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For · Agencies

Tools for agencies.

Marketing, design, development, and creative agencies — typically 5-50 people serving multiple clients. The stack favours project tracking, time tracking, and cross-client knowledge management.

"An agency's tool stack is mostly a billing-mechanics decision in disguise. The productivity follows."
Essential

Core picks for agencies.

01
Linear
Modern issue tracker built around speed and keyboard shortcuts for product engineering teams.
Essential Project management
95/100
02
Loom
Screen and camera recorder that replaces status meetings with shareable async video messages.
Essential Screen recording
95/100
03
ActiveCampaign
Email marketing and automation platform with the deepest visual workflow builder in its class.
Essential Email marketing
93/100
04
Ahrefs
Professional SEO platform with the industry's largest link index, built for accurate backlink and keyword data.
Essential SEO tools
93/100
05
Toggl Track
Simple time tracking with one-click timers, detailed reporting, and a generous free tier for freelancers and teams.
Essential Time tracking
93/100
06
Buffer
Bootstrapped social media scheduling tool — clean queue interface, transparent pricing, and no upsell pressure.
Essential Social media scheduling
92/100
07
Figma
The collaborative design tool that won the category. Browser-first, multi-player editing, deep plugin ecosystem.
Essential Design
92/100
08
n8n
Source-available workflow automation you can self-host — the developer's answer to Zapier.
Essential Automation / iPaaS
92/100
09
Canva
Browser-based visual design platform for non-designers creating graphics, presentations, and marketing assets.
Essential Design
91/100
10
Google Meet
Browser-based video meetings bundled into Google Workspace — the no-friction default for Gmail and Calendar teams.
Essential Video conferencing
91/100
11
Klaviyo
Ecommerce email and SMS marketing platform built on customer data and predictive analytics.
Essential Email marketing
91/100
12
Microsoft Teams
The communication hub bundled into Microsoft 365 — chat, meetings, and files in one app for Microsoft shops.
Essential Video conferencing
91/100
13
Zapier
No-code automation platform connecting 7,000+ apps with point-and-click workflow builders.
Essential Automation / iPaaS
91/100
14
Grammarly
The AI writing assistant with 30 million daily users — the default choice for grammar, clarity, and tone correction.
Essential AI writing tools
90/100
15
Clockify
The free time tracker with unlimited users — full team tracking at no cost, with paid tiers for billing.
Essential Time tracking
88/100
16
Zoom
Video conferencing platform used by 300 million daily meeting participants at its peak.
Essential Video conferencing
87/100
17
Semrush
All-in-one SEO and PPC platform combining keyword research, competitor analysis, and paid search intelligence.
Essential SEO tools
86/100
Strong

For the right team.

18
Jira
Issue-tracking and Agile project management platform built for software engineering teams at scale.
Strong Project management
76/100
19
Later
Visual-first social scheduler built for Instagram — drag-and-drop calendar, link-in-bio, and feed preview.
Strong Social media scheduling
75/100
20
Asana
Work management platform built for cross-functional teams tracking complex multi-step projects.
Strong Project management
74/100
21
RescueTime
Automatic time tracking that logs every app in the background — built for focus and self-awareness, not billing.
Strong Time tracking
74/100
22
Typefully
Writing-first scheduler for X and LinkedIn — drafts, threads, and analytics built for solo creators.
Strong Social media scheduling
74/100
23
Hootsuite
Enterprise social media management — multi-channel scheduling, team approvals, and social listening in one dashboard.
Strong Social media scheduling
73/100
24
Trello
Visual Kanban board tool for organizing tasks and workflows with drag-and-drop simplicity.
Strong Project management
72/100
25
Harvest
Time tracking with built-in invoicing and profitability reporting — the agency pick for billing clients.
Strong Time tracking
71/100
26
Brevo
Budget-friendly email and SMS platform that charges by sends, not contact count.
Strong Email marketing
70/100
27
Ubersuggest
Low-cost SEO tool with lifetime pricing — keyword research and basic audits for solo operators on a budget.
Strong SEO tools
70/100

Tools tagged as useful for agencies are surfaced from 10 categoryies we cover: project management, design, seo tools, social media scheduling, email marketing, time tracking, video conferencing, screen recording, ai writing, automation.

We don’t write per-tool reviews from the persona’s point of view — instead, each tool’s underlying review and 80/20 verdict is the same regardless of who reads it. The persona view re-slices the catalogue so the right tools surface for the right buyer.

Frequently asked questions

What's the single largest agency software cost?

Almost always the project-tracking platform, paid per seat. Agencies report it as the tool that scales most directly with headcount, and as the single highest-stakes selection decision because of the switching cost.

What software do agencies need?

Across 10 categories we cover for agencies, the 8020 picks include Linear, Loom, ActiveCampaign. The full ranking is below.

How is the agencies view different from a category page?

Category pages show every tool in a single bucket. Persona pages re-slice the catalogue: they show every tool — across multiple categories — that's typically part of the agencies's working stack.