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Find your tool

Which AI tool is right for you?

Answer two questions for one clear recommendation — or scroll down for the whole landscape. Most have a free tier and none need a terminal. (When you’re ready to really build, it all points toward Claude Code.)

1 — What do you want to do?

A map of the landscape

Twenty tools, one picture. Up = made for one job, down = does a bit of everything. Left = just chat to it, right = more power, more to learn. Hover a dot (or tap, on a phone) to see what it’s for.

simple → powerfulgeneral ↕ specialized

Hover or tap any dot to see what it’s for, and where it sits.

Talk & findCreateBuildposition is a feel, not a score

Every tool, by category

The same twenty tools as a plain list, grouped by what they’re for. Pick one and try it — you can be using any of these within five minutes.

Chat & reasoning

ChatGPTFreemiumThe household name. Biggest ecosystem of tutorials.ClaudeFreemiumCalm and careful — best at long writing and nuance.GeminiFreemiumLowest friction if you already have a Google account.MistralFreemiumEuropean AI from Paris. GDPR-compliant, data stays in the EU.

Research & learning

PerplexityFreemiumA search engine that actually answers — with citations.NotebookLMFreeDrop in your PDFs and notes; get a private knowledge brain.

Apps & sites

LovableFreemiumDescribe an app, get a working version — the gentlest builder.Bolt.newFreemiumType a prompt, watch a full-stack app appear.v0FreemiumVercel’s UI generator — pretty interfaces, one-click deploy.ReplitFreemiumBrowser IDE + Agent — build, or peek under the hood.

Code tools

CursorFreemiumAI-native editor — the next step if you want to read code.Claude CodePaidMaximum power and learning. One tool, several doors — desktop app, terminal, or your editor.

Images

MidjourneyPaidThe most beautiful image model. Distinctive, painterly.IdeogramFreemiumGenerates readable text inside images — posters, logos.

Video, voice & music

SoraPaidOpenAI’s video generator — short cinematic clips from text.RunwayFreemiumPro video AI — generate, edit, replace, extend.ElevenLabsFreemiumVoice cloning + text-to-speech that sounds human.SunoFreemiumType a song idea, get a full produced track with vocals.

Notes & meetings

Notion AIPaidAI inside your notes — drafts, summaries, structure.Otter.aiFreemiumRecords and transcribes meetings, with summaries.DescriptFreemiumEdit audio + video like a Word doc.

Prefer European tools?

Most major AI tools are US-based and subject to US data law. If that concerns you, Mistral (Paris) is a strong, GDPR-compliant alternative — data stays in the EU, quality competitive with the big names.

On environmental impact

AI is energy-intensive. Smaller, focused models use substantially less compute than the big general-purpose ones — so lighter tools and efficient prompts both help if footprint matters to you.

Positioning is judgment, not science — the map is here to help you see groupings, not rank tools.