Consumer tier · one person's subscriptions · no seats, no meter
17 free alternatives to the subscriptions one person pays for.
Personal-tier SaaS: the tools you pay for yourself, priced per month or per year, whose free plan stops exactly where the work starts. Each entry below replaces one named feature of one named product with prompts you run on a free-tier model, and prints the incumbent's own free ceiling and paid price next to it, read from its pricing page on the date shown.
17 tools · 48 prompts · incumbent prices last read 2026-09-27 · tools.json is the source of every figure on this page.
The consumer ledger
| Incumbent | What the free tier stops at | What the paid tier costs | With a free-tier ally | Prompts | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canva | 1.6M+ templates, 1 Brand Kit (3 colors), 5GB storage, up to 20 Standard or Premium AI uses verified | US$144/year for one person verified | US$0 → Pressproof | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Grammarly | spelling/grammar fixes, tone detection only, 100 AI prompts/month verified | US$12 (billing period not printed on the Pro card) partial | US$0 → Galley | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Notion | unlimited blocks solo, limited for 2+ member workspaces; 5 MB file uploads; 7-day page history; 10 external guests; Notion AI trial only verified | US$10 per member / month (Business is US$20) verified | US$0 → Drafting Desk | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Adobe Express | 268,000+ templates, 5GB storage, 10-day version history, 1 scheduled account per network, 5 free lifetime Generate Presentations uses verified | US$9.99/mo (250 generative credits per month) verified | US$0 → Slide Rail | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Buffer | US$0 forever — 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, 100 ideas, 1 user, 3,000 API requests/month verified | US$5 per channel / month (US$60 per channel billed yearly) verified | US$0 → Wire Ticker | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Loom | US$0 Starter — 25 videos per person, 5-minute cap, 720p export, transcription in 50+ languages verified | US$24 per user / month (Business: US$18 per user / month) verified | US$0 → Run-down Sheet | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| DeepL | 50,000 characters per month, 1 file at a time, 5 glossary entries verified | US$8.74 per user / month (billed annually) verified | US$0 → Bilingual Bench | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Otter.ai | US$0 Basic — 300 minutes per month, 3 lifetime file imports verified | US$16.99 per user / month verified | US$0 → Docket Desk | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Descript | 60 minutes per month, plus 100 one-time AI credits verified | US$16 per editor / month (billed annually) verified | US$0 → Editing Room | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| ChatGPT | GPT-5.6 Luna; 27K context on Instant (as printed); paid-tier dollar figures not printed in server-rendered page content verified | not printed on the page we read unconfirmed | US$0 → Operator's Desk | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Figma | US$0 Starter — unlimited drafts, 500 AI credits per month verified | US$16 per full seat / month (3,000 AI credits per seat) verified | US$0 → Token Bench | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Miro | 3 editable boards, 7,000+ templates viewable verified | US$8 per member / month (billed annually) verified | US$0 → Facilitator's Board | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Todoist | US$0 Beginner — 5 projects, 3 filters, 1-week activity history verified | US$5 per user / month (billed annually) verified | US$0 → Sorting Bench | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Superhuman | No free tier — paid from Starter at US$25 per member / month (billed annually) verified | US$25 per member / month (billed annually) verified | US$0 → Morning Desk | 3 | 2026-09-17 |
| Evernote | US$0 Free: 50 notes total, 1 notebook, 5 shared spaces, 20 tags, 200 attachments, 1 device, 1 GB of uploads per month verified | US$20.83 / month (US$249.99 billed annually; Starter is US$8.25 / month, US$99 annually) verified | US$0 → Free Evernote Alternative | 2 | 2026-09-27 |
| Calendly | US$0 Standard (free forever): 1 event type, 1 calendar connection, unlimited 1-on-1 meetings, booking page customization verified | US$10 per seat / month (billed annually, as displayed; Teams US$16, Enterprise starts at US$15,000 / year) verified | US$0 → Free Calendly Alternative | 2 | 2026-09-27 |
| Readwise | US$0 for 30 days only — the pricing page states every plan is paid after the first 30 days; no free tier is listed verified | US$9.99 / month (billed annually; Lite US$5.59 / month) verified | US$0 → Free Readwise Alternative | 2 | 2026-09-27 |
Every consumer tool
Each card names the one feature it displaces. The prompts are printed in full on every page and in the prompt library.
Free Canva Alternative: AI Social Graphics, No Pro Plan
Canva Free's template-and-AI route to a finished social graphic: up to 20 Standard/Premium AI uses on a shared allowance, 1 Brand Kit limited to 3 colors, and no Magic Resize (Pro-only) — replaced by three reusable prompts that drive a local riso-press renderer.
Canva's free tier still makes you the template's tenant: the AI allowance stops at about 20 uses, your brand kit stops at 3 colors, and resizing one graphic into three formats is a Pro feature. This tool gives you the three prompts that do that job on a free-tier inference model — layout direction, headline variants, and multi-format reflow — and renders the result as a real 1080px PNG/SVG in your own browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is metered by us, and the prompts are yours to keep and edit.
Free Grammarly Alternative: Change Tone, Not Just Typos
Grammarly Pro's tone adjustment and full-sentence rewrites, plus the 100-AI-prompts-per-month generation allowance on Grammarly Free — replaced by three prompts that mark up a galley proof, shift tone without inventing facts, and draft replies.
Grammarly Free tells you your tone is defensive and then sells you the fix: adjusting tone and rewriting whole sentences are Pro features, and generative AI is metered at 100 prompts a month. This tool runs the same two jobs — a blue-pencil markup of your draft and a tone shift that refuses to invent facts — on a free-tier model you control, with no per-month cap from us and no text stored anywhere but your browser.
Free Notion Alternative: Page Specs From a One-Line Brief
Notion's template layer and AI page generation: on the Free plan, collaborative blocks are 'limited' once a workspace has 2+ members, Notion AI is trial-only, file uploads cap at 5 MB and page history at 7 days — replaced by three prompts that produce paste-ready page, template and database specs as strict JSON.
Notion's free tier gives one person a powerful workspace and then meters it: collaborative blocks are capped once a second member joins, AI generation is a trial, uploads stop at 5 MB and history at 7 days. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the template work on a free-tier model — a page-structure spec, a reusable template with placeholders, and a database schema — rendered as a pinned drafting sheet in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is hosted, and the prompts are printed on the page to keep.
Free Adobe Express Alternative: Slide Decks From a Brief
Adobe Express Free's AI presentation generation — 'Generate Presentations' allows 5 free lifetime uses, after which the 250 generative credits/month live on Premium at US$9.99/mo — replaced by three prompts that produce a full slide-by-slide deck spec, tightened slide copy, and re-skin variants as strict JSON.
Adobe Express Free hands you a big template library but keeps the AI deck generator behind five lifetime uses, then moves the real allowance — 250 generative credits a month — onto the US$9.99 Premium plan. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the deck work on a free-tier model: a slide-by-slide deck spec with speaker notes, a pass that tightens every slide's copy to a character budget, and three re-skin variants for the same content. The result renders as a fanned slide rail in your browser, exportable as Markdown. Nothing is uploaded and the prompts are printed on the page.
Free Buffer Alternative: 14-Day Posting Calendars, Free
Buffer Free's queue ceiling — 10 scheduled posts per channel on up to 3 channels (Essentials removes the queue cap at US$5 per channel/month) — replaced by three prompts that produce a 14-day posting calendar, per-slot post copy, and a queue-gap audit as strict JSON.
Buffer's free tier is a narrow queue: ten scheduled posts per channel, three channels, one user — and the queue itself is the thing you pay US$5 per channel a month to grow. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the calendar work on a free-tier model: a 14-day posting plan with times, hooks and channels, the copy for any single slot, and an audit of an existing queue for gaps and imbalances. The plan renders as a wire ticker in your browser and exports as Markdown you paste into Buffer or any other scheduler. Nothing is published, nothing is stored.
Free Loom Alternative: Scripts, Cuts and Summaries
Loom's AI editing layer — auto chapters, auto summaries, filler-word removal and transcript-based editing sit on Business + AI at US$24/user/mo, while the Free tier caps you at 25 videos of 5 minutes — replaced by three prompts that produce a timed chapter script, a cut list, and a summary card as strict JSON.
Loom's free tier lets you record 25 short clips and transcribe them — then keeps the editing intelligence (auto chapters, auto summaries, filler-word removal, edit-by-transcript) on the US$24/user Business + AI plan. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the pre-production and cut work on a free-tier model: a timed, chaptered script, a cut list that marks where to trim and what to say, and a summary card for the video's landing spot. Everything renders as a broadcast run-down sheet in your browser and exports as Markdown. No video is recorded, stored or processed here — the sheet is what you bring to any editor.
Free DeepL Alternative: Glossaries and Style Sheets
DeepL's terminology and style controls: the free translator allows 50,000 characters a month with 1 file at a time and only 5 glossary entries, while 1,000-entry glossaries and 1M-character projects sit on Individual (US$8.74/mo annual) and Team (US$28.74/mo) — replaced by three prompts that produce a terminology base, a translation style sheet, and a batching plan as strict JSON tables.
DeepL's free tier translates 50,000 characters a month but holds the terminology controls hostage to five glossary entries — the moment your product has more than five terms that must never be mistranslated, the 1,000-entry glossary is a paid-team feature. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the terminology work on a free-tier model: a domain glossary with source terms, approved translations and forbidden renderings, a translation style sheet, and a batching plan that fits your documents inside a 50,000-character month. The tables render in your browser and export as CSV you can load into any CAT tool. No text is uploaded and the prompts are printed on the page.
Free Otter.ai Alternative: Dockets, Mails and Briefs
Otter.ai's summarisation layer on top of its 300-minutes-a-month free transcription: summaries, follow-up emails and standup briefs that the free tier meters alongside transcription minutes — replaced by three prompts that turn a transcript into a decision docket, a follow-up email, and a standup brief as strict JSON lists.
Otter Free gives you 300 transcription minutes a month and three lifetime file imports, then meters the intelligence — summaries, action-item extraction, follow-up drafting — alongside the minutes. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the meeting paperwork on a free-tier model: a decision docket (what was decided, who owes what, which numbers were stated), a follow-up email in your house style, and a standup brief from the week's notes. The lists render in your browser and export as Markdown. No audio is processed and the prompts are printed on the page.
Free Descript Alternative: Cuts, Opens and Clips
Descript's transcript-based editing layer — cut lists, cold-open rewrites and clip selection sit on paid tiers, while Free allows 60 minutes of transcription a month plus 100 one-time AI credits — replaced by three prompts that produce a cut list, a cold open, and clip picks as strict JSON timelines.
Descript's free tier transcribes 60 minutes a month and hands out 100 AI credits that burn on first use, then the editing intelligence — transcript cuts, filler removal, clip selection — scales with the Hobbyist tier at US$16 a month. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the editing plan on a free-tier model: a cut list with time-coded trims, a rewritten cold open, and clip picks for the short-form cutdowns. The timelines render in your browser and export as Markdown you apply in Descript, or any editor. No audio is processed and the prompts are printed on the page.
Free ChatGPT Alternative: Your GPTs as Files
ChatGPT's custom GPTs layer — building, configuring and testing a custom assistant sits inside the ChatGPT account and its paid tiers, while the free tier (as printed: unlimited GPT-5.6 Luna with 27K context on Instant) has no dollar figures on the pricing page — replaced by three prompts that produce a system-prompt spec, a test suite, and a usage brief as strict JSON sheets.
A custom GPT is really a document — a system prompt, a set of instructions, and a test of whether it behaves — but ChatGPT only lets you keep it inside the account, behind the tiers it prints names for but no dollar figures in its server-rendered pricing page. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the GPT-building work on a free-tier model: the system-prompt spec, the test suite that proves the behaviour, and the usage brief for whoever inherits it. The sheets render in your browser and export as Markdown — the GPT as a file you own, portable to any model that accepts a system prompt. Nothing is uploaded and the prompts are printed on the page.
Free Figma Alternative: Tokens, Inventory, Handoff
Figma's AI layer on Starter — 500 AI credits a month on Free, 3,000 on Professional at US$16 per full seat/month — replaced by three prompts that produce a design-token spec, a component inventory, and developer handoff notes as strict JSON tables you own as files.
Figma's free Starter tier keeps your drafts unlimited but meters the AI at 500 credits a month — enough to feel the feature, not enough to run a component audit or spec a token set for a real product. The 3,000-credit Professional tier costs US$16 per full seat. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the design-system paperwork on a free-tier model: a design-token spec (color, type, spacing, radius), a component inventory with states and props, and developer handoff notes that a frontend engineer can build from. The tables render in your browser and export as CSV — the design system as files you own, portable to any tool. Nothing is uploaded and the prompts are printed on the page.
Free Miro Alternative: Workshops, Layouts, Synthesis
Miro's free board ceiling — 3 editable boards with 7,000+ templates viewable, and Starter at US$8 per member/month to lift it — replaced by three prompts that produce a timed workshop flow, a board layout, and a sticky-note synthesis as strict JSON timelines.
Miro's free tier gives you three editable boards — enough to feel the canvas, not enough to run two workshops and keep the third — then lifts the ceiling on Starter at US$8 per member a month. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the facilitation paperwork on a free-tier model: a timed 90-minute workshop flow, a board layout that tells you where every section goes, and a synthesis that turns 40 raw stickies into themes with the evidence attached. The timelines render in your browser and export as Markdown you print, photograph, or paste into Miro's free boards. Nothing is hosted and the prompts are printed on the page.
Free Todoist Alternative: Projects, Triage, Filters
Todoist Free's structure ceiling — 5 projects, 3 filters, 1-week activity history, with Pro at US$5 per user/month removing the caps and adding shared labels — replaced by three prompts that produce a project architecture, a week's triage, and filter recipes as strict JSON lists.
Todoist's free tier gives you five projects and three filters — enough to keep a system for one area of life, not enough for work, home, and the thing you keep meaning to start. Pro removes the caps at US$5 per user a month. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the structure work on a free-tier model: a project architecture that fits your life in five projects (the free ceiling, respected deliberately), a week's triage that sorts the pile into do/schedule/delegate/drop, and filter recipes you paste into the free tier's three filter slots. The lists render in your browser and export as Markdown — the system as a file you can rebuild in Todoist Free, or any tool, in an afternoon. Nothing is stored and the prompts are printed on the page.
Free Superhuman Alternative: Triage, Drafts, Digest
Superhuman's AI inbox layer — auto-drafts, Ask AI and auto-labels, on a product with no free tier and paid plans from US$25 per member/month (billed annually) — replaced by three prompts that produce triage rules, reply drafts, and a daily digest as strict JSON sheets.
Superhuman has no free tier: the inbox starts at US$25 per member a month, and the AI layer — auto-drafts, Ask AI, auto-labels — is the feature the price is selling. This tool gives you the three prompts that do the AI-inbox paperwork on a free-tier model instead: triage rules that say what needs a reply and what does not, reply drafts for the emails that do, and a daily digest that turns the day's mail into a readable sheet. The sheets render in your browser and export as Markdown — the inbox intelligence as files you run in any mail client. No email is sent, nothing is stored, and the prompts are printed on the page.
Free Evernote Alternative: Capture Triage + Digest
The Free plan's rationing of capture (50 notes, 1 notebook, 20 tags, 1 device) and the paid 'organize for me' layer on Advanced.
Evernote still lets you jot, but it charges for the aftermath of jotting. Fifty notes is the whole Free lifetime allowance; the fiftieth thought goes in a different app or nowhere. The sorting itself — decide whether a fragment is an action, a reference, a calendar item, or archive; which notebook and tag it belongs to; what the week actually collected — is judgment work, and judgment work is exactly what a free-tier model does well and what a sticky stack of index slips models even better. This page ships two prompts that take a pasted pile of raw notes and return a triage ledger and a weekly digest, rendered locally as sheets you can work down line by line. The notes never leave your browser except as the text you choose to paste into a model you picked; nothing here stores, syncs, or indexes anything the way a note app must.
Free Calendly Alternative: Scheduling Policy as Files
The paid policy layer — unlimited event types, availability rules, routing and workflow automations — rebuilt as a written scheduling policy, booking-page copy, and per-meeting prep agendas.
Calendly's free plan is generous where it costs nothing to be: one event type, forever. The moment your calendar needs opinions — different lengths for different people, buffers that exist for a reason, a call that should route to whoever is actually free — you are at the per-seat paywall, and a scheduling app has earned it: it must hold your availability, watch your calendar, and never drop a booking. This page deliberately does not compete on any of that. What it does compete on is the decision layer the paywall hides behind an admin panel: the policy table ('who can book what, when, with what gap'), the copy your booking page should show so people pick the right slot themselves, and a prep agenda per meeting type — all as files, drafted by a free-tier model from a paragraph of your reality, ready to paste into Calendly's settings, a plain calendar, or an email signature. One event type is a scheduling constraint; it is not a reason to skip the thinking.
Free Readwise Alternative: Highlights to Cards
The paid return path on highlights — organizing, tagging, exporting and the review layer (Full, US$9.99/mo annualized) — rebuilt as cards and outlines built from highlight text you paste yourself.
Readwise's honest pitch is that highlights are worthless unless they come back — the sync, the review queue, the exports into Notion and Obsidian. That service is real infrastructure and it is priced like it: there is no free tier on the page we read; thirty days in, everything costs money. Your pile of highlights, though, is just text. This page does the return-path work directly on that text: paste the highlight export (any source — Kindle's notes file, a Medium export, your own markdown) and a free-tier model turns the pile into zettel cards with claim, evidence and a next thought each, and then mills the same pile into an article outline with a citation ledger. What it never touches: your library, your accounts, your sync chain — there is no connector here to leave a key in, because the marginalia arrives by paste and leaves by download.
Before you open one
Is every tool on this page free?
Yes. Every prompt and every export listed as free on a tool page is free and unmetered, with no account. Where a tool has a one-time unlock on sale, it covers a named extra feature, its price is read from Stripe at render time, and it is never a subscription. Whether anything is on sale right now is stated on each tool page under the prompt pack.
Do I need an API key?
No. Copy-Paste Relay works with any free chat model: copy the prompt block, paste it in, paste the JSON answer back. A free key from Gemini, Groq or OpenRouter only removes the copy-paste step, and it is stored in your browser and sent only to that provider.
Where do these prices come from?
Each incumbent's own pricing page, read on the date in the last column of the ledger and stored in the repo as an extraction artifact under data/pricing/. Changes between reads are published as receipts on the price-receipts page, with the before, the after and the source. Fields the page did not print are marked unconfirmed rather than filled in. Prices are re-checked within a 30-day window.
Are you affiliated with any of these companies?
No. Every incumbent is named for comparison only. There are no affiliate links to them on this site.
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