5 Free (or Low Cost) AI Tools Every Small Business Should Try
Small businesses need big results without big budgets. Here are five AI tools that deliver value without breaking the bank.
1. Canva (Free + Paid Tiers)
Canva’s “Magic Studio” includes tools like Magic Write (AI writing), Magic Design, image generators, auto-layouts, and templates. The free plan lets you use many AI features with some limits. Great for designing social posts, marketing visuals, presentations. Canva+3Lifewire+3Canva+3
2. Grammarly (Free Version + Upgrades)
Grammarly Free checks grammar, spelling, punctuation, and gives suggestions to improve clarity or tone. For business writing, emails, proposals – the free level already helps a lot. GRAMMARIST+2Thryv+2
3. Copy.ai (Free Plan)
Good for marketing copy: product descriptions, ad texts, social media caption ideas. Copy.ai’s free plan offers a word-limit per month and access to a variety of templates. Helps non-writers produce quality content faster. AiGuideCentral+2Readocity+2
4. ChatGPT – Free Tier (GPT-3.5)
Useful for brainstorming, drafting emails, answering customer questions, creating drafts. The free model (“GPT-3.5”) is less capable than the paid versions, but still very usable for everyday business tasks. AiGuideCentral+1
5. Video/Text-to-Video Tools (e.g. Pictory)
If you want to turn blogs or scripts into short videos for social media, tools like Pictory offer free-tier options with limitations on number of videos. This lets you experiment with video content production at low cost. Readocity+1
How to Choose & Use Them Wisely
Start with the free tier: test features and see what adds value.
Watch usage limits (word‐counts, number of projects, watermarking).
Focus on tasks you repeat often (social media, emails, graphics) so the time saved adds up.
These free / low-cost tools help small businesses compete smarter—without needing a big budget or a full AI team.