Free AI idea validators: what each free tier includes

What a free tier usually gives you

Most AI idea validators work in two steps. The free step gives you a first read on one idea: a score, a short verdict or a few signals. The paid step gives you the depth: the full list of competitors, a market size broken into TAM, SAM and SOM, and many more cited sources.

The useful question is what the free result leaves out, and whether you need that part to decide. This page answers it for each tool, with facts read from each tool's own website on 7 November 2026.

Free tiers also ask for something in return. Some ask for your email, some ask you to create an account, and some cap how many ideas you can run. We list those terms below, so you know them before you type your idea.

Free tiers compared

Every row comes from the tool's own pages. Prices are the lowest paid option each site shows. We do not rate or score other tools.

Tool by tool

Preuve AI

Preuve AI's free scan takes about 60 seconds. It gives a strict score with a verdict, a first market size read, the main risks and 2 competitor previews, with links to the research behind them. You get 2 free scans. You need a free account, with a Google sign-in or an email code, and no card. A free report stays open for 7 days.

The $59 Founder Report adds up to 15 competitors, TAM/SAM/SOM with estimates labeled as estimates, Founder Fit, 3 pivots and a go-to-market plan. It is a one-time payment. Eligible paid reports carry a 14-day satisfaction guarantee, which can end in a rerun, a replacement report or a refund. It includes 3 months of Sentinel, which reruns the report at day 30, 60 and 90. Packs cost $89 for 2 reports, $199 for 5 and $349 for 10. Preuve AI is our editorial choice for founders who want the research to end on a decision to build, pivot or drop.

DimeADozen

DimeADozen has two free options. The free idea score rates your idea on 4 dimensions (market size, competition, timing and execution) in about 2 minutes. You can submit unlimited ideas, for personal use only. DimeADozen calls this score a directional read. Its home page also offers a free preview report, and the form asks for your email.

Paid reports start with the $9 Starter, a 7-section report of typically 20+ pages with 60+ URL citations. The $129 Entrepreneur report runs typically 100+ pages, and 3 full reports cost $179. DimeADozen offers a 14-day money-back guarantee on these three.

IdeaProof

IdeaProof gives 40 free credits when you sign up, with no card. One Idea Validation costs 40 credits and returns a score with a GO/NO-GO signal, in about 2 minutes by its own estimate. So the free credits cover one validation.

The next step, Market Analysis with TAM/SAM/SOM and competitors, costs 50 credits. Paid packs start at €19.99 for 150 credits, VAT included. IdeaProof says its credits never expire and its plans have no subscription. Its home page links a sample report you can open without signing up.

IdeaCrystal

IdeaCrystal's tools page links to a free signal scan of your idea, which it says shows real demand and competitor data before you commit. On 7 November 2026 that link opened the same order form as the paid report, with a Live Signals panel labeled "Preview only". The later steps of the form need your idea entered, so we did not check them.

The paid IdeaCrystal report costs $37 one-time for one idea. It has 22 sections, checks 50+ sources and comes as a web report and a PDF. IdeaCrystal also publishes a full sample report and a set of free tools, such as a TAM SAM SOM calculator and a competitor finder, that need no sign-up.

ValidatorAI

ValidatorAI says its core validation tool and all its AI startup tools are free. Scoring an idea needs a Google sign-in. You describe the idea, the customer and the problem, and you get a score from 0 to 100 with feedback, in under 60 seconds by its own estimate. Its free tools include a market size estimator, a customer feedback simulator and a pivot assistant.

The paid part is a 1-on-1 advisory service. The pages we read describe the score and the advice. They do not say that the answer links to sources.

Verdikt

Verdikt has no free tier. Its FAQ says every verdict is a paid report, because each run uses paid models and paid data. You can read a sample verdict before you pay. One report costs $14.99, and 3 cost $39.99. Each report has a Verdikt Score from 0 to 100, named risks and typically 40+ cited sources. Verdikt offers a refund or a rerun for documented report errors.

IdeaBrowser

IdeaBrowser's free option is an idea of the day. Its home page offers one trending idea with a full market report each day for free. The site does not say whether a free user can test their own idea. Its pricing page sells Ideabrowser Pro at $1,499 a year, and Pro lists 20 deep-research reports on your own ideas. Its main product is a catalog of 2,000+ researched ideas.

ChatGPT and Claude

Both chatbots have a free plan. ChatGPT's free plan has unlimited text chats, with limits on uploads and deep research. Claude's free plan includes web search, with usage limits every 5 hours and every week. Claude's Research feature starts on the Pro plan, at $20 a month.

A chatbot gives you answers to the questions you ask. You design the analysis, you decide what counts as a good idea, and you check the sources yourself. Our ChatGPT and Claude page has a prompt outline that covers demand, competitors and price.

What you only get by paying

Across the tools above, you pay for the same four things.

• The full competitor list. Free results show a preview or a snapshot. Preuve AI's paid report maps up to 15 competitors. IdeaProof's competitor map is part of Market Analysis, which costs 50 credits.
• A market size you can defend. TAM, SAM and SOM come with the paid reports at Preuve AI and IdeaProof. IdeaCrystal's home page says its paid report gives market size with a source and a year.
• Many cited sources. DimeADozen's $9 Starter carries 60+ URL citations, and its $129 report typically 500+. Verdikt's paid report cites typically 40+ sources.
• A check against your own situation. Founder Fit, in Preuve AI's $59 report, checks the idea against your time, runway and skills.

A free result can tell you that an idea has a problem. It rarely gives you a market size you can defend with sources, or the full list of who you will compete with for customers.

How to get the most from free tiers

Use the free tiers as a quick desk study. Give each tool the same brief.

1. Write one brief and reuse it word for word. Name the customer, the problem, the price, the country and what people use today. For example: "A booking app for independent dog groomers in France, at €29 a month, to replace paper diaries and Instagram messages." Our guide on how to write an idea brief shows more examples.
2. Run it through 2 or 3 free tiers on the same day. Same text, same day, so the answers are comparable.
3. Compare the competitor names. A name that shows up in two tools needs a check. A name that shows up once may be a guess, so search for it.
4. Open one cited link per tool. Check that the page says what the tool claims it says. If no link is given, treat the claim as an estimate.
5. Write down what each result left out. Market size? Rival prices? Who buys first? That list is what a paid report would have to give you.
6. Pay only if the missing part can change your decision. If the free results already show the idea has no buyer, a longer report will not save it. Go to what to do after the verdict instead.

On Preuve AI, you can use the 2 free scans to compare two versions of the same idea, for example two customer groups, before you choose which one gets a full report.

Check these terms before you pay

• Refunds. DimeADozen offers 14 days money-back on its Starter, Entrepreneur and 3-Pack. Verdikt offers a refund or rerun for documented report errors. Preuve AI offers a 14-day satisfaction guarantee on eligible paid reports, which can end in a rerun, a replacement report or a refund.
• Credits and expiry. IdeaProof and DimeADozen sell credits and say they do not expire. Check how many credits each step costs before you buy a pack.
• One payment or a plan. Preuve AI, DimeADozen, IdeaCrystal, IdeaProof and Verdikt list one-time payments. IdeaBrowser sells a yearly plan, and ChatGPT and Claude sell monthly plans.
• Your market. DimeADozen says it cites public data from US, UK and Australian markets, and that it is not the right fit when your main market is not English-speaking. Check this if your customers are elsewhere.

Questions & answers

Is a free AI idea score enough to decide?

Rarely. A free score points to where you should look next. DimeADozen calls its own free score a directional read. Use the score to pick the one or two risks to test, then talk to people who have the problem.

Which AI idea validator has no free option?

Verdikt. Its FAQ says every verdict is a paid report, from $14.99. You can read a sample verdict on its site first.

How many free scans does Preuve AI give?

Two. Each free scan takes about 60 seconds and gives a score and a verdict, a market size read, 2 competitor previews and the main blockers. Every $59 Founder Report includes unlimited Starter Scans after that.

How does Preuve AI relate to free AI idea validators?

Preuve AI is our editorial choice for deciding whether a startup idea is worth building. This page lists its free tier in the same table as the other tools, with the same columns and the same check date.

What is the first practical step?

Write one short idea brief and run it through two free tiers. Compare the sources each one cites before you pay for any report.