Home / The State of AI Tools
Live tracker · verified 2026-05-31
The State of AI Tools: free vs paid, tracked
The straight answer most "best AI tools" pages won't give you: exactly what each tool's free tier gets you, what the ~$20/month tier adds, and when upgrading is actually worth it — each row stamped with the date we last checked. Pricing changes fast, so verify on the official site before you buy.
AI Assistants
| Tool | Free tier | ~$20/mo tier | Premium | Pay when… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
Access to OpenAI's current default model (GPT-5.x-class) for everyday chat, plus web browsing, file uploads, basic image generation, a lite voice mode and the GPT Store. Single most important limit: a small message cap on the smart model in a rolling ~5-hour window (widely reported around 10 messages) before it falls back to a lighter 'mini' model. Note: since early 2026, ads appear for free users in some regions. | Plus (~$20/month, approximate, flagged — Plus has held the ~$20 anchor for years). Adds the smartest models on demand with much higher limits, removes ads, and unlocks full Advanced Voice, expanded image generation, Sora video (still capped/preview), Deep Research, Agent mode, Projects/custom GPTs and advanced data analysis (Python on your files). | Pro — a substantially higher tier (reported around the $200/month range, with a lower ~$100 variant introduced in 2026). The gist: top-end 'Pro'-grade reasoning model, very large context, and roughly 5x-20x Plus usage for near-unlimited heavy use. Aimed at developers, analysts and researchers; most people should not start here. | Stay free for occasional questions and drafting; pay for Plus once you regularly hit the free message cap or want the best voice/image/Sora and Deep Research daily. Go Pro only if you're a heavy professional who maxes out Plus. |
| Claude
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
Web and mobile chat with strong writing, reasoning and coding help, plus web search and memory across conversations. Single most important limit: usage is metered in a rolling ~5-hour window (real headroom varies with conversation length, attachments and current demand), and there is no Claude Code access on free. | Pro (~$20/month, approximate; about $17/month if billed annually). Adds substantially more usage plus the power features: Claude Code (agentic coding in the terminal), the Cowork collaboration surface, unlimited projects, the Research feature, and Microsoft 365 integration. | Max — a substantially higher tier (from around the $100/month range, with a higher ~$200 step). The gist: it is mostly a capacity play — roughly 5x or 20x Pro usage, higher output limits, priority access at peak times and early feature access, rather than fundamentally new capabilities beyond Pro. | Stay free if you don't hit limits; pay for Pro if you write or code seriously every day (Claude Code alone can justify it). Skip Max unless you actually max out Pro's limits — most people don't. |
| DeepSeek
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
The consumer chat at chat.deepseek.com and the official mobile apps are entirely free, with access to DeepSeek's V4-class models in both fast ('Instant') and reasoning ('DeepThink'/'Expert') modes, plus file uploads, web search and image analysis. Single most important limit: there are no firm published per-user caps for normal use, but as a free service capacity/speed can be throttled under heavy load or outages, and there is no priority/SLA. | No consumer ~$20/month subscription exists — the chat app has no paid 'Plus/Pro' tier. The only paid product is the developer API, billed pay-per-token (very low cost, e.g. fractions of a dollar per million tokens, with cheaper cached rates). This is the key caveat for a price tracker: for end users DeepSeek is free, not a $20 subscription. | No premium consumer tier. The closest 'more power' options are higher-capability API models (e.g. a V4 'Pro' vs 'Flash' at higher per-token rates) for developers, or self-hosting the open-weight (MIT-licensed) models — not a packaged consumer plan. | Individuals can simply stay on the free chat — there's nothing to upgrade to. Only 'pay' (via the API) if you're a developer building DeepSeek into your own app and need programmatic access or higher-end models at scale. |
| Gemini
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
Arguably the most generous free tier: a fast default model (Gemini 3.5 Flash class) with some access to the flagship Pro model, plus image generation, Deep Research (a few reports per month), Gemini Live voice, Canvas, Gems, and 15GB of Google One storage tied to your existing Google account. Single most important limit: daily usage caps and only limited access to the top Pro model and Deep Research. | Google AI Pro (~$20/month, officially $19.99). Adds ~4x higher usage, fuller access to the flagship Gemini 3.x Pro model with a ~1M-token context window, video generation, the Jules coding agent, Gemini woven into Gmail/Docs/Chrome, NotebookLM upgrades, and a big jump in cloud storage (multi-TB). Google also offers a cheaper AI Plus tier (~$8) below this. | Google AI Ultra — a substantially higher tier (reported starting around $100/month, with a top step near $200 after a 2026 restructuring). The gist: highest access to the top model, a 'Deep Think' reasoning mode, up to ~20x usage, the most video/creation credits and very large (20TB+) storage. For heavy creators and researchers. | Stay free if you're a light user — it's a genuinely strong free tier. Pay for AI Pro if you live in Google Workspace, need long-context research, or want video generation; go Ultra only if you produce serious volumes of AI media. |
| Grok
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
Free access on grok.com and in the X app to the current Grok model and Grok Imagine, with a modest rolling allowance (reported around 10 prompts and 10 image generations per ~2 hours). Single most important limit: those tight rolling prompt/image caps, plus reduced access to the newest models and heavy 'thinking'/DeepSearch modes. | SuperGrok (~$30/month, approximate — note this runs a bit above the usual $20 anchor; X Premium at ~$8 and X Premium+ at ~$40 also bundle Grok). Adds effectively unlimited prompts and image generation, far higher video limits, the latest Grok models, DeepSearch research, 'Big Brain' mode, voice, large context memory and priority compute. | SuperGrok Heavy — a substantially higher tier (reported around $300/month). The gist: unlocks the multi-agent 'Heavy' reasoning model with the largest context window, the highest rate limits everywhere, priority access under load, and early previews of new xAI products. For the most demanding power users. | Stay free for casual use or if you already have X Premium. Pay for SuperGrok if you use Grok heavily, want unlimited generation and the newest models, or rely on DeepSearch; Heavy is only for those who need the top multi-agent model and maximum limits. |
| Microsoft Copilot
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
Free Copilot (copilot.microsoft.com, plus built into Windows, Bing and Edge): AI chat for writing, brainstorming and summarizing with real-time web answers, plus image generation with a daily 'boosts' cap (reported ~15/day) and, signed in, chat history and voice. Single most important limit: latest models only during off-peak/non-priority times, an image-boost daily cap, and no Copilot inside the Microsoft 365 desktop apps. | Copilot Pro (~$20/month, approximate) — note Microsoft increasingly frames the consumer paid offering as 'Copilot in Microsoft 365' (Personal/Family/Premium). Adds priority access to the latest models even at peak times, more daily image boosts, and Copilot embedded inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote — which in practice also requires a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription. | No single consumer 'Ultra'-style tier; the step up is organizational: Microsoft 365 Copilot for business/enterprise (reported around $18-$30 per user/month) that connects Copilot to your work data (email, files, Teams). Microsoft 365 Premium is the closest higher consumer plan, bundling advanced AI features and agents. | Stay free if you just want a capable web chatbot. Pay for Copilot Pro / Microsoft 365 only if you live inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook daily and want AI directly in those documents; the work-data business tiers are for organizations, not individuals. |
| Perplexity
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
Unlimited basic answer-engine searches with citations using an auto-selected model, plus a few Deep Research reports and a small daily allowance of 'Pro Search' queries. Single most important limit: Pro Search is capped at only a handful of queries per day (reported around 3-5/day) and you can't freely pick the top frontier models. | Pro (~$20/month, approximate). Adds effectively unlimited Pro Searches, your choice of frontier models (e.g. top GPT/Claude/Gemini), a much larger Deep Research allowance, bigger file uploads, image/asset generation, and access to the Comet browser/assistant agent quotas. | Max — a substantially higher tier (reported around the $200/month range). The gist: the highest query and Deep Research limits, a 'Model Council' multi-model comparison, top-end video/image generation, generous compute credits and unlimited Labs access. For research-heavy power users. | Stay free if Perplexity is an occasional research/second-opinion tool. Pay for Pro if you research daily and keep hitting the Pro Search cap or want to choose the underlying frontier model; Max is overkill unless you run very heavy research/agent workloads. |
AI Video & Avatar Tools
| Tool | Free tier | ~$20/mo tier | Premium | Pay when… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descript
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
A genuinely useful free plan for editing video/podcasts by editing the transcript (plus screen recording and captions): ~60 minutes of media (transcription) per month, 100 one-time AI credits to sample AI tools, unlimited projects and ~25-language transcription. Single most important limit: exports are 720p with a watermark, the 60-min/month transcription cap, and AI features are throttled — good for learning the workflow or light personal edits. | Hobbyist (~$16-24/month per user, approximate; about $16/mo annual vs ~$24 monthly). The entry plan removes the watermark, exports at 1080p, raises transcription to ~10 hours/month and gives ~400 monthly AI credits with limited access to tools like Studio Sound, Remove Filler Words and Eye Contact. Not billed by video 'minutes' so much as transcription hours + AI credits. | Creator (~$24-35/month per user, approximate) is the popular tier: ~30+ hours/month transcription, ~800+ AI credits, 4K export and full access to 'Underlord' (the AI video co-editor) and 20+ AI tools. Above it, Business (~$50-65/mo/user) adds team brand controls, video translation and custom avatars, then custom Enterprise. | Stay free for occasional edits and to learn the text-based workflow. Pay for Hobbyist once you need watermark-free 1080p or more than ~1 hour of transcription a month; jump to Creator if you're a regular podcaster/YouTuber who wants 4K and the full AI toolset. Heavy AI users should watch the monthly AI-credit allowance, not just the hours. |
| HeyGen
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
A free plan (no credit card) for AI-avatar and avatar-video-translation clips: up to 3 videos per month, capped at ~1 minute each, with access to 500+ stock avatars, 1 custom 'digital twin' avatar, and 30+ languages. Single most important limit: the 3-videos / 1-minute-each ceiling plus a HeyGen watermark — fine for demos and short social clips, not for volume or client work. | Creator (~$24-29/month, approximate; about $24/mo annual vs ~$29 monthly). The entry plan: removes the watermark, allows longer videos and 1080p export, voice cloning and more languages. Billed by credits — commonly reported as ~200 Premium credits/month (HeyGen's own page has at times listed higher allotments, so treat the exact number as approximate). Credits translate roughly to ~10 min of premium 'Avatar IV' video or ~40 min of lip-synced translation, depending on the feature used. | Pro (~$49/month, approximate) roughly doubles the credit pool and adds 4K export and faster processing; above it, Business (~$149/month + per-seat) adds team seats, SSO, more digital twins and longer videos, then custom Enterprise. The gist: higher tiers are mostly more credits + collaboration/security, not new core abilities. | Stay free to test avatars or post the occasional sub-minute clip. Pay for Creator as soon as you need watermark-free, longer or higher-res videos; go Pro/Business when you hit the credit ceiling or need 4K, team seats or SSO. Because everything is credit-metered, estimate your monthly video minutes before picking a tier. |
| Pictory
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
No permanent free tier — a 14-day free trial only (no credit card). The trial lets you create up to ~3 short video projects (roughly 15 video minutes, max ~5 min each) to test turning scripts, blog posts or text into narrated stock-footage videos. Single most important limit: trial exports are 720p with a Pictory watermark and the trial expires — you must subscribe to keep using it or publish clean videos. | Starter (~$25-29/month, approximate; about $25/mo billed annually vs ~$29 monthly). The entry plan and the real starting point: ~200 video minutes/month (commonly framed as up to ~30 videos), no watermark, 1080p, royalty-free stock footage and music, AI voices, 1 brand kit and a pool of AI credits. Effectively metered by monthly video minutes/credits. | Professional (~$35-59/month, approximate) roughly triples output to ~600 video minutes/month and adds advanced tools, custom AI avatars, voice cloning, more brand kits and bulk downloads. Above it sits Teams (~$119-199/mo) for collaboration and much higher minute caps, then custom Enterprise. For higher-volume marketers and agencies. | There's nothing to stay on for free — use the 14-day trial to decide, then you must pay to publish anything (watermark + 720p block real use). Start on Starter for steady low-volume output; move to Professional when ~200 min/month isn't enough or you want avatars/voice cloning. Match the plan to your monthly video-minute needs. |
| Synthesia
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
A free 'Basic' plan (no credit card) for making AI-avatar 'talking head' videos from a script: ~10 minutes of video per month, 9 stock avatars, AI voices in 140+ languages, 60+ templates and PowerPoint import. Single most important limit: every export carries a visible 'Made with Synthesia' watermark and you cannot download videos or remove branding on free — so it's really for trying the tool, not publishing. | Starter (~$18-29/month, approximate; about $18/mo billed annually vs ~$29 monthly). This is the entry plan and is metered by video minutes — still only ~10 minutes of video per month, but it removes the watermark, lets you download videos, unlocks 125+ avatars, 3 custom/personal avatars, AI dubbing and the AI video assistant. Note the low minute cap is the real constraint, not the price. | Creator (~$64-89/month, approximate). The gist: triples output to ~30 minutes of video per month, 180+ avatars, 5 personal avatars, multiple avatars per scene, interactive/branded video pages and API access. Above this sits custom-priced Enterprise (unlimited minutes, SSO, SCORM). For people producing regular avatar video at modest volume. | Stay free only to test the avatars — the watermark and no-download rule make free unusable for real publishing. Pay for Starter the moment you need to publish even one clean video; step up to Creator when ~10 min/month isn't enough or you need API/interactive features. Watch the minute caps more than the dollar figure. |
AI Writing & Content Tools
| Tool | Free tier | ~$20/mo tier | Premium | Pay when… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copy.ai
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
Yes — a genuine free plan (1 seat). It includes a modest monthly word allowance (reported ~2,000 words/month) in the chat interface plus access to the Infobase, and a one-time grant of ~200 workflow credits for first-time users. Single most important limit: the small monthly word cap, which casual users can exhaust quickly. (Note: free-plan word limits have shifted over time, so verify the current figure.) | Chat is the entry paid plan (~$29/mo, or ~$24/mo billed annually; approximate). It removes the word cap (unlimited words in chat), allows unlimited chat projects, includes multiple seats (reported up to 5), and unlocks the latest OpenAI/Anthropic/Google models. This is the practical pick for an individual or small team doing day-to-day AI writing. | The higher tiers are now aimed at go-to-market/sales teams and jump sharply in price: Growth (~$1,000/mo), Expansion (~$2,000/mo) and Scale (~$3,000/mo) layer in large pools of automated 'workflow credits' and many seats, with a custom Enterprise tier adding API access, bulk runs, integrations and dedicated support. The gap between the ~$29 Chat plan and the next paid tier is very large — flag this for anyone expecting a normal mid-tier. | Stay on free for light, occasional copy. Upgrade to Chat (~$29/mo) when the free word cap gets in your way or you want the newest models and unlimited use. Only the higher workflow tiers make sense for sales/marketing teams automating outreach at scale — they're priced for organizations, not individuals. |
| Jasper
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
No permanent free tier — Jasper offers a 7-day free trial only (no credit card required), with full feature access and unlimited word generation during the trial. After it ends you must pick a paid plan to keep using it. | Creator is the entry paid plan (low-double-digits to ~$40/mo band — reported around $39/mo on annual billing, mid-$40s billed monthly; approximate, verify on site). It targets solo creators writing simpler content (emails, social posts, short copy) with one seat. Note: as of 2026 Jasper's own pricing page leads with the higher Pro plan and de-emphasizes Creator, so the true entry price can be hard to see — confirm current Creator availability and price on the official page. | Pro (mid-to-high-double-digits/mo — reported around $59/mo annual, ~$69/mo monthly; approximate) is the main paid plan: the Canvas workspace, AI 'Agents', multiple Brand Voices, Knowledge assets and Audiences for teams. Above that, Business is a custom-priced enterprise tier (reportedly starting a few hundred $/mo) adding advanced agents, a no-code app builder, API access, governance and dedicated support. | There's nothing free to stay on, so this is a buy-or-skip decision. Casual writers are better served by a cheaper general AI chatbot; pay for Jasper (Creator, then Pro) only if you produce marketing/brand content at volume and value its brand-voice controls, templates and team workflow. Business is for agencies/enterprises that need API, governance and many seats. |
| Surfer SEO
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
No free tier and no free trial. The only risk-free path is a 7-day money-back guarantee — you pay up front and can request a refund. (A free Chrome extension and some free keyword/SERP mini-tools exist for marketing, but the core content editor/audit product requires a paid plan.) | Discovery is the entry paid plan (~$49/mo, approximate). Note: in an early-2026 restructure Surfer moved to annual-only billing and repriced around AI-search visibility, so this is effectively ~$49/mo paid yearly rather than a true month-to-month option. Discovery includes a limited monthly document/credit allowance (reported ~120 documents) plus AI SEO guidelines and the Surfy assistant — fine for a solo blogger. | Standard (~$99/mo) adds more documents (~360) and AI-visibility tracking; Pro (~$182/mo) expands AI-prompt tracking across more platforms with daily refresh, multiple brand workspaces and internal-linking/cannibalization tools; Peace of Mind (~$299/mo) gives unlimited documents, API access and a success manager; Enterprise (~$999/mo, approximate) adds SSO, white-label and advisory. All bands approximate — verify on site. | There's no free version to lean on. Skip Surfer if you publish only occasionally — a general AI writer or free SERP tools will do. Pay for Discovery/Standard once you're optimizing content regularly and want data-driven on-page guidance; step up to Pro or higher only for agency-scale volume, multi-platform AI-search tracking, API or white-label needs. |
Automation & No-Code
| Tool | Free tier | ~$20/mo tier | Premium | Pay when… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoHighLevel
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
No permanent free tier — GoHighLevel is TRIAL-ONLY. You get a 14-day free trial with full access to your chosen plan's features (build funnels, CRM, automations and pipelines) and typically no charge until the trial ends. Single most important limit: it expires after 14 days and there is no free-forever plan, so this is an all-in agency/marketing platform you evaluate then pay for, not a freemium tool — and usage items like SMS, calls, emails and AI credits are billed separately on top. | Starter (entry paid; roughly the high-$90s/month band, about $97/month, approximate and flagged). Aimed at a single business or solo marketer: the full core all-in-one stack — CRM, sales funnels and websites, email/SMS marketing, calendars, pipelines and workflow automations — with unlimited contacts and users but only about 3 sub-accounts (client workspaces). Usage-based messaging/AI costs are extra. | Unlimited (~$297/month, approximate), which removes the sub-account cap (unlimited client accounts), adds user/agent reporting, no-markup phone/email rebilling and basic API access — built for growing agencies. Above it, Agency Pro / SaaS Pro (~$497/month, approximate) unlocks 'SaaS mode' to rebrand and resell the platform under your own name, automated sub-account creation and rebilling with markup. | Use the 14-day trial to decide if the all-in-one suite replaces several separate tools; pay for Starter if you're one business wanting CRM + funnels + marketing in one place. Step up to Unlimited when you manage multiple clients/sub-accounts, and only to Agency Pro/SaaS Pro if you intend to white-label and resell GoHighLevel as your own SaaS. |
| Make
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
The most generous free tier among the big automation tools: a full visual drag-and-drop scenario builder, 3,000+ app integrations, routers and filters, and up to 1,000 operations/month (Make now brands these as 'credits'). Single most important limit: only 2 active scenarios, a ~15-minute minimum interval between scheduled runs and modest data-transfer/log limits — fine for hobby and proof-of-concept automations. | Core (entry paid; roughly the low-teens-per-month band, about $12/month on annual billing, approximate and flagged). Adds 10,000 operations/month at the base step, unlimited active scenarios, scheduling down to a 1-minute interval, Make API access and higher data-transfer limits. PRICING UNIT: Make bills per OPERATION (credit) — roughly one credit per module action a scenario performs (triggers, iterators and many filters also consume credits), so a multi-step scenario can spend several credits per run; you choose a monthly operations allocation. | Pro (a moderately higher tier, roughly the low-$20s-per-month band on annual billing, approximate), which keeps the same base operations but adds priority scenario execution, full-text execution-log search and larger file handling — then Teams (~high-$30s/month) for shared team roles and templates, and Enterprise (custom) for advanced controls. Make's higher tiers are mostly about speed, scale and collaboration rather than core capability. | Stay free while you're learning Make or running one or two small scenarios; upgrade to Core as soon as you need more than 2 live scenarios, faster-than-15-minute runs, the API, or more than ~1,000 operations a month. Go Pro/Teams only for priority execution at scale or genuine team collaboration. |
| Notion
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
A strong free workspace for individuals: unlimited pages and blocks for solo use, the full editor, databases, basic if-then automations, plus a limited trial of Notion's AI features. Single most important limit: it's built for one person — collaboration is capped (around 10 guests), file uploads are limited to ~5MB each, page-version history is only ~7 days, and shared pages/blocks become limited once you have 2+ members. | Plus (entry paid; roughly the $10/user/month band on annual billing, approximate and flagged — closer to ~$12 month-to-month). Adds real team collaboration: unlimited blocks for teams, far more guests (~100), unlimited file uploads, 30-day page history, synced databases and custom automations. Note: Plus still includes only basic/limited AI — full AI is not here. | Business (a higher tier, roughly the $20/user/month band on annual billing, approximate). The key gist for 2026: this is where FULL Notion AI lives — 'Ask Notion' workspace-wide search and the multi-step AI Agents — after Notion folded the old separate ~$10/month AI add-on into Business in 2025. It also adds private teamspaces, 90-day history, bulk PDF export and analytics. Enterprise (custom) tops it out with SSO/SCIM, audit logs and unlimited history. | Stay free if you use Notion solo or for light note-taking; move to Plus when a team needs to collaborate without guest/history limits. Jump to Business specifically if you want full Notion AI (Ask Notion + AI Agents) across your workspace or need private teamspaces — that AI is the main reason to pay the higher tier. |
| Zapier
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
A genuine free plan for trying automation: build Zaps (automated workflows) across 8,000+ apps with a basic AI builder and access to most app integrations. Single most important limit: only 100 tasks/month, single- and two-step Zaps only (one trigger + one action — no multi-step branching), and a ~15-minute polling interval, so it's for testing and a couple of light automations, not real volume. | Professional (entry paid; from roughly the $20/month band on annual billing, approximate and flagged — the headline price buys the lowest 750-task tier and climbs steeply as you add tasks). Adds multi-step Zaps, unlimited premium apps, webhooks, filters/paths/logic, faster update intervals and live-chat support. PRICING UNIT: Zapier bills per TASK — one task = each successful action a Zap performs (the trigger and failed/held steps don't count), so a 3-step Zap can burn 2 tasks per run; cost is the task tier you pick, not the number of Zaps. | Team (a substantially higher tier, from roughly the $69/month band, approximate). The gist: it's a shared-workspace and collaboration play — up to 25 users, shared Zaps/folders and shared app connections, SAML SSO and premier support, on the same flexible per-task tiers. Above it sits Enterprise (custom-priced) with advanced admin/security and annual task pooling. | Stay free to learn the tool and run one or two simple two-step Zaps; move to Professional the moment you need multi-step logic, filters/paths or webhooks, or you blow past 100 tasks/month. Step up to Team only when multiple people must share and manage automations. |
Sell Digital Products
| Tool | Free tier | ~$20/mo tier | Premium | Pay when… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClickFunnels
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
No free plan — ClickFunnels (2.0) is a premium sales-funnel and digital-product platform offering only a ~14-day free trial to test everything before paying. This is a trial, not a free-forever tier, so budget for a paid plan from the outset (verify current trial length on the pricing page). | Startup (~$97/month, approximate; ~$81/month billed annually). Includes the core funnel builder plus courses, with reported caps around ~20 funnels, ~100 pages and ~10,000 contacts, and support for a few brand workspaces/domains. Aimed at solo founders and small businesses building sales funnels (figures approximate, flagged). | Pro (~$297/month, approximate; ~$248/month billed annually). The gist: effectively unlimited funnels, pages and contacts, plus the Backpack affiliate-management system, Customer Center, API access and around ~5 user seats — for higher-volume businesses running affiliate programs and larger funnels. | No free option, so only commit once funnels are central to how you sell and the revenue supports a premium ~$97+/month tool; upgrade from Startup to Pro when you outgrow the funnel/page/contact caps or need an affiliate program (Backpack) and more team seats. |
| Gumroad
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
No monthly fee at all — you can open an account, upload a product and start selling for free, paying only when you make a sale. Since Jan 2025 Gumroad also acts as merchant of record, so it calculates, collects and remits sales tax/VAT/GST worldwide for you. The catch is the per-sale fee model (see paid_tier): there is no 'plan' to buy, but Gumroad's cut comes out of every transaction, which is expensive at higher volumes. | Per-sale fee model (no subscription). Gumroad takes a flat ~10% + ~$0.50 on each direct sale through your own links/profile, on top of which the payment processor's fee (~2.9% + ~$0.30) also applies — so an all-in effective cut closer to ~13% per sale (figures approximate, flagged — verify on the pricing page). Products discovered through Gumroad's own marketplace are charged a much higher ~30% flat. There are no volume discounts. | No higher 'premium' subscription tier exists — the model is the single flat per-sale fee for everyone, regardless of revenue. The only way the economics change is selling more through your own links (10% lane) versus the Discover marketplace (30% lane). Power sellers who dislike the percentage cut typically graduate to a subscription-based platform instead. | Great as a zero-cost way to launch a digital download or simple product today; once sales volume is high, that flat ~10%+ per-sale cut can cost more than a fixed monthly plan elsewhere, so compare against subscription platforms. |
| Kajabi
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
No free plan — Kajabi is a premium all-in-one course/coaching platform offering only a free trial (commonly ~14-30 days) to test it before paying. A cheaper legacy 'Kickstarter' entry plan (~$89/month) has existed but is not shown on the main pricing page and has selective availability, so most new users start at the standard tiers below (verify current trial length and plans on the pricing page). | Basic (~$179/month, approximate; ~$143/month billed annually). Aimed at established creators: includes unlimited marketing emails and funnels, plus Kajabi Payments (reportedly ~2.9% + ~$0.30, no extra Kajabi platform fee). Key limits on entry: roughly ~3-5 products/'offers', around ~2,500 active customers and a single admin user (figures approximate, flagged). | Growth (~$249/month, ~$199 annually) and Pro (~$499/month, ~$399 annually). The gist: far higher ceilings — Growth adds ~50 products, ~25,000 contacts and more admins; Pro pushes to unlimited products, ~100,000 contacts, multiple websites and ~26 admins, plus advanced automation and slightly lower payment fees. For serious, scaling knowledge businesses. | There's no free lane — only pay for Kajabi once your course/coaching business can justify a premium ~$179+/month all-in-one (it's overkill for a first product); step up to Growth/Pro as your product count, contact list and team outgrow Basic's caps. |
| Lemon Squeezy
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
No monthly fee — like Gumroad you only pay when you sell, and it acts as your merchant of record, handling global sales tax/VAT and SaaS-style billing for you. Free to set up a store, list products and issue software license keys. The trade-off is the per-sale fee model (see paid_tier) rather than a free 'plan' with feature caps; now owned by Stripe (acquired 2024) but still run as a standalone MoR service. | Per-sale fee model (no subscription). Lemon Squeezy consolidates its costs into roughly 5% + ~$0.50 per transaction as merchant of record (approximate, flagged — verify on the pricing page), which already bundles payment processing and tax handling. Surcharges stack on top: about +1.5% on non-US/international sales, +1.5% on PayPal, +0.5% on subscriptions, and extra on abandoned-cart recovery and affiliate referrals. | No higher subscription tier — the ~5% + ~$0.50 MoR fee is the model for everyone. The 'more' you get is feature breadth (subscriptions, license keys with activation limits, a hosted customer portal, 100+ countries/payment methods) rather than a pricier plan. High-volume software sellers who want a lower percentage typically move to a flat-rate processor and handle tax separately. | Best when you sell software/SaaS or digital goods globally and want bulletproof tax compliance and license keys with no monthly cost; reconsider once volume is high enough that ~5%+ per sale (plus surcharges) exceeds what a fixed plan plus your own tax tooling would cost. |
| Podia
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
No true free plan anymore — Podia is subscription-based with a 30-day free trial (no card required) that unlocks every feature. The one perpetually-free piece is Podia Email, free for up to ~100 subscribers, which comes with all plans and the trial. So you can test the whole platform for a month and keep a tiny free email list, but ongoing selling requires a paid plan (figures approximate, flagged — verify on the pricing page). | Mover (~$33/month billed annually, ~$39 monthly; approximate). An all-in-one creator setup: website, online store, unlimited products (courses, digital downloads, memberships, coaching), email marketing, blogging and a custom domain. The key catch on this entry plan is a ~5% transaction fee on every paid sale, on top of Stripe/PayPal processing (~2.9% + ~$0.30). | Shaker (~$75/month billed annually, ~$89 monthly; approximate). Adds everything in Mover plus 0% transaction fees, affiliate marketing and PayPal payments. The break-even versus Mover is reportedly around ~$840/month in sales — above that, Shaker's removed transaction fee outweighs its higher price. | There's nothing to 'stay free' on beyond the trial and a 100-subscriber email list; start on Mover to run a full creator business cheaply, then move to Shaker once monthly sales are high enough (~$840+) that escaping the 5% transaction fee saves more than the price gap. |
| Systeme.io
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
A genuinely free, all-in-one plan (no credit card, never expires) — the most generous on this list. Reportedly includes up to ~2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, 1 online course, 1 blog, 1 affiliate program and 1 custom domain, with unlimited emails and file storage, and 0% transaction fees. Single most important limit: the cap of ~3 funnels and just 1 course, which growing creators outgrow quickly (figures approximate, flagged — verify on the pricing page). | Startup (~$17/month, approximate; ~$14/month if billed annually). Lifts you to roughly ~5,000 contacts, removes the funnel cap (unlimited funnels) and raises courses to ~5, while keeping unlimited emails and 0% transaction fees. A mid Webinar tier (~$47/month) adds ~10,000 contacts and automated webinars. | Unlimited (~$97/month, approximate; ~$81/month annually). The gist: unlimited contacts and essentially all features uncapped, plus sub-accounts/white-label-style management and free done-for-you migration — aimed at agencies and larger operations. Still 0% transaction fees. | Stay free far longer than with most rivals — it's a real free plan; upgrade to Startup once you need more than 3 funnels, more than 1 course, or bump up against the ~2,000-contact ceiling, and step up to Webinar/Unlimited only as your list and feature needs grow. |
| Thinkific
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
No free plan anymore — Thinkific quietly retired its long-standing free plan in 2025 and now offers only a 30-day free trial (build courses, host a community and test the AI tools before paying). This is a notable change from older guides that still list a free tier, so the honest 2026 position is trial-only, not free-forever (verify on the pricing page). | Basic (~$49/month, approximate; ~$36/month billed annually). Course-first essentials: unlimited published courses, one community, payment plans and Thinkific's own checkout. A big detail buried under 'unlimited courses' is a ~10,000-student cap that applies right up the plan range. Notably, 0% Thinkific platform transaction fees when using Thinkific Payments — but using your own Stripe instead adds a surcharge (reportedly ~5% on Basic, lower on higher plans). | Start (~$99/month) and Grow (~$199/month) above Basic, with an enterprise Plus/Expand tier (~$499+ or custom). The gist: higher plans add memberships, bundles, certificates, removal of Thinkific branding, full analytics, mass email, Zapier actions and B2B selling, and shrink the own-Stripe surcharge — aimed at scaling course businesses (figures approximate, flagged). | No free option to linger on — after the 30-day trial, Basic is the entry point for a serious course creator; move up to Start/Grow once you need memberships, certificates, no Thinkific branding, advanced analytics or to reduce the own-Stripe surcharge. |
Email Marketing
| Tool | Free tier | ~$20/mo tier | Premium | Pay when… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWeber
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
A permanent free plan (no credit card needed): up to 500 subscribers and roughly 3,000 emails/month, with one email list, one automation, the full email/landing-page builder, signup forms and ecommerce capability. Single most important limit: the 500-subscriber and ~3,000-email/month caps plus AWeber branding, and only a single list/automation. Paid pricing scales with subscriber count. | Lite — the entry paid plan, in the low-to-mid-teens-of-dollars/month band (reported starting around $12.50-$15/month at 500 subscribers depending on annual vs monthly billing, approximate; the price rises as your list grows). Adds higher send volumes, up to ~3 landing pages and ~3 automations, a custom segment, ~3 users, hundreds of integrations and ecommerce — but several features remain quantity-capped. | Plus — a higher plan (reported starting around $20-$30/month at 500 subscribers, approximate, scaling with list size). The gist: removes the limits — unlimited lists, automations, landing pages and users — strips AWeber branding from emails, and adds advanced analytics and priority 24/7 support. A flat-rate Unlimited plan (reported around $899/month) exists for very large senders. | Stay free under ~500 subscribers if a single list and one automation are enough. Move to Lite when your list grows or you want ecommerce and more integrations; step up to Plus once you need multiple lists/automations, want to remove branding, or need unlimited landing pages and users. |
| GetResponse
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
A free plan (after a 30-day all-features trial) for up to 500 contacts: basic email sending, one landing page with a 1,000 monthly-visitor cap, an AI campaign generator, and publishable marketing-automation workflows. Single most important limit: GetResponse branding on messages, no dynamic segmentation or contact tagging, and the 500-contact ceiling. Pricing scales with your contact-list size, so paid numbers below are entry figures. | Starter — the entry paid plan, in the high-teens-of-dollars/month band (reported around $19/month for 1,000 contacts, approximate, and meaningfully more as your list grows). Adds unlimited email sends, autoresponders, the website and landing-page builders with unlimited visitors, signup forms, some AI content features and 24/7 chat support. | Marketer (and above) — higher plans that climb fast. Marketer sits in the high-tens-of-dollars/month band (reported around $59/month for 1,000 contacts, approximate) and unlocks the full marketing-automation suite: advanced segmentation, event-based automation, contact scoring, sales funnels and abandoned-cart recovery. A Creator plan (reported around $69/month) adds courses/webinars/paid newsletters, and a custom-priced MAX/Enterprise tier targets 100K+ contacts. | Stay free only for the smallest lists or to trial it; jump to Starter once you pass 500 contacts or need to remove branding and send unlimited email. Move to Marketer specifically when you need ecommerce automation — abandoned-cart recovery, sales funnels and contact scoring — rather than just newsletters. |
| Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
The most generous free tier in this list for creators: the Newsletter plan is free for up to 10,000 subscribers (no credit card required), with unlimited email broadcasts, unlimited landing pages and forms, audience tagging/segmentation, one basic visual automation, and the ability to sell digital products and subscriptions. Single most important limit: Kit branding on your emails and only one automation/sequence — the real automation depth is gated behind the paid plan, not the subscriber count. | Creator — the entry paid plan, in the low-to-mid-tens-of-dollars/month band (reported around $25-$39/month for ~1,000 subscribers depending on monthly vs annual billing, approximate; the price scales up with your subscriber count). Adds unlimited visual automations and email sequences, removes Kit branding, and unlocks A/B subject-line testing, subscriber polling, RSS campaigns, third-party integrations and 24/7 support. | Creator Pro — a higher plan (reported roughly in the $50-$79/month range for ~1,000 subscribers, approximate, scaling with list size). The gist: everything in Creator plus advanced reporting — an engagement-scoring/insights dashboard, deliverability reporting, advanced A/B testing, a newsletter referral system, Facebook custom-audience sync and unlimited team members. | Stay free as long as your list is under 10,000 and one simple automation is enough — this free tier is hard to beat for new newsletters. Pay for Creator when you need real automation/sequences or want to remove Kit branding; reserve Creator Pro for when subscriber scoring, deliverability reporting and team access actually matter to your revenue. |
| MailerLite
verified 2026-05-31 · source |
A genuinely usable free plan: drag-and-drop email builder, automations, signup forms, up to 10 landing pages, a basic website, and the AI writing assistant. Single most important limit: as of September 2025 MailerLite HALVED the free cap from 1,000 to 500 subscribers (flagged — verify on the official site), with roughly 12,000 emails/month and MailerLite branding on what you send. Pricing scales with your subscriber count via a slider, so these are entry numbers only. | Growing Business — the entry paid plan, in the low-tens-of-dollars/month band (reported starting around $10/month at 500 subscribers, approximate; the price climbs as your list grows). Adds unlimited monthly emails, removes MailerLite branding, gives ~3 user seats, unlimited templates, dynamic/auto-resend campaigns, and unlimited websites and landing pages. | Advanced — a higher plan (reported starting around $20/month at 500 subscribers, approximate, and likewise scaling with list size). The gist: it layers on the power features — custom HTML editor, promotion pop-ups, smart sending, richer automation triggers, multivariate testing, a preference center and unlimited users. A custom-priced Enterprise tier exists for very large lists (100K+ subscribers). | Stay free while you're under ~500 subscribers and can live with MailerLite branding; move to Growing Business the moment your list outgrows 500 or you need to drop the branding and send unlimited emails. Step up to Advanced only when you specifically need pop-ups, custom HTML or the deeper automation logic. |
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