OpenRouter: free model variants (":free")
OpenRouterFree LLM requests on ":free" models
- Cost
- Free for model IDs ending in ":free".
- How long
- Ongoing. The daily count resets at 00:00 UTC.
- Last verified
- Nov 9, 2026 · openrouter.ai
What you get
- Free access to model variants whose ID ends in ":free", through one OpenAI-compatible API.
- 20 requests a minute, with up to 50 requests a day if you've bought less than 10 credits in total, or 1,000 a day if you've bought at least 10.
Limits
- Which free variants exist changes often.
- Some free variants come from providers that may keep prompts or train on them. Check each model's page.
- OpenRouter says extra accounts or API keys don't raise your limits, because capacity is managed globally.
Who qualifies
- Anyone with an OpenRouter account.
Claim it with an AI agent
A browser or computer-use AI agent, for example Grok Bot or Meta's Muse, can do most of the clicking and setup. You keep the steps tied to your identity, money and legal consent.
The agent can do
- Once you're signed in, create an API key with a credit limit of $0 and store it safely.
- List the current ":free" models, test them, and set up fallbacks for 429 errors.
You do yourself
- Sign in to your own account yourself (password, 2FA codes).
- Buy credits yourself, if you decide to raise the daily limit.
Example prompt: "Open the official OpenRouter page (openrouter.ai) and check that this offer still matches what it says there. Once I've signed in, set it up for me. Stop and hand control back to me at any sign-in, phone or ID check, card field, captcha or terms acceptance."
Don't put private data into free variants that log prompts.
Sources
Checked Nov 9, 2026 on the official pages above. Offers change, and the official page always wins. All deals