8 Best Free Apps For Teachers in 2023

With the rise of both online teaching and EdTech, there are more and more apps for educators than ever before. They offer a great way to connect with students that are more tech-savvy than any generation previously while providing teachers with an often convenient way to track students' performance. So, considering this, we have put together some of the best apps that teachers can get their hands on this school year.

Top software for teachers

1. Mentimeter
2. Quizlet
3. Photomath
4. Evernote 
5. Additio
6. Animoto
7. Google Classroom
8. ClassDojo

1. The Interactive Choice - Mentimeter

There are countless apps and online tools that teachers can use to assist their students and improve the learning environment. So time to put the old ring binders and A4 pads to the side and bring out the smartphones and laptops. This list isn’t focused on handwritten notes, more about the coding that goes behind some of the best apps on the market. 

• Price plans: Free version available / Basic is $9.99 per month / Pro is $24.99 per month

Thanks to our series of Education Templates, teachers can create get started, and show what is possible with Mentimeter. What is more, each and every one of our interactive Quiz Questions, Word Clouds, and more, are completely anonymous and show results in real-time. Students can, therefore, submit answers and thoughts without fear of judgment. 

I mean perhaps we’re a little bit biased but teachers and students have been using Mentimeter for years! Of, what’s more, we’re integrated with some of the world’s leading video conferencing, so distance and online teaching is even more streamlined.

2. The Knowledge Tester - Quizlet

Many may think of Quizlet as just flashcards but this easy-to-use app is perfect for self-paced learning, no matter what the subject. Teachers can benefit from the app's interactivity to help students memorize and better understand key teaching points and track student progress.

We love the interactive element as well as the downloadable study sets, so teachers can find inspiration from other users. Memorizing information is still an important part of many subjects and Quizlet provides a fun way of testing students to help hammer home those vital facts and figures. 

• Price plans: Free version available / Quizlet Go is $35.88 per year / Quizlet Plus is $47.88 per year.

3. The Math Magician - Photomath

One for all the math teachers out there, Photomath is probably best utilized outside of the classroom when kids may be given homework or extra assignments. Parents often struggle to assist their kids during these times and Photomath can help minimize student frustrations while working in their own time. The app has been proven to be effective at solving a multitude of different problems from algebra to trigonometry, and can even help with handwritten notes! 

Photomath will come into its own in the world of hybrid learning. Having an additional tool to help students walk through solutions should free up time for teachers to ensure everyone in the class is on the same page and no one is getting left behind. 

• Price plans: Free version available / Photomath+ is $9.99 per month or $59.99 per year.

4. The Organizer - Evernote

Gone are the days of writing assignments on the black or whiteboard. Teachers can nowadays upload and organize notes, assignments, instructions, and reading materials online for their students in a matter of seconds. By centralizing all of this available information, students no longer have an excuse for forgetting what the homework was or where study material can be found. 

The Nerdy Teacher, who used Evernote exclusively for all his classroom notes and extra resources for his students, highlights just how useful and functional Evernote can be from a remote learning perspective. Recording his lessons and uploading them online was particularly interesting!  

• Price plans: Evernote Basic is free / Evernote Premium is $7.99 per month or $69.99 per year.

5. The Electronic Learning Management System - Additio

Ahhhh more organization… the ordered part of my brain loves an app like this! From a grade book and calendar to attendance records and class planner, Additio is packed full of features. Like many other apps, centralizing all of these features means it's tougher for notes, observations, and to-dos to go missing. 

Additio can be a great way to make sure no student, be they sitting at their desk or their kitchen table, is overlooked. Teachers can check the progress of each student, quickly communicate with parents on urgent matters, and even select random students for participation - so you don’t choose the same kids over and over. 

• Price plans: Free version is available / For Schools contact Additio for exact prices.

6. The Visual Lesson - Animoto

It doesn’t matter if it’s TikTok or YouTube, videos are how students young and old consume information. So it’s time to adapt to modern times and make use of video to keep students engaged and interested in what they are learning. 

Animoto lets teachers use their own videos as part of their lesson plan or allows students to create some visually creative presentations. Video-based lessons can be the perfect way to bring some life to the digital classroom and teach kids through the most popular medium available. 

• Price plans: Plus is $9.99 per month / Professional is $29 per month or $180 per year / Professional + is $79 per month or $468 per year. Classroom accounts are free.

7. The Free Package - Google Classroom 

Of course one of the world’s largest companies would have a solution for the classroom. Many educators have moved to online documentation, flocking to Google Drive and Google Docs. Therefore, those embedded in the Google ecosystem will find it all the more useful to add another Google tool to their toolbox. 

This is the biggest benefit of Google Classroom - there’s no need to change tools and everything is together in one place. It’s easy for teachers to share files, and easier still for students to log in and have access to all of their resources. 

• Price plans: A free base version but there is paid version that includes additional features. 

8. For Communicating - ClassDojo

ClassDojo is a type of classroom management software that helps teachers communicate with students and their parents away from the classroom itself. The goal of ClassDojo, as they say, themselves, is to turn classrooms into communities. 

To achieve this, it features a feed that allows anyone to upload photos and videos to share, showcase, and highlight kids’ achievements. Students can create a type of digital portfolio that features their best work for all to see.

• Price plans: A free version is available as well as a paid place that starts at $4.99/month.

Looking to try out some educational software?

Now of course this is not a complete list! There are more apps for teachers than we can count - perhaps we need something like Photomath to help us calculate exactly how many. But all of the apps listed will be invaluable going forward in hybrid teaching scenarios. 

Going forward teachers will look to utilize apps and other EdTech (education technology) tools to help make hybrid learning as fluid a system as can be. The future of education, just like work, will be a fascinating topic of conversation and Mentimeter wants to improve the experience.