How to Get a Free Mistral AI API Key (2026)
6 free models available — no credit card required. Get your Mistral AI API key → Test free models →
Mistral AI FreeLLM Score
A usable option, though it may have noticeable restrictions or older models.
What is Mistral AI?
Mistral's Experiment plan — ~1B tokens/month, no card needed.
Mistral AI offers a free "Experiment" plan that provides access to all Mistral open and proprietary models including Mistral Small, Medium, Large, and Codestral. The free tier allows approximately 1 billion tokens/month with a limit of ~1 request/second. Phone number verification is required. Data may be used for model improvement unless opted out.
- Access to Mistral Small, Medium, Large
- ~1B tokens/month free
- Codestral (code model) included
- No credit card required (phone verification)
API Compatibility: OpenAI SDK-compatible (Chat Completions)
How to Get a Mistral AI API Key
- 1 Sign up at console.mistral.ai Phone verification required. No credit card.
- 2 Go to API Keys page
- 3 Create a new API key
- 4 Choose a model Codestral for coding, Mistral Small for general chat.
- 5 Configure OpenAI client Base URL: https://api.mistral.ai/v1
All Free Mistral AI Models — Context Windows & Rate Limits
| Model | Context | Max Output | Modality | Rate Limit | Released | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mistral Small 4 | 256K | 256K | ~1 RPS, 500K TPM | Mar 16, 2026 | Online | |
| Mistral Large 3 | 256K | 256K | ~1 RPS, 500K TPM | Dec 2, 2025 | Online | |
| Mistral Medium 3.5 (128B) | 256K | 256K | ~1 RPS, 500K TPM | — | Online | |
| Codestral | 256K | 256K | ~1 RPS, 500K TPM | — | Online | |
| Mistral Nemo (12B) | 128K | 128K | ~1 RPS, 500K TPM | — | Online | |
| Pixtral Large | 128K | 128K | ~1 RPS, 500K TPM | Nov 18, 2024 | Online |
Mistral AI Free Tier Limits & Pricing
Mistral AI API Setup Tutorial & Tools
Mistral AI 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 →
Use Cases
What Mistral AI's free models are best for, based on aggregated model capabilities:
Limitations & Caveats
- ~1 RPS is slow for concurrent or batch workloads
- Phone verification required for signup
- Free tier data may be used for model improvement unless opted out
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I opt out of data training on Mistral's free tier?
In your Mistral dashboard, go to Settings → Privacy and disable "Allow Mistral to use your data for model improvement." This is available on all tiers including free.
Is Codestral available on Mistral's free tier?
Yes — the free Experiment plan includes access to all Mistral models, including Codestral (their code-specialized model). Rate limit is ~1 request/second.
Why does Mistral require phone verification?
Mistral uses phone verification as a fraud prevention measure to prevent abuse of their free compute resources. The verification is one-time and works with most international phone numbers.