all tiers / OpenRouter
OpenRouter free models (:free) free tier limits (2026)
a rotating set of :free model variants behind one openai-compatible api. 50 requests/day, or 1,000/day once you've bought 10 credits.
per minute20 RPM on :free models
per day50 RPD (<10 credits ever purchased) / 1,000 RPD (>=10 credits purchased)
per month
other limits / notes from source20 RPM; 50 RPD if <10 credits ever purchased, 1,000 RPD with >=10; negative balance blocks free models (402)
card requiredno (for 50 RPD)
phone required
used for trainingmodel-dependent ('some models may store or train')
age req (as stated by the source)18+
region restrictions
corrected 2026-10-18: tos 4.1 says you must buy credits (min $5) to call the api, the limits docs say you don't. source
models included
nvidia/nemotron-3.5-super-vl:freenvidia/nemotron-3.5-lightning:freenvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b:freenvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:freenvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning:freenvidia/nemotron-3.5-content-safety:freegoogle/gemma-4-26b-a4b-it:freegoogle/gemma-4-31b-it:freecohere/north-mini-code:freepoolside/laguna-s-2.1:freepoolside/laguna-xs-2.1:freethinkingmachines/inkling:freethinkingmachines/inkling-small:freeliquid/lfm-2.5-2.6b:freedots-studio/dots-3-note-preview:free
notes
free model list changes often; the change detector reads the public models api and diffs the :free ids. ToS 4.1 says credits must be purchased to call the API (min $5) - contradicts limits docs.
couldn't find these on the official page: phone required, region restrictions. if you can, send the link and we'll check it.
sources
- https://openrouter.ai/docs/api-reference/limits
- https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models
- https://openrouter.ai/docs/api/reference/limits
- https://openrouter.ai/terms
change history
- openrouter openrouter free models (:free): tos 4.1 says you must buy credits (min $5) to call the api, the limits docs say you don't
- openrouter lists 15 :free models