Access requirement

Free LLM APIs that do not require a credit card to start

This shortlist starts with provider application paths reviewed as no-card access. It then shows the models currently attached to those providers, so you can check the account rules before creating a key.

Current shortlist21 active model candidates

Latest provider source check: 2026-07-28.

What this shortlist means

The inclusion rules are visible and intentionally narrow.

  1. 01

    Inclusion rule

    The provider is marked no-card from its reviewed application path.

  2. 02

    Inclusion rule

    The model is active in the current FreeToken catalog.

  3. 03

    Inclusion rule

    Provider conditions and the source-check date remain visible.

Important limit: No-card does not mean anonymous or unlimited. Account, identity, quota and regional conditions can still apply, and provider policy can change after the recorded source check.

Matching candidates

Live catalog results with provider evidence dates and the limits you should read before signup.

Model and providerWhy it matchesEvidence and limitsNext steps
Gemini Flash
Google Gemini
gemini-flash-latest
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Account-specific no-card tier
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to start the documented free tier
Project and model specific
Independent Canary pending
Qwen3.6 27B
GroqCloud
qwen/qwen3.6-27b
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
No-card free plan
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required for the Free plan
Model and organization specific
Independent Canary pending
DeepSeek R1
SiliconFlow
deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-R1
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Starter credits / free-model policy
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not listed as required for starter access
Model and account specific
Independent Canary pending
Cohere: North Mini Code (free)
OpenRouter
cohere/north-mini-code:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
Free Models Router
OpenRouter
openrouter/free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B (free)
OpenRouter
google/gemma-4-26b-a4b-it:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
Google: Gemma 4 31B (free)
OpenRouter
google/gemma-4-31b-it:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
Google: Lyria 3 Clip Preview
OpenRouter
google/lyria-3-clip-preview
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
Google: Lyria 3 Pro Preview
OpenRouter
google/lyria-3-pro-preview
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
LiquidAI: LFM2.5-2.6B (free)
OpenRouter
liquid/lfm-2.5-2.6b:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
NVIDIA: Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free)
OpenRouter
nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-30b-a3b:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
NVIDIA: Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)
OpenRouter
nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
NVIDIA: Nemotron 3 Super (free)
OpenRouter
nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
NVIDIA: Nemotron 3 Ultra (free)
OpenRouter
nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Content Safety (free)
OpenRouter
nvidia/nemotron-3.5-content-safety:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (free)
OpenRouter
nvidia/nemotron-3.5-lightning:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
NVIDIA: Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free)
OpenRouter
nvidia/nemotron-nano-12b-v2-vl:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
NVIDIA: Nemotron Nano 9B V2 (free)
OpenRouter
nvidia/nemotron-nano-9b-v2:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
OpenAI: gpt-oss-20b (free)
OpenRouter
openai/gpt-oss-20b:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
Poolside: Laguna S 2.1 (free)
OpenRouter
poolside/laguna-s-2.1:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented
Poolside: Laguna XS 2.1 (free)
OpenRouter
poolside/laguna-xs-2.1:free
Official-source reviewed no-card provider path
Official zero-priced route
Official sources: 2026-07-28
Not required to create a key
OpenRouter free-tier limits
Model route documented