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Free Hugging Face API Key, Base URL & Rate Limits

Model Provider

Hugging Face provides free access to a rotating selection of open-weight models including Qwen, Llama, Gemma, and SmolLM.

Save API Key Test API Key Docs

How to get a free Hugging Face API key

  1. 1
    Sign up at huggingface.co Email or Google/GitHub. No credit card.
  2. 2
    Go to Settings → Access Tokens
  3. 3
    Create a token (read-only is fine)
  4. 4
    Pick a model Free models are rate-limited on shared infrastructure.
  5. 5
    Configure OpenAI client Base URL: https://router.huggingface.co/v1

Provider Snapshot

P Provider Type Model Provider
O OpenAI Compatible No
U Base URL https://router.huggingface.co/v1
F Free Tier Check provider
P Phone Required Unknown
S Streaming Varies
T Function Calling Varies
V Vision Varies
L Last Updated Recently

Supported Models 0 models

View in directory →
Model ID Developer Context Availability Free Tier Use cases

Developer Tools

K Save API Key Never lose your API keys — save keys from all providers in one place. T Test API Key Test your API key and check quota.

Related Providers

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OpenRouter Chutes.ai Glhf.chat Grok (xAI) Groq

Hugging Face FreeLLM Score free API access score

How we score →
31 /100
🔹 Niche Provider — Consider for easy signup
Generosity Free limits and access terms
65
Access Signup and key availability
75
Model Breadth Free model coverage
0
Reliability Status and stability signals
15
Compatibility SDK and endpoint support
20
Quality Model capability signals
10

What is Hugging Face?

Hugging Face Inference API — Qwen, Llama, Gemma at ~1,000 RPD.

Hugging Face provides free access to a rotating selection of open-weight models including Qwen, Llama, Gemma, and SmolLM. The free tier is rate-limited (~1,000 requests/day) and uses shared infrastructure, so latency varies. The live-tested router endpoint supports OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions and Responses.

  • Rotating selection of open models
  • ~1,000 RPD free tier
  • No credit card required
  • OpenAI-compatible router endpoint

API Compatibility: Live-tested OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions and Responses

Hugging Face Free Tier Limits & Pricing

Credit Card Not required
Phone Verification Unknown
Free Tier Check provider
Context Range 0
Total Models 0 listed
API Compatibility Live-tested OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions and Responses

Hugging Face API Setup Tutorials

Claude Code Environment variables and base URL setup Codex OpenAI-compatible config for local coding Gemini CLI Provider-specific API key routing notes

Hugging Face is fully compatible with popular AI coding assistants like Cursor, Claude Code, and more. To see step-by-step API configuration instructions for your favorite tool, please visit our Global Configuration Guide →

Hugging Face Model Use Cases

What Hugging Face's free models are best for, based on aggregated model capabilities:

Hugging Face Limitations & Caveats

  • Cold starts common — first request may take 30s+
  • Models larger than 10GB may fail to load on free tier
  • No SLA — shared infrastructure, availability not guaranteed

Hugging Face FAQ

Why is my first Hugging Face API request so slow?

Free tier uses serverless inference with cold starts. The first request to a model loads it from disk, taking 30-60 seconds. Subsequent requests within ~15 minutes are fast. Use a keepalive ping to avoid cold starts.

Can I use the Hugging Face Inference API with OpenAI SDK?

Yes. The live-tested router endpoint at https://router.huggingface.co/v1 supports OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions and Responses for supported models. Some older Hugging Face inference endpoints still use Hugging Face-specific request formats.

Which models are actually free on Hugging Face?

Any model with the "Inference API" tag is available for free on the serverless tier. However, rate limits apply (~1,000 RPD) and larger models (>10GB) may not load. Popular free models include Qwen, Llama, Gemma, and SmolLM.