The best AI tools for small businesses, by job, with US$ prices

Start with one general assistant, then add tools only for jobs you do every week. For most small teams that means ChatGPT Business or Claude Team at US$20 a seat a month billed annually, or Gemini inside Google Workspace, plus Canva for design and the free plans of a meeting notetaker and an automation tool. At prices checked on 8 October 2026, a team of three can cover the basics for about US$54 a month, or US$114 with a dedicated assistant for everyone. Before you pay, check how your data is used, the seat minimums and whether the price is a promo.

Ask ten business owners which AI tool they use and you'll hear ten answers. That's fine, because “which tool is best?” is the wrong question. The useful one is which job you want help with, and what that help costs per person, per month, once any introductory offer ends.

I'm a tech writer, so I spend my days reading pricing pages and help docs so you don't have to. This guide groups the tools by job, from a general assistant to meeting notes, gives each one's price in US dollars as checked on 8 October 2026, and adds up a sensible starter stack for a team of three.

One disclosure first. We build websites and AI tools for small businesses at KahuLogic, so we're not neutral about AI. None of the tools compared below is ours, every price comes from the vendor's own pricing page, and our own product only appears in the design section and one clearly marked box.

How to read the prices in this guide

Three things make AI prices hard to compare. First, many tools show a lower price for paying a year up front and a higher one for paying month to month. ChatGPT Business, for example, says “$20/month if billed annually. $25/month if billed monthly.” Where a vendor shows both, I give both.

Second, business plans are priced per seat, so the number that matters is the price times the people who need it. Third, some prices are promotions with an end date. I've labelled those as promos, because the price you'll pay next year is the one to budget for. Everything is in US dollars as shown to a reader in the US, so your local price may differ.

Job 1: a general assistant for the whole team

This is the tool most businesses should start with: a chat assistant that drafts, summarises, answers questions and helps you think a problem through. A café owner might use it to rewrite a menu, a clinic manager to turn rough notes into a staff update, a consultant to draft a proposal. The four big options cost almost the same per person, so choose on where your work already lives.

1. CChatGPTPlus is US$20 a month for one person. ChatGPT Business is US$20 a seat a month billed annually or US$25 monthly, for 2 to 200 people, and OpenAI says it isn't trained on your business data by default.
2. CClaudePro is US$17 a month billed annually (US$200 a year) or US$20 monthly. Team is US$20 a standard seat billed annually or US$25 monthly, for 2 to 150 people.
3. Google GeminiGoogle AI Plus is US$4.99 a month, Google AI Pro US$19.99 and Ultra from US$99.99. For a business, Gemini Enterprise Business starts from US$21 a seat.
4. MMicrosoft 365 CopilotThe Business add-on is US$21 a user a month on an annual plan, or US$25.20 paying monthly. Promo: US$18 from 1 July to 31 December 2026. It needs an eligible Microsoft 365 Business plan.

If your email and files are in Google Workspace, try Gemini there before paying for anything else (more on that under documents). If you live in Outlook and Word, Copilot makes sense, but remember the add-on sits on top of a Microsoft 365 Business plan you pay for separately. If you're not tied to either, ChatGPT Business and Claude Team cost the same per seat, so try both on your real work for a week and keep the one your team actually opens.

One thing the chart leaves out is the personal plans. ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro and Google AI Pro are priced for one person, and they're fine for a sole trader. For a team, the business plans are the ones whose terms are written for a business, such as ChatGPT Business not training on your business data by default. Whatever you pick, read the data terms before anyone pastes in a customer's details.

Job 2: writing and email

Most small businesses write more than they think: replies to enquiries, quotes, answers to reviews, newsletters, the odd awkward email to a supplier. You may already have AI help for this without paying anything extra.

1. GmailHelp me write drafts an email from a short prompt, refines what you've written and changes its tone. Gemini in Gmail is on every Google Workspace plan, from Business Starter at US$7 a user a month.
2. GGrammarlyThe Free plan includes 100 AI prompts. Pro was displayed at US$12 a month and gives each member 2,000 AI prompts a month.

My suggestion is to use up the free options first. If quick replies to enquiries are the main job, the assistant you picked for job 1, or the writing help already built into your email, will handle it. A paid writing tool earns its place when several people write to customers and you want the same standard from all of them.

Job 3: design and social posts

Social posts, flyers, menus, price lists, a sign for the window: for a lot of small businesses this is Canva's job. Canva Pro costs US$144 a year for one person, which works out at US$12 a month. Canva Business is US$250 a year per person. Canva's own AI page marks some features as “Coming Soon”, so check that the feature you want is actually live before you upgrade for it.

The trick with AI design is keeping it looking like you. Whatever tool you use, set up your brand first: your colours, your fonts, your logo and a few words about how you sound. Without that, AI-made posts drift towards the same polished but generic look as everyone else's, and customers stop recognising them as yours.

That screenshot is from our own product, so here's the plain version of what you'd pay. Kahu's Starter plan is US$69 a month and covers social posting, Creative Studio and chat, and asking Kahu for things in chat uses credits. It's an alternative to stitching a design tool and a scheduler together yourself. If you love Canva, keep Canva.

Job 4: meetings and notes

If your week is full of calls with clients, suppliers or your own team, a notetaker that records and transcribes saves you writing it all up afterwards. Otter.ai is one of the best-known for small teams, and its prices show the biggest gap between annual and monthly billing in this guide.

Paying monthly for Pro costs about twice as much as paying annually. So start on the free minutes. If you hit the limit every month, that's your evidence the tool is worth paying for, and that's the moment to switch to annual billing. Whatever tool you use, tell people on the call that you're recording.

Job 5: automation between your apps

Automation tools move information between apps so you don't copy and paste: a new form entry becomes a row in a spreadsheet, a new order sends a note to your team. Zapier is the best-known. Its Free plan costs US$0 and includes 100 tasks, Professional is from US$19.99 a month and Team from US$69.

This is the job where I'd be most careful. An assistant that drafts a weak reply wastes a minute; an automation that sends the wrong message to every customer ruins a day. Build one small automation, check every run for a while, then add the next. And keep a person approving anything that goes out to a customer.

Job 6: a CRM that remembers every customer

A CRM is the list of everyone who's enquired or bought, and what happened next. HubSpot Starter is a common first step and includes Breeze Assistant, HubSpot's AI helper. HubSpot's own page says “Starter is normally priced at $20/month per seat”, and at the moment it's showing a lower promo price.

Budget for the normal price, not the promo. A CRM is something you keep for years, so the price in year two is the one that matters. If a CRM is the tool you need most, we've compared the main options and what each costs in a separate guide.

Job 7: documents, spreadsheets and team notes

This is where many teams already pay for AI without noticing. Google Workspace Business Starter is US$7 a user a month, Business Standard US$14 and Business Plus US$22. Google shows these as new-customer introductory prices for 12 months, so check what you'll pay after the first year. Notion is the other common choice for a shared wiki, task lists and notes.

1. Google WorkspaceGemini is in Gmail on every plan, and in Docs, Sheets and Meet from Business Standard at US$14 a user a month.
2. NNotionPlus is US$10 a member a month and Business US$20. The full Notion AI comes with the Business plan.

If your team already works in Google Docs and Sheets, Business Standard may cover most of what you'd want an assistant for, and you probably don't need Notion as well. If your team's knowledge lives in Notion already, the Business plan is where its AI is fully included.

Every price in one table

Here are the prices above side by side, in US dollars, as shown on each vendor's page on 8 October 2026. Where a vendor shows both, the annual price comes first.

The cheapest sensible stack for a team of three

Here's how I'd kit out a three-person business, say a small salon, a bookkeeping practice or a shop that also sells online, using only the prices above. It's arithmetic, not a rule, and your jobs may be different.

Start with Google Workspace Business Standard for all three people: 3 × US$14 = US$42 a month, which brings Gemini into Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Meet. Add Canva Pro for whoever does the design: US$144 a year, or US$12 a month. Use Otter.ai's Basic plan and Zapier's Free plan until you outgrow them, at US$0. That comes to US$54 a month.

If the team wants a dedicated assistant on top, ChatGPT Business or Claude Team for three people adds 3 × US$20 = US$60 a month billed annually, bringing the total to US$114. Paying monthly, those seats are US$25 each, so US$75 for three and US$129 in total. Before you add one, give Gemini in Workspace a month of real work. You might find you don't need a second assistant at all.

What to check before you pay

Price is only half the decision. Before anyone on your team signs up for a paid plan, run through these:

• Data use: does the plan train on what you type? ChatGPT Business, for example, isn't trained on your business data by default. Read the terms for any tool your customers' details will go into.
• Seats and minimums: ChatGPT Business is for 2 to 200 people and Claude Team for 2 to 150, so a sole trader needs a personal plan instead. Count who actually needs a seat.
• Annual or monthly: annual is cheaper, but you're committing for a year. Try a tool monthly first, then switch once it's earned its place.
• Promos and intro prices: HubSpot's US$7 Starter seat, Microsoft's US$18 Copilot price to 31 December 2026 and Google Workspace's 12-month new-customer prices all end. Budget for the normal price.
• What sits underneath: Microsoft 365 Copilot needs an eligible Microsoft 365 Business plan, and Gemini in Docs and Sheets needs Workspace Business Standard or above.
• Free limits: 100 AI prompts on Grammarly Free, 300 minutes a month on Otter.ai Basic and 100 tasks on Zapier Free. Know what happens when you hit them.

Where Kahu fitsKahu AssistKahu Assist is an AI agent that runs your website, marketing, bookings and follow-ups from one chat, and asks before anything goes live. You keep the yes; it does the typing.Connects to your site, ads, CRM and emailAsks before anything goes liveAsk in plain English, typed or spokenSee Kahu Assist →Fill Thursday’s empty slots and let the cafe know the new brunch hours.Kahu · 3 actions readyTwo Thursday gaps at 11:00 and 14:30. Drafted texts to 6 regulars who asked about Thursdays.New hours drafted for your site: Sat and Sun, 8am to 2pm.One post about the new hours, using your Sunday counter photo.ChangeApprove all

One last opinion. The best AI tool is the one your team still uses three months from now. Start with one, give it a real job, and only add the next when you can name the job it'll do and the price it'll cost once the promo ends.

I'm Anurag Shukla, a tech writer at KahuLogic, a New Zealand company with a team across Australia, New Zealand and India. We build and look after websites and marketing for small businesses, and this is how I'd choose AI tools whether or not you ever use us.

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