GroqCloud free tier
Start building on GroqCloud's free tier with no credit card — very fast inference on open models like Llama.
- Free value
- No fixed amount
- Card required
- No card
- Expiry
- No fixed expiry
- Who
- Anyone who signs up for a GroqCloud account.
Free LLM routers & aggregators
Reach dozens of models through a single, OpenAI-compatible API — and start for free. These aggregators offer free models or free developer tiers, most with no credit card.
The short answer
The most generous no-card router options are OpenRouter’s free models (50 requests/day, rising to 1,000/day after a one-time $10 top-up), the Groq free tier for very fast inference, and Hugging Face Inference credits. All let you start without a credit card.
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Active Hugging Face Inference Providers free credits
Every Hugging Face account gets monthly Inference Providers credits to experiment — $0.10/month free, $2/month on PRO, no credit card to start.
- Free value
- $0.10
- Card required
- No card
- Expiry
- No fixed expiry
- Who
- Anyone with a free Hugging Face account (PRO for the larger monthly credit).
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Active OpenRouter free models (:free)
Call dozens of LLMs free through OpenRouter's ':free' model variants — 50 requests/day with no purchase, 1,000/day after buying $10 in credits.
- Free value
- 50 requests/day
- Card required
- No card
- Expiry
- No fixed expiry
- Who
- Anyone with an OpenRouter account. The higher 1,000/day cap requires a one-time $10 credit purchase.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an LLM router?
- An LLM router is a service that gives you one API to reach many models from different providers. Routers like OpenRouter, Groq and Hugging Face often include free tiers or free models so you can experiment without committing to one provider.
- Which LLM routers are free with no credit card?
- OpenRouter free models (50 requests/day with no purchase), the Groq free tier, and Hugging Face Inference Providers credits all let you start with no credit card.
- Are free router models good enough for real projects?
- For prototyping, hobby projects and low-volume apps, yes. Free tiers are rate-limited, so high-traffic production usually needs a paid plan — but you can build and validate for free first.