Google
Account needed
Gemini Notebook
Up to 100 notebooks with 50 sources each. Usage refreshes every 5 hours up to a weekly cap, with no numbers published.
checked Oct 16
Free AI for summarizing pdfs
Upload a PDF and get the key points in minutes. Free plans cap file size and the number of uploads, so check each limit.
Tip to stretch the free limit
Long PDF? Split it into parts, or try Duck.ai, which takes PDFs of up to 15 pages without an account.
Ready-to-copy prompt
Summarize this PDF in 10 short bullet points with the key numbers and dates, then list 3 questions it doesn't answer.
The picks, in the order we'd try them
Anthropic
Account needed
Claude
A usage limit per session that resets every 5 hours; the exact number isn't published. Pro gives at least 5× more usage. No image generation.
checked Oct 16
OpenAI
No sign-up
ChatGPT
Everyday text chats with no fixed message cap (with abuse protection). File uploads, image creation, voice and deep research are limited, with no numbers published.
checked Oct 16 · ⚠
DuckDuckGo
No sign-up
Duck.ai
Free with a daily limit (no number published) and no account. You pick the model, including Claude Haiku and open models; PDFs up to 15 pages.
checked Oct 17
Moonshot AI
No sign-up
Kimi
There is a limit on conversations per period, with no numbers published.
checked Oct 16
Perplexity AI
Sign-up optional
Perplexity
3 Pro Searches per day and 1 Research per month; file uploads are limited. No image generation or advanced models.
checked Oct 16 · ⚠
Google
Sign-up optional
Gemini
Standard usage limits refresh every 5 hours up to a weekly cap, with no usage numbers published. Context window of 32k tokens. Deep Research may be unavailable at peak demand.
checked Oct 17
Other tasks
Updated