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Broadly speaking, artificial intelligence (AI) applications are software programs across a wide range of categories that use AI to perform specific tasks. For example, many AI applications help users and consumers improve their daily work and simplify their lives by helping them craft emails, edit photos, or track their finances. Some AI applications perform more complex tasks like workflow automation, personalization, and making informed recommendations. The popular release of ChatGPT and a surge in AI app development have democratized AI technologies and produced a wide array of affordable, accessible, and user-friendly AI apps.
I evaluated top AI applications on key features and functionalities to help you find the right tool for your business. Here are my picks for the best AI apps for 2025:
- ChatGPT: Best for Text Generation
- Grammarly: Best for Grammar Error Detection
- starryai: Best for AI Art Generation
- ELSA Speak: Best for AI-Assisted Tutoring
- Cleo: Best for Intelligent Financial Management
- Otter.ai: Best for Transcription
- Fireflies AI: Best for Organizing Meeting Notes
Best AI Apps Tool Comparison
With AI transforming the technological landscape, applications have become smarter, faster, and increasingly accessible. Unlike traditional software, AI apps use advanced algorithms to mimic human decision-making, delivering a more intuitive and seamless user experience. The table below shows at a glance how these top-rated AI apps compare on features, capabilities, and price. Note that all per-user prices are with a one-year commitment.
| Primary Use | Key Features | Platform Integration | Free Version | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Conversational AI and assistance | Natural language understanding, creative writing, and coding help | Web and mobile apps | Yes | $20 per month |
| Grammarly | Writing and grammar improvement | Grammar checks, style suggestions, tone adjustment | Web, browser extensions, and desktop apps | Yes | $12 per user, per month |
| starryai | AI art generation | Generate art from text descriptions | Web and mobile apps | Yes | $4.99 per week |
| ELSA Speak | Language learning and pronunciation | Pronunciation correction, speech analysis | Mobile apps | Yes | $11.83 per month |
| Cleo | Financial management | Budgeting, expense tracking | Mobile apps | Yes | $2.99 per month |
| Otter.ai | Transcription and note-taking | Real-time transcription, speaker identification | Web and mobile apps | Yes | $8.33 per month |
| Fireflies.ai | Meeting transcription and summaries | Meeting recording, transcription, action item tracking | Web and mobile apps | Yes | $10 per month |
While each AI app has its primary use cases, they all excel in terms of having robust features, accessibility, intuitiveness, and affordability. Continue reading to learn more about each AI app’s use cases, pricing, and key features, or skip ahead to see my scoring logic.
Featured Partners: AI Software
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ChatGPT
Best for Text Generation
ChatGPT is an advanced conversational AI developed by OpenAI that can perform tasks like text, code, and image generation. While ChatGPT was not the first artificial intelligence app, its successful launch sparked interest among individuals and businesses about what AI can do for them. The app makes conversations with AI feel natural and human-like. ChatGPT employs deep learning to understand and generate human-like text across diverse applications, from customer support to content creation. Whether you’re brainstorming ideas or seeking quick information on a topic, ChatGPT can provide contextually relevant responses.
Product Design
ChatGPT offers a user-friendly interface that lets you communicate seamlessly with the platform. It operates through a simple chat window, mimicking a text message conversation. You type in your prompt or upload an image, and ChatGPT will respond directly below. OpenAI recently introduced Canvas, the platform’s new interface for users working with ChatGPT on writing and coding projects instead of simple text generation. This new interface features two windows that show both the conversation with ChatGPT and the generated output. Canvas opens automatically when ChatGPT detects a scenario that could be helpful, such as suggesting edits, adjusting document length, and changing reading levels.
Why I Picked ChatGPT
ChatGPT is a high-speed, adept generative AI tool appropriate for various tasks. Enter a one-line prompt and ChatGPT will produce your desired version. What sets ChatGPT apart from other AI apps is its versatility. It’s not just for tech enthusiasts—anyone can use it to enhance productivity. For instance, professionals use it to draft emails, generate creative writing prompts, and even as a conversational partner to help brainstorm over time.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free version available | Responses can be long and, at times, off the mark |
| Produces sophisticated and human-like text, image, and code generation | Earlier versions remain free, but newer versions require a subscription |
| Helps with brainstorming ideas | Creative limitations |
Pricing
ChatGPT includes a free version and four subscription plans:
- Free: Access to GPT-4o mini
- Plus: $20 per month, billed annually
- Pro: $200 per month, billed annually
- Teams: $25 per user, per month, billed annually; $30 per user, billed monthly
- Enterprise: Contact sales for quote
Features
- Assistance with writing and problem-solving
- Responsive image generation
- Data analysis capability
- Can be accessed on the web, iOS, and Android
- Language translation
Grammarly
Best for Grammar Error Detection
Grammarly is an AI writing assistant that has been a game-changer for writers. This platform goes beyond simple grammar checks, offering suggestions for style, tone, delivery, and clarity for user-specified target audiences. Teams and enterprises can improve their workflows through easy app and website integrations and collaboration features. You can equip your team with real-time writing guidance specific to your brand’s style guide and track your performance with Grammarly’s intuitive dashboards.
Product Design
One of Grammarly’s standout features is its ability to adapt to different writing contexts. It provides suggestions based on the type of document I’m working on, whether it’s a formal or casual message. This level of customization makes it one of the most beneficial artificial intelligence apps for anyone who writes regularly. The tool also recently added generative AI assistance to support brainstorming, creation, and rewrites of existing content.
Why I Picked Grammarly
Grammarly is one of the best AI writing applications and excels in grammatical and punctuation error detection. When you use Grammarly to run a final grammar and spelling check on an article or email content, it automatically catches mistakes and provides recommendations on how to fix them. In addition to being a grammar, spelling, and punctuation checker, it improves the overall readability of your writing, conciseness, and tone. Grammarly also offers free accounts to improve your everyday writing and the option to upgrade to premium accounts for more sophisticated team features, advanced generative AI tools, and better brand consistency.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Catches grammar and spelling mistakes | Some suggestions seem inappropriate |
| Suggests ways to improve your writing | The free version doesn’t check for style or context |
| Highly customizable platform | Translation tool is not always accurate |
Pricing
Grammarly offers a free version and two subscription plans:
- Free: Basic correction usage
- Pro: $12 per user, per month, billed annually; $30 per user, billed monthly
- Enterprise: Contact sales for quote
Features
- Offers solid AI writing assistance
- Adjusts your writing tone as needed
- Shifts output to match a brand/marketing approach
- Catches plagiarism
- Generates text based on AI prompts
starryai
Best for AI Art Generation
starryai’s art generator combines the power of neural style transfers and advanced machine learning algorithms to create AI art. With the platform’s user-friendly interface, you can easily generate AI art by inputting a text prompt and selecting a style to personalize your creation. After fine-tuning your AI art, you can generate multiple images and conveniently store them for future editing. starryai stands out among its competitors through its continuous AI innovation, from stable diffusion to extensive model training that enables the app to create some of the most high-quality AI art generations.
Product Design
This app uses AI to generate a remarkable range of creative, artistic images based on user inputs. As someone who enjoys exploring new creative outlets, I believe starryai provides a fresh and innovative way to create digital art. You simply input a description or a set of parameters and it generates artwork ranging from abstract designs to realistic images. It’s a highly useful tool for artists, designers, and anyone looking to add a creative touch to their projects.
Why I Picked starryai
starryai is one of the best AI art generators because it can create vibrant, realistic, and customizable artwork in multiple variants. With starryai’s art generator, I can input a few descriptive words, and the app produces a unique piece of digital art that matches my vision—though it may take multiple prompts. I’ve used the app to generate illustrations, create personalized gifts, and brainstorm design ideas. It also comes with a generous free usage of 25 images daily, so you can explore and experiment with your prompts more.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| High-quality output | Quality of output relies on the prompter |
| Users retain full rights to their creations | Image generation can be slow |
| Easy to use | Limited editing and customization options |
Pricing
starryai offers a free version and four subscription plans:
- Free: Up to 25 images without watermarks daily
- Starter: $4.99 per week or $95.99 per year
- Unlimited: $11.99 per week or $384 per year
- Unlimited Pro Max: $19.99 per week or $768 per year
Features
- Generates a wide array of art based on prompts
- Enables you to create NFT art
- Allows freedom to customize models, styles, and aspect ratios
- Creates art in bulk
ELSA Speak
Best for AI-Assisted Tutoring
ELSA Speak is a personalized AI coach that helps users learn English pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. This AI coach app offers more than 8,000 activities to help you master the language and even ace your IELTS and TOEFL tests. ELSA Speak features short and engaging dialogues for practicing real-world English conversations. Additionally, its AI-powered live speech analyzer listens to your speech and provides immediate feedback. You just need to turn on the microphone and speak freely, and you’ll get a transcript of what you said in real-time and a detailed analysis of your performance.
Product Design
ELSA Speak offers a clean, intuitive interface designed for effortless English pronunciation learning. You can seamlessly switch between speaking exercises, pronunciation practice, and vocabulary lessons with the easy-to-use navigation bar. The free version offers limited capabilities for tools such as voice-enabled role-play, realistic speaking practice, the create-your-scenario feature, and thousands of bite-sized lessons on various skills and topics. ELSA Speak’s Pro plan provides customized learning plans, while its Premium tier offers unlimited access to all its features and AI-powered capabilities.
Why I Picked ELSA Speak
As someone who has always wanted to improve my English pronunciation, ELSA Speak provides personalized feedback and exercises to help me sound more like a native speaker. The app focuses primarily on English language learning initiatives in schools and company settings. It’s great for practicing your accent and pronunciation, as it will grade your recorded spoken responses to its questions. You get access to ELSA’s AI coach, which can detect speech patterns and pronunciation progress. AI within the system also creates customized curricula for students that fit their specific performance and behaviors over time.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Supports a wide range of languages | Doesn’t always explain problems with pronunciation |
| Scores how much you sound like a native speaker | Subscription costs might be expensive for some users |
| Tracks users’ progress over time | Occasionally freezes during usage |
Pricing
ELSA Speak offers a free version and four subscription plans:
- ELSA Pro: $11.83 per month, billed annually; $19.99 per month
- ELSA Premium: $16.67 per month, billed annually
- ELSA Team Plan (for up to 20 users): $18.20 per user, per month, billed annually
- ELSA School Plan (for 20+ users): Contact for quote
Features
- Includes over 8,000 lessons and exercises
- Offers reporting and analytics
- Provides feedback on pronunciation, fluency, accent, and intonation
- Gives personalized lessons based on the user’s accent and speaking habits
Cleo
Best for Intelligent Financial Management
Cleo is an AI assistant that helps users with personal financial management tasks. The Cleo app can help users manage a personal budget, save, avoid certain types of purchases, and borrow money. Cleo also brings a certain amount of personality to the personal finance experience, allowing its users to be “roasted” or “hyped” for their spending habits and how they align with their overall goals. In other words, users need to be able to take a joke.
Product Design
Cleo is a money management app powered by AI and a system of large language models (LLMs) to help you understand your spending behavior. The app features a user-friendly interface and a conversational AI assistant, so you can talk to Cleo similarly to how you would a friend. Using AI, Cleo analyzes your spending habits and creates a personalized budget that aligns with your income, expenses, and financial goals. Cleo automatically organizes your spending into categories such as groceries, shopping, bank charges, and more. The app also provides real-time insights into your spending and budget, ensuring that you always have an overview of your financial health.
Why I Picked Cleo
What I love about Cleo is its conversational interface, which makes managing money less daunting and more engaging. By simply chatting with Cleo, I can get a clear overview of my financial health and receive personalized advice tailored to my financial goals.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Makes budgeting fun and light-hearted | Confusing subscription policies and limited customer support |
| Suggests changes to spending patterns to increase saving | Some plans can be confusing |
| Helps users boost their credit scores | Plus plan is expensive for those on a tight budget |
Pricing
Cleo offers a free version and three subscription plans:
- Free: Includes essential budgeting tools
- Grow: $2.99 per month
- Plus: $5.99 per month or $44.99 per year
- Builder: $14.99 per month
Features
- Includes customized budgeting
- Provides answers via an AI chatbot
- Personalized financial advice tailored to your spending habits
- Aggregates all your accounts and financial providers in one app
Otter.ai
Best for Transcription
Otter.ai is an AI-powered voice-to-text transcription software that transcribes meetings in real-time, records audio, captures slides, and generates meeting notes. Otter.ai automates meeting notes and summaries and creates content such as emails and status updates based on the meeting content. The platform’s AI meeting assistant, OtterPilot, automatically joins Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams meetings to take notes. It also generates summaries and captures and assigns action items while maintaining the complete context of the discussion.
Product Design
Otter.ai offers a clean, modern, user-friendly interface that makes meeting transcripts interactive and actionable. It has a direct layout that features a left sidebar for navigating through the homepage, conversation, groups, direct messages, and more. The platform also has a main central panel that shows the meeting transcript and a right sidebar for takeaways and action items. Otter.ai automatically identifies and assigns action items to teammates, saving meeting leaders time while keeping the team aligned on next steps. Otter automatically shares meeting notes and summaries with teammates via email and in the team’s Slack channel.
Why I Picked Otter.ai
For users who frequently attend business meetings and conduct interviews, Otter.ai has become essential to my toolkit. This AI app excels at transcribing audio into text, note-taking, and live summaries. The ability to highlight, annotate, and share transcriptions makes it an invaluable resource for collaboration and information sharing.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great for searching content to find key information | Words aren’t always transcribed accurately |
| Automated meeting notes and summaries | Occasional errors in speaker identification, especially in overlapping conversations |
| Facilitates team collaboration with shared access | Can be expensive |
Pricing
Otter.ai offers four subscription plans:
- Basic: Limited to 300 monthly transcription minutes, 30 minutes per conversation
- Pro: $8.33 per user, per month, billed annually; $16.99 per user, per month
- Business: $20 per user, per month, billed annually; $30 per user, per month
- Enterprise: Contact sales for a quote
Features
- Solid speech-to-text transcription can handle diverse accents
- Speaker identification by name
- Live notes and captioning for Google Meet
- Real-time annotation (highlights, text notes, comments, and images)
Fireflies.ai
Best for Organizing Meeting Notes
Fireflies.ai is an AI voice assistant specializing in recording, transcribing, and organizing meeting notes, making it easier to stay on top of tasks and follow up on action items. Fireflies.ai integrates with conferencing tools like Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams, automatically capturing detailed notes and summaries from each meeting. You can easily organize your meeting notes through its smart search tool for finding keywords, themes, and topics like action items, dates, times, metrics, questions, and sentiments.
Product Design
The app’s searchable transcripts and action item tracking ensure I never miss important information or follow-ups. The app identifies key points, highlights essential topics, and suggests next steps based on the conversation. This level of intelligence makes Fireflies.ai an invaluable tool to assist with project management and team collaboration.
Why I Picked Fireflies.ai
Fireflies.ai is one of the leading AI assistant tools for organizing and sharing meeting notes. The platform has saved teams hours that would have been spent manually transcribing and organizing information. You can also analyze your meeting with its conversation intelligence feature, which tracks speaker talk time, sentiment, monologues, and other key metrics to share with your teammates. Additionally, Fireflies.ai makes it easier for teams to keep each member in the loop, as you can instantly share meeting recaps to Slack, Notion, Google Docs, and more.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Wide compatibility | Limited language support |
| Transcription in over 69 languages | Expensive for small teams or individual users |
| High accuracy rate | Initial learning curve for nontech savvy users |
Pricing
Fireflies AI offers a free version and three subscription plans:
- Free: Limited AI summaries and 800 mins of storage per seat
- Pro: $10 per seat, per month, billed annually; $18 per seat, per month
- Business: $19 per seat, per month, billed annually; $29 per seat, per month
- Enterprise: $39 per seat, per month, billed annually
Features
- Automated meeting notes
- Smart search filters
- Video screen capture
- Keywords and topic tracking
- Task creation with voice commands
How I Evaluated the Best Free AI Apps
I assessed each free AI app individually based on five key criteria: relevance and effectiveness, user experience, performance, accessibility, and renewable free access.
- Relevance and Effectiveness: I evaluated each AI app to determine how effectively it fulfills its intended purpose.
- User Experience: I assessed the free AI tool’s user-friendliness, taking ease of navigation and intuitive design into consideration.
- Performance: I gauged the tool’s efficiency, speed, and accuracy in performing its designated task.
- Accessibility: I checked if the tool’s free version is available across different platforms and devices.
- Renewable Free Access: I determined if the tool’s free version has usage limits and if these limits reset periodically, allowing for continued free access without requiring payment.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The most popular AI app is ChatGPT. It functions as a research tool, content creator, text summarizer, and personal assistant. That said, there are plenty of popular AI apps, including many on this list. And at any rate, the AI app sector is evolving so rapidly that it’s best to focus on total functionality of the app instead of mere popularity.
The best AI app currently depends on your specific needs. For general-purpose AI, ChatGPT stands out due to its versatility in handling a wide range of tasks, from drafting text to answering complex queries. For creative tasks, StarryAI is a top choice for generating unique digital art, while Grammarly excels in improving writing and editing. The “best” AI app can vary based on what you’re looking to achieve.
Depending on your preferences and needs, there are plenty of AI apps that are better than ChatGPT. For example, if you value conversational memory in a chatbot, then Claude might be better. If you want a tool that generates images, MidJourney has ChatGPT beat.
Among free AI tools, ChatGPT offers a robust free version with powerful capabilities for natural language processing and conversation.
ChatGPT offers both free and paid versions; naturally, the paid version offers far more functionality.
Bottom Line: The AI App Sector Is Growing Rapidly
This guide to the best AI apps provides a portrait of an exciting AI sector, especially as new players emerge on a near-daily basis. A growing number of AI developers are launching tools for things like virtual shopping, entertainment, telehealth, and project management, to name a few. Whether you’re looking for a tool to support key business initiatives or simply want an AI solution for personal use cases, the best AI apps I reviewed here are a great place to start for user-friendly and low-cost AI applications.
Read about the top generative AI companies, many of which offer apps for business and other content creation uses.