Stack
A free productivity stack for 2026
Ten tools that cover notes, tasks, calendar, email, passwords and more without a subscription. For each one: exactly what the free plan includes and where it stops.
Updated Oct 4, 2026 · 10 tools · How we pick
This stack answers one question: how far can one person get without paying for software? Quite far. Each tool below was chosen because its free plan, or its free model, is enough to do the job for real, not for a two-week trial. Ten jobs are covered, from notes and tasks to passwords, meeting notes and automation.
Free means different things across the list. Microsoft To Do and Notion Calendar have no paid tier of their own, so there is nothing to outgrow. The other eight are free plans of paid products, and every one stops somewhere: a cap on credits, on history, on session length, or on which features are switched on. Each pick says exactly where, so you know what would push you to pay.
The stack is built for one person, because free plans mostly are: several of these restrict sharing or change their limits once a second member joins. The picks run from the jobs you do every day to the ones you can add later. Plan details are the vendors' own, read on the date shown on each tool's page.
The shortlist
- 1NotionFor notes and docsFree plan · from $10/mo
- 2Microsoft To DoFor tasksFree
- 3Notion CalendarFor your calendarFree
- 4Spark MailFor emailFree plan · from $8.25/mo
- 5BitwardenFor passwordsFree plan · from $1.65/mo
- 6ChatGPTFor an AI assistantFree plan · from $8/mo
- 7FathomFor meeting notesFree plan · from $15/mo
- 8MakeFor automationFree plan · from $9/mo
- 9RaycastFor a launcher and clipboard historyFree plan · from $96/yr
- 10FreedomFor blocking distractionsFree plan · from $3.33/mo
The picks in detail
- 01
Notion
For notes and docsWorkspace for docs, wikis, databases and projects with built-in AINotion's Free plan gives one person unlimited pages and blocks, enough to keep notes, documents and simple databases side by side on the web, desktop and mobile. It allows 10 guests, so you can still share a page with a collaborator, and the desktop and mobile apps work offline on the pages you choose to download.
Worth knowing: File uploads are capped at 5 MB and page history at 7 days, blocks are limited once a second member joins, and the AI features are only a limited trial on Free.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $10 per member / month, billed yearly
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Browser extension
- 02
Microsoft To Do
For tasksFree to-do list from Microsoft that syncs with Outlook tasksMicrosoft To Do has no paid tier, so nothing is held back: lists, My Day, due dates, reminders, steps, notes, shared lists and file attachments of up to 25MB on a task are all free. It runs on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and the web, and because tasks are stored in Exchange Online they also appear in Outlook.
Worth knowing: Signing in needs a Microsoft account, and lists can be shared only between personal accounts or within the same workplace or school.
- Price
- Free
- Runs on
- Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
- 03
Notion Calendar
For your calendarFree calendar app that connects to Notion databasesNotion Calendar is free to use and has no paid tier of its own. It shows Google Calendar, Apple iCloud and Microsoft Outlook calendars in one view on the web, desktop and mobile, and it includes scheduling links that let other people book time with you. If you keep deadlines in a Notion database, those dated items appear next to your events.
Worth knowing: The mobile apps show only 1 to 3 day views and cannot search events or edit most of them, and no Linux desktop app is listed.
- Price
- Free
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
- 04
Spark Mail
For emailEmail client with a unified smart inbox, AI tools and team featuresSpark Mail's free plan handles unlimited email accounts in one unified Smart Inbox, pulling in Google, Outlook, iCloud, Yahoo, Exchange and IMAP, and it separates personal mail from newsletters and notifications. Snooze, send later, follow-up reminders and a built-in calendar are included. Apps cover Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.
Worth knowing: Gatekeeper, Priority, the Spark +AI writing tools and third-party integrations need Plus, the free AI is a limited preview, and there is no web or Linux version.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $8.25 per user / month, billed annually ($99 / year)
- Runs on
- macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
- 05
Bitwarden
For passwordsOpen-source password manager with a free plan and self-hostingBitwarden's free plan stores unlimited logins, passkeys, notes, cards and identities for one user and works on unlimited devices: the web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and a browser extension. It includes a password generator and text-only Send, which shares a secret through a link that disappears. It is open source and end-to-end encrypted.
Worth knowing: File attachments, the integrated authenticator, vault health reports and emergency access need Premium at $19.80 a year, and a free account shares items with only one other user.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $1.65 per month, billed annually at $19.80 (Premium)
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension
- 06
ChatGPT
For an AI assistantOpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for chat, images and voiceChatGPT's free plan allows unlimited text chats, which covers the everyday uses: answering questions, drafting and reworking text, and explaining a topic. Image creation, voice chats, deep research, file uploads and memory are part of the free plan too, each with limits. It runs on the web, Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.
Worth knowing: Uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research and memory are all limited on Free, and OpenAI began testing ads in the free version for logged-in adult US users in January 2026, according to Wikipedia.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $8 per month (Go)
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
- 07
Fathom
For meeting notesAI notetaker for Zoom, Google Meet and Teams with a free planFathom's Free plan records and transcribes an unlimited number of meetings on Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, with unlimited storage, an AI summary that is ready when the call ends, and clips and playlists for sharing highlights. For one person who mainly wants a record of every call, that covers the job at no cost.
Worth knowing: Advanced summaries cover only the first 5 calls each month, action items and Ask Fathom have limited use, and there is no Android app or support for Linux, Chromebooks and iPads.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $15 per user / month, billed annually (Team plan, 2-user minimum)
- Runs on
- macOS, Windows, iOS
- 08
Make
For automationVisual automation builder for multi-step scenarios and AI agentsMake's Free plan has no time limit and includes up to 1,000 credits a month, where most module actions use 1 credit. That is enough to keep two automations running, each built on a visual canvas where app modules are linked by routers and filters. Make lists more than 3,000 apps to connect.
Worth knowing: Only 2 scenarios can be active at once, with at least 15 minutes between runs, execution logs are kept for 7 days, and teams, roles and enterprise apps need the paid plan.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $9 / month, billed annually, for 5,000 credits
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- 09
Raycast
For a launcher and clipboard historyKeyboard launcher with extensions, clipboard history and AIOn a Mac or a Windows PC, Raycast's free plan replaces separate clipboard, snippet and window utilities with one app. It includes the keyboard launcher, clipboard history kept for 3 months, snippets, quicklinks, a calculator and window management, plus a store of thousands of extensions for tools such as Linear, Slack and Notion.
Worth knowing: AI is not part of the free plan, which also allows only 5 Raycast Notes, and the Windows app does not yet have every macOS feature.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $96 / year, billed annually
- Runs on
- macOS, Windows, iOS, Browser extension
- 10
Freedom
For blocking distractionsWebsite and app blocker that runs across computers and phonesFreedom's Free plan blocks websites, apps or the whole internet on unlimited devices, so one session can cover a laptop and a phone together. You can build your own blocklists and play focus sounds while a session runs. It has apps for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.
Worth knowing: Free sessions must be started on the spot and last at most 2 hours; scheduled and recurring sessions and Locked Mode need Premium, from $39.99 a year.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $3.33 / month, billed yearly ($39.99)
- Runs on
- macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Browser extension
How to choose
Know which tools are free and which have a ceiling
Microsoft To Do and Notion Calendar have no paid tier. The other eight are free plans of paid products. Bitwarden, Spark Mail and ChatGPT put no cap on the core job: logins, email accounts and text chats are unlimited. Make, Fathom, Raycast, Freedom and Notion are capped, by credits, advanced summaries, clipboard history, session length and upload size respectively.
Remember these plans are built for one person
Notion's Free plan limits blocks once a second member joins, Bitwarden's covers 1 user who can share with one other, and Make's leaves out teams and roles. Fathom's Team plan has a 2-user minimum. If you need shared workspaces, expect to pay: Notion Plus is $10 per member a month billed yearly, and Bitwarden Families is $3.99 a month billed annually for up to 6 users.
Check the accounts and devices you already have
Microsoft To Do needs a Microsoft account, and Notion Calendar works with Google, iCloud and Outlook calendars. Raycast is for Mac and Windows. Fathom has no Android app, and Spark Mail has no web or Linux version. Six of the ten also work in a browser, which covers any computer the apps miss: Notion, Microsoft To Do, Notion Calendar, Bitwarden, ChatGPT and Make.
Know what the first upgrade would cost
If you hit a ceiling, the next step varies widely. Bitwarden Premium is $19.80 a year and Freedom Premium $39.99 a year. ChatGPT Go is $8 a month. Billed annually, Spark Mail's Plus plan is $8.25 a month, Make's paid plan $9 a month and Fathom Premium $16 a month. Notion Plus is $10 per member a month billed yearly, and Raycast Pro is $96 a year.
Common questions
What are the best free productivity apps?
For one person, this stack covers the main jobs at no cost: Notion for notes, Microsoft To Do for tasks, Notion Calendar, Spark Mail for email, Bitwarden for passwords, ChatGPT as an assistant, Fathom for meeting notes, Make for automation, Raycast as a launcher and Freedom for blocking distractions.
Which of these tools are completely free?
Microsoft To Do and Notion Calendar. Neither has a paid tier of its own: every feature of Microsoft To Do is free with a Microsoft account, and Notion Calendar is listed under every Notion plan, including the Free plan. The other eight tools have paid plans above their free ones.
Is Notion free for personal use?
Yes. The Free plan gives one person unlimited pages and blocks, with 5 MB file uploads, 7 days of page history, 10 guests and 1 chart. Blocks become limited once a second member joins the workspace, and paid plans start at $10 per member a month billed yearly.
Is there a free password manager with no device limit?
Yes. Bitwarden's free plan stores unlimited logins and passkeys on unlimited devices for one user. It leaves out file attachments, the integrated authenticator, vault health reports and emergency access, which come with Premium at $1.65 a month billed annually. Proton Pass's free plan also allows unlimited logins and devices, with 2 vaults and 10 email aliases.
Is Fathom really free?
Fathom's Free plan includes unlimited recordings, storage and transcription with instant AI summaries. The limits are on the extras: advanced summaries cover the first 5 calls each month, and action items and Ask Fathom have limited use. For individuals, the paid Premium plan is $16 a month billed annually.
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