> Pollinations
Pollinations.ai is a Berlin-based open-source platform providing a signup-free, OpenAI-compatible API for text, image, and audio generation. It aggregates multiple open-weights models (DeepSeek, Qwen, Mistral) and offers them for free to foster creative AI development.
// pros
- Open-source, run by a Berlin startup, transparent operator, active GitHub
- Basic calls need no signup/API key, extremely low friction, hit endpoints directly by URL
- OpenAI-compatible; use existing SDKs by changing base_url
- Broad model roster including small/fast variants of several flagships, plus text/image/audio/video
// cons
- Now has a Pollen credit system and rate limits; free tier is limited (~1.5 Pollen/week)
- Some models/higher limits require login or a higher tier; the pure-free boundary is tightening
- Shared free endpoints; stability and rate limits fluctuate with load
- Free flagships are mostly Mini/Lite/Flash variants, not full-size models
Great for prototypes, toy projects, and lightweight integrations—usable on the free tier directly; for production or high concurrency, evaluate credits/rate limits and consider a higher tier, and don't assume unlimited free.
community_reputation
Pollinations is a well-known open-source generative-AI platform, featured on GitHub and in multiple third-party reviews/directories; the operator (a Berlin startup) is transparent with positive reputation, and the recent Pollen credits/rate-limits are a common sustainability adjustment—overall low risk.
imported analysis — independent third party, not Uprouter editorial · verify before relying on it
How we estimated this: the free allowance is converted to a dollar value using the provider’s own pay-as-you-go rates for the models a typical developer would reach for. When the allowance is metered in requests, tokens or minutes rather than dollars, we assume median usage of the cheapest capable model. Because assumptions are involved, the figure carries the est. flag — treat it as an order of magnitude, not a quote.
note: Basic use needs no signup and no API key; new Pollen credit system gives ~1.5 Pollen/week free, with some models/higher limits requiring an account or paid tier. Pollen has no published USD rate - not quantifiable.
| Plan | Type | Monthly | Input /1M | Output /1M | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier (source-reported) | free | — | — | — | Basic use needs no signup and no API key; a Pollen credit system was introduced (free tier ~1.5 Pollen/week), with some models/higher limits requiring an account or higher tier |
| Free tier | free | — | — | — | Signup-free API for text and images. |
Pricing normalized from public sources — always verify with the provider.
// model prices
| Model | Input /1M | Output /1M | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI GPT-5 (Mini/Nano/5.2) | — | — | — |
| Google Gemini 3 Flash / 2.5 Flash Lite | — | — | — |
| Mistral Small 3.2 | — | — | — |
| xAI Grok (incl. grok-reasoning) | — | — | — |
| DeepSeek V3.2 | — | — | 164k |
| Qwen3 Coder | — | — | 262k |
$ Does Pollinations have a free tier?
Yes — Pollinations offers a free tier that we value at roughly $5.00 in free credits (estimate — derived from rate-limited usage at pay-as-you-go prices). Always confirm current limits on Pollinations's official pricing page — free tiers change without notice.
$ How much does Pollinations cost per 1M tokens?
Pollinations does not publish simple per-1M-token pricing (it may bill per request, per output, or via a subscription plan). Check their official pricing page for exact figures.
$ Is Pollinations safe to use?
Uprouter rates Pollinations as low risk. Open-source mission with high transparency. By removing the signup wall and providing standard API compatibility, it presents a low-risk option for development and hobbyist use, though uptime depends on community infrastructure. Risk ratings are editorial, evidence-based, and never influenced by affiliate relationships.
Raw community sentiment, shown unblended. Votes never feed into objective data fields like price, risk, or status — and never into sort order.
No published reviews yet — be the first.
// more_informationprice history · live status · risk & confidence · code snippets
price_history
No recorded changes yet.
live_status
full history →best-effort probes · not a guarantee · last 15h ago
| Checked | Status | Latency |
|---|---|---|
| 15h ago | up | 123ms |
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| 28d ago | up | 51ms |
| 29d ago | up | 69ms |
Uprouter runs its own probes; best-effort, not a guarantee. Probe results depend on our network location and cadence — for production, always use the provider’s own status page.
risk_&_confidence
Open-source mission with high transparency. By removing the signup wall and providing standard API compatibility, it presents a low-risk option for development and hobbyist use, though uptime depends on community infrastructure.
Confidence reflects how much verifiable evidence (official docs, probe history, community reports) backs this entry. Risk is our editorial assessment of operator reliability and terms — not financial advice.
code_snippets
# Pollinations's own API — get a key from their dashboard
curl https://YOUR-PROVIDER-ENDPOINT/chat/completions \
-H "Authorization: Bearer THEIR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"model": "openai-gpt-5-mini-nano-5-2",
"messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": "Hello" }]
}'Direct to the provider — Uprouter receives nothing; verify their current pricing before purchasing.
Ranked by neutral similarity signals only — live status, free-tier shape and free-credit proximity. Commercial relationships never influence this list.