The rule: fewer tools, used properly
The biggest mistake students make is collecting dozens of apps and studying from none. You need just four things: your textbook, one notes-and-tests site, one AI tutor for doubts, and a revision system. Everything below fits one of those roles. Pick one per role and start today.
1. NCERT textbooks (the non-negotiable base)
Free official PDFs, and the single most important resource for NEET - around 85-90% of NEET questions come straight from NCERT lines. For JEE, NCERT is the foundation you build problem-solving on top of. Read every line, table and diagram. Everything else on this list supports NCERT; nothing replaces it.
2. Zaymiey - free notes, tests, mocks & an AI tutor
Zaymiey is 100% free (no payment of any kind) and covers all 126 NCERT chapters for Class 11, 12, NEET and JEE:
- Three-tier notes with labelled diagrams - Key Points, Full Notes, and Advanced NEET/JEE content, for Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Math.
- Chapterwise tests at three levels and full NEET-style mock exams with an All-India-Rank estimate - start practising free.
- An AI tutor for instant doubt-clearing, and swipeable Study Reels for quick revision.
The workflow that works: read a chapter's notes, take its chapterwise test the same day, and revise with reels before bed.
3. Khan Academy - free video concepts
Free, ad-free video lessons that build concepts from scratch. Best for Maths and Physics when a topic is not clicking from text alone. Watch the concept, then immediately test yourself - do not let video-watching become passive.
4. PhET, Desmos & GeoGebra - see it, do not just read it
PhET Interactive Simulations (free) let you play with physics and chemistry - projectile motion, circuits, gas laws - so abstract ideas become obvious. Desmos and GeoGebra (free) let you graph functions, trig and conics live. For visual learners these turn the hardest Maths and Physics topics into something you can actually see.
5. A free AI tutor + Anki for revision
A free AI tutor (ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude) is your 24/7 doubt-solver - ask it to explain concepts, quiz you, and summarise chapters (always verify facts against NCERT). See our full AI study guide and prompt list. For raw memory - formulas, reactions, biology facts - Anki (free) uses spaced repetition so you revise exactly when you are about to forget.
How to combine them (a simple free stack)
Learn from NCERT + Khan Academy videos. Understand & revise with Zaymiey notes, reels and an AI tutor. Practise with Zaymiey chapterwise tests and mocks. See the hard topics on PhET/Desmos. Memorise with Anki. That is a complete, genuinely free prep setup - no coaching fees.