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The Artificial Intelligence revolution is no longer coming; in fact, it is already here. Every single week, hundreds of new AI startups launch on Product Hunt, promising to fundamentally change the way we work. However, for the average user, business owner, or creative freelancer, this creates a massive problem known as “Analysis Paralysis.”
With so many options available, how do you know which tools are actually useful? Furthermore, which ones are just expensive hype?
To save you both time and money, we have rigorously tested the market leaders across every major category. Specifically, we looked for ease of use, output quality, and overall value for money. Therefore, whether you need to automate tedious emails, generate realistic images, or code an app from scratch, there is a tool on this list for you.
Below is our comprehensive review of the best AI tools and software available in 2024.
Table of Contents
- AI Writers & Content Creation
- AI Art & Design Generators
- AI Video & Audio Tools
- AI for Productivity & Workflow
- AI for Coding & Development
- Buying Guide: How to Choose
Part 1: Best AI Writers & Content Creation
Writing is currently the most mature category in Generative AI. These tools do not just fix your grammar; on the contrary, they can draft entire blog posts, emails, and marketing copy in seconds.
1. ChatGPT (Plus / Team)
Best For: General purpose assistance, brainstorming, and logic.
It is impossible to make a list like this without mentioning the king of AI. While the free version (GPT-3.5) is fast, the paid version (GPT-4) is a reasoning engine that is unmatched in logic and creativity. Moreover, OpenAI recently introduced “GPTs,” which allow you to build custom versions of the bot.
- Pros: Extremely versatile and capable of understanding complex instructions.
- Cons: The knowledge cutoff means it doesn’t always know the latest news.
- Pricing: Free / $20 per month.
2. Jasper AI
Best For: Marketing teams and long-form SEO content.
Unlike ChatGPT, which can sometimes be generic, Jasper is built specifically for marketers. Because it is trained on high-converting sales copy, it understands how to sell products. Additionally, it includes “Brand Voice” detection to ensure the AI sounds exactly like your company, not like a robot.
- Pros: Features a “Boss Mode” for writing long articles rapidly.
- Cons: significantly more expensive than standard tools.
- Pricing: Starts at $39/month.
3. Claude 3 (Anthropic)
Best For: Nuanced writing and large document analysis.
Many professional writers prefer Claude over ChatGPT because it tends to sound more “human.” Furthermore, it has a massive “context window.” As a result, you can upload an entire PDF book, and Claude will summarize or analyze it in seconds without crashing.
- Pros: Less “robotic” sentence structure than GPT-4.
- Cons: Fewer plugins and integrations than ChatGPT.
- Pricing: Free / $20 per month.
4. Copy.ai
Best For: Social media captions and ad copy.
If you need a quick Instagram caption, a LinkedIn post, or a Facebook Ad, Copy.ai is the fastest tool on the market. It is less about long articles; instead, it focuses on short, punchy copy that drives sales.
- Verdict: A great free option for freelancers.
Part 2: Best AI Art & Design Generators
Visual content drives the internet. Fortunately, these tools allow you to create copyright-free images that look like professional photographs or digital art.
5. Midjourney (v6)
Best For: High-end, photorealistic artistic images.
Midjourney is currently the undefeated champion of image quality. Although it operates inside a Discord server, which can be clunky for beginners, the results are often indistinguishable from professional photography. Consequently, it is the favorite tool of AI artists.
- Pros: Unmatched lighting and texture realism.
- Cons: No web interface yet; requires Discord.
- Pricing: Starts at $10/month.
6. Canva Magic Studio
Best For: Non-designers and social media managers.
Canva has aggressively integrated AI into its existing platform. For instance, you can use “Magic Edit” to swap an object in a photo (e.g., change a rose to a daisy). Additionally, you can expand an image beyond its original borders using their “Magic Expand” feature.
- Verdict: The best all-in-one platform for beginners.
7. Adobe Firefly
Best For: Professional designers and commercial safety.
In contrast to other tools that scrape the internet for data, Adobe’s AI is trained on their own stock library. This means it is “commercially safe” and won’t infringe on copyrights. Furthermore, it is integrated directly into Photoshop via the popular “Generative Fill” bar.
- Pricing: Free credits / Included in Adobe CC subscription.
8. Dall-E 3
Best For: Exact instruction following.
Built directly into ChatGPT Plus, Dall-E 3 is excellent at following complex instructions. While Midjourney looks more artistic, Dall-E 3 listens better. For example, if you ask for “a red ball on a blue box,” Dall-E will get it right every time.
Part 3: Best AI Video & Audio Tools
This is the fastest-growing sector in 2024. Surprisingly, Text-to-Video is becoming a reality much faster than experts predicted.
9. InVideo AI
Best For: Creating faceless YouTube and TikTok videos.
This tool is essentially a magic wand for YouTubers. You simply type a prompt, and subsequently, InVideo generates a script, selects stock footage, adds a voiceover, and edits the video together. Therefore, it is the ultimate automation tool for content creators.
- Pros: Complete automation from text to final video.
- Cons: Stock footage can occasionally feel repetitive.
10. Descript
Best For: Editing podcasts and video just like a text document.
Descript changes the editing game completely. First, it transcribes your video. Then, if you delete a word in the text transcript, it automatically cuts that part of the video. Moreover, it features “Studio Sound,” which removes background noise instantly.
- Verdict: An essential tool for podcasters.
11. ElevenLabs
Best For: Realistic AI Text-to-Speech.
The voices generated by ElevenLabs are terrifyingly real. Not only can you choose from their library of narrators, but you can also clone your own voice. It captures emotion, pauses, and breath. As a result, it is widely used for audiobooks and video voiceovers.
- Pricing: Generous free tier available.
12. Runway (Gen-2)
Best For: Cinematic AI video generation.
Runway is a professional tool used by Hollywood studios. Specifically, its “Gen-2” model allows you to turn text prompts into strange, artistic, and high-quality video clips. However, it has a steep learning curve compared to InVideo.
Part 4: Best AI for Productivity & Workflow
These tools run in the background to save you hours of administrative work. Basically, they act as your digital executive assistant.
13. Notion AI
Best For: Organizing notes and project management.
If you use Notion, their AI add-on is a must-have. It can summarize your messy meeting notes into clean action items. Additionally, it can brainstorm ideas directly inside your workspace. Therefore, you never have to switch tabs to use ChatGPT.
- Pricing: $10/month add-on.
14. Otter.ai
Best For: Meeting transcription.
Otter joins your Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet calls automatically. Once the meeting starts, it records the audio and writes a transcript in real-time. Finally, it emails a summary of key decisions to all participants, ensuring no one misses important details.
15. Motion
Best For: AI Calendar management and ADHD support.
Motion uses AI to plan your entire day. You dump your tasks into it, and subsequently, it schedules them into your calendar around your meetings. Even better, if you miss a deadline, it re-shuffles your entire schedule automatically to keep you on track.
16. Perplexity AI
Best For: Research and replacing Google Search.
Perplexity is an “Answer Engine.” Instead of giving you blue links like Google, it reads the internet and gives you a cited answer. Because of this, it is excellent for fact-checking and deep academic research.
Part 5: Best AI for Coding & Development
You don’t need to be a master coder to build apps anymore. In fact, these tools act as a “pair programmer” to help you write code faster.
17. GitHub Copilot
Best For: Speeding up coding workflows.
Owned by Microsoft, Copilot works as an autocomplete for code. Essentially, it predicts the next few lines of code you want to write, saving developers massive amounts of time. Consequently, it has become an industry standard.
18. Cursor
Best For: Building entire apps with AI assistance.
Cursor is a code editor designed to be “AI-first.” For instance, it allows you to highlight a block of broken code and ask the AI, “How do I fix this bug?” Alternatively, you can ask it to “Refactor this code to be faster,” and it will implement the changes instantly.
Buying Guide: How to Choose the Right AI Software?
With this massive list of the best AI tools and software reviews, you might feel tempted to subscribe to everything. However, that is a recipe for subscription fatigue.
To choose the right stack, we recommend following this simple 3-step framework:
- Identify the Bottleneck: Where do you spend the most time? Is it writing emails? Editing video? Or designing graphics? Only buy a tool that solves that specific pain point.
- Test the “Free” Tiers: Almost all tools listed above (including ChatGPT, Canva, and Notion) have generous free tiers. Therefore, you should use them for two weeks before upgrading to a paid plan.
- Check Integration: Does the AI tool play nice with your existing software? For example, if you already use Adobe Photoshop, Firefly is a much better choice than Midjourney because it is integrated into your existing workflow.
Conclusion
The landscape of the best AI tools and software changes daily. The tools listed in this guide are the current champions of 2024, offering the best balance of performance and price.
Ultimately, the tool is only as good as the user. The real skill of the future is not just “buying the tool,” but learning Prompt Engineering—the art of talking to the AI to get the best result.
