API key guides
Step-by-step help getting an API key from each AI provider PolyCog works with: making the account, adding credit, setting up automatic top-ups, and creating a key. Each guide has a Beginner mode that spells out every click, an Experienced mode that gets to the point, and a checklist that remembers where you left off.
Pick your provider
One guide per seat in PolyCog. More are on the way; each goes live once every step has been walked through on a fresh account.
Questions people ask
What is an API key?
A private access code from an AI provider. An app like PolyCog sends it with each request so the provider knows the request is yours and bills your account. Treat it like a password: anyone who has it can spend your credit.
Why does PolyCog use my own API keys?
PolyCog is bring-your-own-key. Your prompts run on the providers' real APIs under your own account, at their list prices, with nothing added in between. The free preview runs a few small models on PolyCog's shared keys so you can try it without any key at all.
How much does an API key cost?
The key itself is free. You pay the provider for what you use, usually a small prepaid balance to start (OpenAI's minimum is $5). An everyday answer costs a fraction of a cent to a few cents depending on the model; see /pricing/ for every model's price.
Is a ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini subscription the same as an API key?
No. Chat subscriptions pay for the provider's own app. The API is billed separately, pay as you go, and is what apps like PolyCog use. Each guide shows exactly where the API billing lives.
Keys in hand? Put them to work.
PolyCog puts up to six AI models on the same question, lets them debate, and has the one you pick write the answer. Your keys, provider prices, no markup.
Free tier forever · $10/mo · $250 lifetime · your API keys, your bill