When We Start a Business

The next steps are common for all startupers: you develop your idea through multiple prompts with AI. With this assistance, you can build infrastructure (like a website or organizing production), create and promote a product (such as an app for customers, a production venue, services, training, media content, etc.), and finally sell it via an online shop. Doing all this, you're assisted by multiple tools, AI agent subscriptions, services—and you spend a lot of time and, importantly for you, money—a lot of money. Some of the payments wouldn’t be obvious from the start or even be unnecessary, like advances for annual subscriptions.

Let's assume your startup business is selling advice or training; it could be consulting, financial or even accounting services, or education courses. Also, assume you have access to free AI sufficient to develop your initial steps into a business plan.

So, here's a breakdown of the typical costs and tools you'd encounter, starting with the basics and building up. We'll explore each category with popular suppliers, brief descriptions of their features, current pricing (as of 2025, often with annual billing for savings), and an optimal recommendation based on affordability and suitability for a small consulting or training business. These add up quickly, highlighting how fragmented and expensive the process can be without a unified solution.

Conservative Basic Approach

Website Domain

Domains typically range from $1–$11 for the first year, with promotions starting as low as $1 on sites like GoDaddy or Namecheap. But we recommend Cloudflare, which offers domains starting around $10.56 per year with added tools like DNS management, security features, and performance optimization—making it a solid choice for reliability.

Optimal option: Cloudflare at ~$11/year.

Website Builder

These platforms let you create a professional site without coding, often including templates, drag-and-drop editors, and basic SEO tools—essential for showcasing your consulting services or courses.

• Wix: User-friendly with AI-powered design, e-commerce integration, and marketing tools; plans start at $17/month (billed annually) for basic sites, up to $500/month for advanced enterprise features.

• Squarespace: Focuses on beautiful templates for creatives and service-based businesses; pricing begins at $16/month (annual) for personal sites, with business plans at $23/month including analytics and marketing.

• Hostinger Website Builder: Affordable AI-driven builder with hosting included, ideal for beginners; starts at $2.99/month (annual) for premium plans with 100 websites and e-commerce basics.

• WordPress.org: Free open-source platform, but requires separate hosting (~$5–$10/month); highly customizable with plugins for training sites, though it has a steeper learning curve.

• IONOS: Budget-friendly with AI tools and strong business features like email; plans from $1/month intro, then $5–$15/month ongoing.

  Optimal option: Hostinger at ~$3/month (annual)—great value for a simple, scalable site without overkill features.

Online Shop

For selling courses or consultations, you'll need an e-commerce platform to handle payments, digital downloads, and customer accounts.

• Shopify: Leading platform for online stores with easy setup, apps for courses (e.g., via integrations), and scalability; Basic plan at $29/month (annual), including abandoned cart recovery and basic reports.

• Wix Stores: Integrated with Wix builder, good for service-based sales like training; e-commerce plans start at $27/month (annual) with unlimited products and payment options.

• WooCommerce: Free plugin for WordPress, flexible for digital products; no monthly fee, but hosting/extensions add ~$10–$50/month.

• Big Cartel: Simple for small sellers, focused on creatives; free for up to 5 products, paid plans from $9.99/month for more features like custom domains.

• Ecwid: Embeddable store for any site, great for beginners; free for up to 10 products, Lite plan at $15/month for unlimited.

  Optimal option: WooCommerce at ~$0 (core free, plus low hosting costs)—ideal if you're already using WordPress, avoiding subscription lock-in.

Online Marketing

Tools to promote your services via SEO, ads, content, and analytics—crucial for attracting clients to your training or consulting offerings.

• HubSpot Marketing Hub: All-in-one with email, SEO, and ads; free tier for basics, Starter at $20/month for 1,000 contacts with automation.

• SEMrush: SEO-focused with keyword research and competitor analysis; Pro plan at $139.95/month (annual) for small businesses.

• Buffer: Social media scheduling and analytics; free for basics, Essentials at $6/month per channel for publishing and reports.

• Google Analytics: Free tool for website traffic insights, with advanced features via Google Marketing Platform (paid add-ons ~$50,000/year for enterprise, but free for small use).

• Ahrefs: Comprehensive SEO and backlink tool; Lite plan at $99/month for keyword tracking.

  Optimal option: HubSpot Starter at $20/month—balances features for integrated marketing without overwhelming costs.

Consent Management

Platforms to handle cookie consents and GDPR compliance, ensuring your site legally collects user data for marketing.

• Cookiebot: Automated scanning and customizable banners; free for small sites (<100 pages), paid from $12/month for more pages/domains.

• OneTrust: Enterprise-level with advanced privacy tools; pricing starts around $600/month for basic CMP features.

• Usercentrics: Flexible for global compliance; plans from €50/month (~$55) for standard features.

• Axeptio: User-friendly with fun designs; free plan available, paid from $29/month.

• Consentik: Google-integrated CMP; free basic, premium from $6.99/month.

Optimal option: Consentik at ~$7/month—affordable and sufficient for a small business site's compliance needs.

Reviews Management

Software to collect, monitor, and respond to client feedback, building trust for your consulting or courses.

• ReviewTrackers: Aggregates reviews from multiple sites with analytics; pricing upon request, typically $50–$100/month for small businesses.

• Birdeye: AI-powered review generation and response; starts at $299/month for basics.

• Podium: Focuses on messaging and reviews; plans from $249/month.

• Signpost: Automation for small businesses; pricing upon request, around $100/month.

• Yotpo: E-commerce review tool with loyalty features; free for basics, paid from $15/month.

Optimal option: Yotpo at $15/month—cost-effective for managing reviews tied to your online shop.

CRM

Systems to manage client relationships, leads, and follow-ups—key for tracking consulting inquiries or course enrollments.

• HubSpot CRM: Free forever with unlimited users, includes email tracking and deals; add-ons like Marketing Hub from $20/month.

• Zoho CRM: Scalable with automation; free for 3 users, Standard at $14/user/month (annual).

• Salesforce Essentials: Cloud-based for small teams; $25/user/month with AI features.

• Pipedrive: Sales-focused pipeline management; Essential at $14/user/month.

• Freshsales: AI insights and built-in phone; free for basics, Growth at $9/user/month.

Optimal option: HubSpot at $0 (free tier)—perfect starting point with room to upgrade.

Email Marketing

Tools for newsletters, course promotions, and client nurturing—separate from general marketing for targeted campaigns.

• MailerLite: Intuitive with automation; free up to 1,000 subscribers (12,000 emails/month), Classic at $10/month for more.

• ActiveCampaign: Advanced automation and CRM integration; Lite at $29/month for 1,000 contacts.

• Brevo (formerly Sendinblue): All-in-one with SMS; free up to 300 emails/day, Starter at $25/month.

• Klaviyo: E-commerce focused; free up to 250 contacts, paid from $30/month.

• Constant Contact: Templates for small businesses; Core at $12/month for 500 contacts.

Optimal option: MailerLite at $10/month—strong free tier transition for growing lists.

Payment Gateway

Process online payments for courses or sessions securely, often integrated with your shop.

• Stripe: Developer-friendly with subscriptions; no monthly fee, 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

• PayPal: Widely trusted for digital goods; no setup fee, 2.9% + $0.49 per transaction (or lower for merchants).

• Square: Simple for online/in-person; no monthly, 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

• Authorize.net: Robust for businesses; $25/month + 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

• Adyen: Global processing; custom pricing, typically 0.5–1.5% + €0.10 per transaction.

Optimal option: Stripe at $0 monthly (transaction fees only)—flexible and no upfront costs.

AI Agent Connection

Platforms to integrate AI agents for automation, such as connecting ChatGPT or Grok for workflows, content generation, or customer interactions in your consulting business.

• Zapier: Automation tool with AI integrations; free for 100 tasks/month, Professional at $19.99/month for unlimited apps and premium features.

• Make.com: No-code automation with AI modules; free for 1,000 operations/month, Core at $9/month for more.

• Gumloop: AI agent builder for small businesses; free plan, paid starts at $37/month for advanced workflows.

• n8n: Open-source workflow automation with AI nodes; self-hosted free, cloud at $20/month.

• OpenAI API: Direct AI integration; pay-per-use (~$0.02/1K tokens), or Plus subscription at $20/month for priority access.

Optimal option: Zapier at $0 (free tier)—handles basic AI connections without immediate costs.

Support (Ticketing System)

Tools like Zendesk for managing customer inquiries, tickets, and support requests—vital for handling client questions in training or consulting.

• Zendesk: Comprehensive ticketing with AI agents; Support Team at $19/agent/month, including multichannel support.

• Freshdesk: Omnichannel helpdesk with automation; free for basics, Growth at $15/agent/month.

• Zoho Desk: AI-powered ticketing; free for 3 agents, Standard at $14/agent/month.

• Help Scout: Shared inbox and knowledge base; starts at $20/user/month for basic plans.

• Kayako: Unified customer support; pricing from $15/agent/month for essentials.

Optimal option: Freshdesk at $0 (free tier)—adequate for small-scale support without upgrades.

Live Chat Bot Conversation Module

Software for real-time chat bots, often using programmable APIs like Twilio, to engage visitors and automate responses on your site.

• Twilio Conversations: Programmable chat for bots; $0.05 per monthly active user, plus media storage ~$0.25/GB.

• Tidio: AI chatbots with live chat; free for 50 conversations/month, Starter at $24.17/month for more.

• LiveChat: Real-time messaging with bots; starts at $20/agent/month for basic features.

• Intercom: Conversational support with AI; Starter at $74/month for small teams.

• Drift: AI-driven chat for sales; Advanced plan custom, typically $2,500/year minimum.

Optimal option: Tidio at $0 (free tier)—covers basic bot conversations for low-volume startups.

As you can see, even with optimal choices, these tools pile up: $11/year domain ($1/month equiv) + $3 (builder) + $0 (shop) + $20 (marketing) + $7 (consent) + $15 (reviews) + $0 (CRM) + $10 (email) + $0 (payments) + $0 (AI agent) + $0 (support) + $0 (live chat) = around $66/month minimum, plus transaction fees and potential upgrades. That's before time spent integrating them or hidden costs like add-ons.

Realistic Approach

This fragmented approach drains resources, but there's a better way...But this conservative estimate doesn't capture the full reality for most startups. In practice, free or ultra-low-cost options often fall short because they lack the advanced features needed for seamless integrations—think syncing your CRM with your online shop, automating marketing campaigns based on customer data, or embedding live chat bots that pull from your AI agents.

Basic plans for website builders, in particular, restrict API access, third-party app connections, and custom automations, forcing you to upgrade to mid- or high-tier subscriptions just to make everything work together without constant manual tweaks or data silos. If you're not tech-savvy—or simply want a cohesive system from day one—you'll end up paying for these upgrades, plus tools like Zapier for bridging gaps.

Hidden costs like transaction fees (e.g., 2.9% + $0.30 per sale), add-ons for scalability, and time spent on vendor support or troubleshooting can balloon expenses further. To draw your attention: A basic website builder plan might let you drag-and-drop a simple site, but to integrate it properly with your shop, CRM, marketing tools, consent management, reviews, email automation, payment gateways, AI agents, support ticketing, and live chat bots, you'll need an advanced plan. These often start at 2-3x the entry-level price and include premium features like unlimited API calls, custom domains without branding, and built-in analytics. Without them, your stack becomes a disjointed mess, leading to lost leads, compliance risks, or frustrated customers.Let's recalibrate with a more realistic scenario for a consulting or training business: Opting for no-code platforms with mid-tier plans that enable essential integrations (e.g., via APIs, apps, or automation hubs) and assuming annual billing for savings, but factoring in upgrades for full functionality like cross-tool data syncing or unlimited contacts. We'll avoid WordPress entirely, as it demands extra hosting and plugins that add complexity and cost.

• Website Builder: To handle integrations without restrictions, go with Wix Business at $39/month—includes unlimited bandwidth, advanced e-commerce, API access for CRM/marketing connections, and no Wix branding.

• Online Shop: Integrated into Wix, but for robust features like subscription billing or advanced inventory (e.g., for course bundles), layer on Shopify Basic at $29/month (standalone or app-integrated for seamless sales data flow).

• Online Marketing: HubSpot Starter at $20/month is too limited for integrations; a realistic choice is SEMrush Pro at ~$117/month for SEO, content tools, and API connections to your site/CRM.

• Consent Management: Cookiebot Premium at $8/month covers basics, but for integration with marketing/analytics and multi-domain support, upgrade to a plan around $39/month (scaled for traffic).

• Reviews Management: Yotpo Growth at ~$29/month for shop integrations, automated requests, and loyalty features tied to your CRM.

• CRM: HubSpot free lacks custom automations; realistic is Zoho CRM Professional at $23/user/month (assume 1 user) for API integrations with your site, shop, and email.

• Email Marketing: MailerLite Classic at $10/month is entry-level; for CRM/shop integrations and advanced segmentation, go with Advanced at $20/month.

• Payment Gateway: Stripe at $0 monthly, but with Billing add-on for subscriptions (~0.7% of volume, equivalent to $10/month for moderate use in training courses).

• AI Agent Connection: Zapier free is task-limited; Professional at ~$20/month for unlimited apps and AI workflow integrations (e.g., connecting Grok to your CRM for lead gen).

• Support (Ticketing System): Freshdesk free is basic; Growth at $15/agent/month for multichannel integrations and AI-powered responses.

• Live Chat Bot Conversation Module: Tidio free caps conversations; Starter at ~$24/month for unlimited bots, Twilio-like programmability, and site/CRM integrations.

Adding the domain (~$11/year, or ~$1/month), this realistic, integrated stack totals around $366/month minimum—plus integration overheads like extra Zapier tasks or app fees if automations aren't native. That's over $4,400/year, not counting scalability upgrades as your business grows. For a fledgling consulting or training business, this fragmented ecosystem—with its login juggling, data inconsistencies, and vendor dependencies—can hinder momentum before you even hit your first sale.

Advanced Approach

For businesses aiming to leverage AI-driven efficiencies—such as automated content generation, predictive analytics, intelligent chatbots, and workflow optimizations—while eliminating most limitations on users, contacts, API calls, or scalability, you'll need to upgrade to advanced or enterprise tiers across the stack. These plans often bundle AI features natively, reducing the need for bolt-on tools but inflating costs significantly. Here's a recalibrated breakdown using top-tier plans with integrated AI (e.g., AI-powered SEO recommendations in SEMrush, Freddy AI in Freshdesk, or AI bots in Tidio), assuming a growing consulting or training business with unlimited or high-volume capabilities and seamless integrations. Prices reflect monthly billing where possible, converted to USD, and focus on plans that remove caps like storage limits or task quotas.

• Website Builder: Wix Business Elite at $159/month—includes AI design tools, unlimited storage/bandwidth, advanced e-commerce with AI analytics, and full API integrations for enterprise-level customization without restrictions.

• Online Shop: Shopify Advanced at $399/month—features AI-driven product recommendations, advanced reporting with predictive insights, unlimited staff accounts, and low-code integrations for high-volume sales without transaction limits.

• Online Marketing: SEMrush Business at $500/month—unlocks AI content optimization, unlimited projects/reports, predictive trend analysis, and enterprise APIs for integrating with your full stack, removing keyword or user limits.

• Consent Management: Cookiebot Premium Extra Large at ~$99/month—provides AI-automated scanning for unlimited pages/domains, advanced compliance reporting, and integrations with marketing tools without traffic caps.

• Reviews Management: Yotpo Premium at $699/month—includes AI-generated review responses, unlimited orders/products, advanced loyalty programs with predictive analytics, and seamless CRM/shop integrations.

• CRM: Zoho CRM Enterprise at $40/month (per user, assume 1)—features AI-powered lead scoring (Zia AI), unlimited custom modules/workflows, and omnichannel integrations without data limits.

• Email Marketing: MailerLite Advanced at $20/month (scales with subscribers; assume base for unlimited templates)—offers AI subject line optimization, unlimited emails/automation, and CRM integrations without contact caps.

• Payment Gateway: Stripe with Advanced Billing at ~$20/month equivalent (0.8% per transaction on volume; no monthly base but AI fraud detection and unlimited subscriptions included).

• AI Agent Connection: Zapier Team at $69/month—enables unlimited AI-powered tasks/workflows, team collaboration, and premium app integrations (including custom AI agents) without task limits.

• Support (Ticketing System): Freshdesk Enterprise at $79/month (per agent)—includes Freddy AI for auto-responses/routing, unlimited agents in add-ons, audit logs, and full stack integrations without engagement caps.

• Live Chat Bot Conversation Module: Tidio+ (Enterprise) at $750/month—features advanced AI chatbots with unlimited conversations, custom integrations (e.g., Twilio-like), analytics, and no session limits for high-traffic sites.

Adding the domain (~$1/month), this AI-integrated, limitation-free advanced stack totals around $2,835/month—over $34,000/year—before additional users, transaction fees, or custom add-ons. This premium approach delivers powerful AI enhancements but at a steep price, often requiring dedicated IT support for maintenance.

Cost Comparison Tables

General Costs

Setup Time Estimates

Additional Costs

Integration Costs

Conclusion

While the conservative approach might seem appealing at $66/month, it quickly escalates to $366/month in a realistic integrated setup or $2,835/month for advanced AI features—plus thousands in one-time integration costs and ongoing support fees.