Free LLM APIs
“Free” means something different at every provider
The limits, whether you need a card, who may read or train on your prompts, and where you're allowed to use it. Read on each provider's own pages, with links and dates.
| Provider | Free allowance | Card | Trains on prompts | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenRouter | 50 requests/day (1,000 after a one-time $10) | No (only to buy credits) | Depends on the provider serving the model | One daily limit for all free models together |
| Groq | ~1,000 requests/day per model | No | Not stated on its data page; no retention by default | 8,000 tokens per minute per model: long prompts don't fit |
| Google AI Studio (Gemini API) | Per-model limits, shown in AI Studio | No | Yes on the free tier (used to improve Google products) | Not allowed in apps for users in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK |
| Cerebras | $5 of credits, expiring after 30 days | Yes | Not stated on the pages we checked | A trial, not a free tier |
| Cloudflare Workers AI | 10,000 Neurons/day | No | No | Neurons, not requests: how far they go depends on the model |
- Free
- 50 requests/day (1,000 after a one-time $10)
- Card
- No (only to buy credits)
- Training
- Depends on the provider serving the model
- Catch
- One daily limit for all free models together
- Free
- ~1,000 requests/day per model
- Card
- No
- Training
- Not stated on its data page; no retention by default
- Catch
- 8,000 tokens per minute per model: long prompts don't fit
- Free
- Per-model limits, shown in AI Studio
- Card
- No
- Training
- Yes on the free tier (used to improve Google products)
- Catch
- Not allowed in apps for users in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK
- Free
- $5 of credits, expiring after 30 days
- Card
- Yes
- Training
- Not stated on the pages we checked
- Catch
- A trial, not a free tier
- Free
- 10,000 Neurons/day
- Card
- No
- Training
- No
- Catch
- Neurons, not requests: how far they go depends on the model
Read on each provider's own documentation and terms; oldest check 2026-10-22, and each page shows its date and sources. Providers change these often: follow the links before relying on a number.
Five things to check before you build on a free tier
Is it a free tier or a trial?
Credits that expire after 30 days are a trial. A free tier renews every day.
Does it need a card?
With a card on file, some accounts move to paid usage without you noticing. Check the billing page, not the pricing page.
Who reads your prompts?
Some free tiers pay for themselves with your data: used to improve products, read by reviewers, or used by the provider serving the model to train.
Where may you use it?
Some free tiers can't be used in apps for people in certain regions: the Gemini API free tier is not allowed for users in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK.
What's the real limit?
Requests per day, but also tokens per minute: a long prompt can fail on the first request of the day.
How many free models there are today, how good they are, and how many go to providers that may train on your prompts. Updated daily.
The open ranking on GitHubEvery free model ranked daily from published benchmarks and LM Arena, with the scoring code and the data as JSON. MIT.
We maintain that ranking and run ZeroLimitAI, an OpenAI-compatible endpoint that sends each request to the best free model available, and can use your own Groq or OpenRouter key.