In this guide, let’s look at 15 top Canva alternatives sorted according to their use case, best features, potential limitations, and pricing.

Canva overview

Canva is one of the most widely-used DIY design tools.

It boasts a massive library of beautiful templates and layouts to create images for your website, presentations, and social media channels.

But no software is completely flawless.

Users looking for Canva alternatives cite reasons like poor print quality and overused templates that seemingly appear everywhere.

Top Canva alternatives 2023

1. Best for custom graphics: Mega Creator

Mega Creator offers 100,000+ cutouts made from photos and 1,500+ photographic backgrounds that are taken in similar environments. They easily match each other, so you can combine them to create a personalized image, that can’t be found anywhere else on the web.

Best features:

• Built-in graphic assets: Mega Creator features thousands of unique photos, illustrations, and icons right in the editor
• Templates: There are 300+ social media graphic templates for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and more

Limitations:

• All the templates and graphic assets are available only with a paid subscription. Otherwise, they will be watermarked

Free trial: 3 days

Pricing: Premium plan costs $9 per month or $89 per year with up to 100 assets per month to use in Mega Creator.

2. Best for small businesses: Pixstudio

PixStudio is a drag-and-drop design tool that empowers even non-designers to create stylish graphics in minutes. You can start from scratch or with the help of one of their pre-made templates. The templates are even categorized (Instagram Post, Logo Maker, Business Card, etc.) to help you find the right structure for your project.

Design logos, social media graphics, YouTube thumbnails, and more. Your best designs are just a few clicks away.

Best features:

• Background remover: Quickly remove the background on any image using a single click
• Vector graphics: Fully customize your design with PixStudio elements library, and make your design work outstanding., including thousands of vector graphics

Limitations:

• The paid plans cap your cloud storage to 1 GB

Free trial: Yes. Free plan users can access the templates and photos, as well as download their graphics using multiple format options.

Pricing: You can choose between PixStudio’s free and premium plans. The premium plan starts at $9.99 billed monthly or you can get its annual deal at AppSumo for $59.88.

3. Best for vector graphics: Drawtify

Source: Drawtify

Drawtify is more than a Canva alternative for graphic design. Not only can you use it to create marketing graphics and social media content, but its vector editor also lets you create custom vector logos, infographics, and more.

Best features:

• Vector editor: Drawtify’s CorelDRAW-eque editor lets you create SVG, illustrations, vector logos, icons, unique fonts, and more
• Motions graphics editor: Create eye-catching motions like blink, rotate, and fade in

Limitations:

• Occasional inconsistent performance (e.g., slow exporting, screen glitches)

Free trial: No

Pricing:

• Free: $0 with 100% vector editor, built-in barcode generator, special effects, and more
• Monthly: $14.99.month with everything in Free + design templates, watermark removal, and more

Grab the Drawtify lifetime deal on AppSumo today for $79.90.

4. Best for Adobe users: Adobe Express 

Source: Adobe

Adobe Express (formerly Adobe Spark) is your trusted design sidekick.

Users get to enjoy the entire royalty-free stock photo and font collection and thousands of gorgeous templates. Since this design app is part of the Adobe ecosystem, you can seamlessly use Photoshop and Premiere within one platform.

Best features:

• Adobe ecosystem: Reverse your videos and convert them to GIFs using Premiere and convert your JPG files to PNG via Photoshop without leaving the Adobe ecosystem
• Templates: Adobe actively adds new templates to support more local events and seasonal moments

Limitations:

• Templates are still limited compared to competitors
• Image background removal tool doesn’t always work
• Software occasionally glitches which makes it difficult to save your work

Free trial: 30 days

Pricing:

• Free: $0 with basic editing and effects, 2GB storage, thousands of templates, and more
• Premium: $9.99/month with everything in Free + 100GB storage, premium templates, and more

5. Best for quick creation: Picmaker

Source: Picmaker

Picmaker is an AI-based graphic design platform that lets you create eye-catching designs across 70+ categories, including YouTube thumbnails, Instagram posts, and Twitter ads.

It has tons of ready-made design templates, 100 million stock images, 100,000+ icons, a custom brand kit, and many other powerful features.

It enables even non-designers to effortlessly create social media designs, logos, memes, flyers, posters, invitations, and certificates in minutes!

Finally, its artificial intelligence-based MAD button lets you choose from a staggering mix of templates, colors, fonts, and pictures.

Best features:

• MAD Button: Automatically create unique designs in a click
• Online Sticker Maker: Convert your custom pictures or stock photos into stickers
• Online Background Remover: Remove image backgrounds based on AI-powered layers and elements suggestions
• Value for money: Canva charges you for what Picmaker gives for free (e.g., remove background, customer support)

Limitations:

• No video or MP4 integrations—Picmaker requires users to use its sister tool, Animaker, to create animations and live action videos

Free trial: No

Pricing:

• Free: $0 with 10,000+ premium templates, 2GB of cloud storage, and more
• Starter: $9.95/month with everything in Free + one-click background removal, 15GB of cloud storage, and more
• Pro: $25/month with everything in Starter + custom branded templates, 30GB of cloud storage, and more
• Enterprise: Custom with everything in Pro + 24/7 support, unlimited storage, and more

6. Best for professional charts and graphs: Piktochart

Source: YouTube

Piktochart’s specialty is helping you create your own charts, graphics, and infographics with its library of data visualization templates.

This graphic design tool’s niche is easy-to-use data visualization tools, but it also offers templates for creating your own social media images and presentation slides.

Granted, it doesn’t offer all of the same capabilities as Canva, but there are more professional data visualization templates and capabilities if that’s the kind of visual content you create most often.

Best features:

• Templates & Assets: Piktochart offers unlimited professional templates, stock photos, illustrations, and icons even for free users
• Piktochart Video: Automatically transcribes your videos and adds subtitles in over 60 languages
• Data Visualization & Analytics: Piktochart also provides unlimited charts and maps and traffic data in all plans

Limitations:

• Only 100MB cloud storage in free plan
• Only five projects and one folder in free plan, which can get expensive and unsustainable for budget-strapped businesses
• Limited chart and map designs

Free trial: No

Pricing:

• Free: $0 with watermark removal, 100MB of cloud storage, and more
• Pro: $19/user per month when billed annually with everything in Free + custom team templates, 100 GB of cloud storage, and more
• Enterprise: Custom with personalized onboarding, 200GB of cloud storage, and more

7. Best for social media marketing: Snappa

Source: Snappa

Snappa is an intuitive graphic design tool that offers plenty of design templates, royalty-free images, and the ability to upload your own branded images to include in your designs.

One key feature that sets Snappa apart from many Canva alternatives is the ability to share your designs directly to social media without leaving the platform.

Best features:

• Intuitive: Snappa is incredibly easy to use, so much so that it’s a favorite among top marketers like Sujan Patel (Mailshake) and Olga Andrienko (SEMrush)
• Integration with Buffer: Schedule your social media posts within the graphics editor, thanks to its tight Buffer integration
• Photos and templates: Snappa often adds over a thousand new photos daily and new templates every week

Limitations:

• Free plan lacks many features (e.g., three downloads per month and unable to share images on social media)

Free trial: No

Pricing:

• Starter: $0 with 3 downloads per month
• Pro: $15/month with unlimited downloads, custom font uploads, social media integrations, and more
• Team: $30/month with everything in Pro + 5 users and team collaboration

8. Most ideal for WordPress users: Stencil

Source: Stencil

Stencil is a lightweight Canva alternative that makes it easy to create images for your website or social channels on the fly.

It has different browser extensions so you can easily highlight text or capture an image to pull it into your design creations, and it boasts more than 100,000 different quotes you can choose from to add to social media graphics.

But its best feature, hands down, is its WordPress plugin that allows you to edit your photos without leaving the blogging platform.

Best features:

• Browser extensions: Right-click any image and highlight text from the web and pull it instantly on Stencil using the Chrome or Firefox extension
• Facebook Ad Grid: Check if your Facebook Ad image has less than 20% text directly on Stencil before publishing it
• WordPress plugin: Edit visuals as you write your blog posts or pages without leaving the platform

Limitations:

• Only 1,350+ templates available, which is a stark difference from other Canva alternatives like Picmaker
• Limited fonts
• Interface can run slow when highlighting longer text

Free trial: No, but there’s a 7-day money back guarantee

Pricing:

• Free: $0 with up to 10 images saving per month and more
• Pro: $15/month with up to 50 images saving per month, logos/watermarks, and more
• Unlimited: $20/month with everything in Pro + unlimited imaging savings per month and more

9. Best for business branding: Wepik

Source: Wepik

Wepik by Freepik is the perfect partner for your small business’s easy branding.

Thousands of ready-to-use templates that users can personalize, thanks to a very intuitive editing tool. Menus for restaurants, invoices for companies, and images for all social media platforms are just a click away!

Wepik’s variety of content has been curated and produced by professionals, which translates into unmatched quality for both designers and editors alike. With limitless use of templates, a library of icons, a stock photo collection, and a diverse variety of fonts and typefaces. The archive of this editor is growing at a rapid pace.

It also has its own free mobile app, available for Android as well as iOS, including the same features and functionality as the desktop editor.

Best features:

• Easy to use: With a few clicks, you’ll have picked, edited, and downloaded a professional design.
• Freepik and Flaticon API connection: The vast majority of Wepik’s content is original, but many of Freepik and Flaticon’s resources can now be edited without any advanced graphic design knowledge or software, thanks to the online editor.
• Background Remover: The star of all features, Wepik is one of the few editors that offer background removal easy and effortlessly, and above all, it’s free!

Limitations:

• Only available in English
• Template variety is still limited
• No videos or animated content is currently available

Pricing: All features are available for free! Wepik doesn’t have a Premium version yet, meaning that it’s time to take full advantage of the free version.

10. Best for real-time collaboration: Venngage

Source: Venngage

Venngage boasts a wide array of different templates for users to choose from.

Between social media images, cards and postcards, and reports and presentations, this Canva alternative is a great option for anyone with a wide variety of visual design needs.

Similar to Piktochart, Venngage’s primary use case is for data visualization and infographic content creation, so users will find limited templates in other content formats with plenty of infographic templates to choose from.

What sets both tools apart is that Venngage offers real-time collaboration.

Best features:

• Real-Time Collaboration: Edit infographics with your team in real-time collaboration and gather feedback easily
• Content: Venngage doesn’t use the Lorem Ipsum filler in its templates—it uses actual content which helps you visualize what information you need to include
• Smart Features and Templates: Automatically generate slide layouts from text blocks, which saves time in rearranging your content

Limitations:

• Limited free plan that requires you to upgrade to one of its most expensive plans (e.g., you need to get the Business plan to access real-time collaboration)
• Occasional slow performance when arranging elements

Free trial: No

Pricing:

• Free: $0 with 5 designs and more
• Premium: $19/user per month with unlimited designs, PNG and high-res PNG exporting, and more
• Business: $49/user per month with everything in Premium + real-time collaboration, brand kit, and more
• Enterprise: $499+/month when billed annually for 10+ seats with everything in Business + multi-factor authentication, custom built features, and more

11. Best for photo editing: PicMonkey

Source: Picmonkey

PicMonkey offers robust photo editing capabilities and allows users to do cool things with their images, including advanced editing, effects and filters, and making collages.

Because PicMonkey’s original use case was for photo editing, it’s not the best alternative to Canva if you plan to use it for creating images specifically for web and social media. But it offers some templates and design assets to use for that purpose.

Looking for a PickMonkey alternative? Check them out here.

Best features:

• Smart Resize: Realign the elements in your images to fit the target dimensions without distorting your photo and text
• Color Changer: Change the color of any object in your photos, whether it’s a t-shirt, hair, or nails

Limitations:

• Basic plan lacks many features (e.g., no premium stock photo library and one-click background removal)
• Editor not as robust as Canva
• Unintutive user interface that requires a bit of digging to locate specific tools (e.g., Smart Resize is located at the top, not in the Edits menu)

Free trial: 7 days (excluding downloads and shares)

Pricing:

• Basic: $7.99/monthly with 1GB of cloud storage, templates, touch up tools, and more
• Pro: $12.99/monthly with everything in Basic + unlimited cloud storage, one brand kit, and more
• Business: $23/monthly with everything in Pro + multiple brand kits, real-time co-editing, and more

12. Best for teams: Easil

Source: Easil

Easil offers some of the most advanced image editing capabilities among the Canva alternatives.

Users can upload their brand assets and make their own templates for other team members to create their own branded images, and print images from directly within the tool if needed.

This graphic design platform also offers excellent brand restrictions tools.

Best features:

• Brand Restrictions: Control which parts of the design you want edited, which fonts to be used, and what images you want added, swapped, or removed
• Brand Kit: Build a unique brand kit for every sub-team
• Easil Edge Design Guarantee: Request a premium designed template and receive it within 21 days

Limitations:

• Searching for specific designs might take a long time

Free trial: 30 days

Pricing:

• Basic: $0 with 2,500+ templates, text effects, 1 million free stock images, and more
• Plus: $7.50/user per month with everything in Basic + 10,000+ templates, design restrictions, and more
• Edge: $59/user per month with everything in Plus + 20,000+ templates, priority support, and more
• Enterprise: Custom with everything in Edge + custom branded portal, print production and distribution, and more

13. All-in-one: Visme

Source: YouTube

Visme is among the most versatile of Canva alternatives. It allows users to create engaging presentations, infographics, documents, videos, graphics and everything in between.

The tool unifies the content creation process and provides easy-to-use templates, millions of images and thousands of icons, and over 50 charts and data widgets.

Plus you can add video or audio and embed most external content like WuFoo forms, slides from SlideShare, and Spotify. Editing and customization are a breeze, too.

Best features:

• Video Maker: Visme’s all-in-one video maker includes royalty-free stock videos and animated assets and custom animation capabilities
• Mockup Generator: Create mock-ups for brochures, mobile apps, paper bag packagings, postcards, polo shirts, and more
• Collaboration: Resolve comments, circle on any part of the design to leave feedback, and tag teammates within Visme
• Presentation: Create presentations and record yourself presenting with your notes on the left sidebar
• Animation Interactivity: You can also create clickable menus and incorporate hover effects to boost engagement

Limitations:

• Only 100MB storage in free plan
• Templates can get complex and difficult to customize
• Odd glitches (e.g., logs you out at random)

Free trial: No

Pricing:

• Basic: $0 with 100MB storage, regular support, and more
• Personal: $29/monthly with everything in Basic + 250GB storage, 24/7 email and chat support, full access to templates and assets, and more
• Business: $59/user monthly with everything in Personal + 3GB storage, privacy controls, and more
• Enterprise: Custom with everything in Business + 25GB storage, custom sub-domain, and more

14. Best for launches: Trakto

Source: YouTube

Trakto is a beginner-friendly design editor that helps you create marketing and sales materials like presentations, social posts, ebooks, business cards, and GIFs.

Its best feature is the custom mini site builder, which builds a functional website with an automatically-generated QR code at the click of a button.

If you want to quickly build landing pages for exclusion promotions or product launches, check it out.

Best features:

• Links: Create custom mini sites with subdomains and automatically-generated QR codes
• Format: Create a document with multiple page formats without keeping track of a gazillion different files

Limitations:

• Some parts of the website are in Brazilian which creates a language barrier
• Asset uploading can be slow
• Only 50MB storage for free users

Free trial: No

Pricing:

• Free: $0 with 5 designs, 50MB storage, templates and fonts, and more
• Premium: $9 (R$47) monthly with unlimited designs, 100GB storage, unlimited background removals, and more

15. Best for display banners: QwikBanners

QwikBanners is the quickest banner maker for your display campaigns. It lets you generate multiple sizes of banners in seconds.

Not a designer? Fret not.

QwikBanners comes with a vast—and ever-growing—collection of high-converting templates that help you speed up your design. With QwikBanners, you also have access to millions of high-resolution stock images completely free for your use.

Best features:

• Multi-banner generator: Generate ten sizes with a click, without using any coding or design skills
• Unlimited downloads: Convert your banner into multiple variations with zero download restrictions

Limitations:

• Fewer templates than Canva
• No free plan and the free trial is only for one day

Free trial: 1 day with unlimited downloads

Pricing:

• Lite: $10/month with 1 user login and unlimited downloads
• Enterprise: Custom with everything in Lite + multi-user logins and more

Grab the QwikBanners lifetime deal on AppSumo today for $59.

16. Ideal for automation: Switchboard Canvas

Switchboard Canvas is a powerful bulk image automation tool.

Once you add this must-have tool in your tech stack, you no longer need to perform manual tasks. Switchboard Canvas helps you to resize your images without ruining the formatting. This also means that you can hide specific elements or show them at certain sizes.

Best features:

• Batch processing: Create multiple sets of images at one go
• Responsive images: Resize your images without ruining the format of the elements
• Translator: Switchboard Canvas currently supports over 70 languages
• Integrations: Offers integrations with tools like Airtable, Zapier, and Pabbly to automate your content creation

Limitations:

• Unable to automate videos, though this could be in the works according to its roadmap
• Downloads only in PNG
• No free plan

Free trial: 14 days

Pricing:

• Creator: $19/month with 1,000 API calls, QR codes, and more
• Agency: $79/month with everything in Creator + 10,000 API calls, 3 sizes per call, and more
• Enterprise: $299/month with everything in Agency + 100,000 API calls, 5 sizes per call, and more

Grab the Switchboard Canvas lifetime deal on AppSumo today for $69.

Get these top Canva alternatives at a steal

No matter what your goals are with creating visual content, one of these DIY design tools will help you save time and headaches when creating graphics for your business.

If you’re a content creator, marketer, or founder looking for more tools to grow your brand, check out AppSumo for affordable business tools.

FAQs

1. What is a free alternative to Canva?

Adobe Express, Picmaker, and Snappa, are a few free alternatives.

Most of the Canva alternatives in this list are free. Sign up for their free trial or free plan to see which fits your unique needs.

2. Is Canva or PicMonkey better?

Depends on your needs. If you need advanced photo editing capabilities, Picmonkey might be the better choice.

3. Is Canva bad for designers?

Designers often need to create custom assets from scratch, which makes Canva unsuitable for their needs. You should only use Canva if you have zero design skills and want access to pre-made templates.

When I posed this question to my network, 115 small business owners replied with their favorite tools and the incredible ROI they’ve gotten from using them.

I’ve shortened the list — because let’s face it, no one has the time to go through all 66 tools. In no particular order of popularity, here are the ten small business management software tools mentioned the most.

Whether you’re looking for a robust inventory management system or you’re aiming to improve your project workflow and impress your clients, these ten business software tools will help you do the trick.

For easier reference, I’ve grouped them into four categories:

• Project management
• Invoicing and bookkeeping
• All-in-one suites
• Marketing and sales

Let’s dig in.

Top small business management tools for project management

Let’s face the facts: Managing your projects on spreadsheets only works when you run a small team.

If you work in a bigger team, it’s time to invest in a proper project management software tool for effective team collaboration. How else will you get everyone on the same page and prevent those pesky emails?

1. Upbase

Use it to: Manage your freelance business or side project.

Pricing: Upbeat offers both a free and premium version of their product. The premium is $6/month, paid annually. You can also purchase Upbeat as a lifetime deal on AppSumo for $49.

Most project management tools are built to help teams stay more productive together. But what about solopreneurs, freelancers, and self-managers? If you want a powerful and personal productivity tool, then you may want to consider Upbase.

Upbase is designed for solos and small teams. It offers all the features most of us look for in project management software, including kanban boards, calendar view, to-do lists, and docs. Plus, while it’s designed for small and one-person operations, Upbeat makes it easy to onboard clients or other team members for the occasional collaboration.

Upbase boasts a simple user interface to speed up your workflow. As one AppSumo customer put it:

“I’m using Upbase to track my side projects, and I love how I can keep all of the stuff in one place. I plan my tasks & schedule them in Upbase, and also keep my documentation/thoughts in Upbase’s documents. Upbase is off to a great start, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.” — AppSumo reviewer

2. Asana

Source: Asana

Use it to: Streamline multiple complex projects that involve different team members.

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $10.99 per month per user, billed annually.

If you want to manage tasks across different projects without dropping a Slack message here and there, look no further than Asana.

This project management tool allows you to communicate with collaborators, set tasks and deadlines for individual members, and share files and updates all in one place. It also boasts an impressive template library.

With Asana, you can create separate threads for specific projects. This means that members outside of these projects won’t ever receive irrelevant notifications in their dashboard.

Another cool feature of Asana? You can view project status in various ways: Lists, boards, Gantt charts, your pick.

Chris Post, President of 2M Locating, is a fan of this feature and credits it as one of the reasons behind his smooth collaboration with co-workers:

“I’m a ‘list person’. My operations manager is a ‘board person’. We don’t have to force one way on anyone, as Asana allows our team to view the same information in the visual manner that best suits them.” — Chris Post, President of 2M Locating

Simply put, Asana is collaborative task management at its best.

3. Trello

Source: Trello

Use it to: Manage simple projects with small teams.

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $9.99 per user per month, billed annually.

Trello works similarly to Asana — that is, in terms of scheduling and organizing tasks, tracking progress, and assigning them to relevant team members.

One of the significant differences between these two project management rivals? Asana is more suited for managing multiple complex projects. Trello, on the other hand, works better for more straightforward one-off projects.

With its accessible UX and customizable templates, it’s easy to get started on Trello right away.

Just take it from Trond Nyland. Immediately after using the workflow management tool, the founder and CEO of Mattress Review noticed a big improvement in his productivity.

Back then, it would take him five working days to create long-form content. With Trello, it takes only two to three days.

“We realized fewer tasks fall through the cracks after using Trello. In the past, 10-15% of work inevitably got lost somewhere along the way. This doesn’t happen anymore.” — Trond Nyland, Founder and CEO of Mattress Review

We wrote a detailed comparison guide on Asana and Trello. If you want to learn more about their specific features, check it out.

4. Proofhub

Source: YouTube

Use it to: Manage workflows and speed up the project approval process for big teams.

Pricing: 14-day free trial available. Paid plans start at $45 for unlimited users per month, billed annually.

Proofhub may not be a household name like Asana and Trello, but this underdog’s worth a look as it gets the job done efficiently.

One of Proofhub’s best features is its user-friendly online proofing tool. Annotating files takes a few clicks. You’ll never have to experience endless rounds of revision as Proofhub’s markup and file versioning tools simplify the project review process.

Note: Asana also offers online proofing, but it’s only available for Business and Enterprise plans (they charge per user). Proofhub allows you to add as many users as you want without paying extra.

Other stand-out features of Proofhub include built-in time tracking, Gantt charts, and customizable project templates.

5. Airtable 

Source: YouTube

Use it to: Store, organize, and modify information in spreadsheets format.

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans start $10 per user per month, paid annually.

If you’re a “spreadsheets person” and you’re outgrown Excel or Google Sheets, take a look at Airtable.

This part spreadsheet, part database tool allows you to store different data types in a cell. Want to attach a document or image? It takes only a few clicks.

You can use Airtable in numerous ways.

Plan your editorial calendar, log interactions with customers, track your physical assets, you get the picture. You don’t even need to create these spreadsheets from scratch, as Airtable provides them in its template library.

Deya Aliaga, the Digital Business Manager and Founder at DBM Bootcamp, uses Airtable to keep track of her entire business:

“My team no longer comes to me to ask questions about finding X or Y. They know it all lives in Airtable. As a business owner, that has saved me SO much time and mental energy.” — Deya Aliaga, Digital Business Manager and Founder at DBM Bootcamp

Are you looking for a spreadsheet-based collaboration tool for your team and clients? Airtable is your ticket to get there.

Top small business management tools for invoicing and bookkeeping

Hair pulling. Nail-biting. These are the side effects of doing your books when you have little patience in bookkeeping. Fortunately, these popular accounting software tools are here to save the day.

6. Quickbooks

Source: YouTube

Use it to: Maintain your bookkeeping records with your in-house or freelance bookkeeper.

Pricing: 30-day free trial. Paid plans start $25 per month (50% off for three months).

Quickbooks lets you do everything from sending invoices to managing cash flow and analyzing your financial statements.

Julia Spahiu, founder and CFO of Edi and Sienna Group, picks Quickbooks as her favorite accounting solution as it comes with extensive features.

A word of caution: Quickbooks comes with a steep learning curve. Unless you work with a professional bookkeeper or accountant, it’s best to skip it and opt for a simpler option (I’ll get to this in a minute).

Source: Reddit

Joel Miller, founder of The Sky Floor, gives the nod to Quickbooks, because it helps him free up more time for sales:

“I can’t live without Quickbooks. Legit. Without it, we couldn’t have grown our business on average 30% year-over-year for the last five years.” — Joel Miller, Founder of The Sky Floor

Complicated or not, we can’t deny the fact that Quickbooks’ a powerful bookkeeping tool.

7. Freshbooks

Source: YouTube

Use it to: Send invoices and maintain bookkeeping records on your own.

Pricing: 30-day free trial. Paid plans start $6 per month, billed annually. Currently offers a limited time 50% offer for three months.

Freshbooks makes financial management easy as pie.

Like all bookkeeping tools, Freshbooks helps make sure you’re financially on track.

This beginner-friendly tool allows you to send invoices in seconds and offers various essential features such as expense tracking, time tracking, and reporting.

It’s extremely easy to understand Freshbooks’ profitability dashboard. Right away, you can tell if your business is making progress.

Steve Toth, Founder of SEO Notebook, prefers Freshbooks over other bookkeeping tools as it’s built with business owners in mind, and not accountants:

“Invoicing is so easy — it just works.” — Steve Toth, Founder of SEO Notebook

That said, give Freshbooks a shot if you’re new to bookkeeping.

Top small business management tools for all-in-one suites

For the time-conscious business owner, managing everything in a single platform has a massive impact on productivity. Here are two all-in-one tools that will improve your business processes for good.

8. Zoho One

Source: Zoho

Use it to: Streamline different departments (e.g. sales, marketing, support, human resources, etc.) in one platform.

Pricing: 30-day free trial available. Paid plans start at $30 per employee per month, billed annually.

Zoho One is an all-in-one management system that enables you to track every aspect of your business.

Boasting 40+ integrated applications, you can easily manage and automate multiple processes across your entire organization.

SalesIQ allows you to see how customers behave on your website. Books enables you to track and prepare your finances. And Social helps you to grow your presence on social media. And these are just a few of its standout features.

Shane Dutka, a digital entrepreneur, recommends Zoho One to small business owners, especially those looking to streamline their eCommerce stores:

“The best aspect of Zoho One is its operations feature. It allows us to select the warehouse that is physically closest to the customer when they purchase an item. This has saved us tens of thousands of dollars in shipping costs and allowed us to get our products to our customers faster. Before using Zoho One, we had no way of automating this process.” — Shane Dutka, Digital Entrepreneur

Overwhelmed by your messy business workflows? Zoho One could be the one-stop management solution you need.

9. G Suite

Source: G Suite

Use it to: Oversee essential tasks from emailing to running meetings and creating documents and spreadsheets in one complete business management solution.

Pricing: 14-day free trial available. Paid plans start at $6 per user per month.

G Suite provides the essentials to get your business up and running, and at an affordable price to boot.

You get your professional email address, run meetings with your teams and clients, and collaborate on files in real-time.

Michael Dean, Co-Founder at Pool Research, points out best:

“What I love about G Suite is that all the tools are packaged as one. I don’t like having to use different tools and platforms for different purposes, because for each new tool, you have to learn the ins and outs, the features, and how to use it effectively. With G Suite, everything we need is right there, and it’s easy for my team and me to understand.” — Michael Dean, Co-Founder at Pool Research

10. Deskera

Use it to: Consolidating your accounting, invoicing, payroll, CRM, and more in one place.

Pricing: Startup plans start at $29 per month per power user.

Running a business is complex. You have to:

• Get new leads & convert them to paid customers
• Process and fulfill orders on time
• Send invoices and get paid on time
• Keep bills and expenses in check
• Ensure proper staffing
• Pay your staff and contractors on time
• Comply with local, federal and tax laws
• Track and anticipate customer interactions

How many apps do you need for all of the above? Just one!

Deskera simplifies & automates day to day running of your business. From your laptop, tablet or phone. And it comes with multiple features like custom fields, custom pipelines and template designer should you want to tweak the system and make it your own.

“Saves tremendous human efforts and book-keeping is also easy. Has allowed me to do the accounting, take care of the team, manage employee leaves, keep track of deals, resource management and whatnot, that too all so very efficiently. Plus the dashboard also allows me to switch between tabs and work on different things all at once, this is really time saving.” – Sharon Pinto,  Trust Pilot

Top small business management tools for marketing and sales

It takes a lot of work to capture attention from prospects with great content and follow up with leads who are giving us the cold shoulder. Lucky for you, these two software tools got your back.

11. Ahrefs

Source: Ahrefs

Use it to: Create SEO-driven content and analyze and build backlinks, especially if content marketing is part of your inbound strategy.

Pricing: 7-day trial costs $7. Paid plans start at $82 a month + two months free, billed annually.

Ahrefs is a must-have tool if you want to grow your small business organically.

This SEO powerhouse software solution allows you to monitor your competitors and identify the type of content you need to create to blow them out of the water.

James Canzanella, owner of Isolated Marketing Nights, does this by finding low-competition keywords on Ahrefs’ Site Explorer and Keyword Explorer.

“Ahrefs shows the changes I need to make on my website. It ensures that my site is working as smoothly as possible from the technical side of things. I’m surprised that I went for so long without the software because it gives you such an unfair advantage.” — James Canzanella, Owner of Isolated Marketing Nights

Here’s a blog post he wrote that landed on the first page of Google:

12. Hubspot CRM

Source: Hubspot

Use it to: Manage sales pipeline, respond to customer support issues, and track emails from clients using shared inbox.

Pricing: Starts free. Paid plans start at $40 per two users per month, billed annually.

Hubspot is a giant in the world of B2B marketing and sales, and client management is where it shines.

With Hubspot CRM software, you can do all things marketing and sales like scheduling sales emails, and monitoring how contacts behave on your website.

Hubspot might be overkill for solo freelancers, but for small businesses that want to create a VIP experience for each customer? It shouldn’t be overlooked.

Hubspot CRM’s free plan includes a variety of attractive features: Contact management, prospect tracking, pipeline management, and email marketing. Upgrade to its premium plan, and you’ll unlock additional features like live chat and AI bots.

When Autobead launched its B2B trade offerings, co-founder James Ford and his team sent a bunch of cold emails to car detailing professionals. Citing HubSpot CRM as the “core component” of its sales campaign, the company’s sales skyrocketed:

“We used Hubspot CRM and integrated Zapier.  The Zapier integration allows us to nurture the list of interested parties by driving them to an Eventbrite sign up form. Hubspot then records their profile, which we used to trigger follow-up emails and offers. We’ve had a 10X ROI on our investment every month.” — James Ford, Co-founder at Autobead

Stay at the top of your entrepreneurial game

Phew! That was a lot, wasn’t it?

We’ve covered the 12 business apps that help you grow your small business in areas spanning across project management, invoicing and bookkeeping, all-in-one suites, and marketing and sales.

Let’s quickly recap on their best use cases:

• Upbase: Manage your tasks, calendar, docs, files, chat—all in one place. Grab lifetime access to Upbase at AppSumo for $49.
• Deskera: SMB business owners, multiple entities or feel as though they have too many apps and integrations.
• Asana: Streamline multiple complex projects that involve different team members.
• Trello: Manage simple projects with small teams.
• Proofhub: Manage workflows and speed up the approval process for big teams.
• Airtable: Store, organize, and modify information in spreadsheets format.
• Quickbooks: Maintain your bookkeeping records with your in-house or freelance bookkeeper.
• Freshbooks: Send invoices and maintain bookkeeping records on your own.
• Zoho One: Streamline different departments (e.g. sales, marketing, support, human resources, etc.) in one platform.
• G Suite: Oversee essential tasks from emailing to running meetings and creating documents and spreadsheets in one complete business management solution.
• Ahrefs: Create SEO-driven content and analyze and build backlinks, especially if content marketing is part of your inbound strategy.
• Hubspot CRM: Manage sales pipeline, respond to customer support issues, and track emails from clients.

Ready to move beyond the startup phase to grow a successful business?

You know what to do.

But just because it’s the popular kid in school doesn’t mean it’s automatically the best tool to manage your team’s communication. If you suspect that might be the case, this goes out to you.

We’ve put together a list of the top Slack alternatives to help you communicate with ease and stay on top of your work. And this guide goes beyond messaging. We’ll also look at other relevant features like project management and task organization. Whether you want to gather feedback during a final meeting or get everyone on the same page throughout multiple ongoing projects, you’ll find the tool here that best suits your needs.

Why are these 14 team communication platforms the best Slack alternatives? Let’s find out.

1. SmartTask

Source: SmartTask

Racking your brain to figure out who’s done what and what else needs to be done? Check out SmartTask, a platform that allows you to communicate with your team and track projects in one place.

Top features:

• Team collaboration (including instant messaging and video conferencing)
• Task and project management
• Customer relationship management
• Time tracking
• Analytics and reporting

Platforms supported: Windows, iOS, and Android

Pros:

• Start video meetings with one click when viewing tasks and chats
• Drag-and-drop functionality to delegate work to co-workers
• Can customize workflows to your needs with advanced filters
• Reward team members’ performance and keep them motivated with karma points

Cons:

• Team-based video conferencing is limited to a maximum of 30 people in a meeting
• No desktop app for Mac

Best for: Small teams looking to streamline internal communication during ongoing projects and get all stakeholders on the same page

Pricing: Free plan available. The Premium and Business plans are $9 and $14 per user per month.

2. Chanty

Source: Chanty

Chanty is proof that excellent team collaboration software tools don’t need to be complicated. Even on the free plan, it offers unlimited public and private conversations, unlimited voice messages and one-on-one audio calls, and unlimited search history.

Top features:

• One-on-one and group video or audio calls
• Voice messages
• Task management
• Teambook, which is a central hub for organizing tasks, conversations, and content

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android

Pros:

• Easy to navigate the tool, even as a new user
• Integrates with tools you may already have in your arsenal, including Basecamp and Google Drive
• Excellent customer support and fast responses

Cons:

• Occasional minor glitches for new features (for example, group audio calls used to be unstable but have gotten better)
• Only has the Kanban board task view, which might not be ideal if you like to visualize your work in other ways (e.g. lists, Gantt charts, timelines, etc.)

Best for: Teams who want a single hub for text, audio, and video communication with almost no learning curve.

Pricing: Free version available and the paid plan is $4 per user per month. (Chanty also has a neat little calculator showing exactly how much you’ll save with Chanty compared to Slack and other tools.)

3. Vectera

Source: YouTube

Looking for a communication tool to host client meetings? Look no further than Vectera.

This handy collaboration app allows you to upload documents in virtual rooms and sketch on them to explain your ideas. Best of all, it stores your content for fast access, making it easy to pick up a conversation where you left off.

Top features:

• One-click video meetings
• Whiteboard and document annotation
• White label for full customization including custom domains
• Intelligent meeting scheduling

Platforms supported: Browser based

Pros:

• Dedicated meeting rooms for each client with easy access to content and past communications
• Payment collection for discovery and consultation calls
• Ability to gather customer feedback to improve future calls

Cons:

• No mobile or desktop apps
• Group video meetings only allow up to six people
• More expensive than other collaboration tools on this list

Best for: Running one-on-one or small group meetings with clients

Pricing: Free forever plan available. Paid plans start at $30 per host per month.

4. Microsoft Teams

Source: Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams combines instant messaging, video meetings, audio calls, and team collaboration features in one platform.

Its interface may not be as sleek as Slack, but if you’re already using Microsoft products like Excel or PowerPoint, it can be a powerful tool in your business.

Top features:

• Unlimited group and one-on-one meetings
• Instant messaging and group chat
• File sharing and storage
• Outlook calendar syncing

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android

Pros:

• Excellent quality audio and video calls
• Past conversations are always within arm’s reach thanks to chat history, meeting recordings, and transcripts
• Some paid plans come bundled with other Office apps that your team might find useful

Cons:

• Messages sometimes go missing, although you can typically solve this with a quick cache cleanup
• Awkward interface (for example, when attaching a file in chat, Microsoft Teams doesn’t show it uploading)
• Lack of options in notifications settings, such as switching off message notifications from specific people in a group

Best for: Teams currently using Microsoft products who want a reliable tool for calls and video meetings

Pricing: Free forever plan available. Paid plans start at $4 per user per month.

5. Loop

Source: Loop

What if you could view all your inboxes in one location? That’s the premise of Loop.

This team communication tool eliminates the need to click between multiple browser tabs to check your different email accounts. It’s a dream come true for businesses that deal with a lot of shared email addresses.

Top features:

• Real-time chats
• Shared inbox
• Email open tracking
• Canned responses for sending common replies quickly

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android

Pros:

• Clean, beautiful, and intuitive interface with workflow automation
• One-click email delegation for assigning emails and tasks to team members without endless forwarding
• Speedy customer support

Cons:

• Missing helpful features like folders, tagging, and 2-way syncing of shared inboxes
• Can’t schedule emails for later or snooze them

Best for: Companies and organizations in which managing emails is a team sport and a bit of a hassle

Pricing: 14-day free trial available. From there, pricing starts at $12.50 per user per month.

6. Flock

Source: Flock

It’s a pain gathering team feedback via text. Fortunately, Flock’s built-in polls are here to save the day. Create a question, add options, and let your team vote. You can even set an expiration date and download a report to see which is the most (or least) popular option.

Top features:

• Video conferencing
• Channel messaging
• Voice notes
• Integrated search
• File sharing
• To-dos, polls, and reminders

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android

Pros:

• Affordable and easy to use
• Allows info to be shared on a need-to-know basis via groups
• Integrates with internal learning, human resources, and other management systems

Cons:

• Search functionality needs work so that it’s easier to find the files or messages you’re looking for
• Customer support could respond faster
• Not as robust as Slack or alternatives that offer task management

Best for: Surveying your team members to make important decisions (e.g., choosing the best logo)

Pricing: Free version available. Paid plans start at $6 per user per month.

7. Plutio

Source: YouTube

Are your project assets and messages scattered across Google Drive, DocuSign, Asana, and Slack? You need Plutio, an all-in-one platform that helps you run your entire business online.

Not only can you stay in touch with clients in real time, but you can also create proposals, send invoices, set project deadlines, and more.

Top features: 

• Inbox that includes real-time messaging and integrated emails
• Chat widget
• Task and project management
• Invoicing, proposals, and contracts
• Client management
• File manager
• Knowledge base, forms, and surveys

Platforms supported: Browser based, with apps for iOS and Android

Pros:

• Easy to simplify your tech stack and speed up your workflows
• More than two dozen languages supported, as well as multiple currencies and payment methods
• Bank-level security so you’ll have no worries about your and your clients’ sensitive information

Cons: 

• Occasional bugs and glitches
• Some users feel the tool is more “clunky” than they’d like

Best for: Freelancers or agencies who want a single tool for communication and end-to-end project management

Pricing: Free trial available. Pricing starts at $19 per month for solo users and $39 per month for teams.

8. Google Chat

Source: Google Chat

This wouldn’t truly be a “top Slack alternatives” list without Google.

As a standalone tool, Google Chat may leave a lot to be desired—but use it together with Google’s other collaboration tools, and you’ll see how it integrates seamlessly with your Workspace.

Top features:

• Direct messages
• Group conversations
• Dedicated rooms
• Bots for automating simple tasks

Platforms supported: Browser based, with apps for iOS and Android

Pros:

• Seamless integration with Google Docs, Gmail, and other Google Workspace apps
• Integration with third-party apps like Salesforce and Jira
• Google’s secure-by-design infrastructure with features built in to protect your information
• 24/7 Chat, email, and phone support available

Cons:

• Messy conversation threads that are a headache for users to sort through
• Pop-ups can be distracting when you’re trying to focus
• No desktop apps

Best for: Teams already using Google Workspace who want a seamless team communication experience

Pricing: Google Chat is included in Google Workspace subscriptions. Workspace plans start at $6 per user per month and you can do a free 14-day trial before committing.

9. Ryver

Source: Ryver

What would happen if Slack and Trello had a baby? You’d get Ryver.

This two-in-one app does what the aforementioned tools do best: team communication and task management. Want a way to boost your team’s productivity? This could be it.

Top features:

• Voice and video calls with screen sharing
• Topic-threaded chat
• Direct messages
• Custom invite links
• Personal and team task managers

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android

Pros:

• Allows you to convert messages into tasks so you can walk the walk, instead of just talking the talk
• Unlimited collaboration, task management, data, and guests so you won’t run into any extra costs
• Enhanced data security with all plans

Cons:

• The tool looks and feels dated
• Users report feeling underwhelmed by the dashboard and confused by the similar features in task management view

Best for: Teams who want a straightforward task management and team communication tool without a ton of usage limits

Pricing: 14-Day free trial available. Paid plans start at $69/month.

10. Meetquo

Source: AppSumo 

It’s difficult running meetings with teammates scattered across different time zones. Luckily, there’s Meetquo.

This remote meeting and team communication platform allows your co-workers to participate in virtual sessions on their own schedules.

Need to request feedback on the proposals you just created? Share them on Meetquo and get your co-workers to rate which is the best.

Top features:

• Video meetings
• Proposals
• Asynchronous feedback on meeting documents and proposals
• Meeting tracker

Platforms supported: Browser based

Pros:

• Clean, simple, and sleek interface
• Easily peg a proposal as a clear winner with the built-in rating system
• Provides one co-created document with every team member’s insights so you’re not forced to sift through and compile each person’s notes

Cons:

• No temporary meeting room, which forces clients and vendors to create Meetquo accounts
• Much leaner tool than alternatives, Slack included

Best for: Running asynchronous meetings and aligning every stakeholder of final decisions

Pricing: Free plan available. Pro Plan is $4 per user per month for unlimited meetings, unlimited signatures, and premium support.

11. Mattermost

Source: Mattermost

Built for developers by developers, Mattermost asserts that “general-purpose collaboration tools just aren’t made for the challenges developers face every day.” If you nodded vigorously as you read that claim, this is probably the Slack alternative for you.

Top features:

• Unlimited channels
• Threaded discussions
• Both real-time and async messaging with integrated voice and video
• One-on-one calls and group calls with screen sharing
• Multi-language code syntax highlighting

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android

Pros:

• According to one user, “It has all that you would expect from a Slack replacement—channels, mentions, file and image exchange, history, ability to create private groups and rooms, 3rd party tools integration, and more.”
• Integrates with GitHub, Jira, Zendesk, Confluence, and more to help your team operate efficiently
• Security and compliance features such as self-hosted or private cloud deployment, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and SOC 2 Type I (Cloud)

Cons:

• Notification system could be better—it’s easy to miss incoming messages
• According to user reports, installing the server requires system administration skills
• No option to start an instant call

Best for: Developers interested in a flexible, open-source platform for seamless teamwork

Pricing: Free forever plan available. Paid plans start at $10 per user per month.

12. Taskade

Source: Capterra

Taskade is a real-time conferencing and messaging platform used by companies like Netflix, Sony, and Capital One. It’s not just an alternative to Slack—it’s also an alternative to knowledge and project management tools like Trello and Notion.

Top features:

• Chat and messaging with @mentions
• Video conferencing and screen sharing
• Guest collaboration
• Activity feed for full visibility into workspace activity

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android

Pros:

• Generous free plan includes unlimited tasks, projects, folders, teams, members, and guests
• Templates and repeating tasks speed up your workflows
• 99.99% Uptime guarantee and 24/7 customer support

Cons:

• Settings and some other features aren’t available in the mobile apps
• Basic compared to some similar go-to tools

Best for: Teams looking for a single tool to manage and communicate about projects and tasks

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $5 per seat per month (billed annually). Even better, get lifetime access to Taskade via the AppSumo store starting at $59.

13. Fleep

Source: Fleep

Fleep labels itself as “an ideal way to communicate.” But what makes it ideal? It gives collaborators maximum control over conversations. For example, Fleep supports project, team, and topic-specific conversations. And it allows you to turn the plans you discuss into action items.

Top features: 

• One-on-one and group conversations with full message history
• Pinboard to keep the most important messages in each conversation visible
• File drawers for each conversation
• Audio-video calls with screen sharing

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android

Pros:

• Makes it easy to keep track of important messages and take action on team discussions
• Slightly cheaper than Slack and some of the alternatives we’ve covered
• Integrates with 20+ tools, including email, webhooks, Trello, Zapier, and Google Drive

Cons:

• Could use more granular notification settings
• Has fewer integrations than more well-known tools like Slack

• Minimal compared to similar tools

Best for: Teams of all sizes who want a mainly chat-based tool that also allows for synchronous audio and video chats just in case

Pricing: Basic free plan available. Business pricing starts at €5 per user per month, billed annually (in Euros).

14. HeySpace

Source: HeySpace

HeySpace is another great Slack alternative that has features for keeping on top of projects and tasks. Its strength is simplicity. It doesn’t have too few features to be functional for small teams, but it also doesn’t have so many features that it’s overwhelming for users.

Top features:

• One-on-one and group chats in cards and spaces
• Reactions, @mentions, and indented replies
• Video calls
• Unlimited file storage
• Multiple task views (board, calendar, timeline, etc.)

Platforms supported: Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, iOS, and Android

Pros:

• Offers team communication features and task management
• Straightforward and easy to use
• Integrates with tools like Trello, Dropbox, Gmail, TimeCamp, and more

Cons:

• No search functionality to help users quickly find info from chats and cards
• Needs speed improvements

Best for: Small teams looking for a simple, affordable tool that doesn’t take long to set up or learn

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plan is $5 per user per month. You can also get lifetime access to HeySpace on AppSumo for $69.

Which of these Slack alternatives will you try?

Many of these Slack alternatives may look similar at first glance, but as you dig deeper, you’ll realize each one has unique features and use cases.

For instance, Meetquo is excellent for gathering asynchronous feedback on your proposals, but if you’re looking for an all-in-one task management and team communication tool, it might not be the best choice. In that case, options like Taskade and HeySpace may be better. Want to test them out? Right now, you can grab Taskade for as little as $59 and get HeySpace for $69 in the AppSumo store.

Here’s to effortless communication and maximum productivity!

Looking at the business owners we admire and spoke to, yes. Not only do we think it’s possible, but we’re seeing it happening more often in the scrappiest entrepreneurs.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to start a business with no money or little capital and share some of our favorite success stories along the way.

1. Find your itch

Inspiration comes from many places.

Customer conversations, industry news, or, in Simon Grabowski’s case, a problem he encountered at work.

When Simon was running his travel business, he struggled to send emails to his multiple subscribers, so he created GetResponse (formerly known as Implix back then).

Source: GetResponse

Simon kept his expenses low.

Since he knew how to code, he didn’t need to spend money hiring a developer. In fact, he spent only $200 to register his company and website and hire an employee to promote it.

Is there a problem at work that constantly bothers you? Are the current solutions lacking important features? Consider exploring the idea and expanding it as a business.

Pro tip: If you want to start a business with $0 capital, your best bet is selling services.

That’s how many agency owners and freelancers (such as myself) got their start.

Ravi Davda, CEO of Rockstar Marketing, attracted his first few clients from channels that require zero financial investment upfront, like networking events, cold calls, and LinkedIn.

2. Niche down

There are numerous benefits to niching down.

Not only does focusing on a profitable niche market pin down your ideal customers, but it also improves your brand identity by a mile.

Here’s what we mean:

• Brittany Berger, a freelance content marketer, specializes in content repurposing.
• Pete Codes created High Signal, a membership for entrepreneurs. To promote it, he sends a weekly newsletter to highlight indie startups’ achievements.
• Peter Askew built RanchWork, a niche job board for farm work.

Source: RanchWork

Notice how instantly memorable and recognizable these businesses are?

Pro tip: If you’re selling to a mass market, create a unique selling proposition (USP) at the very least. This way, you convey a specific benefit that your customers can’t get elsewhere.

Here are three examples of fantastic USPs:

• Tally is a form builder that lets users create unlimited forms, for free
• Force by Mojio, a GPS fleet tracking startup, offers a generous 30-day trial with GPS tracking devices and return shipping at entirely no cost
• Grow and Convert is a content marketing agency that generates real business outcomes—a rarity considering many agencies don’t measure or own their results

These six companies stand out from the crowd with key differentiators. Do the same, and your business will go places.

3. Build in public   

Public accountability is a powerful motivation tool.

Note how Monica Lent started a Twitter thread to stay accountable, promote her private community for developers, and share what goes on in her process.

Source: Twitter

When you share your progress in the public eye, you’re pushing yourself to stay committed and work consistently towards your goals.

There’s another bonus to sharing your progress publicly. The unpacked behind-the-scenes of your business adds a human element to your marketing.

4. Ship it 

In an ideal world, businesses would attract customers with minimum effort instantly.

Unfortunately, that’s not how the real world works. Even the most talented freelance copywriter or startup founder with an ingenious software tool needs to spread the word about their business actively.

To promote your business, start with your network and work your way up.

Remember GetResponse?

Email autoresponders didn’t exist when it first launched.

After launching his tool, Simon reached out to business owners. It was a no-brainer selling to this group of customers, as they, like him, were experiencing similar problems at work.

The founders of Tally also implemented a similar cold outreach strategy. Note how they introduced their product to established makers via Twitter:

Source: Tally

Of course, not everyone replied, but those who did became early users and ambassadors.

The Tally team also replied to questions on social Q&A sites (e.g., Reddit, Quora), reached out to people who upvoted similar products on Product Hunt, and scanned conversations on Twitter using Tweetdeck.

As you can see here, Twitter is a valuable sales channel.

Say you want to launch a flash sale campaign to promote a new product on Gumroad. You could use Zlappo to create a thread for each tweet with automatic follow-up tweets to boost urgency, as units are sold.

Source: Zlappo

Maximize sales on auto-pilot and save hours of your time promoting your business.

Pricing for Zlappo starts at $12.49/month when billed annually. Grab the Zlappo lifetime deal on AppSumo today for only $119.99.

ZlappoDon’t wait till your business is perfect before you start selling. Build a minimum viable product (MVP), promote and improve it according to customer feedback.

Since its launch, GetResponse has been adding new features to improve the user experience. Today, it’s evolved into a complete marketing automation platform.

5. Scale with lifetime software

As your business scales, you’ll find yourself needing an extra set of hands—whether it’s maintaining your bookkeeping records, writing copies, or managing projects across dozens of clients.

Software comes in handy.

These tools streamline your process, gaining you back time to do what matters. They’re also perfect if you prefer to work in a company of one (translation: you don’t want to micromanage people)!

Take your pick off over 1,000 software tools on AppSumo. All tools offer annual and lifetime deals, saving you thousands of dollars down the road.

Browse over 3,000 products on AppSumo without overpaying today.

6. Raise funds

Business loans accelerate cash flow, help you hire more people, and improve day-to-day operations.

However, these loans come with frustrating drawbacks. Often, you must have strong credit and go through a lengthy application process.

Fortunately, bank loans are not the only ways to secure funds, as proven by SparkToro.

The audience research software startup skipped the traditional VC and bank route to raise funds. Rand Fishkin, the co-founder, reached out to his network with a quick ask, one-page term sheet, and prospectus.

Source: SparkToro

In the end, SparkToro raised $1,299,500 from 35 individual, accredited investors. The entire process took only 90 days.

There are multiple ways to raise funds to start and grow a business, so don’t lose heart if the bank rejects your request.

Ashley Ambirge, the founder of The Middle Finger Project, pitched an ebook that hasn’t been written yet to her 2,500 blog subscribers and made her first $2,000 in sales.

Similarly, Eman Zabi, founder of The Scribesmith, pre-sold 100 copywriting decks and used the new sales to fund the manufacturing costs.

Simon Grabowski, whom we featured earlier in this guide, raised his $200 initial capital from a coding project with a meat importing company!

Start your business today

Generally, it’s impossible to start a business with zero effort.

As a business owner, you will find yourself spending money to make money at some point. But you can grow your business on a wallet-friendly budget.

Opt for our current lifetime deal, Zlappo, if you want to promote your product on auto-pilot. And while you’re at it, continue exploring AppSumo to scale your business at a fraction of the cost today.

In this guide, we share the top contenders sorted according to use case, features, and potential limitations.

Teachable overview

Source: Teachable

Teachable has won the hearts of over 100,000 creators, thanks to its beginner-friendly user interface, tax handling, and unlimited hosting.

However, this simple learning management system (LMS)  is not for everyone.

Users looking for Teachable alternatives cite reasons such as limited features (e.g., no built-in community) and unreasonable transaction fees that can only be avoided by upgrading to the Pro and Business plans.

10 top Teachable alternatives

1. Most secure: Learnyst

Learnyst is a highly secured course platform that gives course creators peace of mind.

Enable OTP login, restrict watch time for videos, and encrypt your content from illegal downloads in a click. You also get 100% of your course sales without any additional transaction fees.

Best features:

• Security features Learnyst boasts excellent security tools like OTP login and watch time and screen capture restrictions
• DRM encryption: Learnyst also stores your courses (e.g., videos, PDFs) in DRM form, preventing users from downloading them
• 100% revenue: Receive 100% of your course sales, with zero additional transaction fees, directly to your bank account via secure payment gateway integrations
• Payment options: Get paid via a variety of payment processing systems like Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Instamojo, CCAvenue, and HDFC

Limitations:

• User interface isn’t as polished as other Teachable alternatives
• Can get expensive fast if you want to unlock add-ons and premium features (e.g., you need to be a Professional user to access Categories, a feature that organizes your content)
• No free plan

Pricing:

• 14-day free trial
• Essentials: $49/month with custom domain, unlimited landing pages, encrypted courses, and more
• Professional: $149/month with everything in Essentials + coupon codes, advanced reports, and more
• Premium: $249/month with everything in Professional + screen recording restrictions, essay evaluation, and more

Grab the Learnyst lifetime deal on AppSumo today for $79.

2. Best for busy entrepreneurs: Terrain

Terrain is a one-of-a-kind social learning platform. It takes care of all your marketing once your course is up. The best part? You don’t need to invest a single dollar in ad spend and hosting.

Best features:

• Marketing: Delegate your Facebook ads and sales emails sequences to the Terrain team while you sit back and relax
• Community: Connect with students on discussion boards and in-app messaging
• Learning tools: Students maximize their learning experience with automatic transcripts, an on-screen note-taker, and action plan builder
• Peak points: Hang out in Terrain’s Slack community and participate in conversations to earn peak points (note: peak points are cashed out through your Terrain account every month)

Limitations:

• User interface isn’t as polished as bigger competitors (e.g., dashboard loads slow occasionally)

Pricing: 25% of course sales

3. Ideal for WordPress: LearnDash

Source: LearnDash

LearnDash is the only WordPress LMS in this list.

This exceptional plugin sets up your course for you, saving you the hassle of clicking through dozens of buttons. You can also customize just about anything on your site, thanks to its massive integration library.

Best features:

• Add-ons: LearnDash’s impressive add-on library offers literally everything (e.g., integrity plugin to protect your content from spam, challenge exams to let members skip ahead a module or course)
• Customization: You can customize your site down to the last detail with its sleek integrations with Elementor and Divi
• OnBoarding Wizard: Install LearnDash with your plugins and settings within minutes

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Lack of free trial, though there is a 15-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind
• Pricing is based annually, not monthly
• Website may get bloated since you need to integrate LearnDash with many plugins to get the most out of it

Pricing:

• Basic: $159/year for 1 site license, unlimited course and users, and more
• Plus: $189/year for everything in Basic + 10 site licenses and more
• Pro: $329/year for everything in Plus + 25 site licenses and more

4. Beginner-friendly: Teachery

Source: Teachery

If complex tech makes you nervous, look no further.

Teachery is an easy-to-use course platform made for complete beginners who care about simplicity. It equips you with the essentials to get your business rolling. Highlights include a superior customer service and intuitive interface.

Best features:

• Transaction fees: Teachery doesn’t charge users additional transaction fees (excluding fees from payment processors)
• Customer support: Even though Teachery doesn’t offer 24/7 support, the team tries to respond to support queries as quickly as possible according to its website
• User interface: Teachery’s UI is extremely straightforward—anyone can navigate the platform within minutes

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Doesn’t support PayPal
• Only two course templates available (Minimal and Sidebar)
• Very basic features (e.g., Teachery lacks course templates, though this is reportedly in the works)

Pricing:

• 14-day free trial (tip: message Teachery with the quote “livedemo” to unlock an extra week)
• Monthly: $49/month for unlimited courses, lessons, students, and more
• Yearly: $479/year for everything in Monthly

5. Best for large volume of students: Thinkific

Source: G2

No LMS comparison list is complete without Thinkific.

Its enterprise-grade offering, Thinkific Plus, offers best-in-class features like additional course hubs, service level agreement, and unlimited user access.

This platform is ideal for revenue generation, customer and employee training, and lead generation at scale.

Best features:

• Transaction fees: Thinkific doesn’t take a cut off your course revenue as it operates on a zero transaction fees model
• User interface: Thinkific’s user-friendly interface is one of the most beautiful in the market
• Pricing: Start for free or choose your ideal pricing from Thinkific extensive plans
• Thinkific Plus: Launch online programs to boost activation, onboard employees, and educate large volume of students at scale

Limitations:

• Lack of design templates in course and website builders
• Thinkific Payments, Thinkific’s payment processing system, is available only in the USA, UK, and Canada

Pricing:

• Free: $0 for limited courses, unlimited students, templates, and more
• Basic: $49/month for everything in Free + unlimited courses and content, live chat support, and more
• Pro: $99/month for everything in Basic + private and hidden courses, completion certificates, and more
• Pro + Growth: $149 for everything in Pro + branding removal, advanced student segmentation, and more
• Premier: $499/month for everything in Pro + white labeling, unlimited communities, and more
• Plus: Custom for everything in Premier + dedicated sandbox site, advanced password complexity, and more

6. Revenue sharing: Udemy

If you don’t want to pay a monthly fee, then consider Udemy. This popular teaching marketplace provides you just the essentials to teach learners and get paid for each enrollment.

Best features:

• Test Video: Send a two-minute video of your course for review and receive personalized feedback from Udemy
• Community: Udemy offers two main communities for new and published instructors to encourage one another, build connections, and grow their business
• Marketplace Insights: Start on your best foot by validating your course idea or topic with Udemy’s marketplace data tool
• Pricing: Udemy operates on a revenue sharing model

Limitations:

• Udemy pays on a monthly basis
• Only video courses are accepted (note: Udemy host other file formats under additional materials in the Course Resources tab)
• Extremely basic features (e.g., no access to students’ email address, which makes lead generation extremely difficult)

Pricing: 

• Instructor promotions: Receive 97% of revenue when students purchase your course with your coupon or referral link
• Udemy promotions: Receive 37% of revenue when students purchase your course from an Udemy ad or browsing the Udemy marketplace (click here for more details)

7. All-in-one: Podia

Source: Podia

Podia scores high for its creator-friendly website builder and embeddable buy button. With the latter, customers can buy your courses or memberships directly from your external sites without ever having to leave the page.

Best features:

• Website builder: Drag and drop to create a beautiful and functional website with zero coding involved
• Communities: Podia offers a built-in online community for all plans
• Pricing: You can immediately start selling your content on Podia for free
• Embeddable buy button: Sell your content on any non-Podia website without requiring visitors to leave the site

Limitations:

• Users on free plan have to pay 8% transaction fee (excluding fees from payment processors)

Pricing:

• Free: $0 for 8% fees, full website, full community, email marketing, and more
• Mover: $39/month for everything in Free + zero transaction fee, unlimited downloads, and more

• Shaker: $89/month for everything in Mover + affiliates, unlimited webinars, and more
• Earthquaker: $199/month for everything in Shaker + monthly creator call, priority support, and more

8. Best marketing tools: Kajabi

Source: Facebook

Kajabi understands not all creators are marketers, so it’s created a built-in marketing suite to help you promote your business. Stand-outs include premade playbooks for your funnels and built-in email marketing tools.

Best features:

• Transaction fees: Kajabi doesn’t take a cut from your revenue
• Pipelines: Kajabi offers ready-to-use playbooks (including pre-written copy developed from high sales-converting funnels) for many types of funnels, like product launches, coaching campaigns, and webinars
• Email tools: Kajabi boasts many built-in email marketing tools (e.g., validate your email subject line to promote deliverability, filter out high-risk contacts during import)

Limitations:

• No free plan
• One of the most expensive online course platforms in the market
• Many themes look basic
• Restrictive landing page builder that makes it difficult to customize to fit your brand

Pricing:

• 14-day free trial
• Basic: $149/month for 10,000 contacts, ready-to-use templates, unlimited landing pages, and more
• Growth: $199/month for 25,000 contacts, everything else in Basic + Kajabi branding removal, and more
• Pro: $399/month for 100,000 contacts, everything else in Growth + code editor, and more

9. Best for communities: Mighty Networks

Source: Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is a community-centric course platform. It offers unlimited members at every tier, making it a no-brainer for entrepreneurs who want to create a course with a vibrant community.

Best features:

• Pricing: Mighty Networks runs on a no volume based pricing
• Native Video: Record and upload your video directly to Mighty Networks without using a third-party recording tool
• Meet: You can set up categories to connect your members around a common interest, speciality, profession, and more
• Mighty Effect: Create a unique feed for each member, ensuring that they receive relevant content

Limitations:

• 2-3% transaction fees (excluding payment processing fees) for online courses, groups, bundles, etc.
• Basic customization options like branding and colors
• No discount or coupon code functionality (tip: to overcome this, create a hidden plan and share the link)

Pricing:

• Free 14-day trial (note: once the trial ends, you can either upgrade or continue using the free plan with limited features)
• Community: $39/month for native live streaming and video, chat, and more
• Business: $119/month with everything in Community + live cohort course creation, analytics, and more
• Pro: Custom with everything in Business + app listing, branded app notifications, and more

10. Best for creatives: Skillshare

Source: Skillshare

Like Udemy, Skillshare runs on a revenue-sharing model. This popular bite-sized course platform has strict guidelines on its courses. Based on this list, you can’t go wrong with topics like photography, illustration, and graphic design.

Best features:

• Programs: Skillshare offers several programs for first-time and top teachers (e.g., Teach Lab, a three-month program, provides one-on-one coaching, production guidance, and video editing support)
• User interface: Skillshare’s clean and simple interface makes it easy to publish all your learning materials
• Class topics: Skillshare often updates its in-demand topic list to point you in the right direction

Limitations:

• Strict with topics (e.g., Skillshare doesn’t accept topics like fitness, medicine, and passive income business strategies)
• Only video-based courses
• No discount option
• Complex payment terms (e.g., you must hit at least 75 paid minutes across all classes within a month to receive royalties for said month)
• Skillshare pays on a monthly basis

Pricing:

• Royalties: % of minutes watched by your students (based on Skillshare’s royalty pool)
• Referral revenue:
• Membership Payments – Refunds = Net Membership Payments
• 60% of Net Membership Payments = Your Monthly Referral Earnings

11. Ideal for teams: LearnWorlds

Source: LearnWorlds

LearnWorlds is a massive and versatile LMS.

It offers an almost-perfect uptime guarantee and lets you collaborate with your team with clearly defined roles. But the best part is its custom services, where a team of specialists handles your course content from start to finish.

Best features:

• Uptime guarantee: LearnWorlds offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee on Starter, Pro Trainer, and Learning Center plans, and 99.95% uptime guarantee on High Volume & Corporate plans
• Custom services: Outsource content development, customization, and editing to a group of specialists for a custom quote
• Custom user roles: Assign roles to each team member, grant access and permission levels, and streamline your workflow

Limitations:

• No free plan
• The starter plan requires a $5 fee per course sale
• Limited feedback options for quizzes and exams

Pricing:

• 30-day free trial
• Starter: $29/month for 3-paged site builder, built-in community, custom domain, and more
• Pro Trainer: $99/month for everything in Starter + complete site builder, unlimited courses, installments, and more
• Learning Center: $299/month for everything in Pro Trainer + bulk user actions, white label, and more
• High Volume & Corporate: Custom for everything in Learning Center + branded corporate academy, additional admins, and more

Teachable alternatives FAQs

1. What is the difference between Thinkific and Teachable?

Thinkific offers more enterprise-grade features such as service level agreement and advanced password complexity, making it a better choice for mid-sized businesses and enterprises that want to deliver an online learning experience at scale.

2. What is the difference between Udemy and Teachable?

Udemy operates on a revenue-sharing model, while Teachable operates on a subscription model.

3. Which is the best platform to sell courses?

Some of the best online course platforms include Teachable, Thinkific, Podia, Udemy, and more. But only you can decide what works best for you. Scroll back up to review these Teachable alternatives’ use cases.

Which Teachable alternatives will you try today?

It’s impossible to pick a winner, as each of these tools has its own strengths and limitations.

Go through our list and make full use of the free trials and free plans. That should help you pick your ideal course platform.

If you want to save money down the road, opt for our current lifetime deal, Learnyst. Or continue exploring 12,000+ tools on AppSumo.

Are you frustrated by the expensive subscription model or steep learning curve?

You’ve come to the right place. Here’s a list of 10 free and paid Photoshop alternatives for you to consider.

Adobe Photoshop overview

Source: Kelvin Designs

Despite being an established graphic design tool, Adobe Photoshop, the industry standard for visual artists and photo editors, has its fair share of criticisms.

For starters, it’s not for the light-of-RAM. Even on newer computers, users often report having to use a separate drive for scratch disk space just to prevent frequent crashes.

Plus, Photoshop can be clunky and expensive for beginners, making an investment of time AND money necessary to enjoy the value it promises.

Top paid and free alternatives to Photoshop

1. Best for workflows: Affinity Photo

Source: Affinity Photo

As a photo editing tool, Affinity Photo is more lightweight than Photoshop, promising fewer crashes and fast, real-time rendering of all your edits.

Enjoy unlimited layers, healing brush, over 1,000,000% zoom, a full set of 16-bit filters, and RAW file editing. Apply effects like blurs, lighting, and distortions as non-destructive live filter layers.

Best features:

• Workflow: Affinity Photo is the only photo editing tool that offers a full end-to-end 32-bit workflow for working on HDR images, renders, textures and exports from 3D software
• Undo/redo tool: Users can undo or redo up to 8,000 history steps
• Zoom: Users can also zoom to over 1,000,000% for absolute precision
• Price: Affinity Photo works one on a subscription-free model, making it one of the most affordable professional image editing software tools in the market

Limitations:

• RAW editor isn’t that user-friendly, at least compared to Photoshop’s
• Brush preview runs slow at times, which could lead to delayed effects
• Medium to steep learning curve (e.g., you need to switch schemas to complete different tasks)

Pricing:

• iPad: $9.99
• Mac and Windows: $26.99 (free 10-day trial available)

2. Best free: Photopea

Photopea is a free browser-based alternative to Photoshop.

Right on the website, you can jump straight into a project, with many of the tools you’re used to enjoying in premium photo editing tools. Photopea lets you add text, crop images, blur, change colors, and much more.

Plus, you can export the final product in most of your favorite formats: PNG, JPEG, SVG, and more. Among the free products showcased in this article, this one is probably the most similar to Photoshop.

Best features:

• Browser-based platform: Upload any photo and start editing right away, without registering an account or downloading any software
• User interface: Photopea boasts a similar interface to Photoshop
• Pricing: Photopea offers heaps of excellent editing tools at absolutely no cost
• Frequent updates: There’s been tons of improvements since its inception, such as the content aware tool, support for artboards, and color profiles (here’s the founder sharing the latest updates on Reddit)

Limitations:

• Medium to steep learning curve for new designers since its interface is remarkably similar to Photoshop
• Ad banner on the right can distract from the editing process
• Exports run slow for bigger files

Pricing:

• Free: $0 for all features
• Premium: $3.33+/month for all features, no ads, and more

3. Open-source: GIMP

Source: GIMP

GIMP empowers designers with the tools to edit photos and create graphics.

It also provides different code support for developers who want to use their designs across websites and have more customization options. GIMP offers many top photo editing features to help you touch up your favorite photos, add filters, and even customize your working interface.

Best features:

• Pricing: GIMP’s features are almost on par with Photoshop and they’re completely free
• Community: GIMP is run by a passionate community of developers working hard at improving the features (e.g., file formats, new option in “Line Art” mode of bucket fill tool)
• Layer blend modes: GIMP offers thirty-eight excellent layer modes split into seven types (e.g., inversion, HSV components, LCh components)

Limitations:

• Very outdated and clunky interface
• Limited selection tools
• Lacks several advanced capabilities which require you to download other plugins (e.g., if you want to extract elements in your images and blend them with the background, you need to download the Resynthesizer plugin)

Pricing: Free

4. Excellent brushes: Krita

Source: Krita

Krita is a free, flexible, open-source painting program that won TechRadar’s #1 best free painting software in 2019.

With over 100 brush types, 9 brush engines, and brush stabilizer, there’s plenty to experiment with in Krita. A more intuitive and lightweight alternative to GIMP, Krita is the best alternative to Photoshop in terms of brush performance.

Best features:

• Brushes: Krita offers 100+ professionally made beautiful brush presets for inking, dry painting, watercolors, and more
• Pricing: Instantly access Krita with no trials or subscription fees
• User interface: Krita sports an intuitive and customizable user interface that lets you save your most used tools as shortcuts and your setup as a workspace

Limitations:

• Lacks photo editing capabilities since it’s a digital painting software
• Brushes can be slow, though you can usually fix it by setting the brush precision to auto or using a larger value for brush spacing

Pricing: Free

5. User-friendly: Pixlr

With Pixlr, editing photos has never been easier, faster, or smarter.

Its AI cutout feature lets you remove backgrounds with just one click. Give your images a makeover with a simple drag-and-drop of Pixlr’s dazzling selection of overlays. Add accents or textures, like light streaks, dust flecks, and glitter to your photos. Plus, you can use layers to create captivating photo edits, image composites, and more!

Best features:

• Photomash Studio: Automatically remove backgrounds one by one or from 50 photos in one go
• Stock content: Users on the Creative Pack plan can access over 10 million design assets for unlimited downloads
• User interface: Pixlr is extremely easy to use for complete beginners because of its straightforward navigation and user-friendly editing tools
• Web-based platform: Upload any photo and start editing right away, downloading no software

Limitations:

• AI cutout is only available for paid plans
• Lacks advanced editing capabilities (e.g., limited touch up tools)
• Ad banner on the right can be distracting during editing

Pricing:

• Free: $0 for basic editing tools, limited set of overlays, and more
• Premium: $7.99/month for extensive editing tools, AI cutout, and more (30-day free trial)
• Creative Pack: $29.99/month for everything in Premium + 24/7 premium support, and more

6. Best for Apple users: Pixelmator Pro

Pixelmator Pro is a Mac-only image editing tool that uses emerging tech like machine learning to give users highly functional and exciting capabilities like layer management, non-destructive resizing, layouts, retouching, selections, painting, and image repair.

Its sleek UI and fast functionality make this tool pleasant to use. Pixelmator Pro is perfect for skilled hobbyists or creatives who don’t need super-advanced PS capabilities.

Best features:

• Frequent updates: Pixelmator recently added 30+ desktop color adjustments, motion file format and SVG support, over 200 resolution-independent vector shapes that always stay sharp no matter how much you resize your designs, and much more
• Core ML-powered Remove Background: Remove background from any image with a click
• Machine learning: You can also enhance photos, match the colors and styles, and increase the resolution without losing quality easily
• Full Mac support: Pixelmator Pro plays well in the Apple ecosystem (e.g., you can edit using Pixelmator Pro without leaving Photos)

Limitations:

• Only available for Mac OS
• Results from selection tools are not as polished as Photoshop’s
• Odd little quirks here and there (e.g., adjustments are baked into the individual layers)

Pricing: $39.99 (15-day free trial available)

7. Easiest to use: Luminar AI

Source: Skills Factory

Luminar AI is the first image editor fully powered by artificial intelligence.

It gives you instant recommendations based on the elements in your photos and is ridiculously easy to use. Word has it that it may be the world’s first editor that doesn’t require you to watch tutorials (take that, Photoshop!).

Best features:

• AI-powered: Luminar AI enhances the contents (e.g., landscapes, atmosphere, face) in your photos in a click and suggests the perfect templates for each image, cutting down tons of manual steps
• User interface: Luminar AI offers an incredibly clear user interface, making it easy for complete beginners to get started right away

Limitations:

• Lacks many editing features (tip: to unlock tools like presets and layers, you need to purchase its sister tool, Luminar Neo)
• Occasional bugs (e.g., loading and exporting can run slow, even if it’s just one image)

Pricing:

• 1-computer license: $47
• 2-computers license: $59

For a limited time, you can get Luminar AI starting from a one-time payment of $59 on AppSumo.

8. Best for mobile: Adobe Photoshop Express

Source: Adobe

Adobe has also gotten into the free image editing and collage app game with Photoshop Express.

The difference here boils down to interface and functionality—plus the fact that Photoshop Express is “built for mobile device photography.”

You can think of it as Photoshop lite for mobile. With intelligent edits, spot healing, auto-fix, and robust filters and effects, you can edit photos for social posting to your heart’s content in this little app.

Best features:

• Auto-Enhance: Automatically adjust light and color to improve your photos
• Apple ecosystem: Photoshop Express works well with Photoshop, so you can perform advanced editing in the Apple ecosystem seamlessly
• Discover feed: Apply the edits you like from other users in your own photos

Limitations:

• Very simple functionality
• No desktop version

Pricing:

• Free: $0
• Premium: $9.99/month with additional features (e.g., more templates)

9. Best for drawing and painting: Clip Studio Paint

Source: Andrew Acosta (Hermit Comics)

Clip Studio Paint is a must-have for concept and comic artists.

You can create pretty much any graphic with this powerful and versatile digital painting program. Watercolor, comics, webtoons, character art, manga, you name it. Clip Studio Paint’s highly rated brushes and advanced rulers got your back.

Best features:

• Operating system: Clip Studio Paint supports Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, Galaxy, Android, and Chromebook
• Brush engine: Adjust your preferred brush pressure to create the effects you want easily
• Clip Studio Assets: Clip Studio adds 1000 new materials every month
• Advanced rulers: Draw lines and complex shapes with Clip Studio Paint’s robust perspective rulers

Limitations:

• Can get really expensive if you want to unlock all features (e.g., unlimited frames, convert images and 3D models into lines and dot shading)
• Inputting text doesn’t look as smooth and beautiful as Photoshop’s
• Lacks advanced photo manipulation and graphic design capabilities since it’s a digital painting program

Pricing:

• Pro: $49.99 for single-paged illustrations & comics and more (3-month free trial available)
• Ex: $219 for everything in Pro + webtoon and animation features and more (3-month free trial available)

10. Best cartoonizer: Colorcinch

Meet Colorcinch, a photo editor, cartoonizer, and photo art creator, rolled into one.

Cartoonize yourself in a click, draw freely with multi-style brushes, add and organize text elements quickly, and more. Plus, you can start editing your images immediately without registering an account.

Best features:

• Browser-based platform: Colorcinch’s easy-peasy interface lets users edit their images right away without registering for an account (note: you only need to create an account if you want to manage your projects in the Plus plan)
• Speciality effects: Turn any photo of yourself into a cartoon, painting, sketch, or digital art in just a click

Limitations:

• Cluttered interface, as the right and bottom banners are filled with ads
• Occasional glitches (e.g., when double-clicking the text, more than half of the screen turns blank)

Pricing:

• Basic: $0 for essential effects and features.
• Plus: $8.99/month for premium effects and features, higher resolution export options, and more

Grab the Colorcinch annual deal on AppSumo today for $33.49

Which of these Photoshop alternatives will you use today?

And that’s a wrap on our list of alternatives to Photoshop.

We hope this handy list helps you narrow down a suitable photo editor for your business. Happy editing!

Don’t forget, if you want to save money down the road, opt for our current lifetime deal on Luminar AI and Colorcinch. Or continue browsing over 13,000 digital products across categories on AppSumo.

This post saves you endless Google searches and a bunch of cash by showing you the best tools for starting your own podcast from the ground up.

So get cozy! It’s time to get your podcast on with the best podcast starter kit.

1. Microphones

Built-in microphones might suffice for casual video calls. But when your podcast is a business tool to build an audience, attract customers, and display expertise, you need a reliable microphone to sound professional.

Here are our top picks.

Blue Yeti

Source: YouTube

You’ve heard of the Blue Yeti before (like in our DIY video tutorial), and for good reason.

This mic sounds great and is super easy to set up with a plug-and-play USB connection. It’s got multiple pattern modes to match your situation, including options for two-person interviews and multiple hosts situated around the mic.

The Blue Yeti struggles with background noise, but you can fix it easily with a noise gate or absorptive acoustic panels.

Pricing: $89.99

Audio Technica AT2005USB

The AT2005USB is a dynamic portable mic solution.

It doesn’t take up a lot of space, is very affordable for the quality, and it sounds way better than your AirPods or computer speakers (trust us). Accessories are also easy to find, and it’ll fit with most boom arms or stands.

Unlike the Blue Yeti, the AT2005USB works well in noisy environments.

Pricing: $69

2. Headphones

Get full control of your audio quality with a pair of spiffing headphones. Besides monitoring your and the guests’ voice during recording, these headphones also speed up the editing process by helping you pick out unwanted sounds.

Audio-Technica ATH-M30x

The ATH-M30x headphone is an excellent way to get high-quality audio straight from your mic to your ears, thanks to its pro-grade materials and tightly sealed contoured earcups.

The snug fit is comfortable for long recording sessions, and it collapses compactly if you need to take it on the road.

The ATH-M20x are a little cheaper and not much of a drop in quality, so pick these up if you’re on more of a budget.

Pricing: $79

Sony MDR-7506

Source: Amazon

The Sony MDR-7506 is another great option for those entering the podcast pool.

This pair of Sony headphones is known for its durability, so it’ll stick around as your podcast career progresses or until you’re ready to upgrade. It’s not as comfortable as the ATH-M30x headphone, but it is lightweight and you can fold it down for easy storage.

Pricing: $130

3. Laptops

You can record your podcast on just about any laptop. At the end of the day, it boils down to the audio and camera quality, processing power, and operating system. Here are three popular laptops that constantly pop up on our radar.

Apple MacBook Pro

The MacBook Pro is a powerful notebook with 5X faster graphics, and it offers up to 21 hours of battery life, to boot.

The 16-inch model boasts a recently upgraded internal microphone, making it an easy decision for podcasters. Apple’s built-in digital music creation studio app, GarageBand, is also helpful for basic audio editing.

Pricing: $1999+

Acer Aspire 5

It can be unnerving recording on an overheated laptop.

Fortunately, the Acer Aspire 5 series model features dual fans with multiple cooling modes and dual copper thermal pipes to maximize cooling. Another cool feature is the Acer PurifiedVoice, which suppresses background noise and ensures your guests can hear you loud and clear.

Pricing: $379.99+

Lenovo IdeaPad 5

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 series comprises lightweight laptops with long battery life.

Audio quality is fantastic, thanks to the premium speakers from Harman Kardon. These laptops also boast a thin bezel design and display resolution up to wide quad high definition (WQHD), creating an excellent visual experience.

Pricing: $607.99+

4. Podcast editing software

You don’t need to book a professional studio or set up dozens of acoustic panels to record your podcast at home. With these podcast editing tools, any beginner can turn a scrappy audio file into studio quality with a few clicks of the button.

Audacity

Audacity is an open source audio processing tool that works across any platform.

There are tons of features to help with recording and post-production, like the unlimited undo and redo capability and high-quality re-sampling and dithering.

Fair warning, it is a little confusing to use. You’ll spend some time getting over the learning curve, but after that, it’s reliable and well-documented to help with questions.

Pricing: Free

Notetracks Pro

Source: YouTube

Notetracks Pro is an audio collaboration platform that pins real-time feedback directly to your audio and video tracks.

Insert text comments or visual notes directly onto the track without interrupting playback, add collaborators to your project, and even work with video!

It’s essentially the Google Docs of audio, making podcasts with remote co-hosts easier than ever.

Pricing: 

• Basic: $9/month for 1GB storage and 3 projects
• Creator: $15/month for 2GB storage and 10 projects
• Organization: $29/month for 5GB storage and 30 projects

Grab the Notetracks Pro lifetime deal on AppSumo today for $59.

5. Podcast hosting

Great podcast hosting services help you get more done by doing less. These platforms stream your show across multiple platforms simultaneously and speed up your workflow, saving you more time to do what really matters: growing your business.

Streann Studio

This browser-based platform streams live and pre-recorded video podcasts simultaneously across major platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Twitch.

Invite podcast guests with a link, chat with your audience, and add your own graphics for a fun touch. And best of all, stream your video podcasts in multiple native formats without compromising quality.

Pricing:

• Free: $0 with watermark, 3 on-screen participants, and more
• Silver: $19/month with everything in Free + 5 guests, recorded shows, and more
• Gold: $29/month with everything in Silver + no watermark, 8 guests, unlimited streaming, and more

Grab the Streann Studio lifetime deal on AppSumo today for $59.

Captivate

Source: YouTube

Look no further than Captivate if you want to host multiple podcasts at a fixed monthly cost.

This fan-favorite podcast hosting platform offers a boatload of excellent features like one-click sponsor kit, a robust guest booking system, and WordPress plugin that publishes your podcast to your site seamlessly.

Pricing:

• Free trial: 7 days
• Personal: $17/month when billed annually with 12,000 monthly downloads and more
• Professional: $44/month when billed annually with 60,000 monthly downloads and more
• Business: $90/month when billed annually with 150,000 monthly downloads and more

Blubrry

Blurbrry is an affordable podcast hosting service for WordPress users.

Users love the free file migration and the PowerPress plugin that streams a podcast from a website for a streamlined workflow. Complement it with WP Audio Podcast to convert your blog posts into podcast episodes.

There’s more. Blubrry also offers a complete podcast production team that helps you set up your show from beginning to end.

Pricing:

• Free trial: 30 days
• Standard: $12/month for 125 MB monthly storage, unlimited downloads, free WordPress site, and more
• Advanced: $20/month for everything in Standard + 400MB monthly storage, advanced statistics, and more
• Pro Hosting: $100+/month for unlimited storage, dynamic ad insertion, and more

6. Bonus equipment

With podcasts, the little things can make a big difference.

If your audio quality still leaves much to be desired, here are some tried-and-tested methods to make your podcast sound better.

Recording video podcasts? Place your mobile phone on a 5-7 foot tripod stand. If you’re on Mac, download the EpocCam app. It turns your mobile phone camera into a high definition webcam and supports multi-cam setups without requiring a DSLR.

Pop filters are fairly simple and definitely necessary for podcasting. They’ll muffle your plosives (the airy sounds accompanying consonants like p and t) to make your sound silky smooth. The Neewer NW(B-3) is great because it’s dual-layered and highly adjustable.

In case your directional microphone and compressor don’t work, consider soundproofing to prevent echos. Experiment to see which works. Some podcast creators DIY-ed their home studio with rock wool acoustic panels and door stoppers. Others use beach towels, carpets, and beanbag chairs to soften the noise in the space.

Podcast starter kit FAQs

What equipment do I need to start my own podcast?

We recommend at least a laptop, microphone, headphone, audio editing, and podcast hosting platform. These essentials help you sound like a pro instantly.

How much money do you need to start a podcast?

Based on the recommended hardware and software in this list, a professional podcast requires an initial budget of $200-$300.

How do I start a podcast as a beginner with no experience?

With a plan, never-ending curiosity, and wallet-friendly tools! Kidding. There’s a lot more to launching a successful podcast. Learn how to start a podcast here.

How do I make a podcast at home?

Start by looking at your hardware! Then, soundproof your room to prevent echoes in your podcast. Scroll back up this post for more details.

Do podcasters make money?

Yes, from sponsorships, ads, and business opportunities. Treat your podcast as a lead generation machine. Ramli John, the director of content at Appcues, secured a $23K consulting gig thanks to his show, Growth Marketing Today.

Today, let’s discover nine popular Adobe Audition alternatives sorted according to their use cases, pros, limitations, unique features, and pricing.

About Adobe Audition (and why users are switching to alternatives)

Source: G2

Adobe Audition is a digital audio workstation (DAW) that edits, mixes, records, and restores your audio files.

Even though it offers a wide variety of features like multi-tracking and waveforming, the DAW is best for repairing audio for individual podcast and music recordings.

According to many users, the editing capabilities on Adobe Audition aren’t as sophisticated as competing tools like Ableton and Logic Pro.

9 top Adobe Audition alternatives

1. Best free: Audacity

Source: Audacity

Audacity is the gold standard for basic (and free!) audio editing. Use it to manipulate tracks and digitize your recordings.

Pros:

• Zero learning curve. It’s easy to perform simple tasks like fade-outs, trimming.
• Great range of plugins for extra functionalities (e.g., Filter Curve to remove unwanted sub-bass rumble)
• Excellent for batch audio processing macros
• Available on Linux

Limitations:

• Lack of advanced features as Audacity is not a complete DAW
• No email, social media, or phone support—though the community support team is pretty responsive!
• Occasional bugs that run slow and affect workflow
• Changes to Terms of Service that allows data collection. Users recommend downloading versions before Audacity 3.X to bypass it.

Unique features: 

• Open source platform that lets you modify it according to your unique needs

Pricing: Free

2. Best for live performances: Ableton Live

Source: YouTube

Do you often edit live performances? If so, you need Ableton Live. This DAW adjusts tempo based on your audio in real-time.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface despite dozens of complicated features
• Live listen and tweak tempo based on incoming audio on the go
• Extensive collection of instruments, sound packs, and audio effects (e.g., Hybrid Reverb, Spectral Resonator, Spectral Time)
• Excellent workflow that makes it extremely easy to create effects and complex MIDI patterns

Limitations:

• Expensive. To get the most of Ableton, you need to get the Standard or Suite plan which costs $449 and $749 respectively.

Unique features: 

• Warping: Remap a sample’s tempo and rhythm completely to manipulate your sound

Pricing: 90-day free trial, with paid plans starting at $99

3. Best for audio cleaning: Sound Forge

Source: Sound Forge

Sound Forge is your answer if you’re looking for a DAW that does surgical destructive editing. Check it out if you often clean and restore your audio files.

Pros:

• Multiple one-click solutions to clean your audio files’ sounds

Limitations:

• Outdated features. Users report that Sound Forge is no longer on par with competing tools ever since it was acquired by Magix.

Unique features: 

• Audio Cleaning Lab 4: Restore and clean your audio files quickly (e.g., digitize vintage recordings, optimize audio quality for old records, CDs and cassettes). A Reddit user sums up the experience, “for cleaning up waveforms by redrawing the rough spots, it’s still the best to me.”

Pricing: Free trial, with paid plans beginning $59.99

4. Best for professional music producers: FL Studio

Source: FL Studio

A favorite DAW among professional musicians, FL Studio is best for house, techno, and electronic music. Look no further if you want a one-stop solution to record, mix, master, and edit your beats.

Pros:

• Huge variety of top-notch presets, synthesizers, and plugins (e.g., Edison, Grossbeat)
• Favorite DAW among big-name producers and DJs like Madeon, 9th Wonder, and Martin Garrix

Limitations:

• Cluttered user interface, especially in audio recording workflows

Unique features: 

• Free updates for life (note: some DAWs charge an annual fee for new updates)
• Early access to new releases
• Piano Roll: Many users shared that FL Studio’s is the best by a mile thanks to its smooth navigation, small learning curve, and the ability to convert any active steps to the roll notes.

Pricing: Time-unlimited free trial (note: you can save but can’t open projects until you purchase FL Studio), with licenses starting from $99

5. Most affordable: WavePad

Source: WavePad

WavePad is a wallet-friendly audio editing software that supports over 50 audio formats.

Pros:

• Starts free
• Affordable paid plans
• Simple interface
• Supports over 50 audio formats such as WAV, MP3, FLAC, OGG Vorbis Audio, and GSM

Limitations:

• Lack of advanced tools like multi-audio edits (note: you need to purchase WavePad’s sister tool, MixPad, to access this feature. NCH, the parent company, offers a discount if you purchase both products)

Unique features: 

• Royalty-free music library: Access over 1000 sound effects and royalty- and license-free music

Pricing: Starts free, with paid plans beginning at $3.88 per month

6. Best for mastering: WaveLab

Source: YouTube

WaveLab is the brainchild of Steinberg (the same company that brought Cubase).

With its mastering-centric workflow, audio montage, and visual audio meters, this is a must-have for mastering professionals. 

Pros: 

• Audio montages to create CDs and assemble audio clips into a montage
• Fantastic for mastering entire albums thanks to its extensive codecs and file formats
• Embed metadata tags according to album and track

Limitations:

• Lacks audio editing features like metronome (tip: use WaveLab with Cubase to unlock advanced tools)

Unique features: 

• WaveLab-Cubase integration: Master, edit, restore, produce, mix, and repeat on one platform

Pricing: 30-day free trial, with paid plans starting at $140 (€129.00)

7. Best for Mac (free): GarageBand

Source: GarageBand

GarageBand is an entry-level DAW that’s won the approval of several Grammy award-winning artists.

Pros:

• Clean and smooth user interface
• Tons of built-in instruments
• Stellar audio quality that’s almost on par with Logic Pro
• Great iOS app and iPad
• Favorite choice among established artists

Limitations:

• Other features not as advanced as premium audio editors like Logic Pro (e.g., lacks plugins, automation options, proper sampler, and mixing channels)

Unique features:

• Built-in piano and guitar lessons with instant feedback: Pick from 40 video lessons featuring original recording artists and track your progress

Pricing: Free

8. Best for Mac (paid): Logic Pro

Source: Apple

Logic Pro is the big sister of GarageBand. Many users who started on the stripped-down DAW upgraded to Logic Pro after outgrowing its features.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use traditional multi-track recordings
• Free future updates
• Outstanding loops and comping workflows
• Relatively low price point

Limitations:

• Inconsistent performance and occasional crashes

Unique features: 

• Alchemy: Insanely great sample-manipulation synthesizer with over 3000 sounds that lets you import Sampler instruments, manipulate and combine samples, and more
• Retro Synth: Intuitive set of vintage synths (e.g., screaming leads, sawtooth waves, plucky bass) that re-creates electronic sounds from the seventies and eighties

Pricing: 90-day free trial, with paid version at $199.99

9. Best for customizability: Reaper 

Source: Reaper

Reaper is a non-destructive editor that’s won numerous praises for its stability, performance, and customization options.

Pros:

• Excellent flexibility and customization options that lets you set up the dashboard in your preferred layout
• Smooth performance thanks to its well-written and tight code
• Unparalleled customer support (this YouTube user who switched from Pro Tools to Reaper sent a bug report to Reaper and the team fixed the bug overnight—a rarity in large software companies!)

Limitations:

• Not as recognized as rivals like Ableton, Pro Tools, and FL Studio. If your employer or client requires you to have access to these tools and you’re only using Reaper, that could be a problem.

Unique features:

• Audio rendering: Create complex names for your files based on medium, track, or even parameters in the region output function. This feature is perfect when you have hundreds of separate files!

Pricing: Starts free for 60 days, with licenses starting at $60

Which Adobe Audition alternatives will you use today?

It’s impossible to pick a winner from these nine Adobe Audition alternatives as they each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Let’s recap on what these DAWs do best:

• Audacity is the gold standard for basic audio editing. Experiment with this free tool if you’re just starting out.
• Ableton is best for live performances. You can easily adjust tempo based on incoming audio in the middle of a set.
• Sound Forge may not be as advanced as its rivals, but its multiple one-click audio cleaning solutions are worth a look at.
• FL Studio is a champion when it comes to its piano roll feature.
• WavePad is a wallet-friendly DAW that offers a royalty-free library and supports over 50 audio formats.
• WaveLab is a must-have for mastering professionals. Use it with Cubase to get the most out of both tools.
• GarageBand is an entry-level DAW that’s best used on the iPhone or iPad.
• Logic Pro, the cool big sister of GarageBand, holds the number spot for its Alchemy and Retro Synth tools.
• Reaper is a highly flexible and customizable DAW known for its audio rendering.

Publish your studio-ready audio files and sell them like gangbusters on Soundwise after you’ve polished them.

And while you’re at it, browse AppSumo to access the hottest tech deals you need to grow your business.

We’ve rounded up 11 great Zoom alternatives—sorted by their strengths—to help you with your remote communication.

Zoom overview

Source: Zoom

Zoom has come a long way, but that’s not stopping users from searching for alternatives.

While the giant video communication platform does offer a generous free plan (i.e., hosts up to 100 participants and unlimited group meetings for 40 minutes), its quality is a constant cause of worry.

Videos are pixelated and freeze at times, making it unsuitable for professional meetings. The audio quality is also unpredictable. Often, it’s challenging to fix these pesky audio issues despite changing the settings and reinstalling the program.

Best Zoom alternatives

1. Best for hybrid-remote teams: Around

Source: YouTube

Around is a reimagined video collaboration platform for hybrid-remote teams to “create, collaborate, and celebrate together.”

Whether your team is editing documents in a co-working space, reviewing codes in a hotel suite (we see you’re a Sumo-ling of refined taste!), or brainstorming in a startup house, this platform’s proprietary tech and team-friendly features will help you meet more efficiently and get more work done.

Best features:

• Echo Prevention: Collaborate effectively with your team in the same space on your laptop with multiple mics and speakers enabled in the same room, thanks to Around’s unique signal processing engine
• Pricing: Excellent free plan with access to unlimited 1:1 meetings without time limits, integrations with Slack and Google Calendar, and AI noise suppression
• User interface: Insanely unique and sleek interface
• Games: Built-in team-centric features, including bonding games like Boom Party and Curve Fever and the Vibes feature that allows you to add music to your co-working sessions

Limitations: 

• Meetings are capped at 50 participants max, including paid plans
• No recording tool, but it’s in the works according to the website

Free trial: No

Pricing:

• Free for group meetings for up to 45 minutes
• Pro: $8.97/month with everything in free plan + zero time limit in meetings and more
• Business: $15.97/month with everything in Pro + priority support and more

2. Best for team communication: Slack

Source: Slack

Slack is best known for its instant messaging, but did you know it also offers multiple audio and video solutions?

Start live audio conversations for your rapid brainstorming sessions on Huddles, or record your screen to explain how your product works when onboarding new employees.

Slack’s video conferencing features are pretty rudimentary compared to its competitors in this category. But hey, sometimes you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. If all you need is a simple business chat solution, go for it! It definitely nails the basics.

Best features:

• Huddles: Start live audio conversations within a DM, channel, or group message. You can also share your screen, draw on it, and enable live captioning.
• Recorder: Create audio and group video clips with screen sharing via Slack’s lightweight recorder.
• Integration: Integrate Slack with your tech stack to streamline your workflow. Currently, there are over 2,400 integrations available.

Limitations: 

• Huddles are limited to 50 participants
• Can get expensive fast, largely due to the cost-per-user model
• Inconsistent connectivity in Huddles (e.g., may need to rejoin calls several times)

Free trial: No

Pricing:

• Free for 10K of your team’s most recent messages
• Pro: $8/person per month for unlimited messages, apps, and more
• Business+: $15/person per month with everything in Pro and more
• Enterprise Grid: Custom

3. Best for webinars: LiveWebinar

LiveWebinar is a cloud-based, easy-to-customize webinar hosting platform tailored to meet the needs of individuals and businesses of every size. With its wide range of integrations and customization options, you can easily set up, manage and run all types of webinars, virtual events, conferences, and online meetings–all in one tool.

Whether you want to broadcast an HD-quality webinar or live stream on social media, LiveWebinar lets you share content with your audience in an engaging way thanks to many powerful interactive features.

Best features: 

• All-in-one webinar tool: Set up, manage, run, and promote virtual events in one place. No need to install or download anything.
• Interactive features: Choose from a wide set of features that boost interactivity, such as breakout rooms, classroom mode, polls & quizzes, translated chat, and website presenter.
• Custom templates: Create customized pages and emails to promote your events with LiveWebinar’s ready-to-use templates.
• Integrations: Integrate seamlessly with popular marketing and CRM tools to easily manage your events. The platform also offers an API with custom integrations and advanced functionality.
• Paid webinars: Monetize virtual events and increase sales by creating tickets for your audience.

Limitations: 

• The free plan is only available for up to 5 attendees and has a 45-minute limitation per meeting.
• Deep learning curve due to its wide range of features.

Free trial: No, but a free plan is available.

Pricing: 

• Pro: $17.99/month for paid features such as branding tool, ads banner, paid webinars, page templates, and more. You can also host up to 100 attendees
• Business: $143.97/month with everything in Pro, for up to 500 attendees or more with add-ons
• Business Plus: $275/month to host up to 1000 attendees or more with add-ons

For a limited time, you can get access to LiveWebinar’s paid features starting from a $99 one-time payment at AppSumo.

4. Ideal for Microsoft users: Microsoft Teams

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft Teams’ video conferencing solution is a no-brainer if you’re looking to invest in a unified communication and collaboration platform.

Part of the Office 365 plans, you’re not just getting an online meeting solution—you can also send emails, manage apps, and store important files, all in one place.

Best features:

• Pricing: With one of the most generous free plans in the market, you can host up to 100 participants in each meeting
• Workflow: Since Microsoft Teams is part of the Microsoft ecosystem, you have every tool in your fingertips
• To Do Tasks: Create tasks from messages in personal chats and team conversations

Limitations:

• Availability of mobile apps may depend on country or region
• Unable to downgrade to free plan after you upgrade, unless you use a different email address for the admin and users
• Performance can run slow at times (e.g., opening a PDF file in Teams)
• User-unfriendly interface looks bloated compared to competing tools

Free trial: 30 days

Pricing:

• Microsoft Teams (free) for unlimited group meetings for up to 60 minutes
• Microsoft Teams Essentials: $4/user per month for unlimited group meetings for up to 30 hours
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6/user per month with everything in Essentials + recordings with transcripts and more
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50/user per month with everything in Business Basic + webinar hosting and more

5. Best for unified communications: Nextiva

Source: Nextiva

Nextiva is an all-in-one tool to help you communicate with everyone—from team members to business partners to customers.

Unify your video and audio conferencing, team messaging, email, file sharing, and other internal and external communications all in the Nextiva app. This is a great solution for businesses with employees in the office, remote, or on the go.

Best features:

• Live streaming and webinars: Set up, manage, and run online events with Nextiva’s built-in live streaming capabilities
• All-in-one business communications provider: Communicate with customers on their favorite channels, collaborate with teams, and automate repetitive communication tasks (e.g., sending welcome messages to customers) in one place

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Pricey, though it is cheaper for bigger teams. Case in point: it costs $29.95/user monthly for a five-person team, but $24.95/user monthly for a 100+ employee team.
• Android app isn’t as polished as desktop app (e.g., updates cause app to crash, app keeps beeping when a call is on)

Free trial: 7 days

Pricing*:

• Essential: $29.95/user per month for unlimited voice & video calling
• Professional: $33.95/user per month with everything in Essential + unlimited conference calls capped at 40 participants, and more
• Enterprise: $43.95/user per month with everything in Professional + unlimited participants on voice and video calls, and more

*Pricing is based on a five-person team

6. Best for casual video calls: Skype

Source: Skype

Skype probably doesn’t come to mind when we think of professional online meetings. But among friends and family, it’s still very much a top performer and one of the OGs. You can get on a video call one-on-one or up to 100 people for free.

Best features:

• Zoom in: Zoom in with your mouse or the screen touchpad to view small details—no keyboard necessary
• User interface: Improved user interface means you can start calls, access search, view galley, and add contacts without multiple steps
• Universal Translator: Communicate with real-time translation in 42 different languages

Limitations:

• Frequent bugs and slow performance (e.g., unable to connect to calls), which makes it unsuitable for professional calls

Free trial: 30 days (for international calls)

Pricing:

• Free for online calls
• Credits for mobiles and landlines: $5, $10, $25
• United States: $2.99/month for < 2000 minutes
• India: $7.99/month for 800 minutes
• Other North American countries: $6.99/month for < 2000 minutes

7. Perfect for enterprises: Webex

Source: Webex

The leading video meeting platform for Fortune 500 companies, Webex by Cisco integrates your meetings, messaging, and contact center on one platform.

And it looks like the team has been hard at work and adding new features!

Stellar improvements include more integrations (e.g., with InVision and CLEAR Health Pass) and enterprise-ready event experiences.

Best features:

• Webex Webinars: Manage and run multiple events from one place with support for registration, ticketing, networking, and a nifty CLEAR Health Pass integration that lets attendees upload proof of vaccination, negative COVID-19 tests, and complete health surveys
• Webex Control Hub: Analyze KPIs and identify the culprit behind call quality issues with access to Webex’s troubleshooting tool and detailed call history view

Limitations:

• Steep learning curve since Webex is a rabbit hole of features

Free trial: No

Pricing:

• Webex Suite – Basic: Free for 50 minutes + 100 users
• Meet Plan: $15 license/month for 24 hours + 200 users
• Call Plan: $17 license/month for 50 minutes + 100 users
• Webex Suite – Business (Meet + Call Plan): $25 license/month for 24 hours + 200 users
• Enterprise: Custom for 24 hours

8. Best for large meetings: GoToMeeting

Source: YouTube

Want to “power up” your video meetings experience? And by “power up,” we mean connecting with your co-workers from your TV.

GoToMeeting’s integration with Facebook Portal TV makes it ideal for an immersive video conferencing experience. Plus, you never have to worry about your audio echoing. This smart video calling tool even automatically pans and zooms to keep you in frame.

Other fantastic features include Note Taking and Slides to PDF.

Best features:

• Integration with Facebook Portal TV: Leverage AI-powered Smart Camera and Smart Sounds to deliver an immersive video conferencing experience
• Slides to PDF: Capture your presentation slides and automatically arrange them chronologically in a shareable PDF
• Smart Assistant: Automatically detect action items and highlights in meetings
• Note Taking: Take notes directly and automatically share them after meetings end

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Extensive features need some time to get used to

Free trial: 14 days

Pricing:

• Professional: $14/organizer per month for 150 participants
• Business: $19/organizer per month for 250 participants
• Enterprise: Custom for up to 3,000 participants

9. Ideal for GSuite users: Google Meet

If only we could remove our noisy background in video calls… Oh wait, we can with Google Meet (formerly Hangouts Meet)!

Recent updates for premium plans include moving participants automatically from Breakout rooms, hosting meetings with up to 500 participants, and translated captions.

Best features:

• Pricing: Google Meet offers unlimited meetings for free users

• Workflow: Since Google Meet is part of the Google ecosystem, you can easily streamline your workflow (e.g., hover to recipient’s thumbnail in Gmail to start a video call immediately)
• Improvements: Frequent updates its tool
• Breakout rooms: Automatically move every participant from Breakout rooms to main room after a 30-second time limit
• Translated captions: Translate spoken English to French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish (note: this feature is only available in specific plans)

Limitations:

• Poor audio quality when multiple participants talk during a call

Free trial: 14 days

Pricing:

• Free: Comes with 1-hour of group meeting length + 100 participants
• Google Workspace Individual: $7.99/month with 24-hours of group meeting length + 100 participants
• Google Workspace Enterprise: Custom with 24-hours of group meeting length + 500 participants

10. Best for meeting productivity: BlueJeans

Source: BlueJeans

BlueJeans by Verizon may not ring a bell for some of us, but it has come a long way since its launch in 2009.

Users applaud the high-quality audio and video recording (thanks to its Dolby Voice engineered tech) and user-friendly interface.

Other excellent features include Meeting Highlights and Meeting Summaries. 

Best features:

• Security: Enterprise-grade security allows users to avoid sharing sensitive content (with individual app share), quickly remove a participant with a click of a button, disable recording, and more
• Smart Meetings: Tag key takeaways; assign action items and improve your discussion points with priority rankings, real-time screen capture, automated transcripts, and crowd-sourced commentary.
• Meeting Summaries: Access meeting summaries, watch recaps in minutes, and share them with your team to reinforce the discussion points

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Need to purchase separate plan to unlock webinars and events

Free trial: 14 days

Pricing:

• Standard: $9.99/host per month with up to 100 participants
• Pro: $13.99/host per month with up to 150 participants + everything in Standard and more
• Enterprise: $16.66/host per month with up to 200 participants + everything in Pro and more
• Enterprise Plus: Custom + everything in Enterprise, advanced support, and more

Which Zoom alternative is right for you?

There’s no one-size-fits-all video communication solution.

Review your goals, budget, and the number of participants in your online meetings. That should help you pinpoint your ideal tool.

If you want to reduce business costs, opt for our current lifetime deals, webMOBI and Livapp. Or continue exploring your options on AppSumo.

FAQs

1. What is the best alternative to Zoom?

As always, you’re the judge of that! Review what we’ve covered so far in this list and give them a whirl in the free plans and trials.

2. What is a free alternative to Zoom?

Slack, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Webex, Google Meet, and webMOBI.

3. What is a safer alternative to Zoom?

BlueJeans. The underrated tool offers a ton of enterprise-grade security features that give you peace of mind.

4. Is Google Meet better than Zoom?

Yes… and no. Google Meet is best for GSuite users as every tool is within your fingertips.

5. Is Microsoft Teams better than Zoom?

Depends. If you’re already using Microsoft’s products, then it’s a no-brainer to use Teams to streamline your workflow.

Unfortunately, it’s one of the most expensive tools around.

In this post, let’s explore ten of the best Hootsuite alternatives available in 2023, comparing use cases, best features, limitations, and pricing. Let’s go!

Hootsuite overview

Source: Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a popular, established SMM tool that:

• Automates and schedules posts on all the major social media platforms
• Reviews data with powerful analytics
• Adds multiple users for easy team collaboration
• Integrates with hundreds of apps, including Canva and Microsoft Dynamics

The downside?

It’s pretty expensive. Just the cheapest plan alone sets you back at $49/month annually!

What’s more, the crème de la crème of the tool’s features are reserved for users with enterprise accounts, which is the most costly pricing tier available.

Hootsuite isn’t a bad tool, but there are options that offer similar features at much more affordable prices.

Best Hootsuite alternatives for social media management

1. Ease of use: Buffer

Buffer offers three main tools for social media management: Publish, Analyze, and Engage.  The SMM platform recently launched Start Page, a flexible landing page builder that combines all your links into one URL.

Users can choose which plan best fits their needs based on the services offered in each, such as customization options and unlimited team members.

Best features:

• Instagram Hashtag Manager: Organize, group, and save hashtags for first comments
• User interface: Get started on Buffer right away, thanks to its clean and simple user interface
• Chrome extension: Share content from the web without having to go back to your Buffer dashboard
• Analytics: Review in-depth and digestible data on the best time to post, how often to post, and the best type of posts that drive engagement

Limitations:

• Occasional bugs that won’t let you tag pages on Facebook and upload videos to channels
• No analytics report at all for free plans

Free trial: 14 days

Pricing:

• Free: $0 with basic publishing tools
• Essential: $6/month with all essential tools
• Team: $12/month with advanced tools and unlimited members
• Agency: $120/month with advanced tools, unlimited members, and customizable options

2. Best for team collaboration: Zoho Social

Source: Zoho

Zoho Social is a user-friendly, well-rounded social media management solution.

This team-centric platform helps you communicate and collaborate with team members efficiently. You can discuss social media reports via chat, assign co-workers specific tasks, and more from a single dashboard.

Best features:

• Roles & Permissions: Assign team members specific roles and tasks within designated social channels and decide which social channels they can access
• Discuss: Start a discussion thread on your draft to gather feedback before sending for approval
• zShare: Use Zoho’s Chrome extension to curate and share content from the web on your social media channels

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Can get expensive fast for growing agencies. The $460/month plan only covers 20 brands. To unlock more brands, you need to pay an additional fee.
• Zoho’s publishing suggestion tool, SmartQ, is a hit-and-miss (note: it’s likely the inaccuracy is caused by the lack of data. SmartQ needs at least seven days to predict the best times for posting)

Free trial: 15 days

Pricing:

• Standard: $15/month with 7 channels
• Professional: $40/month with 8 channels
• Premium: $65/month with 9 channels
• Agency: $320/month with 10 brands (90 channels)
• Agency Plus: $460/month 20 brands (180 channels)

3. Best for enterprises: Sprout Social

Source: Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a feature-heavy SMM suite geared to enterprises needing advanced services.

Track how your target audience responds to competitors’ product launches, identify influencers to advocate for your brand in future campaigns, and create personalized experiences based on in-depth customer data.

Hands down, this SMM platform is best for enterprise marketers who want to identify industry gaps and dominate share of voice in their fields.

Best features:

• Social Listening: Track reactions to your competitors’ products and campaigns and identify influencers to engage as brand advocates in trend alerts
• Social CRM: Quickly access customers’ conversation histories and contact details to drive personalization
• Analytics: Prove the value of social to your manager and clients. You can easily show them how social media played a role in their direct revenue.

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Cost-per-user model makes it one of the most expensive solutions in the market. The cheapest plan starts at $99/month. Based on reviews, it’s worth it. As a user said, “Sprout is spendy but solid.”

Free trial: 30 days

Pricing:

• Standard: $99/month with 5 social profiles
• Professional: $169/month with 10 social profiles
• Advanced: $279/month with 10 social profiles and advanced tools (e.g., digital asset and content library)

4. Best for SMB owners: MeetEdgar

Source: MeetEdgar

MeetEdgar is a budget SMM platform with rather elementary features, comparatively.

Although MeetEdgar may not be filled with fancy services, its greatest appeal is the auto-variations feature that automatically finds quotable texts for your updates.

Go with MeetEdgar if you’re a time-starved SMB owner or entrepreneur with minimal scheduling needs (i.e., mainly share evergreen content) and run three or fewer social accounts.

Best features:

• Expiration Date: Set an expiration date for your posts at a specific time and date. This feature is perfect for time-sensitive giveaways and promotions.
• Random- and Category-Specific Time Slots: Mix both time slots to rotate your social media updates, engage your audience, and prevent post fatigue.
• Auto-Variations: Automatically generate variations for your status updates. Just write one that includes a URL link, and MeetEdgar will create a bunch of alternatives based on the link.

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Slight learning curve, particularly when scheduling posts. Some users on G2 report that they found it less intuitive than other SMM solutions.

Free trial: 7 days. MeetEdgar also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Pricing:

• Eddie: $29.99/month with 5 social accounts
• Edgar: $49.99/month with 25 social accounts

5. All-in-one: Falcon.io

Source: Falcon.io

Falcon.io is an all-around social management suite, with the website claiming it as the “best platform for every kind of social media marketer.”

This SMM solution is great for both standard content management and additional digital advertising needs.

Plus, since it’s integrated with Brandwatch, a digital consumer intelligence platform, you can also use it for market research, crisis management, and customer engagement.

Best features:

• Single Inbox: View all messages across channels in one inbox. This saves you the hassle of logging in to multiple platforms to answer queries.
• Profile Cards: Save all customer information (shared by marketing, sales, and customer success) in one card. You’ll have all the info you need to create personalized experiences.
• Integrated Content Planning: Sync your social, online, and offline content activities in one calendar

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Can be challenging to locate certain tools due to the complex nature of the features
• Cost-per-seat model makes it one of the most expensive SMM solutions in the market

Free trial: 14 days

Pricing:

• Essentials: $129/month for up to 5 social channels
• Full suite: Custom

6. Value for money: Eclincher

Source: EClincher

Eclincher has a little something for everyone in the social media management world.

Integrations with this SMM platform are impressive, with allowances for channels like Pinterest, YouTube, and Google My Business in addition to the standards like Facebook and Twitter.

But its most impressive feature is the 500,000+ photo library. Look no further if you often use stock photos in your marketing campaigns.

Best features:

• Improvements: Eclincher is continuously expanding its list of available integrations and improving its tools
• Chrome extension: Schedule and post across your social media networks quickly
• Link Shortener: Automatically shorten your long URL links with Bitly, Sniply, and Google UTM
• Photo Library: Eclincher offers over 500,000 free and high-quality commercial-use photos, making it an ideal choice if you want to use visually interesting photos in your marketing campaigns without burning your budget

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Outdated and clunky interface that doesn’t look as sleek as its competing SMM platforms
• Minor bugs like format errors when using the undo button

Free trial: 14 days

Pricing:

• Basic: $59/month for 10 social profiles
• Premier: $119/month for 20 social profiles
• Agency: $219/month for 40 social profiles

7. Best for organization: CoSchedule

Source: CoSchedule

CoSchedule is a marketing-focused social media management platform perfect for creating targeted content to help organically build traffic and followers.

It’s insanely easy to plan your content on this nifty solution, whether it’s a standalone social campaign or multiple posts across your social channels over a time period.

Best features:

• Social Message Optimizer: Improve your social copy with CoSchedule’s built-in message optimizer so that you can attract more clicks, likes, comments, and shares
• Headline Analyzer Chrome extension: Optimize your social headline, revisit a complete history of your past successful headlines, and improve your copywriting skills
• Blog Calendar: CoSchedule makes uploading and scheduling posts hassle-free, thanks to its easy-to-handle user interface
• Alt-Text: Add alt-text to provide visual descriptions of your photos for visually impaired users

Limitations:

• Expensive if you want multiple users and both blog and marketing capabilities
• Free plan offers minimal features for social media management (e.g., you can’t schedule posts by bulk)

Free trial: No

Pricing:

• Free with 2 social profiles
• Pro: $39/user per month with 10 social profiles

8. Best for analytics: Agorapulse

Source: Agorapulse

Agorapulse is a full-service SMM suite with everything from unlimited one-click reports for data like ROI and response time, to automatic and customized labels for followers with excellent engagement.

This gem excels in extensive analytics and beautiful auto-generated reports. Check it out if you need to get clients to buy-in your ideas.

Best features:

• ROI: Agorapulse creates stunning auto-generated reports for your social media ROI and improved social content strategies. It’s perfect if you want to present your results to stakeholders without expertise.
• Inbox: Save feature for common replies to follower comments and questions across social channels
• Reporting: Create custom easy-to-understand reports based on the metrics you choose, so that you can spend less time analyzing results
• User interface: Agorapulse boasts an incredibly user-friendly and beautiful interface

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Lack of integration with several popular social media channels like Pinterest. According to customer support, it may be in the works soon.
• Occasional bugs like timing out when editing a post
• No draft feature when scheduling a post on the calendar

Free trial: 15 days

Pricing:

• Pro: $99/month for 10 social profiles
• Premium: $249/month for 20 social profiles
• Enterprise: Custom for 40+ social profiles

Hootsuite alternatives on AppSumo

9. Best for social customer experience: Sociamonials

Source: Sociamonials

Sociamonials is a comprehensive social media solution that optimizes your campaigns and increases your ROI with advanced analytics and automation.

This SMM platform is best for delivering exceptional customer experience thanks to its customer-centric features like incentivized sharing, contests and sweepstakes, and integration with user-generated content.

Best features:

• User-Generated Content: Collect, approve, and sync users’ video testimonials, photos, and stories to your social media pages. You can also launch a contest or referrals reward campaign to drive greater engagement.
• Automated Fraud Prevention: Flag and block duplicate votes and referrals automatically
• Share Buttons: Identify top influencers and track which specific share button brings in the biggest revenue

Limitations:

• Learning curve for full functionality is steep for people who aren’t social media pros
• Template designs aren’t polished
• No free plan

Free trial: 14 days

Pricing:

• Social Pro: $19/month for 10 social profiles
• Social and Campaigns: $49/month for 20 social profiles
• Business: $149/month for 30 social profiles
• Enterprise: $399/month for 60 social profiles

Grab the Sociamonials lifetime deal on AppSumo for $69 today.

10. Unlimited scheduling: SocialQ+

SocialQ+ is an intuitive social marketing platform that lets you collaborate, schedule, and analyze your posts for all major channels from one dashboard.

Some of its exciting features include watermark support and unlimited scheduling across all social media platforms—yes, this includes the cheapest plan!

Best features:

• Watermark Support: Add a watermark on all photos and videos with your logo directly on SocialQ+
• Scheduling Tool: Sumo-lings get access to all upcoming schedule tools for free. Grab the SocialQ+ lifetime deal on AppSumo for $39 today.
• Unlimited scheduling: Get instant access to unlimited scheduling on all platforms and plans

Limitations:

• No free plan
• Performance can be slow when navigating the menu and scheduling posts across platforms. According to several reviews, the SocialQ+ team is fixing this in their next upgrade.

Free trial:

Pricing:

• Basic: $17 for up to 20 social accounts
• Standard: $15 for up to 40 social accounts
• Premium: $27/month for up to 72 social accounts

Grab the SocialQ+ lifetime deal on AppSumo for $39 today.

Free Hootsuite alternatives

Out of the ten tools in this list, only two offer a freemium plan: Buffer and CoSchedule.

Thanks to its beginner-friendly interface, Buffer is best for casual social media users. On the other hand, CoSchedule’s clean and straightforward blog calendar is ideal for organization.

Of course, it’s impossible to manage multiple social accounts in these free plans. Consider upgrading or investing in another paid SMM tool to unlock more features.

How to choose the perfect social media marketing tool for your needs

The social media management tool that you use should fit your company like a glove.

Every tool mentioned offers a free trial and we even listed two amazing lifetime deals for Sociamonials and SocialQ+, so there isn’t any excuse not to explore your options. And as always, if you want to continue exploring your options, browse here.

Hootsuite alternatives FAQs

1. Is there a free Hootsuite alternative?

Buffer and CoSchedule are your best options. While the former tool is easy to use, the latter is best for organizing your marketing activities.

2. Is it worth paying for Hootsuite?

Probably not, as you can get similar features at a much lower price.

Review the alternatives in this list. You might discover an SMM solution with the same capabilities, if not better.

3. What is the best social media scheduling tool?

We’ll let you be the judge of that.

Look through each SMM platform’s use case and best features and make the most out of the free trials before settling for one final tool.

4. What’s better: Buffer or Hootsuite?

In terms of ease of use? Buffer.

However, if we’re talking about advanced features (e.g., you’re an agency owner who works with a dozen clients and needs more collaboration-centric features), then Hootsuite might be a better fit.