10 Free or Low-Cost CRM Tools for Small Businesses

The best low-cost customer relationship management (CRM) tools for small businesses centralize sales information and processes for efficient, authentic relationship-building. Using a CRM as your customer relationship management hub, you can store contact data, capture interaction details, and move leads through sales funnels.

Even free CRM options support pipeline management, whereas paid versions include sales forecasting and artificial intelligence (AI) features. Discover inexpensive CRM solutions and tips for comparing tools to integrate software into your organization’s workflows.

What is a CRM, and does your small business actually need one?

A customer relationship management (CRM) system is software for organizing sales and marketing activities and customer data, including contact details, preferences, and histories. It centralizes information and processes that affect revenue.

Most small business owners benefit from using a CRM rather than spreadsheets. In fact, a CRM is one of the first tools to consider when starting a business.

10 Free or Low-Cost CRMs Worth Considering

Many technology providers offer budget-friendly CRM solutions for small businesses, and narrowing down your choices can be challenging. To help you choose the best CRM software, this guide focuses on free or low-cost CRM options, with five vendors featuring free plans and all priced at $25 or less monthly.

Monday CRM: Best for small sales and marketing teams

For small businesses with three or more users, Monday CRM offers customizable templates for unlimited sales pipelines and boards. The visual interface and drag-and-drop tools make monday.com one of the simplest CRMs to use. With no-code workflow automation, sales teams can focus on building customer relationships rather than pipeline management.

Monday CRM features over 100 app integrations, including e-signature tools and business phone systems. It offers key CRM benefits by automatically notifying sales reps when an email is opened or assigning newly qualified leads to a team member.

• Best for: Small sales and marketing teams with multiple sales pipelines.
• Pricing: Basic $18 per seat per month, Standard $25, Pro $41, or custom pricing for Ultimate. Save up to 33% with annual billing.
• Standout features: Detailed customer profiles, custom dashboards and pipelines, automated task reminders, iOS and Android apps, and sales forecasting.

HubSpot: Best free CRM tools for startups 

HubSpot offers a free CRM packed with features for managing customers and sales. It supports two users and 1,000 contacts. Email templates, scheduling tools, and an AI writer streamline outreach, while call logging tracks voice conversations. It also provides customizable reporting dashboard templates. Upgrade from HubSpot free CRM to Starter for more automation features and higher limits.

• Best for: New businesses looking to build contact lists and automate marketing tasks.
• Pricing: Free plan, Starter $10 per seat monthly, Professional $1,450 for six seats monthly, or Enterprise starting at $4,700 for eight seats monthly. Paying annually may reduce subscription fees.
• Standout features: Audience segmentation tools, email automation, revenue reporting dashboard, and AI-generated insights and recommendations. 

Less Annoying CRM: Best for solopreneurs and CRM beginners

Less Annoying CRM is a straightforward, low-cost CRM with a quick setup process and minimal learning curve. It works in browsers on mobile and desktop devices. You can track individual contracts and companies with unlimited, customizable contact and sales pipeline fields. This inexpensive CRM automatically logs emails, meetings, and completed tasks. Teams can export anything with one click or view contact, activity, and task reports.

• Best for: Solo business owners and small teams who are switching from spreadsheets.
• Pricing: $15 per user per month.
• Standout features: Custom fields, email logging, task management, customizable pipelines, and unlimited contact records.

Pipeline: Best for contractors and manufacturers

Pipeline CRM provides unlimited file storage and highly customizable deal and activity reporting tools for sales teams. Construction firms, landscapers, and manufacturers can monitor deal progress and client follow-ups. Sales reps can record field activities using talk-to-text on mobile apps.

• Best for: Construction firms, home service professionals, and small manufacturers.
• Pricing: Starts at $29 per user per month, Develop $39, Grow $59, or custom pricing for Enterprise. Save over 18% with annual billing.
• Standout features: Goal dashboard, email tracking, route planning for in-person sales, and unlimited file storage.

Freshsales: Best for independent sales agents and budget-conscious teams

Freshsales (formerly Freshworks CRM) is a budget-friendly CRM for growing businesses. The free plan supports three users, and all subscriptions include built-in phone, chat, and email functionality. It has a sales pipeline, contact management tools, and a dashboard for visualizing the sales process. Unlike competing CRM solutions, the Freshsales CRM free plan includes 24/5 (24 hours, five days a week) phone, chat, and email support.

• Best for: Real estate agents, independent sales consultants, and small sales teams.
• Pricing: Free plan, Growth $11 per user per month, Pro $47, Enterprise $71. Save over 18% by prepaying yearly.
• Standout features: Built-in phone dialer, website chat widget, mobile apps with voice notes, email templates, and deal management.

Zoho CRM: Best for fast-growing startups and fully remote teams 

Zoho CRM scales from a free version for three users to an enterprise system for $50 per user per month. The platform is highly customizable, allowing businesses to create company-specific categories and workflows. It offers an AI assistant for analyzing sentiment in emails and calls, enriching customer profiles, and forecasting sales. Zoho CRM also integrates seamlessly with Zoho Campaigns for automating email marketing.

• Best for: Fast-growing retail, financial services, or hospitality companies and remote sales and marketing teams.
• Pricing: Free, Standard $20 per user monthly, Professional $35, Enterprise $50. Save up to 35% with annual billing.
• Standout features: Dedicated team collaboration spaces; sales and marketing automation; and custom dashboards, reports, and fields. 

EngageBay: Best all-in-one system for sales and support staff 

EngageBay provides a free CRM for 15 users and 250 contacts, predictive lead scoring, and email marketing. Free help desk features come with all plans, which makes it great for managing customer support and sales from one system. It can display multiple deal pipelines and support account-based marketing goals. EngageBay has a sales hub for managing leads, assigning sales tasks, and increasing visibility into your process.

• Best for: Employees who oversee marketing, sales, and support for small businesses.
• Pricing: Free, Basic $14.99 per user per month, Growth $64.99, Pro $119.99. Save 8% to 15% with annual or biennial billing.
• Standout features: Predictive lead scoring, landing page builder, appointment scheduling, support ticket management, and automated email sequences. 

Pipedrive: Best CRM for email marketers 

Pipedrive helps small to midsize businesses (SMBs) close deals faster with visual tools, custom reports, and AI assistance. Marketers can personalize emails using prebuilt email templates and a drag-and-drop builder. Smart features come with all plans, from intelligent app recommendations to report creation. It integrates with hundreds of third-party platforms and syncs with your email.

• Best for: Sales agencies and small businesses focusing on email marketing.
• Pricing: Lite $24 per user per month, Growth $49, Premium $79, Ultimate $99. Save over 40% with annual billing.
• Standout features: Mobile apps, email open and click tracking, sales dashboards, deal reports, and customizable pipelines. 

Bitrix24: Best CRM for collaborating on sales goals and projects 

Bitrix24 is an all-in-one platform with flexible CRM, team collaboration, sales intelligence, and project management tools. It's free for unlimited users, and paid plans start at $49 for five users with annual prepayment. Unlike other small business CRMs, Bitrix24 offers cloud or on-premises deployment options.

• Best for: Hybrid or remote teams who collaborate in real time.
• Pricing: Free, Basic $69 per month for five users, Standard $144 for 50 users, Professional $289 for 100 users, Enterprise $579 for 250 users. Save up to 30% with annual billing.
• Standout features: Collaborative document editing, inventory management, company feed, task management, employee profiles, business knowledge bases, and unlimited leads.

Apptivo: Best for companies with long sales cycles and high-ticket products 

Apptivo is a customizable CRM and operations platform. Larger SMBs can customize Apptivo to their sales processes without paying premium prices for enterprise software. It’s ideal for businesses needing personalized or highly detailed lead and opportunity profiles. You can use drag-and-drop tools to build dashboards and create custom views, fields, layouts, and reports.

• Best for: Larger teams selling high-ticket products or companies with long sales cycles.
• Pricing: Lite $20 per user per month, Premium $30, Ultimate $50, and custom prices for Enterprise. Save up to 20% by prepaying annually.
• Standout features: Intelligent sales dashboards; automated lead assignment and follow-up alerts; and custom reports, views, and layouts.

Features to look for in a CRM

Small business CRM features should make it easy to build relationships and sell. Consider ease of use, limitations, and customization options when comparing must-have CRM tools.

Popular CRM features for small businesses include:

• Contact database and management: Choose an affordable CRM with customizable fields that align with your service model and sales and marketing processes.
• Document storage: Ensure teams can attach client documents to profiles and store brand or marketing assets.
• Automation: Pick low-cost CRM software to automate lead assignments and reminders. Verify automation limits when you meet with vendors to get CRM questions answered.
• Task management: Look for built-in task tracking for assigning activities and deadlines, tracking follow-ups, and prioritizing tasks.
• Sales pipeline: An inexpensive CRM with sales pipeline tracking can optimize sales cycles through stage- and deal-tracking.
• Lead management: Select software that helps capture, qualify, and move leads forward with tools for lead-scoring, qualification, and reporting.
• Mobile access: Look for a low-cost CRM with mobile app access so reps can update client information and close deals.
• Integrations: Even cheap CRM software should integrate with email. Other popular integrations include business phone, social media, and accounting apps.
• AI-powered tools: Find an affordable CRM with AI-powered insights for predictive scoring, next-step suggestions, or built-in AI for CRM summaries and data management.

How to integrate a CRM with your existing workflow

Set up your CRM to align with your current lead or sales processes and support daily activities for tracking prospects, assigning tasks, and closing deals. Sync it with email, calendars, and communication tools to capture interactions automatically. Lastly, track performance metrics and customer segments that align with your business development strategy.

Free vs. paid CRM: When it makes sense to upgrade

Free CRMs work well for solo business owners and companies with one or two sales reps. Paid software offers more automation, insights, and collaboration tools. Using free tools can help beginners learn about email marketing and pipeline management. Conversely, companies use paid CRMs to reduce repetitive data entry tasks, speed up sales cycles, and capture more data.

Here are a few reasons to consider budgeting for small business CRM software:

• You want to connect your CRM to third-party platforms like accounting software, e-commerce channels, or project management systems.
• Productivity drops as employees spend more time manually assigning leads and tasks, copying data between platforms, or scoring opportunities.
• Leaders can’t accurately measure individual or team performance, close times, or the impact of sales and marketing activities.
• It takes longer to follow up with new leads, or you miss opportunities that come up after business hours or on the weekend.

How to migrate from spreadsheets to a CRM without losing your data

Before transferring information to a CRM, check with the vendor to see what type of resources or tools they offer. Many provide basic guidance, formatting instructions, and online wizards. Most paid versions also have features to clean up data. But, following best practices can help you optimize your CRM from the start.

Take these steps when migrating from spreadsheets to a CRM:

• Delete duplicate contacts or merge their details into a single row.
• Make sure you have columns for first names, last names, and email addresses.
• Look over the data in each column to ensure it matches the column header.
• Take note of unique categories that require a custom field, such as lead source or industry.
• Create custom fields in your CRM before importing your spreadsheet.
• Export each spreadsheet tab as a CSV file.
• Map columns to CRM fields using the import tool.
• Import a few rows in the CRM to see if names, emails, and custom fields display correctly.
• Upload the rest of your data and follow the vendor’s instructions for setting up pipelines and tagging contacts. 

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