I’m working on a Discord bot project that needs AI-powered responses. I initially tried using OpenAI’s API but hit the free tier limit after just one message exchange. Now they want payment to continue using their service.
Since I’m currently between jobs and waiting on some slow bureaucratic processes, I’m looking for alternatives that won’t break the bank. Does anyone know of AI API services that offer:
Free tiers with decent usage limits
Very affordable paid plans for basic usage
Good response quality for chatbot applications
I’ve already rebuilt this bot multiple times due to various issues and really don’t want to start over again. Any suggestions for budget-friendly AI services would be greatly appreciated. Even temporary free trials that last a few weeks would help me get this project finished.
hugging face is awesome for free tiers, but might be a lil slow. their inference API fits well for discord bots with 1000 free requests monthly. cohere also gives better quality for budget users. don’t forget replicate - their pay-per-use is usually cheaper than openai for lil projects.
Been there - API costs add up crazy fast once your bot gets real users.
What saved me was smarter automation. Don’t hit the API for every message. Build logic that batches requests, caches responses, and only uses expensive AI when you actually need it.
I preprocess Discord messages first. Simple keyword matching handles 60% of common questions without any API calls. Complex stuff goes to AI and gets cached for similar questions later.
The automation rotates between multiple free accounts and manages rate limits automatically. Instead of burning one API limit in a day, I spread it across weeks.
Cut my usage by 80% and response times actually improved. Users get instant replies for basic stuff, quality AI for complex questions.
You can build this without coding using automation tools. Check out Latenode - handles all the workflow logic and API management: https://latenode.com
Been using Google’s Gemini API for Discord bots - it’s pretty solid. Free tier gives you 15 requests per minute, which lasted me about two weeks of testing before I upgraded. Quality’s on par with GPT for most chatbot stuff. Also check out Groq - their free tier’s got good speed and way more predictable pricing than OpenAI’s token mess. Their docs are easier to follow too. Pro tip: add a simple cooldown to stretch your free quota. I set mine to 30 seconds between AI responses per user. Kills spam and makes your limits last way longer. Most people don’t care about the wait if you drop them a quick ‘thinking…’ message first.
Try Ollama locally if you’ve got decent hardware. Downloaded LLaMA models run offline - no API costs at all. Setup’s a bit involved but kills monthly fees and rate limits completely. I made the switch after blowing through Claude’s free tier in three days. Quality depends on model size, but llama3.1 8B does fine for basic chat. Big initial download but pays off for ongoing work. Claude’s another solid pick - free tier resets monthly instead of OpenAI’s credit mess. Got around 200 good conversations before hitting walls. Whatever you choose, add user cooldowns. Trust me - even generous free tiers vanish quick when people spam your bot.