The best low-cost 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 workflows.
Explore top vendors with free or low-cost CRM options
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 six vendors featuring free plans and all priced at $25 or less monthly.
Monday CRM: user-friendly CRM for unlimited pipelines
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.
HubSpot: free CRM tools for startups and small businesses
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.
Less Annoying CRM: best simple CRM for 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.
Pipeline: top sales CRM with unlimited storage
Pipeline CRM provides unlimited file storage and highly customizable deal and activity reporting tools for sales teams. Construction firms, realtors, and wholesalers can monitor deal progress and client follow-ups. Sales reps can record field activities using talk-to-text on mobile apps.
Small business CRM features should make it easy to build relationships and sell.
Freshsales: best budget-friendly CRM for growing businesses
Freshsales (formerly Freshworks CRM) offers a free plan for up to three users. 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.
Bigin and Zoho CRM: free for sales and customer relationship management
Teams of three can use the Zoho CRM free edition for 5,000 records, whereas the free version of Bigin by Zoho is great for solopreneurs with 500 records. The free plans provide one pipeline, task tracking, and deal management. Bigin by Zoho is a simple CRM for beginners. However, only Zoho CRM offers lead scoring, sales forecasting, and quotes.
EngageBay: free and low-cost CRM for multi-pipeline views
EngageBay provides a free CRM for 15 users and 250 contacts, predictive lead scoring, and email marketing. 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.
Pipedrive: affordable CRM with AI-powered insights
Pipedrive helps small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) close deals faster with visual tools, custom reports, and AI assistance. 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.
Bitrix24: free CRM with cloud and self-hosted options
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.
All plans include hundreds of features, such as:
- Unlimited contacts and deals.
- CRM analytics reports.
- Sales and email marketing automation.
- Product catalogs with unlimited items.
- Visual sales pipeline.
- CRM forms.
- Inventory management.
- Live chat and social media integrations.
Apptivo: 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.
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 the following:
- 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 workflow
Set up your CRM to match your current lead or sales processes and support daily activities for tracking prospects, assigning tasks, and closing deals. Sync it to email, calendars, and communication tools to capture interactions automatically. Lastly, track performance metrics and customer segments that align with your business development strategy.
[Read more: How to Make the Most of Your CRM Software]
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