I know how overwhelming it can be to choose the right software for your business, especially when you are only at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey. With so many tools for startups, limited time, and tight budgets, how do you know which ones are actually worth it?
To support you at this stage, I’ve analyzed 25 business tools for startups, exploring their features, plans, as well as practical value. The list covers major categories, including marketing, sales, CRM, finance, and other important areas.
Discover the best startup tools and select the perfect one for your brainchild.
For more details on each solution, continue reading the article.
I’ve analyzed 25 affordable startup tools for lead generation, marketing, collaboration, support, finance, and other crucial areas.
Here is a summary table of the 10 best startup tools for 2026 I would recommend trying.
| Tool | Key features | Pricing per month | Free plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snov.io | Cold email sequences, LinkedIn automation, Email Finder and Verifier, sales CRM, email warm-up, Sales-trained AI | from $39 | ✅ | Early-stage B2B teams needing an all-in-one tool for sales and outreach automation with built-in CRM |
| Brevo | Email/SMS/WhatsApp automation, campaign templates, transactional SMTP, CRM lite | from $9 | ✅ | Teams looking to launch multichannel marketing campaigns with simple automation |
| Canva | Ready-to-use design templates, brand kits, stock media library, drag-and-drop editor | from $15 | ✅ | Founders and non-design small teams needing high-quality visuals for various purposes |
| Ahrefs | Keyword research, backlink analysis, rank tracking, site audit, content explorer | from $29 | ✅ | Content-driven startups prioritizing SEO research and audit |
| Meta Ads | Campaign setup, targeting, Meta Pixel, tracking tools | from $1 to $500 per day (billed for ads) | ❌ | B2C, e-commerce, or local service startups that want to drive sales through paid social |
| Trello | Kanban boards, Butler automation, workflow templates | from $5 per user | ✅ | Visual project management for small teams |
| HubSpot CRM | Contact/deals, pipelines, CRM import and export, reports, email automation | from $15 | ✅ | Startups that need a free yet feature-rich CRM with scalability options |
| Zendesk | Omnichannel tickets, CRM integration, self-service knowledge base, AI agents, reports | from $25 | ✅ | Startups that are going to provide multichannel support at scale |
| Mixpanel | Funnels, retention, and conversion reporting, alerts on metric changes | from $0.28 per 1000 events | ✅ | Product teams seeking a tool for measuring activations, retention, and other events |
| Xero | Invoicing, live bank feeds, reconciliation, and multi-currency support | from $25 (now $2.5) | ✅ | Startups looking for a reliable finance management platform with live bank feeds and reconciliation |
I’ve analyzed all startup software solutions based on their core capabilities, affordability, and usability. I also cross-checked with trusted sources, like Capterra and G2, to identify the pros and cons of each tool based on the ongoing customer experience.
My main goal was to identify the business tools for startups that deliver real value for teams, especially in their early-growth stages.
Here’s a breakdown of all parameters I took for my analysis:
Analyzing each startup software, I’ve explored its main features as well as the business needs it can cover. I focused on how the solution helps a small team get the job done with minimal setup. Based on core functionality, I grouped all tools into seven categories, so you can quickly find what fits your startup’s needs.
When you’re just starting out, you may not have much time for long-term training. So, while analyzing the best startup tools, I looked at whether the solution requires specific technical skills, keeps onboarding steps minimal, plus whether it offers a user-friendly interface, so your team can focus on work instead of learning.
Analyzing business tools for startups, I’ve also tested factors such as chat/email support availability, clarity of the help center, and additional useful product resources provided.
Here, my goal was to identify SaaS tools for startups that can deliver real value even with tight budgets. So, I checked if the platform offers a trial period, allowing users to test its features in a real workflow. Then I’ve compared plans and features to surface the most affordable startup tools in each category.
I cross-checked ratings and reviews on trusted sources such as G2, Capterra, Product Hunt, etc., to validate real-world customer feedback. Analyzing user opinions allowed me to reveal the repeated pros and cons of business tools for startups, so I could select those platforms that have the highest acclaim.
I’ve also highlighted startup software capabilities that can be extremely helpful for early-stage growth. This may include ready-to-use templates, easy automation, convenient analytic dashboards, or other useful features.
Even an experienced entrepreneur may be fed up with juggling between hundreds of services, let alone young businesses. It’s clear that the best startup tools should integrate smoothly with your existing workflows. So, I’ve checked if the solution can be synced with the most common startup stack, such as email platforms, CRMs, calendars, etc.
When you’re just starting out, your tool stack usually aligns with immediate objectives. That’s why I decided to group the best startup tools by the most common business needs.
Click on each category to get down to the related business tools for startups I’ve evaluated.
In this section, I’ve selected 5 top SaaS tools for startups that you can effectively use for sales prospecting automation.
Best for: High-quality prospecting, cold outreach automation, with a free CRM
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans start from $39.
Snov.io stands out among the SaaS tools for startups as an all-in-one solution for sales engagement and AI-powered automation. With this software, you can find and verify email addresses of high-quality leads, launch multichannel cold outreach campaigns, grow your sender reputation, and track your performance in customizable dashboards.
Owing to Snov.io’s AI ICP and Buyer Persona Generator, you can generate ICP variants from product and company descriptions for your lead generation goals. This platform helps you prospect leads all over the web, as well as on social networks like LinkedIn, adding them to your deals in Snov.io’s free CRM.
But that’s not all. You can then create email and LinkedIn sequences, quickly tailoring them to your startup goals with the help of Snov.io’s ICP based AI Email Builder.
On top of that, Snov.io provides deliverability tools to ensure your emails always reach your prospects’ inboxes.
Unique Snov.io features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
Snov.io provides clear guidance during setup, so getting started takes a few minutes. The interface is straightforward and intuitive. I personally like that Snov.io’s Knowledge Base stays visible in the bottom-left corner on every page in the app. So you can quickly access helpful articles and practical tips without losing your focus.
Snov.io also includes guides and video tutorials across the main sections. If you still have questions, you can reach a support manager via the chat button, which is available 24/7 in the bottom-right corner. The best part is that you’ll get a real person, not just a bot.
From my experience, although AI agents can be effective, they often miss context and some nuances, leading to senseless and time-consuming back-and-forth. A human assistant, on the other hand, can quickly spot your issue and get you covered with a personalized solution, which is especially crucial for startups.
Pricing:
The platform offers a forever-free trial that allows you to collect or verify emails, send multiple email campaigns for generating leads that perfectly match your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) within a 50+million profile database.
To access enhanced automation, warm-up, mailbox rotation, in-depth analytics, and other advanced features, you can choose one of the paid options, which start from $39/month*. Paid subscriptions also enable scalability, allowing you to connect more sender accounts and handle higher volumes for recipients, email search, and personalization.
* Please note that prices may change over time. Always verify details on the provider’s official website for the most up-to-date information.
Market reputation:
Most customers claim Snov.io is a remarkable SaaS tool for startups owing to its powerful lead generation and outreach features. Among the minuses, users distinguish a bit restrictive options for automated lead rooting via its CRM.
Integrations:
My opinion: Snov.io is a wonderful SaaS tool for startups seeking an all-in-one platform for their marketing and sales growth. A forever-free plan and all necessary features being included in one pricing package make it an affordable tool for startups as well. And let me send best wishes to their support – guys make the onboarding process easy.
Best for: Startups running high-volume cold email campaigns from multiple inboxes.
G2 rating: 4.8/5
Pricing: No free plan. A 14-day trial period. Paid plans start from $37.
Instantly is a cold email outreach tool for running outbound campaigns. It allows you to build sequences, send them from multiple accounts, and manage replies in a single inbox.
The platform also provides features for optimizing deliverability, tracking campaign results, and lead searching. This multifunctionality makes it one of the business tools for startups worth analyzing and reviewing.
Instantly features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
The sign-up is fast and easy, while the platform’s interface is clear and straightforward — I could set up everything without needing extra support. Navigation through the tool isn’t difficult overall, but I wish Instantly provided product hints that would guide you through the onboarding process.
Moreover, it was not very obvious to me where I could find helpful articles or documentation to learn more about complex features related to deliverability. The thing is that the Help section is tucked behind the chat bubble. I recommend reading a few articles on deliverability tools before applying them, especially if you are new to this process.
Pricing:
The platform doesn’t offer a free plan option. However, you can access some of the paid features for free on a 14-day trial period.
The pricing for paid options depends on what you want to leverage the platform for. Each tool category is billed separately. For example, if you want to send emails, you pay for the outreach feature plan. If you want to add lead search tools or CRM, you’ll need to pay additionally.
Market reputation:
Overall, users like the opportunity to fulfill their lead gen tasks with Instantly. The downside of this service, as customers often highlight, however, is a steep learning curve.
Integrations:
Instantly integrates with popular CRMs such as HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, and other tools.
My opinion: Instantly can be considered as one of the SaaS tools for startups you can try for lead generation. However, if you compare it to Snov.io, for instance, this platform may be more complicated during the onboarding process and doesn’t include all features in a single pricing plan. Plus, you won’t be able to use it for free after the trial period.
→ Lead 5 lead gen strategies for small businesses in this guide.
Best for: Teams who need to combine multichannel outreach with CRM integration.
Capterra rating: 4.6/5
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Pricing: No classic free plan. A 14-day trial period. Paid plans start from $69.
Lemlist is a sales outreach platform for building sequences across LinkedIn and email. It supports personalized messaging, follow-up automation, and basic analytics tools to track campaign performance. You can also connect your CRM to Lemlist to keep outreach interactions in one place.
Lemlist features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
The setup process is fast and easy. Once you log in, the platform provides you with a step-by-step guide on how to configure your first outreach campaign. On the main dashboard, you can also find a link to Lemlist Academy, where you’ll find helpful additional explanations and video tutorials on setting up.
The interface is clear and intuitive. All main features are conveniently located on the left toolbar. I personally like the search bar at the top of the app, allowing me to type in and quickly find the desired functionality.
Pricing:
Lemlist doesn’t offer a classic free plan; that’s why you won’t find information about it on the pricing page. However, after a 14-day free trial, you automatically get continued free access to the app. You’ll be able to use the received credits to find emails or organize contacts, but you won’t be able to launch campaigns.
The platform offers several paid options that differ by outreach channels (email only or multichannel) and scalability. The basic plan is not the cheapest among my list of SaaS tools for startups. As for the more tiers, they provide advanced team features that, in my viewpoint, are better suited for large enterprises than startups.
Market reputation:
Overall, companies appreciate Lemlist for its versatile features. Among the cons, users name the limited lead management possibilities.
Integrations:
Lemlist integrates with major CRM platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zapier, etc.
My opinion: Lemlist creates a positive impression in terms of usability and functionality that would suit startups well. On the other hand, its basic pricing plan is a bit more expensive than other solutions with similar features can offer.
Best for: Startup teams that primarily need accurate email discovery and simple cold email campaigns.
Capterra rating: 4.6/5
G2 rating: 4.4/5
Pricing: A free plan is available. Paid plans start from $49.
Hunter is a prospecting and outreach tool that is commonly used for finding email addresses and sending simple cold email campaigns. It doesn’t offer too complicated functionality, but the platform provides a massive database of work emails collected from public services. This makes Hunter one of the business tools for startups I wanted to test.
Hunter features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding
The registration process is fast and easy. The interface is straightforward and not overloaded with features, so you can quickly navigate to what you need.
I also like that every section in the app includes a tutorial on how to work with this specific functionality. However, in my opinion, the UI is intuitive, so you can leverage the platform without extra learning.
Pricing:
Hunter offers a free plan for one account with light campaign options plus basic database filters. For more advanced filtering, AI-powered features, and priority support, you can switch to paid subscription options.
Market reputation:
Customers find Hunter a helpful platform for startups. Among the key minuses, however, some users single out steep pricing jumps when you level up your subscription.
Integrations:
Hunter syncs with Zoho CRM, Hubspot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Gmail, Microsoft, as well as other CRM, email, and automation platforms.
My opinion: Hunter can be a good tool for startups that don’t seek advanced features. It’s user-friendly and intuitive with affordable pricing. However, if you compare it with Snov.io, for instance, the latter is cheaper but offers more diverse functionality.
Best for: teams that are looking for an outreach platform that combines basic prospecting tools, sequences, and a built-in dialer.
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
G2 rating: 4.7/5
Pricing: Free plan is available. Paid plans start from $59.
Apollo is a sales engagement platform designed to find prospects, build lead lists, and create outbound campaigns. The platform provides a database of B2B contacts and various features for outreach, including email sequences, calls, and tracking tools. As a business tool for startups, Apollo can help find and connect decision-makers effectively.
Apollo features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
Frankly, the setup wasn’t smooth due to some technical issues. But after several attempts, I was able to create my account. The interface feels familiar if you’ve ever worked with sales automation or lead generation tools before.
However, in my opinion, the UI is overpacked with features, making navigation a bit challenging. Consider that it may take some time to get comfortable with settings and technical details, especially if you have no prior experience with sales platforms. I recommend walking through the Knowledge Base to speed up the process.
Pricing:
The platform provides a free plan with limited functionality. To access advanced features, CRM options, and more precise filtering, you’ll need a paid subscription. Paid tiers also expand reporting, call management, as well as integration options. You can try advanced functionality on a 14-day free trial.
Market reputation:
Users appreciate that Apollo provides lots of lead data. On the flip side, many customers claim that the platform is rather difficult to get through at the beginning.
Integrations:
Apollo integrates with HubSpot, Salesforce, Sengrid, Clay, as well as other tools, including phone and email validation apps.
My opinion: Apollo has lots to offer to startups and small businesses. The problem that I personally found was the signup process and onboarding. Plus, the price is not the cheapest among the rest of the similar solutions I reviewed in this article.
Below, I provide the top SaaS tools for startups that you can effectively use for project and team organization.
Best for: any startup team
Capterra rating: 4.7/5
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Pricing: Free plan is available. Paid plans start from $8.75 per person.
Slack is a team collaboration platform that functions as a real-time company chat. It enables direct messaging between team members, allowing you to create channels for organizing joint discussions around topics, projects, departments, or other categories.
Slack features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding
The registration process is easy. All you have to do is write down your email and then enter the code sent to this address to sign up. Once you log in, you receive product hints that guide you towards the setup process right away.
I personally like that the platform provides quick, helpful guides for each stage of setting up your Slack account. Plus, with its video tutorials, you can learn more about how to use the tool’s features for your business.
Pricing:
Slack offers a free plan that can be a good choice for startups at an early stage. Although most AI-powered functions are not available for free, all major collaboration features can be used almost without limitation.
Paid subscriptions, which start from $8.75 per person, differ in providing automation tools, AI assistants, and an expanded timeline for chat history storage. Plus, with any paid plan, you access 24/7 support. You can explore a Pro subscription with a 30-day trial period.
Market reputation:
Almost all users highlight how easy it is to organize team processes with Slack. As a downside, many customers point out some inconveniences with channel notifications.
Integrations:
Slack is a real integration machine. The tool syncs with Jira, Outlook Calendar, Google Drive, Asana, DocuSign, etc., which makes it a true collaboration hub.
My opinion: Due to its easy onboarding paired with seamless integration with most enterprise software, Slack is a good communication tool for startups, combining task management, real-time collaboration, and workflow automation.
Best for: Teams seeking affordable startup tools to organize their workflow.
Capterra rating: 4.6/5
G2 rating: 4.7/5
Pricing: Free plan is available. Paid plans start from $10.
ClickUp is an all-in-one platform for project and workflow management. Here you can combine tasks, documents, calendars, and dashboards in one space. This startup software also supports time tracking, automation, and optimization with AI.
ClickUp features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding
In my opinion, the tool’s interface is quite simple and easy to navigate. Once you log in, the platform provides a guide to help you get started. You can also quickly access the Resource Center with ClickUp University, glossary, demos, Help Center, videos, and other helpful materials.
Pricing
What makes ClickUp one of the best startup tools is that it provides a Free Forever plan. The platform also offers several paid options, allowing you to increase feature limits as your business scales and access more integrations, as well as priority support.
Market reputation:
Users love this tool for its flexibility, but sometimes underline problems with slowing down processes, as well as inconveniences with finding necessary features during the onboarding process.
Integrations:
ClickUp seamlessly integrates with popular platforms such as Slack, Gitlab, Zapier, Figma, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
My opinion: ClickUp is, without a doubt, one of the most affordable startup tools for project management. The service is flexible, allowing you to keep tasks, docs, whiteboards, and goals in one customizable workspace. Furthermore, it syncs with other powerful solutions you can use for your startup.
Best for: Teams seeking visual project management with lightweight collaboration features.
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
G2 rating: 4.4/5
Pricing: Free plan is available. Paid plans start from $6 per user.
If we are talking about SaaS tools for startups that allow for organizing workflows without any specific skills, Trello is one of the solutions that come to mind. This is a visual kanban board for simple project management.
Trello features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
The platform supports the setup process with clear clues. When I started my first board, the tool offered a step-by-step guide on what to start with.
As this is a drag-and-drop solution, building your Kanban board is fast and easy. I also like that the platform provides pre-made workflows for various project types and purposes.
Pricing:
The free plan includes basic features and up to 10 members per workspace. You can also switch to paid options for more automation, AI features, plus unlimited boards.
Market reputation:
Almost all users highlight how intuitive Trello is owing to its visual board. Yet, many customers point out that with time, the tool becomes harder to navigate.
Integrations:
Trello syncs with many popular services like Slack, Google Drive, Salesforce, etc.
My opinion: Trello is a great solution for product management as it provides a visual representation of all your tasks, with relevant labels, comments, due dates, and checklists. A freemium and a low-priced standard plan make it an affordable startup tool. However, as soon as your product grows, it may become a bit complicated to navigate through all those task cards on your board.
This startup software list must be especially helpful for those of you who are seeking a reliable tool that you can use for inbound lead generation.
Best for: Startups that need to build a strong online presence with the possibility to manage multiple social media profiles.
Capterra rating: 4.4/5
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Pricing: No free plan. 30-day free trial. Paid plans start from $149.
Hootsuite is a social media marketing and management platform. With this tool, you can create, run, and track campaigns across the majority of popular social media on one dashboard. Hootsuite covers scheduling, engagement, monitoring, analytics, as well as team workflows.
Hootsuite features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
The sign-up process is quite straightforward. The onboarding process is fast and smooth due to product hints and clear explanations across all the first steps. I’ve also watched a few video tutorials to find out everything I can do using this platform.
Hootsuite’s interface is easy to navigate. Scheduling my first post took me a couple of minutes. However, more advanced features, such as Streams or Analytics, come with a moderate learning curve.
Pricing:
The platform doesn’t offer a free plan; instead, it provides a 30-day free trial for paid subscriptions. Paid plans are not cheap overall, differing by the number of connected accounts, analytics depth, and various add-ons.
Market reputation:
Users love Hootsuite for the opportunity to manage different social media accounts. On the other hand, many customers claim analytics and reporting should be improved.
Integrations:
Hootsuite offers 100+ integrations, including Salesforce, Slack, HubSpot, Asana, etc.
My opinion: If the core of your startup is social media growth, Hootsuite can be a great solution. Just be prepared to invest more than $100 monthly to manage your digital marketing activities in one place.
Best for: Teams that need an affordable startup tool for launching transactional emails and SMS/WhatsApp communications.
Capterra rating: 4.6/5
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Pricing: Free plan is available. Paid plans start from $9.
Brevo is an all-in-one platform for marketing, sales, and customer data management. The platform provides a basic CRM, automation tools, and toolkits for sending email, SMS, and WhatsApp campaigns.
Brevo features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
Despite extensive functionality, the platform is easy to use. The main interface is simple, allowing smooth navigation. To build a campaign, you work in a drag-and-drop editor, which, in my opinion, makes this process fast and convenient.
Brevo also provides pre-built templates for various purposes and needs. With one of these templates, it took me just about 15 minutes to customize the layout, write a subject line with the help of AI, add recipients, and send my first campaign.
Pricing:
Brevo is one of the most affordable startup tools, offering a forever-free plan with 300 emails per day without contact limits. Paid options increase monthly email volume and add features, like A/B testing, more in-depth analytics, priority support, etc.
Market reputation:
Customers love using Brevo as a versatile marketing communication tool. Some users, yet, the navigation can be a bit hard at the beginning, though personally, for me, the onboarding wasn’t difficult.
Integrations:
Brevo offers over 150 integrations with marketing, CRM, e-commerce, etc.
My opinion: If your startup deals with e-commerce, Brevo is a really good fit, offering a compelling freemium and low-cost starter plans. More so, it is suitable for marketing teams that require launching transactional emails or SMS/WhatsApp communications with simple automation.
Best for: Solo founders or small startup teams looking for a straightforward tool to plan and schedule posts across several channels.
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Pricing: Free plan is available. Paid plans start from $6.
Buffer is a social media management platform. Here you can create and schedule posts, plan a content calendar, and track your performance across channels. This tool supports many popular social media platforms, including Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter.
Buffer features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
The sign-up process is fast and easy. Once I logged in, the platform provided me with a short checklist for setting up. The interface is quite simple and easy to navigate, even for non-specialists, which is crucial for startup tools, in my opinion.
I personally like the Ideas section, which is made as a drag-and-drop planning board. The platform also provides templates for various types of social media content to help you start.
Pricing:
Buffer offers a free plan, which includes the ability to connect 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts for each, an AI assistant, and basic analytics. When switching to paid options, you receive unlimited posts and templates, engagement tools, deeper reporting, and other advanced features.
Market reputation:
Overall, users choose Buffer for its simplicity. Most often, they highlight minor drawbacks and would love to see more features added.
Integrations:
Buffer syncs with many tools that can empower post creation, such as Canva, OneDrive, Google Drive, Google Photos, Grammarly, etc.
My opinion: Buffer is a great service for startups owing to its minimal setup, mild pricing tiers, and intuitive content posting functionality.
Best for: Startups and solo founders in any niche who want to create professional visuals.
Capterra rating: 4.7/5
G2 rating: 4.7/5
Pricing: Free plan is available. Paid plans start from $15.
Canva is one of the most widely used graphic design tools for startups. It allows you to create visuals for any purpose without special design skills. By choosing from pre-made templates for website, marketing, social media, ads, etc., you can make your own graphics in minutes.
Canva features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
As Canva offers tons of pre-made assets, it makes it very easy to start making your own design. Frankly, it took me about 10 minutes to create infographics for my social media post from scratch. The platform’s interface is easy to navigate: simply drag and drop items from the left toolbar on your mockup, and all is done.
Pricing:
Canva offers a free plan with basic features, which, in my opinion, are more than enough to cover the visual needs of startups.
If you need more tailored visuals once your business scales, you can switch to paid subscriptions, which don’t cost a lot. Thus, you will have access to advanced editing features, including Brand Kits, which enable you to quickly align designs with your company’s visual identity.
Market reputation:
Canva is highly praised for being a real creative partner for users. Most often, customers point out the limited features its free plan offers.
Integrations:
Canva syncs with lots of tools, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Asana, Google Workspace, etc.
My opinion: Canva is a wonderful startup software that suits businesses in any niche. It can help your team create professional ads, presentations, booklets, and social media graphics easily, regardless of design skills or experience.
Best for: Startups relying on organic search for customer acquisition or those requiring in-depth competitor analysis.
Capterra rating: 4.7/5
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Pricing: Limited free options. Paid plans start from $29.
Ahrefs is an SEO platform that offers features for auditing your website performance, tracking search rankings, and increasing organic traffic. You can monitor backlinks, analyze competitors, research keywords, and track your website’s health.
As a tool for startups, Ahrefs can provide actionable insights on content improvement, identify technical issues, and find search opportunities.
Ahrefs features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
I’ve tested Ahrefs as if I were using it for the first time, and I must say that navigating all those reports can be challenging for beginners. Fortunately, the platform provides helpful resources to go through the tool and understand analytics.
Although Site Explore and Keywords Explorer are quite straightforward, getting familiar with all the reports this platform offers involves some time.
Pricing:
Ahrefs doesn’t offer free plans or trial periods. However, you can use Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, which provides limited website analytics and audit for free if you are a verified website owner.
Market reputation:
Users all highlight how comprehensive Ahrefs is in SEO analytics. Most customers, however, wish the tool had milder pricing plans.
Integrations:
Ahrefs integrates with Google Sheets, Netpeak Checker, Spamzilla, as well as other tools.
My opinion: Ahrefs is a robust solution that can help startups build brand awareness through keyword research, in-depth competitor analysis, and technical website audit. At the same time, its Starter plan offers limited possibilities, while getting more sophisticated features can be costly.
Best for: B2B, B2C, e-commerce, and local-service startups looking to use ads for brand awareness or sales growth.
SoftwareReviews: 8.7 /10
Pricing: from $1 per ad.
Meta Ads Manager lets you create, run, and track campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network. This is a valuable tool for startups as it allows you to reach target audiences on popular social media with flexible budgets and manage all activity in one place.
Meta Ads features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
Setting up Meta Ads is easy if you have a Facebook Business account, which gives you access to all Meta Business tools. To complete the setup, add a preferred payment method, so you can proceed to advertising settings.
The Meta Ads Manager interface is intuitive. It’s easy to navigate across options on the left toolbar due to plain-language labels. I also like that you can quickly find helpful guidelines on a necessary topic simply by entering related keywords.
Pricing:
The tool is free itself. You’re only charged for the ads themselves, based on a budget you set (from $1 to $500).
Market Reputation:
There are no user reviews about Meta Adds Manager on Capterra or G2, so I had to crawl through other platforms such as SoftwareReviews.
Overall, users highlight Meta Ads Manager’s precise audience targeting and campaign flexibility. On the other hand, several customers state it’s a bit difficult to get it through on the platform for beginners (it wasn’t really hard for me, frankly).
Integrations:
Meta Adds Manager integrates with lots of CRMs like Shopify, Google Analytics, Hubspot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, etc. Besides, it syncs with many e-commerce, analytics, as well as customer management tools.
My opinion: If your startup is aimed at driving traffic to your website on such popular social media platforms as Facebook or Instagram, Meta Ads Manager is really a go-to solution. It allows you to choose different ad formats and adjust advertising campaigns to your budget.
As you’ve already noticed, lots of the platforms I described above offer built-in CRMs. Yet I thought I had to prepare a separate list of solutions where CRM is the primary functionality.
Best for: Teams who want an all-in-one CRM platform that combines sales, marketing, and communication features.
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
G2 rating: 4.4/5
Pricing: Free plan is available. Paid plans start from $15.
HubSpot CRM is a platform that provides key features for managing customer relationships, tracking leads, and automating marketing and sales tasks. Using it as a CRM tool for startups, you can centralize contacts, deals, and email in one workspace.
HubSpot CRM features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
The navigation through the CRM system is easy. The platform provides a detailed, step-by-step setup tour, so you can easily tailor everything to your specific goals and needs.
I personally like that the dashboard is customizable, which allows you to focus on what’s important. Additionally, you can add bookmarks to the toolbar for quick access to your most frequently used features.
Pricing:
Generally, HubSpot CRM is free, offering core functionality. However, most features are limited. For example, you can create only one pipeline. This may be enough to get started, but to truly benefit from the CRM tools, consider upgrading to a paid option.
The platform offers several subscription plans tailored to the scope of activity, enabling automation, reporting, and access to advanced features. The basic one, which costs $15/month, is quite affordable, though the subscriptions with more advanced features can be pricey.
Market reputation:
Most customers love HubSpot CRM for being an all-in-one platform for business growth. Yet, many users claim that the features they need cost more than what alternative CRMs offer.
Integrations:
HubSpot CRM offers over 1000 integrations with popular sales, marketing, customer service tools, etc.
My opinion: HubSpot CRM is an affordable startup tool. It combines sales, marketing, and communication features, enabling integration of support, analytics, and other business tools. But keep in mind that more advanced features your team might need very soon aren’t cheap.
Best for: Early-stage teams seeking an affordable (free for up to 3 users) CRM platform with robust workflow customization.
Capterra rating: 4.3/5
G2 rating: 4.1/5
Pricing: Free plan is available. Paid plans start from $20.
Zoho CRM is another platform that helps automate sales tasks, manage leads, and organize contacts. By using this tool for startups, you can keep all activities under one roof, tracking your progress within built-in analytics dashboards.
Zoho CRM features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
In my opinion, the interface may seem overwhelming. Cluttered with numerous tools and features, the UI is quite difficult to navigate, especially for those who are new to CRM systems.
What I personally like is that Zoho CRM is completely customizable. I can adapt almost every element to your business needs. However, even with helpful guides, the learning curve may feel steep.
Pricing:
Zoho CRM offers a freemium for up to 3 users. The free option enables standard reports, as well as basic sales and marketing automation features. With paid subscriptions, you receive more advanced automation tools, in-depth analytics, campaign templates, integration with social media, and other features.
Market reputation:
Users, as is seen from reviews, get lots of benefits from the automations Zoho CRM provides. Yet, some customers share my opinion that the onboarding process can be a bit tough.
Integrations:
Zoho CRM integrates with lots of tools and platforms, such as DocuSign, PandaDoc, Mailchimp, etc. Please note that some integrations may require additional payments.
My opinion: Being free for up to 3 users, Zoho CRM can be an affordable CRM tool for startups to try. This CRM platform offers robust workflow customization and scales functionality over time as you grow. However, consider that onboarding for your team may take some time.
Best for: Startups that need a sales-focused CRM platform.
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Pricing: No free plan. A 14-day free trial. Paid plans start from $24.
Pipedrive is a CRM platform that supports visual pipelines and deal automations. This solution enables sales teams or startups to organize leads, track progress, send follow-ups, and close deals.
Pipedrive features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
Due to the drag-and-drop interface, the platform is intuitive and easy to use even without specific skills or experience. You can find setup guides and tutorials in the platform’s Knowledge Base. I also liked the checklist on how to unlock the full potential of Pipedrive, which included a learning video for each step.
Pricing:
Piepdrive doesn’t provide any free plans, but you can try each paid option with a free 14-day trial. All paid plans are equipped with AI tools and differ in terms of automation limits, reporting depth, and access to various advanced features.
Market reputation:
Users love Pipedrive for its sales automation functionality and intuitive interface. Among the drawbacks, customers highlight the limited features on basic plans.
Integrations:
Pipedrive integrates with lots of tools for startups, including Slack, Zoom, Trello, Asana, Gmail, etc. You can easily integrate it with Snov.io as well.
My opinion: Pipedrive offers robust functionality for startups. If your team needs a sales-oriented CRM, Pipedrive is one of the best solutions.
Among the best business tools for startups, I’ve also reviewed several top solutions you can test and try for customer support.
Best for: Startups seeking an affordable tool to deliver multichannel support.
Capterra rating: 4.4/5
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Pricing: A 6-month free plan for startups. Paid plans start from $25.
Zendesk is a well-known customer service platform that provides an omnichannel support suite. Using this tool, you and your team can manage communication with customers through email, chat, messaging, voice, and the help center. The platform also lets you automate routine tasks related to resolving requests.
Zendesk features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
Zendesk provides easy onboarding. Once I created an account there, I started a guided setup tour. The platform even suggests resolving test tickets to understand how everything works. In my opinion, the UI feels intuitive and requires no training to get started.
Pricing:
Zendesk also offers a special deal for startups, which includes a 6-month monthly credit covering up to 50 agents. Paid options are billed per agent. You can also leverage a 14-day free trial.
Market reputation:
Lots of users find Zendesk a very helpful platform for customer support, highlighting its rapid growth, especially in terms of AI tools and features. Yet, some users claim that coping with all the changes can be a bit hard.
Integrations:
Zendesk integrates with lots of platforms, including Jira, Trello, Asana, Dropbox, Box, etc.
My opinion: The special 6-month program for young businesses makes Zendesk an affordable tool for startups. It helps companies deliver multichannel support and gain in-depth insights into how to improve customer experience and build loyalty.
Best for: Small teams who need an easy-to-use, budget-friendly platform.
Capterra rating: 4.6/5
G2 rating: 4.4/5
Pricing: Free plan: available. Paid plans start from $55.
Help Scout is a customer support software that allows you to manage email, chat, and social requests in one shared inbox. You can connect your support email, Instagram, or Facebook Messenger, or add a live chat to your website through the Beacon widget.
Help Scout features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
Help Scout provides a step-by-step guide to quickly set up your work on the platform. The interface is easy to navigate and not overloaded with too many features. This is especially great for early-stage teams setting up support for the first time.
Like Zendesk, Help Scout offers you the opportunity to train on practice conversations. I personally like that under the test message, the platform shares tips on how you can resolve such issues and automate this process.
Pricing:
The platform offers a free plan for up to 100 contacts per month. You can also switch to paid options with higher contact volume, multiple inboxes, API access, plus other advanced features.
Market reputation:
Most users appreciate the mild prices and intuitive functionality Help Scout offers. Yet, some point out that the platform could add more features for growing teams.
Integrations:
Help Scout integrates with many tools like Slack, Hubspot, Mailchimp, Jira, Zapier, etc.
My opinion: Help Scout is a budget-friendly platform with easy onboarding, which makes it a good business tool for startups.
Best for: Teams, especially in e-commerce and SaaS, looking for an AI-assisted support platform.
Capterra rating: 4.7/5
G2 rating: 4.7/5
Pricing: Free plan is available. A 7-day free trial. Paid plans start from $29.
Tidio is another customer service platform that enables communication with customers through live chat, ticketing, and social media, including Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. This tool offers AI-powered chatbots, automated workflows, as well as performance analytics, making it a handy startup software.
Tidio features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
The platform is easy to navigate. You can simply choose what feature you want to set up, and Tidio guides you through the process. Each step is visualized, so you can install the chat widget, connect the mailbox, and configure other settings with minimal effort.
Tidio also provides pre-made flow templates to help you start immediately. I personally liked its visual builder, which lets you easily create your own flow by simply adding triggers, conditions, or actions on the board.
Pricing:
Tidio offers a freemium with up to 50 conversations per month, all integrations, including Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and 100 chatbot triggers monthly.
Paid option scale by higher limits (for conversations, triggers, and operators), advanced AI, premium analytics, and other advanced tools. You can also test all its features by subscribing for a 7-day free trial.
Market reputation:
Most users point out that Tidio is a very helpful solution for customer support, owing to its being an all-in-one platform with lots of features. Anyway, many customers wish more advanced functionality were available at cheaper prices.
Integrations:
Tidio syncs with lots of platforms, including WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify, Mailchimp, Zendesk, as well as other popular e-commerce, analytics, CRM, and marketing tools.
My opinion: Tidio is a good solution for startups that are looking for an AI-assisted support platform with website chat and social DMs to provide instant answers.
This category includes a list of the top analytic SaaS tools for startups I’ve picked based on customer experience.
Best for: Any startup that needs a free baseline for website or application measurement, funnel tracking, and user path analytics.
Capterra rating: 4.7/5
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Pricing: Free Google Analytics 4. Google Analytics 360 with quote-based pricing.
Google Analytics is a platform that helps business understand their website traffic. The platform shows where visitors come from and how they engage with your product in terms of page views, clicks, bounce rates, as well as other metrics. This data is organized into reports that can be adjusted by various filters to access the necessary information.
Google Analytics features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
The account setup process is quick – no complicated steps required. You only need to name your project and fill in simple business details, such as team size, industry, and primary goals.
The analytics dashboard is quite easy to navigate, especially when it comes to default reports on traffic sources, conversions, or page visits. What I also like is that you can customize reporting dashboards to view the performance metrics that matter most for your goals.
However, it is better to take a bit of time to access more advanced analytics.
Pricing:
The tool provides a free version – Google Analytics 4. Paid plans are available for Google Analytics 360. Google doesn’t publish list pricing for GA 360; price is quote-based and finalized after speaking with Sales.
The platform offers a paid enterprise version called Google Analytics 360. In my opinion, the free model is more than enough for startups and small-to-medium-sized businesses to understand website and app customer journeys.
Market reputation:
Overall, users love Google Analytics as a helpful analytics tool. Yet, many support my claim that mastering this platform can be a bit tough for beginners.
Integrations:
The platform integrates well with native Google solutions (Google Ads, Search Console, BigQuery). More complex integrations are available on a paid model.
My opinion: The best thing about Google Analytics is that you can actually use it as a free tool for startups. At the same time, you might need some effort to learn this platform inside out.
Best for: Product teams that want to measure user interactions with their web or mobile applications.
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
G2 rating: 4.6/5
Pricing: Free plan is available. Paid plans start from $0.28 per 1000 events.
Mixpanel is an analytics software that tracks how users behave on your website or in your app. Using this tool for your startup, you can see how people move through key steps, for example, sign-ups, how they interact with pages or features, and where they convert or drop off.
Mixpanel features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
The setup process is guided with helpful product hints. The platform provides good onboarding resources to help you get started. For example, you can set up your first event-based analysis in less than 20 minutes, using their personalized step-by-step guide.
Mixpanel also offers detailed documentation on each product feature. I suggest that you learn it for better navigation across all types of interactive reports it provides.
Pricing:
Mixpanel offers both free and paid tiers, which vary by event volume, reporting toolkits, as well as data governance. The free tier covers the basics, while paid options add advanced reporting, SSO, and priority support.
The best part is that Mixpanel offers a separate one-year free solution tailored specifically for startups!
Market reputation:
Mixpanel receives many high appraisals from customers. Users mostly mention minor drawbacks, for example, bottlenecks with sequence tracking.
Integrations:
Mixpanel syncs well with many platforms like HubSpot, Slack, Facebook Ads, Zoho, etc.
My opinion: Mixpanel is, without a doubt, a good SaaS tool for startups, offering a special tier for early-stage teams and effective analytics functionality.
My final list in this article pertains to the best tools that can help startups manage their documentation and finances.
Best for: Service-based businesses, agencies, and solo entrepreneurs who need an affordable startup tool for invoicing and simple expense tracking.
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Pricing: No free plan is available. A 30-day trial period. Paid plans start from $21.
FreshBooks is a known cloud-based accounting solution that helps to optimize billing and invoicing. Using this startup software, you can manage expenses, create and send invoices, accept online payments, track time on projects, etc. The platform also provides project collaboration features for effective communication with clients.
FreshBooks features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
The setup is simple: create an account, add your business information, connect your payment method, and you’re ready to send invoices.
The interface is clear and intuitive, with a plain-language toolbar menu. This makes it easy to start up even without previous accounting experience. What I find especially helpful is that wherever you go in the product, you see effective explanations of what you can do with this or that feature and why it matters for your startup.
Pricing:
FreshBooks doesn’t provide free plans. You can try this accounting software for free during a 30-day trial period. Paid subscriptions scale with features and client needs.
The platform also shares its own recommendations on plan choice based on your business type. You can click on the option and see the suggested tier and price.
Market reputation:
FreshBooks receives positive reviews from users. Customers mostly mention areas for improvement, such as more flexible reports.
Integrations:
FreshBooks syncs well with lots of e-commerce, payment, email marketing, or CRM platforms such as Stripe, Shopify, Mailchimp, Hubspot, Salesforce, etc.
My opinion: Although finance may feel complex, FreshBooks is very easy to use, making it a suitable tool for startups.
Best for: Startups that need a basic tool for sending and creating or e-signing business agreements.
Product Hunt: 4.8/5
App Sumo: 3.8/5
Pricing: Free plan: available. Paid plans start from $19.
As lots of users choose BreezeDoc as a simple e-signature and document management solution, I decided to add this service to my analysis. Using this tool, you can prepare, send, and track agreements. The platform also offers customizable templates for the most common business documents.
BreezeDoc features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
Once you create an account, the platform provides a brief checklist to help you get started. The interface is straightforward. You can upload or create a document and start working on it in the drag-and-drop workspace. Once you’re done, you can send this doc to the signers via email or using a sharing link.
Working with templates is also easy. Simply pick the one that suits your needs and adjust it with your information. All templates already contain the required fields in the right places.
Pricing:
BreezeDoc offers a free plan with up to 10 documents per month. As your business grows, you can switch to paid options. They include more documents, email reminders, team creation, as well as other advanced features.
Market reputation:
I haven’t found any user reviews on BreezeDoc on Capterra or G2, so I’ve peeped into what users say about it on other platforms like App Sumo, Product Hunt, etc.
Well, opinions differ. As for the tool’s cons, all users highlight its simplicity — the service is smooth and fast. On the other hand, customers say it lacks more advanced features. Some even point out that it has troubles with compliance.
Integrations:
BreezeDoc syncs with Zapier or custom integrations via API.
My opinion: BreezeDoc can be considered by your team as one of the affordable startup tools for document workflow. Yet, I would be careful using it if you’re unsure whether it complies with all regulatory requirements.
Best for: Startups that need an all-in-one finance management tool.
Capterra rating: 4.4/5
G2 rating: 4.4/5
Pricing: No free plan is available. A 30-day free trial. Paid plans start from $25 (now from $2.5)
Xero is an accounting software that helps startups or small businesses simplify accounting and invoicing. Using this cloud-based solution, you can send invoices, track expenses, and create basic reports in one place.
Xero features tailored to early-stage growth:
Usability and onboarding:
The platform personalizes the onboarding process. Once you create an account, Xero will ask you a few questions about your business to guide you through the features you need first. In my opinion, this approach is great, especially when it comes to business tools for startups. This way, you get to work right away without having to learn the entire toolkit at once.
You also receive a demo company to explore how Xero works in real-world scenarios, allowing you to practice key activities without affecting your live data.
What I personally didn’t like was the lack of opportunity to communicate with a real support manager when any questions arose.
Pricing:
The platform doesn’t provide free plans, but now you can buy a starter plan at a 90% discount (as the service claims). Alternatively, you can subscribe to a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. Paid options vary based on the volume and currency in which you will operate.
Market reputation:
As for functionality, customers consider Xero an easy-to-use service. Yet, most users share the same comment as I concerning the absence of live support.
Integrations:
Xero is integrated with 800+ e-commerce, CRM, payment, and employee management apps.
My opinion: If your startup is looking for an all-in-one finance management tool with live bank feeds, automated reconciliation, invoicing, plus the possibility for accountant collaboration, Xero is a good option to consider. But I wish they optimized their customer support so users could get instant help from live agents if any complex issues occur.
Before you add anything to your stack, let’s figure out how to select tools for startups that fit your needs.
Think about how you actually work day by day. For example, if you have a small team, you may need an all-in-one tool that can cover routine tasks, saving each member time. Larger teams with responsibilities divided between departments may require more specific solutions with role-based features.
Select solutions that match your current priorities. For instance, if your objective is to attract early customers, consider SaaS tools for startups that optimize outreach and lead generation. If you’re looking to organize your company workflow, opt for a team management toolkit that supports collaboration and task tracking.
Once you move into the scaling phase, consider using startup software with automation, analytics, or CRM tools to manage larger customer bases and more complex operations.
I recommend Snov.io for startups aiming to scale brand visibility and effectively connect with their audiences. We’ve used literally all the features—from cold email campaigns to LinkedIn automation. And this is one of the best SaaS experiences we’ve had—smooth, reliable, and always evolving.
Co-Founder and CMO at Worqstrap
As your business grows, your toolset should also expand. So, keep scalability in mind when choosing from several startup software solutions. I recommend exploring the possibility of adding more team members, expanding feature usage, or implementing deeper data management.
I also advise ensuring that the selected integrates with the tools you already use. With effective integration, you can significantly optimize business processes, eliminating unnecessary extra actions and messy workflows.
No matter how user-friendly the startup tools are, you’re not immune to unexpected cases. And you’ll need reliable support when issues arise. So, before choosing startup software, explore whether it offers a helpful knowledge base, a help center, or expert articles.
Also, check if the solution provides responsive customer service. The best startup tools offer human support, ensuring truly high-quality assistance, especially for early-stage founders.
In this post, I’ve tried to provide my honest review and opinion on some of the most popular tools for startups, so you can make the right choice.
Let’s recap the use cases for choosing this or that solution:
To avoid juggling between different services, consider a versatile solution like Snov.io. It offers email finding tools, cold outreach sequences, automation features, human support, including a built-in free CRM, all in one place at a single price.
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