Free OpenRouter models

~22 free models (marked with `:free` suffix). OpenAI SDK-compatible.

Free OpenRouter models in this directory

• :free models · 20 RPM · 50-1000 RPD
• qwen/qwen3-next-80b-a3b-instruct:free · 20 RPM, 200 RPD
• Arcee Trinity Large · Free tier
• google/gemma-4-31b-it:free · 20 RPM, 200 RPD
• LFM 2.5 1.2B · Free tier
• LFM 2.5 Thinking · Free tier
• meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b-instruct:free · 20 RPM, 200 RPD
• nousresearch/hermes-3-llama-3.1-405b:free · 20 RPM, 200 RPD
• nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free · 20 RPM, 200 RPD
• nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b:free · 20 RPM, 200 RPD
• openai/gpt-oss-120b:free · 20 RPM, 200 RPD
• openai/gpt-oss-20b:free · 20 RPM, 200 RPD
• OpenRouter Free · Free tier
• Owl Alpha · Free tier
• Poolside Laguna XS.2 · Free tier
• poolside/laguna-m.1:free · 20 RPM, 200 RPD
• qwen/qwen3-coder:free · 20 RPM, 200 RPD
• Kimi K2.6 · Free tier
• GLM 4.5 Air · Free tier
• Nemotron 3 Omni · Free tier
• Nemotron Nano 30B · Free tier
• Gemma 4 26B MoE · Free tier
• Dolphin Mistral 24B · Free tier
• Llama 3.2 3B · Free tier
• Nemotron Nano 12B VL · Free tier
• Nemotron Nano 9B · Free tier

Frequently asked

Are OpenRouter models free?

Yes, within OpenRouter's free tier (20 RPM, 200 RPD). No credit card is required. This directory lists 26 of its free models individually; beyond those, the provider offers ~12 more free models on the same tier.

Can I use OpenRouter's free models commercially?

Commercial terms are not clearly documented. Check the provider's current terms before shipping.

How do I start using OpenRouter's free models?

~22 free models (marked with `:free` suffix). OpenAI SDK-compatible.

Building with this model?

We wire free-tier and open-weight models into production stacks: evals against your real inputs, failover, cost caps.

Free monthly update

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What is newly free, what got rate-limited, and what to switch to. One email a month. Unsubscribe anytime.

Related free models

• Kimi K2.6 (Ollama Cloud) · Free tier
• GLM 4.6 (Z.ai) · Self-host free
• Gemini 3.5 Flash (Google Gemini) · 15 RPM, 1,500 RPD
• DeepSeek V3-0324 (DeepSeek) · Self-host free
• Gemini 2.5 Flash (Google AI Studio) · Generous · no card
• Qwen3.7 Max (Qwen) · Free tier