Data report · updated July 18, 2026
State of AI Tools 2026
Key findings
- RightAIChoice tracks 7,985 AI tools, with 3,261 (40.8%) re-verified in the last 7 days (most recent: July 18, 2026).
- 70.5% of AI tools are free or freemium; the full pricing breakdown is below.
- Across 7,985 scored tools, the average viability score is 82/100; 0.1% score as “at risk” (below 40) and 85.6% as “strong” (70+).
- The largest category is Automation & Agents (1809 tools).
Featured study
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Pricing breakdown
| Segment | tools | share |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | 4,229 | 53% |
| Free | 1,399 | 17.5% |
| Contact | 1,316 | 16.5% |
| Paid | 1,041 | 13% |
Viability (will it still be here next year?)
Our editorial viability score (0–100) blends momentum, adoption, and wrapper-vs-original signals. It is a risk indicator, not a prediction. 7,985 tools are scored (average 82/100).
| Segment | tools | share (of scored) |
|---|---|---|
| Strong (70+) | 6,835 | 85.6% |
| Moderate (40–69) | 1,146 | 14.4% |
| At risk (score < 40) | 4 | 0.1% |
Biggest categories
| Segment | tools | share |
|---|---|---|
| Automation & Agents | 1,809 | 22.7% |
| Developer Infrastructure | 1,167 | 14.6% |
| Productivity | 1,155 | 14.5% |
| Code & Development | 1,080 | 13.5% |
| Research & Education | 894 | 11.2% |
| Video & Audio | 883 | 11.1% |
| Image Generation | 863 | 10.8% |
| Marketing & SEO | 771 | 9.7% |
| Data & Analytics | 757 | 9.5% |
| Business & Finance | 609 | 7.6% |
| Writing & Content | 608 | 7.6% |
| Customer Support | 394 | 4.9% |
| Healthcare | 363 | 4.5% |
| Voice & Speech | 330 | 4.1% |
| Design & UI | 297 | 3.7% |
Most-starred open-source AI tools
6 tracked tools have a public GitHub repo, totalling 496,698 stars.
Cite this report
Free to cite with attribution. Suggested: “State of AI Tools 2026, RightAIChoice — https://rightaichoice.com/state-of-ai-tools” (data as of July 18, 2026). Machine-readable data: /llms.jsonl. Methodology: /methodology.
Figures are computed live from RightAIChoice's continuously-verified catalog and change as tools are re-verified. Generated July 18, 2026.