How to Check Watermark, Export and Card Rules Before You Generate a Song
A pre-generation checklist for free AI song tools: where to find the card rule, the commercial limit, the export format and the watermark statement, and what to do when a page says nothing.
Short answer: “Free” here means the recurring free allowance on the vendor’s pricing page, not a trial. Before you generate anything, check four things on the vendor’s own pricing and terms pages: whether a card is needed, what the free output may be used for, which export formats your plan includes, and whether a watermark is stated. If a page does not show one of them, write “unknown” next to it and do not fill the gap with a review site’s claim.
Why check before you generate
Most free song tools let you generate first and read the rules later. By then you have a track you may not be allowed to keep, a download you cannot make on the free plan, or a file in a format your release needs. A short read of the pricing page avoids that. The checklist below works for any tool, and it is the same set of fields the register uses to score free tiers.
Step 1: Open the pricing page, not the homepage
Homepages carry promotions and headline claims. The pricing page carries the limits. Start from the vendor’s pricing link, and note the page address and the date. A “Try free” button on the homepage tells you the free tier exists. It does not tell you the quota, the card rule or the licence.
Step 2: Find the unit and the size of the allowance
Write down the unit exactly as the page states it. Suno states credits per day. Udio states credits per day and per month, and also gives three full-length songs a day. Mubert states tracks per month and downloads per month. AIVA states downloads per month. If the page converts the unit into songs or minutes, copy the conversion and its source line. If it does not, the allowance is a count of something you cannot yet compare.
Step 3: Search the page for the card rule
Use the browser’s find function and search for “credit card”. If the page says “no credit card required”, record that sentence. If the page says nothing, record “not stated”. Do not treat silence as a yes or a no. This desk gives the top card value only when the statement is on the page, and a tool with no statement scores lower on the free-tier input.
Step 4: Read the free-plan licence line
Search for “commercial”, “personal” and “non-commercial”. Most free plans in the register say personal or non-commercial use, or say nothing about commercial rights. Record the exact wording. Then open the paid tiers and read what they allow. Suno ties commercial use to a download allowance, so the allowance is part of the licence. Mubert labels Pro and Business for commercial usage, and the same page bars sale, streaming release and Content ID registration. Read the disclaimers on the same page as the labels.
Step 5: Check the export formats next to the plan name
Look for MP3, WAV, MIDI and stems on the page. Then check which plan each format sits beside. AIVA’s free and Standard plans list MP3 and MIDI, and its Pro plan adds WAV. Mubert’s free plan lists MP3, and WAV starts at Creator. ElevenLabs names WAV and MP3, but its checked page did not say which plan includes WAV, so we did not score it. Write the plan name next to each format in your notes.
Step 6: Look for a watermark statement
This run did not record watermark rules for any of the tools, so we do not state whether free output carries one. Search the pricing and terms pages for “watermark”. If the word appears, copy the sentence and the date. If it does not, write “not stated” and treat the watermark question as open until you test it on a free output yourself. A watermark claim from a review site is not a substitute for the vendor’s wording.
Step 7: Ignore first-month promotions
Many pages show a discounted first month. A discount is not the price you will pay for the rest of the term, and it is not a licence change. Record the standard price, and note the promotion separately if you want to use it.
Step 8: Save the page and the date
Pricing pages change. Save a copy of the page, or at least the lines you relied on, with the date. If a vendor changes its card rule or licence later, your saved note shows what you were told at the time.
The record sheet
Keep one row per tool. The examples come from the pages read on 2026-10-16.
| Field | Where to look on the vendor page | What to write down | Example from this run |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card rule | Search for “credit card” | The sentence, or “not stated” | AIVA: “No credit card required”; Suno: not stated |
| Free-plan licence | Search for “commercial” and “personal” | The exact wording | Suno: “No commercial rights”; AIVA: “No monetization” |
| Paid licence | The paid tier cards, plus any disclaimer on the same page | Tier name and wording | Mubert Pro: “Commercial Usage”, with a sale and streaming ban on the same page |
| Export formats | Beside each plan name | Format and plan name together | AIVA: MP3 and MIDI on free; WAV on Pro |
| Watermark | Search for “watermark” | The sentence, or “not stated” | Not recorded in this run |
| Date | Your own note | The date you read the page | 2026-10-16 |
What to do with unknown fields
An unknown field is a result, not a failure. If the card rule, the licence or the watermark is not stated, you have three options: test the tool on a free output and check the result, ask the vendor in writing, or choose a tool whose page answers the question. Do not publish a commercial release on a free plan whose licence you have not read.
Evidence and method
These steps reflect the fields the register reads on vendor pages, checked on 2026-10-16. Watermark rules were not recorded for this run. Limits: the guide does not test outputs, and a vendor can change a page after the check. When a vendor changes a page, this article gets a dated edit rather than a silent rewrite.
FAQ
Do the tools in this register add a watermark to free output?
This run did not record watermark rules for any of the tools, so it does not confirm or deny a watermark on any of them. Search each tool's pricing and terms pages for the word watermark and record the result with the date.
What should I do if a pricing page says nothing about a card?
Treat the card rule as unknown. Check the sign-up step yourself, note the date, and do not assume that a free plan needs no card or that it does.
Which export format should I expect on a free plan?
Among the tools in this register that publish formats, free plans deliver MP3, and lossless WAV appears on paid plans. Check the plan name beside each format on the vendor's page, because a format listed on the page is not automatically on your plan.