The Best Cheap CRM Software Plans in 2024

There are cheap CRM software plans that can provide you with all the essential tools you’ll need to engage with customers and clients without unnecessary spending, so you can get the best CRM software for your business without compromising on functionality.

Based on our research, the best cheap CRM software package is HubSpot’s Free plan. It comes with sales, customer service, and marketing features, allowing you to manage a complex sales pipeline, resolve customer issues, and run marketing campaigns for zero cost.

Alternatively, if you’re looking to scale your operations, Freshsales’ Growth plan has unlimited user capacity and some of the best marketing tools around. Plus, it’s still a low-cost option at $9 to $11 per user, per month. In this article, we’ve got the lowdown on HubSpot, Freshsales, and 5 other cheap CRM solutions worth considering.

Affordable Options Under $20 per Month

These are the providers we recommend based on our independent research. Clicking on the buttons will take you to the provider’s website.

The 7 Best Cheap CRM Software: Reviews

The three providers listed above are the best of the bunch, and we’ll go into a bit more detail about why they performed the best shortly. However, they’re not the only CRM platforms worth considering for your business in 2024.

So, make sure you scroll on down to our in-depth reviews if you’d like to find out more. However, if you don’t have time for that, here’s a whistlestop tour of the top cheap CRM solutions we’ve researched and tested:

1. HubSpot’s Free Plan: Best Value for Money

Price: Free

Why do we recommend HubSpot’s Free plan?

HubSpot’s Free plan is the first on our list because you get a wide variety of practical functionalities without paying anything at all. In other words, that’s $108 less per year than the next cheapest option on this page.

For zero dollars of spend, you’ll get fantastic contact management tools, such as static and dynamic contact lists. Plus, there are organizational features, such as reminders and meeting scheduling, to help you manage your appointments.

When we tested HubSpot, we found the email scheduling and tracking tool easy to use, too. It didn’t take long to create professional-looking emails and schedule them to be sent to those in our contact base directly from the software. You can even generate auto-responses, which saves a lot of time.

HubSpot’s free plan also has a sales pipeline that can be used as a central location for any client updates, while the detailed activity logs will ensure you don’t miss a beat, whatever stage of a deal you’re at. The “service” area, on the other hand, will let you manage a basic support ticket queue so you can resolve incoming issues quickly and efficiently.

Any drawbacks to HubSpot’s Free plan?

However, as HubSpot is free, there are certain limitations. The key change to its free plan is that user numbers are now limited to two users per account when previously this was five users (and unlimited prior to that). This is a major challenge for teams of a larger size, and so this plan is likely to be impractical for teams larger than two.

Similarly, file storage is limited to five documents per person which could be a little small for companies without external storage, such as via Google Workspace. HubSpot also doesn’t offer email, chat, or phone line support either, which makes troubleshooting issues a little tricky.

You also don’t have as much freedom to customize your database compared to some other providers via Hubspot’s free plan either, as there are only 10 custom fields and no custom task types and objects. If you want better customizability, we’d recommend monday CRM, which provides a slew of easy-to-use and customizable columns and rows on its boards. This means you get a little bit more artistic (and organizational) liberty when you’re setting up your contact database or sales pipeline.

Its also worth noting that social media marketing feature options are largely restricted to HubSpot’s paid plans, meaning you’ll need to spend more for those tools.

What businesses is HubSpot’s Free Plan best suited to?

Our research suggests HubSpot’s Free Plan is an affordable option for small businesses, startups, and freelancers seeking a comprehensive CRM solution for small user numbers and without any financial commitment. It offers tools to contact clients, schedule email marketing campaigns, and generally maintain a streamlined sales pipeline.

Therefore, this free plan can help these growing operations manage customer relationships effectively, so long as you can live with fewer than two user accounts. And given its user-friendly interface and extensive resources, HubSpot should be accessible for those new to CRM systems.

If you’re interested in more CRM recommendations, explore our guide to the best CRM software for small businesses.

2.  Freshsales’ Growth Plan: Best for Marketing

Price: $9 per user, per month (billed annually), or $11 per user, per month (billed monthly)

Why do we recommend Freshsales’ Growth plan?

In terms of keeping costs low, Freshsales’ Growth plan came a close second to HubSpot. Starting at $9 per user, per month, you’ll be paying a massive $120 less per year, per user, with Freshsales than you would with the next runner-up, Zendesk.

For a cheap price, we particularly liked that Freshales offers plenty of useful marketing tools, such as an email design editor, an automated workflow designer, and visitor tracking features.

You can customize your contact database and make it more usable too, including 250 custom fields and a cap of 50 automated workflows, so you can easily send out your marketing information to the people you want it to reach, all in one place. Our usability testers also noted how easy tools like this were to use, with Freshsales among the best options in this regard.

Along with these features, Freshsales’ AI-powered sales assistant, Freddy AI, is valuable for providing insight into your contact list. AI extends its implementation into lead scoring, leveraging your customer data and sales sequencing to automate large parts of the sales process. You’ll also be able to create “sales activities” specific to your business and/or industry, like business lunches or interactive presentations.

It’s worth noting that Freshsales also has a free plan for up to three users, however, it isn’t nearly as feature-rich as HubSpot’s free package so we recommend the next cheapest option here instead.

Any drawbacks to Freshsales’ Growth plan?

The only major handicap is that it lacks customer service features, so you have to use another system to track and manage your customer service cases – which is why we couldn’t put it higher than HubSpot, which offers these features for free. As you can see from the image above, the interface isn’t particularly user-friendly, either, and we found it much easier to get to grips with other options like Hubspot.

So, if you’re looking for an affordable CRM for your customer service team, we recommend Zoho’s Professional plan because it offers features like support tickets and customer service case management.

What businesses is Freshsales’ Growth Plan best suited to?

Freshsales’ Growth plan caters to growing businesses and mid-sized enterprises that require advanced CRM functionalities. Affordably priced, this plan offers features such as AI-powered insights and workflow automation, meaning operations for things like e-commerce startups can scale up their customer engagement and sales operations efficiently.

3.  Zendesk’s Support Team Plan: Best for Easy Data Visualization

Price: $19 per user, per month (billed annually), or $25 per user, per month (billed monthly)

Why do we recommend Zendesk’s Support Team plan?

Despite costing more than Freshsales’ Growth plan, Zendesk’s Support Team plan ties its overall scoring for pricing (4.5/5) in our testing. That’s because it only costs a few dollars more, yet it also offers a 2GB storage capacity and enforces no user limit. It’s worth noting here that Zendesk doesn’t have any free plans to consider, just a 14-day free trial on any package, so this is the cheapest option you can get with Zendesk.

We also think it is the top cheap CRM for easy data visualization since it’s equipped with plenty of data and reporting tools, including preset and custom dashboards, as well as deal, lead, and recurring revenue reports. That should allow you to get hands-on with all the metrics you need to track to help your business thrive.

What’s more, Zendesk beats Freshsales when it comes to organization and customization of this data. Zendesk allows you to modify fields, dashboards, task types, objects, and your sales pipeline to fit your business processes. In addition, you can fully edit contact fields or restrict fields and tag them “required only,” creating data uniformity.

Any drawbacks to Zendesk’s Support Team plan?

Zendesk’s Support Team plan does miss out on a lot of other functionalities, such as marketing features and customer service tools. If they are a must, then look at Freshsales’ Growth plan, which includes web forms, website visitor tracking, and marketing drip campaigns.

What businesses is Zendesk’s Support Team plan best suited to?

Small to medium-sized businesses focusing on customer support and engagement should find Zendesk’s Support Team plan among the best cheap CRM options on the market.

Its intuitive data visualization tools, preset and custom dashboards, and comprehensive reporting features encourage teams like tech support companies or help desks, that rely on these features, to monitor customer issues and ensure high-quality, data-driven support.

4. Zoho CRM’s Professional Plan: Best for Sales

Price: $23 per user, per month (billed annually), or $35 per user, per month (billed monthly)

Why do we recommend Zoho’s CRM Professional plan?

While Zoho CRM’s Professional plan sits in the middle of the pack in terms of pricing, it is packed with valuable sales functionalities via its visual sales pipeline that includes creating quotes and invoices. All sales figures are integrated into tools like CPQ and Inventory Management, ensuring accurate stock updates and facilitating quick invoice generation.

You can also track transaction status, manage subscriptions, and monitor expenses with customizable dashboards, to improve operational efficiency. That’s alongside its activity and deal reports, meeting scheduling, support tickets, and workflow automation for displaying data.

During our research process, Zoho CRM’s Professional plan scored highly for usability too, with tools like “Deals” which lets you tailor your sales pipeline to your business’s processes. You can also add custom fields during the data import, which is welcome customization potential for users with varying projects.

If you want an even cheaper plan, but love the Zoho CRM, it also has a $14 per month Standard plan. The Professional Plan has more advanced CRM features like advanced analytics, multiple pipelines, inventory management, and more extensive customization options. Plus, you can fully automate your workflow by going Pro, too, as well as have additional email and phone support. But its streamlined offering could be worth considering to keep costs low.

Any drawbacks to Zoho’s CRM Professional plan?

The Professional plan received high scores across the board in our research, but like Pipedrive, what it lacks is file storage. The Professional plan only has 20MB of file storage per user and 10GB for the entire organization, which is in stark contrast to monday CRM’s Pro plan, which offers 100GB of storage per user.

What businesses is Zoho CRM’s Professional Plan best suited to?

Leading on from our topline tag of being ‘best for businesses after easy data visualization‘, we’d say that Zoho CRM’s Professional Plan is optimally designed for sales-driven organizations seeking a robust CRM with extensive sales and contact management tools.

It includes features like a visual sales pipeline with tracking, automated lead scoring, integrated invoicing, and inventory management, which retail businesses or any other teams aiming to streamline sales operations and enhance customer relationships should find useful.

5. Salesforce’s Starter Suite: Best for Email Communication

Price: $25 per user, per month (when billed annually or billed monthly)

Why do we recommend Salesforce’s Starter Suite plan?

It might not be the cheapest option on this page, but Salesforce’s Starter Suite has the best email communication tools on the market. With capabilities like sending emails from its system, email insights, and auto-responses, having correspondence with your long list of leads and customers is a breeze – although it’s not quite as easy to use as HubSpot, which is more straightforward to get to grips with initially.

Elsewhere, you’ll also get access to meeting scheduling, reminders, and a calendar, helping you to keep track of your schedule. Plus, its contact management features include custom fields and list segmentation, letting you organize your contacts and their information effectively.

Any drawbacks to Salesforce’s Starter Suite?

The Starter Suite doesn’t include sales features. If this is a deal breaker, then Zoho CRM’s Professional plan has superb tools to help you monitor and increase sales, including a visual sales pipeline and automated lead scoring.

What businesses is Salesforce’s Starter Suite best suited to?

Small teams and startups that prioritize email communication and basic CRM functionalities will find Salesforce an appealing option. This could be new consulting firms that focus on extensive email communications and scheduling with clients and need a simple, reliable tool to keep their interactions organized.

6. monday CRM’s Pro Plan: Best for Customization

Price: $28 per user, per month (billed annually), or $33 per user, per month (billed monthly)

Why do we recommend monday CRM’s Pro plan?

The Pro plan may be one of monday.com’s premier plans for CRM, and the second most expensive option from the cheap plans we’ve researched, but it offers such superb value that it’s earned a place on this best cheap CRM software list.

We are particular fans of monday CRM’s Pro plan because it gives you fully customizable fields, dashboards, task types, objects, and sales pipelines, allowing you to easily customize your database according to your needs.

You can edit all of the fields monday CRM provides, and create custom fields if there aren’t dedicated fields for your data type, making it the best cheap CRM for customization. While other CRMs allow custom options, such as Salesforce and Zoho, they don’t go to the extent that monday CRM does at this price point.

Elsewhere, monday CRM scored a perfect 5/5 for contact management on our recent tests – the data import/export process is very smooth, and there are features like list segmentation and automated workflows that help you organize the information you’re storing and streamline your team’s workflows.

Additionally, monday CRM has outstanding organization tools (5/5), such as reminders and a meeting scheduling feature to help you keep track of your commitments.

Any drawbacks to monday CRM’s Pro plan?

The Pro plan falls short when it comes to marketing capabilities. While it can generate web forms, it lacks a chatbot, website visitor tracking, and social media integrations. If you want a cheap CRM for your marketing campaigns, Freshsales Suite’s Growth plan offers a comprehensive list of marketing features at an affordable price.

Besides that, monday CRM’s Pro plan is a solid choice – albeit, for a more expensive price tag than other options on this page. It does have two cheaper plans though: the Standard package at $17 per seat, per month, and the Basic package at $12 per seat, per month.

Like the Pro plan, the Standard and Basic options offer unlimited boards, 200+ templates, over 20 column types, item and board activity logs, mobile app access, and some basic integrations and reporting tools.

However, we still recommend the Pro plan out of monday CRM’s options. It has significantly improved functionality, offering private boards, sophisticated data visualization with Chart and Workload views, and built-in time tracking for better task management. It also has improved automation capabilities and analytical tools to improve workflow efficiency.

What businesses is monday CRM’s Pro Plan best suited to?

monday CRM’s Pro Plan is ideal for businesses that require high customization in their CRM system. Users’ ability to tailor fields, dashboards, and workflows to fit specific business processes makes it suitable for teams that need adaptability in managing different projects and customer relationship needs.

This may lead it to be best suited to creative agencies or firms that are primarily project-driven and will therefore need to adapt their CRM to specific and unique client needs.

7.  Pipedrive’s Advanced Plan: Best for Data Protection

Price: $34 per user, per month (billed annually), or $44 per user, per month (billed monthly)

Why do we recommend Pipedrive’s Advanced plan?

If your business deals with sensitive information, and don’t mind paying more than other options on this page (albeit still cheap compared to the best CRMs around) we recommend Pipedrive’s Advanced plan for affordable data protection.

Your system will be equipped with solid security features, including user permissions, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and secure email, so you can worry less about hacking and phishing attacks. By comparison, Hubspot’s free plan doesn’t offer MFA. Zoho, Salesforce and monday CRM are other options with similar security levels.

The Advanced plan also offers tools for organization and contact management, such as automated workflows and unlimited custom fields for a hassle-free process of recording data.

Any drawbacks to Pipedrive’s Advanced plan?

The catch is, Pipedrive’s Advanced plan has no file storage. Not to mention, you have to activate the lead booster add-on for $32.50 per month to access Pipedrive’s marketing tools. Whereas, Freshsale’s Growth plan offers each user 2GB of monthly storage and various marketing tools, including web forms and drip campaigns to collect lead information.

Additionally, Pipedrive doesn’t have any customer service features, like support tickets, so you would have to use different software to manage your customer service cases.

It’s also quite expensive compared to the cheapest options on this page. You can get a cheaper Pipedrive plan in the form of its Essential package at $14 per seat, per month (when billed annually). They both offer core CRM functionality to manage your tasks, pipeline, and contacts, integrate with emails, and streamline sales. However, the Essential plan has limited reporting and workflow automation by comparison. This might be suitable for small teams, but most businesses will prefer the more comprehensive Advanced plan.

What businesses is Pipedrive’s Advanced Plan best suited to?

For teams that handle sensitive information and require robust data protection, there’s a solid case for Pipedrive being your first choice pick. Its strong security features, including user permissions and multi-factor authentication, should keep employee and business data alike from getting into the wrong hands. All this makes it an excellent choice for financial advisors or legal firms that handle sensitive client information.

Are Cheap CRM Systems Worth It?

Cheap CRM systems can be worth it for businesses that are operating on a small budget, as long as they’re scalable.

Most cheap CRM plans have small data and user capacities since they’re designed for small teams. A provider is considered scalable if its higher-priced plans come with increased data capacity, user, and contact limits to accommodate larger teams.

Upscaling can become expensive if you need to switch providers, so it’s best to choose a cheap provider that’s scalable right off the bat.

How Do Cheap CRM Providers Ensure Data Security and Privacy?

CRM systems keep your data under lock and key with features such as multi-factor authentication, email notifications of security concerns and specific user permissions. Pipedrive is a CRM system that provides all of the above to ensure your lead management is conducted with peace of mind. Zoho and Freshsales are also worthy contenders for a CRM system that takes security seriously but unfortunately does not provide email notifications.

Since CRM systems are home to highly sensitive customer data – contact information, purchase history and private communication – security features should not be skimped on when choosing a CRM provider. Nobody likes falling victim to a data breach, and risking your customer’s personal information can hurt your business reputation and customer relationships.

Which Cheap CRM Provider Should I Switch To?

If you have an existing CRM plan but are looking to switch, Freshsales’ Growth plan could be an excellent choice as it has an unlimited user capacity. When transitioning to a new CRM provider, it’s important to consider the associated costs.

• Cancellation costs: Check your existing contract to determine whether you may incur extra costs for breaking the contract before its end date.
• Data migration: You may need to pay for a service to help migrate your data from your old CRM to the new one. Costs vary widely based on the amount of data being transferred.
• Implementation and configuration: Some CRM providers charge implementation and setup fees to get the system configured for your specific needs.
• Training: Your team will need to be brought up to scratch on how to use the new CRM. Some plans offer complementary on-boarding assistance but for some, this may be an extra cost which will vary depending on the number of users.
• Increased plan fees: If upscaling, the monthly fees of the new provider will likely be higher than your current fees.
• Indirect costs: During the switching process, you may lose operational business hours to periods when your data is migrating, when your team is being trained on the new system and when the new software is integrating with your other programs. Keep this in mind as time is precious.

Ultimately, the provider you choose to switch to depends on your specific needs and what you may be lacking in your current plan. Use our free comparison tool to find your best-suited provider and receive personalized recommendations directly from them.

How Did We Compare the Best Cheap CRM Software Solutions?