A short list of AI tools — most free, a few worth paying for. Have a play, see what you like, and if you outgrow the free tiers, we'll point you at the paid options too.
Never used AI, or I tried ChatGPT once and felt lost. Walk me through the first step, slowly, with no jargon.
Start slowly →I know what an API key is. I just want the cheapest options and the best free alternatives.
Show me the list →We'll go slow. You'll only need a web browser. Nothing to install, no card, no jargon.
What sounds most fun? You can always come back for the others.
No install. Open a website, talk to an AI. Perfect if you just want to see what this is about.
One command in your terminal. An AI that lives in your code editor and helps you build things.
Download a desktop app. Add a free AI key once, then talk to many models in one place. Your own ChatGPT.
No install. About 1 minute. Both are free. An AI chat is a website where you type a question and a computer writes back.
Get started right away
DuckDuckGo AI Chat. No account, no sign-up, no card. Just type and go.
Open DuckDuckGo ↗Use Google Gemini
If you have Gmail, YouTube, Outlook, Hotmail, or Xbox, you're set.
1. Click a question below to copy it.
2. Open Gemini. You'll see an empty chatbox. Press and hold Control on your keyboard, then press V, then Enter.
3. Gemini will reply. Ask questions, challenge it. Type "are you 100% sure". AI models are not always correct (yet).
Pick a question to copy
That's the browser option. Want something different? Pick another direction.
For people who already dabble in code (or want to start). One install, then an AI that helps you write and edit files.
1. Open your terminal
2. Install Freebuff (free coding agent, no API key needed):
npm install -g freebuff
3. In any folder, run:
freebuff "create a simple todo app"
It will read, write, and run files for you. Watch it work, then ask it to change something.
Download a desktop app. Add a free AI key once. Then talk to many different models from one window. Your own private ChatGPT, fully under your control.
1. Download Cherry Studio (free, Windows/Mac/Linux)
2. Get a free Gemini key from Google AI Studio. Click "Create API key", copy it
3. In Cherry Studio: Settings → Providers → Gemini → paste your key
4. Start chatting. Try switching between Gemini, DeepSeek, and Mistral. Same UI, different brains.
Most "AI" tools you hear about are powered by large language models (LLMs). Programs trained on huge amounts of text that can answer questions, write code, summarize, and translate. ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are all LLMs.
You can use AI two ways. Chat (ChatGPT, Gemini chat) is a website. Easy, but limited to one conversation at a time. An API is a way for your own code to talk to a model. It's how apps actually use AI under the hood.
It's a long random string (like AIzaSyD-abc123...) that proves to the provider who you are. You sign up, they give you a key, you paste it into your code. Treat it like a password. Don't share it publicly.
Don't overthink this. Gemini is the default. Free, no card, works in your browser. You can use it from the "Try it in your browser" section above, or try DuckDuckGo if you don't have a Google or Microsoft account. You can try the others later.
You don't need to code to use AI. The directions at the top of this page: browser, coding assistant, or desktop app. All get you started without writing a single line. Pick whichever one sounds most useful and try it today.
Quick comparison of what you probably pay for vs. what runs at $0. Pick your stack, cancel the subs you don't need.
One npm install -g freebuff and you're done. Includes coding, chat, and cloud. Funded by ads. No API key needed.
Install the Cline VS Code extension, get a free Gemini API key, point Cline at it. You get a Cursor-equivalent agent for $0/mo. ~10 minutes to set up.
DeepSeek's API is pay-as-you-go and very cheap, with rate-limited free access for testing. Cloudflare Workers handles 100k requests/day free. Pair with DeepSeek R1 for reasoning-heavy loads.
Gemini (no card) for quality, Mistral (phone verification) for European hosting, Cloudflare for deployment. None of them need a card on file for personal projects.
Copy one of these. None of them cost anything.
Free models, API keys, credits, and a few paid picks we think are worth it. Explained plainly enough for first-timers, honest enough for people who've been around. Real flaws included.
npm install -g freebuff:free routing system.openrouter/free auto-routerkilo-auto/free routes you to whatever's workingYour ad could go here. Get in touch →
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