Vercel AI Gateway API Key Guide: $5/Month Free Credits

Why Vercel AI Gateway?

Vercel AI Gateway is a unified proxy to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta — no BYOK needed. Every team (including free Hobby) gets $5/mo AI credits handled at the system layer: if monthly usage ≤ $5, it's free.

Core Strengths

No BYOK: System handles provider keys, billing, rate limits.
$5 monthly credits: Free tier covers many text calls.
AI SDK unified: One ai SDK + @ai-sdk/openai etc. for all models.

Free Basis

$5 system-layer credits per team per month (Hobby included). Usage under $5 is fully free. Beyond $5, pay per token.

Step-by-Step

Step 1: Sign up at https://vercel.com/signup and create a project (Hobby free).

Step 2: In Vercel Dashboard → AI Gateway → Enable Gateway. No API key needed; auth via Vercel OIDC (automatic in Vercel functions) or AI Gateway token for local dev.

Step 3: Install SDK and call:

JavaScript (AI SDK)

javascript

import { generateText } from 'ai';
import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai';

const { text } = await generateText({
  model: openai('gpt-5.5-preview'),
  prompt: 'Hello Vercel Gateway!',
});
console.log(text);

cURL (Gateway)

bash

curl https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VERCEL_OIDC_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model":"openai/gpt-5.5-preview","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Hi"}]}'

Check Usage in dashboard to track $5 credits.