The $18,000/yr Mistake Most Startups Are
Making With Their SaaS Stack
Most teams auto-renew the same tools they picked in 2022–2023 — but SaaS prices have increased 33% on average since then. We analyzed 87 tools and found the lean alternative stack that saves a 10-person team $18,000+ per year.
(10-person team)
(ongoing)
since 2023
tracked
SaaS vendors have been quietly raising prices by bundling AI features into plans and eliminating cheaper tiers. If you haven't reviewed your stack since 2023, you're almost certainly paying more than you need to. The tools below have all raised prices at least once since 2023 — some by 100%.
| Category | Default (Expensive) Pick | Lean Alternative | Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design |
Figma +67%
Now $20/seat/mo — was $12 in 2023
10 seats = $2,400/yr
|
Penpot
Free (open-source)
Full Figma-like functionality, self-hosted or cloud
|
$2,400/yr |
| AI Coding |
GitHub Copilot +90%
Now $19/seat/mo — was $10 in 2023
5 devs = $1,140/yr
|
Codeium / Cursor Free
Free for individuals
Comparable autocomplete + chat, lower cost for teams
|
$1,140/yr |
| Project Mgmt |
Airtable +100%
Now $20/seat/mo — was $10 in 2023
10 seats = $2,400/yr
|
Notion
$10/seat/mo (also tracked by PricePulse)
Database, docs, wikis — replaces Airtable for most use cases
|
$1,200/yr |
| Communication |
Slack +21%
Now $8.75/seat/mo — was $7.25 in 2023
10 seats = $1,050/yr
|
Discord (Teams)
Free for businesses
Channels, DMs, voice/video — sufficient for most small teams
|
$1,050/yr |
| Automation |
Zapier +33%
Now $69.99/mo — was $49.99 in 2023
= $840/yr
|
Make.com
From $9/mo ($108/yr)
More powerful visual automation, lower cost for similar tasks
|
$732/yr |
| Forms / Surveys |
Typeform +72%
Now $43/mo — was $25 in 2023
= $516/yr
|
Tally.so
Free (unlimited forms)
Beautiful forms, conditional logic, same quality as Typeform
|
$516/yr |
| Marketing |
Mailchimp +20%
Now $15.50/mo — was $13 in 2023
= $186/yr (1K contacts)
|
Brevo (Sendinblue)
Free up to 300 emails/day
Free for most early-stage startups; paid plans start at $9/mo
|
$186/yr |
| CRM / Sales |
HubSpot Starter +25%
Now $1,000/mo — was $800 in 2023
= $12,000/yr
|
HubSpot Free + Notion CRM
Free
HubSpot free CRM + Notion for deal tracking covers most needs pre-$1M ARR
|
$12,000/yr |
| Total annual savings (10-person team) | $19,224/yr | ||
Switching 3-4 tools at once kills productivity. Start with the tool that has the biggest cost delta AND where switching friction is lowest. For most startups, that's Typeform → Tally (15 min migration) or Mailchimp → Brevo (1-2 hours).
If you're locked into annual contracts, switching mid-year just adds cost. Time your switches to renewal dates. Set a reminder 90 days before each renewal — that's when you have leverage to negotiate or switch.
Penpot is great for early-stage, but at 30+ designers Figma's collaboration features may justify the cost. Discord works for 10 people but gets chaotic at 50. These recommendations are calibrated for 1–25 person startups.
We've seen "lean" tools raise prices once they reach scale (Notion went up 25%, Linear up 60%). Don't assume your current pricing will hold. The smart move is to monitor pricing for all tools — even the alternatives you switch to.
Figma raised prices in 2022, then again in 2023. GitHub Copilot went from $10 to $19 — a 90% increase — in a single pricing change. Notion quietly raised prices mid-year without an announcement. These changes happen in pricing FAQs and help articles, not press releases.
Most teams don't notice until they see a higher charge on their credit card. By then, you've already been renewed at the new rate.
PricePulse monitors 87+ SaaS tools' pricing pages and sends you an alert the moment any of them change pricing — giving you time to negotiate, switch, or plan before renewal.
Get alerted before the next price hike
PricePulse monitors 87+ SaaS tools (including all the lean alternatives above) and sends you Slack + email alerts the moment pricing changes. Team dashboard. Renewal reminders. One-time price.