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Free LLM API providers (2026)

These 24 providers offer a free LLM API tier you can call today. Three need no API key at all, and LLM7 is key-optional. The table shows whether a key is required, roughly how many models the free tier exposes, and a free-tier signal where known. The catch with using several is that each has its own SDK and limits — the open-source freellmpool pools all of them behind one OpenAI-compatible endpoint with failover, so you get their combined free capacity through one interface.

ProviderAPI key?Free models*Free-tier signal**
PollinationsNo (keyless)2Anonymous; rate-limited per IP
OVHcloud AI EndpointsNo (keyless)17Anonymous tier (chat + embeddings + Whisper)
LLM7Optional3~60/hour without a token
Kilo GatewayNo (keyless)11Anonymous; ~200 req/hour per IP
OpenCode ZenNo (keyless)0Cataloged routes disabled by default pending opt-in
GroqYes (free)12~1,000 req/day (per model)
CerebrasYes (free)3~14,400 req/day (large cap)
Google GeminiYes (free)3~1,500 req/day
OpenRouterYes (free)20~1,000 req/day on :free models
GitHub ModelsYes (any PAT)22~150 req/day
NVIDIA NIMYes (free)39Free credits / rate-limited
Cloudflare Workers AIYes (free)24Daily Neuron allowance
MistralYes (free)43Free experimentation tier
CohereYes (free)21Trial keys, rate-limited
SambaNovaYes (free)0Free tier, rate-limited
Z.ai / Zhipu GLMYes (free)2~1,000 req/day
Ollama CloudYes (free)8Qualitative free limits
LongCat (Meituan)Yes (free)0Preview route retired; no active route
Hugging Face (router)Yes (free)22Monthly included Inference credits
Aion LabsYes (free)520K tokens/day; no card
ModelScope API InferenceYes (free)72,000 calls/day total; dynamic per-model caps
MorphYes (free)3200 requests/month
Vercel AI GatewayYes (free)5$5 recurring monthly Hobby credit
SiliconFlowYes (free)1Fixed free-model limits; identity verification required

* Enabled chat, embedding, and transcription routes in freellmpool's catalog; varies as tiers change. ** Free-tier signals are approximate and change without notice — always check the provider's current docs. freellmpool tracks your real per-day usage as you go.

No single free tier has enough daily capacity for sustained use — but the sum of them does. That's the point of pooling.

Use any (or all) of them in one line

pip install freellmpool
freellmpool ask "Explain the CAP theorem in one sentence."   # keyless, picks a free provider
freellmpool providers                                         # see which tiers you've configured

Add each provider's free key as an env var to grow capacity; signup links are in the accounts guide. See also: using multiple free LLM APIs together · best free LLM API gateway.

FAQ

Which LLM providers have a free API tier?

As of 2026, free API tiers are offered by Groq, Cerebras, Google Gemini, NVIDIA, OpenRouter, GitHub Models, Cloudflare, Mistral, Cohere, SambaNova, Z.ai/Zhipu, Ollama Cloud, LongCat, LLM7, Pollinations, OVHcloud, Kilo Gateway, OpenCode Zen, Hugging Face, Aion Labs, ModelScope, and SiliconFlow. Pollinations, OVHcloud, and Kilo Gateway work with no API key by default; OpenCode Zen is cataloged keyless but disabled by default.

What's the free LLM API with the highest limit?

Among the common free tiers, Cerebras advertises one of the largest daily request caps, and providers like Groq and OpenRouter offer roughly a thousand requests/day on free models. Limits change often — pool several with freellmpool so a single cap isn't a bottleneck.

Part of freellmpool (MIT, free, open source). Data from the freellmpool catalog. Updated 2026-07-17.