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As a creative freelancer, the last thing I want limiting me are tools. Some make my life so much easier, others I could not run my business without, but I’m sure most of you are also on a budget, which is why it’s an extra cherry on top that all the tools mentioned below are completely free (with paid tiers too but I’ve never had to use them).
Figma has essentially changed the way I make content and a lot of digital media. I make all my carousels and reel thumbnails on here, I’ve done the same for clients too. Figma is also great as a holistic design tool so I often use it to moodboard and do earlier concept work for branding. You don’t quite get the same level of functionality as Adobe Illustrator, but there are a wide range of applications - I’ve even designed my website in Figma.
I really like it because it’s got intuitive UI (sort of a mix between Canva and Adobe) and the board-like visual nature where you can see all your designs in one space.
Okay, Pinterest is still my go-to for inspiration, but if you’re looking for high-quality images that don’t feel like sub-standard stock photos then Cosmos is for you. I really like the search by colour feature and the fact that you can trace back the image to its original owner. Also a great place for finding inspiration searching by themes and aesthetics.
I think I’ve said plenty about Notion on here before, but this is definitely one of the tools I couldn’t run my business without. I plan everything from content to client work here and I’ve set up my own systems that work exactly as I need them to. They’re also on a bit of a features drop wave at the moment (September 2025) and their offline mode has been particularly attractive. In fact, I’m even writing this post inside Notion. It’s great for students, freelancers who want to manage projects and even for personal use cases.
A must-have if you’re a beginner freelancer, I still use this and it’s a great, easy way of sending out, tracking and managing invoices. You can create your own template and let it do the heavy lifting. You can also add projects if you’re time-tracking or charging by the hour. I believe you can also automate payments to make it easier for clients to pay you, but I usually just add my bank details in the notes.
Okay so slightly niche tool if you’re also hosting events, but ever since I left Eventbrite, Luma has been the ultimate tool for hosting in-person and digital events. I’ve been trying out paid webinar’s recently as well and it’s just such a smooth tool with a really simple backend. You can keep track of attendees, send out newsletters (also moved away from Mailchimp) and communicate with your audience directly. They do charge a fee if you’re hosting paid events but 99% of their features are free and I love it.
Let me know if you try any of these tools out!