Practical AI
The desk20 tools

Free tools guide

Which free tool to open for which job, and what the free plan gives.

Free plans change often. We read each tool's own page on the date shown. Check it again before you rely on it.

Chat and writing

ChatGPT

Open

Writing, explaining, planning and checking ideas in plain chat.

Free plan
Free plan for everyone, with lower limits on uploads, image creation, voice chats, deep research and memory than paid plans.
Indian languages
Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source 1 source 2

Gemini

Open

Chat, writing help and quick research with your Google account.

Free plan
Free with a Google account. Includes a Flash-Lite model, Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas and Gems. Standard limits; no daily numbers given; limits can change.
Indian languages
Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source 1 source 2 source 3

Claude

Open

Writing, reading long documents, and working through problems step by step.

Free plan
Free plan on web, desktop and mobile. Web search, file creation, memory, Artifacts and up to five projects. Usage limits apply; no numbers given.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source

Grok

Open

Chat, writing, file analysis, and making images with Grok Imagine.

Free plan
The official page says Grok is free to start. Paid plans raise limits. It does not state free limits; we could not read grok.com/plans on 2026-10-26.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source 1 source 2

Microsoft Copilot

Open

Chat, answers from the web, and help with writing.

Free plan
Available at no cost on the web, Windows and Mac apps, phone apps and Edge. Paid plans give higher usage; free limits are not stated.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source

Meta AI (in WhatsApp)

Open

Quick questions and ideas inside WhatsApp, without a new app.

Free plan
Optional service built into WhatsApp. No fee or limits are stated. Only in some countries and languages, and rolling out gradually.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source 1 source 2

Research your own documents

NotebookLM (now Gemini Notebook)

Open

Ask questions about your own PDFs, notes and videos, with sources shown.

Free plan
Free with a Google account. Up to 100 notebooks and 50 sources per notebook. Usage resets every 5 hours, up to a weekly limit.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source 1 source 2

Perplexity

Open

Web search answers with links to the sources used.

Free plan
Free plan exists; we could not confirm the limits on 2026-10-26.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source

Images and posters

Gemini image generation

Open

Make or edit pictures from a short text description in Gemini.

Free plan
The free Gemini plan includes image generation and editing. No number of images is given; limits can change.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source

Bing Image Creator

Open

Make pictures from a text description with a Microsoft account.

Free plan
Free with a Microsoft account. 15 fast creations a day, then standard speed, up to 200 prompts in 24 hours.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source

Microsoft Designer

Open

Make posters, invites and social posts from a text description.

Free plan
Free to use with a Microsoft account. A subscription may be needed to create more often. Free limits are not stated.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source

Canva (Magic Media)

Open

Make images from text and add them to designs.

Free plan
Free plan exists; we could not confirm the limits on 2026-10-26.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source

Voice and speech

Google Docs voice typing

Open

Speak and let Google Docs type your words.

Free plan
Built into Google Docs; anyone with a Google account can use Docs. Needs a recent Chrome, Edge or Safari. No fee is mentioned.
Indian languages
Bengali (India), English (India), Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil (India), Urdu (India)
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source 1 source 2

Microsoft Edge Read aloud

Open

Have web pages and PDFs read out to you.

Free plan
Built into the Edge browser. Several natural voices and accents; only a few voices work offline. No fee is mentioned.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source

Sheets and data

Google Sheets

Open

Make tables, lists and simple calculations you can share.

Free plan
Anyone with a Google account can use Sheets. Gemini in Sheets is not in the free plan; it needs an eligible Workspace or Google AI plan.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source 1 source 2

Google Apps Script

Open

Write small scripts that automate Sheets, Gmail and Docs.

Free plan
Works with a personal Google account. Daily quotas apply, for example 6 minutes per run and 100 email recipients a day.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source

Slides and design

Canva

Open

Make slides, posters and social posts from templates.

Free plan
Free plan exists; we could not confirm the limits on 2026-10-26.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source

Google Slides

Open

Make and share simple presentations in the browser.

Free plan
Anyone with a Google account can create in Slides. Some features, such as Gemini help, need a paid plan.
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source

Indian languages

Google Translate

Open

Translate text, speech, photos and documents; hear translations read aloud.

Free plan
No paid plan is mentioned. Works in a browser or the app. Listen to translations in some languages; download languages for offline use.
Indian languages
Assamese, Awadhi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Khasi, Kokborok, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Marwadi, Meiteilon (Manipuri), Mizo, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Tulu, Urdu
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source 1 source 2

BHASHINI

Open

Government of India app that translates text and voice between Indian languages.

Free plan
The official site offers the BHASHINI mobile app to the public. No fee or limits are stated.
Indian languages
The site says 22+ Indian languages (stated for its website translation plugin)
source
Checked 2026-10-26 · source