10 Best Free Apps for Small Business Owners

Running a small business means wearing multiple hats. Fortunately, you have experience doing more with less and adapting on the fly. Now, you need the right tools to help you run your business successfully. For small business owners with limited resources—whether it’s time, budget or expertise—free business apps can be helpful tools in your belt.

The right technology can help you manage projects, process payments and connect with customers. But you don’t need an enterprise-sized IT budget. Many of today’s most powerful small business apps are free. From communication platforms that keep your team connected to finance apps that help you manage cash flow, let’s look at 10 of the best free apps for small business owners.

How to choose the best apps for your business

There are tons of free business apps out there. Before you start downloading, think about what you need. Start by identifying your biggest daily challenges. Are you spending too much time on email? Struggling to keep track of projects? Having trouble staying organized? Look for apps that solve real problems. 

The best business apps can help you save time, stay organized and make it easier to connect with customers. They should also be simple enough that you and your team can start using them right away. 

Here are a few things to consider when picking apps for your business:

• Ease of use: If it takes hours to learn, it’s probably not worth your time.
• Integration: Choose apps that work well with the tools you’re already using.
• Scalability: Pick apps with built-in features that can grow with your business.
• Security: Make sure an app meets basic security standards.

10 best free apps for small business owners

These apps cover the core areas where most small businesses need help: communication, project management, payments and marketing. Each one offers solid functionality without charging upfront costs, though some have paid upgrades if you need extra features.

1. Best free communication app: Slack

Slack keeps your team connected without cluttering your inbox. Instead of sending endless emails back and forth, this cloud-based app allows you to create different channels for specific projects, departments or topics. Your team can share files, make quick decisions and stay updated on what everyone is working on.

The platform works especially well for remote teams or businesses with multiple locations. You can send direct messages, make voice calls and even share your screen during conversations. Everything gets saved automatically, so you can always go back and find important information.

How free is it? Slack is free for small teams, but you’ll only see the most recent 10,000 messages in your history. If you need more storage or advanced features, paid plans are available.

2. Best free project management app: Asana

Asana helps you break down complex projects into manageable tasks and keep track of deadlines. You can assign work to team members, set due dates and see what needs to happen next. The visual layout makes it easy to spot bottlenecks before they become problems.

The app offers different views depending on how you like to work. You can see tasks in a simple list, organize them on a board like sticky notes or view everything on a timeline. This flexibility means your whole team can use the same tool even if they have different working styles.

How free is it? Asana is completely free for teams with fewer than 15 members. Once you grow beyond that or need advanced features like custom fields and reporting, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

3. Best free payment processing app: Heartland Mobile Pay

Heartland transforms your smartphone or tablet into a secure, full-service, point-of-sale system—so you can run your business from anywhere. Accept all major payment types, including credit, debit and digital wallets, and process online transactions with ease. Need to invoice a customer? Send polished, professional bills and track payments in real time.

Stay on top of your business with built-in inventory tools and intuitive sales reporting. See what’s selling, monitor daily revenue and manage online orders—all from one streamlined dashboard. With actionable insights at your fingertips, you can make smarter decisions about staffing, stock and strategy. 

How free is it? While the Heartland app is free to download and use, you’ll pay processing fees for each transaction. These fees are competitively priced—typically 2.6% plus 10 cents for card-present payments.

4. Best free design app: Canva

Canva makes it easy to create professional-looking graphics without design experience. The platform offers thousands of templates for social media posts, flyers, business cards, presentations and more. You can customize colors, fonts and images to match your brand.

The drag-and-drop interface means you can create marketing materials in minutes instead of hours. Canva also includes an extensive library of stock photos, icons and graphics that you can use in your designs. This can save you from having to buy expensive stock imagery or hire a designer for basic marketing needs.

How free is it? Canva’s free plan gives you access to hundreds of thousands of templates and design elements. Some premium templates, photos and features require a paid subscription, but the free version provides plenty of options for most small businesses.

5. Best free marketing app: Mailchimp

Mailchimp helps you build and manage email marketing campaigns. You can create professional-looking newsletters, send promotional emails and track how many people open and click on your messages. The platform includes templates that make it easy to design emails that look good on both computers and mobile devices.

The app also helps you organize your customer list and send targeted messages to specific groups. You can segment customers based on their purchase history, location or interests. This means you can send more relevant messages that are more likely to get results.

How free is it? Mailchimp’s free plan lets you send up to 12,000 emails per month to up to 2,000 contacts. The free version focuses primarily on email marketing, though paid plans include additional features like advanced analytics and automation tools.

6. Best free storage and sharing app: Evernote

Evernote works like a digital filing cabinet for your business. You can store notes, documents, photos and webpages all in one place. The app makes it easy to organize information by project or category, and its search function helps you find what you need quickly.

The platform excels at sharing information with colleagues and collaborating on projects. You can share notebooks with team members, leave comments on documents and work together on notes in real time. This can help make it easier to keep everyone on the same page without sending files back and forth.

How free is it? Evernote’s free plan includes 60MB of new uploads per month and syncs across 2 devices. While this might seem limited, it's usually enough for storing text notes, documents and occasional images for small businesses just getting started.

7. Best free customer relationship management (CRM) app: HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM helps you organize all your customer information in one place, so you can focus on managing customer relationships. You can track contact details, record conversations and see the complete history of your interactions with each customer. The platform automatically logs emails and calls, so you don't have to worry about forgetting important details.

The app also helps you manage your sales pipeline by tracking deals from initial contact to closing. You can see which prospects are most likely to buy, what stage each deal is in and how much revenue you're expecting. This visibility helps you focus your time on the opportunities that matter most.

How free is it? HubSpot CRM is completely free and has no user limits. You get contact management, deal tracking, email integration and basic reporting. The company makes money from its paid marketing and sales tools, but the core CRM functionality remains free forever.

8. Best free social media scheduling app: Buffer

Buffer is a leading social media management tool that lets you plan and schedule social media posts across multiple platforms from one dashboard. Instead of logging into Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn separately, you can create all your posts in Buffer and schedule them to go live at optimal times.

Buffer helps you maintain an active social media presence by allowing you to schedule posts in advance. The app also includes basic analytics that show you which posts get the most engagement. You can see what types of content your audience responds to best and adjust your strategy accordingly. Buffer’s AI assistant can even help generate content ideas and optimize posting times.

How free is it? Buffer’s free plan lets you connect up to 3 social accounts and schedule up to 10 posts per account. You'll need a paid plan for more accounts or advanced features.

9. Best free live chat app: Tawk.to

Tawk.to adds a chat widget to your website so customers can ask questions in real time. You can see who's visiting your site, monitor which pages they’re looking at and start conversations when someone seems like they might need help. This proactive approach can help turn website visitors into customers.

The platform offers both automated and manual chat options. You can set up automatic responses to common questions or jump in personally when someone needs more detailed help. The app also works on mobile devices, so you can respond to customers even when you’re away from your desk.

How free is it? Tawk.to is completely free with unlimited agents and chat volume. The company makes money by offering paid services like removing their branding or providing phone support, but the core chat functionality costs nothing.

10. Best free accounting app: Wave

Wave handles essential accounting tasks like invoicing, expense tracking and financial reporting. You can create professional invoices, track what customers owe you and categorize business expenses for tax time. The app also generates basic financial reports that help you understand your cash flow.

The platform connects to your bank account to automatically import transactions, which can save you time on data entry. You can also take photos of receipts with your phone, and Wave will store them with the related expense. This makes it much easier to stay organized throughout the year.

How free is it? Wave’s invoicing and accounting features are completely free. The company charges fees for additional services like payroll processing and payment processing, but you can handle your basic bookkeeping without paying anything.

Navy Federal Credit Union is here to support your business

Smart technology choices are only the beginning of building something that lasts. As your business grows, you’ll need the support of a financial partner you can rely on.

Navy Federal also offers business banking solutions designed for Servicemembers and Veterans. From no-fee business checking to credit cards that help manage cash flow, you can manage your business’ finances in our free banking app.^{Footnote 1} And, we offer resources on business growth strategies and year-end financial planning.

Building a successful business takes the right financial foundation. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, solopreneur or business owner, let us help you create that foundation so you can focus on growing.