The right AI tools for students depend on the job. NotebookLM and Perplexity suit research, Grammarly and QuillBot suit writing, Notion suits notes, and Otter suits lectures. Most have a free plan, and a few have student offers we could confirm. Check your school's rules on AI before you use any of them for assessed work.
This guide covers seven tools. For each one we say what it does, who it suits, what the free option gives you, and what the paid plan costs. Prices are in US dollars unless we say otherwise.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Free option | Student offer stated on official site |
|---|
| NotebookLM | Studying from your own readings | Yes | None stated |
| Perplexity | Research with cited sources | Yes | Education Pro, $10 per month after verification |
| ChatGPT | Explaining ideas, brainstorming, drafting | Yes | Back to School offer: 4 free months of Plus for eligible US students, claim by 31 Oct 2026 |
| Grammarly | Spelling, grammar and tone | Yes | None stated |
| QuillBot | Paraphrasing, summaries, citations | Yes | Student plans page exists, amount not stated |
| Notion | Notes and organising coursework | Yes | Plus plan free for students |
| Otter | Lecture recording and transcripts | Yes | 20% off Pro with a .edu email |
A note on your school's AI rules
Schools and teachers set their own rules on AI. Some allow it for brainstorming or proofreading, some require you to declare it, and some ban it for certain assessments. Read your course outline or ask your teacher before you use any tool below for graded work. You are responsible for what you hand in, and AI tools can get facts wrong, so check anything important against your course material.
Study and research tools
NotebookLM
NotebookLM is Google's research and note tool. Google's current help pages call it Gemini Notebook. You add your own sources, such as readings and notes, and it answers questions based on them with in-line citations. Google says it is designed to answer from the sources you upload, and may be unable to respond if the answer is not in them, which makes it useful for revising from set material.
Free option: Google says you can sign up free of charge with a Gmail account. The base tier allows 100 notebooks per user and 50 sources per notebook, and Google notes these limits are subject to change. Google's help pages show paid Google AI plans (Plus, Pro and Ultra) with higher limits, but we could not confirm their prices, so we have left them out. You need to verify your age in your Google Account.
Perplexity
Perplexity is an AI search engine. It gives conversational answers with citations and links to the original sources, so you can open and check them. It suits early research when you need to find good sources.
Free option: Perplexity describes its free plan as "practically unlimited basic searches" with a "very limited amount of Pro Searches". Student offer: Education Pro is for verified students and educators and is listed at "$10/mo with verification from SheerID". It includes everything in Pro plus Learn Mode. Check the official plan page for current terms before you subscribe.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is OpenAI's general AI assistant. Students use it to explain a topic in simpler words, plan an essay structure or practise questions. OpenAI says the free plan gives unlimited text chats (subject to abuse guardrails) and limited use of uploads, image creation, voice and deep research.
Paid: Go is $8 USD per month in the US, as listed in OpenAI's pricing docs, and Plus is $20 per month. Student offer: OpenAI's help center lists a limited-time Back to School offer of four free monthly billing periods of Plus for current students at eligible US degree-granting institutions. You must claim it by 31 October 2026, enrolment is checked through SheerID, and the subscription renews at $20 per month unless you cancel. It is a promotion, not a standing discount. OpenAI's education plan, ChatGPT Edu, is for universities rather than individual students.
Writing tools
Grammarly
Grammarly checks spelling, grammar and tone as you write. It suits anyone who wants a second pair of eyes on an essay or email.
Free option: The free plan covers writing without spelling and grammar mistakes, tone feedback and 100 AI prompts per month. Pro is listed on the official plans page at $12 USD (the page text we read does not show the billing period, so check it before you subscribe), and adds full-sentence rewrites, 2,000 AI prompts per member per month, and plagiarism and AI-text detection. The page does not state a student discount.
QuillBot
QuillBot offers a paraphraser, grammar checker, summariser, citation generator, AI detector and translator. It suits students who want to tighten wording or condense long readings. Always keep your own voice and cite your sources properly.
Free option: The free plan paraphrases up to 100 words in 2 modes and summarises text up to 1,200 words, with limited use of the AI detector and humaniser. Premium is $8.33 per month, billed annually, on the official page. The page links to student plans but does not state the discount.
Notes and lectures
Notion
Notion is a workspace for notes, databases, tasks and calendars. It suits students who want assignments, notes and deadlines in one place.
Free option and student offer: The Free plan includes a trial of Notion AI, file uploads up to 5 MB and 7-day page history. Notion says the Plus plan (normally $10 per member per month, per the official pricing page) is free for students and educators, limited to one member. You sign up with a school email, and Notion says thousands of school email domains are eligible, not just .edu. The page does not say this offer includes full Notion AI.
Otter
Otter is an AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes and summarises. Students use it for lectures and group meetings. Ask permission before recording other people, and check whether your school allows lecture recordings.
Free option: The Basic plan includes 300 monthly transcription minutes, a 30-minute limit per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports and 20 Otter AI Chat queries per month. Pro is listed on the official pricing page at $16.99 per user per month on monthly billing, or $8.33 per user per month on annual billing. The page also shows lower offers that it says are valid only with an India-issued credit card. Student offer: Otter says it gives 20% off Pro to individual students and teachers with a .edu email: $6.67 per month (billed $79.99 annually) or $13.59 per month.
Using AI tools well as a student
Whichever tools you pick, a few habits help. Use AI to understand a topic, not to replace your own thinking. Keep notes on how you used a tool in case your school asks. Check facts and references against your readings, because AI tools can state wrong information with confidence. Avoid pasting personal details into any tool. And when a free plan is enough, stay on it: most of the tools above have limits, but the free options cover the basics of studying and drafting.
How we chose
We picked tools that cover the main student jobs: research, studying, writing, notes and lectures. Every fact in this guide was checked against the tool's official website on 20 October 2026. If we could not confirm something, such as a price or a student discount, we left it out. Prices and limits change, so check the official page before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free AI tool for students?
There is no single answer. For research, Perplexity and NotebookLM both have free options. For writing, Grammarly and QuillBot have free plans with limits. Start with the job you need done and try the free plan first.
Which AI tools offer student discounts?
From the official sites, Notion offers its Plus plan free to students, Otter offers 20% off Pro with a .edu email, and Perplexity lists Education Pro at $10 per month after verification. OpenAI lists a limited-time Back to School offer of four free months of ChatGPT Plus for eligible US students, claimable until 31 October 2026. QuillBot links to student plans but does not show the amount.
Is it allowed to use AI for assignments?
It depends on your school and sometimes on the assessment. Read your course outline and ask your teacher if you are unsure. If AI use is allowed, you may need to declare it.
Can AI tools get things wrong?
Yes. Check facts, quotes and references against your course material and original sources, especially in work you will be graded on.
Do I need to pay for any of these tools?
Not to get started. Each tool in this guide has a free option, though free plans have usage limits. Only pay if you hit a limit that holds you back.
Leave a Comment