Google AI Studio free tier
The Gemini API free tier applies to an active project or free trial and needs no billing. Per-model rate limits are no longer published on the rate-limits page; they are shown per project in the Google AI Studio rate-limit console. Google AI Studio usage itself is free of charge in all available regions.
Free tier: Gemini API (Google AI Studio)
Shown only in the provider console| Limit | Value | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requests per minute | Unpublished | Account | Published only in the AI Studio rate-limit console per project; the docs page states limits are more restricted for experimental and preview models. |
- What moves you past this tier
- Setting up billing moves the project to Tier 1; higher tiers follow spend.
- Card required
- No
The pricing page marks free-tier content as used to improve Google products; paid-tier content is not, except on Contributor rows.
Free of charge on the free tier
Gemini 3.8 Flash, Gemini 3.6 Flash, Gemini 3.8 Live, Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking, Gemini 3.1 Flash Live Preview, Gemini 3.5 Live Translate, Gemini 3.5 Transcribe Live, Gemini 3.5 Transcribe, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite, Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS, Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS, Gemini 3.1 Flash TTS Preview, Gemini 3 Flash Preview, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Gemini 2.5 Flash, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite, Gemini 2.5 Flash Native Audio, Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview TTS, Gemini Embedding 2, Gemini Robotics ER 2 Preview, Gemini Robotics ER 2 Streaming Preview, Gemma 4.
Not available on the free tier
Gemini 4 Argon, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, Omni Flash models, Nano Banana image models, Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview TTS, Veo 3.1, Lyria models.
Model lists from the Gemini API pricing page, read 2026-10-16.
Questions
Is Google AI Studio free?
Yes. Google states that Google AI Studio usage is free of charge in all available regions, and the Gemini API has a free tier for an active project without billing. The free tier is rate-limited and, per Google’s pricing page, free-tier requests may be used to improve Google products.
Is the Gemini API free?
There is a free tier. Most current Flash and Flash-Lite models, Gemini 2.5 Pro and the Gemini Embedding model list “free of charge” on Google’s pricing page. Veo 3.1, the Lyria music models, the Pro Image models, Omni Flash and Computer Use Preview list the free tier as not available.
What are the Gemini API free tier limits?
Google no longer publishes the free tier’s per-model requests-per-minute or requests-per-day figures on its rate-limits page (dated 2026-09-02). It shows the active limits per project inside the AI Studio rate-limit console, and says experimental and preview models are limited more tightly. We record them as unpublished rather than copy a third-party figure.
What moves a Gemini project to a paid tier?
Setting up billing on the project moves it to Tier 1; higher tiers follow cumulative spend. Paid usage bills per million tokens at the rates on the Gemini API pricing hub. The free tier stays available for prototyping, and Google keeps AI Studio itself free.