Spent some time poking at free tiers across a few tools. Here's what actually held up and where the catches are. **Claude (Sonnet 4.6 on free tier)** Still the one I reach for when I want writing that doesn't read like a press release, or code that actually compiles. I trust it more for anything where being quietly wrong is worse than being loudly wrong. The catch: free tier is stingy. You hit limits fast on busy days, need a phone number to sign up, and there's no warning before it cuts you ...