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Best Free AI Writing Tools 2026: 8 Options Compared
Best free AI Writing Tools compared: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini app, Le Chat and 4 more, with free-plan limits, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 25, 2026.
•4 min read•Writing & AI Writing
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Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Free (Free plan at $0/month); paid from $8 per month (Go; Plus $20/month; availability varies by region) | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | First drafts and brainstorming | Docs only |
| Claude | Free (Free plan at $0); paid from $17 per month, billed annually (Pro; $20 billed monthly) | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows | Long-form drafts and careful editing | Docs only |
| Gemini app | Free (Free with a Google account); paid from $4.99 per month (Google AI Plus) | Web, iOS, Android | Drafts that start from your Google files | Docs only |
| Le Chat | Free (Free plan); paid from $14.99 per month (Pro) | Web, iOS, Android | Writers who prefer a European provider | Docs only |
| Grok | Free (Free tier at $0 per month with usage limits; xAI does not publish exact caps); paid from $30 per month (SuperGrok) | Web | Short, punchy copy and social posts | Docs only |
| Microsoft Copilot | Free (free tier with lower usage than the paid plans); paid from $9.99 per month (Microsoft 365 Personal, includes higher Copilot usage) | Web, Windows, iOS, Android | Windows and Edge users | Docs only |
| Grammarly | Free (Free plan with spelling and grammar help, tone suggestions and 100 AI prompts); paid from $12 per month (Pro; check the pricing page for the billing term) | Web, Browser extension, Desktop app, Mobile app | Cleaning up drafts in any text box | Docs only |
| Wordtune | Free (Basic plan with 10 rewrites and AI suggestions a day, 3 AI summaries a month and unlimited spelling and grammar checks); paid from $4.89 per month, billed annually (Advanced) | Web, Browser extension | Rephrasing individual sentences | Docs only |
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See the tools in action
Explore the interface and watch a workflow before choosing.
Good fit if
- You need a first draft from a short brief (ChatGPT is the pick)
- You are editing a long article (Claude is the pick)
- You want errors fixed wherever you type (Grammarly is the pick)
- You want to rephrase awkward sentences (Wordtune is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You need paid-tier features, uptime guarantees or support that these free plans leave out
Most free AI writers are general chat assistants with a daily message cap, so the choice comes down to the cap, the tone of the output and where you want to use it. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Le Chat, Grok and Microsoft Copilot all have free plans; their paid tiers start between $5 and $30 a month, and the free allowances vary day to day. Grammarly's free plan adds spelling, grammar, tone suggestions and 100 AI prompts, which makes it a good editor on top of a draft rather than a first-draft machine. Wordtune's Basic plan allows 10 rewrites a day and unlimited grammar checks, so it works as a sentence polisher. A practical workflow is to draft in a chat assistant, then run the result through Grammarly to catch errors and flatten odd phrasing. Treat any facts, dates and quotes in AI output as unchecked until you verify them, and rewrite openings in your own voice so the text does not read like every other generated page. The trade-off is sameness: free tools produce competent but generic prose, and search engines and readers notice. Use them to get past a blank page, not to publish untouched.
ChatGPT
Free plan at $0 a month for drafts, outlines and rewrites within usage limits. Plus is $20 a month. chatgpt.com/pricing returned an error, so figures come from OpenAI help pages.
Price: Free (Free plan at $0/month); paid from $8 per month (Go; Plus $20/month; availability varies by region) (ChatGPT pricing, checked 2026-10-25).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows. Proprietary.
Best for: First drafts and brainstorming.
Worth knowing: Go is listed at $8/month and Plus at $20/month. Pro tiers are $100, $200 and $500/month. Plan availability and usage vary.
Compare: ChatGPT alternatives
Claude
Free plan at $0, with Pro at $17 a month billed annually. Often preferred for longer, more natural-sounding prose, though the free daily allowance is limited.
Price: Free (Free plan at $0); paid from $17 per month, billed annually (Pro; $20 billed monthly) (Claude pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows. Proprietary.
Best for: Long-form drafts and careful editing.
Worth knowing: Max starts at $100/month; Team standard seat is $20 per seat billed annually ($25 monthly).
Compare: Claude alternatives
Gemini app
Free with a Google account; Google AI Plus is $4.99 a month. Convenient for drafting inside the Google ecosystem.
Price: Free (Free with a Google account); paid from $4.99 per month (Google AI Plus) (Gemini app pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Drafts that start from your Google files.
Worth knowing: Google AI Pro is $19.99/month; Ultra starts at $99.99/month.
Le Chat
Mistral's assistant has a free plan; Pro is $14.99 a month. A non-US option for general writing tasks.
Price: Free (Free plan); paid from $14.99 per month (Pro) (Le Chat pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Writers who prefer a European provider.
Grok
Free tier at $0 with usage limits xAI does not publish; SuperGrok is $30 a month.
Price: Free (Free tier at $0 per month with usage limits; xAI does not publish exact caps); paid from $30 per month (SuperGrok) (Grok pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.
Best for: Short, punchy copy and social posts.
Compare: Grok alternatives
Microsoft Copilot
Free tier with lower usage than paid plans; the page does not detail the caps. Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month includes more Copilot use.
Price: Free (free tier with lower usage than the paid plans); paid from $9.99 per month (Microsoft 365 Personal, includes higher Copilot usage) (Microsoft Copilot pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Windows, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Windows and Edge users.
Compare: Microsoft Copilot alternatives
Grammarly
Free plan: spelling, grammar, tone suggestions and 100 AI prompts. Pro is $12 a month with the billing term not shown. Best as an editor for text you already wrote.
Price: Free (Free plan with spelling and grammar help, tone suggestions and 100 AI prompts); paid from $12 per month (Pro; check the pricing page for the billing term) (Grammarly pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Browser extension, Desktop app, Mobile app. Proprietary.
Best for: Cleaning up drafts in any text box.
Compare: Grammarly alternatives
Wordtune
Basic plan: 10 rewrites and AI suggestions a day, 3 AI summaries a month and unlimited grammar checks. Advanced is $4.89 a month billed annually.
Price: Free (Basic plan with 10 rewrites and AI suggestions a day, 3 AI summaries a month and unlimited spelling and grammar checks); paid from $4.89 per month, billed annually (Advanced) (Wordtune pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Browser extension. Proprietary.
Best for: Rephrasing individual sentences.
Which one to pick
- You need a first draft from a short brief: ChatGPT
- You are editing a long article: Claude
- You want errors fixed wherever you type: Grammarly
- You want to rephrase awkward sentences: Wordtune
Limits of this review
Docs-only for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini app, Le Chat, Grok, Microsoft Copilot, Grammarly, Wordtune: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing, license and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-25: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini app, Le Chat, Grok, Microsoft Copilot, Grammarly, Wordtune. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.