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Most people starting online pay for software before they've made a dollar. You don't have to. Every paid tool below has a free option that's good enough for your first project. Free versions have limits, so check each site's current plan before you build on it.
The swaps
- Premiere Pro to CapCut or DaVinci Resolve. CapCut has a free version that covers short-form edits, captions and templates. DaVinci Resolve has a free version for longer, more serious editing.
- Photoshop to GIMP or Photopea. GIMP is free, open-source desktop software. Photopea runs in your browser and opens PSD files.
- Paid design tools to Canva Free. Thumbnails, Pinterest pins and simple product covers all work on the free plan. More ideas in free Canva Pro alternatives.
- Adobe Audition to Audacity. Audacity is free and open-source. It's enough to cut breaths and clean up a voiceover.
- Microsoft Office to Google Docs and Sheets. Free with a Google account, and easy to share.
- ClickFunnels to systeme.io. As of Oct 2026, systeme.io's free plan has no end date, needs no credit card, and includes 3 sales funnels, 2,000 contacts, 1 course and unlimited emails. ClickFunnels has no free plan. See systeme.io vs ClickFunnels.
- Mailchimp paid plans to a free email tool. If you're also building pages, one tool that does both saves you a bill. Compare options in free Mailchimp alternatives.
- A copywriter to a free AI chatbot. ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude all have free tiers. Use them for first drafts, then rewrite in your own words. Which one to pick: ChatGPT vs Gemini vs Claude.
A full $0 starter setup
Here's what one person can run for free: CapCut for videos, Canva for graphics, a free AI chatbot for drafts, and systeme.io for the landing page, email list and checkout. That's enough to test one small offer.
Where it's worth spending a little
The free tools aren't the hard part. Knowing what to type into the AI is. If you'd rather not write prompts from scratch, the ChatGPT prompts pack for affiliate marketing is a $17 one-time buy. It's optional. Everything above works without it.
The honest limit
Free software removes the cost, not the work. Nobody can promise these tools will make you money. Pick one offer, make content about it every day, and upgrade only when something is actually earning.