18 Best free online tools according to experts (2024)

From IFTTT to Midjourney, here are 18 answers to the question, “What are the most helpful free online tools that everyone should use and why?” 

• IFTTT
• OneNote
• Nimbus 
• Adobe Express
• Trello
• Canva
• Grammarly 
• LastPass
• ChatGPT
• Airtable 
• Awesome Screenshot
• Google Books
• Hemingway App 
• Google Analytics
• SimilarWebs 
• Thinkific 
• The Google Suite
• Midjourney

1. IFTTT

IFTTT (If This Then That) links disparate services together in order to automate daily tasks, like syncing your podcasts over to different devices or automating photo backup to Dropbox. 

By connecting various websites and apps with “recipes” or simple scripts, you can use the information that exists between them and make it work for you. It’s easy to set up and offers huge potential savings of time and money in managing one’s life in the digital realm.

Michael Alexis, CEO, swag.org

2. OneNote

One free online tool that everyone should take advantage of is OneNote. This Microsoft-created note-taking application allows users to store and organize notes, documents, audio clips, videos, webpages, and more in one easily accessible place. 

This uncommon example offers an exceptional way for people to collaborate on work projects seamlessly, as every change made to a document will be instantly visible to all members of the team with no delay. It also has several other practical uses, such as organizing recipes or keeping track of appointments. Overall, OneNote’s flexibility makes it essential for anyone who wants an easy way to stay organized and efficient.

Tasia Duske, CEO, Museum Hack

3. Nimbus 

Nimbus is an incredibly useful free online tool that I use regularly. It allows me to take screenshots and record videos of my computer screen, making it much easier to capture and share ideas, instructions, and other media. 

Nimbus also offers a suite of editing tools, which makes it ideal for creating tutorials and demonstrations. It stores all information in the cloud so I can access what I need from any device – not just from my own personal computer. Nimbus is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to save time by streamlining their documentation processes or easily collaborating with others.

Antreas Koutis, Administrative Manager, Financer

4. Adobe Express

Adobe Express is a free online tool that every business should take advantage of. This cloud-based program offers a host of features and capabilities, including photo editing, video production, web development, and more. 

These features come at no cost to users and can help businesses create beautiful digital content quickly and easily. Adobe Express also provides secure storage, real-time collaboration, and easy access to Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries. This makes it easy for teams of all sizes to collaborate and create powerful visuals that can help take their marketing efforts to the next level. 

Michael Fischer, Founder, Elite HRT

5. Trello

Trello is a free online tool that everyone should use. It is an amazing project management platform that helps you stay organized and on top of your tasks. It’s great for both personal and professional projects, as it allows you to easily create boards and cards to categorize your tasks and keep track of progress. 

You can also collaborate with others and assign tasks to team members. It is incredibly easy to use and is a great way to stay productive and organized. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a powerful, yet free, online tool to help manage their projects.

Shaun Connell, Founder, Writing Tips Institute

6. Canva

Canva is a graphic design tool that allows you to create professional-looking designs for social media, marketing materials, and more, with no design experience. It has a user-friendly interface, a wide range of templates, and a library of elements such as images, icons, and shapes that you can use to create stunning designs. 

It can create designs for many purposes, such as social media posts, brochures, flyers, posters, and more. I use and recommend it to help small businesses and entrepreneurs create professional designs without the need of hiring a designer, and also, it can be used by individual users to design personal projects.

Georgi Todorov, Founder, ThriveMyWay

7. Grammarly 

If you have a thought or an idea that you’re sure will change your life, but you’re not proficient enough in putting it in writing, Grammarly will be your best friend. From grammar correction, plagiarism checking, and sentence construction suggestions, every mini tool that Grammarly offers adds value to your writing. 

Whether you’re writing a cover letter, a job application, or a simple answer on Quora, being precise in your writing is of crucial importance. The amazing thing about Grammarly is that you have an option of a paid subscription that can further help you out with all things writing-related, but if you’re not sure about spending money on an online tool, sticking with the free option really is enough in most cases.

Dejan Kvrgic, Founder, ProContent Services

8. LastPass

LastPass is a must-have tool for anyone who wants to protect their online accounts. It’s user-friendly, secure, and perfect for anyone who wants to keep their passwords organized without having to remember multiple passwords.

It comes with advanced security features like two-factor authentication and encrypted data storage, which ensures that your passwords are always safe. The built-in password generator also allows you to create new, strong passwords for your accounts with just one click. Overall, I highly recommend LastPass as an invaluable tool for everyone looking to simplify and secure their online life.

Arkadiusz Terpilowski, Head of Growth & Co-Founder, Primetric

9. ChatGPT

If the old cliché that “time is money” is to be believed, then Chat GPT is a massive money-saver and a time-saver. The AI chatbot has been gaining a lot of attention, most recently passing a Wharton MBA exam, and I’ve found it to be a great tool to use for creating outlines and getting started on writing content. 

It is by no means perfect, but a simple question like “How do I write a customer retention plan in X industry?” will net you a fairly high-quality and comprehensive response that you can flesh out as you go. It really helps get over that initial barrier to entry to new projects, something that is extremely valuable‌.

Kate Kandefer, CEO, SEOwind

10. Airtable

Airtable is a free tool that everyone should be using. It allows you to create a shared spreadsheet and add as many collaborators as you want. Everyone on the team can see the changes that are saved in real-time. It supports all major file types, including MS Excel and CSV files. 

You can also add comments to any cell to communicate effectively with your team. Unlike other tools, Airtable doesn’t require you to install any software-it’s completely free and easy to use. Its major benefit is that you can perform advanced activities that traditional spreadsheets don’t allow you to do.
Luciano Colos, Founder & CEO, PitchGrade

11. Awesome Screenshot

As its name suggests, Awesome Screenshot is really awesome. It’s a free online tool that allows you to do some pretty awesome things with screenshots. You can take a screenshot of the entire page or a selected page. 

This free screen capture extension is useful for recording and taking all forms of videos within the Google Chrome app. The starting price of Awesome Screenshot is $6 per month. Its free version is available, but a free trial is not. Have a look at some of its features: 

1. Capture the screen according to your needs

2. Capture an entire page 

3. Capture video 

4. Share screenshots on Slack, Trello, Asana, and others. 

This is an amazing free online tool. You can use it with little effort, and no specific guide is required for the same. It is so simple and efficient.

Yogesh Kumar, Digital Marketing Manager, Technource

12. Google Books

Google Books gives you unlimited access to books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text, and saved in its digital database. 

You can download, keep, or bookmark books related to the ideas you intend to cover in class. Like their web search, Google Book Search functions similarly. You’ll receive a list of search results after they locate a book with content that matches your search terms. A few snippets—sentences containing your search term in context—may appear. 

The decision to make a book fully or partially viewable by Google depends on whether a publisher or author has permitted them. You may browse the book and see an entire page.

David Reid, Sales Director, VEM-Tooling Co. 

13. Hemingway App 

The Hemingway App is a fantastic tool to proofread text and check readability levels. I love how simple it is to use, the fact that it’s free, and the unique features it provides on top of tools like Grammarly. 

To use it, you paste your text into the homepage on hemingwayapp.com. From there, it will show you complex sentences, passive voice, and simpler synonyms. It’s helpful for blog content, copy, resumes, simple day-to-day emails, and more. This makes it a brilliant choice for everyone to use, especially if their work involves writing.

Axel DeAngelis, Founder, Jumpcoast

14. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free online tool that everyone should use to track and analyze their website traffic. It provides detailed reports about website visitors, such as their locations, devices used, and pages visited. 

This data can help website owners decide on how to improve their websites and increase conversions. Additionally, it can track the performance of marketing campaigns and measure ROI. All in all, Google Analytics is an invaluable tool for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of their website and its visitors.

Jaya Iyer, Marketing Assistant, Teranga Digital Marketing

15. SimilarWebs 

Everyone should use the SimilarWebs free browser extension. With so much depending on the online world, you need all the information you can get to make smart decisions. SimilarWebs provides quality, instant information as soon as you land on a website for free. 

You can learn about the amount of traffic that website has, the country that website is popular in, the average duration per visit, popular traffic sources, and so much more. For marketing, partnerships, collaborations, and SEO—SimilarWebs’ free browser extension is very useful!

Shaun Connell, Founder & CEO, Credit Building Tips

16. Thinkific 

I absolutely love tools that allow you to get familiar with their service without feeling like you have to risk wasting hundreds of dollars for something that might not even be suitable for your needs. This is one reason I love Thinkific! 

This is a tool I wholeheartedly recommend to my clients because there are no gimmicks and it’s absolutely worth their time. First, I trust that it is a Canadian-based company (I may be biased)! Second, they generously offer the ability to create your first digital course, which can be accessible to an unlimited number of customers, all for free! Third, they provide an incredibly simple step-by-step process to get started in course creation with additional resources so you don’t feel lost. And you are never forced to upgrade unless you want to create more courses. 

Whether you are a new business owner or a starting entrepreneur, creating an online course is an incredible tool for additional income, so for me, Thinkific is an absolute must-try!
Ioni Papadakis, Owner, 9 Elephants Consulting Inc.

17. The Google Suite

There are many free online tools in Google Suite. These products range from Gmail to Drive to Docs and Sheets and more. The benefits of Google Calendar include the ability to schedule calls, set reminders for important tasks, and simply stay organized.

Additionally, if you make a reservation using Gmail, it will be put on your calendar instantly. You may also invite people to events or meetings and share your calendar with them. Google Docs makes it simple to transfer files back and forth by allowing you to create and modify documents from within your browser. For this reason, it is perfect for collaborating with guest bloggers on blog content. 

Although it is less well-known, Google Keep is a fantastic little tool that you can use to create to-do lists, take brief notes while you’re out and about, set reminders, and more. You can also easily share them with your colleagues. When I conduct reader surveys, I use Google Forms, since it presents the results in an incredibly user-friendly manner.

Himanshu Sharma, CEO & Founder, Academy of Digital Marketing

18. Midjourney

MidJourney is a free online AI image generator and is one of the best tools that everyone should be using. It allows users to create stunning visuals with ease in no time. 

The best part is that it requires minimal effort, as the user does not need to manually adjust each and every element of the image. MidJourney automatically adjusts the elements of the image to create a professional-looking design based on the user’s inputs. Its AI technology helps create an image that is more optimized for various devices. This makes it ideal for those who are creating visuals for websites or apps that need to be compatible with multiple devices. 
Mark McShane, Marketing Director, Leeds First Aid Courses