Best AI extensions
for students
A student browser does not need five AI extensions. It needs one that answers questions, one that helps you read faster, and possibly one for citations. Everything else is a toolbar you will disable in a fortnight.
Disclosure: Solvecoon is our own product and it is on this list. Checked August 2026.
How we judged them
- Does it do something a browser tab cannot already do?
- Does it work across course pages, PDFs, and slide decks?
- Is there an ongoing free tier?
- How much access does it request?
- Does it help you learn, or only help you submit?
The list
Solvecoon
OursBest for: answers and explanations in the page
Highlight anything for Solve, Explain, Summarize, or Translate, or snap a region for anything that is not text. Answers arrive with numbered steps, and history syncs to a web dashboard for revision. Five solves a day free.
Watch out: Follow-up questions are a Pro feature, so the free plan gives you one answer per question.
Google Translate
Best for: reading a whole page in another language
Free, fast, and the right tool when you need the gist of an entire page rather than a careful reading of one paragraph.
Watch out: Whole-page translation flattens tone and idiom, which matters if you are going to quote the source.
Zotero Connector
Best for: citations that do not eat your evening
Saves a source with its metadata in one click and builds the bibliography for you. Free, open source, and the single biggest time saver in essay work.
Watch out: It manages references; it will not read or summarize them.
Khan Academy
Best for: filling the gap under the question
Not an extension, but it belongs on any student list. When the reason you are stuck is a missing prerequisite, structured lessons fix it and no answer engine will.
Watch out: Slower than a solver, which is exactly the point.
Wolfram Alpha
Best for: checking a number you do not trust
A computational engine that is dependable for technical calculation, and a good second opinion when an AI answer feels off.
Watch out: Typing problems in its syntax is a skill, and step-by-step is paid.
Questions people ask
- How many AI extensions should I install?
- One that answers questions, and one for citations if you write essays. More than that and they start conflicting on selection and shortcut behaviour.
- Are these free?
- Google Translate, Zotero, and Khan Academy are free. Solvecoon has an ongoing free tier of five solves a day. Wolfram Alpha charges for step-by-step.
- Will my school allow them?
- Policies vary and are yours to check. Study aids used for understanding are usually fine; anything used during a graded assessment is not, and Solvecoon prohibits that use itself.
- What should I check before installing any of them?
- The permission list on the store page. An extension that wants access to all sites and your browsing history should be doing something that clearly needs it.
Start with the free one
Solvecoon gives you five solves a day on any page, with the steps included.
Add to Chrome →Free to try — 5 solves every day. No credit card.