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Free tools, grouped by what they help with

Every tool in the library in one place — job search helpers, AI assistants, marketing and money tools. Each one says what it solves, what it costs, and what to do first. Pick a group below to narrow it down.

The open-source ones also show the steps to run them on your own machine. For the tools I've set up myself, you get the exact commands and the real money figures, checked 17 September 2026. For the rest, the steps point you at the maker's own instructions rather than printing a command that would go stale.

Looking only for things you can run yourself?

The Projects hub pulls every open-source project on this site into one list — the ones written up by hand on Free AI Projects plus the open-source tools below — each with its license and a run-it guide. This page is the wider list: every tool, free or paid, grouped by the job it helps with.

Browse by group

Showing 399 of 399 tools.

AI-Powered Job Search Tools

4 tools

These are AI assistants that run a job search for you — not job boards. Looking for AI/ML job boards instead? See AI, data & machine learning jobs →

Toolgithub.comOpen-source

career-ops: AI job search system on Claude Code

What it solves

Open-source job search system with skill modes, a dashboard, PDF generation, and batch processing.

My note: Read the repo even if you never run it — the workflow design is a good model for your own search system.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/santifer/career-ops.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolGitHubOpen-source

Job Search Agent (open-source AI job tracker)

What it solves

Open-source AI agent that scans job boards daily, cross-references your LinkedIn network for warm intros, and emails you a curated list of matches. Self-hosted — you run it with your own keys.

My note: For the technically comfortable. Read the code before you point it at your accounts, and never let an agent send applications unreviewed.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/evanzsolomon/job-search-agent.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolJobPilot AI

JobPilot AI

What it solves

Upload a resume and paste a job description to get an ATS match score, missing keywords, a tailored resume, cover letter, recruiter message and interview prep for that specific role.

My note: The free plan covers 10 complete applications a month with no card required; larger bundles are paid. Never send a rewritten resume out unread — check every claim is still true about you before you apply.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolJobRizz

JobRizz JobDork — hidden job search

What it solves

Turns a target role, location and skills into focused Google search queries that surface openings on company career pages and applicant tracking systems such as Greenhouse, Lever and Workday.

My note: Free to use, with no pricing published. The real skill here is the search technique: fresher postings on a company's own careers page usually have far less competition than the same job on a big aggregator. Always apply through the company page you land on.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open it — nothing to install, no account needed.
  2. 2.Type the job title you want, the place you want it, and two or three skills you actually have.
  3. 3.It builds the search strings for you; open them and they run on Google against company career pages, not a job board.
  4. 4.Work through the first page of results and apply on the company's own site.
  5. 5.Save the search strings somewhere of your own so you can re-run them next week.
Open the toolIts library entry

AI & Assistive Tools

134 tools

ToolElevenLabs

ElevenLabs Seedream 4.5 Image Generation

What it solves

ElevenLabs' hosted access to the Seedream 4.5 image model, with a free tier for trying image generation for slides, social posts and simple brand assets.

My note: Good enough for pitch decks and social graphics — check the free-tier limits before you plan a big batch.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Tooltealhq.com

Teal AI Resume Builder

What it solves

Tailors your resume to each job posting and tracks your applications in one place.

My note: The free tier is useful. Let it draft, then you edit for truth and voice.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolyoodli.ai

Yoodli AI Speaking Coach

What it solves

Practice interviews out loud and get instant feedback on filler words and pacing.

My note: Great for people who freeze up on video calls. Two sessions makes a real difference.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolBohrium

Bohrium

What it solves

An AI research platform for finding papers, verifying citations, reviewing literature, managing knowledge, and creating scientific figures.

My note: For anyone doing deep research, Bohrium helps cut through the paper flood and verify claims before you cite them. I recommend it to clients writing thought-leadership content.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolCactus

Cactus

What it solves

On-device AI with cloud fallback for smartphones, laptops, and edge devices, designed to cut inference costs by knowing when to hand off to frontier cloud models.

My note: I am watching on-device AI closely because it could make powerful tools accessible at lower cost and with more privacy. Cactus is a useful example of the "know when to hand off" design pattern.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Templatetrainingsites.io

Ask Like a Boss — Cheatsheet

What it solves

A free one-page PDF by James Maduk, dated 21 September 2026, on how to brief an AI assistant so it produces something usable. Gives an "Outcome Brief" of five questions to answer before handing over a job (what you want to make possible, who it is for and what is broken, what "done" looks like, what is off-limits or needs your approval, and the smallest version you could test), a three-question plan check for afterwards, and three worked before-and-after examples for client reviews, social posts and client onboarding.

My note: The most useful line on it is the off-limits question — deciding in advance what never goes out without your sign-off is what keeps this safe for client work. Print it and keep it beside you the first few times; it turns "help me with client reviews" into a request a tool can actually deliver.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Tool10xn.dev

10xn.dev

What it solves

Developer-focused resource for building faster with AI coding tools and agent workflows.

My note: Useful if you are building a technical portfolio — pair AI-assisted builds with a clear write-up of what you decided and why.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolAccio (Alibaba)

Accio Work

What it solves

An AI work agent from Alibaba that runs multi-step business tasks — pulling store performance data, building comparison reports, handling research — in a browser or desktop app. The free plan includes a one-time seven-day onboarding allowance with bonus credits and stronger models, then reverts to a base daily credit allowance you keep. Paid packages run $19.90, $99 and $199.

My note: The honest use here is trying an agent that takes a task end to end instead of answering one question, which is worth doing once so you know what the category actually does. Two flags: the free daily credit allowance is small and unpublished as a number, and the examples are built around Alibaba's own marketplaces, so its strongest work is e-commerce operations rather than general office tasks.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolIBM / Linux Foundation AIOpen-source

AI Fairness 360

What it solves

An open-source library of metrics and algorithms for finding and reducing unwanted bias in datasets and models, in Python and R. Free.

My note: For the harm that shows up in ordinary systems long before anything dramatic does — hiring screens, lending, scoring. Measuring bias is the easy half; deciding what fair means is yours.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/Trusted-AI/AIF360.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolBoost My Resume

AI Tailored Resume for Any Job + Cover Letter | Boost My Resume

What it solves

Paste a job description to tailor your resume and generate a cover letter with AI.

My note: Good for quickly aligning a resume to a specific posting; always verify the final output sounds like you.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolAiderOpen-source

Aider

What it solves

An open-source AI coding assistant that works in your terminal on a real git repository, making commits as it goes. Apache 2.0 licensed.

My note: It edits real files and commits them, so work on a branch. The tool is free; the model you connect it to is not.

What it costs

  • $0 — Apache 2.0 license.
  • The real cost is model calls: a serious session against a frontier model runs to a few dollars, and it prints the running total as it works.
  • Free with a local model, at the cost of slower and weaker results.

Getting it running

What you need first: Python 3.9+; A git repository; An API key for whichever model you use.

  1. 1.Install it
    python -m pip install aider-install && aider-install
  2. 2.Run it in your project
    cd my-project && aider
  3. 3.Or run it against a local model
    aider --model ollama_chat/qwen2.5-coder
Open the repositoryIts library entry
PlatformAnacondaOpen-source

Anaconda

What it solves

The standard free Python distribution for data and AI work — package management, notebooks and thousands of libraries in one install.

My note: Free for individual use. If you are learning Python for data work, this saves you a week of setup pain.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolMintplex LabsOpen-source

AnythingLLM

What it solves

An open-source desktop and self-hosted app that lets you chat with your own documents using local or hosted models. MIT licensed.

My note: Point it at your own files — job descriptions, notes, contracts — and ask questions of them without uploading anything to a company.

What it costs

  • $0 — MIT license, and the desktop app is free.
  • Entirely free if you use a local model: no per-document or per-question charge.
  • Their hosted cloud option is paid per workspace; you never need it to use the tool.

Getting it running

What you need first: macOS, Windows or Linux for the desktop app; Docker for the server version.

  1. 1.Desktop: download the installer from anythingllm.com — no terminal needed
  2. 2.Server version with Docker
    docker run -d -p 3001:3001 -v ${HOME}/anythingllm:/app/server/storage --name anythingllm mintplexlabs/anythingllm
  3. 3.Point it at a local model
    ollama run llama3.2   # then choose Ollama in AnythingLLM's settings
Open the repositoryIts library entry
Tooltt-a1iOpen-source

Archify

What it solves

A free agent skill that turns a codebase or a plain-English system description into an interactive architecture, workflow, sequence or data-flow diagram you can share as a single file.

My note: Handy for explaining how something works in an interview or a proposal without hand-drawing diagrams.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolArtificial Analysis

Artificial Analysis

What it solves

Independent benchmarking of the major AI models on speed, price and quality, with the numbers side by side. Free to read.

My note: Where I check what a model actually costs per million words before believing a "cheap" claim.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.

What they've published, already in the library

Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolArtificial Analysis

Artificial Analysis — Model Recommendations

What it solves

A recommendation page from Artificial Analysis that suggests AI models for a given use case, drawing on the site's benchmark data across intelligence, speed, and cost. Free to use.

My note: A quick way to turn "we need a model for X" into a shortlist with cost and speed tradeoffs attached. Useful in the first meeting; verify with your own tests before committing.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolBen's Bites

Ben's Bites Design Words

What it solves

A browsable reference of design vocabulary — layout, type, and interface terms with live examples — useful for describing what you want when you brief a designer or an AI tool.

My note: Half of getting good output from an AI design tool is knowing the right word for what is in your head. This is a free vocabulary cheat sheet for exactly that.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolblitzy.com

Blitzy Sandbox

What it solves

Autonomous coding agent that reverse-engineers large codebases and ships new features. The Sandbox lets you try it free on up to 1M lines of existing code and 25K lines of new features, with no credit card required.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolBuildBetter

BuildBetter AI - Vibe Code

What it solves

AI assistant aimed at product teams that turns calls, notes, and research into structured briefs and specs.

My note: Saved this to check what stays usable on the free tier before I recommend it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolBlock

Buzz (Block)

What it solves

Open-source workspace from Block where a team and its AI agents share the same room — chat, planning, project tracking, code and pull requests in one place, with agents you configure for your own workflows. Currently a developer preview; the app is open source on GitHub, with a waitlist for a paid enterprise version.

My note: Early-stage, so treat it as something to try rather than to run a team on. The interesting part is watching how human-plus-agent teamwork gets designed — useful reading if you want to talk credibly about agents at work. The open-source app is free to run yourself; the enterprise version will be paid, and there is no published price yet.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolCareer Angel

Career Angel

What it solves

AI-powered job search automation that sends high-volume, targeted applications and tracks interview requests. Freemium: the first 25 applications are free, then it is a paid subscription.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolOpenAI

Career Compass Guide (ChatGPT)

What it solves

A ready-made ChatGPT assistant for career direction — talk through where you are, what you want next and the steps in between. Usable with a free ChatGPT account.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolChromaOpen-source

Chroma (Open-Source Search & Vector Database)

What it solves

Apache 2.0 open-source search infrastructure for AI applications, supporting vector, full-text, regex and metadata search, free to run locally with optional hosted cloud.

My note: The free local version is enough to build and demo an AI project of your own — a portfolio piece that shows you can work with retrieval, not just prompts.

What it costs

  • Free to use and modify — Apache 2.0 license.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolAnthropic

Claude

What it solves

Anthropic's AI assistant. Strong at long writing, reading documents you paste in, analysis and coding help. Free tier with daily limits; paid plans lift them.

My note: The one I reach for when the task is writing or thinking through a document. Check anything factual yourself — it can be confidently wrong.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolAnthropic

Claude Cookbook

What it solves

Anthropic's official collection of working code recipes and prompt patterns for building with Claude, covering retrieval, tool use, evaluation, and agent workflows.

My note: The fastest way to go from "I use AI chat" to "I build with AI." Pick one recipe and ship a small tool with it this week.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolchaseai-ytOpen-source

Claudex Loop

What it solves

A free Claude Code skill where two AI models harden a build plan before any code is written, then swap roles so whoever built it never grades it.

My note: A good habit to borrow even outside code: have something other than the author check the plan.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/chaseai-yt/claudex-loop.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolGitHubOpen-source

Conceptual Search: A Generative View of Entrepreneurial Imagination (Code and Data)

What it solves

Code and search records for a 2026 Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal paper that uses an AI model to evolve real startup concepts.

My note: Free, open research code. Needs Python setup; it's for studying the paper, not a ready-made tool.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/fcsaszar/conceptual-search.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolContinueOpen-source

Continue

What it solves

An open-source coding assistant for VS Code and JetBrains that you point at any model, including one running locally. Apache 2.0 licensed.

My note: A free alternative to paid coding assistants if you already run a local model. Slower, but it costs nothing per keystroke.

What it costs

  • $0 — Apache 2.0 license.
  • Free end to end with a local model. With a hosted model, expect the provider's usual per-token charge.
  • Their optional hosted team features are paid; the extension is not.

Getting it running

What you need first: VS Code or a JetBrains IDE; A model key, or a local model through Ollama.

  1. 1.Install from your editor's marketplace — search for Continue
  2. 2.Use a free local model instead of a paid key
    ollama run qwen2.5-coder
  3. 3.Build from source if you'd rather
    git clone https://github.com/continuedev/continue.git && cd continue && npm install
Open the repositoryIts library entry
Toolcruva.com

Cruva

What it solves

A product I have not yet confirmed the purpose or pricing of.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolDeepAI

DeepAI

What it solves

Browser-based AI tools for image, video, music and voice generation plus a chat assistant.

My note: Free tier has daily limits on generations; a paid Pro plan raises them. Fine for trying image or voice work without installing anything.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolchat.deepseek.com

DeepSeek

What it solves

DeepSeek's chat assistant. Free tier gives unlimited messages and file uploads on a daily-reset quota; no payment required. One of the most significant free AI releases of the past two years.

My note: Worth trying on reasoning-heavy work and long documents. Note it is a Chinese service — read its data terms before pasting anything confidential.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolDeepSeek AIOpen-source

DeepSeek Harness

What it solves

DeepSeek's free open-source agent harness, built on an "everything is a plugin" architecture, with a local web interface you can run in one command.

My note: Worth a look if you want to run AI agents locally without paying for a hosted platform.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolDiet ClaudeOpen-source

Diet Claude

What it solves

Free utility that tracks Claude AI usage in real time so you can see how close you are to your rate or plan limits before you hit them.

My note: Useful if you rely on an AI assistant for job search or business work and keep getting cut off mid-task.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolLangGeniusOpen-source

Dify

What it solves

An open-source platform for building and running AI apps and agents, with a hosted option and a full self-hosted Docker install.

My note: More structure than a chat window: prompts, data and logs kept in one place. Start with their Docker install and one small app.

What it costs

  • $0 to self-host — free for your own use under their open license (reselling it as a service is restricted).
  • Their hosted cloud has a free sandbox tier and paid plans above it; self-hosting has no fee at all.
  • Realistic self-hosting: a 4GB server, about $20–$24/month, plus model calls.

Getting it running

What you need first: Docker and Docker Compose; About 4GB of memory free for the containers.

  1. 1.Get the code
    git clone https://github.com/langgenius/dify.git && cd dify/docker
  2. 2.Create your settings file
    cp .env.example .env
  3. 3.Start everything
    docker compose up -d
  4. 4.Open it and create the admin account
    open http://localhost/install
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolDocling projectOpen-source

Docling

What it solves

An open-source tool that converts PDFs, Word files and scans into clean structured text for AI use, running locally. MIT licensed.

My note: The unglamorous step that makes everything else work: getting your PDFs into text without a paid converter.

What it costs

  • $0 — MIT license, and it runs entirely on your machine.
  • $0 per page, against per-page pricing at the hosted document-parsing services.
  • No API key, no account, nothing leaves your computer.

Getting it running

What you need first: Python 3.9+; A few hundred MB of disk for its models.

  1. 1.Install it
    pip install docling
  2. 2.Convert a PDF to clean text
    docling my-file.pdf --to md
  3. 3.Or from Python
    python -c "from docling.document_converter import DocumentConverter; print(DocumentConverter().convert('my-file.pdf').document.export_to_markdown()[:500])"
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolByteDance (CapCut)

Dreamina (CapCut AI Image & Video Generator)

What it solves

ByteDance's AI creation workspace for images, video, and talking avatars from a photo, using its own Seedream and Seedance models in one editor alongside CapCut.

My note: There is a permanent free tier with daily credits, no card needed, and paid plans start around $15 a month. Three things to know before you use it: free output is watermarked and the free tier is not licensed for commercial use, the daily credit allowance differs by country, and it is a ByteDance product — do not upload a client's unreleased work or anyone's face without asking them first.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolGitHubOpen-source

elizaOS (open source)

What it solves

Open source framework for building AI agents, free to clone and run yourself.

My note: Free and open source. Clone it and run one agent locally if you want to understand what an agent framework actually does rather than take a vendor's word for it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/elizaOS/eliza.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolEpoch AI

Epoch AI Benchmarking Hub

What it solves

Research-grade tracking of what AI models can do and how that has changed over time, with the data and methods published. Free.

My note: For the longer view rather than this week's launch — they show their working, which most leaderboards do not.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolFactory

Factory AI

What it solves

A platform for AI coding agents that take on development tasks end to end, with documentation and resources on how teams delegate work to them.

My note: Worth knowing by name even if you never use it, because this category is reshaping what junior engineering work looks like. Read the docs, not just the marketing page.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolFloot

Floot

What it solves

A no-code app builder that works inside Claude and ChatGPT, turning a plain description of an idea into a working product.

My note: Useful if you want to test a business idea as a real, clickable product before you spend money on it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolFlowiseAIOpen-source

Flowise

What it solves

An open-source drag-and-drop builder for chatbots and AI workflows you can run yourself and embed on a site. Apache 2.0 licensed.

My note: The quickest way to put a working chatbot on your own site without a subscription. You still pay whatever model you point it at.

What it costs

  • $0 to run yourself — Apache 2.0 license for the core.
  • Their cloud version is a paid subscription; self-hosting is not.
  • Model calls are billed by the provider you connect.

Getting it running

What you need first: Node.js 18.15+; A model API key, or a local model.

  1. 1.Install it
    npm install -g flowise
  2. 2.Start it
    npx flowise start   # then open http://localhost:3000
  3. 3.Or with Docker
    docker run -d -p 3000:3000 flowiseai/flowise
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolFluently

Fluently

What it solves

AI speaking coach that gives real-time feedback on English pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary during live calls.

My note: If English is not your first language and interviews feel like the hardest part, practicing out loud with feedback beats rereading scripts.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolFluree

Fluree

What it solves

Unified intelligence platform that turns structured and unstructured data into a governed knowledge graph for AI. Offers a free open-source graph database (FlureeDB) and a hosted Fluree AI tier that starts at $0 with a free fuel allowance; paid enterprise plans add scale, SSO and private deployments.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolForgetMyResume

ForgetMyResume

What it solves

Free tool that generates data deletion requests you can send to AI hiring and screening vendors holding your application data.

My note: Your rejected applications can follow you through screening databases. This is a practical way to claw some of that back.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolGamma

Gamma: AI presentation and one-page site builder

What it solves

Generates decks, documents, and simple sites from a prompt or outline. The free plan covers pitch practice and portfolio pages.

My note: Clients use this constantly for pitch decks and one-pagers. Start on the free plan and see if you outgrow it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolNVIDIAOpen-source

garak

What it solves

An open-source scanner that probes a language model for weaknesses — prompt injection, data leakage, jailbreaks, toxic output — and reports what it found. Free.

My note: Point it at a model you are about to rely on and see how it fails before your users do.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/NVIDIA/garak.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolGauth

Gauth — AI Learning Platform

What it solves

AI study tool with guided lessons, visual explanations and homework help across school subjects. Has a free tier; a paid Plus plan unlocks more usage.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolGoogle

Gemini

What it solves

Google's AI assistant, wired into Gmail, Docs and the rest of Workspace, so it can work on files you already have. Free tier; paid plans add the larger models.

My note: Worth it mainly if your work already lives in Google Docs and Gmail — that integration is the real advantage.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolOpen GeoAIOpen-source

GeoAI: Open Geospatial AI

What it solves

Free, MIT-licensed Python library and documentation for applying AI to satellite and geospatial data, with tutorials, notebooks, a QGIS plugin and video walkthroughs.

My note: A free, well-documented open-source project — a good portfolio path if you want to work in mapping, climate or remote sensing.

What it costs

  • Free to use and modify — MIT license.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolGitHub

GitHub Next: Chopin

What it solves

Experimental GitHub Next project exploring new ways for developers to compose and direct AI coding agents inside real projects.

My note: GitHub Next experiments preview where developer tooling is going. Worth a look if you want to see the next interface before it ships.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
PlatformGitLabOpen-source

GitLab

What it solves

The intelligent orchestration platform for DevSecOps, enabling teams and agents to ship trusted software at enterprise scale.

My note: Free tier includes unlimited public and private repositories with core CI/CD minutes; paid plans add enterprise features and more minutes.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolBilawal SidhuOpen-source

God's Eye View

What it solves

An open-source, browser-based "spy satellite simulator" that plots real satellites, planes, vessels and public cameras on a photorealistic 3D globe, and answers questions about the planet in plain language.

My note: A striking free build to study or fork if you want a portfolio project that people actually stop and look at.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/bilawalsidhu/gods-eye-view.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolGoogle

Google Antigravity

What it solves

Google's agentic development platform: a full IDE, CLI, and SDK where agents can drive your editor, terminal, and browser to complete end-to-end tasks. Uses Gemini 3.

My note: Free in public preview with rate limits — Google has not announced future pricing. Not supported for enterprise customers on the IDE. If you want to try agent-first coding without paying up front, this is currently the fullest free option.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolgrow.google

Google Career Dreamer

What it solves

Free Google tool that maps your experience to possible career paths and the skills each one needs.

My note: Use this when you cannot name what you want next. It turns a vague feeling into job titles you can research.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolGoogle

Google Interview Warmup

What it solves

Free, no-signup AI practice tool that asks common interview questions across multiple job categories, including non-technical fields, and gives basic feedback.

My note: One of the few AI interview tools that is actually free and not built only for coding interviews. Good for warming up your voice before the real thing.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolGoogle Labs

Google Labs Dreambeans

What it solves

A Google Labs experiment that builds a short, finite set of personalised daily stories from the Google apps you choose to connect — an easy way to see what "personal" AI actually feels like. Free with a Google account in the U.S.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolGrammarly

Grammarly

What it solves

AI writing assistance for grammar, tone and style across apps and websites. Free tier covers core writing suggestions.

My note: Free tier includes grammar and spelling suggestions; paid plans add tone, clarity and full-sentence rewrites.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolxAI

Grok

What it solves

xAI's assistant, built into X, with access to current posts and news as they happen. Limited free use with an X account; higher limits on paid tiers.

My note: Useful when you need what is being said right now rather than a considered answer. Its live sources are public posts, so treat them as claims, not facts.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolHerdrOpen-source

Herdr

What it solves

A free, open-source tool for running and monitoring multiple AI coding agents from one place, with a plugin ecosystem and documentation for the agent CLIs it supports.

My note: Open source with an active plugin community — useful if you are experimenting with more than one AI coding tool.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolhere.now

Here.now

What it solves

A tool whose purpose and pricing I have not verified yet.

My note: Parked for review until I can confirm what this does and whether it is free.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolHermes AgentOpen-source

Hermes Agent

What it solves

A self-hosted, MIT-licensed AI agent with persistent memory that builds skills over time and reaches you on Telegram, Discord and other channels.

My note: Free and open source, and it runs on your own machine — worth a look if you don't want your project context sitting on someone else's server.

What it costs

  • Free to use and modify — MIT license.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolHiggsfield AI

Higgsfield Genjutsu

What it solves

Reality manipulation for video: swap characters, outfits, locations and objects, or keep only the motion and rebuild the rest.

My note: Free tier availability was visible at the time of adding; verify current pricing on site.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolUK AI Security InstituteOpen-source

Inspect

What it solves

An open-source framework from the UK's AI Security Institute for evaluating models — writing tests, scoring answers and logging what happened. Free.

My note: What a government safety institute actually uses to test models. Technical, but the docs explain the thinking behind each kind of test.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolNutlopeOpen-source

Inspo MCP

What it solves

A free MCP server that gives coding assistants design taste, drawing on thousands of real websites captured with their palettes, fonts and layout structures.

My note: Worth adding if your AI-built pages keep looking the same as everyone else's.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolInstinct

Instinct AI

What it solves

Personal AI agent you text or call. It reads your email, calendar, screen, and messages and takes actions across apps — booking rides, contacting handymen, sending emails on your behalf.

My note: Invite-only beta, free today, no published price. Read the terms before you connect anything: it is legally your agent, so actions it takes can bind you as if you did them yourself. Reports of surprise cancellation fees and unauthorized emails; do not give it your credit card, calendar, or work email without understanding what it can do.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolJanOpen-source

Jan

What it solves

An open-source desktop app that runs AI models entirely offline on your own computer, with an optional local API server. AGPL licensed.

My note: Install, download a model, unplug the internet — it still answers. That's the point.

What it costs

  • $0 — AGPL license, free download, no account required.
  • $0 per question, and it works with the internet off.
  • Optional: you can plug in a paid model key, and then that provider bills you.

Getting it running

What you need first: macOS, Windows or Linux; Around 8GB of memory and a few GB of disk per model.

  1. 1.Download the installer for your system from jan.ai and open it
  2. 2.Pick a model in the app's Hub and download it — no terminal step
  3. 3.Turn on the local API server in Settings if you want your own code to use it
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolKaggle

Kaggle

What it solves

A platform for data science competitions, public datasets, and collaborative notebooks to practice machine learning.

My note: Competitions, public datasets, and notebooks are free; heavy compute or private datasets need a paid plan.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolKiloOpen-source

Kilo — open source AI coding agent

What it solves

A free, open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the command line and the cloud, with support for local models and your own API keys at no markup.

My note: Open source and free to install — you only pay a model provider if you choose a hosted one.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolMoonshot AI

Kimi

What it solves

Moonshot AI's free Kimi assistant, strong on long documents, research and coding tasks in the browser.

My note: Good free option when you need to feed in a long report and get straight answers.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolAmazon Web Services

Kiro

What it solves

Amazon's agentic coding environment: you write a spec, and its agents plan, build and check code across a codebase. Runs as a desktop app.

My note: Freemium. The free plan gives you 50 credits a month plus access to Claude Sonnet 4.5 and open-weight models, subject to rate limits; paid plans start at $20 a month. Fine for trying agentic coding, not for all-day use.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolLangflow

Langflow

What it solves

Open-source, low-code visual builder for agentic and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) AI applications. Free to self-host; the project also offers hosted options.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolLangflowOpen-source

Langflow

What it solves

An open-source visual builder for AI workflows and agents — drag components together, then export the flow as an API. MIT licensed.

My note: Useful for seeing what an AI 'agent' actually is: a chain of steps you can look at, not magic.

What it costs

  • $0 — MIT license.
  • The flows you build call models, and those calls are billed by whichever provider you pick.
  • A hosted version exists through DataStax; running it yourself is free.

Getting it running

What you need first: Python 3.10 to 3.13; A model API key, or a local model.

  1. 1.Install it
    pip install langflow
  2. 2.Start it
    langflow run   # then open http://localhost:7860
  3. 3.Or run it with uv, which is faster
    uv pip install langflow && uv run langflow run
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolLibreChatOpen-source

LibreChat

What it solves

An open-source chat app you host yourself that talks to many model providers at once, with user accounts, presets and file uploads. MIT licensed.

My note: Good for a small team who want one chat tool across several providers without paying per seat.

What it costs

  • $0 — MIT license, unlimited users, no per-seat fee.
  • You pay each model provider for the calls your team makes; nothing goes to LibreChat.
  • Hosting for a small team: about $10–$20/month on a modest server.

Getting it running

What you need first: Docker and Docker Compose; At least one model API key, or a local model already running.

  1. 1.Get the code
    git clone https://github.com/danny-avila/LibreChat.git && cd LibreChat
  2. 2.Create your settings file
    cp .env.example .env
  3. 3.Add your keys to .env, then start it
    docker compose up -d
  4. 4.Open it
    open http://localhost:3080
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolLlamaIndexOpen-source

LlamaIndex

What it solves

An open-source Python framework for connecting AI models to your own documents and data. MIT licensed.

My note: For when you want to build something on your own files rather than use a finished app. Expect to write code.

What it costs

  • $0 — MIT license.
  • Indexing charges you for embeddings at your provider's rate; running the embeddings locally instead costs nothing.
  • Their hosted LlamaCloud is a separate paid product you don't need.

Getting it running

What you need first: Python 3.9+; A model or embedding provider — hosted or local.

  1. 1.Install it
    pip install llama-index
  2. 2.Keep your key out of the code
    export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
  3. 3.Index a folder of your own documents
    python -c "from llama_index.core import VectorStoreIndex, SimpleDirectoryReader; print(VectorStoreIndex.from_documents(SimpleDirectoryReader('docs').load_data()).as_query_engine().query('what is this about?'))"
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolLMArena

LMArena

What it solves

Head-to-head model comparisons voted on by the public: you see two anonymous answers to the same prompt and pick the better one, and the rankings come from those votes. Free.

My note: The closest thing to a fair fight between models on ordinary prompts, instead of marketing claims. Votes are taste as much as accuracy, so read it as popularity with a purpose.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolLocalAIOpen-source

LocalAI

What it solves

An open-source drop-in replacement for the OpenAI API that runs models on your own hardware, including CPU-only machines. MIT licensed.

My note: Point existing code at your own server instead of a paid API — no code changes beyond the address.

What it costs

  • $0 — MIT license.
  • $0 per token. Existing code that pays a hosted API can point here instead by changing the address.
  • Costs your own hardware or a GPU server if you want frontier-sized models at speed.

Getting it running

What you need first: Docker (simplest), or build it yourself; Disk space for whichever models you pull.

  1. 1.Run it
    docker run -d -p 8080:8080 --name local-ai localai/localai:latest
  2. 2.Pull a model
    docker exec local-ai local-ai models install qwen2.5-0.5b-instruct
  3. 3.Call it exactly like the OpenAI API
    curl http://localhost:8080/v1/chat/completions -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"model":"qwen2.5-0.5b-instruct","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"hello"}]}'
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolLucius AI

Lucius Knockin Outreach Templates

What it solves

Free outreach message templates for cold contacting hiring managers and recruiters, from the Lucius AI Knockin tool.

My note: Use the templates as a structure, then rewrite them in your own voice. Recruiters can spot an unedited template instantly.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolmagicschool.ai

MagicSchool AI

What it solves

A set of AI tools built for teachers: lesson plans, rubrics, quizzes, feedback on student work, parent letters and reading-level adjustments, all as guided forms rather than a blank chat box. Widely used in K-12 schools and free to start on an individual account.

My note: Freemium: an individual teacher account is free with monthly usage limits, and the paid plans add unlimited use plus school and district features. Two cautions — never paste a named student's work or personal details into it, and read everything it produces before it reaches a classroom or a parent. The guided forms are also worth borrowing if you write training material outside a school.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolManus

Manus

What it solves

General-purpose AI agent that carries out multi-step tasks such as research, building files and automating workflows. Free plan with daily credits; paid plans add more usage.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolMatplotlibOpen-source

Matplotlib

What it solves

The open-source Python library for static, animated and interactive charts, with free plot-type galleries, tutorials, cheat sheets and a full API reference.

My note: If you are learning data work, start here: the example gallery lets you copy a chart that already looks like what you need and adapt it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolMeta

Meta AI

What it solves

Meta's assistant, built into Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, plus its own site. Free.

My note: Handy for drafting captions and replies inside the apps you are already posting from. Weaker than the others on long or careful work.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolMicrosoft

Microsoft Copilot

What it solves

Microsoft's AI assistant, built into Windows, Word, Excel and Outlook. Free to use in the browser and on Windows; the Office integration needs a paid plan.

My note: If your employer runs on Microsoft 365, this is the assistant you will actually be allowed to use at work.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolapp.mindstudio.ai

MindStudio

What it solves

No-code AI agent builder with a free tier: one agent, 1,000 runs/month, access to 200+ models through the MindStudio router, and a library of tutorials and past trainings. Paid plans add unlimited agents and runs.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolMiniMax

MiniMax

What it solves

MiniMax's free-to-try AI platform covering text, speech, music and video generation models.

My note: Worth testing when you need voice or video output and do not want to pay yet.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolchat.mistral.ai

Mistral Le Chat

What it solves

Mistral AI's assistant: web search with citations, document and image analysis, image generation and task agents. Free tier is generous; a paid tier with higher service guarantees is planned but not needed to use it.

My note: Good second opinion when you want sourced answers with citations you can click through and check.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
PlatformMultiverse Computing

Multiverse Computing

What it solves

Quantum and quantum-inspired AI solutions for efficient, secure and sovereign AI across cloud, data centers and edge environments.

My note: Verify current pricing and free-tier availability; solutions are primarily enterprise-facing.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolMuse

Muse

What it solves

Personal AI agent that takes a goal or everyday task and handles the rest, from finances and health to shopping and relationships.

My note: Verify current access model on site; personal-agent services often start free with usage or feature limits.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Tooln8nOpen-source

n8n

What it solves

A visual workflow tool for connecting apps and AI models — source-available, and free to run on your own server. Their hosted plans are paid.

My note: This is how you automate the boring parts of a job hunt or a small business without writing code. Note the license is source-available, not fully open source.

What it costs

  • $0 to self-host — the license is source-available (free for your own use, restricted for reselling it).
  • Their hosted plans are paid: Starter €20/month and Pro €50/month, both billed annually, Business €667/month (n8n.io/pricing, checked 17 September 2026).
  • Self-hosted on a small server: roughly $6–$12/month, plus whatever the AI models in your workflows cost.

Getting it running

What you need first: Node.js 20+ (or Docker); A server if you want it running when your laptop is shut.

  1. 1.Try it without installing anything
    npx n8n
  2. 2.Install it properly
    npm install -g n8n && n8n start
  3. 3.Or run it with Docker and keep your workflows
    docker run -d -p 5678:5678 -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolGemini

Nano Banana Pro (Google Gemini image generation)

What it solves

Google's image generation and editing model, built into the Gemini app. Free tier has daily usage limits; paid Gemini plans raise them.

My note: Best of the free image tools for editing a picture you already have rather than starting from nothing — useful for slide graphics and profile images.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolNuance Labs

Nuance Labs

What it solves

Building visual conversational AI that feels human.

My note: Free tier or waitlist availability was visible at the time of adding; verify current access on site.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolOllamaOpen-source

Ollama

What it solves

Open-source software that downloads and runs open AI models on your own computer, with a single command and an OpenAI-compatible local API. MIT licensed.

My note: The easiest honest way to use AI privately — nothing you type leaves your machine. Start with a small model before you judge the speed.

What it costs

  • $0 — MIT license, no account, no plan.
  • $0 per question: it runs on hardware you already own, so the only cost is electricity.
  • No hosted paid tier exists. Ollama sells nothing.

Getting it running

What you need first: macOS, Linux or Windows; About 5GB of free disk for a small model, more for larger ones; 8GB of memory is enough for the small models; a GPU makes it faster, not possible.

  1. 1.Install on macOS or Linux
    curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
  2. 2.Run a small model
    ollama run llama3.2
  3. 3.Serve it to your own code (OpenAI-compatible)
    ollama serve   # http://localhost:11434/v1
  4. 4.See what you've downloaded
    ollama list
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolOneResume.ai

OneResume.ai

What it solves

A resume tool that takes one master resume and rewrites it for each job you apply to, aiming at the keyword screening most large employers run applications through. The free tier gives one tailored resume a month and a free eight-minute Career Fit assessment; paid plans ($19 and $39 a month) add unlimited tailoring, match scoring, a resume editor and interview prep.

My note: The free tier is one tailored resume a month, which is enough to see whether you like what it writes before you pay anything. Treat every rewrite as a draft you edit: tools like this pad bullet points with keywords, and a recruiter reads the result in about seven seconds. The statistics on their homepage about screening software are their own marketing figures, not independent research.

What it costs

  • Not fully free — read the price on their site before you rely on it.
  • Free limits and prices change, so check them yourself.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Check the pricing page so you know where the free part stops.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolOpen WebUIOpen-source

Open WebUI

What it solves

A self-hosted, open-source chat interface for local or hosted models — chat history, documents, multiple users. Works on top of Ollama or any OpenAI-compatible API.

My note: If you like the ChatGPT window but not the subscription, this is that window running on your own machine.

What it costs

  • $0 — the software is free to run and self-host.
  • Free with a local model. If you connect a hosted model, that provider bills the calls.
  • A small cloud server to keep it running for a team costs roughly $5–$12/month at the usual VPS providers.

Getting it running

What you need first: Python 3.11+ or Docker; A model source: Ollama locally, or any OpenAI-compatible API key.

  1. 1.Install with pip
    pip install open-webui
  2. 2.Start it
    open-webui serve   # then open http://localhost:8080
  3. 3.Or run it with Docker instead
    docker run -d -p 3000:8080 -v open-webui:/app/backend/data --name open-webui ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolOpenAIOpen-source

OpenAI Whisper

What it solves

OpenAI's open-source speech recognition model and command-line tool, free to download and run on your own machine. MIT licensed.

My note: The original. Slower than whisper.cpp on a laptop, but the reference version and simple to install with Python.

What it costs

  • $0 — MIT license, model weights included.
  • $0 per minute. The paid hosted equivalent is about $0.006 a minute.
  • Slower than whisper.cpp on a laptop; a GPU speeds it up but isn't required.

Getting it running

What you need first: Python 3.8+; ffmpeg installed; A few GB of disk for the larger models.

  1. 1.Install ffmpeg (macOS)
    brew install ffmpeg
  2. 2.Install Whisper
    pip install -U openai-whisper
  3. 3.Transcribe a file
    whisper my-interview.mp3 --model base
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolOpenClaw FoundationOpen-source

OpenClaw

What it solves

An open-source personal AI assistant, run on your own device, that connects to chat apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, and Teams to handle email, calendars, and everyday tasks.

My note: Appealing if you want an assistant that runs on your own machine instead of a vendor's cloud. It is developer-flavored to install, so budget an hour and read the security notes first.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolOpenCodeOpen-source

OpenCode

What it solves

A free, open-source AI coding agent that runs in your terminal, works with multiple model providers and can be installed with a single command.

My note: Free and open source, so you can point it at whichever model you already have access to instead of paying for another subscription.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolAutonomous AIOpen-source

OpenHarness

What it solves

An open-source platform for running coding agents such as Claude Code and Codex across your own machines and specialising them for domains like CAD, PCBs, robotics and games, with optional open hardware.

My note: The software is free and open source. The agents you run inside it may cost money, and the companion hardware is a separate purchase — the repo itself is the free part.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/autonomous-ai/openharness.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
Platform ToolOpenRouter

OpenRouter

What it solves

One interface to hundreds of AI models with prices side by side, including a set of free models you can use without a subscription.

My note: Free to sign up and there are free models on the list; paid models are pay-as-you-go with no subscription.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.

What they've published, already in the library

Open the toolIts library entry
ToolArtificial Analysis

Optima — Custom AI Benchmark Builder (Artificial Analysis)

What it solves

A platform from Artificial Analysis for building custom benchmarks from your own files, agent traces, or coding environment, then running them across leading models to compare quality, cost per task, and time per task. Benchmarks can be graded against objective rubrics or pairwise judging. Optima is a commercial product; the public announcement and product overview are free to read.

My note: Standard benchmarks tell you which model is best in general; they cannot tell you which is best for your workload. If you are choosing a model for a real product, a custom benchmark on your own tasks is the right move — this is one way to do it without building the harness yourself.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolPangram

Pangram AI Detector

What it solves

AI detector for ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. Claims third-party verified accuracy for essays, articles and documents.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolPerplexity

Perplexity

What it solves

An AI answer engine that searches the live web and cites its sources, with a free tier that covers everyday research.

My note: Good for a first pass on a company, an industry, or a role — then click the citations and read the originals yourself.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolPiOpen-source

Pi

What it solves

A terminal-based coding agent you run locally to read, write and refactor code from the command line.

My note: If you already live in a terminal, this is a lighter way to try agentic coding than a full IDE.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolPolytoken

Polytoken

What it solves

A free local-first AI coding agent that runs as a daemon on your own machine and executes tools against your development environment.

My note: Free to use and runs locally, so it is a low-risk way to try agentic coding.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolPowermoveOpen-source

Powermove

What it solves

Free open-source video and motion editor for Apple Silicon Macs. Connect a coding agent (Claude Code, Codex) to rewrite panels, effects, and extensions inside the running app.

My note: macOS only, requires an Apple Silicon chip. Free and open-source; extending it means running your own coding agent, so the useful audience is people already comfortable in code.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
PlatformPrismML

PrismML

What it solves

PrismML builds 1-bit and ternary Bonsai models that pack advanced reasoning, tool use and multimodal AI into efficient devices and data centers.

My note: Verify current pricing and free-tier availability on site; the homepage focuses on enterprise and developer access.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolpromptfooOpen-source

promptfoo

What it solves

An open-source tool for testing and red-teaming prompts and AI apps — run the same prompts across models, compare answers, and catch regressions. Free and self-hosted.

My note: The practical one: if you have built anything on top of a model, this is how you check a prompt change did not quietly make it worse.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolpyLoadOpen-source

pyLoad

What it solves

Free, open-source download manager written in Python, managed entirely through a web interface. Lightweight enough to run on a home server, NAS or router, with plugins to automate repetitive downloads.

My note: Worth it only if you already run a home server and download large files regularly. Same rule as any download tool: what you download is your responsibility, and file hosts are a common route for malware.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolMicrosoftOpen-source

PyRIT

What it solves

Microsoft's open-source toolkit for red-teaming AI systems: automated attack prompts, scoring of the responses, and repeatable runs. Free.

My note: Built by the team that red-teams Microsoft's own AI products, and released as-is. Best paired with a written idea of what you are testing for.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/Azure/PyRIT.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolQuickResume.ai

QuickResume.ai

What it solves

Resume builder with live ATS scoring, AI wording suggestions and 450+ templates. The free forever tier gives you up to three resumes, five basic templates, live ATS scoring, unlimited job applications, a shareable portfolio page and one clean download you can edit and re-download; other downloads carry a watermark. Paid tiers start at Rs.99/month.

My note: Use the free tier for the ATS score, not the writing. It is a quick way to see whether a machine can read your layout at all, which is the failure most people never find out about. Two notes: pricing is set in Indian rupees, and no resume tool's score is the actual employer's screening system — a high number means readable, not shortlisted.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolAlibaba

Qwen

What it solves

Alibaba's Qwen family of open AI models with a free chat assistant for writing, coding, image and document work in the browser.

My note: A strong free alternative when you want a capable assistant without a subscription.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolQwen (Alibaba)

Qwen Image 2.1

What it solves

Alibaba's Qwen team announces Qwen Image 2.1 — an updated open-weight image generation model with improved text rendering and multi-image editing.

My note: Free open-weight release; the hosted Qwen chat and API have their own free tier and paid limits. Useful if you want a Chinese-lab alternative to Stable Diffusion or Flux.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolRaindrop

Raindrop

What it solves

Monitoring for AI agents in production. Traces every run and tool call, groups repeated failures into one issue, and simulates a change on a pull request before you merge.

My note: Free tier available; paid plans start around $150/month. Built for engineering teams shipping customer-facing agents — not something a job seeker will use, but useful if you build with AI.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolrezi.ai

Rezi

What it solves

AI resume builder focused on ATS optimization and screening-software scoring.

My note: Use it to check formatting and keywords, then rewrite the bullets in your own voice.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolScrollEd

ScrollEd — AI Smart-Scrolling Reader

What it solves

Turns books and documents into scrollable, bite-sized learning cards with AI summaries and quizzes.

My note: The free tier is limited: demo content only, no file uploads, and ads. Pro is $6.99 a month (currently offered free for three months to early members), so treat the free plan as a look around rather than a usable reading tool.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolSearXNGOpen-source

SearXNG

What it solves

An open-source, self-hosted search engine that queries other engines without tracking you or building a profile. AGPL licensed.

My note: Useful if you research employers a lot and would rather not have that history tied to an account.

What it costs

  • $0 — AGPL license, no ads, no account.
  • $0 per search. A small server if you host it publicly: about $5/month.
  • Public instances run by volunteers cost nothing at all.

Getting it running

What you need first: Docker; A server if you want it available away from home.

  1. 1.Run it locally
    docker run -d -p 8080:8080 -v ./searxng:/etc/searxng --name searxng searxng/searxng
  2. 2.Open it
    open http://localhost:8080
  3. 3.Or use somebody else's public instance from searx.space — free, no install
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolSider

Sider Code

What it solves

A browser-based AI agent from Sider that lets you customize almost any webpage with plain-language instructions — no coding or extra extensions required.

My note: Useful for quick UI tweaks, summarizing comment threads, or reformatting a page while you research.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolItsssssJackOpen-source

SlopMonster

What it solves

A free open-source tool that scores AI-written copy for tell-tale "AI voice", rewrites it with a rival model, then re-checks it, so landing pages, READMEs and emails read like a human wrote them.

My note: A practical fix if your AI-assisted writing keeps sounding generic.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/ItsssssJack/SlopMonster.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI Toolsomethingbig.ai

Something Big

What it solves

An AI product whose exact use case and free access terms I have not confirmed yet.

My note: Holding this one back until I have confirmed what it does and whether there is a free tier.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolStrands AgentsOpen-source

Strands Agents Harness SDK (GitHub)

What it solves

Open-source SDK, Python and TypeScript, for building production AI agents you run yourself — any model, any cloud.

My note: Free and open-source (Apache-style OSS). For builders who want an agent framework they control, not a hosted service.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/strands-agents/harness-sdk.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
TooltldrawOpen-source

tldraw Chat Starter Kit

What it solves

A free working example of a chat app where you can draw to give an AI assistant visual context, with the code to build your own.

My note: A quick way to see how visual context changes what an AI assistant understands.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolTuring Test Live

Turing Test Live

What it solves

A free browser game of the imitation game: as interrogator you question two witnesses — one human, one a current language model such as GPT-4 or Claude — and guess which is which, with identities revealed at the end of each round. You can also play as a witness.

My note: Free and the fastest way to build real intuition about what current models sound like — worth twenty minutes before you rely on spotting AI text by feel. It proves nothing about consciousness or intelligence; it measures whether you can be fooled in a short chat, which is a fact about the conversation format as much as about the model.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolViktor

Viktor (AI Coworker for Slack and Teams)

What it solves

An AI assistant that works inside Slack and Microsoft Teams, connecting to thousands of tools to produce reports, dashboards, and campaign work. Free tier available.

My note: Useful to try so you can speak fluently about agentic tools in an interview. Watch what it gets wrong as closely as what it gets right.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolggmlOpen-source

whisper.cpp

What it solves

A fast, dependency-light rewrite of OpenAI's Whisper speech-to-text that runs on ordinary laptop hardware, including CPU only. MIT licensed.

My note: Transcribe interviews or your own practice answers privately, without paying a per-minute transcription service.

What it costs

  • $0 — MIT license.
  • $0 per minute of audio, against roughly $0.006 a minute at the usual paid transcription APIs — an hour of interviews is about $0.36 there and nothing here.
  • Runs on a laptop CPU; no GPU purchase needed.

Getting it running

What you need first: A C++ compiler and CMake; About 1GB of disk for a medium model.

  1. 1.Get the code
    git clone https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp && cd whisper.cpp
  2. 2.Build it
    cmake -B build && cmake --build build -j --config Release
  3. 3.Download a model
    sh ./models/download-ggml-model.sh base.en
  4. 4.Transcribe a file
    ./build/bin/whisper-cli -m models/ggml-base.en.bin -f my-interview.wav
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolWikiwand

Wikiwand

What it solves

A reading layer over Wikipedia: cleaner article pages, hover previews, timelines, and a chat that answers only from the Wikipedia article you are reading and the articles it links to, with every answer linked back to its source.

My note: Useful precisely because it refuses to answer from anywhere but Wikipedia — you can check every claim. Still Wikipedia underneath, so treat it as a starting point, not a citation.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolWisry

Wisry

What it solves

AI career coaching assistant that helps you plan next moves, prep for interviews, and pressure-test career decisions.

My note: I use tools like this as a sparring partner, not an oracle. Bring your own judgment to whatever it suggests.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolXiaomiOpen-source

Xiaomi MiMo

What it solves

Xiaomi's open-weight AI model family — text, image, video, and audio understanding — released under the MIT license, free to download and self-host.

My note: Weights are free (MIT license, commercial use allowed) on Hugging Face. The hosted API is paid per token. If you can run models locally, this is a free frontier-tier option; if you want a chat interface, use the API and expect a bill.

What it costs

  • Free to use and modify — MIT license.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolXiaomi

Xiaomi MiMo (open models)

What it solves

Xiaomi's MiMo family of open language and reasoning models, with weights and technical reports published free for anyone to download and run.

My note: Free open weights — worth knowing about if you want to run a capable model yourself.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolYogimoca

Yogimoca

What it solves

Upload a CV or a plain-text document and it gives you a private read on where you stand professionally and what to do next. No account needed to try it, and it says the session is deleted after 24 hours unless you save it.

My note: Free to use right now and it publishes no prices at all — the site is very new, so free today does not mean free next month. Two honest cautions: uploading your CV means handing it to their AI providers, which their own consent line says plainly, and read anything it tells you about your career as one opinion from a machine that has seen one document.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolYou.com

You.com

What it solves

A free AI search assistant that answers questions with cited sources and can run research tasks, useful for company research before an interview or scanning an industry quickly.

My note: Good for the twenty minutes of company research you should do before every interview.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolStreamlit

YouTube Video Recommender (Streamlit App)

What it solves

Lightweight web app that suggests YouTube videos from a topic or channel input, built and hosted as an open Streamlit project.

My note: Also a good example of how small a working portfolio project can be. Ship something this size before you ship something perfect.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolyt-dlpOpen-source

yt-dlp

What it solves

Free, open-source command-line tool for downloading video and audio from thousands of sites. Actively maintained on GitHub, runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and is the tool most other download apps wrap.

My note: useful for saving your own recorded talks, webinars and openly licensed lectures so you can watch or transcribe them offline. Downloading material you have no right to is a different matter and often breaks the site's terms or the law where you live, so keep it to your own content and openly licensed work.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
Tool01.AI

Z.ai

What it solves

AI assistant and agent powered by GLM-5.3-Flash. Can build websites, write code, handle long-horizon tasks and answer questions.

My note: Check current usage limits on site; Z.ai typically offers free access with model-rate limits and may offer paid tiers.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.

What they've published, already in the library

Open the toolIts library entry
ToolZapier

Zapier AutomationBench — AI agent benchmark leaderboard

What it solves

Public leaderboard and open-source benchmark that drops AI agents into realistic business environments with 47 real tools across sales, marketing, operations, support, finance, and HR. Scores are based on final environment state, not an LLM-as-judge.

My note: The leaderboard and the benchmark code are free; running it yourself means paying the model APIs at the costs shown. The test design is based on Zapier's own task data, so it's a realistic lens on agent work, but Zapier also sells automation tools — treat the benchmark as a useful public dataset, not a neutral referee.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolZed IndustriesOpen-source

Zed Code Editor

What it solves

A free, open-source code editor built in Rust for speed, with built-in AI assistance, real-time collaboration and multiplayer editing for pair programming.

My note: A fast, free alternative to paid editors — the collaboration mode is handy if you are learning to code with someone else.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry

Marketing & Platform Tools

123 tools

Platform Toolapps.shopify.com

Shopify App Store

What it solves

Shopify's marketplace of third-party apps and plugins for extending store functionality.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Tooltidio.com

Tidio

What it solves

AI chatbot and live-chat platform for e-commerce customer service and support automation.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolStoreClaw

StoreClaw AI

What it solves

AI-powered inventory and listing platform for ecommerce sellers, helping small businesses manage products, optimize listings, and automate store operations.

My note: Good for founders who want to spend less time on listing busywork and more time on product and customer conversations.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolads.tiktok.com

Ad Optimization Assistance

What it solves

TikTok's official checklist for diagnosing and improving underperforming ad campaigns.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
BlogAlmabase

Almabase Resources

What it solves

Free guides, playbooks and blog posts on alumni relations, fundraising and advancement work from the Almabase team.

My note: Free to read with no account for most posts. It is published by a software vendor, so the advice is genuine but written to sell their platform — take the practices, ignore the pitch.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the resources page — the blog posts and articles read straight away with no account.
  2. 2.Pick the topic you need (alumni relations, fundraising, advancement) rather than reading front to back.
  3. 3.The longer guides and templates ask for a work email before they download; the short posts don't.
  4. 4.It's written for people working in advancement at schools, so take the ideas, not the sales pitch.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Tooladvertising.amazon.com

Amazon Advertising

What it solves

Amazon's advertising platform offering sponsored product, brand, and display campaigns across its marketplace.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolanthropic.com

Anthropic

What it solves

AI safety company that builds the Claude family of AI models with a focus on responsible AI development.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.

What they've published, already in the library

All 4 pieces from Anthropic

Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolar.snap.com

AR Lenses & Filters (Lens Studio)

What it solves

Snap's free desktop software for designing custom augmented-reality lenses and camera filters.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolbeehiiv

beehiiv

What it solves

A newsletter publishing platform with a free tier covering website, subscriber management, and growth and monetization tools.

My note: A newsletter is the one audience nobody can take from you. Start it before you need it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbing.com

Bing Places for Business

What it solves

Microsoft's free local-listing tool that manages how a business shows up in Bing Search and Maps.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbing.com

Bing Webmaster Tools

What it solves

Free suite for monitoring and improving a website's presence and performance in Bing search results.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolblaze.ai

Blaze AI

What it solves

AI content-generation platform for creating marketing copy, social posts, and blog content.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolBlueberry

Blueberry — AI Marketing Agents for Consumer Brands

What it solves

AI agents that respond to social interactions with personalized messages to grow email lists, first-party data, and repeat purchases for consumer brands. Pricing is sales-led, so free access is unconfirmed.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolbrevo.com

Brevo

What it solves

Email and SMS marketing platform (formerly Sendinblue) with automation and CRM tools for small businesses.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolbuffer.com

Buffer

What it solves

Social media scheduling and analytics tool for planning and publishing posts across multiple platforms.

My note: A solid free tool for scheduling your social posts instead of posting live every day.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolamazon.com

Business Prime Tiers

What it solves

Amazon's subscription tiers offering business customers bulk pricing, analytics, and purchasing tools.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolBuyer Intel Accelerator

Buyer Intel Accelerator — Free Sales Message Tools

What it solves

Three free tools with no sign-up: an AI buyer persona grades your cold email, message or call transcript, drills you on objections, and reviews ad copy.

My note: The graders are free; the full product is a paid trial. Don't paste private customer details into any AI tool.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolcanva.com

Canva

What it solves

Popular design platform with AI features for creating graphics, videos, presentations, and marketing materials.

My note: If you only learn one design tool for your business, make it Canva.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolCapCut

CapCut

What it solves

A free all-in-one video and photo editor for social content, with templates, captions, auto-subtitles, background removal, and AI editing tools on web, desktop, and mobile.

My note: The fastest way to make a decent video introduction or short-form post without buying software. Auto-captions alone will lift your reach.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolnewsroom.tiktok.com

Change Makers Program

What it solves

TikTok's initiative spotlighting and supporting creators who run charitable and social-impact campaigns.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolchatgpt.comOpen-source

ChatGPT

What it solves

OpenAI's conversational AI assistant for writing, research, brainstorming and support tasks. Free tier with message and model limits; paid plans lift them.

My note: The single most useful free tool for brainstorming marketing copy and business ideas.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolshopify.com

Conversational Commerce with ChatGPT

What it solves

Shopify's integration letting customers browse and buy from Shopify stores directly within ChatGPT.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolGitLabOpen-source

Convert GitHub Actions to GitLab CI/CD (Free AI Skill)

What it solves

Free AI skill that converts GitHub Actions workflows into GitLab CI/CD pipelines, usable from Cursor, VS Code, Claude, or any MCP-compatible client.

My note: A practical way to show DevOps range: migrate a pipeline, document what changed, and add it to your portfolio. Also a clean example of how MCP skills plug into everyday tooling.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolfacebook.com

Creative Hub

What it solves

Meta's free tool for mocking up and previewing ad creative before launching a campaign.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolsupport.tiktok.com

Creator Fund/Program

What it solves

TikTok's official program that pays eligible creators based on the views their content generates.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Tooldescript.com

Descript

What it solves

AI-powered audio and video editing tool that lets users edit recordings by editing a text transcript.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Tooldurable.co

Durable

What it solves

AI website builder that generates a complete small-business website and copy in under a minute.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolfacebook.com

Facebook Marketplace

What it solves

Meta's free platform for individuals and businesses to list and sell products locally and online.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolFavikon

Favikon

What it solves

An influencer-marketing platform for finding, analyzing, and messaging creators, with performance data, audience demographics, and authenticity scoring.

My note: Helpful for vetting creators before a campaign; start with the free trial to see whether the data quality justifies the cost for your niche.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolFigma

Figma

What it solves

Design and prototyping tool used across the industry, with a free Starter plan that covers design files, FigJam whiteboards and slides. Useful for portfolios, pitch decks, wireframes and simple brand assets.

My note: Free Starter plan has limits on the number of files and collaborators, and some features (Dev Mode, advanced Figma Make usage) sit on paid seats. Enough for one person building a portfolio or deck without paying.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolads.tiktok.com

Flexible Enterprise Business Center

What it solves

TikTok's centralized workspace for managing multiple ad accounts, assets, and team permissions.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolFluencify

Fluencify

What it solves

A creator-marketing platform that runs influencer and UGC campaigns end to end — from creator contracting and briefing to quality review and payout.

My note: Worth exploring if you are building a brand and want to outsource the operations of a creator campaign without giving away a large agency markup.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolframer.com

Framer

What it solves

No-code website builder with AI design features for building fast, animated marketing sites.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolfreshworks.com

Freshdesk AI

What it solves

Freshworks' AI-enhanced help-desk software for managing customer support tickets and conversations.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolsell.amazon.com

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

What it solves

Amazon's logistics service that stores, packs, and ships seller inventory through its warehouse network.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolGenz.ai

Genz.ai

What it solves

AI-powered trend intelligence that tracks what is going viral on TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube and more. Browse public trend reports or subscribe to the newsletter to spot rising sounds, formats and aesthetics before they peak.

My note: Public trend reports and the newsletter are free to read. The full real-time dashboard appears to be invitation-only or not yet launched.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolGet On Stage

Get On Stage: speaking opportunity finder

What it solves

A tool for finding podcast, panel, and stage opportunities to pitch yourself for.

My note: Promising for anyone building a speaking track record. Hidden until I verify what the free tier includes.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolGetApp

GetApp Software Directory

What it solves

A free searchable directory of business software with side-by-side feature comparisons, pricing summaries and verified user reviews across categories like workflow, CRM and accounting.

My note: Free to browse and useful when you are choosing tools for a small business — just remember vendors pay for placement, so read the reviews, not the rankings.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolGoodword

Goodword

What it solves

A writing-related tool I am still evaluating.

My note: Parked until I can confirm what this actually does and whether it is free to use.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolads.google.com

Google Ads

What it solves

Google's paid advertising platform for running search, display, video, and shopping ad campaigns.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolanalytics.google.com

Google Analytics

What it solves

Google's free web analytics platform for tracking website traffic, user behavior, and conversions.

My note: Essential for understanding where your website traffic is actually coming from.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbusiness.google.com

Google Business Profile

What it solves

Free Google tool for creating and managing how a business appears on Google Search and Maps.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolmerchants.google.com

Google Merchant Center

What it solves

Platform for uploading and managing the product data that powers Google Shopping ads and listings.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolGoogle

Google Pics — AI Image Generator and Editor

What it solves

Google Workspace tool for generating and editing images with Google's AI models, useful for slides, social posts, and simple brand visuals.

My note: Details: good enough for headers, thumbnails, and pitch-deck visuals without hiring a designer. Always disclose AI images when a client asks.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolshopping.google.com

Google Shopping

What it solves

Google's comparison shopping service that surfaces product listings from online and local retailers.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolsites.google.com

Google Sites

What it solves

Google's free, no-code website builder for simple business, portfolio, or informational sites.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Tooldeepmind.google

Google Veo

What it solves

Google DeepMind's generative AI model that creates video clips from text or image prompts.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolhighperformr.ai

Highperformr Free Marketing Tools

What it solves

Collection of free web tools for social and content marketing — post generators, hashtag and bio helpers, and analytics calculators — usable without an account.

My note: The free tools do work with no sign-up, but they exist to sell the paid product, so expect prompts. Fine for a quick draft, not a strategy.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolhubspot.com

HubSpot AI

What it solves

HubSpot's suite of free AI-powered tools for content creation, email, and CRM tasks.

My note: HubSpot gives away some surprisingly good free AI tools—worth exploring before paying for anything.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolHubSpot

HubSpot Marketing Landing Pages

What it solves

HubSpot's landing-page builder for capturing leads, running A/B tests, and connecting forms to a CRM — useful for small businesses and creator-led offers.

My note: A solid free-tier option for building lead-capture pages if you already use or plan to use HubSpot's CRM.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolhuggingface.coOpen-source

Hugging Face

What it solves

Open-source AI community and platform hosting machine-learning models, datasets and tools. Free to browse, download and run models; paid plans only cover hosted compute.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.

What they've published, already in the library

Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolInfluencer Studio

Influencer Studio

What it solves

A platform for finding, briefing, and managing influencer marketing campaigns and creator collaborations.

My note: Helpful if you are building a small brand and want a lightweight way to coordinate creator partnerships.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolinfluencer.com

Influencer.com

What it solves

Creator marketing platform with public research, benchmarks, and campaign case studies you can learn from for free.

My note: Read their case studies before you pitch a brand — they show what deliverables and metrics buyers actually pay for.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbusiness.instagram.com

Instagram Business Tools

What it solves

Meta's free suite of Instagram features for insights, promotions, and managing a business profile.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolInstagram

Instagram First Draft — AI Reel Creation Inside the App

What it solves

Instagram's announcement of First Draft, a feature that generates a starting draft of a Reel from a prompt directly inside the Instagram app.

My note: If you build a personal brand on Reels, this lowers the blank-timeline barrier. Use it for a first draft, then make it sound like you.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbusiness.instagram.com

Instagram Shops

What it solves

Meta's free feature letting businesses build a shoppable storefront directly inside the Instagram app.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolklaviyo.com

Klaviyo

What it solves

Email and SMS marketing automation platform popular with e-commerce brands for personalized campaigns.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbusiness.linkedin.com

LinkedIn Business Manager

What it solves

LinkedIn's tool for managing multiple ad accounts, pages, and team access in one place.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbusiness.linkedin.com

LinkedIn Campaign Manager (Ads)

What it solves

LinkedIn's self-serve advertising dashboard for creating and managing sponsored ad campaigns.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbusiness.linkedin.com

LinkedIn Marketing Solutions

What it solves

LinkedIn's hub for B2B advertising, sponsored content, and other marketing solutions.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolLinkNYC

LinkNYC Advertising

What it solves

How to advertise on LinkNYC kiosks across New York City, including formats and how to get started.

My note: Mostly useful as a reference point for what real out-of-home advertising costs before you commit.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolLinktree

Linktree

What it solves

A free link-in-bio page collecting your portfolio, resume, booking link and social profiles behind a single shareable URL.

My note: One link in your profile beats making people hunt for your work. Put your resume and portfolio behind it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolmake.com

Make

What it solves

Visual workflow-automation platform for connecting apps and building complex multi-step automations.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolMediumOpen-source

Medium

What it solves

Open publishing platform for essays and articles. Writing and publishing are free; reading is limited by a metered paywall unless you pay for a membership, and the Partner Program requires a paid membership to earn.

My note: Free to publish and build a portfolio of writing. Be aware readers may hit a paywall on your posts, so cross-post anything you want widely read.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.

What they've published, already in the library

  • The Internet's Coldest Case

    Sep 23, 2026

    Manuel Cebrian's essay on "Markovian Parallax Denigrate" — hundreds of identically titled, meaningless posts that flooded Usenet in August 1996 and have never been explained. It walks through each theory in turn: a Cold War-style numbers station, a cipher, a mail-server fault, or an early Markov-chain text generator in the lineage of the Mark V. Shaney experiment, and what the trail of headers actually supports.

    Read moreOpen the original
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolfacebook.com

Meta Advantage+

What it solves

Meta's AI-powered automated ad system that optimizes targeting, budget, and creative delivery.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbusiness.facebook.com

Meta Business Suite

What it solves

Meta's free hub for managing Facebook and Instagram pages, posts, messages, and ads in one place.

My note: This is command center for your Facebook and Instagram presence—worth learning early.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolfacebook.com

Meta Creative Center

What it solves

Meta's free library of ad examples, templates, and creative inspiration for Facebook and Instagram.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolMetadata.io

Metadata.io: AI marketing campaign automation

What it solves

A B2B demand-generation platform that automates paid campaign testing across channels.

My note: Holding this one until I confirm whether there is anything usable without an enterprise contract.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolabout.ads.microsoft.com

Microsoft Advertising

What it solves

Microsoft's paid search advertising platform, running ads across Bing, Yahoo, and partner networks.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolclarity.microsoft.com

Microsoft Clarity

What it solves

Free heatmap and session-recording analytics tool from Microsoft for seeing how visitors use a site.

My note: A completely free way to watch exactly how visitors use your website.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolpowerautomate.microsoft.com

Microsoft Power Automate

What it solves

Microsoft's workflow-automation tool for connecting Microsoft 365 apps and other business software.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolModash

Modash

What it solves

Influencer marketing platform for finding creators, analyzing audiences, and running performance campaigns.

My note: Strong option if you need audience analytics before deciding which creators to partner with.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolfacebook.com

Opportunity Score

What it solves

A free Meta Business Suite feature that scores a Page's setup and suggests ways to reach more customers.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolotter.ai

Otter.ai

What it solves

AI transcription tool that records and transcribes meetings, interviews, and voice notes in real time.

My note: A great free tool for transcribing client calls or podcast interviews.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolpika.art

Pika

What it solves

AI video generation tool that turns text and image prompts into short animated video clips.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolads.pinterest.com

Pinterest Ads Manager

What it solves

Pinterest's self-serve dashboard for creating, targeting, and managing paid Pinterest ad campaigns.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbusiness.pinterest.com

Pinterest Business (Setup Hub)

What it solves

Pinterest's official hub for setting up and managing a business account and its business tools.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolPlaygrnd

Playgrnd Tools

What it solves

Lightweight toolkit of free browser-based utilities for creators and marketers — quick asset, content, and workflow helpers with no signup friction.

My note: Bookmark it for the small tasks that otherwise eat an afternoon. Free tools like this replace three paid subscriptions.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolPostSider

PostSider — social media scheduling

What it solves

Scheduling and publishing tool covering 30+ social networks from one calendar, with a free tier and paid plans for higher volume.

My note: Worth a look if you are building a personal brand across several platforms. Start on the free tier and only pay once you know you will actually post that often.

What it costs

  • Not fully free — read the price on their site before you rely on it.
  • Free limits and prices change, so check them yourself.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Check the pricing page so you know where the free part stops.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolpredis.ai

Predis.ai

What it solves

AI tool that generates social media posts, captions, and videos from a website URL or prompt.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolpromptwatch.com

PromptWatch

What it solves

Tracks which sites and sources AI assistants cite, so you can see how discovery is shifting away from classic search.

My note: If you publish anything — portfolio, blog, business site — this is how you check whether AI answers are surfacing you at all.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolads.reddit.com

Reddit Ads

What it solves

Reddit's self-serve advertising platform for targeting ads to specific communities and interests.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolreveal.jsOpen-source

reveal.js

What it solves

Free open-source framework for building presentations in the browser, with export and speaker notes.

My note: A good free option if you want a talk deck that lives at a URL instead of in an email attachment.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolrunwayml.com

Runway

What it solves

AI-powered video generation and editing platform for creating and stylizing clips from text or images.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolScreenCursor

ScreenCursor

What it solves

A browser-based screen recorder that automatically adds cinematic zooms and camera moves to clicks, drags, and keystrokes, producing polished demo videos without manual editing.

My note: Useful for portfolio walkthroughs and product demos — the auto-zoom does the work that usually makes homemade demos look amateur.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolsellercentral.amazon.com

Seller App

What it solves

Amazon's mobile app letting sellers manage orders, inventory, and analytics on the go.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolsellercentral.amazon.com

Seller Central / Business Analytics

What it solves

Amazon's dashboard for managing listings, inventory, orders, and sales-performance analytics.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolsellercentral.amazon.com

Seller University

What it solves

Amazon's free library of training videos and courses to help new sellers launch and grow.

My note: Amazon's own free training library—worth a look before you list your first product.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolSemrushOpen-source

Semrush

What it solves

SEO and competitive research platform with a limited free account for keyword and site checks.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolshopify.com

Shopify

What it solves

Leading e-commerce platform for building, managing, and scaling an online store.

My note: If you're serious about selling online, this is the platform most of my clients start with.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.

What they've published, already in the library

Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolshopify.com

Shopify AR

What it solves

Shopify's toolset for adding 3D and augmented-reality product previews to an online store.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolshopify.com

Shopify Capital

What it solves

Shopify's financing program offering merchants business loans and cash advances based on store performance.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolshopify.com

Shopify Magic (AI Features)

What it solves

Shopify's built-in AI feature set for generating product descriptions, images, and store content.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolShopify

Shopify Magic (Free AI Content Tools)

What it solves

Shopify's documentation for Magic, the free AI features that write product descriptions, emails, blog posts, and support replies from inside your store.

My note: Product descriptions are where most small shops stall. Let it draft, then rewrite the first sentence in your own voice.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolShopify

Shopify Sidekick (AI Store Assistant)

What it solves

Shopify's official documentation for Sidekick, the built-in AI assistant that answers store questions, edits products, and runs setup tasks inside the Shopify admin.

My note: If you already pay for Shopify, this is included. Learn what it can do before buying a third-party app that does the same thing.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolSkool

Skool

What it solves

Platform for hosting paid and free online communities, courses, and group coaching in one place.

My note: Confirm the free tier limits before committing a community to it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolSlides.com

Slides.com

What it solves

Browser-based presentation tool with a free tier for public decks built on reveal.js.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolads.tiktok.com

Smart+ Campaign Optimization

What it solves

TikTok's AI-driven automated ad solution that optimizes targeting and budget allocation for advertisers.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolamazon.com

SmartBiz

What it solves

Amazon Business feature connecting small business owners with SBA-backed small business loan options.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolar.snap.com

Snapchat Lens Studio

What it solves

Snap's official developer platform and documentation for building AR lenses and camera experiences.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolopenai.com

Sora 2

What it solves

OpenAI's generative AI model that creates realistic video and audio clips from text prompts.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolspeechify.com

Speechify

What it solves

Text-to-speech app that converts written content into natural-sounding narrated audio.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolStan

Stan Store

What it solves

All-in-one link-in-bio storefront for selling digital products, coaching sessions, and courses without building a website.

My note: If you are selling your first digital product or coaching slot, this gets you a checkout page in an afternoon instead of a build project. Start free, upgrade only when sales justify it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolstripe.com

Stripe

What it solves

Payment-processing platform that lets businesses accept online payments and manage billing infrastructure.

My note: Most online stores and service businesses end up using Stripe to get paid.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolSubstack

Substack

What it solves

Publishing platform for newsletters, podcasts and video. Free to start and publish with no fees until you choose to charge readers; Substack takes 10% of paid subscriptions if you do.

My note: Free tier covers everything you need to publish and grow; you only share revenue if you turn on paid subscriptions.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolsynthesia.io

Synthesia

What it solves

AI platform that produces videos narrated by realistic AI avatars from a simple text script.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolads.tiktok.com

Target Frequencies

What it solves

TikTok Ads Manager feature letting advertisers control how often the same user sees an ad.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolThe Founder Gazette

The Founder Gazette: Submit Your Story

What it solves

Free editorial submission page for founders who want their startup story covered, with guidance on what editors need.

My note: Free press is real press. Read their guidance on what counts as a story before you send a company description and call it a pitch.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolads.tiktok.com

TikTok Ads Manager

What it solves

TikTok's self-serve dashboard for creating, targeting, and managing paid advertising campaigns.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbusiness.tiktok.com

TikTok Business Accounts

What it solves

TikTok's free account type for businesses, unlocking analytics, ad tools, and a public business profile.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolTikTok

TikTok Creator Rewards Program

What it solves

TikTok's official documentation of its Creator Rewards Program, including eligibility rules and how payouts are calculated.

My note: Go to the platform's own rules before trusting anyone's summary of them. Eligibility thresholds change more often than the advice videos do.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Tooltiktok.com

TikTok Shop

What it solves

TikTok's built-in e-commerce feature letting sellers list and sell products directly within the app.

My note: Worth exploring if you're a product-based business trying to reach a younger audience.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Tooltypeform.com

Typeform AI

What it solves

AI-assisted tool for generating interactive forms and surveys from a short text prompt.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolvoiceflow.com

Voiceflow

What it solves

Platform for designing and building AI chatbots and voice assistants without heavy coding.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolads.tiktok.com

Website and App Optimization (Pixel)

What it solves

TikTok's guide to installing the TikTok Pixel to track website conversions from ad campaigns.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolwix.com

Wix AI

What it solves

Wix's AI website builder that generates a customized site design and layout from a few prompts.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolads.twitter.com

X Ads (Get Started)

What it solves

X's getting-started guide for setting up and launching paid advertising campaigns on the platform.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolbusiness.x.com

X for Business (Intro Hub)

What it solves

X's official introduction hub for businesses covering advertising and brand-building tools on the platform.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolyotpo.com

Yotpo

What it solves

E-commerce marketing platform for managing reviews, loyalty programs, and user-generated content.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolyoutube.com

YouTube

What it solves

The world's largest video-sharing platform, widely used by creators and businesses for organic reach.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.

What they've published, already in the library

Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolyoutube.com

YouTube Partner Program

What it solves

YouTube's monetization program letting eligible creators earn revenue from ads, memberships, and Shopping.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolyoutube.com

YouTube Shorts

What it solves

YouTube's short-form vertical video feature built to compete with TikTok and Instagram Reels.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolzapier.com

Zapier

What it solves

No-code automation platform that connects apps and automates workflows between them.

My note: This is the tool that quietly saves small business owners hours every week.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

Career & Professional Optimization

38 tools

ToolRole Scouter

Role Scouter

What it solves

Job-search companion tool that helps career changers and remote workers discover open roles, compare opportunities, and track applications across different markets.

My note: Useful when you want to look beyond the big job boards and find roles matched to your specific situation, especially if remote flexibility matters to you.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
PlatformADPList

ADPList

What it solves

A mentorship platform that matches you with a mentor working in your field — design, product, engineering, marketing and more. Signing up and your first session are free.

My note: Free to join and the first session is free; ADPList also promotes paid plans and some mentors charge, so check the mentor page before booking. Free-tier value: browse mentors, book open calendar slots, ask for a portfolio or interview review.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolAIimpacted

AIimpacted — AI layoffs and job losses tracker

What it solves

A free tracker documenting AI-driven layoffs, closures and job displacement by country, industry and company, with each entry sourced back to reporting.

My note: Useful for seeing which roles and industries are actually being cut rather than which ones headlines say are at risk. Treat it as a directory of reported cases, not a forecast.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolAINA

AINA for Candidates

What it solves

An AI career coach for job seekers: CV review with specific recommendations, a recorded video introduction, a shareable career card, and role matching with application tracking. Free to start.

My note: Free to start on the job-seeker side; the paid plans are aimed at the companies doing the hiring. Remember your CV and video go into a recruiting platform, so treat it as sharing your details with employers, not a private notebook.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolmr-ravi26Open-source

alpha-hunt

What it solves

An open-source (MIT) job-hunting automation tool that scans company career pages every 15 minutes, submits applications to applicant tracking systems when it is confident about a match, pulls wider market listings through the Adzuna jobs API, and sends alerts to Telegram.

My note: Powerful and blunt. Auto-submitting applications will get you volume, not fit, so if you run this, keep the confidence threshold high and still write your own answers for the roles you actually want. Read the code before you hand it your resume.

What it costs

  • Free to use and modify — MIT license.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/mr-ravi26/alpha-hunt.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
Platform ToolCandidate Experience

Candidate Experience

What it solves

A review site for hiring processes rather than for employers. People score what actually happened to them while applying and interviewing — ghosting, unclear timelines, recruiter communication, the rejection itself — and companies get a visible score out of ten.

My note: Free to search and free to leave a review. Read it the way you read any review site: self-selected, and people write when they are angry. A handful of bad reports is noise; a pattern of the same complaint across many reports is worth asking about in the interview.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolcaptureflow.ai

CaptureFlow LinkedIn Profile Analyzer

What it solves

Free tool that scores your LinkedIn profile and flags weak headlines, summaries, and keyword gaps.

My note: Run it before you start applying, then fix the headline and About section first — those two drive most recruiter searches.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolClass Central

Class Central

What it solves

Search engine for free and low-cost online courses and certificates across every major platform.

My note: Use this to price-check any class before you buy. Search the skill you saw repeated in job postings and start with the free option.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolCoverSentry

CoverSentry Cover Letter AI Checker

What it solves

Paste or upload a cover letter to get an estimate of how AI-generated it sounds, plus a free CV builder with ready-made bullet points for 1,200+ job titles.

My note: AI detectors are unreliable and can flag human writing — use the score as a nudge to add your own specifics, not as proof either way.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolElevated Careers

Elevated Careers Free Tools

What it solves

Free career tools from Elevated Careers covering resumes, LinkedIn, job search, and interviews.

My note: Another free toolkit to stack alongside the library; especially useful for resume and LinkedIn quick fixes.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolEztrackr

Eztrackr

What it solves

A free job search workspace: build a resume, then track every application, contact, and interview stage in one place.

My note: Most searches stall from disorganization, not from lack of effort. Track applications somewhere other than your inbox so you know what to follow up on and which version of your resume you actually sent.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolFindAPhD

FindAPhD

What it solves

A free searchable database of funded PhD positions, studentships and research masters worldwide, with funding details, deadlines and supervisor contacts.

My note: Free to search and filter by funding — use the funded-only filter so you are not applying to positions you would have to pay for.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolHattix180

Hattix180 — Free Career Diagnostic

What it solves

Take a free 2-minute diagnostic to get a clear read on what is actually holding you back in your career. The site also offers paid coaching packages.

My note: Free diagnostic tool; paid coaching packages are also available.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolHireKey

HireKey

What it solves

Recruiter-informed job search platform that helps you tailor resumes, assess role fit, and prepare for interviews.

My note: Built around how recruiters actually screen. Use it to sanity-check fit before you spend an hour customizing an application.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolHuntr

Huntr — Job Application Tracker

What it solves

Job application tracker with an AI resume builder and resume tailoring for specific postings. Core tracking is available on a free plan; some AI features are part of a paid plan.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolIndeed

Indeed Best Cities for Jobs

What it solves

Indeed's ranking of U.S. metro areas by job opportunity, pay, and cost of living, with the data behind each city so you can compare markets before relocating.

My note: If you are open to moving, start here instead of guessing. Pair a city's ranking with your own rent and commute math before you commit to a search in that market.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
PlatformIndex.dev

Index.dev

What it solves

A vetted marketplace matching senior engineers, researchers and AI specialists with companies. Free for engineers to apply and be matched; companies pay only on hire.

My note: Free on the candidate side — you are the product being placed. Expect a real vetting process rather than a quick apply button.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.

What they've published, already in the library

Open the toolIts library entry
Toolintent.md

intent.md

What it solves

One daily markdown page for setting a clear intention and reflection.

My note: A tiny daily-practice prompt; useful if you need a low-friction way to set one clear work intention each morning.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolquiz.tryinteract.com

Interact Career Self-Assessment Quiz

What it solves

A short interactive self-assessment quiz built on the Interact platform, useful as a quick prompt for reflecting on career direction.

My note: A quick reflection exercise rather than a full assessment. I am still confirming who publishes this quiz before I feature it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolJobright

Jobright

What it solves

AI job search assistant that matches your background to open roles, ranks fit, and helps tailor application materials.

My note: Let it surface roles you would not have searched for, then research each company yourself before applying.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolJobscan

Jobscan LinkedIn Profile Optimization Scan

What it solves

A free scan that compares your LinkedIn profile against a target job title and returns a score plus specific fixes for your headline, about section, skills, and keywords - the same matching logic Jobscan uses for resumes, applied to your profile.

My note: Run it once, fix the three biggest gaps it names, and stop there. The score is a diagnostic, not a target to chase.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolKanban for Hiring

Kanban for Hiring — Hiring ROI Business Calculator

What it solves

A free calculator that estimates the business cost of slow or poor hiring, including vacancy cost, time-to-fill, and turnover impact.

My note: Handy on both sides of the table: hiring managers can justify a better process, and candidates can learn what an empty seat actually costs.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolThe Document FoundationOpen-source

LibreOffice

What it solves

A free, open-source office suite that opens and saves Word, Excel and PowerPoint files — a full replacement for a paid subscription.

My note: You do not need to pay for Word to apply for jobs. Write in this, export to PDF, and check the PDF before you send it.

What it costs

  • $0 forever — free software, no subscription, no account.
  • Compare with about $70–$100 a year for the usual paid office subscription.
  • Opens and saves .docx and .xlsx, so employers can read what you send.

Getting it running

What you need first: Windows, macOS or Linux; About 1GB of disk.

  1. 1.Download the installer from libreoffice.org and open it
  2. 2.Or install from a terminal (macOS)
    brew install --cask libreoffice
  3. 3.Or on Ubuntu/Debian
    sudo apt install libreoffice
  4. 4.Turn a document into a PDF without opening the app
    soffice --headless --convert-to pdf my-resume.docx
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolLinkUp

LinkUp — real-time job market data

What it solves

Job market data drawn from employer career sites since 2007 — 350+ million postings used for hiring-trend research, competitive analysis, and investment research.

My note: Not a job board — it is where the hiring trend numbers come from. Handy when you want evidence about a field instead of vibes.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Templatemadelinemann.com

Madeline Mann's Free Career Resources

What it solves

A free library of masterclasses, worksheets, and templates from career strategist Madeline Mann: interview and resume masterclasses, a job search assessment quiz, a "Tell me about yourself" worksheet, follow-up email templates, and interview question lists.

My note: Her expired webinar replays are the one thing not worth chasing — this page is the evergreen version. Start with the "Tell me about yourself" worksheet and the follow-up email templates; those two fix the most interviews the fastest. The résumé and interview masterclasses are worth blocking an hour for before your next round of applications.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolMatch2

Match2 for Candidates

What it solves

AI-powered talent matching platform that connects candidates with employers based on skills and aspirations rather than keyword-matched resumes.

My note: Skills-first matching can help if your background is non-traditional. Complete your profile and treat it as one channel among many.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolMyDataFolio

MyDataFolio

What it solves

Portfolio builder made for data professionals: show projects, embed dashboards, add a skills timeline and share one public portfolio link. The free plan covers up to five projects with no card required.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolORCID

ORCID

What it solves

A nonprofit registry that gives researchers a free, permanent identifier (an ORCID iD) linking them to their papers, grants and affiliations, so their work stays attributed across name changes and publishers.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolPayScale

PayScale Salary Report

What it solves

A free personalized salary report based on your role, skills, location, and experience, useful as a second data point before you name a number.

My note: Never walk into a pay conversation with one source. Pull two or three ranges and bring the one you can defend.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolPeople Showcase

People Showcase

What it solves

Build a public showcase profile of your skills and experience, and search other people's profiles — a place to be found by employers and collaborators.

My note: Sign-up asks for no payment and no price is listed, but the site has payment tools installed, so paid extras may exist. Only share details you're comfortable making public.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolRecari

Recari

What it solves

A tool for job seekers to organize applications and outreach in one place.

My note: Tracking your applications beats remembering them. I am still testing this one before I recommend it fully, but any system beats a messy inbox.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolRed Hat

Red Hat Skills Assessment

What it solves

A free self-assessment that maps your current Linux, cloud and automation skills against Red Hat's role paths and points you to the training and certifications that close the gaps.

My note: Take this before you pay for any cloud certification — it tells you where you actually stand and what to study first.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolJerry Valerio

Signal Scan

What it solves

A review of the signals your LinkedIn profile and content send to buyers and recruiters, with feedback on what to change.

My note: Outside eyes on your profile catch what you have stopped seeing. Worth one round of feedback even if you never work with the author.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolStirling ToolsOpen-source

Stirling PDF

What it solves

An open-source, self-hosted set of PDF tools — merge, split, sign, compress, convert — with no upload to somebody else's server.

My note: Do not upload your CV to a random free PDF site. Run this locally for the same jobs.

What it costs

  • $0 for the tool and every operation in it.
  • Compare that with about $12–$20/month for the well-known paid PDF subscriptions.
  • Your CV never leaves your machine, which is the real reason to use it.

Getting it running

What you need first: Docker (or the standalone desktop build).

  1. 1.Run it locally
    docker run -d -p 8080:8080 --name stirling-pdf ghcr.io/stirling-tools/stirling-pdf:latest
  2. 2.Open it and drop your PDF in
    open http://localhost:8080
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolSuitorly

Suitorly — strengths-based CV and role matching

What it solves

An AI platform for professionals to articulate their value, build targeted CVs, and match to roles aligned with their strengths rather than keyword-matching job descriptions.

My note: Free to explore, with paid coaching behind it — use the strengths framing to sharpen how you describe yourself, then apply it wherever you want.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolTabbyOpen-source

Tabby Terminal

What it solves

A free, open-source terminal for SSH, local shell, and Telnet with modern tabs, splits, and theming.

My note: This is the free open-source terminal emulator, not the unrelated TabbyML AI coding assistant.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolAna CorderaOpen-source

The Architect — design your week in 5 minutes

What it solves

A free quiz-based tool that builds a personalized weekly schedule around your real energy levels and commitments instead of a rigid template.

My note: Helpful if planners keep failing you. It builds around low-energy days instead of ignoring them.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolBecoming You

Values Bridge

What it solves

Assessment and framework for identifying your core values and connecting them to career and life decisions.

My note: Almost every stuck client I work with is stuck on values, not skills. Do this exercise before you rewrite your resume.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

Entrepreneurship & Free Tools

24 tools

Toolcanva.com

Canva Pitch Deck Templates

What it solves

Free, good-looking pitch deck and one-pager templates you can edit in minutes.

My note: Ten slides, one idea per slide. Design is not your bottleneck — clarity is.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolEmpowerCore

AI Readiness Score for Small Businesses

What it solves

A free five-question assessment from EmpowerCore that scores how prepared your business is to adopt AI and returns an action plan on screen.

My note: Sixty seconds and no email wall. Useful as a conversation starter with your team.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolMicrosoft

ASP.NET Core

What it solves

Microsoft's open-source web framework for building web apps and services in C# that run on Windows, Linux and macOS. Free to download and use; the page is Microsoft's own product page.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolBase44

Base44

What it solves

No-code AI development platform that turns a written description into a working app or website.

My note: A fast way to build proof instead of just talking about ideas. One working prototype does more for a career pivot than another certificate.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolBeancount.ioOpen-source

Beancount.io — Plain-Text Accounting

What it solves

Double-entry, plain-text accounting you can audit line by line. Web interface for the open-source Beancount ledger format — good for founders and freelancers who want real books without a subscription suite.

My note: If spreadsheets are getting messy but QuickBooks feels like overkill, this is the middle path — your books stay in a file you own.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolBlink

Blink — AI website and app builder

What it solves

An AI platform that designs, builds, and hosts a business website and the full-stack product behind it from a plain description, with hosting on your own domain included.

My note: One of several build-by-describing tools now. Try a free project before paying anyone to build a simple business site.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolDXOSOpen-source

Composer by DXOS — Local-First Collaborative Workspace

What it solves

A local-first workspace from DXOS combining documents, spreadsheets, tables, and sketches with real-time peer-to-peer collaboration, custom plugins, custom functions, and AI agent workflows. Data syncs between devices without centralized servers. Composer is in early access; the product site and documentation are free.

My note: Worth watching if data ownership matters to you or your clients: everything stays on your own devices and syncs peer to peer. It is early access, so expect rough edges before recommending it for daily work.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder Toolcrunchbase.com

Crunchbase

What it solves

Database of companies, funding rounds, founders and investors.

My note: Free account gives you limited searches and basic company profiles; the deeper filters are paid. Free is enough to check whether a company you are interviewing with has raised money recently.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolapp.doola.com

Doola

What it solves

LLC formation, taxes and bookkeeping in one place. Start a business, stay compliant, and get US banking and Stripe payments — even for non-US owners.

My note: A streamlined way to form an LLC and handle ongoing business admin. Useful if you want a legal entity and US banking without juggling multiple services.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolLink Cleaner

Link Cleaner

What it solves

A free tool that strips tracking parameters from links before you share them, so the people you send a link to aren't followed across the web. Paste a link, get a clean version back.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolMagic PatternsOpen-source

Magic Patterns — AI design and prototyping

What it solves

An AI design tool for product teams: turn a prompt, product requirement, or screenshot into high-fidelity UI, match existing design tokens, and explore directions before committing engineering time.

My note: For founders without a designer: make something visual before you ask anyone to build it. The free tier is enough to test an idea.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform Toolneno.social

Neno

What it solves

A social gathering platform describing itself as "a better way to gather online," focused on small-group online meetups and community events.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolOyster HR

Oyster Employment Cost Calculator

What it solves

A free calculator estimating the true cost of hiring an employee in a given country, including taxes, benefits and statutory contributions.

My note: Useful in both directions: founders get a real number before their first hire, and candidates get a sense of what an employer actually pays beyond salary.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolPorkbun

Porkbun

What it solves

A low-cost domain registrar with free WHOIS privacy, email forwarding and SSL included on registrations.

My note: Buying your name as a domain costs about the price of a sandwich and it is the cheapest professional upgrade a new business or job seeker can make.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolQueens Chamber of Commerce

Queens Chamber AI

What it solves

Five AI assistants for small businesses — inbox, scheduling, review replies, social posting and a business 'brain' — that draft work for your approval, run from your phone.

My note: The site says all five agents are free, and 'free to start' — watch for paid upgrades, and review every reply before it goes to a customer.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolraindrop.io

Raindrop.io — bookmark manager

What it solves

All-in-one bookmark manager for saving, tagging and organising links, articles and media, with a generous free plan and a low-cost Pro tier.

My note: This is the tool I use to capture every link before it becomes a resource here. The free plan is enough for most people; Pro mainly adds full-text search and backups.

What it costs

  • Not fully free — read the price on their site before you rely on it.
  • Free limits and prices change, so check them yourself.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Check the pricing page so you know where the free part stops.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolRangeMeOpen-source

RangeMe for Suppliers

What it solves

Free supplier profiles that let emerging brands submit products to retail buyers and category managers.

My note: Set up the free profile before you chase paid tiers. See if buyers engage first.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolRelay

Relay

What it solves

Online banking and money-management platform built for small businesses: checking and savings accounts, debit cards, accounts payable and receivable, expense management, and integrations with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Gusto, and Plaid. A free checking tier is available; savings, credit, and loan products carry their own terms.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolReplit

Replit

What it solves

A free-to-start platform that builds a working app or website from a plain description, with everything running in the browser and no setup.

My note: Good for getting a first version of an idea in front of people this week.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
TemplateEntrepreneurship & Free Tools

Sample Speaking Engagement Agreement (Template)

What it solves

An anonymized speaking contract template synthesized from real speaker agreements: fee and payment structures, travel expenses, recording and likeness rights, promotion approval, cancellation windows, independent contractor status, indemnification, and force majeure.

My note: Details: Educational starting point, not a finished contract. The bracketed notes flag the terms that varied most across real agreements — fee splits, cancellation windows, and dispute resolution. Have an attorney in your state review it before you send or sign anything based on it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Its library entry
ToolTipstyr

Tipstyr

What it solves

Consumer app aiming to make tipping simpler and more transparent for both customers and service workers.

My note: A small, focused product worth studying if you are building something for service industries. Note how narrow the problem is.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolDoist

Todoist

What it solves

A widely used task and project-management app with a generous free tier, helpful for organizing a job search, side projects, or small-business operations.

My note: A clean, reliable productivity tool with a free plan that is enough for most personal or early-stage business workflows.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolSabrina Tools

Watermark Remover (Sabrina Tools)

What it solves

A simple free tool for cleaning watermarks and clutter out of text, docs, PDFs, and images before you share them.

My note: Handy for tidying up documents you have permission to reuse — templates, your own exports, sample files.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolwaveapps.com

Wave Free Invoicing & Accounting

What it solves

Free invoicing, receipts, and basic accounting for solo founders.

My note: Separate your business money from day one. This makes tax season painless.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

Technology & Ethics

21 tools

AI Toolabliteration.ai

abliteration.ai — Unrestricted AI API and Policy Gateway

What it solves

An OpenAI-compatible API for unrestricted language models aimed at red teaming, security research, evaluations, and synthetic data, paired with a policy gateway for per-project keys, audit logs, and no data retention.

My note: I keep this in the ethics shelf on purpose. Seeing how guardrails get removed for testing is the clearest way to understand why they matter in the tools you actually use at work.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Tooladaptivesecurity.com

Adaptive Security awareness training

What it solves

Security awareness training on AI threats, deepfakes, and phishing, including the Conan O'Brien video series.

My note: Watch it as a job seeker too — deepfake and impersonation scams now target candidates during interviews.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Tooljazco.dev

AT Protocol Atlas

What it solves

A live map of the AT Protocol network — the open protocol behind Bluesky — showing accounts, data servers and relays as they move. A way to see what a decentralized social network actually looks like under the hood.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolMSNightmare (GitHub)Open-source

BigDiskBuster (Windows Defender DoS proof-of-concept)

What it solves

Public proof-of-concept for a Windows Defender update denial-of-service vulnerability. Fills the disk by triggering repeated definition updates.

My note: For security researchers and IT people who need to test their own systems. Do not run this on a machine that is not yours; misuse against someone else's system is a crime in most places. Read the README before touching it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/MSNightmare/BigDiskBuster.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolCyberstrike

Cyberstrike — AI Penetration Testing Agent

What it solves

An autonomous AI agent for penetration testing and security research, running through one command-line interface across several major models.

My note: If you are moving toward security work, tools like this are what the job looks like now. Learn the agent, but learn the fundamentals it is automating too.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Tooldr.eamer.dev

Drummer: A Small Language Model You Can Test

What it solves

A public demo of Drummer, an experimental 542-million-parameter language model trained from scratch, with chat, continuation and live tool-calling tests.

My note: Useful if you want to see plainly what a small, honestly-labeled model can and cannot do.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolFuture of Life Institute

EU AI Act Explorer

What it solves

A free unofficial explorer that makes the EU AI Act easier to read: browse the regulation article by article, with a table of contents and search.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder Toolscholar.google.com

Google Scholar

What it solves

Free search across academic papers, theses and citations, with links to full text where it is public.

My note: The fastest way to check whether a claim in a news article traces back to an actual paper. Set an alert on a topic and it will email you new work.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI Toolapp.grayswan.ai

Gray Swan Arena

What it solves

Public AI red-teaming arena where anyone can try to break frontier models in timed challenges.

My note: A legitimate portfolio line for AI-security work: document what you tried and what broke, not just your score.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolhoneycomb.io

Honeycomb

What it solves

Observability platform with a free-forever tier for distributed tracing, metrics, OpenTelemetry support and AI-assisted debugging. Useful for engineers learning modern observability and incident response.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolbgp.he.net

Hurricane Electric BGP Toolkit

What it solves

Free internet routing lookup tool for exploring Border Gateway Protocol paths, autonomous system numbers, prefixes, and network relationships. Includes a super looking glass and traceroute from distributed probes.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolIPUMS (University of Minnesota)

IPUMS CPS

What it solves

Free harmonized microdata from the monthly U.S. Current Population Survey (CPS), covering 1962 to the present. Includes demographics, employment, program participation and supplemental topics such as food security, computer and internet use, and voter registration.

My note: A public dataset you can use for market research, policy analysis, or building data-driven career and business arguments. Registration is instant and extracts are free.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolCringebot 3000

LinkedIn CringeBot 3000

What it solves

Transform any topic into peak LinkedIn thought leadership guaranteed to make your followers shudder.

My note: I include CringeBot 3000 as a gentle warning: generative AI can make your LinkedIn presence sound impressive and hollow at the same time. Use it to see what over-polished "thought leadership" looks like, then write something that actually sounds like you.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolMostik

Mostik

What it solves

Startup building a way for different AI models to exchange knowledge directly, without translating everything back into text prompts.

My note: Early-stage and unproven, but worth watching: model-to-model communication is the kind of shift that quietly changes which technical skills matter.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolAaron Rose (GitHub)Open-source

NARCBench: Detecting AI Agent Collusion

What it solves

Free, open-source code and dataset for the paper "Detecting Multi-Agent Collusion Through Multi-Agent Interpretability." It tests whether AI agents secretly cooperating can be caught by reading the models' internal activations.

My note: A research tool, not a beginner resource. Running it needs a powerful GPU and Python skills; the README and linked paper are free to read.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/aaronrose227/narcbench.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolNVIDIAOpen-source

NVIDIA SkillSpector

What it solves

A free, open-source security scanner that checks AI agent skills and MCP servers for prompt injection, data exfiltration and supply-chain risks before you install them.

My note: If you install agent skills, scan them first. This is the free tool to do it with.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/NVIDIA/SkillSpector.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolOpen MeasuresOpen-source

Open Measures Research

What it solves

Research reports on how harmful content, extremism, and coordinated campaigns spread across social platforms. Public app and API are free (rate-limited to 39 requests per day, data 6 months old).

My note: Free tools for researchers, journalists, and safety teams. Now part of Everbridge (acquired September 2026), which may change what the free tier looks like — check current terms.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolOpenReview

OpenReview

What it solves

A free, open platform where machine-learning researchers submit and peer-review papers in public. Much of the field's conference review (including major AI venues) runs on it, and anyone can read the papers, reviews and rebuttals.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolROOSTOpen-source

ROOST: Open Online Safety Tools

What it solves

A nonprofit releasing free, open-source trust-and-safety building blocks so any platform can protect its users.

My note: A real portfolio project source if you want experience in trust and safety engineering.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolSciety

Sciety

What it solves

Free service that gathers public expert evaluations and reviews of preprints in one place, so you can see what other researchers said about a study before it was formally published.

My note: Use it as a sanity check on a preprint someone is quoting at you. No evaluation on Sciety means nobody independent has publicly assessed it yet — which is not the same as the study being wrong.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolGitHubOpen-source

watermarks-remover (GitHub)

What it solves

Open-source project by Guillaume Meyer that strips multi-vendor AI provenance marks, including Unicode text artifacts, statistical rewrite hooks, and C2PA metadata from PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF, DOCX, HTML, and Markdown files.

My note: Listed as evidence, not advice. It shows why AI-detection claims about your writing are shaky, and why disclosure beats concealment.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/guillaumemeyer/watermarks-remover.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry

Resume Help

14 tools

ToolMy ATS Score

My ATS Score — Resume Checker

What it solves

Upload your resume, paste the job link, and get an instant ATS score with strengths, fixes, and the exact keywords to add.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolReactive ResumeOpen-source

Reactive Resume (rxresu.me)

What it solves

Free, open-source resume builder with multiple templates, ATS-friendly exports, custom sections, and no paywall or watermark. Self-hostable if you want full control of your data.

My note: This is my default recommendation over the freemium builders — you get a clean PDF without hitting a paywall at download.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolCanva

Canva: Professional Resume Templates

What it solves

Large library of free, editable professional resume templates — good for design-adjacent roles, with clean single-column options for ATS.

My note: Pick a simple single-column template — heavy graphics confuse applicant tracking systems.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolEnhancv

Enhancv Resume Builder

What it solves

Guided resume builder with templates, content suggestions, and an ATS-oriented review; the core editor is usable on a free account.

My note: Use builders for structure, not for your words. Draft your bullets first, then paste them in.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolGet Selected

Get Selected — resume builder and job tracker

What it solves

A free-forever resume builder from former tech recruiter Tejal Rives that teaches the CAFE method (Cause, Action, Findings, Effect) for writing stronger bullets instead of just generating them, plus a job application tracker.

My note: The teaching part is the point. Learn the CAFE structure here once and you can write good bullets anywhere, with or without the tool.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
TemplateHuntr

Huntr internship resume examples

What it solves

Free library of internship resume examples with section-by-section wording you can adapt when you have little formal work history.

My note: Read two or three examples in your field, then rewrite your own bullets to name a task, a tool and a result. Copying the phrasing wholesale is what makes student resumes read alike.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
TemplateHuntr

Huntr resume example: manual software tester

What it solves

A full annotated resume example for QA and manual testing roles, with skill phrasing you can adapt to your own experience.

My note: Useful if you are moving into QA and are not sure how to describe testing work in resume language.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
AI ToolJobscanOpen-source

Jobscan Resume Scanner App

What it solves

Jobscan's scanning workspace: paste a resume and a job description to see keyword match rate and ATS formatting issues. Free scans monthly, paid for unlimited.

My note: Use your free scans on the roles you actually want. Match the language in the posting, but never paste in skills you cannot back up in an interview.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolKickresume

Kickresume

What it solves

Resume and cover letter builder with a large template library, an AI writer, and a free tier for basic documents.

My note: Pick one clean template and reuse it. Switching designs every application wastes hours you should spend researching companies.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolmodulehire.com

ModuleHire Labs

What it solves

An AI tool that builds tailored résumé and job-application pieces from reusable modules of your experience.

My note: Freemium: there is a free starting tier, but the paid plans unlock more. Always reread what an AI writes about you before sending it — it can overstate or invent.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolresumeworded.com

Resume Worded

What it solves

Instantly grades your resume and LinkedIn profile out of 100, flagging weak language, missing metrics, and ATS formatting problems.

My note: Free scan is enough to catch the obvious wording and metrics gaps.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolSocial Protocols

Social Protocols — Hacker News stats

What it solves

Explore discussion dynamics, ranking patterns and engagement stats across Hacker News stories.

My note: A live analytics view of how Hacker News stories perform and spread.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Tooltealhq.com

Teal Resume Builder

What it solves

Free resume builder that scores your resume against a specific job description and suggests the keywords you're missing.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Tooltheresume.monster

The Resume Monster

What it solves

A free online resume building and formatting tool for job seekers.

My note: Another free formatting option to compare against the templates already in this collection. Always export and reread before sending.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

Community & Government Resources

12 tools

Finder ToolU.S. Department of Labor

CareerOneStop American Job Center Finder

What it solves

Enter a ZIP code or city and state to locate any of the ~2,300 American Job Centers nationwide, offering free career counseling, resume help, computer access, and referrals to funded job training.

My note: This is the single best "start here" tool. Look up your center, call, and ask what training funds are open right now.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolU.S. Department of Labor

CareerOneStop Local Help Hub

What it solves

One hub linking every location-based finder: workforce development boards, community colleges, unemployment benefits, apprenticeship offices, Job Corps centers, reentry programs, older worker programs, Native American programs, refugee assistance, farmworker jobs, and youth programs.

My note: If you are not sure which program fits your situation, start here — nearly every population-specific finder lives on this one page.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolCareerOneStop / U.S. Department of Labor

Unemployment Benefits Finder

What it solves

Pick your state and get a direct link to its unemployment insurance filing system — the fastest route to a claim after a job loss.

My note: File the week you lose the job, even if you think you may not qualify. Rules vary by state.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolAfterschool Pathfinder

Afterschool Pathfinder

What it solves

A free search tool for finding afterschool, summer, and youth development programs, useful for parents job hunting who need childcare coverage and for anyone looking for youth-serving program work.

My note: I keep this on hand because childcare is one of the most common invisible barriers my clients face during a job search. Solve the schedule first and the search gets a lot easier.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolairtable.com

Airtable Form

What it solves

A third-party Airtable form shared with the library.

My note: I added this link as requested, but I need a bit more context to categorize and describe it properly.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ProgramBreak Through Tech

Break Through Tech

What it solves

Free programs for undergraduate students pursuing tech careers, with a current focus on AI, data science and machine learning pathways. Includes fellowships and work-based learning run with university and industry partners.

My note: No cost to students, but programs are application-based and tied to specific universities and cohort dates. Check the programs page for who is eligible before you plan around it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Look at the programs page and see which ones are open right now — they run in cohorts, so check the dates on their site rather than trusting any date written here.
  2. 2.Confirm you fit: most programs are for undergraduates, and some are tied to particular universities or regions.
  3. 3.Apply through their form when a cohort is open; the programs are free and several are paid or credit-bearing.
  4. 4.If nothing is open, join their mailing list so you hear when the next round starts.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolCareerOneStop / U.S. Department of Labor

CareerOneStop — Find WIOA Training Programs

What it solves

Search by ZIP code or field of interest to find federally approved WIOA training programs near you — often free or subsidized for eligible workers.

My note: Enter your ZIP and the field you want to work in. If a program shows up here, there is likely public money available to pay for it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolU.S. Economic Development Administration

EDA Economic Development Directory

What it solves

Official federal directory for finding your state's Economic Development Districts and Economic Development Organizations (EDOs/EDCs) — pick a state and get the local contacts.

My note: Your local EDO often knows about grants, incubators, and lender contacts long before they show up online.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Platform ToolGive InKind

Give InKind

What it solves

A free platform for organising practical support around illness, bereavement, new babies or job loss — meal schedules, care calendars, wishlists and updates in one shared page.

My note: Free to use and useful during a hard stretch — worth knowing about before you need it, whether for yourself or a colleague.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolHumin

Humin (formerly Healthy Minds Innovations)

What it solves

Nonprofit founded on Dr. Richard J. Davidson's wellbeing research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The free Healthy Minds Program app teaches awareness, connection, insight and purpose through short guided practices, alongside a free Emotional Style Quiz. The organisation also sells courses, workplace programs and paid research services, and takes donations.

My note: The app is free with no paid tier inside it, which is rare here — worth having if burnout is part of your job search. Two honest flags: the courses, workplace programs and retreat studies on the same site are paid, and much of the evidence cited is the founder's own research group examining its own program, so read outcome claims as promising rather than settled.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Finder ToolNew Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development

New Jersey Labor Market Information

What it solves

Official NJ Department of Labor data hub: industry and occupational employment projections, wages, and county-level labor statistics.

My note: Before you commit to a training program, check the projections and wage data for that occupation in your state. This is the free source that tells you if the demand is real.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
CommunityRewriting the Code

Rewriting the Code

What it solves

A free community of 50,000+ women from university through early career in tech. Membership gives you a peer network, mentorship, events, and access to partner companies that recruit from the community. Open to everyone, centered on women in tech.

My note: Free to join. Strongest if you are a university student or in your first few years of work — the value is the people and the recruiting pipeline, not the content library.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Check the eligibility wording first — it's for women in tech from university through the first few years of work.
  2. 2.Apply for membership on their site with your school or work email; membership itself is free.
  3. 3.Once you're in, join the community space and the mailing list — that's where the mentoring, events and referrals are posted.
  4. 4.Say what you're looking for in your profile; most of what members get comes from asking, not browsing.
Open the toolIts library entry

Interview Prep

6 tools

Toolinterviewing.io

Interviewing.io

What it solves

Anonymous technical mock interviews with experienced engineers.

My note: Nothing builds interview calm faster than repeated live practice.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolPBH Talent Hub

BEST + Blind Spots — Interviewer Self-Assessment

What it solves

3-minute AI-assisted assessment based on Lou Adler's BEST personality test to help interviewers recognize which candidates they systematically misjudge.

My note: Helpful for understanding what interviewers actually look for—and the biases that shape first impressions. Use it to prepare smarter, not just harder, whether you are interviewing or being interviewed.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolDid They Ghost YouOpen-source

Did They Ghost You?

What it solves

A candidate-reported database of companies that stopped responding after interviews. You can search employers or submit an anonymous report of your own.

My note: Being ghosted is not a reflection of your worth. Check a company here before you invest in a five-round process, and log your own experience so the next person walks in informed.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolEightfold AI

Eightfold AI Career Day

What it solves

A free interview practice session with Eightfold's AI interviewer that gives you personalized feedback in minutes. No resume required, open to adults 18 and over.

My note: Use it as a low-stakes rehearsal. The feedback will not replace a human coach, but hearing yourself answer out loud once removes most of the nerves from the real conversation.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolpathprep.io

PathPrep — Coding Interview Prep by Concept

What it solves

Coding interview practice organized by underlying concept rather than by topic list, so you learn the patterns that transfer across problems instead of memorizing individual questions.

My note: Concept-first beats grinding a problem list. If you can name the pattern out loud, you can usually solve the variant they actually ask.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
Toolmatthewrojas090-hash.github.io

Recruiter Phone Screen Copilot

What it solves

A free browser-based practice aid that walks through a recruiter phone screen question by question, so you can rehearse the opening conversation most candidates wing.

My note: The recruiter screen is the round people prepare for least and get cut in most. Run through this once out loud before your next call.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

AI Tools & Open Source

5 tools

ToolJared Palmer on GitHubOpen-source

kev — Trainable Decision Models

What it solves

A Jev-like family of small decision models built on Qwen that you can train and run on your own hardware, from Jared Palmer.

My note: Free and open source. Running it yourself means paying for your own compute; the models are small enough for a laptop or a cheap server.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/jaredpalmer/kev.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolNandha Kishor M on GitHubOpen-source

laya — Non-Autoregressive Decision Engine

What it solves

Open-source "System 1" decision engine: typed choice, score and yes/no decisions over any text in a single forward pass, in 100+ languages, with a router that picks the right checkpoint per request.

My note: Free and open source, but an individual developer's project — check the commit history and issue activity before relying on it for anything important.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/NandhaKishorM/laya.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
AI ToolMoltBotOpen-source

MoltBot

What it solves

Open-source personal AI assistant that runs locally on your own devices and connects to WhatsApp, Telegram, and Discord. Features persistent memory, proactive notifications, and community-built skill extensions. Formerly known as ClawdBot. Free and open source.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolBespoke LabsOpen-source

nimble — Local Typed Decisions

What it solves

Bespoke Labs' open-source toolkit for local typed decisions, contrastive data curation and model evaluation.

My note: Free and open source, from a company that also sells services — the repo is usable on its own.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/bespokelabsai/nimble.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolvLLM ProjectOpen-source

vLLM

What it solves

An open-source engine for serving large language models with high throughput and efficient memory use. Its PagedAttention approach helps reduce wasted GPU memory during inference.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • Free tier available on their own site; self-hosting costs whatever your machine or hosting costs.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Open the project site and find its docs or repository link.
  2. 2.Decide which way you want it: their hosted free tier, or running it yourself from the source.
  3. 3.For the hosted route, create an account and check what the free tier limits are.
  4. 4.For self-hosting, follow the install steps in their own docs — they change often enough that copying them here would go stale.
  5. 5.Try it on one small real task before building anything around it.
Open the toolIts library entry

Coding & Developer Tools

4 tools

ToolNVIDIA

NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit

What it solves

The official free download and documentation for CUDA, Nvidia's platform for running AI and scientific computing on its graphics chips. Includes compilers, libraries and learning guides.

My note: The toolkit itself is free, but it only runs on Nvidia's own chips — learning CUDA ties your skills to one company's hardware. Nvidia dominates AI chips, so that trade-off is real but worth knowing about.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolOpen-source Projects

Print attractive ASCII tables in Python with PrettyTable

What it solves

PrettyTable is a free, open-source Python library for drawing formatted ASCII tables in a terminal or text output. This post from Open-source Projects shows what it does and links to the GitHub repo.

My note: Free open-source library (MIT license). The link goes to a blog post on opensourceprojects.dev; the project itself lives at github.com/prettytable/prettytable and pypi.org/project/prettytable. The blog runs on ads and sponsorships.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolPyTorch Foundation (Linux Foundation)

PyTorch

What it solves

The most widely used open-source framework for building and training AI models, with free tutorials, documentation and pre-trained models. Most AI research papers today are built on it.

My note: Free and open source, now governed by the Linux Foundation's PyTorch Foundation — but Meta created it and remains its biggest contributor, so its direction still reflects big-tech priorities.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolGoogle

TensorFlow

What it solves

Google's open-source framework for building and training AI models, with free guides and pre-trained models. Once the industry standard, it's now used less in new research than PyTorch but still powers many production systems.

My note: Free and open source, but it's a Google project — its development priorities follow Google's. For a new learner, PyTorch is the more common starting point in 2026.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

AI Models & Benchmarks

2 tools

ToolArtificial Analysis

Artificial Analysis

What it solves

Independent benchmarks comparing AI models and API providers on quality, speed, price and context length, with free charts and leaderboards.

My note: Free to browse; the company sells API access to its data. Rankings depend on which tests they choose — compare with a second benchmark source before deciding.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.

What they've published, already in the library

Open the toolIts library entry
ToolVals AI

Vals AI

What it solves

Independent, domain-specific AI benchmarks in legal, tax and finance, testing how models actually perform on professional work rather than academic tests.

My note: Free leaderboards; the company sells private benchmarking to enterprises. Domain-specific results are more useful than general scores if you work in these fields.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

Entrepreneurship & Business Building

2 tools

PlatformAirtasker

Earn Money Completing Tasks on Airtasker (US)

What it solves

Marketplace where you pick local or remote tasks and get paid for doing them.

My note: Free to join, but Airtasker takes a fee from each job. Gig work, not steady employment.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolLeland Inc.

Leland for Coaches

What it solves

Free iPhone app for approved Leland coaches to manage their coaching business on the go: respond to client messages, accept intro calls and orders, and view basic client info.

My note: Useful if you are already a Leland coach and want a simple mobile inbox for leads and clients. If you are looking for coaching as a job seeker, use joinleland.com instead.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

Hiring Trends & Job Market Data

2 tools

ToolPerformance-based Hiring

The Quality of Hire Predictor

What it solves

A web tool from Performance-based Hiring ("Moneyball for HR") that estimates the odds a candidate will exceed a job's performance objectives at the one-year mark, using evidence of past performance instead of interview impressions. Includes a sample report.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolWARNact.io

WARNact.io — U.S. Layoff Tracker

What it solves

WARNact.io tracks WARN Act layoff filings, the legally required notices companies file before mass layoffs and plant closures, pulled from official state workforce agency records. Filings are searchable by state, company and industry. WARNact.io is an independent tracker, not a government source, and is not affiliated with any state or federal agency.

My note: In plain terms: a searchable list of the official layoff notices companies must file with states. It is run independently, not by the government, so check a filing against the state agency record when it matters.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

Job Boards

2 tools

ToolCareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor)

CareerOneStop State Job Banks

What it solves

U.S. Department of Labor directory linking to each state's free public job bank. Described from page title; the site blocks automated checks.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
ToolJob Search Database

Job Search Database

What it solves

Directory of industry-specific job boards, organized by field, for searching beyond general sites like Indeed and LinkedIn.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

Job Search & Interviews

2 tools

ToolBeachcommute

Atlas Personal Matchmaker

What it solves

A job-search matchmaking service from Beachcommute that pairs candidates with curated opportunities based on background and goals.

My note: If the one-to-many job-board grind is wearing you out, a matchmaker-style approach can surface roles that actually fit your situation.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry
PlatformJobspeaker

Jobspeaker

What it solves

Platform linking learners' skills to career pathways, used by schools, students and employers.

My note: Free for students through participating schools; the company sells to colleges and employers.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

Tools

2 tools

ToolStanford CRFMOpen-source

HELM (open source framework on GitHub)

What it solves

The Python framework behind Stanford's HELM leaderboards, released under the Apache License 2.0 (licence file read, not copied from a roundup). You install it with pip, describe a run (scenario plus model plus metrics), and it evaluates the model and produces the same structured results the public site displays, including its own local web UI for viewing them. It supports hosted model APIs and locally run open-weight models, and you can add your own scenario to test a model on your own task or data. Free to use, modify and use commercially under Apache 2.0; you pay only for whatever model API calls or compute your own runs consume.

My note: Worth it if you need to prove a model is good enough for a specific job rather than good in general — write your own scenario with your own examples and run it. Two practical warnings: the published leaderboard runs are large and expensive to reproduce in full, so start with a single scenario and a small instance count, and if you evaluate a paid API model the token costs are yours, not Stanford's.

What it costs

  • Free to use and modify — Apache 2.0 license.
  • Running it costs whatever your own machine or hosting costs.
  • If you point it at a hosted AI model, that provider bills you for the calls — the tool itself is still free.

Getting it running

  1. 1.Read the README on the project page first — it lists what the tool needs and whether it calls a paid model.
  2. 2.Copy the code down: git clone https://github.com/stanford-crfm/helm.git
  3. 3.Install its requirements with the command the README gives (usually npm install, pip install -r requirements.txt, or uv sync).
  4. 4.Add any keys it asks for to a local .env file — never commit that file.
  5. 5.Run the start command from the README and open it locally before pointing it at anything real.
Open the repositoryIts library entry
ToolCenter for Open Science

OSF (Open Science Framework)

What it solves

A free, open platform from the non-profit Center for Open Science for managing research projects, sharing data and materials, registering studies in advance and hosting preprints. You can browse public projects without signing up.

My note: The most useful part for a non-researcher: when a study makes headlines, its OSF page often holds the data and the pre-registered plan, so you can see whether the researchers found what they said they would look for.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

Books Worth Reading

1 tool

ToolOverDrive

Libby by OverDrive

What it solves

Free reading app from OverDrive that borrows ebooks, audiobooks and magazines from your local public library with a library card. Works in a browser or on iOS, Android, Kobo and Kindle (US libraries only), with offline downloads, CarPlay and Android Auto support, holds, and tagged reading lists.

My note: This is how you read the paid books on this site without buying them — most business, career and technology titles are in public library collections. What you need is a library card, which is free where you live. The catch is availability, not price: your library chooses what it licenses and popular titles come with waiting lists, so place holds early rather than expecting a book on the day you want it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry

Entrepreneurship

1 tool

ToolCosign

Cosign

What it solves

A reputation and vouching tool for the startup ecosystem — founders, investors and operators vouch for people they have actually worked with, so warm intros carry more weight.

My note: Pricing is not published on the site, so treat the free tier as unconfirmed until you sign up. A vouching network is only as good as who else is on it.

What it costs

  • Free to use.
  • No card needed for the parts listed here.

How to start

  1. 1.Open the tool and read what it says it does before signing up.
  2. 2.Create an account if it asks for one — nothing here needs a card for the free parts.
  3. 3.Try it once on a real task of your own, not a made-up one.
  4. 4.Read anything it writes for you before you send it anywhere.
Open the toolIts library entry