Starter $8.13/mo (6-month billing, promo); list $20.33 · Free plan: no AI marketer that plans and creates ads, social posts, emails and SEO content from your website. Broader content scope; Soku goes deeper on running paid campaigns.
Holo is aimed at a small business or solo founder who needs regular marketing drafts but has no marketer. Give it a website and it drafts a month of ads, social posts, emails and SEO blogs in the brand voice. Starter's lower price comes with 6-month billing; Scale adds autopilot, analytics and three brand workspaces. We would check the commitment before paying: there is no free trial and refund terms are narrow. Enterprise governance is another reason to look elsewhere. If the content must never train AI, resolve that point in writing first, because Holo's own documents contradict one another.
- All channels in one tool: ads, social, email and SEO from one Brand DNA.
- Approval-first workflow, with optional autopilot on Scale.
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Free; Lite from $49/mo (annual, 1,000 subscribers) · Free plan: yes A newsletter that earns revenue or brings in readers is the use case we would shortlist beehiiv for, rather than a single email inside a sales workflow. The email tool, website, referral program and monetization sit together. Free allows up to 2,500 subscribers and unlimited sends; paid plans start at $49 a month on annual billing for up to 1,000 subscribers. Those are different subscriber thresholds, so check the plan you actually need. For a small business focused on store-linked e-commerce flows, SMS or a CRM-style sales database, we would look at a general email-marketing or CRM product instead. Buying a newsletter platform won't supply those jobs by default.
- Free plan up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends, a website and the core growth tools.
- 0% take rate on paid subscriptions and digital products (Stripe fees apply).
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Free; Pro US$144/year (one person) · Free plan: yes Canva Pro earns a shortlist place when a solo owner or freelancer makes branded posts, flyers and slides every week. US$144 a year covers premium templates and stock, five Brand Kits, social scheduling and a monthly AI allowance. Try the recurring work before treating it as a substitute for hiring design help; we haven't tested that outcome. The important limit is the person using it: Pro is a one-person plan. If two or more colleagues need shared brand assets and approvals, price Canva Business rather than sharing one Pro login. A familiar editor doesn't make the paid entitlement a team licence.
- Low price for one person: US$144 a year includes premium templates, stock, 5 Brand Kits and scheduling.
- Standard AI tools such as Magic Resize, Translate and Background Remover don't use the monthly AI allowance on paid plans (fair use applies).
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Free; Starter $7/seat/mo (annual promo; list $20) · Free plan: yes HubSpot Starter puts contacts, deals, email marketing, a website, live chat and ticketing in one CRM for a small business ready to connect that work. The new-customer offer is $7 per seat a month annually or $10 monthly, against a $20 list price. Record the renewal cost as well as the entry offer; the promotion is temporary. AI is built in, but that doesn't make every advanced workflow part of Starter. Larger contact volumes, complex reporting or advanced automation can require add-ons or higher tiers with onboarding. We would map those needs before choosing it as the first connected CRM.
- All five Starter hubs in one seat, so CRM, marketing, sales, service and content share one database.
- Low entry price during the new-customer promo ($7 annual, $10 monthly).
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Free (100 activated contacts/mo); Pro from €12.99/mo · Free plan: yes Inrō fits a small brand, creator or studio that sells through Instagram and loses leads in comments and DMs: comment-to-DM, Story-reply triggers and an AI agent cover that job, and the Free plan is enough to test one funnel. Pricing follows unique contacts your automations reach each month, so a quiet account pays €12.99 on Pro while a viral reel moves you up a band; Annual Pro at €1,249 fixes the bill for up to 10,000 contacts a month. Look elsewhere if you need WhatsApp, TikTok or Messenger in the same inbox, several Instagram accounts under one login, or published security certifications.
- Free plan with no card that's enough to run one real comment-to-DM funnel (100 activated contacts a month).
- AI agent included on Pro with no separate credit meter, plus controls over where it may reply.
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Pro $24/mo (annual) or $29 monthly; 14-day trial · Free plan: no Separate local tracks are Riverside's reason to be on an interview, podcast or webinar shortlist: each guest is recorded locally at up to 4K video and 48 kHz audio, reducing reliance on the call connection. Its AI agents cover production, editing, clipping and publishing with approval. Small businesses, consultants and B2B marketers can compare that workflow with hiring editing help, but we haven't tested the replacement claim. Pro starts at $24 a month annually. There is no longer a free plan. Collaborative editing or SSO needs Business, and keeping content out of AI training requires a negotiated written opt-out.
- Studio-quality separate tracks recorded locally for each guest, up to 4K and 48 kHz.
- Unlimited recording hours on every plan; caps apply only to separate-track downloads.
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