What is Free LLM API Resources?
Free LLM API Resources is a curated collection of free Large Language Model inference APIs — allowing developers to build AI-powered applications without paying for API access. Maintained by the community, it tracks which providers offer free tiers, what models are available, and how to access them.
GitHub: https://github.com/cheahjs/free-llm-api-resources Stars: 20,310+ Language: Python License: CC0-1.0 (Public Domain)
The Problem: AI API Costs
Current Pricing (2026)
| Provider | Model | Input Cost | Output Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | GPT-4o | $5/M tokens | $15/M tokens |
| Anthropic | Claude 3.5 | $3/M tokens | $15/M tokens |
| Gemini Pro | $3.50/M tokens | $10.50/M tokens | |
| Mistral | Large | $4/M tokens | $12/M tokens |
Problem: Building AI apps costs $50-500/month in API fees.
The Solution: Free Tiers
| Provider | Free Tier | Rate Limit | Models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groq | 100% free | 20 req/min | Llama 3, Mixtral |
| Together AI | $5 credit | 60 req/min | Various OSS |
| Fireworks AI | Trial | Varies | Multiple |
| Ollama | Local | Unlimited | Self-hosted |
| LM Studio | Local | Unlimited | Self-hosted |
Featured Free Providers
1. Groq — Fastest Inference
Website: https://groq.com Free Tier: Completely free (rate limited) Speed: 800+ tokens/second Models:
- Llama 3 70B
- Llama 3 8B
- Mixtral 8x7B
- Gemma 7B
import requests
# Groq API (free tier)
response = requests.post(
"https://api.groq.com/openai/v1/chat/completions",
headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_FREE_API_KEY"},
json={
"model": "llama3-70b-8192",
"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
}
)
print(response.json()["choices"][0]["message"]["content"])
2. Together AI — $5 Free Credit
Website: https://www.together.ai Free Tier: $5 credit for new accounts Models: 100+ open source models Features: Fine-tuning, embeddings
import openai
client = openai.OpenAI(
api_key="YOUR_TOGETHER_API_KEY",
base_url="https://api.together.xyz/v1"
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="meta-llama/Llama-3-70b-chat-hf",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Explain quantum computing"}]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
3. Ollama — Run Locally
Website: https://ollama.com Cost: Completely free (runs on your hardware) Privacy: 100% private Models: Pull from Ollama library
# Install Ollama
curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
# Pull a model
ollama pull llama3
# Run API server
ollama serve
# Use the API
curl http://localhost:11434/api/generate -d '{
"model": "llama3",
"prompt": "Why is the sky blue?"
}'
4. LM Studio — GUI + API
Website: https://lmstudio.ai Cost: Free (local inference) Features: GUI model browser, API server Best for: Testing models, development
# LM Studio local API
import openai
client = openai.OpenAI(
base_url="http://localhost:1234/v1",
api_key="not-needed"
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="local-model",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
)
5. Fireworks AI — Fast OSS Models
Website: https://fireworks.ai Free Tier: Trial credits Speed: Optimized inference Models: Llama, Mixtral, CodeLlama
Comparison Table
| Provider | Cost | Speed | Privacy | Ease of Use | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groq | Free | ⚡⚡⚡ | ❌ | ⭐⭐⭐ | Production apps |
| Together | $5 credit | ⚡⚡ | ❌ | ⭐⭐⭐ | Experimentation |
| Ollama | Free | ⚡ | ✅ | ⭐⭐ | Privacy-focused |
| LM Studio | Free | ⚡ | ✅ | ⭐⭐⭐ | Development |
| Fireworks | Trial | ⚡⚡ | ❌ | ⭐⭐ | Fast inference |
Use Cases
1. Development & Testing
- Prototype AI features
- Test prompts
- Build MVPs
- Learn LLM integration
2. Personal Projects
- Chatbots for personal use
- Content generation tools
- Code assistants
- Research assistants
3. Education
- Learn AI development
- Student projects
- Open source contributions
- Research experiments
4. Production (with care)
- Low-traffic applications
- Fallback providers
- Cost-sensitive projects
- Community tools
How to Choose
Decision Tree
Need API access?
├── Yes → Need high speed?
│ ├── Yes → Groq (fastest)
│ └── No → Together AI (most models)
├── No → Need privacy?
│ ├── Yes → Ollama/LM Studio (local)
│ └── No → Consider paid options
Rate Limits Matter
| Provider | Requests/min | Tokens/min | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groq | 20 | 6,000 | Generous for dev |
| Together | 60 | 12,000 | Good for testing |
| Ollama | Unlimited | Hardware limit | Your hardware = limit |
Community & Updates
How to Contribute
The repository is community-maintained:
- Star the repo to support
- Submit PRs for new providers
- Report broken links
- Share your experience
Stay Updated
- Watch the GitHub repo
- Check monthly for new providers
- Join discussions for tips
- Follow @cheahjs on GitHub
Related Articles
- Free Claude Code: Open Source AI Coding — More free AI tools
- TabPFN: Foundation Model for Tabular Data — AI for data science
- OpenClaw 42 Use Cases — AI agent applications
Disclaimer: Free tiers have rate limits and may change. Always check the provider’s current terms. This is a community resource, not affiliated with any API provider.
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