Search “marketing agency software” and the results blur together fast. Project tools, CRMs, reporting platforms, and funnel builders, all competing for the same search with nothing telling you which one solves which problem. An agency’s stack breaks down into five jobs. Client campaign delivery, project and resource management, CRM and client management, reporting and analytics, and creative, SEO, and channel tools.
Quick Picks
| Category | Tools / Platforms | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Client campaign delivery | ClickFunnels | From $97/mo |
| Project & resource management | Asana, Monday.com, ClickUp | $7 – $11/user/mo |
| CRM & client management | GoHighLevel, HubSpot, Pipedrive | $14 – $497/mo |
| Reporting & analytics | AgencyAnalytics, Databox, Google Looker Studio | Free – $79+/mo |
| Creative, SEO & channel tools | Canva, Semrush, Buffer | Free – $140/mo |
Client Campaign Delivery
A big part of running an agency is client campaign delivery, running the ads and pages that turn a client’s budget into paying customers. At a minimum, you need a page that makes the offer clear, a checkout that takes the payment, and a follow-up for anyone who doesn’t buy right away.
ClickFunnels leads this job because it’s built for it. It handles the landing page, the checkout, the upsells, and the follow-up emails a client’s campaign needs, all connected to the same funnel. Plans start at $97 a month, with pricing that scales on contacts and email volume rather than the number of funnels built.
ClickFunnels also includes an Agency Account built for agencies running client work specifically. It comes with 50 reseller sub-accounts, and the agency keeps 100% of what it charges clients, no revenue share back to ClickFunnels. That’s a structural difference from tools that only let an agency use the software internally, not resell it.
Our guide to running a sales funnel for an agency walks through what that looks like in practice. If the term’s new, what a sales funnel is covers the basics first.
ClickFunnels isn’t a project management tool or a reporting platform, and it doesn’t try to be either one. Agencies running client campaigns usually pair it with one of the tools below to cover those other jobs instead. That’s exactly what it’s built to do well.
The page, the checkout, the upsells, and the follow-up all run through the same funnel instead of separate logins and bills.
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Project and Resource Management
Three tools show up across nearly every agency roundup, and each one fits a different kind of agency.
Asana fits agencies running structured, cross-functional campaigns with several people touching the same project. It’s free for up to 10 users, then runs from about $11 a user a month. Agencies often pair it with detailed timelines and portfolio views across multiple client projects at once.
Monday.com leans visual. Boards, calendars, and color-coded statuses let a client glance at progress without training first. It’s free for up to 2 seats, then starts around $9 a seat a month. Smaller agencies tend to like it because the client-facing dashboard looks put together from day one.
ClickUp covers the most ground for the price, tasks, docs, chat, and dashboards, all inside one platform. It’s free for unlimited users at the entry level, then about $7 a user a month after that. Agencies watching cost per seat closely tend to start here first.
Most agencies running any of these three still add Slack or something similar for client chat, since none of the three build that in.
CRM and Client Management
An agency’s CRM needs look different from a normal sales team’s, because it’s managing several clients’ worth of contacts and pipelines at once, not just its own.
GoHighLevel is the platform most consistently recommended for agencies managing several clients specifically. It includes unlimited sub-accounts, unlimited contacts and users, and a white-label option that lets an agency put its own name on the software. Plans run $97 to $497 a month, with texting, calling, and certain AI features billed separately based on usage. Our full breakdown of GoHighLevel’s pricing and our full GoHighLevel review both cover this in more depth.
HubSpot fits an agency that needs deep reporting and a wide integration ecosystem more than it needs to manage separate client accounts. Its CRM is free to start, with paid plans from around $15 to $20 a seat a month. Costs climb faster as the contact database grows, though, and it doesn’t offer the same kind of white-label branding GoHighLevel does.
Pipedrive is the cleanest, least expensive option here, starting around $14 a seat a month. It fits an agency that only needs the CRM for its own sales pipeline, new business, proposals, deals, not client accounts. It doesn’t include sub-accounts, SMS, or white-labeling, so it works best when an agency isn’t managing client accounts through the CRM at all.
Reporting and Analytics
Every client eventually asks the same question. What did we get for what we spent? Reporting and analytics tools exist to answer that with numbers instead of a guess.
AgencyAnalytics is built around that exact question. It offers white-label client portals and scheduled reports pulling from more than 80 integrations. Pricing runs around $20 per client a month, a natural fit for an agency managing five to thirty client accounts.
Databox leans further into real-time dashboards. It also includes a built-in AI feature called Genie, which answers plain-language questions about the data instead of making someone build a chart first. Agency tiers start around $79 a month and scale with the number of connected data sources.
Google Looker Studio is free and connects to most major ad and analytics platforms. It covers what a smaller agency needs, at least until client volume grows enough to justify a paid, dedicated reporting tool. Several agencies use it as the starting point and move to a paid platform once client volume is high enough that white-labeling and automatic delivery save more time than they cost.
Creative, SEO, and Channel Tools
A campaign needs material to run on, images, headlines, ad copy, and a way to get it all out to the right social channels. Here’s what covers the design, the SEO, and the posting.
Canva remains the default for agency design work. The free plan covers basic needs. Canva Pro runs about $18 a month, and Canva Business runs around $25 a user a month for teams that need shared brand kits and collaboration.
Semrush is the broader pick for agencies handling SEO alongside PPC and content work, running from around $140 a month.
Ahrefs is the tighter, backlink-focused alternative, usually mentioned right alongside it, and it starts a bit lower. Either one covers what most agencies need, without running both.
Buffer covers social scheduling at a plain per-channel rate. It’s free for three channels, then around $6 a channel a month on the paid tier. Agencies managing several client social accounts often compare this against flat-rate competitors once they pass ten or so channels. That’s the point where the per-channel model starts adding up.
Building a Stack by Agency Size
A solo operator or a very small team can start with three tools and not much monthly cost. ClickFunnels handles client delivery, ClickUp or Monday.com’s free tier handles tasks, and Google Looker Studio handles reporting.
A five to ten-person agency managing several clients usually adds a proper CRM next. GoHighLevel fits if white-labeling and sub-accounts matter. Pipedrive fits if the CRM’s only job is the agency’s own sales pipeline. And a paid reporting tool like AgencyAnalytics tends to join once client reports start eating a lot of time every month.
A fifteen-plus person agency usually needs more of each job, deeper PM tooling like Asana for cross-team visibility, a CRM built for scale, and dedicated SEO and reporting platforms instead of free tiers. At that size, the time saved starts outweighing the added cost.
That’s the range, from a lean three-tool setup to a fuller stack built for scale. Whether an agency is small or large, it still needs the same five jobs covered, client campaign delivery, project management, CRM, reporting, and creative and SEO work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What software do marketing agencies use?
Most agencies run a stack of five kinds of tools rather than one platform. That means something for client campaign delivery, project management, CRM, reporting, and creative or SEO work. Which specific tools depends on agency size and client volume more than personal preference.
What is the best digital marketing software for agencies?
ClickFunnels leads for client campaign delivery. GoHighLevel or HubSpot cover CRM, depending on whether white-labeling matters. And Asana, Monday.com, or ClickUp cover project management, depending on team size.
What are the best tools for a small agency?
A small agency typically needs the simplest version of each job. That’s a funnel tool like ClickFunnels, a free-tier project management tool, and a free reporting option like Google Looker Studio. Paid tools get added later, once client volume grows past what the free tiers can handle.
Does an agency need separate tools for each job, or can one platform cover everything?
Some platforms cover more than one job at once, GoHighLevel combines CRM and campaign delivery, for instance. But no single tool covers all five well, so most agencies end up running two to four tools rather than one.
How much should a small agency budget for its software stack?
A lean stack for a small agency can run under $200 a month, combining free and entry-level tools across each job an agency’s stack needs to cover. Costs rise mainly with client count and team size, not with picking more expensive tools upfront.