Running a Business on $0/Month SaaS: Every Free Tool You Need
This is not a list of 14-day trials disguised as free tools. Every tool below has a permanent free tier with enough capability to run a real business. Here is the complete stack, organized by function, with exact limits so you know exactly when you will hit a wall.
CRM: HubSpot Free
Unlimited contacts. Deal pipeline. Email logging. Meeting scheduling. Basic reporting. Forms and live chat with HubSpot branding. The limits: 1 pipeline, 5 email templates, 2,000 email sends per month, HubSpot branding on everything. You cannot remove branding or add automation without Starter at $20/seat/month.
Alternative CRM: Zoho CRM Free
Up to 3 users. Basic lead, contact, and deal management. 5,000 records. If you need a multi-user CRM on zero budget, Zoho Free covers 3 people with core CRM functionality. HubSpot Free has no user limit but fewer features per user.
Alternative CRM: Freshsales Free
Up to 3 users. Contact and account management. Built-in chat, email, and phone. Freshsales Free includes a built-in phone dialer on the free plan — unique among free CRMs.
Email Marketing: Kit (ConvertKit) Newsletter
Free for up to 10,000 subscribers. Unlimited email sends. Landing pages. The limits: no advanced automations, no integrations, no visual automation builder. You can send broadcast newsletters and basic sequences. For a business that just needs to send a weekly email to a growing list, this is the most generous free tier available.
Newsletter Platform: beehiiv Launch
Free for up to 2,500 subscribers. Unlimited sends. Custom domain. Website builder. Basic analytics. No advanced automations or A/B testing. If you are building a newsletter-first business with monetization in mind, beehiiv's free tier gives you more newsletter-specific features than Kit's free plan, but with a lower subscriber cap.
Email Delivery: Brevo Free
Up to 100,000 contacts. 300 emails per day (roughly 9,000/month). Brevo branding on emails. If you need transactional emails or marketing emails to a large list with a low sending frequency, Brevo's free plan is the most generous for contact storage.
Automation: Zapier Free
100 tasks per month. Unlimited Zaps. Two-step only (single trigger + single action). For light automation — new form submission creates a CRM contact, new subscriber gets a welcome email — 100 tasks is enough for a low-volume business.
Automation Alternative: Make Free
1,000 operations per month. 2 active scenarios. Make Free gives you 10x the volume of Zapier Free but limits you to 2 active workflows. If you have 1–2 critical automations that run frequently, Make Free is better. If you have many simple automations, Zapier Free's unlimited Zaps (but 100-task cap) might work better.
Project Management: Notion Free
Unlimited pages. Unlimited blocks. Databases, kanban boards, docs, wikis. 10 guest collaborators. The limits: 5MB file uploads, 7-day version history. For a solo founder or small team, Notion Free is a complete project management, documentation, and wiki solution.
Task Management: ClickUp Free
Unlimited tasks. Unlimited members. 100MB storage. Multiple views (list, board, calendar). The limits: basic reporting, no Gantt charts, 100 automations per month, 100 custom field uses. For teams that want more structured project management than Notion provides.
Communication: Discord Free
Unlimited messages with full history. Voice and video calls for up to 25 people. Screen sharing at 720p. 25MB file uploads. Channels, threads, forums. Unlike Slack Free (90-day history limit, 10 integrations), Discord Free retains everything indefinitely.
Scheduling: Cal.com Free
1 user. Unlimited event types. Unlimited bookings. Open source. Cal.com Free gives you more than Calendly Free (which limits you to 1 event type).
Design: Canva Free
2 million+ templates. 5GB storage. Basic AI features. Basic photo editing and collaboration for up to 5 people. The limits: no background remover, no brand kit, no magic resize, smaller asset library. Covers 70% of design needs for social media and marketing materials.
Video Messaging: Loom Starter
25 videos per person. 5-minute recording limit. 720p quality. Transcriptions. For quick async updates and walkthroughs, Loom's free tier replaces many meetings and long email explanations.
The $0 Stack Summary
CRM (HubSpot Free) + Email (Kit Newsletter or Brevo Free) + Newsletter (beehiiv Launch) + Automation (Zapier Free or Make Free) + PM (Notion Free or ClickUp Free) + Chat (Discord Free) + Scheduling (Cal.com Free) + Design (Canva Free) + Video (Loom Starter) = $0/month with genuine business capability. This stack supports a solo founder or team of up to 3 through the first 6–12 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you really run a business on zero SaaS spend?
Yes, for early-stage businesses. The free tiers listed above cover CRM, email marketing, automation, project management, communication, scheduling, and design. The tradeoff is time: you will spend more hours working around free tier limits than if you paid $50–$100/month for upgraded plans.
What is the first tool you should upgrade from free?
Automation. Zapier Free at 100 tasks/month or Make Free at 2 active scenarios runs out fastest. Most businesses should upgrade to Make Core at $10.59/month within the first 2–3 months when workflow volume picks up.
How long can this $0 stack last?
For a solo founder: 6–12 months. For a small team of 3: 3–6 months. The first walls you hit are typically automation volume (100 tasks runs out fast), email subscriber caps (2,500 on beehiiv, 10,000 on Kit), and CRM pipeline limits (1 pipeline on HubSpot Free).