OpenAI TTS on Pollinations
Pollinations.ai Trial credit
The catch: Quest Pollen is a one-time grant with no 'entitlement to future credits', 149 of 214 official models are paid_only and cannot use it, and any Pollen left expires after 12 months of inactivity.
| Access | Trial credit |
|---|---|
| Free limits | Not paid_only, so Quest Pollen can pay for it; priced per the catalogue (see gen.pollinations.ai/models). |
| Modality | audio |
| Credit card | Not required |
| Commercial use | Allowed |
| Trains on your data | No |
| Licence or terms | Pollinations Terms of Service (16 Sep 2026) + Privacy Policy (28 Sep 2026), Myceli.AI OÜ |
| Context window | – |
| Model id | openai/tts-1 |
| Base URL | https://gen.pollinations.ai/v1 |
| Last checked | 8 Oct 2026 |
How to use OpenAI TTS
It speaks the OpenAI API at https://gen.pollinations.ai/v1, so the OpenAI SDK you already use works once you change the base URL and key.
curl https://gen.pollinations.ai/v1/audio/speech -H "Authorization: Bearer $KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"model":"openai/tts-1","input":"Hello","voice":"nova"}' --output hello.mp3I want to try the AI model "OpenAI TTS" on Pollinations.ai with its free trial credit (model id: openai/tts-1). Please: 1. Check the provider docs and give me the exact steps to claim the free credit and create an API key. 2. Give me a minimal working example that reads the key from an environment variable. 3. Tell me how much the credit covers, when it runs out or expires, and whether a card is charged after. Listed limits: Spends one-time Quest Pollen (~4.75 total). 4. Tell me which provider has a renewing free tier for the same model, if any.
Before you ship on it
- Quest Pollen is a one-time grant with no 'entitlement to future credits', 149 of 214 official models are paid_only and cannot use it, and any Pollen left expires after 12 months of inactivity.
- Terms (updated 16 Sep 2026): Pollinations, run by Myceli.AI OÜ, operates 'commercial, hosted services'; users keep rights to submitted data. No ban on commercial use of output, but 'Model licences vary; verify before…
- Free tiers are shared capacity: treat the limits as a ceiling, not a promise, and keep a paid fallback.
Questions
Is OpenAI TTS on Pollinations free?
Yes. Pollinations.ai offers it as trial credit, with these limits: Spends one-time Quest Pollen (~4.75 total). No credit card is needed.
Can I use OpenAI TTS on Pollinations commercially?
Yes, under Pollinations Terms of Service (16 Sep 2026) + Privacy Policy (28 Sep 2026), Myceli.AI OÜ. Check the current terms before you ship.
How do I start with OpenAI TTS on Pollinations?
It speaks the OpenAI API at https://gen.pollinations.ai/v1, so the OpenAI SDK you already use works once you change the base URL and key.
Source: gen.pollinations.ai/models, checked 8 Oct 2026.