Title:
New Gemini API project shows Free tier in AI Studio, but API calls return 403/429 with limit: 0
Message:
Hi,
I’m facing an issue with Gemini API access on a newly created Google AI Studio project.
Details:
- New project created on May 5, 2026
- Project name: Palette and Place
- Project ID shown in AI Studio: gen-lang-client-0217505819
- API key created from this new project
- AI Studio API Keys page shows Billing Tier: Free tier
- Billing is not enabled
- Region: India
- I am using the Gemini API from my local app
Problem:
Although AI Studio shows Free tier, actual API requests fail.
Models tested:
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- gemini-2.0-flash-lite
- gemini-2.0-flash
Errors received:
-
gemini-2.5-flash-lite: 403 PERMISSION_DENIED
Message: “Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.” -
gemini-2.0-flash-lite: 429 RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED
Error mentions:- generate_content_free_tier_requests, limit: 0
- generate_content_free_tier_input_token_count, limit: 0
-
gemini-2.0-flash: 429 RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED
Error mentions:- generate_content_free_tier_requests, limit: 0
- generate_content_free_tier_input_token_count, limit: 0
Important note:
This is a newly created project and newly generated API key. AI Studio UI clearly shows “Free tier”, but API behavior looks like quota is 0 or project access is denied.
What I want to know:
- Why does a new project marked as Free tier still return limit: 0?
- Why is gemini-2.5-flash-lite returning PERMISSION_DENIED on a fresh project?
- Is this an account-level restriction or a provisioning issue on Google’s side?
- Is there anything I need to enable for API access separately from AI Studio chat access?
I am not sharing the API key publicly for security reasons, but I can share screenshots and project details if needed.
Thanks.
