Free AI tools and their plan limits
The best free AI tools can suit different needs, from writing and design to meetings and automations. This comparison shows each free plan and the limits stated by its vendor, so you can choose based on your work and budget.
The fact matrix
Read each row as a plan summary: check what is free, then review the stated caps before choosing. Under each cell is the vendor page we read and the date. The order of the rows is not a ranking.
| Tool | Free plan | Stated limits |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPTOpenAI | Yes, there is a Free plan at no charge chatgpt.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Unlimited text chats (subject to abuse guardrails); limited uploads, image creation, voice, deep research and memory chatgpt.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| ClaudeAnthropic | Yes, US$0 claude.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Usage limits apply; the pricing page gives no message count. Free includes web search, file creation, code execution, memory and Artifacts claude.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| GeminiGoogle | Yes, US$0/month with a Google Account gemini.google checked 2 Oct 2026 | Access to the Flash model and varying access to the Pro model; image generation, Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas and Gems; 15 GB storage gemini.google checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Microsoft CopilotMicrosoft | Yes. Microsoft describes Microsoft Copilot (free) as available free of cost, for general questions and answers and web-based tasks, on the web, desktop and mobile apps and in Edge. support.microsoft.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | No numeric caps are stated on the pages read. Microsoft says signing in gives chat history, more image creation, longer conversations and longer use of voice. support.microsoft.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| Mistral (Vibe)Mistral AI | Yes, free tier on web and mobile mistral.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 | Limited messages and web searches, limited coding sessions; image generation included mistral.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| GrammarlyWriting and email | Yes, US$0/month grammarly.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Free: 100 AI prompts a month. Pro: 2,000 AI prompts per member a month. Enterprise: unlimited grammarly.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| CanvaDesign and social graphics | Yes: Canva Free (US$0) includes up to 20 uses a month of Standard or Premium AI tools; no access to Ultra AI tools. canva.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Shared monthly AI allowance across AI tools: Free up to 20 uses; Pro up to 200 Premium uses or 20 Ultra uses; Business up to 400 Premium or 40 Ultra. Trial allowance equals Free. canva.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| NotionDocs, notes and a shared knowledge base | Yes, US$0 per member/month notion.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Free and Plus list only a trial of Notion AI. Custom agents: free to try, then US$10 per 1,000 Notion credits notion.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| ZapierConnecting apps and automating routine steps | Yes, US$0/month, described as free forever zapier.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Free: 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps only. Multi-step Zaps and webhooks start on Professional. Team includes 25 users zapier.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| FirefliesMeeting notes | Yes, $0, described as free forever fireflies.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 | Free: limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team, 20 AI credits. Pro: 8,000 minutes of storage per seat fireflies.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| OtterMeeting notes | Yes, the Basic plan is labelled Free otter.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 | Basic: 300 transcription minutes a month. Pro: 1,200 minutes, up to 90 minutes per meeting, 10 file imports a month otter.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| HubSpot CRMCustomer records and sales follow-up | Yes, free tools with no credit card required hubspot.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Free tools are for up to 2 users; 2,000 marketing email sends per calendar month with HubSpot branding; up to 3 email templates per account. Branding is removed from Starter up hubspot.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| TidioWebsite chat and customer support | Yes, $0/month tidio.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Starter: 100 billable conversations and 50 Lyro AI agent conversations (one-off). Growth: from 250 billable conversations tidio.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| NotebookLM (shown on Google's pages as Gemini Notebook)Question-answering over your own sources | Yes. Google's help page says the standard tier is free of charge with a Gmail account. support.google.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Free tier: 100 notebooks per user, up to 50 sources per notebook, 50 chats/day, 3 Audio Overviews/day. Plus: 200 notebooks, 100 sources per notebook, 200 chats/day. Google says limits may change. support.google.com checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| GPTZeroAI-text detection | Yes. Text can be scanned without paying; a free account is needed for scans over 10,000 characters. gptzero.me checked 2 Oct 2026 | Premium: up to 300,000 words per month. Professional: 500,000 words per month. gptzero.me checked 2 Oct 2026 |
| IdeogramAI image generation | Yes: Free plan at US$0. Eligible free accounts get weekly slow credits (amount may vary); 1 running/queued generation; no private generation. ideogram.ai checked 2 Oct 2026 | Plus: 1,000 priority credits a month plus unlimited slow credits; 8 running/queued generations. Ideogram 4.0 uses 1-3 credits per image depending on rendering speed. ideogram.ai checked 2 Oct 2026 |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
About the prices. Vendor pages were read on 1 and 2 October 2026 from a connection in Australia. Where a vendor shows local prices, we took the US-dollar figure from its United States page or its help centre and link to that page. Where we could not read a US-dollar price, the cell says so and names the currency we saw. Prices in other countries can differ.
Who each one suits, and who it does not
These lines are drawn only from the facts we could read on vendor pages. We have not run our own tests, so nothing here ranks the tools on the quality of their output.
ChatGPTSource: chatgpt.com
- Best for
- The baseline. Its free plan lists unlimited text chats, so the reasons to switch are the limits on everything else.Based on: free-plan limits
- Not ideal for
- People who want a cheap ad-free tier: the plan below Plus is the one the vendor says may include ads.Based on: first paid plan
ClaudeSource: claude.com
- Best for
- Getting file creation and code execution without paying: both are listed on the free plan.Based on: free-plan limits
- Not ideal for
- Anyone who needs a published free message allowance to plan around: the page only says usage limits apply.Based on: free-plan limits
GeminiSource: gemini.google
- Best for
- Households already paying Google for storage: the paid tiers bundle 400 GB to 5 TB with the assistant.Based on: first paid plan, listed features
- Not ideal for
- A small team that only wants a few chat seats at consumer prices: the business edition starts at US$21 a seat.Based on: team seat
Microsoft CopilotSource: microsoft.com
- Best for
- People who live in Word, Excel and Outlook: the assistant comes inside the Microsoft 365 subscription.Based on: first paid plan, listed features
- Not ideal for
- Buyers who only want a chat assistant: every paid tier on the page is a Microsoft 365 bundle.Based on: first paid plan
Mistral (Vibe)Source: mistral.ai
- Best for
- A standalone assistant with a paid plan under US$15 a month: Pro is listed at US$14.99.Based on: first paid plan
- Not ideal for
- Heavy free use: messages, web searches and coding sessions are all described as limited.Based on: free-plan limits
GrammarlySource: grammarly.com
- Best for
- Cleaning up emails and customer replies wherever you already type; the free plan has a stated monthly AI allowance.Based on: stated limits, listed features
- Not ideal for
- Drafting long documents from scratch on the free plan: 100 prompts a month is the cap.Based on: stated limits
CanvaSource: canva.com
- Best for
- Social posts, flyers and simple brand graphics without a designer; there is a free plan to start on.Based on: free plan, listed features
- Not ideal for
- Heavy AI image use on the cheaper plans: the monthly AI allowance is shared across tools and capped.Based on: stated limits
NotionSource: notion.com
- Best for
- Keeping procedures, notes and project lists in one place; the AI features sit on the Business tier.Based on: listed features
- Not ideal for
- Getting ongoing AI on the cheaper tiers: Free and Plus list a trial only.Based on: stated limits
ZapierSource: zapier.com
- Best for
- Passing data between the apps you already use, starting with simple two-step automations at no cost.Based on: free plan, stated limits
- Not ideal for
- Anything beyond a two-step flow on the free plan: multi-step Zaps need Professional.Based on: stated limits
FirefliesSource: fireflies.ai
- Best for
- Getting a written record of client calls; transcription itself is listed on the free plan.Based on: free plan, stated limits
- Not ideal for
- Keeping a long archive for free: storage is capped at 400 minutes per team.Based on: stated limits
OtterSource: otter.ai
- Best for
- Teams that want published minute allowances to plan against.Based on: stated limits
- Not ideal for
- Meetings that run past 90 minutes on Pro.Based on: stated limits
HubSpot CRMSource: hubspot.com
- Best for
- A first shared customer list and deal pipeline at no cost, with an AI assistant included.Based on: free plan, listed features
- Not ideal for
- Getting the AI customer agent cheaply: it is listed from the Professional tier.Based on: listed features, price
TidioSource: tidio.com
- Best for
- A small shop that wants live chat and an AI agent on its website with a stated conversation allowance.Based on: stated limits, listed features
- Not ideal for
- High chat volumes on Starter: it covers 100 billable conversations.Based on: stated limits
NotebookLM (shown on Google's pages as Gemini Notebook)Source: notebooklm.google
- Best for
- People who want answers and study aids drawn from their own uploaded documents, with a free tier that has stated daily caps.Based on: free plan, sources, stated limits
- Not ideal for
- People who need more than 50 sources in one notebook without paying, since the free tier caps sources per notebook.Based on: stated limits
GPTZeroSource: gptzero.me
- Best for
- People who want to try detection without paying first and may later need a monthly allowance in the hundreds of thousands of words.Based on: free plan, stated limits
- Not ideal for
- Anyone who wants a single result to settle a dispute, since the vendor itself says results should not be the final verdict.Based on: accuracy_claim
IdeogramSource: ideogram.ai
- Best for
- People who want a free tier to start and a paid plan with unlimited slow-queue generation.Based on: free plan, stated limits
- Not ideal for
- Free users who need private generations, which are listed only on paid plans.Based on: free plan, listed features
How to choose from this table
Start with the task you need to complete. For writing, Grammarly Free provides 100 AI prompts a month, while Canva Free includes up to 20 uses a month of Standard or Premium AI tools. For meeting notes, Otter Basic includes 300 transcription minutes a month, and Fireflies Free includes 400 minutes of storage per team.
Check the allowance before you commit to a monthly workflow. Canva's Free plan shares its monthly AI allowance across tools and offers up to 20 uses. Zapier Free includes 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps only, while Tidio Starter includes 100 billable conversations and 50 Lyro AI agent conversations as a one-off.
Look closely at usage caps and included features. NotebookLM's free tier includes 100 notebooks per user, up to 50 sources per notebook, 50 chats/day and 3 Audio Overviews/day. Mistral Vibe has limited messages, web searches and coding sessions, while ChatGPT Free has unlimited text chats subject to abuse guardrails.
Match the plan to your team and existing tools. For a shared customer list, HubSpot's free tools support up to 2 users and include 2,000 marketing email sends per calendar month with HubSpot branding. Notion Free and Plus list only a trial of Notion AI, while Microsoft paid tiers are Microsoft 365 bundles.
Treat not verified as a reason to check, not a mark against the product. It means the vendor page did not show us the detail on the day. Every figure, with its source and date, is also in the fact ledger.
Related: AI tools compared by task, price and usage limits, Find an alternative to ChatGPT for everyday work, Business AI plans compared by cost and limits, Compare image generation plans, prices and limits.
Questions people ask
Which free AI tool has unlimited text chats?
ChatGPT Free lists unlimited text chats, subject to abuse guardrails. The vendor also lists limits on uploads, image creation, voice, deep research and memory.
What free AI tools include file creation or code execution?
Claude Free includes web search, file creation, code execution, memory and Artifacts. Its vendor says usage limits apply but does not provide a free message count.
Which free meeting-note tools publish minute or storage limits?
Otter Basic includes 300 transcription minutes a month. Fireflies Free includes 400 minutes of storage per team, 20 AI credits and limited AI summaries.
Can I automate apps for free with Zapier?
Zapier Free is described as free forever and includes 100 tasks a month with two-step Zaps. Multi-step Zaps and webhooks start on Professional.