DeepInfra: $5 free credits + $5/mo recurring; up to 1B tokens for startups
Source: https://deepinfra.com/pricing
Description
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+ 1 DeepInfra is an OpenAI-compatible inference platform for open-source LLMs, embeddings, image, and audio models. New accounts get $5 in free credits on signup with no credit card required, plus a $5/month recurring free allocation to try any open-source model on the platform. Approved early-stage startups can additionally apply to DeepStart for 1,000,000,000 free inference tokens (valued at DeepSeek V3.1 prices).
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+ 7 1. Go to deepinfra.com and click Sign Up (top right).
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+ 8 2. Sign up with GitHub or Google (email/password also works). No credit card required to claim the free $5 credit.
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+ 9 3. Confirm your email if prompted.
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+ 10 4. Open the Dashboard → API Keys and create a new API key.
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+ 11 5. Start calling any of the supported models via the OpenAI-compatible endpoint:
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• Base URL: https://api.deepinfra.com/v1/openai
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+ 13 • Use any standard OpenAI SDK (Python, Node, etc.) and just swap the base URL + API key.
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+ 14 6. To unlock paid usage above the free allowance, go to Billing and either pre-pay or add a credit card. Tier 1 invoicing threshold is $20.
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+ 15
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+ 16 Important:
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+ 17 • The signup credit is $5 (one-time) + $5/month that resets and can be used on any open-source model. You only need a card once you exceed the free allowance.
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+ 18 • DeepInfra explicitly says: "You have to add a card or pre-pay or you won't be able to use our services" — this only kicks in after the free credits are consumed.
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• API is fully OpenAI-compatible — any code that targets openai SDK works as a drop-in replacement.
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+ 25 DeepInfra hosts a large catalog of open-source and commercial models. Some highlights as of May 2026:
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+ 26
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+ 28 • DeepSeek — V3.2, V3.1, R1 (and variants)
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+ 29 • Meta Llama — Llama 4, Llama 3.3, 3.2, 3.1 (8B → 405B)
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+ 30 • Qwen — Qwen3, Qwen2.5 (incl. coder + math variants)
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+ 31 • Google — Gemma 3 family (and select Gemini routing)
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+ 32 • Anthropic — Claude 4 Opus, Claude 4 Sonnet, Claude 3.7 Sonnet (proxied)
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+ 33 • Mistral — Mistral / Mixtral family
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+ 34 • NVIDIA Nemotron
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+ 35
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+ 37 • Flux model family (Flux.1 Pro, Schnell, Dev, etc.)
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+ 38
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+ 40 • Voxtral (audio in)
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+ 41 • Whisper (speech-to-text)
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+ 44 • Multiple open embedding models (BGE, E5, Qwen-embed, etc.)
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+ 45
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+ 46 For the live, authoritative list see the DeepInfra Models catalog and Pricing page.
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+ 52 If your $10 of free monthly credit isn't enough, DeepStart is DeepInfra's startup program offering up to 1,000,000,000 free inference tokens (valued at DeepSeek V3.1 prices, currently around the $200–$400 range depending on model mix).
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+ 53
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+ 55 • Funding raised: between $250,000 and $10,000,000 USD
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+ 56 • Company age: founded within the last 2 years
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+ 57 • Building an AI product that uses open-source model inference
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+ 58
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+ 59 This effectively maps to pre-seed → early Series A startups; bootstrapped sub-$250K companies and >2-year-old companies are not eligible.
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+ 60
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+ 62 1. Go to deepinfra.com/deepstart
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+ 63 2. Click “Apply now”
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+ 64 3. Fill in company details (funding stage, founding date, intended use case)
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+ 65 4. Wait for DeepInfra to review your application (specific timelines aren't publicly published — expect days to a couple of weeks)
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+ 66
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+ 68 • 1B free tokens at DeepSeek V3.1 pricing (token amount fixed; dollar value depends on which model you actually use)
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+ 69 • Standard DeepInfra infrastructure and OpenAI-compatible API
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+ 76 from openai import OpenAI
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+ 77
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+ 78 client = OpenAI(
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api_key="<DEEPINFRA_API_KEY>",
api_key="<DEEPINFRA_API_KEY>", No comments on this line yet.
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base_url="https://api.deepinfra.com/v1/openai",
base_url="https://api.deepinfra.com/v1/openai", No comments on this line yet.
+ 81 )
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+ 82
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+ 83 resp = client.chat.completions.create(
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model="deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V3.1",
model="deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V3.1", No comments on this line yet.
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messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "hello"}],
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "hello"}], No comments on this line yet.
+ 86 )
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+ 87 print(resp.choices[0].message.content)
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No SDK changes needed beyond the base_url swap.
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+ 95
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+ 96 • No card required to start — great for quick evaluation; you only need to add billing once you blow past $5/month.
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+ 97 • $5/month is shared across the whole catalog, so you can experiment with Llama, Qwen, DeepSeek, Flux, embeddings etc. from the same allowance.
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+ 98 • For continuous heavier usage, DeepStart is significantly more generous than the recurring free tier — worth applying if you meet the funding/age criteria.
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+ 99 • DeepInfra is also available via the Vercel Marketplace, so you can provision and bill through Vercel if that's your stack.
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+ 100 • Pricing for paid usage is consistently among the cheapest OSS-model inference available (often 30–90% below incumbents), so even after the free allowance the platform stays affordable.
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+ 103
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+ 104 Sources:
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+ 105 • DeepInfra Pricing
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+ 106 • DeepStart Program
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+ 107 • DeepInfra Models
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+ 108 • DeepInfra Signup
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+ 109 • DeepInfra Pricing 2026 (Costbench)
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+ 110 • Groq, fal, and DeepInfra join the Vercel Marketplace
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+ 111 • DeepInfra Startup Credits and Perks (StartupPerks)
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