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The :free variant allows you to access free versions of models on OpenRouter.

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Usage

Append :free to the ID of a model that has a free entry. :free is a catalog variant, so the free version appears as its own entry in the models API with its own pricing, context length, and endpoints, and only models that list one support it:

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Details

Free variants provide access to models without cost, but may have different rate limits or availability compared to paid versions.
Fallbacks to paid models are billedIf you list a :free model in a models fallback array, OpenRouter tries the next model in the array when the free model is rate-limited, unavailable, or has no endpoint that supports your request. Each model is billed at its own price, so a fallback to a paid model incurs charges even though the first model was :free. To keep a request free, list only :free models in models, or use the Free Models Router (openrouter/free) on its own, which falls back only to other free models.
  • Free Models Router - Learn how to use the Free Models Router in the Chat Playground for zero-cost inference