Google AI Studio
Test Gemini models in the browser, then get an API key to call them from your own code.
Is Google AI Studio free?
AI Studio is free, and the Gemini API has a free tier on many models, including Gemini 2.5 Pro, 2.5 Flash, Flash-Lite and Gemma. Limits are set per project and shown in AI Studio; daily quotas reset at midnight Pacific time.
The catch
On the free tier, Google uses your prompts and responses to improve its products and human reviewers may read them, so don't send sensitive data. Rate limits aren't guaranteed, and apps serving the EEA, Switzerland or the UK must use paid services.
Best for
- Prototyping prompts and multimodal input before writing code
- Side projects and internal tools on Gemini Flash models
- Testing embeddings and Live API models at no cost
- Comparing Gemini models before paying for production
How to start
- Sign in at aistudio.google.com with a Google account
- Try prompts in the playground and pick a free-tier model
- Create an API key (tied to a Google Cloud project)
- Check your project's rate limits in AI Studio before you build
Some models have no free tier, including the newest Pro preview, the image models and Veo. Batch and Flex tiers are paid only. Google no longer publishes a single free-tier rate-limit table; your limits show in AI Studio.
Free plans change often. Confirm the current limits on Google AI Studio's own pricing page before you rely on them.
Google AI Studio: common questions
Is Google AI Studio free?
Yes. The AI Studio web app is free, and the Gemini API has a free tier on many models. You pay only if you enable billing and use the paid tier.
What are the Gemini API free tier limits?
Google no longer publishes one universal table. Limits are per project and shown on the rate-limit page in AI Studio, and daily quotas reset at midnight Pacific time.
Can I use the Gemini API free tier for commercial apps?
The terms don't ban it outright, but free-tier content can be used to improve Google's products and may be read by reviewers. Apps serving users in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK must use paid services.
Checked against: ai.google.dev, ai.google.dev, ai.google.dev