Best CRM Software in 2026: 5 Options Compared on Price

HubSpot is the best CRM software for most teams in 2026, thanks to a free tier and a deep ecosystem, though its Professional plan is costly. Pipedrive is best for visual sales pipelines, Zoho CRM for tight budgets, Close for call-heavy inside sales, and Freshsales for the cheapest paid per-seat price.

Some links on this page may become affiliate links; it never changes our ranking. How we pick: see below. Prices checked 29 October 2026.

At a glance

Tool	Best for	Entry paid price	Standout	Watch out for
HubSpot	Most teams, growth paths	Free; Starter $7/seat/month billed annually	Free CRM, wide ecosystem	Pro costs $90/seat plus $1,500 onboarding
Pipedrive	Sales pipelines	£14/seat/month billed annually (Lite)	Pipeline-first design	No free plan
Zoho CRM	Budgets and free use	Free for 3 users; Standard £12/user annual	Lowest cost per feature	Interface can feel busy
Close	Inside sales and calling	$9/user/month billed annually (Solo)	Built-in calling and SMS	Calling charged by usage
Freshsales	Cheap per-seat teams	$9/user/month billed annually (Growth)	21-day trial, low entry price	Add-ons cost extra

1. HubSpot: best CRM for most teams

HubSpot is a customer platform whose Sales Hub and free CRM make it our top pick for most small and growing teams. On its Sales Hub pricing page, Free covers up to 2 users with no card. Starter starts at $7 per seat a month (the page shows $20 for the monthly option), Professional at $90 per seat a month on annual payment ($100 paying monthly on an annual commitment) and Enterprise at $150.

The catch is onboarding. The page states that Professional carries a required one-time onboarding fee of $1,500 and Enterprise $3,500, which are not included in the seat price. Plans also include monthly HubSpot Credits for AI features (500 on Starter, 3,000 on Professional, 5,000 on Enterprise) that are spent when AI agents act.

Third-party write-ups, such as one from Avidly, discuss the fee and report complaints that it is not always flagged clearly during sales, so ask for a full quote first.

Pros

• Free plan for up to 2 users, no card
• Starter at $7 per seat when paid annually
• Large integration and add-on ecosystem
• AI agents for prospecting and data upkeep via credits

Cons

• Professional at $90 per seat plus $1,500 mandatory onboarding
• Enterprise onboarding is $3,500
• Cost rises sharply between tiers
• AI features consume credits

Pricing: Free (2 users); Starter from $7/seat/month annual ($20 monthly); Professional $90 annual or $100 monthly on annual commitment, plus $1,500 onboarding; Enterprise from $150 plus $3,500 onboarding. USD, as of 29 October 2026.

Best for: Small teams who want to start free and grow into marketing and service tools. Visit HubSpot.

2. Pipedrive: best for visual sales pipelines

Pipedrive is a sales CRM built around deal pipelines, and it is the simplest to learn for small sales teams. Its pricing page showed pounds to us: Lite £14, Growth £39, Premium £59 and Ultimate £79 per seat a month, billed annually (£168, £468, £708 and £948 per seat a year), with a 14-day free trial and no card needed. The page says annual billing saves up to 42%.

Pipedrive sells extras as add-ons on top: LeadBooster from £32.50, Smart Docs from £32.50, Web Visitors from £41, Projects from £16 and Campaigns from £13.33. Prices exclude VAT, and the page says VAT is billed to EU customers at member-state rates unless a valid VAT number is provided.

There is no free plan, so a trial is the only way to test it, and the add-ons mean the real bill for a full setup can double.

Pros

• Pipeline-first interface that new sales reps learn quickly
• 500+ integrations listed
• 14-day trial with no card
• Lite is cheap at £14 per seat

Cons

• No free plan
• Lead capture, documents and campaigns are paid add-ons
• Prices exclude VAT
• Cheapest plan has limited features

Pricing: Lite £14, Growth £39, Premium £59, Ultimate £79 per seat/month billed annually, excluding VAT. GBP as shown to us, as of 29 October 2026.

Best for: Small sales teams who live in a deal pipeline. Visit Pipedrive.

3. Zoho CRM: best for tight budgets and free use

Zoho CRM is a configurable sales CRM from Zoho, and our budget pick. Its pricing page advertises a Free Edition for 3 users (leads, deals, workflows, reports and a mobile app). Paid editions in pounds are Standard £12, Professional £18, Enterprise £35 and Ultimate £42 per user a month billed annually, or £16, £28, £45 and £55 billed monthly.

That makes Zoho the cheapest paid CRM here for mid-sized feature sets, especially Professional, which the page labels Most Popular and which adds automation and AI. The page also lists a CX Platform option and a price estimator, and claims 350,000+ businesses use it.

The trade-off is breadth. Zoho CRM has many modules and settings, which rewards patience but can overwhelm a first-time buyer.

Pros

• Free forever for 3 users
• £12 per user Standard on annual billing
• Pro tier adds automation and AI at £18
• Clear monthly versus annual prices

Cons

• Busier interface than Pipedrive
• Monthly billing costs about a third more
• Many editions to choose between
• Free edition is limited to 3 users

Pricing: Free (3 users); Standard £12, Professional £18, Enterprise £35, Ultimate £42 per user/month billed annually (£16, £28, £45, £55 monthly). GBP as shown to us, as of 29 October 2026.

Best for: Startups and budget-conscious teams wanting configurable workflows. Visit Zoho CRM.

4. Close: best for inside sales and calling

Close is a CRM with calling, email and SMS built in, aimed at inside sales teams. Its pricing page lists Solo at $9 per user a month billed annually ($19 monthly), Essentials at $35 ($49), Growth at $99 ($109) and Scale at $139 ($149). Solo is limited to 1 user and 10,000 leads with no workflows; automated workflows, power dialer and bulk email arrive at Growth.

Plans include monthly AI credits for its Chloe assistant (500 on Solo up to 2,000 on Scale). Calling is charged on usage, and the free trial includes $5 of calling and enrichment credits. Trial needs no card, and Close offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

It is a sharper tool than HubSpot or Zoho for phone-heavy teams, but weaker if you need marketing automation or a big app marketplace.

Pros

• Calling, SMS and email inside the CRM
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Trial without a card
• Solo is only $9 per user annually

Cons

• Calling is charged on usage
• Workflows only from Growth at $99
• Solo limited to one user and 10,000 leads
• Narrower focus than all-in-one suites

Pricing: Solo $9, Essentials $35, Growth $99, Scale $139 per user/month billed annually ($19, $49, $109, $149 monthly). USD, as of 29 October 2026.

Best for: Phone-heavy inside sales teams and startups. Visit Close.

5. Freshsales: best for cheap per-seat teams

Freshsales is the sales CRM from Freshworks, and a low-cost option for small teams. Its pricing page shows Growth at $9 per user a month billed annually, Pro at $39 and Enterprise at $59, with a 21-day trial on a fully loaded account and payment by card to continue.

Growth covers a Kanban view, lifecycle stages, chat, email and phone, templates, custom fields and basic workflows. Pro adds contact scoring, deal insights, territory management and sales sequences, while Enterprise adds forecasting, field-level permissions, custom modules, a sandbox and audit logs. Add-ons include Branded Documents at $19 per user a month and the Freddy AI Agent at $49 per 100 sessions.

Budget for add-ons: Branded Documents alone adds $19 to a $39 Pro seat.

Pros

• $9 per user entry on annual billing
• 21-day trial
• Sequences and scoring on Pro at $39
• Forecasting and audit logs on Enterprise

Cons

• Add-ons cost extra
• Monthly prices not shown in our read
• Account suspended if you do not continue after trial
• Growth is basic compared with Pipedrive

Pricing: Growth $9, Pro $39, Enterprise $59 per user/month billed annually. USD, as of 29 October 2026.

Best for: Small teams that want an inexpensive seat and may already use Freshworks products. Visit Freshsales.

How we compared these tools

This is desk research, not hands-on testing. We read each vendor's live pricing page on 29 October 2026, used a browser to read pages that load prices by script (HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho), and checked one third-party source on HubSpot onboarding fees. We did not benchmark speed or data quality.

We weighed total cost per seat including mandatory fees and add-ons most heavily (about 35%), then free-plan limits and trial terms (20%), features at the entry tiers (20%), ease of use and support (15%) and lock-in or contract terms (10%). Per-seat prices are quoted before tax. More in our business tools category, or use the compare page.

How to choose

• If you want to start free and add marketing later, pick HubSpot, then compare email tools.
• If your reps live in a deal pipeline, pick Pipedrive.
• If budget is the main constraint, pick Zoho CRM.
• If your team makes calls all day, pick Close.
• If you want the lowest annual per-seat price, pick Freshsales.
• If you also coordinate delivery work, read our project management guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best CRM software in 2026?

HubSpot is our top pick for most teams because it offers a free plan for up to 2 users and a large ecosystem. Pipedrive suits sales pipelines, Zoho CRM suits tight budgets, Close suits calling-heavy teams and Freshsales offers the lowest annual per-seat price. Check HubSpot Professional carefully because it adds a $1,500 required onboarding fee.

Is there a free CRM worth using?

Yes. HubSpot Sales Hub Free covers up to 2 users and Zoho CRM Free covers 3 users, both with no card needed. Pipedrive, Close and Freshsales do not list a free plan; they offer trials (Pipedrive 14 days, Freshsales 21 days, Close with no card). Free plans suit testing a pipeline, but limits on users and automation arrive quickly.

How much does a CRM cost per user?

Annual entry prices we verified run from $7 per seat for HubSpot Starter and $9 for Close Solo and Freshsales Growth, to £12 for Zoho Standard and £14 for Pipedrive Lite. Mid-tier plans run from $39 (Freshsales Pro) to $99 (Close Growth). Monthly billing is higher: Zoho Standard is £16 against £12 annually.

Does HubSpot charge extra for onboarding?

Yes. HubSpot's Sales Hub page states Professional requires a one-time onboarding fee of $1,500 and Enterprise $3,500, in addition to seat prices. Starter and Free do not list one. If you plan to buy Professional, include the onboarding fee in your first-year budget and ask whether partner-led onboarding is allowed.

Which CRM suits UK and EU buyers?

Pipedrive and Zoho CRM displayed prices in pounds to us, and Pipedrive states that VAT is added for EU customers unless a valid VAT number is given. HubSpot, Close and Freshsales showed US dollars. Compare totals including VAT and exchange rates, and review each vendor's data processing terms and hosting region.

Should I choose a CRM or a project management tool?

Pick a CRM when your work is tracking leads, deals and customer conversations; pick a project tool when you are coordinating tasks and deadlines after the sale. Pipedrive sells a Projects add-on from £16, but many teams run a CRM alongside a dedicated project tool, such as those in our project management guide.

More from the directory: Business and finance tools, compare tools side by side, best email marketing software and best project management software.