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Bring Your Own Key

Unlock unlimited AI with your own API key

Law Study Group is free for everyone. But if you want unlimited access to our most powerful AI features, you can use your own Anthropic API key — no subscription, no middleman. You pay Anthropic directly at their cost.

Add Your KeyLearn How It Works

Claude Sonnet

Upgraded from Haiku to Anthropic's most capable fast model

Unlimited Messages

No daily cap on study chat, case Q&A, or brief generation

~$3–$8/month

Typical student usage. You only pay for what you use.

Free vs. BYOK

FeatureFreeBYOK
AI ModelClaude HaikuClaude Sonnet
Study Chat15 msgs/dayUnlimited
Case Q&A15 msgs/dayUnlimited
Brief GenerationSite-fundedYour key
Case SearchUnlimitedUnlimited
Bookmarks & CollectionsUnlimitedUnlimited
Monthly Cost$0~$3–$8 to Anthropic

Everything stays free forever. BYOK just upgrades AI quality and removes daily limits.

How to set it up

1

Create an Anthropic account

Go to console.anthropic.com and sign up. It takes about 30 seconds — just an email and password.

2

Add billing (pay-as-you-go)

In the Anthropic console, go to Settings → Billing and add a payment method. There's no monthly minimum. You only pay for the API calls you actually make.

Most law students spend $3–$8/month depending on usage. A single study chat message costs roughly $0.01–$0.03.

3

Generate an API key

Go to Settings → API Keys and click Create Key. Give it a name like “Law Study Group” and copy the key. It starts with sk-ant-.

4

Paste it into your profile

Go to your Profile → AI Settings section and paste the key. We'll validate it with a quick test call, encrypt it, and store it securely. That's it — you're upgraded instantly.

Your key is safe

Encrypted at rest

Your key is encrypted with Fernet symmetric encryption before it touches the database. The raw key is never stored.

Never exposed

We only show you a preview (sk-ant-...xxxx). The full key is never sent back to the browser or included in logs.

You stay in control

Remove your key from your profile at any time and it's deleted immediately. You can also revoke it from the Anthropic console.

Only used for study tools

Your key is only used for your own study chat, case Q&A, and brief generation. Nothing else.

What it actually costs

Anthropic charges per token (roughly per word). Here's what typical law student usage looks like:

~$0.01–$0.03

Study chat message

Depends on conversation length

~$0.03

Case brief generation

One-time per case, then cached

~$0.01–$0.02

Case Q&A question

Per question about a case

Typical monthly bill: A student who uses study chat daily and generates a few briefs per week usually spends $3–$8/month. Heavy exam-prep usage might be $10–$15. You can set a spending limit in the Anthropic console to stay within budget.

Prices based on Claude Sonnet 4.6: $3/million input tokens, $15/million output tokens. Anthropic may adjust pricing over time.

What you get for free

The free tier is not a trial — it's the real product. Every student gets:

Unlimited case search and reading
AI case briefs (funded by the community pool)
15 study chat messages per day
15 case Q&A questions per day

Bookmarks, collections, outlines, and cached briefs are always unlimited and free. BYOK is for power users who want the Sonnet model upgrade and no daily message limits.

Don't want to manage an API key?

Free AI features are powered by a community pool — a shared fund that covers the cost of AI calls for everyone. When the pool has funds, all students can generate briefs, chat, and ask questions. When it runs out, AI features pause until someone tops it up.

You can help keep the pool funded by buying a coffee on Ko-fi. Every donation goes directly to AI costs, and you can see exactly where the money goes on the transparency dashboard.

Buy Me a CoffeeSee the Pool Balance

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a key from OpenAI or another provider?
Not right now. We use Anthropic's Claude models exclusively because they produce the best legal analysis we've tested. We may add support for other providers in the future.
What happens to briefs I generate with my key?
They get cached in our database just like any other brief. This means the next student who looks up that case gets the brief instantly — your key usage helps the whole community.
Will my key be used for other people's requests?
No. Your key is only ever used for your requests. Other users' requests use the site's shared API key or their own BYOK key.
Can I set a spending limit?
Yes! In the Anthropic console, go to Settings → Limits and set a monthly spending cap. If you hit it, your requests will fail gracefully and you'll fall back to the free tier until the next billing cycle.
What if my key stops working?
If your key is revoked, expired, or runs out of credits, you'll automatically fall back to the free tier (Haiku, 15 messages/day). You can add a new key anytime from your profile.
Is this the same as a Pro subscription?
Similar benefits, but different mechanism. BYOK means you pay Anthropic directly at their wholesale API rates. There's no markup, no subscription, and no middleman. It's usually cheaper than any subscription model would be.
How does this compare to Quimbee?
Quimbee charges $276/year ($23/month) for case briefs and study tools. With BYOK, you're looking at $3–$8/month for unlimited AI-powered case briefs, study chat, and more — and the base tool is completely free.

Ready to upgrade?

Get your API key from Anthropic, paste it in your profile, and start studying with unlimited Claude Sonnet access.

Get API KeyGo to Profile