Tools··7 min read

The Agency Owner Tech Stack (What We Actually Use in 2026)

I get asked this every week. Here is the complete list of tools my agency uses daily, what each one does, what I pay for them, and the ones I tried and ditched.

Lead generation + outreach

  • LeadHunt ($49/mo) — Google Maps discovery, 29-point audit, CRM, outreach. Replaced Apollo + Hunter + Lusha + separate CRM.
  • Instantly.ai ($50/mo) — Email warm-up and deliverability.
  • Calendly ($15/mo) — Meeting scheduling with Google Cal sync.

Client communication + project management

  • Google Workspace ($12/mo per user) — Email, Drive, Docs, Meet. Industry default for good reason.
  • Notion ($10/mo per user) — Client docs, internal wiki, project tracking, client-facing dashboards.
  • Slack ($7/mo per user) — Team + client channels. Alternative: Discord (free).

Content + design

  • Claude Pro ($20/mo) — Long-form writing, research, strategy. Main workhorse for content.
  • ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo) — Backup AI + image generation.
  • Canva Pro ($13/mo) — Social media graphics, presentations, ad creatives.
  • Figma ($15/mo) — Website mockups, UI design for client deliverables.
  • Grammarly Business ($15/mo) — Client-facing communication polish.

Analytics + SEO

  • Google Analytics 4 (free) — Mandatory for any client site.
  • Google Search Console (free) — SEO monitoring baseline.
  • SemRush Pro ($129/mo) — Keyword research, competitor analysis, rank tracking.
  • PageSpeed Insights / Lighthouse (free) — Core Web Vitals testing.

Finance + ops

  • Stripe (2.9% + 30c per transaction) — Client billing, recurring retainers.
  • Wise Business (free) — International payments (half our clients are outside RO).
  • 1Password Business ($8/mo per user) — Client credential management.

Tools we tried and ditched

  • Apollo.io ($200/mo) — too expensive, missing local business data. Ditched in 2025.
  • HubSpot (free tier used) — too heavyweight for our size. Switched to LeadHunt for CRM.
  • Monday.com ($10/mo per user) — too complex for our needs. Switched to Notion.
  • ClickFunnels ($97/mo) — Overkill for client landing pages. Use Framer or custom Next.js now.

Total monthly cost

~$440-500/month for 6 people using all tools. Roughly 4% of revenue. This has been stable for 8 months. The last tool added was LeadHunt (which replaced 3 other tools, so net decrease of $80/month despite adding functionality).

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum tech stack to start an agency?

Google Workspace ($12/mo), a CRM (LeadHunt $49 or HubSpot free), Zoom or Google Meet (free-$15/mo), Canva Pro ($13/mo), one invoicing tool (Stripe free or Wave free), one time tracker (Toggl free). Total minimum: $100/month. Everything else is optional until you hit specific scale bottlenecks.

How much should an agency spend on tools per month?

3-5% of revenue on tools is healthy. Under 3% and you are probably working too hard manually. Over 7% and you are probably paying for tools you do not use. For a $10k/month agency: $300-500/month on tools is optimal.

Which tools are overhyped for agencies?

Sales Navigator for non-enterprise (overkill), Clay (great tool, but too expensive for under 5 SDRs), HubSpot Enterprise (pay for Starter and save thousands), Monday.com (complicated for what most agencies need), most AI writing tools except Claude and ChatGPT.

Should I build my own tools or use SaaS?

Buy before you build. Only build when a SaaS tool is missing a specific feature you need daily AND you have the technical capacity. I only built LeadHunt because nothing existing solved the local agency workflow at a reasonable price.

Related: One-person agency AI stack · Agency pricing