Stack

A student productivity stack for 2026

Eight tools for lectures, readings, deadlines and group projects, each with an education offer or a free plan that covers a student's needs. Every pick quotes the offer and says who qualifies.

Updated Oct 4, 2026 · 8 tools · How we pick

A student stack has two constraints that most software guides ignore: almost no budget, and a workload made of lectures, readings, deadlines and group projects. So every tool here either has an education offer on record or a free plan that covers a student's use, and each pick quotes the offer as the vendor states it.

The offers differ a lot. Two cost nothing: Notion's Education plan, and a year of Google AI Pro for college students, which upgrades both Gemini and Gemini Notebook. Others are discounts on a paid plan: 25% off TickTick Premium, 20% off Otter Pro and 50% off Wispr Flow Pro. Trello and Forest are here mainly for their free plans.

Eligibility is the fine print to read. Some offers ask for a school email, some for proof of status, and some are limited by country or level of study. The picks run from the tools you will open every day to the ones worth adding later. Offers and prices are the vendors' own, read on the date shown on each tool's page.

The shortlist

1NotionFor notes and courseworkFree plan · from $10/mo
2TickTickFor assignments and deadlinesFree plan · from $49.99/yr
3Gemini NotebookFor studying from your readingsFree plan · from $4.99/mo
4Otter.aiFor lecture transcriptsFree plan · from $8.33/mo
5GeminiFor an AI assistantFree plan · from $4.99/mo
6TrelloFor group projectsFree plan · from $5/mo
7ForestFor focused study sessionsFree plan · from $5.99/mo
8Wispr FlowFor writing by voiceFree plan · from $12/mo

01
Notion
For notes and courseworkWorkspace for docs, wikis, databases and projects with built-in AI
Notion's Education plan is free: students and educators at accredited colleges and universities get a one-member workspace with Plus features by signing up with a school email. Plus brings unlimited file uploads, 30 days of page history and unlimited guests, which helps when a group works on a shared page. Lecture notes, reading lists and assignment trackers can sit in one workspace as pages and databases, on the web, desktop and mobile.
Worth knowing: K-12 is not eligible for the Education plan, the AI features are only a limited trial below the Business plan, and there is no Linux desktop app.
Price
Free plan; paid plans from $10 per member / month, billed yearly
Runs on
Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Browser extension
Notion pricing and details notion.com
02
TickTick
For assignments and deadlinesTo-do list with a calendar, habit tracker and Pomodoro timer built in
TickTick puts a to-do list, a calendar view, a habit tracker and a Pomodoro timer in one app, so deadlines and study sessions live in the same place. The free plan allows 9 lists with 99 tasks each and syncs across Windows, Mac, Linux, phones and the web. Eligible students, faculty and staff can apply with proof of status for 25% off one year of Premium, and TickTick lists the price after the discount as $37.99.
Worth knowing: The free plan is capped at 9 lists, 99 tasks per list and 5 habits, with only a basic calendar view; multiple calendar views and task duration are Premium features.
Price
Free plan; paid plans from $49.99 per year (about $4.17 per month)
Runs on
Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension
TickTick pricing and details ticktick.com
03
Gemini Notebook
For studying from your readingsGoogle's AI research assistant that answers from your own sources
Gemini Notebook answers questions from the sources you give it, such as PDFs, Google Docs, websites, YouTube videos and audio files, with citations that point back to them. It also turns those sources into flashcards, quizzes, mind maps and audio overviews. The free Standard tier allows 100 notebooks with 50 sources each. Google's US subscriptions page says college students get a free Google AI Pro plan for one year, which provides the Pro tier: 500 notebooks and 300 sources per notebook.
Worth knowing: Usage limits refresh every 5 hours up to a weekly cap, and the mobile app cannot yet generate or view notes, mind maps, reports or data tables.
Price
Free plan; paid plans from $4.99 per month (Google AI Plus)
Runs on
Web, iOS, Android
Gemini Notebook pricing and details notebook.google
04
Otter.ai
For lecture transcriptsLive meeting transcription with summaries and AI chat
Otter.ai transcribes as people speak, so you can read a live transcript while a lecture is still going, then search it and read the automated summary afterwards. Individual students and teachers with an email address ending in .edu get 20% off Otter Pro: $6.67 a month billed annually ($79.99), or $13.59 month to month. Pro covers 1,200 minutes a month and 90 minutes per meeting, and the apps cover the web, desktop and phone.
Worth knowing: The free Basic plan stops at 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation and keeps only the 25 most recent conversations, so longer lectures need Pro.
Price
Free plan; paid plans from $8.33 per user / month, billed annually
Runs on
Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Browser extension
Otter.ai pricing and details otter.ai
05
Gemini
For an AI assistantGoogle's AI assistant, tied into Gmail, Docs and other Google apps
Gemini is free with a Google Account, and the free plan already includes image generation, Deep Research, voice conversations through Gemini Live, Canvas and Gems, plus 15 GB of Google storage. The student offer is the reason it is in this stack: Google's US subscriptions page says college students get a free Google AI Pro plan for one year. Pro is listed at $19.99 a month and gives 4x higher usage than Free and 5 TB of storage.
Worth knowing: The student offer is stated on Google's US subscriptions page, Google AI plans require age 18 or over, and features vary by region and platform.
Price
Free plan; paid plans from $4.99 per month (Google AI Plus)
Runs on
Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
Gemini pricing and details gemini.google.com
06
Trello
For group projectsKanban boards with an inbox, planner and built-in automation
Trello's Free plan fits a project group: up to 10 collaborators per Workspace share up to 10 boards, with work laid out as cards in lists and no limit on the number of cards. It includes an Inbox for capturing to-dos, unlimited Power-Ups and 250 automation command runs a month. For classes, Atlassian lists classroom licenses for students and teachers at 75% off Standard and Premium, and academic licenses at 50% off.
Worth knowing: The Free plan is capped at 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, with 10MB per file, and Calendar, Timeline and Table views are only on Premium and Enterprise.
Price
Free plan; paid plans from $5 per user / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)
Runs on
Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
Trello pricing and details trello.com
07
Forest
For focused study sessionsFocus timer that grows a virtual tree while you stay off apps
Forest turns a study session into a timer you do not want to break: a virtual tree grows while the session runs and dies if you leave to use other apps. The free plan includes the timer, Deep Focus app blocking and Plant Together rooms, where friends join with a code and the tree dies for everyone if one person gives up, which suits a study group. There is no education offer on record; the free plan is the reason it is here.
Worth knowing: Forest runs on iOS and Android, and on a computer only as a Chrome or Firefox extension, and custom app allowlists, focus analytics and custom tags need Forest Plus.
Price
Free plan; paid plans from $5.99 / month, or from $32.49 / year (US App Store)
Runs on
iOS, Android, Browser extension
Forest pricing and details forestapp.cc
08
Wispr Flow
For writing by voiceVoice dictation that cleans up your speech in any app
Wispr Flow turns speech into text in whatever app you are typing in, removing filler words and adding punctuation, which makes it a quick way to get the first draft of an essay or an email down. Students and educators with an education email get 50% off Flow Pro; the student page lists $6 a month billed annually, with 3 months free for new subscribers. The free plan covers 2,000 words a week on desktop and 1,000 a week on mobile.
Worth knowing: Free dictation is capped at 2,000 words a week on desktop and 1,000 on mobile, and the meeting Notetaker runs on Mac and Windows only.
Price
Free plan; paid plans from $12 per user / month, billed annually
Runs on
macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
Wispr Flow pricing and details wisprflow.ai

How to choose

Claim the free education plans first

Two offers here cost nothing: Notion's Education plan and the free year of Google AI Pro, which covers both Gemini and Gemini Notebook. Notion needs a school email at an accredited college or university. Google's offer is for college students and is stated on its US subscriptions page. If you prefer Craft for notes, it also has a free Education plan, for enrolled students, faculty and staff with a school-issued email.

See whether the free plan is already enough

TickTick, Trello, Forest and Wispr Flow are all usable without paying. TickTick's free plan holds 9 lists of 99 tasks, Trello's holds 10 boards for 10 collaborators, and Wispr Flow's allows 2,000 words a week on desktop. Otter.ai is the exception: its free plan stops at 30 minutes per conversation, so recording full lectures means paying for Pro.

Check what a discount leaves you paying

After the education discount, TickTick Premium is $37.99 for a year, Otter Pro is $79.99 a year and Wispr Flow Pro is $6 a month billed annually. Most discounts need proof: TickTick asks for proof of status, Otter.ai for an email address ending in .edu and Wispr Flow for an education email. One alternative to Otter.ai costs nothing for a year: currently enrolled students at accredited universities in the US, UK and Canada can apply for 12 months of Granola Business free.

Match the tools to your devices

Notion, TickTick, Otter.ai, Trello and Gemini all work in a browser as well as in apps. Gemini Notebook runs on the web, iOS and Android. Forest is for phones, with a browser extension on a computer. Wispr Flow has apps for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. TickTick is the only one of the eight that lists a Linux app.

Common questions

Is Notion free for students?

Yes. Students and educators at accredited colleges and universities get a free one-member workspace with Plus features by signing up with a school email. K-12 is not eligible.

Do students get Gemini for free?

Gemini is free for anyone with a Google Account. On top of that, Google's US subscriptions page says college students get a free Google AI Pro plan for one year. The same plan provides the Pro tier of Gemini Notebook, with 500 notebooks and 300 sources per notebook. Google AI plans require age 18 or over.

What is the best app for transcribing lectures?

Otter.ai suits live lectures: it transcribes as people speak, labels speakers and summarizes each conversation. The free Basic plan allows 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation; Pro allows 1,200 minutes a month and 90 minutes per meeting, with 20% off for students who have a .edu address. On a Mac, MacWhisper's free version transcribes audio and video files with models that run on the computer.

Which of these tools have student discounts?

Notion has a free Education plan, and college students get a free year of Google AI Pro, which covers Gemini and Gemini Notebook. TickTick gives 25% off one year of Premium, Otter.ai 20% off Pro and Wispr Flow 50% off Flow Pro. Trello has academic and classroom licenses at 50% and 75% off. Forest has no education offer on record.

What is a good free app for group projects?

Trello's Free plan allows up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, with unlimited cards. Notion's Education plan comes with Plus features, which include unlimited guests on shared pages.

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