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TheTechSearch

Software

The business tools we checked, shown as they really are

Hardware is only half of a working setup. The other half is the software that runs the business: the VPN on the laptop, the CRM behind the inbox, the funnel and email tools that sell, the site builder and the host that keep the site up.

Every page below is built from evidence, not marketing copy. You get real screenshots of the product today, reviews quoted word for word with a link to where they were posted, and the price you pay now with the renewal price stated beside it. One button per page takes you to the merchant.

Product pages

NordVPN Mac app, connected to a P2P server in New York. Threat Protection Pro and Dark Web Monitor panels on the right.

VPN

NordVPN

A VPN app for phones, laptops and TVs, with 10 devices on every plan and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

From $3.49/mo on the 2-year plan ($94.23 for 27 months). Renews at $139.08 a year.

See the NordVPN page
HubSpot contact record for Leslie Knope

CRM

HubSpot

Free for 2 users and 1,000 contacts with no time limit, including deals, tasks and email tracking from Gmail or Outlook.

Free for 2 users; Starter from $7 a seat a month (annual). Starter is $10 a seat a month billed monthly; the regular price is $20 a seat.

See the HubSpot page
MyKinsta dashboard: two sites, WordPress analytics with resource usage, bandwidth 2.74 TB, unique visits 1,649,753 and CDN usage 5.18 TB

Managed WordPress hosting

Kinsta

Every site gets free staging, daily backups and Cloudflare edge caching, with human engineers on chat 24/7.

$35 a month, or $350 a year. First month free, then the same $35 a month.

See the Kinsta page
The Webflow Designer: a travel site open on the canvas with the Navigator on the left and the Style panel on the right

No-code site builder

Webflow

A visual site builder with hosting and a CMS: free to build, and free to keep on a webflow.io address.

Free to build; Basic $15/mo billed yearly. Basic $25/mo billed monthly; Premium $25/mo yearly or $39/mo monthly.

See the Webflow page
ClickFunnels page editor with a lead-magnet page open on the canvas and the rows library on the right

Sales funnels

ClickFunnels

Builds the pages that sell — landing page, order form, one-click upsell and members area — with email and courses in the same login.

$97 a month, or $81 a month billed annually. Renews at $97 a month after the 14-day trial, or $970 a year on the annual plan.

See the ClickFunnels page
WP Engine site performance score panel: 95 out of 100, all systems go

Managed WordPress hosting

WP Engine

24/7 WordPress experts on chat, with 90% of issues resolved on first contact, on top of one-click staging, automatic backups and a global CDN on every plan.

From $28 a month, billed annually (Essential, 1 site). Or $35 a month billed monthly; plus tax, and renewal pricing may change.

See the WP Engine page
A real Kit newsletter, Studio Notes issue 52: Weekly note, why I track my creative energy like a stock portfolio

Email marketing

Kit

Free for up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited forms, landing pages, broadcasts and paid products on the free plan.

Free to 10,000 subscribers; Creator from $33 a month, yearly. Billed monthly instead, Creator is $39 a month at 1,000 subscribers.

See the Kit page
Systeme.io funnel builder: opt-in page and thank-you steps with a template gallery

All-in-one marketing platform

Systeme.io

Funnels, email, courses, a blog, webinars and your own affiliate program run from one login, with 0% transaction fees on every plan.

Free plan $0 forever, paid from $17 a month. Yearly is $170, $470 or $970 — two months free, prices include tax.

See the Systeme.io page

Software guides