Introduction
CRM pricing pages are designed to confuse you. Between per-user fees, per-contact tiers, annual vs. monthly billing, and add-on costs buried in footnotes, figuring out what you will actually pay takes more effort than it should.
We have cut through the noise. This guide breaks down real CRM costs across every price tier in 2026, using current published pricing. No affiliate spin, no "contact sales for pricing" hand-waving. Just the numbers you need to budget accurately.
Free CRMs That Actually Work
Free does not mean useless. Several CRMs offer genuinely capable free plans that can carry a startup through its first year or longer.
HubSpot CRM is the gold standard. You get up to 1,000,000 contacts, unlimited deals, email integration, meeting scheduling, and a visual pipeline. The catch: the free plan is limited to two user seats, and emails carry HubSpot branding. For solo founders and co-founder duos, this is hard to beat.
Zoho CRM supports three users for free with lead, contact, and account management, basic workflow automation, and customizable dashboards. Storage is capped at 1GB, and you will not get mass emails or advanced automation, but for core CRM functionality it delivers.
Freshsales offers its free plan for up to three users with basic contact management, a visual sales pipeline, and built-in email. The AI assistant Freddy is limited on this tier, but the fundamentals are solid.
Bigin by Zoho provides a free-forever plan built specifically for micro-businesses. It strips out complexity and gives you a pipeline-centric CRM with the essentials.
Attio rounds out the free tier with support for up to three seats, real-time contact syncing, and automatic data enrichment. It is a modern, clean interface that appeals to design-conscious teams.
See all options on our Free CRM category page.
Budget Tier: $9–30/user/month
This range is where most startups land when they outgrow free plans. Here is what the major players charge in 2026:
| CRM | Plan | Price (Annual) | Price (Monthly) | Key Additions | |-----|------|---------------|-----------------|---------------| | Freshsales | Growth | $9/user/mo | $11/user/mo | Custom fields, curated reports | | Monday CRM | Basic | $12/seat/mo | $15/seat/mo | Min. 3 seats, board views | | Pipedrive | Lite | $14/user/mo | $24/user/mo | Visual pipeline, 3,000 deals | | Zoho CRM | Standard | $14/user/mo | $20/user/mo | Workflow automation, 200MB storage | | Folk CRM | Standard | $20/user/mo | $20/user/mo | Contact management, integrations | | Salesforce | Starter | $25/user/mo | $25/user/mo | Sales + Service + Marketing |
At this tier, you unlock workflow automation, custom fields, and better reporting. The biggest difference from free plans is the removal of user caps and branding restrictions.
Note: Pipedrive saves you up to 42% with annual billing. Monday CRM requires a minimum of three seats. Always check the annual vs. monthly price gap before committing.
Mid-Range: $30–75/user/month
Teams with five or more reps and a defined sales process benefit from this tier. AI features, advanced automation, and multi-pipeline support become standard.
| CRM | Plan | Price (Annual) | Key Additions | |-----|------|---------------|---------------| | Attio | Plus | $36/user/mo | Unlimited records, advanced automations | | Salesflare | Growth | $35/user/mo | Automated data entry, email sequences | | Pipedrive | Growth | $39/user/mo | Full email sync, group emailing | | Freshsales | Pro | $39/user/mo | Freddy AI, duplicate management | | Salesflare | Pro | $55/user/mo | Advanced reporting, custom dashboards | | ActiveCampaign | Plus + CRM | $49/mo + $68/mo | Marketing + enhanced CRM pipeline |
This is where CRM ROI becomes measurable. AI lead scoring can prioritize your best prospects, and multi-pipeline views let you track different deal types without confusion.
Enterprise: $75+/user/month
Enterprise pricing makes sense when you have a RevOps team, need custom objects, or require advanced security and compliance features.
| CRM | Plan | Price (Annual) | Key Additions | |-----|------|---------------|---------------| | Pipedrive | Ultimate | $79/user/mo | All features, priority support | | Attio | Pro | $86/user/mo | Custom objects, advanced permissions | | Close | Growth | $99/user/mo | Power dialer, custom activities | | Salesflare | Enterprise | $115/user/mo | Dedicated support, custom training | | Close | Scale | $139/user/mo | Predictive dialer, role-based access |
Most startups should not start here. If you find yourself needing enterprise features, you have likely grown past the startup stage, which is a good problem to have.
Hidden Costs to Watch For
The sticker price is rarely the final price. Here are the costs that catch startups off guard:
Add-ons: Pipedrive charges $32.50/month for LeadBooster and $16/month for Campaigns (up to 1,000 subscribers). ActiveCampaign's enhanced CRM add-on costs $68/month on top of the base plan. These add up quickly.
Contact-based pricing: ActiveCampaign and HubSpot Marketing Hub charge based on contact count, not just users. As your database grows, so does your bill. ActiveCampaign's Enterprise plan reaches $1,169/month at 50,000 contacts.
Seat minimums: Monday CRM requires a minimum of three seats, purchased in multiples of five above that. If you have four people, you are paying for five.
Implementation and training: Salesforce and HubSpot's higher tiers often require paid onboarding. Budget $1,000 to $5,000 for professional setup on enterprise plans.
Data migration: Moving from one CRM to another costs time and sometimes money. Some vendors charge for assisted migration.
Price vs. Value Framework
Do not choose the cheapest CRM. Choose the one that delivers the most value per dollar. Here is how to evaluate:
- Calculate cost per rep per year: (Monthly price x users x 12) + add-ons + implementation.
- Estimate time saved: If the CRM saves each rep two hours per week on data entry, that is 100+ hours per year per rep.
- Measure pipeline impact: A CRM that improves your close rate by even 5% can generate returns that dwarf the subscription cost.
- Factor in switching costs: Migrating to a new CRM costs two to four weeks of productivity. Choose something you can grow into for at least two years.
Our Recommendation by Budget
No budget ($0): HubSpot CRM for the best all-around free experience, or Zoho CRM if you need three users.
Tight budget ($10–20/user/month): Freshsales Growth at $9/user/month is the best value in this range. Pipedrive Lite at $14/user/month is ideal if visual pipeline management is your priority.
Growth budget ($30–60/user/month): Salesflare at $35/user/month for automated data entry, or Attio Plus at $36/user/month for modern flexibility.
Scale budget ($75+/user/month): Close for outbound-heavy teams, Salesforce for complex enterprise needs.
Explore our full CRM Software and Free CRM categories for detailed reviews of every option listed above.
