Tools & buying
Best AI Tool For…
Say what you're trying to do. Get three picks, what each costs, the free workaround and the mistake people make.
Writing
Writing long-form articles
Any frontier chat model drafts well; the difference is how much of your own research and voice you feed it up front.
- 1. ChatGPT (GPT-class)Free tier · ~$20/mo
Strongest all-round drafting and editing
- 2. ClaudeFree tier · ~$20/mo
Best at long documents and holding a consistent voice
- 3. GeminiFree tier · ~$20/mo
Cheapest long-context option with web grounding
Free route
Draft on a free tier, then rewrite the opening and closing yourself — that's where AI text reads flattest.
Watch out
Unedited AI drafts read uniform. Run the result through a detector-style read before publishing.
Code
Writing and debugging code
In-editor assistants beat chat windows for day-to-day work because they see your whole repository.
- 1. CursorFree tier · ~$20/mo
Editor-native, multi-file edits and repo awareness
- 2. GitHub Copilot~$10/mo
Cheapest inline completion inside existing editors
- 3. Claude CodeUsage-based
Best for large refactors and terminal-driven work
Free route
Free chat models handle single-file bugs fine; pay only when you want repo-wide edits.
Watch out
Always run the tests. Confident-looking generated code fails most often on edge cases and auth.
Design
Generating images and graphics
Pick by output style: photoreal, illustration, or text-in-image reliability.
- 1. Midjourney~$10–30/mo
Best aesthetic quality out of the box
- 2. Google Imagen / GeminiFree tier · usage-based
Most reliable legible text inside images
- 3. Flux (open weights)Free / hosting cost
Self-hostable, no per-image licensing worry
Free route
Free tiers are enough for social posts; pay once you need consistent characters or brand style.
Watch out
Check the licence before commercial use, and never generate real people's likenesses.
Video
Editing or generating video
Editing tools save far more time than generation tools for most people.
- 1. DescriptFree tier · ~$24/mo
Edit video by editing the transcript
- 2. CapCutFree · ~$8/mo
Fast captions, cuts and social formats, mostly free
- 3. Runway / Veo-class~$15–95/mo
Actual generated footage for B-roll
Free route
CapCut plus a free transcription model covers most short-form workflows at zero cost.
Watch out
Generated footage still breaks on hands, text and continuity — use it as B-roll, not the hero shot.
Productivity
Meeting notes and transcription
All of these transcribe well; choose on where the notes need to land afterwards.
- 1. OtterFree tier · ~$17/mo
Cheapest reliable transcription with a usable free tier
- 2. FathomFree · ~$19/mo
Strong free plan with action-item extraction
- 3. Built-in (Zoom/Teams/Meet)Included
No extra vendor or consent headache
Free route
Your conferencing tool's built-in recap is free and usually good enough.
Watch out
Recording consent is a legal issue in many regions — announce it every time.
Research
Research with sources
You want citation-first tools, not a chat model recalling from memory.
- 1. PerplexityFree tier · ~$20/mo
Search-grounded answers with inline sources
- 2. Gemini Deep ResearchIncluded with paid tier
Long multi-source reports
- 3. NotebookLMFree
Answers restricted to documents you upload
Free route
NotebookLM is free and the safest option when the sources are yours already.
Watch out
Open every citation. Grounded tools still occasionally attach a real link to a wrong claim.
Data
Spreadsheets and data analysis
Upload the file to a model with a code interpreter rather than asking for formulas blind.
- 1. ChatGPT data analysis~$20/mo
Runs real Python on your uploaded file
- 2. Claude with file uploadFree tier · ~$20/mo
Best at explaining what it did to your data
- 3. Sheets/Excel built-in AIIncluded in paid plans
Stays inside the file you already use
Free route
Paste a sample of 50 rows into a free model and ask for the formula — then apply it yourself.
Watch out
Never upload customer or health data to a consumer tier. Check the retention setting first.
Business
Automating customer support
Deflection rate matters more than model quality — measure it before scaling.
- 1. Intercom FinPer-resolution pricing
Highest out-of-box deflection on help-centre content
- 2. Zendesk AIAdd-on per agent
Best if you already live in Zendesk
- 3. Custom RAG botAPI cost only
Cheapest at volume if you have an engineer
Free route
Start by generating better help-centre articles — that alone cuts ticket volume.
Watch out
Always leave a one-click path to a human. Forced bot loops cost more in churn than they save.
Productivity
Building slide decks
AI is good at structure and first-pass layout, weak at the argument itself.
- 1. GammaFree tier · ~$10/mo
Fastest decent-looking deck from an outline
- 2. Canva MagicFree tier · ~$15/mo
Best template library and brand controls
- 3. Chat model + your templateFree
Free, and keeps your existing house style
Free route
Ask a free chat model for the slide-by-slide outline, then paste it into your own template.
Watch out
Generated decks look samey. Replace the stock imagery and rewrite the title slide.
Audio
Voiceover and audio
Quality is broadly solved; licensing and voice cloning consent are the real decisions.
- 1. ElevenLabsFree tier · ~$5–22/mo
Most natural delivery and widest language support
- 2. OpenAI TTSUsage-based
Cheapest per character via API
- 3. Built-in system voicesFree
Free and offline for drafts
Free route
Free tiers cover a few thousand characters a month — enough for short videos.
Watch out
Cloning someone's voice without written permission is a legal and platform-policy problem.
How these picks are chosen
Recommendations weigh output quality first, then price, then how easily the tool fits a workflow you already have. Nothing here is sponsored and there are no affiliate links — where a free tier genuinely covers the job, that's listed as the free route instead of a paid pick.
This market moves monthly. Prices are indicative list rates and the leader in each category can change between releases, so check the vendor before committing to an annual plan.