# Toolnary

> A friendly AI tools directory for beginners, vibe coders and builders. For each task we recommend free-first tools in three levels (Start here, Level up, Go pro). Rankings are never paid; sponsored spots are labeled.

## Starter paths
- [Chat with an AI assistant](https://toolnary.vercel.app/use-cases/chat/): top pick ChatGPT; level up Claude, Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM); pro Microsoft Copilot, Mistral (Le Chat / Vibe)
- [Write better, faster](https://toolnary.vercel.app/use-cases/writing/): top pick ChatGPT; level up Claude, Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM); pro Gamma, Notion AI
- [Make images](https://toolnary.vercel.app/use-cases/images/): top pick Ideogram; level up Canva (Magic Studio), Adobe Firefly; pro Midjourney, Leonardo.Ai
- [Make videos](https://toolnary.vercel.app/use-cases/video/): top pick HeyGen; level up Descript, CapCut; pro Runway, Synthesia
- [Voice, music and audio](https://toolnary.vercel.app/use-cases/voice/): top pick ElevenLabs; level up Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM), Speechify; pro Descript, Runway
- [Build an app without coding](https://toolnary.vercel.app/use-cases/vibe-coding/): top pick Lovable; level up Replit, Base44; pro v0 by Vercel, Cursor
- [Coding assistant](https://toolnary.vercel.app/use-cases/coding/): top pick GitHub Copilot; level up Cursor, Google Antigravity; pro Claude Code, OpenAI Codex
- [AI agents and automation](https://toolnary.vercel.app/use-cases/agents/): top pick Zapier; level up Make, Gumloop; pro n8n, Claude Code

## Comparisons
- [ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini for beginners](https://toolnary.vercel.app/compare/chatgpt-vs-claude-vs-gemini/)
- [Lovable vs Bolt vs Replit for building your first app](https://toolnary.vercel.app/compare/lovable-vs-bolt-vs-replit/)
- [Midjourney vs Ideogram vs Adobe Firefly for making images](https://toolnary.vercel.app/compare/midjourney-vs-ideogram-vs-firefly/)
- [Zapier vs Make vs n8n for automation](https://toolnary.vercel.app/compare/zapier-vs-make-vs-n8n/)
- [Cursor vs GitHub Copilot vs Windsurf for beginners](https://toolnary.vercel.app/compare/cursor-vs-github-copilot-vs-windsurf/)

## Guides
- [What is an AI agent? A beginner's guide](https://toolnary.vercel.app/guides/what-is-an-ai-agent/) [Beginners]: What an AI agent is, how it differs from a chatbot, five everyday examples, and a safe way to try one. Picks: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Lindy, Zapier
- [Best free AI tools for students (reports, essays, studying)](https://toolnary.vercel.app/guides/ai-tools-for-students/) [Beginners]: Free AI study buddies for students, and how to use them honestly for reports, essays and exam prep. Picks: Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM), Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grammarly
- [Best AI tools for research: which one to use](https://toolnary.vercel.app/guides/best-ai-research-tools/) [Research]: Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Gemini Notebook for quick answers with sources, documents and longer reports, plus a workflow for checking facts. Picks: Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM)
- [Best AI meeting note takers: free and paid options](https://toolnary.vercel.app/guides/best-ai-meeting-note-takers/) [Productivity]: Otter, Fireflies and Zoom's built-in AI compared on free-plan limits, transcription, summaries and recording consent. Picks: Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai
- [Best AI website builders without coding](https://toolnary.vercel.app/guides/best-ai-website-builders-no-code/) [Website Building]: Lovable, Framer, Bolt, Base44 and Replit for building a website without code, with the free-plan limits and costs to check first. Picks: Lovable, Bolt, Base44, Replit, v0 by Vercel
- [Best ChatGPT alternatives: pick by task](https://toolnary.vercel.app/guides/best-chatgpt-alternatives/) [Comparisons]: Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot and Le Chat as ChatGPT alternatives, matched to the job you actually need done. Picks: Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Mistral (Le Chat / Vibe), ChatGPT

## Other pages
- [Start with AI](https://toolnary.vercel.app/start/)
- [Quiz](https://toolnary.vercel.app/quiz/)
- [Glossary](https://toolnary.vercel.app/glossary/)
- [How we pick](https://toolnary.vercel.app/about/)
- [Full details for every tool](https://toolnary.vercel.app/llms-full.txt)