Best AI tools (2026)
119 tools on our list · prices checked Nov 9
One pick for each job first: the tool we would hand a friend who asked. Below that, the strongest few in every category. Prices are what the maker's pricing page said on the day we checked, and a TESTED mark means we used it on real work.
One pick per job
- Free$8/mo
- Free$17/mo
- Free
- Free$12.49/mo
- Free
- Free$19.99/mo
- Free$16/mo
- Best free study tool
Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM)
Google's source-grounded research notebook, formerly called NotebookLM.
Free - Free$7/mo
- Free$4/mo
- Free$8.33/mo
- Free$15/mo
- Free$16/mo
Also worth a look: Writing
Brisk Teaching
Chrome extension that gives teachers AI help inside Docs and Classroom.
FreeClaude
Anthropic's assistant for long documents, careful writing and coding.
Free$20/moCoGrader
AI essay grader that drafts rubric-based feedback for teachers to review.
Free
Also worth a look: Video
Adobe Firefly
Adobe's AI studio for images, video and audio, with many models in one place.
FreeAutoReel
Turns listing photos into captioned property videos and reels.
Free$30/moCaptions
AI video editor and generator with styled captions and AI actors.
Free$24.99/mo
Also worth a look: Image
AdCreative.ai
Generates ad images, videos and copy sized for each ad platform.
TrialAdobe Firefly
Adobe's AI studio for images, video and audio, with many models in one place.
FreeHiggsfield
AI creative suite for video, images and voice, with camera-motion presets.
$9/mo
Also worth a look: Music
AIVA
AI composer for instrumental music in hundreds of styles.
Free€11/moBeatoven.ai
Background music generator that fits tracks to your video's moods.
FreeBoomy
Make simple original songs and release them to streaming services.
Free$9.99/mo
Also worth a look: Coding
Also worth a look: Productivity
Booke AI
AI bookkeeper that categorizes transactions inside QuickBooks and Xero.
$129/moBrisk Teaching
Chrome extension that gives teachers AI help inside Docs and Classroom.
FreeCloze
AI-powered CRM and marketing platform for real estate brokerages.
Paid
Also worth a look: Chat assistants
Also worth a look: Marketing
21X (formerly Structurely)
AI agents that call, text and email leads to qualify and book them.
PaidAdCreative.ai
Generates ad images, videos and copy sized for each ad platform.
TrialBuffer
Plans and schedules social posts across networks, with an AI assistant.
Free$5/mo
Also worth a look: Design
Adobe Firefly
Adobe's AI studio for images, video and audio, with many models in one place.
FreeBolt
Chat-based builder for websites, apps and prototypes in the browser.
Free$25/moDurable
AI business builder: website, CRM, SEO and marketing in one app.
Free$22/mo
Also worth a look: Audio & voice
ElevenLabs
Lifelike AI voices, voice cloning, dubbing and music.
Free$6/moKrisp
Removes background noise from calls and takes AI meeting notes.
$8/moMurf AI
AI voiceover studio and text-to-speech API with many voices.
Free
Also worth a look: Research
Also worth a look: Customer support
21X (formerly Structurely)
AI agents that call, text and email leads to qualify and book them.
PaidChatbase
Build an AI support agent trained on your own content.
$40/moGorgias
Help desk and AI agent built for Shopify and ecommerce stores.
Free
Questions people ask
How do you pick the best AI tools?
We start from the job, not the feature list. A tool makes this page when it does that job well at a fair price; the ones we used ourselves carry the TESTED mark and link to the numbers.
Are any of these placements paid?
No. Nothing on this page is paid for. If that ever changes, the paid spot will say so on the page.
Which of these AI tools are free?
Every row shows a green Free tag when the tool has a free plan you can keep using, and the lowest paid plan next to it.