Building AI-powered applications no longer requires a massive budget. In 2025, developers have access to an impressive array of free LLM APIs that rival paid alternatives. Whether you're prototyping a chatbot, building a code assistant, or experimenting with AI agents, these free APIs provide generous rate limits and access to state-of-the-art models.
In this guide, we've compiled the 10 best free LLM APIs available today, complete with code examples, rate limits, and recommendations for different use cases.
Quick Comparison Table
| Provider | Best Models | Free Tier Limits | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Gemini | Gemini 2.0 Flash | 1,500 req/day | Production apps |
| Groq | Llama 3.3 70B, Mixtral | 30 req/min | Fast inference |
| OpenRouter | 100+ models | $0 free credits | Model variety |
| Hugging Face | Open-source models | 1,000 req/day | Experimentation |
| Together AI | Llama, Mistral | $1 free credit | Fine-tuning |
| Cohere | Command R+ | 1,000 req/month | RAG applications |
| Mistral AI | Mistral Large | Limited free tier | European compliance |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek V3 | 500K tokens/day | Cost-effective |
| Cloudflare Workers AI | Llama, Mistral | 10,000 neurons/day | Edge deployment |
| Ollama | All open models | Unlimited (local) | Privacy-first |
1. Google Gemini API
Google's Gemini API offers one of the most generous free tiers available. With access to Gemini 2.0 Flash and Gemini 1.5 Pro, developers get enterprise-grade AI capabilities without spending a cent.
Key Features:
- Generous Limits: 1,500 requests/day, 1 million tokens/minute
- Multimodal Support: Text, images, audio, and video processing
- Long Context: Up to 1 million tokens context window
- Fast Response: Gemini Flash optimized for speed
- Google AI Studio: Browser-based testing playground
Free Tier Limits:
- 1,500 requests per day
- 1 million tokens per minute
- 32,000 tokens per minute (Gemini 1.5 Pro)
Quick Start (Python):
import google.generativeai as genai
genai.configure(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
model = genai.GenerativeModel("gemini-2.0-flash")
response = model.generate_content("Explain APIs in simple terms")
print(response.text)
Ideal For: Production applications, multimodal AI projects, and developers who need high rate limits.
2. Groq API
Groq has revolutionized LLM inference with their custom LPU (Language Processing Unit) hardware. Their free tier provides blazing-fast responses - often 10x faster than competitors.
Key Features:
- Ultra-Fast Inference: 500+ tokens/second generation speed
- Top Models: Llama 3.3 70B, Mixtral 8x7B, Gemma 2
- Simple API: OpenAI-compatible endpoint
- Low Latency: Sub-second response times
- No Rate Limit Surprises: Clear, predictable limits
Free Tier Limits:
- 30 requests per minute
- 14,400 requests per day
- 6,000 tokens per minute (varies by model)
Quick Start (Python):
from groq import Groq
client = Groq(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="llama-3.3-70b-versatile",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Write a haiku about APIs"}]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
Ideal For: Real-time applications, chatbots, and projects requiring fast response times.
3. OpenRouter
OpenRouter is the Swiss Army knife of LLM APIs. It provides a unified interface to 100+ models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, and open-source providers - many with free tiers.
Key Features:
- 100+ Models: Access Claude, GPT-4, Llama, Mistral, and more
- Free Models Available: Several models with $0 pricing
- Unified API: One endpoint for all models
- Fallback Support: Automatic model switching if one fails
- Usage Analytics: Detailed cost and usage tracking
Free Models Include:
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (free)
- Mistral 7B Instruct (free)
- Gemma 2 9B (free)
- Qwen 2.5 72B (free tier)
Quick Start (Python):
import openai
client = openai.OpenAI(
base_url="https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
api_key="YOUR_API_KEY"
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="meta-llama/llama-3.1-8b-instruct:free",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "What is a REST API?"}]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
Ideal For: Developers who want to experiment with multiple models or need fallback options.
4. Hugging Face Inference API
Hugging Face hosts over 500,000 models and provides free inference for many of them. It's the go-to platform for accessing open-source AI models.
Key Features:
- Massive Model Library: 500,000+ models available
- Serverless Inference: No infrastructure management
- Dedicated Endpoints: Scale when needed
- Community Models: Access cutting-edge research models
- Multiple Modalities: Text, image, audio, and more
Free Tier Limits:
- 1,000 requests per day (rate-limited)
- Access to popular open models
- Shared infrastructure (may queue during high traffic)
Quick Start (Python):
from huggingface_hub import InferenceClient
client = InferenceClient(token="YOUR_TOKEN")
response = client.text_generation(
model="mistralai/Mistral-7B-Instruct-v0.3",
prompt="Explain REST APIs:",
max_new_tokens=200
)
print(response)
Ideal For: Researchers, hobbyists, and developers exploring open-source models.
5. Together AI
Together AI specializes in running open-source models efficiently. Their platform offers competitive pricing and a generous free tier for getting started.
Key Features:
- Optimized Open Models: Llama, Mistral, CodeLlama, and more
- Fine-Tuning Support: Custom model training available
- Fast Inference: Optimized for speed
- Simple Pricing: Pay-per-token model
- OpenAI-Compatible: Easy migration from OpenAI
Free Tier:
- $1.00 free credit on signup
- Access to all models
- No credit card required
Quick Start (Python):
import together
client = together.Client(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="meta-llama/Llama-3.2-11B-Vision-Instruct-Turbo",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "What makes a good API?"}]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
Ideal For: Developers building with open-source models who may need fine-tuning later.
Get Free Together AI Credits →
6. Cohere API
Cohere focuses on enterprise AI with excellent support for RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) and semantic search. Their free tier is perfect for building search-powered applications.
Key Features:
- Command R+: Powerful model optimized for RAG
- Embed Models: Best-in-class text embeddings
- Rerank API: Improve search relevance
- Multilingual: 100+ languages supported
- Enterprise Ready: SOC 2 compliant
Free Tier Limits:
- 1,000 API calls per month
- Access to Command and Embed models
- Rate limited to 5 calls/minute
Quick Start (Python):
import cohere
co = cohere.Client(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
response = co.chat(
model="command-r-plus",
message="Explain the difference between REST and GraphQL APIs"
)
print(response.text)
Ideal For: Search applications, RAG systems, and enterprise prototypes.
7. Mistral AI
Mistral AI is a European AI company known for efficient, powerful models. Their API provides access to Mistral Large and other models with competitive free tier options.
Key Features:
- Efficient Models: High performance with lower compute
- Code Generation: Codestral model for programming
- EU Data Residency: GDPR-compliant options
- JSON Mode: Structured output support
- Function Calling: Tool use capabilities
Free Tier:
- Limited free tier available
- Experiment endpoint for testing
- Pay-as-you-go after free credits
Quick Start (Python):
from mistralai import Mistral
client = Mistral(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
response = client.chat.complete(
model="mistral-large-latest",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Write an API endpoint in Python"}]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
Ideal For: European companies needing GDPR compliance, code generation tasks.
8. DeepSeek API
DeepSeek offers incredibly cost-effective AI models. Their DeepSeek V3 model rivals GPT-4 at a fraction of the cost, with generous free tier limits.
Key Features:
- DeepSeek V3: 671B parameter MoE model
- DeepSeek Coder: Specialized for programming
- Extremely Affordable: $0.14/million input tokens
- Large Context: 64K token context window
- OpenAI Compatible: Drop-in replacement
Free Tier Limits:
- 500,000 tokens per day
- Access to all models
- No credit card required
Quick Start (Python):
import openai
client = openai.OpenAI(
base_url="https://api.deepseek.com",
api_key="YOUR_API_KEY"
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="deepseek-chat",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Explain API authentication"}]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
Ideal For: Budget-conscious developers, high-volume applications.
9. Cloudflare Workers AI
Cloudflare Workers AI runs AI models at the edge, close to your users. It's perfect for low-latency applications with a generous free tier.
Key Features:
- Edge Deployment: Models run in 100+ data centers
- Low Latency: Sub-100ms response times globally
- Popular Models: Llama, Mistral, Stable Diffusion
- Integrated Platform: Works with Workers, Pages, R2
- Simple Billing: Pay per inference
Free Tier Limits:
- 10,000 neurons per day (free forever)
- Access to all supported models
- No credit card required
Quick Start (JavaScript):
export default {
async fetch(request, env) {
const response = await env.AI.run("@cf/meta/llama-3.1-8b-instruct", {
messages: [{ role: "user", content: "What is an API gateway?" }],
});
return Response.json(response);
},
};
Ideal For: Edge applications, global deployments, Cloudflare ecosystem users.
10. Ollama (Local LLMs)
Ollama lets you run LLMs locally on your own hardware. It's completely free with no rate limits - perfect for privacy-sensitive applications or offline development.
Key Features:
- 100% Free: No API costs ever
- Privacy First: Data never leaves your machine
- Offline Capable: Works without internet
- Easy Setup: One-line installation
- Model Library: Llama, Mistral, CodeLlama, Phi, and more
System Requirements:
- 8GB RAM minimum (16GB recommended)
- macOS, Linux, or Windows
- GPU optional but recommended
Quick Start (Terminal):
# Install Ollama
curl -fsSL https://ollama.ai/install.sh | sh
# Pull and run a model
ollama run llama3.2
# Use via API
curl http://localhost:11434/api/generate -d '{
"model": "llama3.2",
"prompt": "Explain REST APIs"
}'
Quick Start (Python):
import ollama
response = ollama.chat(
model="llama3.2",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "What is an API?"}]
)
print(response["message"]["content"])
Ideal For: Privacy-focused applications, offline development, unlimited local testing.
Which Free LLM API Should You Choose?
Here's a quick decision guide based on your needs:
For Production Apps: Start with Google Gemini - highest free tier limits and reliable infrastructure.
For Speed: Choose Groq - fastest inference speeds in the industry.
For Experimentation: Use OpenRouter - access 100+ models through one API.
For RAG/Search: Pick Cohere - best-in-class embeddings and reranking.
For Privacy: Go with Ollama - keep everything local.
For Budget Projects: Try DeepSeek - GPT-4 quality at minimal cost.
Getting Started Tips
- Start with Google Gemini - The generous free tier makes it perfect for prototyping
- Use OpenAI-compatible APIs - Most providers support the OpenAI format, making switching easy
- Implement fallbacks - Use OpenRouter or build your own fallback logic
- Monitor usage - Track your API calls to avoid hitting limits
- Cache responses - Reduce API calls by caching common queries
Conclusion
The free LLM API landscape in 2025 is incredibly rich. Whether you need blazing-fast inference from Groq, multimodal capabilities from Gemini, or complete privacy with Ollama, there's a free option that fits your needs.
Start building today - no credit card required.
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