OpenRouter free models: what's free, the limits, and how to use them on iPhone and Mac

OpenRouter is free to use for its free models: any model whose ID ends in :free costs nothing, within daily limits. As of November 2026 you can make 20 requests a minute and 50 requests a day to free models, or 1,000 a day once you’ve bought at least 10 credits (OpenRouter). All other models are paid per token. You need an OpenRouter account and an API key either way, and on an iPhone, iPad or Mac you can use them in Modelbase next to models that run on your device.

What is OpenRouter?

OpenRouter is one API for models from many AI companies: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Mistral, DeepSeek, Qwen, NVIDIA and many more (OpenRouter models). Instead of opening an account with each company, you get one key, one bill and one OpenAI-compatible address (https://openrouter.ai/api/v1), and you pick the model per request. OpenRouter doesn’t add a markup to model prices (OpenRouter); it charges a fee when you buy credits: 5.5%, with a $0.80 minimum (OpenRouter FAQ).

Is OpenRouter free?

Partly. There are three ways to use it without paying:

1. Free models. Models with a :free ID are priced at $0 for input and output. OpenRouter’s pricing page counts “25+ free models” across all kinds (text, embeddings, speech) (OpenRouter).
2. A small allowance for new users. OpenRouter says new users get “a small free allowance to test out OpenRouter” (OpenRouter FAQ).
3. Free routing. A free router, openrouter/free, picks one of the free models for each request.

Everything else is paid per token, at the prices shown on each model’s page.

OpenRouter free model limits

Credits you’ve bought (all time)	Requests per minute	Requests per day
Fewer than 10	20	50
At least 10	20	1,000

Source: OpenRouter limits, November 2026.

Two details from OpenRouter’s pricing page: failed attempts count toward the daily cap, and a negative balance blocks free models until you add credits (OpenRouter). Buying 10 credits once is the way to raise the daily cap from 50 to 1,000.

Which free models are on OpenRouter?

When we checked in November 2026, OpenRouter listed 14 free text models (the list changes from week to week; see the live list). Some of them, with the context length OpenRouter reports:

Model	ID	Context	Takes images
Google Gemma 4 31B	google/gemma-4-31b-it:free	262,144	Yes
Google Gemma 4 26B A4B	google/gemma-4-26b-a4b-it:free	262,144	Yes
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra	nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b:free	1,000,000	No
NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Super VL	nvidia/nemotron-3.5-super-vl:free	1,000,000	Yes
Thinking Machines Inkling 2 Small	thinkingmachines/inkling-2-small:free	1,048,576	Yes
Baidu ERNIE 5.5 Flash Preview	baidu/ernie-5.5-flash-preview:free	1,024,000	No
Cohere North Mini Code	cohere/north-mini-code:free	256,000	No
Liquid AI LFM3 1.7B	liquid/lfm-3-1.7b:free	262,144	No

Some free models are previews with an end date: one of them, LFM2.5-2.6B, was listed to expire on the day we checked, and Dots3-Note Preview lists 31 December 2026. If a free model you rely on disappears, pick another from the list.

Which free OpenRouter model is best?

It depends on the job, and OpenRouter’s model descriptions are the best guide:

• Questions about images: Gemma 4 31B, Nemotron 3.5 Super VL and Inkling 2 Small accept images.
• Coding: Cohere describes North Mini Code as an agentic coding model; Particle-1 and Flint are also built for coding work.
• Very long documents: the Nemotron, Inkling and ERNIE models report context lengths of about a million tokens.
• General chat: Gemma 4 31B, Google’s open model with image input and a 262,144-token context, is a good general-purpose start.

What happens to your data on free models

This is where free models differ from paid ones, so read it before you paste anything private.

• OpenRouter itself says it doesn’t store your prompts or responses unless you opt in to logging, and that it doesn’t train on your data (OpenRouter).
• The providers behind each model have their own policies, and some free endpoints may log prompts or use them for training. OpenRouter keeps separate privacy settings for free and paid models, so you can choose which kinds of endpoints your account may use (OpenRouter).
• Some models say it in their description. LFM3 1.7B’s free listing, for instance, notes that prompts and outputs may be retained and used.

The safe rule: don’t send anything to a free cloud model that you wouldn’t want stored. For private questions, use a model that runs on your own device.

How to get an OpenRouter API key

1. Create an account at openrouter.ai.
2. Open the Keys page and create a key.
3. Copy the key and keep it private; treat it like a password.

On an iPhone or Mac you can skip this: Modelbase can sign you in and receive a key from OpenRouter directly.

How to use OpenRouter’s free models on iPhone, iPad and Mac

Modelbase is a free app that runs AI models on your iPhone, iPad and Mac, and connects to OpenRouter with your own key.

1. Open Manage models. Tap the model’s name at the top of a chat, then Manage models.
2. Add OpenRouter. Tap + and choose OpenRouter.
3. Connect. Tap Sign in with OpenRouter: it opens OpenRouter’s sign-in page, which hands a key back to the app. Or paste a key under Or Use a Key and tap Connect (Get a key opens OpenRouter’s key page). If the sign-in page shows a code instead of coming back to the app, use Paste code.
4. Find the free models. Back in Manage models, open OpenRouter and turn on the Free filter. You can also filter by Vision, Reasoning, Tools and maker, and sort by Most Capable, Most Popular, Cheapest First or Largest Context.
5. Add the ones you want. They appear in the model picker, marked OpenRouter, next to your on-device models.

Your key stays in the device’s Keychain. In Settings > BYOK > OpenRouter you can see the key’s name, how much it has spent, and whether it’s on OpenRouter’s free tier.

Paid models show their price per million tokens in the list (“$3 in · $15 out”); free ones say Free. You pay OpenRouter for what you use; Modelbase adds nothing.

Thinking and images with OpenRouter models

• Reasoning models get the same Instant / Medium / High thinking control as on-device ones; Modelbase sends Medium and High to OpenRouter as the reasoning effort. See what a reasoning model is.
• Vision models receive the photos you attach. As the app’s own note says, a model that is not local receives your messages and attached images.

OpenRouter free models vs a model on your phone

	OpenRouter free model	Local model in Modelbase
Cost	Free, within limits	Free, no limits
Daily limit	50 requests (1,000 after buying 10 credits)	None
Model size	Large (up to hundreds of billions of parameters)	Small (up to about 8B)
Needs internet	Yes	No
Your data	Sent to OpenRouter and the model’s provider	Stays on your device
Account	OpenRouter account and key	None

Use both: a local model for everyday and private questions, an OpenRouter free model when you need more knowledge or a longer context. Our guide to free LLM APIs covers Groq and Google’s Gemini API too, and how to run an LLM locally on iPhone, iPad and Mac covers the on-device side.

FAQ

Is OpenRouter free?

OpenRouter’s :free models are free to use within limits: 20 requests a minute and 50 a day, or 1,000 a day after you’ve bought at least 10 credits. Other models are paid per token.

How many free models does OpenRouter have?

When we checked in November 2026, 14 free text models plus a free router. OpenRouter’s pricing page counts more than 25 free models across all kinds, including embeddings and speech.

Does OpenRouter give free credits?

OpenRouter says new users get a small free allowance for testing. It doesn’t publish the amount.

What does OpenRouter charge?

The model’s own price per token, with no markup, plus a 5.5% fee ($0.80 minimum) when you buy credits.

Are OpenRouter free models private?

OpenRouter says it doesn’t store prompts unless you opt in, but the providers behind free models have their own policies and some may log or train on prompts. Don’t send private information to free cloud models.

Can I use OpenRouter on my iPhone?

Yes. Modelbase connects to OpenRouter with Sign in with OpenRouter or a pasted key, and shows OpenRouter’s models next to the ones that run on your iPhone.