The latest articles on DEV Community by Jordan Blake (@jordan_blake_3d079d9fdf8e). https://dev.to/jordan_blake_3d079d9fdf8e https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4235699%2F7f0e69c4-8629-4bf7-847a-a5ec530336e2.png https://dev.to/jordan_blake_3d079d9fdf8e en Jordan Blake Mon, 09 Nov 2026 18:41:49 +0000 https://dev.to/jordan_blake_3d079d9fdf8e/10-free-ai-tools-for-developers-with-free-plans-you-can-actually-use-2026-2mc7 https://dev.to/jordan_blake_3d079d9fdf8e/10-free-ai-tools-for-developers-with-free-plans-you-can-actually-use-2026-2mc7 <p>"Free" means very different things in AI tools. Some free plans renew every day, some every month, and some give you a one-time batch of credits that never comes back. If you're picking tools for real work, that difference matters more than the feature list.</p> <p>Here are 10 AI tools developers actually use that have a usable free plan, with what the free tier really includes.</p> <h2> Coding assistants </h2> <h3> 1. GitHub Copilot Free </h3> <p>About <strong>2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests per month</strong>. Enough to try it seriously on a side project. Heavy daily users will hit the chat limit first.</p> <h3> 2. Cursor </h3> <p>Free plan with <strong>limited agent requests</strong>, and no card needed to start. Good for testing the AI editor workflow before deciding if it's worth paying for.</p> <h3> 3. Replit </h3> <p>Free plan with <strong>limited AI chat time</strong> and up to 60 projects. Useful for quick prototypes you want to run in the browser.</p> <h2> App builders </h2> <h3> 4. Bolt.new </h3> <p>Around <strong>300K tokens per day, capped at about 1M per month</strong>. You can build a small app in a session, but the monthly cap arrives fast if you iterate a lot.</p> <h3> 5. Lovable </h3> <p>About <strong>5 credits per day, up to 30 per month</strong>. Fine for a first version of an idea, tight for anything bigger.</p> <h3> 6. v0 </h3> <p>A <strong>small daily message limit</strong>. Best for generating UI components rather than full apps on the free tier.</p> <h2> General AI assistants </h2> <h3> 7. ChatGPT </h3> <p>Free plan with limits on uploads, image generation, voice and deep research. Still the easiest all-rounder for explaining errors or drafting docs.</p> <h3> 8. Claude </h3> <p>Free plan <strong>with usage limits</strong>. Popular for reading long code files and writing clear technical explanations.</p> <h3> 9. Gemini </h3> <p>Free plan with <strong>15 GB of storage</strong> included. Handy if you already live in Google's tools.</p> <h2> Bonus: audio </h2> <h3> 10. ElevenLabs </h3> <p>About <strong>10,000 credits per month</strong> (roughly 10 minutes of audio), but <strong>no commercial license</strong> on the free plan. Fine for testing voiceovers, not for client work.</p> <h2> What to watch on any free AI plan </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Renewal:</strong> daily, monthly or one-time? One-time credits look generous but run out for good.</li> <li> <strong>Commercial use:</strong> many free plans (especially audio, image and video) don't allow it.</li> <li> <strong>Card required:</strong> some trials need a card and convert to paid automatically.</li> <li> <strong>Watermarks:</strong> common on free image and video output.</li> </ul> <p>I keep a longer <a href="https://www.perksvalley.com/free-ai-tools-list" rel="noopener noreferrer">free AI tools list</a> with 24+ tools across chat, images, video, audio and coding, including each free plan's limits. Free tiers change often, so check each tool's pricing page before you rely on it.</p> <p><em>Disclosure: I write about AI tools and SaaS pricing for PerksValley.</em></p> ai productivity beginners webdev