10 Best AI Tools for Students in 2025 (+ Which to Use When)
The complete guide to AI tools that actually help students. From flashcards to essays to tutoring - here are the top 10 AI tools every student needs.
Updated for 2025 • Honest reviews • All tested by real students
What Makes a Great AI Tool for Students?
Actually Free
Not "free trial" - truly free with no hidden costs
Easy to Use
No tech skills required, works instantly
Proven Results
Actually helps you learn and get better grades
Top 10 AI Tools for Students
Scholarly - All-in-One AI Study Platform
Best for: Everything - flashcards, quizzes, essays, tutoring, notes
Scholarly is the only platform with EVERY AI study tool you need in one place. Create flashcards from PDFs in 30 seconds, generate practice quizzes, chat with an AI tutor, and write essays with intelligent autocomplete. 2.3M+ students use Scholarly daily.
✅ Pros:
- • All study tools in one platform
- • 100% free forever
- • Press ⌘J for instant AI help anywhere
- • Works on any device
- • No credit card required
⚠️ Cons:
- • So many features it can be overwhelming at first
- • Premium plan needed for fastest AI responses
ChatGPT - General AI Assistant
Best for: Quick questions and explanations
ChatGPT is the most well-known AI chatbot. Great for explaining concepts and answering questions, but lacks study-specific features like flashcard generation or quiz creation. You'll need multiple tools to cover everything Scholarly does.
✅ Very conversational and easy to use
✅ Good at explaining concepts
❌ No flashcard or quiz generation
❌ $20/month for GPT-4
Quizlet - Flashcard Platform
Best for: Pre-made flashcard sets
Quizlet has millions of pre-made flashcard sets. Good if someone already made cards for your class, but you'll still need to manually create cards from your own materials. Scholarly does this automatically from PDFs.
✅ Huge library of existing flashcard sets
✅ Simple interface
❌ No AI to auto-create from YOUR materials
❌ $35.99/year for Plus features
Grammarly - Writing Assistant
Best for: Grammar and spell checking
Grammarly catches grammar errors and suggests improvements. Great for polishing essays, but doesn't help with actual writing or content generation like Scholarly's AI writing assistant does.
✅ Excellent grammar checking
✅ Browser extension
❌ $12/month for Premium
❌ Doesn't help with content generation
Notion AI - Note-Taking with AI
Best for: Organized note-taking
Notion is great for organizing notes, and their AI can summarize and expand text. However, it's not built for students specifically - no flashcards, quizzes, or study features. Better as a supplement to Scholarly.
✅ Powerful organization
✅ AI writing features
❌ $10/month for AI features
❌ Steep learning curve
Wolfram Alpha - Computational Knowledge
Best for: Complex math and science calculations
Wolfram Alpha is excellent for advanced math, physics, and chemistry calculations. Shows step-by-step solutions. However, it's limited to STEM subjects and doesn't help with studying other topics.
✅ Highly accurate calculations
✅ Step-by-step solutions
❌ Only for math/science
❌ $7.25/month for Pro
Anki - Spaced Repetition Flashcards
Best for: Long-term memorization (med school, languages)
Anki uses scientifically-proven spaced repetition. Popular with medical students. However, you have to manually create every flashcard or hope someone shared a deck. Scholarly auto-generates Anki-compatible cards from PDFs.
✅ Best spaced repetition algorithm
✅ Free on most platforms
❌ Very dated interface
❌ Manual card creation is tedious
Claude - AI Chat Assistant
Best for: Long document analysis
Claude (by Anthropic) is great at analyzing long documents and providing detailed explanations. Can upload PDFs and ask questions. However, like ChatGPT, lacks study-specific features. Scholarly integrates Claude plus adds flashcards, quizzes, etc.
✅ Excellent at reading long documents
✅ Very thoughtful responses
❌ $20/month for Pro
❌ No study tools (flashcards, quizzes)
Photomath - Math Problem Solver
Best for: Quick math homework help
Photomath lets you take a picture of a math problem and see the solution. Great for quick homework help, but only works for math and doesn't help you study for exams. Scholarly's AI can solve math AND create practice problems.
✅ Super easy - just take a photo
✅ Step-by-step solutions
❌ Only for math problems
❌ Doesn't help with studying/prep
Google Gemini - Google's AI
Best for: Real-time web search integration
Google Gemini is integrated with Google search, so it can find current information. Good for research, but like other general AI chatbots, lacks student-specific features. Can't create flashcards or quizzes.
✅ Integrated with Google
✅ Free to use
❌ No study tools
❌ Not designed for students
Quick Comparison: Which Tool to Use When
| Tool | Flashcards | Quizzes | AI Tutor | Writing | Free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scholarly | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| ChatGPT | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | Partial | GPT-3.5 only |
| Quizlet | Manual | Partial | ❌ | ❌ | Basic only |
| Notion AI | ❌ | ❌ | Partial | ✅ | ❌ |
Verdict: Scholarly is the only tool that does everything. Other tools require juggling multiple subscriptions.
Our Honest Recommendation
If you can only use ONE AI tool for studying, make it Scholarly. It's the only platform with flashcards, quizzes, AI tutoring, and writing help all in one place. 100% free, works on any device, and has everything you need to ace your classes.
You can supplement with specialized tools like Anki for advanced spaced repetition or Wolfram Alpha for complex STEM calculations, but Scholarly should be your main study platform.
No credit card • 2.3M+ students • 100% free forever
Ready to Study Smarter with AI?
Join 2.3M+ students using the best AI study platform.
Free
- 3 AI messages per day
- 1 file upload per day (8MB)
- 10 flashcard study sessions per day
- 1 AI podcast, video lecture & slide deck per day
- 1 exam attempt per day
- 20-page PDF to flashcards
Ultimate
$144 billed yearly
Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited AI messages & autocomplete
- Unlimited file uploads (up to 300MB)
- Unlimited study sessions
- Unlimited podcasts, video lectures & slide decks
- Unlimited exams & quizzes
- 1,000-page PDF to flashcards
- Export to Anki
- Priority support
Pricing in USD. Local currency available in app.
Compare plans
Feature
Free
Ultimate
AI Messages
3/day
Unlimited
File Uploads
1/day (8MB)
Unlimited (300MB)
Study Sessions
10/day
Unlimited
PDF to Flashcards
20 pages
1,000 pages
Podcasts & Videos
1/day
Unlimited
Exams & Quizzes
1/day
Unlimited
Autocomplete
500 words/day
Unlimited
Export to Anki
—
Included
Support
Standard
Priority
Trusted by students worldwide
Scholarly has been a valuable tool for my studies. The AI-generated flashcards and intuitive features make organizing and retaining information much easier.
Briana
Student
This app is great for studying for big test. Drop your PDF's in the system and it'll do the trick. You can organize it specifically for your needs.
Kelvin
Student
I am currently preparing for a test that covers a substantial amount of material, and I've found that not having to physically write out my flashcards has been incredibly beneficia...
Isabelle
Student
Scholarly is great for students. I am enrolled in online university and my classes are all PDF based. All I do is upload the PDF and it creates flashcards decks for me. The greate...
Alexandra
Student
Your questions, answered
Is Scholarly free to use?
Yes! Our free plan includes all core features with daily limits. You can create flashcards, use AI chat, upload files, and study — all without paying. Upgrade to Ultimate for unlimited access.
Can I cancel anytime?
Absolutely. There are no contracts or commitments. You can cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings, and you'll keep access until the end of your billing period.
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept all major credit and debit cards through Stripe. Pricing is displayed in USD by default, but local currency is available in the app.
Do you offer discounts for educators?
Yes, we offer special pricing for educators and educational institutions. Contact us at [email protected] for details.
What happens when I hit a free plan limit?
You'll see a prompt to upgrade. Your existing work is never lost — limits only apply to new daily actions like AI messages, uploads, and study sessions. Limits reset every day.
For Educators or Schools
Contact us for special pricing at [email protected].