Best AI Tools in 2026 by Task: Chat, Images, Video

The right AI tool depends on the task. For chat, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are the main general assistants. For research, Perplexity and NotebookLM work with sources. For images, video, writing, coding, voice, meetings and slides, there is a different specialist for each, and this guide gives one to three picks per task, with the free option and the price as shown on each official site.

Quick guide: which AI tool for which task

How to choose an AI tool

Start with the job, not the brand. If you only need answers, drafts and summaries, one general chatbot is usually enough. If you need a finished image, a video clip, a voiceover or meeting notes, a specialist tool will usually give you more control.

Also look at the free plan before you pay. Free plans are a good way to test whether a tool suits your work, but they cap how much you can use and, in some cases, how you can use the results. Suno's free plan, for example, says "No commercial rights". Always check the limits listed on the official pricing page.

Best AI tools for chat

A chatbot is an easy place to start. You type a question or a task and it replies. All three below have a free plan.

ChatGPT

OpenAI's assistant, good as an all-rounder for questions, drafting and brainstorming. The free plan lists unlimited text chats (subject to abuse guardrails), plus limited uploads, image creation, voice chats and deep research. ChatGPT Plus is $20 per month.

Claude

Anthropic's assistant, suited to writing and document work. The free plan includes chat, web search, file creation, code execution, memory and Artifacts. Pro is $17 per month with the annual discount or $20 if billed monthly, and Max starts at $100 per month.

Gemini

Google's assistant, handy if you use Gmail and Google Drive. Google lists a free plan with image generation, Deep Research, Gemini Live and 15 GB of storage. Google AI Plus is $4.99 per month and Google AI Pro is $19.99 per month.

Best AI tools for research

Perplexity

An AI search tool that shows its sources. Perplexity's help centre says the free plan has practically unlimited basic searches and a very limited number of Pro searches. We could not confirm the Pro price on the official pages we checked, so it is not quoted here.

NotebookLM

A Google tool for asking questions about documents you upload, which suits students and researchers. The free Standard plan allows 100 notebooks and 50 sources per notebook, according to Google's help page.

Best AI tools for images

Midjourney

An AI image generator. According to Midjourney's own plan comparison, all plans are subscriptions: Basic is $10 per month, Standard $30, Pro $60 and Mega $120. That page does not mention a free plan.

Leonardo AI

A generative AI platform for images and video, with a free plan of 150 fast tokens per day. Free creations are public. Essential is $12 per month, Premium $30 and Ultimate $60, excluding tax.

Adobe Firefly

Adobe's generative tool for images, video and audio. Adobe says you do not need a plan to get free daily generations. Paid prices vary by region, so see Adobe's plans page.

Best AI tools for video

Runway

A video generator and editor. The free plan gives 125 one-time credits and 5GB of storage. Standard is $15 per month, or $12 per month billed annually.

Luma AI

Another AI video tool. Luma's pricing page lists Plus at $30 per month ($25 per month billed yearly), Pro at $90 per month ($75 billed yearly) and Ultra at $300 per month ($250 billed yearly). We did not see a free plan on that page, so check Luma directly if you want to try it without paying.

Best AI tools for writing

Grammarly

Checks spelling, grammar and tone as you type. The free plan includes spelling and grammar correction, tone visibility and 100 AI text-generation prompts per month.

QuillBot

A paraphrasing and summarising tool. On the free plan the Paraphraser handles up to 100 words and the Summarizer 1,200 words. Premium is $8.33 USD per month, billed annually.

For drafting longer pieces, the chat assistants above (ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini) also work well.

Best AI tools for coding

GitHub Copilot

Suggests code and answers questions inside your editor. GitHub's plans page shows Free at $0, limited to 2,000 completions and 50 chat requests (including Copilot Edits). Pro is $10 per month, Pro+ is $39 per month and Max is $100 per month.

Best AI tools for voice and music

ElevenLabs

Realistic text-to-speech, plus sound effects and music. The free plan has 10k credits per month and 3 projects in Studio, but the commercial licence is listed as an addition on the Starter plan, which is $6 per month.

Speechify

Reads text aloud, which suits studying and long articles. The free plan lists listening at up to 1.5x speed, 10 robotic-sounding voices and text-to-speech features only. Premium is $29 per month on monthly billing.

If you want songs rather than speech, Suno makes music from text. Its free plan gives 50 credits per day with no commercial rights. Pro is $8 per month.

Best AI tools for meetings

Otter

Records and transcribes meetings. The free Basic plan allows up to 300 minutes per month, with a 30-minute limit per conversation.

Fireflies

Another meeting note-taker. The Free plan lists limited AI summaries, 20 AI credits and a 2-hour recording limit. Pro is $10 per seat per month, billed annually.

Best AI tools for presentations

Gamma

Builds slide decks, documents and websites from a prompt. The free plan allows up to 10 slides per prompt, import from PDF and PPTX, and export to PDF, PPTX, PNG and Google Slides. Gamma's paid plans are Plus, Pro and Ultra, but the page we checked did not show their prices.

Claude is another option: Anthropic lists Slides, Docs and Design as part of its free plan.

How we chose

We chose well-known tools that cover a clear task, and we favoured ones with a free plan so you can try before paying. Every plan name, price and limit above was checked against each tool's official website on 20 October 2026. Anything we could not confirm was left out. Prices and limits change, so confirm on the official page before you buy.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best AI tools?

There is no single best tool. ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini suit general chat. Perplexity and NotebookLM suit research. Specialist tools such as Leonardo AI, Runway, ElevenLabs and Otter focus on one task each.

Which AI tools are free?

ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, NotebookLM, Grammarly, GitHub Copilot, ElevenLabs, Otter, Fireflies and Gamma all list a free plan on their official sites. Each has limits.

What is an AI tool?

An AI tool is software that uses artificial intelligence to do a task for you, such as answering questions, writing text, creating images or transcribing a meeting.

Which AI tool is best for beginners?

A free chatbot such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini is the easiest place to start, because you only need to type a question.

Do I need to pay for AI tools?

Not to get started. Most tools here have a free plan. Paid plans mainly raise usage limits or add features, such as the commercial licence on ElevenLabs Starter.

Is Midjourney free?

Midjourney's own plan comparison lists four paid subscription plans and does not mention a free plan. Leonardo AI and Adobe Firefly are image options with free daily allowances.