For prototypes
Start with providers that publish signup credits, no-card free tiers, or low daily limits. Validate real usage before paying.
AI API Pricing Monitor · Daily Updated
AI API Pricing Monitor & Cheapest LLM API Leaderboard
Compare LLM API pricing signals, signup credits, free quotas, OpenAI-compatible setup paths, China-friendly access, and token cost before you ship. Use this pricing monitor to shortlist the cheapest AI API for prototypes, then verify provider docs before production.
141API providers tracked
141free credit / quota signals
91China-friendly options
34pricing notes
For production
Use the calculator to estimate monthly cost from input/output tokens, request volume, cache rate, and model mix.
For China access
Prioritize direct access, stable signup, RMB pricing, and OpenAI-compatible endpoints to reduce integration risk.
Citeable data asset
AI API Pricing Monitor dataset
A reusable JSON/CSV snapshot for builders, directories, newsletters, and cost benchmark posts. Last generated: 2026-06-16T23:19:07.802Z.
14priced model rows
2free / zero-price rows
11no-card signals
8China-friendly rows
Suggested citation: “Yangmao AI API Pricing Monitor, CSV/JSON dataset, generated from token-pricing and provider source records.”
Need production routing? Try one OpenAI-compatible gateway →New: token cost calculator
An added module inside the existing API pricing hub. It estimates monthly cost from real input/output tokens while keeping the comparison provider-neutral.
Token Cost Lab
AI Token Pricing Calculator
Enter monthly token volume and compare model API cost, China access, and billing friction.
| Provider / model | Input $/1M | Output $/1M | Estimated monthly cost | Access |
|---|
Cheapest LLM API leaderboard and free-credit pages
| Provider | Free credits / quota | Rate limit | Pricing signal | Access | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare Workers AIMain profile · api · chat · image | 每天 10000 神经元（永久有效） | 10000 requests/day | USD pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| NVIDIA Build (NIM API)Main profile · api · chat · coding | 无限制（已取消额度限制） | 40 RPM（可申请提升到 200 RPM） | USD pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| DeepSeekMain profile · chat · coding · reasoning | $5 | 2 RPM | USD pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| Doubao (ByteDance)Main profile · chat · image · video | 50万 tokens | 5 RPM | USD pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| Qwen (Alibaba)Main profile · chat · coding · reasoning | 7000 万 tokens（新用户一次性；DashScope/Bailian 控制台为准） | 按模型和账号层级不同（RPM/TPM/并发以控制台为准） | USD pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| DGX Cloud Lepton (formerly Lepton AI)Main profile · chat · coding | $10 free credits | 10 RPM | USD pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| Kimi (Moonshot AI)Main profile · chat · reasoning · coding | ¥15 + 充 $5 送 $5 | 3 RPM | USD pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| MiniMaxMain profile · chat · audio · video | ¥15 | Varies | USD pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| SiliconFlowMain profile · chat · coding · image | ¥14 | Varies by model/account (RPM, TPM, context, and queue limits) | CNY pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| 01.AI (Yi)Main profile · chat · coding | ¥10 | 5 RPM | CNY pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| FireRed-OpenStorylineMain profile · video · agent · editing | Unlimited self-hosted | Local/self-hosted | USD pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| Shanghai Telecom Token PackageMain profile · chat · api · compute | 1 元约 25 万额度点（低价套餐，待实测） | 待确认：并发、RPM/TPM、有效期、是否仅上海电信用户 | USD pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| StepFunMain profile · chat · image · video | ¥10 | 5 RPM | CNY pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| ViduMain profile · video · image | $1 | N/A | USD pricing mentioned | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| GroqMain profile · chat · coding · reasoning | Free tier（永久免费） | 30 RPM / 6000 TPM | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| Together AIMain profile · chat · coding · image | $5（注册赠送） | Varies by model | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| DeepInfraMain profile · llm · api · image | Free trial credits / promotional balance varies by account | Model and account dependent; verify dashboard before production | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| AnyscaleMain profile · chat · coding | $10 free credits | 30 RPM | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| Databricks Mosaic AIMain profile · api · enterprise | New-account Databricks trial credits can be used to test Mosaic AI model serving where available | Endpoint, region, model, and workspace quota dependent; check Serving endpoints and billing dashboard | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| fal.aiMain profile · image · video | Promotional credits | N/A | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| Fireworks AIMain profile · chat · coding · image | $1 free credits | 600 RPM | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| Grok (xAI)Main profile · chat · coding · reasoning | $25/月 | Varies | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| Novita AIMain profile · chat · image · video | $0.50 free credits | 60 RPM | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| OctoAIMain profile · chat · coding · image | $10 free credits | 60 RPM | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| Anthropic APIMain profile · chat · coding · reasoning | $5 | 5 RPM | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| ElevenLabsMain profile · audio | 10K chars/month | Varies | USD pricing mentioned | Global | 2026-06-16 |
| OllamaMain profile · chat · coding | Unlimited | Local | Free credits tracked | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| Jina AIMain profile · embedding · api | 1M free tokens for new users. | Token-quota based; verify model-specific limits in the Jina dashboard. | Free credits tracked | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| Baichuan AIMain profile · chat · reasoning | 500万 tokens | 5 RPM | Free credits tracked | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
| ChatGLM (Zhipu AI)Main profile · chat · coding · image | 500万 tokens | 5 RPM | Free credits tracked | China-direct / Asia-friendly | 2026-06-16 |
Each row links to a provider-specific API pricing page with free credits, setup guidance, related alternatives, and FAQ schema.