Top 7 Free Tools for Startup Founders

Andrew Andreev

Author at ApiX-Drive

Reading time: ~13 min

Notion

• The service features native AI-enabled tools that automate a number of important processes and tasks. These include AI Search, AI Chatbot, AI Meeting Notes, AI Writing Assistant, AI Email App, and AI Research.
• Ready-made templates, milestones, deadlines, and other features help organize and streamline the structure of a project or process.
• Notion's AI tools let you automatically generate notes and meeting summaries, find answers to questions in documents and knowledge bases, and create detailed reports based on project data.
• Notion Mail's built-in email module lets you create newsletters, save data in email drafts, and send meeting reminders.
• Notion Calendar allows startups to automate their daily activity planning and manage their time and workload flexibly.
• The platform allows you to quickly add tasks and delegate them to colleagues, send comments and notifications, create documents, and share information with partners and stakeholders.
• Integrations with Slack, Jira, Trello, Asana, Google Drive, and other systems complement the service's standard features.

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• Free (7-day activity history, standard analytics, 10 guests, integrations)—for individual use.
• Plus (all Free features, plus unlimited blocks and file uploads, 100 guests, 30-day history, custom automations, and more)—$12 per user per month.
• Business (all Plus features, plus advanced analytics, 90-day history, 250 guests, SAML SSO, and more)—$24 per user per month.
• Enterprise (all Business features, plus advanced security and management options, audit logs, unlimited history, and more)—pricing is calculated individually and is available upon request.

Slack

• Slack provides a centralized space for team project collaboration. Users can use screen sharing, collaborative editing and document sharing, voice and video calls, live status updates, and workflow management.
• Canvas enables flexible and efficient product development in a whiteboard format. This tool allows startup members to quickly and easily generate ideas through brainstorming sessions, share files, and create checklists and to-do lists.
• Slack's native AI algorithms, implemented through Agentforce, allow you to quickly find relevant data in documents and chats. They also help prepare meeting summaries and plan daily tasks, as well as automate routine processes. This functionality fully justifies the service's place among the best tools for startup founders.
• A comprehensive set of options allows for flexible configuration of the platform's functionality and interface. These allow you to organize chats, tasks, and files, personalize themes, change notification modes, and more.
• The platform supports integrations with over 2,600 apps and services. These include solutions for analytics, development, design, marketing, finance, project management, security, remote work, AI assistants, and more.

• Free (90-day message history, 10 integrations, 1 workspace, private audio and video calls, and more).
• Pro (unlimited message history, integrations and workflows, group audio and video calls, 1 workspace, collaboration on lists and documents, and more)—$8.75 per user per month.
• Business+ (all Pro features, plus employee onboarding, data export, SAML SSO, and more)—$18 per user per month.
• Enterprise+ (all Business+ features, plus custom templates, data loss protection, advanced user management, and more)—pricing is calculated individually and is available upon request.

Asana

• A large set of pre-installed templates for startups helps optimize critical business processes. Among them are templates for sales funnels, operational plans, web design projects, product launches, and more. Users can also create templates from custom processes.
• The native workflow builder allows you to create and manage workflows manually. Automation speeds up their execution and minimizes errors.
• The analytics module provides reports with key business metrics and insights in real time. Goals and milestones help effectively track project progress. For data visualization, startups have access to tables, to-do lists, and Kanban boards.
• Built-in communication tools enable efficient collaboration across the startup team. These include private and group chats, task and subtask commenting, announcements, member mentions, and more.
• Over 260 integrations with widely used systems and applications expand the platform's core functionality. Examples are Salesforce, Jira, Slack, Figma, OneDrive, Google, and Microsoft products.

• Personal (up to 10 team members, unlimited tasks, projects, messages, activity history, and cloud storage (up to 100 MB/file), basic search filters, and more)—free.
• Starter (up to 500 participants, all the features of Personal, plus timeline and Gantt charts, process builder, Asana AI, 250 automations, and more)—$13.49 per user per month.
• Advanced (all Starter features, plus advanced reporting, 25,000 automations, 100 portfolios, and more)—$30.49 per user per month.
• Enterprise (all Advanced features, plus workflow bundles, SAML, service accounts, team membership admin controls, 24/7 support, and more)—pricing is calculated individually and is available upon request.
• Enterprise+ (all Enterprise features, plus audit log API, SIEM and eDiscovery integration support, trusted guest domains, and more)—pricing is available upon request from the sales department.

Google Workspace

• Google Meet allows private and group video calls in HD quality. Users can use screen sharing, recording and saving video to Google Drive, breakout rooms, live captions, transcription, and other features.
• Google Drive provides cloud storage with the ability to share and collaborate on files in various formats. It supports version history, offline mode, automatic data synchronization, and access control.
• Using Google Chat, the startup's corporate messenger, teams can communicate quickly and easily in private and group chats. It allows for the creation of threads and dedicated project spaces, as well as the sharing of files from Google Drive.
• Google Sheets helps startups organize their project data in a spreadsheet format. Google Docs allows for reporting and documentation, and Google Slides allows for creating presentations.
• Google Calendar effectively organizes collaboration for remote startup teams through online calendars. It offers essential features for event planning, time management, contact synchronization, automatic time zone adjustments, and event management via Google Meet.

• Starter (30 GB storage, Gemini AI assistant in web and Gmail, video meetings for up to 100 participants, and more)—$7 per user per month.
• Standard (2 TB of storage, Gemini AI assistant in the web interface, Gmail, Docs, Meet, and other services, the ability to develop AI bots, video meetings for up to 150 participants, and more)—$14 per month per user.
• Plus (5 TB of storage, advanced AI Gemini functionality, video meetings for up to 500 participants, advanced management and security features, and more)—$22 per user per month.
• Enterprise Plus (all Plus features, plus video meetings for up to 1,000 participants, extended support, and more)—pricing is calculated individually and is available upon request.

HubSpot CRM

• The special module allows startups to automate content-related tasks. In addition, it offers an AI drag-and-drop website and landing page builder, email automation, and functionality for creating and managing advertising campaigns.
• The smart CRM with AI capabilities serves as a centralized repository for a startup's client data. The system supports automatic data import from spreadsheets and other sources, and provides access to all client conversations and tickets. The CRM further provides synchronization with external services. Built-in marketing analytics tools help evaluate campaign effectiveness and make more informed decisions.
• The sales module enables quick creation and management of deals, task delegation, and meeting scheduling. Another feature allows startups to analyze sales metrics and launch custom AI chatbots for customer communication.
• The Operations module enables optimization of various data-related tasks, including synchronization, evaluation, cleansing, and curation. This functionality also supports the preparation of reports with personalized insights.
• The e-commerce module provides a range of useful tools for e-commerce startups. It allows you to manage subscriptions, automate billing, and accept payments. Furthermore, the system can generate customizable reports with sales and profitability metrics.
• The service module offers a multifunctional AI-powered customer self-service platform. Among its features are a built-in helpdesk module, knowledge base, SLA management, omnichannel messaging, and call tracking.

• Free Tools (up to 2 users, limited tools for marketing, customer service, sales, content, and data).
• Starter Customer Platform (all Free Tools features, 500 credits, plus marketing, sales, customer service, content, and data management toolkits)—€15 per user per month.

Canva

• The graphic editor allows you to create and edit visual content from scratch in various formats. These include logos, landing pages, infographics, printed materials layouts (banners, catalogs, business cards), social media post covers, and more.
• Canva's library provides access to over 400,000 professional design templates. A separate category features layouts suitable for startups and other businesses, including presentations, financial reports, email newsletters, business plans, and more.
• In addition to design templates, the library contains over 100 million stock images: icons, images, clip art, infographics, videos, diagrams, collages, and other objects.
• Collaboration tools help startup teams collaborate on designs, share feedback, and approve results. They can also be used for brainstorming sessions. The Brand Kit feature allows for the integration of branding elements.
• Canva Prototypes allows you to create interface mockups for web and mobile apps. High-quality visualization of ideas at an early stage accelerates the design process.
• The chart and graph maker allows you to present data clearly and understandably. It is essential for preparing materials for reports or presentations.
• The built-in video editor speeds up and simplifies video production. It is useful not only for developing advertising campaigns but also for content marketing.
• The AI-powered image and video generator supports Magic Media, DALL-E, and Imagen models. With it, teams can independently create unique visual materials without the help of graphic designers.

• Free (for individual users, basic set of functions).
• Pro (advanced tools, AI)—$15 per month per user.
• Teams (3+ users, all Pro features plus collaboration functionality)—$10 per user per month.
• Enterprise (enhanced security, access management, and other features for rapidly growing businesses)—pricing is calculated individually and is available upon request.

Mailchimp

• The convenient drag-and-drop builder makes creating campaigns a breeze. Users have access to various pre-built block elements and professionally designed templates. Each template is easily customized by adding images, videos, surveys, or apps.
• Built-in AI algorithms help startup founders automate routine tasks such as writing email copy and subject lines. They also check and improve the grammar of user-written texts if necessary.
• Mailchimp automates marketing processes. The system launches email sequences based on triggers, sends notifications about completed transactions, posts on social media, and performs retargeting.
• Segmenting contacts by demographics, location, and other metrics helps startups target their marketing more effectively. Leads can be added to the database manually, exported from CSV files, online spreadsheets, or imported from external sources.
• Targeting tools help startups improve the relevance of campaigns. They consider user actions, their likelihood of making a purchase, average order value, and more.
• Built-in reporting and analytics features provide comprehensive monitoring of campaign performance. They can be used to track marketing budgets, audience growth, and other key business metrics.

• Free (1 user, 1 audience segment, up to 1000 emails per month, limited analytics).
• Essentials (3 users, 3 audience segments, up to 5,000 emails per month, limited analytics, forms, landing pages, A/B testing, and more)—$13 per month.
• Standard (5 users, 5 audience segments, up to 6,000 emails per month, standard analytics, forms, landing pages, A/B testing, advanced segmentation, behavioral targeting, dynamic content, AI, and more)—$20 per month.
• Premium (10,000 contacts, all Standard features, up to 150,000 emails per month, unlimited users and audience segments, and more)—$350 per month.

Final Thoughts

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