What small business software really costs
We read the pricing pages, the footnotes and the fee schedules, so you know the bill before you talk to sales. Every guide lists the vendor pages its numbers came from.
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Latest price checks
List prices in US dollars, from each vendor's own page.
- Acuity Scheduling Starter $16 a month billed yearly, Standard $27 for up to 6 calendars, Premium $55 for up to 36.
- Booking software Setmore Pro $5 a user billed yearly, Zoho Bookings $6, Calendly $10. Square and Setmore have free plans.
- Project management Trello Standard is $5 a user billed annually. Basecamp Pro is a flat $79 a month for up to 10 users.
- Buffer Free for 3 channels. Essentials $5 a channel a month billed yearly, Team $10.
- Canva Pro $144 a year for one person, or $18 monthly. Business $250 a year per person, or $25 monthly.
- CRM pricing Free for 1 to 3 users. Entry plans $7 to $65 a user, mid tiers $12 to $105, billed annually.
- Dynamics 365 Sales Professional $65 a user, Enterprise $105, Premium $150, all paid yearly.
The gap adds up
The same five-person team, priced on six CRMs. From Best Project Management Software for Small Teams: Seat Rules, Free Plans and the Bill for 10 People.
What a 10-person team pays for project management in a year
Show the numbers
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Trello Standard | $600 |
| Basecamp Pro | $948 |
| ClickUp Core | $1,080 |
| Smartsheet Pro | $1,080 |
| Trello Premium | $1,200 |
| Wrike Team | $1,200 |
| Asana Starter | $1,319 |
| ClickUp Business | $2,040 |
| Smartsheet Business | $2,280 |
| Asana Advanced | $2,999 |
| Wrike Business | $3,000 |
CRM
What HubSpot, Zoho, Salesforce and other CRMs really cost a small business, which plan you need, and the cheaper alternatives worth a look.
Accounting & Payroll
QuickBooks, payroll and invoicing software for small businesses: current prices, add-on fees and the alternatives that cost less.
Email Marketing
Constant Contact, Mailchimp and the cheaper email tools compared on price per contact, sending limits and the features small businesses use.
SEO Tools
Semrush, Ahrefs and the cheaper SEO tools compared on price, limits and what a small business or freelancer actually needs.
Website Builders
Wix, Squarespace, Webflow and other website builders compared on real monthly cost, templates, ecommerce and what each plan includes.
Social Media
Hootsuite, Buffer and other social media schedulers compared on price, channels and features for small business marketing teams.
Industry Software
Booking, billing and practice software for salons, law firms and other trades, compared on monthly price, per-staff fees and payment processing rates.
Business Phones
Virtual phone systems and VoIP providers for small businesses compared on per-user price, calling features and contract terms.
Project Management
Asana, monday.com, ClickUp, Jira and other project management tools compared on per-seat price, free plans and the features a small team uses.
Design Tools
Canva and other design tools for social posts, flyers and brand kits, compared on price per person, free plans and what each tier unlocks.
How we check prices
Prices come from the vendor's own pricing page, opened when we write or update a guide. Where a vendor shows a promotion, we give the list price as well and say what the offer requires.
If we can't confirm a number, it isn't on the page. Some vendors show different prices depending on the country you browse from; we only quote US dollar prices we have seen.
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