How to Run a Startup With AI Tools for Under $100/Month

The $97/Month AI Startup Stack

When you're bootstrapping, every dollar counts. Here's a complete AI toolkit that covers the essentials:

ChatGPT Plus — $20/month

Your general-purpose co-founder. Marketing copy, business plans, code debugging, customer research, pitch decks, email drafts. This one tool replaces several hires.

Perplexity Pro — $20/month

Market research, competitive intelligence, and due diligence with sources. Essential for making informed decisions without a research team.

Canva Pro — $13/month

All your design needs: logo, social media, pitch decks, marketing materials, website graphics. No designer needed.

Grammarly Premium — $12/month

Professional polish on every email, proposal, and customer-facing document. Worth it for credibility alone.

Zapier Starter — $20/month

Automate your operations: CRM updates, email notifications, lead routing, social media posting. Save hours of manual work.

Bolt.new Pro — $20/month (optional)

Build your MVP without a developer. Describe your product and get a working prototype to test with customers.

What You Get

For under $100/month, you have marketing, design, operations automation, research, and product development covered. Five years ago, this would have required 3-4 employees or $5,000+ in freelancers.