10 Free Tools Every Affiliate Marketer Should Be Using (But Most Don’t!)

Getting started with affiliate marketing can definitely be overwhelming. There are a lot of moving pieces. Adding to that, for many, is the stress of a very limited budget. But one of the great things about working online is that there are almost always free alternatives to pretty much every tool you need.

From email marketing platforms to funnel builders, costs add up fast, so finding these free options can really be a game changer for your fledgling affiliate marketing business.

In fact, there are free tools that top marketers use every day to grow their audience, boost conversions, and automate the boring stuff, without spending a dime. Because no matter how successful you become, using free tools when you can is just more money in your pocket (see, you’re starting to think like a successful affiliate already!).

Below are 10 tools you can use for free to launch or grow your affiliate business on a budget.

1. Canva – For Designing Scroll Stopping Graphics

Want to create attention-grabbing Pinterest pins, blog headers, or social media images and even videos?

Canva offers a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface perfect for designing all your visual content. With free templates tailored for every platform, you can look like a pro even if you’ve never touched Photoshop.

👉 Great for: Pins, lead magnets, Instagram posts, YouTube videos and thumbnails

2. Mailerlite – Start Building Your Email List

Your email list is the most valuable asset in affiliate marketing, and Mailerlite makes it easy to get started—for free.

It includes automation, landing pages, and signup forms, even on the free plan.

👉 Great for: Beginners who want to build and nurture an email list without paying upfront. PRO TIP: you should be doing this from day one!

3. Google Sites – Create Simple, Free Bridge Pages

Need a fast, free landing or bridge page? Google Sites offers a clean, ad-free way to build pages with your affiliate links or lead magnets. No coding required.

👉 Great for: Quick opt-in pages, bridge pages, or basic offer summaries. Pro Tip: As soon as possible invest money in a hosting account and domain name and set up your own website. It’s easy, cheap and you want assets in your affiliate marketing business that you actually own!

4. Pexels / Unsplash – Free Stock Photos That Don’t Look Like Stock

Avoid cheesy images that scream “stock photo.” These two platforms offer high-quality, royalty-free images that are perfect for adding images to blog posts.

👉 Great for: Blog posts, Pinterest graphics, social media content

5. Bitly – Track Your Links Like a Pro

Want to know how many people are clicking your links and where they’re coming from? You should. This is the only way you can determine what content is driving traffic and which are duds. Double down on the successful content types and get rid of the ones that are under performing.

Bitly helps you shorten and track links for free, perfect for optimizing your content across platforms and seeing what’s actually working.

👉 Great for: Affiliate link tracking and testing different CTAs.

6. AnswerThePublic – Discover What People Are Actually Searching For

This tool scrapes autocomplete search data from Google and turns it into a beautiful visual map of questions, phrases, and comparisons people are typing in real-time.

👉 Great for: Blog topics, YouTube titles, SEO-driven article ideas

7. Grammarly – Polish Your Content Like a Pro

Poor grammar kills credibility. Grammarly is a free Chrome extension that catches spelling and grammar mistakes in real time, no matter where you're writing online.

👉 Great for: Blog posts, emails, social content

8. Google Keyword Planner – Find Keywords With Real Search Volume

If you’re serious about getting organic traffic, keyword research is a must. Google’s free keyword planner tool shows actual search volume and competition levels for any keyword.

👉 Great for: Finding low-competition, high-intent affiliate keywords. Pro Tip: A common mistake many make, I did, is that this keyword tool only gives you competition levels for paid ads. If you’re trying to find good keywords for content marketing only use Google Keyword planner to get an idea of monthly searches, don’t rely on it to give you competition data for SEO purposes. Instead use Ubersuggest or something specifically for SEO.

9. Trello – Organize Your Affiliate Marketing Workflow

Affiliate marketing involves a lot of moving parts, content planning, email sequences, tracking links. Without a good organizational tool to keep track of it all, it can quickly spiral out of control and you can forget about things. Not good. Trello lets you create custom boards to manage it all without feeling overwhelmed.

👉 Great for: Editorial calendars, content batching, funnel planning

10. ChatGPT – Brainstorm, Outline, and Draft Content Faster

Are you using all the available AI tools to make your affiliate marketing life easier? If not, why? I use Chat daily. It is a great tool for brainstorming content ideas and helping with outlines.

👉 Great for: Scaling content creation without hiring a writer. Pro Tip: Don’t forget, never just copy and paste content from ChatGPT into whatever platform you’re using. An important part of building an affiliate business is building trust with your audience. This is only achieved by letting your voice come through. People need to get to know you. So using AI as a starting point is fine, but rewrite the content in your voice!

Final Thoughts: Start Smart with Free Tools

You don’t need a huge budget to make affiliate marketing work. With the right free tools, you can create stunning content, attract the right audience, and start earning commissions, all while keeping your expenses low and your profits high!

The key is using these tools strategically. Pick one or two in each category (design, email, content, SEO) and build your system step by step.

Want a clear path to follow?

👉 Download the Free Affiliate Marketing Blueprint here and learn the exact steps to take to build your affiliate marketing business the smart way.