liveuprouter — AI API router and gateway

Find the best AI API routers.
Use them all with one API key.

UPROUTER is an OpenAI- and Claude-compatible gateway: plug in your API keys from 310 routers (eg. OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, Alibaba Cloud), then route every request with any model, through any vendor — via a single URL with failover aliases, daily spend caps and per-request compute metering you can audit line by line.

BYOK keys — AES-256-GCM encrypted
failover aliases, cheapest-first
daily caps with soft-limit headers
per-request compute metering

Open Connect Get free welcome compute

Explore the directory

gateway — first request

$ curl https://uprouter.online/api/connect/v1/chat/completions \
   -H "Authorization: Bearer upr_live_…" \
   -d '{"model": "sandbox-echo"'}'

← 200 OK · 412ms · 0.0002 compute · routed via sandbox-echo
  audit log: tokens in/out, latency, cost — per request

  {
    "id": "chatcmpl_9f2…",
    "model": "sandbox-echo",
    "routed_via": "sandbox-echo",
    "usage": { "compute": 0.0002, "tokens": "42/310" }
  }

endpoint

/api/connect/v1

auth

Bearer upr_live_…

metering

compute / request

routers 310 free-tier 215 connect 211 live up 116 models 490 free quota 215

refer a developer+50 compute

they get 10 — you get 50

// the index — expansive, community-regulatedno affiliate ordering · no pay-to-rank · uprouter.online

310 routers & providers · 490 models tracked · $4.3k free credits

// community-regulatedthe ranking is earned, never bought

Every entry answers to the community

The index is expansive; the community keeps it honest. Votes, reviews and verified corrections feed straight back into rankings and data confidence.

Vote
Upvote routers that deliver, downvote the ones that don’t — the score re-ranks the index.
Review
Evidence-based reviews with verification tags. Ratings, not vibes.
Verify
Corrections that survive review earn compute — and flip the entry to verified.

Join & start voting Earn compute for reviews →

Anyone can edit this index

Every router page has an edit button — propose corrections to descriptions, prices and free tiers. Editors review each proposal before it goes live, and accepted edits earn compute.

Propose
Open a router page, hit the edit button, and detail your proposed corrections.
Review
Editors rigorously verify every proposed correction against primary sources.
Live
Accepted edits are published instantly, and you earn compute for your work.

Browse the index → pick edit

Commercial aggregator

$ 70 entries match — showing 25–48 · sort: Free credits ↓

Commercial aggregator
up1132msupdated 15h ago
jeniya.cn
source · jeniya.cn
overview
Jeniya (jeniya.cn) is an anonymously operated Chinese AI API relay reselling access to Claude, GPT, and Grok models via a unified OpenAI-compatible endpoint. It uses the One-API panel for management and supports domestic payment methods like Alipay and WeChat.
free quota
Operator API docs (jeniya-top.apifox.cn, 2025-05): new users get $0.2 usage credit on registration. Affiliate SEO pages claim a 100 CNY test quota (unverified); core is a paid top-up relay.
free models
gemini-3-pro-image-previewgemini-3.1-flash-image-previewgemini-3.1-flash-imagegemini-3-pro-imagekling-videogpt-image-2-c+34
see jeniya.cn’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
up128msupdated 15h ago
newapi.prorisehub.com
source · newapi.prorisehub.com
overview
ProRiseHub is a paid top-up relay built on the New API framework, OpenAI-compatible at /v1. Documentation states top-ups are converted at a rate of 1 RMB ≈ $0.15 USD credit, with several dozen zero-priced models.
free quota
Mainly paid top-up (1 RMB (≈$0.15) = 1 USD credit); no general signup bonus mentioned; ~51 zero-priced models in /api/pricing.
free models
z-imagekling-3.0ideogram-v4.0seedream-4.5veo-3.1-i2vbyte-plus-seedream-4-5+33
see newapi.prorisehub.com’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
up320msupdated 15h ago
ai.levolink.com
source · ai.levolink.com
overview
Levolink is an anonymously operated Chinese AI API relay built on the New-API framework. It aggregates a vast array of models (500+) including GPT, Claude, Gemini, and Doubao, primarily targeting the RMB-based domestic market with cheap top-ups.
free quota
Grants 1 RMB (~$0.12) test credit upon registration.
free models
doubao-seedream-4-5-251128doubao-seedream-5-0-260128grok-imagine-imagesuno_music_openspeech-2.6-hdgpt-image-2-c+34
see ai.levolink.com’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
up91msupdated 15h ago
api.aiaiai001.com
source · api.aiaiai001.com
overview
Aiaiai001 (Longcheng AI Toolbox) is a Chinese commercial AI API relay aggregating frontier models via a New-API based backend. It provides an OpenAI-compatible endpoint and requires quota purchases through an external shop (pay.ldxp.cn).
free quota
Official FAQ directs users to buy quota packages via pay.ldxp.cn/shop/aiaiai001; freeairouter review says '付费中转，非免费' (paid relay, not free) with free quota unclear/none observed. Paid relay, no public free tier.
free models
— none tracked
see api.aiaiai001.com’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
up751msupdated 15h ago
apishop.org
source · apishop.org
overview
Apishop is a professional AI API gateway designed for developers in mainland China. It provides direct, low-latency access to Anthropic, OpenAI, and Gemini models with zero code changes required. Billing is transparently mapped 1:1 to official USD rates but paid in local currency.
free quota
freeairouter review: register-then-pay-as-you-go commercial gateway, no public free quota seen; official site is a mainland-friendly gateway drop-in compatible with OpenAI/Anthropic/Gemini.
free models
— none tracked
see apishop.org’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
down13msupdated 15h ago
new.bxacc.xyz
source · new.bxacc.xyz
overview
new.bxacc.xyz is an anonymous Chinese New-API based relay aggregating GPT-5.x, Claude Opus 4.x, and DeepSeek V4. Probed model_price=0 entries are token-billed via model_ratios, making it a pure top-up relay with high risk.
free quota
Unknown (/api/pricing has 6 model_price=0 entries, but quota_type=0 token billing with non-zero model_ratio/completion_ratio means they are actually paid; no verifiable sign-up bonus).
free models
— none tracked
see new.bxacc.xyz’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
cheaperinference.com
source · cheaperinference.com
overview
Cheaper Inference is a low-cost AI model aggregator offering frontier models like GPT-5.4 at significant discounts. It uses an OpenAI-compatible API interface. Details were checked against the provider's own page at cheaperinference.com.
free quota
No public free-tier information found (researched 2026-08-29).
free models
gpt-5.4Anthropic: Claude 3.5 Sonnet
see cheaperinference.com’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
chenzk.top
source · chenzk.top
overview
Chenzk API is a personal/community AI API relay service providing access to mainstream LLMs at normalized market rates. It uses an OpenAI-compatible base URL. Details were checked against the provider's own page at chenzk.top.
free quota
No public free-tier information found (researched 2026-08-29).
free models
Anthropic: Claude 3.5 SonnetGPT-4o
see chenzk.top’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
up184msupdated 15h ago
chutes.ai
source · chutes.ai/pricing
overview
Chutes is a decentralized serverless AI inference marketplace on Bittensor (Subnet 64). It provides an OpenAI-compatible API for deploying and scaling open-source models using high-performance VLLM templates, with per-token pricing and optional monthly subscription plans.
free quota
Official announcement 2026-02-27: $5-deposit 200-requests/day plan closed to new users, fully retires 2026-03-15; now pay-per-token (or GPU by the second). Bittensor-subsidized cheap models are not a free tier.
free models
Meta-Llama 3.1MistralDeepSeek V3.2
see chutes.ai’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
up913msupdated 15h ago
claude-zh.cn
source · claude-zh.cn
overview
Claude-ZH (claude-zh.cn) is a third-party relay aggregator optimized for Chinese developers, providing access to Claude models via a homegrown CLI ('lucky') and OpenAI-compatible endpoints with local recharge options.
free quota
Mainly a Claude Code Chinese tutorial/docs site; model calls require email signup and /recharge pay-as-you-go top-up; docs mention no free quota — only the tutorials are free.
free models
— none tracked
see claude-zh.cn’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
up1025msupdated 15h ago
coderplan.ai
source · coderplan.ai/en
overview
CoderPlan is a commercial AI API relay focused on developer tools like Claude Code and Gemini CLI. It provides pay-as-you-go top-up tiers for Chinese developers, claiming to match official API pricing for models like Claude and GPT.
free quota
Small signup 'trial credit' whose amount is unstated — not quantified; no sustained free tier. Core is four paid top-up tiers $30/$100(+$5)/$300(+$20)/$500(+$50) with non-expiring credit.
free models
— none tracked
see coderplan.ai’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
crof.ai
source · crof.ai
overview
CrofAI is a commercial AI API provider offering unified access to popular open models like Llama 3.1 and Qwen 2.5. It focuses on simplicity and ease of integration for developers requiring reliable per-token billing.
free quota
No public free-tier information found (researched 2026-08-29).
free models
Llama-3.1-8B-InstructMistral NemoQwen2.5 72B Instruct
see crof.ai’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
dit.ai
source · dit.ai
overview
DIT (AI Token Exchange) is a marketplace for AI model access, offering significant discounts (30-70%) compared to official provider rates. It exposes a single OpenAI-compatible API to 50+ models. Details were checked against the provider's own page at dit.ai.
free quota
No public free-tier information found in the source reference; treat free-tier availability as unverified rather than confirmed absent.
free models
DeepSeek Chatclaude-sonnet-5Google Gemini Pro LatestGPT-4o
see dit.ai’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
freeaiapikey.com
source · freeaiapikey.com
overview
FreeAIAPIKey is a commercial aggregator that provides unified access to frontier models including GPT-5.1, Claude 4.5, and Gemini 3 at claimed discounts of 80% off official rates. It offers a single OpenAI-compatible endpoint for easy drop-in replacement.
free quota
No public free-tier information found (researched 2026-08-29).
free models
DeepSeek V4 FlashGemini 3.8 FlashGPT-6 AstraClaude Fable 5.1
see freeaiapikey.com’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
up367msupdated 15h ago
api.fuka.win
source · api.fuka.win
overview
Fuka API is a comprehensive AI API infrastructure provider offering a unified gateway to a vast selection of models via the New-API protocol. It supports high concurrency, transparent pay-as-you-go billing, and multi-protocol compatibility for developers and teams.
free quota
e7ai posts (2026-06/07): '芙芙卡' api.fuka.win gives signup credit ('注册就送100') + check-in; operator routerpark listing says '注册送150'. Amount/currency unverified; no free-priced models in /api/status.
free models
— none tracked
see api.fuka.win’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
opengateway.gitlawb.com
source · opengateway.gitlawb.com
overview
Opengateway (by Gitlawb) is a pay-as-you-go inference gateway providing unified OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible access to models from Xiaomi MiMo, Google, MiniMax, and Qwen. It features smart routing via 'model: auto' and a permanent free tier for Nemotron 3 Ultra.
free quota
No public free-tier information found in the source reference; treat free-tier availability as unverified rather than confirmed absent.
free models
— none tracked
see opengateway.gitlawb.com’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
api.getgoapi.com
source · getgoapi.com/en/pricing
overview
GetGoAPI is an AI API aggregator that provides unified access to over 500 models, including GPT-6 and Claude 4.5. It offers a flat 20% discount compared to official provider pricing with no platform fees or monthly minimums.
free quota
No public free-tier information found (researched 2026-08-29).
free models
DeepSeek V4 FlashGemini 3.8 FlashGPT-6 AstraClaude Fable 5.1
see api.getgoapi.com’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
helixmind.online
source · helixmind.online
overview
HelixMind is an AI API router designed to manage and optimize costs across hundreds of LLMs through a single endpoint. It native speaks the OpenAI API format and features automatic model selection by price and task requirement, ensuring enterprise-grade reliability.
free quota
No public free-tier information found in the source reference; treat free-tier availability as unverified rather than confirmed absent.
free models
gpt-5.6-lunaLlama 4 MaverickDeepSeek V4 Pro 0813claude-sonnet-5gemini-3.1-pro-previewMistral Large
see helixmind.online’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
api.hcnsec.cn
source · api.hcnsec.cn
overview
Huancheng Public API is a high-concurrency AI model router based on the New-API framework. It aggregates multiple upstream providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, offering a stable and low-latency endpoint for Chinese and global developers with real-time usage monitoring.
free quota
No public free-tier information found in the source reference; treat free-tier availability as unverified rather than confirmed absent.
free models
DeepSeek ChatQwen2.5 72B InstructMeta: Llama 3.1 405B InstructGoogle: Gemini Pro 1.5GPT-4oAnthropic: Claude 3.5 Sonnet
see api.hcnsec.cn’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
up874msupdated 15h ago
api.juziai.cc
source · api.juziai.cc
overview
Juzi AI (api.juziai.cc) is a Chinese commercial-aggregator relay built on the New-API framework. It aggregates high-end models like GPT-5 and Claude Opus by leveraging various upstream account pools, offering pay-as-you-go access to users in mainland China.
free quota
Free quota negligible: daily check-in after 10 calls grants 5–20 quota (quota_per_unit=500000 ≈ $1 per 500K quota) → well under $0.01/day; most model_ratio=0 models are pay-per-call. Not quantifiable.
free models
[新稳]gemini-2.5-pro-maxthinkingnai-diffusion-5-curated[kiro]claude-opus-4-7-thinkinggrok-4.3-console[A-甲厚]gemini-3.1-pro-preview-thinking[A]claude-sonnet-4-6-thinking+26
see api.juziai.cc’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
mnnai.ru
source · mnnai.ru
overview
MNN AI (mnnai.ru) is a Russian AI API aggregator offering access to models like GPT-5.6 and Claude 5. It features a free entry tier with $1 monthly credits and strict rate limits (10 RPM), designed for low-volume testing and regional access.
free quota
No public free-tier information found in the source reference; treat free-tier availability as unverified rather than confirmed absent.
free models
GPT-5.6 Luna Proglm-5.3DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813GPT-5.6 Terra Progemini-3.1-pro-previewGPT-5.6 Sol Pro+1
see mnnai.ru’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
meganova.ai
source · meganova.ai/pricing
overview
MegaNova AI is a comprehensive AI API aggregator and infrastructure provider, offering access to 200+ models including GPT-5.6, Claude 4, and proprietary Manta models. It features a tiered free quota system based on account status and spend, plus OpenAI-compatible serverless and dedicated GPU endpoints.
free quota
No public free-tier information found in the source reference; treat free-tier availability as unverified rather than confirmed absent.
free models
MiniMax-M3mimo-v2.5-proglm-5.3Hy4 previewDeepSeek V4 Pro 0813Gemini 3.8 Flash+6
see meganova.ai’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
www.mixlayer.com
source · mixlayer.com/pricing
overview
Mixlayer is an AI API router and aggregator (mixlayer.com) offering transparent pay-as-you-go pricing for frontier models like GLM-5.3 and Qwen 3.5. It provides a free tier for small models like Qwen 3.5 4B and dedicated GPU hosting (H100/H200) billed by the hour.
free quota
No public free-tier information found in the source reference; treat free-tier availability as unverified rather than confirmed absent.
free models
Qwen3.5-Flashdeepseek-v4-flash-0731Qwen3.5-9BMuse Spark 1.3
see www.mixlayer.com’s free quota / risk review →
Commercial aggregator
unknownupdated 3d ago
naga.ac
source · naga.ac/pricing
overview
Naga.ac is a unified AI aggregator providing access to over 240 models via one OpenAI-compatible API. It offers a free tier with 100 requests per day and a pay-as-you-go model with competitive rates, occasionally lower than direct provider pricing for select models.
free quota
No public free-tier information found in the source reference; treat free-tier availability as unverified rather than confirmed absent.
free models
Gemini 2.5 Flash LiteQwen3.8 FlashGemini 3.1 Flash Lite Previewglm-5.3-flashgpt-5.6-lunaMiniMax-M3+6
see naga.ac’s free quota / risk review →

// about_uprouter

UPROUTER.ONLINE is an independent, developer-facing directory of AI API providers. It tracks model aggregators, official first-party APIs, free relays, subscription routers and cloud platforms in one index. Inclusion is an editorial decision made on the merits of the data — it is never sold, and no listing position can be bought.

We do the normalization once so you can compare on facts instead of marketing: prices are expressed in USD per 1M tokens, free tiers are valued at each provider’s own pay-as-you-go rates, and reliability comes from our own best-effort uptime probes rather than self-reported status pages. Every entry carries source URLs, a verification date, a data-confidence flag and a change history.

The directory is informational only and is not an endorsement of any provider. Prices and free-tier values change frequently — always confirm current terms with the provider before you purchase. The full methodology, independence and non-endorsement policies are documented in detail, and you can reach the editors via /contact for corrections, takedowns or partnership questions.

$ free AI API key — a practical guide

Everything below is written for the person who just typed free AI API key into a search box: what the key is, how to get one, what “free” really costs, and how to use more than one without managing six dashboards. It is the prose companion to the live index above, which tracks the same providers with current numbers.

What is a free AI API key?

An AI API key is the credential your program uses to call a language model. Think of it as a password for a specific service: it identifies you, authorizes the request, and is what the provider meters and bills. A free AI API key is the same object, except the usage behind it is covered by the provider rather than your credit card — at least for a while.

Under the hood, the flow is always the same. You create a key in a provider’s dashboard, you send it with each request, and the provider runs your prompt on a model and returns tokens. The free part is a policy layer on top of that plumbing: a monthly credit budget, a per-minute and per-day rate cap, or a restricted list of models marked free. None of those policies change the fact that a free key and a paid key are the same shape of string pointed at the same kind of endpoint.

The reason the distinction matters in practice is that a free key is usually metered against a budget you did not choose to spend. When the budget empties, your request stops working until you reset the period, top up, or switch models. A paid key is metered against money you explicitly put there. Everything else — the header, the JSON request, the streaming response — is identical, which is exactly why a single gateway can sit in front of both.

How to get a free AI API key in 2026

Getting a free key takes minutes. The steps are the same at nearly every provider, so you can pick whichever free tier fits your use case and follow the pattern:

Choose a provider. If you want the easiest first experience, Google AI Studio or Groq are the most forgiving. If you want the widest choice of models behind one key, OpenRouter is hard to beat. The directory above lists each option with its current free-credit value so you are not guessing.
Create an account. An email address is enough for most free tiers. A handful ask for a card on file for abuse prevention but will not charge you until you move to a paid plan — read that note before you enter it.
Generate the key. In the dashboard’s “API keys” or “credentials” page, click create. The key is shown once; copy it to a secrets manager or environment variable immediately. Do not paste it into client-side code or a public repo.
Make a test call. Send a tiny completion request to confirm the key works and the free tier is active. If the response includes a usage or rate-limit header, note the numbers — those are the real limits you are working within.
Decide where to keep it. Either point your application straight at the provider, or drop the key into a gateway like Uprouter Connect so you can add more keys, set spend caps, and fail over when a free tier throttles you.

One nuance worth internalizing: the value of a free key is not that it exists, it is that it is portable. Because every free key talks the same OpenAI- or Claude-compatible protocol, the code you write against one key will run against another with only the base URL and the credential changed. That portability is what makes it sensible to hold several free keys and route among them.

Free key vs. free credits vs. free tier

People say “free AI API key” and “free credits” interchangeably, but they are three different things, and confusing them is how a project quietly stops working at exactly the wrong moment.

The key is the credential. It has a value only in that it grants access to whatever budget is attached to your account.
Free credits are a dollar amount of usage the provider has fronted for you — a signup grant or a trial balance. They are one-time in most cases: spend them and they are gone until the provider replenishes them.
A free tier is a standing, rate-limited plan you can use month after month. It is usually the “always available” part of a free key, with credits layered on top for a burst.

When you evaluate a provider for a free key, ask three questions. First, how many credits do I get on signup, and do they ever come back? Second, what is the standing free tier — which models, and what are the per-minute and per-day caps? Third, is there a hard wall — a day when the key requires payment to keep working? The directory above values the free tier at each provider’s own pay-as-you-go rates so the “how much is this actually worth” question is answered in one comparable number.

Safety and terms: what “free” actually means

The three things a free key’s terms almost always get wrong for the user are privacy, durability, and data use. Read for all three before you build on top of a free tier.

Data and training

Many free tiers may use your prompts and completions to improve models; paid plans usually may not, or let you opt out. If your traffic contains anything you would not want a model vendor to see, this single clause can disqualify a free key for production regardless of how generous the credits are.

Durability

A free tier is a marketing surface, not a service level. Limits can be reduced, models can rotate, and free previews can end. Treat any free key as best-effort and keep at least one alternative key warm so an upstream change is a config swap, not an outage.

Responsible use

Rate limits exist for the provider’s cost and your neighbors’ latency. Hitting them aggressively, or routing shared keys across many users, is the fastest way to get a free account suspended. Meter your own calls, cache what you can, and keep a per-user or per-project cap so one caller cannot burn the shared budget.

The risk tier on each entry in the directory above is our editorial read of exactly these questions — established operator versus young relay, clear terms versus vague ones, stable history versus a history of limit changes. It is one signal among many, and it is always paired with the source so you can verify it yourself.

The most useful free AI API keys right now

A shortlist to start from, grouped by what the free tier is best for. Free tiers change often, so treat the notes as the shape of the offer, not a spec — the live index above has the current credit values, rate-limit observations, and risk tier for each.

Provider	Models	Free offer	Notes
Google AI Studio	Gemini API	Free tier with rate limits	Standard models are free to key with no card; heavy or pro models move to paid. Good first key for chat and embeddings.
Groq	Llama, Gemma, and more	Free API key, fast inference	One of the lowest-latency free keys around; per-minute and per-day rate limits apply.
OpenRouter	Hundreds of models	Free :free model routes	A router with free variants of many models marked :free, plus a credit system for paid ones.
Mistral AI	Mistral, Codestral	Free La Plateforme tier	Free-tier keys with rate limits; a paid tier unlocks higher throughput.
Hugging Face	Open models	Free inference providers	Free access to a range of open models through hosted inference, subject to per-day quotas.
Cohere	Command, Embed	Free trial key	A trial key with a usage budget for text generation, embeddings, and reranking.
Cerebras	Llama, Qwen	Free fast inference	Very high token rates on a small set of open models, free while in preview.

verify current terms with the provider before relying on a free tier in production.

Using one gateway across many free keys

The natural next step after collecting a few free keys is to stop calling each provider by its own URL. Because the keys all speak the same protocol, you can point them at a single gateway and drive them like one API. That is the job of Uprouter Connect: it takes your OpenAI- and Claude-compatible calls, routes them to whichever provider you name, and gives you one base URL and one auth scheme in exchange.

The payoff is threefold. Failover: when a free tier rate-limits you mid-request, the gateway can try the next provider on an alias instead of returning an error. Metering: every call is logged with tokens in, tokens out, latency, and compute cost, so you can see exactly how hard each free key is working. And caps: you can set a daily compute ceiling so a runaway loop cannot drain a shared budget before you notice. For anyone managing more than one free AI API key, that single point of control is usually worth the hop.

Frequently asked questions

What is a free AI API key?

A free AI API key is a credential that lets your code call a large-language-model or AI service without paying, usually within a free tier or a set of free models. You sign up with an email, the provider issues a key, and you send it with each request (typically as an Authorization header) to hit an endpoint such as /chat/completions. "Free" almost always means "free up to a limit" — a monthly credit allowance, per-minute and per-day rate caps, or a subset of free models — not unlimited usage forever.

How do I get a free AI API key in 2026?

Pick a provider that offers a free tier (Google AI Studio, Groq, Mistral, OpenRouter, Hugging Face, Cohere, Cerebras are common starting points), create an account, open the API-keys console in the dashboard, and generate a key. Copy it into your client or into a gateway. Most free keys require no credit card, though some providers ask for one to prevent abuse and refund nothing until you top up.

Are free AI API keys really free, or is there a catch?

They are free to use within the stated limits, and the catch is the limit — not a hidden fee. Typical constraints: a monthly or one-time credit budget, rate limits (requests per minute, tokens per day), a restricted set of models, and data-handling rules that differ from paid plans. The important catches to read before you rely on a free key are (1) whether free-tier data may be used for training, (2) what happens to your key when the trial budget is exhausted, and (3) whether the free tier is guaranteed or best-effort.

What is the difference between a free key, free credits, and a free tier?

A free key is the credential itself. Free credits are a dollar amount of usage the provider grants so you can run paid models at no cost until the budget runs out. A free tier is an ongoing, rate-limited free plan you can keep using. A provider may give you all three at once: a free key, a one-time credit grant, and a persistent free tier for cheaper models. Knowing which of the three you are using tells you what happens the moment the number hits zero.

Which providers have the most useful free AI API keys?

For a first key, Google AI Studio (Gemini) and Groq are the friendliest: no card for standard models and fast responses. For breadth, OpenRouter gives you one key across hundreds of models with explicit :free variants. For open-weight models at speed, Cerebras and Hugging Face are strong. The right choice depends on whether you value raw speed, model variety, or a large credit budget — the directory on this page ranks all of these by free-credit value, risk, and live status so you can compare on facts.

Is it safe to use a free AI API key for a production app?

Use a free key for prototypes, demos, and light internal tooling, but treat it as best-effort: free tiers change limits, can be throttled, and usually sit behind paid plans for production SLAs and higher throughput. Before you ship something user-facing, read the provider’s terms on data retention and training use, confirm your rate limits cover real traffic, and have a paid or gateway-based fallback. If you are juggling several free keys, route them through a single gateway so you can switch providers and meter usage in one place.

What is Uprouter Connect and how does it help with free keys?

UPROUTER CONNECT is an OpenAI- and Claude-compatible gateway. You bring your keys (the free ones from the directory, your paid ones, or a mix), and every request goes through one URL with one auth scheme. That means failover across providers when a free tier rate-limits you, per-request compute metering so you can see exactly what each call costs, and daily spend caps. The directory above maps which providers work through Connect, their free-credit values, and their risk profile, so you can start with the best free key and graduate to paid without rewriting your integration.

Start with a free key, stay on one gateway

Claim welcome compute, add the free keys from this page, and make a real gateway call in under a minute. Every provider in the index above is marked for which ones route through Connect, so you can start free and scale to paid without changing a line of application code.

Get your key Browse free tiers

Informational only — not an endorsement. Verify pricing with the provider. ToS compliance is your responsibility.

// from_the_blog

Guides on AI API routers, free tiers, pricing and reliability — written by the Uprouter editorial team, data-true and linked to the live directory.

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$ free AI API key — a practical guide

What is a free AI API key?

How to get a free AI API key in 2026

Free key vs. free credits vs. free tier

Safety and terms: what “free” actually means

Data and training

Durability

Responsible use

The most useful free AI API keys right now

Using one gateway across many free keys

Frequently asked questions

What is a free AI API key?

How do I get a free AI API key in 2026?

Are free AI API keys really free, or is there a catch?

What is the difference between a free key, free credits, and a free tier?

Which providers have the most useful free AI API keys?

Is it safe to use a free AI API key for a production app?

What is Uprouter Connect and how does it help with free keys?

Start with a free key, stay on one gateway

How Uprouter Verifies Data: Our Methodology, in Plain Language

The Real Risks of Using Third-Party AI API Routers: Data & Privacy

How We Check AI API Provider Reliability (and What "Up" Really Means)

Find the best AI API routers.Use them all with one API key.

Every entry answers to the community

Anyone can edit this index

$ free AI API key — a practical guide

What is a free AI API key?

How to get a free AI API key in 2026

Free key vs. free credits vs. free tier

Safety and terms: what “free” actually means

Data and training

Durability

Responsible use

The most useful free AI API keys right now

Using one gateway across many free keys

Frequently asked questions

What is a free AI API key?

How do I get a free AI API key in 2026?

Are free AI API keys really free, or is there a catch?

What is the difference between a free key, free credits, and a free tier?

Which providers have the most useful free AI API keys?

Is it safe to use a free AI API key for a production app?

What is Uprouter Connect and how does it help with free keys?

Start with a free key, stay on one gateway

How Uprouter Verifies Data: Our Methodology, in Plain Language

The Real Risks of Using Third-Party AI API Routers: Data & Privacy

How We Check AI API Provider Reliability (and What "Up" Really Means)

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