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Free tiers & credits

Free API tiers, signup credits and startup deals.

Your tool hereOn tool pages, blog posts and the feeds, next to what people came to read.$19 / 3 months →

AI APIs & inference

12

Free tiers and signup credits for model APIs, inference platforms, embeddings and search.

Full guide: Free AI API Tiers That Actually Last: 13 Options for 2026 →

  • Google Gemini Developer API — Free TierGoogleOngoing free tierLimits Rate-limited per model; outside the EEA, UK and Switzerland free-tier prompts may be used to improve Google products and read by human reviewersNo cardExpiry ongoingOffer page Google Gemini Developer API — Free Tier
  • Groq Free TierGroqOngoing free tierLimits 30 requests/min and 1,000 requests/day on the main chat models; some models are lowerNo cardExpiry ongoingOffer page Groq Free Tier
  • Mistral AI Free PlanMistral AI$10 / month in API creditsLimits Limited messages, web searches and coding sessions; Free mode prompts may be used for training unless you opt out in admin settingsNo cardExpiry monthly refreshOffer page Mistral AI Free Plan
  • Claude API — New User CreditsAnthropicOne-time signup creditsLimits First-party Claude API onlyNo cardExpiry one-timeOffer page Claude API — New User Credits
  • Cohere Free Trial APICohereFree trial API keyLimits 1,000 API calls / month, Chat 20 requests/min; for evaluation, production needs a paid keyNo cardExpiry monthly refreshOffer page Cohere Free Trial API
  • NVIDIA NIM Free Inference EndpointsNVIDIAFree hosted inference endpointsLimits NVIDIA Developer Program members; prototyping and testing only, production needs an AI Enterprise licenseNo cardExpiry ongoingOffer page NVIDIA NIM Free Inference Endpoints
  • IBM watsonx.ai Lite PlanIBM300K tokens / monthLimits Monthly reset; Lite plan model selectionNo cardExpiry monthly refreshOffer page IBM watsonx.ai Lite Plan
  • Vercel AI Gateway Free TierVercel$5 / monthLimits $5 every 30 days; payment method required to activateCard requiredExpiry monthly refreshOffer page Vercel AI Gateway Free Tier
  • Replicate — Try for FreeReplicateFree runs on selected modelsLimits Limited number of runs; exact cap not publishedNo cardExpiry ongoingOffer page Replicate — Try for Free
  • OpenRouter Free AI ModelsOpenRouterFree model catalogLimits 20 requests/min; 50 requests/day, or 1,000/day after buying $10 in creditsNo cardExpiry ongoingOffer page OpenRouter Free AI Models
  • Cerebras Inference Free TrialCerebras$5 trial creditLimits Expires 30 days after grant; verified payment method required; no permanent free tierCard requiredExpiry 30 daysOffer page Cerebras Inference Free Trial
  • Firecrawl Free PlanFirecrawl1,000 credits / monthLimits Monthly refresh; rate limitedNo cardExpiry monthly refreshOffer page Firecrawl Free Plan

Coding assistants

2

AI editors, coding agents and review bots with a plan you can use without paying.

  • ChatGPT Free PlanOpenAIOngoing free tierLimits Unlimited text chats; limited file uploads, image gen and reasoningNo cardExpiry ongoingOffer page ChatGPT Free Plan
  • Cursor Free PlanCursor (Anysphere)Ongoing free tierLimits Limited agent requests; no cloud agents or third-party modelsNo cardExpiry ongoingOffer page Cursor Free Plan

Image, audio & video

5

Generation and speech tools with a free plan or free credits — images, voice, music and video.

Full guide: Free Text-to-Speech and Transcription APIs: 8 Free Tiers Compared →

  • Bing Image CreatorMicrosoft15 fast-mode creations / dayLimits Daily reset; standard speed capped at 200 prompts / 24hNo cardExpiry daily resetOffer page Bing Image Creator
  • Stability AI — 25 Free API CreditsStability AI25 API creditsLimits One-time grant on signup; no recurring free quotaNo cardExpiry one-timeOffer page Stability AI — 25 Free API Credits
  • Amazon Polly Free TierAmazon Web Services5M characters / month (Standard voices)Limits Standard ongoing; neural 1M, long-form 500K, generative 100K chars for first 12 monthsCard requiredExpiry ongoingOffer page Amazon Polly Free Tier
  • Suno Free PlanSuno50 credits / dayLimits Non-commercial use on the free planNo cardExpiry daily resetOffer page Suno Free Plan
  • Runway Free PlanRunway125 one-time creditsLimits No monthly refresh; limited model selectionNo cardExpiry one-timeOffer page Runway Free Plan

Startup programs

18

Cloud, AI and SaaS credits for early-stage companies — most need an application, some need an investor.

Full guide: Startup Credits for Cloud and AI in 2026: Who Actually Qualifies →

  • Google Cloud AI Startup ProgramGoogle CloudUp to $350,000 over 2 yearsLimits Year 1 up to $250,000 for AI-first scale-tier startupsNo cardExpiry 2 yearsOffer page Google Cloud AI Startup Program
  • AWS ActivateAmazon Web ServicesUp to $200,000 in creditsLimits Founders tier starts at $1,000; larger tiers need accelerator/VCCard requiredExpiry 12 monthsOffer page AWS Activate
  • Microsoft for StartupsMicrosoftUp to $150,000 in Azure creditsLimits Eligible Azure services onlyNo cardExpiry 12 monthsOffer page Microsoft for Startups
  • Cloudflare for StartupsCloudflareUp to $350,000 in creditsLimits Valid 1 year or until consumed; payment method requiredCard requiredExpiry 12 monthsOffer page Cloudflare for Startups
  • GitHub for StartupsGitHub$10,000 in platform creditsLimits Partner-affiliated, up to Series B; up to 12 months from approvalCard requiredExpiry 12 monthsOffer page GitHub for Startups
  • NVIDIA InceptionNVIDIACloud credits from NVIDIA and partnersLimits Amount not fixed; preferred pricing + technical supportNo cardExpiry program-dependentOffer page NVIDIA Inception
  • MongoDB for StartupsMongoDBUp to $15,000 in Atlas creditsLimits Activate code within 30 days; valid 6 months ($500) or 12 monthsNo cardExpiry 6-12 monthsOffer page MongoDB for Startups
  • Vercel for StartupsVercelUp to $30,000 flexible commitmentLimits Enterprise-tier access; startup-focused eligibilityNo cardExpiry one-timeOffer page Vercel for Startups
  • PostHog Startup ProgramPostHog$50,000 in creditsLimits Under $5M raised, under 2 years old; valid 12 monthsNo cardExpiry 12 monthsOffer page PostHog Startup Program
  • Sentry for StartupsSentry$5,000 in creditsLimits Founded in last 2 years, raised under $5M; expires in 12 monthsNo cardExpiry 12 monthsOffer page Sentry for Startups
  • Atlassian for StartupsAtlassian12 months at $0, up to 50 seatsLimits Cloud products; VC/accelerator-backed, under $10M raised; one enrollmentNo cardExpiry 12 monthsOffer page Atlassian for Startups
  • Notion for StartupsNotionUp to $12,000 of creditLimits 6 months via partner, 3 months self-serve, 1 month if SMB; under 100 employeesNo cardExpiry 6 monthsOffer page Notion for Startups
  • Linear Startup ProgramLinearFree Linear Business planLimits Must be affiliated with an official Linear partner; under 50 employeesNo cardExpiry program-dependentOffer page Linear Startup Program
  • Google Cloud Free ProgramGoogle Cloud$300 welcome creditLimits Consumed within 90 days; Always Free tier continues afterCard requiredExpiry 90 daysOffer page Google Cloud Free Program
  • Neon Startup ProgramNeon (Databricks)Up to $200,000 (combined with Databricks)Limits Self-funded tier up to $1,000; valid 12 monthsNo cardExpiry 12 monthsOffer page Neon Startup Program
  • Render Startup ProgramRenderUp to $100,000 in creditsLimits Tiered by funding: $500, $10K (<$1M), $25K ($1M+), $100K AI tier ($2.5M+ from partner VC)No cardExpiry 12 monthsOffer page Render Startup Program
  • Railway Free Plan + Trial CreditsRailway$5 trial credit + $1/mo usage on free planLimits Trial credit expires in 30 daysNo cardExpiry 30 daysOffer page Railway Free Plan + Trial Credits
  • LangSmith for StartupsLangChain$10,000 in creditsLimits Valid 1 year (2 for YC); first-time customers, Series A or earlier, premier VC partnerNo cardExpiry 12 monthsOffer page LangSmith for Startups