During these uncertain times of social distancing and limited face-to-face interactions, people are looking to alternative ways of conducting business. Primarily, the Internet.
With all these newfound obstacles brought on by Coronavirus (COVID-19), more and more small businesses are looking to compensate for traditional sales through online commerce; some who have never had to rely on it before.
In an effort to help these impacted businesses, there are many companies offering assistance in the form of free services, software, cash grants and remote work support.
Below you’ll find a complete list of relief programs and COVID-19 responses from companies that want to help in any way they can:
Companies Responding to COVID-19:
Facebook – Cash Grants and Ad Credits
$100 million in cash grants and ad credits to up to 30,000 businesses
Small businesses can find financial support during these challenging times with a little help from Facebook. They’re offering $100 million in cash grants and ad credits to up to 30,000 businesses.
This opportunity will be open to businesses through an application process in the coming weeks.
- Keep your operations undisrupted
- Stay engaged with customers
- Help cover operational costs
Yelp – Ad Campaigns & Paid Features
Waived advertising fees, free products and services through April
Restaurants and bars can now find relief in the amount of $25 million from Yelp to help support these small, independently owned businesses and franchisees. To be eligible, you must have fewer than five locations that operate in the U.S., Canada, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
- Waived advertising fees from March 16-31
- Paused Yelp Ads program for April
- $100 Yelp Ads campaign for April (if you offer takeout or delivery)
- Free Yelp paid features or upgrades active on your account through April
- Business Highlights, Call to Action, and Yelp Connect free through April
Vectara – Video Meeting Software
Free until June 1, 2020
As many companies adapt to remote work, video calling has emerged as a popular option to connect with customers. Vectera is helping to ease the transition by offering their software to everyone for free until June 1, 2020.
New Vectara users will be able to get the full package for free, while existing (paid) accounts will receive an upgrade.
- Connect with customers online
- Schedule appointments
- Interactive video meetings
- Persistent video rooms
Krisp – Mute Background Noise
120 Minutes per week free for six months
What’s going on in the background. If you have stir-crazy kids, loud roommates or a neighbor who insists on blasting her TV at full volume (thanks Norma), Krisp can help clear all background noise from your professional conversations.
Krisp is not only introducing a free plan and cutting prices for the next six months, but is also giving all students, teachers, hospital and government employees unlimited Krisp for free. Well-done, Krisp.
- Clear phone calls
- Reduce background noise
- Maintain professionalism in any environment
Cloudflare – Cloudflare for Teams
Free for small businesses until Sept. 1, 2020
Secure and efficient remote work. The impact COVID-19 is having on small IT teams is dramatic. Cloudflare is doing their part by providing small businesses with enterprise-grade remote work features for free. Cloudflare for teams helps secure every remote worker’s connection without compromising performance.
- VPN
- Internal apps
- Fast connections
Zoho Remotely – Web and Mobile Apps
Free until July 1, 2020
A complete suite of web and mobile apps that help remote teams collaborate, communicate and stay productive. With Zoho Remotely, your team can meet online and communicate from anywhere.
- Video/ audio calls
- Share files
- Chat
PandaDoc – New eSign Plan
Free plan
Collect signatures and effortlessly close deals with PandaDoc’s free eSign plan: a better solution to keep business coming in when you’re working from home.
- Unlimited users
- Unlimited document uploads
- Unlimited eSignatures
- Payment processing
TechSmith – Snagit & Video Review Tools
Free until June 30, 2020
Helping your business with the transition to remote working, TechSmith is making their most popular screen recording tool and collaborative feedback tool free for businesses to use until the end of June 2020.
Snagit
- Screen capture and recording tool
- Record meetings and presentations
- Create and share images and other materials quickly
Video Review
- Video feedback tool
- Online review of recorded materials
- Mark up videos and add comments
Yext – Yext Answers
Free for three months
This is a time of uncertainty for not only your business, but your customers. That’s why Yext is offering its site search product, Yext Answers, free for three months.
Add this software to your website and you will be able to answer customer questions with accurate, up-to-date information about your business—because immediate and transparent communication is key during times like these.
- Improve call-to-actions
- Increase conversions
- Gain customer insights
- Cut support costs
Meero – Large File Transfer
Up to 10 GB of storage capacity and three FREE months of validity duration
The team at Meero understands that working from home may not yield the same capabilities as the office.
That’s why they’ve made it easier to share large files throughout your organization as you’re working from home: take advantage of up to 10 GB of storage capacity and three months of validity duration of the files shared through MeeroDrop for free.
- Easy “drag and drop” process
- Up to 10 GB of storage
- Any user with the link can access and download files
- Like and comment on files
All files shared via MeeroDrop between now and June 2020, will remain active on their platform for three months.
Google – Hangouts Meet
Free for G Suite customers until July 1, 2020
Ensure your workforce can continue to collaborate easily, even from your remote workspaces with free access to Google’s advanced video conferencing tool, Hangouts Meet.
- Host larger meetings (up to 250 participants)
- Record meetings and share them in Google Drive
- Live stream (up to 100,000 viewers)
You must be a G Suite or G Suite for Education customer to take advantage of this feature.
OneDine – Tap & Order and Tap & Pay
Free plan
For restaurants that are trying to conduct business as usual while navigating the countless restrictions being implemented in their state and counties during COVID-19, OneDine is offering its Tap & Order and Tap & Pay technology for free.
This system allows your customers to order, pay and pick up their food from within the spaces in your parking lot.
- Generate revenue from your parking lot
- Adhere to social distancing guidelines
- Only takes 24 hours to set up
- No contracts
Square – Business Solutions & Waived Fees
Subscription fee refunds. Waived curbside pickup and delivery fees for three months
For existing sellers utilizing their systems, Square is refunding all software subscription fees for the entirety of March—they will take care of everything, so keep an eye out if you’re a current user.
And over the next three months, the Square team is also going to waive curbside pickup and delivery fees to help support local businesses.
LinkedIn – LinkedIn Learning Courses
Free access to 16 LinkedIn Learning courses
Working from home may not have been in your 2020 business plan, but since your workforce is required to adapt, LinkedIn is giving free access to 16 LinkedIn Learning courses on how to effectively work remotely.
- Optimize your remote working processes
- Learn how to stay connected and productive
- Explore communication tools and resources
Calendly – Video Meeting Integrations
Free through June 2020
Stay connected with your fellow remote team members through Calendly and their Zoom and GoToMeeting integrations free of charge through June 2020. If you prefer Google Hangouts Meet, that integration is still free for users.
- Keep your team organized
- Continue using your favorite video meeting tools
- Sign up for a free Calendly account to get started
Support.com – TechSolutions
Free remote tech support service for anyone in need of IT help
It’s already tough transitioning to the remote work lifestyle; Support.com believes you shouldn’t have to deal with connectivity issues and tech problems, too.
That’s why they’re making their remote tech support service, TechSolutions, free to anyone in need of IT help. No matter the device, issue, or time, their team will be there via phone, live chat, or a video call.
- Device setup
- Troubleshooting
- Software installation help
- Security updates
Vidyard – Secure Video Messaging
Free until June 30, 2020
Keep your team connected and productive through these tough times with free secure video content and messaging from Vidyard through June 30, 2020.
Vidyard for Internal Communications is a cloud-based solution that will keep your video messages and screen captures secure when shared between team members.
They also have a free video messaging app and a free hosting and publishing platform that both offer great ways to engage with potential clients as well as your current customer base; capture unlimited video, host and share the content easily.
- Live video conferencing
- On-demand videos
- Video messages
- Content management
Jamm – Audio-Visual Collaboration Tools
Free access for the next three months
Jamm is all about remote teamwork and making your processes as seamless and productive as possible with their audio-visual communication tools.
In light of COVID-19, they are giving free access to Jamm for the next three months.
- Voice and video collaboration tools
- Quick remote conversations
- One-click collaboration features
Atlassian – Atlassian Cloud Products
Free cloud products
If your small business team just moved to remote working, you could get Atlassian cloud for free. These free cloud products can help with organization, communications, as well as the planning and tracking of projects and issues throughout your remote team.
- Project collaboration tools
- IT & customer service management
- Feature-rich apps and integrations
Wrike – Wrike Professional
First six months free
With an arsenal of web tools, time tracking, and your own digital workspace, you can stay connected and productive while you work from home with your first six months of Wrike Professional free; keeping your team on track, no matter where they’re working from.
- Create a personal digital workspace
- Sync up with your team easily
- All your tools and apps in one place
SpyFu – Competitor Keyword Research
Free subscription for as long as you need it
Discover helpful insights about your online competition by quickly downloading your competitors most profitable keywords for paid and organic search. Right now, SpyFu is offering any business affected by the Coronavirus a free subscription to their platform.
- Competitor research
- Track rankings
- Keyword research
Microsoft – Microsoft Teams
Free for six months
Transition to WFH life with meetings, calling, chat and collaboration tools all within the Microsoft system. Teams is part of the Office 365 suite, so you may already have it, but if not, you can get Microsoft Teams for free for six months.
- Chat
- Meeting
- Calling
Neil Patel – Ubersuggest
A “more free” plan
Step up your SEO game with Ubersuggest, a software to help with free keyword suggestion and optimization, now with a very generous free plan.
With an Ubersuggest free plan—that’s only becoming “more free” as more features roll out—you can continue growing your business without spending money.
- Improved keyword research
- Keyword/ content ideas
- Competitor traffic and top pages
- Full access to historical data
- Historical backlink graph
Cisco – Security for Remote Workers & Webex Meetings
Free licenses until July 1, 2020
With so many turning to remote work, Cisco is offering some help. To keep teams connected during this time and allow them to continue their business operations with security, Cisco Webex is offering extended free licenses and expanded usage counts for a few key security technologies:
- Cisco Umbrella: DNS-layer security
- Duo Security: Zero-trust security
- Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client: Secure network access
- Cisco AMP for Endpoints: Blocks attacks and helps you respond to threats quickly
You can also sign up for a free Webex Meetings plan which you can use as long as you need it.
- Meetings with 100 participants
- HD Video
- Screen sharing capabilities
- Personal rooms
In Summary
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted the economy and small businesses in a way that we never could have predicted. But it’s how we respond now that matters more.
The above list will undoubtedly grow as more companies show their support during these trying times. We will work to keep you well-informed and update this list as new offers and resources are rolled out.
Thank you so very much for this! I am an independent contractor as an entertainer for senior living facilities, doing occasional singing telegrams. As you can probably imagine, I found myself unemployed overnight. So, in an attempt to stay afloat I’m revamping my singing telegram services to include over the phone and virtual telegrams. I just did one yesterday (free of charge) for a couple in a nursing home celebrating their 70th anniversary! I have no idea how to make this happen but need to figure it all out. Your post is very helpful in beginning the process! Thank you again so very much!
Elizabeth Lakamp
Hi Elizabeth,
We’re so happy that you found our post helpful! So many businesses are being faced with challenges that are out of their control right now, but it’s how you respond that matters. And it seems like you’re doing it right! Keep working hard and let us know if you have any questions as you continue on this new and exciting journey.
Thanks,
The Mainstreethost Team
This was awesome for you to share! Good work gang – a big thank you. Hope you all stay healthy.
Thanks, Paula! Hope you and your team are staying safe and healthy as well 😊
The Mainstreethost Team
Thanks so much!
No problem, CJ – thanks for reading!
Stay well,
The Mainstreethost Team
Thank you for sharing these valuable resources. Like many other Bed & Breakfasts and small inns, my business has been basically shut down – temporarily, I hope!
I’m focusing on marketing to stay top of mind for past and prospective guests. I’m already using the keyword search, although it appears that the program is no longer free.
Hi Gwenn,
We’re glad you found these resources useful! And focusing on your marketing efforts right now is the best thing you could be doing for your business while your doors are temporarily (we hope so, too!) closed.
If you’re referring to the SpyFu subscription, it looks like you must reach out to their support team (support@spyfu.com) or send a message via live chat about their COVID-19 free software offer. They should then be able to help you set up a Basic Premium plan that will be free for two months.
Hope this helps and please reach out if you have any other questions while building your marketing strategy!
Thanks,
The Mainstreethost Team
nice information you have covered all information during coronavirus outbreak for free software and services.
Thank you – hoping you found some of these programs helpful!
Thank you for this list! you’re proving your company to be more valuable than just the cold call ;). If I come out the other end I know who I’ll call to fix my site.
Glad you liked the post, Bailey!
We’re just trying to do what we can to help. Feel free to reach out with any questions you may have during this time and we’re looking forward to the opportunity of working with you in the future 😊
– The Mainstreethost Team
Thank you for this programs.
Amazing list. Stay Home, stay safe.
Thanks for reading, Pranjal. Stay safe and stay healthy!
I have found other “free during COVID-19” software lists like this one, but to the extent of this one, thank you to both Mainstreethost and all the companies listed.
Glad to be of service, Stu! We hope you’ve found some of these programs helpful during this time.
Thank you for such a great list. I’ll have check out Krisp – sounds like a must have for all these calls taking place at home!
Getting rid of some of that background noise would definitely make work calls a lot easier 🙌 Glad you found the list helpful, Jen and thanks for reading!
Thank you So Much
Thanks for reading, Praveen—stay well!
Thank you this article is very helpful to me on my project work
Glad we could be of assistance, Ryan. Thanks for reading!