Best Software for Small Business: 24 Essential Tools

As a small business owner, you wear many hats. You may be tracking cash flow one minute and managing customer relationships or coordinating project timelines the next. One of your most effective tools for ensuring you can handle these tasks properly and efficiently is small business software.

Here’s a roundup of 24 of the best software programs for small businesses across key categories. Read more to find tools to help you streamline your daily operations and propel your business forward.

Best website builder 

Website builders enable you to create professional websites with minimal to no coding knowledge. Many tools offer drag-and-drop interfaces, responsive templates, integrated hosting, SEO optimization, and analytics. 

Shopify 

Shopify’s website builder helps you build customized storefronts using AI-generated, drag-and-drop, and templated options—all of which are no-code. The platform is designed for ecommerce businesses, offering online store features including inventory management, integrated payment processing, and SEO controls. Higher-level plans unlock lower payment processing rates and expanded shipping tools.

Pricing: Shopify offers four plans, which start at $29 per month with annual billing.

Squarespace

Squarespace offers numerous templates customers can choose from, a drag-and-drop editor, and ecommerce capabilities (including a domain marketplace, integrated payment system, and fulfillment tools). Additional features include SEO tools, social media integrations, and branded email campaigns.

Pricing: Squarespace’s plans start at $16 per month with annual billing. 

Best customer service software

Customer support software enables small businesses to deliver professional customer experiences without requiring a large support team. Modern customer service software centralizes communications across multiple channels, automates routine tasks, and provides analytics to support team performance and effectiveness. 

Zendesk

Zendesk offers a ticketing system and email-based customer communication across all plans, along with custom business rules (with triggers and automations) and analytics dashboards. As plans progress, users unlock other support channels (messaging and live chat, social media messaging, phone support). There’s also AI functionality (including AI agents to automate common inquiries), advanced ticketing and automation, custom analytics, a customer portal, and more.

Pricing: Zendesk offers four customer service plans, starting at $19 per agent, per month, billed annually. 

Freshdesk

Freshdesk offers ticketing with intelligent prioritization, omnichannel support (email, phone, chat, social media), a shared email inbox, a customer portal, standard reporting and dashboards, and automation tools. Its AI capabilities come with additional costs or require a bundled plan that includes the AI Copilot add-on. Higher-level plans add advanced ticketing and reporting, portal customization, community forums, and advanced security.

Pricing: Freshdesk has a free plan for up to two users. Paid plans start at $15 per agent, per month, billed annually.

Best email marketing software

Email marketing remains one of the highest return on investment (ROI) marketing channels for small businesses, with every $1 spent generating between $10 and $36 in return. Effective marketing software combines email campaigns with automation, audience segmentation, and performance analytics.

Constant Contact 

Constant Contact’s straightforward features, strong template customization options, and event management capabilities make it suitable for email marketing beginners. The platform includes automated emails (for birthdays, anniversaries, and welcoming new subscribers or customers), hundreds of templates, and a drag-and-drop email builder.

Pricing: Constant Contact plan pricing scales based on the number of contacts. For up to 500 contacts, plans range from $12 to $80 per month. 

Mailchimp

Mailchimp combines email marketing with basic CRM and automation features, including templates and audience segmentation. With features like advanced A/B testing (for subject lines, send time, and send names) and automations (like custom triggers, scheduling tools, and visual journeys), Mailchimp is suited for users with some experience in email marketing.

Pricing: Mailchimp offers a free plan limited to 500 contacts. Its paid plans start at $13 per month.

Best social media software

Social media management involves posting consistently, monitoring engagement, and tracking performance across multiple platforms. Professional social media software enables you to schedule content in advance, collaborate with team members, and analyze performance metrics.

Buffer

Buffer is built for content scheduling and analytics with bulk scheduling capabilities and optimal posting time recommendations. This makes it a strong (and affordable) choice for creators and small businesses. It offers limited conversation management (comment replies only, with no inbox functionality) and integrates with tools such as Canva, Google Drive, Unsplash, and Dropbox. It has straightforward reports tracking reach, followers, engagement, and impressions.

Pricing: Buffer offers a free plan that connects up to three channels. Paid plans start at $5 per month per channel, billed annually.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite helps you schedule and manage multiple social media accounts and your content calendar from one dashboard. Its features include conversational management (DMs and comments), Canva integration, in-depth analytics (including social listening and sentiment analysis), and AI assistance (which can repurpose your social media posts into other types of content).

Pricing: Hootsuite plans start at $99 per user per month.

Best CRM software 

Customer relationship management software (including free CRM options) centralizes all your data related to customers, automates follow-up tasks, and provides valuable insights into the health of your sales pipeline. Multiple teams, from operations to customer service to sales and marketing, use CRM software to optimize and streamline their processes.

HubSpot CRM

Built for ecommerce and marketing, HubSpot CRM offers comprehensive contact management, deal tracking, and email integration with marketing automation features. In addition to its analytics dashboards, HubSpot provides marketing, content management, and customer service features (including contact management, list segmentation, CRM imports and exports, and shared inboxes).

Pricing: HubSpot has a forever-free plan for two users; paid plans start at $9 per user per month, billed annually. 

Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is a cloud-based customer relationship management platform that helps businesses manage sales processes, track customer interactions, and automate tasks. Integrating with other tools in the Zoho suite (plus tools like Mailchimp, QuickBooks, and Shopify), this software includes lead management, contact organization, sales pipeline tracking, reporting capabilities, and AI assistance.

Pricing: Zoho CRM’s four paid plans start at $14 per user per month, billed annually; it offers a free plan for up to three users.

Best project management software

Effective project management ensures your team remains organized, meets deadlines, and satisfies your clients. Project management tools provide task assignment and monitoring, progress tracking and reporting, and team collaboration features. 

Asana

Asana offers task management, project timeline views, team collaboration, and straightforward automation builders. Its dashboard features multiple project views (these adaptable, plug-and-play views make it a user-friendly choice), and the tool has a large library of integrations (with more than 200 HR, data, financing, and marketing apps). Asana also offers robust security features, including information backups and firewall options.

Pricing: Asana offers a free plan that supports collaboration among 10 team members. Paid plans start at $10.99 per month per user, billed annually.

monday.com

Monday.com is a project management tool offering customizable workflows, visual project boards, and team collaboration tools. It features task dependencies, automation builders, and integrations with popular applications, including Slack and Google Drive. All plans include a Kanban view, with other views unlocked as plans progress. Higher-level plans also include AI functionality. 

Pricing: Monday.com’s paid work management plans start at $9 per user per month, billed annually. It also offers a limited free plan for up to two users.

Best productivity software

Productivity software includes the basic tools for daily business operations, including document creation, spreadsheets, email, and file storage. 

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 combines Office applications with cloud storage and its marquee tools, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams. Microsoft 365 Copilot, its AI offering, is available as an add-on.

Pricing: Microsoft 365 business plans start at $6 per user per month, billed annually. 

Google Workspace

Google Workspace provides cloud-based productivity tools, including Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Sheets, and storage options ranging from 30 gigabytes to five terabytes. All tiers provide access to video meetings, Gemini AI assistant in Gmail, and Gemini’s AI chatbot.

Pricing: Google Workspace plans start at $7 per user per month. 

Best communication software

Modern communication platforms integrate messaging, video conferencing, and file sharing in a single environment. These tools reduce email overload and create organized spaces for project discussions and team collaboration. 

Slack

Slack enables team messaging with organized channels, direct messaging, and extensive app integrations. Its interface is defined by easy-to-use message threads and an always-visible inbox. Higher-level plans add advanced AI, compliance, and admin tools.

Pricing: Slack offers a limited free plan with paid plans starting at $7.25 per user per month, billed annually. 

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a collaboration platform that combines video conferencing, team chat, file sharing, meeting recording, and app integrations within the Microsoft ecosystem. It also allows calling directly in the app.

Pricing: Teams offers a free plan with 60-minute group calling limits; paid plans start at $4 per user per month, billed annually.

Best inventory management tools

Product-based businesses require accurate inventory tracking to prevent stockouts, effectively manage purchasing, and optimize cash flow. Inventory management software provides real-time stock levels, automated reorder points, and integration with sales channels.

inFlow Inventory 

Designed for small businesses, inFlow Inventory offers comprehensive inventory tracking. Its plans are based on the number of team members (from two to 10), yearly orders (from 1,200 to 60,000), and inventory locations (one in the entry-level plan and unlimited in the others). Available integrations include Shopify, Amazon, Zapier, Xero, and QuickBooks Online.

Pricing: inFlow Inventory’s plans start at $149 per month (for two team members), billed annually. 

Zoho Inventory

Best suited for small to midsize businesses, Zoho Inventory integrates inventory management with accounting and ecommerce platforms, offering order management and shipping integration. Its plans accommodate 50 to 15,000 orders per month, two to 10 locations, and one to seven users. Higher-level plans introduce customizations and automations.

Pricing: In addition to a limited free plan, Zoho Inventory offers paid plans starting at $29 per month, billed annually.

Best accounting and bookkeeping software

Small business owners need accounting software that can handle invoicing, expense tracking, tax preparation, and financial reporting while automatically syncing with bank accounts. The best accounting software provides real-time insights into your business’s financial health and simplifies tax time preparation.

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online automatically syncs with bank accounts and integrates with numerous third-party apps. Its financial management tools can help with invoicing, detailed transaction tracking, and tax preparation. It serves entrepreneurs who need a complex accounting solution and have accounting experience themselves (or work closely with an in-house or consulting accountant).

Pricing: QuickBooks Online offers four plan options, starting at $38 per month for one user. 

Xero

Xero provides cloud-based accounting with strong bank reconciliation and more than 1,000 app integrations. The software includes unlimited users on all plans and access to automated bank feeds. Xero’s straightforward user interface may offer a relatively easy learning curve for first-time business owners or those with simple operations.

Pricing: Xero’s plans range from $20 to $80 per month.

Best ecommerce payment tools

Modern payment processors handle multiple payment methods, provide fraud protection, and offer detailed transaction reporting. The best payment processors easily accept online payments, reduce cart abandonment, and ensure a smooth checkout experience for your customers. 

Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is an integrated payment solution designed for Shopify merchants. It offers payment processing with unified order and payment tracking. The platform supports major credit cards, digital wallets (such as Apple Pay and Google Pay), and buy now, pay later options. It includes PCI compliance, fraud protection, and multicurrency support for global business.

Pricing: Shopify Payments comes with your Shopify subscription. Its rates start at 2.6% plus 30¢ for in-person credit card transactions and 2.9% plus 30¢ for online transactions.

Stripe

Stripe is a choice for online businesses, providing online payment processing with global payment method support and developer tools. The platform handles subscriptions, marketplace payments, risk management, identity verification, and international tax compliance.

Pricing: Stripe’s standard rates start at 2.9% plus 30¢ per successful domestic card charge transaction. 

Best HR and payroll tools

Automated payroll software ensures accurate calculations, handles tax filings, and maintains compliance with federal and state regulations. These systems save you time and reduce errors compared to manual payroll processing. 

Gusto

Gusto’s software combines straightforward payroll processing with HR features, including benefits administration, hiring and onboarding, and compliance management. The platform allows unlimited payroll runs, handles payroll taxes, and offers an employee self-service portal.

Pricing: Gusto’s standard plans range from $49 per month plus $6 per employee to $180 per month plus $22 per employee. It offers a contractor-only plan for $35 per month plus $6 per contractor.

ADP

Scalable and customizable, ADP provides payroll processing with strong tax compliance, multistate payroll capabilities, and an expansive ecosystem of third-party integrations. The software also handles payroll taxes, direct deposits, garnishments, and year-end tax forms. All plans include new hire onboarding, with higher-level plans adding salary benchmarking, HR document management, and HR training.

Pricing: ADP offers custom pricing depending on your business’s needs.