Free Cerebras API Key, Base URL & Rate Limits

API Provider

Cerebras Cloud offers free API access to Llama and GPT-OSS models running on the Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine, one of the fastest AI accelerators available.

OpenAI CompatibleFree TierFunction CallingVision

Save API Key Test API Key Get API Key Docs

How to get a free Cerebras API key

1
Sign up at cloud.cerebras.ai Email or GitHub. No credit card.
Get Cerebras API key →
2
Go to API Keys
3
Generate an API key
4
Choose a model Llama 3.3 70B or GPT-OSS 120B available for free.
5
Configure OpenAI client Base URL: https://api.cerebras.ai/v1

Provider Snapshot

P Provider Type API Provider

O OpenAI Compatible Yes

U Base URL https://api.cerebras.ai/v1

F Free Tier 5 free models online

P Phone Required No

S Streaming Varies

T Function Calling Yes

V Vision Yes

L Last Updated 2026-08-06

Supported Models 8 models

View in directory →

Model ID	Developer	Context	Availability	Free Tier	Use cases
gemma-4-31b gemma-4-31b	Google	131K	Online	Yes	chat
zai-glm-4.7 zai-glm-4.7	Cerebras	128K	Online	Yes	chat
zai-glm-4.7 zai-glm-4.7 (deprecated Aug 2026)	Cerebras	131K	Online	Yes	chat
gpt-oss-120b gpt-oss-120b	OpenAI	131K	Online	Yes	chatcoding
llama3.1-70b Llama 3.1 70B	Meta	131K	Online	Yes	chatcoding
qwen-3-235b-a22b-instruct-2507 qwen-3-235b-a22b-instruct-2507	Alibaba	131K	Check provider	Yes	chat
qwen-3-32b qwen-3-32b	Alibaba	131K	Check provider	Yes	chat
llama-3-3-70b llama-3.3-70b	Meta	128K	Check provider	Yes	chat

Developer Tools

K Save API Key Never lose your API keys — save keys from all providers in one place. T Test API Key Test your API key and check quota.

Cerebras FreeLLM Score free API access score

How we score →

71 /100

✅ Solid Choice — Strong in easy signup

Generosity Free limits and access terms

Access Signup and key availability

100

Model Breadth Free model coverage

Reliability Status and stability signals

Compatibility SDK and endpoint support

Quality Model capability signals

What is Cerebras?

Ultra-fast inference on Cerebras WSE chips — 1M tokens/day.

Cerebras Cloud offers free API access to Llama and GPT-OSS models running on the Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine, one of the fastest AI accelerators available. The free tier provides 1 million tokens/day and 14,400 requests/day per model with no credit card required. Context window is limited to 8K on the free tier.

Ultra-fast inference on WSE chips
1M tokens/day free
No credit card required
Llama 3.1 8B + GPT-OSS 120B available

API Compatibility: Live-tested OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions

Cerebras Free Tier Limits & Pricing

Credit Card Not required

Phone Verification Not required

Free Tier 5 free models online

Context Range 128K – 131K

Total Models 8 listed

Rate Limits 15 RPM, 30K TPM, 1M TPD · 10 RPM, 100 RPD, 1M TPD · 5 RPM, 30K TPM, 1M TPD

API Compatibility Live-tested OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions

Cerebras API Setup Tutorials

Claude Code Environment variables and base URL setup Codex OpenAI-compatible config for local coding Gemini CLI Provider-specific API key routing notes

Cerebras is fully compatible with popular AI coding assistants like Cursor, Claude Code, and more. To see step-by-step API configuration instructions for your favorite tool, please visit our Global Configuration Guide →

Cerebras Model Use Cases

What Cerebras's free models are best for, based on aggregated model capabilities:

Chat 8 models Coding 2 models

Cerebras Limitations & Caveats

8K context window on free tier (vs 128K on paid)
Limited model selection — Llama and GPT-OSS only
1M tokens/day shared across models

Cerebras FAQ

Why is Cerebras limited to 8K context on the free tier?

Cerebras' WSE chips are optimized for throughput, not context length. The free tier caps context at 8K tokens to ensure fair resource allocation. Paid tier unlocks 128K context.

What is GPT-OSS 120B on Cerebras?

GPT-OSS (Open Source Software) is a 120B parameter model trained by Cerebras and made available through their platform. It's a general-purpose model comparable to GPT-4 class models for many tasks.

Is Cerebras as fast as Groq?

Both are hardware-accelerated (Cerebras WSE vs Groq LPU). In benchmarks, Cerebras achieves similar throughput to Groq on comparable models — typically 1,500-2,500 tokens/second.