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CRM software — full comparison
Click any column header to re-sort. All four are shown on their cheapest paid tier at the same three seat counts — 1 / 5 / 20 users — so the prices are genuinely comparable. Billing basis (annual vs. monthly) is stated per cell rather than assumed.
Comparing HubSpot vs. Salesforce pricing specifically: HubSpot's Starter tier is cheaper at every seat count ($20 vs. $25 for 1 user, $100 vs. $125 for 5, $400 vs. $500 for 20), but Salesforce's assistive AI (Employee Agent) is bundled in free, where HubSpot's AI runs on a 500-credit allowance before extra usage is billed. For a free CRM with no credit card required, both HubSpot (2 users, 1,000 contacts) and Salesforce (2 users, ongoing Free Suite) qualify as genuinely free, not time-limited trials — Pipedrive has no free plan at all, only a 14-day trial. The cheapest CRM for a small business on a tight budget is Zoho or Pipedrive, both tied at $14/month for 1 user on annual billing.
| Tool | Free plan | 1 user | 5 users | 20 users | Aggregated sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | 2 users, 1,000 contacts+ up to 1,000,000 records on other standard objects — genuinely ongoing, not a trial. Missing: advanced automation/workflows | $20/moSales Hub Starter · standard rate, same whether billed annually or monthly. A $7/mo promotional rate for new customers is currently active (limited-time) — not the standing price | $100/moSales Hub Starter · standard rate ($35/mo under the currently active new-customer promotion) | $400/moSales Hub Starter · standard rate ($140/mo under the currently active new-customer promotion) | Catch: costs climb once you need advanced automation, reporting, or customization — those sit above Starter, gated to Professional/Enterprise. Praised for ease of use and an intuitive interface. Starter includes 500 AI credits; more run $0.010 each, or $9 per 1,000 billed annually — heavier AI use (Prospecting Agent, Data Agent) burns through the included allotment fast. |
| Salesforce | 2 usersOngoing Free Suite, not a trial — access requires logging in at least once every 60 days. Contact/record cap: sources disagree — vendor material cites a 2,000 lead/contact allocation for the Free Suite Marketing app elsewhere, but the current public docs don't expose one consistent number for the core CRM. Treat as unconfirmed. Missing: Standard Support (Free users get Agentforce Help instead) | $25/moStarter Suite · same price whether billed annually or monthly, per Salesforce's own pricing page | $125/moStarter Suite · same for annual/monthly | $500/moStarter Suite · same for annual/monthly | Catch: real complexity and a learning curve, with cost escalating as you add customization and premium capabilities. Praised for powerful automation, centralized data, and deep customization. Starter includes assistive AI (Employee Agent) at no extra charge; Agentforce consumption can be purchased separately — $500 per 100,000 Flex Credits, $2 per conversation, or a $5/user/month Agentforce User License — separate from Starter itself. |
| Pipedrive | No free plan14-day trial only, no permanent free edition | $14/mo annualLite · $24/mo billed monthly | $70/mo annualLite · $120/mo billed monthly | $280/mo annualLite · $480/mo billed monthly | Catch: automation and two-way email sync are deliberately withheld from Lite — no automations, no sequences at all; Growth adds both. Praised for ease of use and a clean visual pipeline. Lite now ships "with AI" — AI-generated reports and Sales Assistant are included; no separate mandatory AI-credit price was found on the current vendor pricing material. |
| Zoho CRM | 3 users, 5,000 total records10 MB storage, 150 emails/day, 5 workflow automation rules, 7 native Zoho app integrations — genuinely ongoing, not a trial. Missing: advanced workflow automation, including scheduled workflow actions | $14/mo annualStandard · $20/mo billed monthly | $70/mo annualStandard · $100/mo billed monthly | $280/mo annualStandard · $400/mo billed monthly | Catch: the broad feature set creates its own learning curve — interface and configuration complexity grow with deeper customization and integrations. Praised for ease of use, customization, and overall breadth of functionality. Zia Agents require Professional+; Zoho includes up to 30 million hosted-LLM tokens/month at no extra platform fee (BYOK users pay their own LLM provider directly). |
Figures are aggregated from vendor pricing pages and independent third-party pricing research as of October 2026, and reflect published list prices at three fixed seat counts (1 / 5 / 20 users) on each vendor's cheapest paid tier — actual cost depends on add-ons and negotiated terms. HubSpot's $7/$35/$140 figures are a limited-time promotional rate for new customers, confirmed still active as of this recheck; the standard rate shown in the main columns ($20/$100/$400) applies regardless of billing frequency. Two third-party sources currently disagree with vendor pricing and are flagged rather than substituted: Capterra shows ~$15 for HubSpot Starter (vendor page and G2 both show $20), and Capterra shows $19 for Pipedrive Lite (vendor page and G2 both show $14 annual/$24 monthly). Salesforce's free-plan contact/record cap could not be confirmed to one consistent number — flagged rather than guessed. Confirm current pricing directly with each vendor before purchasing. This is not a recommendation to buy any specific product.
Cheapest at each size: Pipedrive and Zoho tie for cheapest at all three breakpoints ($14/mo at 1 user, $70/mo at 5, $280/mo at 20, annual billing) — but Pipedrive's Lite tier has no automation or email sync at any seat count, while Zoho's Standard tier includes more out of the box. HubSpot's standard rate and Salesforce sit meaningfully higher across the board; HubSpot's promotional new-customer rate would undercut both, but only temporarily. If price is what matters most, Zoho's cheapest tier does more for the money than Pipedrive's; if automation depth matters more than price, Salesforce and HubSpot's more expensive entry points reflect real capability gaps, not just markup.
Sources checked
FAQ
Common questions
Does HubSpot have a free CRM plan?
Yes — HubSpot's free plan supports 2 users and 1,000 contacts, plus up to 1,000,000 records on other standard objects, and it's an ongoing plan, not a trial. It's missing advanced automation and workflows, which require the paid Sales Hub Starter tier ($20/month) or higher.
Which CRM is cheapest for a 5-person team?
Pipedrive and Zoho CRM tie for cheapest at 5 users — both $70/month billed annually ($120/month for Pipedrive, $100/month for Zoho if billed monthly). HubSpot and Salesforce cost more at that size ($100/month and $125/month respectively), though they include more built-in automation out of the box.
Does Salesforce have a free plan?
Yes — Salesforce's Free Suite supports 2 users as an ongoing plan, not a trial, though it requires logging in at least once every 60 days to stay active. Its exact contact/record cap isn't consistently documented in Salesforce's current public materials.
What AI features are included in these CRMs without extra cost?
HubSpot's Starter plan includes 500 AI credits (additional credits cost $0.010 each). Salesforce's Starter Suite includes assistive AI (Employee Agent) at no charge, with paid Agentforce usage separate. Pipedrive's Lite tier now ships with AI-generated reports and a Sales Assistant included. Zoho's Zia Agents require the Professional tier or higher, but include up to 30 million hosted-LLM tokens per month.
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