Looking for free AI APIs to power your applications without breaking the bank? You’re in the right place. This comprehensive guide covers all the major providers offering free LLM APIs with generous rate limits, perfect for developers, startups, and hobbyists.
Whether you need text generation, image creation, or embeddings, these free artificial intelligence APIs provide enterprise-grade capabilities at no cost. Let’s explore the best options available in 2026.
Understanding Rate Limits
Before diving into specific providers, it’s essential to understand how free AI API rate limits work. These limits control how many requests you can make within specific time windows:
| Abbreviation | Full Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| RPM | Requests per minute | Maximum API calls allowed per minute |
| RPD | Requests per day | Maximum API calls allowed per day |
| TPM | Tokens per minute | Maximum tokens processed per minute |
| TPD | Tokens per day | Maximum tokens processed per day |
| ASH | Audio seconds per hour | Maximum audio processing per hour |
| ASD | Audio seconds per day | Maximum audio processing per day |
Understanding these metrics helps you optimize your free LLM API usage and avoid hitting limits during peak usage.
Google Gemini Free API
Google Gemini offers one of the most generous free AI API programs available. With multiple models ranging from lightweight to powerful, Gemini’s free tier is perfect for both prototyping and production applications.
📚 Official Documentation: Google Gemini API Rate Limits
Gemini Free Tier Models & Limits
| Model | Category | RPM | TPM | RPD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | Text output model | 4 / 5 | 23.84K / 250K | 22 / 20 |
| Gemini 3 Flash | Text output model | 4 / 5 | 4.82K / 250K | 7 / 20 |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | Text output model | 2 / 10 | 5.6K / 250K | 13 / 20 |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash TTS | Multimodal generative model | 0 / 3 | 0 / 10K | 0 / 10 |
| Gemini Robotics ER 1.5 Preview | Other models | 0 / 10 | 0 / 250K | 0 / 20 |
| Gemma 3 12B | Other models | 0 / 30 | 0 / 15K | 0 / 14.4K |
| Gemma 3 1B | Other models | 0 / 30 | 0 / 15K | 0 / 14.4K |
| Gemma 3 27B | Other models | 0 / 30 | 0 / 15K | 0 / 14.4K |
| Gemma 3 2B | Other models | 0 / 30 | 0 / 15K | 0 / 14.4K |
| Gemma 3 4B | Other models | 0 / 30 | 0 / 15K | 0 / 14.4K |
| Gemini Embedding 1 | Other models | 0 / 100 | 0 / 30K | 0 / 1K |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash Native Audio Dialog | Live API | 0 / Unlimited | 0 / 1M | 0 / Unlimited |
Key Benefits of Google Gemini Free API:
- ✅ No credit card required to start
- ✅ High TPM limits (up to 250K tokens/minute)
- ✅ Access to both Flash and Gemma model families
- ✅ Multimodal capabilities (text, audio, images)
- ✅ Unlimited Live API access for audio dialog
OpenRouter Free Tier
OpenRouter is a unified API gateway that provides access to hundreds of AI models through a single endpoint. Their free tier is particularly valuable for developers who want to experiment with multiple LLMs without managing multiple API keys.
📚 Resources:
OpenRouter Free Tier Limits
- Free users: 50 requests per day, 20 requests per minute (RPM)
- Pay-as-you-go users ($10+ credits): No limits on paid models, 1000 request limit on free models with 20 RPM
⚠️ Note: Free-tier usage of popular models can be subject to rate limiting by the provider, especially during peak times. Failed attempts still count toward your daily quota.
Top Free Models on OpenRouter
Why Choose OpenRouter Free Tier:
- ✅ Access 40+ free AI models from one API
- ✅ Includes popular models like Llama, Qwen, DeepSeek, and Gemma
- ✅ Image generation with FLUX.2 models
- ✅ Simple integration with OpenAI-compatible API format
Groq Free API
Groq is renowned for its blazing-fast inference speeds, making it ideal for real-time applications. Their free tier provides access to a curated selection of high-performance models.
📚 Official Documentation: Groq Rate Limits
Groq Free Tier Models & Limits
| MODEL ID | RPM | RPD | TPM | TPD | ASH | ASD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| allam-2-7b | 30 | 7K | 6K | 500K | - | - |
| canopylabs/orpheus-arabic-saudi | 10 | 100 | 1.2K | 3.6K | - | - |
| canopylabs/orpheus-v1-english | 10 | 100 | 1.2K | 3.6K | - | - |
| groq/compound | 30 | 250 | 70K | - | - | - |
| groq/compound-mini | 30 | 250 | 70K | - | - | - |
| llama-3.1-8b-instant | 30 | 14.4K | 6K | 500K | - | - |
| llama-3.3-70b-versatile | 30 | 1K | 12K | 100K | - | - |
| meta-llama/llama-4-maverick-17b-128e-instruct | 30 | 1K | 6K | 500K | - | - |
| meta-llama/llama-4-scout-17b-16e-instruct | 30 | 1K | 30K | 500K | - | - |
| meta-llama/llama-guard-4-12b | 30 | 14.4K | 15K | 500K | - | - |
| meta-llama/llama-prompt-guard-2-22m | 30 | 14.4K | 15K | 500K | - | - |
| meta-llama/llama-prompt-guard-2-86m | 30 | 14.4K | 15K | 500K | - | - |
| moonshotai/kimi-k2-instruct | 60 | 1K | 10K | 300K | - | - |
| moonshotai/kimi-k2-instruct-0905 | 60 | 1K | 10K | 300K | - | - |
| openai/gpt-oss-120b | 30 | 1K | 8K | 200K | - | - |
| openai/gpt-oss-20b | 30 | 1K | 8K | 200K | - | - |
| openai/gpt-oss-safeguard-20b | 30 | 1K | 8K | 200K | - | - |
| qwen/qwen3-32b | 60 | 1K | 6K | 500K | - | - |
| whisper-large-v3 | 20 | 2K | - | - | 7.2K | 28.8K |
| whisper-large-v3-turbo | 20 | 2K | - | - | 7.2K | 28.8K |
Groq Free API Advantages:
- ✅ Industry-leading inference speed (up to 800+ tokens/second)
- ✅ Access to latest Llama 4 models
- ✅ Audio transcription with Whisper models
- ✅ High daily request limits (up to 14.4K RPD for some models)
SiliconFlow Free Models
SiliconFlow is a Chinese AI platform offering a diverse range of free language models, including OCR, speech recognition, and embedding models. It’s particularly strong for multilingual applications.
📚 Resources:
SiliconFlow Free Model Categories
Language Models
| Model | Category | Link |
|---|---|---|
| deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-7B | Language Model | View |
| THUDM/GLM-4.1V-9B-Thinking | Language Model | View |
| PaddlePaddle/PaddleOCR-VL | Language Model | View |
| PaddlePaddle/PaddleOCR-VL-1.5 | Language Model | View |
| deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-OCR | Language Model | View |
| Qwen/Qwen3-8B | Language Model | View |
| tencent/Hunyuan-MT-7B | Language Model | View |
| deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B | Language Model | View |
| THUDM/GLM-Z1-9B-0414 | Language Model | View |
| Qwen/Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct | Language Model | View |
| Qwen/Qwen2.5-Coder-7B-Instruct | Language Model | View |
| THUDM/GLM-4-9B-0414 | Language Model | View |
| internlm/internlm2_5-7b-chat | Language Model | View |
| THUDM/glm-4-9b-chat | Language Model | View |
| Qwen/Qwen2-7B-Instruct | Language Model | View |
Image & Video Models
| Model | Category | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Kwai-Kolors/Kolors | Image/Video Model | View |
Speech Models
| Model | Category | Link |
|---|---|---|
| TeleAI/TeleSpeechASR | Speech Model | View |
| FunAudioLLM/SenseVoiceSmall | Speech Model | View |
Embedding & Reranking Models
| Model | Category | Link |
|---|---|---|
| netease-youdao/bce-embedding-base_v1 | Embedding/Reranking Model | View |
| BAAI/bge-m3 | Embedding/Reranking Model | View |
| netease-youdao/bce-reranker-base_v1 | Embedding/Reranking Model | View |
| BAAI/bge-reranker-v2-m3 | Embedding/Reranking Model | View |
| BAAI/bge-large-zh-v1.5 | Embedding/Reranking Model | View |
| BAAI/bge-large-en-v1.5 | Embedding/Reranking Model | View |
SiliconFlow Free Tier Highlights:
- ✅ Strong Chinese language support
- ✅ OCR and document understanding capabilities
- ✅ Free embeddings and reranking models for RAG applications
- ✅ Speech recognition with SenseVoice
BigModel (Zhipu AI) Free Tier
BigModel (Zhipu AI) offers several completely free AI models with competitive performance. Their GLM series is particularly popular for Chinese-English bilingual applications.
📚 Resources:
BigModel Free Models
| Model | Context (k tokens) | Decode Rate (tokens/s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GLM-4.7-Flash | 200K | 20 | Free Model: Zero-cost access to the language model |
| GLM-Z1-Flash | - | - | Free Inference: Free inference API, enabling zero-cost access to large reasoning models |
| GLM-4V-Flash | - | - | Free Model: Supports single-image understanding, suitable for scenarios requiring basic image analysis |
| CogView-3-Flash | - | - | Free Model: A free image generation model |
BigModel Rate Limiting by Usage Level
| Model Name | Free | Usage Level 1 | Usage Level 2 | Usage Level 3 | Usage Level 4 | Usage Level 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLM-4-0520 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 |
| GLM-4-AllTools | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 |
| GLM-4-Assistant | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 |
| GLM-4-Air | 5 | 50 | 70 | 150 | 300 | 1000 |
| GLM-4-Long | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 |
| GLM-4-AirX | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 |
| GLM-4-Flash | 5 | 10 | 50 | 100 | 200 | 300 |
| GLM-4V | 5 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 50 | 100 |
| CogView-3.5 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 30 | 40 |
| CogView-3 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 30 | 40 |
| CogVideoX | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Embedding-2 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| CharGLM-3 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Embedding-3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| GLM-4 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 100 | 200 |
| GLM-3-Turbo | 5 | 50 | 70 | 150 | 300 | 1000 |
| CodeGeeX-4 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 100 | 200 |
| Web-Search-Pro | 5 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
BigModel Free Tier Benefits:
- ✅ GLM-4.7-Flash with 200K context window
- ✅ Free image generation with CogView-3-Flash
- ✅ Free reasoning models (GLM-Z1-Flash)
- ✅ Usage-based tier upgrades for increased limits
ModelScope Free Inference
ModelScope (魔搭社区) is Alibaba’s AI model community offering free API inference for over 20,000 models. It’s one of the most comprehensive free AI API platforms available.
📚 Official Documentation: ModelScope API Inference Limits
ModelScope Free Tier Limits
- Daily quota: 2,000 API inference calls per registered user
- Per-model limit: Maximum 500 calls per individual model
- Dynamic adjustment: Specific limits may be adjusted at any time
Monitoring Your Quota
ModelScope provides helpful HTTP response headers to track your usage:
| Response Header | Description | Example Value |
|---|---|---|
| modelscope-ratelimit-requests-limit | User daily limit | 2000 |
| modelscope-ratelimit-requests-remaining | User daily remaining quota | 500 |
| modelscope-ratelimit-model-requests-limit | Model daily limit | 500 |
| modelscope-ratelimit-model-requests-remaining | Model daily remaining quota | 20 |
ModelScope Key Features
🚀 20,000+ models with 2,000 free calls per day!
🔥 Supports popular models such as:
- Qwen (Alibaba’s flagship LLM)
- DeepSeek
- GLM
- MiniMax
🎯 Covers multiple domains:
- Large language models (LLMs)
- Multimodal models
- Text-to-image generation
- Speech recognition
- Embedding models
📚 Complete API catalog: Visit ModelScope Model Library to browse all available models with inference APIs.
FAQ: Free AI APIs
What is the best free AI API for beginners?
Google Gemini is the best choice for beginners due to its generous free tier, comprehensive documentation, and no credit card requirement. The Gemini 2.5 Flash model offers 250K tokens per minute, making it perfect for experimentation.
Can I use free AI APIs for commercial projects?
Most free AI APIs allow commercial usage, but always check each provider’s terms of service. OpenRouter, Groq, and Google Gemini explicitly permit commercial use within their free tiers.
Which free LLM API has the highest rate limits?
ModelScope offers the highest volume with 2,000 requests per day across 20,000+ models. For single-model usage, Groq provides up to 14,400 requests per day for Llama 3.1 8B Instant.
Are there any completely free AI APIs without signup?
Most providers require at least email registration. However, ModelScope and Google Gemini have streamlined signup processes with no credit card required.
What free AI API is best for image generation?
For free image generation, consider:
- OpenRouter (FLUX.2 models)
- BigModel (CogView-3-Flash)
- SiliconFlow (Kwai-Kolors)
Can I get GPT-4 level performance for free?
While no free tier matches GPT-4 exactly, several alternatives come close:
- DeepSeek R1 (available on OpenRouter)
- Llama 3.3 70B (available on Groq and OpenRouter)
- Qwen3 Coder 480B (available on OpenRouter)
How do I avoid hitting rate limits on free AI APIs?
- Implement exponential backoff in your code
- Cache responses when possible
- Use multiple providers for redundancy
- Monitor your usage via API headers
- Upgrade to paid tiers when scaling
Conclusion
The landscape of free AI APIs in 2026 is incredibly rich, offering developers powerful tools without upfront costs. Whether you’re building a prototype, running a side project, or scaling a startup, these providers offer generous free tiers:
| Provider | Best For | Daily Requests | Standout Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Gemini | General purpose | Varies by model | 250K TPM limit |
| OpenRouter | Multi-model access | 50 | 40+ free models |
| Groq | Speed-critical apps | Up to 14.4K | 800+ tokens/sec |
| SiliconFlow | Chinese/Asian markets | Varies | OCR & speech models |
| BigModel | Bilingual apps | Varies by tier | 200K context window |
| ModelScope | Model variety | 2,000 | 20,000+ models |
Quick Start Recommendations
- 🚀 Getting started quickly: Use Google Gemini or Groq
- 🔧 Need multiple models: Start with OpenRouter
- 🌏 Building for Asian markets: Choose SiliconFlow or BigModel
- 🧪 Experimenting widely: Explore ModelScope’s vast library
Next Steps
- Sign up for 2-3 providers to compare performance for your use case
- Implement rate limit handling in your application
- Monitor usage and upgrade to paid tiers as you scale
- Join community Discord/Slack channels for support and tips
Last updated: February 7, 2026. Rate limits and availability are subject to change. Always check official documentation for the most current information.
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