Independent publication
Software reviews that name the trap before you pay
We research the tools agencies of two to twenty people actually run, check every price against the vendor’s own page, and tell you plainly when a plan is not worth the money.
See this month’s picks How we verify
Pro seat, annual$10verified
Top picks this month
Chosen on verified price, seat rules and exit cost
-
Best overall
AI Meeting Notes for Agencies
Best AI Meeting Notes for Consultants
Four AI meeting note tools compared for consultancies on verified pricing, the free-tier limits that actually bite, and client confidentiality.
-
Best value
SEO Tools for Small Agencies
Is Semrush Worth It for a Small Agency?
The cost maths for Semrush in a small agency, including the website cap on the entry plan that decides which tier you actually need.
-
Free tier
CRM for Agencies and Consultancies
Best Free CRM for Consultants
Which free CRM plans hold up for a consultant, what each one actually limits, and the point where a free tier starts costing you time.
-
Comparison
Email Marketing for Agencies
Kit vs GetResponse for Agencies
Kit and GetResponse compared on verified pricing, included user seats, and how each handles running campaigns for several clients from one account.
Price check
Captured from the vendor’s own pricing page on 2 October 2026
-
Fireflies
$10 per seat/month, Pro, annual Verified -
Otter
$8.33 per user/month, Pro, annual Verified -
Semrush
$117.33 per month, SEO, annual Verified -
HubSpot
$0 free, up to 2 users Verified -
Pipedrive
$14 per seat/month, Lite, annual Verified
Browse by what you are buying
Five categories cover the core software stack of a small firm
-
Category
AI Meeting Notes for Agencies
AI meeting notes are the fastest-moving category in agency software. The plans change constantly, the free tiers hide hard limits, and the pricing that matters is the seat price you will actually pay.
Read the guides
-
Category
SEO Tools for Small Agencies
SEO platforms are the largest single software line item for most small agencies. They are also the one most often bought on reputation rather than need.
Read the guides
-
Category
CRM for Agencies and Consultancies
Most agencies do not have a CRM problem. They have an adoption problem: the pipeline is in a spreadsheet because the CRM was too much work to set up.
Read the guides
-
Category
Invoicing and Bookkeeping for Agencies
Invoicing software is where small agencies discover what their billing model actually costs them. Retainers, deposits and partial payments break simple invoice tools quickly.
Read the guides
-
Category
Email Marketing for Agencies
Agencies use email marketing differently from most businesses: they often need to run campaigns on behalf of clients, which most pricing models do not accommodate.
Read the guides
What makes this site different
Three things, and they are all about accuracy rather than opinion.
- Every price is verified and dated. Each page carries a stamp showing when its pricing was last checked against the vendor. Software pricing changes constantly; an undated review is guesswork.
- We publish the seat maths. A per-seat price means nothing until you multiply it by your team. We show the monthly cost for a realistic small agency, including the hidden seat caps that force an upgrade.
- We recommend against tools. Several pages on this site conclude that you should not buy the product in question. Those pages earn less and are the reason the rest can be trusted.
How to read a review here
Every review opens with a direct answer and a table telling you which tool suits which situation. If you only read the first screen, you will have the recommendation. Everything after it is the evidence, the cost maths and the caveats.
Why this site exists
Most software reviews are written to sell the software. Pricing tables are out of date, free tiers are described generously, and every tool is recommended. We do the opposite.
How we verify
Every price and plan limit is checked against the vendor’s own pricing page on the date stamped on the page. Where a claim comes from documentation rather than our own use, we say so.