Want to use powerful AI models without emptying your wallet? You're in luck! Whether you're coding, learning, or just experimenting with AI, these three methods will get you access to GPT-5, Claude Sonnet 4.5, Gemini, DeepSeek, and tons of other premium models—all for free.

Let's dive in and see how you can start building with AI today without spending a single rupee!

Why Should You Care About Free AI Access?

Premium AI models are expensive. We're talking about costs like ₹250-1200 per million tokens. For students, developers, and hobbyists, that can add up fast. But here's the good news: several platforms are giving away generous free credits to let you test and use these powerful models.

You can access models like:

GPT-5 - OpenAI's latest flagship with crazy good reasoning
Claude Sonnet 4.5 - The best coding model in the world
Gemini - Google's powerful multimodal AI
DeepSeek R1 - China's open-source powerhouse
And many more!

Method 1: Droid CLI - 20 Million Free Tokens

Best for: Developers who love working in the terminal

Droid CLI by Factory AI is absolutely killer if you're a command-line person. They're currently offering 20 million free tokens to new users.

What's Cool About It?

You get access to multiple premium models right from your terminal. No fancy UI needed—just pure, focused AI power. Plus, it has a reasoning mode where the AI actually thinks through problems step-by-step before answering.

How to Get Started

Visit Factory AI and sign up
Install the CLI tool with one command
Launch Droid and pick your model
Start coding!

What Can You Do With 20 Million Tokens?

That's enough to:

Build multiple complex projects
Review and refactor entire codebases
Learn new programming frameworks
Create automation scripts
Prototype applications

The tokens are shared across all models, so you can switch between GPT-5, Claude, and others as needed.factory

Method 2: Windsurf IDE - 25 Free Credits Monthly

Best for: Developers who want a full IDE experience

Windsurf (formerly Codeium) is like VS Code but with AI baked right in. They recently upgraded their free plan to give you 25 premium credits every month.ainativedev+2

Why Windsurf Rocks

Unlike other tools, Windsurf gives you unlimited access to their base models, and the 25 credits are just for premium models like GPT-5 and Claude. You also get:windsurf+1

Unlimited tab completions
Unlimited Cascade (their agentic AI feature)
Interactive app preview
1 app deploy per day

The Credit Breakdown

Here's how the credits work:

GPT-5 or Claude Sonnet 4.5: 1 credit per prompt
GPT-4o: 0.5 credits per prompt
Supernova (Windsurf's own model): Completely free and unlimited!

With 25 credits, you can strategically use premium models for complex tasks and fall back to Supernova for everything else.

Perfect For

Full-stack web development
Learning new coding languages
Building complete applications
Getting AI help while you code

The best part? Your credits refresh every month, so it's not a one-time thing.windsurf

Method 3: AgentRouter - $200 Free API Credits

Best for: Developers building AI-powered applications

AgentRouter is giving away $200 in free API credits to new users. That's a huge amount for testing and building projects!cursor-ide

Get Started Here

👉 Sign up with this link to claim your $200 credits 👈

What Makes AgentRouter Special?

AgentRouter is an API gateway that gives you access to multiple AI models through one unified interface. Think of it as a one-stop shop for AI models.cursor-ide

You get access to:

GPT-5
Claude Sonnet 4.5
GLM-4.5
DeepSeek R1
Gemini models
And many more!

How to Use Your Credits

Step 1: Create an Account

Visit the link above and sign up. You'll instantly get your $200 credits added to your account.

Step 2: Generate an API Key

Go to your dashboard and create a new API key. Set a usage quota (like $10 per key) to avoid accidentally using everything at once.

Step 3: Integrate With Your Tools

AgentRouter works with tons of development tools:

VS Code (via extensions like Roo Code)
Cursor IDE
Cline
Custom Python/Node.js applications
Any tool that accepts OpenAI-compatible APIs

Example Integration

For VS Code with Roo Code extension:

{

"profile_name": "AgentRouter Free",

"provider": "OpenAI Compatible",

"base_url": "https://agentrouter.org/v1",

"api_key": "your_api_key_here",

"model": "gpt-5"

}

Things to Keep in Mind

AgentRouter is a newer service, so reliability can vary. It works best for:cursor-ide

Testing different AI models
Building side projects
Learning and experimentation
Non-critical applications

The $200 credit is one-time, but that's still a massive amount to work with!

Bonus: OpenRouter Free Credits

Here's another option: OpenRouter gives new users around $5-10 in free credits. While it's less than AgentRouter, OpenRouter is super reliable and has been around longer.openrouter+1

You can also use Puter.js to access OpenRouter models with unlimited free usage. It's perfect for quick experiments and learning.developer.puter+1

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose Droid CLI if:

You live in the terminal
Need lots of tokens for extensive coding
Want reliable, consistent performance
Focus on backend development

Choose Windsurf if:

You want a complete IDE with AI built-in
Prefer visual development
Need monthly recurring credits
Build full-stack applications

Choose AgentRouter if:

You're building API-based applications
Want to test multiple models extensively
Need maximum credits upfront
Don't mind occasional reliability issues

Pro Tip: Use All Three!

There's no rule saying you can only pick one. Smart developers use all three:

Droid CLI for your main coding work
Windsurf for visual projects and learning
AgentRouter for API testing and experiments

This gives you maximum free access to premium AI models!

What Can You Build With Free AI?

With all these free credits combined, you can:

Learn to Code: Get AI tutoring in any programming language

Build Projects: Create web apps, automation tools, chatbots, and more

Experiment: Try different models to see which works best for your needs

Freelance Work: Use AI to speed up client projects without upfront costs

Study AI: Understand how different models think and respond

Get Started Today

Stop letting pricing hold you back from experimenting with AI. These three methods give you access to the world's most powerful AI models without spending anything:

Droid CLI - 20M free tokens for terminal lovers
Windsurf IDE - 25 monthly credits for full-stack devs
AgentRouter - $200 credits for API builders

Pick the one that fits your style, or better yet, grab all three and maximize your free AI access. Happy coding! 🚀

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