6 Great Low-Cost Programs for Small Business Owners (2026)

I remember being very cautious, and honestly a little scared, about spending money in my first year as self-employed. It took me a while to realize how valuable it is to invest in both courses and tools. But when you're just starting out, every dollar counts.

These are six low-cost programs I genuinely recommend, all priced between $9 and $99. They're a mix of marketing courses, tools, subscriptions and AI software that can make a real difference without breaking the bank.

If you're new here, hi! I'm a neurodivergent creative who writes about digital design, passive income from hobbies, and figuring out how to run a small business without burning out. Glad you found me! 😊

*This post contains affiliate links.

1. Liz Wilcox's Email Marketing Membership ($9/month)

If you're struggling to send consistent newsletters or feel like email marketing is too complicated, Liz Wilcox's Email Marketing Membership is worth knowing about. It's $9 a month, which is genuinely one of the best value things I've come across for small business owners.

Inside the membership you get weekly newsletter templates with video tutorials, foundational email marketing training, monthly live Q&A sessions, and quarterly guest expert sessions. That's 52 ready-to-use newsletter templates if you stay for a year, which means you never have to stare at a blank page wondering what to write.

Join Liz Wilcox's Email Marketing Membership

2. Ideogram AI Image Generator (free plan available or $20/month)

If you create any kind of visual content for your business, whether that's Pinterest pins, blog images, social media graphics, or digital products to sell, Ideogram is worth trying. This is my favourite tool, and I've used all the big ones like Midjourney, Dall-E and Nano Banana. Ideogram is my absolute favourite cause it's good at so many different things!

Try Ideogram for free

You can start with the free plan to get a feel for it before committing to anything. When you're ready to upgrade, the basic paid plan is $20 a month, or $15 a month on the annual plan. I'm on the $20 plan myself and use it weekly for Pinterest, clipart I sell, backgrounds, and blog post images.

3. Small But Mighty $9 Offers by Elizabeth Goddard ($9)

Elizabeth Goddard's Small But Mighty $9 Offers is a short course for digital product creators on adding a bite-sized $9 offer to your business. You'll learn why $9 offers are great for growing your email list and her favorite strategies for a low-key, tiny offer launch. Very meta, very useful. Elizabeth has ADHD, and maybe that's why all her courses work so well for me. I actually manage to finish her courses, cause I don't get bored.

4. That Black Friday Feeling by Elizabeth Goddard ($9)

That Black Friday Feeling is a one-hour course packed with tips on creating eight different Black Friday offers, how to plan the timing, and why having a Black Friday offer is worth doing even in a crowded market. Practical, specific, and very Elizabeth Goddard.

5. The Tripwire Training by Elizabeth Goddard ($47)

The Tripwire Training teaches you how to use a tripwire, a reduced-price offer shown to new subscribers right after they sign up, on the Thank You page. It's a smart way to generate surprise income while building your email list. Elizabeth explains her strategy and best tips clearly, and like all her courses it's also available as a private podcast feed, which is honestly the only way I consume her content. I haven't watched a single video because the audio option is just that good.

Elizabeth is excellent at what she does, and the fact that she sells these affordable courses alongside her higher-end programs (her most expensive is $3,000!) is something I really appreciate. The price point is what brought me into her world in the first place.

Her freebies are also well worth checking out. Find everything she offers here.

6. Holo AI (often on sale, around $80-90/year at the time of updating this post)

Examples of social media content made with Holo (won't load with VPN active)

Holo AI is the newest addition to my toolkit and honestly one of the most exciting ones. It works like having your own AI marketing agency, helping you create content, plan strategy, and show up consistently online without burning out. For a solo neurodivergent creator with limited energy, that's a big deal.

They run sales once in a while, and at the time of updating this post you could get a yearly membership for around $80-90, which is excellent value for what it does. Worth keeping an eye on their pricing.

Note: the page won't load if you're using a VPN, so make sure to turn it off before visiting.

Check out Holo AI

Want to go deeper on any of these tools? I've written a full review of Holo AI (where I also talk about the different between it and tools like Ideogram and Midjourney - it's not the same thing! I use both Holo and Ideogram) and you can also check out my post on free small business resources if you want to explore what's available before spending anything.

Have you tried any of these programs? I'd love to hear what's been working for you in the comments! 😊