The short answer, if you want to use AI without paying: free pick — Godot.
“Free open-source game engine”
Godot: Free open-source game engine. Best for serious indie games. Watch out for: no built-in ai; learning curve. Price: Free (open source) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Roblox Studio Assistant: AI helper inside Roblox Studio. Best for roblox creators. Watch out for: roblox-only. Price: Free in Roblox Studio (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
CapCut: Editor with AI captions and effects. Best for short-form editing. Watch out for: privacy/tos concerns. Price: US$19.99 (Pro, as displayed; sign in for final price) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Adobe Podcast: One-click studio sound. Best for cleaning recordings. Watch out for: limited editing. Price: $19.99/mo (Premium features via Adobe Firefly Pro) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
QuillBot: Paraphraser and summarizer. Best for students. Watch out for: paraphrasing ≠ originality. Price: $8.33/mo billed annually (Premium) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
CloudConvert: Convert 200+ formats. Best for any file conversion. Watch out for: daily free limit. Price: Credit packages/subscriptions (price varies by credits) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
iLovePDF: PDF merge/split/convert. Best for pdf chores. Watch out for: ads/limits on free. Price: $5/mo billed annually ($9 monthly), Premium (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Convertio: Browser file converter. Best for quick one-offs. Watch out for: file size limits. Price: $6.99/mo annual ($11.99 monthly), Lite (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
HandBrake: Free open-source video transcoder. Best for video conversion. Watch out for: not ai; desktop only. Price: Free (open source) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
NotebookLM: Chat with your sources, audio overviews. Best for studying documents. Watch out for: only your uploaded sources. Price: Free; paid via Google AI plans (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Cline: Open-source agent in VS Code. Best for byo-model devs. Watch out for: you pay api costs. Price: Free extension; pay your own API costs (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Gemini CLI: Free open-source terminal agent. Best for budget coders. Watch out for: quality varies. Price: Free tier (open source CLI) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Godot — Free open-source game engine. Free tier (checked Oct 2026).
We compare free tiers, cheapest paid plans and known red flags for 102 AI tools, then group picks into free, best value and premium. Prices were checked in Oct 2026 and change often — always confirm on the vendor's site.