The best AI writing software free options I tested in 2026

It feels like a new AI writing tool pops up every day, each one promising to write faster and better. And honestly, some of them are pretty great. But here’s the catch: a lot of the so-called "free" tools aren't really free. They're often just limited trials or have plans so restrictive you can barely write an email, let alone a blog post. It's tough to find genuinely useful AI writing software free of charge.

That's why I decided to dive in and test the most popular options out there. My goal was to find the tools that can actually help your content workflow without you having to pull out your credit card.

We’ll cover a few solid options, but I want to start with the one we built and use ourselves. At eesel, we used our own eesel AI blog writer to grow our site from 700 to 750,000 daily impressions in just three months. It is a comprehensive tool, and its free trial is a great way to see what a fully-featured AI content platform can do.

Understanding AI writing software free options

So, what exactly is an AI writer? Put simply, it's software that uses huge language models (the "brains" behind AI) to generate text that sounds like a person wrote it. You give it a prompt, and it gives you back words.

But they're not all created equal. They usually fall into three main categories:

• AI Text Generators: These are the most common. You feed them a topic or a question, and they create content from scratch. Think of tools like ChatGPT or Rytr. They're handy for brainstorming or knocking out a first draft.
• AI Writing Assistants: These tools don't write for you, but they write with you. They act as an editor, checking your grammar, improving clarity, and making sure your tone is on point. Grammarly is the classic example here.
• AI-Powered Content Platforms: This is a more specialized group. These tools are built for a specific purpose, like creating fully SEO-optimized blog posts from just a keyword. They can handle the research, structure, writing, and even add images. That's exactly where eesel AI blog writer fits in.

Of course, the lines are getting blurry, and many modern tools mix and match these functions. But knowing the basic types helps you figure out what you actually need.

How we chose the best AI writing software free options

To make this list fair, I didn't just grab the first tools that popped up on Google. I set some ground rules and judged each one on a few key things:

• Generosity of the free plan: This was the big one. How much can you really do for free? I looked for tools with high word counts, a good number of daily uses, or a free trial that shows you everything the tool can do.
• Quality of output: Does the text sound natural, or is it robotic AI fluff? I focused on tools that produce content people would actually want to read with minimal editing.
• Ease of use: You shouldn't need a PhD in prompt engineering to use it. I looked for clean, simple interfaces that let you start creating right away.
• Key features on the free plan: Does the free version offer real value? Things like SEO optimization, plagiarism checks, or image generation without needing to upgrade were big wins.

The best AI writing software free tools at a glance

Here’s a quick rundown of the tools we’ll be looking at.

Our top 6 AI writing software free tools for 2026

Alright, let's get into the details. Here are the tools that made the cut after I put them through their paces.

1. eesel AI blog writer

The eesel AI blog writer is best for complete, publish-ready blogs. It was developed to address the need for scaling content creation without sacrificing quality. We used it to publish over 1,000 blogs and grew from 700 to 750,000 daily impressions in just three months.

Unlike other tools that just spit out a rough draft, eesel AI turns a single keyword into a complete, media-rich, and SEO-optimized blog post that’s ready to publish. It automates the whole process, from research to writing to adding visuals.

• Pros: This is so much more than a text generator. It does context-aware research and pulls in relevant data for your topic. It automatically creates and adds assets like images, infographics, and tables. To make the content more engaging, it embeds relevant YouTube videos and finds real quotes from Reddit forums. A huge plus is its focus on AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), which gets your content ready for Google's AI Overviews.
• Cons: The free offering is a trial that lets you generate one full blog post. It isn't a "free forever" plan with a tiny monthly allowance. This makes it perfect for serious content creators who want to see the platform's full power, but maybe not for a hobbyist who just needs a few paragraphs once a month.
• Pricing:
  • Try it free to generate your first complete blog post.
  • The paid plan is simple: $99 for 50 blog credits.
• Why it's on the list: While it is a trial, it provides significant value by generating a complete, publish-ready article. For those focused on content marketing, this provides an opportunity to see a finished product rather than working with a limited monthly word count.

2. Grammarly

Best for improving writing clarity and correctness, you've probably heard of Grammarly. It's become the go-to AI writing assistant for over 40 million people, and for good reason. It’s less about creating content from scratch and more about making the content you already have shine.

Its main job is to be your digital proofreader, catching everything from simple typos to awkward phrasing.

• Pros: The free version is incredibly good for proofreading and offering basic style suggestions. The browser extensions and app integrations are seamless, so it works wherever you write, from Google Docs to your email.
• Cons: Its generative AI features on the free plan are pretty limited. You only get 100 AI prompts per month, which is not nearly enough to write a full article. Think of it as an editor, not a creator.
• Pricing:
  • The free plan includes basic writing corrections and 100 generative AI prompts per month.
  • Grammarly Pro starts at $12/month when you pay annually.
• Why it's on the list: It’s a vital tool for any writer. No matter where your first draft comes from, Grammarly's free plan is a must-have for polishing it into a final piece.

3. Copy.ai

Copy.ai is a popular platform best for short-form marketing and sales copy, focused on helping marketing and sales teams create copy quickly. It uses a chat interface that feels a lot like ChatGPT, but it's loaded with pre-built workflows and templates.

Whether you need a social media post, an ad headline, or a follow-up email, Copy.ai probably has a template for it.

• Pros: With over 90 tools and templates, it makes it easy to generate specific types of content without much guesswork. The chat interface is simple and easy to get the hang of.
• Cons: The free plan's biggest issue is the word limit. You only get 2,000 words per month, which you'll burn through fast if you're trying to write anything longer than a few social media updates.
• Pricing:
  • The free plan gives you 2,000 words per month and one user seat.
  • The "Chat" plan, their first paid tier, starts at $29/month for 5 seats.
• Why it's on the list: It's a great starting point for anyone who needs to generate a lot of short-form copy ideas. It's perfect for overcoming writer's block for things like ads, product descriptions, and social media captions.

4. Rytr

Best for all-around content on a budget, Rytr has built a loyal following of over 8 million writers by being an affordable and simple AI writing tool. It doesn't have a ton of bells and whistles, but it provides an easy way to generate content.

It offers over 40 different use cases, from blog outlines to video descriptions, and supports more than 40 languages.

• Pros: Rytr’s free plan is one of the more generous ones, giving you 10,000 characters per month. A really nice bonus is the built-in plagiarism checker, a feature you rarely see on a free plan.
• Cons: While 10,000 characters sounds like a lot, it's only about 1,500-2,000 words. That’s enough for maybe one short blog post per month. The quality of its long-form content may vary and often requires a fair bit of editing.
• Pricing:
  • The free plan includes 10,000 characters per month.
  • The Saver plan is very affordable, starting at just $9/month.
• Why it's on the list: It has a solid free plan that lets you genuinely try out its features for a wide range of short-form content without feeling too boxed in.

5. ParagraphAI

ParagraphAI is best for quick replies and mobile writing, taking a slightly different approach. Instead of being a standalone platform, it works as a browser extension and a mobile keyboard, putting AI right where you're already writing.

Its big focus is convenience. You can write, reply to emails, and improve your text on the fly without leaving your current app.

• Pros: It’s incredibly easy to use. The one-tap 'Reply' feature for emails is a huge time-saver, and the AI keyboard is a big help for anyone who does a lot of writing on their phone. Plus, its free plan is "forever free," not just a trial.
• Cons: The free plan is very limited. You only get 5 uses per day across all its features, and there's a 1000-character input limit. This makes it great for quick tasks but not for any kind of serious content creation.
• Pricing:
  • The free plan offers 5 AI generations per day.
  • The Pro plan starts at $12.49/month when billed annually.
• Why it's on the list: It's an excellent free tool for those small, everyday writing tasks. It perfectly shows how convenient integrated AI can be, especially on mobile.

6. HubSpot Content Writer

Best for marketers in the HubSpot ecosystem, the company's built-in Content Writer is a natural choice for teams already living in HubSpot. It’s an AI tool that’s integrated directly into HubSpot's marketing and CRM platform.

It's designed to help marketers generate blog ideas, create outlines, and write paragraphs without ever leaving the HubSpot environment.

• Pros: If your team already uses HubSpot's free CRM or marketing tools, this is a no-brainer. It's a convenient way to create drafts that are already inside your marketing platform, ready to be scheduled and published.
• Cons: Its functionality may be more basic than a dedicated AI writing platform, as its output is often designed as a starting point. Its primary value is its integration within the HubSpot ecosystem.
• Pricing:
  • It's free to use as part of HubSpot’s suite of free tools.
  • More advanced AI features are available in the Content Hub Starter plan, which starts at $15/month per seat.

For a more visual walkthrough of some of the best free AI writing tools available, check out this helpful video review. It covers several options and can give you a better feel for their interfaces and capabilities.

This helpful video review from The Nerdy Novelist covers several free AI writing tools, giving you a feel for their interfaces and capabilities.

How to choose the right AI writing software free for your needs

Okay, so you've seen the options. How do you pick the right one? Here are a few things to think about.

• Figure out what you really need: What are you actually trying to do? If your goal is to produce complete, SEO-optimized blog posts, a specialized platform like the eesel AI blog writer is a suitable option. If you just need some ideas for social media captions, a template-based tool like Rytr or Copy.ai might be all you need.
• Understand the "free" limitations: As we've seen, "free" means different things. It can be a one-time trial that gives you the full experience (eesel AI), a monthly word count (Copy.ai), a character limit (Rytr), or a daily use cap (ParagraphAI). Think about your workload and pick a plan that won't leave you hitting a wall after two days.
• Always budget time for a human touch: This is the most important tip. No AI tool, no matter how good, can replace your brand voice, expertise, and perspective. Treat the AI's output as a high-quality first draft. It still needs a human to review, edit, and add that personal touch that makes content great.
  

  When it's done you'll still need to edit the whole thing, remove em dashes, replace repetitive phrases like '...and the result was immediate and spectacular.' and basically polish it. But, for me, Claude is best.

  Reddit

The final word on AI writing software free tools

At the end of the day, free AI writing software is a great way to see what's possible and boost your productivity. But it's important to remember that most free plans are designed as a gateway to a paid product.

The best tool for you really depends on the job. You might use Grammarly to polish your final drafts, ParagraphAI to quickly reply to an email, and a more robust tool for your main content creation.

If you are looking to scale your content, the eesel AI blog writer trial offers a way to experience a full content workflow. While many free plans offer a limited word count, this trial delivers a complete article with assets and SEO optimization. It's an effective way to see how AI can handle the entire content creation process from start to finish.