Best AI apps

The AI apps worth keeping on a phone are the ones that do a daily job: answer questions, search, read what the camera sees, take meeting notes or read text aloud. This list is sorted by that job. All eight are free to install, and each entry gives the free limit and the paid price as the vendor published them in October 2026.

How these picks were chosen

An app made the list if it runs on both iPhone and Android, has a free way in, and its vendor publishes what the free tier includes. We compared prices, free limits, platform requirements and the features listed in each vendor's documentation and app store listing. We did not run usage tests or rank apps by store ratings.

1. ChatGPT

Best for: one assistant for almost everything · Price: Plus $20/month (as of Oct 2026) · Free plan: yes

ChatGPT is the default general assistant, on the web and in apps for iOS and Android. The free plan runs on GPT-5.6 Luna with unlimited everyday text chats, and includes web search, file and photo uploads, image creation and data analysis. Voice chats are included with a limit. The mobile app also has a Think option for harder questions.

Limits: uploads, image creation, voice and data analysis have their own usage limits on Free, and ChatGPT tells you when you reach one. OpenAI says ads may appear on the free tier in some countries. Plus is billed monthly only. Our ChatGPT prompt library has ready starting points for common tasks.

2. Google Gemini

Best for: Android users and anyone living in Google apps · Price: Google AI Plus $4.99/month, AI Pro $19.99/month (as of Oct 2026) · Free plan: yes

Gemini works as the assistant on Android phones and as an app on iPhone and iPad (iOS 16 and up), and it is available in more than 150 countries. The free plan includes the 3.6 Flash model, some access to 3.1 Pro, image generation and editing, Deep Research and Gemini Live for spoken conversation.

Limits: Google publishes no fixed message count. Usage refreshes every 5 hours up to a weekly limit, and image or video generation uses more of it. The free context window is 32,000 tokens, against 1 million on AI Pro, so very long documents need a plan. Video generation needs AI Plus or higher. Try our Gemini prompts to get more from it.

3. Claude

Best for: writing, editing and working through long documents · Price: Pro $20/month, or $17/month billed yearly (as of Oct 2026) · Free plan: yes

Anthropic's Claude runs on the web, desktop and mobile. The free plan includes web search, file creation, code execution, memory, artifacts and up to 5 projects, which keep files and instructions together for a recurring task. Pro adds more usage, Claude Code, scheduled tasks and more models.

Limits: Anthropic does not publish a free message number; Pro is described as "more usage" and the Max plans, from $100 a month, as 5x or 20x Pro. If you are choosing between the big three assistants, our ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini comparison covers the differences, and the Claude prompt library has examples.

4. Perplexity

Best for: searching the web by asking a question · Price: Pro $20 in the US App Store (as of Oct 2026) · Free plan: yes

Perplexity is built as an AI search app ("AI Search & Chat" in its App Store listing). The iPhone app is free with in-app purchases and needs iOS 18 or later. Its US App Store listing shows Perplexity Pro at $20 and Perplexity Max at $200 as in-app purchases.

Limits: the free plan caps Pro Searches per day. Finout's 2026 pricing review puts it at about five a day with no advanced models, so check the current allowance in the app. Finout also notes that unlimited use on Pro and Max covers the chat interface, not the API.

5. Microsoft Copilot

Best for: people who already use Windows and Microsoft 365 · Price: free app; Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99/month or $99.99/year (as of Oct 2026) · Free plan: yes

The Copilot app lets you chat by text or voice and create images, using what Microsoft calls the latest OpenAI and Microsoft AI models. It runs on iOS and iPadOS 16 or later and on Android, as well as Windows, Mac and the web. You can sign in with a Microsoft, Apple or Google account; signing in adds chat history, more image creation and longer voice use.

Microsoft 365 Personal adds "advanced Copilot chat with higher usage than free", and Premium, at $19.99 a month, adds "extensive usage" and agent features. Limits: Microsoft publishes no number for free usage, and on the Family plan the AI features belong to the subscription owner only.

6. Google Lens and Circle to Search

Best for: pointing your camera at something and asking about it · Price: free (as of Oct 2026) · Free plan: yes

Google Lens searches what you see. It translates text in over 100 languages, identifies plants, animals and landmarks, helps with homework and finds products. It lives in the Google app on Android and iOS, in Chrome on desktop and in Google Photos. Circle to Search, on select Android phones including Pixel 6 and later, lets you circle, highlight or tap anything on screen to search it without switching apps.

Limits: Circle to Search is Android-only and may not work in banking, medical and other confidential apps. Translation does not work on videos or GIFs.

7. Otter

Best for: recording, transcribing and summarizing meetings · Price: Pro $8.33/month billed yearly, or $16.99 monthly (as of Oct 2026) · Free plan: yes

Otter records, transcribes and summarizes meetings in real time, and its assistant can join Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet calls. It has apps for iOS, Android and desktop plus a Chrome extension. The free Basic plan includes 300 transcription minutes a month and 20 AI chat questions. Pro raises recording to 1,200 minutes and conversations to 90 minutes each.

Limits: on Basic, each conversation stops at 30 minutes and you can import only 3 audio or video files in total. Transcription is in English, French or Spanish.

8. Speechify

Best for: listening to articles, PDFs and books instead of reading · Price: Premium $29/month billed monthly; yearly billing costs less (as of Oct 2026) · Free plan: yes

Speechify reads text aloud. Premium adds more than 1,000 natural voices in 60+ languages, speeds up to 5x, scanning printed pages to listen to them, AI summaries and voice typing. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows, the web and as a Chrome extension.

Limits: the free plan has 10 voices that Speechify itself calls "robotic sounding", and listening speed tops out at 1.5x. The pricing page says yearly billing saves 60% compared with monthly.

Before you install

Two settings are worth checking in any assistant app. First, training: OpenAI says it may use conversations to improve its models and that you can opt out at any time in ChatGPT's data controls. Second, voice and camera permissions, which the app only needs if you use those features. Once installed, give the app your context in the first message. A request that names the goal, the audience and the format leaves the app much less to guess than a one-line question.

I need [what you want: a reply to an email, a study plan, a packing list].
Context: [who it is for, what you already have, any deadline].
Format: [bullet list / short paragraph / table], under [number] words.
Ask me one question first if something important is missing.

Apps for other jobs

• Fixing photos: Google Photos and Apple Photos have free AI editing built in; Photoroom and Pixelcut handle product shots. See AI photo editors.
• Making pictures: see AI image generators.
• Choosing a chat assistant in depth: see best AI chatbots.
• Spending nothing: the free AI tools list gives the free limit of each tool.

FAQ

What is the best free AI app?

ChatGPT is the safest first install: its free plan has unlimited everyday text chats, with separate limits on uploads, images and voice. On Android, Gemini is already built in as the phone's assistant, and Google Lens is free with no limits stated.

Which AI app is best for students?

A general assistant covers explanations and drafts, Google Lens offers homework help from a photo, and Speechify reads course material aloud. Otter's free plan can record lectures, but caps each recording at 30 minutes.

Do I need more than one AI app?

Usually not. One assistant handles questions, writing and image creation. Specialist apps earn a place when the job is continuous, such as meetings (Otter) or listening (Speechify).