50+ Tools to Rock Back to School 2020
Email us if we forgot something.
Khan Academy
The non-profit Khan Academy offers free video lessons in many subjects, including maths, economics, and the humanities.
khanacademy.org
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khan Academy | E‑Learning | Yes | N/A | N/A | Web, Android, iOS |
Supernotes
Supernotes is a collaborative note-taking app with breathtaking speed and usability. Organize your tasks, ideas, and notes with style.
supernotes.app
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supernotes | Note-taking | Yes | N/A | 6/month | iOS, Android |
Perlego
“Spotify for Textbooks.” Pay a low monthly fee for unlimited access to over 300,000 professional and academic titles. Founded in 2016 in London, Perlego now works with over 2800 of the world’s leading publishers including Pearson, Wiley and Bloomsbury.
perlego.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perlego | Books | No | Yes (2-weeks) | 12/month | Web, iOS, Android |
Obsidan
A personal knowledge base that runs locally on Markdown files.
obsidian.md
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidan | Note-Taking | Yes | 25 | Mac, Windows, Linux |
Zotero
The OG reference generator. Open-Source and platform agnostic.
zotero.org
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zotero | Referencing | Yes | N/A | N/A | Mac, Windows, Linux |
iA Writer
The world’s best-looking minimalist writing app.
ia.net/writer
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iA Writer | Writing | No | Yes | 29 | Mac, iOS, Windows, Android |
Hemingway Editor
A writing app that helps your writing be clearer and more to-the-point by highlighting words and sentences.
hemingwayapp.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hemingway Editor | Writing | Yes | N/A | 19.99 | Mac, iOS |
Kopernio
Access papers from anywhere using your universities library subscription
kopernio.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kopernio | Research | Yes | N/A | N/A | Chrome |
Unpaywall
An open database of 20+ million open access scientific papers
unpaywall.org
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaywall | Research | Yes | N/A | N/A | Web, Chrome, Firefox |
Scholarcy
AI-powered summarization of research papers.
scholarcy.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scholarcy | Research | Yes | Yes (14days) | 7.99/month | Web, Chrome |
Open Access Button
Quickly check if a paper you need is available from any Open Access sources
openaccessbutton.org
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OA Button | Research | Yes | N/A | N/A | Chrome, Firefox |
SemanticScholar
Search for a paper and find related papers, as well as other related materials. Also gives you information on how many citations a paper has, and whether it’s been featured in the press.
semanticscholar.org
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SemanticScholar | Research | Yes | N/A | N/A | Web |
Evernote
A note taking app helps you capture and prioritize ideas, projects and to-do lists, so nothing falls through the cracks.
evernote.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evernote | Note-taking | Yes | Yes | 7/month | Mac, iOS, Windows, Android |
Google Docs
Collaborative text editing from Google. Great for group projects — never send Word documents back and forth ever again.
docs.google.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Docs | Productivity | Yes | N/A | N/A | Web, iOS, Android |
GitHub Student Developer Pack
Get a bunch of awesome discounts from GitHub
education.github.com/pack
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student Dev Pack | E‑Learning | Yes | N/A | N/A | Web |
InternFromHome
Looking for a remote internship? InternFromHome is for you! Browse and apply for remote internships at dozens of companies. Fun fact: This is what we at Citationsy used to find out interns.
internfromhome.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| InternFromHome | Work | Yes | N/A | N/A | Web |
Housemates
Hassle-free student accommodation and housing.
housemates.io
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housemates | Accomodation | Yes | N/A | N/A | Web |
Grammarly
Check your writing for spelling misatkes, grammatical errors, and more.
grammarly.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grammarly | Writing | Yes | Yes | 12/month | Web, Chrome, Firefox |
Overleaf
Edit LaTeX online. No need to install anything, and you can even collaborate with others on the same LaTeX document in real time.
overleaf.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overleaf | Writing | Yes | N/A | 14/month | Web |
Docsity
Share notes from your classes and lectures and access other students notes.
docsity.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docsity | Studying | Yes | N/A | N/A | Web |
Quizlet
From flashcards to help you learn, to games that make it easy to get a handle on history, use a variety of tools to conquer any challenge.
quizlet.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quizlet | Studying | Yes | Yes | 19.99/year | Web, iOS, Android |
myHomework
An app that helps students at any level improve their organization and become better students.
myhomeworkapp.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| myHomework | Productivity | Yes | N/A | 5/year | Mac, iOS, Windows, Android, Kindle, Chrome |
uBlock Origin (Adblocker)
There are many ad blockers out there, but this is the MVP. Finally browse in peace.
uBlock Origin
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| uBlock Origin | Adblock | Yes | N/A | N/A | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge |
Scanner App
You probably don’t have a scanner in your dorm room, but this app is so good people will think you do.
App Store
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scanner App | Scanning | Yes | N/A | 4/month | iOS |
Speechify Text Reader
A mobile and desktop app that allows people with dyslexia, ADHD, low vision, concussions, and other reading difficulties to have any text read out to them using a computer generated text to speech voice.
getspeechify.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speechify | Learning support | Yes | N/A | 8/month | Web, Mac, iOS, Android |
Weava
A research productivity tool for students to highlight, organize, and create their research documents all in one place.
weavatools.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weava | Research | Yes | N/A | 4/month | Chrome |
StickMe Notes
Organize your to do list, task list, and reminders with StickMe Notes – the most awesome sticky note & task manager app with built in alarm for iPhone.
studiomosaicapps.com/stickmenotes/
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| StickMe Notes | Note-taking | Yes | N/A | month | iOS |
Duolingo
Learn a language in a fun, points-based way. This owl will haunt your dreams.
duolingo.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duolingo | Languages | Yes | N/A | 9.99/month | iOS, Android |
Prolific
Quickly find research participants you can trust.
prolific.co
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prolific | Research | No | N/A | Quote | Web |
PDF Drive
A search engine for PDF files. As of today they have over 84 million eBooks for you to download for free.
pdfdrive.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDF Drive | E-books | Yes | Yes (7 days) | 4/month | Web |
Trello
A great way to organize your tasks
trello.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trello | Productivity | Yes | N/A | 10/month | Mac, iOS, Windows, Android |
Freedom
App and website blocker for Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and Chrome, used by over a million people to reclaim focus and produc tivity.
freedom.to
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom | Productivity | Yes | Yes (7 days) | 2.50/month | Mac, iOS, Windows, Android, Chromebook, Linux |
Todoist
Regain clarity and calmness by getting all those tasks out of your head and onto your to-do list
todoist.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todoist | Productivity | Yes | N/A | 3/month | Web, iOS, Android |
Splitwise
A free tool for friends and roommates to track bills and other shared expenses, so that everyone gets paid back.
splitwise.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Splitwise | Finance | Yes | N/A | 1/month | iOS, Android |
Transferwise
Send or receive money in other currencies and save on bank fees
transferwise.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transferwise | Finance | Yes | N/A | N/A | Web, iOS, Android |
PCalc
The original fully features scientific calculator app for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and AppleTV, since 1998.
pcalc.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCalc | Calculator | No | N/A | 10 | Mac, iOS |
Soulver
More than a calculator and less than a spreadsheet.
acqualia.com/soulver
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soulver | Calculator | No | Yes (10 days) | 9 | Mac, iOS |
Bear
Markdown-based Note taking app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
bear.app
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear | Note-taking | Yes | Yes (7 days) | 1/month | Mac, iOS |
Fantastical
Next-generation calendar app for iOS and the Mac with language parsing and a super useful menubar icon.
flexibits.com/fantastical
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fantastical | Productivity | Yes | Yes (14days) | 3.67 | Mac, iOS |
Notability
A powerful, yet wonderfully simple note-taking and PDF annotation app.
App Store
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notability | Note-taking | No | N/A | 9 | Mac, iOS |
Google Keep
Quickly capture what’s on your mind and share those thoughts with friends and family. Speak a voice memo on the go and have it automatically transcribed. Grab a photo of a poster, receipt or document and easily organize or find it later in search.
keep.google.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Keep | Note-taking | Yes | N/A | Web, iOS, Android |
GoodReader
An iOS app used to view documents in different formats, including .doc, .pdf, and .xls.
goodreader.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoodReader | E-books | No | N/A | 6 | iOS |
Calibre
A super versatile app for converting, storing, organizing, and transferring e-books.
calibre-ebook.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calibre | E-books | Yes | N/A | N/A | Mac, Windows, Linux |
Bluefire Reader
An e-book reader application for Android, iOS and Windows. It supports the EPUB and PDF formats for digital publications and incorporates facilities for browsing online catalogs, and downloading them directly into the user’s personal library.
App Store
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluefire Reader | E-books | No | N/A | 4 | iOS, Android |
Canva
Agraphic design platform that allows users to create social media graphics, presentations, posters and other visual content.
canva.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canva | Design | Yes | N/A | 9/month | Web, iOS, Android |
Adobe Scan
The free document scanning app from Adobe turns your device into a powerful portable PDF scanner that recognizes text automatically (OCR).
adobe.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Scan | Scanning | Yes | N/A | iOS, Android |
Down Dog
A free yoga app to get you relaxed between classes
downdogapp.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Down Dog | Fitness | No | N/A | 8/month | iOS, Android |
LinkedIn Learning
Enhance Your Skills With Expert-Led, Online Video Tutorials.
linkedin.com/learning
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn Learning | E‑Learning | No | Yes (1-month) | 25/month | Web |
Microsoft Math Solver
Online math solver with free step by step solutions to algebra, calculus, and other math problems.
math.microsoft.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Math Solver | E‑Learning | Yes | N/A | N/A | Mac, iOS, Windows, Android |
PDF Converter – Word to PDF (iOS app)
This free online converter allows you to convert various file formats (doc, docx, xls, ppt , jpg, png …) to PDF right in your browser.
App Store
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDF Converter | Converter | Yes | N/A | N/A | iOS |
scite
scite is an award-winning platform for discovering and evaluating scientific articles via Smart Citations.
scite.ai
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scite | Referencing | Yes | Yes | 15/month | Web |
Citationsy
Perhaps the world’s best reference manager. Create citations, reference lists and bibliographies online. Referencing for people who value simplicity, privacy, and speed.
citationsy.com
| Name | Category | Free | Free Trial | Premium (€) | Sytem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citationsy | Referencing | Yes | Yes | 4.99/month | Web, iOS, Android, Mac |
