CRM software

Everything below links to the page it comes from, and says when we checked it.

Price five seats, not one

Every CRM we rank charges by the user or seat, so the price on the card is only the start. At the regular price billed annually, five users on the entry plan cost:

• Freshsales Growth: $45 a month ($9 a user).
• monday CRM Basic: $60 a month ($12 a seat). Plans start at 3 seats, so you can't buy fewer.
• Zoho CRM Standard: $70 a month ($14 a user).
• Pipedrive Lite: $70 a month ($14 a seat).
• Less Annoying CRM: $75 a month ($15 a user, plus tax). It bills monthly only.
• Capsule CRM Starter: $90 a month ($18 a user).
• HubSpot Sales Hub Starter: $100 a month ($20 a seat).
• Copper Basic: $115 a month ($23 a seat).
• Salesforce Starter Suite: $125 a month ($25 a user).
• Close Essentials: $175 a month ($35 a user).

HubSpot shows its $20 struck through beside a new-customer offer of $7 a seat billed annually, for a limited time and with no end date given. Plan on $20. Close's cheaper Solo plan is limited to 1 user, which is why we price Essentials. Checked Sep 27, 2026.

Check what the entry plan leaves out

We check five things on each entry plan: deal pipelines, two-way email sync with Gmail or Outlook, automation, reporting dashboards and a mobile app.

• Zoho CRM, HubSpot and Freshsales include all five.
• Less Annoying CRM includes four. There is no native mobile app; it runs in a mobile browser.
• Salesforce Starter Suite includes four. Its comparison table marks Process Automation with Flows as not included.
• Close Essentials includes four. Its plan card says "Workflows not included".
• Copper Basic includes four. Reports start on Professional, its automation only creates tasks, and its email sync is Gmail only.
• Pipedrive Lite and Capsule CRM Starter include three. On both, email sync and workflow automation start on the Growth plan.
• monday CRM Basic includes two: pipelines and one custom dashboard. Two-way email starts on Standard, Basic lists no automations, and the plan cards list the mobile apps as a Standard addition.

Checked Sep 27, 2026.

How many contacts fit on the entry plan

• Pipedrive and Close Essentials allow unlimited contacts. Pipedrive Lite caps open leads and deals at 2,500 per seat.
• HubSpot allows 15 million contact records for paying customers.
• Zoho CRM Standard stores 100,000 records, counted across all modules.
• Less Annoying CRM says unlimited on its plan card, but its FAQ suggests staying below 50,000.
• Capsule CRM Starter holds 30,000 contacts, Copper Basic 2,500, and monday CRM Basic 1,000 active contacts and deals combined.
• We didn't find a contact limit for Freshsales or Salesforce, which states 10 GB of data storage instead.

Checked Sep 27, 2026.

If you sell real estate

Our ranking for real estate agents lists the CRMs whose own pages state at least two of these: a real-estate pipeline or template, leads from listing portals such as Zillow, property records and drip emails. Four qualify.

• Pipedrive offers pipelines for properties, buyers and investors.
• Less Annoying CRM describes a buyer and seller pipeline.
• monday CRM has a free real-estate template in its CRM template marketplace, with a board for property listings.
• Zoho CRM connects to Zillow Tech Connect through Zapier, a separate service. Its real-estate demo is built on the Enterprise edition, not Standard.

Checked Sep 27, 2026.

How the ranking weighs them

The monthly cost for five users counts for 35% of the score, what the entry plan includes 25%, the free plan and support 15% each, and the contact limit 10%. If one of these matters more to you than its weight, read the ranking with that in mind. The formula behind each criterion is on how we score CRM software.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free CRM?

Four of the ten have a free plan:

• Zoho CRM is free forever for up to 3 users, with 5,000 records.
• HubSpot is free for up to 2 users, with no credit card. Free accounts hold up to 1,000 contacts.
• Capsule CRM is free for up to 2 users and 250 contacts.
• Salesforce Free Suite comes with 2 user licenses and stays free as long as you log in at least once every 60 days.

Freshsales shows a free plan only on its comparison page; its pricing page offers a 21-day trial instead. Checked Sep 27, 2026.

Can I try a paid plan before I pay?

• Less Annoying CRM: 30 days, no credit card.
• Salesforce Starter Suite: 30 days, for up to 10 users.
• Freshsales: 21 days.
• Pipedrive, Capsule CRM, Copper, monday CRM and Close: 14 days.

Checked Sep 27, 2026.

What support comes with the entry plan?

• Zoho CRM gives paid editions support by email, call or chat.
• Pipedrive and monday CRM offer 24/7 live chat. Pipedrive adds phone support from Premium; we didn't find a phone line for monday CRM.
• Less Annoying CRM answers by phone and email, weekdays 9am to 4:30pm Central.
• Copper has live chat with set office hours, plus email. Freshsales has chat agents 24/5.
• HubSpot Starter gets email support, per its pricing FAQ; another HubSpot page says 24/7 chat and email. Close offers email support, and Capsule CRM replies by email or message form on weekdays.
• Salesforce Starter Suite comes with self-guided resources and case support. We didn't find phone or chat.

Checked Sep 27, 2026.

Which CRMs sync with Gmail or Outlook on the entry plan?

Zoho CRM, HubSpot, Freshsales, Salesforce and Close do; Close connects up to 3 email accounts on Essentials. Less Annoying CRM logs Gmail or Outlook email to your contacts from the day you connect it. Copper syncs Gmail only. On Pipedrive, Capsule CRM and monday CRM, two-way email sync starts on the next plan up. Checked Sep 27, 2026.

What costs come on top of the plan price?

• Close passes calling and SMS through at cost: most outbound calls are about $0.02 a minute, and numbers start at about $1 a month.
• Capsule CRM sells a marketing add-on from $11 a month.
• Salesforce says "Transaction fees apply" to its starting prices, and extra marketing email sends cost $10 per 1,000 a month.
• HubSpot Professional carries a required one-time $1,500 onboarding fee. Starter does not.
• Less Annoying CRM adds applicable tax to its $15.

Checked Sep 27, 2026.