The AI tools I'd actually tell a friend to pay for.

63 of them so far, sorted by what you're trying to get done. Each one gets a line or two of my honest opinion, the public price in US dollars, and a note if it's awkward to use from Asia.

This week's list

Updated 15 October 2026. Order changes when my mind does.

1.
Cursor in coding
The editor most builders end up in: codebase-aware edits that actually land.
Free tier; Pro from $20/mo
2.
ChatGPT in writing
The general-purpose workhorse; start here if you only pick one.
Free tier; Plus $20/mo
3.
Claude in coding
My pick for anything long: contracts, big codebases, a messy brief. It reads carefully and says when it isn't sure.
Free tier; Pro from $20/mo
4.
Canva in design
Every small business I know already uses it. The AI bits are useful, not magic.
Free tier; Pro available
5.
Perplexity in research
Fast cited answers; the default research starting point.
Free tier; Pro $20/mo
6.
GitHub Copilot in coding
Safe default for teams already on GitHub; strong autocomplete, solid chat.
Free tier; Pro $10/mo
7.
Figma in design
If you design screens, you're probably here already. The AI features are a nice extra, not the reason to pay.
Free tier; paid plans available
8.
ElevenLabs in video
The voices are good enough that clients don't ask. Great for dubbing into Japanese, Korean or Bahasa.
Free tier; Starter from $5/mo
9.
Descript in video
Edit video like a doc; the best podcast-to-clips workflow.
Free tier; paid plans available
10.
Midjourney in design
Still makes the prettiest pictures. Lousy at text in images, and the web app took its time arriving.
Paid from $10/mo
11.
Zapier in automation
Connects to nearly everything. Gets expensive once your zaps run thousands of times a month.
Free tier; paid plans available
12.
Runway in video
Where people go for short generated clips. Expect to throw away a lot of takes.
Free tier; Standard from $12/mo