Paperrito
New member
I'm a junior and this semester has been brutal. Five classes, all with major papers. I couldn't afford premium tools, so I went hunting for free AI writing assistants that could actually help. Found some gems.
Perplexity – This AI search tool gives you answers with actual sources. For research papers, being able to verify citations is huge. The free tier includes daily Pro searches .
Humata – Upload PDFs and ask questions about them. The free plan analyzes up to 60 pages per month, perfect for dense academic papers .
DeepL Write – Hidden gem for polishing English. It suggests better phrasing without changing your meaning. 2,000 characters per correction on the free plan .
Claude – The free version gives you Sonnet 4.5, which is great for creative writing and understanding complex instructions. Message limits are strict but workable .
Google Gemini – Free access to Gemini 3 Flash plus 100 monthly AI credits for creative tools. Integration with Google Docs is super handy .
Honorable mention: ONLYOFFICE has AI plugins for grammar and summarization, and it's completely free .
What I learned: Free tools are powerful if you know which ones to use and don't mind some limits. My grades actually improved this semester.
Perplexity – This AI search tool gives you answers with actual sources. For research papers, being able to verify citations is huge. The free tier includes daily Pro searches .
Humata – Upload PDFs and ask questions about them. The free plan analyzes up to 60 pages per month, perfect for dense academic papers .
DeepL Write – Hidden gem for polishing English. It suggests better phrasing without changing your meaning. 2,000 characters per correction on the free plan .
Claude – The free version gives you Sonnet 4.5, which is great for creative writing and understanding complex instructions. Message limits are strict but workable .
Google Gemini – Free access to Gemini 3 Flash plus 100 monthly AI credits for creative tools. Integration with Google Docs is super handy .
Honorable mention: ONLYOFFICE has AI plugins for grammar and summarization, and it's completely free .
What I learned: Free tools are powerful if you know which ones to use and don't mind some limits. My grades actually improved this semester.