Did you know that businesses that use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software see an average return on investment of $8.71 for every dollar spent? More and more companies are embracing this technology, leading to the market size for CRM software growing to an estimated US$89.03 billion in 2024. Additionally, there is a wide range of offerings available, tailored to all kinds of industries, companies, and use cases.
This is all great news for companies looking to put a CRM system in place, as there is certainly something for everyone. With this large selection pool, there are some great affordable or even free options that offer very comprehensive features—not just the bare minimum with the intent to entice you to upgrade to a paid plan (though there are plenty of those as well).
Ranking criteria
Before we explore all the CRM options, here is a brief description of the dimensions we used to evaluate the products:
Price: How much the product costs is obviously an important factor but what is considered cheap is arbitrary. For the sake of simplicity, only plans that offer a starting price of $15 or less per user per month will be evaluated.
Free plan availability: It doesn’t get cheaper than free! Any products with a free forever plan (not a free trial) will be evaluated unless the features on offer are so limited as to make CRM unviable.
Feature availability: We’ll examine features for the free plan and the lowest tier paid plans and whether they provide good value for money.
Ease of use: The design of the product needs to focus on usability and simplicity to ensure a positive user experience.
Based on these criteria, some well-established players, such as Salesforce, do not make the cut due to its relatively hefty price tag. So without further ado, here’s our top picks for the best cheap CRM software that offers great value for money.
Top cheap CRM software at a glance
1. HubSpot CRM: Best for user-friendliness and scalability for small businesses
Image source: capterra.com
HubSpot CRM is a powerful, user-friendly, and cost-effective solution designed to help businesses manage customer relationships, streamline sales processes, and improve marketing efforts.
Known for its free plan, which includes robust features like contact management, deal tracking, email templates, and reporting dashboards, HubSpot CRM is perfect for small to medium-sized businesses on a budget. It provides seamless integration with other HubSpot tools, as well as popular apps like Gmail, Outlook, and Slack, ensuring smooth workflows. HubSpot’s intuitive interface makes it easy for teams to adopt and customize the CRM to fit their needs. With affordable paid plans that unlock advanced features, HubSpot CRM offers scalability and value, making it an excellent choice for businesses looking for a budget-friendly, all-in-one platform.
Free Plan: Available for up to 2 users
2000 emails per month
Forms with limited features
1 deal pipeline per account
3 email templates
Up to 2 dashboards, with 5 reports per dashboard
Cheapest Paid Plan: $12/month per user (free trial available)
Higher email send limits per month
Forms with more advanced features
2 deal pipelines per account
5000 email templates
Up to 10 dashboards, with 10 reports per dashboard
2. Zoho CRM: Best for customization and scalability
Image source: capterra.com
Zoho CRM is another standout option for businesses looking for affordability without sacrificing features. It offers tools for managing leads, automating workflows, and delivering personalized customer experiences. Zoho also provides AI-powered assistance through its virtual assistant, Zia, which helps with lead scoring and predicting sales outcomes.
Zoho integrates seamlessly with the broader Zoho ecosystem, including Zoho Mail, Zoho Books, and Zoho Projects, making it an all-in-one solution for businesses already using Zoho products.
Free Plan: Available for up to 3 users
Leads, contacts, and accounts management
Tasks, events, call log, and notes
Page customization
Custom list views
Workflow management
Integration with social media
Cheapest Paid Plan: $14/month per user (free trial available)
All features in the free plan
Support for mass email sending
Sales forecasting
Syncing with Google Calendar
Office 365 integration
Custom reports
3. Freshsales: Best for sales automation and AI-powered lead management
Image source: g2.com
Freshsales, part of the Freshworks suite, is an affordable and user-friendly CRM designed for businesses to manage their sales and customer relationships effectively. It offers powerful features like AI-driven lead scoring, email tracking, contact management, and customizable pipelines, all within an intuitive interface.
Freshsales allows businesses to automate repetitive tasks, track customer interactions, and gain valuable insights with built-in reporting and analytics tools. It integrates seamlessly with popular apps like Zapier, Slack, and Shopify, enhancing productivity. With a free plan and competitively priced paid options, Freshsales provides excellent value for businesses on a budget. Ideal for teams focused on sales growth, Freshsales simplifies lead management and helps businesses close deals faster without overspending.
Free Plan: Available for up to 3 users
Kanban views
Limited email templates
Built-in phone and live chat
Cheapest Paid Plan: $9/month per user (free trial available)
Kanban view for contacts, accounts, and deals
Contact life stages management
Email templates
Built-in chat, email, and phone
Curated reports
4. Pipedrive: Best visuals and ease of use
Image source: capterra.com
Pipedrive is an affordable, sales-focused CRM designed to help businesses streamline their sales processes and improve deal management. Known for its intuitive, visual pipeline interface, Pipedrive enables teams to easily track leads, manage deals, and monitor sales performance in real-time. Its automation tools simplify repetitive tasks like follow-ups and email reminders, allowing sales teams to focus on closing deals.
With customizable pipelines, activity tracking, and integration options with popular tools like Slack, Zapier, and Gmail, Pipedrive adapts to various business needs. Its competitive pricing and ease of use make it an excellent choice for budget-conscious businesses. Pipedrive is ideal for teams looking for a CRM that prioritizes simplicity, efficiency, and sales growth without breaking the bank.
Free Plan: Not available
Cheapest Paid Plan: $14/month per user (free trial available)
Visual lead, calendar, and pipeline management
Customizable sales stages
Integration with over 400 apps, including Trello and Slack
Reports for activity, deals, and contacts
Personalized onboarding
5. Agile CRM: Best for sales, marketing, and sales automation
Image source: capterra.com
Agile CRM is an affordable, all-in-one CRM platform tailored for small and medium-sized businesses. It combines sales, marketing, and customer service tools into a single, easy-to-use interface.
With features like contact management, deal tracking, email marketing, social media integration, and helpdesk support, Agile CRM helps businesses streamline workflows and improve customer interactions. Its automation capabilities allow users to simplify repetitive tasks, such as follow-ups and lead scoring, saving time and boosting productivity. Agile CRM offers a free plan for small teams, making it a budget-friendly option for startups. Its paid plans are competitively priced, offering advanced features like analytics, custom reports, and third-party integrations.
Free Plan: Available for up to 10 users
1000 contacts and companies
Email campaigns, web engagement, Contact Level Analytics
Email tracking
Google sync
Basic reports
Cheapest Paid Plan: $8.99/month per user (free trial available)
10,000 contacts and companies
Email campaigns, web engagement, Contact Level Analytics
Email tracking and 2-way email integration
Marketing automation
Social monitoring
Google/Shopify/Stripe sync
Basic reports, email reports
6. Monday.com: Best for project management with CRM
Image source: monday.com
Monday.com is a versatile and affordable CRM solution designed to help businesses manage customer relationships, sales pipelines, and workflows in one centralized platform. Known for its user-friendly, highly visual interface, Monday.com allows teams to customize workflows, track leads, automate repetitive tasks, and collaborate effectively. Its drag-and-drop functionality and customizable templates make it easy to tailor the CRM to fit unique business needs.
Monday.com integrates seamlessly with popular tools like Gmail, Slack, and Zoom, further streamlining operations. While it’s not a traditional CRM, its flexibility and competitive pricing make it an excellent choice for small to medium-sized businesses seeking a budget-friendly option. With scalable plans and robust features, Monday.com is ideal for teams looking to stay organized without overspending.
Free Plan: Not available
Cheapest Paid Plan: $9/month per user (free trial available)
Unlimited boards
Kanban view and embedded forms
Can create 1 dashboard based on 1 board
200+ templates
7. Vtiger: Best for teams that prefer open-source software
Image source: capterra.com
Vtiger is an affordable, open-source CRM software designed for small to medium-sized businesses. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for sales, marketing, and customer support, making it an all-in-one platform to manage customer interactions efficiently.
Vtiger stands out with features like lead and contact management, email marketing, project management, and helpdesk ticketing, all within a highly customizable interface. Its cloud-based and on-premise deployment options provide flexibility, while its integration with third-party apps, such as Mailchimp and Zapier, enhances productivity. With competitive pricing and a free version available, Vtiger is an excellent choice for businesses seeking a cost-effective CRM solution without compromising on functionality or scalability. It’s ideal for organizations looking to streamline workflows on a budget.
Free Plan: Available for up to 10 users
Lead and contact management with profile scoring
Contact engagement, such as emails and phone integration
Internal collaboration features, such as DMs, comments, and @mentions
Marketing automation for lists, emails campaigns, and more
Basic sales pipeline features
Cheapest Paid Plan: $12/month per user for up to 10 users (free trial available)
All features in the free plan
Salesforce automation
Marketing automation for campaigns
Invoicing and sales order for inventory management
Customizable dashboards and schedule reports
8. Lark: Best for all-in-one collaboration
Image source: lark.com
Lark is an all-in-one super app for collaboration, combining messaging, calendar, document, email, task, data management, and video meeting capabilities onto a single platform. Teams can use the data management platform, Base, to build their very own CRM system based on their specific business needs. The process of building in Base is very straightforward: Simply add the metrics you want to record and keep track of as fields.
Bringing all these features onto one platform also means the sum is greater than its parts. When there is an update in Base, for example, relevant team members can receive real-time notifications in their messenger. They can then discuss in a chat, collaborate in documents, and schedule meetings directly within the platform. All of this means team members won’t have to constantly switch between apps for different tasks, boosting productivity and minimizing distraction. Advanced automation capabilities also free team members from tedious and time-consuming tasks, and put their focus on more important matters.
Free Plan: Available for up to 50 users
Access to messenger, email, calendar, and meetings
Access to multiple document types including Docs, Sheets, Slides, Base, and Wiki
5000 automated workflow runs per month
Custom business email
100 GB cloud storage + 200 GB email storage
Cheapest Paid Plan: $12/month per user
All features in the free plan
50,000 automated workflow runs per month
AI fields in Base and templates
1 TB cloud storage + 5 TB email storage
How to Choose the Right Cheap CRM for Your Business
Choosing the right CRM depends on your business needs and priorities. Here are a few tips to help you decide:
Identify your goals: Are you looking to improve sales tracking, streamline marketing, or enhance customer support? Different CRMs excel in different areas.
Consider your budget: Look for a CRM that fits your financial constraints while providing the features you need.
Check for integrations: Ensure the CRM integrates seamlessly with the tools you already use, such as email platforms, accounting software, or project management tools.
Conclusion
Investing in a CRM doesn’t have to mean draining your budget. The CRMs highlighted in this list all deliver excellent value for free or at affordable prices, making them ideal for startups, small businesses, and growing teams. Besides traditional CRM systems like HubSpot, collaboration platforms that offer flexibility and robust capabilities, such as Lark and Monday.com, are worth considering.
It’s impossible to know whether a CRM is the right fit for your business from reading reviews and product descriptions. You can try out the product first, like this Lark CRM template, to get a real sense of suitability. And since the free plan of Lark is packed with features, you’ll likely be able to use it for a long time before needing to upgrade.
