Kept hitting ChatGPT and Claude limits during real work. This is the free setup I ended up using

I do a lot of writing and random problem solving for work. Mostly long drafts, edits, and breaking down ideas. Around Jan I kept hitting limits on ChatGPT and Claude at the worst times. Like you are halfway through something, finally in flow, and boom… limit reached. Either wait or switch tools and lose context. I tried paying for a bit but managing multiple subscriptions felt stupid for how often I actually needed them. So I started testing free options properly. Not those listicle type “top 10 AI tools” posts, but actually using them in real tasks.