Section 3 · About 2 minutes, 8 taps
The AI stack picker
Tell me which little jobs you want off your plate and what you already pay for. You’ll get one recommendation with what to use, what it costs per month, and the first three things to set up. It runs in your browser, so nothing you tap is sent anywhere.
Your family AI stack
Your stack shows up here
Answer the questions and tap Show my stack. You’ll get the monthly cost, three setup steps, the runner-up and a free alternative. The link updates too, so you can share it or come back when the kids’ ages or your budget change.
Email me one 10-minute setup a week
Get The Family AI Stack: one little family job a week, handed off in about 10 minutes, plus a heads-up if a tool in your stack changes in a way that affects your setup.
No sponsors here. The picker’s ranking comes only from the rules below. Sponsored picks, if we ever have them, appear in a labeled box under the results and never change what the picker recommends.
How the picker decides
Rules run top to bottom, and the first one that matches sets your main pick. Ties and the runner-up use a simple score: +2 if it matches your home’s ecosystem, +2 if you already pay for it, +1 per job it covers, −3 if it’s over budget, −2 if it needs more tech comfort than you picked. We don’t get paid by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or Microsoft.
| # | If… | Recommend |
|---|---|---|
| R1 | You already pay for ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI or Microsoft 365 (and don’t need everything to stay on your computer) | Keep it. Don’t add another. Link its playbook. |
| R2 | Must stay on my computer, and the computer has 8 GB+ of memory | LM Studio (“I can follow a guide”) or Ollama (“I’ll install things”), plus a model sized to your hardware |
| R3 | Must stay local, but no capable hardware | Explain the hardware tiers; fall back to cloud with incognito chats and training off |
| R4 | Budget $0 | Google household with school email or calendar jobs: Gemini (free), which can read Gmail and Calendar. Otherwise ChatGPT Free (if you want tasks on a schedule) or Claude Free; homeschool adds MagicSchool + Khanmigo teacher tools |
| R5 | Budget up to $5 or $10 and a Google household | Google AI Plus, $4.99/mo |
| R6 | Budget up to $10 | ChatGPT Go, $8/mo (may show ads, 3 tasks) |
| R7 | Microsoft/Outlook household, $20+ | Microsoft 365 Family $12.99 (Copilot for the owner only), or Premium $19.99 if you want an agent |
| R8 | Google household, $20+ | Google AI Pro $19.99 (5 TB shared with up to 5 others) |
| R9 | $20+, run on a schedule, school emails | ChatGPT Plus $20 (Gmail-triggered tasks, 5 exact-time tasks) |
| R10 | $20+, run on a schedule, writing or business admin | Claude Pro $20/mo ($17/mo yearly) |
| R11 | “Act for me” and $100+ | ChatGPT Pro 100 (Dot) or Claude Max 5x, with a supervision warning |
| R12 | Kid tutoring is a job | Add Khanmigo’s parent plan, $4/mo, if the budget allows |
| R13 | “Just tell me what to tap” | Never a local model or an agent as the main pick |
Local model sizes come from the Ollama library pages. Matching a model to your memory is my rule of thumb, not a cited figure: the download should fit in your graphics card’s memory on a PC, or in about two-thirds of the RAM on an Apple Silicon Mac. LM Studio recommends 16 GB+ of RAM, and Intel Macs aren’t supported.
Sources
- OpenAI Help: Scheduled tasks in ChatGPT
- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT release notes (Aug 28, 2026: Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Contacts plugins, Plus and Pro)
- ChatGPT: Plans and pricing
- OpenAI: Introducing ChatGPT Go (Jan 16, 2026)
- OpenAI Help: About ChatGPT Pro tiers
- OpenAI Help: Getting started with your Dot
- Claude: Pricing
- Claude Help: Schedule recurring tasks in Claude Cowork
- Google One: Google AI plans (US)
- Gemini Apps Help: Schedules in Gemini Apps
- Gemini Apps Help: Connect the Google Workspace app to Gemini Apps (Gmail, Calendar, Keep, Tasks)
- Gemini Notebook Help: Learn about Gemini Notebook’s plans
- Microsoft: Copilot pricing for individuals (incl. FAQ)
- Microsoft 365 Blog: Meet Microsoft 365 Premium (Oct 1, 2025; US prices table)
- Microsoft Store: Microsoft 365 Premium
- Microsoft Support: Using Copilot Tasks
- Khanmigo: Pricing
- Khanmigo: For parents
- MagicSchool: Pricing and plans
- Ollama: Pricing
- LM Studio: System requirements
- LM Studio: App terms (free for home and work use)
- Ollama library: gemma4
- Ollama library: gpt-oss
All checked Oct 18, 2026 unless noted. Prices change. If something’s out of date, reply to any newsletter issue and I’ll fix it.