ToolGPA report · October 2026 edition
What productivity software costs in 2026
Starting prices, free plans and free trials across 1555 tools in 31 categories, counted from each vendor's own pricing page.
77%
of the 1555 tools are free or have a free plan.
$8.00
a month is the middle starting price, among the 1022 tools that publish a monthly or yearly price in dollars.
$9.99
a month is the middle price among the 365 tools that charge for each person.
$7.50
a month is the middle price among the 657 tools that charge one price.
61%
of published starting prices are under $10 a month.
Counted from 1555 listings, each read from the vendor’s own pages up to Oct 9, 2026. toolgpa.com/reports/software-pricing
01
Most tools can be tried without paying
1190 of the 1555 tools are free or have a free plan, and 218 of those have no paid plan at all. A further 326 have no free plan but offer a free trial. That leaves 39, or 3%, that ask for payment before you can use them.
Free plans are most common in Browsers, File Storage & Sync and Journaling Apps and least common in CRM Software, Email Apps and AI App Builders.
- Browsers100%
- File Storage & Sync100%
- Journaling Apps94%
- AI Research Tools93%
- Habit Trackers91%
- Forms & Surveys89%
- Password Managers88%
- AI Assistants84%
- Whiteboards & Mind Maps84%
- Read Later & Bookmarks84%
- Note-Taking Apps84%
- Team Communication82%
- To-Do List Apps82%
- Spreadsheets & Databases82%
- Focus Apps82%
- Calendar & Scheduling82%
- Screen Recording & Video79%
- Presentations79%
- Automation78%
- Docs & Wikis73%
- Project Management72%
- Daily Planner Apps70%
- Desktop Utilities68%
- Voice Dictation68%
- AI Agents67%
- AI Meeting Notes67%
- Writing Tools66%
- Time Tracking65%
- AI App Builders63%
- Email Apps58%
- CRM Software41%
02
What a paid plan starts at
Half of the 1022 published starting prices are below $8.00 a month and half are above. 624 of them, 61%, are under $10, and 37 start at $50 or more.
A starting price is the lowest paid price a vendor shows, usually for its smallest plan billed yearly. It is what it costs to get past the free plan, not what a typical customer pays.
- 313Under $5
- 311$5 to $9.99
- 232$10 to $19.99
- 129$20 to $49.99
- 37$50 and over
03
Per person or one price
365 of the priced tools charge for each person who uses them, and 657 charge one price. The two should not be read as one list: the middle per-person price is $9.99 a month, and a team of ten pays ten times that, while the middle flat price is $7.50.
By category, the middle starting price is highest in Forms & Surveys, CRM Software and AI Agents and lowest in Habit Trackers, Password Managers and Desktop Utilities. Categories sold to teams sit at the top and apps for one person at the bottom.
- Forms & Surveys$24.00
- CRM Software$23.50
- AI Agents$21.25
- AI App Builders$19.00
- Automation$19.00
- Docs & Wikis$13.00
- AI Assistants$11.99
- AI Meeting Notes$10.00
- AI Research Tools$10.00
- Screen Recording & Video$10.00
- Presentations$9.99
- Spreadsheets & Databases$9.00
- Voice Dictation$8.33
- Whiteboards & Mind Maps$8.33
- Writing Tools$8.16
- Project Management$8.00
- Email Apps$8.00
- Browsers$7.67
- Team Communication$7.00
- Time Tracking$6.67
- Calendar & Scheduling$6.00
- Note-Taking Apps$5.83
- Daily Planner Apps$5.50
- File Storage & Sync$5.00
- Journaling Apps$4.17
- To-Do List Apps$3.99
- Focus Apps$3.99
- Read Later & Bookmarks$3.17
- Desktop Utilities$2.99
- Password Managers$2.99
- Habit Trackers$2.92
04
The highest and lowest starting prices
These are the tools at each end, with the price as their own pricing page states it. A high starting price usually means the vendor sells to companies and has no small plan.
- ZenphiAutomation · $600 / month for Pro on Google Cloud Marketplace (not shown on zenphi.com)
- KeapCRM Software · $299 / month for 2 users, billed monthly ($2,988 billed annually)
- HelpjuiceDocs & Wikis · $249 per month for 30 users
- WhaleDocs & Wikis · $249 per month, billed yearly ($399 billed monthly)
- BlueSpiceDocs & Wikis · $1,620 per year for up to 25 users, cloud-hosted (about $5.40 per user / month)
- Tasks.orgTo-Do List Apps · $0.99 per year (name-your-price subscription)
- NiniteDesktop Utilities · $1 per machine / year (Nintune); Ninite Pro starts at $1 per machine / month
- JorteCalendar & Scheduling · $3.99 per year for Jorte Plus
- aTextDesktop Utilities · $4.99 for a one-year Personal license
- CampfireWriting Tools · $0.50 per month for one module; $12 per month for all modules (Standard)
Every category
| Category | Tools | Free or free plan | No paid plan | Free trial | Middle price a month | Per person | One price | No public price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI Meeting Notes | 48 | 67% | 0% | 69% | $10.00 | $12.50 | $8.33 | 0% |
| AI Assistants | 58 | 84% | 10% | 22% | $11.99 | – | $11.99 | 10% |
| AI Agents | 52 | 67% | 8% | 33% | $21.25 | $25.00 | $20.00 | 6% |
| AI Research Tools | 28 | 93% | 14% | 14% | $10.00 | $12.00 | $10.00 | 11% |
| AI App Builders | 27 | 63% | 0% | 41% | $19.00 | – | $19.00 | 0% |
| Voice Dictation | 28 | 68% | 18% | 43% | $8.33 | $10.13 | $8.33 | 0% |
| Note-Taking Apps | 147 | 84% | 24% | 38% | $5.83 | $6.00 | $5.00 | 0% |
| Writing Tools | 68 | 66% | 12% | 57% | $8.16 | – | $8.00 | 1% |
| Docs & Wikis | 52 | 73% | 10% | 54% | $13.00 | $11.50 | $18.00 | 8% |
| Whiteboards & Mind Maps | 31 | 84% | 13% | 52% | $8.33 | $9.00 | $7.50 | 0% |
| Spreadsheets & Databases | 22 | 82% | 5% | 73% | $9.00 | $10.00 | $6.00 | 0% |
| Presentations | 24 | 79% | 4% | 54% | $9.99 | $10.00 | $8.97 | 4% |
| To-Do List Apps | 124 | 82% | 24% | 38% | $3.99 | $7.50 | $3.13 | 0% |
| Daily Planner Apps | 70 | 70% | 6% | 61% | $5.50 | – | $5.00 | 1% |
| Calendar & Scheduling | 76 | 82% | 18% | 59% | $6.00 | $7.00 | $4.99 | 0% |
| Email Apps | 52 | 58% | 8% | 67% | $8.00 | $14.00 | $5.00 | 2% |
| Project Management | 76 | 72% | 4% | 83% | $8.00 | $8.00 | – | 0% |
| CRM Software | 46 | 41% | 0% | 93% | $23.50 | $24.00 | $11.00 | 2% |
| Team Communication | 34 | 82% | 6% | 65% | $7.00 | $7.00 | – | 9% |
| Automation | 41 | 78% | 7% | 61% | $19.00 | – | $19.99 | 5% |
| Forms & Surveys | 28 | 89% | 0% | 54% | $24.00 | $26.25 | $24.00 | 0% |
| Focus Apps | 66 | 82% | 15% | 53% | $3.99 | – | $4.49 | 0% |
| Time Tracking | 43 | 65% | 7% | 84% | $6.67 | $5.83 | $7.50 | 2% |
| Habit Trackers | 44 | 91% | 7% | 39% | $2.92 | – | $2.92 | 2% |
| Journaling Apps | 36 | 94% | 19% | 58% | $4.17 | – | $4.17 | 3% |
| Read Later & Bookmarks | 37 | 84% | 22% | 43% | $3.17 | – | $3.33 | 3% |
| Screen Recording & Video | 53 | 79% | 8% | 51% | $10.00 | $13.00 | $9.99 | 2% |
| Desktop Utilities | 94 | 68% | 39% | 44% | $2.99 | $2.50 | $2.99 | 1% |
| Browsers | 16 | 100% | 44% | 31% | $7.67 | – | $7.67 | 0% |
| Password Managers | 17 | 88% | 24% | 59% | $2.99 | – | $3.00 | 0% |
| File Storage & Sync | 17 | 100% | 6% | 47% | $5.00 | – | $4.87 | 0% |
| All categories | 1555 | 77% | 14% | 52% | $8.00 | $9.99 | $7.50 | 2% |
How this was counted
- A starting price is the lowest paid price a vendor shows, as recorded on each tool's listing with the page it was read from.
- Yearly prices are divided by twelve. A price counts as per person when the vendor states it per user, seat, member, editor or agent; every other price counts as one price.
- One-time purchases, prices in other currencies and prices with no stated period are left out of the middle prices. A group needs at least 5 priced tools to get one.
- The middle price is the median: half the priced tools start below it and half above.
These figures describe the 1555 tools listed on ToolGPA, not every product on the market. They are counted again whenever a listing changes; this is the October 2026 edition. You may quote them with a link to this report.