API KEYS · GUIDE 2 OF 7

How to get a free Google Gemini (AI Studio) API key

Generous free tier on Gemini Flash models with a Google account.

Checked 29 October 2026. Free tiers change — confirm the live numbers in the console.

You need: A Google account. No card for the free tier.
Free allowance: Free tier on Flash and Flash-Lite models, with limits set per project and shown in AI Studio (community tracking in October 2026: roughly 10–15 requests per minute and around 1,000–1,500 requests per day on Flash). Pro models are generally paid only.
Best for: Longer documents (very large context window), summaries, multilingual drafts.
Region notes: Only available in countries on Google’s “available regions” list. If AI Studio says it is not available where you are, use Groq or OpenRouter. In the EEA, UK and Switzerland, paid-service data terms apply; elsewhere, free-tier prompts may be used to improve Google products — do not paste private data.
Key looks like: AIza…

Step by step

Go to aistudio.google.com and sign in with your Google account.
Accept the terms. New users get a default Google Cloud project automatically.
Click “Get API key” (or open aistudio.google.com/apikey).
Click “Create API key” and select the default project.
Copy the key — it starts with AIza. Store it privately.
On Open Practice, open Key settings, choose Google Gemini, paste and press “Test key”. Pick a model with “flash” in the name.

Use it on Open Practice

Paste the key into Key settings and press Test key. Then open any free tool and choose “Draft with my AI key”. The key stays in your browser.

If something goes wrong

403 / permission denied	The API may be unavailable in your country or for this project. Try a new project, or use Groq.
429 with “limit: 0”	This project has no free quota for that model. Choose a Flash model or another project.
400 API key not valid	Copy the full key again from AI Studio.

Keep your key safe

Treat a key like a password: never post it in chats, screenshots, GitHub or website code.
Create one key per project so you can delete just that one if it leaks.
If a key leaks, delete it in the provider console immediately and create a new one.
Prefer free-only keys (for example, OpenRouter with a $0 credit limit) so a leak cannot cost money.
On a shared or public computer, do not tick “remember on this device”, and press “Forget all keys” when you finish.

Other free keys

GUIDEGroqThe easiest first key: email signup, no card, very fast open models.GUIDEOpenRouterOne key for many models, including a rotating set of free ones.GUIDEMistralFree “Experiment” plan covering Mistral’s model line-up, with phone verification.GUIDECerebrasExtremely fast inference — but check whether a card is now required.GUIDECloudflare Workers AIFree daily AI allowance inside the same account that hosts your Workers and bots.GUIDEHugging FaceThe home of open models. Great for discovery; hosted inference now needs credits.

Questions people ask

Is Google Gemini (AI Studio) free?

Free tier on Flash and Flash-Lite models, with limits set per project and shown in AI Studio (community tracking in October 2026: roughly 10–15 requests per minute and around 1,000–1,500 requests per day on Flash). Pro models are generally paid only.

Do I need a credit card for Google Gemini (AI Studio)?

A Google account. No card for the free tier.

Is Google Gemini (AI Studio) available in my country?

Only available in countries on Google’s “available regions” list. If AI Studio says it is not available where you are, use Groq or OpenRouter. In the EEA, UK and Switzerland, paid-service data terms apply; elsewhere, free-tier prompts may be used to improve Google products — do not paste private data.