AI tools for small business, by the task you need done
Eleven tools across nine everyday jobs. Start from the task, then read the free plan, the paid price and the limit that is most likely to catch you out.
A general assistant for the whole team
Drafting, summarising and answering questions, with shared billing and admin controls.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid price | Limits to know | Features named on the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT BusinessOpenAI | No free team plan; the individual Free plan costs nothing chatgpt.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Standard seat US$20/user/month billed annually, US$25 monthly; Premium seat US$100 / US$125. The help centre says pricing may vary by country help.openai.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | For teams of 2 to 200 people chatgpt.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Connects to Google Workspace, Slack, GitHub and Microsoft 365; SAML SSO and MFA; central billing; no training on business data by default chatgpt.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| Claude TeamAnthropic | No free team plan; the individual Free plan is US$0 claude.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Standard seat US$20/seat/month billed annually, US$25 monthly; premium seat US$100 / US$125 claude.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | For teams of 2 to 150 people; usage limits apply claude.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Claude Code, Microsoft 365 integration, enterprise search across your organisation, single sign-on, domain verification claude.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
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ChatGPT BusinessSource: chatgpt.com
- Best for
- A team of two or more that wants one shared workspace with admin controls and a no-training default.Based on: stated limits, listed features
- Not ideal for
- A sole trader: the plan starts at two people.Based on: stated limits
Claude TeamSource: claude.com
- Best for
- Small teams that want search across their own company tools included in the seat.Based on: listed features
- Not ideal for
- A sole trader: the plan starts at two people.Based on: stated limits
AI inside the office suite
Help inside the documents, spreadsheets and mail you already use.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid price | Limits to know | Features named on the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot BusinessMicrosoft | Free trial offered; no free plan listed microsoft.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Add-on from US$18.00/user/month paid yearly (shown reduced from US$21.00). Business Standard with Copilot US$23.50; Business Premium with Copilot US$32.00, both per user/month paid yearly microsoft.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | The add-on needs an existing Microsoft 365 plan; the listed prices are for annual subscriptions microsoft.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Copilot across the Microsoft 365 apps; the Premium bundle adds Intune, Defender and Purview microsoft.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
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Microsoft 365 Copilot BusinessSource: microsoft.com
- Best for
- Businesses already on Microsoft 365 that want AI in the documents and mail they use now.Based on: stated limits, listed features
- Not ideal for
- Businesses that want to pay month to month: the listed prices are annual subscriptions.Based on: stated limits
Writing and email
Clear, correct customer emails and replies.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid price | Limits to know | Features named on the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GrammarlyGrammarly | Yes, US$0/month grammarly.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Pro, US$12 per member per month on annual billing (US$144 for 12 months); the monthly plan is US$30. Enterprise by quote grammarly.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Free: 100 AI prompts a month. Pro: 2,000 AI prompts per member a month. Enterprise: unlimited grammarly.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Spelling and grammar on Free; full-sentence rewrites, tone adjustment, plagiarism and AI-text detection on Pro grammarly.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
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GrammarlySource: grammarly.com
- Best for
- Cleaning up emails and customer replies wherever you already type; the free plan has a stated monthly AI allowance.Based on: stated limits, listed features
- Not ideal for
- Drafting long documents from scratch on the free plan: 100 prompts a month is the cap.Based on: stated limits
Design and social graphics
Posts, flyers and simple brand graphics without a designer.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid price | Limits to know | Features named on the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CanvaCanva | Yes: Canva Free (US$0) includes up to 20 uses a month of Standard or Premium AI tools; no access to Ultra AI tools. canva.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Pro US$144/year for one person; Business US$250/year per person (yearly billing, United States setting). Enterprise by quote canva.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Shared monthly AI allowance across AI tools: Free up to 20 uses; Pro up to 200 Premium uses or 20 Ultra uses; Business up to 400 Premium or 40 Ultra. Trial allowance equals Free. canva.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Pro adds premium content and AI features; an AI Pass add-on is sold for Pro and Business; schools and not-for-profits can get most premium features free canva.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
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CanvaSource: canva.com
- Best for
- Social posts, flyers and simple brand graphics without a designer; there is a free plan to start on.Based on: free plan, listed features
- Not ideal for
- Heavy AI image use on the cheaper plans: the monthly AI allowance is shared across tools and capped.Based on: stated limits
Docs, notes and a shared knowledge base
One place for procedures and project notes.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid price | Limits to know | Features named on the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NotionNotion Labs | Yes, US$0 per member/month notion.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Plus US$10 per member/month; Business US$20 per member/month (the page offers a yearly discount; we did not capture which billing term the listed figures use) notion.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Free and Plus list only a trial of Notion AI. Custom agents: free to try, then US$10 per 1,000 Notion credits notion.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Business adds Notion Agent and AI Meeting Notes; Plus adds unlimited collaborative blocks and file uploads notion.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
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NotionSource: notion.com
- Best for
- Keeping procedures, notes and project lists in one place; the AI features sit on the Business tier.Based on: listed features
- Not ideal for
- Getting ongoing AI on the cheaper tiers: Free and Plus list a trial only.Based on: stated limits
Connecting apps and automating routine steps
Move data between tools without retyping it.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid price | Limits to know | Features named on the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZapierZapier | Yes, US$0/month, described as free forever zapier.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Professional from US$19.99/month; Team from US$69/month; Enterprise by quote. Price rises with the task tier you choose zapier.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Free: 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps only. Multi-step Zaps and webhooks start on Professional. Team includes 25 users zapier.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Zaps, Tables and Forms on every plan; Zapier Copilot on Free; AI fields on Professional zapier.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
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ZapierSource: zapier.com
- Best for
- Passing data between the apps you already use, starting with simple two-step automations at no cost.Based on: free plan, stated limits
- Not ideal for
- Anything beyond a two-step flow on the free plan: multi-step Zaps need Professional.Based on: stated limits
Meeting notes
A written record and summary of client calls.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid price | Limits to know | Features named on the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FirefliesFireflies.ai | Yes, $0, described as free forever fireflies.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 | Pro $18 monthly or $10 per seat/month billed annually; Business $29 or $19 per seat/month billed annually (currency symbol shown as $ only) fireflies.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 | Free: limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team, 20 AI credits. Pro: 8,000 minutes of storage per seat fireflies.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 | Works with Zoom, Google Meet and Teams; transcription in 100+ languages; video recording and downloads from Pro fireflies.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 |
| OtterOtter.ai | Yes, the Basic plan is labelled Free otter.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 | Pro US$16.99/user/month billed monthly, or US$8.33/user/month on the annual plan; Business US$30 monthly or US$19.99 annual. The page states prices are in USD and also showed time-limited discounts, which we left out otter.ai checked 2 Oct 2026 | Basic: 300 transcription minutes a month. Pro: 1,200 minutes, up to 90 minutes per meeting, 10 file imports a month otter.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 | Live transcription and speaker identification on Basic; Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier integrations on Pro otter.ai checked 1 Oct 2026 |
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FirefliesSource: fireflies.ai
- Best for
- Getting a written record of client calls; transcription itself is listed on the free plan.Based on: free plan, stated limits
- Not ideal for
- Keeping a long archive for free: storage is capped at 400 minutes per team.Based on: stated limits
OtterSource: otter.ai
- Best for
- Teams that want published minute allowances to plan against.Based on: stated limits
- Not ideal for
- Meetings that run past 90 minutes on Pro.Based on: stated limits
Customer records and sales follow-up
A shared contact list and deal pipeline.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid price | Limits to know | Features named on the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot CRMHubSpot | Yes, free tools with no credit card required hubspot.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Starter from US$15/month per seat; Professional from US$50/month per seat; Enterprise from US$75/month per seat hubspot.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Free tools are for up to 2 users; 2,000 marketing email sends per calendar month with HubSpot branding; up to 3 email templates per account. Branding is removed from Starter up hubspot.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Free: contact management, deal pipelines, CRM import, Breeze Assistant. The AI customer agent is listed from Professional hubspot.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
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HubSpot CRMSource: hubspot.com
- Best for
- A first shared customer list and deal pipeline at no cost, with an AI assistant included.Based on: free plan, listed features
- Not ideal for
- Getting the AI customer agent cheaply: it is listed from the Professional tier.Based on: listed features, paid price
Website chat and customer support
Answer common questions on your site.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid price | Limits to know | Features named on the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TidioTidio | Yes, $0/month tidio.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Starter $24.17/month; Growth from $49.17/month; Plus from $300/month plus usage. The page has monthly and annual views and we did not capture which one these figures belong to tidio.com checked 2 Oct 2026 | Starter: 100 billable conversations and 50 Lyro AI agent conversations (one-off). Growth: from 250 billable conversations tidio.com checked 1 Oct 2026 | Live chat and ticketing, visitor list and operating hours on Starter; the Lyro AI agent can also be added to other help desks tidio.com checked 1 Oct 2026 |
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TidioSource: tidio.com
- Best for
- A small shop that wants live chat and an AI agent on its website with a stated conversation allowance.Based on: stated limits, listed features
- Not ideal for
- High chat volumes on Starter: it covers 100 billable conversations.Based on: stated limits
Before you pay for any of them
Use the free plan until you hit its limit. Most of these tools tell you the limit up front: prompts a month, tasks a month, minutes of storage. If you never reach it, you do not need the paid plan yet.
Count seats, not just the headline price. Most prices here are per person. Three people on a US$20 seat is US$60 a month.
Check the billing term. Several listed prices are for annual billing, and the monthly price is higher. Where the page did not make the term clear to us, the cell says so.
About the currencies. Vendor pages were read on 1 and 2 October 2026 from a connection in Australia. Where a vendor shows local prices, we took the US-dollar figure from its United States page or its help centre and link to that page. Where we could not read a US-dollar price, the cell says so and names the currency we saw. Prices in other countries can differ.
Comparing assistants rather than task tools? See ChatGPT alternatives.
Questions people ask
Which AI tools can a small business start using for free?
On the pages we read on 1 October 2026, Grammarly, Canva, Notion, Zapier, Fireflies, Otter, HubSpot CRM and Tidio each list a free plan. The limits differ: Grammarly Free has 100 AI prompts a month, Zapier Free has 100 tasks a month, and Fireflies Free stores 400 minutes per team.
What does an AI assistant cost per person for a small team?
ChatGPT Business is listed at US$20 per standard seat a month on annual billing for 2 to 200 people. Claude Team is US$20 per standard seat a month on annual billing for 2 to 150 people. Microsoft 365 Copilot Business starts at US$18 per user a month paid yearly as an add-on to a Microsoft 365 plan.
Do I need a separate AI tool for every task?
No. A general assistant covers drafting and summarising. The task-specific tools earn their place when the work happens somewhere else: in your inbox, your meetings, your website chat or your customer list.
Is my business data used to train the model?
The ChatGPT pricing page says the Business plan does not train on your business data by default. We did not read an equivalent statement for every tool on this page, so check each vendor's data terms before you put customer information in.