Last updated: June 2026. A no-nonsense, side-by-side look at what the most popular AI tools actually cost in 2026 — free tiers, the first paid plan, and what that plan gets you. We test these tools in real work; this is the cheat sheet we wish existed. Prices are a snapshot and change often — always confirm the current price on the provider’s own site before buying.
Jump to: Chat assistants · Image · Voice & audio · Writing · Automation · Research & notes · Newsletter & creator
AI chat assistants
| Tool | Free tier? | First paid plan | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT (OpenAI) | Yes (good) | $20 / mo (Plus) | More usage, latest models, voice, image, web, files |
| Claude (Anthropic) | Yes (good) | $20 / mo (Pro) | More usage, Projects, large context — strongest for writing |
| Gemini (Google) | Yes (good) | ~$20 / mo (Google AI Pro) | Advanced models, large context, Google Docs/Sheets |
| Perplexity | Yes (good) | $20 / mo (Pro) | Best citations/sources for research |
| Microsoft Copilot | Yes | $20 / mo (Pro) | Priority access + Office integration |
Not sure which to pay for? See ChatGPT vs Gemini vs Claude vs Perplexity and Claude Pro vs ChatGPT Plus.
AI image generation
| Tool | Free tier? | First paid plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midjourney | No | $10 / mo (Basic) | ~200 images/mo; higher plans add relax/stealth mode |
| DALL·E | Via ChatGPT | $20 / mo (in ChatGPT Plus) | Image generation inside ChatGPT |
| Adobe Firefly | Yes (credits) | ~$10 / mo | Commercially-safe images, Photoshop integration |
| Ideogram | Yes | ~$8 / mo | Strong at text-in-images |
| Leonardo AI | Yes | ~$12 / mo | Game/art assets, fine control |
Choosing one? Read Midjourney vs DALL·E vs Adobe Firefly.
AI voice & audio
| Tool | Free tier? | First paid plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ElevenLabs | Yes (10k chars/mo) | $5 / mo (Starter) | Realistic voices + cloning; Creator $22, Pro $99 |
| Descript | Yes | ~$24 / mo | Edit audio/video by editing text; filler-word removal |
| Murf | Yes | ~$19 / mo | Studio-style AI voiceovers |
See Descript vs Adobe Podcast and blog post to podcast with ElevenLabs.
AI writing tools
| Tool | Free tier? | First paid plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notion AI | Limited | ~$10 / user / mo (add-on) | AI inside your notes & docs |
| Grammarly | Yes | ~$12 / mo | Grammar + AI rewriting |
| Jasper | No | ~$49 / mo (Creator) | Marketing/brand-voice copy |
| Copy.ai | Yes | ~$49 / mo | Short-form marketing copy & workflows |
Related: Notion AI vs ChatGPT for your daily workflow.
AI automation
| Tool | Free tier? | First paid plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Make.com | Yes | ~$9 / mo (Core) | Visual, cheaper per-operation; great value |
| Zapier | Yes | ~$20+ / mo (Professional) | Most app integrations, easiest to start |
| n8n | Yes (self-host) | ~$20 / mo (Cloud) | Developer-friendly, self-hostable |
See Make.com vs Zapier — which is worth your money.
AI research & meeting notes
| Tool | Free tier? | First paid plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| NotebookLM | Yes | Plus via Google AI Pro | Research grounded in your own sources |
| Otter.ai | Yes | ~$17 / mo (Pro) | Live meeting transcription |
| Fathom | Yes (generous) | ~$19 / mo (Premium) | AI meeting notes & summaries |
Related: NotebookLM vs Perplexity and Fathom vs Otter.ai.
Newsletter & creator tools
| Tool | Free tier? | First paid plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beehiiv | Yes (to 2,500 subs) | ~$39 / mo (Scale) | Newsletter-as-a-business: ads, paid subs, referrals |
| Kit (ConvertKit) | Yes (to 10k subs) | ~$25 / mo (Creator) | Creator email automation & selling |
| Substack | Yes | 10% of paid revenue | Simplest paid newsletter |
See how Beehiiv monetization works and building a newsletter to 1,000 subscribers with Kit.
How to actually save money on AI tools
Three rules we live by: (1) start on the free tier and only upgrade when you hit a wall; (2) don’t pay for two tools that do the same job; (3) audit quarterly and cancel anything you opened fewer than ~4 times last month. We broke down the full framework in choosing your one core AI assistant and how to tell if an AI tool is worth paying for.
Found an out-of-date price? Email our team and we’ll fix it. Browse every guide in the PickGearLab Library.