Technology

Top 20 Best Free AI Apps to Use Right Now (2026)

February 20, 2026

Are you spending hours on tasks that used to take your entire day? Writing emails, editing videos, translating documents, taking meeting notes, generating images — what if most of that was handled before your second coffee?

That’s exactly what free AI apps are doing for millions of people in 2026. And no, we’re not talking about clunky demos or trial versions that cut you off after five minutes.

Today’s free AI tools are genuinely transforming the way people work across industries — marketing teams are producing weeks of content in hours, developers are writing cleaner code faster than ever, small business owners are designing professional visuals without hiring an agency, students are researching and summarising complex topics in minutes, and content creators are generating voiceovers, videos, and graphics without a production budget.

The challenge isn’t finding an AI app anymore. It’s knowing which ones are actually worth your time. This guide covers the 20 best free AI apps available right now, what each one does, how to use it, and exactly who it helps most.

1. ChatGPT

What is it? ChatGPT is an AI conversational assistant built by OpenAI. It’s the tool that kicked off the mainstream AI wave, and for good reason — it handles an enormous range of tasks in plain, natural language. You type a request, it responds intelligently. No commands to memorise, no complex interface to learn.

Whether you’re a marketer drafting campaign copy, a developer debugging code, a student trying to understand a difficult concept, or a professional writing emails faster — ChatGPT fits into almost every workflow.

How to Use ChatGPT (Step by Step)

Go to chat.openai.com and create a free account
Type your request or question in the message box — be as specific as possible for better results
Read the response and follow up with more questions to refine the output
Use the copy button to transfer text directly into your document, email, or code editor
Start a new chat for unrelated tasks to keep responses focused and accurate

Key Features

Natural language text generation, rewriting, and summarisation
Code writing, explanation, and debugging across multiple languages
Step-by-step problem solving and brainstorming
Multilingual support for 50+ languages
Strong context memory within a single conversation

Best For: Writers, developers, students, marketers, customer support teams

Pricing: Free plan available. ChatGPT Plus from $20/month for advanced model access.

2. Grammarly

What is it? Grammarly is an AI writing assistant that checks your text for grammar, spelling, clarity, and tone in real time. It works quietly in the background across almost every platform you write on — email, documents, social media, web browsers — and catches mistakes before anyone else sees them.

For professionals who write daily, Grammarly is less of a “nice to have” and more of a basic safety net.

How to Use Grammarly (Step by Step)

Visit grammarly.com and sign up for a free account
Install the browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, or Edge — this activates Grammarly across Gmail, Google Docs, LinkedIn, Twitter, and most web-based editors
Download the desktop app if you write in Word or on a Mac
Start writing anywhere Grammarly is installed — corrections and suggestions appear automatically as you type
Click any underlined text to see the suggestion, read the explanation, and accept or dismiss it
Check the tone detector before sending important emails to ensure the message reads the way you intend

Key Features

Real-time grammar, spelling, and punctuation correction
Tone detection and adjustment suggestions
Sentence clarity and conciseness improvements
Works across 500+ apps and websites
Plagiarism checker (premium feature)

Best For: Content writers, professionals, students, non-native English speakers, anyone writing emails daily

Pricing: Free plan available. Grammarly Premium from $12/month.

3. Canva (AI Tools)

What is it? Canva is a design platform that has added a powerful suite of AI features to its already popular drag-and-drop editor. Non-designers can now generate images, write text, remove backgrounds, and create polished visuals — all in one place without touching professional design software.

It’s particularly valuable for small businesses, content creators, and marketers who need regular visual content but don’t have a design team.

How to Use Canva AI Tools (Step by Step)

Go to canva.com and create a free account
Click “Create a design” and choose your format — post, presentation, thumbnail, flyer, etc.
To use Magic Write (AI text generation), open a text box, click the AI icon, and describe what you want written
To generate an AI image, go to Apps > Text to Image, type your prompt, choose a style, and click Generate
To remove a background from an uploaded photo, select the image and click “Background Remover” in the edit panel
Adjust colours, fonts, and layout using the drag-and-drop tools, then download or share directly

Key Features

Magic Write for AI-assisted text inside designs
Text-to-image AI generation (free plan has monthly limits)
One-click background removal
Thousands of customisable templates
Direct social media publishing integration

Best For: Social media managers, content creators, small business owners, marketers, teachers

Pricing: Free plan available. Canva Pro from $12.99/month.

4. Perplexity AI

What is it? Perplexity AI is an AI-powered search engine that gives you direct, sourced answers instead of a list of links to click through. Ask it a research question, and it searches the web, synthesises the results, cites its sources, and presents a clean answer you can actually use.

For researchers, students, and journalists, it replaces the ten-tab research session with a single focused conversation.

How to Use Perplexity AI (Step by Step)

Visit perplexity.ai — no account required to start, though signing up saves your history
Type your question naturally in the search bar, as if you’re asking a knowledgeable colleague
Read the answer and check the source links on the right side to verify information
Use the follow-up question bar below the answer to go deeper on any specific point
Click “Focus” to restrict searches to specific sources like academic papers, YouTube, Reddit, or news
Save useful threads to your library for reference later

Key Features

Real-time web search with cited source links
Follow-up question support within the same thread
Focus modes for academic, news, and video sources
Clean, distraction-free interface
Summarisation of long articles and reports

Best For: Researchers, students, journalists, writers, fact-checkers, anyone doing frequent research

Pricing: Free plan with unlimited basic searches. Pro plan from $20/month for advanced models.

5. Notion AI

What is it? Notion is a popular all-in-one workspace for notes, projects, and documentation. Notion AI sits inside that workspace and helps you write faster, summarise long documents, generate action items from meeting notes, and keep everything organised — without leaving the page you’re already on.

For teams and individuals who already use Notion daily, enabling AI feels like upgrading the tool they already trust rather than learning something new.

How to Use Notion AI (Step by Step)

Open notion.so and log into your workspace (or create a free account)
Inside any page, press the Space bar to open the AI prompt menu
Choose from built-in options — Summarise, Improve writing, Action items, Translate — or write your own instruction
To draft something from scratch, click “Draft with AI” and describe what you need
Highlight existing text and press Space to get AI suggestions for editing or expanding it
Review the AI output and click “Replace”, “Insert below”, or “Try again” based on the result

Key Features

In-page AI writing and editing assistance
Automatic summarisation of long documents
Meeting notes to action items conversion
Task and content generation from brief descriptions
Works within your existing Notion workspace — no new app needed

Best For: Project managers, remote teams, writers, students, anyone already using Notion

Pricing: Free plan with limited AI credits. Notion AI add-on from $10/member/month.

6. Microsoft Copilot

What is it? Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant built directly into Windows, the Edge browser, and Microsoft 365 apps. If you’re already inside the Microsoft ecosystem — using Outlook, Word, Excel, or Teams — Copilot integrates into those tools and helps you work faster without switching to a separate app.

The free version in Edge is accessible to anyone and works well for browsing assistance, summaries, and quick drafts.

How to Use Microsoft Copilot (Step by Step)

Open Microsoft Edge — Copilot is built in, look for the icon in the top right sidebar
Click the Copilot icon to open the panel alongside any webpage you’re browsing
Ask it to summarise the page you’re reading, compare products, or explain a concept from the page
Use the Compose tab to draft emails, LinkedIn posts, or social captions by describing what you need
Adjust the tone and length sliders before generating text to match your communication style
For Microsoft 365 users (paid), access Copilot inside Word, Excel, and Outlook for deeper document and data assistance

Key Features

Built-in browsing assistance without separate downloads
Webpage summarisation and content comparison
Text drafting with tone and length controls
Image generation via DALL-E integration (free)
Deep Microsoft 365 integration for paid users

Best For: Windows users, Microsoft 365 subscribers, office professionals, students

Pricing: Free in Edge. Microsoft 365 Copilot from $30/user/month.

7. Otter.ai

What is it? Otter.ai is an AI transcription and meeting notes tool. It records audio from live meetings, uploaded files, or your microphone, converts speech to text in real time, labels different speakers automatically, and makes the entire transcript searchable after the call ends.

For anyone sitting through frequent meetings, interviews, lectures, or calls where details matter, Otter replaces manual note-taking entirely.

How to Use Otter.ai (Step by Step)

Go to otter.ai and sign up for a free account
Connect your Google or Microsoft calendar so Otter automatically joins scheduled Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams calls
For in-person recording, open the Otter mobile app and tap Record at the start of a meeting
Watch the live transcript appear in real time — each speaker is automatically labelled as the conversation continues
After the meeting, open the transcript and use the search bar to find any specific word or topic instantly
Click “Summary” to get an AI-generated overview of the key points and action items
Share the transcript link with colleagues who weren’t on the call

Key Features

Real-time speech-to-text transcription
Automatic speaker identification and labelling
AI-generated meeting summaries and action items
Searchable transcript archive
Integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams

Best For: Remote workers, managers, students, journalists, anyone who attends regular calls or interviews

Pricing: Free plan with 300 transcription minutes/month. Pro from $16.99/month.

8. Runway

What is it? Runway is an AI-powered creative suite built for video. It brings professional-grade tools — background removal, motion tracking, video generation, and image-to-video conversion — into a browser-based platform that doesn’t require a film editing background to use.

For creators who want to produce polished video content without learning complex software, Runway lowers the barrier significantly.

How to Use Runway (Step by Step)

Visit runwayml.com and create a free account — free credits are added automatically
To remove a background from a video, upload your clip, select “Remove Background” from the tools menu, and let it process
To generate a video from a text prompt, select “Gen-2”, type a detailed description of the scene you want, choose a style, and click Generate
To animate a still image, upload your photo under “Image to Video”, add a motion prompt describing how you want it to move, and generate
Review the result in the preview window — adjust your prompt and regenerate if needed
Download the finished clip or export directly to your editing timeline

Key Features

AI text-to-video generation
Image-to-video animation
AI background removal from video
Motion tracking and rotoscoping
Cloud-based — no software installation required

Best For: Video creators, social media managers, filmmakers, designers exploring motion content

Pricing: Free credits available on signup. Standard plan from $15/month.

9. DeepL

What is it? DeepL is an AI translation tool that consistently produces more natural, fluent results than most alternatives. Where other translation tools swap words literally, DeepL understands context, preserves tone, and produces output that reads like it was written by a native speaker.

For businesses communicating internationally, writers working in multiple languages, or anyone translating documents regularly, the quality difference is immediately noticeable.

How to Use DeepL (Step by Step)

Go to deepl.com — no account required for basic text translation
Paste your text into the left panel and select your source language (or leave it on Auto-detect)
Choose your target language from the dropdown on the right panel
Read the translation — click any word or phrase in the output to see alternative translations and choose the best fit
To translate a document, click “Translate files”, upload your Word or PDF file, and download the translated version
Install the DeepL desktop app or browser extension for instant translation of selected text anywhere on your screen

Key Features

Highly natural, context-aware translation
30+ language support
Alternative word suggestions for fine-tuning
Document translation (Word, PDF, PowerPoint)
Desktop app and browser extension available

Best For: International businesses, translators, writers, students, non-native speakers

Pricing: Free plan with character limits. DeepL Pro from $8.74/month.

10. Poe

What is it? Poe is a platform that gives you access to multiple AI models — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Llama, and others — inside a single app. Rather than managing separate accounts and interfaces for each AI, Poe unifies them and lets you switch between them instantly.

It’s particularly useful for people who want to compare how different AI models handle the same question, or for those still finding which tool fits their specific workflow.

How to Use Poe (Step by Step)

Visit poe.com or download the mobile app, then create a free account
Choose an AI model from the left sidebar — each model has a brief description of its strengths
Type your question or request in the chat window — the same way you’d use any AI chat tool
To compare models, open a second chat window with a different model and send the same prompt
Free daily message limits reset every 24 hours — start with the models available under your free allowance
Upgrade specific models from within Poe if you need higher usage of a particular assistant

Key Features

Access to multiple AI models in one interface
Daily free message allowance across models
Easy model comparison side by side
Custom bot creation from existing models
Clean, consistent interface across all models

Best For: Power users, people exploring AI, researchers comparing model outputs, developers

Pricing: Free plan available. Poe subscription from $19.99/month.

11. Hugging Face

What is it? Hugging Face is the world’s largest open-source AI model hub. It hosts tens of thousands of models for text generation, image creation, speech processing, translation, classification, and more — many of which you can run directly in your browser without any setup or coding knowledge.

For developers, researchers, and students who want to explore AI beyond the polished consumer apps, Hugging Face is an invaluable resource.

How to Use Hugging Face (Step by Step)

Go to huggingface.co and browse the Models or Spaces sections
Use the search bar to find a specific model type — type “text generation”, “image generation”, “speech recognition”, etc.
Click on a model to open its page — look for “Spaces” versions which have an interactive demo built in
Enter your input directly on the model page and click Run to see results in the browser
For developers, click “Use in Transformers” to get the Python code snippet to load the model into your own project
Explore Spaces for fully interactive community-built AI apps that run directly on the platform

Key Features

Tens of thousands of open-source AI models
Browser-based interactive demos with no setup
Covers text, image, audio, video, and multimodal AI
Developer-friendly APIs and code snippets
Active community with new models published daily

Best For: Developers, AI researchers, students, data scientists, technically curious users

Pricing: Free access. Paid compute options for running larger models.

12. Leonardo AI

What is it? Leonardo AI is a free image generation platform that prioritises quality, consistency, and creative control. Daily free credits reset every 24 hours, which means regular use without paying is genuinely sustainable. Artists, game designers, and content creators use it for everything from character concepts to marketing visuals to product mockups.

How to Use Leonardo AI (Step by Step)

Go to leonardo.ai and create a free account — 150 free credits are added daily
Click “AI Image Generation” from the dashboard
Type a detailed prompt describing the image you want — include style, mood, lighting, and subject details for better results
Choose a model from the dropdown (Leonardo Diffusion, DreamShaper, etc.) — each produces a different visual style
Adjust Width, Height, and Number of images based on your output needs
Click Generate and wait a few seconds for results
Hover over any image and click “Variations” to generate similar versions, or “Upscale” to increase resolution

Key Features

Daily free image generation credits (150/day)
Multiple AI models for different art styles
Prompt guidance and negative prompts for fine control
Image variations and upscaling tools
Community feed for prompt inspiration

Best For: Artists, game designers, content creators, marketers, illustrators

Pricing: Free daily credits. Paid plans from $12/month for higher credit volumes.

13. ElevenLabs

What is it? ElevenLabs is an AI voice generation platform that converts written text into natural-sounding speech. The quality is noticeably above most text-to-speech tools — emotion, pacing, and intonation feel genuinely human rather than robotic. It’s used by podcasters, video creators, educators, and businesses producing audio content at scale.

How to Use ElevenLabs (Step by Step)

Go to elevenlabs.io and create a free account
Click “Speech Synthesis” from the left menu
Paste or type the text you want to convert into the text box
Choose a voice from the voice library — preview voices by clicking the play button
Adjust Stability (consistency) and Clarity (expressiveness) sliders to fine-tune the output
Click Generate and listen to the preview
Download the audio file as MP3 for use in your video, podcast, or presentation

Key Features

High-quality, natural-sounding text-to-speech
Diverse voice library across genders, accents, and languages
Stability and expressiveness controls
Voice cloning from short audio samples (limited on free plan)
Fast generation with instant preview

Best For: Podcasters, video creators, educators, audiobook producers, app developers

Pricing: Free tier with 10,000 characters/month. Starter plan from $5/month.

14. Copy.ai

What is it? Copy.ai is an AI content tool built specifically for marketing copy. It generates headlines, product descriptions, ad copy, email subject lines, social media captions, and landing page sections from short prompts. The output is formatted, on-brand, and ready to use or lightly edit — which is exactly what fast-moving marketing teams need.

How to Use Copy.ai (Step by Step)

Go to copy.ai and sign up for a free account
From the dashboard, click “New Project” and choose a template type — Blog Post, Ad Copy, Product Description, Email, etc.
Fill in the brand name, product or service description, and target audience fields
Select your tone of voice — professional, casual, witty, persuasive, etc.
Click Generate to produce multiple variations of copy simultaneously
Choose the version that best fits your needs, copy it directly, or click “Improve” to refine further
Save outputs to your project folder for team review or direct use

Key Features

90+ marketing copy templates
Tone and style customisation
Multiple copy variations generated simultaneously
Blog post and long-form content tools
Team collaboration features

Best For: Marketing teams, e-commerce sellers, social media managers, startup founders, copywriters

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans from $36/month

15. Remove.bg

What is it? Remove.bg does exactly one thing — removes image backgrounds — and does it faster and more accurately than almost any alternative. Complex edges like hair, fur, and transparent objects process cleanly without manual selection or masking. For e-commerce sellers, designers, and social media managers who process regular product or profile images, the time saved adds up quickly.

How to Use Remove.bg (Step by Step)

Go to remove.bg — no account required for basic use
Click “Upload Image” or drag and drop your photo directly onto the page
Wait 3–5 seconds while the AI processes the image
Preview the result — the background is removed and replaced with a transparent or white canvas
Click “Download” to save the free low-resolution version, or purchase a credit for the full HD file
Click “Edit” to add a new background colour, gradient, or image before downloading
For bulk processing, use the API or the bulk upload tool (paid feature)

Key Features

Instant one-click background removal
Accurate edge detection for hair and complex shapes
Background replacement with colour or custom image
API access for automated bulk processing
Works on product photos, portraits, logos, and more

Best For: E-commerce sellers, designers, social media managers, photographers, marketers

Pricing: Free low-resolution downloads. HD credits from $0.99 each.

16. QuillBot

What is it? QuillBot is an AI paraphrasing and writing tool that rewrites sentences and paragraphs while preserving their original meaning. It’s particularly useful when existing content is accurate but reads awkwardly, or when you need to rewrite something in a different tone. Students use it to improve essays, writers use it to refresh old content, and professionals use it to simplify complex writing.

How to Use QuillBot (Step by Step)

Go to quillbot.com and open the Paraphraser tool — no account needed for basic use
Paste your text into the left box (free plan allows up to 125 words per session)
Choose a writing mode from the toolbar — Standard, Fluency, Formal, Simple, Creative, or Expand
Click “Paraphrase” and read the rewritten version in the right box
Click any highlighted word in the output to see alternative word choices and select your preference
Use the Compare button to toggle between original and rewritten text to check for meaning drift
Copy the final output and paste it into your document

Key Features

Multiple paraphrasing modes for different tones
Word-level synonym suggestions within output
Grammar checker included in the same interface
Summariser tool for condensing long text
Browser extension for in-context rewriting

Best For: Students, content writers, bloggers, non-native English speakers, editors

Pricing: Free plan available. QuillBot Premium from $8.33/month.

17. Codeium

What is it? Codeium is an AI coding assistant that provides real-time autocomplete, code generation, and explanation directly inside your code editor. For individual developers, it’s completely free with no monthly usage cap — which puts it ahead of many alternatives. It supports over 70 programming languages and integrates with VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Neovim, and most other popular editors.

How to Use Codeium (Step by Step)

Go to codeium.com and create a free account
Download the extension for your code editor — VS Code, JetBrains, or your preferred IDE
Sign in to the extension using your Codeium account to activate it
Start coding as normal — Codeium suggestions appear as grey ghost text inline as you type
Press Tab to accept a suggestion, or keep typing to ignore it and write your own code
Use the Codeium Chat panel to ask questions about your code — highlight a function and ask it to explain, refactor, or add documentation
Type a comment describing what you want the code to do and let Codeium generate the full function

Key Features

Real-time AI code autocomplete in your editor
Code generation from natural language comments
In-editor AI chat for code explanation and refactoring
Supports 70+ programming languages
Completely free for individual developers

Best For: Software developers, students learning to code, freelance programmers, data scientists

Pricing: Free for individuals. Team plans from $12/user/month.

18. Descript

What is it? Descript is an audio and video editing tool with a genuinely different approach: it converts your recording into a text transcript, then lets you edit the media by editing the text. Delete a sentence from the transcript and it disappears from the audio or video. It sounds strange until you try it — then it becomes very hard to go back to timeline-based editing for spoken-word content.

How to Use Descript (Step by Step)

Go to descript.com and create a free account
Click “New Project” and upload your audio or video file, or record directly inside Descript
Wait for the AI to transcribe the audio — this usually takes a minute or two depending on file length
Read through the transcript and highlight any word or section you want to delete — press Delete and it removes that audio automatically
Use “Remove Filler Words” (under Actions) to automatically cut all “um”, “uh”, and “you know” instances in one click
Add captions, chapters, or new recorded sections by typing directly into the transcript
Export the finished file as an audio file, video, or transcript document

Key Features

Text-based audio and video editing
Automatic transcription with high accuracy
One-click filler word removal
Screen recording built in
Overdub AI voice tool for correcting spoken mistakes (paid)

Best For: Podcasters, video creators, content producers, educators, interviewers

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans from $24/month.

19. Fireflies.ai

What is it? Fireflies.ai is an AI meeting assistant that automatically joins your scheduled calls, records them, generates a written summary, identifies action items, and makes everything searchable afterwards. For teams that run frequent meetings where details and decisions matter, it replaces the informal “who was supposed to do what again?” conversation that follows most calls.

How to Use Fireflies.ai (Step by Step)

Go to fireflies.ai and create a free account
Connect your Google or Microsoft calendar so Fireflies can see your scheduled meetings
Enable “Auto-join” so Fireflies automatically enters your Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams calls as a note-taker bot
Run your meeting as normal — Fireflies records and transcribes in the background
After the call ends, open the meeting summary in your Fireflies dashboard — key points, decisions, and action items are highlighted automatically
Use the search bar to find any specific word, topic, or person’s name across all your past meetings
Share the meeting link with colleagues who missed the call directly from the dashboard

Key Features

Automatic meeting recording and transcription
AI-generated summaries with action item detection
Searchable archive across all recorded meetings
Integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Webex
Shareable meeting links for absent team members

Best For: Remote teams, managers, salespeople, recruiters, anyone drowning in meeting follow-ups

Pricing: Free plan with limited storage. Pro plan from $18/seat/month.

20. Kaiber AI

What is it? Kaiber AI transforms still images and short video clips into animated, stylised video scenes. You provide a visual starting point and a text prompt describing the mood, movement, or style you want — Kaiber handles the animation. The results are particularly strong for music-driven content, visual art loops, and social media clips where motion and atmosphere matter more than narrative.

How to Use Kaiber AI (Step by Step)

Go to kaiber.ai and create a free account — free credits are provided on signup
Click “Create” and choose your starting point: text prompt only, upload an image, or upload a short video clip
Write a detailed prompt describing the visual style, mood, and type of motion you want — e.g. “cinematic slow zoom, golden hour lighting, painterly style”
Choose a style preset from the options — Anime, Cinematic, Abstract, Illustrated, etc.
Set your duration (short clips use fewer credits) and select your aspect ratio
Click Generate and preview the result — regenerate with adjusted prompts if the first version isn’t quite right
Download the final clip and use it in your video editor, post it directly to social media, or loop it as background visuals

Key Features

AI video generation from images and text prompts
Music-driven animation synchronisation
Style presets for consistent visual output
Quick preview before full render
Multiple export resolutions

Best For: Musicians, visual artists, social media creators, music video producers, digital artists

Pricing: Free credits on signup. Paid plans from $10/month.

Which Free AI App Should You Start With?

Not every tool on this list is right for every person. Here’s a quick way to decide where to start based on what you actually need:

Writing and everyday tasks → Start with ChatGPT or Grammarly
Design and visuals → Start with Canva
Research and fact-checking → Start with Perplexity AI
Meeting notes → Start with Otter.ai or Fireflies.ai
Image generation → Start with Leonardo AI
Video editing → Start with Runway or Descript
Code assistance → Start with Codeium
Translation → Start with DeepL
Voiceover and audio → Start with ElevenLabs
Marketing copy → Start with Copy.ai

Pick one, use it properly for a week, and see what changes. The best AI app isn’t the one with the most features — it’s the one that genuinely fits the way you already work.

Also Check out My Recent AI App using for better planning and execution is claude.ai.