Best Free AI Tools (2026 Guide)

The free tiers in 2026 are genuinely good. ChatGPT gives you GPT-5.2. Claude hands you Sonnet 4.6. Gemini connects to your entire Google Workspace.

72% of organizations now use AI in at least one business function, according to McKinsey's 2025 State of AI report. These are the tools most of them started with.

I tested 40+ free AI tools over the past three months. Most are forgettable. Some cap you at 3 messages before demanding a credit card. 26 of them actually deliver. Here they are, organized by what you need to do.

Quick Picks: Best Free AI Tools at a Glance

Best Free AI Chatbots and Writing Tools

These handle the widest range of tasks. Drafting emails, brainstorming, debugging code, summarizing documents. If you only try one free AI tool, pick one from this category.

1. ChatGPT (OpenAI)

The default starting point. OpenAI retired GPT-4o from ChatGPT on February 13, 2026. Free users now get GPT-5.2 Auto, which routes between fast and reasoning modes depending on your prompt. About 10 messages per 5-hour window before it falls back to a lighter model. You also get 5 Deep Research reports per month.

Best for: General tasks, code generation, quick brainstorming, email drafting.

Skip if: You need sustained throughput. 10 messages per 5 hours is tight for heavy work sessions.

Free limits: GPT-5.2 Auto (~10 msg/5hr, then falls back to mini), 5 Deep Research reports/month, web browsing included.

2. Claude (Anthropic)

The best free AI writing tool available. Claude Sonnet 4.6 produces text that reads like a person wrote it. Less robotic than ChatGPT. Better at following complex, multi-step instructions. Especially strong for coding tasks where you need the model to hold a logical chain across 200+ lines.

Best for: Creative writing, nuanced content, complex coding, long-form editing.

Skip if: You need reliable availability. Daily limits are strict and traffic-dependent. During peak hours, you may get 10-15 messages before hitting a wall.

Free limits: Sonnet 4.6 with traffic-dependent daily cap, no web browsing.

3. Google Gemini

The most feature-rich free tier. Full access to Gemini 3 Flash, limited access to Gemini 3 Pro, and integration with Google Docs, Sheets, and Drive. The Deep Research feature (10 reports/month on free) rivals Perplexity for web research. You also get 100 monthly AI credits shared across image and video generation.

Best for: Research, Google Workspace users, multimodal tasks (images + text + code in one chat).

Skip if: You dislike Google's data practices. Conversations train the model by default.

Free limits: Gemini 3 Flash (generous), Gemini 3 Pro (limited), 10 Deep Research reports/month, 100 shared creative credits/month.

4. Grok (xAI)

The free chatbot with real-time access to X (formerly Twitter) data. Useful for tracking breaking news, live events, or social media trends. The Aurora image model is included free. Free users get Grok 3 with roughly 10 prompts every 2 hours before throttling. Grok 4 requires SuperGrok ($30/mo) or X Premium+.

Best for: Real-time news, trend tracking, social media analysis, unfiltered answers.

Skip if: You need consistent throughput. The 10-prompt cap resets slowly, and during peak times it drops further.

Free limits: Grok 3 (10 prompts/2hr), Aurora image generation (3-10 images/day), voice access.

5. Perplexity

Not a chatbot in the traditional sense. Perplexity reads search results and compiles cited answers. Every claim comes with a source link. This makes it the best free AI tool for research where accuracy matters. Free searches run on Sonar, Perplexity's in-house model built on Llama 3.3 70B. You also get about 5 Pro searches per day and 3 Deep Research queries.

Best for: Fact-checking, source-backed research, quick literature overviews.

Skip if: You want creative writing or code generation. It's built for information retrieval, not content creation.

Free limits: Unlimited basic searches (Sonar), ~5 Pro searches/day, 3 Deep Research/day, source citations on every answer.

Which free AI is better than ChatGPT? It depends on the task. Claude writes more naturally. Gemini integrates with Google Workspace. Perplexity cites every source. Grok has real-time data. For general use, ChatGPT remains the most versatile. For writing quality, Claude wins.

Best Free AI Writing and Grammar Tools

These are specialized tools for polishing, paraphrasing, and checking text. Different from the chatbots above because they focus on editing rather than generating.

6. Grammarly

The standard grammar checker. Goes beyond spellcheck with tone detection, conciseness suggestions, and 100 free AI prompts per month for rewrites. Available as a browser extension, desktop app, and mobile keyboard.

Best for: Professional email polish, non-native English speakers, academic writing.

Skip if: You only write in non-English languages. Grammarly's strength is English.

Free limits: Core grammar and spelling (unlimited), tone detection, 100 AI prompts/month.

7. AgentDock Dock Editor

An AI writing assistant built for long-form content. Not a grammar checker. A full editor with AI completions, citations (APA, MLA, Chicago, 4 more styles), track changes, and export to DOCX or PDF. Brainstorm in ChatGPT or Claude, then draft and polish in Dock Editor. The Prompt Library is free with no signup. The editor includes a free trial long enough to test on a real project.

Best for: Long-form writing, research papers with citations, content creators who need AI assistance inside a real editor (not a chat window).

Skip if: You only need grammar checking. Grammarly is simpler for quick fixes. Dock Editor is for writing entire documents.

Free limits: Free trial (full features), Prompt Library free forever, no signup required for prompts.

Honorable Mention: DeepL (Translation)

Not a grammar tool, but worth noting for multilingual teams. DeepL translates with more nuance than Google Translate, especially for European and Asian languages. Free tier handles 5,000 characters per translation and 3 file translations per month (preserves PDF formatting). The Write feature refines English and German phrasing beyond simple grammar correction.

Best Free AI Coding Tools

The blank-page problem applies to code as much as writing. These tools range from subtle autocomplete to full agentic pair programmers.

8. GitHub Copilot

The industry standard for AI code completion inside VS Code. The free tier (launched for individuals) gives 2,000 code completions and 50 chat messages per month. Fast, context-aware, and learns your coding style.

Best for: Everyday coding, autocomplete, learning by suggestion, working inside VS Code.

Skip if: You need an agentic AI that can run code, install packages, and test apps. Copilot suggests. It doesn't execute.

Free limits: 2,000 completions/month, 50 chat messages/month.

9. Cursor

A full code editor (forked from VS Code) with AI built into every interaction. The "Tab" feature refactors entire code blocks. "Composer" edits across multiple files simultaneously. The free Hobby plan includes a 2-week Pro trial, then drops to unlimited "slow" requests with 50 fast requests per month.

Best for: Power users, multi-file refactoring, rapid prototyping.

Skip if: You're happy with VS Code and Copilot. Cursor requires switching editors.

Free limits: Unlimited slow requests, 50 fast requests/month (after 2-week trial).

10. Claude Code (Anthropic)

A terminal-based coding agent. Unlike Copilot (autocomplete) or Cursor (editor), Claude Code works from your command line. It reads your codebase, writes code, runs tests, handles git, and deploys. Think of it as a senior developer pair-programming in your terminal. Free tier included with a Claude account.

Best for: Full-stack development, codebase-wide refactoring, developers who live in the terminal.

Skip if: You want a visual IDE experience. Claude Code is terminal-only. If you prefer clicking over typing commands, use Cursor.

Free limits: Included with free Claude account (Sonnet 4.6, usage-capped), no separate subscription.

Best Free AI Image Generators

Creating visuals no longer requires design skills or a subscription. Free AI image generators have gotten remarkably good. Open-source AI models on Hugging Face grew from 276,000 to over 1 million in a single year, according to the Stanford HAI 2025 AI Index, and image generation models were a big part of that growth.

11. Ideogram

The best free AI image generator for text inside images. Logos, posters, social graphics with readable words. Other generators garble text. Ideogram renders it cleanly in 100+ fonts and multiple languages. The 2.0 model also handles photorealistic scenes and isometric illustrations. About 25 generations per day on the free tier.

Best for: Images with text (logos, posters, infographics), social media graphics, brand mockups.

Skip if: You want full commercial rights. Free-tier images are public and licensed under Ideogram's terms. Paid plans unlock private generation and commercial use.

Free limits: ~25 images/day, public gallery, watermark on some outputs.

12. ChatGPT Image Generation (GPT-Image-1.5)

Free ChatGPT users get limited access to image generation. The standout feature is conversational editing. Say "make the chart purple" and it understands context without a new prompt. Limited to roughly 2-3 images per day on a rolling 24-hour window.

Best for: Quick iterations, conversational image editing, users already in ChatGPT.

Skip if: You need volume. 2-3 images per day is not enough for batch work.

Free limits: ~2-3 images/day (rolling 24h), conversational editing.

13. Nano Banana Pro (Google Gemini)

Google's image model generates accurate text in multiple languages inside images. Included free in Gemini Apps. Photorealistic output with strong prompt adherence. Free images carry a visible Gemini watermark and invisible SynthID metadata.

Best for: Images with text, multilingual visuals, photorealism.

Skip if: You need watermark-free images for professional use.

Free limits: Generous allowance through Gemini Apps, watermarked output.

14. Recraft AI

The only free AI image generator that outputs vector (SVG) files. Perfect for icons, logos, and scalable illustrations. Enforces brand color palettes. 30 credits/day (roughly 25 images).

Best for: Icons, logos, scalable graphics, UI design assets.

Skip if: You plan to use the images commercially. Free tier is strictly non-commercial.

Free limits: 30 credits/day (~25 images), SVG output, non-commercial only.

15. Pomelli Photoshoot (Google Labs)

Free AI product photography from Google. Upload a photo of any physical product. Pomelli generates studio-quality shots in four styles: Studio (clean white background), Floating (dramatic mid-air), Ingredient (surrounded by raw materials), and In-use (lifestyle context). A candle maker uploaded a kitchen photo and got images that look like a Nordstrom catalog. Pomelli reads your website to match brand colors and style. Powered by Google's Nano Banana model. Available in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Best for: Small businesses, Etsy sellers, product listings, anyone who needs professional product photos without a photographer.

Skip if: You sell outside the US/Canada/Australia/NZ. Not available in other regions yet.

Free limits: Free through Google Labs, 4 scene templates, watermarked with SynthID.

Best Free AI Video Generators

Video generation is resource-intensive. Free tiers are stricter here. Expect watermarks, lower resolutions, and short clips. But for social media content, presentations, or proof-of-concept work, these tools deliver.

16. Kling AI

Currently the best free option for realistic motion. The motion consistency is superior to competitors for complex human movement. A person picking up an object, walking through a door, or shaking hands. These cause other models to glitch. Kling handles them well.

Best for: Realistic human motion, short clips for social media, daily content creation.

Skip if: You need longer videos. Clips are 5 seconds, watermarked.

Free limits: 66 credits/day (~6 videos), 5-second clips, watermarked.

17. Pika

The "fun physics" video generator. Pikaffects lets you squish, melt, or inflate objects in your video. 80 monthly credits. Good for attention-grabbing social clips where realism is not the goal.

Best for: Creative social content, special effects, eye-catching short clips.

Skip if: You need professional or realistic video. Pika leans playful, not corporate.

Free limits: 80 credits/month, Pikaffects included, watermarked.

18. InVideo AI

The most generous free tool for full-length videos (not just clips). Text-to-video with automatic stock footage stitching, voiceovers, and a video co-pilot that re-edits on command. 10 minutes of generation per week.

Best for: Explainer videos, social media content, quick video drafts from text.

Skip if: You need custom footage. It stitches stock clips. The result looks generic.

Free limits: 10 min/week, 4 exports/week, watermarked.

Best Free AI Presentation and Design Tools

Two tools that replaced hiring a designer for most teams. One builds presentations from a text prompt. The other handles everything else visual.

19. Gamma

The fastest way to build a presentation. Describe what you want in plain text and Gamma generates a full slide deck in about 60 seconds. Not just bullet points on slides. Actual layouts with images, charts, and design elements. Use it for pitch decks, quarterly business reviews, marketing decks, online course modules, or how-to guides. A wine tasting event host typed "5-slide wine tasting guide for beginners" and got a polished deck with pairing suggestions, tasting wheel graphics, and a final quiz slide. 400 free AI credits (roughly 10 full presentations).

Best for: Pitch decks, internal presentations, course materials, anyone who dreads building slides.

Skip if: You need pixel-level control over every element. Gamma gives you speed, not fine-grained design tools.

Free limits: 400 AI credits (~10 presentations), unlimited viewing and sharing, Gamma branding on exports.

20. Canva

The design tool most people already have an account for. The free plan now includes Magic Studio: Magic Design (generate layouts from a text prompt), Magic Grab (make any element in a photo movable), Magic Edit (change parts of an image with a text prompt), and Magic Expand (extend an image beyond its borders). Upload a product photo, type "remove background and place on beach," and it works. Auto-formats designs for every social media platform (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X) in one click.

Best for: Social media graphics, marketing materials, quick photo editing, teams without a designer.

Skip if: You need print-quality or vector design. Canva is web-first and optimized for digital.

Free limits: 250,000+ templates, 1M+ stock photos, Magic Studio features included, 5GB storage.

Best Free AI Research and Productivity Tools

For people who spend most of their day reading, learning, and synthesizing information. These tools go beyond chatbot Q&A into structured research workflows.

21. NotebookLM (Google)

Upload PDFs, websites, or audio files. NotebookLM builds a grounded AI expert on that specific data. No hallucinations from outside sources. The Audio Overview feature turns dry documents into a podcast-style discussion between two AI hosts.

Best for: Deep document analysis, study guides, synthesizing multiple sources, auditory learners.

Skip if: You need real-time web search. NotebookLM only works with uploaded sources.

Free limits: 100 notebooks, 50 sources each, 500,000 words/notebook, Audio Overview included.

22. Genspark

An AI agent that does entire research projects, not just answers questions. Give it a complex task and it builds a structured report with sources. Ask "compare the top 5 project management tools for a 20-person team" and it researches each one, builds a comparison table, and cites its sources. It rewrites API documentation from support ticket patterns. It creates lesson plans for teachers with worksheets and grading rubrics. The "Call for Me" feature is genuinely novel: Genspark calls phone numbers on your behalf, navigates automated menus, and reports back with the answer. 200 daily credits, no waitlist.

Best for: Deep research reports, competitive analysis, tasks that require visiting multiple sites and synthesizing findings.

Skip if: You need real-time conversation. Genspark is task-oriented (give it a job, wait for results), not a back-and-forth chatbot.

Free limits: 200 daily credits, Super Agent included, Call for Me included, no waitlist.

23. Notion AI

AI features built into Notion's workspace. Summarize pages, generate action items, draft content, and ask questions about your notes. The free plan includes limited AI credits.

Best for: Teams already using Notion, project management, meeting follow-ups.

Skip if: You don't use Notion. The AI features only work within Notion's ecosystem.

Free limits: Limited AI credits on free plan, all core Notion features included.

Best Free AI Audio and Music Tools

From meeting transcription to voice generation to AI-composed music.

24. Otter.ai

The standard for meeting transcription. 300 minutes per month on the free tier. Automatically identifies speakers and highlights key moments. Limited to 30 minutes per conversation and 3 lifetime file uploads (after that, you must record live).

Best for: Meeting notes, interview transcription, team collaboration.

Skip if: You need to transcribe pre-recorded files regularly. The 3-file lifetime limit is harsh.

Free limits: 300 min/month, 30 min/conversation, 3 lifetime file uploads.

25. ElevenLabs

The most realistic AI voice generator. Free tier gives 10,000 characters per month (roughly 10 minutes of audio). Voices capture breath, pauses, and natural intonation. No custom voice cloning on free. Requires attribution if published.

Best for: Voiceovers, podcast intros, demo narration, accessibility.

Skip if: You need commercial use without attribution. Free tier requires crediting ElevenLabs.

Free limits: 10,000 chars/month (~10 min audio), standard voices only, non-commercial, attribution required.

26. Lyria 3 (Google)

Free AI music generation inside the Gemini app. Describe a song in plain text and Lyria 3 composes a 30-second track with vocals, instruments, and lyrics. Someone prompted "comical R&B slow jam about a sock finding their match in the dryer" and got a fully produced track with harmonies. Upload a photo or video and it generates a matching soundtrack. Supports 8 languages for lyrics. Dream Track on YouTube lets creators add AI-generated music to Shorts. Every track is watermarked with SynthID (inaudible, machine-detectable). Free for all users 18+.

Best for: Social media soundtracks, creative projects, podcast intros, content creators who need original music without licensing.

Skip if: You need full-length songs or commercial distribution rights. Tracks are 30 seconds. Longer compositions and commercial licensing are not available on the free tier.

Free limits: Free in Gemini app, 30-second tracks, SynthID watermarked, 8 languages, available to 18+ users.

Bonus: Free AI Prompt Library (AgentDock)

Most AI tools are only as good as your prompts. AgentDock's Prompt Library offers thousands of free, ready-to-use prompts across categories like writing and marketing, productivity, education, and finance. No signup required. Copy a prompt, paste it into any AI chatbot, and get better results immediately.

The AI-powered editor (Dock Editor) also includes a free trial for long-form writing with AI assistance, citations, and track changes. It's not free forever, but the trial gives enough time to evaluate whether it fits your workflow.

Best for: Getting better output from any free AI chatbot, structured templates for specific tasks.

Skip if: You already have a library of tested prompts. This adds the most value for people starting fresh with AI.

How We Chose These Tools

Every tool on this list meets four criteria:

1. Genuinely free. Not a 7-day trial disguised as "free." Every tool has a permanent free tier or open-source option. Some have usage caps. None require a credit card to start.

2. Tested by a real person. I used each tool for at least a week across real work tasks. Not demo screenshots. Actual drafts, actual code, actual images.

3. Useful free tier. The free version must do something meaningful. If the free tier is so limited that you hit the paywall within 10 minutes, it didn't make this list.

4. Current as of February 2026. AI tool pricing and features change monthly. These limits reflect what's available right now. Check the tool's pricing page for the latest.

What Free AI Tools Can't Do

Free tiers come with real trade-offs. Understanding them up front saves frustration.

Your Data Trains the Model

Most free chatbots (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) use your conversations for training by default. Don't paste API keys, customer data, financial records, or proprietary code into a free AI chatbot. Enterprise "zero retention" features are paid-only.

Usage Caps Are Real

Dynamic limits mean your access can change hour by hour. ChatGPT caps you at roughly 10 GPT-5.2 messages per 5 hours before falling back to a lighter model. Claude drops to 10-15 messages during peak traffic. Plan your important work for off-peak hours, or spread tasks across multiple tools.

Watermarks on Creative Output

Free image and video generators almost always add watermarks. Gemini adds a visible sparkle icon plus invisible SynthID. Kling, Pika, and InVideo all watermark. Ideogram adds a small watermark on some free outputs. Recraft is clean but non-commercial.

Smaller Context Windows

Free models often process less text per conversation. A 100-page PDF might cause the model to "forget" early sections by the end. Use specialized tools like NotebookLM for long documents instead of pasting them into a chatbot.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best completely free AI chatbot?

ChatGPT Free gives the broadest feature set: web browsing, image generation, code execution, Deep Research. Gemini Free is the best value if you use Google Workspace. Claude Free produces the highest quality writing but has the strictest limits.

What free AI tools can students use?

Students with .edu emails can access Google Gemini for Students (includes Gemini 3 Pro). Beyond that, NotebookLM is free for anyone with a Google account and is built for studying. Genspark handles deep research reports with sources. Gamma builds presentation decks in 60 seconds. GitHub Copilot offers a free tier for all individual developers. AgentDock's education prompts provide ready-made templates for essays, study guides, and research.

Is Grok better than ChatGPT?

For real-time social media data and breaking news, yes. For everything else, ChatGPT is more versatile. Grok's free tier is more limited (fewer messages per time window) and the model is less polished for long-form tasks.

Is my data private when using free AI tools?

Generally, no. Free tiers for ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude default to using your data for model training. You can opt out in settings (ChatGPT and Gemini both allow this), but the default is training-on. Never paste sensitive information into free AI tools.

How do I get the most out of free AI tools?

Rotate between tools based on the task. Use Perplexity for research. Use Claude for writing. Use ChatGPT for code and general tasks. Use NotebookLM for long documents. This spreads your usage across multiple free tiers instead of burning through one.

Also, better prompts get better results. A specific, structured prompt produces 3-5x better output than a vague question. The AgentDock Prompt Library has thousands of tested prompts you can copy directly.

Are there any free AI apps for mobile?

Yes. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok all have free mobile apps for iOS and Android. Gemini Live (free voice assistant) works on both platforms. Grammarly has a free mobile keyboard. For image generation on mobile, the ChatGPT app includes image creation within the same free limits as the web version.

What are the "big 4" of AI?

In the context of consumer AI chatbots, the four dominant platforms are ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), and Grok (xAI). All four offer free tiers. Each has different strengths: ChatGPT is the most versatile, Claude writes the best, Gemini integrates deepest with Google, and Grok has real-time social data.

How to Build Your Free AI Stack

You don't need all 26 tools. You need the right 4-5 for your workflow. Here's how to pick them.

If you're a writer or marketer: Start with Claude (best writing quality), add Grammarly (polish), and Perplexity (research). Use AgentDock Dock Editor for long-form drafts with citations. Canva for social media graphics. Use AgentDock's writing prompts to get structured output from any chatbot.

If you're a developer: Claude Code for agentic terminal workflows. Cursor for complex refactoring in a visual editor. Copilot for fast autocomplete inside VS Code. ChatGPT for debugging and explaining code.

If you're a student: NotebookLM for document synthesis. Genspark for deep research reports. Gemini for Google Workspace integration. Claude for essay editing. Gamma for presentations. Check if your .edu email qualifies for Gemini for Students (includes Gemini 3 Pro free).

If you create content: Ideogram for images with text (logos, social graphics). Canva for social media formatting. Kling AI or Pika for short video clips. ElevenLabs for voiceovers. Lyria 3 for original music. Gamma for slide decks.

If you run a business: ChatGPT or Gemini as your primary chatbot. Otter.ai for meeting notes. Pomelli for product photography. Genspark for competitive research. Notion AI for project management. AgentDock's finance prompts for invoices, proposals, and business documents.

The key principle: spread your usage across tools. When you hit the limit on one, switch to another. Perplexity for research saves your ChatGPT messages for coding. NotebookLM for documents saves your Claude messages for writing. Rotating tools is the real power move with free tiers.

The Bottom Line

The global AI market is projected to reach $826 billion by 2030, per Statista. These tools keep getting better.

Start with one chatbot (ChatGPT or Claude). Add a research tool (Perplexity or NotebookLM). Layer in a coding tool (Claude Code or Cursor) or image generator (Ideogram) based on your work. Use free prompts to get better results from every tool on this list.