Sure, buying as an end in itself isn't wise. If the tools aren't improving the metrics, they are too expensive and it doesn't matter if it's $10 or $1 per month

Sure, buying as an end in itself isn't wise. If the tools aren't improving the metrics, they are too expensive and it doesn't matter if it's $10 or $1 per month. But if they do improve the metrics, you'll typically get more done, which will translate to more revenue. Software & tools tends to be somewhere between 0.5 and 3% of total employee cost in my experience, but of course it's not priced per market, so that would be significantly higher with the same tools in an area with lower salaries, less non-wage labor costs etc.