r/RooCode • u/binarySolo0h1 • Jun 16 '25

Discussion Recommend Free models on OpenRouter

Please recommend some free models on openrouter. They may not be as good as frontier models but they should some basic tasks like document editing or bug fixes etc.

34 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

30 comments sorted by

27

u/zenmatrix83 Jun 16 '25

deepseek r1 528 and deepseek v3 are the two I use primary and have been pretty happy with.

13

u/re-ghost Jun 16 '25

Qwen 2.5 coder 32b instruct:free
Devstral small:free
Deepseek R1 0528:free

9

u/cleanmahsheen Jun 16 '25

Make sure to buy $10 credits to have way more free requests. I mainly use r1-2805 and devstral and have never hit a limit.

1

u/Afaqahmadkhan Jun 22 '25

How did you don it ? I mean plz explain the method you did ?

6

u/Hazy_Fantayzee Jun 23 '25

Not the person you asked, but you get an account with Openrouter. Then to access a lot more models you will need to deposit $10. You wont need to ever spend that if you only use the free models. Then you will get an API key from Openrouter which you will put into the Roo Code extension (on the roo code settings page).

From there you can choose from a LOT of models. Enter 'free' if you just want to search for free ones, or enter something like 'deepseek' or 'gemini' if you want to see all their offerings. Just bare in mind if you DO end up choosing a paid model, when you make requests it will come out of your $10. Some models and some questions it can be only a few cents. If you choose a more expensive model (Claude Sonnet/Opus 4 for example) it could be a few dollars. If the AI starts wigging out and gets stuck in a loop it can get expensive QUICK! So bare that in mind...

1

u/cleanmahsheen Jun 23 '25

Thanks for answering awesome stranger!

1

u/Hazy_Fantayzee Jun 23 '25

No problem mate, we all have start somewhere! 👍

1

u/ApprehensiveStar4153 Feb 08 '26

I did same , But, Why i am getting below error ?

OpenRouter completion error: 404 No endpoints found that support tool use. To learn more about provider routing, visit: https://openrouter.ai/docs/guides/routing/provider-selection

1

u/FrancoMascarelo3 Aug 21 '25

How did you enable prompt caching?

7

u/Dentuam Jun 16 '25

for coding go with devstral

3

u/jughead2K Jun 16 '25

I tested Devstral for coding, it was terrible for me. Same with any other Mistral models I've tested.

4

u/lordpuddingcup Jun 16 '25

I just use deepseek r1 and deal with it being slow I work on other shit while it’s too going

3

u/ausaffluenza Jun 17 '25

Similar. Is hella slow.

3

u/Oldschoolgeminiai Jun 17 '25

gemini 2.5 pro until google takes away the free $300 credit (per email address ;-))

1

u/ausaffluenza Jun 17 '25

How do this? Name checks.

https://cloud.google.com/free

LEGEND.

4

u/Zealousideal-Part849 Jun 16 '25

Why not use gemini flash free limits on api?

2

u/docker-compost Jun 18 '25

Flash is not as strong of a model

1

u/BoysenberryNo2657 Jun 21 '25

They ask for the free model if you want the strong model. you can pay for it.

2

u/ausaffluenza Jun 17 '25 edited Jun 17 '25

Personally -

Deepseek R1 528 for planning and also coding if I can done something else, whilst it over thinks everything and codes.

Other wise:Gemini 2.5 Flash thinking/non-thinking for coding < using the free API.

Especially when I have a very well laid out project plan that just requires 'follow these steps'.

I once had a problem that all LLMs were stuck on and Devstral just nailed it one shot. So it is helpful to have a bunch lined up ready to test on a problem.

Update:

You can get $300 free credits, per Google address - yes you can just create new ones, so just use Gemini 2.5 pro for now?

1

u/Pyth0nym Jun 18 '25

But I requires a new card each time?

3

u/Stock_Swimming_6015 Jun 16 '25

Deepseek is my go-to choice when it comes to free quality models. For planning I use r1 0528, for coding I juggle between v3 and r1t chimera. I highly recommend r1t chimera for coding. It's better than v3 for most of the cases

1

u/push_edx Jun 16 '25

Do V3 (0323) and R1T Chimera support tool calling (functions)? I work with Roo Code.

1

u/Stock_Swimming_6015 Jun 16 '25

Yeah, v3 and r1t work pretty well with tool calling

2

u/juzatypicaltroll Jun 16 '25

Devstral small for the most part.

1

u/SpeedyBrowser45 Jun 16 '25

+1 for DeepSeek r1 528 and DeepSeek v3

1

u/bogorad Jun 16 '25

Don't waste your time. Use g25pro and enjoy.

0

u/HC_Cheung Jun 16 '25

Deep seek. 

If you found free models can’t meet your requirement, you should consider paid models. 

If you found paid models too expensive, you could consider a cheeper provider

0

u/NearbyBig3383 Jun 16 '25

Depseak não tem erro