Software creeps up on solo businesses. A CRM here, a scheduling tool there, an automation app you signed up for during a free trial and forgot to cancel — none of it feels expensive individually, but the monthly total is often higher than people expect once it’s actually added up. This calculator does that adding up for you.
| Total per month | $0 |
|---|---|
| Total per year | $0 |
| Subscriptions counted | 0 |
What to do once you see the number
Most people running this calculator for the first time find at least one subscription they forgot they were paying for, and at least one more they could downgrade or cancel without actually losing anything they use. Before cutting anything, it’s worth checking whether an annual plan would be cheaper for the tools you’re keeping long-term — most SaaS products discount annual billing by somewhere around 15–20%, which adds up on tools you’re confident you’ll still be using next year.
If you’re deciding between specific tools rather than just tallying what you already pay for, these comparisons cover the categories freelancers spend on most:
- Wave vs FreshBooks, FreshBooks vs QuickBooks, Xero vs QuickBooks (accounting)
- HubSpot vs Zoho CRM (client management)
- Notion vs ClickUp, Trello vs Asana (project management)
- Toggl vs Clockify (time tracking)
- Calendly vs Cal.com (scheduling)
- Zapier vs Make (automation)
- MailerLite vs Kit (email marketing)
And if the total feels too high across the board, best free software for freelancers covers what several of these categories look like with no subscription at all.
How much do freelancers typically spend on software per month?
It varies widely, but it’s common for solo freelancers to be spending more than they realize once accounting, project management, time tracking and other small tools are added together. Running your own numbers through this calculator is more useful than any general average.
Is annual billing always cheaper?
Usually, but only worth it if you’re confident you’ll keep using the tool for the full year, since most annual plans don’t refund unused months if you cancel early.