30 Free AI Tools in China (2026): No VPN Required, Organized by Use Case
TL;DR: Here are 30 free AI tools usable in mainland China without a VPN in 2026, organized by use case including conversation, image generation, video, coding, and productivity, with notes on each tool’s free tier limits.
Every time you want to use an AI tool, do you find yourself stuck: this one needs a VPN, that one only allows 10 free questions per day, and another turns out to require payment after you register?
This article has done all the legwork for you. Below is a curated list of free AI tools accessible in mainland China in 2026 — no VPN required, covering conversation/writing, image generation, video, coding, and productivity. All 30 tools are tested and include notes on free tier limitations.
Quick summary
- Daily conversation/writing: DeepSeek, Doubao, Kimi
- Truly unlimited free: DeepSeek web, Metaso AI Search
- Image/video with daily credits: Dreamina (60 credits/day), Kling AI (daily inspiration points)
- Free coding assistants: Doubao MarsCode, Tongyi Lingma
- Student starter combo: Doubao + Kimi
Why Choose “China-Accessible + Free + Unlimited” AI Tools?
Stable Access, No Hassle
The biggest barrier to using ChatGPT or Claude isn’t cost — it’s the network. Unstable VPN connections, slow responses, random disconnections. These problems basically don’t exist with Chinese tools. DeepSeek, Doubao, and Kimi all run on domestic servers, accessible instantly, typically responding in 1-3 seconds.
Data Compliance
Chinese tools are subject to China’s Personal Information Protection Law and Data Security Law, with data stored on domestic servers. If you’re handling internal company documents, customer information, or privacy-sensitive content, domestic tools offer better compliance assurance.
Free Unlimited vs. Credit-Based: What’s the Difference?
| Type | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Truly unlimited free | No daily cap, use as much as you want | DeepSeek web, Metaso AI Search, Doubao basic |
| Daily credit free | Fixed daily credits, stops when depleted | Dreamina (60 credits/day), Kling AI |
| Registration bonus | One-time credits for new users | Some tools’ premium features |
| Core features free | Basic conversation free, advanced features paid | Kimi, Tongyi Qianwen, ERNIE Bot |
Selection criteria for this list: ① Core features completely free ② No forced daily usage cap (or daily credits sufficient for normal use) ③ Accessible in mainland China without VPN ④ Still operating normally in 2026
Part 1: AI Conversation & Writing Tools (Free, Unlimited)
DeepSeek — Best Reasoning, Top Choice for Code/Math/Logic
Core strengths: DeepSeek is one of the strongest domestic models for reasoning. V3.2 and R1 (Thinking mode) match or exceed some international top models on math, code, and logical reasoning. Thinking mode shows the full reasoning process — great for verifying logic.
Best for: Writing code, solving math problems, analyzing complex issues, technical documentation, logical reasoning.
Free limits: The web version (chat.deepseek.com) is completely free with no daily cap. Occasional queuing during peak hours, but generally doesn’t affect use.
Doubao (ByteDance) — Multimodal + Web Search, All-Purpose Daily Driver
Core strengths: Doubao is ByteDance’s AI assistant, backed by the Douyin and Toutiao content ecosystem with strong web search. Supports text, image, and voice multimodal input, plus AI roleplay and AI search. One of the largest AI apps in China by user count in 2026.
Best for: Daily Q&A, news search, copywriting, image understanding, voice conversation.
Free limits: Basic conversation completely free and unlimited. Some advanced features (like long video generation) require membership, but daily use is fully covered.
Kimi (Moonshot AI) — Ultra-Long Context, King of Document Processing
Core strengths: Kimi’s biggest differentiator is its ultra-long context — supports 2 million characters without loss. You can drop an entire book, a full contract, or dozens of pages of research reports and ask questions without worrying about “memory cutoff.” Kimi’s paid user base grew 80x in early 2026, reflecting strong market validation.
Best for: Long document reading and summarization, contract review, academic paper analysis, multi-file comparison, long-form content creation.
Free limits: Basic version free; 2M character context available on free tier. Heavy use may trigger rate limits, but normal users won’t notice.
Tongyi Qianwen (Alibaba) — Alibaba Ecosystem, E-commerce/Office Scenarios
Core strengths: Alibaba’s LLM product, deeply integrated with Alibaba Cloud, DingTalk, and Taobao. Clear advantages for e-commerce copy, office scenarios, and multilingual translation. Supports file uploads and image understanding. Tongyi Tingwu handles meeting audio transcription.
Best for: E-commerce operations, DingTalk office work, multilingual translation, meeting minutes, business copy.
Free limits: Web version basic conversation free and unlimited. Tongyi Tingwu has monthly free time credits.
Tencent Yuanbao — WeChat Ecosystem, News Summarization
Core strengths: Tencent Yuanbao uses the Hunyuan model and supports DeepSeek model switching. Biggest advantage: WeChat ecosystem integration — use it directly in WeChat and search WeChat Official Account content. Strong at news summarization and trending topic analysis.
Best for: Quick Q&A in WeChat, Official Account content search, trending news summaries, daily assistant.
Free limits: Completely free, no usage limits. Note: the user agreement has broad data collection scope — be careful with sensitive information.
ERNIE Bot (Baidu) — Baidu Search Integration, SEO Content
Core strengths: Baidu’s AI product, deeply integrated with Baidu Search, can pull real-time search results. Advantages for Chinese content creation, SEO article writing, and Baidu ecosystem tasks. Supports image generation (ERNIE-ViLG) and voice interaction.
Best for: SEO content writing, Baidu ecosystem tasks, Chinese copywriting, mixed text-image content.
Free limits: Basic conversation free and unlimited. Image generation has daily free credits (~40 per day).
Metaso AI Search — Ad-Free AI Search, Completely Free
Core strengths: Metaso is an AI search tool focused on search scenarios. Its biggest feature: no ads. Search results give you AI-synthesized answers with source links. The contrast with Baidu’s ad-heavy results is stark.
Best for: Information retrieval, academic queries, news research, replacing traditional search engines.
Free limits: Completely free, no usage limits — one of the few truly unlimited free AI search tools in China.
Tiangong AI — Search + Conversation + Writing in One
Core strengths: Tiangong AI from Kunlun Wanwei integrates AI search, conversation assistant, and writing tools. Strong web search, writing assistance is useful for content creators.
Best for: Content creation, web search, writing assistance, daily Q&A.
Free limits: Basic features free; some premium writing templates are paid, but daily free credits are sufficient.
Part 2: AI Image Generation Tools (Daily Credits)
AI image tools generally use a “daily credits” model — not completely unlimited, but the daily free credits are sufficient for most users. For a detailed image quality comparison, see Best AI Image Generators in 2026.
Dreamina (ByteDance) — Daily Credits, Text-to-Image/Image-to-Image
Core strengths: Dreamina is CapCut’s AI creative platform, supporting text-to-image, image-to-image, and AI video generation. Deeply integrated with the Douyin ecosystem, excellent Chinese prompt understanding, outstanding character detail (user rating ~4.7/5). Fast generation, minimal wait time.
Best for: Social media images, character illustrations, creative posters, short video covers.
Free limits: 60-100 daily credits; generating one image costs ~1 credit, one video ~6 credits. Sufficient for daily creative work.
Tongyi Wanxiang (Alibaba) — Excellent Photorealistic Style
Core strengths: Alibaba’s AI image tool, outstanding for photorealistic and commercial photography styles. One credit generates 4 images simultaneously — best value among comparable tools. Supports multiple style modes including photorealistic, illustration, and watercolor.
Best for: Commercial images, product display, photorealistic portraits, e-commerce assets.
Free limits: 50 daily inspiration points; one generation costs 1 point but produces 4 images — effectively 200 free images per day.
ERNIE-ViLG (Baidu) — Best for Traditional Chinese Aesthetics
Core strengths: Baidu’s AI image tool, with clear advantages for traditional Chinese, ink painting, and classical art styles. Integrated with ERNIE Bot — generate images directly in conversation.
Best for: Traditional Chinese illustration, classical character art, ink painting style, traditional culture content.
Free limits: ~40 daily credits; creating one image costs 2 credits — ~20 free images per day.
Part 3: AI Video Generation Tools (Daily Credits)
AI video generation is one of the hottest areas of 2026. Both major Chinese tools offer daily free credits — no cost to get started.
Kling AI (Kuaishou) — Best Real-Scene Detail
Core strengths: Kling AI is Kuaishou’s AI video generation tool, with the strongest performance on real-scene detail and physical motion simulation. Supports up to 3-minute video generation — the longest free AI video tool in China. Supports both text-to-video and image-to-video with strong camera control.
Best for: Real-scene short films, product showcase videos, creative ads, cinematic shots.
Free limits: Daily inspiration points (check official site for current amounts); basic video generation is free. HD and long video require more credits or membership.
Dreamina Video — Integrated with CapCut
Core strengths: Dreamina’s video feature is deeply integrated with CapCut — generated videos can be imported directly into CapCut for editing. Perfect for users already using CapCut, seamless workflow with no new tools to learn.
Best for: Douyin short video creation, CapCut users’ AI-assisted creation, social media content production.
Free limits: Daily credits shared with image generation (60-100/day); one video costs ~6 credits — ~10 free short video clips per day.
Part 4: AI Coding Assistants (Free, Unlimited)
For developers, AI coding assistants are now essential daily tools. The following three Chinese tools are completely free for individuals and deeply integrated with major IDEs. For a detailed coding assistant comparison, see Best AI Coding Assistants in 2026.
Doubao MarsCode — Individual Plan Completely Free
Core strengths: ByteDance’s AI coding assistant, supports 100+ programming languages, available as a VS Code plugin or standalone online IDE. Supports free switching between DeepSeek R1/V3 and Doubao models. Handles code completion, explanation, bug fixing, and unit test generation.
Best for: Daily code development, code review, learning new languages, rapid prototyping.
Free limits: Individual plan completely free, no usage limits.
Wenxin Kuaima Comate (Baidu) — Best for C++/Java
Core strengths: Baidu’s AI coding assistant, with high-quality code completion for C++ and Java enterprise languages. Supports VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, with solid code comment generation and documentation writing.
Best for: Java/C++ enterprise development, code comment generation, technical documentation, code refactoring.
Free limits: Individual plan free; basic code completion and conversation have no usage limits.
Tongyi Lingma (Alibaba) — Best for Cloud-Native Development
Core strengths: Alibaba Cloud’s AI coding assistant, deeply integrated with the Alibaba Cloud ecosystem. Clear advantages for cloud-native development (Kubernetes, Docker, Alibaba Cloud services). Supports VS Code and JetBrains, fast code completion, strong context understanding.
Best for: Cloud-native development, Alibaba Cloud service integration, Python/Java development, DevOps scripting.
Free limits: Individual plan completely free — install the VS Code plugin, log in, and start using immediately.
Part 5: AI PPT & Productivity Tools (Daily Credits)
WPS AI — Deep WPS Office Integration
Core strengths: WPS AI is the built-in AI assistant in WPS Office, directly integrated into WPS Writer, Spreadsheets, and Presentation. One-click PPT outline and content generation, AI writing, translation, and PDF conversation. For existing WPS users, no tool switching needed.
Best for: PPT creation, document writing assistance, spreadsheet data analysis, PDF content extraction.
Free limits: WPS free users get monthly AI credits; WPS members unlock more features.
Xunfei Zhiwen — Voice to PPT
Core strengths: iFlytek’s AI document tool, with voice-to-PPT as its standout feature — speak a few sentences and it generates the corresponding PPT content and layout. iFlytek has deep expertise in speech recognition, and this feature has the highest accuracy among similar products.
Best for: Quick presentation creation, meeting reports, voice memo to document, teaching materials.
Free limits: Free credits after registration; basic PPT generation is free, advanced templates and export partially require membership.
Tencent Docs AI — Team Collaboration
Core strengths: Tencent Docs’ built-in AI, integrated with WeChat and WeCom ecosystems. Supports AI writing, AI summarization, and smart tables. AI assistance is most effective during multi-person collaboration.
Best for: Team document collaboration, meeting minutes generation, multi-person project documents.
Free limits: Tencent Docs basic version free; AI features have monthly free credits, enterprise features require payment.
How to Choose: Decision Guide
Too many tools leads to choice paralysis. Here’s a simple framework: identify your use case first, then pick a tool — don’t try to use everything.
Use Case Recommendation Table
| Use Case | First Choice | Backup | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Q&A/chat | Doubao | Tencent Yuanbao | Full-featured, strong web search |
| Code/math/logic | DeepSeek | Tongyi Qianwen | Strongest reasoning |
| Long document processing | Kimi | Tongyi Qianwen | 2M character context |
| AI search (no ads) | Metaso | Tiangong AI | Completely free, clean results |
| AI image generation | Dreamina | Tongyi Wanxiang | Generous daily credits, great Chinese support |
| AI video | Kling AI | Dreamina Video | Best detail, longest duration |
| Coding | MarsCode | Tongyi Lingma | Individual plan completely free |
| PPT creation | WPS AI | Xunfei Zhiwen | Deep office software integration |
| SEO/Baidu content | ERNIE Bot | Tiangong AI | Baidu ecosystem integration |
| Traditional Chinese art | ERNIE-ViLG | Dreamina | Best classical/ink painting style |
| Student starter | Doubao + Kimi | DeepSeek | Full-featured, easy to start |
Beginner’s Path
If you’re just getting started with AI tools:
- Step 1: Use Doubao or Kimi for daily Q&A — get a feel for AI conversation
- Step 2: For deep reasoning tasks (code, math, logic), switch to DeepSeek
- Step 3: For information search, use Metaso instead of Baidu — experience ad-free search
- Step 4: Add specialized tools (image/video/coding) based on your specific needs
You don’t need to install all 30 tools at once. Master 2-3 first, then expand as needed. For tips on writing better prompts to get more out of these tools, see The Complete Guide to AI Prompt Engineering.
FAQ
How do Chinese free AI tools compare to ChatGPT? The gap is closing, but it depends on the task. DeepSeek V3.2 is already close to GPT-4o on code and math reasoning. Doubao and Kimi have advantages in Chinese understanding and long-text processing. For English content creation, multimodal understanding, and complex instruction following, ChatGPT and Claude still lead. If your main needs are Chinese-language tasks, domestic tools are fully sufficient. For a detailed international model comparison, see Claude vs ChatGPT 2026.
Are these tools really completely free? What are the limits? It varies. DeepSeek web, Metaso, and Doubao basic conversation are truly unlimited free. Kimi, Tongyi Qianwen, and ERNIE Bot’s basic conversation is also free, but advanced features (faster responses, longer context, premium models) require payment. Image and video tools generally use daily credit systems — free credits are sufficient for normal users, heavy creators may need to top up.
Is it safe to use Chinese AI tools? Will data leak? Chinese tools are subject to domestic laws and regulations, with data stored domestically — better compliance assurance. But like all AI tools, avoid inputting real ID numbers, bank card numbers, passwords, or other highly sensitive information. Tencent Yuanbao’s user agreement has broad data collection scope — worth noting.
Which tools are best for students? The Doubao + Kimi combination. Doubao for daily Q&A, writing assistance, and web search — low barrier to entry. Kimi for long papers, textbooks, and research reports — 2M character context lets you drop an entire textbook and ask questions. Both are completely free. Add MarsCode if you have programming coursework.
Are there free AI video tools in China? Yes — mainly Kling AI (Kuaishou) and Dreamina (ByteDance/CapCut). Both offer daily free credits. Kling AI supports up to 3-minute videos; Dreamina integrates with CapCut for easier post-editing. Free credits are sufficient for occasional creation; heavy or HD use may require membership.
Summary
China’s free AI tool ecosystem in 2026 is mature enough to cover the vast majority of daily work and study scenarios — no VPN, no payment, with capabilities approaching international top-tier AI.
Core recommendations:
- Conversation/writing: DeepSeek (reasoning) + Doubao (all-purpose) + Kimi (long documents)
- Search: Metaso — ad-free experience far better than traditional search
- Image/video: Dreamina + Kling AI — daily free credits sufficient for normal users
- Coding: MarsCode individual plan free — install the VS Code plugin and go
- Productivity: WPS AI is most convenient for existing WPS users
Master 2-3 tools well rather than installing a dozen and using none deeply.