Yes, partly. Cluely's Starter plan is free: limited AI responses, limited meeting notes and up to 3 files (cluely.com/pricing, checked October 11, 2026). It doesn't hide from screen sharing. Unlimited use is $19.99 a month; hiding from screen share is $149.99 a month. For free with screen share hiding, look at Natively or Pluely with your own API keys.
Disclosure: we make AuraCloak, a paid Windows overlay. We've kept this page about Cluely's free plan and the genuinely free options, and we say clearly where ours isn't one.
What you get on Cluely's free plan
Cluely's free tier is called Starter. According to its pricing page on October 11, 2026, it includes:
- Limited AI responses
- Limited meeting notetaking
- Up to 3 files
- Custom instructions
- Asking AI about past meetings
The download itself is free on both platforms Cluely lists: macOS 10.15 or later and Windows 11 on x64. There's also an iOS app.
That's a reasonable taster. You can open the overlay, see how it reads your screen and the conversation, and decide whether the workflow suits you.
What the free plan leaves out
| Feature | Starter (free) | Pro ($19.99/mo) | Pro + Undetectability ($149.99/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI responses | Limited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Meeting notetaking | Limited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Files | Up to 3 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Latest AI models | Not listed | Yes | Yes |
| Priority support | Not listed | Yes | Yes |
| Hidden from screen share | No | No | Yes |
The last row is the one that trips people up. On Starter, if you share the screen Cluely sits on, people on the call see it. The same is true on Pro. Plenty of people install Cluely for the "invisible" pitch on its homepage, use it free for a day, then find out on a real call that the free plan never included that.
If you only need Cluely on a screen you're not sharing (a second monitor, say), this matters less. More on that trick below.
How many free responses does Cluely give?
Cluely doesn't say. The pricing page only uses the word "Limited".
Other sites have published numbers:
- Final Round AI's article on whether Cluely is free says five AI responses per day, using lower-capability models.
- A dailyaifixs pricing post says five per day with a 100-character cap on each answer.
- A Japanese review site (weel.co.jp) reported 15 per day after a revision.
So the honest answer is somewhere between 5 and 15, and it has changed at least once. Both of the English sources sell competing products, so take them as approximate. The only reliable number is whatever your app shows on the day you use it.
How far five responses go on a real call
Picture a 45-minute client call. You ask Cluely to define an acronym the client used. Then to summarize the last ten minutes when someone joins late. Then for a quick figure. Then to suggest a follow-up question. Then to rephrase your answer more simply.
That's five. You're 20 minutes in, and the rest of the day's calls get nothing.
If the cap really is five, Starter works as a demo, not a daily tool. At 15 it covers one or two light calls. Either way, anyone with more than a couple of meetings a day will hit it. That's by design: free tiers exist to show you the product, and Pro at $19.99 a month (or $11.99 billed yearly) is where Cluely expects regular users to land. Our Cluely pricing breakdown has the yearly totals.
Is there a free trial of Cluely Pro?
Not that we could find. Cluely's pricing page didn't mention a trial for Pro or for Pro + Undetectability when we checked on October 11, 2026. The Starter plan is effectively the trial.
We'd avoid sites offering "Cluely Pro free" codes or unlocked builds. An overlay app sees your screen and, in Cluely's case, listens to your meetings. A tampered build is a direct line into both. Download from cluely.com and nowhere else; we cover the Windows side of that in Cluely for Windows.
What about "free-cluely" on GitHub?
Search "free cluely" and you'll see GitHub repositories with that exact name, plus mirrors on doc sites. These are independent open-source projects that copy the idea: a floating AI window, often with your own API key or a local model through Ollama. One documented version lists Windows 10 and 11, macOS and Linux, with Gemini, Ollama and OpenRouter as AI options.
They aren't Cluely, aren't supported by Cluely, and vary a lot in quality. Before installing one, check three things on the repository page:
- Last commit date. If it's months old, expect bugs with current Zoom or Teams versions.
- Releases. A signed installer in GitHub Releases is better than "clone and run npm install".
- Open issues. Skim them. If people report the window showing up in screen shares, believe them.
A cautionary example: Glass by Pickle was one of the most-starred projects in this space. When we checked on October 11, 2026, its main repository returned a 404. Open source doesn't guarantee it'll be there next month.
Free and low-cost alternatives to Cluely
If free is the requirement, these are the realistic options. Prices from each vendor's site, checked October 2026.
| Option | Cost | Hidden from screen share | Platforms | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cluely Starter | $0 | No | Mac, Windows 11, iOS | Response cap, no hidden mode |
| Natively | $0 for personal use | Yes | macOS 12+, Windows 10/11 | Your own API keys; license excludes commercial use |
| Pluely Free | $0 | Yes | Mac, Windows, Linux | Your own API keys |
| GhostDesk trial | $0 for 3 days | Yes | Windows 10/11 | 10 questions a day, then $25/mo or $10 per 24h |
| AuraCloak | $9/mo or $49 once | Yes | Windows 10 (2004+), 11 | Not free; no transcription |
Natively is the closest thing to "Cluely, but free". It transcribes calls, supports local speech models, runs on Mac and Windows, and is free for personal and non-commercial use under its own source-available license. Paid plans start at $8 a month if you'd rather not manage API keys.
Pluely is lighter (its site says 9 to 16 MB) and the only one here with Linux. The free plan needs your own keys; paid plans are $15 or $35 a month, or $120 once for Dev Pro.
Full write-ups with drawbacks are in 8 best Cluely alternatives.
Not free, but $49 once covers screen share hiding on Windows for good.
See AuraCloak pricing"Free" with your own API key still costs something
Natively and Pluely are free as apps. The AI isn't. When you bring your own key, OpenAI, Anthropic or Google bills you per token. For light use (a few dozen questions a day, short answers) that's usually a few dollars a month. Screenshots cost more, because images are larger inputs, and long conversations cost more because previous messages are resent as context.
Three ways to keep that close to zero:
- Use a local model. Ollama or LM Studio on your own machine costs nothing per question. Answers are slower and weaker on a laptop without a good GPU.
- Use a subscription you already have. If you pay for ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro, an app that loads the web version (AuraCloak's browser mode does this) adds no AI cost.
- Set a spend limit in your provider's billing dashboard before you start, so a busy week can't surprise you.
The zero-cost option nobody mentions
If you have two monitors, share one and put a normal ChatGPT or Claude window on the other. Zoom, Teams and Meet all let you share a single screen or a single window instead of everything. Nothing on the unshared monitor goes out.
It's free and needs no new software. The downsides: you have to remember to share the right thing every time, your eyes move away from the camera, and the moment you switch to "share entire screen" to show something, your AI window is in it. That last one is why overlays that exclude themselves from capture exist at all. We walk through each method in how to hide a window from screen share.
So, should you use Cluely free?
Use Cluely Starter if you want to see what an AI overlay feels like on a Mac or Windows 11, and you won't be sharing the screen it's on. It's a fair demo.
Don't rely on it for real calls where you share your screen. It isn't built to hide on the free plan, and the response cap runs out fast. If that's what you need and you're on Windows, you're choosing between a free BYOK app (Natively, Pluely) and a paid one. We'd obviously like you to look at AuraCloak: the Cluely alternative page explains what it does and doesn't do, and AuraCloak vs Cluely compares them line by line.
FAQ
Is Cluely free to use?
Partly. Cluely's Starter plan is free and includes limited AI responses, limited meeting notetaking and up to 3 files. It does not hide Cluely from screen sharing. Unlimited use costs $19.99 a month, and screen share hiding costs $149.99 a month (checked October 2026).
How many free responses does Cluely give you?
Cluely doesn't publish the number; its pricing page only says limited. Third-party articles in 2026 report five AI responses per day, and one review site reported 15 after a change. Expect the exact cap to move.
Does Cluely have a free trial of Pro?
Cluely's pricing page doesn't mention a free trial of Pro or Pro + Undetectability as of October 2026. The free Starter plan is the way to try it.
Is free-cluely on GitHub the same as Cluely?
No. Repositories named free-cluely are independent open-source projects inspired by Cluely. They are not made or supported by Cluely, and you should judge each one on its own code and maintenance.
What is the best free alternative to Cluely?
Natively is free for personal, non-commercial use with your own API keys and runs on macOS 12+ and Windows 10/11. Pluely has a free plan with your own keys on macOS, Windows and Linux. You still pay the AI provider for usage.
Is AuraCloak free?
No. AuraCloak costs $9 a month or $49 once, and screen share hiding is included in both plans. In browser mode it can use your existing ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini login, so there is no extra AI cost if you already pay for one of those.