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6 Best Free CRM Software for Salespeople in 2023

Name: HubSpot CRM
Item: HubSpot CRM
Rating: 4.1
Author: Alison Barretta

Written By

Alison Barretta

Jun 23, 2023

2 minute read

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Free CRM software refers to CRM tools that offer a free-for-life option and paid tiers you can upgrade into, but don't include CRMs with free trials only. While many free options are limited compared to paid alternatives, there are good free CRMs that provide pipeline tools, contact management capabilities, reporting dashboards, marketing features, and more. To identify the most robust and usable free CRMs, we evaluated the top CRM software to determine the best options.

Here are the six best free CRM software options and their primary use cases:

HubSpot CRM: Best overall free CRM for features and customization (unlimited users)
Freshsales: Best free software solution for AI-powered contact scoring (up to 3 users)
Zoho CRM: Best free CRM software for robust contact management (up to 3 users)
Bitrix24: Best free CRM software option for sales team collaboration (unlimited users)
EngageBay: Best free software solution for advanced CRM features (unlimited users)
Insightly CRM: Best free CRM software for robust project management (up to 2 users)

While some may score high in one category, we found that the overall best free CRM option is HubSpot CRM, also emerging as the winner for features and customization. To find out how we evaluated each CRM software and to see their primary use cases, pricing plans, and key features, jump down to our explanation below.

Note: All per-user prices are with a one-year commitment unless noted.

HubSpot CRM: Best Overall Free CRM

Offers a robust mix of free tools for sales and marketing with strong customization capabilities.

Price Range: Free to $1,200+ per month (Sales Hub)

Overall Rating

4.1

Cost

4.0

Core Features

4.7

Ease of Use

3.8

Advanced Features

2.8

Customer Support

4.3

Customization

4.6

Pros

Accessible, easy-to-use interface
Unlimited users & one million contacts
Solid suite of key features for a free CRM

Cons

No free trial for paid CRM tiers
Premium upgrades are pricey
Customer support limited with free plan

HubSpot CRM is a robust free CRM that offers a mix of sales and marketing tools to help you manage your contacts and engage with them. Complete sales tasks directly within a contact’s record and monitor new deals with its free pipeline feature. Integrate with its Marketing Hub for web forms and landing pages and its Service Hub for help desk tickets and chat bots. Upgrade to custom reporting and sales analytics to monitor the overall health of your pipelines.

While HubSpot CRM is a great free option, its upgrades can be pricey, especially if you need advanced marketing tools. If you’re someone looking for a CRM with affordable upgrades and robust marketing features, try Zoho CRM, which is our top marketing software.

HubSpot CRM Pricing Upgrades

Sales Hub Starter: $18+ per month for 2 users
Sales Hub Professional: $450+ per month for 5 users
Sales Hub Enterprise: $1,200+ per month for 10 users
Integrates with HubSpot's free marketing and service platform tiers

HubSpot CRM Key Features

Unlimited Users: Support for unlimited users plus up to one million contacts and deals.
Contact Management: Easily create contact records and populate them automatically.
Communication Tools: Interact with leads via live chat, phone, and messaging apps.
Marketing and Service Tools: Create lead forms, landing pages, and support tickets.

Freshsales: Best for AI-Powered Contact Scoring

Helps you identify high-intent leads and the best next strategies to engage with them.

Price Range: Free to $69 per user, per month (21-day free trial)

Overall Rating

4.0

Cost

3.8

Core Features

4.4

Ease of Use

4.5

Advanced Features

3.3

Customer Support

4.6

Customization

3.0

Pros

Lead capture capabilities
Built-in phone and chat
Intuitive and easy user-experience

Cons

Some core features unavailable for free
Marketing features lacking
Higher tiers can get pricey

Freshsales is our top-rated overall CRM that helps you qualify leads who are most likely to become your paying customers. Prioritize your contacts based on their stars and ranking determined by Freddy AI according to their profile, engagement levels, and more. Then, set up sales sequences with steps to nurture your contacts and engage with them via phone, chat, and email. Upgrade for more advanced contact scoring and AI-based forecasting insights.

Even though Freshsales is great for scalability, its free tier only supports up to three users. If you need a robust and unlimited free option, try HubSpot CRM.

Freshsales Pricing Upgrades

Growth: $15 per user, per month
Pro: $39 per user, per month
Enterprise: $69 per user, per month
Free Trial: 21 days
Integration with Freshworks’ free marketing and service platform tiers

Freshsales Key Features

Contact Scoring: Qualify your leads based on their engagement with your business.
Artificial Intelligence: Analyze your CRM data and automate workflows with Freddy AI.
Lead Communication: Engage with your leads via built-in telephony and live chat.
Intuitive Interface: Access and manage your leads, deals, and contacts in one place.

Zoho CRM: Best for Contact Management

Helps you organize and manage your contacts across multiple communication channels.

Price Range: Free to $52 per user, per month (15- to 30-day free trial)

Overall Rating

3.8

Cost

3.8

Core Features

4.1

Ease of Use

3.6

Advanced Features

2.6

Customer Support

4.6

Customization

3.7

Pros

Visual reports & deal pipelines
Web forms & chat widgets available
Streamline processes with workflow rules

Cons

Free tier only supports three users
Social media tools missing on free plan
Can take time to learn or use

Zoho CRM is our top contact management software and offers robust sales and marketing features in its basic tier. Manage your contacts in its multipurpose digital contact book and create connections, log sales activities, and create tasks to engage with them. Then use its sales automation to create simple workflows for setting up calls or meetings, and leverage its marketing tools to create drip campaigns with customizable email templates.

That said, while Zoho CRM’s free tier is solid, it's missing many of the social media marketing and advanced sales features that the CRM is known for. If you don't want to pay for these extra marketing features, check out HubSpot CRM.

Zoho CRM Pricing Upgrades

Standard: $14 per user, per month
Professional: $23 per user, per month
Enterprise: $40 per user, per month
Ultimate: $52 per user, per month
Free Trial: 15 to 30 days for all paid plans

Zoho CRM Key Features

Contact Management: Reach out to your customers via multichannel communication.
Lead Generation Tools: Capture your leads and track their activity or behavior online.
Team Collaboration Features: Share calendars, status updates, and direct messages.
Workflow Rules: Set up basic automations for emails, tasks, field updates, and more.

Bitrix24: Best Free CRM for Team Collaboration

Provides robust sales and task management features, including team collaboration functionality.

Price Range: Free to $399 per month (30-day free trial)

Overall Rating

3.7

Cost

4.6

Core Features

3.9

Ease of Use

3.0

Advanced Features

2.0

Customer Support

4.2

Customization

4.2

Pros

No cap on users, contacts, and more
Team collaboration features
Task management tools available

Cons

No automation included with free CRM
Customer support can be lacking
Learning curve can be steep

Bitrix24 is a sales, marketing, and team collaboration CRM offering unlimited users, contacts, and leads in its free tier. While you need to upgrade for advanced features like social media ad management, its free option offers a visual pipeline and team collaboration tools such as a company workspace to set up your live feed, chats, phone calls, and video calls in one place. You can also sync calendars or reports with your team and send updates to leadership.

Bitrix24 offers a solid free option, but the interface is hard to use and most of its premium marketing and sales features are locked behind a paywall. If you need a robust free version with a better user experience, check out HubSpot CRM.

Bitrix24 Pricing Upgrades

Basic: $49 per month for 5 users
Standard: $99 per month for 50 users
Professional: $199 per month for 100 users
Enterprise: $399 per month for 250 users
Free Trial: 30 days

Bitrix24 Key Features

Team Collaboration: Hold video calls, share calendars, and create workgroups.
Task and Project Management: Track team tasks and use the Scrum Master tool.
Customer Engagement: Interact with leads via Facebook, Instagram, and live chat.
Website Builder: Create your free lead generation website for sales and marketing.

EngageBay: Best for Advanced CRM Features

Offers advanced sales, marketing, and service tools without additional cost.

Price Range: Free to $110.39 per user, per month

Overall Rating

3.6

Cost

2.5

Core Features

3.9

Ease of Use

4.5

Advanced Features

3.7

Customer Support

4.2

Customization

3.7

Pros

Sales and service features
Robust workflow automation sequences
Task, pipeline, and contact management

Cons

Paid tiers can require long commitments
Free plan has limited marketing features
Third-party integrations limited

EngageBay is a user-friendly CRM that offers robust tools for your sales, marketing, and service operations. Manage your sales process with its contact and deal management features, and identify high-intent leads through predictive lead scoring and segmentation tools. Then, engage with them via social media, live chat, and email campaigns. Once they convert to customers, set appointments with them or resolve issues with the ticketing management feature.

EngageBay offers a solid mix of free sales, marketing, and service features. However, its paid tiers require a two-year commitment for their largest discount. If you only need basic workflow automation and the option of scaling later, try Zoho CRM instead.

EngageBay Pricing Upgrades

All-in-One Basic: $13.75 per user, per month
All-in-One Growth: $59.79 per user, per month
All-in-One Pro: $110.39 per user, per month

EngageBay Key Features

Workflow Automation: Leverage its free sequences for sales, marketing, and service.
Communication & Service Features: Engage with prospects via live chat or help desk.
Marketing & Lead Gen: Create email sequences, autoresponders, and landing pages.
Intuitive UI: Navigate through an easy-to-use platform and a highly-visual pipeline.

Insightly: Best Free CRM for Project Management

Provides basic pipeline management and a separate project management pipeline.

Price Range: Free to $99 per user, per month (14-day free trial)

Overall Rating

3.5

Cost

2.8

Core Features

4.1

Ease of Use

3.6

Advanced Features

3.0

Customer Support

3.5

Customization

3.9

Pros

Project management pipeline
Personal or team task management
Sales and project reporting

Cons

Free tier is basic & hard to find
Paid tiers can be pricey
User interface is rigid

Insightly CRM offers basic contact and pipeline management as well as a separate pipeline for ongoing project management. Create seamless post-sale transitions by converting opportunities to projects on one visual dashboard after the deal is closed. Then, tailor those projects using custom fields and page layouts, which you can share with your team. Visualize and monitor your project’s workflow by setting milestones on colorful kanban boards.

Although Insightly CRM is a good solution for project management, it’s not user-friendly with its complicated interface and hard-to-find free tier information. If you’re someone who needs an intuitive interface and easily accessible information, try EngageBay.

Insightly CRM Pricing Upgrades

Plus: $29 per user, per month
Professional: $49 per user, per month
Enterprise: $99 per user, per month

Insightly CRM Key Features

Project Management Pipeline: Track deals and projects separately in two sections.
Task Management: Manage individual or team tasks and import them to your calendar.
Email & Calendar Sync: Connect your email and client calendar for efficient follow-up.
Dashboards: Create individual reports for sales and project performance in one place.

Top 4 Free CRM Software Features

The best options for free CRM platforms include these functions:

Organize and manage your leads and customer data in an easily accessible location without having to pay an additional cost.

How We Evaluated the Best Free CRMs

While many CRMs offer a free trial for their paid services, we only considered CRMs with truly free-for-life tiers and paid upgrade options. To determine the best free CRM software, we identified six weighted scoring categories and scored each software in every category to determine an overall score out of five. Also identified were primary use-cases for each top option. Check out our specific evaluation criteria and weights below:

Evaluation Criteria

The best free CRM software options are scalable, easy to learn, and have a solid range of features. Thus, those three criteria hold the most weight in our final rankings. We also took into consideration the advanced features offered, customer support accessibility, and level of customization to finalize our list.

Methodology weights

Cost 25%

Core Features 25%

Ease of Use 20%

Advanced Features 10%

Customer Support 10%

Customization 10%

Bottom Line: Best Free CRM Software

The best free CRM software provides salespeople with the essentials they need to help grow their client base — and in some cases can even scale along with a business. The six free CRM options on our list will suit the needs of small businesses seeking access to reliable sales or marketing software without breaking the bank. If you’re looking to upgrade for more robust CRM features, check out our independent review of the best CRM software for salespeople.

Alison Barretta

Alison is a Philadelphia-based technology writer for Selling Signals. She has 15 years of experience in the digital space, and her specialties include comparison guides and reviews across CRM, ecommerce, and various SaaS products. In her free time, Alison has received two HubSpot certifications plus a TEFL certification, as well as leads an online martial arts learning program.