Last updated: 11 September 2026. Checked against OpenAI's, Microsoft's and Ramp's own pages that day.
OpenAI gives no free credit to new API accounts: you prepay at least $5 before the first call. The free OpenAI access that still exists in September 2026 comes from six places:
- Data-sharing tokens: up to 1 million free tokens a day on flagship models and 10 million on small ones, for eligible organizations that let OpenAI use their traffic.
- Microsoft for Startups: Azure credits that pay for OpenAI models in Microsoft Foundry, $1,000 plus $4,000 without an investor. The most accessible route if you have no VC.
- OpenAI startup credits: only through a referral code from a partner VC; OpenAI does not publish the amount. Ramp customers can get up to $2,500.
- Codex for Open Source: API credits, six months of ChatGPT Pro with Codex, and Codex Security for maintainers.
- Research and security grants: up to $1,000 through the Researcher Access Program, and API credits from the Cybersecurity Grant Program.
- Codex for Students: $100 of ChatGPT credits for Codex, for US and Canadian university students. Not API credit.
OpenAI Grove, which the June version of this page called a $50,000 route, closed its last cohort in January.
Every free OpenAI route at a glance
| Route | What you get | Who qualifies | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data-sharing tokens | 250K to 1M tokens/day flagship, 2.5M to 10M small | Eligible orgs with a positive balance | Open |
| Microsoft for Startups | $1,000 + $4,000 without an investor; ~$100,000 with one | Startups before Series C | Open |
| OpenAI for Startups | API credits, amount not published | Portfolio companies of partner VCs | Referral only |
| Ramp | Up to $2,500 in API credits | Ramp customers | Open |
| Codex for Open Source | API credits + 6 months ChatGPT Pro + Codex Security | Primary or core OSS maintainers | Rolling |
| Researcher Access Program | Up to $1,000 in API credits | Researchers | Reviewed quarterly |
| Cybersecurity Grant Program | API credits, grants in $10,000 steps | Defensive security projects | Rolling |
| Codex for Students | $100 in ChatGPT credits for Codex | Verified US and Canadian students | Open |
| New API account | Nothing; $5 minimum purchase | - | - |
| OpenAI Grove | Credits for a cohort | Selected founders | Closed since January 2026 |
No free credit for new API accounts
OpenAI's billing help says "The minimum purchase is $5", and purchased credits "will expire after 1 year and they are non-refundable". OpenAI also says it is "unable to extend the expiration date of credit grants or purchased credits". The automatic $5 trial of earlier years is not in OpenAI's docs any more.
A ChatGPT subscription does not help here either: "ChatGPT and the API platform use separate billing systems", so Plus or Pro includes no API credit. The free thing OpenAI does offer is the ChatGPT Free plan, which includes limited Codex use in ChatGPT but no API access.
Free tokens for sharing your data
The one ongoing free allowance on OpenAI's own API. Organizations that agree to share their API inputs and outputs with OpenAI get free tokens every day:
| Usage tier | Flagship models, per day | Small models, per day |
|---|---|---|
| Tiers 1-2 | 250,000 | 2,500,000 |
| Tiers 3-5 | 1,000,000 | 10,000,000 |
- Models: the flagship group includes gpt-5.6-sol, gpt-5.5, gpt-5.4, gpt-5, gpt-4.1, gpt-4o and o3; the small group gpt-5.6-terra, gpt-5.6-luna, gpt-5.4-mini and nano, gpt-5-mini and nano and o4-mini. The new flagship gpt-6-astra is not included.
- Conditions: "some organizations may qualify", so check the data-sharing settings page for your org. It needs a positive balance, which in practice means the $5 purchase first. OpenAI promises 30 days' notice before ending the program.
- The trade-off: on shared projects OpenAI can use your prompts and completions. Do not turn it on for customer data or anything confidential.
Details are in OpenAI's data sharing help article.
Microsoft for Startups: Azure credits that pay for OpenAI models
Microsoft's startup credits cover OpenAI models, as long as you call them through Azure. Microsoft's docs say sponsorship credits "apply to Microsoft Foundry models that are sold and billed directly by Azure", and that group "include[s] all Azure OpenAI models", gpt-6-astra and gpt-5.6 sol, terra and luna among them.
| Your situation | Credits |
|---|---|
| No investor | $1,000 for 90 days, then $4,000 more for 180 days after business verification |
| Backed by an investor | "most startups begin with $100,000" |
| Maximum over time | Up to $150,000 |
- Excluded: startups that raised Series C or later, or already received more than $350,000 in free Azure credits.
- Timing: credits must be activated within 90 days and are valid for up to two years.
- What it does not cover: third-party models in Foundry. Anthropic, Cohere, Meta and some Mistral models are billed separately, so these credits do not pay for Claude (Claude for Startups covers that side).
- The Azure free account gives $200 for 30 days to new customers, but free-trial subscriptions get restricted Azure OpenAI quota. Plan on upgrading to pay-as-you-go.
Same models, different endpoint and billing: you call Azure's API, not api.openai.com. For a bootstrapped founder this is the largest free route to OpenAI models. More in Microsoft for Startups.
OpenAI for Startups: credits through your VC
OpenAI's startup page is direct about it: "Unlock credits and dedicated support through eligible VC partners." Its FAQ: "Do you offer API credits? Yes! Please reach out to your VC to learn how to unlock OpenAI API credits."
- Partners named on the page: "Thrive Capital, Sequoia, a16z, Kleiner Perkins, and Conviction Partners" are among them. VC firms can join through a separate partnership form.
- To apply you need: a unique referral code from your VC, a product description, company details with a business email, basic funding details and your OpenAI org ID.
- Amount: not published. The "$2,500" in many guides, including this one in June, matches Ramp's offer, not anything on OpenAI's startup page.
If you have raised from a VC, ask them whether they are an OpenAI partner and for the code. There is no public application without one.
Ramp: up to $2,500
Ramp's rewards page offers "up to $2,500 in OpenAI API credits" as one of its partner perks for startups, alongside other rewards. It is tied to signing up with Ramp; the page does not spell out further conditions. Some guides still quote $5,000; it is $2,500 today.
Codex for Open Source
The Codex Open Source Fund, a $1 million initiative that gave projects "up to $25,000 in API credits", has been folded into Codex for Open Source. OpenAI now describes the fund in the past tense.
- What you get: "Open-source maintainers can apply for API credits, six months of ChatGPT Pro with Codex, and Codex Security." Current pages give no per-project credit amount.
- Who qualifies: a primary or core maintainer of a public repository, with an OpenAI org ID for the credits.
- How: apply on the Codex for Open Source page. "We review applications on a rolling basis."
- Terms: benefits are "personal, limited, non-transferable, and have no cash value".
Compared with Anthropic's Claude for Open Source, which gives six months of Max 20x but no API credit, OpenAI's program is the one that can put API credits in a maintainer's hands.
Codex credits: students, startups and the free plan
- Codex for Students: "Verified university students in the United States and Canada can claim $100 in ChatGPT credits to use in Codex." That is 2,500 credits, verified through SheerID, expiring 12 months after they are granted. OpenAI's FAQ: "Are these API credits? No."
- ChatGPT for US college students: four months of a paid ChatGPT plan free, "an $80 value", claim by 31 October 2026, verified through SheerID.
- Codex credits for startups: there is no standing program. A ChatGPT Business promotion in April 2026 gave $100 per new Codex seat, up to $500 per workspace, and those credits expired on 30 April.
- ChatGPT Free includes limited Codex access; Go is $8 a month, Plus $20, Pro from $100.
Research and security grants
- Researcher Access Program: "Researchers can apply for up to $1,000 of OpenAI API credits." Applications are reviewed "once every 3 months (in March, June, September, and December)", credits arrive 4-6 weeks after the decision and last 12 months. September is a review month.
- Cybersecurity Grant Program: OpenAI committed "$10M in API credits" in February 2026, granted in increments of $10,000 in API credits, direct funding or equivalents. Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis; offensive-security work is excluded.
- People-First AI Fund 2026: $50 million in cash grants to US nonprofits, not API credits. Applications closed on 15 July 2026.
Nonprofits
OpenAI for Nonprofits discounts ChatGPT, not the API: Business standard seats at $8 per user a month billed annually ($10 monthly) and "up to a 75% discount on ChatGPT Enterprise", verified through Goodstack. The help center: "nonprofit discounts are only available for ChatGPT Business standard seats and ChatGPT Enterprise."
OpenAI Grove: closed
Grove was a small founder program: about 15 people, 4 to 6 hours a week, with the first and last weeks in San Francisco and travel paid. Cohort 2 ran from 22 January to 27 February 2026, and the page has said "Applications are now closed" since 12 January. The $50,000 in credits appears only in the page's metadata; the body mentions "additional benefits such as credits". No later cohort has been announced, and OpenAI's startup page no longer mentions Grove.
What changed since this page's June version
| June version said | September 2026 |
|---|---|
| New-account trial "up to ~$5, if offered" | None; $5 minimum purchase |
| OpenAI for Startups: $2,500 via VC | VC referral only, amount not published |
| OpenAI Grove: $50,000, apply | Closed since January 2026 |
| Codex Open Source Fund: $25,000 | Replaced by Codex for Open Source: credits, ChatGPT Pro, Codex Security |
| Microsoft for Startups: Azure OpenAI credits, no amounts | $1,000 + $4,000 without an investor, ~$100,000 with one; covers all Azure OpenAI models |
| Data sharing: ~1M tokens/day | 250K or 1M flagship, 2.5M or 10M small, by usage tier |
| New: - | Codex for Students ($100), Researcher Access ($1,000), Cybersecurity grants |
When the credits run out
Current API prices per million input / output tokens: gpt-6-astra $10 / $50, gpt-5.6-sol $4 / $20 (promotional price at least through 21 November 2026), gpt-5.6-terra $2 / $12, gpt-5.6-luna $0.20 / $1.20.
If you need an LLM API at zero cost rather than OpenAI specifically, seven providers have free tiers with no card; OpenAI's open-weight gpt-oss-120b is free on Groq and Cloudflare. See Free LLM APIs 2026 and Groq API Free Tier Rate Limits.
Frequently asked questions
Does OpenAI give free API credits to new accounts? No. You buy at least $5 of credits before using the API, and purchased credits expire after a year. The ongoing free allowance is the data-sharing program: eligible organizations that share their API traffic get up to 1 million free tokens a day on flagship models and 10 million on small ones, depending on usage tier.
How do I get OpenAI startup credits? Through a partner VC: OpenAI's startup page says to ask your VC for a unique referral code, and names Thrive Capital, Sequoia, a16z, Kleiner Perkins and Conviction Partners among its partners. The amount is not published. Without a VC, Ramp offers up to $2,500 in OpenAI API credits, and Microsoft for Startups Azure credits pay for OpenAI models on Azure.
Can Microsoft for Startups credits pay for OpenAI models? Yes, through Azure. Microsoft says its startup credits apply to Foundry models sold directly by Azure, which include all Azure OpenAI models. Without an investor you get $1,000 for 90 days and then $4,000 more after business verification; investor-backed startups usually start with $100,000, up to $150,000 over time.
Are there free Codex credits? Verified university students in the US and Canada can claim $100 in ChatGPT credits for Codex, and open source maintainers can apply to Codex for Open Source for six months of ChatGPT Pro with Codex plus API credits. The ChatGPT Free plan includes limited Codex access. There is no standing Codex credit program for startups; an April 2026 ChatGPT Business promotion has expired.
What is Codex for Open Source? OpenAI's program for open source maintainers, which replaced the $1 million Codex Open Source Fund. Primary or core maintainers of public repositories can apply for API credits, six months of ChatGPT Pro with Codex, and Codex Security. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
How do OpenAI's free data-sharing tokens work? If your organization is eligible and opts in to share API inputs and outputs with OpenAI, it gets free tokens every day: 250,000 on flagship models and 2.5 million on small ones at usage tiers 1-2, or 1 million and 10 million at tiers 3-5. It needs a positive account balance and does not cover gpt-6-astra.
Is OpenAI Grove still open? No. Grove's second cohort ran from January to February 2026, applications closed on 12 January 2026, and no later cohort has been announced.
Related guides
- Free LLM APIs 2026 - every free tier checked, which need no card
- Claude for Startups Program 2026 - who qualifies, how to apply
- Microsoft for Startups - Azure credits and what they cover
- Free AI API Credits - broader AI startup programs
- Groq API Free Tier Rate Limits and Pricing 2026
- Claude API Pricing 2026 - all models, caching, batch
- Claude Code Pricing 2026 - plans, API cost, and the Agent SDK credit
- Free Startup Credits 2026: Complete Guide
Got OpenAI credits through one of these routes? Tell me which and what it took. I update this guide with what founders actually see.
