Free OpenRouter API Key, Base URL & Rate Limits
GatewayOpenRouter is a unified API gateway that routes requests to models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Mistral, and dozens of other providers.
How to get a free OpenRouter API key
- 1 Sign up at openrouter.ai No credit card. $10 lifetime top-up for 5× more rate limits.
- 2 Go to Keys page
- 3 Create a new API key
- 4 Find free models Look for :free suffix in model name, or browse our list below.
- 5 Configure OpenAI client Base URL: https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
Provider Snapshot
Supported Models 22 models
View in directory →| Model ID | Developer | Context | Availability | Free Tier | Use cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b:free NVIDIA: Nemotron 3 Ultra (free) | OpenRouter | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chatreasoning |
| google/gemma-4-31b-it:free Google: Gemma 4 31B (free) | 262K | Online | Yes | chat | |
| cohere/north-mini-code:free Cohere: North Mini Code (free) | Cohere | 256K | Online | Yes | chatcoding |
| poolside/laguna-s-2.1:free Poolside: Laguna S 2.1 (free) | OpenRouter | 262K | Online | Yes | chat |
| google/gemma-4-26b-a4b-it:free Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) | 262K | Online | Yes | chat | |
| nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning:free NVIDIA: Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) | OpenRouter | 256K | Online | Yes | chatvisionreasoning |
| nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free NVIDIA: Nemotron 3 Super (free) | OpenRouter | 262K | Online | Yes | chatreasoning |
| poolside/laguna-xs-2.1:free Poolside: Laguna XS 2.1 (free) | OpenRouter | 262K | Online | Yes | chat |
| nvidia/nemotron-3.5-content-safety:free NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Content Safety (free) | OpenRouter | 128K | Online | Yes | chatreasoning |
| nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-30b-a3b:free NVIDIA: Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) | OpenRouter | 256K | Online | Yes | chatreasoning |
| google/lyria-3-pro-preview Google: Lyria 3 Pro Preview | OpenRouter | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat |
| google/lyria-3-clip-preview Google: Lyria 3 Clip Preview | OpenRouter | 1.0M | Online | Yes | chat |
| nvidia/nemotron-nano-12b-v2-vl:free NVIDIA: Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | OpenRouter | 128K | Online | Yes | chatreasoning |
| openai/gpt-oss-20b:free OpenAI: gpt-oss-20b (free) | OpenAI | 131K | Online | Yes | chatcoding |
| nvidia/nemotron-nano-9b-v2:free NVIDIA: Nemotron Nano 9B V2 (free) | OpenRouter | 128K | Online | Yes | chatreasoning |
| inclusionai/ling-3.0-tiny:free inclusionAI: Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) | OpenRouter | 262K | Online | Yes | chat |
| openrouter/free Free Models Router | OpenRouter | 200K | Online | Yes | chat |
| poolside/laguna-m.1:free Poolside: Laguna M.1 (free) | OpenRouter | 262K | Check provider | Yes | chat |
| fish-audio/s2.1-pro-free-20260729:free Fish Audio: S2.1 Pro Free (free) | OpenRouter | 0 | Check provider | Yes | chataudio |
| nvidia/nemotron-3-embed-1b-20260716:free NVIDIA: Nemotron 3 Embed 1B (free) | OpenRouter | 16K | Check provider | Yes | chatreasoningembedding |
| nvidia/llama-nemotron-rerank-vl-1b-v2:free NVIDIA: Llama Nemotron Rerank VL 1B V2 (free) | OpenRouter | 10K | Check provider | Yes | chatreasoningembedding |
| nvidia/llama-nemotron-embed-vl-1b-v2-20260224:free NVIDIA: Llama Nemotron Embed VL 1B V2 (free) | OpenRouter | 131K | Check provider | Yes | chatreasoningembedding |
Developer Tools
Related Providers
View all →OpenRouter FreeLLM Score free API access score
How we score →What is OpenRouter?
Single API key for 300+ models from every major lab.
OpenRouter is a unified API gateway that routes requests to models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Mistral, and dozens of other providers. With a single API key and one base URL, developers can switch between models without changing code. The free tier (marked :free) offers 200 requests/day — or 1,000/day with a $10 lifetime top-up.
- 35+ permanently free models
- OpenAI-compatible endpoint
- 200 RPD free, 1,000 RPD with $10 lifetime credit
- One key for 300+ models
API Compatibility: Live-tested OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions and Responses
OpenRouter Free Tier Limits & Pricing
OpenRouter API Setup Tutorials
OpenRouter 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 →
OpenRouter Model Use Cases
What OpenRouter's free models are best for, based on aggregated model capabilities:
OpenRouter Limitations & Caveats
- 200 RPD on free tier (1,000 with $10 lifetime credit)
- Free models may change without notice
- Some free models have shorter context windows than paid variants
OpenRouter FAQ
What happens when I hit the 200 RPD limit on OpenRouter?
You'll get a 429 rate limit error. You can either wait for the daily reset (midnight UTC) or make a one-time $10 lifetime top-up to get 1,000 RPD permanently.
Do free models on OpenRouter cost anything?
No — models marked with :free in their ID are completely free to use within the rate limit. OpenRouter subsidizes free models through paid model margins.
Can I use OpenRouter with Claude Code?
Yes. Set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL to https://openrouter.ai/api and your OpenRouter API key. Claude Code will route through OpenRouter. Note: free models won't work for Claude Code as it requires Anthropic Claude models specifically.