State of AI Tools: September 2026
Published by Nextool.ai · Data from 2,357 AI tool listings, computed September 23, 2026
Overview
Nextool.ai has tracked 2,357 AI tools since the directory began. As of September 2026, 1,968 are still active and 389 (16.5%) have shut down, gone offline or been discontinued — their websites no longer resolve, show a parked "domain for sale" page, or have been retired by their makers. This edition looks at what the active market charges, which categories give away the most for free, and where AI tools are most likely to disappear.
All figures below are computed directly from the Nextool.ai database on September 23, 2026. Nothing is estimated or taken from surveys.
Key findings
- One in six AI tools ever listed is already gone. 389 of 2,357 tools (16.5%) are discontinued or offline.
- 83% of AI tools with published pricing have a free option. Freemium alone accounts for 72% of them.
- General-purpose AI assistants are the most likely to die (18.2% discontinued), while AI agents (1.8%), LLMs (2.4%) and automation tools (3.1%) are the most durable categories.
- Free plans depend heavily on the category. 86% of code assistants have a free option; only 32% of SEO tools and 36% of customer support tools do.
Pricing of active AI tools
| Pricing model | Tools | Share of all active tools | Share of tools with known pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freemium | 1,234 | 62.7% | 72.0% |
| Paid only | 288 | 14.6% | 16.8% |
| Free | 191 | 9.7% | 11.2% |
| Not published | 255 | 13.0% | — |
Takeaway: a free tier is the default in AI software. When a tool has no free plan at all, it is usually aimed at businesses (sales, SEO, customer support, health) where buyers expect a demo and a contract rather than self-serve sign-up.
Where AI tools disappear
Share of each category's listed tools that are now discontinued or offline (categories with at least 25 listed tools):
| Category | Active tools | Discontinued | Discontinued share |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Assistant | 63 | 14 | 18.2% |
| Education | 52 | 8 | 13.3% |
| Writing | 91 | 13 | 12.5% |
| Chatbots | 70 | 10 | 12.5% |
| Customer Support | 28 | 4 | 12.5% |
| Productivity | 149 | 20 | 11.8% |
| Image Generation | 85 | 8 | 8.6% |
| Developer Tools | 179 | 7 | 3.8% |
| SEO | 28 | 1 | 3.4% |
| Automation | 95 | 3 | 3.1% |
| LLM | 40 | 1 | 2.4% |
| AI Agents | 56 | 1 | 1.8% |
| Data Analysis | 54 | 0 | 0.0% |
Takeaway: the categories that die fastest are the easiest to build — thin wrappers around a general chat model for writing, chat and "assistant" use cases, which the big assistants absorbed as built-in features. Tools that own infrastructure, data or a workflow (developer tools, automation, data analysis, agents) survive far more often. Before paying annually for a tool in a high-churn category, check how long it has been around and whether it does something the major assistants can't.
Free options by category
Share of active tools in each category that offer a free or freemium plan (categories with at least 25 listed tools):
| Most generous categories | Free option | Least generous categories | Free option | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code Assistant | 86.2% | SEO | 32.1% | |
| AI Agents | 85.7% | Health | 34.6% | |
| Audio | 85.7% | Customer Support | 35.7% | |
| Voice | 84.0% | Marketing | 46.1% | |
| Research | 83.3% | Business | 50.0% | |
| Design | 82.3% | AI Assistant | 54.0% |
Looking for no-cost options? Browse free AI tools by category.
Methodology
- Dataset: every tool ever listed on Nextool.ai (2,357 records) as of September 23, 2026.
- Discontinued: a tool is counted as discontinued when it has been de-listed after its website stopped resolving, turned into a parked or for-sale domain, or the maker announced a shutdown. Tools are checked continuously; de-listed tools stay in the dataset so the rate reflects every tool that ever launched here.
- Pricing: the pricing model recorded on each tool's listing (free, freemium, paid). 255 active tools do not publish pricing and are excluded from the "known pricing" column.
- Categories: a tool can belong to several categories, so category rows overlap. Only categories with at least 25 listed tools are shown to keep percentages meaningful.
Previous edition: State of AI Tools: June 2026.