Sales Loves MarketingThe best social media tools for marketers, free and paid
Agorapulse is the best social media tool for most marketing teams, with publishing, a shared inbox and reports for 10 profiles from $79 per user per month and a 30-day free trial. Buffer is the best value, with a free plan for 3 channels.
Social mediaThe best YouTube tools to grow a business channel, free and paid
YouTube Studio is the best YouTube tool for any business channel, because it is free and holds YouTube's own analytics, trend data and title and thumbnail tests. Add vidIQ or TubeBuddy for keyword research and competitor tracking, and Descript, Canva or OpusClip to produce videos, thumbnails and Shorts.
Social mediaThe best Facebook tools for marketing your business
Meta Business Suite is the best Facebook tool for most businesses, because it is free and handles posts, stories, messages and insights for your Page and Instagram account. Use Meta Ads Manager for paid campaigns, and add Agorapulse, Buffer or SocialPilot when you manage Facebook alongside other networks.
Content marketingThe best websites for creating infographics
Venngage is the best website for creating infographics, with infographic templates, charts, maps and icons from $10 a month. Canva is the best free all-rounder, and Piktochart is best for turning spreadsheet data into charts.
CRMThe 10 best CRM systems for small businesses
HubSpot is the best CRM for most small businesses. It is free for 2 users and puts sales, marketing and service on one record. Pipedrive is the best pure sales CRM, and Zoho CRM gives the most value as you grow.
CRMThe 10 best sales management tools for growing businesses
HubSpot Sales Hub is the best sales management tool for most growing businesses. Start on the free CRM and add forecasting, goals and custom reports on Professional. Pipedrive is the best value, with forecasting on every plan.
SEOThe best keyword research tools, paid and free
Semrush is the best keyword research tool for most teams, with intent, difficulty, topic clusters and competitor gaps in one place and a 7-day free trial. SE Ranking and KWFinder give the best value, and Google Keyword Planner is the best free option.
Growth marketingThe best sales and marketing tools to grow your business
HubSpot is the best place to start for most growing businesses, because its free CRM puts sales and marketing on one record. Add Pipedrive for a sales-first pipeline, ActiveCampaign for email automation and Apollo.io to find new prospects.
Social mediaThe best IG scheduling apps for businesses and marketing teams
Later is the best IG scheduling app for most businesses, with a visual grid planner and auto-publishing for posts, carousels, Reels and Stories from $18.75 a month. Choose Metricool or Buffer for a free plan, or Planable, SocialPilot or Sendible when clients or managers approve posts.
Lead generationThe best Unbounce alternatives and competitors
Instapage is the closest Unbounce alternative for teams that run paid ads at scale, with A/B testing and ad-to-page personalisation. Swipe Pages and Leadpages are the best lower-priced picks, and HubSpot gives you free landing pages tied to a CRM.
SEOThe best tools to find competitor backlinks
Ahrefs is the best tool to find competitor backlinks, because of its large, frequently refreshed link index and a Link Intersect tool that shows who links to your competitors but not to you. Semrush is the best alternative if you want a free plan or a trial, and Majestic suits link builders who only need backlink data.
Growth marketingThe best affiliate marketing tools for beginners
Pretty Links is the best first tool for a beginner affiliate on WordPress, because its free version turns affiliate URLs into short links on your own domain and counts the clicks. Add Google Search Console and Yoast SEO, both free, and pay for keyword research with Ubersuggest or Ahrefs when you are ready.
Marketing automationThe best marketing automation tools for small businesses
ActiveCampaign is the best marketing automation tool for most small businesses, with detailed automation from $15 per month. Brevo and MailerLite are the best free starts, and HubSpot suits teams that want marketing and their CRM on one record.
Social mediaThe best IG tools to grow your audience on Instagram
Metricool is the best IG tool for most businesses, because its free plan and low-cost Starter plan cover scheduling for posts, Reels and Stories, best times to post, competitor tracking and analytics. Choose Later for visual planning and creator campaigns, or Meta Business Suite for free, native scheduling.
SEOThe best Ahrefs alternatives for SEO, free and paid
Semrush is the best Ahrefs alternative for most teams, because it covers keyword research, competitor analysis, backlinks, rank tracking and site audits and, unlike Ahrefs, offers a free trial. SE Ranking is the best-value pick, with the same core tools from $103.20 per month billed yearly.
Content marketingThe best content calendar tools
CoSchedule is the best content calendar tool for most marketing teams, because it is built only for planning marketing content and campaigns on one calendar. Choose Notion for a free, flexible editorial calendar that holds your briefs and drafts, or ClickUp for a free team calendar with unlimited members.
CRMThe best CRM for startups
HubSpot is the best CRM for most startups, because the free CRM covers the first two users and eligible funded startups get 90% off the first year of Professional or Enterprise. Choose Attio for a flexible, modern CRM that is free for 3 seats, or Pipedrive for a simple founder-led sales pipeline.
CRMThe best CRM software with project management
monday CRM is the best CRM with project management for most teams, because deals and the work that follows a sale run on the same boards. Pick Pipedrive for the strongest sales pipeline with a built-in Projects tool, or Zoho CRM with Zoho Projects for the most depth at a low price.
Project managementThe best project management software for marketing teams
Asana is the best project management software for most marketing teams, covering campaign intake, timelines, approvals and reporting in one tool. monday.com is the most visual option, and ClickUp gives the most features for the money.
CRMThe best Salesforce alternatives
HubSpot is the best Salesforce alternative for most companies, because its free CRM lets you test the move and its marketing, sales and service tools share one database. Choose Pipedrive for a fast sales pipeline, or Zoho CRM for Salesforce-style customisation at a lower price.
ProductivityThe best team collaboration tools for sales and marketing teams
Slack is the best collaboration tool for most sales and marketing teams, because channels and Slack Connect keep the team, clients and partners in one conversation. Add Notion for shared docs and monday.com or ClickUp to track shared work.
Project managementThe best Trello alternatives
Asana is the best Trello alternative for most teams, because it keeps a board view and adds timelines, forms, dashboards and unlimited automations on its first paid plan. If you are leaving because of Trello's free plan limits, ClickUp's free plan has board and calendar views with unlimited members.
Sales engagementThe best tools for creating an interactive demo of your software
Supademo is the best interactive demo tool for most software companies, with a free plan, a 14-day trial and HTML demos from $199 a month. Storylane is a close second for teams that want lead capture and account identification from day one.
Lead generationThe best hybrid event hosting platforms
vFairs is the best hybrid event platform for most organizers, because it runs registration, onsite check-in, an event app and a 3D virtual venue from one setup, with a project manager for every event. Choose Cvent for a large enterprise event program, or EventMobi if you want a published per-event price.
