How much does running your business actually cost?

Between project management, invoicing, time tracking, scheduling, contracts, and file storage, the subscriptions add up. But how much, exactly?

Most freelancers and agencies have never tallied it. This calculator does it for you in 60 seconds. Select the tools you use, see your real monthly spend, and find out if there's a simpler way.

Build your tool stack

Select the tools you currently pay for. We'll calculate your total spend.

Project Management

Invoicing & Accounting

CRM & Client Management

Time Tracking

Scheduling & Booking

File Storage & Sharing

Contracts & E-Signatures

Team Communication

Forms & Surveys

Proposals & Quotes

Email Marketing

Design & Collaboration

Team size:

Billing:

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The hidden cost of your tool stack

Beyond the subscription fees, fragmented tools cost you in ways that don't show up on invoices.

Context switching tax

Every time you switch apps, it takes an average of 23 minutes to fully refocus, according to research from UC Irvine. If you switch between tools 10 times a day, that's nearly 4 hours lost to mental recovery time.

Data re-entry

When your time tracker doesn't talk to your invoicing software, you're manually copying hours, risking errors, and losing billable time in the cracks. A study by Harvard Business Review found that workers switch between apps 1,200 times per day on average.

Integration failures

The average small business uses 5+ integrations to connect their tools. Each one is a point of failure, and when Zapier breaks at 11pm before a client deadline, you're on your own.

Security sprawl

8 tools means 8 logins, 8 places where your client data lives, and 8 potential breach points. Most freelancers reuse passwords across apps, compounding the risk.

What the typical freelancer pays

Here's what common tool stacks actually cost, based on 2026 published pricing:

The Photographer's Stack

Tool	What it does	Monthly cost
HoneyBook	CRM, contracts, invoicing	$29
QuickBooks	Accounting	$20
Calendly	Scheduling	$10
Dropbox	File delivery	$9.99
DocuSign	Contracts	$10
Total		$78.99/mo

A photographer paying $79/month on tools spends $948/year. With Plutio Solo at $19/month ($228/year), they save $720/year, enough to buy a new lens.

The Web Developer's Stack

Tool	What it does	Monthly cost
Asana	Project management	$11
FreshBooks	Invoicing	$21
Toggl	Time tracking	$9
Slack	Communication	$7.25
Notion	Docs and wiki	$10
DocuSign	Contracts	$10
Total		$68.25/mo

That's $819/year on tools. With Plutio, you pay $228/year and save $591.

The Marketing Agency (5 people)

Tool	Monthly cost
monday.com (5 users)	$45
QuickBooks	$35
Harvest (5 users)	$55
Calendly (5 users)	$50
Slack (5 users)	$36.25
Dropbox Team	$75
PandaDoc	$19
Total	$315.25/mo

That's $3,783/year. With Plutio Agency at $99/month ($1,188/year), the team saves $2,595/year.

What Plutio replaces

Plutio consolidates the tools you're juggling into one platform. Here's the mapping:

You're paying for...	Plutio gives you...
Asana / monday.com / Trello	Projects and Tasks
QuickBooks / FreshBooks	Invoicing
Toggl / Harvest	Time Tracking
Calendly / Acuity	Scheduling
DocuSign / PandaDoc	Proposals and Contracts
Dropbox / Google Drive	Files
Typeform / Google Forms	Forms
Slack (for clients)	Messenger
Client portals	Client Portal

One login. One bill. One place for everything.

But what if I'm on free tiers?

"I use Trello's free plan, Toggl free, Calendly free. I'm not really paying anything."

Free tiers are designed to get you started, not to run a business. Here's what you're giving up:

Trello Free: No automations, no timeline view, limited power-ups
Toggl Free: No billable rates, no project budgets, limited reporting
Calendly Free: Only 1 event type, no reminders, no integrations
Slack Free: 90-day message history, 10 app integrations

More importantly, free tools don't integrate. You're still manually entering the same data in 5 places.

Your time isn't free

If you're spending 5 hours/week on admin that an all-in-one tool could automate, that's 260 hours/year, worth $13,000+ at $50/hour.

The "free" stack has a cost. It's just hidden in your time instead of your bank statement.

Frequently asked questions

Is Plutio really cheaper than using multiple tools?

For most freelancers and small teams, yes. If you're paying for 3 or more separate tools (project management, invoicing, time tracking, contracts, scheduling), Plutio typically costs 50-70% less than the combined subscriptions, while giving you features that work together natively without integration headaches.

What if I'm using free tiers for most of my tools?

Free tiers are limited by design. They restrict features (no automations, limited storage, capped users) and rarely integrate with each other. The real cost isn't the subscription. It's the hours you spend on manual data entry and switching between apps. If your time is worth $50/hour and you spend 5 hours/week on administrative overhead, that's $13,000/year in hidden costs.

How accurate is this calculator?

We use published pricing from each tool's website as of January 2026. Prices may vary based on promotional offers, legacy plans, or regional pricing. The calculator provides estimates. Your actual savings depend on your specific usage and plan levels.

Which tools does Plutio actually replace?

Plutio consolidates project management (like Asana), invoicing (like QuickBooks), time tracking (like Toggl), proposals and contracts (like PandaDoc), scheduling (like Calendly), file sharing (like Dropbox), and client communication (like Slack). It doesn't replace heavy accounting software for complex bookkeeping or video conferencing tools like Zoom.

What about tools I need that Plutio doesn't replace?

Some tools serve specialized needs Plutio doesn't cover, like Zoom for video calls, full-featured accounting software for complex tax needs, or design tools like Figma. The calculator focuses on operational/administrative tools that Plutio does replace. If you still need one or two specialized tools alongside Plutio, you'll likely still save significantly versus a fragmented stack.

How do I migrate my data from existing tools?

Plutio offers import tools for common platforms and our support team helps with migrations. Most users are fully transitioned within a week. Check our migration guides at /resources for specific tools.

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