HubSpot CRM — Best Overall
Free · ★★★★★ · The most powerful free CRM on the market
| Rank | CRM | Best For | Price | Rating | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HubSpot CRM | Overall | Free | ★★★★★ | Visit |
| 2 | Salesforce | Scaling | $25/user/mo | ★★★★☆½ | Visit |
| 3 | Pipedrive | Sales Teams | $14/user/mo | ★★★★☆½ | Visit |
| 4 | Zoho CRM | Value | $14/user/mo | ★★★★☆ | Visit |
| 5 | Freshsales | AI Sales | $9/user/mo | ★★★★☆ | Visit |
| 6 | Monday Sales | Visual Pipeline | $12/seat/mo | ★★★★☆ | Visit |
| 7 | Close | Inside Sales | $29/user/mo | ★★★★☆ | Visit |
| 8 | Copper | Google Workspace | $23/user/mo | ★★★½☆ | Visit |
| 9 | Insightly | Project + CRM | $29/user/mo | ★★★½☆ | Visit |
| 10 | folk | Relationships | $20/user/mo | ★★★½☆ | Visit |
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is the backbone of any growing business. It centralizes your contacts, tracks every interaction, automates follow-ups, and gives you visibility into your sales pipeline. We evaluated all 10 CRMs from the perspective of small businesses and startups — focusing on ease of setup, value, and the features that matter most when you're scaling from 0 to 100 customers.
HubSpot's free CRM is genuinely free — not a trial, not a teaser, but a fully functional CRM with unlimited users and up to 1 million contacts. You get contact management, deal tracking, email tracking, meeting scheduling, and a live chat widget at zero cost. The free tier also includes basic email marketing, forms, and a reporting dashboard. When you're ready to scale, HubSpot's paid Sales, Marketing, and Service Hubs integrate seamlessly.
Pros
- Truly free with unlimited users and 1M contacts
- Beautiful, intuitive interface with minimal learning curve
- Powerful ecosystem (Marketing, Sales, Service Hubs)
- Excellent free email tracking and meeting scheduler
Cons
- Paid Hubs get expensive fast ($45–$800+/mo)
- Advanced reporting requires paid plans
- Can become complex as you add Hubs
Salesforce is the CRM that enterprises trust, but its Starter plan ($25/user/mo) makes it accessible to small businesses too. The platform is infinitely customizable — custom objects, workflows, automations, and an app marketplace (AppExchange) with thousands of integrations. Einstein AI provides lead scoring, opportunity insights, and sales predictions. If you plan to scale significantly, Salesforce can grow with you from 5 users to 5,000.
Pros
- Infinitely customizable to any business process
- Einstein AI for lead scoring and predictions
- Massive AppExchange marketplace
- Scales from startup to enterprise seamlessly
Cons
- Steep learning curve for new users
- Costs escalate quickly with add-ons
- Often requires a consultant for setup
Pipedrive was built by salespeople, for salespeople. Its visual pipeline is the best in the industry — drag deals between stages, see bottlenecks at a glance, and get activity-based selling reminders that keep your team focused. The AI Sales Assistant analyzes your pipeline and suggests the next best action. Built-in calling, email sync, and a mobile app make it a complete sales toolkit without the complexity of Salesforce.
Pros
- Best-in-class visual sales pipeline
- Activity-based selling methodology built in
- AI Sales Assistant recommends next actions
- Fast setup — productive in under an hour
Cons
- Limited marketing automation
- Reporting less robust than HubSpot or Salesforce
- No free tier available
Quick Reviews: #4 – #10
#4 Zoho CRM ($14/user/mo) — The best value CRM on the market. Zoho packs sales automation, analytics, multichannel communication (email, phone, social, chat), and AI (Zia) into plans that undercut competitors significantly. It's part of the massive Zoho ecosystem (45+ apps), so you can add invoicing, helpdesk, and project management without switching platforms.
#5 Freshsales ($9/user/mo) — An AI-first CRM from Freshworks with built-in phone, email, chat, and AI lead scoring (Freddy AI). The $9/user/mo entry point makes it the most affordable paid CRM with AI features. The interface is clean and modern, with a quick setup wizard that gets you productive in minutes. Best for small teams that want AI without the enterprise price tag.
#6 Monday Sales CRM ($12/seat/mo) — Built on Monday.com's visual work platform, this CRM turns your sales process into colorful, customizable boards. Drag-and-drop automations, visual dashboards, and flexible views (Kanban, timeline, map) make it intuitive. Best for teams already using Monday.com for project management who want their CRM in the same workspace.
#7 Close ($29/user/mo) — Purpose-built for inside sales teams that live on the phone and email. Close includes built-in calling (with call recording), SMS, and email sequences out of the box — no integrations needed. The Power Dialer and Predictive Dialer features make it a favorite for high-volume sales teams. Premium pricing reflects the all-in-one communication tools.
#8 Copper ($23/user/mo) — The CRM designed specifically for Google Workspace users. Copper lives inside Gmail and Google Calendar, automatically logging emails, creating contacts, and syncing events. If your team runs on Google Workspace and wants a CRM that feels native rather than bolted on, Copper is the best fit. Limited outside the Google ecosystem.
#9 Insightly ($29/user/mo) — Unique in combining CRM with project management. After closing a deal, Insightly automatically converts it into a project with tasks, milestones, and pipelines. This makes it ideal for service businesses and agencies that need to manage both sales and delivery. The CRM side is capable but not as polished as dedicated alternatives.
#10 folk ($20/user/mo) — A modern, relationship-focused CRM for founders, investors, and agencies who manage networks rather than traditional sales pipelines. folk imports contacts from LinkedIn, email, and Twitter, then lets you organize them with tags, lists, and custom fields. Mail merge and pipeline views are included. Best for relationship-driven businesses, not transactional sales.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a CRM?
If you have 20 or more active customer relationships, yes. Before that threshold, a spreadsheet might suffice. But once you're juggling multiple deals, follow-up reminders, and team handoffs, a CRM prevents leads from falling through the cracks. The free tier of HubSpot means there's no financial barrier to getting started.
CRM vs. spreadsheet — what's the difference?
A spreadsheet stores data. A CRM stores data and acts on it — sending automated follow-ups, logging emails and calls, alerting you when a deal goes cold, and generating reports. CRMs also provide a shared source of truth for teams, preventing duplicate outreach and ensuring no lead is forgotten.
How long does it take to set up a CRM?
Simple CRMs like Pipedrive and HubSpot can be set up in under an hour. Import your contacts, configure your pipeline stages, and you're running. Complex platforms like Salesforce may take weeks and potentially require a consultant. Start simple and add complexity as your needs grow.
Can I switch CRMs later?
Yes, but it's disruptive. Most CRMs support CSV import/export, and many offer direct migration tools from competitors. However, you'll lose workflow automations, email templates, and custom configurations. Choose a CRM that can scale with you to minimize the need for switching. HubSpot and Salesforce are the safest long-term bets.