How to Use Groq API for Free with n8n (The Fastest AI Automation Guide)

Speed is money. When you are building automations in n8n, waiting 10 seconds for an AI response can break your workflow. OpenAI is smart, but it can be slow and expensive.

Enter Groq.

Groq is not an AI model; it is a chip company that created the LPU (Language Processing Unit). They run open-source models (like Meta's Llama 3 and Mixtral) at lightning speeds—we're talking 500+ tokens per second.

The best part? Their API is currently free for developers with generous rate limits. Here is how to set it up in n8n.

Why n8n + Groq?

• Insane Speed: Groq generates text instantly. It feels like magic compared to GPT-4.
• Completely Free (For Now): Groq offers a "Free Beta" tier on their cloud console. You can run thousands of requests per day without entering a credit card.
• Open Source Power: You get access to Llama 3 (70B) and Mixtral, which are top-tier models.

Step 1: Get Your Free Groq API Key

1. Go to the GroqCloud Console.
2. Sign up with your Google or GitHub account.
3. On the left sidebar, click "API Keys".
4. Click "Create API Key", name it "n8n-bot", and copy the key immediately.

Step 2: Connect Groq to n8n

Here is the trick. You don't need a special "Groq" node. Since Groq is "OpenAI Compatible," you can use the standard OpenAI node in n8n.

1. Open your n8n workflow.
2. Add an "OpenAI" node (Chat Model).
3. Crucial Step: Instead of signing in with OpenAI, click "Create New Credential".
4. Select "Custom OpenAI API" (or just override the Base URL in older versions).
   • Base URL: https://api.groq.com/openai/v1
   • API Key: Paste your Groq Key here.
5. In the node settings, for "Model," you must type the name manually. Use:
   • llama3-70b-8192 (For high intelligence)
   • llama3-8b-8192 (For extreme speed)

Step 3: Test Your Lightning Workflow

Create a "News Summarizer" that runs in milliseconds:

• Trigger: Manual or Schedule.
• Action: Ask Grok: "Summarize this long article into 3 bullet points."
• Result: You will see the output appear almost instantly.

By using Groq, your automations don't just become free; they become real-time. This is perfect for chatbots, voice agents, or instant data processing where speed matters.