A free AI API: $1 of credit for Claude, GPT, Gemini and more
Every new account can claim $1 of API credit that works on every model. What it buys per model, the rules, and the three steps to a working key.
The short answer
A new UplinkSwitch account can claim $1 of API credit for free. It works on every model in the catalog, Claude, GPT, Gemini and DeepSeek included, through one key and one base URL. There is no subscription after it.
What $1 buys
Take a chat turn of 2,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens. That size is an assumption; your real counts show on the console's Usage page.
| Model | Input | Output | One turn | Turns for $1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 5.5 | $0.06 | $0.15 | $0.0002 | 5,128 |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | $0.45 | $2.25 | $0.002 | 493 |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 | $0.75 | $1.188 | $0.0021 | 477 |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | $1.20 | $3.00 | $0.0039 | 256 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | $0.60 | $3.00 | $0.0027 | 370 |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | $2.10 | $6.00 | $0.0072 | 138 |
Input and output in USD per million tokens, from the live catalog. One turn = input tokens times the input rate plus output tokens times the output rate.
The rules
- Once per account, and only for an account that has never paid.
- A limited number of trials is given out each day.
- The credit goes on your balance and works like paid credit: every model, every key, a usage record per request.
- When it runs out, requests stop. Nothing is charged.
Getting it
- Claim the $1 credit.
- Open the console and make a key.
- Point your SDK at the base URL with that key.
from anthropic import Anthropic
client = Anthropic(
base_url="https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1",
api_key="sk-uplink-live-...",
)
message = client.messages.create(
model="claude-haiku-5-5",
max_tokens=1024,
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Summarize this in one line."}],
)
print(message.content[0].text)Questions
What happens after the $1? Top up from $10 when you want more. Credit is prepaid, so there is no invoice and no plan to cancel.
Which model goes furthest on $1? The one with the lowest prices in the table above. Every chat model and its price is on the Models page.
Does it work with Claude Code or Cursor? Yes. See the Claude Code and Cursor guides.