6 Free AI Tools That Beat Paid Ones

Everyone knows ChatGPT , Grok , or Gemini . But there are dozens of free AI tools that do amazing things in total silence. Tools that solve real problems, save hours of work, and often work better than paid alternatives.

6 Hidden AI Tools That Work Wonders 1. Poe: All AI Chatbots in One Place

Instead of opening ChatGPT for one thing and Gemini for another, Poe brings it all together. Developed by Quora , Poe gives you access to all the language models on the market ( GPT-4 , Claude , Grok, DeepSeek , etc.), including top AI image generators like Flux or ImageFX , audio generators like ElevenLabs Turbo V2.5 , and video generators like Veo 3 , Runway , and even OpenAI's Sora . All from a single interface.

You also have the ability to compare answers. You can ask the same question to GPT-4 and Claude to see which one responds better. Or start a conversation with one model and continue it with another without losing the thread. It also has some nice bonus features. Plus, Poe remembers threads and lets you pick up where you left off.

And if you have a little imagination, you can create your own custom chatbot . Give it a personality (like “sarcastic Italian food expert”) and it will always respond in kind. The free version gives you access to all the main templates with some limitations on the number of messages per day, but for most people, that’s more than enough.

2. Reclaim.ai: The calendar that organizes itself

Reclaim.ai doesn't generate images or write text. It solves a problem we all have: finding time for the things that really matter.

Let’s say you want to dedicate 2 hours a day to writing your book, or you want to fit in a 30-minute lunch break every day. Normally, you would have to manually search your calendar for free slots, hoping that no one is scheduling meetings for those times.

Just say: I need 2 hours every morning to write my book. It automatically connects to your Google or Outlook calendar, finds available slots, and books them as if they were real appointments. If someone tries to schedule a meeting at that time, Reclaim automatically moves the block of time to another free slot.

It also works with daily habits. For example, you enter the prompt: I want to go to the gym for 30 minutes, 3 times a week , and Reclaim automatically finds the right times and blocks them in your calendar. If someone schedules a meeting on Tuesday during your gym time, Reclaim automatically moves the workout to Wednesday or Thursday, still at your preferred time.

After 14 days of premium trial, you automatically switch to the free plan which includes all the basic features.

3. tl;dv: no more forgotten meetings

Sometimes, after a Zoom meeting, you may not remember the key points. For these situations, tl;dv is a lifesaver. The name means “too long; didn't view” and says it all. It records meetings, transcribes them, and extracts the most important parts so you don't have to rewatch everything.

The best feature is definitely search , which lets you search within meetings as if you were searching within a document. For example, just type “marketing plan” or “next steps,” and tl;dv will take you directly to that section of the transcript or video. It works with Zoom and Google Meet, and the free plan is surprisingly generous.

4. Napkin AI: From text to visual in seconds

Turning ideas into visuals usually takes time, effort, and technical expertise. Napkin AI converts text into diagrams , flowcharts , and illustrations in seconds, without understanding a thing about design. All you have to do is paste the content, and ask Napkin to generate corresponding visuals. The output is clean, editable, and ready to use.

Whether you need to explain a complicated process to your team, present a strategy to your boss, or teach a lesson to students, a diagram is often worth a thousand words. Instead of spending hours on PowerPoint or trying to draw by hand, you can simply paste in text and have a professional flowchart in seconds.

For example, if you write Customer places order, we check stock, if available we ship, otherwise we contact supplier , Napkin automatically creates a flowchart with all the right arrows and links. The free version allows you to create several diagrams per month, which is more than enough for most people.

5. Leonardo AI

Leonardo AI is a lot of stuff. It can create lifelike images by writing a cat wearing a chef’s hat in a modern kitchen , or generate animated videos (it also includes Google’s Veo 3) like a butterfly flying in a garden at sunset.

But it's not just an image generator. It also has tools to remove backgrounds from photos , enlarge images without losing quality, and even a canvas where you can paint and directly edit what the AI ​​has created.

It's perfect for creating social media content, images for a project, or for developing indie games and needing characters and environments. Instead of searching for stock photos or hiring a designer, just write what you need and Leonardo creates it.

The cool thing is that everything is integrated: you can generate an image, remove the background, change some details and download the final result all in the same place. With the free version you can create several contents per day, more than enough to try if it is the right tool for you.

6. Range for presentations

With Gamma , creating a presentation from a few ideas jotted down in a Word document is a breeze. Just copy your notes, even if they’re just random bullet points like “project introduction,” “current problems,” “our solution,” “needed budget,” and paste them into Gamma. The tool creates a complete presentation.

We are not talking about empty slides with text thrown in. Gamma chooses colors that go well together, finds appropriate images for each section, decides which topics to put together on the same slide and which to cover separately. In 5 minutes you have a professional presentation. And if something does not convince, you can change everything. From the color of the font, to the images, to the content.