OpenHands Cloud adds a free BYOK tier for developer LLM keys
OpenHands Cloud now permits developers to bring their own LLM API key through a free Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) tier, enabling multiple conversations with the OpenHands coding agent while leaving model choice and billing under developer control. The announcement, published November 4, 2025, expands access for both new and existing accounts and keeps integration options oriented to developer workflows.
What the BYOK tier provides
- Free BYOK tier limited to one user, with enforced usage caps on the number of conversations allowed both daily and in parallel.
- The option to plug in any supported LLM provider by supplying an external API key, while continuing to use the OpenHands coding agent and cloud interface for session management and conversations.
- For teams or heavier usage, upgraded plans are available; team seats and higher usage tiers can be explored on the OpenHands pricing page.
Built-in, at-cost LLM access
For accounts that do not bring an external key, OpenHands Cloud offers an at-cost (zero markup) LLM provider that exposes pay-as-you-go access to multiple models, explicitly including Claude Sonnet 4.5, GPT-5, and Qwen3-Coder. Usage credits for this provider are purchasable through OpenHands Cloud, and an API key for the OpenHands LLM provider can be generated and used across other tools in the ecosystem.
Key integration points:
- OpenHands CLI documentation: https://docs.openhands.dev/openhands/usage/run-openhands/cli-mode
- OpenHands Software Agent SDK: https://github.com/OpenHands/software-agent-sdk/
- Local OpenHands GUI docs: https://docs.openhands.dev/openhands/usage/run-openhands/gui-mode
Enabling BYOK in the Cloud
To select an LLM provider within the OpenHands Cloud interface:
- Sign in at the OpenHands Cloud app: https://app.all-hands.dev/
- Click the avatar in the lower-left corner
- Choose Language Model (LLM) and select either the OpenHands provider or a third-party provider
These steps keep model configuration accessible inside the web UI and allow teams to switch providers without altering agent workflows.
Developer considerations
- The free BYOK tier is well-suited for individual experimentation and initial integration work, but its one-user limit and conversation caps will likely necessitate an upgrade for collaborative engineering teams or CI-driven workflows.
- The availability of an at-cost LLM provider simplifies onboarding when an internal API key is not available, while still allowing migration to a hosted or self-supplied key later.
- Generated OpenHands LLM provider API keys integrate with the CLI, SDK, and local GUI, preserving automation and local development patterns.
For full details and the original announcement, see the OpenHands blog: https://www.all-hands.dev/blog/bring-your-own-llm-is-now-available-to-all-openhands-cloud-users