AI Ops Stack for Small Agencies and Solo Marketers: Tools and Cost
For small marketing agencies, solo marketers and in-house marketers at small companies.
This is the set of tools Kerry Morrison uses to run marketing and operations work with AI help. Every tool here is marked Kerry uses it in the directory. The order below is a suggested setup order, not a ranking.
The cost column counts the lowest paid plan of each tool, at the list price for monthly billing. It is not Kerry's actual bill, and it leaves out tools that charge by usage. Use it to size a budget, then check each vendor's page before you buy.
What is in the AI ops stack for small agencies, and in what order do you set it up?
The AI ops stack for small agencies has 17 tools, set up in this order: Notion, Slack, Attio, Granola, Claude and Claude Code, ChatGPT and Codex, Grok, Firecrawl, DataForSEO, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google Search Console, Google Ads, Buffer, Canva, Substack, AgentMail and Vercel. Tools with no fixed public price are listed but not counted.
| Step | Tool | Role in the stack | Plan counted | List price a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notion | Holds notes, project pages and client documents in one workspace. | Not counted, Plus lists $10 per member but the billing basis is unconfirmed | Not counted |
| 2 | Slack | Handles team and client chat, with channels per project. | Pro | $8.75 |
| 3 | Attio | Tracks contacts, companies and deals as a CRM. | Plus | $44 |
| 4 | Granola | Records and writes up meeting notes. | Business | $14 |
| 5 | Claude and Claude Code | AI assistant for writing, analysis and code through Claude and Claude Code. | Pro | $20 |
| 6 | ChatGPT and Codex | Second AI assistant for writing and code through ChatGPT and Codex. | Plus | $20 |
| 7 | Grok | Third AI assistant, with an API that charges by usage. | Not counted, consumer plan prices not confirmed | Not counted |
| 8 | Firecrawl | Turns web pages into clean text and data for research and AI workflows. | Hobby | $19 |
| 9 | DataForSEO | Pulls search and keyword data through an API on pay-as-you-go pricing. | Not counted, usage based | Not counted |
| 10 | Google Analytics 4 (GA4) | Measures website traffic and conversions. | Standard | $0 |
| 11 | Google Search Console | Shows how a site performs in Google Search. | Free | $0 |
| 12 | Google Ads | Runs paid search campaigns. Spend goes to ads, not to a platform fee. | Not counted, ad spend | Not counted |
| 13 | Buffer | Schedules and publishes social posts. | Essentials, one channel | $5 |
| 14 | Canva | Makes graphics and simple layouts. | Pro | $12.99 |
| 15 | Substack | Publishes the newsletter and manages subscribers. | Free to publish | $0 |
| 16 | AgentMail | Gives AI agents their own email inboxes through an API. | Developer | $20 |
| 17 | Vercel | Hosts websites and small web apps. | Pro | $20 |
| Total of counted list prices | $183.74 a month | |||
The total counts the lowest paid plan of each tool at list price on monthly billing. It is a budget guide and not Kerry's actual bill. Not counted: Notion, Grok, DataForSEO, Google Ads. Prices last checked November 5, 2026.
Common questions
What does this stack cost a month?
The table above adds up the list prices of the lowest paid plans. Tools that charge by usage or by ad spend are listed but not counted, so the real total will be higher.
Do I need all of these tools?
No. A solo marketer can start with a workspace tool, one AI assistant, Google's free analytics tools and a scheduler. Add a CRM, meeting notes and research tools when the work calls for them.
Is this the exact plan Kerry pays for?
No. The table uses the lowest paid plan of each tool so that readers can size a budget. Kerry's own plans may differ.
How often are the prices checked?
Each tool page shows the date its price was last checked against the vendor's own pages. The site plans to recheck prices every month.