OpenRouter
Coding & Dev Tools
One account and one API key for hundreds of AI models, paid for at the makers' prices.
Coding & Dev Tools
Hugging Face
The home of open AI models: download, try and run millions of them in one place.
3.8our ratingNo community reviews yet. Add yours
FreemiumFrom $9/moWorks with Claude Code
Quick take
- The library of open AI. Over 3 million models plus datasets and demo apps, free to browse and download.
- PRO is $9 a month and is the cheapest useful upgrade in the category: 8x the free GPU time, $2 of monthly compute credit and the ability to host your own Spaces.
- Non-technical users can get value from HuggingChat and other people's Spaces, but the rest assumes you or someone on your team can code.
- Free Spaces hosting was tightened in July 2026. New free accounts are limited to two ZeroGPU demos once the account is 30 days old.
- Nvidia agreed to buy Hugging Face in September 2026 and has promised to keep it open to every model, cloud and chip maker.
What is Hugging Face?
Hugging Face is where the open AI world keeps its models. More than 3 million models, plus datasets and small demo apps called Spaces, are hosted there for anyone to browse and download. It also runs HuggingChat, a free chat app over 130-plus open models with an Omni mode that picks one for you. Inference Providers let you call many of those models through one API with no markup.
Use it when you want an open model you can run yourself, test a niche model in someone's demo Space before installing anything, or host your own demo for clients. For simply calling lots of commercial models from one API key, OpenRouter is easier. Hugging Face is the place to go when you care about owning the model, privacy, or fine-tuning one on your own data.
The catch is that it is built for developers and researchers, so a business owner without technical help will mostly stick to HuggingChat and other people's Spaces. Free GPU time on Spaces is a few minutes a day and queues can be long. Since July 2026, new free accounts can't create normal Gradio or Docker Spaces without the $9 PRO plan. Anyone can upload a model, so trending lists can be gamed and the odd repository has carried malware. Nvidia agreed to buy the company in September 2026 for about $12.9 billion, with closing expected in the first half of 2027.
Who's using it, and who it's for
- Developers
- AI researchers
- Data scientists
- Startups
- Hobbyists
Developers, data people and curious business owners who want open models they can try, run or customise themselves.
Key features
Model Hub
Search millions of open models by task, size and licence, read the model card and download the files.
Spaces
Small web apps that let you try a model in your browser, or host your own demo to share with clients.
HuggingChat
A free chat app over 130-plus open models, with Omni to pick one for you, web search, MCP tools and an ML Intern mode.
Inference Providers
Call models from partners like Together, Fireworks and Groq through one API at the providers' prices, with no markup.
Datasets
Hundreds of thousands of datasets with a built-in viewer, useful for training or testing a model on real examples.
Inference Endpoints
Rent a dedicated GPU to run a model privately for your app, billed by the hour from a few cents.
How we rate it
3.8overall, out of 5
Our rating, from using the tool ourselves. Each score is out of 5.
- Ease of use
- 3.0
- Features
- 4.5
- Output quality
- 3.5
- Value for money
- 4.5
- Speed & reliability
- 3.5
How quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
How completely it covers the job it's built for, and how well the pieces fit together.
How good the results are before you fix them.
What you get for the price, including the free plan.
How fast it is and how often it falls over.
Community rating
No community reviews yet. Be the first to leave one.
Hugging Face pricing
Free
Free
Browsing, downloading and trying models.
- Unlimited public models and datasets
- 100GB of private storage
- 5 minutes of ZeroGPU time a day
- Host up to two ZeroGPU Spaces after 30 days
- Our pick
PRO
$9/mo
Individuals who want GPU time and their own demos.
- 40 minutes of ZeroGPU a day and top queue priority
- $2 of compute credit each month
- Host Gradio and Docker Spaces, up to 10 on ZeroGPU
- 1TB private storage and up to 10TB public
Team
$20/user/mo
Small teams sharing private models and data.
- PRO benefits for every member
- SSO, audit logs and resource groups
- 1TB of private storage per seat
- Central billing and spend limits
Enterprise
From $50/user/mo
Larger companies with compliance needs.
- Everything in Team
- Highest storage and rate limits
- SCIM, advanced security and annual billing
- Dedicated support
Which plan should you pick?
Stay free if you only download models or use HuggingChat. Pay the $9 for PRO the moment you want to host a demo or use GPU Spaces regularly. Anything heavier, like a private model for your app, is billed by the hour on top.
Prices in USD unless noted, checked 21 October 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their site before you buy.
Best use cases
Ways Hugging Face can slot into your week.
- 1
Find a model for a specific job
Search for a model that transcribes Australian accents, removes backgrounds or reads invoices, and try it in a Space before you commit.
- 2
Keep sensitive data in-house
Download an open model and run it on your own computer or server so client data never goes to an AI company.
- 3
Show a client a working prototype
Put a quick demo in a Space and send the client a link before you spend money on a full app.
- 4
Chat with open models for free
Use HuggingChat to compare open models like Qwen, DeepSeek or Llama on your real questions.
- 5
Train a model on your own examples
Have a developer fine-tune a small open model on your product catalogue or support tickets, then host it privately.
How it fits your tech stack
It works well next to a model API like OpenRouter or OpenAI. Developers pull models from it into local tools like Ollama and LM Studio, and the hf command-line tool and MCP server let coding agents search and use it directly.
Connects to
- Ollama
- LM Studio
- Google Colab
- AWS SageMaker
- Azure
- Google Cloud
- LangChain
- MCP servers
Pros and cons
Pros
- Nearly every open model is published here, usually on launch day
- Free to browse, download and try thousands of demos
- PRO at $9 a month is cheap for what it adds
- Inference Providers charge the providers' prices with no markup
- Open-source libraries and Chat UI can be run on your own servers
Cons
- Built for developers, so most of it is hard going for non-technical users
- Free GPU time is a few minutes a day and ZeroGPU queues can be long
- New free accounts lost free CPU Spaces in July 2026, with no clear announcement
- Anyone can upload, so trending lists get gamed and some repositories have hidden malware
- Users report slow support, and paid GPU Spaces can bill while waiting for hardware
Hugging Face alternatives
The closest alternatives to Hugging Face in the library, best rated first.
- Claude Code4.4/5· best for building features end to endHugging Face vs Claude Code
- Zed4.3/5· best for Running Claude Code inside an editorHugging Face vs Zed
- OpenAI Codex4.2/5· best for background tasks in the cloudHugging Face vs OpenAI Codex
- Warp4.1/5· best for A nicer home for Claude CodeHugging Face vs Warp
Why it made the list
Almost every open model is published here first. It draws about 40 million visits a month and appears on a16z's lists for both web use and business spending.
Not sure Hugging Face is the one?
Put it next to a similar tool and see the differences side by side.
Hugging Face FAQ
How much does Hugging Face cost?
There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $9/mo. Prices checked 21 October 2026 against Hugging Face's pricing page.
Is Hugging Face free?
Yes, Hugging Face has a free option. Stay free if you only download models or use HuggingChat. Pay the $9 for PRO the moment you want to host a demo or use GPU Spaces regularly. Anything heavier, like a private model for your app, is billed by the hour on top.
What is Hugging Face best for?
Hugging Face is best for finding and downloading open AI models, trying a model in a demo before installing it and hosting an AI demo or prototype. Developers, data people and curious business owners who want open models they can try, run or customise themselves.
What are the best Hugging Face alternatives?
The closest alternatives are Claude Code, Zed, OpenAI Codex and Warp. Claude Code is best for building features end to end.
Community reviews
Nobody has reviewed Hugging Face here yet. If you use it, your take helps everyone else choose.
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