Free AI API credits
Startup programs and free tiers that give you AI API credits, from the big labs to open-model hosts. Programs marked Open take bootstrapped teams; VC-backed programs need an investor or accelerator for the headline amount.
AI labs & cloud startup programs
The big model providers and clouds. Bootstrapped teams get a starter amount; VC-backed teams unlock the large numbers.
OpenClaude for Startups
$1,000 API credits + Claude Team free
$1,000 in Claude API credits (expire after 6 months), higher rate limits, a free year of Claude Team for up to 5 seats, and biweekly office hours. Founders backed by a partner VC can get up to $100K more through their investor.
- Who:
- Founded in the last 5 years or funded in the last 2. No VC needed. Company email matching your website; apply in the Claude Console. Credits only work on the first-party API, not Bedrock or Vertex.
VC-backedOpenAI for Startups
API credits via partner VCs
No public self-serve application. Credits and higher rate limits come through a referral code from an OpenAI partner VC or accelerator. Startup perk platforms like Ramp and Brex also bundle OpenAI credits.
- Who:
- Backed by an OpenAI partner investor. Ask your VC or accelerator for a referral code.
VC-backedGoogle for Startups Cloud Program
Up to $350,000 credits
Google Cloud credits you can spend on Gemini through Vertex AI. AI-first startups get up to $350K over 2 years; other funded startups up to $200K. The Start tier gives up to $2,000 for one year.
- Who:
- Start tier: not equity-funded, under 5 years old. Scale and AI tiers: equity-funded, with a public website.
- Open
Microsoft for Startups
Up to $150,000 Azure credits
Azure credits unlocked in stages, usable for OpenAI and other models in Microsoft Foundry. The entry tiers are small; the full amount needs investor backing or milestones.
- Who:
- Privately held software startup, pre-Series C. Open to founders without VC funding.
OpenAWS Activate
$1,000–$200,000 credits
AWS credits usable on Amazon Bedrock (Claude, Llama, Mistral and more). Activate Founders gives $1,000–$5,000 to self-funded startups; Activate Portfolio gives up to $200,000 through an Activate provider.
- Who:
- Pre-Series B, founded in the last 10 years, AWS account on a paid plan. Portfolio tier needs an accelerator or VC Org ID.
OpenNVIDIA Inception
Free to join, partner credits
No direct cash credits, but members get cloud and GPU partner offers, hardware and software discounts, and free NVIDIA training. Often the door to other GPU credit programs.
- Who:
- Incorporated in the last 10 years, at least one developer, a working website. No equity taken.
Open-model inference & GPUs
Hosted open-source models (Llama, DeepSeek, Qwen) and GPU compute.
VC-backedTogether AI Startup Accelerator
$15K–$50K credits
Inference and fine-tuning credits on Together's open-model platform, plus engineering support. The tier depends on how much you have raised.
- Who:
- AI startups; credit tier is based on funding raised.
VC-backedFireworks AI Startup Program
Inference & GPU credits
Credits for serverless inference, fine-tuning and dedicated GPUs on Fireworks.
- Who:
- Private company under 5 years old, over $500K in VC funding, pre-Series D.
VC-backedDeepInfra DeepStart
1 billion free tokens
Free tokens on DeepInfra's hosted open models.
- Who:
- Raised $250K–$10M and founded within the last 2 years.
VC-backedModal for Startups
GPU compute credits
Credits for serverless GPUs on Modal. Everyone also gets $30/month of free compute on the Starter plan.
- Who:
- Backed by a Modal partner fund or raised over $1M.
OpenRunpod Startup Program
$1,000 starter credits
GPU cloud credits. The Growth tier adds a $25K bonus when you commit $50K.
- Who:
- Teams running real AI workloads. Growth tier is for VC-backed startups.
Voice & speech AI
Text-to-speech, speech-to-text and voice agents.
OpenElevenLabs Startup Grants
33M credits for 12 months
About 680 hours of Conversational AI audio, usable across ElevenLabs' TTS and voice agent APIs.
- Who:
- Fewer than 25 employees and a product you plan to monetize. Agencies and existing enterprise customers are excluded.
OpenDeepgram Startup Program
Speech API credits for 12 months
Speech-to-text and TTS credits. Partner VCs and accelerators unlock bigger tiers. Any new account also gets $200 free, no card needed.
- Who:
- Early-stage startups in production or launching within 6 months.
OpenAssemblyAI Startup Program
Speech AI credits
Transcription credits that scale with your usage. New accounts also get $50 in free credits.
- Who:
- Early-stage startups building with speech AI. No equity required.
Free API tiers (no application)
Sign up and get an API key. Rate-limited, but enough to prototype on.
- Free tier
Google Gemini API
Free Gemini models
The most generous free tier: several Gemini models free through Google AI Studio, with daily rate limits.
- Who:
- Google account. Free-tier prompts may be used to improve Google products.
Free tierGroq
Free, rate-limited
Very fast inference on open models like Llama and Qwen, free within per-minute and per-day limits.
- Who:
- GroqCloud account.
Free tierOpenRouter free models
50 requests/day free
One API for many models; the :free variants cost nothing. A one-time $10 top-up raises the limit to 1,000 requests a day.
- Who:
- OpenRouter account.
Free tierMistral
$10/month free credits
Monthly API credit on Mistral's Free plan, covering Mistral's own models.
- Who:
- Mistral account on the Free plan.
Free tierCloudflare Workers AI
10,000 Neurons/day
Run open models on Cloudflare's edge network, with a daily free allowance on any Workers plan.
- Who:
- Cloudflare account (Workers Free or Paid).
- Free tier
NVIDIA NIM
Free prototyping endpoints
Hosted API endpoints for popular open models, free for development and testing.
- Who:
- Free NVIDIA Developer Program membership.
Free tierCohere
1,000 calls/month trial key
Trial API key for Command, Embed and Rerank models.
- Who:
- Cohere account. Evaluation use only, not production.
Credit amounts, tiers and eligibility change often and many depend on your funding stage. Always confirm the terms on the official page before you apply.