Founder Toolkit · Resources

Cut your software bill - without cutting corners

Start with the email path most shops never finish: a free custom-domain inbox, then free sending that can reach about 15,000 emails a month. Then protect the site. Use them to start. Know where DIY quietly gets expensive.

Book a consultation See the free stack

The email path

Inbox first. Then send. you@yourbusiness.com (Zoho Forever Free) → campaigns / receipts / alerts (~15k/month stacked)

At a glance

Step 1 · InboxZoho MailForever Free Then sendBrevo + send stackFree tiers Website speed & safetyCloudflareFree plan

01 · Step 1 · Inbox

Zoho Mail· Forever Free

Step 1 - custom-domain email (you@yourbusiness.com) at $0

What you get

Public free tier (verify on the vendor site)

Up to 5 users
5 GB mail storage per user
One custom domain (you@yourbusiness.com)
Webmail + Zoho mobile apps
No credit card required

Where DIY gets expensive

The catch that protects your time and reputation

Moving cleanly off Gmail / Google Workspace
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC so mailbox replies do not land in spam
No IMAP/POP on free - Outlook and Apple Mail need a paid plan
Growing past 5 users without breaking the setup

02 · Then send

Brevo + send stack· Free tiers

Step 2 - about 15,000 customer emails a month at $0

What you get

Public free tier (verify on the vendor site)

Brevo: 300 emails/day ≈ 9,000/month (campaigns)
Resend: 100/day and 3,000/month (receipts, magic links)
A third 100/day lane (e.g. Mailgun-class) ≈ another 3,000
Stacked: about 15,000 sends/month - split jobs, not the same blast three times
No credit card required on these public free tiers (verify live limits)

Where DIY gets expensive

The catch that protects your time and reputation

Treating the mailbox and the sender as the same DNS job
Same campaign from three brands / IPs - that looks like spam
Skipping SPF / DKIM / DMARC on news@, app@, and alerts@
Hitting a daily cap (Resend is 100/day - not 3,000 in one afternoon)

03 · Website speed & safety

Cloudflare· Free plan

Host and protect the site for $0 - then store files on the free 10 GB tier

What you get

Public free tier (verify on the vendor site)

Global CDN, free SSL, DDoS protection, fast DNS
Cloudflare Pages: unlimited static bandwidth, 500 builds/month
R2 object storage: about 10 GB/month free, egress $0
Vercel Hobby (prototypes): 100 GB transfer, 1 GB Blob - personal/hobby ToS

Where DIY gets expensive

The catch that protects your time and reputation

Wrong settings that break checkout, forms, or email routing
Treating Vercel Hobby or free Cloudflare like a commercial blank check
Video / huge media on Pages (25 MiB per file) instead of R2
Netlify free is 300 credits/month now - not the old 100 GB story

15-minute exercise

Owner checklist

Before you renew another subscription, run this once. Keep the receipts.

1
Do you send invoices from a personal Gmail - or from you@yourdomain.com?
2
If the inbox is done: who sends campaigns vs receipts vs alerts - and what is each daily cap?
3
Where does the site live vs photos/PDFs vs the always-on app - and what is each free GB / build cap?
4
List every tool you pay for. Check real limits - not headlines. Decide self-serve vs specialist setup.

Next Best Step

Want this free stack set up the right way?

Secure, deliverable, and built to scale. Book a short consultation and we will help you take the next best step - without paying for software you do not need yet.

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Featured tools mentioned for identification only: Zoho, Brevo, Resend, Mailgun, Mailjet, and Cloudflare. Their names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners. Free-tier limits change - verify on the vendor site before you commit. ConsultifyIT is not affiliated with or endorsed by these vendors.