How to choose the right AI tool
When you ask “what is the best AI tools,” compare the job you need done, not just the product name. This table shows each vendor’s free plan, price and stated limits for non-technical buyers and small-business owners.
The fact matrix
Read across each row to compare free access, paid pricing and the limits that may affect your work. Under each cell is the vendor page we read and the date. The order of the rows is not a ranking.
| Tool | Free plan | Price | Stated limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPTOpenAI | Yes, there is a Free plan at no charge chatgpt.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Plus, US$20/month billed monthly (OpenAI help centre). The cheaper Go plan exists, but its US-dollar price is not verified: the help centre gives no figure, and the pricing page we could load showed the Australian price (A$13/month) and says Go may include ads help.openai.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 | Pro, US$20/month billed monthly, or US$17/month on the annual plan (US$200 up front) 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 | Google AI Plus, US$4.99/month (2x the free usage limits, 400 GB storage); Google AI Pro is US$19.99/month (4x the free usage limits, 5 TB storage) 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 |
| GrammarlyWriting and email | Yes, US$0/month grammarly.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Pro, US$12 per member per month on annual billing (US$144 for 12 months); the monthly plan is US$30. Enterprise by quote grammarly.com checked 2 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 | Pro US$144/year for one person; Business US$250/year per person (yearly billing, United States setting). Enterprise by quote 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 |
| ZapierConnecting apps and automating routine steps | Yes, US$0/month, described as free forever zapier.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Professional from US$19.99/month; Team from US$69/month; Enterprise by quote. Price rises with the task tier you choose 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 |
| OtterMeeting notes | Yes, the Basic plan is labelled Free otter.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 | Pro US$16.99/user/month billed monthly, or US$8.33/user/month on the annual plan; Business US$30 monthly or US$19.99 annual. The page states prices are in USD and also showed time-limited discounts, which we left out otter.ai checked 2 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 |
| 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 | First paid tier is through Google AI Plus at US$4.99/month (US subscriptions page); Google AI Pro is US$19.99/month. gemini.google 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 |
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
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
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
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
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
How to choose from this table
Start with the task you need to complete. Choose Grammarly if your priority is writing and email, or Canva for design and social graphics. Otter fits meeting notes, while Zapier connects apps and automates routine steps. NotebookLM suits question-answering over your own sources.
Check the free plan before paying. ChatGPT has a Free plan at no charge with unlimited text chats, subject to abuse guardrails. Claude, Gemini and NotebookLM also have free access, while Zapier’s free plan includes 100 tasks a month. Canva Free includes up to 20 uses a month of Standard or Premium AI tools.
Look for limits that match your workload. Claude says usage limits apply, but the pricing page gives no message count. Grammarly Free has 100 AI prompts a month, and Otter Basic includes 300 transcription minutes a month. Zapier Free supports two-step Zaps only, while multi-step Zaps and webhooks start on Professional.
Compare paid plans with your team in mind. Gemini’s Google AI Plus is US$4.99/month and includes 400 GB storage, while Google AI Pro is US$19.99/month and includes 5 TB storage. Zapier Team is from US$69/month and includes 25 users. Canva Business is US$250/year per person with yearly billing in the United States setting.
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, Free AI tools and their plan limits.
Questions people ask
Which AI tool has a free plan for writing and email?
Grammarly has a free plan at US$0/month for writing and email. The vendor lists 100 AI prompts a month on Free, compared with 2,000 AI prompts per member a month on Pro.
Which AI tool is suitable for meeting notes?
Otter is designed for meeting notes. Its Basic plan is labelled Free and includes 300 transcription minutes a month. Pro includes 1,200 minutes, with up to 90 minutes per meeting and 10 file imports a month.
Can I automate simple tasks with Zapier for free?
Yes. Zapier describes its free plan as free forever and includes 100 tasks a month with two-step Zaps only. Multi-step Zaps and webhooks start on Professional, which is from US$19.99/month.
Which AI tool can answer questions from my own documents?
NotebookLM is for question-answering over your own sources. Google says the free tier includes up to 50 sources per notebook, 50 chats/day and 3 Audio Overviews/day. Google says limits may change.