16 Free AI Workplace Tools: Which Stay Free as You Grow?

Which free AI workplace tools are on IMDA's list?

Here are all sixteen, with the free option as stated on each vendor's site in October 2026.

How we chose and what 'free' means here

We did not pick these tools. IMDA did, describing the list as curated from multiple sources, considering signals of market adoption, generally positive user sentiment and relevance to local SMEs' needs. They are not pre-approved solutions, so they do not qualify for EDGE Grant support.

We opened each vendor's pricing page in October 2026 and wrote down the free terms as stated. Where a page did not confirm the free option, we say so. A free plan has no end date but caps users, boards or storage. A free trial gives you the full product for 14 or 30 days, then you pay. Where a tool's AI sits only on paid plans, we flag it, because the AI is usually why it made IMDA's list.

Which all-in-one workplace suite should an SME pick?

Your suite holds email, documents, calendars and meetings. Pick it first; everything else connects to it.

• Google Workspace: Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets and Meet under your own domain. Google's pricing page offers a 14-day trial on business plans. Gemini comes in at every level: the entry plan has basic access, Starter adds Gemini in Gmail, and Standard and above put Gemini inside Docs, Sheets and other apps. Best for: a café group or clinic. Limit: the AI you see in demos may sit on a higher plan.
• Microsoft 365: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams and OneDrive. Microsoft offers a one-month free trial of Business Standard for up to 25 users. A credit card is required, and the trial converts to a paid subscription unless you cancel. Best for: an accounting firm or contractor whose clients send Excel and Word files. For Copilot, see our AI assistants guide.
• Lark: Chat, docs, sheets, meetings and approvals in one app from ByteDance. Lark's plans page lists a free Starter plan for up to 20 users with 100 GB of storage and no credit card. Best for: a logistics SME with field staff who need chat, forms and approvals on their phones. Limit: video calls on Starter are one-to-one.
• DingTalk: Alibaba's workplace app for chat, attendance, approvals and meetings. IMDA lists a free tier; check the vendor's current terms. Best for: a trading or manufacturing SME working daily with China-based suppliers who already use it.

Are Notion, Miro and Airtable free for small teams?

• Notion: Docs, wikis and databases in one workspace. The free plan is aimed at individuals; once a workspace has two or more members, a block limit applies, file uploads cap at 5 MB, and you can invite up to 10 guests. Free includes a trial of Notion AI, which can draft documents and fill in database fields. Best for: writing up SOPs and onboarding guides. Limit: a growing team will hit the block cap.
• Miro: An online whiteboard for workshops, process maps and planning. Miro's free plan has unlimited members and unlimited boards, but only the three most recent stay editable. It includes a limited AI allowance on the free plan. Best for: mapping a process before you automate it. Limit: no guest role on free, so anyone you invite becomes a full member.
• Airtable: Spreadsheets that behave like a database, with forms, views and automations. Airtable's pricing page says that on the free plan all users are free; it caps records, attachments and automation runs, and you cannot add more records once you reach the limit. Best for: a renovation contractor tracking jobs, materials and subcontractors. Limit: check the current caps before you move live data in.

Which free project management tool is best for an SME?

Six project tools are on the list. These are the ones most Singapore SMEs shortlist.

• ClickUp: Tasks, docs, chat and dashboards in one place. The Free Forever plan allows unlimited members and guests, includes 500 AI credits per workspace, and caps file storage at 60 MB. Best for: a team that wants one tool instead of five. Limit: guests on free get full edit rights, and storage fills quickly if you attach files.
• Trello: Simple Kanban boards with cards and lists. Free for up to 10 collaborators per workspace, up to 10 boards, unlimited Power-Ups and unlimited storage at 10 MB per file. AI is listed on Standard and Premium, not free. Best for: a small team that just needs to see who is doing what.
• Asana: Task and project tracking with clear owners and due dates. The free Personal plan lets two users collaborate; Asana AI is included on paid plans. Best for: a founder and one manager. Limit: a team of five will outgrow free on day one.
• monday work management: Colourful boards for operations and projects. Free for up to two seats, three boards and three docs; AI features start on the Basic plan, and a 14-day trial of Pro is available. Best for: trying the board layout before committing.
• Jira: Atlassian's tracker for software and technical teams. Free forever for up to 10 users; Standard and Premium have 14-day and 30-day trials. Best for: an SME with an in-house developer or IT team. Limit: its language (sprints, issues, backlogs) can feel heavy for non-technical work.
• Basecamp: Projects, message boards, to-dos and schedules for client work. Free for one project with up to five users and 1 GB; paid plans have 30-day trials (45 days on Unlimited) with no card required. Best for: an agency running one pilot project. Limit: you must delete your free project to start another.

What about Smartsheet, Wrike and Teamwork.com?

• Smartsheet: Project plans in a spreadsheet layout, with Gantt charts and reports. No free plan, but 30 days free with no credit card. Best for: a contractor already planning jobs in Excel.
• Wrike: Work management for teams running many projects at once. Free plan with no card covering task management, Board and Table views; a 14-day trial for paid plans, where AI features begin. Best for: a growing team that expects to scale up.
• Teamwork.com: Client project management with time tracking, built for agencies. Free for up to five users and five projects, with a 14-day trial of paid plans and no card. Best for: a marketing or design agency billing by the hour.

How do you choose the right one for your business?

Run any trial with your real projects for two weeks. If you also need finance tools, read our finance and HR tools guide; if you want to build a custom internal app instead, see the app builders guide.

What do free AI workplace tools not do for you?

• Collecting status: Someone has to read the site group, chase the supplier and update the card.
• Connecting tools: Your board does not know that an invoice was paid in Xero or that stock ran out.
• Your rules and approvals: Who approves a variation order or a purchase over a set amount is your process, not a template.
• Reporting: Turning tasks, sheets and chats into a Monday briefing for the director is still manual work.
• Data handling: Under the PDPA you remain responsible for client data you put into any tool.

A project tool is only as current as its last update. In most SMEs, the real status lives in WhatsApp groups, site photos and voice notes.

Tool on its own vs tool + Biks

Both are good choices in different situations. Here is a fair comparison.

How Biks can help with workplace and project work

Biks builds on Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Sheets and WhatsApp and keeps them in place. A multi-outlet F&B brand reconciles 13 outlets against the bank every day under its own rules, and its team has 2 hours a day back. A property developer has logged thousands of stock movements from the field. These workflows go live in weeks.

For owners and directors, Rapi™ is an executive assistant in WhatsApp. It reads documents, spreadsheets, photos and voice notes, researches with cited sources, drafts reports and decks, and sends recurring briefings, such as the Monday project status you now assemble by hand. Request access on the Rapi™ page or book a call. For the wider picture, see the IMDA free AI tools guide.