diff --git a/pkg/providers/factory.go b/pkg/providers/factory.go
index 11af14da4..1e2779f41 100644
--- a/pkg/providers/factory.go
+++ b/pkg/providers/factory.go
@@ -101,6 +101,10 @@ func resolveProviderSelection(cfg *config.Config) (providerSelection, error) {
 				} else {
 					sel.apiBase = "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
 				}
+				// Map "free" model alias to openrouter/auto for free tier access
+				if model == "free" {
+					sel.model = "openrouter/auto"
+				}
 			}
 		case "zhipu", "glm":
 			if cfg.Providers.Zhipu.APIKey != "" {
@@ -304,6 +308,10 @@ func resolveProviderSelection(cfg *config.Config) (providerSelection, error) {
 				} else {
 					sel.apiBase = "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
 				}
+				// Map "free" model alias to openrouter/auto for free tier access
+				if model == "free" {
+					sel.model = "openrouter/auto"
+				}
 			} else {
 				return providerSelection{}, fmt.Errorf("no API key configured for model: %s", model)
 			}