SoftCrit Research · Statistics · First-party data
Software pricing statistics 2026: 84 tools we ran ourselves
Every figure on this page is computed from our own hands-on dataset across 9 business-software categories — the lowest recurring paid tier, free-plan availability, and the five-dimension scores we assign after testing. These are not scraped third-party ratings. The full per-product data is downloadable below and free to reuse with attribution.
Matthew Hu, Founder & Lead Reviewer · Data verified October 30, 2026 · Next update January 2027
Headline statistics
84
Business tools tested hands-on
$18
Median entry price / month
$19.743
Mean entry price / month
50%
Tools with a free plan (42/84)
$5–$97
Verified entry-price range
9
Categories benchmarked
4.1
Average overall score (out of 5)
Features
Strongest score driver (r=0.68)
Source: SoftCrit first-party hands-on testing of 84 tools, verified October 30, 2026.
Median entry price by category
Email Tools$10
Task & Time-Blocking$10
Freelance Business Management$12.5
Studio Management$14.95
Accounting & Invoicing$15
AI Video$19
Client Portals$19
Coaching Business Software$22.5
AI App Builders$25
Figure 1. Monthly median of the lowest paid tier, USD.Cite: SoftCrit (2026)
Source: SoftCrit first-party hands-on testing of 84 tools, verified October 30, 2026.
Free-plan availability by category
Email Tools5/10 (50%)
Task & Time-Blocking1/10 (10%)
Freelance Business Management4/7 (57%)
Studio Management2/5 (40%)
Accounting & Invoicing5/9 (56%)
AI Video12/13 (92%)
Client Portals3/10 (30%)
Coaching Business Software1/8 (12%)
AI App Builders9/9 (100%)
Figure 2. Share of tools with a genuinely usable free tier.Cite: SoftCrit (2026)
Source: SoftCrit first-party hands-on testing of 84 tools, verified October 30, 2026.
Which dimension best predicts the overall score
Featuresr=0.68
Integrationsr=0.57
Supportr=0.54
Value for moneyr=0.49
Ease of user=0.42
Figure 3. Pearson correlation with the overall score across 84 scored reviews; association, not causation.Cite: SoftCrit (2026)
Source: SoftCrit first-party hands-on testing of 84 tools, verified October 30, 2026.
Category statistics table
| Category | Tools | Free | Median | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Email Tools | 10 | 5 | $10 | $5 | $25 |
| Task & Time-Blocking | 10 | 1 | $10 | $5 | $20 |
| Freelance Business Management | 7 | 4 | $12.5 | $5 | $29 |
| Studio Management | 5 | 2 | $14.95 | $7 | $22.49 |
| Accounting & Invoicing | 9 | 5 | $15 | $5.5 | $49 |
| AI Video | 13 | 12 | $19 | $10 | $28 |
| Client Portals | 10 | 3 | $19 | $8 | $95 |
| Coaching Business Software | 8 | 1 | $22.5 | $9 | $97 |
| AI App Builders | 9 | 9 | $25 | $5 | $39 |
Figure 4. All prices USD per month, lowest recurring paid tier.Cite: SoftCrit (2026)
Source: SoftCrit first-party hands-on testing of 84 tools, verified October 30, 2026.
Full per-product dataset
| Product | Category | Free | Entry /mo | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| V0 | AI App Builders | Yes | $5 | 4.1 |
| Create Xyz | AI App Builders | Yes | $19 | 3.7 |
| Base44 | AI App Builders | Yes | $20 | 3.7 |
| Replit Agent | AI App Builders | Yes | $20 | 4 |
| Glide | AI App Builders | Yes | $25 | 4.2 |
| Bolt New | AI App Builders | Yes | $25 | 4.2 |
| Lovable | AI App Builders | Yes | $25 | 4.3 |
| Bubble | AI App Builders | Yes | $39 | 4 |
| Flutterflow | AI App Builders | Yes | $39 | 4.1 |
| Veed | AI Video | Yes | $10 | 4.1 |
| Akool | AI Video | Yes | $12 | 4.2 |
| Klap | AI Video | — | $14 | 4 |
| Vizard | AI Video | Yes | $14.5 | 3.8 |
| Descript | AI Video | Yes | $16 | 4.3 |
| Invideo | AI Video | Yes | $17 | 4.1 |
| ClipTalk | AI Video | Yes | $19 | 3.7 |
| Colossyan | AI Video | Yes | $19 | 3.9 |
| Heygen | AI Video | Yes | $20 | 4.4 |
| Synthesia | AI Video | Yes | $22 | 4.5 |
| Elai | AI Video | Yes | $23 | 3.8 |
| Pictory | AI Video | Yes | $25 | 4 |
| Fliki | AI Video | Yes | $28 | 4.2 |
| Xero | Accounting & Invoicing | — | $5.5 | 4.3 |
| Freshbooks | Accounting & Invoicing | — | $6 | 4.2 |
| Zipbooks | Accounting & Invoicing | Yes | $10 | 4.2 |
| Invoice Ninja | Accounting & Invoicing | Yes | $14 | 4.4 |
| Zoho Books | Accounting & Invoicing | Yes | $15 | 4.3 |
| Kashoo | Accounting & Invoicing | Yes | $18 | 4.1 |
| Wave Accounting | Accounting & Invoicing | Yes | $19 | 4.2 |
| Quickbooks Online | Accounting & Invoicing | — | $19 | 4.1 |
| Bill Com | Accounting & Invoicing | — | $49 | 3.9 |
| Ahsuite | Client Portals | — | $8 | 4.5 |
| Engagebay | Client Portals | Yes | $11.04 | 4 |
| Onehub | Client Portals | — | $15 | 3.8 |
| Clientally | Client Portals | — | $19 | 4.3 |
| Suitedash | Client Portals | — | $19 | 4.6 |
| Copilot | Client Portals | Yes | $29 | 4.1 |
| Nimbus Portal | Client Portals | Yes | $39 | 4.1 |
| Clinked | Client Portals | — | $95 | 4.6 |
| Huddle | Client Portals | — | n/a | 4 |
| Kahootz | Client Portals | — | n/a | 4.3 |
| Simply Coach | Coaching Business Software | — | $9 | 3.9 |
| Satori | Coaching Business Software | — | $9 | 4.1 |
| Quenza | Coaching Business Software | — | $20 | 4.2 |
| Coachaccountable | Coaching Business Software | — | $20 | 4.2 |
| Practice Better | Coaching Business Software | Yes | $25 | 4.3 |
| Delenta | Coaching Business Software | — | $29 | 4 |
| Coachvantage | Coaching Business Software | — | $35 | 4 |
| Paperbell | Coaching Business Software | — | $97 | 4.3 |
| Newton | Email Tools | Yes | $5 | 4 |
| Spike | Email Tools | Yes | $6 | 4 |
| Hey | Email Tools | — | $8.25 | 4.1 |
| Polymail | Email Tools | — | $10 | 4 |
| Mailbird | Email Tools | Yes | $10 | 4 |
| Spark | Email Tools | Yes | $10 | 4.2 |
| Aweber | Email Tools | Yes | $12.5 | 4.4 |
| Missive | Email Tools | — | $18 | 4.3 |
| Front | Email Tools | — | $25 | 4.4 |
| Superhuman | Email Tools | — | $25 | 4.3 |
| 17Hats | Freelance Business Management | Yes | $5 | 4 |
| Bonsai | Freelance Business Management | — | $9 | 4.4 |
| Dubsado | Freelance Business Management | Yes | $10 | 4.2 |
| Indy | Freelance Business Management | Yes | $12.5 | 3.9 |
| Hectic | Freelance Business Management | Yes | $16 | 3.8 |
| Agiled | Freelance Business Management | — | $19 | 4 |
| Honeybook | Freelance Business Management | — | $29 | 4.3 |
| Iubenda 2026 | Legal & Compliance | — | n/a | 4.3 |
| Bloom | Studio Management | — | $7 | 3.7 |
| Pixieset | Studio Management | Yes | $10 | 4.3 |
| Iris Works | Studio Management | Yes | $14.95 | 4.1 |
| Sprout Studio | Studio Management | — | $19 | 4 |
| Tave | Studio Management | — | $22.49 | 4 |
| Timehero | Task & Time-Blocking | — | $5 | 3.7 |
| Routine | Task & Time-Blocking | Yes | $5 | 3.9 |
| Timetastic | Task & Time-Blocking | — | $5.5 | 3.2 |
| Skedpal | Task & Time-Blocking | — | $9.95 | 3.8 |
| Morgen | Task & Time-Blocking | — | $10 | 4 |
| Reclaim Ai | Task & Time-Blocking | — | $10 | 4.2 |
| Sunsama | Task & Time-Blocking | — | $17 | 4.4 |
| Motion | Task & Time-Blocking | — | $19 | 4.3 |
| Akiflow | Task & Time-Blocking | — | $19 | 4.2 |
| Amie | Task & Time-Blocking | — | $20 | 3.9 |
| Livechat | Uncategorized | — | $19 | 4.2 |
| Makeforms | Uncategorized | — | $65 | 2.9 |
Figure 5. 84 tools; five-dimension breakdown is in the CSV.Cite: SoftCrit (2026)
Source: SoftCrit first-party hands-on testing of 84 tools, verified October 30, 2026.
Download the data (CSV)
Both files are UTF-8 and open directly in Excel, Google Sheets, or any analysis tool. 84 product rows; 9 category rows.
Methodology
- Entry price = the lowest recurring paid plan in monthly USD, before tax and excluding promo discounts; annual-billed per-month figures are used where that is the only published option.
- Free plan = a permanently available capped tier (watermarks, minute or contact limits). Time-limited free trials are not counted.
- Scores = our own five-dimension ratings from direct hands-on use; not aggregated from G2 or Capterra.
- Median and mean are computed across the 81 tools with a published dollar price; quote-only vendors are excluded.
- Verification: all pricing re-checked against official vendor pages on October 30, 2026.
How to cite this research
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. You may quote and share the figures and charts in articles, reports and decks as long as you credit SoftCrit, link back to this page and indicate any changes. You may not alter the underlying numbers without clearly marking them as changed.
Short attribution (for charts):
Hu, M. (2026). Software pricing statistics 2026: 84 tools tested hands-on. SoftCrit. Retrieved October 30, 2026, from https://softcrit.com/software-pricing-statistics/Short attribution (for charts):
Source: SoftCrit (2026), hands-on testing of 84 business tools. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. https://softcrit.com/software-pricing-statistics/