Updated · By the Nexus team
The AI agents that are actually free in September 2026: Nexus (free plan that never expires), Zapier Agents (100 tasks and 400 agent activities a month), n8n (free to self-host), CrewAI Basic (50 workflow runs a month), Genspark (100 credits a day), Devin (light free quota) and Manus (limited monthly credits). Relevance AI retired its free plan for new signups, and Lindy offers a trial rather than a free plan.
Free plans compared
Checked on each vendor's pricing page on 17 September 2026. We make Nexus, so it is listed first.
| Agent | What the free plan includes | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Nexus | Free forever with daily and monthly usage limits, on the Mercury model | Handing out business work under budgets and approvals |
| Zapier Agents | 100 tasks and 400 agent activities a month | Actions across apps |
| n8n | Community Edition, free to self-host | Technical teams with a server |
| CrewAI | Basic: 50 workflow runs a month, visual editor | Developers prototyping multi-agent systems |
| Genspark | 100 credits a day | Research, docs and slides |
| Devin | Light quota with limited models | Trying an AI software engineer |
| Manus | Limited monthly credits | Occasional autonomous tasks |
| Claude | Free chat with web search, files, code execution and connectors; Claude Code needs Pro | Knowledge work, not agentic coding |
| Salesforce Agentforce | Agentforce Builder in Salesforce Foundations | Existing Salesforce customers |
No longer free
- Relevance AI: free plan retired and closed to new signups; Pro starts at $19 a month billed yearly.
- Lindy: a trial, not an ongoing free plan; Plus is $29.99 per user a month.
- Microsoft Copilot Studio: a free trial, then paid credit packs.
What "free" usually leaves out
- Usage: free plans cap tasks, runs or credits. A single long agent run can use a day's allowance.
- Models: free tiers often use a smaller or faster model.
- Seats and sharing: most free plans are single-user.
- Self-hosting is free in licence, not in time. You run and update the server.
The best test is one real job you would otherwise do yourself this week. Try it on two free plans and compare the output, not the demo.
Where Nexus fits
Nexus is free to start and the free plan does not expire. Per-agent budgets checked before the spend, approval gates you set and a private company brain built from your own files are part of Nexus Desktop. When you need more usage or models, paid plans are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a completely free AI agent?
Yes. Nexus, Zapier Agents, CrewAI, Genspark, Devin and Manus all have free plans with usage limits, and n8n is free to self-host. None is unlimited.
What is the best free AI agent for business?
For general business work with spend control and approvals, Nexus. For automating actions between apps, Zapier Agents. For a technical team that can self-host, n8n.
Are there free open-source AI agents?
CrewAI is an open-source framework and n8n's Community Edition can be self-hosted for free. Both need some technical setup.
Does Nexus have a free plan?
Yes. The Nexus free plan never expires and has daily and monthly usage limits. Paid plans raise the limits and add models.
Keep reading
Try Nexus free
Hand an agent one real job under a budget you set. The free plan never expires. Start on the web or see pricing.