Decision-focused list of free LLM APIs in 2026: which to pick, real limits, and how to stack free tiers so you never pay for inference.
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updated Jul 21, 2026
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🆓 Awesome Free LLM APIs
A curated, decision-focused guide to every LLM API you can use for $0 in 2026: which one to pick, what you can actually build, and how to stack them so you never pay for inference on a side project.
Most "free LLM API" lists are just a wall of provider names. This one answers the question you actually have: "I have a project and $0. Which do I use?"
⚠️ Free tiers change almost monthly. Every number below is a starting point, not a promise, so always confirm current limits on the provider's own docs before you build. Found something stale? Open a PR. That's what keeps this list worth starring.
⏱️ TL;DR: Pick in 10 seconds
| Your situation | Start here |
|---|---|
| General prototype, want a capable closed model | Google AI Studio (Gemini) |
| Need it fast (chat, voice, real-time) | Groq |
| Need high token volume / batch jobs | Cerebras or Mistral |
| Want lots of models through one key | OpenRouter |
| Already living inside GitHub | GitHub Models |
| Open-source maintainer | Claude for Open Source (see below) |
Golden rule: don't rely on one provider. Each has separate limits, so routing across a few multiplies your free capacity and gives you a fallback when one rate-limits you. See Stacking Strategy.
🟢 Permanent Free Tiers
No expiry. Rate-limited, but genuinely usable for prototyping and low-volume apps.
Google AI Studio (Gemini)
The best all-round starting point. Gemini Flash on the free tier, no credit card, just a Google account. Roughly ~1,500 requests/day at a low per-minute cap, enough for most prototypes, and a genuinely capable model. Long context is a standout.
- Models: Gemini Flash family (Pro/Flash-Lite on paid)
- Card required: No · Best for: general-purpose prototyping
- 🔗 https://ai.google.dev
Groq
Runs open-weight models (Llama family, etc.) on custom LPU hardware, so it's very fast, often the lowest latency you'll find for free. OpenAI-compatible endpoints, so it drops into existing code. Limits vary by model (smaller models get much higher daily ceilings than the big ones).
- Card required: No · Best for: speed-sensitive UX, voice agents, real-time chat
- 🔗 https://console.groq.com
Cerebras
Wafer-scale chips built for inference, with strong throughput and long-context handling. Generous daily token allowance on open-weight models. Great when you need volume without paying, especially batch work.
- Card required: No · Best for: high-throughput / batch jobs
- 🔗 https://cloud.cerebras.ai
Mistral (La Plateforme)
One of the most generous permanent quotas here (a large monthly token allowance), but the free "Experiment" tier requires opting into data training. Fine for hobby projects, think twice for anything sensitive.
- Card required: No · Best for: high monthly volume on Mistral's own models
- ⚠️ Your prompts may be used for training on the free tier
- 🔗 https://console.mistral.ai
OpenRouter
A router that sits in front of 70+ providers. A subset of models is exposed as :free, and one key reaches many of the providers above. Free-model daily cap is modest and increases after a small one-time top-up. Unbeatable for trying many models quickly.
- Card required: No · Best for: model variety, fallback routing
- 🔗 https://openrouter.ai
NVIDIA NIM (build.nvidia.com)
Join the free NVIDIA Developer Program and get starter inference credits with OpenAI-compatible endpoints. Hosts a big catalog of open models (DeepSeek, Llama, Qwen, GLM) and is often among the first to host new open-model drops.
- Card required: No · Best for: trying the newest open models
- 🔗 https://build.nvidia.com
GitHub Models
Access a mix of models (including OpenAI and Llama) from inside GitHub. Experimentation-tier limits are modest. Best when your prompt-testing and comparison already happen where your code lives.
- Card required: No (uses your GitHub account) · Best for: in-workflow experimentation
- 🔗 https://github.com/marketplace/models
Cloudflare Workers AI
A free daily "neurons" allowance for inference at the edge. Ideal for small inference tasks in serverless apps already running on Cloudflare Workers.
- Best for: edge / serverless inference
- 🔗 https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers-ai/
🟡 Trial Credits
A fixed amount of free usage. Great for evaluation, not for ongoing projects.
- Together AI: free signup credits; huge open-source model catalog. The easiest path to Llama/Mistral open weights without hosting them. 🔗 https://together.ai
- Cohere: rate-limited free/trial access; Command models, strong for RAG and multilingual. 🔗 https://cohere.com
- Anthropic: small starter credits for new API accounts. 🔗 https://console.anthropic.com
- Fireworks AI / SambaNova / AI21: signup credits for testing premium/open models. Access stops when credits run out.
⭐ Special: Claude for Open Source
Launched in early 2026, Anthropic's Claude for Open Source program grants qualifying open-source maintainers several months of Claude Max at no cost, one of the largest free-access grants of the year, with limited spots. If you maintain an OSS project, it's worth checking eligibility.
- 🔗 https://www.anthropic.com (search "Claude for Open Source" for current details)
🧩 Stacking Strategy
The free tiers aren't competitors, they're lanes. A workload too chatty for one provider's per-minute limit fits comfortably in another's. A practical setup:
- Primary: Google AI Studio (capable, generous daily budget)
- Speed lane: Groq for anything latency-sensitive
- Volume lane: Cerebras or Mistral for batch / high token counts
- Fallback: OpenRouter. When a primary rate-limits you, re-route the same request through a
:freemodel
Because each provider meters independently, routing across four can multiply your effective free capacity several times over, and it keeps your app alive if any one provider drops a model.
🕵️ The Real Catch(es)
"Free" almost always has a cost that isn't dollars:
- Your data may train their models. No-credit-card tiers are often funded by your prompts. Keep customer/production data off free tiers unless the provider states otherwise.
- Rate limits are the constraint, not price. None of these are free at production scale; the caps exist to move real workloads onto paid plans.
- Limits change constantly. Providers cut and adjust quotas often. Treat every number here as "verify before you rely."
- Licenses vary. Some trial keys forbid commercial use, so check before shipping.
🤝 Contributing
This list is only useful if it stays current, and it stays current because people like you fix it.
- Spotted a changed limit, dead link, or new provider? Open a PR.
- Keep entries concise and in the existing format.
- Cite the provider's own docs for any limit you add or change.
(Bonus: a merged PR here earns contributors GitHub's Pull Shark achievement.)
⭐ Found this useful?
If this saved you time or money, star the repo. It helps other developers find it, and it's the only thanks an open list runs on.
📄 License
MIT, free to use, share, and adapt.
Similar repos
Decision-focused list of free LLM APIs in 2026: which to pick, real limits, and how to stack free tiers so you never pay for inference.
2
5 commits
updated Jul 21, 2026
See what people are saying
README
🆓 Awesome Free LLM APIs
A curated, decision-focused guide to every LLM API you can use for $0 in 2026: which one to pick, what you can actually build, and how to stack them so you never pay for inference on a side project.
Most "free LLM API" lists are just a wall of provider names. This one answers the question you actually have: "I have a project and $0. Which do I use?"
⚠️ Free tiers change almost monthly. Every number below is a starting point, not a promise, so always confirm current limits on the provider's own docs before you build. Found something stale? Open a PR. That's what keeps this list worth starring.
⏱️ TL;DR: Pick in 10 seconds
| Your situation | Start here |
|---|---|
| General prototype, want a capable closed model | Google AI Studio (Gemini) |
| Need it fast (chat, voice, real-time) | Groq |
| Need high token volume / batch jobs | Cerebras or Mistral |
| Want lots of models through one key | OpenRouter |
| Already living inside GitHub | GitHub Models |
| Open-source maintainer | Claude for Open Source (see below) |
Golden rule: don't rely on one provider. Each has separate limits, so routing across a few multiplies your free capacity and gives you a fallback when one rate-limits you. See Stacking Strategy.
🟢 Permanent Free Tiers
No expiry. Rate-limited, but genuinely usable for prototyping and low-volume apps.
Google AI Studio (Gemini)
The best all-round starting point. Gemini Flash on the free tier, no credit card, just a Google account. Roughly ~1,500 requests/day at a low per-minute cap, enough for most prototypes, and a genuinely capable model. Long context is a standout.
- Models: Gemini Flash family (Pro/Flash-Lite on paid)
- Card required: No · Best for: general-purpose prototyping
- 🔗 https://ai.google.dev
Groq
Runs open-weight models (Llama family, etc.) on custom LPU hardware, so it's very fast, often the lowest latency you'll find for free. OpenAI-compatible endpoints, so it drops into existing code. Limits vary by model (smaller models get much higher daily ceilings than the big ones).
- Card required: No · Best for: speed-sensitive UX, voice agents, real-time chat
- 🔗 https://console.groq.com
Cerebras
Wafer-scale chips built for inference, with strong throughput and long-context handling. Generous daily token allowance on open-weight models. Great when you need volume without paying, especially batch work.
- Card required: No · Best for: high-throughput / batch jobs
- 🔗 https://cloud.cerebras.ai
Mistral (La Plateforme)
One of the most generous permanent quotas here (a large monthly token allowance), but the free "Experiment" tier requires opting into data training. Fine for hobby projects, think twice for anything sensitive.
- Card required: No · Best for: high monthly volume on Mistral's own models
- ⚠️ Your prompts may be used for training on the free tier
- 🔗 https://console.mistral.ai
OpenRouter
A router that sits in front of 70+ providers. A subset of models is exposed as :free, and one key reaches many of the providers above. Free-model daily cap is modest and increases after a small one-time top-up. Unbeatable for trying many models quickly.
- Card required: No · Best for: model variety, fallback routing
- 🔗 https://openrouter.ai
NVIDIA NIM (build.nvidia.com)
Join the free NVIDIA Developer Program and get starter inference credits with OpenAI-compatible endpoints. Hosts a big catalog of open models (DeepSeek, Llama, Qwen, GLM) and is often among the first to host new open-model drops.
- Card required: No · Best for: trying the newest open models
- 🔗 https://build.nvidia.com
GitHub Models
Access a mix of models (including OpenAI and Llama) from inside GitHub. Experimentation-tier limits are modest. Best when your prompt-testing and comparison already happen where your code lives.
- Card required: No (uses your GitHub account) · Best for: in-workflow experimentation
- 🔗 https://github.com/marketplace/models
Cloudflare Workers AI
A free daily "neurons" allowance for inference at the edge. Ideal for small inference tasks in serverless apps already running on Cloudflare Workers.
- Best for: edge / serverless inference
- 🔗 https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers-ai/
🟡 Trial Credits
A fixed amount of free usage. Great for evaluation, not for ongoing projects.
- Together AI: free signup credits; huge open-source model catalog. The easiest path to Llama/Mistral open weights without hosting them. 🔗 https://together.ai
- Cohere: rate-limited free/trial access; Command models, strong for RAG and multilingual. 🔗 https://cohere.com
- Anthropic: small starter credits for new API accounts. 🔗 https://console.anthropic.com
- Fireworks AI / SambaNova / AI21: signup credits for testing premium/open models. Access stops when credits run out.
⭐ Special: Claude for Open Source
Launched in early 2026, Anthropic's Claude for Open Source program grants qualifying open-source maintainers several months of Claude Max at no cost, one of the largest free-access grants of the year, with limited spots. If you maintain an OSS project, it's worth checking eligibility.
- 🔗 https://www.anthropic.com (search "Claude for Open Source" for current details)
🧩 Stacking Strategy
The free tiers aren't competitors, they're lanes. A workload too chatty for one provider's per-minute limit fits comfortably in another's. A practical setup:
- Primary: Google AI Studio (capable, generous daily budget)
- Speed lane: Groq for anything latency-sensitive
- Volume lane: Cerebras or Mistral for batch / high token counts
- Fallback: OpenRouter. When a primary rate-limits you, re-route the same request through a
:freemodel
Because each provider meters independently, routing across four can multiply your effective free capacity several times over, and it keeps your app alive if any one provider drops a model.
🕵️ The Real Catch(es)
"Free" almost always has a cost that isn't dollars:
- Your data may train their models. No-credit-card tiers are often funded by your prompts. Keep customer/production data off free tiers unless the provider states otherwise.
- Rate limits are the constraint, not price. None of these are free at production scale; the caps exist to move real workloads onto paid plans.
- Limits change constantly. Providers cut and adjust quotas often. Treat every number here as "verify before you rely."
- Licenses vary. Some trial keys forbid commercial use, so check before shipping.
🤝 Contributing
This list is only useful if it stays current, and it stays current because people like you fix it.
- Spotted a changed limit, dead link, or new provider? Open a PR.
- Keep entries concise and in the existing format.
- Cite the provider's own docs for any limit you add or change.
(Bonus: a merged PR here earns contributors GitHub's Pull Shark achievement.)
⭐ Found this useful?
If this saved you time or money, star the repo. It helps other developers find it, and it's the only thanks an open list runs on.
📄 License
MIT, free to use, share, and adapt.