How to Get a Grok API Key for Free (xAI, 2026 Answer)

How to Get a Grok API Key for Free

Updated 27 October 2026.

In short: xAI's Grok API is paid, but Grok 4.7 runs on Perplexity's Agent API, where some new accounts get a one-time $10 credit. A new xAI console account shows a credit balance of $0.00 and asks you to add credits before using the API. xAI's Grok subscriptions (Plus, Premium and Super) include Grok API usage from a shared pool, but they are paid plans.

The Grok API: credits first

On a new account at console.x.ai, checked on 27 October 2026, the dashboard says "Add credits to start using the API", with a credit balance of $0.00 (box 1). xAI's quickstart also says to load the account with credits first.

The xAI console dashboard asking to add credits, with a $0.00 credit balance highlighted

The console lists Grok 4.7 at $2 per 1M input tokens and $6 per 1M output tokens, with a 500K-token context window. The base URL is https://api.x.ai/v1.

Where Grok is free

Perplexity's Agent API runs xai/grok-4.7, and some new Perplexity API accounts get a one-time $10 signup credit for 60 days, with no card. Grok 4.7 answered on that credit on 27 October 2026 for $0.00167 per short reply: how to get a Perplexity API key for free shows each step.

Grok subscriptions that include API use

xAI's plans page lists three subscriptions, Plus, Premium and Super, as one subscription across Grok, the Grok API, Cursor and X. Plus includes Grok Chat, Voice, Imagine and Build and the Grok API from a shared usage pool; Premium has 4 times the usage of Plus. None of the three is free, and the page shows prices in each visitor's local currency.

Free API keys for other models

For a free API key today, other companies' models 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 an xAI account in advance; API requests are charged from it.
Grok: xAI's model family; Grok 4.7 is the newest.
Groq: a different company, with a free API tier; see how to get a Groq API key for free.
Token: a piece of a word; the unit models read and write. See tokens and context windows.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Grok API free?+

No. A new xAI console account shows a credit balance of $0.00 and asks to add credits before using the API.

How much does the Grok API cost?+

The xAI console lists Grok 4.7 at $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens, with a 500K-token context window.

Does a Grok subscription include the API?+

Yes. Grok Plus, Premium and Super include Grok API use from a shared usage pool across Grok, Cursor and X. All three are paid plans.

Is Grok the same as Groq?+

No. Grok is xAI's model family; Groq is a different company that runs open models and has a free API tier with 1,000 requests a day.