Best Free AI Assistants 2026: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini Plans

We checked each free plan below against the vendor's own pricing page on November 2, 2026, and link that page in every section. Where a vendor does not publish a number, we say so instead of guessing. Free plans change often: if a number here disagrees with the vendor's page, the vendor's page wins.

1. ChatGPT Free (OpenAI)

What you get: Chat with OpenAI's default free model on web, desktop and mobile, plus web search, file uploads, image generation and voice, each with its own cap.

What you do not get: OpenAI's top models and the higher caps of its paid plans. OpenAI changes the free model and the caps regularly and does not keep fixed numbers on a public page.

When to upgrade: When you keep hitting the caps on files, images or voice, or need the stronger models. Plans and prices: chatgpt.com/pricing.

2. Claude Free (Anthropic)

What you get: Claude Sonnet and Haiku on web, desktop and mobile. Web search, file creation and code execution, memory across conversations, connectors to your apps, Artifacts, voice mode and up to 5 Projects. Usage is "limited" and resets every 5 hours, with a weekly cap on top.

What you do not get: Opus, Anthropic's most capable model, which is paid only. Higher usage limits.

When to upgrade: If you hit the 5-hour limit regularly or need Opus. Claude Pro is $20/month billed monthly ($17/month billed annually); Max starts at $100/month. Source: claude.com/pricing. For every free way to use Claude, see Free Claude AI.

3. Prophet Free

What you get: a one-time $0.07 in credits, enough to try Claude Haiku 5.5 inside Chrome. Access to all three Claude models (Haiku 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Opus 5.5), though the free credits are meant for trying Haiku. Full browser automation: the agent reads the page, clicks, types, fills forms and moves between tabs. Chat history. All 19 browser tools.

What you do not get: The free credits do not last long with heavy use. No credit replenishment without upgrading or buying credits. Rate limits are lower than on paid plans: 60 agent requests per minute, against 120 on Pro and 240 on Premium and Ultra.

When to upgrade: As soon as you exhaust the $0.07 in credits and want to continue using the tool. Prophet Pro at $9.99/month gives you $10 in credits. See the full breakdown on our pricing page.

4. Google Gemini Free

What you get: The Gemini app with the Flash-Lite model, image generation and editing, Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas and Gems. Limited access to Nano Banana Pro in Google Flow, Gemini Notebook, and 15 GB of storage across Gmail, Drive and Photos. Limits refresh every 5 hours until a weekly limit is reached.

What you do not get: Google's larger Gemini models. Google publishes no exact free quota; it says AI Plus gives 2x and AI Pro 4x the usage of Free.

When to upgrade: If you need the larger models or more usage. Google AI Plus is $4.99/month, AI Pro $19.99/month, AI Ultra from $99.99/month. Source: gemini.google/subscriptions.

5. Microsoft Copilot (free)

What you get: The Copilot app on web, Windows, Edge and mobile with a Microsoft account: chat, web answers, image creation and voice, at a free usage level.

What you do not get: Copilot inside the desktop Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook apps, which needs a paid Microsoft 365 plan. Microsoft does not publish a fixed free quota.

When to upgrade: If you want Copilot inside Microsoft 365 apps. Microsoft has folded its consumer Copilot upgrade into Microsoft 365 plans; check Microsoft's Copilot page for current prices.

6. Perplexity Free

What you get: Unlimited basic searches with cited sources, and a small daily allowance of Pro Searches.

What you do not get: Unlimited Pro Search and higher Research limits, which are paid. The free Pro Search allowance has changed several times; check Perplexity's plan page for today's number.

When to upgrade: If you rely on Pro Search answers every day. Plans: perplexity.ai/pro.

7. Notion AI on the Free plan

What you get: A "Trial of Notion AI": generating docs and autofilling databases, with no number of responses stated.

What you do not get: Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes and the full AI features. The Plus plan ($10/member/month) still shows only a limited AI trial.

When to upgrade: If you use AI in Notion every day. Full Notion AI is in the Business plan at $20/member/month. Source: notion.com/pricing.

8. Grammarly Free

What you get: Spelling and grammar checks across browsers and apps, and 100 AI prompts a month for generating text.

What you do not get: Full-sentence rewrites, tone and clarity suggestions at scale, and more AI prompts, which are in Pro.

When to upgrade: If 100 prompts a month is not enough or you want rewrites. Grammarly Pro is $12/month. Source: grammarly.com/plans.

9. Sider Free

What you get: A daily allowance of free queries in the Sider sidebar, with page summarization and translation on smaller models.

What you do not get: Premium models and higher daily limits, which are paid. Sider's pricing page could not be checked for this update, so we do not quote a number.

When to upgrade: When the daily allowance runs out before your work does. For how Sider compares with agent-style tools, see the best AI sidebar extensions.

10. Otter.ai Basic (free)

What you get: 300 transcription minutes a month, with a 30-minute limit per conversation.

What you do not get: Longer conversations and more monthly minutes.

When to upgrade: If your meetings run past 30 minutes or 5 hours a month. Otter Pro lists at $16.99/user/month billed monthly or $8.33/user/month billed annually. Source: otter.ai/pricing.

11. Canva Free (with AI features)

What you get: A limited number of AI generations (Magic Write text and text-to-image) inside Canva's free editor.

What you do not get: Most premium AI tools, such as Background Remover and Magic Resize, and the full template library. Canva's pricing page could not be checked for this update, so we do not quote a price.

When to upgrade: If you use Canva's AI design tools every week.

12. GitHub Copilot Free

What you get: 2,000 code completions a month and an allowance of GitHub AI Credits for chat, with models picked automatically.

What you do not get: Unlimited completions, choosing your model, and the larger credit allowance of paid plans. GitHub does not state the free credit amount on its plans page.

When to upgrade: If you code with AI every day. Copilot Pro is $10/month and Pro+ $39/month. Source: GitHub Copilot plans.

Three kinds of "free"

Usage-capped free plans (Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity) give you a real model with limits that reset every few hours or every day. They are enough for light daily use.

Monthly allowances (Grammarly, Otter, GitHub Copilot) give a fixed number of prompts, minutes or completions each month. Easy to plan around, hard to stretch.

Trials with no end date (Notion AI on Free, Prophet's $0.07 credit) let you see what the tool can do, not rely on it.

A practical free stack for 2026

• General chat and reasoning: Claude Free (Sonnet) or Gemini Free (more built-in tools)
• Research with citations: Perplexity Free, or Gemini Free's Deep Research
• Writing: Grammarly Free for grammar plus Claude Free for drafting
• Browser AI with automation: Prophet Free to try an agent that acts on the page
• Meeting transcription: Otter Basic (300 minutes a month, 30 per meeting)
• Code: GitHub Copilot Free (2,000 completions a month)

This stack costs $0/month. You will hit limits, and most of these plans keep you on the smaller models. For exploring what AI can do and handling light daily work, it is enough.

When free is not enough

When you wait for limits to reset, simplify prompts because the free model cannot handle them, or copy text between tabs because the free tool does not work where you do, a paid plan usually pays for itself within a week. Most tools here bill monthly with no commitment, so you can try one month and decide.

Going deeper on free AI

Claude is the model most often searched for with the word "free" attached, and it has the most misinformation around it. Free Claude AI: every free tier, limit and workaround covers what claude.ai actually gives away and why "free unlimited Claude" is not something any legitimate provider can offer. Is Claude AI free? handles the claude.ai free plan in detail.

For free tools that live in the browser specifically, the ranked list of AI Chrome extensions separates permanently free tools from daily-quota trials from bring-your-own-key setups — three very different meanings of "free" that get conflated constantly. If you are avoiding subscriptions on principle, using Claude without a subscription and pay-per-use vs subscription pricing cover the metered alternative.