Free AI itinerary generators: what's free and what's capped

Pick by how “free” the AI itself is

“Free AI itinerary generator” covers three different offers. Some tools say the planner is free with no paid tier for planning. Some give a free plan that caps how often you can ask the AI. And some keep the map, budget or journal free while putting AI generation on a paid plan. The AI trip planners guide lists every planner in the catalogue; this page owns the free-and-capped question.

Free plans change. Wonderplan’s FAQ says it is free “at least for now”, and MonkeyTravel says optional premium features may come later while the core planner stays free. Check the provider’s own pricing page before you rely on a quota.

Key takeaways

• Truly free AI drafts include Wonderplan and MonkeyTravel on the web, plus Mindtrip, Layla, Pilot, Stardrift and Paths, which describe planning as free.
• Capped free AI includes aitrips.io (about 15 AI requests every 30 days) and iMean (free daily access; unlimited at $6.99/month).
• AI on Pro includes Stippl (€4.99/month for AI trip and day-plan generation) and, per Wanderlog’s own AI page quotes, Wanderlog’s AI Assistant and route optimisation.
• Booking is separate from free planning. Mindtrip and Pilot can book in-product; Layla advisors can book; most generators only draft. Check the seller before you pay.
• Keep a copy you control with a PDF export or the free itinerary template.

Truly free web drafts: Wonderplan and MonkeyTravel

If you only need a first draft of a city break or a two-week holiday, two web generators say the AI itself is free.

Wonderplan builds a custom itinerary from your interests and budget, suggests accommodation, lets you reorder days and downloads the plan as a PDF for offline use. Its FAQ says it is a free planning tool “at least for now”, and no paid plan is listed. It runs on the web; apps named WonderPlan on the App Store are an unrelated to-do planner, not this product.

MonkeyTravel says it is 100% free: destination, dates, group and interests become an hour-by-hour plan with restaurants, attractions and walking routes in about 30 seconds, and you can ask the AI to swap activities. Companions can vote and edit together (up to eight friends per trip), and you can export to PDF. It is web-only today; the site says iOS and Android apps are coming. It plans optional premium features later while keeping the core planner free.

Neither listing describes booking inside the product. Use them when you want a disposable draft, then move the days you keep into a blank itinerary template or another planner.

Free planners that share or book

Some free tools keep the plan where a group can edit it, or let you start a booking without leaving the product.

Mindtrip combines chat with a map, builds shared trips and books flights and hotels with booking partners inside the product. The US App Store listing calls the app “totally free” and lists no in-app purchases. Mindtrip’s terms say it does not sell travel itself: partner change and refund rules apply, and prices shown may omit taxes and fees. It is on the web and iPhone; no Android app from Mindtrip, Inc. was found.

Layla drafts a day-by-day plan in chat and can hand it to human travel advisors who review and book hotels, flights, transfers and activities, or you book yourself. layla.ai says planning is free with no subscription or planning fee; you pay for the travel arrangements if advisors book. Layla’s terms say Layla Premium has not been offered to new subscribers since August 2026, even though the US App Store listing still shows Premium in-app purchases. Advisor-booked trips show a roughly 48-hour finalisation time on the homepage, and Layla recommends a minimum budget of €100 per person per night for tailor-made trips. Roam Around’s older itinerary generator now runs inside Layla. The Layla vs Mindtrip comparison sets the two side by side.

Pilot is built for groups: collaborative itineraries, maps, checklists, group chat and an AI itinerary builder from a prompt. Its pricing page says the app is always free and that it earns from optional bookings and premium services. You can book hotels, hostels and rentals in the product. Full-Service Planning for organisations is a separate paid service at $49 per attendee per night. The iOS listing describes the app as an early release.

Stardrift is a chat planner for precise constraints (for example a flight that lands by a set time). It researches flights and hotels with live pricing, builds day-by-day itineraries, can plan around your calendar and import bookings from Gmail, and is described as free on iOS with no in-app purchases listed on the US App Store. No Android app was found.

For who actually completes a booking across the whole directory, see which AI travel tools actually book.

Free on a phone or Search you already use

Paths (iPhone and iPad) turns a travel link, screenshot or pasted text into places on a map, then suggests a route with weather and transit. The US App Store lists it free with no in-app purchases when last checked. App languages are English and Chinese; there is no Android listing on the record. It suits travellers who save ideas from social posts and want them assembled quickly.

Google AI Mode trip planning (Canvas) sits inside Google Search. You describe the trip, choose Create Canvas, and a side panel builds a plan with live flight and hotel data from Search plus Maps details. No charge is mentioned. As launched it was desktop only, US only, and limited to users opted into the AI Mode experiment in Search Labs. Flights are bought on the airline’s site or another booking platform; hotel booking inside AI Mode is a separate US listing. Google’s AI travel tools covers the wider Gemini and AI Mode set.

ChatGPT and Google Gemini can each draft a day-by-day itinerary from one message. ChatGPT has a free plan with limits; Go ($8/month) and Plus ($20/month) raise them, and the cloud browser ChatGPT Work uses for multi-step website tasks needs Plus or Pro. Gemini is free with a Google Account; Google AI Plus ($4.99/month), AI Pro ($19.99/month) and Ultra (from $99.99/month) raise limits, and Task plus Chrome auto browse need AI Pro or Ultra. Use the assistant you already pay for when a disposable draft is enough; switch to a dedicated free generator when you need a shared map, PDF or in-app booking.

Free plans that cap AI, or put AI on Pro

Vacay’s Personal plan is free and includes unlimited use of its standard chatbot and itinerary planner, plus specialised chats for hotels, dining, cruises and flights. Premium is $9.99/month for more advanced chat models and saved itineraries; Professional is $49/month for advisors. Paid plans are limited to customers in the United States. Web only.

aitrips.io is a map-first planner you can edit yourself or through Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP-compatible assistant (47 tools). The free plan is $0 forever with about 15 AI requests in any rolling 30 days; Pro is $6/month (about 90 AI requests) or a $10 one-time Trip Pass for Pro limits on one trip. It does not describe booking features. Connecting ChatGPT needs a ChatGPT plan that allows custom connectors.

iMean AI chats for flight deals, hotels and personalised itineraries on the web. Its FAQ offers free daily access and unlimited trip planning on a premium plan at $6.99/month. Hotel bookings go to partner sites; iMean does not sell hotels itself.

Polarsteps already tracks trips for many travellers. Its help centre says all planning functionality, including AI trip planning, is free; Plus adds extras such as 3D maps and more travel buddies. The AI planner is opt-in and builds from past Polarsteps trips plus preferences you add. App Store Plus yearly prices have varied when checked.

Stippl keeps unlimited trips, budgets, packing lists and a travel journal on the free plan. Its Pro page (checked 5 November 2026) lists unlimited AI trip generation, unlimited AI day-plan generation and AI route optimisation as Pro-only at €4.99/month, and the US App Store describes AI Travel Planner as a Pro feature. Do not assume the free plan includes AI generation.

Wanderlog is strong for shared, map-first itineraries, budgets and offline access on a free app with optional Pro. Some features such as Gmail import and Google Maps export need Pro. Wanderlog’s AI page quotes reviews that describe the AI Assistant and route optimisation as Pro features, and it does not say what AI help the free plan includes. Pro prices on the US App Store vary by offer.

After the AI draft

An itinerary generator answers “what might we do?”. It does not replace checking opening hours, travel times or who takes your money.

1. Keep a copy you control. Download a PDF where the tool offers one (Wonderplan, MonkeyTravel) or paste keepers into the free travel itinerary template (Excel, Word, PDF and CSV, no sign-up).
2. Check the seller before you pay. Mindtrip bookings go through partners; Layla advisor trips are travel you pay for; Pilot books stays in-app; most others only link out. The booking study labels each listed tool.
3. Re-read caps on the day you plan. Free tiers and Pro AI gates change; each listing records the date the sources were checked.

Which free generator fits which trip

• Fast disposable draft on the web: Wonderplan or MonkeyTravel.
• Group voting without paying: MonkeyTravel (up to eight friends) or Pilot’s free shared plan.
• Plan and book in one free product: Mindtrip (flights and hotels with partners) or Pilot (stays); Layla if you want advisors to finish the booking.
• Ideas stuck in social screenshots: Paths on iPhone or iPad.
• Already in Google Search on a US desktop: AI Mode Canvas.
• Already in ChatGPT or Gemini: draft there first; move to a dedicated tool when you need a map or shared trip.
• Map-first with a small AI allowance: aitrips.io free (~15 AI requests / 30 days) or Vacay Personal (unlimited standard chatbot and itinerary on the free plan).
• Existing Polarsteps user: Polarsteps’ free AI planning.
• Need AI generation on Stippl or Wanderlog: budget for Pro; the free tiers keep the non-AI planner features.

How we research explains how each listing is checked against the provider’s own pages. None of these generators were tested hands-on for this page.

Common questions

Is there a free AI itinerary generator?

Yes. Wonderplan and MonkeyTravel both describe themselves as free web itinerary generators, with Wonderplan's FAQ saying free 'at least for now' and MonkeyTravel saying it is 100% free while it may add optional premium features later. Mindtrip, Layla, Pilot and Stardrift also describe planning as free. For a printable blank plan instead of an AI draft, use the free travel itinerary template.

What is the best free AI trip planner?

It depends on the trip, not on a single winner. Use Wonderplan or MonkeyTravel for a quick free web draft, Mindtrip or Pilot when you want booking or group stays in the same free app, Paths when your ideas start as social posts on iPhone, and Google's AI Mode Canvas when you already search on a US desktop. If you only need a blank sheet, skip the generator and use the itinerary template.

Are AI trip planners really free?

Many planning features are free, but 'free' splits three ways. Some tools (Wonderplan, MonkeyTravel, Mindtrip, Layla, Pilot, Stardrift, Paths) describe the planner itself as free. Some free plans cap AI use, such as aitrips.io at about 15 AI requests every 30 days or iMean's free daily access. On others the AI feature is paid: Stippl Pro (€4.99/month) lists AI trip and day-plan generation as Pro-only, and Wanderlog's AI page quotes reviews that put its AI Assistant and route optimisation on Pro.

Does ChatGPT or Gemini replace a free itinerary generator?

For a first draft, either can write a day-by-day plan from one message. ChatGPT's free plan has limits and its cloud browser for multi-step tasks needs Plus or Pro; Gemini is free with a Google Account, while Task and Chrome auto browse need AI Pro or Ultra. Dedicated free generators earn their place when you want a map, PDF export, shared editing or booking in the same tool. How to plan a trip with ChatGPT and Google's AI travel tools cover each assistant.

Which free AI planners can book flights or hotels?

Among the free planners on this page, Mindtrip lets you book flights and hotels with booking partners inside the product, Pilot lets you book stays, and Layla's human advisors can book the trip (you pay for the travel, not a planning fee). Most other free generators only draft the plan. Which AI travel tools actually book counts booking labels across the whole catalogue.

Sources

1. Wonderplan - Best AI Trip Planner, Free AI Travel Plannerwonderplan.ai, checked 5 November 2026
2. MonkeyTravel - Free AI Trip Plannermonkeytravel.app, checked 5 November 2026
3. Mindtripmindtrip.ai, checked 5 November 2026
4. Mindtrip: AI Travel Companion (App Store)apps.apple.com, checked 2 November 2026
5. Mindtrip Terms of Servicemindtrip.ai, checked 2 November 2026
6. Meet Layla: AI Trip Planner 2026layla.ai, checked 2 November 2026
7. Layla Terms of Servicelayla.ai, checked 2 November 2026
8. Paths: AI Travel Planner (App Store, US)apps.apple.com, checked 5 November 2026
9. Free Trip Booking and Planning App | Pilotpilotplans.com, checked 5 November 2026
10. Pilot pricingpilotplans.com, checked 5 November 2026
11. Stardrift — Free AI Travel Plannerstardrift.ai, checked 5 November 2026
12. Stardrift: AI Travel Planner (App Store)apps.apple.com, checked 2 November 2026
13. Explore new ways to plan and book travel with AI in Search (Google, 17 Nov 2025)blog.google, checked 15 October 2026
14. 3 new ways to plan and book travel in Search (Google, 27 Aug 2026)blog.google, checked 15 October 2026
15. Wanderlog AI trip plannerwanderlog.com, checked 5 November 2026
16. Wanderlog - Travel Planner (App Store)apps.apple.com, checked 2 November 2026
17. aitrips.io — Map-first trip planningaitrips.io, checked 5 November 2026
18. aitrips.io pricingaitrips.io, checked 5 November 2026
19. Vacay pricingusevacay.com, checked 5 November 2026
20. iMean AI: AI Trip Plannerimean.ai, checked 5 November 2026
21. Stippl Prostippl.io, checked 5 November 2026
22. Stippl: Trip & Travel Planner (App Store)apps.apple.com, checked 2 November 2026
23. Is Polarsteps Plus worth it?support.polarsteps.com, checked 5 November 2026
24. Polarsteps AI itinerariesnews.polarsteps.com, checked 2 November 2026
25. Pricing (ChatGPT learn)learn.chatgpt.com, checked 15 October 2026
26. Browser (ChatGPT Work)learn.chatgpt.com, checked 15 October 2026
27. Google AI plans (Gemini subscriptions)gemini.google, checked 15 October 2026
28. AI Trip Planner (Gemini)gemini.google, checked 15 October 2026
29. How Gemini plans such detailed vacation itineraries for you (Google, 6 Aug)blog.google, checked 15 October 2026