Free LLM API Quotas Compared: 11 Providers (2026)

Free LLM API comparison at a glance

This snapshot was checked on September 8, 2026. Limits can vary by model, account, region, and demand; use the provider’s linked documentation as the final authority.

The card, commercial-use, and OpenAI-compatibility labels use the Free LLM API Hub comparison as a secondary cross-check.

Do not rank rows by the largest number. Requests, tokens, calls, dollars, and Neurons are different units; an expiring trial is not a renewing allowance.

For image, speech, embeddings, and other modalities, see the broader free AI API comparison. This page stays focused on hosted LLM inference.

Providers with the clearest recurring or no-card access

Google AI Studio: the practical general-purpose starting point

Google’s official rate-limit documentation says Gemini quotas are model- and project-specific. It identifies RPM, input TPM, and RPD as common dimensions, says quotas apply to the Google Cloud project rather than each API key, and directs developers to AI Studio for active values. Daily request quotas reset at midnight Pacific time.

A secondary verified comparison reports 10 RPM and 250 RPD for Gemini 2.5 Flash, with 5–30 RPM and 15–1,000 RPD across models. Treat these as planning figures because Google says active limits vary and are not guaranteed.

Use Gemini for general and multimodal prototypes; model-specific daily caps may limit request-heavy workloads.

Groq: the strongest no-card option by published request quota

Groq’s rate-limit documentation lists limits by model and organization. The current Free Plan row for qwen/qwen3.6-27b shows 30 RPM, 1,000 RPD, 8,000 TPM, and 200,000 TPD. Other models have different daily and token ceilings.

“Rate limits apply at the organization level, not individual users.” — Groq rate-limit documentation

Multiple API keys do not automatically create independent organization-wide capacity. Groq’s documentation describes retry-after and x-ratelimit-* headers for handling HTTP 429 responses.

Groq is the clearest starting point for frequent small requests when its selected model supports your task. Check the exact model row instead of treating the provider-level label as one quota.

OpenRouter: the most flexible free-model gateway

OpenRouter provides one API surface for a changing selection of free model variants. Its current free-access comparison reports 20 requests per minute and 50 requests per day while the account has purchased less than $10 in credits. After at least $10 in lifetime purchased credits, the daily allowance rises to 1,000 requests. The higher cap therefore requires a purchase.

The official limits documentation explains that additional accounts or API keys do not change the platform’s global rate limits. The service exposes quota information through the key endpoint and rate-limit error headers.

You can pin a model with a :free suffix or use openrouter/free, which selects an available free model automatically. The router can filter for capabilities such as tool calling or image understanding, but the underlying model can change.

Use OpenRouter for experiments and fallback routing, not an application that depends on one free model’s stable behavior.

Cloudflare Workers AI: recurring compute, not free tokens

Cloudflare’s official pricing page gives each account a total 10,000-Neuron daily allocation at no charge. The allowance is shared across Workers AI activity and resets at 00:00 UTC. On the Workers Free plan, further operations fail after the allocation is exhausted.

A Neuron represents the GPU compute needed for a request. Cloudflare publishes model-specific token equivalents rather than promising that 10,000 Neurons equals a fixed number of prompts.

Cloudflare also says selected newer DeepSeek, GLM, and Kimi models require a paid billing method. “10,000 Neurons free” does not mean every model is available without billing.

Free access with a catch

Cerebras: a useful trial, not a permanent free API

Cerebras’ rate-limit documentation lists 5 RPM, 30,000 uncached TPM, 90,000 total TPM, and 1 million TPD for the listed Free Trial models. It also explains that its token bucket replenishes continuously rather than waiting for a simple daily reset.

New accounts receive $5 in free credits, the credits expire after 30 days, and a verified payment method is required to activate Playground and API access. When the credit expires or runs out, access stops unless you purchase more. The checked documentation does not describe a permanently renewing public free allocation.

Cerebras works for a short evaluation. It should not be the only dependency for a project that must run after the trial period.

SambaNova Cloud: the clearest billing-status boundary

SambaNova defines its Free Tier by billing status: it applies when no payment method is linked. For the listed Free Tier models, the official documentation shows 20 RPM, 20 RPD, and 200,000 TPD. The 20 RPD limit can stop a polling-heavy workflow before the token allowance is used.

Linking a payment method activates the Developer Tier, which is paid and should not be counted as free. SambaNova also exposes remaining-request and reset information through response headers.

Use SambaNova only for low-volume proofs of concept: its 20 RPD ceiling needs validation before any agent workflow.

Cohere: useful for RAG, but count calls carefully

Cohere’s trial key is different from a token-based free tier. The current verified comparison reports 1,000 calls per month, with endpoint-specific limits of 20 RPM for Chat, 2,000 inputs per minute for Embed, and 10 RPM for Rerank. Cohere’s FAQ describes trial keys as free but limited.

That combination makes Cohere useful for retrieval-augmented generation experiments: one project can test generation, embeddings, and reranking. It does not make the trial a high-volume chat backend. Do not compare 1,000 calls/month directly with 1 million tokens/day.

The verified comparison labels the trial as evaluation-only. Confirm the current usage policy before using it for a public or commercial application.

Z.AI: free pricing is not a known quota

Z.AI’s pricing documentation lists GLM-4.7-Flash and GLM-4.5-Flash as free for the displayed token categories. The checked public pricing page does not provide a concrete RPM, RPD, TPM, or TPD figure.

Treat Z.AI quota as unknown: it may suit manual testing but not batch work; verify endpoint, model availability, and terms at signup.

NVIDIA, Hugging Face, and Mistral: discovery routes with incomplete quota data

Which free LLM API should you choose?

Start with one provider and log four fields on every request: model ID, HTTP status, token usage, and remaining-limit headers. Add a second provider only after you know which limit the first route reaches; using multiple keys does not necessarily create more capacity.

How to verify a free LLM API before using it

Before launch, verify five things:

1. Quota unit: Is the offer measured in requests, tokens, calls, dollars, or compute units?
2. Reset behavior: Does it reset at a UTC or Pacific-time boundary, replenish continuously, renew monthly, or expire once?
3. Scope: Is the limit attached to the model, project, account, or organization?
4. Payment condition: Does adding a card unlock more capacity, activate a paid tier, or become mandatory for the trial?
5. Terms and failure path: Is the offer limited to testing or evaluation, and does the client handle HTTP 429 without creating a retry storm?

Free LLM API FAQ

Which free LLM API is best overall?

Google AI Studio suits general prototypes; Groq suits higher free request volume; OpenRouter suits model variety.

Can I use a free LLM API without a credit card?

Yes. Google, Groq, OpenRouter’s basic route, Cloudflare’s basic allocation, and SambaNova’s Free Tier are listed as no-card options in the verified comparison. Cerebras requires a verified payment method for its Free Trial.

Are free LLM APIs really permanent?

Some recurring tiers remain available while their terms last, but trials, promotional prices, and rotating :free routes are not permanent provider-wide allowances. Check the current documentation and model status before depending on one.

Can I use a free LLM API in production?

Do not use one as your sole backend unless its current terms, quota, and model availability meet your production requirements.

What happens when I hit the free limit?

Providers normally return a throttling or quota error. Groq documents HTTP 429 handling, Cloudflare says further operations fail after the daily Free-plan allocation, and Cerebras stops trial access when its credit expires or runs out.