Gemini Embedding 2 (free tier)
Google AI Studio / Gemini API Free API tier
The catch: Free multimodal embeddings, but outside the EEA, Switzerland and UK the inputs are used to improve Google products, and the rate limits are only visible in AI Studio.
| Access | Free API tier |
|---|---|
| Free limits | Free tier: gemini-embedding-2 text, image, audio and video input are all 'Free of charge' (Standard); Batch is 'Not available' on the free tier. Per-model RPM/TPM/RPD are not published in the docs and are shown only in AI Studio (aistudio.google.com/rate-limit). Model: 8,192 input tokens; output dimensions 128 to 3072 (recommended 768, 1536, 3072). |
| Modality | embeddings |
| Credit card | Not required |
| Commercial use | Allowed |
| Trains on your data | Yes, on the free tier |
| Licence or terms | Google APIs Terms of Service + Gemini API Additional Terms of Service (effective 23 Mar 2026) |
| Context window | 8,192 tokens |
| Model id | gemini-embedding-2 |
| Base URL | https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai/ |
| Last checked | 2 Oct 2026 |
How to use Gemini Embedding 2
It speaks the OpenAI API at https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai/, so the OpenAI SDK you already use works once you change the base URL and key.
curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-embedding-2:embedContent" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "x-goog-api-key: $KEY" -d '{"content":{"parts":[{"text":"Hello"}]},"output_dimensionality":768}'I want to use the free AI model "Gemini Embedding 2" from Google AI Studio (model id: gemini-embedding-2) in my project. Please: 1. Check the provider docs and give me the exact steps to get a free API key. 2. Give me a minimal working example that reads the key from an environment variable. 3. Tell me the real free limits and any catch (commercial use, card, data use). Listed limits: Free text, image, audio and video embeddings. 4. If the same provider has a more generous free option, mention it.
Before you ship on it
- Free multimodal embeddings, but outside the EEA, Switzerland and UK the inputs are used to improve Google products, and the rate limits are only visible in AI Studio.
- Prompts on the free tier may be used to train models. Keep customer data off it.
- Same Gemini API Additional Terms (effective 23 Mar 2026): professional or business use, not consumer use; apps offered to users in the EEA, Switzerland or UK must use Paid Services. 18+.
- Free tiers are shared capacity: treat the limits as a ceiling, not a promise, and keep a paid fallback.
Questions
Is Gemini Embedding 2 (free tier) free?
Yes. Google AI Studio offers it as free api tier, with these limits: Free text, image, audio and video embeddings. No credit card is needed.
Can I use Gemini Embedding 2 (free tier) commercially?
Yes, under Google APIs Terms of Service + Gemini API Additional Terms of Service (effective 23 Mar 2026). Check the current terms before you ship.
How do I start with Gemini Embedding 2 (free tier)?
It speaks the OpenAI API at https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai/, so the OpenAI SDK you already use works once you change the base URL and key.
Source: ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing, checked 2 Oct 2026.