Free AI tools for work: the ones worth using

In brief

Without paying, you can already write and summarize with ChatGPT, Claude, or Mistral Vibe, search with Perplexity, ask questions of your documents with Gemini Notebook, get your meeting notes with Granola, and put together a presentation with Gamma. Free stops in four ways: a limit that resets, an allowance given only once, a feature reserved for subscribers, or a shortened history. And on most free plans, what you write can be used to train the AI, unless you change the setting.

What you can do without paying, tool by tool

The free plans below were checked on October 3, 2026 on the vendors’ pages. They change often: each tool page, linked at the bottom of this page, gives the up-to-date details.

Need	Tool	What the free plan gives	Where it stops
Write, summarize, rephrase	ChatGPT	Unlimited written conversations; files, images, and voice with a limit	Unpublished limits, possible ads
Read and produce documents	Claude	Web search and real Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files	The limit resets every five hours, and runs out fast with large files
A European assistant	Mistral Vibe	Chat, web search, more than 100 connectors, 5 scheduled tasks	Limited number of messages, unpublished
You use Gmail	Gemini	Chat, images, Deep Research, Canvas, 15 GB of storage	Gemini in Docs, Sheets, and Meet requires a subscription
You use Word and Outlook	Copilot	Chat, images, files, and voice in the Copilot app	Copilot in Word, Excel, and Outlook requires a Microsoft 365 subscription
Search, with sources	Perplexity	Simple searches with almost no limit	3 “Pro” searches per day, 1 “Research” report per month
Ask questions of your documents	Gemini Notebook	100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook, 50 questions per day	3 audio summaries per day
Meeting notes	Granola	Notes for all your meetings, with no bot in the call	Only the last 30 days stay visible
Presentations	Gamma	400 credits at sign-up, export to PowerPoint and PDF	Credits do not refill; 10 slides per generation
Visuals	Canva	More than 1.6 million templates, 5 GB of storage	20 AI uses per month
Translate	DeepL	50,000 characters per month	1 file per month, 5 MB at most
Connect your apps	Zapier	100 tasks per month	Two steps per automation

The four ways free stops

Before you build a habit on a tool, look at how it will stop you.

A limit that resets. This is the most comfortable case: you wait, and it starts again. Every five hours with Claude and Gemini, every day for Gemini Notebook questions, every month for Canva.
An allowance given only once. Gamma’s 400 credits do not come back. Once they are spent, you have to refer someone or pay. Count them before you promise a presentation a week.
A feature reserved for subscribers. The assistant is free, but not everywhere: Claude in Excel requires the Pro plan, Gemini in Google Sheets a Google AI subscription or a Google Workspace plan.
A shortened history or a badge. Granola hides notes older than 30 days until you pay; they are kept, not erased. Gamma leaves the “Made with Gamma” badge on your pages.

What free still costs: your data

A free plan is almost always a personal plan. Its rule on AI training protects you less than a team plan does. Here is what the vendors say.

ChatGPT: your conversations can be used for training, unless you turn off “Improve the model for everyone” in the data controls.
Gemini, with a personal account: they can be used to improve Google’s AI and be reviewed by people, unless you turn off “Keep Activity.”
Free Mistral Vibe: they can be used to improve the AI as long as you have not opted out.
Free DeepL: your texts can be used to improve the service, and its policy forbids entering personal data.
Claude: they are used for training only if you agree. Check the setting.
Gemini Notebook: Google says your documents are not used to train its AI, unless you send feedback on an answer.

Change these settings on day one. And keep one simple rule: no customer file, contract, or employee data in a free account. Our guide details what not to share with AI at work.

A free stack to get started

There is no need to open twelve accounts. Three tools are enough to get started.

A general-purpose assistant. ChatGPT if you do a bit of everything, Claude if you produce documents, Mistral Vibe if you want a European vendor. See ChatGPT or Claude.
A tool for your own documents. Gemini Notebook: you drop in a contract, a procedure, or a report, and each answer shows the passage it comes from.
A tool for your meetings, if you have many. Granola takes notes from your computer. Always tell the participants beforehand.
Then add a single tool per real need: Gamma the day you have a presentation to put together, Perplexity when you have to verify a piece of information.

Before you create a personal account, check what your company already has. Copilot Chat is included in eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions, and Gemini is included in Google Workspace: in that case you have nothing to pay.

When paying becomes reasonable

The rule is the same everywhere: pay when a limit blocks you several times a week on a tool you really use. Not before, and one subscription at a time.

The first paid tiers, checked on October 3, 2026 from France: ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro at $20 per month, Google AI Plus at €4.99 per month, Mistral Vibe Pro at €14.99 per month excl. tax, Gamma Plus at €8 per month billed yearly. For a team, the math is different: see the AI budget of a small team.

What Nova brings

Nova is subscription software. For each tool, its page says what the free plan includes, what each paid plan unlocks, and the date the prices were checked. Each demo says whether it works on the free plan or which plan it needs. Try the interactive demo.

Frequently asked questions

Can you really work with free AI tools?

Yes, to write, summarize, search, and prepare a document from time to time. The free plans of ChatGPT, Claude, or Mistral Vibe are enough to get started. They show their limits with daily use, large files, or company data.

Which free AI tool should you try first?

A general-purpose assistant. ChatGPT covers the widest range, and writing is not metered. Claude returns real Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files from the free plan. Try both on the same task and keep the one that needs the fewest corrections.

Are free tools suitable for company data?

Rarely. On most free plans, your content can be used to improve the AI as long as you have not turned the setting off. For customer or employee data, use the team workspace your company provides, or remove the names and amounts.

Why are some free limits not given as numbers?

Because vendors do not always publish them. OpenAI does not give the number of images or files per plan, Mistral does not give the number of messages, and Google expresses its paid plans as multiples of the free one. The tool warns you when the limit is reached.

Is there a free tool for meeting notes?

Yes. Granola takes notes on your meetings with no daily limit, and shows the last 30 days on the free plan. Other tools exist, with or without a bot in the call. In every case, tell the participants before you start taking notes.

Sources

ChatGPT pricing, OpenAI
Claude pricing, Anthropic
Mistral pricing, Mistral AI
Google AI plans (France, in French), Google
Microsoft 365 Copilot pricing (France, in French), Microsoft
Perplexity pricing, Perplexity
Granola pricing, Granola
Gamma pricing, Gamma
Canva pricing (France, in French), Canva
DeepL plans (France, in French), DeepL
Zapier pricing, Zapier

The free AI tools that are really useful at work