Business software · Buyer's guide
Free plans: the limits that catch people out
Free plans are useful for trying software, but most stop short in one of a few ways: no commercial rights, the vendor's branding on your work, a cap on contacts, seats or minutes, or limits that only appear after you sign up. Here are the catches, quoted from each pricing page.
A free plan is the cheapest way to find out whether a tool suits you. But "free" rarely means "free to use for anything". Most free plans stop short in one of five ways. Each table below quotes the limit from the vendor's own pricing page, with the date we checked it. The free plan limits tool lists every product we track.
1. No commercial rights
This is the catch that costs the most if you miss it. Several AI voice and video tools let you create for free but not use the result in paid work, such as a client video or a monetised channel.
| Product | Free plan |
|---|---|
| ElevenLabs | Yes: 10k credits a month (about 10 minutes of text to speech), no commercial licence |
| Murf | Yes: 10 minutes of voice generation and 10 projects, no downloads, no commercial rights |
| Synthesia | Yes: 500 credits a month, videos carry a Synthesia watermark |
ElevenLabs states no commercial licence on its free plan, and Murf states no downloads and no commercial rights. If you plan to use the output for work, budget for the cheapest paid plan from the start.
2. Their branding on your work
Free website builders put your site on their own domain or add their branding. That is fine for a test, but it looks unfinished to customers. Wix free sites carry Wix branding, Webflow's free Starter plan runs on a webflow.io address, and Framer free sites use a Framer domain. Synthesia's free videos carry its watermark.
3. A cap on contacts, seats or usage
Most free business plans are sized for one person or a small start. Once you pass the cap, you pay. The caps vary a lot between products in the same category: beehiiv's free plan allows up to 2,500 subscribers, and Mailchimp's stops below 250 contacts.
| Product | Free plan |
|---|---|
| beehiiv | Yes, up to 2,500 subscribers |
| systeme.io | Yes: up to 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 automation rule and 1 custom domain |
| Mailchimp | Yes, under 250 contacts |
| monday.com | Yes, up to 2 seats |
| QuickBooks Online | Yes: 1 user, 2 invoices a month, 1 bank connection, no accountant access |
| Otter.ai | Yes: Basic, 300 transcription minutes a month per user, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports |
Watch for caps per item as well as per month. Otter's free Basic plan allows 300 transcription minutes a month, but only 30 minutes per conversation, so a single long meeting will not fit. QuickBooks Online's free plan allows 2 invoices a month.
4. Fewer devices or fewer people
Some free plans work only for one person, or on one kind of device. NordPass's free plan marks access on multiple devices as not included. Notion's free plan is for individuals, and its pricing page says pages and blocks are limited once two or more members join.
| Product | Free plan |
|---|---|
| NordPass | Yes. The Free plan card marks access on multiple devices, Password Health, Data Breach Scanner and file attachments as not included |
| Notion | Yes, for individuals; pages and blocks are limited once 2+ members join |
5. Limits you only see after signing up
A few vendors mention a free plan but do not list all of its limits on the pricing page. Typeform mentions a free plan without its response limit, and SurveyMonkey's free Basic plan limits responses per survey but shows the exact number only after sign-up.
| Product | Free plan |
|---|---|
| Typeform | Yes, a Free plan is mentioned, but its response limit is not listed on the pricing page |
| SurveyMonkey | Yes: Basic, 1 user, unlimited surveys, 10 questions per survey, limited responses per survey (exact amount shown only after sign-up) |
How to use a free plan well
- Check the licence first if the work is for a client or a business.
- Find the cap that matters to you, whether contacts, minutes, seats, devices or invoices, and estimate when you will hit it.
- Price the first paid plan now, so the jump does not surprise you. Our pricing pages show every plan with its renewal price.
- Keep your data portable. Export what you create on a free plan so you can leave if the paid plan does not suit you.
Products in this guide
ElevenLabs
AI voice platform for text to speech, voice cloning, dubbing and sound, priced in monthly credits.
$1/mobilled monthly, renews $6/mo. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
Murf
AI voiceover studio with 200+ voices, sold as Studio plans for creators and businesses plus a separate pay-as-you-go API.
$19/mobilled yearly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
Wix
Drag-and-drop and AI website builder with a free plan, built-in payments and ecommerce on every paid plan.
$17/mobilled yearly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
Webflow
Visual site builder for designers and marketing teams, with a CMS, hosting and per-site plans.
$15/mobilled yearly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
Framer
Design-first site builder popular with startups and designers, with AI credits, CMS and hosting.
$10/mobilled yearly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
Synthesia
AI avatar video generator for training and business videos, priced in credits (about 100 credits per video minute).
$14/mobilled yearly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
Mailchimp
Email marketing platform with automations, forms and landing pages, priced by contact count and plan.
$13/mobilled monthly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
beehiiv
Newsletter platform with website, paid subscriptions, ad network and recommendations, priced by subscriber count.
$49/mobilled yearly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
systeme.io
All-in-one funnel builder with email marketing, courses, websites and automations, priced by contacts and funnel limits.
$14.17/mobilled yearly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
monday.com
Work management platform for projects, workflows and team boards, priced per seat with AI credits on paid plans.
$9/mobilled yearly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
QuickBooks Online
Cloud accounting from Intuit with a limited free plan and four paid tiers that add users, reports and automation.
$19/mobilled monthly, renews $38/mo. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
Otter.ai
AI meeting notetaker that joins Zoom, Teams and Google Meet to transcribe and summarise, priced per user with monthly minute caps.
$8.33/mobilled yearly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
NordPass
Password manager from Nord Security with a Free plan, discounted 1- and 2-year personal plans, and per-user business plans.
$1.39/mo27-month term. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
Notion
Connected workspace for docs, wikis, databases and projects, priced per member with AI features on Business and up.
$10/mobilled yearly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
Typeform
Conversational one-question-at-a-time forms with AI building, priced by monthly responses and seats.
$28/mobilled yearly
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
SurveyMonkey
Survey platform with analysis tools, a limited free plan and paid plans capped by responses per month or per year.
$39/mobilled yearly. Free plan too
Checked Screenshot of the pricing page (opens in a new tab)
Frequently asked questions
Can I use free AI voice tools for commercial work?
Check the licence first. ElevenLabs' free plan states no commercial licence, and Murf's free plan states no downloads and no commercial rights. Paid plans on both add commercial use.
Which email platform has the biggest free plan?
Of the platforms we track, beehiiv's free plan allows up to 2,500 subscribers and systeme.io's up to 2,000 contacts. Mailchimp's free plan is for under 250 contacts.