Most teaching prep is writing and formatting: lesson plans, worksheets, slides, emails home. Free tiers cover a large share of it, so start there and pay only for the tool whose limit you actually hit.
Start with ChatGPT Free: unlimited text chats are enough for lesson plans, worksheets and emails. Add NotebookLM (free) for study material that sticks to your own sources, and Gamma or Canva for slides and visuals. If you outgrow ChatGPT Free, Go costs $8/mo.
| App | Free tier | Paid from | Top plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Yes | $8/mo | $500/mo | Everyday writing, brainstorming, image generation, casual coding |
| NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook) | Yes | $4.99/mo | $99.99–199.99/mo | Students, researchers, and analysts who need grounded answers and audio summaries from their own documents |
| Gamma | Yes | $9/mo | $90/mo | Fast first-draft presentations and one-page sites without opening a design tool |
| Canva | Yes | $18/mo | $25/mo | Non-designers who need on-brand social posts, presentations, and marketing assets fast |
| Claude | Yes | $20/mo | $100–200/mo | Document analysis, research papers, nuanced writing, software engineering |
| D-ID | No | $5.90/mo | $196/mo | Marketers, educators and developers who want quick talking-head videos or an avatar API without filming |
Monthly prices in US dollars before tax, from each vendor's official pricing (US list price; weekly-billed plans converted to a monthly figure). Updated November 2, 2026
Free includes unlimited text chats, file uploads and voice mode, which covers drafting lesson plans, rubrics, worksheets and parent emails. Since October 2026 its Intelligent UI can add interactive charts and forms to replies.
Pick it if: you want one assistant for most prep work without paying.
Where it falls short: Image generation is limited on Free, and output quality varies between model tiers.
Full ChatGPT pricing →It answers only from the sources you upload, such as textbook chapters, notes and handouts, so summaries and study guides stay on your syllabus. Free gives 100 notebooks with 50 sources each, 50 chat queries and 3 Audio Overviews a day.
Pick it if: you want study guides or audio summaries built from material you already teach.
Where it falls short: It can't be bought on its own: higher limits need a Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra subscription.
Full NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook) pricing →Turns a paragraph into a finished-looking deck. Free has 400 one-time credits and up to 10 slides per prompt; Plus ($9/mo) gives 1,000 credits a month and up to 100 slides per prompt.
Pick it if: you rebuild slides for every unit and want a first draft in minutes.
Where it falls short: Free credits don't refill, and image-heavy decks burn credits quickly.
Full Gamma pricing →Presentations and printable materials from 1,000+ design types in a drag-and-drop editor. Free includes up to 20 standard AI uses a month; Pro adds premium templates, Magic Resize and the background remover.
Pick it if: how the handout looks matters as much as what it says.
Where it falls short: AI credits run out fast even on paid plans, and output stays template-bound.
Full Canva pricing →Strong at document analysis and nuanced writing, which helps with summarizing curriculum documents or drafting detailed written feedback. Free runs Claude Sonnet 5.5 with limited daily usage; Pro ($20/mo) adds unlimited projects to organize chats and documents.
Pick it if: you work through long documents or write a lot of feedback.
Where it falls short: No image generation, and usage caps are smaller than ChatGPT's.
Full Claude pricing →Makes a talking-head video from a photo or a script, without filming. Lite ($5.90/mo) gives 10 minutes a month for videos, agents and translation.
Pick it if: you want short narrated explainers for students to watch at home.
Where it falls short: Lite carries a D-ID watermark and a personal-use license, commercial rights start at Pro, and unused minutes don't roll over.
Full D-ID pricing →A teacher's workload is mostly text, and text is where free plans are generous: ChatGPT Free has unlimited text chats, and NotebookLM Free allows 50 chat queries a day. The limits bite on visuals instead, with Canva Free at 20 standard AI uses a month and Gamma Free at 400 credits that never refill. If you pay for one tool, make it the one you use for slides and visuals.
Google AI Plus ($4.99/mo) includes Gemini Notebook, the new name for NotebookLM, with 200 notebooks of 100 sources each and 200 chat queries a day, plus 400 GB of storage. The free Gemini app, by contrast, has been limited to Flash-Lite since October 2026, so it's a weaker option than it used to be.
Yes, several. ChatGPT Free (unlimited text chats), NotebookLM Free (50 chat queries and 3 Audio Overviews a day), Canva Free (up to 20 standard AI uses a month) and Gamma Free (400 one-time credits) together cover lesson prep, study guides, visuals and slides.
ChatGPT for drafting new material from scratch; NotebookLM when answers must come from your own sources, because it only answers from what you upload.
How we choose: prices come from each vendor's official pricing page and are re-checked every week. We take no affiliate fees, so rankings aren't for sale.