 1,000/day, 8K tokens/min, 200K tokens/day | Small daily token budget |
| OpenRouter | Models tagged :free | 20 requests/min, 50/day; 1,000/day after buying $10 in credits | Free model lineup varies |
| Cloudflare Workers AI | 10,000 Neurons per day | Hard stop on the Workers Free plan | Neurons take some working out; paid is $0.011 per 1,000 |
| Mistral | Experiment plan | Shown in your console | Needs a verified phone number; requests may be used for training |
| Cohere | Trial key | 20 chat requests/min, 1,000 calls/month | For evaluation, not production |
| NVIDIA NIM | Hosted endpoints via the Developer Program | Not listed in the program docs | Prototyping only; serving real users needs a paid license |
| Cerebras | Free trial; one-time $5 credit when you add a card | 5 requests/min, 1M tokens/day on listed models | A trial, not a permanent tier; the credit expires in 30 days |
This walkthrough shows how to get keys from three of the most popular options: Gemini, Groq and OpenRouter.
Which Free AI API Should You Use?
Pick based on what you are building, not on the longest list of models.
General prototype: start with Gemini. It has current Flash models, multimodal input and paid tiers on the same key when you outgrow free.
Speed matters: use Groq. GPT OSS 120B runs at about 500 tokens per second on its hardware, which suits chat and voice demos.
Comparing models: use OpenRouter. One key and one OpenAI-compatible API reach every free model it offers, so you can test several without new accounts.
Already on Cloudflare: use Workers AI. It runs next to your Workers code and the free allocation resets daily.
Each Free Tier in Detail
Google Gemini API
Google's free tier is the broadest. Free models include Gemini 3.8 Flash, 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite and Gemma 4, along with embeddings. Gemini 4 Argon, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview and the image models are not on it. Google's pricing page says free-tier content is used to improve its products, so do not send customer data on this tier. Setup is in our Gemini API key guide.
Groq
Groq is an inference company, not to be confused with Grok. You can use its Free tier without a payment method, which you only add when you upgrade to Developer. The limits on GPT OSS 120B and GPT OSS 20B are 30 requests per minute, 1,000 per day, 8,000 tokens per minute and 200,000 tokens per day. That token budget goes quickly with long prompts, so it suits demos better than batch jobs.
OpenRouter
OpenRouter is a router across many providers, and models tagged :free cost nothing per token. Free models are limited to 20 requests per minute for everyone. The daily cap is 50 requests until you have bought $10 in credits, after which it is 1,000. If you plan to use it seriously, that one-off $10 is one of the cheapest upgrades in this list. Free models come from different providers, so check each model's page for its data policy.
Cloudflare Workers AI
Cloudflare gives every account 10,000 Neurons a day, its unit for AI compute. On the Workers Free plan you cannot go past that. On Workers Paid, extra usage costs $0.011 per 1,000 Neurons. It is a good fit if your app already runs on Workers. Cloudflare also runs a large startup program, covered on our Cloudflare for Startups page.
Mistral
Mistral's Experiment plan needs no card, but it does need a verified phone number. Mistral warns that requests on this plan may be used to train its models, so treat it as a testing tier. Exact rate limits are shown per workspace in the console. Third-party figures vary, so rely on what your own account shows.
Cohere
Cohere's trial keys allow 20 requests per minute on its chat models, 2,000 embedding inputs per minute and 10 rerank requests per minute, with a cap of 1,000 API calls a month. Trial keys are meant for evaluation. The rerank and embedding allowances make it a useful way to test retrieval quality in a RAG prototype.
NVIDIA NIM
NVIDIA Developer Program members get free access to hosted NIM endpoints for prototyping, research, development and testing. NVIDIA says production use, including serving real end users, needs an NVIDIA AI Enterprise license. Startups building seriously on NVIDIA should also look at NVIDIA Inception.
Cerebras
Cerebras lists Free Trial limits of 5 requests per minute and 1 million tokens per day on GPT OSS 120B and Qwen 3.8 27B. Adding a valid payment method earns a one-time $5 credit, without charging you or enrolling you in paid usage. The credit expires 30 days after activation, and access then pauses unless you buy credits. Treat it as a way to test Cerebras's speed, not as a long-term free tier.
APIs That Are Not Free
Many "free AI API" lists are out of date. These are the ones people most often expect to be free:
| API | The reality | Our guide |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | A free test request in the quickstart, then prepaid credits with a $5 minimum | OpenAI API key |
| Anthropic (Claude) | No ongoing free tier; Claude for Startups is closed to new applicants | Anthropic API key |
| Grok | Free Console Playground, but API usage is billed per token | Grok API |
| DeepSeek | Very low prices, but billed from your balance with no published free tier | DeepSeek API |
| Hugging Face Inference Providers | Free accounts get no monthly credits; PRO includes $2 a month | None |
| GitHub Models | Fully retired on July 30, 2026, though older lists still recommend it | None |
Stay away from sites and repositories offering free OpenAI or Claude API keys. They are leaked keys from someone else's account: they get revoked, using them breaks the provider's terms, and whoever runs a shared key or proxy can read what you send through it.
What to Check Before You Build on One
Data use. Gemini's free tier and Mistral's Experiment plan both state that your content can be used to improve or train their models. Use test data, not customer data, unless the terms say otherwise.
Production rules. Cohere trial keys and NVIDIA's Developer Program are for testing and development. A free tier is rarely meant to carry a live product, even when the limits look big enough.
How long it lasts. Free tiers change without much notice, and GitHub Models shows they can disappear altogether. Keep model calls behind a small internal interface and use an OpenAI-compatible SDK where you can, so changing provider is a config change.
Failure handling. Expect 429 errors. Add retries with backoff from day one, and fall back to a second provider if your demo cannot afford to fail.
When Free Runs Out: Startup Credits
If you are building a company, startup programs give you far more than any free tier, and they can usually cover production use. Free tiers get you to a working prototype, and credits can carry you from there to paying customers.
| Program | Up to | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Google for Startups | $350,000 | Google Cloud, including Gemini |
| AWS Activate | $200,000 | AWS services |
| Microsoft for Startups | $150,000 | Azure, including Azure OpenAI |
| Grok for Startups | Sized to your usage | Grok, Grok Build, Grok Bot and the Grok API; needs venture backing |
| OpenAI for Startups | Not published | OpenAI API, through a referral code from a partner VC |
Top amounts usually depend on stage and investors, so check each page for what you can get today. Claude for Startups is closed to new applicants, and you can ask to hear when it reopens on our Anthropic page. Our AI credits index lists the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free AI API?
For most developers, the Gemini API through Google AI Studio, because it offers current Flash models with no card. Groq is a better fit when response speed matters, and OpenRouter is better for comparing several models with one key.
Is there a free LLM API with no credit card?
Yes. Gemini, Groq's Free tier, OpenRouter's free models and Cloudflare Workers AI can all be used without adding a card. Mistral's Experiment plan needs no card but does require a verified phone number.
Is the OpenAI API free?
No. OpenAI's quickstart lets you run a free test request, and then usage is paid from prepaid credits with a $5 minimum. Startups backed by an OpenAI partner VC can get credits with a referral code.
Can I use a free AI API in production?
Usually not safely. Cohere trial keys and NVIDIA's free access are for testing and development, and the other free tiers have rate limits too low for most live products. Use free tiers to prototype, then move to credits or paid usage.
Do free AI APIs train on my data?
Some do. Google says Gemini free-tier content is used to improve its products, and Mistral says Experiment plan requests may be used for training. Check the terms of each provider, and for routers such as OpenRouter, each model's provider too.
Is GitHub Models still free?
No. GitHub fully retired GitHub Models on July 30, 2026, including its playground, catalog and inference API. GitHub points users to Azure AI Foundry and GitHub Copilot instead.
Are free API keys from GitHub or forums safe to use?
No. Those are leaked keys from someone else's account. They get revoked without warning, using them violates the provider's terms, and shared proxies can see what you send. Every provider in this guide gives you your own free key.
Next Steps
Get a Gemini API key today and add a Groq or OpenRouter key as a backup. Keep your code provider-neutral, and use test data only on tiers that may train on it. Once you have a working product, swap the free tier for credits: use Get Matched to see which programs fit your stage, then apply before you start paying list price.
