free keys.
bring your own key. pay nothing.
eight LLM providers hand out API keys with a real free tier. here's where to get each one, what you'll need, and the catch.
get a key- 8 providerseach with a free API tier you can use from any client
- $0no credit card for most of them. some ask for a phone number
- a few minutesper key. sign in, create, copy
the keys you don't pay for.
every provider below gives you a key you can paste into your own app, agent or terminal. no wrapper, no waitlist. just a quota that refills.
open a row to see how to create the key, what you need to sign up, and the catch. there's always a catch. it's usually a rate limit.
quotas and free models change without notice. check the provider's console before you depend on one.
free keys questions.
are these really free?
yes, within limits. each provider caps requests per minute, per day, tokens, or a monthly credit. go past it and you get an error, not a bill, unless you've added a payment method and enabled paid usage.
what do they get in return?
often your data. several free tiers (Gemini's, Mistral's Experiment plan, some OpenCode Zen and NVIDIA trial models) may log prompts or use them to improve models. don't send anything confidential through a free tier. read each provider's terms.
do i need a credit card?
for most of them, no. Mistral and NVIDIA ask for phone verification. OpenCode Zen's sign-up flow may ask for billing details even though its free models cost nothing.
which one should i start with?
Google Gemini or Groq. both only need an account you probably already have, take about a minute, and have the most generous free limits here.
can i use these keys in production?
free tiers are meant for evaluation, prototyping and personal projects. NVIDIA explicitly limits its hosted endpoints to development. for anything customer-facing, move to a paid plan.
where do i keep the keys?
in environment variables or a password manager, never in client-side code or a public repo. if a key leaks, revoke it from the provider's console and create a new one. it takes a minute.
start with the first key.
Google AI Studio takes about a minute. all you need is a Google account.
get a key