Find clients, deliver great work, get paid on time. Six tools to run a solo freelance business or small agency, without the overhead.
Notion
StripeFind work, manage projects, present, schedule, invoice, get paid.
A freelance marketplace that charges zero commission. Build a portfolio, find clients, and keep 100% of your earnings. Clean interface, curated opportunities, and built-in contracts.
Largest marketplace, more clients, more competition
The biggest freelance marketplace. Higher volume of jobs but 10% commission and fierce competition. Good for getting your first 3-5 clients, then move to direct relationships.
Best for productised services
Turn your skill into a fixed-price "gig" that clients can buy instantly. 20% commission but great for building volume. Best for design, writing, and video editing.
Paid — The CRM. Enterprise beast that does everything. Also costs everything. You'll ne...
The CRM. Enterprise beast that does everything. Also costs everything. You'll need it eventually if you go enterprise. Try Salesforce →
Freemium — CRM inside Gmail. Pipeline management without leaving your inbox. Simple, effect...
CRM inside Gmail. Pipeline management without leaving your inbox. Simple, effective, and free for solo users. Try Streak →
Paid — CRM built for Google Workspace. If your team lives in Gmail and Google Calendar,...
CRM built for Google Workspace. If your team lives in Gmail and Google Calendar, Copper fits like a glove. Try Copper →
Free — Open-source CRM. Self-hostable Salesforce alternative with a modern UI. Early bu...
Open-source CRM. Self-hostable Salesforce alternative with a modern UI. Early but promising. For teams that want to own their data. Try Twenty →
Paid — Cold email at scale. Unlimited email accounts, warmup, and sending. The growth h...
Cold email at scale. Unlimited email accounts, warmup, and sending. The growth hacker's outbound machine. Aggressive but effective. Try Instantly →
Client workspace, project tracker, proposal templates, meeting notes, and a CRM, all in one. Share pages with clients for async collaboration. Templates for every freelance workflow.
More structured project management
If you need time tracking, Gantt charts, and resource management built in. Generous free tier. Better for agency-scale work with multiple team members.
Dead-simple Kanban boards
If Notion feels too complex. Drag-and-drop cards: Lead → Proposal → Active → Complete → Paid. Free and visual. Many freelancers start here.
Accept payments from anywhere in the world. Payment links (no code), subscriptions for retainers, and instant payouts. The gold standard for freelance payments.
Universal, everyone has it
Higher fees (3.49% + 49¢) and clunkier UX, but every client already has a PayPal account. Best for international clients who can't use Stripe.
Cheapest international transfers
If you work with international clients, Wise's multi-currency accounts and low FX fees save hundreds per year. Get paid in USD, EUR, GBP with local account details.
Free - Africa's Stripe. Clean API, solid dashboard, handles local payment methods. Buil...
Africa's Stripe. Clean API, solid dashboard, handles local payment methods. Building for African markets? Non-negotiable. Try Paystack →
Free - Pan-African payments gateway. Supports 150+ currencies. Less polished than Payst...
Pan-African payments gateway. Supports 150+ currencies. Less polished than Paystack but broader reach across the continent. Try Flutterwave →
Free - Payments for physical and online businesses. Hardware + software + banking. The ...
Payments for physical and online businesses. Hardware + software + banking. The all-in-one play for retail. Try Square →
Free - India's payment infrastructure. UPI, cards, wallets, subscriptions. If you're bu...
India's payment infrastructure. UPI, cards, wallets, subscriptions. If you're building for the Indian market, it's this or bust. Try Razorpay →
Free - Monetisation for open-source and digital creators. Subscriptions, sponsorships, ...
Monetisation for open-source and digital creators. Subscriptions, sponsorships, digital products. GitHub Sponsors alternative. Try Polar →
Stop the "when are you free?" email chain. Share a link, clients pick a time, it's in both calendars. Buffer between meetings, timezone handling, and intake forms built in.
Open-source Calendly alternative
Everything Calendly does, but open-source. Self-host for free or use their cloud. More customisable. Growing fast among indie developers.
More polished, overlay your calendar
Clients can overlay their calendar on top of yours to find mutual free slots. Premium feel. $12/mo, worth it once you're doing 10+ meetings/week.
Freemium — You know what this is. Everyone has it, it always works, and the free tier is en...
You know what this is. Everyone has it, it always works, and the free tier is enough for most meetings. The default. Try Zoom →
Freemium — AI meeting notes that actually capture what was said. Real-time transcription, s...
AI meeting notes that actually capture what was said. Real-time transcription, summaries, action items. Never take notes again. Try Otter.ai →
Freemium — AI meeting assistant. Records, transcribes, summarises, and integrates with your...
AI meeting assistant. Records, transcribes, summarises, and integrates with your CRM. Like Otter but more enterprise-focused. Try Fireflies.ai →
Freemium — Event hosting platform. Beautiful event pages, RSVPs, reminders, and calendar sy...
Event hosting platform. Beautiful event pages, RSVPs, reminders, and calendar sync. Eventbrite for the modern internet. Try Luma →
Paid — Async-first team communication. Posts, threads, calls — but designed for deep wo...
Async-first team communication. Posts, threads, calls — but designed for deep work, not constant interruption. Slack antidote. Try Campsite →
Record your screen + face in 2 minutes instead of writing a 20-minute email. Project updates, walkthroughs, and feedback, async, personal, and efficient. Clients love it.
More polished videos with editing
Like Loom but with built-in editing, transitions, and layout options. Creates more professional-looking walkthroughs. Great for proposals and client onboarding.
Real-time messaging for active projects
For ongoing retainer clients, a shared Slack channel keeps communication instant and organised. Free tier works fine for 1-3 clients.
Professional invoices, expense tracking, and basic accounting, completely free. No limits on invoices or clients. Generates financial reports for tax time. The best free invoicing tool, period.
Best UX, invoicing that feels premium
Gorgeous invoices, time tracking, and project profitability reports. $17/mo but saves hours on admin. Worth it once you're billing $5K+/month.
Full accounting if you're scaling to agency
More than invoicing, full double-entry accounting, payroll, bank reconciliation. $13/mo. Choose this when you need an accountant to review your books.
Set up a professional freelance business with scheduling, invoicing, and client management
Notion
Stripe
Calendly
Loom
Canva
Build your freelance workspace in Notion
Set up Calendly for discovery calls
Create proposal templates in Canva
Configure Stripe for invoicing and payments
Use Loom for async client communication
Every tool pre-configured, setup order mapped out, integrations documented. Skip weeks of research.
Set up these tools today and land your first client this week.
