# Open Source LLMs, One API: Start Free with Kyma

Markdown version of https://kymaapi.com/blog/free-llm-api, for agents and crawlers. Same content as the HTML page.

- Generated: 2026-10-09T21:45:05.593Z
- HTML page: https://kymaapi.com/blog/free-llm-api
- Model catalog: https://kymaapi.com/models.md
- Pricing: https://kymaapi.com/pricing.md

2026-04-12 · 4 min read

> **Update, 2026-09-21.** `gemini-2.5-flash`, which this post suggested for long context, retires on 2026-10-20 and is no longer listed on Kyma. Use `gemini-3-flash`, which the `long-context` alias resolves to; the cURL example below now calls it.

![Start free](/blog/free-llm-api-hero.jpg)

## The Problem: LLMs Are Fragmented

You want to use open-source LLMs in production. But your options are painful.

You could go straight to each model author — Google for Gemini, DeepSeek for reasoning, Alibaba for Qwen. But that means juggling separate API keys, learning each portal's rate limits, and rewriting your code every time one of them is down.

You could use a generic LLM aggregator. But most are text-only, lock you into whatever model menu they ship, and leave you eating the cost of failed upstream calls.

Or you bite the bullet and use closed models from OpenAI or Anthropic. Fine if you have the budget. But if you're building a startup, demo, or side project, every token counts.

## What Kyma Does

Kyma API gives you one endpoint for text, image, and voice models; the current list is on [kymaapi.com/models](https://kymaapi.com/models). Sign up, get $0.50 free credit on the [free tier](https://kymaapi.com/pricing#free-tier) (around 1000 requests), and start using models like:

- **DeepSeek V3** — GPT-5 class reasoning, $0.81 per 1M input tokens
- **Qwen 3.6 Plus** — Most popular model on Kyma, best all-around quality
- **Llama 3.3 70B** — Open-weight champion, available instantly
- **Gemini 3 Flash** — 1M context window for processing entire books at once

Every request is OpenAI-compatible. Drop-in replacement for existing code. No vendor lock-in.

## How It Works

1. Sign up at kymaapi.com — takes 30 seconds
2. Get $0.50 in free credit, spendable on the [free tier](https://kymaapi.com/pricing#free-tier)
3. Use any model through the same API endpoint
4. Pay per token after credits run out

No hidden fees. No monthly minimums. No commitments.

## Three Quick Examples

```python Python — DeepSeek V3 (GPT-5 class reasoning)
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://kymaapi.com/v1",
    api_key="your-key-here"
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepseek-v3",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Explain quantum computing in 2 sentences"}]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
```

```javascript JavaScript — Qwen 3.6 Plus (top quality)
import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "https://kymaapi.com/v1",
  apiKey: "your-key-here",
});

const response = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "qwen-3.6-plus",
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello world" }],
});
console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);
```

```bash cURL — Gemini 3 Flash (1M context)
curl https://kymaapi.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your-key-here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "gemini-3-flash",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]
  }'
```

## Why Developers Choose Kyma

| | Kyma | Generic aggregator | Direct API |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Cost** | $0.50 free tier to start | $0.001+/token | Free (limited) |
| **Models** | [Current list](https://kymaapi.com/models) | 200+ (curated) | 1 per provider |
| **Auto-failover** | ✅ | ✅ | ✗ |
| **Setup time** | 30 seconds | 5 minutes | Per-provider |
| **One endpoint** | ✅ | ✅ | ✗ |
| **Prompt caching** | ✅ (per-model cached rate) | ✅ | Sometimes |

> **Tip:** **New to Kyma?** Start with **qwen-3.6-plus** (most popular) or **deepseek-v3** (best value for quality).


## What's Included

- **Text, image, and voice models** from fast inference to frontier-class reasoning; the current list is on [kymaapi.com/models](https://kymaapi.com/models)
- **Multi-provider redundancy** — if one provider is down, your request automatically retries on another
- **OpenAI SDK compatibility** — works with Python `openai`, JavaScript OpenAI library, and any tool that speaks OpenAI format
- **Prompt caching** — cached tokens billed at each model's own cached rate (compatible with supported upstream caches, including Google Gemini)
- **Agent & tool support** — call functions, use structured output, agentic workflows
- **1M context models** — Gemini 3 Flash for processing books, codebases, datasets

## Pricing

- **Free credits**: $0.50 on signup, spendable on the [free tier](https://kymaapi.com/pricing#free-tier) (about 1000 typical requests)
- **Pay as you go**: Once credits run out, pay-per-token pricing based on token count
- **All-in pricing**: one per-token rate, no separate platform fee, no monthly minimum
- **No hidden fees**: Only pay for what you use

See full pricing at [kymaapi.com/models](https://kymaapi.com/models).

## Who's Using Kyma

- **Code agents**: OpenClaw, Roo Code, Cline, Claude Code
- **Startups**: Shipping fast without big cloud budgets
- **Individual developers**: Building projects, experimenting with LLMs
- **Enterprises**: Evaluating open models before committing to closed APIs

## Get Started

Head to **[kymaapi.com](https://kymaapi.com)** — sign up, get your API key, and start using open-source LLMs instantly.

Read the [quickstart guide](https://docs.kymaapi.com/quickstart) for a step-by-step walkthrough (takes 5 minutes).

Questions? Check out [model recommendations](https://docs.kymaapi.com/models/recommended) or the [API reference](https://docs.kymaapi.com/api-reference/chat-completions).