AI tools you can start using without paying.
Across:LLM APIs & InfrastructureAI CodingAI ProductivityAI Agents & AutomationAI WritingAI Image GenerationAI VideoAI Voice & AudioAI Chatbots & SupportAI Sales & OutreachAI Design & UIAI Data & Analytics
Cloud platform for deploying web apps and AI agents with built-in scaling and security.
Why built: To make deploying frontend apps (especially Next.js) as simple as git push, with no manual server, CDN, or CI setup. Best for: Frontend devs and teams using Next.js/React, and anyone who wants zero-config deploys with instant preview URLs per branch/PR. What…
Pricing: Hobby: $0/mo; Pro: $20/mo + usage; Enterprise: custom pricing
Cursor is a code editor with an AI agent that reads your repository and makes changes across multiple files, which you review before accepting them. For a solo founder it takes on routine work like refactors, bug fixes and boilerplate, so more of your time goes to product…
Pricing: Free Hobby plan with limited agent requests; Pro from $20/month
Notion combines docs, databases, project tracking and a simple site builder in one workspace, with an AI agent that can write, search and automate tasks inside it. A solo founder can keep the roadmap, CRM-style databases, company wiki and a public page in one place, and start on…
Pricing: Free plan; Plus €9.50 and Business €19.50 per member/month billed yearly (full AI on Business)
Workflow automation with AI agents, a visual editor and code steps, self-hosted or cloud
n8n is a workflow automation tool where you connect apps, add AI agent steps, and write JavaScript or Python when the visual editor is not enough. Solo founders who are comfortable with a little code can self-host the free Community Edition, or use n8n Cloud from €20 a month.…
Pricing: Free self-hosted Community Edition; Cloud from €20/month billed annually (2.5k executions)
Grammarly checks spelling, grammar, tone and clarity as you write in the apps you already use, and now includes AI agents that predict reader reactions and find sources. A solo founder who writes support replies, pitches and blog posts gets a second pair of eyes without hiring…
Pricing: Free plan with 100 AI prompts/month; Pro from €12/month
GitHub Copilot suggests code as you type, answers questions in chat, and can hand tasks to a cloud coding agent. If your repositories already live on GitHub, it keeps the assistant next to your issues and code review. The free plan is enough to try it, and Pro adds unlimited…
Pricing: Free plan (2,000 completions/month); Pro $10/month, Pro+ $39/month
Connect thousands of apps and build AI workflows and agents without code
Zapier connects your apps with automated workflows called Zaps, and adds AI agents that do tasks across 9,000+ apps. A solo founder can move leads, invoices and support requests between tools with a visual editor instead of writing integration code. The free plan includes 100…
Pricing: Free plan (100 tasks/month); Professional from $19.99/month
Ideogram generates images from prompts with a focus on accurate text and layout, and includes editing tools, text layers and a public API. A solo founder can produce posters, logos and social graphics where the lettering has to be legible. The free plan lets you try it, and Plus…
Pricing: Free plan; Plus $20/month ($15/month billed yearly)
Runway generates video and images from prompts with several of its own and partner models, and offers an API platform for building media generation into products. A solo founder can produce b-roll, product clips and social videos without a camera or crew. The free plan includes…
Pricing: Free plan (125 one-time credits); Standard $12/month billed annually ($15 monthly)
HeyGen turns a script into a video with a realistic avatar, and can clone your voice and speak 175+ languages and dialects. A solo founder can make product explainers and outreach videos without filming. The free plan allows 3 videos a month, and the Creator plan is $29 a month.
Pricing: Free plan (3 videos/month); Creator $29/month
ElevenLabs generates natural-sounding speech in many voices, transcribes audio, and builds voice agents that talk to customers, all available through an API. A solo founder can add voiceovers to videos, narrate content or prototype a phone agent without a studio. The free plan…
Pricing: Free plan (10,000 credits/month); Starter $6/month, Creator $22/month
Otter joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet calls, transcribes them live, identifies speakers and writes summaries you can search later. A solo founder who runs customer calls and sales meetings can stop taking notes and still find every detail. The free Basic plan…
Pricing: Free Basic plan (300 minutes/month); Pro $8.33/user/month billed annually
Chatbase lets you train an AI agent on your documents and website, then deploy it across chat, email and voice to resolve customer questions. A solo founder can set up support that runs around the clock without writing code. The free plan includes 50 message credits a month, and…
Pricing: Free plan (50 message credits/month); Hobby $40/month
B2B contact database and outreach platform for finding and reaching leads
Apollo combines a large B2B contact and company database with outreach and dialing in one workspace, plus AI features that plug into tools like Claude and ChatGPT. A solo founder doing outbound can build lead lists and contact prospects without stitching several tools together.…
Pricing: Free plan; paid plans on the pricing page
Clay combines many data providers into one table, then enriches leads and drafts outreach using its research agent, Claygent. A solo founder can build a lead list and personalize messages without wiring together separate tools. The free plan includes 6,000 actions a year, and…
Pricing: Free plan (6,000 actions/year); Launch $167/month billed annually ($185 monthly)
Fireflies joins your video calls to transcribe them in 100+ languages, write summaries and pull out action items, then makes every conversation searchable. A solo founder can keep customer and partner calls documented without typing notes. The free plan includes unlimited…
Pricing: Free plan (unlimited transcription, limited AI summaries); Pro $10/seat/month billed annually
Canva is a browser-based design tool with templates for social posts, presentations, videos and documents, plus AI features such as one-click background removal and Magic Layers. A solo founder can make brand assets, launch graphics and pitch decks without a designer. You can…
Pricing: Free plan; paid plans on the pricing page
Framer is a website builder where an AI design agent generates and edits pages on the canvas while you keep control of every change. A solo founder can publish a landing page or marketing site with a CMS, localization and SEO tools built in, and no code is required. You can…
Pricing: Free plan; Basic €10/month, Pro €30/month (yearly billing)
Hex is a workspace where you combine SQL, Python and no-code tools with an AI agent to analyze data and publish interactive apps. A solo founder who wants product and revenue analysis can query a database, chart results and share a live dashboard from one notebook. The Community…
Pricing: Free Community plan; Professional $36/editor/month, Team $75/editor/month
Metabase lets anyone ask questions of a database in a visual editor or SQL and turn the answers into dashboards, with AI assistance on all plans. A solo founder can self-host the open source edition, or use Metabase Cloud, which starts at $100 a month with a 14-day trial. It…
Pricing: Open source edition to self-host; Cloud Starter $100/month (14-day trial)
OpenRouter gives you a single API and key for hundreds of models, with automatic fallbacks when a provider goes down and routing by price or uptime. A solo founder can compare and switch models without changing integration code. It has 25+ free models, charges a 5.5% platform…
Pricing: Free tier (25+ free models); pay as you go with a 5.5% platform fee
Windsurf is an AI code editor that is now called Devin Desktop, with plans and pricing unchanged. It combines inline edits and tab completions with local and cloud agents that you plan, delegate to and review from one place. A solo developer can start on the free plan and move…
Pricing: Free plan; Pro $20/month, Max $200/month
Make is a visual workflow builder with 3,000+ pre-built app connections, plus AI agents you can build and inspect step by step. A solo founder can automate repetitive work with drag-and-drop scenarios and only pay for the credits used. The free plan includes 1,000 credits a…
Pricing: Free plan (1,000 credits/month); Core from $9/month for 10,000 credits
Leonardo.Ai generates images and video from prompts, lets you train your own models, and edits results while keeping characters and style consistent. Its API is aimed at founders, solo builders and small teams who want to add image generation to a product. The free plan gives…
Pricing: Free plan (150 tokens/day); Essential $12/month, Premium $30/month
