OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › docs › api › reference › limits
API Rate Limits - Manage Model Usage and Quotas
If you have purchased less than 10 credits, you’re limited to 50 :free model requests per day.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/chub_ai › openrouter free models
r/Chub_AI on Reddit: OpenRouter free models
March 2, 2025 -
Does openrouter have a limit for free models? If so, is there a way that I can get around it besides making a new account or using the other models?
Top answer 1 of 2
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It depends on the model, I think deepseek chat is 200 messages per day. Only way around it is ekther use a different OR account or select a different free model since msg counts wont carry over between models. Alternatively you can use a free model eith unlimited use, though these are udually less smart.
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https://openrouter.ai/docs/api-reference/limits Per Openrouter: There are a few rate limits that apply to certain types of requests, regardless of account status: Free limit*: If you are using a free model variant (with an ID ending in :free), then you will be limited to 20 requests per minute and 200 requests per day.*
Ask HN: Openrouter Free Models
They also offer free models like Quasar Alpha where they don't disclose who the model provider is. In exchange for you getting a capable model for free they get to log everything to improve upon it before a proper public release. Whatever that means, as I would expect everything and your mother ... More on news.ycombinator.com
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May 27, 2025Openrouter.ai rate limit for free tiers
Openrouter's free tiers are limited to 1 request every 5 seconds. When using ReAct it becomes hit or miss on a free model whether it'll hit the rate limit. It would be really helpful if thi... More on github.com
5
[Bug]: 429 rate limit errors from OpenRouter FREE models not honored?
What happened? OpenRouter has free models with tight rate limits: https://openrouter.ai/docs/api-reference/limits Free limit: If you are using a free model variant (with an ID ending in :free), the... More on github.com
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When using free models on OpenRouter I run into litellm.RateLimitError: RateLimitError: OpenrouterException
When using free models on OpenRouter I run into litellm.RateLimitError: RateLimitError: OpenrouterException#361 ... According to the documentation there is a limit of 20 requests per minute, which I might be hitting here. More on github.com
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Videos
OpenRouter: Easily access multiple AI models (including ...
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How to use Openrouter (Access Every LLM At Once) - YouTube
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This NEW Free Model With OpenRouter Is CRAZY - YouTube
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The AI Tool Most Serious Writers Are Using (OpenRouter Review) ...
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OpenRouter: Unlock FREE LLMs & AI Trading Tools - YouTube
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OpenRouter: Easily access multiple AI models (including FREE ones) ...
OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › pricing
Pricing - OpenRouter | OpenRouter
Free users have a limit of 50 requests per day and 20 requests per minute (rpm) For pay-as-you-go users with at least $10 in credits - ... Free‑tier usage of popular models can be subject to rate limiting by the provider, especially during ...
OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › docs › faq
OpenRouter FAQ | Developer Documentation | OpenRouter | Documentation
Otherwise, you will be rate limited to 50 free model API requests per day. You can learn more about how rate limits work for paid accounts in our rate limits documentation. OpenRouter implements the OpenAI API specification for /completions ...
Hacker News
news.ycombinator.com › item
Ask HN: Openrouter Free Models | Hacker News
May 27, 2025 - They also offer free models like Quasar Alpha where they don't disclose who the model provider is. In exchange for you getting a capable model for free they get to log everything to improve upon it before a proper public release. Whatever that means, as I would expect everything and your mother ...
Novelcrafter
novelcrafter.com › home › help › faq › ai connections › i can't access openrouter's free models
I can't access OpenRouter's free models - AI Connections - Novelcrafter Help
OpenRouter has stated that: “For free models, rate limits are determined by the credits that you have purchased. If you have purchased at least $10 credits, your free model rate limit will be 1000 requests per day.
GitHub
github.com › enricoros › big-AGI › issues › 291
Openrouter.ai rate limit for free tiers · Issue #291 · enricoros/big-AGI
December 22, 2023 - Openrouter's free tiers are limited to 1 request every 5 seconds. When using ReAct it becomes hit or miss on a free model whether it'll hit the rate limit. It would be really helpful if this could be implemented internally to automatical...
Published Dec 22, 2023
Puter
developer.puter.com › tutorials › free-unlimited-openrouter-api
Free, Unlimited OpenRouter API
1 day ago - That's it! You now have free, unlimited access to hundreds of AI models through OpenRouter using Puter.js. This allows you to leverage powerful AI capabilities for your applications without worrying about API keys, rate limits, or backend setup.
Medium
gaikarkshitij.medium.com › using-llm-apis-for-free-with-openrouter-ai-2025-edition-2c2c677c64bf
🚀 Using LLM APIs for Free with OpenRouter.ai (2025 Edition) | by Kshitij Gaikar | Medium
April 15, 2025 - As of April 2025, OpenRouter.ai supports over 300 models, including several free options like Toppy, Zephyr, and DeepSeek R1, each with defined usage limits to ensure equitable access for all users.
OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › announcements › 1-million-free-byok-requests-per-month
1 million free BYOK requests per month
October 1, 2025 - Starting October 1st, every customer gets 1,000,000 “Bring Your Own Key” (BYOK) requests per month for free. The change is automatic for all existing BYOK users. For customers exceeding 1m req/month, requests will be charged at the usual rate of 5%. BYOK allows you to make requests through ...
OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › models
Models: 'free' | OpenRouter
Browse models on OpenRouter
OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › docs › guides › routing › model-variants › free
Free Variant | Free Model Access | OpenRouter | Documentation
The :free variant allows you to access free versions of models on OpenRouter. ... Free variants provide access to models without cost, but may have different rate limits or availability compared to paid versions.
OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › models
Models | OpenRouter
November 24, 2025 - Browse models on OpenRouter
GitHub
github.com › BerriAI › litellm › issues › 9035
[Bug]: 429 rate limit errors from OpenRouter FREE models not honored? · Issue #9035 · BerriAI/litellm
March 6, 2025 - What happened? OpenRouter has free models with tight rate limits: https://openrouter.ai/docs/api-reference/limits Free limit: If you are using a free model variant (with an ID ending in :free), then you will be limited to 20 requests per...
Published Mar 06, 2025
GitHub
github.com › huggingface › smolagents › issues › 361
When using free models on OpenRouter I run into litellm.RateLimitError: RateLimitError: OpenrouterException · Issue #361 · huggingface/smolagents
January 26, 2025 - Free limit: If you are using a free model variant (with an ID ending in :free), then you will be limited to 20 requests per minute and 200 requests per day. DDoS protection: Cloudflare's DDoS protection will block requests that dramatically ...
Published Jan 26, 2025
OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › deepseek › deepseek-r1:free
R1 - API, Providers, Stats | OpenRouter
DeepSeek R1 is here: Performance on par with [OpenAI o1](/openai/o1), but open-sourced and with fully open reasoning tokens. It's 671B parameters in size, with 37B active in an inference pass. Run R1 with API
AIbase
aibase.com › news › www.aibase.com › news › 16952
OpenRouter Adjusts API Policy: Redefining Free and Paid ...
April 9, 2025 - Adjusted Free Model Usage Limits: For free model versions marked with the ":free" suffix, the request limit is set to 20 per minute, and the total daily call volume has been reduced from 200 to 50. This change will directly impact free users relying on the platform for prototyping and testing.
OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › announcements › updates-to-our-free-tier-sustaining-accessible-ai-for-everyone
Updates to Our Free Tier: Sustaining Accessible AI ...
July 10, 2025 - Expanding Free Capacity: We're actively onboarding new providers to replenish and enhance our free model offerings. Additionally, OpenRouter will directly cover some of the associated costs to ensure the most popular models remain freely accessible.
OpenRouter
openrouter.ai › docs › quickstart
OpenRouter Quickstart Guide | Developer Documentation | OpenRouter | Documentation
OpenRouter provides a unified API that gives you access to hundreds of AI models through a single endpoint, while automatically handling fallbacks and selecting the most cost-effective options. Get started with just a few lines of code using your preferred SDK or framework. Looking for information about free models and rate limits?
Reddit
reddit.com › r/janitorai_official › new openrouter limits
[Mature Content] r/JanitorAI_Official on Reddit: New Openrouter Limits
April 7, 2025 -
So a 'little bit' of bad news especially to those specifically using Deepseek v3 0324 free via openrouter, the limits have just been adjusted from 200 -> 50 requests per day. Guess you'd have to create at least four accounts to even mimic that of having the 200 requests per day limit from before.
EDIT: All free models (even non deepseek ones) are subject to the 50 requests per day limit. And for further clarification, say even if you have say $5 on your account and can access paid models, you'd still be restricted to 50 requests per day (haven't really tested it out but based on the documentation, we need at least $10 so we can have access to higher request limits)