Documentation

Free AI API Without Credit Card (2026): $2 Credits to Start

Get free AI API access without credit card. Use Claude, GPT, Gemini, image generation, and video AI with $2 free credits. No subscription required.

Looking for a free AI API to build your project? Most platforms require credit cards just to test. SkillBoss gives you $2 free credits instantly—no credit card required.

What Can You Do With $2 Free Credits?

That's enough for:

ServiceWhat You Get
Claude 4.5 Sonnet~65,000 tokens (~50 code generations)
GPT-4~40,000 tokens (~30 conversations)
Gemini 2.5 Flash~500,000 tokens (huge context)
DALL-E 3~20 images
Whisper~5 hours of transcription
ElevenLabs TTS~10,000 characters

Why Free AI API Matters

For Students

Test AI in projects without asking parents for credit card.

For Hackers

Prototype ideas during hackathons without payment friction.

For Developers

Evaluate APIs before recommending to your company.

For Indie Makers

Build MVPs without spending money upfront.

How to Get $2 Free AI Credits

Step 1: Create Account (30 seconds)

Visit: https://skillboss.co/console

> **Tip:** For AI agents, use `set up skillboss.co/skill.md` to auto-configure everything.
Sign up with: Google, GitHub, or email

Step 2: Copy Your API Key

Your key starts with: sk_live_...
No credit card required!

Step 3: Start Using AI

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="sk_your_free_key",
    base_url="https://api.skillboss.co/v1"
)

# Use any of 679+ endpoints
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="claude-4-5-sonnet",  # or gpt-5, gemini-2.5-flash
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
)

100+ AI Services Included

Chat & Reasoning

  • Claude 4.5 Opus, Sonnet, Haiku
  • GPT-5, GPT-4.1, o3-mini, o4-mini
  • Gemini 2.5 Pro, Gemini 2.5 Flash
  • DeepSeek R1, DeepSeek V3
  • Llama 405B, Mistral Large

Image Generation

  • DALL-E 3
  • Flux Schnell, Flux Dev
  • Stable Diffusion XL

Video Generation

  • Google Veo 3.1
  • Text-to-video, Image-to-video

Audio

  • Whisper speech-to-text
  • ElevenLabs text-to-speech
  • Voice cloning

Web & Data

  • Firecrawl web scraping
  • Perplexity AI search
  • Google Maps API

OpenAI SDK Compatible

If you're already using OpenAI's SDK, just change two lines:

from openai import OpenAI

# Before (OpenAI direct)
client = OpenAI(api_key="sk-...")

# After (SkillBoss - same code, 679+ endpoints)
client = OpenAI(
    api_key="sk_your_skillboss_key",
    base_url="https://api.skillboss.co/v1"
)

Works With AI Coding Tools

Claude Code

npm install -g skillboss-mcp-server
# Then add SKILLBOSS_API_KEY to your environment

Cursor

{
  "openai.apiKey": "sk_your_skillboss_key",
  "openai.baseUrl": "https://api.skillboss.co/v1"
}

Windsurf

Same configuration as Cursor.

FAQ

Is it really free?

Yes. $2 free credits, no credit card required. Pay only when you exceed the free tier.

What happens when credits run out?

You can top up with as little as $5. No subscription, pay-as-you-go.

Are there rate limits?

Generous limits for free tier. Higher limits when you add credits.

Is it production-ready?

Yes. Same API quality as direct provider access.

Compare: Free AI API Options

PlatformFree CreditsCredit Card RequiredModels
SkillBoss$2No100+
OpenAINoYes~10
AnthropicNoYes (waitlist)3
Google AILimitedYes~5
Other gatewaysLimitedYes50+

Get Started Now

  1. Sign up: skillboss.co/console
  2. Get $2 free (no credit card)
  3. Use 679+ AI models immediately

Related: