You might never have to pay for an AI API again, thanks to one GitHub repo that almost nobody knows about.

What it is

A collection of 134 free APIs from over 40 providers. NVIDIA, Grok, Gemini, basically every major model you would actually reach for.

The important part: these are permanent free tiers. Not trial credits that expire in thirty days, not a promo that quietly converts to paid. Free tiers that stay free.

Why that matters

If you are building anything with AI, the API bill is the line that creeps. It starts at a few dollars while you are testing and then grows every month as usage grows, which is exactly when you can least afford the distraction.

Running your side projects and experiments on free tiers means the cost of trying something stays at zero. That changes how often you try things.

Setup

It is one click inside whichever coding tool you already use. Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, they all work. You are not writing integration code, you are pointing your existing setup at a different endpoint.

The honest caveats

  • Free tiers have rate limits. Fine for building and testing, not for a production app with real traffic.
  • Quality varies by provider. Some of these are frontier models, some are not. Match the model to the job.
  • Read the terms on anything sensitive. Free usually means your requests help someone improve something. Do not put client data through a free tier without checking.
Everyone else's API bill goes up every month. This is the simplest way to make sure yours does not.

Wire one in before your next project and watch what your monthly bill does. This is the rare free thing that stays free.
– Anir

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