When you’re bootstrapping, every dollar feels like a high-stakes investment that must pay off. Between rent, developers, and ads you’re praying will get traction, the cash disappears fast. Your monthly coffee expense is basically a hidden tax. Then, to pour salt in the wound, software companies demand hundreds of dollars every month before you’ve seen a penny of revenue. Relax. We’ll make sure you don’t pay that price.
Like many others, I started digging. I scoured Reddit threads, read every post on Indie Hackers, and grilled other founders. And guess what? I discovered a complete, thriving ecosystem of truly free project tools. Some are undeniably better than others, but every one is worth exploring if you’re determined to build something great without constantly opening your wallet.
Our Roundup of the Best Free and Cheap Tools Founders are Using in 2025.
Project Management
If you’re scaling a team and want to avoid more paywalls, Plaky is unexpectedly generous. Unlimited users, unlimited projects and you don’t even need to pull out a credit card. It’s clean, collaborative and simple. Great if you’re managing lots of work in motion and don’t need too many bells and whistles.
- Pros: No user limits, simple interface, zero cost.
- Cons: Doesn’t go too deep into complex workflows, might feel light for teams needing serious automation.
Freedcamp is kind of the quiet achiever in the world of project management. It allows you unlimited storage, unlimited users, and a proper set of permission controls for free. If you are managing several clients or departments, that kind of control for free is hard to come by.
- Pros: Unlimited storage and users, good permission settings and no project limits.
- Cons: Interface feels a bit dated, and advanced features (like integrations) live behind the paid plans.
ClickUp’s free tier offers substantial features. Docs, tasks, goals, dashboards, and much more, you can run nearly all of your startup admin through ClickUp. What is the catch? It is powerful, but it can feel overwhelming at first. Some founders swear by it, while others abandon ClickUp because of the steep learning curve.
- Pros: Feature-rich, does more than task management, flexible.
- Cons: Not very user-friendly; simple tasks can seem like too many clicks.
If your team prefers a more structured workflow rather than just Kanban boards, Wrike’s free plan is a great fit. It supports unlimited users and provides 2GB of storage to help you get started.
- Pros: Unlimited users, structured workflows, decent for collaboration across departments.
- Cons: Limited storage and there are no shiny Wrike features in the free tier.
If you prefer a visual-first platform for agile workflows, Teamhood might be your match. You’ll get Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and workload tracking all in one place. It feels more refined than many indie tools, and its free plan gives you plenty to work with.
- Pros: Multiple project view, Kanban + Gantt, real-time collaboration.
- Cons: The free plan has limits (no time tracking or global reports) and I can see how it might be tough to onboard with.
Think of it as a “mini ClickUp” but much easier for you to use and get the hang of. You’ll find drag-and-drop, time tracking, and multiple views, all built with small teams like yours in mind.
- Pros: Clean UI, Kanban + timeline view, built-in time tracking.
- Cons: Free tier is capped at 10 users; advanced features are only available on paid plans.
Best to know if you are already using Jotform, since it makes it easy to tie tasks to form submissions, which is super useful for any team gathering a good amount of structured data.
- Pros: Seamless with Jotform, easy drag-and-drop boards.
- Cons: Free plan has only one project; limited advanced PM features.
If you like things simple and clean, Taiga was built for that. It is a simple kanban, with not a lot of fluff; some founders really like it for focus and others think it is too stripped down.
- Pros: Minimal, distraction-free, does one thing well.
- Cons: A little rough around the edges and not great if you need multiple views (i.e. calendars/timelines).
You might not have heard of Superthread yet, but it’s one to keep an eye on. You can add unlimited team members, create as many boards and cards as you like, and even use child cards and public boards, all for free. It may not have the vast ecosystem of the big players just yet, but it’s quickly gaining traction.
- Pros: Unlimited everything, modern design, growing feature set.
- Cons: Lacks the depth of integrations and automations that larger tools have.
If you like open-source, Wekan is for you. You can self-host Wekan if you are comfortable with it being set up that way, or you can use it via the cloud version that others have hosted. It’s great for teams that want control over their data.
- Pros: Free, open-source, highly customisable
- Cons: Can be technical to set up. The polish may not be as nice as a commercial tool.
Tip: If you’re in the early stages, don’t overthink this. Choose something simple. See how your team starts to use it. Don’t upgrade unless it is a pain to use!
Communication
Long email threads? No thanks. Founders appreciate fast and clear communication.
Slack (free tier)
Still the go-to for real-time team chat, with channels, integrations, and bots galore. The free plan limits message history, though, so older conversations can vanish fast.
- Pros: Familiar, integrates with almost everything, great for fast-paced teams.
- Cons: Limited message history on free tier, can feel noisy or overwhelming.
Originally built for gamers, but now a favourite among startups. You get text, voice and video chats all wrapped in a casual, community-driven vibe.
- Pros: Free, great for voice and video, flexible setup.
- Cons: The Interface can feel chaotic for professional teams and lacks polished integrations.
Designed for teams who crave focus over chaos. Conversations are thread-based, making it perfect if you prefer async communication without constant pings.
- Pros: Clean layout, encourages thoughtful async discussions.
- Cons: Fewer integrations, less suited for teams that rely on real-time updates.
Finance & Accounting
Nothing kills momentum like messy finances. The good news is you don’t need to hire a CFO yet.
A fully free accounting and invoicing tool that’s ideal for freelancers and small teams. It handles income tracking, receipts, and invoices without costing a cent.
- Pros: Completely free, simple to use, solid for small operations.
- Cons: Limited advanced features, not ideal for scaling businesses.
Offers invoicing, reporting, and expense tracking in its free tier. It’s a clean, minimal option for teams that just want the basics handled.
- Pros: Straightforward interface, good for freelancers and early-stage startups.
- Cons: Free version lacks automation and deep insights.
Xero (cheap paid)
One of Australia’s favourites for small business accounting. It integrates with banks and apps seamlessly and includes payroll if you upgrade.
- Pros: Excellent integrations, trusted by pros, strong local support.
- Cons: No free plan, takes time to set up.
Design & Branding
You don’t need to have a full design department to look decent.
Canva (free tier)
Aussie-made and ridiculously user-friendly. Perfect for social posts, pitch decks, and all your quick branding needs.
- Pros: Drag-and-drop simplicity, templates for everything, great free tier.
- Cons: Limited advanced design control, can feel generic if overused.
The open-source alternative to Photoshop. It’s clunky at first, but powerful once you get the hang of it.
- Pros: Completely free, robust editing features, no paywalls.
- Cons: Dated interface, steeper learning curve.
A cloud-based tool for product design, wireframing, and collaboration. It’s loved by UX teams for its real-time editing and clean layout.
- Pros: Great for teamwork, modern interface, generous free plan.
- Cons: Requires an internet connection, advanced features locked behind paid plan.
Automation & Productivity
What do scrappy startups know that you don’t? Automating the boring stuff.
Connects your favourite apps so tasks happen automatically, like syncing emails with spreadsheets or sending notifications to Slack.
- Pros: Tons of integrations, user-friendly setup.
- Cons: Free plan is limited, can get pricey at scale.
Perfect for small, simple automations: “if this happens, then do that.” Great for non-techies who want to streamline daily workflows.
- Pros: Easy to use, fun automations, free for basics.
- Cons: Less powerful for complex workflows, fewer business-grade integrations.
A single workspace for docs, databases, and wikis. Whether you’re tracking ideas or building your company wiki, it’s flexible enough to grow with you.
- Pros: Extremely versatile, intuitive interface, generous free plan.
- Cons: Can feel unstructured without setup, and offline mode is limited.
Hidden Gems: Tools Founders Don’t Always Hear About
This one is more of an idea discovery/validation tool than a project manager, but I see founders cite it in Reddit threads when they are brainstorming side projects or checking to see if their idea has already been executed.
- Pros: It just provides a way for you to check for similar products out there prior to putting in weeks of work into building something that may already exist.
- Cons: It is more niche. It is not going to replace task tools, it just complements the ideation process.
A new player in the design/visuals space, Kittl provides a browser-based design tool that has templates, vector-editing, as well as AI features built into it.
- Pros: If you don’t have a designer but need to produce a lot of graphics, social posts, or a logo, or the product needs to be mocked up in time for something, Kittl gives you more power than simple Canva-type products, and the AI assist feature is key.
- Cons: The first version is limited. If you want to do more advanced design (these features are in the free version), you may need the paid version for exports or other features to contribute as a full team.
BoldDesk (Customer Service / Helpdesk)
BoldDesk offers a more structured way to manage customer inquiries, tickets, inboxes and tracking without having to pay for premium support tools.
- Pros: As your users start submitting inquiries, complaints, or bugs, managing them nicely becomes important. Many founders don’t start using support tooling until they’re in a mess, so BoldDesk can help you get started without having to spend a lot.
- Cons: The free version probably limits the number of agents or features (automations, SLA rules). It is great to leverage initially, but you will probably outgrow it.
Bonus: 10 completely free and open-source SaaS replacements
The best part? Each of these will not cost you in any form to start using. You can play with, tinker and see which tool your team actually wants to use, instead of endlessly shopping for the “perfect” tool.
