The world of artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving, and at the forefront of this revolution are Large Language Models (LLMs). These powerful tools are capable of understanding, generating, and manipulating human language with remarkable accuracy. From crafting compelling content to powering sophisticated chatbots, LLMs are transforming the way we interact with technology.

However, accessing the capabilities of these advanced models often comes with a hefty price tag. Fortunately, a growing number of providers are offering free access or trial credits, opening the doors for developers, researchers, and enthusiasts to explore the potential of LLMs without breaking the bank. This article delves into the landscape of these free and trial-based LLM API resources, providing a comprehensive guide to help you navigate your options and make the most of these valuable opportunities. Please note that abusing these services might lead to losing them. Also, this list explicitly excludes any services that are not legitimate.

The Free Tier: Exploring LLMs Without Spending a Dime

Several providers are generously offering completely free access to their LLM APIs, albeit with certain limitations. These free tiers are an excellent starting point for experimentation, prototyping, and small-scale projects. Let's explore some of the prominent players in this space:

  • OpenRouter: OpenRouter stands out as a versatile platform, offering access to a diverse array of open-source LLMs. While it imposes limits of 20 requests per minute and 200 requests per day, it provides a gateway to models like Gemma, Llama, Mistral, and others. This makes it an excellent choice for developers who want to experiment with different models and compare their performance. Some of the available models include Gemma 2 9B Instruct, Llama 3 8B Instruct, Mistral 7B Instruct, and Phi-3 Mini 128k Instruct.
  • Google AI Studio: For those interested in Google's cutting-edge Gemini models, Google AI Studio is the place to go. It offers free access to various iterations of Gemini, including Gemini 1.5 Flash and Gemini 1.5 Pro, each with its own set of rate limits. While data used outside of the UK/CH/EEA/EU may be used for training purposes, the platform provides a valuable opportunity to work with Google's latest advancements in language modeling. Available models include Gemini 1.5 Flash, Gemini 1.5 Pro, and Gemini 1.0 Pro.
  • Mistral AI: Mistral AI has made waves in the AI community with its high-performing open models. They offer two platforms: "La Plateforme," which requires opting into data training and phone number verification for its free tier, and "Codestral," which is currently free to use, also requires phone number verification. These platforms provide access to various Mistral models, each with specific rate limits, catering to both general language tasks and code generation.
  • HuggingFace Serverless Inference: As a hub for open-source AI, HuggingFace offers a serverless inference API that allows users to access a wide range of open models for free. While it limits usage to models smaller than 10GB (with some exceptions), it still provides a rich ecosystem for experimentation. With a free account, users can make up to 1,000 requests per day.
  • SambaNova Cloud: SambaNova Cloud offers access to multiple versions of Llama and Qwen models. While it doesn't specify any particular usage limitations, it does impose rate limits on each model, such as 30 requests/minute for Llama 3.1 8B and 20 requests/minute for Llama 3.1 70B.
  • Cerebras: Cerebras provides free access to Llama 3.1 8B and Llama 3.3 70B models, with the free tier restricted to an 8K context. Both models have a rate limit of 30 requests/minute, 60,000 tokens/minute, 900 requests/hour, 1,000,000 tokens/hour, 14,400 requests/day, and 1,000,000 tokens/day.
  • Groq: Groq has a variety of models available for free use. This includes different versions of Llama, Gemma, and Whisper, each with varying rate limits. For instance, Llama 3 70B has a limit of 14,400 requests/day and 6,000 tokens/minute, while Gemma 2 9B Instruct allows 14,400 requests/day and 15,000 tokens/minute.
  • Scaleway Generative APIs: Currently in free beta, Scaleway offers models like Llama 3.1 70B Instruct, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct, and Mistral Nemo 2407. Most models have a rate limit of 300 requests/minute and 100,000 tokens/minute.
  • OVH AI Endpoints: Also in free beta, OVH provides a range of models, including CodeLlama, Codestral, Llama, Llava, Mathstral, Mistral, and Mixtral. All models on this platform are limited to 12 requests/minute.
  • Together AI: Together AI has two free models: Llama 3.2 11B Vision Instruct and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct. However, the rate limits are not specified.
  • Cohere: Cohere offers limited free access to its Command-R and Command-R+ models, with a shared rate limit of 20 requests/minute and 1,000 requests/month.
  • GitHub Models: GitHub offers a wide variety of models for free. However, it has extremely restrictive input/output token limits, and the rate limits depend on the Copilot subscription tier (Free/Pro/Business/Enterprise).
  • Cloudflare Workers AI: Cloudflare offers various models with a free allocation of 10,000 tokens per day. This includes models like Deepseek, Falcon, Gemma, Llama, Mistral, and others.
  • Google Cloud Vertex AI: Google Cloud Vertex AI offers several models for free, but it requires stringent payment verification. The free models include Llama 3.1 70B Instruct, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct, and Llama 3.2 90B Vision Instruct, which are free during the preview period. Additionally, there are experimental Gemini models available for free.

Trial Credits: Taking LLMs for a Test Drive

In addition to free tiers, many providers offer trial credits, allowing users to explore their services with a limited amount of free usage. These credits are typically granted upon signing up or adding a payment method, providing a taste of the full capabilities of the platform without any upfront cost.

  • Together: While also offering some free models, Together provides $1 in credits when you add a payment method. This allows access to a wider range of open models.
  • Fireworks: Fireworks offers $1 in trial credits, enabling users to explore various open models on their platform.
  • Unify: Unify provides $5 in credits when a payment method is added. This platform routes to other providers, offering access to a wide array of open and proprietary models, including those from OpenAI, Gemini, Anthropic, Mistral, and Perplexity.
  • NVIDIA NIM: NVIDIA NIM offers 1,000 API calls for one month, providing access to various open models.
  • Baseten: Baseten grants $30 in trial credits, allowing users to access any supported model and pay by compute time.
  • Nebius: Nebius offers $1 in trial credits, giving access to various open models.
  • Novita: Novita provides $0.5 in trial credits, which can be used to explore a variety of open models.
  • Hyperbolic: Hyperbolic stands out with a generous $10 in trial credits, allowing access to a wide range of models, including DeepSeek, Hermes, Llama, Pixtral, and Qwen.
  • AI21: AI21 offers $10 in credits for three months, providing access to their Jamba and Jurassic-2 models.
  • Upstage: Upstage also offers $10 for three months, allowing access to their Solar Pro and Solar Mini models.
  • NLP Cloud: NLP Cloud provides $15 in trial credits, but requires phone number verification. This grants access to a variety of open models.
  • Alibaba Cloud (International) Model Studio: Alibaba Cloud offers token/time-limited trials on a per-model basis, providing access to various open and proprietary Qwen models.

Making the Most of Free and Trial Resources

With so many options available, it's essential to approach these free and trial resources strategically. Here are a few tips to maximize your experience:

  1. Identify Your Needs: Before diving in, consider the specific requirements of your project. Different models excel at different tasks, so choosing the right one is crucial.
  2. Compare Rate Limits: Pay close attention to the rate limits imposed by each provider. These limits can significantly impact the feasibility of your project, especially if you require high throughput or large-scale processing.
  3. Explore Different Models: Take advantage of the variety offered by platforms like OpenRouter and HuggingFace to experiment with different models and find the best fit for your needs.
  4. Leverage Trial Credits Wisely: Use trial credits to test the full capabilities of a platform before committing to a paid subscription. This allows you to evaluate the performance, ease of use, and overall value of the service.
  5. Respect Usage Policies: Remember that these free and trial resources are provided as a privilege. Adhere to the usage policies and avoid any activities that could be considered abuse.

Conclusion

The availability of free and trial-based LLM API access is a game-changer for the AI community. By removing the financial barrier to entry, these resources empower developers, researchers, and enthusiasts to explore the vast potential of language models, fostering innovation and accelerating the development of groundbreaking applications. Whether you're building a chatbot, experimenting with content generation, or conducting cutting-edge research, these platforms provide a valuable starting point for your journey into the world of LLMs. So, dive in, experiment, and unlock the power of language models without spending a dime.