I Run Claude Code on $0/Month: A Practical Guide to Free LLM APIs
You don't need a paid API subscription to run a serious coding workflow. In 2026 there are multiple genuinely free LLM API tiers — the trick is knowing their limits and routing around them.
Where the free APIs are
- Google AI Studio — Gemini 2.5 Flash, generous daily quota, no card required
- Groq — blazing fast inference, free tier for Llama and other open models
- OpenRouter — aggregates free models behind one key
- Cerebras — extremely fast free inference tier
- Mistral — free tier on their API platform
A full comparison of 489 free models across 30 providers lives at freellm.net — it's the directory I use to check which models are actually free right now.
Three steps to $0/month Claude Code
1. Grab a free API key. Start with Google AI Studio — sign in with Google, create a key, done in two minutes.
2. Point Claude Code at it. Set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN to route requests through an OpenAI-compatible free endpoint.
3. Verify with the playground. Test the key at freellm.net before wiring it into your editor.
Caveats
Free tiers have rate limits — they're fine for steady work but not for bulk jobs. There's no free Claude. And free tiers change constantly, so check freellm.net before relying on one.