Start with one general assistant at about $20 a month. Add a second tool only for a job the first one does badly. For most owners that means one meeting note taker and, if email eats your day, one inbox tool. Prices below are from each vendor's own page, as of October 2026, in US dollars.
This list has no ranking. Each tool is grouped by the job it does, with what it costs and where it falls short. Test two options on your own work before you pay for a year.
The short answer
- Writing and thinking: one general assistant. ChatGPT or Claude if you work across many apps, Gemini if you live in Google Workspace, Copilot if you live in Microsoft 365.
- Meetings: one note taker, such as Fathom or Otter, if you have more than a few client calls a week.
- Email: the assistant built into your inbox first. A separate inbox tool only for heavy volume.
- Research: your general assistant's research mode, or Perplexity if you want sources on every answer.
- Admin: a calendar tool and one automation tool, once you know which steps repeat.
Writing: general assistants
These do most of the work: drafts, summaries, plans, first versions of proposals.
ChatGPT. The ChatGPT pricing page lists Free, Go at $8 a month, Plus at $20 a month and Pro from $100 a month. Business is $20 per user a month billed yearly, or $25 billed monthly, for 2 or more users (OpenAI's billing help). Strength: wide feature set and many people already know it. Limit: on personal plans, chats can be used for training unless you turn the setting off.
Claude. The Claude pricing page lists Pro at $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly, and Max from $100 a month. Team is $25 per seat a month, or $20 billed yearly, for 2 to 150 people. Claude connects to Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive, and asks before it sends or changes anything by default (Google Workspace connectors). Limit: like any assistant, it only knows your business if you tell it.
Gemini in Google Workspace. The Workspace pricing page lists Business Starter at $7 per user a month and Business Standard at $14, on a yearly plan. Starter includes Gemini in Gmail. Gemini in Docs and Meet starts with Standard. Strength: it sits where your email and files already are. Limit: it works best if your whole business runs on Google.
Microsoft 365 Copilot. Microsoft's business pricing page lists Copilot Business at $21 per user a month paid yearly, or $25.20 paid monthly. Yearly purchases between July 1 and December 31, 2026 get $18 for the first year. It is an add-on to a Microsoft 365 business plan. Bundles start at $23.50 per user a month with Business Standard. Limit: you pay for Microsoft 365 first.
There is a deeper comparison in ChatGPT vs Claude for business and Copilot vs ChatGPT for business.
Meetings: note takers
A note taker joins your call, writes a transcript and a summary, and lists action items.
- Fathom. The Fathom pricing page lists a free plan with unlimited recordings, and Premium at $20 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly. Team plans start at 2 users.
- Otter. The Otter pricing page lists a free plan with 300 minutes a month and up to 30 minutes per conversation. Pro lists at $16.99 per user a month, or $8.33 billed yearly, with 1,200 minutes a month. At the time of writing, Otter showed a lower promotional price.
Limit for both: tell clients you record, and check the consent rules where they live. The full comparison is in Fathom vs Otter.
Email: inbox assistants
Start with what your inbox already has. Gemini in Gmail can summarize threads, draft replies and find details in old emails (Gemini in Gmail help). Copilot in Outlook can draft emails and summarize threads (Copilot in Outlook help).
Separate inbox tools:
- Superhuman. Its plans page lists Business, which includes Superhuman Mail, at $33 per member a month billed yearly, or $40 monthly. It works with Google and Microsoft 365 accounts, as its help center explains.
- Fyxer. The Fyxer pricing page lists Pro at $37 per user a month billed yearly, or $49 monthly. It drafts replies and labels email, for Gmail or Outlook.
Limit: these tools need full access to your mailbox. Read their security page before you connect.
Research
- Perplexity. The Perplexity pricing page lists a free plan and Pro at $17 a month billed yearly. Every answer shows its sources. See Perplexity vs ChatGPT.
- Your general assistant. ChatGPT and Claude both have research modes on paid plans. Open the sources before you rely on a number.
Admin: calendar and automation
- Reclaim. The Reclaim pricing page lists a free Lite plan and Starter at $10 per seat a month billed yearly, or $12 monthly. It works with Google Calendar and Outlook.
- Zapier. The Zapier pricing page lists a free plan with 100 tasks a month and Professional from $19.99 a month billed yearly for 750 tasks.
- Make. The Make pricing page lists a free plan with 1,000 credits a month and Core at $9 a month on yearly billing for 10,000 credits.
Automation tools pay off only once a process is clear. See Zapier alternatives for more options.
How to choose in one week
- Write down the five tasks that took the most hours last week.
- Mark the ones that are mostly writing, reading or sorting. Those are the AI candidates.
- Test one general assistant on all five, on a free or monthly plan.
- Add a second tool only for a task the first one handled badly.
- Check each tool's data settings before you add client details.
- Cancel anything you did not open in the second week.
Every assistant does better with a one-page brief about your business. Here is how to write it, and how to make AI sound like you.
Nive is being built for this problem: you write how your business works and how you sound once, and it drafts emails in your voice for you to review and send. It never sends anything itself. Join the waitlist to get the demo first.