We test the hype. You get the truth — and the free alternatives.
AI tools change pricing and features faster than anyone can track. AI Tool Scout checks official sites, cuts through the marketing, and tells you what a tool really costs — and what you can use instead for free.
Pricing and limits are verified against official sources, not guesswork.
Reviews are refreshed as free trials vanish and prices change.
Every review answers the real question: what's the best free option?
Browse by Category
AI tools are grouped by what they do — and non-AI software has its own section so you always know what you're looking at.
💬 AI Chat Assistants 7 reviews
Grok Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & 5 Alternatives
xAI's Grok 4.6: a genuinely free tier, real-time X and web data, and API pricing from ~$2/$6 per 1M tokens — plus where it falls short of ChatGPT.
Read the review →GPT-6 Astra Review (2026): Pricing, Benchmarks & Should You Switch?
OpenAI's new flagship costs 2.5x GPT-5.6 and needs a $100/mo plan for chat access — a real leap for agentic work, overpriced for everyday use.
Read the review →ChatGPT Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & 5 Free Alternatives
The world's most-used AI assistant — now with ads on the free tier. Here's what it really costs and the free alternatives worth trying.
Read the review →Claude Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & 5 Free Alternatives
The best writer among AI assistants — generous free plan, 200K context, and Claude Cowork. Here's what it costs and the free alternatives.
Read the review →Google Gemini Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & 5 Free Alternatives
The strongest fully free AI assistant — unlimited use, deep Google integration. Here's what it costs and the free alternatives.
Read the review →DeepSeek Review (2026): Free AI Chat, Reasoning & 5 Free Alternatives
The completely free assistant with top-tier reasoning and coding — no ads, no paywall. Here's why it matters.
Read the review →Qwen Review (2026): Free Chat, Cheapest AI API & 5 Free Alternatives
Alibaba's Qwen is one of the few truly free, no-ad AI chatbots — and its API is among the cheapest on the market. Here's why it matters and the free alternatives.
Read the review →🔍 AI Search & Research 1 review
Perplexity Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & 5 Free Alternatives
Perplexity answers with cited sources — and the free plan is genuinely useful. Here's what Pro really costs and the free alternatives worth trying.
Read the review →🖼️ AI Image Generation 2 reviews
Midjourney Review (2026): Pricing, Free Trial & 5 Free Alternatives
The quality leader in AI image generation — but no free plan. Here's what it really costs and the 5 best free alternatives.
Read the review →Leonardo AI Review (2026): Pricing, Free Tokens & 5 Free Alternatives
Leonardo gives you 150 free AI-image tokens a day — the most generous free tier around. Here's what it really costs and the free alternatives worth trying.
Read the review →🎬 AI Video & Avatars 5 reviews
Sora Shutdown (2026): What Happened & Best Free Alternatives
OpenAI shut down Sora in March 2026. Here's what happened and the genuinely free video generators to use instead — Kling, Hailuo, Runway and more.
Read the review →Runway Review (2026): Pricing, Free Credits & 5 Free Alternatives
Gen-4.5 is top-tier AI video — but the free tier is 125 one-time credits and Standard covers only ~52 seconds a month. Here's the real cost and the free alternatives.
Read the review →Kling AI Review (2026): Pricing, Free Credits & 5 Free Alternatives
Kling makes top-tier AI video — but the 66 free credits expire every 24 hours. Here's what it really costs in 2026 and the free alternatives worth trying.
Read the review →Hailuo AI Review (2026): H3 Model, Pricing & 5 Free Alternatives
Hailuo (MiniMax) makes expressive character-driven clips — but the free tier just shrank to 4 videos/day and the offer ends November 6. Here's what it really costs and the free alternatives.
Read the review →HeyGen Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & 5 Free Alternatives
HeyGen makes realistic AI presenter videos — but 600 credits only lasts ~30 minutes. Here's what it really costs and the free alternatives worth trying.
Read the review →🎙️ AI Voice & Music 2 reviews
ElevenLabs Review (2026): Pricing, Free Tier & 5 Free Alternatives
ElevenLabs has the most natural AI voices — but the free tier is only ~10 minutes a month. Here's what it really costs and the free alternatives worth trying.
Read the review →Suno Review (2026): Pricing, Free Songs & 5 Free Alternatives
Suno turns text into full songs with vocals — and gives you 10 free songs a day. Here's what it really costs and the free alternatives worth trying.
Read the review →⌨️ AI Coding 2 reviews
GitHub Copilot Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & vs Cursor
Free tier with 2,000 completions a month, Pro from ~$10 — and the June 2026 switch to usage-based credits that heavy agent users should know about.
Read the review →Cursor Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & 5 Free Alternatives
The AI code editor everyone's talking about — free Hobby plan is a real start. Here's what it costs and the free alternatives worth trying.
Read the review →🧮 Developer Cost Guides 1 guide
LLM API Token Costs Compared (2026): Cheapest Models & 7 Ways to Cut Your Bill
Who's cheapest per million tokens, and the 7 tricks that cut most AI bills 60-90%.
Read the guide →✍️ AI Writing & Grammar 1 review
Grammarly Review (2026): Free Plan, Pricing & 5 Free Alternatives
The most famous writing assistant — the free plan is genuinely useful, Pro $12/mo. Here's what it really costs and the free alternatives.
Read the review →💼 Software & SaaS Reviews 1 review
Non-AI business software — reviewed with the same data-checked standard.
Wave Accounting Review (2026): Free Plan, Pricing & 5 Free Alternatives
The most genuinely free bookkeeping platform for small businesses — unlimited invoicing at $0. Here's what it costs and the free alternatives.
Read the review →Latest Reviews
Notion AI Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & 5 Alternatives
Notion AI is now bundled into the Business plan (~$20/member/mo) — the standalone ~$8-10 add-on is gone. Here is what the free tier actually gives you, the credit system, and 5 alternatives.
Read the review →GPT-6 Astra Review (2026): Pricing, Benchmarks & Should You Switch?
OpenAI's new flagship costs 2.5x GPT-5.6 and needs a $100/mo plan for chat access — a real leap for agentic work, overpriced for everyday use.
Read the review →Grok Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & 5 Alternatives
xAI's Grok 4.6: a genuinely free tier, real-time X and web data, and API pricing from ~$2/$6 per 1M tokens — plus where it falls short of ChatGPT.
Read the review →GitHub Copilot Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & vs Cursor
Free tier with 2,000 completions a month, Pro from ~$10 — and the June 2026 switch to usage-based credits that heavy agent users should know about.
Read the review →Sora Shutdown (2026): What Happened & Best Free Alternatives
OpenAI shut down Sora in March 2026. Here's what happened and the genuinely free video generators to use instead.
Read the review →Qwen Review (2026): Free Chat, Cheapest AI API & 5 Free Alternatives
Alibaba's Qwen is one of the few truly free, no-ad AI chatbots — and its API is among the cheapest on the market.
Read the review →Grammarly Review (2026): Free Plan, Pricing & 5 Free Alternatives
The most famous writing assistant — the free plan is genuinely useful, Pro $12/mo. Here's what it really costs and the free alternatives.
Read the review →Runway Review (2026): Pricing, Free Credits & 5 Free Alternatives
Gen-4.5 is top-tier AI video — but the free tier is 125 one-time credits and Standard covers only ~52 seconds a month. Here's the real cost and the free alternatives.
Read the review →Wave Accounting Review (2026): Free Plan, Pricing & 5 Free Alternatives
The most genuinely free bookkeeping platform for small businesses — unlimited invoicing at $0. Here's what it costs and the free alternatives.
Read the review →Canva Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & AI Magic Tools
The easiest design tool on earth — free plan with daily AI credits, Magic tools built in. Here's what it costs and the free alternatives.
Read the review →Google Gemini Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & 5 Free Alternatives
The strongest fully free AI assistant — unlimited use, deep Google integration. Here's what it costs and the free alternatives.
Read the review →DeepSeek Review (2026): Free AI Chat, Reasoning & 5 Free Alternatives
The completely free assistant with top-tier reasoning and coding — no ads, no paywall. Here's why it matters.
Read the review →Claude Review (2026): Pricing, Free Plan & 5 Free Alternatives
The best writer among AI assistants — generous free plan, 200K context, and Claude Cowork. Here's what it costs and the free alternatives.
Read the review →LLM API Token Costs Compared (2026): Cheapest Models & 7 Ways to Cut Your Bill
Who's cheapest per million tokens, and the 7 tricks that cut most AI bills 60-90%.
Read the guide →Free Tools Directory
Free AI Tools Directory (2026): 60+ Best Free AI Tools by Category
Hand-picked free AI tools for chatbots, images, photo editing, video, audio, productivity, coding and research — with honest notes on what each free tier really gives you.
Browse the directory →Handy free tools, no sign-up
Honest accounting software reviews: Wave, QuickBooks, Xero & free options.
🎮 Gaming Gear ReviewsEsports hardware decoded: gaming mice, keyboards, headsets & budget picks.
📄 PDF Merge OnlineCombine multiple PDF files into one — free, no upload, files stay on your device.
📷 ID Photo StudioPassport & visa photos with AI background changer, compressor & converter.
🧮 HK Salary Tax CalculatorEstimate Hong Kong salaries tax for 2026/27 in seconds.
🎁 HK Benefits Quick CheckGovernment & benefits eligibility checker — OAA, CSSA, housing & more 📅 HK Calendar 香港月曆Public holidays, lunar dates & solar terms for 2020-2036 — bilingual, free, no sign-up.
