30 Freelance Tools to Scale Your Business
As a full-time freelancer, you’re not just a freelancer — you’re a business owner. And as you scale your business, you need tools that scale with you and help you level up. Your tech stack should include freelance tools that help you manage your finances, automate administrative tasks, and streamline your workflow so that you can focus on the actual work while your business runs smoothly in the background.
Below, let’s go over the different areas of your freelance business that your tech stack should cover, as well as some specific freelance tools that can be used to support various tasks.
What are Freelance Tools?
When we talk about freelance tools, we aren’t referring to the platform or software you use to execute your job like Photoshop or Figma. Instead, we’re talking about the tools you use to manage the business — this includes everything from accounting to workflow to marketing.
The best freelance tools should help you run your business faster and seamlessly so you can focus on the work you love instead.
Here are the different areas your tech stack should cover:
Proposals and contracts
Invoicing and payments
Client communications
Project management
Business website
Marketing
Let’s go over some specific tools that can support each of these areas of your freelance business.
30 Freelance Tools for Your Tech Stack
Best Proposals and Contract Tools for Freelancers
As a full-time freelancer, you’ve settled into your niche, have an established service offering, and likely get plenty of client referrals. As a result, new client and project inquiries show up in your inbox often. Instead of spending hours tailoring your proposals and explaining your process for each of these inquiries, you need a faster way to conduct business if you want to scale.
1. Wethos Proposal Builder
One of the top tools you need in your freelance tech stack should be one that seamlessly manages proposals, scopes, and contracts. The Wethos proposal builder is a great example of an all-in-one tool that can be used to not only create proposals, scope, and contracts but also save them so you can use them again and again.
Best of all, Wethos’ proposal builder takes the guesswork out of freelancing. The tool comes equipped with 200+ proposal, scope of work, and contract templates that outline the framework, language, and even pricing that you can use as a guide for your next project.
Price: $12 per month when billed annually or $15 per month when billed monthly.
2. Proposify
If you run an agency or you have a dedicated sales team that handles big contracts and projects, consider Proposify. The sales-focused proposal tool is designed to handle the proposal process at scale and is beneficial for teams looking to close more sales.
Price: $49 per user, per month.
3. PandaDoc
PandaDoc is a contract management tool that makes it easy to send quotes, create forms, and collect signatures. The document tool is useful for freelancers who work in industries that require a lot of paperwork and signatures such as HR, medical, or government.
Price: The Essentials plan is $19 per month when billed annually, or $35 per month when billed monthly.
4. HoneyBook
HoneyBook is a CRM with features designed for small businesses. One of its features is the ability to send proposals. HoneyBook is best for independent businesses that tend to “book” clients, such as photographers or event planners, for instance.
Price: $32 per month when billed annually or $39 per month when billed monthly.
Best Invoicing Tools for Freelancers
As a full-time freelancer, you’re way past the point of chasing down your clients asking them to pay, or using personal banking apps to collect payments. You run a business and now need an invoicing tool that helps you professionalize the payments process and makes it easy to get paid fast and seamlessly.
Whether you have teammates you need to pay or you simply just want to maintain a steady cash flow for your business, your invoicing tool should make it easy to collect, accept, and manage payments.
5. Wethos Invoicing
Yep, that's right — Wethos lets freelancers create proposals *and* invoices. In fact, our integrated tools make turning an agreed-upon proposal into a client invoice a seamless experience. With Wethos, you can also level up your invoicing process with advanced features such as requesting a deposit, scheduling invoices, and sending payment reminders to ensure you get paid on time every time.
Price: $12 per month when billed annually or $15 per month when billed monthly.
6. Quickbooks
Quickbooks is software for small businesses to manage accounting, payroll, and taxes. As a freelancer, it can be helpful to have access to invoices within your accounting tool to make tracking your income, expenses, and taxes easy. Quickbooks is a good option if you or your accountant already use it to manage your business finances.
Price: $24 per month when billed annually or $27 per month when billed monthly.
7. Wave
If you’re just getting started with freelancing, Wave is a good option. The money management tool offers a free, user-friendly platform that makes it easy to send invoices and get paid.
Price: Wave’s invoicing and accounting features are free, but additional features such as payroll start at $20 per month.
8. Zoho
Zoho is another great option if you’re new to freelancing or pursuing it as a side hustle. The free online invoicing tool includes built-in time tracking, making it convenient if you need to track billable hours for your clients. Zoho also offers multiple languages and currencies which makes it a great option if you work with clients around the world.
Price: Free
Looking for an all-in-one tool for your freelance business? Explore the new and improved Wethos Pro.
Best Payments Tools for Freelancers
To complete your financial tech stack, you also need a payments tool for your freelance business. Payments tools make it easy to accept and collect payments from your clients using secure, fast methods. Here are a few of the best payments tools for freelancers:
9. Wethos Payments
We have to shout out Wethos’ payment features, too. In addition to proposals and invoices, Wethos offers a seamless payments process for both freelancers and clients. Our payments platform allows you to easily and securely accept client payments by credit card or bank transfer with low processing and transaction fees, powered by Stripe and Plaid.
Price: $12 per month when billed annually or $15 per month when billed monthly.
10. PayPal
Best for freelancers who are just getting started, PayPal is a quick and easy way to accept payments from your clients. The benefit of using PayPal is that most people already have an account, so transferring money is convenient and user-friendly.
Price: Free to use, however, each transaction comes with a fee.
11. Xero
Xero is an accounting software for small to medium-sized businesses. If you’re looking for a tool to help manage everything from invoicing to payroll and everything in between, Xero is a great option.
Price: $37 per month
Best Client Communication Tools for Freelancers
Strong communication and client management skills are essential when running a freelance business. From the moment you first connect with a client to the discussions that happen during the discovery stage to the conversations that take place throughout a project, you need tools that make it easy to share updates with clients no matter where they are in the world.
Most freelancing takes place remotely these days, so it’s best to have several tools you can use asynchronously to communicate with your clients, whether you prefer messaging apps or video calls.
Here are some of the best communication tools to add to your freelance tech stack:
12. Google Drive
You most likely use Google Drive for your work already, but it’s also an essential tool for communicating and collaborating with your clients. Whether they need to provide direct feedback in Google Docs or you want to present a report for them in Google Slides, there are plenty of creative ways to use Google Drive for client communication in your freelance business.
Price: Free
13. Zoom
Zoom is essential for taking video calls and meetings which makes it another must-have tool for freelancers. At this point, most people use Zoom, so it’s a convenient way to meet clients where they are whether you want to have a discovery call or check-in meeting.
Price: Zoom’s free plan includes meetings up to 40 minutes long, but if you anticipate longer client meetings in your business then opt for the Pro plan which is $15.99 per month.
14. Slack
If you work with clients across different time zones, it’s important to be able to work asynchronously. To do this easily, add Slack to your freelance tech stack. The Instant messaging tool makes it easy to share quick updates or ideas with your clients if email isn’t your thing.
Price: Free and paid plans that start at $7.25 per month.
15. Loom
Loom is another great collaboration tool for freelancers to use. Loom is a screen recorder and video camera tool that you can use to share video messages or walk-throughs. For example, if you’re wrapping up a project and handing it off to your client, a video walk-through is a visual way to explain the process and share every detail they need to know.
Price: Free and paid plans starting at $12.50 per month.
16. Calendly
If discovery calls are part of your onboarding process, add Calendly to your freelance tech stack. The scheduling platform makes it easy for clients to book time with you based on your calendar availability — which eliminates the back-and-forth emails.
Price: Free and paid plans starting at $8 per month.
Best Project Management Tools for Freelancers
Having an efficient workflow is essential when you’re running a freelance business. You usually have multiple client projects happening at once, all while staying on top of the regular admin, marketing, and accounting that goes into managing a business.
To streamline your workflow and give you more time to focus on the work you love to do, you must have a project management tool in your freelance tech stack. The best project management tools for freelancers offer features that help you organize and manage tasks, collaborate with teammates or clients, and allow you to track project success rates.
Some of the top project management tools for freelancers include:
17. Trello
Trello is a project management tool that organizes your projects onto boards. The boards make it easy to visually organize your tasks and get an overview of your projects or progress. Freelancers can use Trello for internal organization or for each client project.
Price: Free for individuals and paid plans starting at $5 per month.
18. Asana
Asana is a collaborative project management tool that helps break down large projects into smaller tasks. With its cross-functional features, Asana could be a good option for small studios or freelancers who work on teams.
Price: Free and paid plans starting at $10.99 per month.
19. Monday.com
Monday.com is a workflow management tool that makes it easy to organize and track tasks across a team or if you have several projects happening at once — which freelancers often do.
Price: Plans start at $8 per month.
20. Notion
Another great project management and ideas-tracking tool is Notion. The note-taking, productivity, and document-storing app is helpful for brainstorming and creating to-do lists in a creative and visual way.
Price: Free
21. Toggl
To better enhance your efficiency, you should have a sense of how much time you’re spending on certain tasks. If you don’t already, start using a time-tracking tool like Toggl. Toggl has a built-in time tracker that allows you to track and report your billable hours.
Price: Free and paid plans starting at $9 per month.
22. Clockify
Clockify is another time-tracking app freelancers can use to get more insights into what you’re spending the most time on. Clockify creates a visual timesheet that you can look back on, whether you need to report hours to your clients or just want to get a sense of how long certain tasks take you.
Price: Free
Best Website Tools for Freelancers
When you’re just getting started with freelancing, there’s only so long you can go without a proper website. Established freelancers know that a website is one of the first touchpoints in the sales process, so it’s important to make sure you have the right tools and platforms needed to make your website sell for you.
Your freelance website should include your services, pricing, an about page, and work examples to give potential clients a preview of what it’s like to work with you. Additionally, you might also set up your website for lead generation or include a scheduling tool so clients can book a discovery call directly.
Here are some website tools to consider for your freelance business:
23. GoDaddy
If you haven’t set up your freelance website yet, snagging a domain name should be at the top of your list. GoDaddy is the go-to resource for all things website, including searching for and securing a domain name, and website hosting.
Price: Pricing varies depending on whether you’re purchasing a domain or opting for website hosting as well.
24. Squarespace
Once you’re ready to create your website, use a website builder like Squarespace. Thanks to its drag-and-drop editor and visual templates, Squarespace is easy to use, even if you’re not a website designer. The platform also offers all-in-one features like hosting, integrated ecommerce, and built-in marketing.
Price: Plans start at $16 per month.
25. WordPress
WordPress is another popular website builder and content management system (CMS). WordPress includes tons of free website themes and plug-ins so you can create a website that’s unique to the needs and brand of your business.
Price: Free and paid plans starting at $4 per month.
26. Webflow
Looking for a no-code solution? Webflow is a no-code website builder that enables you to design a fully customized website without having to write any code or work with a developer.
Price: Free and paid plans starting at $14 per month.
Best Marketing Tools for Freelancers
Marketing your freelance business is an ongoing effort. Even if you’ve built a strong brand reputation or rely on client referrals, it’s important to continue marketing yourself if you want to stay top of mind and position yourself as an industry expert.
Regularly sharing your work and industry insights on social media is a great way to demonstrate your expertise and become a resource for anyone who wants to learn more about what you do.
Another easy but often overlooked way to market yourself is by making sure your branding is consistent across all of your platforms and client touchpoints like your email signature or on proposals and invoices. Integrating your freelance branding into everything you do ensures that your brand stays top of mind without you having to put in extra effort.
Here are some marketing tools to consider for your freelance business:
27. Mailchimp
If you want to use email marketing to promote your freelance business, add Mailchimp to your tech stack. Mailchimp is an email marketing platform that makes it easy to create and send effective emails. Plus, it’s free for up to 1,000 subscribers.
Price: Free and paid plans starting at $13 per month.
28. Buffer
As a freelancer, you know you need to be active on social media to get in front of potential clients and collaborators, but you don’t have time to spend tweeting or posting on LinkedIn every day. That’s where a tool like Buffer comes in. Buffer is a social media management tool that makes it easy to schedule and publish all of your social media content in one place.
Price: Free to get started and $6 per month for publishing, analytics, and engagement tools for one channel.
29. Linktree
If you have multiple campaigns, services, or assets you want to promote at once, use a freelance tool like Linktree. With Linktree, you can create a custom “link in bio” link that houses multiple links for your freelance business in one place.
Price: Free and paid plans starting at $5 per month.
30. Canva
Canva is a free graphic design tool that you can use to create a range of marketing assets from social media posts to presentations. Canva helps speed up the content creation process so you can spend less time marketing your business but still feel confident in the content you’re sharing.
Price: Free and paid plans starting at $14.99 per month for one person.
The best freelance tools should make your job easier. Whether you’re looking for help with marketing, creating proposals, sending invoices, or collecting payments — or all of the above — there’s a freelance tool out there that can streamline all of these tasks and help you scale your business.
Looking for an all-in-one tool to manage your freelance business? Sign up for Wethos Pro, your freelance co-pilot.