OpenRouter :free models
OpenRouter Free API tier
The catch: Only 50 requests a day until you have bought 10 credits, and training depends on the upstream provider: OpenRouter lists NVIDIA, which serves the Nemotron :free models, as 'may train'.
| Access | Free API tier |
|---|---|
| Free limits | Models whose id ends in ':free': 20 requests/minute; 50 requests/day if you have bought fewer than 10 credits in total, 1,000 requests/day once you have bought at least 10 credits (counted per UTC day). A negative credit balance can block free models too. On 2 Oct 2026 the models API listed 17 ':free' ids, e.g. qwen/qwen3.8-27b:free (262,144 ctx), google/gemma-4-31b-it:free (262,144), nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free (262,144), nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b:free (1,000,000), cohere/north-mini-code:free (256,000), poolside/laguna-s-2.1:free (262,144). The openrouter/free router picks a free model at random. |
| Modality | text, code |
| Credit card | Not required |
| Commercial use | – |
| Trains on your data | – |
| Licence or terms | OpenRouter Terms of Service (last updated 31 Aug 2026) + each model provider's Model Terms |
| Context window | 262,144 tokens |
| Model id | qwen/qwen3.8-27b:free |
| Base URL | https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 |
| Last checked | 2 Oct 2026 |
How to use :free models (17 today)
It speaks the OpenAI API at https://openrouter.ai/api/v1, so the OpenAI SDK you already use works once you change the base URL and key.
curl https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Authorization: Bearer $KEY" -d '{"model":"qwen/qwen3.8-27b:free","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Hello"}]}'I want to use the free AI model ":free models (17 today)" from OpenRouter (model id: qwen/qwen3.8-27b:free) 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: 20 RPM; 50 a day, or 1,000 after buying $10 of credit. 4. If the same provider has a more generous free option, mention it.
Before you ship on it
- Only 50 requests a day until you have bought 10 credits, and training depends on the upstream provider: OpenRouter lists NVIDIA, which serves the Nemotron :free models, as 'may train'.
- OpenRouter Terms (last updated 31 Aug 2026) allow building the Service into your own products, but each model's own Model Terms govern its use; the FAQ says free models 'are usually not suitable for production use'.
- Free tiers are shared capacity: treat the limits as a ceiling, not a promise, and keep a paid fallback.
Questions
Is OpenRouter :free models free?
Yes. OpenRouter offers it as free api tier, with these limits: 20 RPM; 50 a day, or 1,000 after buying $10 of credit. No credit card is needed.
Can I use OpenRouter :free models commercially?
The provider’s terms do not say. Ask them before you build a product on it.
How do I start with OpenRouter :free models?
It speaks the OpenAI API at https://openrouter.ai/api/v1, so the OpenAI SDK you already use works once you change the base URL and key.
Source: openrouter.ai/docs/api_reference/limits, checked 2 Oct 2026.