Hey guys - I know that there was (sometime ago) the possibility of getting your hands on some free credits for OpenAI api. I want to start working with n8n and I'm quite strapped for cash now.
I haven't seen any kind of new offers on the OpenAI chat and I was wondering if the promos are off the table or are available in some dark corner of the internet?
Thanks!
EDIT: Thank you all for your great inputs!
Videos
After a few hours of testing, I notice I typically spend $5–$6, which isn’t much but can accumulate over time. Are there any strategies to optimize or reduce API token usage that I might be overlooking? Or is this cost range standard when using N8N in combination with vector databases?
In contrast, when I use Voiceflow, costs are minimal as they offer a fixed token allowance based on the subscription plan. How can I achieve similar cost efficiency with my current setup?
how can i get free ai api to do n8n ai integration experiment
Most users have no idea this feature even exists.
OpenAI quietly gives out complimentary API tokens, if you agree to share your usage data with them.
If your prompts don’t contain sensitive info, this is an easy way to use the API almost for free.
For small projects, it can literally mean zero costs!
I’ve been using ChatGPT through the API for 5 months now and saved a few hundred bucks.
Here’s how it works👇🏽
• Mini models (gpt-5-mini, gpt-5-nano, gpt-4.1-mini, etc.)
→ up to 10 mln tokens/day for Tier 3–5 users
→ up to 2.5 mln tokens/day for Tier 1–2 users
• Main models (gpt-5, gpt-5-chat-latest, gpt-5-codex, gpt-4.1, gpt-4o, o1, o3)
→ up to 1 mln tokens/day for Tier 3–5 users
→ up to 250k tokens/day for Tier 1–2 users
That’s a massive amount of text, perfect for experiments, AI projects, or even full content automation setups.
What 1 Million Tokens Actually Means
To help you picture it:
|| || |250K|~120 pages| |1M|~500 pages| |2.5M|~1,250 pages| |10M|~5,000 pages|
How to Activate Free Daily Tokens
1️⃣ Go to https://platform.openai.com and sign in.
2️⃣ Navigate to Settings → Organization → Data Controls → Sharing
3️⃣ Under “Share inputs and outputs with OpenAI”, select
Enabled for all projects (or only for specific ones).
4️⃣ Click Save.
You’ll see a message confirming you’re enrolled for complimentary daily tokens.
That’s it! From now on, you’ll receive free daily usage for eligible models.
Important Notes
• The program isn’t permanent. OpenAI may end it with about a month’s notice.
• If you ever work with private or client data, keep sharing disabled for those projects.
• Everything else? Enjoy the free tokens while it lasts.
P.S. I’ll be sharing more of these useful finds on my profile.