AI stacks for a 5-person team
Use these 3–4-tool proposals as a budget starting point, not a shopping list for every employee. Each component has a review and a dated vendor price.
If you have used Futurepedia-style tool stacks, the extra detail here is the seat calculation and dated price evidence. The totals model a team of 5 on annual billing. Marketing is deliberately not five paid users everywhere: HubSpot is allocated 2 seats. Open that stack to see the assumption before applying its total to a real company.
Meeting notes stack
Keep the call record and turn the approved recap into a follow-up. A person still owns the final message.
Open stack → AI stack · emailEmail & inbox stack
Filter the inbox before adding a drafting agent. Keep approved writing and follow-up work with the people responsible for the mailbox.
Open stack → AI stack · marketingMarketing starter stack
Give the design owner and the people handling leads the tools they need. The newsletter can stay free while its limits fit.
Open stack →Only license the people doing the required work. A colleague receiving an approved recap may need a different level of access from its author. Build the proposed mix in the AI stack cost calculator. Re-check prices on the price-change log.
How to use these stacks
These are editorial proposals for a five-person small business, not sponsored bundles or tested customer setups. Each monthly total is arithmetic using the reviewed vendor list prices, excluding short promotions. A stack page explains the allocation and possible substitutions, and its FAQs are also provided as FAQ schema. None of that establishes a measured saving or a requirement to buy the whole kit.
- Pick the job, not the logo. Start with meeting notes if calls go undocumented, email & inbox if triage is the fire drill, or marketing starter if you need design + owned email + light CRM.
- Pilot free tiers first. Read what free actually means so caps (minutes, credits, seats) do not surprise you mid-month.
- Replace the relevant component rather than add a duplicate. The stack pages link the alternatives for requirements such as bot-free notes, Outlook or an existing Microsoft 365 subscription. Check which old subscription the swap removes.
- Re-count seats quarterly. Use the AI tool stack checklist and watch renewals on the price-change log.
Related hubs
- Task hubs — summarize a meeting, triage inbox, automate busywork
- By role — marketer, salesperson, founder, consultant, accountant
- Best AI tools for small business
- Best AI meeting notes · Best AI email assistants · AI marketing tools
- Monthly pricing reports · Deals & trials · Hands-on protocol
Enterprise buyers: these stacks are SMB-oriented. See Enterprise and enterprise AI pricing for copilots and agent platforms.