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Free AI tools: 52 free plans, checked one by one

Free AI tools exist for every common job, but each free plan has a catch: a daily cap, a watermark, public images or a ban on business use. This free AI tools list covers 52 tools in 10 jobs, each read on the vendor's own pricing page, terms or help center on October 28, 2026 (six from our October 27 checks, because their pages blocked our October 28 read): 14 free plans allow business use, 12 rule it out, and 7 tools work without an account.

Updated

52 tools in 10 jobs, checked October 28, 2026 (6 from our checks on October 27, 2026): 14 free plans allow business use, 12 rule it out, and 7 tools need no account.

We run an AI school that sells courses. None of our courses are in this list, no vendor paid to be in it, and no link earns us money.

Showing 52 of 52 tools

Free AI chat assistants

Pick by account and privacy. ChatGPT and Gemini work signed out for basic chat (ChatGPT asks you to log in for images and uploads), Claude needs an account and resets its limit every five hours, and Duck.ai and Brave Leo need no sign-in and say they don't train on your chats. For business text, note Microsoft Copilot's terms: personal use only. More in free ChatGPT alternatives.

Brave Leo

An AI assistant inside the Brave browser that works on the page you have open.

Free plan gives
Free in the Brave browser with no sign-in: summarizes pages, PDFs and Google Docs, and Brave says it keeps no chats and doesn't train on them. Access depends on traffic and usage, with no fixed daily number published.
Needs a paid plan
Higher usage limits, more models and faster answers: Leo Premium. The page we read shows no price.
Account needed
NoBrave's page: "No account or login is required."
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

ChatGPT

OpenAI's assistant for chat, writing, images and research.

Free plan gives
Unlimited text chats with GPT-6 (subject to abuse guardrails), plus limited uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research, memory and Codex. Ads may appear on Free; an ads-free mode has fewer messages and no image generation or deep research.
Needs a paid plan
More messages, uploads and image creation: Go, $8 a month in the US, which may include ads. Plus, with no ads, is $20 a month.
Account needed
NoOur logged-out test on October 27, 2026 got an answer; the page asked us to log in to create images and upload files.
Business use on the free plan
Yesyou (a) retain your ownership rights in Input and (b) own the Output sourceOpenAI says data sharing for training is enabled by default on Free; Data controls let you switch it off.
Checked
, the page we readFrom our October 27 check: this vendor's page blocked our automated read on October 28.

Claude

Anthropic's assistant for writing, analysis and long documents.

Free plan gives
Sonnet and Haiku models, web search, file creation and code runs, memory, connectors and up to 5 projects. Usage resets in a rolling five-hour window; no Opus, no Claude Code.
Needs a paid plan
Opus, Claude Code and at least 5x the usage: Pro, $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly ($200).
Account needed
YesClaude's help center: "Log in to your free Claude account."
Business use on the free plan
Not statedAnthropic's consumer terms assign you its rights in outputs, but another line limits evaluation use to personal, non-commercial use, so we can't call the Free plan a clear yes.
Checked
, the page we read

Duck.ai

DuckDuckGo's private chat with several AI models, no sign-in.

Free plan gives
Six models (Claude 4.5 Haiku, Mistral Small 4, GPT-6 Luna, GPT-5.4 mini, gpt-oss-120b and Gemma 4 31B) with a daily usage limit. DuckDuckGo says chats aren't used to train models.
Needs a paid plan
Higher limits plus GPT-5.6 Terra and Claude Sonnet 5.5: a DuckDuckGo subscription (Plus). The pages we read show no price.
Account needed
NoOur check: duck.ai opened a ready chat box ("Ask anything privately") with no sign-in.
Business use on the free plan
YesWe claim no ownership of either your Prompts or Outputs. source
Checked
, the page we read

Gemini

Google's assistant for chat, images and research.

Free plan gives
The Flash-Lite model, image generation and editing, Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas and Gems, plus 15 GB of Google storage. Limits refresh every 5 hours up to a weekly cap.
Needs a paid plan
The Flash model and 2x the free usage: Google AI Plus, $4.99 a month (US page).
Account needed
NoOur check: gemini.google.com opened a prompt box on Flash-Lite with "Sign in to save activity". Google lists the full free plan "with a Google Account".
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft's assistant for chat, image creation and voice.

Free plan gives
Copilot chat, image creation, AI audio and help from your screen or camera, each with a usage limit Microsoft doesn't publish (paid plans say "higher usage than free").
Needs a paid plan
More usage and Copilot inside Word, Excel and Outlook: Microsoft 365 Personal, $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
Account needed
YesCopilot's terms: "To use Copilot you must have a Microsoft Account".
Business use on the free plan
NoYou can only use Copilot for your own personal use. source
Checked
, the page we read

Free AI writing and editing tools

Pick by the job: Grammarly and LanguageTool check what you already wrote, Wordtune rewrites your sentences, and Rytr drafts new text. LanguageTool is the one to try without an account, but its terms limit the free version to personal, non-commercial use.

Grammarly

Spelling, grammar and tone checks wherever you type.

Free plan gives
Spelling and grammar corrections, tone detection and 100 AI prompts a month.
Needs a paid plan
Full-sentence rewrites, plagiarism and AI-text checks and 2,000 AI prompts: Pro, listed at $12 USD with a free trial.
Account needed
YesThe Free plan's button reads "Create account".
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

LanguageTool

Grammar, spelling and style checks in English and many other languages.

Free plan gives
Basic checks on up to 2,000 characters per text field and 3 AI sentence rephrasings a day.
Needs a paid plan
150,000 characters per field and unlimited AI paraphrasing: Premium from $4.99 a month on the 2-year plan ($119.80), or $69.90 a year.
Account needed
NoOur check: the editor on languagetool.org was ready to use with no sign-in.
Business use on the free plan
Nomay only be used for personal, non-commercial purposes source
Checked
, the page we read

Rytr

AI writing for emails, messages and short copy.

Free plan gives
10,000 characters a month, 40+ writing use cases, 30+ languages and a daily briefing.
Needs a paid plan
Unlimited characters: Lite, $9 a month.
Account needed
YesOur check: app.rytr.me opened a sign-in page.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Wordtune

Rewrites, shortens and summarizes text in your own words.

Free plan gives
10 rewrites and AI suggestions a day, 3 AI summaries a month, and unlimited spelling and grammar checks.
Needs a paid plan
30 rewrites a day and 15 summaries a month: Advanced, $6.99 a month billed yearly.
Account needed
YesWordtune's terms describe the free plan as a "free account".
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Free AI image generators

Check business use first. Recraft's free images are public and belong to Recraft, and Krea and Microsoft Designer keep their free plans non-commercial. Adobe Firefly, Ideogram, Leonardo.Ai and Playground allow commercial use on the free plan, though Ideogram's and Leonardo's free images are public and Leonardo keeps ownership of them. For a side-by-side test of image models, see the best AI image generators.

Adobe Firefly

Adobe's AI generator for images, video and audio.

Free plan gives
Free daily generations across image, video and audio, including partner models such as Nano Banana and Luma Ray3.14. Limits refresh every day; Adobe doesn't publish the daily number.
Needs a paid plan
2,000 generative credits a month and unlimited standard image and vector generations: Firefly Standard, NIS 35.00 a month (the page showed us shekels).
Account needed
Not statedAdobe says no plan is needed for the free generations; the page doesn't say whether an account is.
Business use on the free plan
YesOutputs generated with Adobe Firefly AI models can be used for commercial purposes. sourceAdobe says you're responsible for checking content made with partner models, such as Nano Banana.
Checked
, the page we readFrom our October 27 check: this vendor's page blocked our automated read on October 28.

Ideogram

Image generation with tools for putting and editing text in images.

Free plan gives
30 credits a week if you sign in with Google, Apple or Microsoft, about 10 images at 3 credits each on Low quality. Every free image is public.
Needs a paid plan
2,400 credits a month and private images: Plus, $20 a month, or $15 a month billed yearly ($180).
Account needed
YesIdeogram's FAQ: free credits go to "Free accounts that sign in with Google, Apple or Microsoft".
Business use on the free plan
YesWe do not claim any ownership rights in your User Input or User Output sourceThe same sentence says Ideogram doesn't restrict using outputs for your own purposes, commercial ones included.
Checked
, the page we readFrom our October 27 check: this vendor's page blocked our automated read on October 28.

Krea

Images, video, upscaling and model training in one app.

Free plan gives
100 compute units a day, the Krea 3 image model, Krea Agent and LoRA training on up to 50 images. Seedance video models need a paid plan.
Needs a paid plan
A commercial license and 5,000 units a month: Basic, $5 a month billed yearly ($9 monthly).
Account needed
YesThe pricing page's free button reads "Sign up for free".
Business use on the free plan
NoBasic, Pro, Max, Business, and Enterprise plans include a commercial license source
Checked
, the page we read

Leonardo.Ai

Image and video generation with many models and presets.

Free plan gives
150 fast tokens a day, automatic model choice only, basic quality settings and 1 personal collection. Every creation is public.
Needs a paid plan
8,500 fast tokens a month, 80+ models and private creations: Essential, $12 a month before tax, or $10 a month billed yearly.
Account needed
YesLeonardo's pricing page: tokens are "deducted from your account balance".
Business use on the free plan
Yesyou’re granted a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use your generated content for commercial purposes sourceOn the free plan Leonardo owns the images and licenses them to you; on paid plans they're yours.
Checked
, the page we readFrom our October 27 check: this vendor's page blocked our automated read on October 28.

Microsoft Designer

Social posts, invitations and images from a prompt.

Free plan gives
Free with a Microsoft account. Microsoft publishes no limit and says frequent creators may need a subscription.
Needs a paid plan
Creating more often may need a subscription; Designer's FAQ names no price.
Account needed
YesDesigner's FAQ: "you'll need to sign in with a Microsoft account".
Business use on the free plan
Nolicensed for personal, non-commercial use with your Microsoft account source
Checked
, the page we read

Playground

Image generation and design templates for posts and graphics.

Free plan gives
Up to 10 images every 3 hours, plus 3 generations a month on premium models (Nano Banana, GPT Image 2 and 2.5, Seedream). Slower at peak hours.
Needs a paid plan
75 images every 3 hours and 150 monthly credits: Pro, $12 a month billed yearly ($15 monthly).
Account needed
YesPlayground's FAQ: "We don't allow you to use multiple accounts to get around our Free limits."
Business use on the free plan
YesWorld-wide, royalty free license sourceThe line is listed under Commercial use on the Free plan card.
Checked
, the page we read

Recraft

Images, logos and vector graphics in a style you set.

Free plan gives
3 generations per style a day, 3 image uploads a day, up to 2 images per generation, Recraft models only. Every image is public.
Needs a paid plan
Commercial rights, private images and models such as Nano Banana and GPT Image: Basic, $10 a month billed yearly ($120).
Account needed
YesThe pricing page reads "Log in to generate".
Business use on the free plan
NoImages generated on the Free plan are owned by Recraft. source
Checked
, the page we read

Free AI video tools

Pick by the kind of video. Clipchamp and Descript edit footage you filmed (Clipchamp exports 1080p with no watermark), HeyGen and Synthesia make avatar presenters (both watermark free videos), and Runway generates clips from prompts with 125 credits given once.

Clipchamp

Microsoft's browser video editor with AI tools.

Free plan gives
AI video and audio editing tools, screen and camera recording, and watermark-free exports up to 1080p.
Needs a paid plan
4K exports, premium stock and a brand kit: included with Microsoft 365 Personal, $9.99 a month.
Account needed
YesClipchamp's page: "Sign in with a personal Microsoft account to get started".
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Descript

Edit video and podcasts by editing the transcript.

Free plan gives
60 media minutes a month, 100 AI credits once, 720p export and 5 GB of storage, with limited use of Underlord and the AI tools.
Needs a paid plan
10 media hours, 400 AI credits a month and watermark-free 1080p: Hobbyist, $16 a person a month billed yearly ($24 monthly).
Account needed
YesDescript's terms: "You must create an account before using the Descript Service."
Business use on the free plan
Yesyou own all right, title, and interest in and to any Input and Output source
Checked
, the page we read

HeyGen

Presenter videos from a script with AI avatars, no camera.

Free plan gives
3 watermarked videos a month, up to 1 minute each, with Avatar IV, Video Agent, one custom video avatar and 30+ languages.
Needs a paid plan
No HeyGen branding, 1080p export and 600 credits: Creator, $29 a month, or $24 a month billed yearly.
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened HeyGen's sign-in page.
Business use on the free plan
NoUser Output generated under a Free Plan may not be sold source
Checked
, the page we read

Runway

AI video and image generation for creators and ads.

Free plan gives
125 credits once, a selection of models to test ideas and 5 GB of storage.
Needs a paid plan
625 credits a month, all video and image models and no watermarks: Standard, $12 a month billed yearly ($15 monthly).
Account needed
YesThe free plan's button opened the app with Log in and Sign up; Runway's terms cover registering an Account.
Business use on the free plan
Yesthe Company does not restrict your commercial use of your Outputs. source
Checked
, the page we read

Synthesia

AI avatar videos for training, onboarding and company updates.

Free plan gives
500 credits a month, sharing by link only (no download), and a Synthesia watermark on videos.
Needs a paid plan
Downloads and no Synthesia logo: Starter, $18 a month billed yearly ($216), or $29 monthly.
Account needed
YesOur check: app.synthesia.io opened a sign-in page.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Free AI voice and music tools

None of these four free plans allows commercial use: ElevenLabs, Speechify, Suno and Udio each say so on the pricing page or in their terms. Use them to test voices and songs, and pay before anything goes into an ad, a monetized video or a client project.

ElevenLabs

Text to speech, voice design, sound effects and music.

Free plan gives
10,000 credits a month across speech, speech to text, sound effects, voice design and music, and 3 Studio projects. Dubbed videos carry a watermark.
Needs a paid plan
A commercial license and instant voice cloning: Starter, $6 a month ($1 for the first month until November 1).
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened "Create an account".
Business use on the free plan
Noyou may only use the Services for non-commercial purposes source
Checked
, the page we read

Speechify

Reads documents, web pages and PDFs aloud.

Free plan gives
Text to speech only, with 10 basic ("robotic sounding") voices at up to 1.5x speed.
Needs a paid plan
1,000+ natural voices, 5x speed, AI summaries and voice typing: Premium, $29 a month or $139 a year.
Account needed
YesOur check: app.speechify.com opened a sign-in page.
Business use on the free plan
Noare not intended for your commercial use. sourceSpeechify's terms make one exception: its separate Voice Over Studio.
Checked
, the page we read

Suno

Songs with vocals from a text prompt.

Free plan gives
50 credits a day on the free model, standard features and uploads of up to 8 minutes of audio. No monthly song downloads.
Needs a paid plan
Commercial use rights, 2,500 credits and 20 downloads a month: Pro, $8 a month billed yearly.
Account needed
YesOur check: suno.com/create opened a sign-in page.
Business use on the free plan
NoNo commercial rights source
Checked
, the page we read

Udio

Music generation and editing from prompts.

Free plan gives
10 credits a day, up to 100 a month, and at most 3 full-length songs a day.
Needs a paid plan
2,400 credits a month and no daily song limit: Standard, $8 a month billed yearly ($96), or $10 monthly.
Account needed
YesUdio's terms: "To use the Services, you need to create an account".
Business use on the free plan
Noyou may use Output solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes source
Checked
, the page we read

Free AI tools for presentations and design

Canva and Kittl design posts, logos and ads, Pitch and Presentations.AI build slide decks, Napkin turns text into diagrams, and Figma covers design and prototypes. Canva's free plan counts 20 AI uses a month, Kittl's free card lists a full commercial license, and Napkin adds its branding to free visuals.

Canva

Design tool for social posts, presentations and ads, with AI tools built in.

Free plan gives
Up to 20 Standard or Premium AI uses a month (the allowance resets on the 1st), 1 Brand Kit with 3 colors, 5 GB of storage, and ad insights with AI ad creation. Canva says heavier AI tools use more of the allowance.
Needs a paid plan
10x the AI of Free and tools such as resize, translate and background removal: Pro, US$120 a year for one person, or US$15 a month.
Account needed
Not statedNot stated on the pages we read on October 27, 2026.
Business use on the free plan
Yesyou own your Output, except for any Output that modifies or incorporates Licensed Content source
Checked
, the page we readFrom our October 27 check: this vendor's page blocked our automated read on October 28.

Figma

Design, prototypes, slides and sites, with AI built in.

Free plan gives
Starter: unlimited drafts, UI kits and templates, and 150 AI credits a day up to 500 a month.
Needs a paid plan
Professional, billed yearly: $3 a month for a Collab seat or $16 for a Full seat with 3,000 AI credits a month.
Account needed
YesThe free plan's button opened Figma's sign-up page.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Kittl

Logos, mockups and product visuals with AI and templates.

Free plan gives
100 AI tokens once (up to 20 images or 1 video), with standard templates, exports and models.
Needs a paid plan
2,000 AI tokens a month and print-ready exports: Pro, ₪42 a month billed yearly (the page showed us shekels).
Account needed
YesKittl's editor: "You need an account to use the editor."
Business use on the free plan
YesFull commercial license sourceListed on the Free plan card.
Checked
, the page we read

Napkin

Turns text into diagrams, charts and visuals.

Free plan gives
500 AI credits a week, unlimited editing and PNG and PDF export, with Napkin branding on visuals.
Needs a paid plan
10,000 AI credits a month, PPT and SVG export and no branding: Plus, $9 a person a month billed yearly.
Account needed
YesOur check: app.napkin.ai opened a sign-in page.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Pitch

Presentation software with AI for building slides.

Free plan gives
100 AI credits that don't renew, unlimited presentations, up to 5 members and 2 external guests.
Needs a paid plan
500 AI credits a month, PowerPoint export and video uploads: Plus, $10 a month billed yearly.
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened Pitch's sign-in page.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Presentations.AI

Slide decks generated from a prompt.

Free plan gives
200 credits, the starter AI model and decks of up to 20 slides.
Needs a paid plan
5,000 credits a year and PowerPoint export: Pro, $20 a month billed yearly ($240, US price).
Account needed
YesOur check: app.presentations.ai opened a sign-in page.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Free AI coding and app building tools

Lovable, v0 and Base44 build an app from a chat with no code; GitHub Copilot, Kiro and Devin work inside a code editor. Lovable and Base44 say you own what you build. Daily and monthly credits run out fast while you iterate, so keep prompts small. More in the best vibe coding tools and AI coding agents compared.

Base44

A no-code AI app builder with database and logins built in.

Free plan gives
25 message credits and 100 integration credits a month, up to 5 apps.
Needs a paid plan
100 message credits a month and your own domain: Starter, $16 a month billed yearly.
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened "Create your account".
Business use on the free plan
YesYou own everything you build on Base44: your code, your data, your users. source
Checked
, the page we read

Devin

A coding agent and editor app with inline edits and completions.

Free plan gives
A light agent quota with limited models, plus unlimited inline edits and Tab completions.
Needs a paid plan
Frontier models and Devin Cloud agents: Pro, $20 a month.
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened "Create a new account".
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

GitHub Copilot

AI code completion, chat and agents in your code editor.

Free plan gives
2,000 code completions a month with entry-level models, no card needed.
Needs a paid plan
Unlimited completions, the Claude Code and Codex agents and $15 of AI credits a month: Pro, $10 a month.
Account needed
YesOur check: "Start for free" opened GitHub's Copilot page with Sign in and Sign up instead of the tool.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Kiro

An AI code editor and CLI that can plan the work as a spec first.

Free plan gives
50 credits a month with Claude Sonnet 4.5 and open-weight models, with rate limits.
Needs a paid plan
1,000 credits a month and premium models: Pro, $20 a month.
Account needed
YesKiro's page: the Free tier is for users "who signed up with social logins or AWS Builder ID".
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Lovable

Builds web apps and sites from a chat, no code needed.

Free plan gives
5 build credits a day (up to 30 a month), 20 Cloud credits a month and 5 lovable.app addresses.
Needs a paid plan
100 credits a month, custom domains and no Lovable badge: Pro, $25 a month.
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened "Create your account".
Business use on the free plan
Yesyou own your Customer Data, including the applications, websites, or other projects you build source
Checked
, the page we read

v0

Vercel's app and website builder that works from a chat.

Free plan gives
$5 of credits once for new users, a limit of 7 messages a day, deploys to Vercel and GitHub sync.
Needs a paid plan
$30 of monthly credits plus $2 a day on login: Plus, $30 a user a month (shown next to a crossed-out $90).
Account needed
Yesv0's pricing FAQ: "v0 uses your Vercel account to log in".
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Free AI automation tools

Zapier, Activepieces, IFTTT and Make count tasks or credits (Make gives 1,000 a month, most actions 1 credit each), Latenode counts CPU seconds, and n8n's Community Edition has no plan meter because you host it yourself. n8n is also the only one here whose license spells out business use. Our Zapier alternatives guide prices one workload on each.

Activepieces

Automation builder with flows, AI agents and tables.

Free plan gives
1,000 credits a month, unlimited flows, up to 5 users and building from a chat.
Needs a paid plan
10x the free credits and your own AI keys: Plus, $20 a month flat.
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened Activepieces' sign-in page.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

IFTTT

Simple if-this-then-that automations between apps and services.

Free plan gives
1,000 credits a month, unlimited Applets and all services.
Needs a paid plan
5,000 credits a month and faster Applets: Starter, $2.99 a month.
Account needed
YesOur check: the sign-up button opened IFTTT's join page.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Latenode

Automation builder that bills for run time, not for each step.

Free plan gives
10,000 CPU seconds a month, 5 active workflows, 1 worker and runs of up to 3 minutes.
Needs a paid plan
No base fee: pay as you go at $0.00012 per CPU second after the free 10,000.
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened "Create your account".
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Make

A visual builder for automations (scenarios) that connect your apps.

Free plan gives
1,000 credits a month. Most actions use 1 credit, router and error-handler modules use none, and scenarios stop when the credits run out.
Needs a paid plan
10,000 credits a month: Core, $12 a month billed yearly or $16 monthly (US prices, from the pricing data Make's page loads).
Account needed
Not statedNot stated on the page we read on October 27, 2026.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we readFrom our October 27 check: this vendor's page blocked our automated read on October 28.

n8n

Workflow automation with AI agents that you can host yourself.

Free plan gives
The self-hosted Community Edition is free under n8n's Sustainable Use License: you install it from GitHub and run the server.
Needs a paid plan
Hosted by n8n: Starter, €20 a month billed yearly for 2,500 workflow executions.
Account needed
NoNo n8n account for the free edition: n8n's page says it "is available on GitHub" to self-host.
Business use on the free plan
YesUse n8n community version to help run your business sourceHosting n8n for clients to build their own workflows is not allowed under the free license.
Checked
, the page we read

Zapier

Connects your apps so routine tasks run on their own.

Free plan gives
100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps, Tables, Forms and Zapier Copilot.
Needs a paid plan
Multi-step Zaps and webhooks: Professional, from $19.99 a month.
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened "Create Your Free Zapier Account".
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Free AI research and note tools

Perplexity searches the web and works signed out, Gemini Notebook answers only from the files you add, and Elicit searches research papers. Perplexity's terms limit the service to personal, non-commercial use.

Elicit

Finds, summarizes and compares research papers.

Free plan gives
Unlimited search across more than 138 million papers, unlimited summaries and chat with papers, and limited use of the Research Agent and Reports.
Needs a paid plan
Systematic reviews and standard agent use: Pro, $49 a user a month billed yearly ($588).
Account needed
YesThe free plan's button links to Elicit's sign-up page (elicit.com/users/auth?show=signup).
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Gemini Notebook (NotebookLM)

A research assistant that answers from your own files and makes audio overviews.

Free plan gives
100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook and standard limits for chat, slides and Audio Overviews. Google says your data isn't used for training unless you send feedback.
Needs a paid plan
Double the limits and 100 sources per notebook: Google AI Plus, $4.99 a month (US).
Account needed
YesGoogle's help page: "Sign up free of charge by using your gmail account."
Business use on the free plan
Not statednotebooklm.google now opens Gemini Notebook.
Checked
, the page we read

Perplexity

AI search that answers with cited sources.

Free plan gives
Answers with sources and a limited number of Pro Searches; you can't pick an advanced model yourself.
Needs a paid plan
Model choice, deep research and higher limits: Pro, $17 a month billed yearly.
Account needed
NoOur check: perplexity.ai opened a ready search box with no sign-in.
Business use on the free plan
Nofor your personal, non-commercial use only source
Checked
, the page we read

Free AI meeting notes and transcription

Check the caps that matter for long calls: Otter stops at 30 minutes per conversation and 300 minutes a month, Read AI at 5 transcripts a month, and tl;dv writes AI notes for 10 meetings. Fathom and Fireflies list unlimited transcription, and Fathom's terms allow internal business use, while Otter's rule out commercial purposes.

Fathom

Records, transcribes and summarizes your video calls.

Free plan gives
Unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI call summaries, clips and search across calls.
Needs a paid plan
Advanced summaries and AI action items: Premium, $16 a user a month.
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened "Sign up for Fathom".
Business use on the free plan
Yessolely for your personal or internal business use source
Checked
, the page we read

Fireflies

Meeting notes, transcripts and search for Zoom, Meet and Teams.

Free plan gives
Unlimited transcription (marked with an asterisk), limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team and 20 AI credits.
Needs a paid plan
Unlimited summaries, video recording and downloads: Pro, $10 a seat a month billed yearly ($18 monthly).
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened Fireflies' login page.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

Otter

Live transcription and AI notes for meetings and recordings.

Free plan gives
300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 file imports in total and only your 25 most recent conversations.
Needs a paid plan
1,200 minutes a month and up to 90 minutes per meeting: Pro, $8.33 a user a month billed yearly.
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened Otter's sign-up page.
Business use on the free plan
Nouse the Service in connection with any direct or indirect commercial purposes sourceListed under what users agree not to do.
Checked
, the page we read

Read AI

Meeting summaries, transcripts and search across meetings, email and chat.

Free plan gives
5 meeting transcripts a month with summaries and search, plus a personal meeting coach.
Needs a paid plan
Unlimited meeting transcripts: Pro, $15 a user a month billed yearly.
Account needed
YesOur check: the free plan's button opened Read AI's sign-up page.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

tl;dv

Records meetings and writes AI notes you can search.

Free plan gives
Unlimited recordings and transcription in 30+ languages, AI notes for 10 meetings and 10 Ask AI questions, and one recording at a time.
Needs a paid plan
Unlimited meetings with AI notes: Pro, $18 a seat a month billed yearly.
Account needed
YesOur check: tldv.io/app opened a sign-in page.
Business use on the free plan
Not stated
Checked
, the page we read

How do we check a free plan?

Every row in this AI tools directory comes from the vendor's own pricing page, terms or help center, read on October 28, 2026 (or October 27 for six tools, below), never from another list. For each tool we wrote down what the free plan includes with its numbers, what needs a paid plan and the cheapest price, whether you need an account, whether the free plan allows commercial use, and the page we read.

  • How we read the pages. A fresh headless Chrome with no account, run from Israel, declining optional cookies where a banner offered that choice. We saved the text of every page and kept 471 short quotes that back the numbers here; a script checks each quote against the saved text.
  • Six rows come from our October 27 checks. ChatGPT, Canva, Adobe Firefly, Ideogram, Leonardo.Ai and Make blocked our automated read on October 28, so their rows use the 68 quotes we saved from their own pages on October 27, 2026 for our guides, and each shows that date and source. Anything those pages didn't state is marked "Not stated".
  • Account needed. "No" only where the tool opened ready to use without signing in (Duck.ai, Gemini, LanguageTool and Perplexity, plus ChatGPT in our logged-out test on October 27) or the vendor says no account is needed (Brave Leo, and n8n's self-hosted edition). "Yes" where the free plan's button led to a sign-up or sign-in page, or the vendor's page or terms say you need an account. "Not stated" where the pages we read don't say (Canva, Adobe Firefly and Make).
  • Business use. "Yes" when the pricing page or terms let free users use the output commercially, or give you ownership of it with no personal-use limit. "No" when they limit the free plan to personal or non-commercial use, or keep ownership of what you make. "Not stated" when neither page says. Every yes and no shows the vendor's own words.
  • Prices are in US dollars unless the page showed us another currency (n8n in euros, Kittl and Adobe Firefly in shekels). "Billed yearly" is the monthly price on a yearly plan.
  • Order. Tools are grouped by job and sorted A to Z inside each job. Nothing here is ranked, and our own courses are not in the list.
  • What we never did. No sign-ups, logins, trials or accepted terms, and no bot check solved. A tool whose page stopped us is left out instead of guessed.

The free plan's limits are printed on the vendors' own pricing cards. Five of them, captured the same day:

Suno pricing on October 28, 2026 with Annual billing selected: Free at $0 a month with 50 credits per day, standard features, uploads up to 8 minutes, no monthly song downloads and no commercial rights; Pro at $8 a month with 2,500 credits, 20 song downloads a month and commercial use rights
The free plan's catch is printed on the card: no commercial rights and no song downloads. suno.com/pricing, October 28, 2026.
Recraft pricing on October 28, 2026: Free at $0, personal use only, with 3 generations per style per day, 3 image uploads daily, up to 2 images per generation, all images public, no commercial use and Recraft models only; Basic at $10 a month billed annually ($120) with 1,000 credits a month and commercial rights
Recraft's FAQ adds that images made on the Free plan are owned by Recraft. recraft.ai/pricing, October 28, 2026.
Synthesia pricing on October 28, 2026 with yearly billing: Basic at $0 a month with 500 credits a month, sharing by link and videos that carry a Synthesia watermark; Starter at $18 a month, $216 billed yearly with $29 crossed out, adds downloads and removes the Synthesia logo
On the free plan a video can be shared by link but not downloaded, and it carries the watermark. synthesia.io/pricing, October 28, 2026.
Playground pricing on October 28, 2026 with Annual billing: the Free plan with up to 10 images every 3 hours, 3 monthly generations on premium models and commercial use under a world-wide, royalty free license; Pro with up to 75 images every 3 hours and 150 monthly credits
One of the free image plans that lists commercial use on the card itself. playgroundai.com/design/pricing, October 28, 2026.
Otter's plan comparison on October 28, 2026: Basic, free forever, with 300 transcription minutes per user a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports and the 25 most recent conversations; Pro at $8.33 a user a month with 1,200 minutes and 90 minutes per conversation
The 30-minute cap per conversation is the one that cuts long meetings short. otter.ai/pricing, October 28, 2026.

What we left out, and why

  • The page stopped our checker with a bot check or an access error, and no earlier check of ours had the free plan's limits: Adobe Express, Gamma, QuillBot, Replit, TurboScribe, NightCafe, SciSpace and Grok. DeepL's and Mistral's pricing pages loaded, but their apps showed a bot check, so we couldn't answer the account question.
  • The free plan is a desktop download, and we don't install software for this check: Google Antigravity and Granola. Bolt's builder opens without signing in, and we didn't send a prompt to find out where the sign-in starts.
  • No free plan on the pricing page: Luma Dream Machine, Beautiful.ai (a 14-day trial), Photoroom, OpenArt and Pixlr. Murf's free trial is API credit, and Notion's free plan has only a trial of Notion AI.
  • No free-plan limits we could read: DeepSeek, CapCut ("basic editing tools", priced in shekels), Consensus, Adobe Podcast and Proton Lumo.

What's the catch with free AI tools?

The catch is rarely the price; it's what the free plan does with your work. Of the 52 free plans here, 12 rule out business use, 4 put a watermark or branding on what you make, and most cap you by the day, the week or the month.

Free plan allows business useTools
YesAdobe Firefly, Base44, Canva, ChatGPT, Descript, Duck.ai, Fathom, Ideogram, Kittl, Leonardo.Ai, Lovable, n8n (self-hosted), Playground, Runway
NoElevenLabs, HeyGen, Krea, LanguageTool, Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Designer, Otter, Perplexity, Recraft, Speechify, Suno, Udio

The other 26 don't say either way on their pricing page or terms, so read the terms or ask the vendor before you use a free plan for client work.

  • Watermarks and branding. HeyGen's 3 free videos a month are watermarked, Synthesia's free videos carry its watermark, ElevenLabs watermarks dubbed videos on the free plan, and Napkin adds its branding to free visuals.
  • Ads. ChatGPT's Free plan may show ads, and its ads-free mode comes with fewer messages and no image generation or deep research.
  • Public by default. Every image on Recraft's free plan is public, and Recraft owns it. Ideogram's and Leonardo.Ai's free images are public too, and Leonardo owns its free images while licensing them to you.
  • Daily, weekly and monthly caps. Duck.ai and Adobe Firefly have daily limits they don't number, Leonardo.Ai gives 150 fast tokens a day, Suno 50 credits a day, Krea 100 units a day, Lovable 5 build credits a day, v0 7 messages a day, Wordtune 10 rewrites a day, Udio 3 full songs a day and LanguageTool 3 AI rephrasings a day; Ideogram gives 30 credits a week and Napkin 500, Canva counts 20 AI uses a month and Make 1,000 credits, Claude resets on a rolling five-hour window, and Gemini every 5 hours up to a weekly cap.
  • Credits that don't come back. Runway's 125 credits, Descript's 100 AI credits, Pitch's 100 AI credits, Kittl's 100 AI tokens and v0's $5 are given once. Otter allows 3 file imports in total.
  • Training on your data. ChatGPT has data sharing for training on by default on Free. Duck.ai and Brave Leo say they don't train on your chats, Adobe says it doesn't train on users' personal or generated content, and Gemini Notebook says it doesn't use your data for training unless you send feedback. Claude's pricing table lists model training as opt-out on every plan, Free included, and v0 lists "Training opt-out by default" only from its Business plan. Turn training off, or keep client data out, before you paste anything private.

Where can you compare these tools in more depth?

This page answers one question per tool: what the free plan gives. For a full comparison inside one job, with tests and paid plans, use the guide for that job:

If you'd rather learn these tools in order with a teacher, our AI course for beginners is in early access.

Frequently asked questions

Are free AI tools really free?

The 52 tools here all have a $0 plan you can keep using without paying, but each one limits something: a daily or monthly cap, credits that don't renew, a watermark, public images or no business use. The lowest regular monthly price in this list is IFTTT Starter at $2.99.

What are the best free AI tools?

There isn't one best tool for every job, which is why this list is sorted A to Z instead of ranked. Pick the job you do most, then the tool whose free limit covers your weekly volume and whose business-use answer fits your work, and test two of them in the same week.

Can I use free AI tools for business?

Only some. 14 of the 52 free plans say yes in their pricing page or terms, among them ChatGPT, Canva, Descript, Runway, Lovable and n8n's self-hosted edition; 12 say no, among them Suno, ElevenLabs, HeyGen, Recraft and Perplexity; the other 26 don't say. Each row quotes the vendor's own words.

Which free AI tools work without an account?

Seven in this list: Brave Leo, ChatGPT (basic chat, in our October 27 test), Duck.ai, Gemini (basic chat), LanguageTool, Perplexity and n8n's self-hosted Community Edition. Canva, Adobe Firefly and Make don't say on the pages we read; every other tool needs an account, going by its free plan's button or the vendor's own pages.

How current are these free plan limits?

Every row links the vendor page we read and shows the date: October 28, 2026, or October 27 for the six tools whose pages blocked our October 28 read. Free plans change often (ElevenLabs had a $1 first month until November 1, and Runway a Kling discount until November 30), so open the source before you rely on a number.