15 Free CRMs for Small Business 2026 (+ Upgrade Guide)

What Makes a Great Free CRM for Small Businesses?

Not all “free” CRMs are created equal. Some offer legitimate forever-free plans with core functionality. Others disguise 14-day trials as free options, then lock your data behind paywalls when you hit contact limits.

Three types of “free” you’ll encounter:

• Forever-free plans: Core features remain free indefinitely (HubSpot, Zoho, Bitrix24). You upgrade only when you need advanced capabilities.
• Freemium models: Basic features free, but essential tools like automation or reporting require paid plans.
• Free trials: Full access for 7-30 days, then forced upgrade. Not truly free, despite marketing claims.

Core features every legitimate free CRM must include:

• Contact management with custom fields and segmentation
• Deal pipeline visualization (kanban or list view)
• Email integration (sync conversations, log emails)
• Task management and activity tracking
• Mobile access (iOS/Android apps)
• Data export without restrictions

Red flags signaling a bad free CRM:

• Contact limits under 500 (too restrictive for growth)
• Single-user restrictions (teams can’t collaborate)
• No data export (vendor lock-in tactic)
• Forced branding on customer-facing emails
• Support limited to community forums only

Top 15 Free CRMs for Small Businesses (Ranked)

1. HubSpot CRM – Most Generous Free Plan

Best for: Small businesses planning to scale from 1 to 10+ users without changing platforms.

Free plan includes:

• Unlimited users, contacts, and data storage
• Deal and task management with pipeline visualization
• Email tracking, templates, and scheduling
• Live chat and forms for website lead capture
• Email marketing (2,000 sends/month)
• Mobile app with full functionality
• 1,000+ integrations

What you’ll miss: Marketing automation, custom reporting, advanced email sequences, conversation intelligence. Free plan shows “Powered by HubSpot” branding.

Pricing: Starter at $15/month/seat, Professional at $800/month.

Verdict: Best overall free CRM for small businesses wanting room to grow without platform migration.

2. Zoho CRM – Feature-Rich for 3 Users

Best for: Startups with 2-3 founders needing advanced customization.

Free plan includes:

• 3 users maximum
• Unlimited contacts and deals
• Custom modules, fields, and layouts
• Workflow automation (5 rules)
• Email integration with templates
• Mobile app
• Integration with 40+ Zoho apps

What you’ll miss: More than 3 users, advanced automation beyond 5 rules, third-party integrations, phone support.

Pricing: Standard at $14/month/user, Professional at $23/user/month.

Verdict: Perfect for micro-teams needing enterprise features. Scaling requires paid upgrade at fourth team member.

3. Freshsales – AI-Powered Contact Scoring

Best for: Sales teams under 1,000 contacts wanting AI lead scoring.

Free plan includes:

• Unlimited users
• Up to 1,000 contacts
• Built-in phone and email
• AI-based contact scoring (Freddy AI)
• Deal management with pipeline view
• Mobile app with offline mode

What you’ll miss: Contacts beyond 1,000, workflow automation, advanced reporting, sales sequences.

Pricing: Growth at $15/month/user, Pro at $39/user/month.

Verdict: Best free AI-powered CRM for sales teams. Contact limit becomes restrictive fast.

4. Bitrix24 – Unlimited Users, Collaboration-First

Best for: Remote teams needing collaboration tools bundled with CRM.

Free plan includes:

• Unlimited users
• Up to 5 GB storage
• Deal pipeline with kanban view
• Tasks and projects with Gantt charts
• Group chat, video calls (4 participants)
• Email marketing (50 contacts)
• Mobile app

What you’ll miss: Storage beyond 5 GB (hits limit within 6-12 months), more than 4-person video calls, workflow automation, integrations.

Pricing: Basic at $49/month (5 users), Standard at $99/month (50 users).

Verdict: Choose if you need collaboration tools more than CRM depth. Storage fills surprisingly fast.

5. EngageBay – All-in-One Marketing + Sales + Service

Best for: Solopreneurs under 250 contacts wanting marketing automation, CRM, and helpdesk combined.

Free plan includes:

• 1 user
• 250 contacts
• Deal and contact management
• Email marketing (1,000 branded emails/month)
• Basic marketing automation
• Landing pages and web forms
• Helpdesk with ticket management

What you’ll miss: Contacts beyond 250, unbranded emails, advanced automation, A/B testing.

Pricing: Basic at $12.99/month/user, Growth at $49.99/user/month.

Verdict: Best all-in-one for solopreneurs. Contact limit forces upgrade quickly.

6. monday CRM – Visual Pipeline Management

Best for: Visual thinkers wanting customizable pipelines with kanban boards.

Free plan includes:

• Up to 2 users
• Unlimited contacts and deals
• Customizable boards and pipelines
• Email integration
• Mobile app
• 200+ templates

What you’ll miss: More than 2 users, automation, advanced reporting, custom dashboards.

Pricing: Basic at $12/month/seat (minimum $36/month), Standard at $17/seat/month.

Verdict: Perfect for 1-2 person teams who love visual organization.

7. Capsule CRM – Simplicity for Solopreneurs

Best for: Solopreneurs managing client relationships without complex automation.

Free plan includes:

• 2 users maximum
• 250 contacts
• Unlimited sales pipelines
• Task and calendar management
• Email integration
• Mobile app
• 10 MB file storage

What you’ll miss: Contacts beyond 250, storage beyond 10 MB, automation, custom fields, Zapier integrations.

Pricing: Professional at $18/month/user, Teams at $36/user/month.

Verdict: Best for solopreneurs valuing simplicity over power. Clean interface, zero learning curve.

8. Agile CRM – 10 Free Users with Automation

Best for: Small teams (up to 10 people) needing marketing automation on free plan.

Free plan includes:

• 10 users
• 1,000 contacts
• Deal and contact management
• Email campaigns (with branding)
• Basic marketing automation
• Web engagement tracking
• Telephony integration
• Helpdesk ticketing

What you’ll miss: Contacts beyond 1,000, unbranded emails, advanced automation, custom reporting.

Pricing: Starter at $9.99/month/user, Regular at $39.99/user/month.

Verdict: Excellent free tier for teams up to 10 users. Interface dated but features rival paid tools.

9. Vtiger CRM – Open-Source with Cloud Option

Best for: Technical teams wanting data sovereignty or on-premise CRM.

Free plan (cloud):

• 1 user
• 500 contacts
• Sales and marketing modules
• Workflow automation
• Inventory management

Free plan (self-hosted):

• Unlimited users and contacts
• Full source code access
• Complete customization
• Your own servers

What you’ll miss (cloud): More than 1 user, contacts beyond 500. Self-hosted requires technical skills and server costs.

Pricing: Vtiger One at $12/month/user (cloud). Self-hosted free but requires server ($10-50+/month).

Verdict: Best for technical teams wanting open-source flexibility. Cloud free plan too limited.

10. Streak CRM – Gmail-Native for Solopreneurs

Best for: Solopreneurs who live in Gmail and want deal tracking without leaving inbox.

Free plan includes:

• 1 user
• 500 contacts
• Unlimited pipelines
• Email tracking (opens, clicks)
• Email scheduling and snippets
• Task management
• Mobile app

What you’ll miss: Collaboration (single user only), contacts beyond 500, automation, mail merge.

Pricing: Solo at $15/month/user, Pro at $49/user/month.

Verdict: Perfect Gmail-first CRM for solopreneurs. Single-user restriction makes it unusable for teams.

11. Attio – Modern CRM for Startups

Best for: Tech startups wanting customizable data models beyond simple contact flows.

Free plan includes:

• Unlimited users
• Up to 1,000 records (contacts, companies, deals combined)
• Customizable object types
• Email sync
• List views and filters
• API access

What you’ll miss: Records beyond 1,000, workflow automation, advanced reporting, integrations beyond email.

Pricing: Plus at $29/month/user, Pro at $59/user/month.

Verdict: Best modern CRM for startups under 1,000 combined records. Beautiful interface but limit hits faster than expected.

12. Twenty – Open-Source Modern Alternative

Best for: Technical teams wanting modern open-source CRM. Early adopters comfortable with newer tools.

Free plan (self-hosted):

• Unlimited users and contacts
• Full source code (MIT license)
• Contact and company management
• Deal pipeline
• Task management
• API-first architecture

What you’ll miss: Maturity (launched 2023), extensive integrations, enterprise features, professional support.

Pricing: Self-hosted free forever. Cloud pricing TBD.

Verdict: Exciting for technical teams wanting to shape their CRM via open-source contributions. Too immature for non-technical businesses.

13. SuiteCRM – Enterprise Open-Source

Best for: Businesses with technical resources wanting enterprise features without enterprise pricing.

Free plan (self-hosted):

• Unlimited users and contacts
• Full source code (AGPLv3)
• Sales, marketing, and service modules
• Workflow automation
• Advanced reporting
• Mobile app
• Email campaigns

What you’ll miss: Cloud hosting, professional support, easy setup, modern UX.

Pricing: Free forever for self-hosted. Hosting $20-200+/month. Professional support $500-5,000+/year.

Verdict: Best enterprise-grade open-source option. Requires DevOps skills but features rival Salesforce.

14. EspoCRM – Lightweight Open-Source

Best for: Small technical teams wanting open-source without enterprise complexity.

Free plan (self-hosted):

• Unlimited users and contacts
• Source code access (GPLv3)
• Contact and account management
• Sales pipeline
• Email integration
• Calendar and tasks
• Basic automation
• REST API

What you’ll miss: Cloud hosting, advanced automation, extensive modules, large community.

Pricing: Free forever for self-hosted. VPS hosting $5-20/month. Premium extensions $10-90 one-time.

Verdict: Best lightweight open-source CRM. Easier to manage than SuiteCRM but less feature-rich.

15. Pipedrive – NOT Free (Included for Comparison)

What it is: Pure sales CRM with 14-day trial only. No forever-free plan exists.

Why included: Appears in “free CRM” searches but requires $14-99/user/month after trial.

Verdict: Excellent paid CRM. Skip if you need genuinely free option.

Free CRM Feature Comparison Table

Open-Source vs Cloud-Based Free CRMs

Cloud-Based (HubSpot, Zoho, Freshsales)

Pros:

• Zero technical skills required
• Instant setup (5-10 minutes)
• Automatic updates
• Built-in reliability
• Professional support

Cons:

• Vendor lock-in risk
• Feature limitations
• Privacy concerns
• Forced upgrades
• Internet dependent

Self-Hosted (SuiteCRM, EspoCRM, Vtiger)

Pros:

• Complete data ownership
• Unlimited customization
• No artificial limits
• Cost predictability
• Privacy/compliance

Cons:

• Technical skills required
• Server costs ($10-100+/month)
• Your responsibility for uptime
• Time investment (5-10 hours/month)
• Support limitations

Choose cloud if: Zero technical staff, need immediate start, team under 10 people, data sovereignty not required.

Choose self-hosted if: Technical staff available, data privacy critical, extensive customization needed, managing 20+ users, time to invest upfront.

Real Limitations of Free CRM Plans

Storage Limits Hit Without Warning

Free plans cap storage at 100 MB to 5 GB. Email attachments, documents, and email sync fill storage fast. Average PDF proposal = 2 MB. 100 deals × 5 attachments = 1 GB gone.

When you hit limit: CRM stops syncing emails, blocks file uploads, forces deletion of history or upgrade.

Workaround: Store files in Google Drive/Dropbox, link in CRM. Adds friction.

Feature Paywalls That Cripple Productivity

Workflow automation: HubSpot free allows basic triggers. Advanced workflows require $800/month Professional tier. Manual tasks cost 5-10 hours/week for growing teams.

Advanced reporting: Free tiers show basic reports. Custom reports, dashboards, and forecasting require upgrades. Sales managers fly blind.

API access: Integrating CRM with other tools requires API access, often locked behind paid tiers.

Real cost: Sales team spending 10 hours/week on manual tasks (at $50/hour) loses $26,000/year. The “free” CRM costs more than $200/month paid alternatives.

Support Limitations When You’re Stuck

Free tier support:

• Email-only: 48-72 hour response times
• Community forums: Ask strangers for help
• No phone support: Complex issues take weeks
• No onboarding: You’re on your own

When this matters: Data import fails, integration breaks, user deletes pipeline. Team can’t work until resolved.

Data Export Restrictions

Most free CRMs allow CSV export of contacts and deals. What they don’t advertise:

• Relationship data lost: CSV exports contacts but not complex relationships between contacts, companies, deals, emails, and tasks.
• Attachments excluded: Files can’t be bulk-exported.
• Limited history: Some export only last 12 months, archiving older records.

Migration reality: Moving 5,000 contacts with full history costs 20-40 hours admin work.

Hidden Upgrade Triggers

Scenarios forcing upgrades:

• Hiring fourth team member: Zoho free supports 3 users. First sales hire triggers $42/month minimum upgrade.
• Crossing 1,000 contacts: Freshsales caps free at 1,000. Import 1,500 trade show leads = instant limit.
• Needing integration: Capsule locks Zapier behind paid tier.
• Removing branding: EngageBay adds “Powered by EngageBay” to customer emails. Removing requires paid plan.

The “Free” CRM TCO Reality Check

Case study: 5-person sales team using HubSpot free

Apparent cost: $0/month

Hidden costs:

• 8 hours/week manual tasks = $20,800/year @ $50/hour
• No advanced reporting = 10% revenue leak = $50,000/year (for $500K revenue team)
• Support delays = 1 lost deal/quarter = $12,000/year

Total hidden cost: $82,800/year

Alternative: HubSpot Professional at $800/month = $9,600/year, recovering $73,200 in productivity and revenue.

Lesson: Free works for solopreneurs and micro-teams under 1,000 contacts doing basic tracking. Beyond that, “free” becomes most expensive option.

When to Upgrade from Free CRM

Signal 1: Contact limit approaching

When you hit 70% of free tier limit, start evaluating paid options. Avoid scrambling when limit hits mid-campaign.

Signal 2: Team can’t collaborate

If 3+ people need CRM access and free plan restricts users, upgrade unlocks team productivity.

Signal 3: Manual tasks eating 5+ hours/week

Calculate time spent on tasks automation could handle. If exceeds 5 hours/week, paid tier pays for itself.

Signal 4: Losing deals to poor visibility

If sales manager can’t track pipeline health or deals slip through cracks, you need better reporting.

Signal 5: Integration with key tools required

When you need to connect CRM with marketing automation, accounting, or other critical tools, upgrade becomes necessary.

Recommended upgrade path:

• Under 3 users, 1,000 contacts: Stay free
• 3-10 users, 1,000-5,000 contacts: $15-30/user/month tier
• 10+ users, 5,000+ contacts: $50-100/user/month tier with advanced automation

How to Choose Your Free CRM

Step 1: Count your contacts and users

• Current contacts: ___
• Contacts in 12 months: ___
• Current team members needing access: ___
• Team size in 12 months: ___

Step 2: Identify must-have features

• Contact and deal management (all have this)
• Email integration (all have this)
• Marketing automation (EngageBay, Agile on free)
• AI features (Freshsales only)
• Collaboration tools (Bitrix24)
• Advanced customization (Zoho, Attio)

Step 3: Check technical capabilities

• Do you have DevOps skills? → Consider open-source
• Gmail-only team? → Consider Streak
• Need visual boards? → Consider monday CRM
• Want everything simple? → Consider Capsule

Step 4: Test top 2-3 options

Don’t just read reviews. Sign up, import 100 real contacts, run mock campaign. Evaluate:

• Setup time (should be under 30 minutes)
• Interface clarity
• Mobile app quality
• Import/export process

Step 5: Plan upgrade path

Before committing, check paid tier pricing and features. You’ll likely upgrade within 12-24 months. Choose CRM where paid tier makes sense for your budget.

Getting Started with Your Free CRM

Week 1: Setup

1. Sign up for chosen CRM
2. Connect email account
3. Import existing contacts (CSV)
4. Configure pipeline stages
5. Set up mobile app

Week 2: Team onboarding

1. Invite team members
2. Assign permissions
3. Create email templates
4. Set up basic automation (if available)
5. Train team (1-hour session)

Week 3: First campaign

1. Segment contacts
2. Create outreach sequence
3. Launch pilot campaign (50 contacts)
4. Monitor results
5. Iterate based on data

Week 4: Optimization

1. Review campaign metrics
2. Refine email templates
3. Adjust pipeline stages
4. Set up reporting dashboard
5. Document best practices

Beyond Free CRMs: When You Need Multichannel Outreach

Free CRMs handle contact management and deal tracking well. But they miss a critical capability: multichannel prospecting automation.

Reaching prospects through LinkedIn + Email in coordinated sequences multiplies response rates. A LinkedIn connection request followed by email 3 days later, then LinkedIn voice message at day 7 converts 3-5× better than email-only outreach.

This is where La Growth Machine excels. While free CRMs manage your pipeline, La Growth Machine automates your multichannel prospecting:

• LinkedIn + Email + Calls in unified sequences: Reach prospects across channels automatically
• AI-powered personalization: Generate contextual messages at scale
• Smart follow-ups: Automatically adjust sequence based on prospect behavior
• CRM integration: Syncs with HubSpot and Pipedrive (Basic €50/month, Pro €100/month, Ultimate €150/month per identity)

Use case: Import 500 qualified leads from your free CRM into La Growth Machine. Automated sequence sends LinkedIn connection request, waits 3 days, sends personalized email, waits 4 days, sends LinkedIn voice message. All while you focus on closing deals your CRM surfaces.

14-day free trial available. Start with free CRM for pipeline management, add La Growth Machine when you’re ready to scale outbound.