Small teams overpay for CRM in two ways: buying a plan with features they never use, or picking a cheap plan that lacks automation and needs an upgrade in month three. This list ranks CRMs on the plan a small team actually needs.
Disclosure: We may earn a commission when you sign up through links marked as affiliate links. That never affects scores or order: rankings are computed from documented facts and cannot read affiliate data. What each vendor pays us →
We compare every CRM on its core plan: the cheapest plan that gives a small team a pipeline, automation and reporting. Then we price it for five users with annual billing, including any mandatory onboarding fee, and check which of ten common capabilities are included.
The result is not a popularity contest. Several of the best-known names sit lower than you might expect because automation starts on an expensive tier or onboarding is mandatory.
order = fact score · computed, not negotiated · methodology
Low-cost, deep CRM with a free plan for three users that already includes workflow automation; Standard adds email integration, built-in calling and custom modules.
Core plan: Standard $14 /user/mo; $840 in year one for 5 users.
Free CRM for two users plus a broad paid suite; Sales Hub Starter adds workflows and calling, while Professional jumps to $90+ per seat and a required $1,500 onboarding.
Core plan: Starter $20 /user/mo; $1,200 in year one for 5 users.
Low-cost sales CRM with built-in email, phone and basic workflows from the entry plan; Freddy AI scoring starts on Pro.
Core plan: Growth $9 /user/mo; $540 in year one for 5 users.
Zoho's pipeline-first CRM for very small teams: from $7 per user, built-in telephony on every plan and a free plan for one user.
Core plan: Express $7 /user/mo; $420 in year one for 5 users.
Highly customizable board-based CRM with automations and AI credits from Standard; sold in seat buckets with a three-seat minimum.
Core plan: Standard $17 /user/mo; $1,020 in year one for 5 users.
Email-marketing and automation platform first; the sales pipeline is a paid CRM add-on that needs at least the Plus plan.
Core plan: Plus + Pipelines $88 /mo per account; $1,632 in year one for 5 users.
Flexible, data-model-first CRM with a free plan for up to three seats; workflows and AI run on every plan, metered by credits.
Core plan: Plus $35 /user/mo; $2,100 in year one for 5 users.
Lightweight relationship CRM with email campaigns, enrichment and AI assistants; dashboards, deals, custom objects and the API start on Premium.
Core plan: Premium $48 /user/mo; $2,880 in year one for 5 users.
Simple contact and pipeline CRM with a free plan for two users; email sync and workflow automation start on Growth.
Core plan: Growth $36 /user/mo; $2,160 in year one for 5 users.
Sales CRM with email and calendar sync and built-in email marketing on every plan; sales automation starts on Pro.
Core plan: Pro $42 /user/mo; $2,520 in year one for 5 users.
Visual, pipeline-first sales CRM; two-way email sync and automations start on Growth, and the Nova AI assistant is included on every plan.
Core plan: Growth $39 /user/mo; $2,340 in year one for 5 users.
Calling-first sales CRM with built-in dialer, SMS and two-way email on every plan; workflows and bulk email start on Growth.
Core plan: Growth $99 /user/mo; $5,940 in year one for 5 users.
CRM built into Gmail and Google Workspace; workflow automation, bulk email, reports and API access start on Professional.
Core plan: Professional $59 /user/mo; $3,540 in year one for 5 users.
One plan, one price ($15 per user per month): contacts, unlimited pipelines, email logging and simple automations, with no annual contract.
Core plan: Single plan $15 /user/mo; $900 in year one for 5 users.
Classic CRM with leads, opportunities and projects; billed annually only, with workflow automation and AI Copilot from Professional.
Core plan: Professional $49 /user/mo; $2,940 in year one for 5 users.
The enterprise standard, now with a free two-user suite; automation starts on Pro Suite ($100 per user, annual contract) and the full platform on Core ($195).
Core plan: Pro Suite $100 /user/mo; $6,000 in year one for 5 users.
CRM plus email marketing, landing pages, payments and a business phone line in one flat plan for two users; implementation is required.
Core plan: Keap $249 /mo per account; $4,640 in year one for 5 users.
| # | CRM | Score | Core plan | 5 users / yr 1 | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoho CRM | 9.9 | Standard · $14 | $840 | free plan |
| 2 | HubSpot | 9.7 | Starter · $20 | $1,200 | free plan |
| 3 | Freshsales | 9.4 | Growth · $9 | $540 | 21-day trial |
| 4 | Bigin by Zoho CRM | 9.1 | Express · $7 | $420 | free plan |
| 5 | monday CRM | 8.9 | Standard · $17 | $1,020 | 14-day trial |
| 6 | ActiveCampaign | 8.8 | Plus + Pipelines · $88 | $1,632 | 14-day trial |
| 7 | Attio | 8.8 | Plus · $35 | $2,100 | free plan |
| 8 | folk | 8.5 | Premium · $48 | $2,880 | 14-day trial |
| 9 | Capsule CRM | 8.3 | Growth · $36 | $2,160 | free plan |
| 10 | Nutshell | 8.0 | Pro · $42 | $2,520 | 14-day trial |
| 11 | Pipedrive | 7.9 | Growth · $39 | $2,340 | 14-day trial |
| 12 | Close | 7.8 | Growth · $99 | $5,940 | 14-day trial |
| 13 | Copper | 7.6 | Professional · $59 | $3,540 | 14-day trial |
| 14 | Less Annoying CRM | 7.5 | Single plan · $15 | $900 | 30-day trial |
| 15 | Insightly | 7.4 | Professional · $49 | $2,940 | 14-day trial |
| 16 | Salesforce Sales Cloud | 7.3 | Pro Suite · $100 | $6,000 | free plan |
| 17 | Keap | 6.5 | Keap · $249 | $4,640 | demo |
Compare the top 3 side by side →
In our fact-based comparison, Zoho CRM scores highest for small teams (9.9/10): Standard at $14 per user per month, and a first-year cost of $840 for five users. The best choice still depends on how you sell; use the CRM finder to filter by your must-haves.
For five users on each vendor's core plan with annual billing, first-year costs in our data range from $420 to $6,000. Monthly billing usually costs more per seat. Try your own numbers in the cost calculator.
We have not finished hands-on usability tests, so we do not rank ease of use yet. What we can say from documentation: single-plan tools such as Less Annoying CRM have one price and no plan tiers to compare, and free plans or no-card trials let you test a CRM with your own data before paying.
Not always. If one person handles a few dozen customers, a spreadsheet or your email client may be enough. See do you need a CRM? for the signs that it is time.