How to Get an LLM7.io API Key for Free

In short: LLM7.io gives every account a free API key on its Free plan. Sign in at token.llm7.io, open API Keys and create one. A free key allows 100,000 tokens a day and 60 requests a minute on 5 "turbo" models: gpt-oss 20B, Codestral, MiniMax M2.7, Mistral Nemo and Nemotron 3 Nano. No credit card is needed. The base URL https://api.llm7.io/v1 works in apps made for OpenAI.

What you need

• An LLM7.io account. Sign in at token.llm7.io; new accounts start on the Free plan with a $0 balance.
• A computer. Windows, Mac or Linux all work.
• Nothing to pay: turbo models are free within the daily allowance.

Step 1: Check your plan

After signing in, the dashboard shows your Plan as Free (box 1). The free allowance is daily and shown in the usage chart further down. Click API Keys in the left menu (box 2).

Step 2: Create a key

On the API Keys page, click Create your first API key (box 1). If you already have keys, the button is Add API key at the top right.

Step 3: Name the key and pick an expiry date

Type a Token name you will recognise, such as my-free-key (box 1). Expires At (box 2) is set to 30 days from today; pick a later date if you need the key for longer. Click Create (box 3).

Step 4: Copy the key

The new key appears in the list with its expiry date and status Active (box 1). Click the copy icon (box 2) to copy it. An auto-generated key may already be in the list; the dashboard creates it for its own Playground.

Keep the key private:

• Anyone who has your key can use your daily allowance.
• Never paste it into a website, a public code repository or a screenshot.
• If it leaks, click the bin icon next to it and create a new one.
• When a key expires, create a new one and update your apps.

Step 5: See which models are free

Click Models in the left menu. Each model card has a tier badge. TURBO models (box 1) are free on the Free plan; PRO models (box 2) need a paid balance.

All five answered on a free key on 26 October 2026. PRO models, such as GPT-6 Luna or Claude Haiku 5.5, answer with error 402 "Insufficient balance". The model list changes often; the Models page shows the current tiers.

Step 6: Try it in the Playground

Click Playground. The model list (box 1) starts on default. Type a message, or pick a suggestion, and click Send. The answer appears below (box 2). View code shows the same request as code.

Step 7: Know your free limits

LLM7 says free quotas may be reduced without notice. The full table is on its limits page. Pro costs $12 a month, and PRO models can also be used with a prepaid balance from $5.

Step 8: Send your first request (no programming)

Open a command window. On Windows, press the Start key, type PowerShell and open it. On a Mac, open Terminal. Put your key in place of YOUR_API_KEY.

Windows (PowerShell):

$env:LLM7_API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
$body = '{"model":"gpt-oss:20b","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Explain how AI works in a few words"}]}'
$r = Invoke-RestMethod -Method Post -Uri "https://api.llm7.io/v1/chat/completions" -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $env:LLM7_API_KEY" } -ContentType "application/json" -Body $body
$r.choices[0].message.content

Mac or Linux (Terminal):

export LLM7_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
curl https://api.llm7.io/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LLM7_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "gpt-oss:20b",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Explain how AI works in a few words"}]
  }'

You get a short answer back, and the tokens show in the dashboard's usage chart.

Step 9: Use it from Python

LLM7's quickstart uses OpenAI's Python library:

pip install openai

import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(base_url="https://api.llm7.io/v1", api_key=os.environ["LLM7_API_KEY"])
reply = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-oss:20b",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Explain how AI works in a few words"}],
)
print(reply.choices[0].message.content)

Step 10: Use it in an app made for OpenAI

In any app that asks for an OpenAI key, change three settings:

When something goes wrong

Words to know

• API key (token): the password an app uses to call LLM7's models. See what is an API key.
• TURBO / PRO: LLM7's model tiers; TURBO models are free on the Free plan, PRO models need a balance.
• Base URL: the address an app sends its requests to.
• Third-party API key: a key from a service that runs models made by other companies, such as OpenAI's gpt-oss or Mistral's Codestral.
• Token: a piece of a word; the unit models read and write. See tokens and context windows.

More free AI API keys

LLM7.io is one of the third-party services with a free tier. How to get AI API keys for free lists each one with its limit and source. For more free models, see how to get an Ollama API key for free (7 free cloud models).