***

title: Free Variant
subtitle: 'Access free models with the :free variant'
headline: Free Variant | Free Model Access
canonical-url: '[https://openrouter.ai/docs/guides/routing/model-variants/free](https://openrouter.ai/docs/guides/routing/model-variants/free)'
'og:site\_name': OpenRouter Documentation
'og:title': Free Variant - Free Model Access
'og:description': 'Access free models using the :free variant suffix.'
'og:image':
type: url
value: >-
[https://openrouter.ai/dynamic-og?title=Free%20Variant\&description=Free%20model%20access](https://openrouter.ai/dynamic-og?title=Free%20Variant\&description=Free%20model%20access)
'og:image:width': 1200
'og:image:height': 630
'twitter:card': summary\_large\_image
'twitter:site': '@OpenRouter'
noindex: false
nofollow: false
---------------

The `:free` variant allows you to access free versions of models on OpenRouter.

## Usage

Append `:free` to any model ID:

```json
{
  "model": "meta-llama/llama-3.2-3b-instruct:free"
}
```

## Details

Free variants provide access to models without cost, but may have different rate limits or availability compared to paid versions.

## Related Resources

* [Free Models Router](/docs/guides/get-started/free-models-router-playground) - Learn how to use the Free Models Router in the Chat Playground for zero-cost inference