Free models

A model ID that ends in -free is free: it has no per-token price. Every free model is a separate ID from its paid sibling, so send the exact ID with -free.

• Five free text models, listed below, plus jev-1.14-free on the Decisions API, which is free as well. Image and video models have no free IDs.
• Any key can call them if its group reaches the free group, including the default auto group, with a zero balance and before the first top-up.
• Each account is limited to 1 successful request per minute before the first top-up and up to 10 per minute after.
• Free models can be rate limited or withdrawn at any time. Do not build a production path that depends on one.

Model IDs

This is the list in the public catalogue (GET /v1/text/models, family free).

Sending the paid sibling’s ID is a separate, billable request.

Who can call them

• Any valid key whose group can reach the free group. Keys in the default auto group can.
• A zero balance is fine, and so is an account that has never topped up.
• The response model field carries the -free name.

An account on free credit can call only the models on the free-tier list, and the free IDs are on it. GET /v1/free-tier returns that list without a key. A top-up lifts the restriction.

Limits

• The limit counts successful requests. A failed request, or a stream that fails, gives its slot back. It limits how often you call, not how many calls run at the same time.
• Free calls are counted separately from your paid limit, so they do not spend it, and the paid limit does not spend them.
• Free models can still be refused when your account’s normal limit for that minute is used up.

When you hit the limit, the answer is 429 rate_limit_exceeded with a Retry-After header and retry_after_seconds. Wait that many seconds before retrying. The message names the limit; this is the exact text for an account that has never topped up:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "rate_limit_exceeded",
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded: this model allows at most 1 successful requests per minute per account. Retry after 60 seconds. Accounts that have topped up get a higher per-minute limit.",
    "retryable": true,
    "request_id": "req_abc123",
    "retry_after_seconds": 60
  }
}

After a top-up the message says at most 10 successful requests per minute and drops the last sentence. The code is the same one an ordinary account limit uses, so read the message to tell them apart. Wait the number of seconds in Retry-After / retry_after_seconds, then retry. See Errors.

How they differ from the paid models

• No published context or output limit. Free entries in the catalogue omit the context window, the output limit and the prices. The paid sibling’s context window and output limit are not promised for the free ID.
• Reasoning is not guaranteed. Paid-only options such as thinking and reasoning_effort may not behave as they do on the paid model.
• Formats can differ. For example, glm-5.3-free does not support /v1/responses. Check the family page before using a format other than Chat Completions.
• Speed and availability can differ. Free models can be slower, rate limited or withdrawn without notice, and no daily allowance is promised.
• No cached-input price. Free IDs are not billed per token at all.

Try one

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.beatapi.io/v1/chat/completions \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $BEATAPI_API_KEY" \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "model": "glm-5.3-flash-free",
  "messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": "Say hello in one sentence." }]
}'

Image and video

There are no free image or video models. Those models are billed per task; see Quick guide.