Free standard operating procedure software exists on this site in a specific sense: eight tools that size, structure and cost procedures, compute their answer on the page, need no account and never expire. What is not free is the part that has to be reliable across a team over time: one current version per procedure, the record of who approved it, the reminder when the review date arrives, and the export when a buyer or an auditor asks. That is the subscription, and the line between the two is drawn on purpose.
What the free tools do
Size a standard operating procedure from its steps and roles, cost a process documentation set and its payback, size an operations manual, scope a set of work instructions, price a sales procedure in rep hours, plan a manufacturing procedure's checkpoints, build a worked example by department, and cost SOP development and training. Every answer is on the page in text and can be printed.
What the subscription is for
Keeping. A procedure saved against its process with an owner, a version, the sign-offs and the review date; the old version retired when the new one is approved; reminders to the people who owe a signature; and an export of everything. Those are the parts a free tool cannot honestly promise, because they have to work in a year.
Free trials elsewhere are not free tools
A fourteen-day trial ends; a tool that computes free without an account does not. The difference matters for a small team that wants to size its procedures this month and buy the record when the version problem starts.
What the paid products cost
From the vendors' own pages on the day they were read: SweetProcess is $99 per month for a team with up to 10 members billed monthly, or $82.50 billed yearly, with each additional member at $5 per month; Scribe's Pro Team plan is $17 per seat per month and its Pro Personal plan $35; Tallyfy's Full Seat is $30 per month and its Light Seat $10. RunbookDesk Pro is $99 per month for the whole team.
Questions people ask about standard operating procedure software free
Is the free part limited?
The free tools compute as often as you like with no account. The free plan of the workspace keeps a small allowance of saved work, stated on the pricing page.
When should a team pay?
The first time two people follow two versions of the same procedure, or the first time a review date is missed because nobody was reminded.
Can I export if I leave?
Yes, for the life of the subscription and for 90 days after; the terms say so.