Is there a free LLM API?

What free means for an LLM request

A free LLM API should mean that the generation operation you need has a zero-price contract under stated limits. That is different from a free model list, an unpaid discovery request, a promotional balance or a completion paid from previously purchased credits. Start with the actual output and request before deciding which meaning applies.

An x402 challenge can be obtained before a payment is authorized. Receiving that challenge is not the same as receiving a generated answer for free. A low catalog reference also remains a price, and a gateway's inexpensive utility can return an unrelated output. Keep those distinctions visible when building a prototype or writing a promise for users.

This page uses the same documented generation contracts as the LLM comparison and examines payment status separately. It does not invent quotas from service descriptions. If a captured task endpoint becomes zero-priced, the generated status follows that endpoint data. If a provider merely advertises free models or mentions a route absent from the captured endpoint list, that claim remains a description to verify.

Compare the returned data

The returned output determines the type: chat text, Responses-shaped requests, native Messages, batch generation, structured decisions or attested text. Payment status is a separate property of the matching endpoint. A zero-price catalog operation does not turn into chat generation because it mentions a model, and an account top-up does not become one completion because its route resembles a chat path.

Each price is the cheapest endpoint of that service for that kind of data: the same number wherever this page quotes it.

Compare 24 services for this task

Rows show selected task endpoint references, preferring a chat route when available. These references identify the output being priced. Obtain the challenge for the exact model and body when a provider describes token metering, a minimum floor or dynamic pricing.

$/CALL is the price of the endpoint named under it: the cheapest chat and prompt text generation endpoint of the service or, for a service without one, its cheapest text generation endpoint. Never the cheapest tool of a gateway. Other kinds of data have their own price in the tables below. TEXT GENERATION ENDPOINTS counts the text generation endpoints out of all the endpoints the service lists. BUYERS 30D counts distinct wallets that paid the whole service on-chain in 30 days, not only its text generation endpoints. "Generalist" marks a gateway that sells more than three unrelated kinds of tools: it is never called the cheapest.

How to evaluate a free LLM API claim

Identify what is returned without payment

Write down whether the request returns a model list, a challenge, an API key, account credit or generated text. Test documentation against that distinction before wiring a client. A useful discovery response can be available without payment while generation remains a paid operation. Do not count a health check as a successful free answer in an evaluation set.

Read the allowance and its boundary

When a provider advertises a free tier, inspect the stated limits, model scope, reset period and eligibility. Preserve the terms applicable to your account or wallet. A promotional credit is a finite funding source, and a free model label may require a particular route or request shape. The captured reference here does not independently establish an allowance that is absent from the endpoint evidence.

Keep the exact request together

Choose a model, prompt and maximum output before inspecting its payment requirement. Save those inputs with the resource and quoted amount. A changed body can produce a changed quote, especially when a catalog number is a floor. If the method in the listing and the captured input schema disagree, reconcile the contract before sending a generation request.

Evaluate usefulness within the limit

Use representative prompts with a written acceptance criterion. A free or low-cost answer that omits required evidence can still require a paid follow-up. Include uncertainty, ambiguous instructions and output-format checks in the evaluation. Measure accepted results instead of treating a large output count as proof that the workflow is useful.

Set a bounded fallback policy

Decide what happens when a quota is exhausted, a model is unavailable or a response fails validation. Keep the transition to a paid request explicit in your application's budget policy. A retry should preserve enough context to avoid duplicate work and repeated charges. Cache accepted outputs according to the provider's terms and your freshness needs rather than assuming regeneration has no cost.

Choose by the job you need to complete

Use the job table to select the actual response contract. Payment status must then be checked for that contract. The candidate quote remains attached to its endpoint so a cheaper adjacent operation cannot stand in for generated text.

Check a generation quote

Select the exact model and a bounded prompt before inspecting the challenge. Keep a zero reference distinct from a positive quote, a trial credit and an already funded balance. Your application should describe the observed request contract rather than promise an unverified allowance.

Candidates today, most buyers first: Cluster Protocol ($0.003/call, generalist, 719 buyers) · Agent402.tools ($0.01/call, generalist, 276 buyers) · glim.sh ($0.001/call, 156 buyers) · NetIntel ($0.005/call, generalist, 100 buyers) · MapleAI ($0.01/call, 81 buyers) · Rubric Protocol — Post-Quantum AI Attestation ($0.01/call, 52 buyers) · Spraay Gateway ($0.005/call, generalist, 38 buyers) · Losbeto — LLM Gateway & Market Intelligence ($0.005/call, generalist, 32 buyers) · GlianaAI ($0.002/call, generalist, 27 buyers) · Gondola ($0.01/call, 22 buyers) · XFuel ($0.002/call, 21 buyers) · LoboMint Shop ($0.005/call, 9 buyers) · GadgetHumans API ($0.005/call, 8 buyers) · true402 ($0.0001/call, generalist, 7 buyers) · Synap by Linkrra ($0.001/call, 7 buyers) · RedRobotRouges IA Inference ($0.001/call, 2 buyers) · x402vid — AI Intelligence for YouTube Videos ($0.05/call, 2 buyers) · SAGG Gateway ($0.000326/call) · BridgeNode ($0.002/call) · AskClaude ($0.01/call) · GPUOps AI Inference ($0.01/call) · x402 LLM Gateway ($0.01/call) · YiduoChan API Credits ($0.01/call) · Prism Network ($0.012144/call)

Use an alternative request protocol

A protocol choice changes how your client communicates; it does not independently change the payment status. Check native versus translated behavior and obtain the requirement for the actual body. Preserve unsupported features in your integration notes.

Candidates today, most buyers first: MapleAI ($0.01/call, 81 buyers) · Gondola ($0.01/call, 22 buyers)

Budget a collection of prompts

A batch can reduce coordination work while still consuming paid inference. Count the accepted prompt results and preserve per-item errors. Compare that unit with separate completions before interpreting a single batch reference as an unlimited allowance.

Candidates today, most buyers first: Prism Network ($0.012144/call)

Keep output provenance

An attestation is an additional output contract rather than evidence of a free tier. Preserve its verification reference with the generated text, then assess the text against your task. A signature does not remove the need to validate a response.

Candidates today, most buyers first: Rubric Protocol — Post-Quantum AI Attestation ($0.01/call, 52 buyers)

Use a specialized decision result

Check the provider-defined fields and allowed values before adopting a decision route. A narrower output can be sufficient for a workflow without becoming an unrestricted chat replacement. Evaluate missing or ambiguous inputs as part of the acceptance criteria.

Candidates today, most buyers first: MapleAI ($0.001/call, 81 buyers)

What the providers describe

The provider notes below were checked against public descriptions and complete endpoint lists captured on October 21, 2026. References to free models, credits or token metering stay attributed and are not expanded into observed zero-price allowances.

GPUOps AI Inference

GPUOps AI Inference lists chat completions at $0.01 and an embedding operation as a separate output. The chat reference follows the completion path. A lower vector-generation quote does not make the assistant reply free. If your application needs both retrieval vectors and generated answers, budget those as distinct calls instead of applying the cheaper endpoint to the whole workflow.

1 text generation endpoint of 4 · $0.01/call (POST /v1/chat/completions) · Base · uptime 30d 100% · 203 ms · 0 buyers in 30 days

BridgeNode

BridgeNode describes OpenAI-compatible chat and inference routes with a text-generation reference of $0.002. The task quote shown here comes from a captured generation endpoint rather than being inferred from model or plan wording in the service description. Model availability language does not establish the payment requirement for your input. Inspect the current model-specific challenge before promising a free route in an application.

2 text generation endpoints of 2 · $0.002/call (POST /v1/chat/completions) · SOL · uptime 30d 100% · 434 ms · 0 buyers in 30 days

Losbeto — LLM Gateway & Market Intelligence

Losbeto — LLM Gateway & Market Intelligence describes a general prompt route and an OpenAI-shaped completion route, with a chat reference of $0.005. Its service prose mentions /llm/free, but that route is absent from the captured paid endpoint list. The page therefore does not manufacture a zero quote or an available free allowance for it. The captured generation routes remain the basis of this comparison.

2 text generation endpoints of 103 · $0.005/call (GET /llm) · Base/POL/SOL · uptime 30d 100% · 117 ms · 32 buyers in 30 days

NetIntel

NetIntel describes a free model catalog and model-dependent completion paths. Its classified chat reference starts at $0.005. Reading which models exist is a different operation from generating an answer. The provider says an unpaid completion request returns a challenge for the chosen model, so evaluate that exact input rather than treating the discovery catalog as a generation quota.

18 text generation endpoints of 124 · $0.005/call (POST /api/v1/chat/completions) · Base/SOL · uptime 30d 100% · 107 ms · 100 buyers in 30 days

Gondola

Gondola lists chat at $0.01 and native Messages at $0.01. Its description says overpayment can bank credit for later requests. A request funded from that balance still consumes prepaid value; it is different from a public zero-price generation tier. Keep the top-up, consumed balance and returned answer as separate events when accounting for your workflow.

2 text generation endpoints of 3 · $0.01/call (POST /v1/chat/completions) · Base · uptime 30d 99.5% · 381 ms · 22 buyers in 30 days

true402

true402 describes a small reference floor for chat, $0.0001, and an exact quote tied to the body. A reference floor does not establish a free allowance. Check model, prompt and output limits when evaluating whether a small request can meet your acceptance criterion. A shorter answer that fails the task can require another paid generation.

1 text generation endpoint of 27 · $0.0001/call (POST /v1/chat/completions) · Base/SOL · uptime 30d 99.5% · 131 ms · 7 buyers in 30 days

Synap by Linkrra

Synap by Linkrra describes token-metered generation and model routing, with chat at $0.001. Its top-up route buys wallet value instead of a generated response. The catalog and captured request method disagree for the completion path, as explained in the example. Neither a prepaid balance nor a discovery challenge should be presented as evidence that a specific completion was free or successfully returned.

1 text generation endpoint of 3 · $0.001/call (GET /api/billing/x402/chat/completions) · Base · uptime 30d 100% · 230 ms · 7 buyers in 30 days

Cluster Protocol

Cluster Protocol lists chat at $0.003 alongside distinct embedding, reranking, media and agent products. Compare the output you need. A provider may expose an inexpensive utility next to a generation endpoint, but the utility's amount is not a completion quote. Keep the specific path in your budget record so a broad gateway price cannot drift into an unsupported free-generation claim.

1 text generation endpoint of 9 · $0.003/call (POST /v1/chat/completions) · Base · uptime 30d 100% · 264 ms · 719 buyers in 30 days

Reference cost and request budgets

The median selected generation reference is $0.005. If the request shape and reference remain unchanged, 100,000 calls amount to $500.00.

Each service at the price of its main text generation endpoint, the one named in the table above.

Separate funding from consumption. A top-up buys a balance, a completion consumes an inference unit, and a free allowance can have its own eligibility and expiry. A request covered by prior credit can avoid a new transfer without being free in the cost model. Keep those events distinct when comparing a prototype with a sustained workload.

For a practical budget, estimate accepted answers, retries, output limits and model mix. Use the current challenge for a changed request instead of extending a minimum quote to a large prompt. If a provider advertises an uncaptured free route, verify its availability and limits before promising that route to users.

What the captured 402 establishes

The catalog lists Synap by Linkrra at GET /api/billing/x402/chat/completions, while the stored 402 gives its example input as POST with a JSON body containing model, stream, messages and max_tokens in extensions.bazaar.info.input; its input schema does not restrict the method. The catalog method and the captured example input disagree. The captured message array illustrates a request shape, not a paid assistant response. The catalog reference quote for this method and path is $0.001; it is not a verified quote for a different method or request body.

Inspect the full Payment evidence on the service page and reconcile the current route contract before sending a completion request. This page does not show a runnable GET curl for that POST body or assign its catalog reference to a verified body-specific quote. Preserve the resource, network, amount and input together when evaluating a fresh challenge. A stored 402 does not establish model quality, streaming behavior or successful paid generation.

How to read this comparison

The page begins with the directory's LLM-inference candidates and retains documented text-generation routes. Inactive or degraded listings, model metadata, embedding vectors, prepaid access purchases and unrelated model-powered utilities do not establish this task. Price status is derived from the selected task endpoints rather than copied from service marketing.

The comparison date is October 26, 2026 and median monitoring uptime is 100%. Availability observations do not validate a free allowance or prove that a model returned an accepted answer. Model identity and routing descriptions remain provider claims. The page's endpoint mapping supplies type tables, row references and job candidates from one classification.

Maintain an evaluation record with the request, provider, model, challenge, funding source and accepted result. This makes it possible to distinguish an expired trial, a consumed prepaid balance and a changed generation price. Recheck that record when a provider changes its route, protocol or free-tier description instead of carrying forward an old assumption.

Preserve an honest user promise

If your application offers a free experience, define the limits your own budget can support. A provider reference does not establish how long that promise can be maintained. Show a clear limit before a task can consume paid fallback calls. Keep the user's task result separate from internal model discovery so a free catalog lookup cannot be mistaken for a completed answer.

Questions

How to pay

Each service answers an unpaid call with HTTP 402 and its price; your agent signs a USDC payment on the listed network and retries. No API key, no account, no subscription. See what x402 is.