As recorded at collection: OpenRouter free model API, default 50 calls per day
As recorded at collection: The :free models on the AI model API service OpenRouter can be called for free up to 20 times per minute and, by default, 50 times per day. The daily limit varies depending on your cumulative purchased credits, and requests may fail due to account or provider restrictions.
- What you get
- :free model API free calls, 20 per minute · default 50 per day
- Price
- :free models available for free · daily request limit varies based on cumulative purchased credits
- Valid until
- To be confirmed
- Requirements
- Applies to :free model variants · fewer than 10 cumulative purchased credits: 50 per day, 10 or more: 1,000 per day · the current threshold, accounting for fees and rounding, is from 9 credits · same limit of 20 per minute · limits cannot be increased with additional accounts or API keys · free models may also return errors if the balance is negative or provider capacity is insufficient
Details
OpenRouter applies free call limits to model variants whose model ID ends in :free. The default limit is 20 per minute and 50 per day.
If your cumulative purchased credits are below 10, you can make 50 calls per day; if they are 10 or more, you can make up to 1,000 calls per day. The official limit documentation explains that, accounting for top-up fees and rounding, the higher daily limit currently applies from 9 credits. The limit of 20 per minute remains the same.
Limits cannot be increased with additional accounts or API keys. If the balance is negative, free models may also return a 402 error; if provider capacity is insufficient or the request limit is reached, a 429 error may occur. Availability from individual models and availability for each account have not been verified, and actual API calls have not been tested. End dates and regional conditions need to be confirmed.
Sources and verification history
- Collection channel
- gh/free-llm
- Collected at
- September 25, 2026, 10:50 KST
- First published
- Updated
- Source
- openrouter.ai
- Main post
- View the main post