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Map of AI tools: top 3 in every category — 2026

Chat apps, coding agents, local model runners, APIs, automation and servers — the three tools to start with in each category, with pricing and GitHub stars.

API providers Tools: 14
  1. 1OpenRouterFreemium
  2. 2Anthropic APIPaid
  3. 3OpenAI APIPaid
VPS for AI Tools: 7
  1. 1HetznerPaid
  2. 2VultrPaid
  3. 3Linode (Akamai)Paid
Local LLM apps Tools: 8
  1. 1OllamaOpen source · ★ 182K
  2. 2LM StudioFree
  3. 3JanOpen source · ★ 45K
Automation Tools: 5
  1. 1n8nFreemium · ★ 206K
  2. 2MakeFreemium
  3. 3ZapierFreemium
Coding agents Tools: 10
  1. 1Claude CodePaid · ★ 149K
  2. 2OpenAI Codex CLIFreemium · ★ 127K
  3. 3Gemini CLIOpen source · ★ 107K
AI apps Tools: 8
  1. 1ChatGPTFreemium
  2. 2ClaudeFreemium
  3. 3GeminiFreemium

Order: our editorial ranking, then GitHub stars. Discontinued tools are removed from the map.

Updated · Sources: fedi.software (CC BY 4.0), GitHub

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A short list for every kind of AI tool

The map has one row per tool category: API providers, VPS for AI, local model runners, automation, coding agents and AI apps. Each row names three tools to start with, their pricing type and, for projects hosted on GitHub, their stars. Next to the three names you see how many tools the category holds; a click on the category opens the full list with prices and limits.

How the three are picked

The order follows the editorial ranking of fedi.software first and GitHub stars second. It is a starting point drawn from what the tools do and how widely they are used, not the result of a test we ran. Stars show how popular a project is among developers, which says little about its quality for your case. Discontinued and closed tools are removed from the map.

Using the map step by step

  1. Pick the row that matches your goal: an API key for your code, a server for a bot, a local runner such as the ones in local AI apps, or an agent that edits code.
  2. Look at the pricing type. Free and open source tools cost nothing to start; freemium means a free tier plus paid plans; paid means a subscription or usage fees from the first day.
  3. Open the category to compare all of its tools, not only the top three: prices, free plans and limits are on each card there.
  4. If the cost of a paid app is the question, the paid AI alternatives chart lists open-source and local replacements.

On a phone

Every category folds out on tap, so the map stays readable on a small screen. The data is refreshed as the tool cards change, and GitHub stars are checked weekly.