Groq

Groq is a developer platform for running open models — Llama, Whisper, Mixtral and others — on purpose-built hardware that answers dramatically faster than usual, often streaming whole responses in a fraction of a second. You create a key in the console and call an OpenAI-compatible API, so existing code usually works after changing the base URL and key.

The free tier is unusually generous in shape: rather than a credit balance that runs out, access is gated by rate limits — roughly 30 requests a minute and 14,400 a day, with per-model token caps — so it stays free for hobby projects, prototypes, and learning at no cost and without a card.

It fits developers building chatbots, agents, and pipelines where response speed matters, anyone prototyping against open models for free, and tinkerers who want the fastest local-feeling cloud experience without hosting anything.

To begin, sign in at console.groq.com, create an API key, and point an OpenAI-compatible client at the endpoint. The playground in the console lets you try models before writing code.

The honest limits. Rate limits bite quickly in production — the moment traffic grows, you are onto paid usage, and the free tier's per-model token caps exclude long-context work. Only open models are served — no GPT- or Claude-class frontier models. Speed claims depend on the model and region. Docs list exact per-model limits; they change over time.