---
title: "Test free tier of Nutrient DWS Processor API"
canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/dws-processor/test-mode/"
md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/dws-processor/test-mode.md"
last_updated: "2026-05-27T15:15:53.462Z"
description: "Start testing Nutrient DWS Processor API with free credits. Test API keys are watermarked and have size/rate limits."
---

# Test our free tier

Start using our API by signing up for our free tier subscription, which includes 50 credits per month.

Test API keys are designed for automation purposes, such as health checks, CI/CD pipelines, and integration testing. Due to limitations like watermarking and size restrictions, they’re not suitable for evaluating production use cases. If you need more than 50 credits per month for evaluation purposes, [contact our Sales team](https://www.nutrient.io/contact-sales/?=sdk) for a custom setup.

You can directly identify test API keys since they’ll always start with `pdf_test_`, as opposed to live API keys, which start with `pdf_live_`.

On the current free Processor API plan, output is watermarked regardless of whether you use a `pdf_test_` or `pdf_live_` key. If you need watermark-free output, use a paid plan.

## Limitations

The following limitations apply when using a test API key:

- All PDFs produced with a test API key will be watermarked.

- The maximum size of requests is limited to 5MB. Similarly, the maximum size of the resulting file will be 5MB.

- Your requests are rate limited to 10 requests per minute.

- AI features are not available.

Apart from this, you’re free to use everything the API provides, as no other limitations apply.
---

## Related pages

- [Supported file types](/guides/dws-processor/file-types.md)
- [DWS Processor API](/guides/dws-processor.md)
- [Privacy](/guides/dws-processor/privacy.md)
- [Security](/guides/dws-processor/security.md)
- [Support](/guides/dws-processor/support.md)