How to Get a Claude API Key for Free (2026 Answer)

How to Get a Claude API Key for Free

Updated 27 October 2026.

In short: Anthropic's Claude API is paid. Perplexity's Agent API runs Claude models, and some new Perplexity API accounts get a one-time $10 credit for 60 days. A new Claude Console account starts with $0.00 credits, and its Billing page says to buy credits, from $5, before making API calls. Claude is free to use in Claude's own apps on the Free plan, and students get it through universities that buy Claude for Education; neither includes an API key.

The Claude API: credits first

On a new account at platform.claude.com, checked on 27 October 2026, Settings → Billing says "Buy credits to get started" with Buy credits from $5 (box 1), and the menu shows Credits $0.00 (box 2). Credits expire one year after purchase.

The Claude Console billing page asking to buy credits from $5, with the $0.00 credits balance highlighted

Anthropic's pricing page lists the rates, per 1M tokens:

Model	Input	Output
Claude Haiku 5.5	$0.10 (prompts up to 100,000 tokens)	$0.50
Claude Sonnet 5.5	$2	$10
Claude Opus 5.5	$4	$20
Claude Fable 5.1	$10	$50

The Batch API costs 50% less than the standard prices.

Where Claude is free

Where	What is free	What it needs
Claude Free plan	Chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, file creation and code running, memory and Artifacts	A free Claude account; no API key
Perplexity Agent API	API use of `anthropic/claude-haiku-5-5`, `anthropic/claude-sonnet-5-5`, `anthropic/claude-opus-5-5` and more, paid from a one-time $10 signup credit that some new accounts get, for 60 days	A Perplexity API account; no card
Claude for Education	Claude through a university's plan	A university that has bought Claude for Education

Claude's Free plan details come from its pricing page.

Free API keys for other models

For a free API key today, the models of other companies are free on several services: how to get AI API keys for free lists each one with its daily limit, and free API keys by model groups them by model family.

Words to know

API key: the password an app uses to call a model. See what is an API key.
Credits: money paid into a Claude Console account in advance; API requests are charged from it.
Claude Console: Anthropic's site for API keys, credits and usage, at platform.claude.com.
Token: a piece of a word; the unit models read and write. See tokens and context windows.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Claude API free?+

No. A new Claude Console account starts with $0.00 credits, and its Billing page asks to buy credits, from $5, before API calls. Credits expire one year after purchase.

Is Claude free to use at all?+

Yes, in Claude's own apps: the Free plan covers chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, memory and Artifacts. It has no API key.

How much does the Claude API cost?+

Per million tokens: Claude Haiku 5.5 $0.10 input and $0.50 output, Sonnet 5.5 $2 and $10, Opus 5.5 $4 and $20, Fable 5.1 $10 and $50. The Batch API costs 50% less.

Can students get Claude for free?+

Through universities that buy Claude for Education. There is no free individual student plan.