Catalog/ № 019
Google AI Studio / Gemini API
shipGemini API with a real free tier — huge context, multimodal, generous limits.
aistudio.google.comVerified 2026-08-15
ledger entry · observed by @whysanesanders
The best free tier in the API game, and the paid tier undercuts rivals for long-context and multimodal work. Million-token context handles document workflows others cannot touch at this price.
Known limitations
- Free-tier prompts may be used for training — read the terms.
- Safety filters occasionally over-trigger.
- API surface and model names change quickly.
- Image/video generation is paid-tier only; Flash promo prices double 2027-01-01.
Facts
- pricing
- freemium1
- price note
- free tier (text models); paid from $0.75/1M input (Gemini 3.6 Flash promo till 2027-01)
- free tier
- yes
- open source
- no
- api
- yes
- self-host
- no
- category
- models-api
Models used
Sources
If we can't show the source, we don't print the number.
Same shelf — models-api
Anthropic API
models-api
Claude models direct — the practitioner's pick for coding and long-form text.
API
paidpay-as-you-go, from $1/1M input (Haiku 4.5); small free credits for new users
Cohere
models-api
Enterprise-focused models — Command for generation, Rerank for retrieval.
APIFREE TIER
freemiumfree trial keys; pay-as-you-go from $0.50/1M input tokens
DeepSeek API
models-api
Open-weights lab with frontier-ish reasoning at disruptive prices.
API
paidno free API tier; V4 Flash $0.44/$1.32, V4 Pro $1.32/$3.96 per 1M (peak; off-peak 50% off)