Free plans compared
Best Free AI APIs & Developer Tools (2026)
Developers need model access, web search, data extraction and tools to see what an AI app is doing. Many providers offer a free tier that is enough to prototype. Free tiers change, so check the limits shown here and watch usage before you ship.
Disclosure: some Visit links may be affiliate links, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Details come from official pricing and product pages, last reviewed 2026-10-11; this is not a hands-on test. Confirm current limits with the provider.
What to check before you choose
- What are the rate and quota limits of the free tier?
- Do you need a credit card to start?
- Is there an open-source or self-hosted option?
- How will costs grow when your app gets real traffic?
How we chose: tools listed here have an active product, a free plan or free tier, and pricing we could confirm from the provider. Retired or paid-only tools are left out automatically.
Quick comparison of free plans
| Tool | Free plan | No card needed | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google AI Studio | Free access is model- and region-dependent; Gemini API usage has its own published pricing and limits. | — | Web |
| Groq | Free model access has request and token caps; Developer adds paid capacity and features. | — | API, Web |
| OpenRouter | Free model variants exist with request caps; paid models consume credits and may carry platform fees. | — | API, Web |
| Exa | The free tier lists USD 10 in credits/month plus onboarding credits, with no payment method required. | Yes | API, Web |
| Tavily | Free access includes 1,000 API credits/month, reset monthly, with no card required. | Yes | API, Web |
| You.com | The free route allows 100 Web Search API queries/day via MCP with no API key, account or card. | Yes | Web, API |
| Firecrawl | The ongoing free plan provides 1,000 credits/month with no card required. | Yes | Web, API |
| Langfuse | Cloud Hobby is free with 50,000 units/month and 30-day historical access, no card required. | Yes | Web, API |
| LangSmith | Developer is USD 0 with one seat and 5,000 base traces/month; extra usage is metered. | Yes | Web, API |
| Cartesia | Free includes 20,000 credits/month and a small managed-agent allowance. | — | API, Web |
| Ollama | Local use is free; the free account includes limited cloud access. | — | macOS, Windows, Linux, API |
| Composio | Hobby includes 100,000 tool calls and 50,000 triggers/month with three team members, no card required. | Yes | API, Web |
The tools, in detail
Prototype Gemini prompts and structured outputs, then inspect sample code for a developer integration.
Best for: Prototype Gemini prompts and structured outputs, then inspect sample code for a developer integration.
Free plan: Free access is model- and region-dependent; Gemini API usage has its own published pricing and limits.
Key features
- Prompt prototyping
- Gemini model exploration
- Structured-output settings
- Sample integration code
Limits to know
- API pricing and limits vary by model
- A prototype does not include application security or monitoring
Groq provides inference APIs for supported text and speech models.
Best for: Fast hosted inference for supported models
Free plan: Free model access has request and token caps; Developer adds paid capacity and features. Consult your account’s limits and current model rates rather than assuming unlimited free inference.
Key features
- Text generation API
- Supported open models
- Speech transcription
- Structured outputs
Limits to know
- Rate limits apply to the organisation and differ by model
- Not every hosted model supports the same tools or output features
OpenRouter routes API requests to a model and provider from a shared catalog.
Best for: Comparing model APIs with provider routing
Free plan: Free model variants exist with request caps; paid models consume credits and may carry platform fees. Check the current FAQ, model rate and provider policy before sending data.
Key features
- Unified model API
- Model catalog
- Provider routing
- Fallback models
Limits to know
- Provider data handling and feature support differ
- Free variants have limits and should not be assumed to match paid capacity
Exa provides search and content APIs for applications that need relevant web documents.
Best for: Semantic web search in developer applications
Free plan: The free tier lists USD 10 in credits/month plus onboarding credits, with no payment method required. Pay-as-you-go and larger plans apply after limits; endpoint rates vary.
Key features
- Web search API
- Page contents
- Semantic search
- Company search
Limits to know
- A relevant result is not automatically an authoritative source
- Search and content usage must be budgeted separately from model inference
Tavily supplies search, extraction and crawl APIs for research applications.
Best for: Search and extraction APIs for AI research
Free plan: Free access includes 1,000 API credits/month, reset monthly, with no card required. Pay-as-you-go is listed at USD 0.008/credit; endpoint consumption varies.
Key features
- Search API
- Content extraction
- Crawl API
- Source URLs
Limits to know
- Freshness and coverage depend on the available web sources
- Advanced operations can use more credits than a basic query
Web-search APIs and tools for supplying live information and source-backed retrieval to AI applications.
Best for: Developers retrieving current web information for AI apps
Free plan: The free route allows 100 Web Search API queries/day via MCP with no API key, account or card. New users also get $100 in free credit (stated as about 20,000 Web Search queries). Pay as you go: Web Search $5, Contents $1, Answer $5 per 1,000 calls.
Key features
- Web Search API
- Live news results
- AI-ready retrieval
- MCP access
Limits to know
- The public MCP route allows 100 Web Search queries/day without an API key, account, or card. Production API access uses separate usage-based pricing.
Firecrawl offers APIs for scraping, crawling, searching and extracting web content.
Best for: Turning permitted web pages into LLM-ready data
Free plan: The ongoing free plan provides 1,000 credits/month with no card required. Paid tiers and optional auto-recharge add costs; browser and extraction operations have different credit rules.
Key features
- Page scraping
- Website crawling
- Search API
- Structured extraction
Limits to know
- Each endpoint consumes credits differently
- A crawl can include duplicate or irrelevant pages unless its scope is constrained
Langfuse records LLM traces, manages prompt versions and supports evaluations.
Best for: Open-source LLM observability and prompt versions
Free plan: Cloud Hobby is free with 50,000 units/month and 30-day historical access, no card required. Higher tiers and self-hosted enterprise features have separate terms; model API use is not included.
Key features
- LLM tracing
- Prompt versions
- Datasets
- Evaluation scores
Limits to know
- A trace can contain user content, so retention and access need planning
- Self-hosting shifts database and upgrade maintenance to your team
LangSmith helps developers inspect LLM runs and evaluate application behaviour.
Best for: Tracing and evaluating LLM applications
Free plan: Developer is USD 0 with one seat and 5,000 base traces/month; extra usage is metered. Plus and deployment options add costs. Check retention and trace types on the pricing page.
Key features
- Application tracing
- LLM evaluations
- Datasets
- Prompt iteration
Limits to know
- Useful evaluation requires labelled examples and clear success criteria
- Trace allowances, deployment compute and model API costs are separate
Cartesia provides text-to-speech, speech-to-text and managed voice-agent services.
Best for: Speech APIs and low-latency voice prototypes
Free plan: Free includes 20,000 credits/month and a small managed-agent allowance. Pro is listed at USD 5/month and adds a commercial-use licence. Voice-agent duration, telephony and overages have separate rates.
Key features
- Text-to-speech
- Speech-to-text
- Managed voice agents
- Voice controls
Limits to know
- The free plan does not include the paid commercial-use licence
- Agent minutes and phone charges are separate from speech credits
Ollama provides a local runtime for supported language models and an API for applications.
Best for: Local model APIs and developer prototypes
Free plan: Local use is free; the free account includes limited cloud access. Pro and Max cloud plans are paid. Hardware, electricity and each model’s licence remain your responsibility.
Key features
- Local model runtime
- Model library
- Command-line chat
- Local API
Limits to know
- Your computer must have enough memory for the selected model
- Model licences are separate from the runtime and must be checked for reuse
Composio connects agents to app tools and manages OAuth connections, sessions and triggers.
Best for: Authenticated app tools for AI agents
Free plan: Hobby includes 100,000 tool calls and 50,000 triggers/month with three team members, no card required. Paid tiers and provider charges apply beyond the included scope.
Key features
- Tool catalog
- OAuth management
- Agent sessions
- App triggers
Limits to know
- A connected app can still permit destructive actions if scopes are too broad
- Tool calls, triggers and optional add-ons have different billing rules
Quick decision guide
- Want to avoid entering a card? Exa, Tavily, You.com, Firecrawl, Langfuse, LangSmith, Composio.
- Prefer open source? Firecrawl, Langfuse, Ollama.
Head-to-head comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Will a free tier last in production?
Usually not. Free tiers are meant for testing. Estimate cost per request and plan a paid tier or fallback before launch.
How do I avoid surprise bills?
Set usage alerts and hard limits where the provider supports them, and log token or request counts in your own app.
Which APIs for developers here need no credit card?
Based on the official pages we reviewed, Exa, Tavily, You.com, Firecrawl, Langfuse, LangSmith, Composio are listed as not needing a credit card to start. Confirm at sign-up, because plans change.
How current is this list?
Tool details were last reviewed 2026-10-11 from official pages. Free plans change often, so check the linked pricing page before you rely on a limit.