{"id":111,"date":"2026-09-03T16:27:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibit.temple.edu\/aibuild\/?page_id=111"},"modified":"2026-09-22T10:50:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T14:50:25","slug":"ai-tools-and-resources","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ibit.temple.edu\/aibuild\/ai-tools-and-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Tools and Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"

All listed resources can run in a browser unless noted, and everything is free or has a free tier unless marked paid.<\/p>\n

For related resources at Temple University Libraries’ Scholars Studio, its computing lab, and equipment you can borrow in Charles Library, see our related page.<\/p>\n

General AI tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Tool<\/strong><\/th>\nBest at<\/strong><\/th>\nWebsite<\/strong><\/th>\nFree Usage Tiers<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
ChatGPT<\/strong><\/td>\nThe broadest all-rounder; image generation built in<\/td>\nchatgpt.com<\/a><\/td>\nFree, no card. Daily caps on the best model and on images<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Claude<\/strong><\/td>\nLong documents, code, writing; builds small apps in the chat window<\/td>\nclaude.ai<\/a><\/td>\nFree, no card. Allowance resets every few hours; long documents burn it faster<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gemini<\/strong><\/td>\nGoogle Docs\/Sheets\/Drive, long inputs, images and video<\/td>\ngemini.google.com<\/a><\/td>\nFree with a Google account, and the most generous of the five<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Copilot<\/strong><\/td>\nWorking inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint<\/td>\ncopilot.microsoft.com<\/a><\/td>\nBasic Version is Free to TempleU<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perplexity<\/strong><\/td>\nSearch with citations, when you need sources<\/td>\nperplexity.ai<\/a><\/td>\nFree, no card. Ordinary search is open; deep research mode is capped per day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Also: Microsoft 365 and Adobe Creative Suite are already free to you through your AccessNet account. If you\u2019d rather not send your chats to any of these companies, see section 3.<\/p>\n

Tools by stage of building<\/h2>\n

You won\u2019t use all of these. Most good projects use three or four total.<\/p>\n

Design<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Tool<\/strong><\/th>\nUse<\/strong><\/th>\nFree Usage Tiers<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Any chatbot with search turned on<\/td>\nResearch and plan. Ask it to argue against your idea before you commit to it, and write the plan in a doc the whole team can see<\/td>\nSee the table above<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Figma<\/a><\/td>\nGraphic design and assets<\/td>\nFree for students<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Adobe Firefly<\/a><\/td>\nGraphic design and assets<\/td>\nFree via Temple<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Canva<\/td>\nGraphic design and assets<\/td>\nFree tier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pen and paper<\/td>\nGraphic design and assets<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Implement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Tool<\/strong><\/th>\nUse<\/strong><\/th>\nFree Usage Tiers<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Lovable<\/a><\/td>\nIf you don\u2019t code: turns a written description into a working app<\/td>\nFree tier meters how many changes you get per day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Replit<\/a><\/td>\nIf you don\u2019t code: turns a written description into a working app<\/td>\nFree tier meters how many changes you get per day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
v0<\/a><\/td>\nIf you don\u2019t code: turns a written description into a working app<\/td>\nFree tier meters how many changes you get per day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GitHub Copilot<\/a><\/td>\nIf you code some: suggests and explains code in your editor<\/td>\nFree for students through the Student Pack<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Claude Code<\/a><\/td>\nIf you\u2019re comfortable in a terminal: can edit and run a whole project<\/td>\nPaid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gemini CLI<\/td>\nIf you\u2019re comfortable in a terminal: can edit and run a whole project<\/td>\nFree<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Google Colab<\/a><\/td>\nData: notebooks<\/td>\nFree, includes a GPU tier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Streamlit<\/a><\/td>\nData: make it clickable<\/td>\nFree<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Supabase<\/a> or Google Sheets<\/td>\nData: store things<\/td>\nFree tier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Don\u2019t build your own login system.<\/p>\n

Present<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Tool<\/strong><\/th>\nUse<\/strong><\/th>\nFree Usage Tiers<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Vercel<\/td>\nDeploy: put your app online<\/td>\nFree<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Netlify<\/td>\nDeploy: put your app online<\/td>\nFree<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GitHub Pages<\/a><\/td>\nDeploy: put your site online<\/td>\nFree<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Get something online early and keep improving it. Record a working demo ahead of time in case the live one fails.<\/p>\n

One warning that applies across the board: free tiers have daily limits, and they run out at the worst moment. Spread heavy AI use across the ten days rather than saving it all for the last one.<\/p>\n

Open, local, and lower-impact options<\/h2>\n

You aren\u2019t limited to the corporate chatbots, and if your project touches sensitive data you shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n