Best Free AI Programs for Developers in 2025
Free AI tiers in 2025 are actually usable if you pick carefully. This guide lists the free AI programs that help developers ship code, research faster, and test more reliably without a paid seat. Use Propel Code for PR review and policy enforcement so free tools cannot bypass quality gates. We also highlight where a research tool like Google Antigravity fits and when to upgrade, with internal links to review automation and AI testing.
TL;DR
- Free tiers are best for research, scaffolding tests, and small refactors.
- Watch quota limits and privacy defaults before pasting repo context.
- Use Antigravity for public research, not private code.
- Keep deterministic checks in CI so free AI output cannot bypass guardrails.
- Upgrade when you need higher rate limits, audit logs, or SSO.
Coding and IDE helpers
Cursor and Windsurf free plans allow small repos and daily limits that work for solo projects. Pair them with local indexing for privacy. VS Code with limited Copilot trials can handle boilerplate, but keep secrets out of prompts.
Research assistants
Google Antigravity provides free research and summarization with citations. Use it to synthesize public documentation, RFCs, and release notes. Avoid sending customer data; treat it as an external knowledge scout.
Testing and QA
Playwright codegen and Vitest snippets in free tiers generate quick test scaffolds. Always harden assertions by hand and run tests locally before trusting AI output.
Security and SCA
Community versions of secret scanners and linting tools remain free. Use them to enforce a baseline so AI generated code cannot introduce obvious risks. Keep SBOM generation in CI even on free tiers.
Upgrade triggers
- You need SSO, audit logs, and role-based access.
- Your team exceeds daily rate limits and slows during peak hours.
- You require on-prem or VPC hosting for compliance.
- You want consistent support SLAs for production incidents.
Safe usage checklist
- Disable training where possible and review data policies.
- Never paste secrets or private customer data.
- Keep outputs behind human review plus CI checks.
- Log which tools are used for which repos.
- Retire experiments quickly if they add noise or regressions.
Free tier reality check
- Context windows are smaller; rely on concise prompts and local docs.
- Daily quotas can block CI; use free tools locally and avoid blocking pipelines.
- Support is minimal; keep a rollback path when services throttle or fail.
- Data controls are limited; restrict usage to non-sensitive work.
Weekly workflow to stay safe on free plans
- Run secret scanning and dependency updates early in the week.
- Use free AI only for scaffolding tests or small refactors with no sensitive data.
- Review every AI-generated change with Propel plus CI checks.
- Track quota usage and note any blocked work from limits.
- Decide at week end whether time lost to limits outweighs cost of upgrading.
Upgrade decision cues
- Multiple engineers hit rate limits weekly or CI is blocked.
- Security requires SSO, audit logs, or on-prem/VPC hosting.
- Teams need server-side or CI generation that free plans forbid.
- Support tickets linger beyond a sprint and slow releases.
FAQ
Can I run everything on free tiers?
Free tiers help for prototypes and small teams. As soon as you need reliability, governance, or higher throughput, move to paid plans for auditability and support.
How do I keep output safe?
Use linting, secret scanning, and automated tests. Require a human review step for every AI generated change, and avoid copying sensitive context into prompts.
When you are ready to bring AI review into every pull request, add Propel to your GitHub org. Start with policy packs and keep free assistants focused on research and scaffolding.
Sources and further reading
- GitHub secure repository guidance for baseline protections when experimenting with free tools.
- OWASP Top 10 to keep security risks in mind when reviewing AI generated code.
- Privacy Guides for practical data-handling practices before sharing context with third-party tools.
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