Free AI for a business is two different lists. The assistants — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Mistral, Copilot, Perplexity — are free for individuals with usage caps the vendors mostly refuse to quantify. The chatbot builders put a bot on your site within hard conversation counts: Tidio 50 billable conversations a month with ten seats, Botpress 100, Landbot 100, Typebot 200, Crisp unlimited chat for two agents with no AI, ManyChat 25 contacts, Zapier two bots. Chatbase and Intercom have no free plan; Chatfuel is trial-only. Prices are USD and were checked on 23 October 2026. How we score · All Kurums Free lists
TL;DR — the free AI tool that fits
- A capable assistant for everyday work: Claude Free (Sonnet and Haiku, web search, files, five Projects) or ChatGPT Free (limited GPT-5.5 Instant); Gemini Free gives Flash-Lite with 15 GB.
- EU-hosted assistant with connectors: Mistral Free — latest models with limited access, 100-plus connectors, five scheduled tasks.
- Live chat plus a simple bot on a small store: Tidio Free — 10 seats, 50 billable conversations a month, 50 lifetime Lyro AI conversations.
- Developer building an LLM agent with webchat: Botpress Free — 100 conversations, 3 agents, 3 seats; the next step is $150 a month.
- Lead-qualification bot, no code: Landbot Free (100 chats, web only) or Typebot Free (200 chats).
- Human live chat, no AI, no conversation cap: Crisp Free — 2 seats, 100 customer profiles.
Which ai assistants & chatbot builders tools have a free plan in 2026?
Every tool below is free indefinitely for the use its row describes. The assistants (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Mistral, Copilot, Perplexity) cap usage by rolling windows or ‘limited messages’ rather than numbers, give the smaller model free and the larger one paid, and include no website widget or team admin. The builders (Tidio, Botpress, Landbot, Typebot, Crisp, ManyChat, Zapier) cap conversations or contacts per month, show their branding on the free widget, and charge for AI replies beyond a small allowance. Dialogflow ES and Rasa are developer frameworks with free editions and no visual widget of their own.
We excluded Chatbase (plans start at $32 a month, 7-day trial), Intercom Fin (from $19 a seat plus $0.99 per outcome, trial only) and Chatfuel (every plan starts with a trial). Voiceflow’s pricing page shows only ‘request pricing’ and a trial, so its widely reported free tier is unverified and not listed. Perplexity is listed with its caps marked unverified.
The table separates assistants from builders by what the cap counts. Open a row for models, seats, branding and the page we checked.
| Company | Free as | Key limit | Card | Free Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C |
Free forever | Sonnet & Haiku · 5 Projects · rolling limits | No | 84 | Scorecard ↓ |
| C |
Free forever | Limited GPT-5.5 Instant · 27K context | No | 80 | Scorecard ↓ |
| G |
Free forever | Flash-Lite · 15 GB · Google account | No | 76 | Scorecard ↓ |
| T |
Free forever | 50 conversations/mo · 10 seats · Lyro 50 lifetime | No | 76 | Scorecard ↓ |
| M |
Free forever | Limited messages · 100+ connectors · 5 tasks | No | 72 | Scorecard ↓ |
| B |
Free forever | 100 conversations/mo · 3 agents · 3 seats | No | 70 | Scorecard ↓ |
| T |
Free forever | 200 chats/mo · 1 seat · branded | No | 66 | Scorecard ↓ |
| L |
Free forever | 100 chats/mo · web only · 0 AI chats · € | No | 64 | Scorecard ↓ |
| C |
Free forever | 2 seats · 100 profiles · no AI · no cap | No | 62 | Scorecard ↓ |
| D |
Free forever | Trial edition · quota-limited · no charge | No | 60 | Scorecard ↓ |
| M |
Free forever | Free in Windows & Edge · limits unverified | No | 58 | Scorecard ↓ |
| Z |
Free forever | 2 bots · 500 kB knowledge · 7-day history | No | 56 | Scorecard ↓ |
| R |
Startup program | 1 bot · 1,000 external conversations/mo | No | 54 | Scorecard ↓ |
| M |
Free forever | 25 active contacts · 2 channels · no AI | No | 46 | Scorecard ↓ |
| P |
Free forever | Free search · caps unverified | No | 44 | Scorecard ↓ |
Free tiers verified 23 October 2026 on each vendor’s pricing page (third-party sources named in the Scorecard where the vendor page was silent). Order is by Free Score only; sponsorship never changes it.
What do the free AI tool plans actually include?
Open any row for the eight-field Scorecard. The “Why it ranks here” note under each row explains the score in plain terms.
1C
ClaudeUS · free for everyone: Sonnet and Haiku, web search, file creation, code execution, memory, connectors, Artifacts and up to five Projects; Opus is paidFree foreverSonnet & Haiku · 5 Projects · rolling limitsNo card84⌄
- What’s free
- $0, free for everyone: Sonnet and Haiku models on web, desktop and mobile, web search, file creation, code execution, memory, connectors, Artifacts, Claude Design, Slides and Docs, up to 5 Projects
- Hard limits
- No Opus · usage limits on a rolling 5-hour window with no fixed message count · 5 Projects · no website widget; the API is separate
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated (the payment table lists a card as not applicable for Free).
- Upgrade trigger
- Higher usage or Opus
- Cheapest paid step
- Pro $17/month billed annually ($200/year) or $20 monthly; Team Standard $20/seat/month annual or $25 monthly, 2–150 seats; Max from $100/month
- Best free for
- Long documents, writing and analysis; a small team testing before the Team plan
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · claude.com/pricing
2C
ChatGPTUS · free to everyone with limited access to GPT-5.5 Instant and GPT-5 Thinking Mini, a 27K context window, limited uploads, images and memoryFree foreverLimited GPT-5.5 Instant · 27K contextNo card80⌄
- What’s free
- Free to everyone: limited access to GPT-5.5 Instant, GPT-5 Thinking Mini, 27K context (about 12 pages of input), limited file uploads, limited and slower image generation, limited memory
- Hard limits
- Limited messages and uploads with no numeric caps stated · no GPT-5.5 Thinking or Pro · no website widget; the API is separate
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- More messages, Thinking models, Projects, Tasks or custom GPTs
- Cheapest paid step
- Plus $20/user billed monthly; Team $25/user/month billed annually or $30 monthly; Go price not confirmed
- Best free for
- General drafting and research for an individual
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · chatgpt.com/pricing and openai.com/chatgpt/pricing
Why it ranks here. The default assistant for most people, free with the fast model and a short context; the frontier models and the ‘limited’ caps are the paid nudge.
3G
GeminiUS · $0 with a Google account: the Flash-Lite model, image generation and editing, Deep Research, Live, Canvas, Gems, a notebook and 15 GB of storageFree foreverFlash-Lite · 15 GB · Google accountNo card76⌄
- What’s free
- $0 a month with a Google account: Flash-Lite model, image generation and editing, Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas, Gems, Google Flow with limited Nano Banana Pro, Gemini Notebook, 15 GB storage
- Hard limits
- Flash-Lite only · Plus gives 2x and Pro 4x the free usage, with no numeric caps stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- Higher usage or better models
- Cheapest paid step
- Google AI Plus $4.99/month; Pro $19.99; Ultra from $99.99 (monthly)
- Best free for
- A Workspace-centric user who wants Deep Research and Gems free
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · gemini.google/subscriptions
Why it ranks here. The cheapest paid step in the category at $4.99 and the smallest free model; Deep Research free is the standout feature.
4T
TidioPoland · a live-chat widget and ticketing with ten seats free, 50 billable conversations a month, a visual flow builder and 50 lifetime Lyro AI conversationsFree forever50 conversations/mo · 10 seats · Lyro 50 lifetimeNo card76⌄
- What’s free
- Free: live chat widget and ticketing, 10 seats, 50 billable conversations a month (only human-agent replies count), Flows visual builder reaching 100 visitors a month, Lyro AI first 50 conversations free for life
- Hard limits
- 50 conversations a month · Flows 100 visitors a month · Lyro 50 lifetime · Tidio branding (removal add-on $16.67/month) · API not stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No for the trial; not stated for Free.
- Upgrade trigger
- A 51st conversation, Lyro beyond 50 or removing branding
- Cheapest paid step
- Starter $24.17/month (100 conversations; monthly versus annual basis unclear on the page)
- Best free for
- A small online store that wants several people answering chat and a simple bot
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · tidio.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. Ten free seats is unusual and the conversation cap counts only human replies, which stretches it; the AI allowance is lifetime, not monthly, so it is a taste rather than a tier.
5M
MistralFrance · a free personal agent with the latest models at limited access, basic image tools, 100-plus connectors and five scheduled tasks, hosted in the EUFree foreverLimited messages · 100+ connectors · 5 tasksNo card72⌄
- What’s free
- Free: latest models with limited access, web and mobile, basic image generation and editing, 100+ connectors, 5 scheduled tasks, limited library storage
- Hard limits
- Limited messages, web searches and coding sessions · 5 scheduled tasks · code interpreter not explicitly listed for Free · API free tier not stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- More messages and searches, or team admin
- Cheapest paid step
- Pro $14.99/month billed monthly; Team $24.99/user/month; Students $5.99
- Best free for
- A European business that wants an EU-hosted assistant with connectors at $0
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · mistral.ai/pricing (plans are branded Vibe; the Le Chat name is not on the page)
Why it ranks here. The data-residency answer in the category with a surprisingly full free tier — connectors and scheduled tasks included — and the same unquantified message caps as everyone else.
6B
BotpressCanada · an LLM agent builder free for 100 conversations a month with three agents, three seats, a public knowledge base and no overage packsFree forever100 conversations/mo · 3 agents · 3 seatsNo card70⌄
- What’s free
- $0: 100 conversations a month, 3 AI agents, 3 seats, 1,000 table rows, 100 MB vector storage, 100 MB file storage, public knowledge base; no top-ups or overages
- Hard limits
- 100 conversations a month, hard cap with no packs on Free · Botpress branding on webchat (white-label from Plus) · community support only · webchat availability on Free and API access not explicitly stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- A 101st conversation, an AI usage budget or branding removal
- Cheapest paid step
- Plus $150/month billed annually (250 conversations plus $25 AI usage; +100 conversations $65); Team $750/month
- Best free for
- A developer prototyping a real agent before paying for volume
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · botpress.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. The most capable builder here on a free plan that stops dead at 100 conversations, with a first paid step of $1,800 a year. Prototype on it; budget before you launch.
7T
TypebotFrance · conversational forms and bots with unlimited typebots and 200 chats a month for one seat; branding removal is StarterFree forever200 chats/mo · 1 seat · brandedNo card66⌄
- What’s free
- Free: 200 chats a month, unlimited typebots, a single seat
- Hard limits
- 200 chats a month · 1 seat · branding removal only on Starter and Pro · website embed, API and self-host licence not stated on the pricing page
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- A 201st chat, a second seat or removing branding
- Cheapest paid step
- Starter $39/month billed monthly (2 seats, 2,000 chats, +$10 per 500); Pro $89; monthly billing only
- Best free for
- A lead-capture bot embedded on a site
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · typebot.com/pricing (self-host and licence not described on the pricing page)
Why it ranks here. Double Landbot’s free chats with a thinner page: the self-host option that makes Typebot interesting is not on the pricing page we read.
8L
LandbotSpain · €0 free forever with no card: 100 chats a month, one seat, the full builder and templates, web chat only, no AI chatsFree forever100 chats/mo · web only · 0 AI chats · €No card64⌄
- What’s free
- €0 free forever, no card, never expires: 100 chats a month, 1 seat, full builder and templates, web chat
- Hard limits
- 100 chats a month · 0 AI chats · 1 seat · web only · Landbot branding · no API or webhooks (Professional) · no WhatsApp
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. ‘No card, never expires’ is stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- AI chats, API or webhooks, branding removal or WhatsApp
- Cheapest paid step
- Starter €32/month billed annually (500 chats, 100 AI chats, 2 seats); Professional €80 (branding removed, API)
- Best free for
- A no-code lead-qualification bot under 100 chats a month
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · landbot.io/pricing (EUR)
Why it ranks here. Explicit about everything — no card, never expires, zero AI — which is rarer than it should be; the cap is small and the AI is entirely paid.
9C
CrispFrance · a clean live-chat inbox for two agents with a website widget, mobile apps, forms and SDKs, no conversation cap and no AI or chatbot on FreeFree forever2 seats · 100 profiles · no AI · no capNo card62⌄
- What’s free
- $0: 2 agent seats, website chat widget, shared inbox, mobile apps, push notifications, contact forms, chat SDKs, e-commerce integrations, 100 customer profiles
- Hard limits
- 2 seats · 100 customer profiles · no AI credits · chatbot not listed on Free · ‘We run on Crisp’ watermark
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- A chatbot, AI replies, more profiles or seats
- Cheapest paid step
- Mini $45/month per workspace (4 seats, $5 AI credits); Essentials $95
- Best free for
- A two-person support team that wants humans in the chat and nothing counting conversations
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · crisp.chat/en/pricing
Why it ranks here. Human chat done well and no automation at all on the free plan; listed as the honest alternative to a bot.
10DDialogflow ESUS · Google’s intent-based bot framework: the ES Trial Edition charges nothing for text, audio and the phone gateway within quotas; CX offers $600–$1,000 credits for a yearFree foreverTrial edition · quota-limited · no chargeNo card60⌄
- What’s free
- ES Trial Edition at no charge: text requests, audio input and output, knowledge connectors, mega agent, tolled phone gateway, design-time requests; new Conversational Agents (CX) users get $600 (Flows) or $1,000 (Playbooks) in credits
- Hard limits
- Request quotas on the Trial Edition (figures on a separate quotas page) · no sentiment analysis or toll-free numbers · CX credits expire after 12 months · requires a Google Cloud project · ES is the legacy product
- Time limit
- None for ES; 12 months for CX credits
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- Quota limits, sentiment analysis or production SLAs
- Cheapest paid step
- ES standard $0.002 per text request; CX Flows chat $0.007 per request, voice $0.001 a second
- Best free for
- A developer building an intent bot wired to Google Cloud or telephony
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · cloud.google.com/products/dialogflow-es/pricing and /dialogflow/pricing
Why it ranks here. Free in the way cloud services are free — within quotas, on a billing account — and a framework rather than a product; the visual widget is yours to build.
11M
Microsoft CopilotUS · the consumer Copilot at copilot.microsoft.com with no sign-up wall; its free limits and models are not stated on the pages we could readFree foreverFree in Windows & Edge · limits unverifiedNo card58⌄
- What’s free
- AI chat across your day in Windows, Edge and the web, with no paywall shown
- Hard limits
- Not stated — the page is an app shell
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No.
- Upgrade trigger
- Not stated
- Cheapest paid step
- Microsoft 365 Premium $19.99/month or $199.99/year (consumer); Microsoft 365 Copilot business add-on $18/user/month paid yearly (promo to 31 Dec 2026) or $25.20 monthly
- Best free for
- A Windows or Edge user who wants an assistant in the OS
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · copilot.microsoft.com; business price from microsoft.com/microsoft-365/copilot/pricing
Why it ranks here. Free and everywhere on Windows; scored low because Microsoft’s pages told us nothing about what the free tier includes.
12Z
Zapier ChatbotsUS · two chatbots on GPT-4o mini or GPT-3.5 with 500 kB of knowledge, inside Zapier’s free-forever plan with 100 tasks a monthFree forever2 bots · 500 kB knowledge · 7-day historyNo card56⌄
- What’s free
- Zapier Free, free forever: up to 2 chatbots, 500 kB of knowledge, 7 days of conversation history, GPT-4o mini and GPT-3.5; plus 100 tasks a month, unlimited two-step Zaps, Tables and Forms
- Hard limits
- 2 bots · 500 kB knowledge · 7-day history · older models only · branding, embed and API not stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- More bots or knowledge, better models or more automation tasks
- Cheapest paid step
- Professional from $19.99/month (yearly saves 33%; task-tier dependent)
- Best free for
- An ops team already on Zapier that wants a small FAQ bot wired to its Zaps
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · zapier.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. A convenience inside Zapier rather than a chatbot product; 500 kB of knowledge is a few pages of FAQ.
13R
Rasa Developer EditionUS · a free Rasa licence usable in production for one bot and 1,000 external conversations a month, self-managed on your own infrastructureStartup program1 bot · 1,000 external conversations/moNo card54⌄
- What’s free
- Free Developer Edition: a free Rasa licence usable locally or in production, community support, self-managed or managed deployment
- Hard limits
- One bot per company · 1,000 external or 100 internal conversations a month · not a no-code builder
- Time limit
- None stated
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- More than 1,000 conversations, a second bot or premium support
- Cheapest paid step
- Enterprise — contact sales
- Best free for
- An ML team that wants production-grade conversational AI on-premise
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · rasa.com/pricing (the Apache-licensed open-source edition is not mentioned on the page)
Why it ranks here. The most conversations free of any builder here and the most engineering to use them; scored as a programme because the licence, not the software, is what is free.
14M
ManyChatUS · $0 for 25 active contacts a month on any two of Instagram, TikTok, Messenger and Telegram, with four automations and no cardFree forever25 active contacts · 2 channels · no AINo card46⌄
- What’s free
- $0: 25 active contacts a month, any 2 of Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Messenger and Telegram, up to 4 active automations, 1 user plus 1 inbox seat
- Hard limits
- 25 active contacts · no WhatsApp · 4 automations · ‘Powered by Manychat’ on the first message · no AI features · no website widget
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. The page states the free plan needs no card.
- Upgrade trigger
- A 26th contact, WhatsApp, SMS, email, AI or branding removal
- Cheapest paid step
- Pro $29/month or $348/year (2,500 contacts; $0.05 per extra contact monthly)
- Best free for
- Testing Instagram or Messenger DM automation before buying
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · manychat.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. Twenty-five contacts is a test, not an audience; the Pro plan is where ManyChat starts.
15P
PerplexityUS · a free cited search assistant whose free-tier limits are not stated on the pages we could reach; third parties report about three Pro searches a dayFree foreverFree search · caps unverifiedNo card44⌄
- What’s free
- Free search assistant; Pro adds extended Pro Search, advanced models and more uploads
- Hard limits
- Free-tier figures not stated on vendor pages · third-party: about 3 Pro searches a day and 1 Research query a month
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- Pro Search volume, advanced models or uploads
- Cheapest paid step
- Not stated on the vendor page (third-party: Pro $20/month, Max $200)
- Best free for
- Cited web answers in small daily doses
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · perplexity.ai help centre; caps from eesel.ai, 23 Jun 2026 — unverified
Why it ranks here. Useful and unverifiable this month: scored on what Perplexity’s own pages say, which is almost nothing.
Which free AI tool has no credit-card requirement?
Landbot and ManyChat state no card for their free plans; Copilot needs none; Tidio says so for its trial; Claude’s payment table marks a card as not applicable for Free. ChatGPT, Gemini, Mistral, Botpress, Typebot, Crisp, Zapier, Rasa, Dialogflow and Perplexity do not state it, though Dialogflow runs on a Google Cloud billing account. Nothing here converts to paid on its own; Botpress explicitly sells no overage packs on Free, so the bot stops at 100 rather than billing you.
The card requests in this category come from the excluded tools: Chatbase and Intercom have no free plan, and Chatfuel starts every plan with a trial.
When does the free plan stop being enough?
Kurums Match: which free AI tool fits your situation?
Writer or analyst, one person
Claude Free or ChatGPT Free.
Google Workspace user
Gemini Free.
EU data residency
Mistral Free.
Small store, several agents
Tidio Free.
Developer prototyping an agent
Botpress Free.
Lead-qualification bot
Typebot or Landbot Free.
Human support, two people
Crisp Free.
ML team, on-prem
Rasa Developer Edition.
Where can you find paid providers when a free plan is not enough?
The Kurums Solutions Directory lists more than 800 software vendors, service providers, investors and schools in 52 categories, compiled A–Z by our editors with a buyer’s guide for each — no one pays for a position.
How we score free tiers
Duration (30): free forever scores 30, a 30-day-plus trial 15, a trial of 14 days or less 8, credit-based tiers 12. Capacity (30): whether the limits carry a team of three for twelve months. Core job (25): whether the free tier does the category’s main work — here, either answering a team’s questions with a capable model, or putting a bot on a website that answers customers without a human. Friction (15): no card 15; card but no auto-charge 8; auto-charge 0; self-hosting deducts for setup and maintenance.
Each free tier was checked on the vendor’s pricing page on 23 October 2026; where the vendor page was silent, the Scorecard names the third-party source used. Free tiers change, so this list is re-verified every quarter and a discontinued free plan stays listed for one month with a notice. Order is by Free Score only. Kurums Free sells no placement; sponsorship, affiliate links and vendor requests never change a score, a rank or a label. Vendors can submit corrections to the Kurums editorial team.
How did we verify these free tiers?
We opened each vendor’s pricing or help page and recorded usage caps, models, seats, branding and the paid step. Perplexity’s and Microsoft Copilot’s rows are scored on what their other official pages state, and Perplexity’s caps are cited from a third party as unverified. Zapier’s row uses its main pricing page. Chatbase, Intercom and Chatfuel were excluded as having no free plan; Voiceflow because its pricing page shows only a request-pricing button and a trial. Kurums uses Claude in its editorial workflow; its row is scored on the same rubric as every other.
Prices are USD except Landbot (EUR).
Frequently asked questions
Which AI assistant is best on the free tier?
Claude Free includes Sonnet, web search, file tools and five Projects; ChatGPT Free gives limited GPT-5.5 Instant with a 27K context; Gemini Free gives Flash-Lite plus Deep Research; Mistral Free adds connectors and scheduled tasks. All cap usage without publishing numbers.
Which chatbot builder is free for a website?
Tidio (50 billable conversations a month, 10 seats), Botpress (100 conversations), Landbot (100 chats, web only), Typebot (200 chats) and Crisp (human live chat, two seats, no cap) all have free plans with a widget. All show their branding.
Is Chatbase free?
No. Chatbase’s plans start at Hobby, $32 a month billed yearly, with a 7-day trial.
Does Intercom Fin have a free plan?
No. Intercom lists Essential at $19 a seat a month and Fin from $0.99 per outcome, with a free trial of unstated length.
Which free tier includes AI replies in the chat?
Tidio’s Lyro gives 50 conversations free for the lifetime of the account; Botpress includes AI within its 100 conversations. Landbot’s free plan has zero AI chats and Crisp’s no AI credits.
Can my team use ChatGPT or Claude free with admin controls?
No. Admin, seat management and business terms begin with the Team plans — ChatGPT Team at $25 a user a month annual and Claude Team Standard at $20 a seat annual.
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