Sample data. Every number on this page is illustrative, here so the report design can be reviewed before responses close. Real results publish in November 2026. Take the survey to get them first.

The report

State of Agency Tools 2026

What 500+ agencies actually run on, from the platforms they build in to the tools that pay the team.

500+ responses · Published November 2026

35%do not know their profit margin per client
38%run new business without a CRM
93%have AI touching client deliverable work
3.4revision rounds on the average website project

Most used vs would choose again

Usage tells you what won the last five years. The loyalty axis, would you choose it again, tells you what wins the next five. Top-right is the safe zone; bottom-right is installed-base resentment.

Website platformsUsage among agencies that build client sites vs loyalty among each platform's users
0102030405060700255075100Share of agencies using it (%)Would choose it again (%)WordPressWebflowShopifyCustom codeFramerAI buildersWix StudioSquarespace
View as table
ToolAgencies using itWould choose again
WordPress58%52%
Webflow46%78%
Shopify31%74%
Custom code27%69%
Framer24%81%
AI builders14%62%
Wix Studio12%55%
Squarespace9%48%
Project management toolsUsage across all agencies vs loyalty among each tool's users
010203040500255075100Share of agencies using it (%)Would choose it again (%)ClickUpNotionAsanaMondaySpreadsheetsTrelloAirtableBasecamp
View as table
ToolAgencies using itWould choose again
ClickUp38%66%
Notion35%72%
Asana29%61%
Monday22%58%
Spreadsheets21%33%
Trello16%41%
Airtable12%57%
Basecamp9%64%

Ops and money

The back office is where the spreadsheet keeps winning: 34% still track time in a spreadsheet, and 35% cannot say what any single client earns them.

Time tracking and resourcing

Share of agencies, multi-select

Spreadsheets
34%
Harvest
26%
Toggl
21%
Nothing formal
19%
Productive
14%
Float
11%
Scoro
6%
Workamajig
4%

Do you know your profit margin per client?

Share of agencies

Roughly, in spreadsheets
41%
Honestly, no
35%
Yes, tracked in a tool
24%

Accounting and invoicing

Share of agencies, multi-select

QuickBooks
44%
Xero
27%
Our accountant handles it
21%
Stripe invoicing
18%
Spreadsheets
15%
FreshBooks
9%
Wave
6%
Bonsai
5%

Paying the team and contractors

Share of agencies, multi-select

Direct bank transfer
41%
Gusto
29%
Wise
22%
PayPal
19%
Deel
16%
Our accountant handles it
14%
Rippling
8%
Justworks
4%

How new business actually runs

38% of agencies have no CRM at all - the pipeline lives in an inbox - and the most common proposal tool is still a document: 39% send google docs/slides.

Sales pipeline and CRM

Share of agencies, multi-select

No CRM, it lives in our inbox
38%
HubSpot
27%
Notion or spreadsheets
24%
Pipedrive
16%
Close
7%
Attio
6%
Salesforce
5%

Proposals, contracts and e-signatures

Share of agencies, multi-select

Google Docs/Slides
39%
PandaDoc
24%
DocuSign
18%
None, handshake and an invoice
16%
Proposify
11%
Dropbox Sign
9%
Better Proposals
7%
Bonsai
5%

Living with clients

Email still carries the relationship at 86% of agencies, while AI notetakers have quietly reached 56% of client calls.

Where day-to-day client communication happens

Share of agencies, multi-select

Email
86%
Slack Connect
41%
WhatsApp/iMessage
33%
Microsoft Teams
24%
Client portal
17%
Notion shared pages
14%
Basecamp
8%

AI notetakers on client calls

Share of agencies, multi-select

No, manual notes
44%
Fathom
18%
Fireflies
15%
Otter
13%
Granola
11%
Zoom AI Companion
9%
tl;dv
6%
Circleback
5%

Review, revisions and QA

84% collect creative feedback over email or screenshots, the average website takes 3.4 rounds of revisions, and 25% ship with no real QA process.

How client feedback reaches you

Share of agencies, multi-select

Email
78%
Screenshots or marked-up PDFs
61%
Calls or meetings
54%
Slack/Teams messages
49%
Comments in Figma/Google Docs
38%
Spreadsheets
22%
A dedicated review tool
19%
Client portal
11%

Rounds of client revisions

Share of agencies

1 round
6%
2 rounds
24%
3 rounds
34%
4-5 rounds
26%
6+ rounds
10%

Do you QA websites before launch?

Share of agencies

Informal, depends on the project
47%
Formal checklist, every time
28%
No real process
17%
The client usually finds the bugs
8%

AI: what they use, what they pay for

Nearly everyone uses ChatGPT; the paying is where the market actually is (92% use it, 64% pay). AI touches client work at 93% of agencies, but only 31% always tell clients.

AI assistants: use it vs pay for it

Share of agencies, multi-select

  • Use it
  • Pay for it
ChatGPT
92%
64%
Claude
48%
31%
Gemini
41%
18%
Perplexity
26%
9%
Microsoft Copilot
19%
11%
Grok
8%
3%

Share of client work AI touches

Share of agencies

0%
7%
1-10%
22%
11-25%
28%
26-50%
24%
51-75%
13%
Over 75%
6%

Do you tell clients when AI is involved?

Share of agencies

Sometimes
38%
Always
31%
Never
17%
Clients ask us to use it
9%
Some clients ask us not to
5%

The most resented tool in agency life

One open question, no options to hide behind: which tool do you resent paying for? The most-mentioned answers, counted by hand.

  1. Adobe Creative Cloud87 mentions
  2. HubSpot43 mentions
  3. Monday31 mentions
  4. Salesforce24 mentions
  5. Semrush19 mentions

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