You can make AI music for free today in about two minutes. Open the Gemini app, choose Create music from the tools menu, describe the song you want, and download the result as an MP3. If you need music you can use in monetized videos, Canva’s AI music generator is the safer free pick, and Suno is the most fun for full songs with vocals, as long as you only need them for personal listening.
The catch is that “free” means something different on every platform. Some tools let you generate but not download. Others let you download but not use the track commercially. This guide walks through five free options, the exact steps for each, and what you are actually allowed to do with the songs. Every limit and price below was checked on the official sites on 5 November 2026.
Quick answer: the 5 best free ways to make AI music
| Rank | Tool | Free limit | Free download? | Commercial use on free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Google Gemini (Lyria 3.5) | Daily limit, number not published | Yes, MP3 or MP4 | Not addressed by Google; Google doesn’t claim ownership |
| 2 | Google Flow Music (formerly ProducerAI) | Daily top-up credits, 2 generations at once | Yes (MP3; WAV/stems may depend on plan) | Not clearly stated for free accounts |
| 3 | Suno | 50 credits a day, v6-mini model | Limited trial downloads only | No, personal use only |
| 4 | Canva AI music | Limits vary by plan, 30-second tracks | Inside an exported design (e.g. MP4) | Yes, but you don’t own the track |
| 5 | Stable Audio Open / Stable Audio 3 (run locally) | No cap, uses your own GPU | Yes, files are on your computer | Yes under $1M yearly revenue (Community License) |
How we ranked them: how much you can make without paying, whether you can download the file, how good and how long the tracks are, and how clear the usage rights are. A tool that won’t let you download your song can’t rank high, however good it sounds.
Before you start: three things that decide which tool you should use
- Where the music is going. A birthday song for a friend and the background track for a monetized YouTube video need very different licences. Free plans are mostly for personal use.
- Vocals or instrumental. Gemini, Suno and Flow Music sing lyrics. For background music under a voiceover, an instrumental is usually better and easier to get right.
- Length. Canva makes 30-second tracks, which suit Reels and Shorts. Gemini and Suno can make full 2–3 minute songs.
1. Google Gemini (Lyria 3.5): best overall free AI music maker
Google added music creation to the Gemini app in February 2026 with Lyria 3, which made 30-second clips. In September 2026 it rolled out Lyria 3.5 to all users globally, with templates such as background music and birthday songs and a choice between short and longer tracks. Google’s Gemini limits page lists music generation for people with no paid plan, so it works on a free account.
How to make a song in Gemini
- Go to gemini.google.com or open the Gemini app on Android or iPhone, signed in with a personal Google account. You must be 18 or older, and Gemini Apps Activity (“Keep activity”) has to be on.
- Tap the tools button under the text box and choose Create music.
- Pick a length: a short track runs about 1 minute, a full track about 2–3 minutes (Google says full tracks use the Pro model).
- Describe the song: genre, mood, tempo, instruments, and the topic or lyrics. Example: “Upbeat lo-fi hip hop, 85 BPM, soft piano and vinyl crackle, no vocals, for a study video.”
- Play the result, ask for changes in plain English (“make the drums quieter”), then download it as an MP3 or as an MP4 with generated cover art.
Pros: no credits to track, full-length songs, MP3 download, works on phone and desktop.
Cons: Google doesn’t publish the daily number of tracks for free users; 18+ only; Google’s help pages don’t spell out commercial use, so check before you put a track in paid work. Every track carries an inaudible SynthID watermark that marks it as AI-made.
2. Google Flow Music (formerly ProducerAI / Riffusion): best for editing and remixing
Riffusion became ProducerAI, and in February 2026 Google announced that ProducerAI was joining Google Labs. The site now lives at flowmusic.app as Google Flow Music and runs on Lyria 3.5. It feels more like a music studio than a chatbot: you work with an AI “producer” in a conversation, and it can extend, rework and remix tracks.
How to use it free
- Open flowmusic.app and sign in with a Google account. No credit card is needed.
- Describe your track or upload a reference idea, then let the producer generate a first version.
- Ask for changes section by section, for example a longer intro or a different chorus.
- Download the finished track.
The free plan gives you daily top-up credits and two generations at a time. Google doesn’t state how many credits that is on the pricing page. Paid plans start at $6 a month (Starter, 3,000 credits) if you outgrow it.
Pros: strong editing workflow, daily credits refill, same Lyria 3.5 model as Gemini.
Cons: free credit amount not published; commercial rights for free accounts aren’t clearly spelled out, so treat free tracks as personal use.
3. Suno: best for full songs with vocals (personal use)
Suno is still the name most people think of for AI songs. Its free plan gives you 50 credits a day that don’t roll over, and free users get the v6-mini model (the full v6 and v6-wild models launched in September 2026 for paid plans).
The big change in 2026 is downloads. Since September, streaming and sharing on Suno stay unlimited, but free accounts only get a small number of lifetime “trial downloads”, and Suno’s help centre says newer accounts get only occasional ones. Free songs are for personal, non-commercial use and can’t be monetized.
How to make a song in Suno
- Sign up at suno.com.
- Click Create. Type a description, or switch to custom mode and paste your own lyrics plus a style (for example “acoustic pop, female vocals, warm”).
- Generate, listen to the versions, and keep the best one.
- Share the link, or use one of your trial downloads if you really need the file.
Pros: very catchy vocals and full song structure; easy custom lyrics.
Cons: downloads are scarce on the free plan; no commercial use without a paid plan (Pro is $8 a month billed yearly).
4. Canva AI music: best free option for social videos and client work
If the music is for a Reel, a Short or an ad, Canva is the most practical free choice. Canva says its AI music generation is available to all users, with limits that vary by plan. Tracks are 30 seconds long and can include lyrics in many languages.
Canva’s terms allow commercial use of the generated track inside your designs, including ads, monetized social posts and client work. The fine print: you don’t own the track, and you can’t sell or distribute it on its own as a music file.
How to add AI music in Canva
- Open or create a video design in Canva.
- Open the AI audio/music option and describe the mood, genre and length you want.
- Add the generated track to your timeline and trim it to fit.
- Export the design as MP4. The music comes with the video.
Pros: clearest commercial-use terms of the free tools; built into a video editor you may already use.
Cons: 30-second tracks only; no ownership; the audio comes out with your design rather than as a standalone song.
5. Stable Audio Open and Stable Audio 3: best if you have a gaming PC
If you have an NVIDIA graphics card and don’t mind a little setup, you can run Stability AI’s open audio models on your own computer with no daily limit. Stable Audio Open 1.0 makes stereo clips of up to 47 seconds, and the Stable Audio 3 family released in May 2026 includes a medium model that can generate much longer pieces. Both are free downloads on Hugging Face after you accept the licence.
The Stability AI Community License allows free commercial use for individuals and organizations earning under $1 million a year; bigger companies need an enterprise licence. Stability says Stable Audio 3 was trained on licensed and Creative Commons audio.
Pros: no caps, files stay on your machine, clear licence for small creators.
Cons: needs a capable GPU and some technical comfort; better for instrumentals, loops and sound design than for sung pop songs.
Free AI music tools to skip (for now)
- Udio: still has a free plan for generating, but after its partnership with Universal Music Group, Udio’s help centre says downloading audio, video and stems has been disabled. You can listen inside Udio, but you can’t take the song anywhere.
- ElevenLabs Music: works on the free plan, but ElevenLabs lists free music as personal use only, and its music terms list free downloads as not permitted. Great quality if you upgrade; limited if you don’t. (ElevenLabs is still excellent for voices, see our free AI voiceover guide.)
- YouTube Dream Track: handy inside the Shorts camera (Create → Short → Add sound → Create music) in supported countries, but the soundtrack can’t be downloaded and only works in your Short.
How to write prompts that get better AI music
Most disappointing AI songs come from vague prompts. A good music prompt covers five things:
- Genre and era: “90s R&B”, “cinematic orchestral”, “Afrobeats”.
- Mood: “hopeful”, “tense”, “chill”.
- Tempo: a BPM number works better than “fast”.
- Instruments and vocals: “acoustic guitar and soft female vocals” or “no vocals”.
- Use case: “background music under a voiceover” tells the model to keep it calm and steady.
Write your own lyrics if the words matter. AI-written lyrics tend to be generic, and lyrics you wrote yourself also strengthen any claim to authorship (more on that below). Don’t name real artists in prompts: most tools block it, and copying a living artist’s style closely is a fast way into trouble.
Can you use free AI music on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram?
It depends on the tool and the plan, not the platform:
- Personal, non-monetized posts: most tools above are fine.
- Monetized videos, ads or client work: Canva’s free terms allow it; Stable Audio’s open models allow it under $1M revenue; Suno Free and ElevenLabs Free do not.
- Selling or distributing the song to Spotify or Apple Music: none of the free plans above is a good fit. Read the paid plan’s terms first.
Ownership is a separate question. In its January 2025 report, the US Copyright Office said that prompts alone aren’t enough to make you the author of AI output, but human-written lyrics, arrangement and edits can be protected. So a track you generated from a one-line prompt may not be copyrightable by anyone, even if the tool lets you use it. This is general information, not legal advice.
Making short videos to go with your music? Our ranked list of free AI video generators and our guide to TikTok SEO will help the finished clips get found.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a completely free AI music generator?
Yes. Gemini, Google Flow Music, Suno, Canva and Stable Audio’s open models all let you make music without paying. The difference is in downloads and rights: Gemini lets free users download MP3s, Canva allows commercial use inside designs, and Stable Audio’s open models are free to run locally with no cap.
Is Suno still free in 2026?
Yes. Suno’s free plan gives 50 credits a day on the v6-mini model. Since September 2026, free users can stream and share unlimited songs but only get a few trial downloads, and free songs are for personal, non-commercial use.
Can Gemini make songs for free?
Yes. In the Gemini app, choose Create music from the tools menu, describe your song and download it as an MP3 or MP4. You need to be 18 or older, and free accounts have a daily limit that Google doesn’t publish as a number.
Can I download songs from Udio?
No. Udio’s help centre says downloading of audio, video and stems has been disabled as part of its Universal Music Group partnership. You can still create and listen on the site.
Who owns AI-generated music?
Each tool’s terms decide what you may do with a track, and copyright law decides whether anyone owns it. The US Copyright Office says prompts alone don’t make you the author, but your own lyrics and edits can be protected. Canva, for example, lets you use its AI tracks commercially but says you don’t own them.
What is the best free AI music generator for YouTube videos?
For background music in monetized videos, Canva is the safest free choice because its terms allow commercial use inside your designs. For longer instrumental pieces with no limits, run Stable Audio’s open models locally if you have a suitable GPU.
The bottom line
For most people, the best way to make AI music for free is the Gemini app: full songs, MP3 downloads and no credits to count. Use Flow Music when you want to edit a track in detail, Suno for fun vocal songs you’ll keep to yourself, Canva for music that goes into social videos and ads, and Stable Audio if you want unlimited generations on your own PC. Whatever you choose, check the rights before a track goes into anything you earn money from.
Want your website, videos and content to bring in more visitors? Get a free audit from SSA and we’ll show you what to fix first.