Small Business CRMs
Small Business CRMs Compared
Eight CRMs for small teams side by side. What they do, how they charge and what to check, taken from each vendor's own site.
Checked September 2026. Facts come from each vendor's own website.
In Short
- HubSpot and Zoho CRM list free plans with user limits
- Most charge per user or per seat. Keap and HighLevel charge a flat monthly fee
- monday CRM has a 3 seat minimum
- Every price here was shown plainly on the vendor's site
Our team also builds shop software. It is not included in these comparisons.
What a CRM Does
CRM stands for customer relationship management. A CRM keeps every lead, customer, call and email in one place. It shows each deal and where it stands. It reminds you to follow up, so a good lead does not go cold.
Many CRMs also send email campaigns, texts and quotes, and some take payments.
Who Needs It
A CRM helps any business that sells to people over more than one conversation. It helps most when:
- Leads live in a spreadsheet, a notebook or your inbox.
- Two people call the same customer, or nobody does.
- You cannot say how many deals are open or what they are worth.
- Follow up depends on someone remembering.
How to Choose
- Price it for your whole team. Most CRMs charge per user or per seat. Multiply the price by your headcount.
- Check the billing. Many prices shown are for yearly billing. Monthly billing costs more.
- Look for onboarding fees and minimums. Some plans add a one time fee or a seat minimum.
- List the tools you already use. Check that your email, calendar and accounting tools connect.
- Start small. A free plan or a trial lets you test with real leads first.
Small Business CRMs Compared at a Glance
Here are 8 options, in alphabetical order. This is not a ranking.
| Product | Starting price shown | Free plan | Free trial | Mobile app | Support listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshsales | From $9 per user per month, billed yearly | Not listed | 21 day free trial, no card needed | Yes | |
| HighLevel | From $97 per month | No | 14 day free trial | Yes | Phone, chat, email, help center, training |
| HubSpot Sales Hub | From $7 per seat per month, billed yearly | Yes | Not listed | Yes | Phone, chat, help center, training |
| Keap | From $299 per month, billed yearly | No | Free trial, no card needed, with limits on email sending, payments and texting | Yes | Phone, chat, help center, training |
| monday CRM | From $12 per seat per month, billed yearly | No | 14 day free trial, no card needed | Yes | Help center, training |
| Pipedrive | From $14 per seat per month, billed yearly | No | 14 day free trial, no card needed | Yes | Phone, help center, training |
| Salesforce Starter Suite | From $25 per user per month | Not listed | Free trial offered, length not stated | Not listed | Help center, training |
| Zoho CRM | From $14 per user per month, billed yearly | Yes | Free trial offered on paid plans, length not stated | Not listed | Email, phone, chat, help center |
Starting price is the lowest paid price the vendor showed plainly, before add ons and taxes. Not listed means the vendor site did not say when we checked.
The Options, One by One
Freshsales
Freshsales is the Freshworks sales CRM. It tracks contacts and deals and adds phone, email, chat and AI scoring in one place.
Who it fits: Freshworks points the Growth plan at startups and small businesses. Pro and Enterprise are for larger teams.
Price: From $9 per user per month, billed yearly.
HighLevel
HighLevel, also known as GoHighLevel, is an all in one CRM and marketing platform. It combines contacts, funnels, websites, texting, calendars, reviews and payments.
Who it fits: HighLevel is built mainly for marketing agencies and freelancers that run many client accounts. It also names small business owners.
Price: From $97 per month.
HubSpot Sales Hub
HubSpot Sales Hub is sales software built on the HubSpot Smart CRM. It tracks contacts and deals and adds tools for outreach, calls, meetings and sales reports.
Who it fits: The vendor says the free CRM is made for startups and small businesses. Sales Hub scales from single reps to large sales teams.
Price: From $7 per seat per month, billed yearly.
Keap
Keap is CRM and marketing automation for small businesses. It combines contacts, email and text marketing, sales pipeline, invoices and payments.
Who it fits: Keap says it is made for small business owners. It names professional services, trades and franchises.
Price: From $299 per month, billed yearly.
monday CRM
monday CRM is a customizable sales CRM built on monday.com boards. It manages leads and deals with AI help for notes, summaries and forecasts.
Who it fits: monday names agencies, professional services, real estate, financial services, healthcare, nonprofits and retail. It serves both small and large companies.
Price: From $12 per seat per month, billed yearly.
Pipedrive
Pipedrive is a visual sales CRM built around the pipeline and daily sales activities. It tracks leads and deals and automates follow ups.
Who it fits: Pipedrive says it was built by salespeople for sales teams and individuals. It lists real estate, travel agencies and IT firms among its industries.
Price: From $14 per seat per month, billed yearly.
Salesforce Starter Suite
Starter Suite is the Salesforce CRM package for small businesses. It covers sales pipeline, email campaigns and service in one app with a built in AI assistant.
Who it fits: Salesforce aims Starter Suite at small teams that want sales, marketing and service in one place. Pro Suite is for teams that need quoting and forecasting.
Price: From $25 per user per month.
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM is cloud sales software that manages leads, contacts and deals. It adds calling, scheduling, quotes, forecasting and AI helpers.
Who it fits: Zoho says it serves small and growing teams across many industries, including healthcare, insurance and IT services. The free plan covers up to 3 users.
Price: From $14 per user per month, billed yearly.
How We Compare Software
We have no user reviews, so we do not give stars, scores or ratings. Here is what we do instead.
- Every fact comes from the vendor's own website. We read those pages in September 2026.
- We list a price only when the vendor shows it plainly. Otherwise we say Pricing on request.
- If we could not check something, we left it out.
- Products are listed in alphabetical order. The order is not a ranking.
When we say a product fits a shop or team, we mean four plain things. The shop size or team size the vendor says it serves. The features named on the vendor's site. Whether the price is published. The support channels the vendor lists. None of it is based on user reviews.
Prices and plans change often. Check the vendor's pricing page before you sign up.
Common Questions
What is the cheapest CRM for a small business?
HubSpot and Zoho CRM list free plans. HubSpot's free plan covers up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts. Zoho's covers up to 3 users. Of the paid plans, HubSpot Starter shows $7 a seat a month billed yearly and Freshsales Growth shows $9 a user a month billed yearly.
Which CRMs charge a flat monthly fee?
Keap shows $299 a month with 2 users included. HighLevel shows $97 a month for its Starter plan, with unlimited users. The others we checked charge per user or per seat.
Which CRMs have a free trial?
Pipedrive and monday CRM offer 14 day trials with no card. Freshsales offers 21 days with no card. HighLevel offers 14 days. Zoho CRM and Salesforce offer trials but did not state the length.
What is a seat minimum?
It means you pay for a set number of users even if you have fewer. monday CRM plans start at 3 seats.
Do you rank these products?
No. They are listed in alphabetical order. We have no user reviews, so we give no scores.
Keep Exploring
Software categories
- Auto Repair Shop Management Software Compared
- Business Software ComparedShop software and CRMs, compared.
Also on T3CHS
- Compare Hosts and Builders
- The T3CHS Stack AdvisorAnswer a few questions and get ranked picks.
- Marketing Software and CRM Directory
- Websites for Your Trade