Build your first AI stack: three setups for a solo business

Prices are US list prices from vendor pages checked in September 2026; annual rates are shown where they change the total. Some vendor links on this site are affiliate links; they never affect a recommendation. See our disclosure and method.

How we built these

Every stack covers the same eight jobs a solo business actually does: writing, research, images and design, email, notes and admin, audio, video, and code or automation. We gave each job to one tool, chose the cheapest plan that does the job without a watermark or a license problem, and added the monthly total at the bottom. Where a tool is on the list but you would not use it, skip it and keep the money. The tool cards linked in each table hold the full plan tables and our ratings.

One principle runs through all three: pay for the assistant you talk to all day first, and pay for specialists only when the free tier's specific limit, not a vague feeling, is costing you time.

The $0 stack

This is the first-month stack. It is not a compromise; it is how you find out which limits you actually hit.

Why these. ChatGPT is the anchor because, since mid-August 2026, its free tier has no cap on everyday text chat; every other free assistant rations conversation. Gemini takes the rationed jobs, Deep Research and image generation, because its free tier includes both, and its 15 GB of Google storage comes with your account anyway. Perplexity's free plan allows unlimited basic cited searches and three Pro Searches a day, which is enough fact-checking for one person. Canva Free is a complete design tool with a monthly AI allowance. Notion is unlimited for a solo workspace. Descript Free gives you an hour of media a month, enough to transcribe calls and pull quotes. Cursor Hobby covers the odd script.

What to skip. ElevenLabs Free, because its audio is non-commercial and must credit ElevenLabs; if a client will hear it, wait for the $40 stack. Notion AI, because the Free and Plus plans only carry a trial; use ChatGPT for the AI and Notion for the pages. Any Midjourney plan, because there is no free one and Gemini's image generation is free.

The limits you will hit first. Gemini's compute allowance on research-heavy days, Descript's watermark the first time you want to publish a clip, and Canva's premium templates. Note which one bites. That is your first purchase.

The $40 stack

This is where most solo operators land after a month or two: one paid assistant, one cheap bundle, and one specialist plan chosen by what you make.

Why these. ChatGPT Plus is the single most useful $20 for a generalist: GPT-5.6 Sol with the reasoning slider, full-duplex voice, agent mode, Deep Research and more Codex runs. Google AI Plus at $4.99 is the best-value second subscription in the category: Google cut it from $7.99 in June 2026 and doubled storage to 400 GB, and it doubles the free Gemini limits and puts Gemini inside Gmail. Canva Pro on annual billing rounds out the stack for anyone posting graphics weekly.

The swap slot. If you make audio or video rather than graphics, replace Canva Pro with Descript Hobbyist at $16 a month on annual billing (10 hours of media, 400 AI credits, no watermark) and add ElevenLabs Starter at $6 for 30 minutes of licensed voice a month. That version totals about $47. If you write for a living, swap ChatGPT Plus for Claude Pro at $20, or $200 a year; the total does not change.

What to skip. Perplexity Pro at $20: with a paid ChatGPT and Gemini, the free Perplexity tier covers the citations you need. Notion Business at $20 a member just to get Notion AI; you already have two assistants. Cursor Pro, unless code is a weekly job.

The $100 stack

For a solo business that publishes constantly: a newsletter, a podcast or video, social graphics, and a website or product with some code behind it. Everything here is on monthly billing, so the total is the ceiling, not the floor.

Why these. Two chat assistants sounds indulgent until you use them for different jobs. ChatGPT Plus carries the tools: voice, agent mode, Codex and image generation. Claude Pro carries the prose and the long documents, and Claude Code is included for anyone who builds. Perplexity Pro earns its $20 here because Research reports go from one a month to a monthly allowance for average use, and the browser agent is included. Canva Pro, Descript Hobbyist and ElevenLabs Starter are the three cheapest plans that produce publishable, licensed output in their categories.

The swap slot. If you write code most days, replace Perplexity Pro with Cursor Pro at $20, which includes about $20 of model usage a month, and lean on ChatGPT's search. If Gmail and Drive are your office, replace Claude Pro with Google AI Pro at $19.99 and get 5 TB of storage and Gemini in Docs for the same money.

What to skip. Any $100 or $200 tier. ChatGPT Pro, Claude Max and Perplexity Max are for people who bill by the hour for AI-heavy work; a solo business hits their limits rarely enough that waiting five hours is cheaper. ElevenLabs Creator at $22 until you are past 30 minutes of finished audio a month. Descript Creator at $24 until you are past 10 hours of media.

Already inside Google or Microsoft? The swap table

If your business already runs on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, the bundles change the math. The office suite you pay for now includes an AI allowance, and the storage you need is bundled with the assistant. Swap by row, not all at once.

The effect on the totals: a Google household's $40 stack becomes Google AI Pro at $19.99 plus Canva Pro annual, about $32 to $35, with more storage and no second assistant to manage. A Microsoft household's version is Microsoft 365 Premium at $19.99 plus Canva, the same money, with Copilot inside Word and Excel instead of a separate chat window. Both are worse for pure writing quality than Claude or ChatGPT and better for doing the work where it already lives.

Quick answers

How much should a solo business spend on AI tools?

Start at $0 and add one subscription at a time when you can name the limit you keep hitting. Most solo operators settle between $25 and $45 a month: one $20 chat assistant plus one or two small specialist plans. $100 a month is only worth it if you produce audio, video and design every week.

Should I pay for ChatGPT or Claude first?

Pay for whichever one you already reach for. ChatGPT Plus buys the broadest toolset, including voice, agent mode and Codex. Claude Pro is the better buy if most of your work is writing and long documents. If you live in Gmail and Docs, Google AI Pro at $19.99 replaces either and adds 5 TB of storage.

Do these tools train on my business data?

On consumer plans, mostly yes by default: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity all ship with training on and a switch to turn it off, and Cursor's Privacy Mode is off on individual plans. Business and enterprise plans exclude training. Flip the switches on day one, and keep client secrets out of any consumer chat.

More guides

• 
  Guides

  Every AI free tier worth using

  What free actually buys, the student offers, and a $0 workflow.

• 
  Guides

  How to choose an AI tool

  The five questions to ask before you pay for anything.

• 
  Prompt packs

  Small business marketing prompts

  Twelve prompts to put the stack to work this week.