Hugging Face Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Hugging Face costs Free to $50 per user/month as of May 2026. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: No free tier available
Yes, Hugging Face offers a forever free plan as of May 2026. The free tier includes 5 features with limits on usage. Paid plans start at $9/user/month (Pro). Pricing verified from 1 sources by CostBench.
Hugging Face's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- ML model hosting and collaboration
- Git-based repositories
- Community access and ML portfolio
- Model eval and dataset viewer
- CPU Basic Spaces (free)
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- 10x private storage capacity
- 2x public storage capacity
- 20x included inference credits
- 8x ZeroGPU quota and highest queue priority
- Spaces Dev Mode and ZeroGPU Spaces hosting
- Publish blog articles on HF profile
- Dataset Viewer for private datasets
- PRO badge
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like 10x private storage capacity or 2x public storage capacity
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Hugging Face branding may appear on your content or communications
- Support is limited to community forums or email with longer response times
- Export options may be restricted or include watermarks
- API access is typically limited or not available
- Advanced reporting and analytics require paid plans
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Pro Plan Comparison
| Free $0 | Pro $9/user/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 5 included | 8+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Hugging Face branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Individual developers and hobbyists exploring ML | Individual power users needing more compute and storage |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Hugging Face free?
Yes, Hugging Face offers a forever free plan with 5 core features included. However, there are limits on users and features that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Hugging Face's free plan?
Hugging Face's free plan includes: ML model hosting and collaboration, Git-based repositories, Community access and ML portfolio, Model eval and dataset viewer, CPU Basic Spaces (free). Key limits include basic usage caps.
03 What's NOT included in Hugging Face's free plan?
The free plan excludes: 10x private storage capacity, 2x public storage capacity, 20x included inference credits, 8x ZeroGPU quota and highest queue priority, Spaces Dev Mode and ZeroGPU Spaces hosting. You'll also have Hugging Face branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Hugging Face's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like 10x private storage capacity or 2x public storage capacity, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $9/user/month.
05 Is Hugging Face's free plan really free forever?
Yes, Hugging Face's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit. However, feature and usage limits may restrict what you can do without upgrading to a paid plan.