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AI tools directory: what each is good for 36 widely used AI tools with what they do, the free option, what they are best for and what to watch out for. Plans and limits change often — always check the official site. Last reviewed October 2026.
Chat assistants 5 Tool What it does Free option Best for Watch out ChatGPT ↗ General AI assistant for writing, analysis, coding and images. Free plan with limits Everyday drafting and brainstorming Check facts; free-tier limits change. Google Gemini ↗ Google’s assistant, linked to Search and Google apps. Free plan; free API key in AI Studio Long documents, Google Workspace users Region list applies to the API. Claude ↗ Assistant known for long-document work and careful writing. Free plan with limits Long reports, structured writing Usage caps reset over time. Microsoft Copilot ↗ Assistant built into Windows, Edge and Microsoft 365. Free version available Microsoft users, web answers with links Different features by account type. Meta AI ↗ Assistant inside WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Free where available Quick answers inside chat apps Not available in every country.
Research & search 1 Tool What it does Free option Best for Watch out Perplexity ↗ AI answer engine that cites web sources. Free plan Research with sources to check Open the citations — summaries can misread them.
Developer & APIs 6 Tool What it does Free option Best for Watch out Groq ↗ Very fast API for open models. Free API tier, no card Learning APIs, fast drafts in our tools Per-model rate limits. OpenRouter ↗ One API key for many models, including free ones. Free models with daily limits Trying many models with one key Free models can change or disappear. Google AI Studio ↗ Playground and free API keys for Gemini models. Free tier Prototyping with Gemini Free-tier data may be used to improve products. Hugging Face ↗ Hub for open models, datasets and demos. Free account; hosted inference mostly paid Finding and comparing open models Check each model’s licence. Ollama ↗ Run open models on your own computer. Free, open source Private, offline experiments Needs a reasonably powerful computer. LM Studio ↗ Desktop app to download and chat with local models. Free for personal use Trying local models without the command line Large downloads; check licence terms.
Coding 4 Tool What it does Free option Best for Watch out GitHub Copilot ↗ AI pair programmer in code editors. Free tier for individuals; free for verified students Code completion and explanations Review every suggestion; never commit secrets. Cursor ↗ Code editor built around AI chat and edits. Free tier Editing projects with AI help Understand changes before accepting. Replit ↗ Browser-based coding with AI assistance and hosting. Free tier Coding from any device Free projects may be public. Google Colab ↗ Free Python notebooks in the browser. Free tier with limited compute Data and ML practice Sessions time out; save to Drive.
Design & images 5 Tool What it does Free option Best for Watch out Canva ↗ Design tool with AI features for images and text. Free plan Social posts, posters, presentations Some AI features are paid or capped. Adobe Firefly ↗ Image generation designed for commercial safety. Limited free credits Marketing images Credits run out quickly. Microsoft Designer ↗ AI image and graphic design tool. Free with a Microsoft account (limits apply) Quick graphics and images Daily boosts/credits limit usage. Ideogram ↗ Image generator good at text inside images. Free tier Posters and logos with words Free images may be public. Remove.bg ↗ Removes image backgrounds automatically. Free low-resolution downloads Product photos High-resolution downloads cost credits.
Video 3 Tool What it does Free option Best for Watch out CapCut ↗ Video editor with AI captions and effects. Free plan Short-form video editing Check export watermarks and terms. Descript ↗ Edit video and audio by editing the transcript. Free plan Podcasts and talking-head videos Free plan limits transcription time. Clipchamp ↗ Browser video editor from Microsoft with AI features. Free plan Simple edits on Windows Premium stock is paid.
Audio & voice 3 Tool What it does Free option Best for Watch out ElevenLabs ↗ Realistic text-to-speech and voice tools. Free monthly characters Voiceovers Only clone voices with consent. Otter.ai ↗ Meeting transcription and summaries. Free plan with monthly minutes Meeting notes Get consent before recording. Whisper (open source) ↗ Open speech-to-text model you can run yourself. Free, open source Private transcription Needs setup or a hosted service.
Writing & language 4 Tool What it does Free option Best for Watch out Grammarly ↗ Grammar, clarity and tone suggestions. Free plan Polishing emails and documents Do not paste confidential text. QuillBot ↗ Paraphrasing, grammar and summarising. Free plan with limits Rewording and summaries Paraphrasing is not a way around plagiarism rules. DeepL ↗ High-quality machine translation. Free plan with limits Translating documents Have important translations checked by a person. Google Translate ↗ Translation in 100+ languages, including many African languages. Free Quick translations, camera translate Quality varies by language.
Productivity 2 Tool What it does Free option Best for Watch out Notion AI ↗ AI inside Notion pages and databases. Limited trial on free plans Teams already using Notion Paid add-on for regular use. Gamma ↗ Generates presentations and documents from prompts. Free credits First-draft slide decks Edit heavily; check every claim.
Automation 3 Tool What it does Free option Best for Watch out Zapier ↗ No-code automations between thousands of apps. Free plan with monthly tasks Connecting forms, sheets and email Task limits on free plan. Make ↗ Visual automation builder. Free plan with monthly operations Complex multi-step automations Operations count quickly. n8n ↗ Open-source workflow automation you can self-host. Free self-hosted; paid cloud Developers wanting control Self-hosting needs maintenance.
Questions people ask Are these tools free? Each has a free option, usually with limits. Paid plans add higher limits or features. Check the official site before relying on any plan.
Do you get paid for listing tools? No. There are no affiliate links or sponsored placements on this page.
