50 Top Apps, SaaS Solutions, Services and Sites for Startups
Photo by Magda Ehlers from Pexels.
I hope you find this list helpful - I'm John Gauch, a consultant with extensive experience in business operations and growth. I specialize in helping startups implement both strategies effectively. As a fractional COO, I work with founders and CEOs through each step, tailoring solutions to your unique needs and objectives.
Updated May 30, 2025.
What started as a list of 50 startup apps has grown well past that figure, and I’ll keep adding to it.
I personally don’t find those lists or infographics of every possible option for a problem super useful. I don’t need another time-sucking To Do, to evaluate all of the choices. I want to know what’s a reasonably safe bet, get started with it and turn back to the business of growing my company.
With regard to each product on my list, I've either used it, and I recommend it, or someone I know and trust has used it, and they recommended it to me. The list is biased toward Seed to Series A companies because that’s where I spend most of my time, although it includes some products for brand-new companies (drawn from the venture studio work I do).
That said, feedback is invited—if you feel like something should be added, or if you have used one of the products and had a negative experience. Email me and let me know.
I don’t mention project management tools (e.g., Asana, ClickUp, Monday, Trello) because everyone seems to have a favorite, and they all seem reasonably decent. I use Trello for my personal task tracking. I wouldn’t spin too long trying to ascertain which one of them is “best.”
Again, if your choice of a new web app (etc.) to add to your startup’s tech stack is not going to make or break your business, don’t over-index on it. Do some quick research. Get together a couple or a few ideas. Do a brief analysis. Pick one and turn back to the activities that are going to be far more impactful on your organization and its success.
That’s the benefit of having a list like this. I hope it helps.
Top Startup Tools
| Product | Description | Other Options | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Password | Password management and security | |||
| Ahrefs | Ahrefs for SEO analysis and backlinks; AlsoAsked for keyword analysis on competitors and search term difficulty | Semrush | Also Asked | |
| Airtable | Collaborative work management | |||
| Amazon AWS | Cloud computing | |||
| Apollo | List building from search critera. Send sequences. Consider checking out new kind on the block Unify. Fiber AI is the same idea but for recruiting | Unify | Fiber AI | |
| Arc Tech | Treasury services | |||
| Bill.com | Billing and financial automation | |||
| Brandpad | Brand development and management | |||
| Brixx | Financial forecasting and planning software | |||
| Carta | Equity management and valuation, but watch the latest news about them | Pulley | ||
| ChatGPT | ChatGPT remains my go-to GAI tool. I list Perplexity but have heard mix reports recently | Claude | Perplexity | |
| Clay | Import lists and enrich them (more options than Apollo). Consider also checking out newcomer Unify | Unify | ||
| Clerky | Legal and compliance solutions (company setup) | |||
| Clockify | Time tracking | |||
| DailyBot | Slack stand-ups | |||
| Deel | Global payroll and compliance. Deel is an EOR that recently purchased a PEO | |||
| DocSend | Document sharing and tracking (for a fundraising, DocSend + Dropbox or Google Drive + Google Sheets for tracking) | |||
| Docusign | Electronic contracts | |||
| Fathom | AI notetakers | Granola.ai | Fellow.app | |
| Expensify | Expense management and tracking | Tentative: Float (Canada) | ||
| Figma | Design and prototyping | |||
| Flowster | Workflow automation and processes | |||
| Freshworks | Customer engagement and support software | Zendesk | ||
| GitHub | Software Engineering version control and collaborative software | |||
| Google Analytics | Website analysis | Hotjar | ||
| Google Workspace | Collaboration and productivity tools (email, storage, etc.) | Dropbox (storage only) | ||
| Grammarly | Communication assistant including AI support | |||
| Greenhouse | Recruiting and applicant tracking | Breezy | Recruitee | |
| Guideline | 401(k) providers | Human Interest | ||
| Gumloop | AI-driven workflows; AI agents/operators | Lindy AI | ||
| Gusto | Payroll, benefits, and HR services | Humi (Canada) | Rippling | |
| Hubspot | Customer relations management (CRM). To include LinkedIn in your sequences, try Dripify | Dripify | ||
| Indinero | Bookkeeping service. The Bench recommendation is tentative | Bench | ||
| Intercom | Customer messaging and support | |||
| Jenkins | Open-source automation server for continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) | |||
| KnowBe4 | Security traininig | |||
| Linear | Issue tracking and project management | |||
| Loom | Video messaging | |||
| Luma | Event registration and management | |||
| Mercury | Banking for startups and businesses. Consider Mercury credit card too | Bluevine | ||
| Microsoft Azure | Cloud computing platform | |||
| Microsoft 365 | Productivity apps (still use them as good as Google is) | |||
| Miro | Online collaborative whiteboard | Excalidraw | ||
| NeverBounce | Stand-alone email deliverability solution | |||
| Newfront | Insurance brokerage | Founder Shield | ||
| Notion | Collaborative workspace for your organization, with built-in AI support | |||
| Okta | Identity and access management | |||
| PaperStreet | Investor updates | |||
| Pave | Compensation information for startups | |||
| PitchBook | Data and research for private investments | |||
| Quickbooks | Cloud accounting software. Also hearing increasingly about Campfire in this category | Xero | ||
| Rippling | HR PEO | Justworks | ||
| Ramp | Corporate card and services. Brex may not be an option for smaller startups | American Express | Brex | |
| Scribe | Creation of SOPs and internal documentation | |||
| Secureframe | Compliance and security automation | |||
| Segment | Customer data platform | |||
| Secureframe | Compliance and security automation | |||
| Slack | Team messaging | |||
| Stripe | Online payment processing and business tools | |||
| Supernormal | AI tool for meetings | |||
| User Interviews | Customer research | |||
| VPM | Virtual mailbox | |||
| Vouch | Business insurance. Also Embroker | Zen Insurance (Canada) | Hiscox | |
| Voxer | Team audio messaging | |||
| Webflow | Website design and development | |||
| WeWork | Co-working (in bankruptcy but still operating) | |||
| Wise | Foreign exchange | |||
| Wordsmith | I am looking at these AI legal tools now | Pincites | ||
| Yubico | Hardware security keys | |||
| Zoom | Video conferencing |
While the companies aren’t vetted, another interesting place to search for potentially valuable services is the Y Combinator community of companies.
If you’re a startup CEO or founder, and you feel it would be interesting to chat, I’d love to connect. Learn about my services and please reach out.