Home / Recommendations / Best free and cheap tools for every category

Best free and cheap tools for every category

The best tool in each category that costs $0 (or close to it). No asterisks.

Updated 2026-04-12

You don't always need the premium option. For many categories, the free tools are genuinely excellent — not stripped-down demos, but real products you can build a business on.

Here's our pick for the best free (or very cheap) tool in every major category.

Communication — Discord

Completely free with no message limits. Voice channels, screen sharing, and more features than Slack's free tier.

Discord
Free Free

Voice, video, and text communication platform originally built for gaming, now used by communities and teams.

→

Project management — Plane

Open source, self-hostable Linear alternative. Free for unlimited users.

Plane
Free Free

Open-source project management tool for software teams. Self-hostable alternative to Jira and Linear.

→

Notes — Obsidian

Free for personal use. Local-first markdown editor with an incredible plugin ecosystem.

Obsidian
Free Free

Local-first markdown note-taking app with bidirectional linking and a plugin ecosystem.

→

Design — Penpot

Free, open-source Figma alternative. SVG-native and fully web-based.

Penpot
Free Free

Open-source, browser-based design and prototyping platform. Self-hostable.

→

CRM — HubSpot

The most feature-rich free CRM. Contact management, deals pipeline, and basic automation at $0.

HubSpot CRM
Free Free

Free CRM with marketing, sales, and service tools built in.

→

Analytics — Umami

Free, open-source, privacy-focused web analytics. Self-host it and own your data.

Umami
Free Free

Open-source, privacy-focused web analytics you can self-host.

→

Automation — n8n

Free self-hosted workflow automation. More powerful than Zapier's free tier by far.

n8n
Free Free (self-hosted)

Open-source workflow automation with a visual editor. Self-hostable with code flexibility.

→

Hosting — Cloudflare Pages

Unlimited bandwidth on the free tier. Perfect for static sites and JAMstack apps.

Cloudflare Pages
Free Free

Free static site and full-stack hosting on Cloudflare's global edge network.

→

Passwords — Bitwarden

Free for individuals, $1/month for premium. Open source and audited.

Bitwarden
Free Free

Open-source password manager with free personal plan and self-hosting option.

→

Version control — GitHub

Free for public and private repos. The default for a reason.

GitHub
Free Free

Code hosting, version control, and developer collaboration platform powered by Git.

→

More recommendations

Best tools for freelancers
Lightweight, affordable tools that solo professionals actually need. No enterprise bloat.
Best tools for startups (under 20 people)
The lean startup stack. Tools that scale from 2 to 20 without breaking the bank.
Best tools for remote teams
Communication, collaboration, and async tools for teams that don't share an office.
Best tools for developers in 2026
The modern developer toolkit — from code editors to deployment, databases to monitoring.
Best tools for content creators
Everything you need to create, publish, and grow — from writing to video to social media.
Best open-source tool for every category
Self-host everything. The best open-source alternative in each major category.
Best tools for agencies
Client management, time tracking, collaboration, and delivery tools for agencies of all sizes.
Best tools for security-conscious teams
Privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted, and self-hostable tools for teams that take security seriously.

Explore more

Popular tools

Categories

Comparisons