The latest articles on DEV Community by NowayDev (@nowaydevai). https://dev.to/nowaydevai https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4240731%2F120288b8-86fd-40e8-8c8e-1b54b4c21ac5.png https://dev.to/nowaydevai en NowayDev Thu, 12 Nov 2026 09:55:56 +0000 https://dev.to/nowaydevai/i-build-a-free-multimodal-ai-api-that-works-with-any-openai-sdk-2m4c https://dev.to/nowaydevai/i-build-a-free-multimodal-ai-api-that-works-with-any-openai-sdk-2m4c <p>I got tired of juggling three different providers to prototype one multimodal app — a key for chat, another for images, another for video, each with its own SDK and a credit card requirement before you can test anything.</p> <p>So I built <strong>NFlashX</strong>: one API key for chat, image generation and video, behind a single OpenAI-compatible interface. It's live, and the free tier doesn't ask for a card.</p> <h2> Free tier and pricing </h2> <p>| Model | Output | Rate limit | Price (per 1M tokens) |<br> | NFlashX 1.0 Flash | 4K | 2 req/min on free |<br> | NFlashX 1.0 Pro | 8K | 30 req/min | $0.40 in / $0.70 out |<br> | NFlashX Vision 1.0 Flash | image | — | $0.01 per image |</p> <p>New accounts start with <strong>$1.00 in credit</strong> — enough to run a real test, not just a hello-world. Limits are per key, rates are published, and everything lives under a stable <code>/v1</code>.</p> <h2> Why one more API? </h2> <p>Partly selfish: I wanted a sane way to prototype multimodal features without wiring three SDKs. Partly practical: not everyone can put an international card on file, so top-ups also work through local QR transfer and USDT.</p> <p>It's a young, small project — the first 100 accounts are open.</p> <h2> Feedback welcome </h2> <ul> <li>Is the request/response format close enough to OpenAI for true drop-in use?</li> <li>What would make you pick this over a big provider for a side project?</li> <li>Which endpoint matters most to you next: video, better vision, or higher rate limits?</li> </ul> <p>Links:</p> <ul> <li>Website: <a href="https://nflashx.cc.cd" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://nflashx.cc.cd</a> </li> <li>Docs: <a href="https://nflashx.cc.cd/docs.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://nflashx.cc.cd/docs.html</a> </li> <li>GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/nflashx/nflashx" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/nflashx/nflashx</a> </li> </ul> ai api models free