Best Startup Tools – Top Options in 2024

Launching a startup and growing it to success is a toughie. In order to expand and be productive, it is essential to use tools for startup that can help you perform various tasks and save resources. 

Today, there are many business startup tools available that cater for the needs of small businesses. Usually, they offer free plans or come at an affordable price that is suitable for a small team. In this article, we are sharing a startup tools list that includes 45+ tools and applications that can be helpful for developing a company and halping it progress through various startup stages.

6 Best CRM Tools for Startups

Customer relationship management (CRM) tools are essential for any business from the moment they get their first customers. Such tools help you grow your business, increase sales, and enhance customer experience. They also can save you time and increase productivity. Here are some of the best CRM tools for startup owners.

Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is a tool that includes CRM, project management, planning, scheduling, and invoicing features. It allows to manage your marketing, sales, and customer support activities in one place. Using this platform, you will be able to convert more leads, engage with your customers, and increase your revenue. It's one of the free CRM tools for startups if you have 3 users or less.

Features:

• Sales force automation;
• Business process management;
• Communications;
• Analytics;
• Marketing automation;
• Predictive sales;
• Customization;
• Team collaboration;
• Remote work.

Pricing:

• Free for up to 3 users;
• Standard: ~$15 per month;
• Professional: ~$25 per month;
• Enterprise: ~$43 per month;
• Ultimate: ~$56 per month.

Salesforce Essentials

Salesforce Essentials is one of the well-known CRM tools for startups that has been created specifically for small businesses. This application integrates with the whole ecosystem of Salesforce apps. It is one of the best tools for startups that are looking for ways to automate their sales and marketing processes with a highly customizable tool. It is possible to use it for contact management, sales management, mass emailing, customer service, etc. You can use several Salesforce automation tools to get the most out of it.

Features: 

• Managing contacts;
• Sales analytics;
• Customer support;
• Mobile application;
• Integrations with other apps.

Pricing: starts at $25 per user, per month with a 14-day free trial.

HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is also a great option for a small team. It is very user-friendly and easy to use even if you are not a marketing specialist. It is one of the best tools for startup founders who are not fully qualified in the sphere of marketing, but understand the importance of performing marketing activities to promote their products and services. What is more, this solution is scalable, you can add more features to your plan as the business grows.

Features:

• Contact management;
• Website activity;
• Deal tracking;
• Analytics;
• Marketing synchronization;
• Content management tools;
• Social media marketing tools;
• Email connections;
• Integrations.

Pricing: 

• Free for up to 5 users;
• Marketing Hub Starter: $15 per month per seat;
• Starter Customer Platform: $15 per month per seat;
• Marketing Hub Professional: $800 per month for 3 seats.

Recurly

If you're looking for a subscription management tool, how about Recurly? This subscription and billing platform can help you automate your processes, get data-driven insights, optimize revenue and more, allowing you to deliver the best subscription experience.

Features:

• Centralized subscriber data reports;
• Clear dashboards for easy visibility;
• Easy plan updating and modification;
• One-time and recurring item options;
• Broad email customization.

‍Pricing: starts at $199 per month (custom packages available).

BIGContacts

For startups looking for a powerful CRM tool, BIGContacts offers advanced workflow automation, contact management features, and easy task assignment and progress monitoring. With it, you can segment customers based on various criteria and tailor your engagement strategies accordingly. The platform also helps design and launch effective drip email campaigns and provides a user-friendly pipeline management system to track and convert leads more efficiently.

Features:

• Drip email campaigns;
• Static and dynamic contact lists;
• Custom user roles;
• Workflow automation;
• Pipeline management;
• Reporting and analytics.

Pricing: 

• Free plan (up to 100 contacts);
• Business plan: $19.99 (up to 1000 contacts per month).

Capsule CRM

Capsule CRM is an ideal solution for startups looking for a simple yet powerful tool to manage their customer relationships. It offers a streamlined interface that makes it easy to track contacts, sales pipelines, and customer interactions. Capsule integrates with popular apps like G Suite, Mailchimp, and Xero, making it versatile for various business needs.

Features:

• Contact management and organization;
• Sales pipeline tracking;
• Customizable dashboards;
• Task management and activity tracking;
• Comprehensive reporting.

Pricing: 

• Free plan: basic features for up to 2 users and 250 contacts;
• Paid plans: $18-$76/user/month, billed annually.

How to Develop a Startup Marketing Strategy and Make It Work

Article by

Maria Arinkina

9 Best Marketing Tools for Startups

Even with the greatest business idea, it is hard to make sales, if your customers don't know about your products and services. Using these startup marketing tools, you will be able to manage your social media activities, create automated marketing campaigns, and optimize your online presence.

Mailchimp

‍MailChimp is one of the most popular email marketing tools for startups. This tool provides a reliable service of automating your marketing emails and delivering them right to your users. It is used by millions of companies and it is most handy for creating engaging content and expanding their audience.

Features: 

• Email automation;
• Pre-built templates;
• A lot of targeting options;
• App integrations.

Pricing:

• Free plan;
• Essentials: $9.75 per month;
• Standard: $15 per month;
• Premium: $262.50 per month.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is among startup tools that help to improve your social media marketing strategies and engage more clients from social media. It allows you to manage all your social media in one place and get great results.

Features:

• Scheduling posts;
• Creating visual content;
• Tracking brand mentions;
• Social media analytics;
• Team collaboration;
• App integrations.

Pricing: starts at $49 per month with a 30-day free trial.

Reviewgrower

Reviewgrower is a powerful platform designed to help businesses manage and enhance their online reputation. It streamlines the process of collecting and responding to customer reviews across various platforms, providing valuable insights and analytics to drive improvement. It empowers businesses to grow their credibility and attract more customers through positive online feedback.

Features:

• Automated review requests;
• Multi-platform management;
• Sentiment analysis;
• Detailed reporting and analytics;
• Real-time alerts;‍
• Local citation finder;
• Customer feedback collection.

Pricing:

• Free account;
• Lite: $37 per month;
• Grow: $77 per month;
• Scale: $97 per month.

Paraphrase Tool

‍Paraphrase Tool is a cutting-edge startup solution tailored for marketers. This innovative tool empowers users to effortlessly paraphrase text, enabling them to create fresh and engaging content. It has a user-friendly interface, its advanced algorithms craft compelling narratives, while additional tools allow to boost content marketing.

Features:

• Text paraphrasing;
• Grammar checker;
• Text summarizer;
• Available in several languages.

‍Pricing: starts at $14.95 per month and goes up to $99.95 per year.

Paraphrasing-tool.ai

Paraphrasing-tool.ai lets you improve the quality of your written material in a couple of seconds. Powered by artificial intelligence, it uses sophisticated algorithms to analyze the given text and generate an alternative version without changing its meaning. Such startup AI tools modify the structure of text, replace complicated words with easy synonyms, remove unnecessary words from the text, and improve the overall quality of the text. This business startup tool comes a few modes, including Creative, Fluency, Anti Plagiarism, Formal, Academic, and Blog.

Features:

• User-friendly interface;
• No registration required;
• Offers three free paraphrasing modes;
• Repurposes old text;
• Fine-tunes the quality of the text;
• Paraphrases text on the human level.

‍Pricing: starts at $14.95 per month ($8.33/month if paid annually).

Quetext

Quetext is a highly effective plagiarism checker, essential for startups aiming to ensure the originality and integrity of their content. It utilizes advanced algorithms and deep search technology to detect potential plagiarism and provide detailed reports. Quetext's easy-to-use interface allows users to upload documents or input text directly, making it a convenient solution for content verification.

Features:

• DeepSearch™ technology for thorough plagiarism detection;
• Citation assistance;
• Comprehensive plagiarism reports;
• Easy-to-use interface;
• Supports multiple document formats.

‍Pricing:

• Free with limited features;
• Pro Plan: $8.80 per month + AI detector $17.19.

ZeroGPT

ZeroGPT is an advanced AI detector and content enhancement tool designed to identify AI-generated text and provide various writing support services. Trusted by millions, ZeroGPT offers a suite of features to help users ensure originality, improve writing quality, and streamline content creation processes. Whether you're checking for AI plagiarism, paraphrasing, summarizing, or correcting grammar, ZeroGPT is your all-in-one solution.

Features:

• Detects AI-generated text from models like GPT-3, GPT-4, Gemini, and more;
• Allows for multiple files to be uploaded and processed simultaneously;
• Detects AI-generated content in all languages with high accuracy;
• Utilizes a multi-stage deep learning methodology to maximize detection accuracy while minimizing false positives and negatives.

‍Pricing:

• Free - basic features with usage limits.
• Pro - from $7.99 per month.
• Max - from $18.99 per month.

AI Detector

AI Detector is a great tool to spot AI-written content and keep your writing original. It helps people and businesses check if text was created by AI models like GPT-3 or GPT-4. The tool is easy to use and allows you to check 1200+ words at the same time. It is perfect for anyone wanting to improve their content while being honest about its source. It clearly highlights human-written content and shows AI similarities. Additionally, it offers an option to humanize AI-detected content using an extra tool.

Features:

• Detects AI content in languages like English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Indonesian;
• Free version supports detection in the English language;
• Premium plans offer more features, including advanced language support;
• Includes tools like a paragraph generator and expander to make writing easier.

‍Pricing:

• Free - basic AI detection in selected languages.
• Premium - more features and languages are easily unlocked with the premium version. The recommended plans are $9.99 per month, $5.91 per week, and $89.93 per year.

Twixify

Twixify is an innovative tool crafted to streamline and elevate the creation of captivating visual content for startups and small businesses. It transforms AI-generated text into 'undetectable' AI content that mimics human writing, making sure it bypasses plagiarism and AI detection tools seamlessly. Twixify reshapes your AI-generated text to reflect your personal writing style, creating the impression that you authored it yourself. Rather than merely altering a few words, it intricately modifies syntax, tone, and flow to achieve a more 'natural' feel.

Features:

• Humanize AI Text;
• Bypass AI detectors;
• AI paraphrasing tool;
• ChatGPT rewriter;
• Social media tool;
• Content writting tool.

‍Pricing:

• Starts at $8 per month with a 30-day free trial.

Data Analytics for Startups: All the Must-Knows

Article by

Maria Arinkina

5 Best Tools for SEO for Startups

Teams building digital products should also work on their product's visibility and grow its rankings among search engine results. Organic traffic and other vitals can be monitored using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools. Here are a few must-haves.

Ahrefs

Among the most popular startup tools, there is Ahrefs, which can help you improve your website. It allows you to track your product performance metrics, monitor the website's health rate, and view website analytics and organic traffic. Such competitor and market research tools for startups let you explore your competitors' websites and get some insight on how to improve yours.

Features:

• Tracking SEO performance;
• Researching your competitors;
• Site audit;
• Keyword research;
• Content ideas;
• Rank tracking.

Pricing: starts at $130 per month ($108 + 2 free months if paid annually).

Semrush

Semrush is a notable representative of the most commonly used SEO startup tools for digital marketing. It allows you to track organic traffic, view website analytics, improve the content, and make your website more visible online. It is also great for marketing reporting and is one of the best SEO audit tools for startups and their websites.

Features:

• Rank tracking;
• SEO;
• Keyword research;
• Content marketing;
• Competitor analysis;
• Social media management;
• Link building;
• Paid advertising.

Pricing: 

• Free plan;
• Paid plans start from $139.95 per month.

Prepostseo

What's for other analytics tools for startups, Prepostseo is a platform that provides various tools to improve the quality of your content. With its AI paraphrasing tool, you can ensure that your content is unique and engaging while the plagiarism checker lets you check marketing content uniqueness which is handy for those handling such tasks on their own and for those providing professional SEO services. Other tools such as the summarizer and grammar checker help to make the content clear and concise.

Features:

• Content optimization tools;
• Accurate plagiarism check;
• Browser integrations;
• Improved content readability;
• Multilingual support.

‍Pricing: starts at $10 per month and goes up to $350 per year.

Local SEO Checklist

Local SEO Checklist offers a free checklist to help small businesses optimize their local presence and improve their search rankings. They provide tips and resources for on-page SEO elements, Google listings, business and startup directories, customer reviews, website content, and backlinking. Their goal is to make local marketing tools simple and accessible for small businesses, so it's one of the free marketing tools for startups to consider.

Features:

• A free checklist made by the team at Synup;
• Tools for on-page SEO, Google listings, directories, reviews, content, and backlinking;
• Ability to manage your listings and improve ratings across different directories.

‍Pricing: free plan, an informational checklist.

DefiniteSEO

DefiniteSEO is a powerful SEO Checker that is pretty easy to use and provides detailed reports based on various SEO factors that are crucial for ranking on search engines. It provides reports to fine-tune your website and make it rank better in the SERPs and helps with detailed SEO analysis, website performance checks for a website's SEO promotion, on-page SEO, usability, accessibility, security, networking, and more.

Features:

• 190+ SEO tests;
• Find keyword suggestions;
• Optimize images and videos;
• Improve readability;
• Find content improvement suggestions;
• Link analysis;
• Link suggestions for SEO;
• Improve website security;
• Enhance usability and accessibility.

‍Pricing: free.

What Is Startup Branding and How to Do It

Article by

Elizabeth Boyarko

4 Lead Generation Tools for Startups

Finding potential customers is always a hassle for startups. So, what can assist you in your lead generation efforts? These are several tools that can help you.

Beaconstac

Beaconstac's digital business card solution lets you create digital business cards for convenient and ROI-driven networking in a hassle-free manner. With easy creation, automated distribution, and sharing capabilities, it helps many sales reps looking to streamline their lead generation process. You can customize the business card with your image or logo, contact information, website links, social media handles, and more.

Features:

• Pre-made templates for easy creation of digital business cards;
• 4000+ integrations with CRMs and sales stacks;
• GDPR and SOC Type-2 compliant;
• Embedded analytics for analyzing the performance of the cards;
• Apple and Google Wallet shareability feature;
• Bulk creation capabilities.

Pricing:

• The solo plan for 3 unique digital business cards starts at $5/month;
• For enterprise plans, connect with their sales team.

Clearout

Clearout’s email finder is a comprehensive AI-powered email prospecting tool that simplifies lead generation by helping users find accurate, pre-verified email addresses with ease. Whether you're prospecting for new leads or building a targeted email list, Clearout addresses the challenges of accuracy and efficiency by offering instant and bulk email finding. Simply enter a name and company or domain name, and let Clearout handle the rest. Additionally, the LinkedIn Email Finder Chrome extension allows users to extract pre-verified contact information directly from LinkedIn profiles, streamlining the process and ensuring faster, more effective lead generation.

Features:

• AI-based email finder with a confidence score to ensure the reliability of contacts;
• Pre-verified email addresses from both the email finder and LinkedIn email finder Chrome extension, eliminating the need for separate email verification;
• Email finder includes a strict domain check feature that enhances accuracy by verifying the domain's validity, activity, and configuration through syntax, existence, and MX record checks, ensuring higher-quality results and reducing inaccuracies;
• Email finder provides API support for instant and bulk email finding, which is compatible with all programming languages;
• Email finder supports both instant and bulk email searches, making it easy to find the right contacts whether you’re looking for a single address or a bulk list;
• Compliance with ISO 27001/2013, SOC2 TYPE II, and GDPR standards to ensure secure and lawful data practices.

Pricing:

• Free trial with 100 credits upon registration. Credits never expire and have lifetime validity;
• Starter: $18/month (monthly) or $14/month (annual) for 3,000 credits;
• Pro: $52/month (monthly) or $28/month (annual) for 10,000 credits;
• Pay-as-you-go: Flexible pricing starting at $35 for 5,000 credits;
• Enterprise: Customized plans with premium features tailored to business needs.

Hunter

Hunter is an all-in-one cold email software that enables users to generate qualified leads through cold email on the scale. It supports marketers in every lead generation step, from prospecting and building lead lists to sending cold emails at scale and measuring the performance of your campaigns.

Features:

• Email finder and verifier to find valid email addresses and reduce deliverability issues;
• Campaigns that enable users to automate their cold email sequences;
• Email account rotation (distributes sending emails between multiple accounts);
• Unified inbox;
• Chrome extension and Google Sheet Add-on;
• Domain search that provides you with lead data connected to a specific web domain;
• Easy lead management and segmentation by engagement.

Pricing:

• Free account with credit limits;
• Starter: $53/month;
• Growth: $163/month;
• Business: $547/month.

Woodpecker

Woodpecker is an efficient marketing automation tool designed to enhance your email outreach campaigns. It specializes in automating personalized cold emails and follow-ups, enabling startups to engage potential clients effectively. With its AI-powered solutions, Woodpecker helps optimize email deliverability and response rates. The tool also features advanced analytics, A/B testing, and integrates seamlessly with major CRM systems.

Features:

• Personalized email automation;
• Follow-up sequences;
• AI-driven deliverability optimization;
• Advanced analytics and A/B testing;
• CRM integrations.

Pricing:

• Cold email: $29/month;
• Agency: $49/month;
• Enterprise: custom pricing.

Top 9 Design Tools for Startups

Design tools are essential for most companies, as they help them at various stages. These include user research, creating interface designs, logos, posts for social media, marketing materials, infographics, etc. There are lots of design applications on today's market, so it is up to you to pick the ones that are the most suitable for you. Now, let's have a look at some of the best design tools for startups.

Figma

Figma is a vector graphics editor and prototyping tool which allows to do all kinds of design tasks like wireframing, mobile app interfaces, prototypes, social media designs, etc. It is one of the essential tools for startups that's browser-based, so you can collaborate with your colleagues in real-time. Figma also supports in-app commenting, which is great for providing and receiving feedback, and is one of the most popular tools for MVP design.

Features:

• Design tools;
• Prototyping tools;
• Design systems;
• Online whiteboarding;
• Team meetings;
• Downloads.

Pricing:

• Starter plan: free;
• Figma Professional: $15 per editor/month (billed annually);
• Figma Organization: $45 per editor/month (billed annually).

Balsamiq

Balsamiq is a graphical application that helps you create prototypes and wireframes. It also offers an opportunity to work in collaboration with your teammates while working on the project.

Features:

• Interactive product prototypes;
• Reusable symbols;
• UI Components and icons;
• Keyboard shortcuts;
• Graphic design work;
• Collaboration support.

Pricing:

• Free trial version;
• Paid plans start from $9 per user, per month.

Canva

Canva represents the free startup tools that can help you create beautiful designs for any occasion (there are thousands of templates available). In addition, it also provides various tools such as a flyer maker, and many more that help you create amazing marketing materials. This startup tool is very user-friendly and suits even those who have no prior experience in design. It's one of the free tools for startups if your team is small.

Features:

• Photo editor;
• PDF editor;
• Teams;
• Graphs and charts;
• Video intro maker;
• Brochure maker.

Pricing:

• Free version for small teams;
• Paid plans: start from $295 annually (for 3 people).

Visme

Visme is a platform for creating visual content, which is a tool for startups who need to create all of their branded content and marketing materials in one place. There are thousands of templates, illustrations, stock photos, data visualization tools, and other elements you can use to make your content truly exceptional.

Features:

• Creating presentations;
• Engaging charts and infographics;
• Branded documents;
• Social posts;
• Short videos and animations.

Pricing:‍

• Basic plan: free;
• Starter plan: $12.25 per month;
• Pro plan: $24.75 per month.

Movavi

Movavi Video Suite is an all-in-one toolkit for startups who want to make the most of their videos and photos. It unites every Movavi program into one big machine, so you can easily convert media files, create slideshows, add captions and watermarks, record screen activity, edit images, and more. It also features a Mobile Companion that will help you transfer files between your smartphone and computer.

Features:

• Drag and drop editor with multiple special effects;
• Multi-format conversion;
• AI video upscaling;
• Screen recording tool;
• AI photo editing (background removal, color correction, etc.).

Pricing:

• 7-day trial: free;
• 1-year subscription to Video Suite (includes Video Editor, Video Converter, and Screen Recorder): $77.76;
• 1-year subscription to Video Suite + Photo Editor: $88.72;
• Unlimited: $138.

Renderforest

Renderforest empowers users to craft professional-looking intro videos, even without design expertise. This cloud platform boasts a user-friendly interface and offers a diverse library of customizable templates, perfect for creating short, attention-grabbing introductions.

Features:

• A budget-friendly alternative to professional video editors;
• Choose from a wide variety to build your intro;
• Add text, images, custom logos, and music.

Pricing:

• Basic plan: free;
• Lite plan: ~$10 per month;
• Pro plan: ~$19.70 per month;
• Business plan: ~$32 per month.

CoNote

CoNote is an AI-backed tool for data transcription and user research. This instrument can streamline qualitative research processing. For example, it can automate various user analysis procedures across the dataset, making it simpler to spot insights for separate audience groups.

Features:

• Organizing user research and analysis processes;
• Audio and video data transcription;
• Video and audio data trimming and sharing;
• Allocating common themes and keywords;
• Automating transcription data combing and connecting;
• Pulling out insights using AI;
• Data storage, import, and bookmarking.

Pricing:

• A free trial is currently available (five free credits for new accounts);
• Pro plan: $19 per month;
• Team plan: $195 per month.

FlexClip

FlexClip is an indispensable video creation platform tailored for startups aiming to craft compelling visual content effortlessly. It simplifies the editing process, allowing seamless merging of multimedia elements, including images, audio, and video clips, through an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Its user-friendly features extend to customizable templates, an extensive media library, and the option to add text, music, and transitions, making it a go-to solution for venturing into video marketing and branding.

Features:

• Intuitive drag-and-drop interface;
• Extensive stock library with millions of assets;
• AI-powered features: auto subtitles, text-to-speech, and text-to-video;
• Text overlays and animations;
• Multiple video formats and resolutions;
• Customizable text overlays, logos, and watermarks to maintain branding consistency.

Pricing:

• Free plan available with limited features;
• Plus plan at $10 per month (billed annually);
• Business plan at $120 per month (billed annually) offering more features and higher-quality exports.

Fliki

Fliki is a powerful AI video generator designed to create professional and engaging videos effortlessly. The platform offers an intuitive interface, making it easy to produce high-quality video content. It's among the AI tools for startups that allows you to transform text into video via AI. Simply input your script, and Fliki will generate a captivating video complete with relevant images and animations.

Features:

• Converts text into natural-sounding speech with a variety of voices;
• Generates videos using AI with customizable templates and styles;
• Supports multiple languages and accents for global reach;
• Helps create scripts with AI assistance for seamless video creation;
• Allows users to adjust pitch, speed, and tone of voiceovers;
• Provides access to a rich library of images, videos, and music;
• Automatically adds subtitles to videos;
• Facilitates teamwork with easy sharing and editing options;
• Integrates with popular platforms for smooth workflow.

Pricing:

• Free: limited features for basic use;
• Standard: $21 per month, offers advanced features and customization options;
• Premium: $66 per month.

Web Design vs Web Development: How Do They Differ?

Article by

Elizabeth Boyarko

Best Invoicing Tools for Startups

Properly approaching a company's money is a serious matter. What can help you efficiently manage your invoicing, accounting, payments, expenses and much more? Here are a couple of business tools for startups that can assist with the financial aspects.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks one of the best accounting tools for startups. This popular cloud-based accounting software was designed primarily for small businesses and freelancers. FreshBooks is known for its simplicity and accessibility and also has a free invoice generator that can help you create and generate invoices with your company's logo.

Features:

• Invoicing;
• Expense tracking;
• Time tracking;
• Online payments;
• Financial reports;
• Multi-currency support;
• Tax preparation;
• Automatic bank reconciliation.

Pricing:

• Lite: $7.60;
• Plus: $13.20;
• Premium: $24;
• Customized plan.

Billdu

Billdu is an invoicing and business management tool ideal for startups and small businesses. Renowned for its user-friendly design and comprehensive feature set, it streamlines invoicing, sales, and overall business operations. The app is tailored to support diverse business needs, from creative industries, IT services, retail and freelance work.

Features:

• Invoicing;
• Mobile accessibility;
• Payment reminders;
• Recurring invoices;
• Document management;
• Expense tracking;
• Reporting cash flows.

Pricing:

• Free trial available for 30 days;
• Lite: $4.99/mo;
• Standard: $9.99/mo;
• Premium: $19.99/mo.

The Project Discovery Phase: All Details Explained

Article by

Anton Oparienko

5 Project Management Tools for Startups

Project management is vital for modern businesses, as it is necessary to organize work on the project, so that all the tasks are completed in time. It enhances resource allocation, task coordination, and real-time progress tracking, ultimately ensuring project success. There are a lot of tools that can help you simplify this process by planning, assigning tasks, and monitoring the work activity.

Asana

Asana is a productivity application that can help you organize your projects easily and streamline your workflow. It offers some more advanced functionality than Trello which makes it a great option for complex projects, though it is not as intuitive. 

Features:

• Boards;
• Timelines;
• App integrations;
• Workflow automation;
• Reports;
• Calendar;
• Setting goals;
• Desktop and mobile applications.

Pricing:

• Basic: free;
• Premium: ~$12 per user, per month (billed annually);
• Business: ~$27 per user, per month (billed annually).

Trello

Trello is considered to be among the top startup tools for project management. This is a web-based application that allows you to see a visual representation of your tasks and make the task management process more effective. It is simple, flexible, and easy to use. It is also possible to integrate Trello with Dropbox, Google Docs, and other applications in order to make your project management even better. It's a widely spread app as the Trello pricing is very affordable.

Features:

• Views;
• Templates;
• Workflow automation;
• Integration with other applications.

Pricing: 

• Free plan;
• Standard plan: $5 per user/month if billed annually;
• Premium plan: $10 per user/month if billed annually;
• Enterprise plan: $17.50 per user/month if billed annually.

Basecamp

What concerns tools for startups that work remotely or have hybrid teams, Basecamp is one of the best options in this case. In remote teams, the projects sometimes are scattered across different places, it's hard to manage the tasks and keep everything under control. Using Basecamp, you can organize everything in one place and see the work progress clearly. Another point worth mentioning, is that it is possible to access Basecamp from anywhere (on the web, on iOS, and on Android).

Features:

• Message board;
• Schedule;
• ToDos;
• Docs and files;
• Group chat;
• Automatic check-ins.

Pricing:

• Basecamp: $15/user per month;
• Basecamp PRO Unlimited: $299 per month.

Jira

Jira is a reliable project management tool that allows to manage any number of projects across different teams and spheres. It is very flexible and easy to customize. It is among the best project management tools for startups that's widely used in the tech field, as it has all the features necessary to manage an IT project, like sprint management, code deployment, reports, monitoring the progress of a software team, etc. You can even find issue templates for Jira to make your work faster.

Features: 

• Agile boards;
• Product development roadmaps;
• Reports and insights;
• Project flexibility;
• Drag and drop automation.

Pricing:

• Free plan for up to 10 users;
• Standard plan: $7.16 per user, per month;
• Premium plan: $12.48 per user, per month.

ProofHub

ProofHub is an all-in-one project management and team collaboration tool. The tool is very simple to use: the centralized dashboard helps you to plan, schedule, and delegate tasks for all your projects at one place with ease. Furthermore, you can monitor progress and identify bottlenecks early, so you are always one step ahead of the competition.

Features: 

• Built-in chat (1:1 and group chats);
• Comments with @mentions;
• Automating repetitive tasks;
• Flat pricing;
• Document sharing;
• Built-in time tracker.

Pricing:

• Small team (up to 10 users): $79 per month;
• Large team (up to 100 users): $139 per month.

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2 Great Productivity Tools for Startups

Productivity tools are also a very useful way to keep track of all the things you need to do. The apps from this category help you work more effectively, create to-do lists, collect and store information, book meetings, etc. Let's go over some of the startup planning tools worth your time.

Calendly

Calendly is an application that allows you to set the times you are available to let people make schedule meetings with you in an easy and convenient way. It's among the most commonly userd HR tools for startups as well. Plus, it is also possible to connect the app with other tools you use, share your booking link with others, and even embed the form on your website so that your clients are able to book a meeting directly.

Features:

• Team scheduling;
• Forms;
• Embedding content;
• Calendar connections;
• Meeting polls;
• Availability preferences.

Pricing: 

• Free plan;
• Standard plan: $10 per month;
• Team plan: $16 per month;
• Enterprise starts at $15k.

Todoist

Todoist is one of the best tools for startups that help to create to-do lists. With this application, you will be able to keep all of your tasks organized and the work process productive. It is also possible to delegate tasks, add them to the calendar, discuss them with your team members, and much more.

Features:

• Adding tasks;
• Recurring tasks;
• Priority levels;
• Favorites;
• Reminders;
• Boards;
• Reminders;
• Email integrations.

Pricing:

• Free plan;
• Pro: $4 per user, per month (if billed annually);
• Business: $6 per user, per month (if billed annually).

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3 Best Messaging Tools for Startups

Instant messaging is an essential part of business communication with customers and the team members. Here are some of the free collaboration tools for startups and great applications that can be used to ensure reliable communication.

Slack

Among the free startup business tools that allow team members to communicate easily and effectively, a leading place is taken by Slack. It is a convenient tool for group and one-on-one messaging. Slack offers an opportunity to divide your conversations into channels so that the relevant information is easy to find and use a Slack bot to facilitate numerous processes. Also, there is a Slack mobile application and a possibility to integrate it with many other tools, for example, Trello, Jira, Twitter, etc.

Features:

• Public and private channels;
• Collaboration with other teams;
• Audio and video calls;
• Workflow automation;
• File sharing.

Pricing:

• Free plan;
• Pro: $4.52 per user, per month (if billed annually);
• Business+: ~$15 per user, per month (if billed annually).

Pronto

Pronto is a highly effective and reliable communication platform, which helps you build engagement within the team, and keep everyone on the same page. It is a great application for teamwork, as it is simple, but powerful, and offers a lot of customization options. 

Features:

• One-on-one chats;
• Group chats;
• Video meetings;
• Real-time translation of the messages;
• Search;
• File sharing;
• Announcements;
• Task management.

Pricing:

• Free trial;
• Talk to the sales team to get a quote for further use.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams was initially created for companies with an Office 365 subscription, but now it offers a free plan for small businesses and startups. This application offers unlimited messages, channels, and search history and integrates with 140 other apps. Microsoft Teams allows you to connect with your teammates freely and easily, and be more focused and efficient.

Features:

• Audio and video meetings;
• Chats;
• File sharing;
• Working together with your team in real-time;
• Data encryption.

Pricing:

• Free plan;
• Paid plans start from $4 per user, per month.

MVP Tools for Startups

If your business is involved in developing web or mobile applications, it can be a good option to build a minimum viable product (MVP) to test the idea and see how it affects your business. It is also possible to experiment with new concepts and approaches, and figure out your preferred market niche. Certainly, there are numerous MVP tools available to simplify the process, let's overview a few of them.

Webflow

Webflow is a website design tool for startup founders that allows the creation of prototypes or websites without coding. It is very user-friendly and has an intuitive interface. Using Webflow, you can easily convert the created prototypes into a ready website, visibly reducing the average time to build a website. 

Features:

• CMS;
• Website designer;
• Interactions;
• Online store management;
• SEO support;
• Customizable workflows;
• Hosting services.

Pricing:

• Starter plan: free;
• Paid plans start from $14 per month.

Jotform Apps

Jotform Apps is a useful tool if you are looking to increase the reach of your brand and expand it to include a mobile app. It lets you create no-code mobile apps that work seamlessly on any device and can be shared with a link or QR codes. Collect form submissions and keep track of your data with your team. Create a company portal to store internal documents and forms.

Features:

• Forms;
• Customization;
• Easy sharing;
• Form analytics;
• App templates;
• Integrations;
• Collaborative.

Pricing:

• Free plan;
• Bronze: $34 per month (if billed annually);
• Silver: $39 per month (if billed annually);
  
• Gold: $99 per month (if billed annually);
• Enterprise: custom.

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Startup Launch Tools

Launching a startup is quite a challenging task. There are a lot of factors that influence the success of a new application, from the initial idea of an app to its execution. However, there are multiple tools that can help you make the process of launching a startup more efficient.

Product Hunt

Product Hunt is among the most popular startup launch platforms. This platform showcases new tech products every day, it is possible to share and discuss your new products there. Launching on Product Hunt can help your product or startup get discovered by a large audience of tech enthusiasts.

Features:

• Stories;
• Discussions;
• Events;
• Changelog;
• Topics;
• Collections;
• Upcoming products.

Pricing: free.

Beta List

Beta List is a pre-launch platform that can help you launch your application successfully. This platform allows you to present your idea in front of the business community and get useful feedback, which is vital for MVP validation. Thanks to Beta List you will be able to do a research of the audience in order to understand the customers better, and create the right type of product for them.

Features:

• Submitting startups;
• Advertisements;
• Posts;
• Newsletters.

Pricing:

• Hobby: free;
• Startup: $129;
• Funded: $299.

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Fundraising Tools for Startups

​​The financial part of the business is important for startups as well, that's why many companies consider joining an incubator or accelerator. It is crucial to understand how to attract investment, what stage you're at, where the revenue comes from, and how the business is going to work in future. Many of your decisions will be based on whether you are opting for startup scaling or not. That is why it is necessary to use financial and fundraising tools for startups in order to fulfill your goals.

Foundersuite

FounderSuite is a tool that helps to raise capital for launching a startup. It helps you build effective and reliable investor relationships, and brings structure, speed and efficiency to the fundraising process as you pitch investors.

Features:

• Investor CRM;
• Investor database;
• Investor updates;
• Startup docs;
• Founders market.

Pricing:

• Basic: free;
• Silver: $69 per month;
• Gold: $99 per month;
• Agent: $149 per month.

Crunchbase

Crunchbase is a platform that allows you to connect with experts and look for new business opportunities. There are millions of entrepreneurs that use Crunchbase to power their businesses during various startup funding stages.

Features:

• Finding investors;
• Planning investments;
• Finding prospects;
• Market research;
• Enriching your database;
• Data integrations.

Pricing:

• Essential: free;
• Pro: $99 per month;
• Enterprise: custom.

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Backup and Replication Tools

Backup and replication involves duplicating and securely storing data to protect against loss or damage. It also includes restoring the data to its original location or a safe alternative, allowing it to be used again for operations.

Nakivo

The VMware backup tool from NAKIVO provides advanced data protection for VMware virtualized environments. Powerful automation capabilities offer planning flexibility and timely workflow execution either by schedule or on demand. Immutable local and cloud repositories, along with air-gapped backups and malware scanning before recovery enhance data resilience against ransomware. It ensures data availability and near-zero downtime for VMware environments to maintain production continuity and regulatory compliance.

Features:

• Fast incremental backup;
• Full and granular recovery;
• Immutability;
• Encryption;
• Role-based access control.

‍Pricing:

• Pro Essentials: $2.50 per workload/month;
• Enterprise Essentials: $2.60 per workload/month.

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Final Word on the Best Startup Tools

There are lots of tools for startups that are worth mentioning from the best digital marketing tools for startups and financial ones to productivity, design, and beyond. Each of them has its own benefits for companies; they help to make their work processes quick, convenient, and efficient. Of course, all businesses are different, and what is right for one may not be suitable for another.

We hope that you find something useful for your business in this startup tools list, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact our team, we are always ready to help. Upsilon is an experienced MVP development company that helped lots of businesses with their launch and further growth, plus, we use a flexible sprint-based pricing model. So, if you need affordable services for early-stage startups, don't be shy to reach out!