One AI Guide is an independent directory and decision guide for AI tools, covering 1,000+ carefully selected AI software tools in 6 languages, with AI hardware covered separately at /gear. Below are direct answers to the questions we get most, about the directory, the ratings, Lumi the AI consultant, pricing, and how to get your own tool listed.
One AI Guide (oneaiguide.com) is an independent directory and decision guide for AI tools, launched in 2026 and operated by LUMIVEX in the Netherlands. It combines a curated catalog of 1,000+ approved AI software tools with honest editor ratings, side-by-side comparisons, ready-to-run multi-tool workflows called stacks, and Lumi, a built-in AI consultant that recommends the right tools for your specific project and budget. AI hardware is covered separately at /gear.
Yes. Browsing the curated catalog of 1,000+ approved AI software tools, comparing up to 5 tools side by side, reading public guides, browsing community stacks and asking Lumi for quick recommendations on the homepage is completely free and requires no account. A free account adds favorites, saved stacks and access to the AI Handbook. Lumi Pro offers prepaid credits from $9.99, Starter at $19 per month, and Business at $119 per month or $594 upfront for six months ($99 per month equivalent).
Three transparent ways: affiliate links on some outbound buttons (the price you pay never changes), clearly labelled sponsored placements that never alter editorial ratings, and Lumi Pro subscriptions. Editor ratings, strengths and weaknesses are written before any commercial terms are considered and are never for sale.
One AI Guide is built and operated by LUMIVEX, a Dutch company founded by Said El Moussaoui. The site launched in 2026 to make AI-tool discovery and comparison clearer through a curated directory, source-backed evidence and practical decision guidance.
The curated software catalog covers 1,000+ approved AI software tools across Text & Copy, Image Generation, Video Generation, Code & Development, Productivity, Music & Audio, Voice & Speech, Design, 3D & Animation, Business & Marketing, and Specialized tools. Listings include available pricing, strengths, weaknesses and best-for scenarios where that information is available; selected tools also receive editor testing and ratings. AI hardware is covered separately at /gear.
The catalog is curated. A tool is labelled editorially tested and rated only when its complete hands-on test record is published; other listings are not presented as tested. Listings show available pricing, strengths, weaknesses and best-for scenarios where that evidence is available. Smart Compare labels comparison evidence as verified, partial or unknown; unknown is not a negative claim. Brands cannot pay for a better rating, and community reviews appear separately from editorial ratings.
New tools are evaluated for the curated catalog, and selected listings are re-checked when pricing or features change. The catalog, guides and news feed at /news are maintained continuously, and the sitemap and llms.txt are generated live from the database.
Yes. Every tool page lists vetted alternatives from the catalog, and dedicated pages at /alternatives/<tool> compare each tool against similar options. There are also head-to-head comparison pages at /vs for popular matchups. Smart Compare at /compare is the canonical software comparison page for up to 5 tools, showing available pricing, capabilities and verified, partial or unknown evidence instead of treating unknown data as a negative claim. AI hardware is covered separately at /gear.
Yes. The /gear section covers AI hardware in 7 device categories: smart glasses, AI recorders, translators, wearables, cameras, drones and smart home devices, with selected editor-tested picks and category notes.
Lumi is the AI consultant built into One AI Guide. The free Lumi on the homepage answers quick questions and points you to the right tools from the catalog. Lumi Pro, the full Pro AI Consultant at /consultant, runs deep multi-turn consultations that turn your project into a complete tool stack with the full monthly cost calculated upfront, step-by-step setup guidance, live web search and exportable plans. An active Lumi Pro subscription also includes full access to all published One AI Guide AI courses at no extra cost.
Lumi Pro is flexible: prepaid credits with no subscription at $9.99 for 100,000 tokens or $39 for 500,000 tokens (credits never expire), Starter at $19 per month with 300,000 tokens each month, or Business at $119 per month or $594 upfront for six months ($99 per month equivalent) with 1,500,000 tokens each month. The six-month option is 15% cheaper per token than the 500,000-token credit pack. Billing runs through Stripe secure checkout and you can cancel anytime from your account in one click.
One hypothetical, not a measured average or guarantee: one question and one answer, such as comparing tools or getting one setup step, with 2,000 chargeable input tokens including the question and carried history or context, 1,000 output tokens, no files and no extra model attempts. Standard weighting debits 3,000 tokens, so full balances give 33 exchanges from a prepaid-only 100,000-token pack, 166 from 500,000, and 500 per month from Business's 1,500,000. Starter weights output 3x, so the same exchange debits 5,000 tokens: 60 from its 300,000 monthly tokens. That Starter weighting also applies to prepaid top-ups while Starter is active, giving 20 from 100,000 or 100 from 500,000 under the same assumption. These are single question-and-answer exchanges, not whole consultations. Longer chats, files, longer answers and extra attempts can consume more; actual counts vary, and Lumi may need enough remaining credit for a full answer before starting.
Before the Test Drive starts, Stripe securely collects and sets up a card, but the Test Drive is free: it creates no charge and no subscription. You can get up to nine premium answers, subject to a fair-usage cap. It never auto-charges or automatically upgrades you. Your saved work remains available, and moving to a paid plan requires an explicit upgrade from you.
Free Lumi on the homepage gives short, quick recommendations and stays free. Lumi Pro works like a senior AI consultant on call: it scopes your project across multiple turns, selects a stack that fits your budget, calculates the total monthly cost of every recommendation, walks you through setup, searches the live web for current facts and prices, and saves every session so you can pick up any project on any device.
One AI Guide is available in 6 languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch and Arabic, with full right-to-left support for Arabic. Localized pages live under their own URL prefix (for example /de, /fr, /es, /nl, /ar) with proper hreflang annotations, so search engines and AI crawlers can serve each visitor the right language version.
No account is needed to browse tools, compare them, read guides or ask Lumi quick questions on the homepage. A free account unlocks favorites, your own stacks, community posting, and reading or downloading the AI Handbook. Signing in works with an email address or an existing Google account.
The AI Handbook at /handbook is a complete, free introduction book to working with AI, written by the One AI Guide editors. You can read it in the browser or download it as a PDF. It is free in full; the only requirement is a free account.
Submit your tool for free at /submit. Submissions are evaluated editorially; selected tools may receive hands-on testing and ratings. Inclusion is an editorial decision, not a paid one. We aim to reply within 2 business days, while editorial review can take longer.
Ratings are never for sale. The only paid placement is a clearly labelled sponsored listing that temporarily raises a tool's visibility inside its own category; it never changes the editor rating, the strengths and weaknesses, or the review text. Sponsored placements are marked with a visible Sponsored badge.
Use the contact form at /contact for general questions, partnership requests and press. We aim to reply within 2 business days. Tool submissions go through /submit so they enter the editorial testing queue directly.