Starting a freelance writing business has one of the lowest bars of entry from a financial standpoint. There’s very little overhead you need to invest in, such as real estate, manufacturing equipment, or warehouse space.

You can start your career as a freelancer with just a computer, a free Google account, and a desire to produce content. Although, if you want to stay organized and actually grow your client base, you’ll need a few additional SaaS tools, many of which are free but which are essential for any professional freelance writer.

1. Slack

Secure, reliable, and customizable communication platforms are essential for productive writing and staying connected with your clients. Text messages and emails are a bare minimum for communicating, but the features found in Slack make it worth using daily.

Slack is a SaaS business communication platform currently owned by Salesforce (which produces business-focused SaaS platforms). It’s like any other messaging platform, but it allows you to create channels for different teams and projects, integrate with popular apps, and streamline file sharing with team members.

Slack also allows you to communicate with people outside of your organization. As a freelancer, you might not always have access to an organization’s internal Slack account, which makes this outside connection feature even more valuable.

Alternative SaaS platforms: Discord, Microsoft Teams, Zoom

2. ClickUp

There seems to be an almost unending number of new project management platforms daily. Despite being somewhat new to this humble writer, ClickUp feels like the most advanced SaaS project management software we’ve used in a while.

ClickUp unifies your freelance writing operations.

We love ClickUp because it loads quickly and offers pre-made templates for virtually any department throughout the organization. It also boasts AI features that aren’t total trash, and we appreciate the robust customizability, even on unpaid plans.

ClickUp makes it easy to switch between task views, such as boards, lists, or calendars, just to name a few. The dedicated spaces allow you to segment projects based on teams, which is perfect for the freelancer trying to keep track of assignments, marketing, day-to-day admin, and finances.

Alternative SaaS platforms: Asana, Trello, Hive, Notion

3. Grammarly

We’re somewhat on the fence about Grammarly. When we first encountered Grammarly several years ago, it was a powerful proofreading tool that was instrumental in catching those pesky grammatical errors.

While still useful, Grammarly is on thin ice.

Since then, however, the countless updates and AI introductions make it a nosy and inaccurate writing buddy. We can’t tell you the number of times it’s suggested something totally off-the-cuff to replace what’s already technically sound writing.

While it’s useful as a grammar-checker, other software solutions, like Hemmingway, promise better results. We’ll see for now.

Alternative SaaS platforms: Hemingway, Microsoft Editor, Wordtune

4. Canva

As most writers will tell you, we write because it’s easier to describe a scene with words than it is to paint it with pastels. Most of us aren’t even able to run Photoshop very well, let alone create stunning graphics.

Create pro-level graphics in minutes with Canva.

Enter Canva. Canva is a graphic design software platform that makes it easy to create professional-looking images in a matter of minutes. From pre-made templates to drag-and-drop graphic design tools, Canva has a relatively low learning curve, and the free plan offers a decent selection of tools.

We recommend the Pro version simply because the image gallery has plenty to choose from, and the brand kit keeps your personal image organized. We’ve used Canva to create our logos, graphics for blog posts, and even newsletters.

Alternative SaaS platforms: Photoshop, Visme

5. Wave

As a freelance writer, you must take on roles you never thought you would, like marketer, salesperson, accountant, and bookkeeper. Luckily, Wave makes the accounting, bookkeeping, and invoicing part of your business much easier.

Use Wave to manage your freelancing finances.

With Wave, you can create customized invoices and collect payments directly within the app. You can also keep track of spending, create financial statements, and prepare your taxes from a single platform.

Likewise, Wave has on-demand accountant advisors who can provide professional help in keeping your finances in order. It’s crucial to stay on top of your accounting as a solopreneur, as any misstep can create legal trouble you don’t want to deal with.

Alternative SaaS platforms: QuickBooks, HoneyBooks, ZipBooks

Final Thoughts

Of course, these apps and software platforms are just suggestions. They’re the ones we’ve found most useful through our day-to-day activities, but virtually every one of these platforms has an alternative that you could rely on just as easily.

Despite these alternatives, these SaaS tools work when we need them to; they rarely, if ever, give us issues with loading or functioning as intended, and most of them are available for free. We couldn’t imagine paying for a comprehensive tech stack on a freelancer’s budget, but these SaaS solutions make it possible to stay in business without expensive overhead.

These are the Best SaaS Tools to Use as a Freelance Writer