Free Google Gemini API Key, Base URL & Rate Limits
Model ProviderGoogle AI Studio provides free API access to the Gemini family of models, including Gemini 2.
How to get a free Google Gemini API key
- 1 Go to Google AI Studio aistudio.google.com — sign in with Google account.
- 2 Click "Get API Key" in the left nav
- 3 Create API key in a new or existing project
- 4 Pick a Gemini model Gemini 2.5 Flash recommended for best free limits.
- 5 Configure client Native base URL: https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta. OpenAI-compatible base URL: https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai
Provider Snapshot
Supported Models 15 models
View in directory →| Model ID | Developer | Context | Availability | Free Tier | Use cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gemini-3.6-flash Gemini 3.6 Flash | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat | |
| gemini-3.5-flash Gemini 3.5 Flash | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat | |
| gemini-3.5-flash-lite Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat | |
| gemini-3.1-flash-lite Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat | |
| gemma-4-31b-it Gemma 4 31B IT | Google Gemini | 262K | Online | Yes | chat |
| gemma-4-26b-a4b-it Gemma 4 26B A4B IT | Google Gemini | 262K | Online | Yes | chat |
| gemini-flash-latest Gemini Flash Latest | Google Gemini | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat |
| gemini-3-flash-preview Gemini 3 Flash (Preview) | Google Gemini | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat |
| gemini-2.5-flash Gemini 2.5 Flash | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat | |
| gemini-2.5-pro Gemini 2.5 Pro | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat | |
| gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite | Google Gemini | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat |
| gemini-2.5-flash-lite Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat | |
| gemini-flash-lite-latest Gemini Flash-Lite Latest | Google Gemini | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat |
| gemini-robotics-er-1.6-preview gemini-robotics-er-1.6-preview | Google Gemini | 131K | Online | Yes | chat |
| gemini-robotics-er-2-preview gemini-robotics-er-2-preview | Google Gemini | 131K | Online | Yes | chat |
Developer Tools
Related Providers
View all →Google Gemini FreeLLM Score free API access score
How we score →What is Google Gemini?
Google's generous free tier — 1M context, multimodal, 500 RPD.
Google AI Studio provides free API access to the Gemini family of models, including Gemini 2.5 Flash with a 1-million token context window and native multimodal support (text, image, audio, video). The free tier offers up to 500 requests/day for Flash-Lite and 10–20 RPM depending on the model. No credit card is required to start.
- Gemini 2.5 Flash: 1M context window
- Multimodal: text, image, audio, video
- Up to 500 RPD on Flash-Lite
- No credit card required
API Compatibility: Live-tested Gemini native API and OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions
Google Gemini Free Tier Limits & Pricing
Google Gemini API Setup Tutorials
Google Gemini 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 →
Google Gemini Model Use Cases
What Google Gemini's free models are best for, based on aggregated model capabilities:
Google Gemini Limitations & Caveats
- 10 RPM is tight for production or multi-user apps
- Free tier prompts may be used for product improvement
- Some features (Grounding, Search) not available on free tier
Google Gemini FAQ
Does Google use my free tier API prompts for training?
Google's free tier terms state that prompts may be used for product improvement. If this is a concern, use the paid tier which has a no-training guarantee.
Why am I getting 429 errors on Gemini free tier?
The free tier has both per-minute (RPM) and per-day (RPD) limits. Gemini 2.5 Flash allows 15 RPM / 1,500 RPD. Flash-Lite allows 30 RPM / 1,500 RPD. Space out your requests or implement exponential backoff.
What's the difference between Google AI Studio and Vertex AI for Gemini?
Google AI Studio is the free developer playground — easier signup, no GCP project needed. Vertex AI is the enterprise platform with SLAs, VPC support, and higher rate limits. For free tier usage, stick with AI Studio.