Conclusion
- Best no-card first test: OpenRouter free models — fastest signup and OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
- Best China-direct free option: SiliconFlow free open-source models, then Zhipu GLM-4-Flash.
- Best large signup pool: Qwen / Alibaba Bailian, if you can activate the cloud account.
- Avoid “free trial” pages that require card before you can create a key; they are not no-card APIs.
What to do next
- Pick the constraint first: no credit card, China access, model quality, or lowest paid upgrade path.
- Create a test key on a provider with free or free-model access.
- Use an OpenAI SDK compatible base_url so you can switch providers later.
- Send a 100-token smoke prompt and record latency, error rate, and real quota consumption.
- Before production, compare paid fallback pricing so the free tier does not become a dead end.
Recommended paths
| Provider | Free / credits | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| OpenRouter | Free models, rate limited | Fast no-card prototyping |
| SiliconFlow | ¥14 signup + free small models | China-direct OpenAI-compatible calls |
| Zhipu GLM | 5M signup tokens / GLM Flash route | China developers and GLM tests |
| Qwen | 70M signup tokens via Bailian | Large Chinese/coding model tests |
| Groq | Free developer limits vary | Very fast Llama-family inference |
Global developer checklist
- Confirm whether signup, billing, and API keys work from your country before writing production code.
- Prefer OpenAI-compatible endpoints when you may need to switch models, regions, or providers later.
- Test free credits with a real smoke prompt and record latency, error shape, streaming behavior, and quota burn.
- Keep at least one fallback route for provider outages, model deprecations, and regional access changes.
Production handoff
Want one key after the no-card test?
Prototype on free providers, then move production traffic to a single OpenAI-compatible key with routing across GPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Qwen.
FAQ
Is “no credit card” the same as free forever?
No. It usually means you can create a key and test without card verification. Always check whether the free model is rate-limited, temporary, or only for selected models.
Which no-card AI API is best for mainland China?
SiliconFlow and Zhipu are the safest starting points because they are China-direct and OpenAI-compatible. Qwen is also strong if you already use Alibaba Cloud.
Can I use the OpenAI SDK with these providers?
Most developer-friendly options support an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Change base_url, api_key, and model name; keep the rest of your code mostly unchanged.
What should I do after free credits run out?
Add a paid fallback with predictable pricing. DeepSeek, Qwen, SiliconFlow, and OpenRouter are common upgrade paths depending on access and model needs.