Artificial intelligence (AI) is helping millions of professionals and students worldwide. Ever since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was introduced, work, research and study have become more efficient. Today, ChatGPT is no longer the only AI tool assisting users; there is now an entire ecosystem of tools for almost every task. From image recognition to deploying agents to plan your next weekend trip, there is an AI tool for nearly every need.With excess often comes confusion, as you have more than a dozen free AI tools at your disposal. Here is an instant reference to some of the most widely used AI tools at the moment. This short listicle will likely give you a sense of which tool is ideal for which job, its features, costs, and more.
Cursor AI
Cursor AI is an AI-powered code editor that is based on Visual Studio Code. It has been developed as an AI-first tool for developers. This tool integrates AI directly into the coding experience to act as a copilot for programmers. It can help with tasks such as writing code, debugging, refactoring, and generating code from inputs in natural language. Most importantly, this is a coding assistant that can help you programme efficiently.Story continues below this ad
Cursor currently offers four individual plans and two business plans. The free plan named ‘Hobby’ includes a one-week Pro trial, limited agent requests and limited Tab completions. On the other hand, the Pro plan is priced at $20/month, Pro+ at $60/month, and Ultra at $200/month. The business plans include Teams at $40/month. Cursor AI is ideal for anyone looking for a single tool for many tasks and who wants to start free with the potential to upgrade later.
Midjourney
This is an AI programme that is known for generating high-quality visuals from prompts in natural language. Midjourney employs a diffusion model that interprets text prompts. This tool has been responsible for the viral visuals of Pope Francis donning a Balenciaga full-length puffer jacket or that of US President Donald Trump getting arrested. The tool is ideal for generating creative briefs, illustrations, concept art, etc.
Midjourney does not have a free tier, and the basic plan is priced at $10 with a limit of around 200 image generations a month. The standard plan is priced at $24/month, the Pro Plan at $48/month, and the Mega Plan at $96/month. This AI tool is ideal for those whose work would demand image generation and visuals and are willing to pay monthly.
Descript
Descript.com makes audio and video editing more accessible with AI. This AI-powered software lets users edit media by editing its text transcript, much like editing a document. The makers of this tool claim that it has been designed for efficient video and podcast creation. Its key features include text-based editing, which essentially converts audio and video to text, so you can edit the media by deleting words from the transcript.Story continues below this ad
It also functions as an AI co-editor, an AI assistant that can help generate scripts, provide feedback, and make edits based on a user’s instructions. Other features include Studio Sound that enhances audio quality and removes background noise with one click and Eye Contact that automatically corrects a user’s gaze so it looks as if they are looking directly at the camera. Descript offers three plans – Free, Hobbyist at $16/month, and Creator at $24 a month.
Claude AI
Claude AI from Anthropic is a general-purpose AI that doubles as an AI assistant that can help you with brainstorming, writing, coding, summarising text, data analysis, etc. The chatbot is adept at handling detailed and nuanced requests and even assisting with programming tasks. It can be of great help in professional and academic settings, as it is capable of creating professional-grade documents with concise and cogent output.
As of now, Anthropic offers Claude AI in Free, Pro, and Max tiers. The free version allows chatting with Claude on web, iOS, and Android, and you can write, edit, and create content. It allows users to analyse text and upload images, generate code and visualise data, and even get web search results inside chat. While the Pro plan is priced at $20/month, the Max is priced at $100/month. The Pro plan is ideal for researchers, coding, and organising for power users. On the other hand, the Max tier offers higher limits, priority access, etc.
Runway ML
This platform is focused on video and film editing with AI. From image-to-video to text-to-video, Runway ML offers a variety of features. It is ideal for someone whose work involves video content. In simple words, Runway ML can help a user create and edit content across video, image, and 3D with its suite of AI-powered tools. Story continues below this ad
The platform allows you to generate videos from prompts in natural language. You can edit existing footage with features such as background removal and colour grading and create 3D textures and audio from text prompts. Runway offers a free plan and other annual plans, such as Standard at $144, Pro for $336, Unlimited at $912, and Enterprise at $2,000. The free plan includes 125 one-time credits, and users can generate video and images, manage three video editor projects, get 5GB of asset storage, etc.
Perplexity AI
Perplexity brings AI-powered search engines and research assistants to your fingertips. It not only presents well-resourced answers to queries but also summarises long texts and helps users dive deeper into topics of their choice. Unlike traditional search engines, Perplexity AI offers direct conversational answers with citations. It is ideal for research, learning, and instant fact-checking.
Users can also take advantage of voice search, topic discovery, and organising information as spaces for dedicated projects. Perplexity offers Personal, Education, and Business tiers for users. Under Personal, users can opt for Pro at $20/month or Max at $200/month. Students or educators can redeem free Pro, while under business there are two plans – Enterprise Pro at $40/month and Enterprise Max at $325/month.
Fliki
Simply put, Fliki.ai is a platform that helps you turn text into videos with AI voices. It can be useful for generating market content, voice-over-heavy work, and social media videos. According to the company, the platform lets users create professional and engaging videos for organisational use cases such as training and L&D, HR and internal communications, education, and marketing. Story continues below this ad
Unlike other AI tools listed above, Fliki.ai is mostly beneficial for businesses. It comes with a free plan that offers 5 minutes of credits per month, 300 (limited) voices, over 80 languages and more than 100 dialects. The free plan lets you create videos with ideas, scripts, blog articles, product pages, PPTs, or even raw video clips. Other plans include Standard at $21/month, Premium at $66/month, and an Enterprise plan with custom pricing.