Software alternatives for solo businesses
Find a cheaper or better-fitting tool for the job. Search 58 tools across 12 categories, filter by free plan, price and platform, and compare up to three side by side. Every price comes from the vendor's own pricing page, with the date we checked it.
Alternatives guides
- Calendly alternatives for solo businesses: 5 options compared
- Acuity Scheduling alternatives for appointment businesses (free and paid)
- DocuSign alternatives for freelancers: cheaper e-signature options compared
- LastPass alternatives: 3 password managers that work on all your devices
- Mailchimp alternatives with better free plans for small businesses
- QuickBooks Online alternatives for freelancers and one-person businesses
Head-to-head comparisons
- Calendly vs Cal.com: which free scheduling plan suits a one-person business?
- DocuSign vs Dropbox Sign for freelancers: price, limits and free plans
- Bitwarden vs 1Password: free vs paid password manager for small businesses
- Mailchimp vs MailerLite: free plans, automations and price compared
- QuickBooks Online vs FreshBooks for freelancers: price and limits compared
- SignWell vs DocuSign for freelancers: which costs less for what you send?
- Kit vs MailerLite: which free email plan suits a solo business?
- 1Password vs LastPass: which password manager should a small business choose?
Related guides on The Solo Toolbox
- How to stop fake meeting invites in Google Calendar and Outlook
- How to set up an out-of-office reply in Gmail and Outlook
- How to sign a PDF on iPhone and Mac without printing it
- How to turn on two-step verification for your Google and Microsoft accounts
- Why your emails land in clients' spam folders (and how to fix SPF, DKIM and DMARC)
- How to get a professional email address on your own domain
- What a freelance invoice must include in the US, UK, Canada and Australia
- Stripe vs PayPal vs Square fees for freelancers: what a $1,000 invoice actually costs
- How to take card payments without a website
- Rank Math PRO 3.0.123 malware: how to check and clean your site
- PHP security release Oct 21: what WordPress site owners should do
- Meta's new business terms on Oct 30: what they mean for your website
- How to check if a website is down for everyone
- How to share a Google Drive folder with a client safely
- How to share an Excel file without letting people edit it
- Notion AI credits change on Nov 2: what Business users get
- How to back up your Google account with Google Takeout
- How to keep client data out of AI training in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot
- How to lock chats in ChatGPT with a PIN or Face ID
- How to use ChatGPT Slides and export decks to PowerPoint
- Claude auto mode is now the default: how to switch to manual
How we choose and check these tools
- Prices and free-plan limits come from each vendor's own pricing page, and every tool shows the date we checked it. When a vendor's page didn't show a price, we say so instead of guessing.
- We list tools a one-person business can actually use: a plan for a single user, a sensible starting price, and a track record.
- No paid placements. Vendors can't pay to be listed or to rank higher. If we ever use an affiliate link, it's labelled on the page.
- We haven't run long-term tests of every tool, so the pros and cons describe what the official documentation and pricing show, not hands-on reviews.
Spotted a price that has changed? Tell us and we'll recheck it. Read more in our editorial standards.