The 2026 Complete Guide to Free Large‑Model APIs and One‑Click OpenClaw Setup

Why Platforms Offer Free Access

Large‑model competition has entered its second phase, and providers use free API quotas to attract developers, hoping users will adopt their services and later convert to paid plans.

Domestic Free Platforms (Recommended First)

1. SiliconFlow

Free quota: 30 million Tokens (new‑user registration 20 M + task completion 10 M)

Recommended models: deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-R1 (high inference capability) and Qwen/Qwen3-8B-Instruct (fast, strong Chinese support)

{
  "siliconflow": {
    "baseUrl": "https://api.siliconflow.cn/v1",
    "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "api": "openai-completions",
    "models": [{"id": "deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-R1", "name": "DeepSeek-R1"}]
  }
}

2. Zhipu AI (GLM series)

Free quota: GLM‑4‑Flash unlimited (speed‑limited only) plus 20 million Tokens for new users

Recommended models: glm-4-flash (daily dialogue, code assistance) and glm-4 (stronger reasoning)

{
  "zhipu": {
    "baseUrl": "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/paas/v4",
    "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "api": "openai-completions",
    "models": [{"id": "glm-4-flash", "name": "GLM-4-Flash"}]
  }
}

3. Baidu Qianfan

Free quota: ERNIE‑Speed permanent (speed‑limited) and 1 million Tokens per model for ERNIE‑4.5 (valid 3 months)

Recommended model: ERNIE-Speed-8K (strong Chinese comprehension)

{
  "baidu": {
    "baseUrl": "https://aip.baidubce.com/rpc/2.0/ai_custom/v1/wenxinworkshop/chat/completions",
    "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "api": "openai-completions",
    "models": [{"id": "ERNIE-Speed-8K", "name": "ERNIE-Speed"}]
  }
}

4. Meituan LongCat

Free quota: Flash‑Lite model 50 million Tokens per day (upgradeable to 5 million)

Recommended model: LongCat-Flash-Lite (largest daily quota)

{
  "longCat": {
    "baseUrl": "https://api.longcat.chat/openai",
    "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "api": "openai-completions",
    "models": [{"id": "LongCat-Flash-Lite", "name": "LongCat-Flash-Lite"}]
  }
}

Other Domestic Options

Alibaba Cloud Bailei – 1 million Tokens per new model

iFlytek Spark – 200 k Tokens per model forever

Moonshot (Kimi) – free quota for new users

Volcano Engine – 2 million Tokens daily

Tencent Cloud Hunyuan – 1 million Tokens per year

International Free Platforms (Require External Network)

1. Groq

Feature: ultra‑fast inference on dedicated chips

Free quota: 1 000 requests per day (no token limit)

Recommended models: llama-3.3-70b-versatile,

mixtral-8x7b-32768

{
  "groq": {
    "baseUrl": "https://api.groq.com/openai/v1",
    "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "api": "openai-completions",
    "models": [{"id": "llama-3.3-70b-versatile", "name": "Llama-3.3-70B"}]
  }
}

2. OpenRouter

Feature: aggregation platform; a single key can call many free models

Free quota: 50 requests per day (upgrade to 1 000 after $10 top‑up)

Usage tip: enable openrouter/router for automatic model switching among 29 free models

{
  "openrouter": {
    "baseUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
    "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "api": "openai-completions",
    "models": [{"id": "openrouter/router", "name": "OpenRouter Auto"}]
  }
}

3. NVIDIA NIM

Feature: official NVIDIA service with high‑performance inference

Free quota: 1 000 credits for new users, plus optional 4 000 extra credits

Recommended model:

mistralai/mistral-large-2

{
  "nvidia": {
    "baseUrl": "https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1",
    "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "api": "openai-completions",
    "models": [{"id": "mistralai/mistral-large-2", "name": "Mistral-Large-2"}]
  }
}

Other International Options

GitHub Models – free for GitHub users, no credit‑card needed

Google Gemini – free tier with strong multimodal capabilities

Mistral AI – limited free credits, European‑focused models

OpenClaw Multi‑Provider Auto‑Switch Configuration

By merging several providers, OpenClaw can automatically poll each service and switch when a quota is exhausted or rate‑limited, achieving near‑unlimited usage.

{
  "models": {
    "mode": "merge",
    "providers": {
      "zhipu": {"baseUrl": "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/paas/v4", "apiKey": "ZHIPU_KEY", "api": "openai-completions", "models": [{"id": "glm-4-flash", "name": "GLM-4-Flash"}]},
      "siliconflow": {"baseUrl": "https://api.siliconflow.cn/v1", "apiKey": "SILICONFLOW_KEY", "api": "openai-completions", "models": [{"id": "deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-R1", "name": "DeepSeek-R1"}]},
      "longCat": {"baseUrl": "https://api.longcat.chat/openai", "apiKey": "LONGCAT_KEY", "api": "openai-completions", "models": [{"id": "LongCat-Flash-Lite", "name": "LongCat-Lite"}]}
    }
  }
}

Local Deployment Alternative (Completely Free)

If you have a capable computer, you can run models locally with zero cost and no usage limits.

Recommended tool: Ollama

# macOS installation
brew install ollama
# Pull a model
ollama pull qwen3:8b
# Run the model
ollama run qwen3:8b

{
  "ollama": {
    "baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434/v1",
    "apiKey": "ollama",
    "api": "openai-completions",
    "models": [{"id": "qwen3:8b", "name": "Qwen3-8B"}]
  }
}

Usage Recommendations

Best Combination Strategies

Daily light use: GLM‑4‑Flash (free) + LongCat‑Lite (50 M tokens/day)

Development testing: SiliconFlow (30 M tokens) + Baidu Qianfan (ERNIE‑Speed free)

Speed‑critical workloads: Groq (1 000 requests/day, ultra‑fast)

Multi‑model comparison: OpenRouter (one‑click access to 29 free models)

Important Caveats

Free quotas are often rate‑limited (RPM limits); high‑traffic periods may cause queuing.

Some quotas expire after 3 months or 90 days; monitor validity periods.

Most domestic platforms require real‑name authentication.

Free‑tier policies can change without notice; regularly check official announcements.

Summary of Platform Types

Domestic main: SiliconFlow, Zhipu AI, Meituan LongCat – suitable for everyday conversation, coding, writing.

Domestic alternatives: Baidu Qianfan, Alibaba Cloud Bailei – strong Chinese understanding, enterprise scenarios.

International main: Groq, OpenRouter – prioritize speed and multi‑model flexibility.

Fully free option: Ollama local deployment – ideal for privacy‑sensitive or offline use.

All information reflects policies as of March 2026; always verify the latest official terms.