Best free tools for startups

For founders who want a working stack before there is a budget. One pick per common need, chosen for how far the free plan goes on the job, not for commission.

1. 1

   Slack

   Workplace messaging with channels, huddles, workflows, search and AI features for teams.

   Team chat on a free plan with no time limit. The catch to know about: it saves and searches only the last 90 days of messages, and you can connect up to 10 apps.

   • Freemium
   Try Slack (opens the Slack website in a new tab)Read our take
2. 2

   Zoom Workplace

   Zoom's app for video meetings, team chat, phone, whiteboard, mail and calendar in one place.

   Video calls for investors and customers. The free Basic plan allows up to 100 participants, but meetings stop at 40 minutes.

   • Freemium
   Try Zoom Workplace (opens the Zoom Workplace website in a new tab)Read our take
3. 3

   LibreOffice

   Free, open source office suite with word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing and database tools.

   Documents, spreadsheets and slides at no cost, with Writer, Calc and Impress. The source code is under the Mozilla Public License v2.0, and it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.

   • Free
   • Open source
   Try LibreOffice (opens the LibreOffice website in a new tab)Read our take
4. 4

   Trello

   Board-and-card tool for organising tasks, with automation and Power-Ups.

   Simple boards for tracking work. The free plan has unlimited cards for up to 10 collaborators per Workspace, with a cap of 10 boards.

   • Freemium
   Try Trello (opens the Trello website in a new tab)Read our take
5. 5

   Bitwarden

   An open source password manager with a free plan and low-cost paid plans for individuals, families and teams.

   Shared logins without a spreadsheet. The free plan has unlimited devices and passwords, but shares items with only one other user, so a bigger team will need a paid plan.

   • Freemium
   • Open source
   Try Bitwarden (opens the Bitwarden website in a new tab)Read our take
6. 6

   HubSpot CRM

   A free CRM for contacts, deals and pipelines, with paid editions for more users and features.

   A free CRM with contacts, deals, pipelines and tasks, and no expiry date. The limit is two users and 1,000 contacts.

   • Freemium
   Try HubSpot CRM (opens the HubSpot CRM website in a new tab)Read our take
7. 7

   Canva

   Online design tool with templates for social posts, videos, presentations and print, plus AI tools.

   Pitch decks and social graphics from templates. The free plan has 1.6M+ templates and 5GB of storage, but no background remover or social scheduling.

   • Freemium
   Try Canva (opens the Canva website in a new tab)Read our take
8. 8

   Mailchimp

   Email and SMS marketing platform with campaigns, automations, templates and audience tools.

   First newsletters and launch emails. The free plan is capped at 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, and has no automation flows or scheduling.

   • Freemium
   Try Mailchimp (opens the Mailchimp website in a new tab)Read our take