AI Free Trials: Which AI Tools Have One

Few AI tools run a standing public free trial. In our internal analysis of 24 AI tools' official pricing and help pages on November 1, 2026, we could confirm a free-access route for 21. Of those, only 2 run a standing public trial, 5 give trials only through referrals or promotions, 2 discount the first month, 11 rely on a free plan, and 1 has no free access.

For 3 more (Manus, Higgsfield and InVideo AI), no route could be confirmed on their pricing pages.

AI Free Trials by Tool

The table lists each tool's trial route, card rule, renewal price and free plan as of November 1, 2026.

How Many AI Tools Have a Free Trial

In our internal analysis, we classified the free-access route of 24 AI tools from their official pricing and help pages on November 1, 2026. We found that only 2 out of 21 confirmed tools offer a standing public trial without a referral or promotion.

You can check each count against the route table below and the vendor page linked in each tool's section. Promotions change often.

The standing public trial route accounts for roughly 1 in 10 evaluated tools, while the majority direct individual evaluators to baseline free tiers or temporary partner campaigns.

Trials That Need a Referral or Promotion

Five tools provide trial access exclusively through existing user invites, partner campaigns, or customer-status verifications rather than an open public trial button.

According to the OpenAI promotional subscriptions FAQ, free trials of ChatGPT Plus rely on campaign-based referral codes distributed to eligible users, with trial lengths varying (OpenAI cites 3 months as an example). Some promotions require a payment method. The subscription then auto-renews at $20 per month unless you cancel. Details on upgrade alternatives appear in our guide to ChatGPT Plus free trial routes and ChatGPT discount options.

For Anthropic's assistant, the Claude support documentation outlines a 7-day Pro guest pass issued by Pro, Max, or Ultra subscribers. Recipients must be new to paid Claude tiers, enter payment details, and cancel before the 7 days elapse to avoid a $20 per month charge, as examined in our Claude free trial breakdown.

Documentation on the xAI referral program explains that Grok Premium trials require an invitation link from an existing United States (US) Premium, Super, or Ultra subscriber. The trial lasts 2 weeks, requires a credit card upon sign-up, sends a reminder 7 days before the initial billing date, and renews at $30 per month; see our guide covering the Grok free trial.

Under Google's policies in Google One Help, Google AI Pro trials are restricted to new Google One customers who enter a valid payment method. The US plans page does not list a standard trial duration, and subscriptions renew at $19.99 per month on the Gemini subscriptions page. US college students can also evaluate a free 1-year offer via our Google AI Pro free trial guide.

As documented in the Perplexity subscription help center, Perplexity does not maintain a standing Pro trial on its standard pricing table. Redemptions require a valid credit or debit card through partner campaigns or promotional codes. Billed annually, Perplexity Pro costs $17 per month on the Perplexity Pro page, which also lists a limited-time bonus of $40 in free Computer credits. The monthly renewal rate is unpublished on the pricing overview.

Tools with a Standing Free Trial

Only two products in the set support a standing public trial: Notion Business and Microsoft 365 Personal.

Per the Notion paid plan trials guide, teams on a professional domain can start a 30-day Notion Business trial directly on the web or desktop application. Educational and personal email domains are ineligible. The trial grants access to all Business plan features, including Notion AI. Entering payment details is optional. If payment information is provided at sign-up, the workspace auto-renews at $24 per seat per month. If no card is submitted, Notion prompts the user to confirm the upgrade at the end of 30 days.

According to the Microsoft 365 Personal trial page, individual users can activate a 1-month free trial. After the trial period, the subscription automatically renews for $99.99 per year unless cancelled within the user's Microsoft account. The page does not state whether a payment card is required up front. Furthermore, Microsoft Copilot Pro store information redirects buyers to Microsoft 365 Premium, which lists a 1-month free trial before renewing at $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year.

Tools with a Free Plan Instead

Eleven tools skip paid-tier trials entirely, directing evaluators to perpetual free tiers with rate caps or restricted feature sets.

GitHub's Copilot billing documentation for individuals does not describe a Copilot Pro trial. Instead, Copilot Free provides 2,000 code completions per month and limited AI credits under automated model selection, while paid Copilot Pro costs $10 per month.

Cursor lists no trial on its pricing page. Cursor offers a Free plan instead, with limited agent and Chat requests. Upgrades start with an introductory Plus plan at $8 per month, which includes Grok models only, or a Premium tier at $30 per month.

For music generation, Suno maintains no standing trial on the Suno pricing page. Suno's Free tier gives 50 credits per day and no commercial rights, while paid Pro costs $8 per month billed annually.

According to the Otter.ai pricing page, Otter.ai lists no trial. The Basic plan provides 300 monthly transcription minutes and 3 lifetime file imports, while Pro costs $16.99 per user per month on monthly billing.

For video creators, HeyGen states on the HeyGen pricing page that no separate trial exists for paid plans. HeyGen's Free plan needs no credit card and gives 3 watermarked videos per month up to 1 minute in length with limited access to premium features like Avatar IV, Video Agent, and lip-sync translation. Creator starts at $29 per month ($24 billed annually).

Per the Runway pricing page, Runway provides no individual free trial. It offers 125 one-time credits on a free tier, while Standard costs $15 per month ($12 billed annually). An enterprise promotion provides up to 2 months of usage free for contracts signed by December 31.

On the Descript pricing page, Descript offers a card-free Free plan containing 60 media minutes per month and 100 one-time AI credits. Hobbyist renewal is $24 per month ($16 billed annually).

According to the Lovable pricing page, Lovable offers no trial for Pro ($25 per month). Its free tier provides 5 daily build credits (up to 30 per month) and 20 monthly Cloud credits without requiring a card.

As noted in the Windsurf usage documentation, Windsurf (served as Devin Desktop) does not offer free trials of paid plans. Its pricing overview details a $0 Free tier with light agent quotas and unlimited Tab completions, alongside a $20 per month Pro tier.

Under Replit starter plan docs and its pricing page, Replit replaces trials with a Starter plan. It includes daily Agent credits up to a monthly cap and 1 free published app, before moving to Core at $20 per month ($18 billed annually).

The Fireflies.ai pricing page lists a free tier with transcription, 400 minutes of storage, and 20 AI credits, rather than a trial period.

By contrast, Midjourney documentation on Midjourney free trials says no free trial is available on Discord or the Midjourney website. A limited trial exists only inside the niji·journey mobile app. Comparing Midjourney plans lists Basic at $10 per month or $96 per year ($8 per month), with no free tier available.

What a Forgotten Trial Costs

Our internal analysis examined card-required trials with published monthly renewals: Claude Pro at $20, Grok Premium at $30, and Google AI Pro at $19.99. The first charge on an uncancelled trial ranges from $19.99 to $30, with a median of $20.

Counterexamples demonstrate that this monthly range is not a strict upper ceiling. Microsoft 365 Personal automatically charges $99.99 for an entire year once its 1-month trial concludes unless cancelled in the user's Microsoft account. Conversely, Notion Business charges $0 at the end of its 30-day evaluation if the workspace administrator started the trial without entering payment details, prompting for manual upgrade confirmation instead.

Schedule a calendar reminder at the moment of account creation. Cancel at least 24 hours prior to the renewal timestamp when required by vendor terms.

Discounts When There Is No Trial

When a tool has no free trial, you can lower software costs through upfront annual billing commitments, student identity verifications, or introductory first-month discounts.

Committing to an annual term reduces sticker pricing on several platforms. According to Midjourney plan comparison, choosing an annual plan yields a 20% discount paid upfront ($96 per year instead of $10 per month). Per the Midjourney group plans policy, Midjourney does not offer discounts or free plans for non-profit organizations or educational institutions.

Student and educator programs frequently unlock free or discounted access tiers. The Notion pricing page provides the Plus Plan (restricted to a 1-member limit) for free to students and educators. Under individual plan rules, GitHub Copilot Student is free for verified students, while verified teachers and popular open-source software (OSS) maintainers can receive Copilot Pro for free. Otter.ai lists a 20% discount on Otter Pro for .edu email holders ($13.59 monthly or $79.99 annually). Lovable offers up to 50% off Lovable Pro through student status verification, and Perplexity provides Education Pro at $10 per month via SheerID. Cursor notes on Cursor students that it runs no standing student discount, pointing instead to campus event promotions. Descript mentions special rates for students, educators, and non-profits through an application form, without publishing a specific dollar discount.

Introductory pricing structures temporarily discount the initial billing cycle. As shown on the ElevenLabs pricing page, ElevenLabs has no trial, but Starter costs $1 for the first month (83% off) until November 8 before renewing at $6 per month. Under the Kling AI membership plan, Kling AI offers a first-month price instead: Standard costs $6.99 for the first month before renewing at $8.8 per month ($79.2 per year). Additional platform savings can be referenced across AI discounts by provider.

Our Takeaway

Most AI tools let users evaluate core functionality on a free plan rather than a trial, so start there.

This evaluation applies to individual buyers and small-team administrators deciding whether to test AI software via trials, free tiers, or upfront subscriptions. Our internal analysis of published pricing and help documentation across 24 software tools on November 1, 2026, confirms that standing public trials represent only 2 out of 21 verifiable routes.

Exceptions apply to team workspaces using professional email domains on Notion Business, which can run a 30-day trial without entering payment details, and Microsoft 365 Personal's 1-month trial. If you forget to cancel, the card-required trials for Claude Pro, Grok Premium and Google AI Pro renew at $19.99 to $30 a month, and Microsoft 365 Personal renews at $99.99 a year.

This verdict would change if major generative platforms replace invitation-only guest passes with standing credit-card-free public trials, or if developer tools drop their perpetual free tiers. Before you start a trial, open the vendor page linked in that tool's section above and put the cancel date in your calendar.