groq
chat
audio
Test your Groq API key.
Verify a Groq API key, see which Llama / Mixtral / Whisper models you can call, and watch the LPU-class latency yourself.
Stateless proxy — keys never logged, stored, or persisted. What happens to your key →
Detected
Groq
What this key does
Groq's API is OpenAI-compatible: same /v1/chat/completions shape, same Bearer auth. The differentiator is latency — Groq's LPU hardware regularly does 300+ tokens/s on Llama 3 / 3.3.
How to get a Groq API key
- Sign in at console.groq.com.
- Open API Keys → Create API Key.
- Copy the gsk_... key and paste it here.
- Free tier exists with daily token caps — useful for development.
Common errors and fixes
- 401 Unauthorized: Key is invalid, revoked, or pasted with extra whitespace. Generate a new key from the provider console and try again.
- 403 Forbidden: Key is valid but lacks permission for this resource. Check project / org / workspace scope, or that billing is set up for this key.
- 429 Too Many Requests: You hit the per-minute or per-day rate limit. Wait a moment and retry, or upgrade your tier.
- 404 Not Found: The endpoint or model id changed. Check the provider docs for the current path and model identifier.
- 5xx: The provider is having issues. Check their status page before assuming the bug is yours.
Security best practices
- Store keys in an env var or secret manager — never commit them to a repo, even a private one.
- Restrict scope: prefer per-project or per-deployment keys over a single root key shared across services.
- Rotate on a schedule (90 days is a sane default) and immediately on suspected leak.
- Audit usage in the provider console after rotation to confirm the old key has zero traffic.
- Set per-key spend limits where the provider supports them, so a leaked key has a bounded blast radius.
Pricing at a glance
Groq's pay-as-you-go pricing is competitive on Llama-class models. The free tier is generous for prototyping but caps tokens-per-day per model.
FAQ
- Is Groq OpenAI-compatible?
- Yes. Just swap base URL to https://api.groq.com/openai/v1 and the OpenAI SDKs work.
- Why is Groq so much faster than other providers?
- Custom LPU silicon optimized for inference, plus aggressive batching.
- Which models are on Groq?
- Llama 3 / 3.1 / 3.3 family, Mixtral, Gemma, Whisper for audio. The exact set rotates — pull /v1/models to see current.
- Is there a free tier?
- Yes, with per-day token caps per model. Good enough for development.
- Where is Groq hosted?
- Multiple US regions with global edge routing.
- Does Groq support tool use / function calling?
- Yes, via the OpenAI-compatible tools field.
Test other providers
Related reading
- Free LLM API keys for testing in 2026Which providers offer free credits, how long they last, and how to stretch them for prototyping without a credit card.
- LLM rate limits explainedHow RPM, TPM, and tier-based limits actually work across OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, and others — and how to read the headers.