Written by Rob Binns Reviewed by James Macey Updated on 12 October 2023 On this page 1. HubSpot's Free Plan: Best Value for Money 2. Freshsales' Growth Plan: Best for Marketing 3. Zendesk’s Team Plan: Best for Easy Data Visualization 4. monday CRM’s Pro Plan: Best for Customization 5. Pipedrive's Advanced Plan: Best for Data Protection 6. Zoho CRM's Professional Plan: Best for Sales 7. Salesforce’s Starter Plan: Best for Email Communication What Is the Cheapest CRM for Small Businesses? How Did We Compare Cheap CRMs? Verdict FAQs Expand Our site is reader-supported – by clicking our links, we can match you with a potential supplier, and we may earn a small commission for this referral. The best affordable CRM software is HubSpot’s Free plan, it’s completely free and packed with valuable features to optimize your lead management. Scoring a 5/5 for pricing, it’s exceptionally good value for top-scoring sales and email marketing features. If you’re looking to upscale your team, Freshsales’ Growth plan has unlimited user capacity, the best marketing tools on the market and is an excellent, low-cost option at US$15-US$18 per user, per month.As your business expands, your need for dedicated software increases. However, this doesn’t mean you have to increase your spending. This article highlights the best affordable CRM software systems based on our research. We’ll also consider other critical factors that determine their value for money, including data limits, features, and customer support.Discover the best cheap CRM plan for your goals and needs. Use our free quote comparison tool for expert guidance. Simply answer a few questions, and get tailored obligation-free quotes from top CRM providers.Try Our Top Three Cheap CRM Software:These are the providers we recommend based on our research. Clicking on the buttons will take you to the provider’s website. HubSpot Free is our researchers' top cheap CRM software for value for money. Try it from $0 Try HubSpot Our researchers found Freshsales' Growth plan to offer the best marketing features. Try its 21-day free trial Try Freshsales Our researchers were impressed by Zendesk's easy data visualization options. Try its 30-day free trial Try Zendesk Swipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward HubSpot’s Free Plan Freshsales’ Growth Plan Zendesk’s Support Team Plan monday CRM’s Pro Plan Pipedrive’s Advanced Plan Zoho CRM’s Professional Plan Salesforce’s Starter Suite 4.2 4.7 3.8 4.2 4.3 4.7 3.8 Best for Value for Money Best for for Marketing Best for Easy Data Visualizations Best for Customization Best for Data Protection Best for Sales Best for Email Communication Price Range Free Price Range US$9 – US$11 /user/month Price Range US$19 /user/month Price Range $39 – $48 /user/month Price Range US$29 – US$39/user/month Price Range $31 – $44 /user/month Price Range US$25 – US$35 /user/month Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Try HubSpot Try Freshsales Try Zendesk Try monday CRM Try Pipedrive Try Zoho CRM Try Salesforce 1. HubSpot’s Free Plan: Best Value for MoneyPrice: Free HubSpot's Free Plan 4.2 Pricing Free Try HubSpot Why is HubSpot's Free plan one of the best cheap CRM software systems? HubSpot's Free plan is the first on our list because you get a variety of practical functionalities cost-free. Apart from what's mentioned above, you'll also get fantastic contact management tools like data import and export and list segmentation. You’ll also get organization features, such as reminders and meeting scheduling, to help you manage your appointments. Finally, it offers a hefty set of marketing tools, including website visitor tracking, an email design editor, and social media integrations.But because it is free, there are certain limitations you should expect. For example, file storage is limited to five documents per person. HubSpot also doesn't offer email, chat, or phone line support, making it tricky should you experience any technical difficulties. Moreover, you will have little liberty in customizing your database as there are only 10 custom fields and no custom task types and objects. If you want better customizability, monday.com provides a slew of easy-to-use and customizable options for an affordable cost.Still, HubSpot scores a perfect 5/5 for pricing in our extensive research because it has a one million contact limit and no user limit. Not only that, it has the best email features (5/5), including the capacity to send emails from your software, auto responses, and an email inbox. Read more + Read less - Strengths Free CRM platform Impressive email capabilities Abundant marketing tools Weaknesses 5 document storage limit per person Limited customizability No phone, chat, and email support Pricing See more See less Free No monthly fees ▶ Read more: The Best CRM Software for Small Businesses 2. Freshsales’ Growth Plan: Best for MarketingPrice: US$9 per user, per month (billed annually), or US$11 per user, per month (billed monthly) Freshsales's Growth Plan 4.7 Pricing US$9 - US$11 Try Freshsales Why is Freshsales’ Growth plan one of the best cheap CRM software systems? Freshsales’ Growth plan is our second pick for offering plenty of useful marketing tools, such as an email design editor, automated workflow, and visitor tracking, earning a 3.2/5 score and ranking first for marketing. Likewise, it houses efficient contact management features, including data import and export, 250 custom fields, and 50 automated workflows. Along with these, Freshsales’ AI-powered sales assistant, Freddy AI, proves to be valuable in providing insight into your contact list. Our researchers also noted how easy to use the tools were during testing, earning an outstanding 4.7/5 score for usability.Being one of the most affordable paid plans, the Growth plan gives excellent value for money, scoring a 4.5/5 in our pricing analysis. For as low as $15 per user, per month, you’ll get no user limit and 2GB of file storage per person. Plus, it offers multiple organization tools and email features, including a calendar, reminders, email insights, and auto responses, ensuring you won’t miss a schedule or correspondence.The only handicap is that it lacks customer service features, so you have to use another system to track and manage your customer service cases. 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. Read more + Read less - Strengths A variety of marketing tools Highest in our usability rating Efficient contact management features Multiple organization and email tools Weaknesses Zero customer service features Tricky to customize Pricing See more See less US$9US$11 Per user, per month, billed annually Per user, per month, billed monthly Looking to switch providers? We recommend Freshsales Growth plan for teams looking to upscale due to its unlimited user capacity. 3. Zendesk’s Team Plan: Best for Easy Data VisualizationPrice: US$19 per user, per month Zendesk's Team Plan 3.8 Pricing US$19 Try Zendesk Why is Zendesk’s Team plan one of the best cheap CRM software systems? Zendesk's Team plan ties (4.5/5) scores with Freshsales' Growth plan for pricing because it's only a few dollars higher and it also offers a 2GB storage capacity and unlimited users.Zendesk beats Freshsales when it comes to organization and customization. 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. Likewise, Zendesk's Team plan is our best cheap CRM for easy data visualization because it's equipped with plenty of data and reporting tools, including preset and custom dashboards, as well as deal, lead, and recurring revenue reports.However, it misses out on a lot of functionalities, such as marketing features and no 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. Read more + Read less - Strengths Intuitive and user-friendly interface A variety pre-made reports to choose from Good value for money Weaknesses Missing marketing features No customer service tools Pricing See more See less US$19 Per user, per month, billed monthly 4. monday CRM’s Pro Plan: Best for CustomizationPrice: $39 per user, per month (billed annually), or $48 per user, per month (billed monthly) monday CRM's Pro Plan 4.2 Pricing $39 - $48 Try monday CRM Why is monday CRM’s Pro plan one of the best cheap CRM software systems? The Pro plan may be one of monday CRM’s premier plans, but it comes at such an affordable price that it’s part of our best cheap CRM software. More than that, the Pro plan gives you fully customizable fields, dashboards, task types, objects, and sales pipelines, allowing you to easily tinker around your database and customize it according to your needs. All it takes is a single click from your mouse, and you can edit the fields, making it the best cheap CRM for customization.Even so, our researchers score it a perfect 5/5 contact management as it allows data import/export, list segmentation, custom fields, and automated workflows that help you systemize your contacts. Plus, it has outstanding (5/5) organization tools, such as reminders and meeting scheduling to help you keep track of your commitments.However, 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. Read more + Read less - Strengths Best customization features Outstanding email tools Top-notch contact management features Weaknesses Subpar marketing features Pricing See more See less $39$48 Per user, per month, billed annually Per user, per month, billed monthly ▶ Read more: The Most Popular CRMs in Canada 5. Pipedrive’s Advanced Plan: Best for Data ProtectionPrice: US$29 per user, per month (billed annually), or US$39 per user, per month (billed monthly) Pipedrive's Advanced Plan 4.3 Pricing US$29 - US$39 Try Pipedrive Why is Pipedrive's Advanced plan one of the best cheap CRM software systems? If your small business deals with sensitive information, 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, and security email, so you can worry less about hacking and phishing attacks.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.The catch is, Pipedrive's Advanced plan has no file storage. Not to mention, you have to activate the lead booster add-on for US$32.50 per month to access Pipedrive's marketing tools. Whereas, Freshsales' 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 Read more + Read less - Strengths Strong security features User-friendly features Productive organization and contact management tools Weaknesses No file storage Marketing tools are an add-on Lacks customer service features Pricing See more See less US$29US$39 Per user, per month, billed annually Per user, per month, billed monthly 6. Zoho CRM’s Professional Plan: Best for SalesPrice: $31 per user, per month (billed annually), or $44 per user, per month (billed monthly) Zoho CRM's Professional Plan 4.7 Pricing $31 – $44 Try Zoho CRM Why is Zoho’s CRM Professional plan one of the best cheap CRM software systems? Zoho CRM’s Professional plan is packed with valuable sales functionalities, such as a visual sales pipeline and automated lead scoring. The system also allows you to create quotes and invoices as well as accept payments so that customers can easily purchase on your website, scoring a perfect 5/5 for sales features. In addition to this, it has a wealth of features, including meeting scheduling (5/5 for organization), email insights (5/5 for email), support tickets (5/5 for customer service), and automated workflows (5/5 for contact management).Zoho CRM’s Professional plan has much to offer, scoring high in usability (4.5/5) for tools like “Deals”, which lets you customize your sales pipeline to reflect your business processes. It’s also highly customizable (4.1/5), allowing you to add custom fields during the data import.The Professional plan receives high scores across the board in our research, but 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. Read more + Read less - Strengths Most comprehensive feature list Perfect customer service score Complete contact management features Outstanding sales management tools Weaknesses Limited file storage Pricing See more See less $31$44 Per user, per month, billed annually Per user, per month, billed monthly ▶ Read more: The Best Sales CRM Software in Canada 7. Salesforce’s Starter Plan: Best for Email CommunicationPrice: US$25 per user, per month (billed annually), or US$35 per user, per month (billed monthly) Salesforce's Starter Plan 3.8 Pricing US$25 - US$35 Try Salesforce Why is Salesforce’s Starter plan one of the best cheap CRM software systems? Salesforce’s Starter plan has the best email communication tools. With capabilities like sending emails from its system, email insights, and auto-responses, having correspondence with your long list of leads and customers will be a breeze.The Starter plan scores a perfect 5/5 for organization and contact management features. You’ll get access to meeting scheduling, reminders, and a calendar, helping you to keep track of your schedule. You can make use of its strong email functionalities, like auto responses and email insights to help manage your email marketing campaigns. Last but not least, its contact management features include custom fields and list segmentation, allowing you to organize your contacts and their information.However, the Starter plan doesn’t include sales features, earning a small 0.4/5 in this category in our research. 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. Read more + Read less - Strengths Best email features Excellent scheduling system Wealth of useful contact management tools Weaknesses Lacks sales features Pricing See more See less US$25US$35 Per user, per month, billed annually Per user, per month, billed monthly ▶ Read more: Salesforce CRM Review What Is the Cheapest CRM for Small Businesses?The cheapest CRM system for small businesses is HubSpot’s free plan, it has a solid range of features to boost your lead management at no extra cost. Since it’s free, it falls short in a few areas, notably customer support and its customizability.If you’re looking for a more complete CRM system and don’t mind paying a little for a fuller product, we recommend Freshsales CRM. With unlimited contact and user capacity and up to 5GB storage allowance per user, it’ll suit larger operations better than HubSpot’s free plan. How Did We Compare the Best Cheap CRM Software Solutions?Expert Market has a dedicated team of researchers that thoroughly tests and evaluates CRM software to help you find the perfect CRM plan for your business. We look at the following key criteria to assess each CRM provider:Usability – We test each system and evaluate how easy it is to use.Price – The most affordable CRM plan that offers the best value for your money gets the highest scoreCustomization – We assess the extent of customization tools available to users, as well as how easy it is to customize it to suit your needs.Features – The wider the variety of functionalities the system offers, the higher its score will be.Help & Support – How many customer support channels does the platform offer? The higher the number of support resources a platform has, the higher it climbs in our ranking.Once our researchers collate all of the information and score each key category, we then compute each CRM plan’s final scores and rank them.Try Our Top Three Cheap CRM Software: HubSpot Free is our researchers' top cheap CRM software for value for money. Try it from $0 Try HubSpot Our researchers found Freshsales' Growth plan to offer the best marketing features. Try its 21-day free trial Try Freshsales Our researchers were impressed by Zendesk's easy data visualization options. Try its 30-day free trial Try Zendesk Verdict After thorough research, we confidently recommend HubSpot’s Free plan as the top choice for an affordable CRM system. It boasts an impressive range of features and has received a perfect 5/5 rating for its value for money. In addition to its customer service tools such as case management and support tickets, what really sets it apart is the inclusion of numerous nifty tools that are typically only found in paid plans.It has a web email design editor, social media integrations, and website visitor tracking to boost your marketing campaigns. Regardless, it is free of charge. So, it isn’t as comprehensive as Freshsales’ Growth Plan, which includes a visual sales pipeline, and automated lead scoring that will help you generate more sales.Still don’t know which direction you should go in choosing a CRM system? Our free quote comparison tool will match you with the trusted CRM providers to help with your business. Just answer a few questions and we’ll have the best CRM providers deliver you tailored and obligation-free quotes. FAQs Which CRM is cheapest? HubSpot’s free plan is the cheapest and has the best value for money, with impressive dedicated sales, marketing, and customer service features. What is the best affordable CRM? Zoho’s Professional plan is the best affordable CRM system for having the most comprehensive feature list, such as visual sales pipeline for sales, a calendar for organization, and support tickets for customer service, and automated workflows for contact management. How much does a CRM typically cost? CRM systems prices range from free (e.g. HubSpot) to as high as US$300 per user, per month (Salesforce Unlimited). Is there a totally free CRM? Yes, HubSpot has a free plan that offers excellent marketing features like a chatbot, social media integrations, and website visitor tracking. You can also find other free CRM systems available on the market. Although, you have to be wary as most of these have limited users, storage, or features. Expect that they will lack in some aspects though as they are free. How do cheap and free CRM differ from more expensive CRM solutions? More expensive CRM systems will often give greater, even unlimited, capacity for users, contacts and storage limits and are better suited for growing teams or larger businesses. Can a cheap CRM still offer the essential features needed for effective B2B customer relationship management? As demonstrated by HubSpot’s Free plan, you can achieve a fully-functional, professional CRM system with up to 50,000 contacts without having to break the bank. Are there any hidden fees or additional costs associated with using a cheap CRM? Some CRM systems that do not have unlimited storage, user or contact limits may charge if you breach that limit. You may also face additional costs with cheaper plans if you want to benefit from more sophisticated extra features that can be included in your plan as an add-on. 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. Which CRM provider should I switch to from my existing plan? 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. Of course, it all 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. What costs can I expect to pay when switching providers? 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. Written by: Rob Binns Services Expert Rob writes mainly about the payments industry, but also brings to the table industry-specific knowledge of CRM software, business loans, fulfilment, and invoice finance. When not exasperating his editor with bad puns, he can be found relaxing in a sunny (socially-distanced) corner, with a beer and a battered copy of Dostoevsky. Reviewed by: James Macey Senior Business Software Researcher James draws on his 4+ years experience as a researcher to offer specialized advice on a wide range of categories from CRM to Fleet Management. He believes all businesses can grow if they use the right tools and services.