Developer Tests 100+ LLM Providers to Curate Free, Replenishable AI API List

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A developer surveyed hundreds of large language model providers across the web and GitHub to identify APIs offering free tiers that automatically replenish on a daily, weekly, or monthly cycle. The search was motivated by a need for reliable, long-term fallback options for personal projects, excluding one-time credits or trial offers that would eventually run dry. Providers were evaluated against two core criteria: no billing information required, and genuinely replenishable free quotas, with a third condition allowing permanently free models as an alternative. Each shortlisted provider's endpoints were stress-tested against their stated rate limits to verify that at least one model returned a successful response without consuming paid tokens. The findings were compiled into an open GitHub repository called 'Free BYOK Models,' listing verified providers alongside their free tier quotas for use in AI assistants, coding agents, and similar integrations.

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