IBM: watsonx.ai foundation models (playground)
Standing watsonx.ai Runtime Lite plan with 300,000 foundation-model inference tokens per month, 20 CUH per month for supported machine-learning workloads, 100 pages per month of document text classification and extraction, and a plan-level limit of 2 inference requests per second. Custom foundation models are not available on Lite.
Free allowance300K tokens / month
Tightest limit2 requests / sec
Context cap on the free routeNone stated
To startCard on file
Your dataDoes not train
TypeStanding
Checkedverified 2026-10-09recheck due 2026-11-08
APIAPI compatibility not stated.
The terms in full
Standing watsonx.ai Runtime Lite plan with 300,000 foundation-model inference tokens per month, 20 CUH per month for supported machine-learning workloads, 100 pages per month of document text classification and extraction, and a plan-level limit of 2 inference requests per second. Custom foundation models are not available on Lite.
- When it runs out Requests are rejected (429) until the window resets.
- Clock Monthly allowance: IBM states that Lite plan quota limits reset on the first of every month, and that reaching a quota limit suspends the service for the rest of that month. No fixed offer end date is stated.
- Region Service features and model availability depend on the IBM Cloud region selected when provisioning, so the exact eligible models vary by region. IBM also states that a tax identification number is required to create a new personal use account with an address in specific countries or regions, that personal use accounts are not permitted in some locations, and that feature codes are not supported in some countries. A universal user country restriction on the free plan itself is not stated.
Models
Ready-to-use IBM and third-party foundation models available to the Lite instance, subject to regional and current catalog availability. IBM's supported-model surface describes IBM and third-party models; custom foundation models are not available on Lite. An exact immutable Lite model roster is not stated.
Signup, payment, data
- Signup required: IBM Cloud account and a watsonx.ai Runtime Lite instance
- Card / payment required for a new IBM Cloud account unless the user has a subscription or feature code
- Training Provider says it does not train on your prompts or outputs.
- Data terms IBM states that content uploaded to watsonx and foundation-model output are not used to further train or improve IBM foundation models.
What the provider's page says
Every structured number above is backed by one of these quotes, checked verbatim against the page our crawler fetched. A field with no quote is shown as not stated.
- payment “For identity verification, a credit card is required when you create a new account.” source
- allowance “Foundation Models: Up to 300,000 tokens per month” source
- at exhaustion “Reaching any quota limit for Lite plan instances suspends the service for that month.” source
- limits “Rate limit per plan ID 2 inference requests per second” source
Evidence pages, re-read nightly
- https://www.ibm.com/products/watsonx-ai/pricing
- https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/watsonx/saas?topic=cloud-watsonxai-runtime-plans
- https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/analyze-data/fm-models.html?context=wx
- https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/analyze-data/fm-security.html?context=wx
- https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/account?topic=account-accountfaqs&format=markdown
Change history
- Listing corrected: IBM watsonx.ai foundation models (playground) our correction, not a provider change
- free terms Standing watsonx.ai Runtime Lite plan with 300,000 foundation-model inference tokens per month, 20 CUH per month for supported machine-learning workloads, 100 pages per month of document text classification and extraction, and a plan-level limit of 2 inference requests per second. Custom foundation
- models detail Ready-to-use IBM and third-party foundation models available to the Lite instance, subject to regional and current catalog availability. IBM's supported-model surface describes IBM and third-party models; custom foundation models are not available on Lite. An exact immutable Lite model roster is not
- Listing corrected: IBM watsonx.ai foundation models (playground) our correction, not a provider change
- free terms Standing watsonx.ai Runtime Lite plan with 300,000 foundation-model inference tokens per month, 20 CUH per month for supported machine-learning workloads, 100 text-extraction and classification pages per month, and a plan-level limit of 2 inference requests per second. Custom foundation models are n
- models detail Ready-to-use IBM and third-party foundation models can be prompted in the Prompt Lab or programmatically from the Lite instance, subject to regional and current catalog availability. On 2026-10-08 IBM's supported foundation models documentation listed the IBM and third-party models provided with wat
- Listing corrected: IBM watsonx.ai foundation models (playground) our correction, not a provider change
- free terms Standing watsonx.ai Runtime Lite plan with 300,000 foundation-model inference tokens per month, 20 CUH per month for supported machine-learning workloads, and 100 text-extraction pages per month, which IBM's pricing page states as 100 documents per month. The plan carries a limit of 2 inference requ
- clock Monthly allowance: IBM states that Lite plan quota limits reset on the first of every month, and that reaching a quota limit suspends the service for the rest of that month. No fixed offer end date is stated.
- Listing corrected: IBM watsonx.ai foundation models (playground) our correction, not a provider change
- free terms Standing watsonx.ai Runtime Lite plan with 300,000 foundation-model inference tokens per month, 20 CUH per month for supported machine-learning workloads, 100 text-extraction pages per month, and a plan-level limit of 2 inference requests per second. Custom foundation models are not available on the
- Listing corrected: IBM watsonx.ai foundation models (playground) our correction, not a provider change
- free terms Standing watsonx.ai Runtime Lite plan with 300,000 foundation-model inference tokens per month, 20 CUH per month for supported machine-learning workloads, 100 text-extraction pages per month, and a plan-level limit of 2 inference requests per second. Custom foundation models are not supported on the
- models detail Ready-to-use IBM and third-party foundation models are available for per-token inferencing, subject to regional and current catalog availability. On 2026-09-24 the IBM models provided for inferencing were granite-4-h-small, granite-guardian-3-8b, and granite-8b-code-instruct, with the last two marke
- Listing corrected: IBM watsonx.ai foundation models (playground) our correction, not a provider change
- free terms Standing watsonx.ai Runtime Lite plan, a free quota based service plan with 300,000 foundation model inference tokens per month, 20 capacity unit hours per month for machine learning workloads, and 100 document text classification and extraction pages per month, with a plan level limit of 2 inferenc
- models detail Ready to use IBM and third party foundation models are available to the Lite instance, subject to regional and current catalog availability. IBM's supported models page describes both IBM and third party foundation models provided with watsonx.ai for inferencing, and states that foundation model ava
- clock Monthly allowance with quota limits that reset on the first of every month. No fixed offer end date is stated.
Evidence and scope
- Last verified
- 2026-10-09 (recheck due 2026-11-08)
- Evidence standard
- Provider-owned pricing, quota, limits, model or account pages only; third-party lists are never evidence.
- Data
- program.json, and the whole inventory at free-access.json (CC BY 4.0)
LLM Price Index lists what the provider publishes and links the page it came from. It does not test speed or quality, and a free route can change or end without notice; the change history above records what the nightly re-read confirmed.