Hi t eam,
Can I please first check if we can just use the Gemini API (acquired through AIStudio - which has a free plan) or do we have to go through the normal route to setup a Google Cloud project and use Gemini API (which requires billing ) from there
If we can use anything, and we plan to use the Free Gemini API Key (from AI Studio), is there an option to increase quota (as we are hitting the 15RPM per minute,…and we need like double that 
)
Thank you
If you create an API Key through API Studio, and don’t associate it with an existing Google Cloud project, it will create a project for you. But you don’t need to create a project and use the Vertex AI API.
If you wish to use a quota higher than what the free plan allows - you will need to use a paid plan.
The free tier is intended for learning and early experiments with Gemini. Once you start to use it for more advanced purposes, you will need to use the paid tier.