When you set up Multisis, it asks for your own provider API keys. That can feel like extra work, so this post explains why it is built this way and what you get in return.
One question is four requests
Every prompt you send goes to three thinkers and then a judge. That is at least four model calls for a single question, and more if you follow up with a long conversation, since your recent history is sent along with each one.
Free tiers are generous for casual use, but they are measured in requests per minute, requests per day and tokens per minute. A council burns through those numbers about four times faster than a normal chat. Now imagine that load multiplied by every user, all pushed through one shared key. It would hit the ceiling within minutes.
Rate limits belong to the key
Providers apply their limits per key or per project. If everyone shared a single key, then one person running a long research session could use up the quota for everyone else, and you would see "too many requests" errors you did nothing to cause.
With your own key, the quota is yours alone:
- Nobody else can drain it
- You can see exactly how much you have used in your provider's dashboard
- If you hit a limit, only you are affected, and you can spread the load by assigning different providers to different roles
Shared IPs get throttled
Many providers also watch where traffic comes from. If a server sent thousands of users' requests from a single IP address, that traffic would look like one very busy client, or like abuse. The usual results are:
- Throttling that has nothing to do with your own usage
- Temporary blocks that take every user down at once
- Free tiers that restrict or refuse traffic from shared hosting and data center addresses
Bring your own key and your requests are tied to your account, not to a crowd.
Account risk should not be shared
Providers can suspend a key that looks abusive, and many free tiers have terms about sharing or reselling access. If one pooled key got flagged, every user would lose access together. Your own key keeps that risk separate: your account, your usage, your terms.
Other good reasons
- You choose the models. Pick which provider plays each thinker and the judge, and swap them whenever a better free model appears.
- You control the cost. Stay on free tiers, or add a paid key for one role if you want faster or stronger answers. There is no markup in between.
- You can revoke access instantly. Delete the key in your provider's dashboard and it stops working everywhere.
- Your data stays under your own account. Requests go to the provider under your agreement with them, which matters if you care about how prompts are retained or used.
- Outages stay contained. If one provider has a bad day, the council degrades gracefully, and your other keys keep working.
A quick setup tip
Free keys are quick to create, and you do not need all of them to start. Two or three providers are enough to run a full council. Spreading the roles across different providers also means no single provider's rate limit becomes the bottleneck for your whole answer.
What this means in practice
Bringing your own key is the trade that keeps Multisis free, fast and independent. You do a few minutes of setup once, and in return you get quotas nobody else can touch, a clear view of your own usage, and full control over which models do the thinking.
See the privacy policy for how keys and chats are handled.