DeepSeek-V3.1 on SambaNova
SambaNova (SambaCloud) Free API tier
The catch: Only 20 requests a day per model until you link a payment method, which moves you to paid Developer Tier usage. Preview models are for evaluation only and can be removed at short notice.
| Access | Free API tier |
|---|---|
| Free limits | Production model; Free Tier limits are 20 requests a minute, 20 a day and 200,000 tokens a day. |
| Modality | text, code |
| Credit card | Not required |
| Commercial use | Allowed |
| Trains on your data | No |
| Licence or terms | SambaCloud Terms of Service (plus third-party model licences) |
| Context window | 131,072 tokens |
| Model id | DeepSeek-V3.1 |
| Base URL | https://api.sambanova.ai/v1 |
| Last checked | 8 Oct 2026 |
How to use DeepSeek-V3.1
It speaks the OpenAI API at https://api.sambanova.ai/v1, so the OpenAI SDK you already use works once you change the base URL and key.
curl https://api.sambanova.ai/v1/chat/completions -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Authorization: Bearer $SAMBANOVA_API_KEY" -d '{"model":"DeepSeek-V3.1","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Hello"}]}'I want to use the free AI model "DeepSeek-V3.1" from SambaNova (model id: DeepSeek-V3.1) 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 · 20 RPD · 200K tokens/day. 4. If the same provider has a more generous free option, mention it.
Before you ship on it
- Only 20 requests a day per model until you link a payment method, which moves you to paid Developer Tier usage. Preview models are for evaluation only and can be removed at short notice.
- The SambaCloud Terms of Service have no free-tier or non-commercial carve-out; third-party model licences apply (s.1.3). They bar reselling the Service or offering it to third parties as a service bureau (s.1.5(c)) and…
- Free tiers are shared capacity: treat the limits as a ceiling, not a promise, and keep a paid fallback.
Questions
Is DeepSeek-V3.1 on SambaNova free?
Yes. SambaNova offers it as free api tier, with these limits: 20 RPM · 20 RPD · 200K tokens/day. No credit card is needed.
Can I use DeepSeek-V3.1 on SambaNova commercially?
Yes, under SambaCloud Terms of Service (plus third-party model licences). Check the current terms before you ship.
How do I start with DeepSeek-V3.1 on SambaNova?
It speaks the OpenAI API at https://api.sambanova.ai/v1, so the OpenAI SDK you already use works once you change the base URL and key.
Source: docs.sambanova.ai/docs/en/models/rate-limits, checked 8 Oct 2026.