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Free tier - verified

Is the Gemini API free?

Yes. The Gemini API offers a standing Free Tier, shared with Google AI Studio. Whether a card is required is not stated. Trains on your data: Yes (outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK).

Read from ai.google.dev. Compare every free LLM API

Offer
Free tier
Card required
Not stated
Trains on data
Yes
Verified
2026-10-18

The offer

Offer class

Standing free tier

How to get it

API key from Google AI Studio; new accounts start on the Free Tier (qualification: 'Active project or free trial').

“New accounts begin on the Free Tier, which allows access to certain models in the Gemini API and AI Studio, up to the models' free tier rate limits.”
ai.google.dev
“Free | Active project or free trial | N/A”
ai.google.dev
“New users will have a project and API key created for them by default.”
ai.google.dev
Card required

Not stated

Not stated explicitly for the Free Tier. The docs describe a payment method only in the paid upgrade flow: 'Upgrading from the Free Tier to the Paid Tier means linking a billing account and prepaying to add a minimum of $5 (or equivalent in other currencies) of credits to your account.'

Free-tier limits

Values are copied exactly as the provider publishes them, units included. Not stated means the public docs give no value.

Google Gemini API free-tier limits by model
ModelFree tier priceLimits
Gemini 3.8 Flashgemini-3.8-flashPer-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (input and output, Standard tier)Not stated
Gemini 3.6 Flashgemini-3.6-flashPer-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (input and output, Standard tier)Not stated
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Litegemini-3.5-flash-litePer-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (input and output, Standard tier)Not stated
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Litegemini-3.1-flash-litePer-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (input and output, Standard tier)Not stated
Gemini 3 Flash Previewgemini-3-flash-previewPreview model. Docs: 'Rate limits are more restricted for experimental and preview models.' Per-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (input and output, Standard tier)Not stated
Gemini 2.5 Progemini-2.5-proPer-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (input and output, Standard tier)Not stated
Gemini 2.5 Flashgemini-2.5-flashPer-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (input and output, Standard tier)Not stated
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Litegemini-2.5-flash-litePer-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (input and output, Standard tier)Not stated
Gemma 4Pricing page lists no model ID for Gemma 4; free tier 'Free of charge', paid tier 'Not available'. Per-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (input and output, Standard tier)Not stated
Gemini 3.8 Live (group also covers Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking and Gemini 3.1 Flash Live Preview)gemini-3.8-livePer-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (input and output, Standard tier)Not stated
Gemini Robotics ER 2 Previewgemini-robotics-er-2-previewPer-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (input and output, Standard tier)Not stated
Gemini Embedding 2gemini-embedding-2Per-model free-tier RPM / TPM / RPD are not published in the public docs; the rate-limits page says they 'can be viewed in Google AI Studio' (logged-in page https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit).Free of charge (text, image, audio, video input)Not stated

21 pricing-page sections show 'Free of charge' on the Free Tier (Standard tab), including Live, TTS, transcription, robotics and embedding models; 12 kept here. Not available on the Free Tier: Gemini 4 Argon, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, Gemini Omni Flash (and Preview), all Nano Banana image models, Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview TTS. Batch and Flex are 'Not available' on the Free Tier. The pricing card says 'Limited access to certain models'.

From the limits docs

“Rate limits are usually measured across three dimensions: Requests per minute (RPM), Tokens per minute (input) (TPM), Requests per day (RPD)”
ai.google.dev
“Rate limits depend on a variety of factors (such as your usage tier) and can be viewed in Google AI Studio. As your tier and account status change over time, your rate limits will automatically update.”
ai.google.dev
“| Usage tier | Spend rate limit (per 10 minutes) | | Free | N/A | | Tier 1 | $10 | | Tier 2 | $50 | | Tier 3 | $200 |”
ai.google.dev
“Gemini 3.8 Flash Standard: | Input price | Free of charge | ... | Used to improve our products | Yes | No |”
ai.google.dev
  • Rate limits are applied per project, not per API key. Requests per day (RPD) quotas reset at midnight Pacific time.
  • Rate limits are more restricted for experimental and preview models.
  • Specified rate limits are not guaranteed and actual capacity may vary.

Does it train on your data?

Yes

Outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK

Yes. Unpaid quota (and AI Studio) content and responses are used to provide, improve and develop Google products and ML technologies; human reviewers may read them. Exception: users in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK get the paid-service data terms even on unpaid quota.

“When you use Unpaid Services, including, for example, Google AI Studio and the unpaid quota on Gemini API, Google uses the content you submit to the Services and any generated responses to provide, improve, and develop Google products and services and machine learning technologies, including Google's enterprise features, products, and services, consistent with our Privacy Policy.”
Data terms - ai.google.dev
“To help with quality and improve our products, human reviewers may read, annotate, and process your API input and output. Google takes steps to protect your privacy as part of this process. This includes disconnecting this data from your Google Account, API key, and Cloud project before reviewers see or annotate it. Do not submit sensitive, confidential, or personal information to the Unpaid Services.”
“If you're in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, the terms under "How Google uses Your Data" in "Paid Services" apply to all Services, including Google AI Studio and unpaid quota in the Gemini API, even though they are offered free of charge.”
“Pricing page Free card: "Content used to improve our products"; per-model rows: "Used to improve our products | Yes" (Free Tier) / "No" (Paid Tier).”

Terms effective March 23, 2026.

Restrictions

  • Region

    “You may only access the Services (or make API Clients available to users) within an available region. You may use only Paid Services when making API Clients available to users in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom.”
    ai.google.dev

  • Age

    “You must be 18 years of age or older to use the APIs. You also will not use the Services as part of a website, application, or other service (collectively, "API Clients") that is directed towards or is likely to be accessed by individuals under the age of 18.”
    ai.google.dev

  • Use

    “Use of Google AI Studio and Gemini API is for developers building with Google AI models for professional or business purposes, not for consumer use.”
    ai.google.dev

  • Competing models

    “You may not use the Services to develop models that compete with the Services (e.g., Gemini API or Google AI Studio).”
    ai.google.dev

  • Not for production (implied)

    “Free: For developers and small projects getting started with the Gemini API. ... Paid: For production applications that require higher volumes and advanced features.”
    ai.google.dev

Upgrade path

Link a Cloud Billing account and prepay at least $5 in AI Studio to reach Tier 1: higher rate limits, Batch API and context caching, and prompts/responses are not used to improve Google products; Tier 1 carries a $250 monthly billing tier cap and $10 per 10 minutes spend rate limit.

“To access higher rate limits, use advanced models, and ensure your prompts and responses are not used to improve Google products*, you can link a billing account and Prepay to move to the Paid Tiers.”
ai.google.dev
“Tier upgrades from the Free to Tier 1 will typically take effect instantly”
ai.google.dev

FAQ

Is the Gemini API free?

Yes. The Gemini API offers a standing Free Tier, shared with Google AI Studio. Whether a card is required is not stated. Trains on your data: Yes (outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK).

What are the Google Gemini API free limits?

Free of charge on 12 listed models; per-model RPM, TPM and RPD shown only in Google AI Studio. 21 pricing-page sections show 'Free of charge' on the Free Tier (Standard tab), including Live, TTS, transcription, robotics and embedding models; 12 kept here. Not available on the Free Tier: Gemini 4 Argon, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, Gemini Omni Flash (and Preview), all Nano Banana image models, Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview TTS. Batch and Flex are 'Not available' on the Free Tier. The pricing card says 'Limited access to certain models'.

Does Google Gemini API train on your data?

Yes (outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK). The terms say: "When you use Unpaid Services, including, for example, Google AI Studio and the unpaid quota on Gemini API, Google uses the content you submit to the Services and any generated responses to provide, improve, and develop Google products and services and machine learning technologies, including Google's enterprise features, products, and services, consistent with our Privacy Policy."

Sources

Last verified from Google Gemini API's own pages below. Quotes are verbatim.

Page dates: rate-limits Last updated 2026-10-15 UTC; pricing Last updated 2026-10-16 UTC; billing Last updated 2026-09-28 UTC; terms Last updated 2026-04-28 UTC (Effective March 23, 2026).

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