Verify access instead of trusting a free label
- A free AI API is not just a model name in a directory. Before building around one, confirm what the provider currently says about eligibility, signup, billing requirements, and usage conditions. Record the official URL and the date you checked it so another developer can reproduce the decision.
- The aim is not to prove that a service will stay free. FreeToken.link deliberately separates current evidence from permanence: provider access can change, so a useful record states what works now, which account steps are required, and which claims remain untested.
Go from account setup to one bounded request
- Test the same route your application will use. Confirm that the documented signup path produces a usable credential, the intended endpoint accepts it, and a minimal request returns a parseable response. OpenRouter, for example, documents the :free suffix for requesting a free model variant while warning that free variants can differ from paid ones in availability and limits.
- Keep the first request small and observable. Capture the HTTP status, returned model identifier, completion state, latency, and any rate-limit headers without storing the secret itself. FreeToken.link's key guides and direct Playground are designed to turn a directory candidate into a reproducible test.
Measure the limits that can stop a real workload
- Rate limits are multidimensional. Google's Gemini documentation describes requests per minute, input tokens per minute, and requests per day, and says exceeding any applicable dimension produces a rate-limit error. It also says limits apply per project rather than per API key, and vary by model and usage tier.
- Groq documents RPM, RPD, TPM, and TPD limits at the organization level, with HTTP 429 when a threshold is exceeded. Its response headers expose limit, remaining, reset, and retry information. Check the current account Limits page instead of copying a number from an old comparison article.
Define a pass condition and a recheck date
- A compact verification record should include the official source, eligibility steps, tested endpoint and model, observed result, limit scope, failure behavior, and verification date. It should also name what was not tested, such as streaming, tools, structured output, sustained load, or data-retention controls.
- Set a recheck trigger before depending on the route: a provider notice, a repeated 401 or 429, a model-ID change, or a scheduled Watchlist review. This turns free access into a monitored dependency rather than an undocumented assumption hidden inside the product.
Frequently asked questions
Does a free API listing prove I can build on it?
No. A listing is only discovery. Verify eligibility, credential creation, one real request, current limits, and the behaviors your application needs.
Why check rate limits before writing the integration?
Because a provider can enforce several independent thresholds. A workload may fit one limit and still fail another.
Does FreeToken.link guarantee permanent free access?
No. It records current evidence and changing access conditions; it does not promise that a provider or model will remain free.
AI assistance is disclosed; every factual claim was reviewed.
The first draft was produced through the locally hosted basketikun/chatgpt2api wrapper from a fixed pack of official-source facts. That wrapper uses a ChatGPT web-session route and is not the official OpenAI API. A human editor checked every retained claim against the linked sources, removed unsupported implications, and expanded the verification steps before publication.