HubSpot
CRM
HubSpot unites CRM, marketing and service tools on one growth platform, with core CRM features free.
★★★★☆4.3
✓ Docs-based · verified against official site ↗ ← All tools 
CRM Tools Compared 2026: Free Tiers, Pricing & Picks
Seven CRMs on the list, but only three of them are genuinely free — and the free-tier rules moved under our feet in September 2026. We checked HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Freshsales, Pipedrive, Close, Attio and Salesforce against their official pricing pages (verified 2026-09-07, HubSpot re-checked 2026-09-09, Salesforce and Attio added 2026-09-20). The twist most comparisons still get wrong: HubSpot's free CRM is no longer unlimited — the current version caps at 1,000 contacts, 2 users and one pipeline, with branding on outbound messages. The dependable free runners: Zoho CRM's free tier covers 3 users with leads, deals and basic automation, and Freshsales is the most generous on data volume — 3 users with up to 10,000 records. Pipedrive, Close and Salesforce have no free plan at all (Salesforce runs a 30-day trial; Pipedrive a 14-day one); Pipedrive Lite starts at $14/user/mo billed annually ($24 monthly) and Close's Solo plan at $9/user/mo annual for a single seat. The verdict below sorts who a free tier truly serves and who should just budget for the entry paid tier. Sort the seven by the shape of their zero-cost door. HubSpot is still the volume default: the free CRM serves unlimited users, and although the September 2026 rule change capped it at 1,000 contacts, 2 users and one pipeline (with branding on outbound), that is still the deepest genuinely-free core on the list. Zoho CRM is the budget paid escape hatch — free for 3 users with leads, deals and basic automation, and Standard at $14/user/mo annual is the cheapest step up in the set. Freshsales is the data-volume winner: 3 users and up to 10,000 records free, which is the largest free record ceiling here, and Growth starts at $9/user/mo annual. Attio is the AI-native custom-objects option, free to 3 seats (50,000 records), priced in EUR — Plus €31/user/mo annual — a good fit if your team is already comfortable paying in euros. The other three close the zero-cost door: Pipedrive has no free plan, a 14-day trial, and Lite at $14/user/mo annual; Close runs a 14-day trial with no free tier and Solo from $9/user/mo annual (1-user only); Salesforce likewise has no free plan, a 30-day trial, and its entry is an enterprise-priced build. For a true zero-cost start the realistic set is HubSpot for volume, Zoho for a cheap paid upgrade, Freshsales for record headroom, Attio if you want custom objects; everyone else should just budget for the entry paid tier.
How we rated
- Genuinely free CRM
- Cheapest paid seat (annual)
- Pipeline depth & automation
- Team-wide contact history
HubSpot
Best free CRM & team-wide history★★★★4.3
The only genuinely free CRM here - free for 2 users, verified on the official pricing page - and the strongest team story: marketing, sales and service share one contact history (4.3, the class top). Starter dropped to $9/seat/mo annual in 2026. Bring it in when the whole go-to-market team must see the same customer.
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $15/seat/mo (Free CRM (unlimited users); Sales/Service Hub Starter $15/seat/mo annual ($20 monthly); Marketing Hub Pro $890/mo; mandatory onboarding at higher tiers (re-checked 2026-09-09 via a Sept 2026 roundup: free CRM now 1,000 contacts / 2 users / one pipeline with branding on outbound — older 'unlimited contacts' guides are stale; Starter Customer Platform $20/seat monthly or $15 annual commitment))
Pipedrive
Best pure pipeline discipline★★★★4.2
The pipeline-first tool (4.2): no free plan, 14-day trial, Lite at $14/mo/user billed annually ($24 monthly, verified). Its deal-stage view is the category standard - you pay for focus, and you know exactly what the $14 buys.
Free tier: No — trial only · 14-day free trial
Paid from: $14/user/mo (Lite $14/user/mo annual ($24 monthly); Growth $39/user/mo annual ($49 monthly); Premium $59/user/mo annual ($79 monthly); Ultimate $79/user/mo annual ($99 monthly); no free plan)
Pipedrive
CRM
Pipedrive is a visual, pipeline-first CRM built for small and mid-sized sales teams.
★★★★☆4.2
✓ Docs-based · verified against official site ↗ Close
Best for call-heavy sales★★★★4.0
Built around calling and emailing in one inbox (4.0): Solo at $9/mo/user annual, Essentials at $35/mo/user (verified). No free plan - but the cheapest path to a native dialer-heavy workflow.
Free tier: No — trial only · 14-day free trial
Paid from: $9/user/mo (Solo $9/user/mo annual ($19 monthly, 1-user only); Essentials $35/user/mo; Growth $99/user/mo (Power Dialer); Scale $139/user/mo (Predictive Dialer))
Close
CRM
Close is a CRM for fast-moving outbound teams, with built-in calling and automation workflows.
★★★★☆4.0
✓ Docs-based · verified against official site ↗ Zoho CRM
Best free tier for small teams (3 users)★★★★4.2
Zoho CRM Free gives you up to 3 users with leads, deals, contacts, basic automation and workflow rules — genuinely usable for a small sales team, not just a demo. The upgrade path is also the most gradual: Standard at $14/user/mo annual, with five tiers total. The catch: the learning curve is steeper than HubSpot, and the interface can feel overwhelming if you only need simple pipeline tracking. On the plus side, it has a full Simplified Chinese UI.
Free tier: Yes · 15-day free trial on paid plans
Paid from: $14/user/mo (Free $0 (up to 3 users, leads/deals/basic automation); Standard $14/user/mo annual ($20 monthly) — pipeline management, scoring rules, multiple pipelines; Professional $23/user/mo annual ($35 monthly) — workflow rules, Blueprint, inventory; Enterprise $40/user/mo annual ($50 monthly) — Zia AI, custom modules, HIPAA BAA; Ultimate $52/user/mo annual ($65 monthly) — advanced BI, 25K API calls/day; CRM Plus $57/user/mo annual (9-product bundle); add-ons: storage, user types, Zia voice credits billed separately)
Freshsales
Best budget sales automation★★★★3.9
The budget automation option (3.9): Growth at $9/mo/user billed annually, with AI lead scoring and workflow automation in the base tier (verified). No permanent free tier listed in 2026 - it is the cheap way to automate, not the cheap way to stay free.
Free tier: Yes · 21-day free trial
Paid from: $9/user/mo (Free plan up to 3 users / 10K records (not shown on main /crm/pricing/ page; confirmed via signup flow & third-party pricing reviews 2026-09-06); Growth $9/user/mo annual; Pro $39/user/mo; Enterprise $59/user/mo; sequences unlock at Pro)
Freshsales
CRM
Freshsales is Freshworks' CRM with AI scoring and built-in phone and email inside one product.
★★★★☆3.9
✓ Docs-based · verified against official site ↗ Attio
Best free tier after HubSpot (3 seats)★★★★4.1
Attio's free plan is the second most generous in the set: 3 seats, 50,000 records and automatic data enrichment — enough for a real two-to-three-person sales team, not just a demo (4.1/5, the class top). Paid entry when you outgrow it: Plus at €31/user/mo annual (€39 monthly). The caveat: official pricing is published in EUR, and record caps (250k on Plus) will decide when you must move up.
Free tier: Yes · no trial needed — free plan
Paid from: €31/user/mo billed annually (Official site lists EUR: Free €0 up to 3 seats (50,000 records); Plus €39 monthly / €31 annual, up to 10 seats, 250,000 records; Pro €93 monthly / €74 annual, unlimited seats, 1,000,000 records; Enterprise custom, unlimited objects/records; extra seat-credit packs sold on top; USD figures not published on the page)
Attio
CRM
Attio is the fast, customizable CRM built for AI-era teams — custom objects, real-time sync, auto-enrichment and AI agents, with a genuinely usable 3-seat free plan.
★★★★☆4.1
Docs-based · official check Bottom line
Bottom line: HubSpot Free is the most polished and easiest to start with — and it is genuinely free for a single user with up to 1,000,000 contacts. Zoho CRM Free is the best pick for a team of up to 3 people that wants real pipeline and workflow features. Freshsales Free is worth considering if you need more than 3 users and a support-heavy CRM. Close has no free tier — only a 14-day trial.
FAQs
Which CRM is genuinely free?
HubSpot - free for 2 users, verified on the official pricing page. Pipedrive, Close and Freshsales all have no free plan in 2026; only trials.
What is the cheapest paid CRM seat?
Freshsales and Close both start at $9/mo/user billed annually, and HubSpot Starter is $9/seat/mo annual as intro pricing. Pipedrive Lite is $14/mo/user (annual; $24 monthly).
Which CRM is best for a small sales team?
HubSpot for teams that need one shared contact history across marketing and sales; Pipedrive if pure pipeline discipline matters more than a free tier; Close for call-heavy solo sellers.