By Gravun Team · Published October 1, 2026 · Last updated October 1, 2026.

The Real Cost of Running a Business on 5 to 10 Separate Apps

Short answer: A 5-person business that buys one common app for each job (CRM, e-signature, accounting, scheduling, phone, email marketing, team chat, forms and review requests) pays about $708 a month at October 2026 list prices. That is about $8,493 a year, or about $142 per person each month, before the hidden costs.

All amounts in this article are in US dollars (USD).

Key points

• Nine common apps for a 5-person team add up to $707.75 a month at list prices checked on 1 October 2026. The full arithmetic is shown below so you can check it.
• A leaner version of the same stack, with fewer seats and lower tiers, comes to $497 a month.
• The hidden costs are real but hard to measure: typing the same thing twice, leads that fall between tools, extra logins, training, broken connections and many bills. This article uses stated assumptions for those, not invented statistics.
• A bundle can replace most of the stack, but not all of it. Most businesses still keep an accounting tool.
• Separate apps are sometimes the better choice. There is a section on when.

How much does small business software cost per month?

For a 5-person business using one well-known app per job, the list-price total is about $708 a month. Your own number depends on three things: how many people need a seat, which tier you pick, and whether you pay monthly or yearly.

Every business uses a different mix, so this article builds one worked example and then gives you a method to add up your own. The example uses one well-known tool per job, five users, monthly billing where the page showed it, and regular list prices read from each vendor's own pricing page on 1 October 2026. Sales tax, usage fees, payment processing fees and add-ons are not included. Prices change, so check each vendor's page before you decide.

What does a typical 5-person software stack cost?

At list prices checked on 1 October 2026, the nine-app stack below costs $707.75 a month for five users.

The arithmetic

• Per-user tools: HubSpot 20 x 5 = 100. Dropbox Sign 25 x 5 = 125. Calendly 10 x 5 = 50. Quo 19 x 5 = 95. Slack 8.75 x 5 = 43.75.
• Flat-price tools: QuickBooks Online 140. Mailchimp 20. Typeform 59. NiceJob 75.

Sum: 100 + 125 + 140 + 50 + 95 + 20 + 43.75 + 59 + 75 = $707.75 a month

• Per year: $707.75 x 12 = $8,493
• Per person: $707.75 / 5 = $141.55 a month

Honest notes on these prices

Some pricing pages were clearer than others. Here is what we could and could not confirm.

• HubSpot. The Sales Hub Starter page showed two figures, $7 and $20 per seat per month, next to "Pay Monthly" and "Pay Annually" options. The text we read did not make clear which figure goes with which option. We used $20. If the lower figure applies to you, this row is $35 and the total is $642.75. HubSpot also has a free CRM for up to 2 users.
• Dropbox Sign. Standard was listed at $25 per user per month, or $17.50 with yearly billing, for 2 to 5 users.
• QuickBooks Online. We used the regular price of $140 for Plus, which includes 5 users. The page also showed 50% off for the first 3 months. Essentials was $85 with 3 users and Simple Start was $38 with 1 user.
• Calendly. The page showed $10 per seat for Standard next to a "Save 17%" note. That may be the yearly-billing rate, so the month-to-month price may be higher. Calendly also has a free plan.
• Mailchimp. Standard was shown as $20 a month for 12 months at the smallest contact tier (up to 500 contacts). The price after 12 months was not shown in the text we read. Mailchimp's price rises as your contact list grows, so a bigger list costs more than this.
• Quo and Slack. Quo Starter was $19 per user monthly, or $15 with yearly billing. Slack Pro was $8.75 monthly, or $7.25 yearly. Slack also has a free plan.
• Typeform. Plus was $59 monthly, or $50 with yearly billing, and includes 3 users, not 5. We assumed only a few people build forms.
• Left out. We also checked RingCentral and Podium. Neither page gave us a clear dollar price when we loaded it, so they are not in the table.

What about a leaner stack?

A business that trims seats and tiers can cover the same nine jobs for about $497 a month, with some compromises: HubSpot Starter for 5 seats ($100), Dropbox Sign Standard for 2 seats ($50), QuickBooks Online Essentials with 3 users ($85), Calendly Standard for 5 seats ($50), Quo Starter for 5 users ($95), Mailchimp Essentials with 3 seats ($13), Slack's free plan ($0), Typeform Basic with 1 user and 100 responses a month ($29) and NiceJob Starter ($75).

Sum: 100 + 50 + 85 + 50 + 95 + 13 + 0 + 29 + 75 = $497 a month, or $5,964 a year.

So a fair range for this kind of stack is roughly $500 to $700 a month for five people. Yearly billing on some tools would lower it further.

Per-user pricing is why the total climbs. Five of the nine tools charge per seat, so a sixth person adds $82.75 a month across them (20 + 25 + 10 + 19 + 8.75), before any flat plan needs a higher tier.

What are the hidden costs of using many separate apps?

The hidden costs are time, missed leads and admin work. They do not show up on any invoice, so most owners never add them up.

We have not found a reliable statistic we could verify for these, so we are not going to quote one. Instead, here are simple examples with the assumptions stated. Swap in your own numbers.

Double entry

When apps do not share data, someone types the same customer, address or price into two or three places.

Assumption: each of 5 people spends 15 minutes a day copying information between apps, over 21 working days a month, at a labor cost of $30 an hour.

• 5 people x 15 minutes x 21 days = 1,575 minutes = 26.25 hours a month
• 26.25 hours x $30 = $787.50 a month

On those assumptions, double entry costs more than the software itself. If your team spends 5 minutes a day, not 15, the figure is one third of that. The point is to measure it, not to trust our guess.

Leads lost between tools

A lead comes in through a web form. It needs to reach the CRM, then the phone, then the calendar. Every handoff is a place where a lead can sit unseen.

Assumption: one job a month is lost this way, and your average job is worth $500. That is $500 a month in lost revenue. If your average job is $5,000, it is $5,000. You know your own number. Count how many leads last month got a late reply or none.

Extra logins

In the example stack, seven tools give a seat to each of 5 people, Typeform has 3 seats, and NiceJob has at least 1. That is 5 x 7 + 3 + 1 = 39 separate accounts.

Each one needs a password and someone to shut it off when a person leaves. A forgotten account is a security risk, and sometimes a seat you are still paying for.

Training

Every app has its own layout and its own way of doing things.

Assumption: a new hire needs 1 hour to learn each of 9 apps, at $30 an hour. That is 9 hours and $270 per hire, plus the time of whoever teaches them. Add the same cost again every time a vendor redesigns its product.

Integrations that break

Separate apps are usually joined by built-in connections or a connector service. These work well most of the time. When one side changes, the connection can stop without warning, and you may not notice until a customer asks why nobody called back. Connector services often carry their own fee too. We did not price one for this article.

Several bills

Nine apps means nine invoices, nine renewal dates and nine sets of terms. Price increases arrive one at a time, so the total creeps up without a clear moment where you decide to pay more.

How do I add up what my own business pays for software?

Pull one month of statements and list every software charge. It takes about 30 minutes and most owners find at least one surprise.

1. Pull your statements. Get last month's business card and bank statements. Include any personal card that staff use for work tools.
2. List every software charge. Write down the vendor, the amount and the date. Include app store subscriptions.
3. Turn yearly charges into monthly ones. Divide any annual bill by 12. Search your statements for the last 12 months to catch them.
4. Write the job next to each tool. For example: "sends quotes" or "team chat". If two tools do the same job, mark both.
5. Count seats. Log in to each tool and count paid users. Compare that with who really uses it.
6. Add it up. For per-user tools, multiply the price by seats. Add the flat-price tools. For example, a $12 per-user tool with 4 seats plus a $30 flat tool is 12 x 4 + 30 = $78.
7. Estimate the hidden cost. Ask each person how many minutes a day they spend copying data between apps. Multiply by working days and by an hourly cost.
8. Mark each tool. Keep, replace or cancel. Cancel unused seats first. That is the fastest saving and needs no new software.

Do this once a year. Stacks grow quietly.

How does Gravun compare for the same 5 users?

Gravun costs $125, $295 or $495 a month for 5 users, depending on the plan. It is one app with one login and one bill. It does not replace accounting software, so the fair comparison adds an accounting tool back in.

Gravun is the business operating system for any kind of business. It is made by Gravun Inc. in Toronto, Canada, and works on web, iPhone and Android. It puts the jobs from the table above into one place: contacts and companies, a deals pipeline, estimates that customers can view, sign and accept online, Gravun Sign (e-signatures), invoices with online payment, a shared calendar and scheduling, a business phone line, one inbox for texts, email and website chat, Gravun Relay (team chat), forms that create leads, email and text campaigns, and review requests after a job.

Gravun pricing for 5 users

Prices are per user per month in USD, as shown on gravun.com on 1 October 2026.

Arithmetic: 25 x 5 = 125. 59 x 5 = 295. 99 x 5 = 495.

A like-for-like comparison

The example stack includes a phone line and texting. On Gravun, calling and texting are listed from the Professional plan up. So Professional is the fair match, not Starter.

Gravun handles invoices and payments. It is not full accounting software. It does not do bookkeeping, bank reconciliation or tax filing, and most businesses keep an accounting tool for those. So keep QuickBooks Online in the comparison.

• Professional plus accounting is $272.75 a month less than the nine-app stack (707.75 - 435). That is $3,273 a year.
• Scale plus accounting is $72.75 a month less (707.75 - 635). That is $873 a year.
• Against the leaner $497 stack, Gravun Professional plus QuickBooks Online Essentials at $85 comes to $380 a month. The gap is smaller: $117 a month.

Starter at $125 a month costs less than either stack. But its listed features do not include calling or texting, so a Starter business would still need a phone tool. Compare it only if you already have phones sorted.

Check the pricing page to confirm which plan includes each feature you need before you compare. The platform page shows the full feature list.

What a bundle does not replace

• Full accounting and tax filing. Keep your accounting tool and your accountant. Tax rules vary by place and business type. This is general information only, so check with a qualified professional.
• Depth in one specialty. A dedicated tool that does one job usually goes deeper in that job than a bundle does. If your business depends on advanced form logic or complex email marketing, test that part carefully.
• Usage limits. Gravun's plans list message and calling limits. A team that calls or texts far more than those limits should check the numbers first.
• A long track record. Gravun is new and launching in 2026. The vendors in the table above have been around for years. If a long history matters to you, weigh that honestly.

Who Gravun fits, and who it does not

Gravun is a good fit if you run a small team, your stack has grown one app at a time, and the same customer details live in several places. Trades and home services are a strong fit, but it is built for any kind of business.

It is a weaker fit if your team is happy with its current tools, if you need the deepest features of a specialist product, or if you only need one or two jobs done. The money saved is modest in some cases. The bigger change is that a lead, a quote, a call, an invoice and a review request all sit on one customer record.

When are separate apps the better choice?

Separate apps are the better choice when you need only a few jobs done, when a free tier covers you, or when one specialist tool is central to how you make money.

• You only need two or three tools. A solo owner with an accounting tool and a free scheduling plan pays far less than any bundle.
• Free tiers are enough. HubSpot, Calendly, Slack and Mailchimp all showed free plans on their pricing pages. A very small team can go a long way on those.
• One tool is your core. If your business runs on advanced email marketing or a specialist phone setup, keep the best tool for that job.
• Your team is trained and happy. Switching has a cost in time and attention. If nothing hurts, there is no need to change.
• Different people need different things. If only one person sends quotes and only two take calls, a few single seats can cost less than a bundle seat for everyone.

A mixed setup is also fine. Many businesses bundle the customer-facing jobs and keep one or two specialist tools beside it. You can see side-by-side comparisons on the compare page.

Frequently asked questions

How much does small business software cost per month?

In our worked example, a 5-person business using nine common apps pays $707.75 a month at list prices checked on 1 October 2026. A leaner version of the same stack comes to $497. Your figure depends on seats, tiers and whether you pay monthly or yearly.

How much does software cost per employee?

In the nine-app example, it works out to $141.55 per person each month ($707.75 divided by 5). Flat-price tools make the per-person figure fall as you add people, until you hit a user limit and move up a tier.

Is it cheaper to pay monthly or yearly?

Yearly billing was cheaper on several pricing pages we checked. Dropbox Sign Standard was $17.50 per user with yearly billing against $25 monthly, and Slack Pro was $7.25 against $8.75. The trade-off is that you commit for a year, which matters if your team size changes.

Does all-in-one software replace QuickBooks?

Not usually. Gravun handles invoices and payments, but it is not full accounting software and does not file taxes. Most businesses keep an accounting tool for bookkeeping, reconciliation and tax work, and should ask a qualified professional about their own situation.

What are the hidden costs of using many apps?

The main ones are double entry, leads lost between tools, extra logins, training time, connections that break and many separate bills. In our example, 5 people spending 15 minutes a day on double entry at $30 an hour comes to $787.50 a month. That is an assumption to test against your own team, not a measured statistic.

How much does Gravun cost for 5 users?

Gravun costs $125 a month on Starter, $295 on Professional and $495 on Scale for 5 users, in USD, as shown on gravun.com on 1 October 2026. There is a 14-day free trial with no credit card, and you can cancel anytime.

Should a very small business use an all-in-one tool?

Not always. A solo owner or a team of two can often run on free tiers and one paid accounting tool for less than any bundle. A bundle starts to make sense when several people share customers and the same details are being typed into more than one app.

How often should I review my software spending?

Once a year is a sensible minimum, and again whenever someone joins or leaves. Unused seats and forgotten subscriptions are the easiest savings to find. The eight-step method in this article takes about 30 minutes.

Try it with your own numbers

Start the 14-day free trial at gravun.com/free-trial. No credit card, and you can cancel anytime.

Sources

All pages were checked on 1 October 2026. Prices change, so check each vendor's page for current figures.

• HubSpot Sales Hub pricing: https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/sales and https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/sales/starter
• Dropbox Sign pricing: https://sign.dropbox.com/products/dropbox-sign/pricing
• QuickBooks Online pricing: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/
• Calendly pricing: https://calendly.com/pricing
• Quo (formerly OpenPhone) pricing: https://www.quo.com/pricing
• Mailchimp marketing pricing: https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/ and https://mailchimp.com/pricing/
• Slack pricing: https://slack.com/pricing
• Typeform pricing: https://www.typeform.com/pricing
• NiceJob pricing: https://get.nicejob.com/pricing
• RingCentral plans and pricing (no plan price shown when loaded, not used): https://www.ringcentral.com/office/plansandpricing.html
• Podium pricing (no prices published on the page, not used): https://www.podium.com/pricing
• Gravun pricing: https://gravun.com/pricing