diff --git a/backend/config.py b/backend/config.py
index a9cf7c473..ce7d6548e 100644
--- a/backend/config.py
+++ b/backend/config.py
@@ -9,15 +9,16 @@
 OPENROUTER_API_KEY = os.getenv("OPENROUTER_API_KEY")
 
 # Council members - list of OpenRouter model identifiers
+# Using free/cheaper models that work with current API credits
+# Note: Free models may have rate limits - if you see 429 errors, consider using paid models
 COUNCIL_MODELS = [
-    "openai/gpt-5.1",
-    "google/gemini-3-pro-preview",
-    "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5",
-    "x-ai/grok-4",
+    "mistralai/mistral-7b-instruct:free",
+    "openai/gpt-4o-mini",
+    "mistralai/mistral-7b-instruct:free",  # Using twice since Llama has rate limits
 ]
 
 # Chairman model - synthesizes final response
-CHAIRMAN_MODEL = "google/gemini-3-pro-preview"
+CHAIRMAN_MODEL = "openai/gpt-4o-mini"
 
 # OpenRouter API endpoint
 OPENROUTER_API_URL = "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions"
diff --git a/backend/openrouter.py b/backend/openrouter.py
index 118fb0b73..06825c827 100644
--- a/backend/openrouter.py
+++ b/backend/openrouter.py
@@ -48,6 +48,12 @@ async def query_model(
                 'reasoning_details': message.get('reasoning_details')
             }
 
+    except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
+        # Only print errors that aren't rate limits (429) or payment issues (402)
+        # These are expected for free models and will be handled gracefully
+        if e.response.status_code not in [429, 402]:
+            print(f"Error querying model {model}: {e}")
+        return None
     except Exception as e:
         print(f"Error querying model {model}: {e}")
         return None
diff --git a/frontend/package-lock.json b/frontend/package-lock.json
index a6a7c3430..0c07826fc 100644
--- a/frontend/package-lock.json
+++ b/frontend/package-lock.json
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@babel/core/-/core-7.28.5.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-e7jT4DxYvIDLk1ZHmU/m/mB19rex9sv0c2ftBtjSBv+kVM/902eh0fINUzD7UwLLNR+jU585GxUJ8/EBfAM5fw==",
       "dev": true,
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@babel/code-frame": "^7.27.1",
         "@babel/generator": "^7.28.5",
@@ -1327,6 +1328,7 @@
       "version": "19.2.6",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/react/-/react-19.2.6.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-p/jUvulfgU7oKtj6Xpk8cA2Y1xKTtICGpJYeJXz2YVO2UcvjQgeRMLDGfDeqeRW2Ta+0QNFwcc8X3GH8SxZz6w==",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "csstype": "^3.2.2"
       }
@@ -1375,6 +1377,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/acorn/-/acorn-8.15.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-NZyJarBfL7nWwIq+FDL6Zp/yHEhePMNnnJ0y3qfieCrmNvYct8uvtiV41UvlSe6apAfk0fY1FbWx+NwfmpvtTg==",
       "dev": true,
+      "peer": true,
       "bin": {
         "acorn": "bin/acorn"
       },
@@ -1481,6 +1484,7 @@
           "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/ai"
         }
       ],
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "baseline-browser-mapping": "^2.8.25",
         "caniuse-lite": "^1.0.30001754",
@@ -1770,6 +1774,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/eslint/-/eslint-9.39.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-BhHmn2yNOFA9H9JmmIVKJmd288g9hrVRDkdoIgRCRuSySRUHH7r/DI6aAXW9T1WwUuY3DFgrcaqB+deURBLR5g==",
       "dev": true,
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@eslint-community/eslint-utils": "^4.8.0",
         "@eslint-community/regexpp": "^4.12.1",
@@ -3115,6 +3120,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/picomatch/-/picomatch-4.0.3.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-5gTmgEY/sqK6gFXLIsQNH19lWb4ebPDLA4SdLP7dsWkIXHWlG66oPuVvXSGFPppYZz8ZDZq0dYYrbHfBCVUb1Q==",
       "dev": true,
+      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=12"
       },
@@ -3181,6 +3187,7 @@
       "version": "19.2.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/react/-/react-19.2.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-tmbWg6W31tQLeB5cdIBOicJDJRR2KzXsV7uSK9iNfLWQ5bIZfxuPEHp7M8wiHyHnn0DD1i7w3Zmin0FtkrwoCQ==",
+      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=0.10.0"
       }
@@ -3615,6 +3622,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/vite/-/vite-7.2.4.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-NL8jTlbo0Tn4dUEXEsUg8KeyG/Lkmc4Fnzb8JXN/Ykm9G4HNImjtABMJgkQoVjOBN/j2WAwDTRytdqJbZsah7w==",
       "dev": true,
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "esbuild": "^0.25.0",
         "fdir": "^6.5.0",
@@ -3731,6 +3739,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/zod/-/zod-4.1.12.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-JInaHOamG8pt5+Ey8kGmdcAcg3OL9reK8ltczgHTAwNhMys/6ThXHityHxVV2p3fkw/c+MAvBHFVYHFZDmjMCQ==",
       "dev": true,
+      "peer": true,
       "funding": {
         "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/colinhacks"
       }