Published February 27, 2026 · 14 min read
Most small businesses manage customer relationships through a mix of spreadsheets, sticky notes, email threads, and memory. This works until it does not — and the breaking point usually comes when a lead falls through the cracks, a follow-up is missed, or a customer gets the wrong information because nobody could find the previous conversation.
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system centralizes every contact, deal, conversation, and task in one place. In 2026, the best free CRM tools are powerful enough for businesses with up to 10-15 employees — with features that cost $50-$150/month per user just a few years ago. This guide compares the 5 best free options honestly, including where each one falls short.
The cost of not having a CRM is invisible but significant. Studies consistently show that businesses using a CRM see:
The question is not "do we need a CRM?" but "which free CRM fits our workflow?" Every tool in this guide has a free tier that is genuinely usable for small teams — not a 14-day trial.
| Feature | HubSpot Free | Zoho Free | Freshsales Free | Bitrix24 | Agile CRM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Users | Unlimited (5 with tools) | 3 users | 3 users | Unlimited | 10 users |
| Contact Limit | 1,000,000 | 5,000 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1,000 |
| Deal Pipeline | 1 pipeline | 1 pipeline | 1 pipeline | Unlimited | 1 pipeline |
| Email Integration | Gmail + Outlook | Zoho Mail + IMAP | Gmail + Outlook | Built-in + IMAP | Gmail + IMAP |
| Email Tracking | 200 notifications/mo | No (paid) | No (paid) | Yes | 5,000 emails |
| Task Management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Full project mgmt | Yes |
| Mobile App | iOS + Android | iOS + Android | iOS + Android | iOS + Android | iOS + Android |
| Forms / Landing Pages | Yes (HubSpot branded) | No (paid) | No (paid) | Yes | Yes (limited) |
| Live Chat | Yes (HubSpot branded) | No (paid) | No (paid) | Yes | No (paid) |
| Reporting | Basic dashboards | Basic reports | Basic reports | Advanced | Basic reports |
| API Access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Upgrade Cost | $20/mo/user | $14/mo/user | $9/mo/user | $49/mo (5 users) | $9/mo/user |
HubSpot Free CRM is the most popular free CRM in the world, and for good reason. The free tier supports up to 1 million contacts, offers a full deal pipeline, integrates with Gmail and Outlook, includes live chat and chatbots, and provides meeting scheduling — all without paying a cent.
The catch is ecosystem lock-in. HubSpot's free tier is the gateway to their paid Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, and Service Hub products, which start at $20/month per user. The free tools are subtly limited (HubSpot branding on forms and chat, limited email tracking, basic reporting) to nudge you toward upgrading. That said, a small business can run entirely on HubSpot Free for years before hitting meaningful limitations.
Zoho CRM Free supports up to 3 users with 5,000 contacts, a deal pipeline, workflow rules, and standard reports. Zoho is particularly strong for teams that want a CRM that integrates with a broader suite — Zoho offers free tiers for email, invoicing, project management, and analytics that all connect natively.
The 3-user and 5,000-contact limits are the primary constraints. For a solo founder or small team under 3 people, these limits are generous. For growing teams, you will hit the user cap quickly and need the Standard plan ($14/user/month).
Freshsales (by Freshworks) offers a free tier focused purely on sales: unlimited contacts, a Kanban deal pipeline, built-in phone, email integration, and mobile app. Freshsales is designed for teams whose primary CRM need is managing sales conversations and closing deals.
The free tier includes AI-powered contact scoring (Freddy AI), which prioritizes leads most likely to convert. This is a feature most CRMs charge $30+/month for, and Freshsales includes it free for up to 3 users.
Bitrix24 is not just a CRM — it is an entire business suite. The free tier includes CRM with unlimited contacts and users, project management, document storage (5 GB), a website builder, and internal communication tools (chat, video calls). For businesses that want everything in one platform without paying for separate tools, Bitrix24 is unmatched.
The trade-off is complexity. Bitrix24 has more features than most small businesses will ever use, and the interface can feel overwhelming initially. If you just need a simple contact and deal tracker, HubSpot or Freshsales is easier. If you want a unified platform for your entire operation, Bitrix24 delivers extraordinary value for free.
Agile CRM offers the most generous marketing automation features on a free tier. Up to 10 users can access contact management, deals, tasks, email campaigns (5,000 emails), lead scoring, web analytics, and appointment scheduling — all free. For small businesses that need both sales CRM and marketing automation without paying for two separate tools, Agile CRM fills the gap.
The main constraint is the 1,000-contact limit. Once you exceed 1,000 contacts, you need the Starter plan ($9/user/month). For businesses in early stages with a small but growing contact list, 1,000 contacts is often enough for 6-12 months.
Most CRM implementations fail not because of the tool but because of poor setup. Follow these steps to get your CRM working from day one.
Our free Client CRM tool helps you manage contacts, track deals, and set follow-up reminders — all in your browser with no signup required.
Open Free Client CRMYes, HubSpot's core CRM is genuinely free with no time limit. You can use it indefinitely with up to 1 million contacts and unlimited users for basic CRM functions. The free tier includes contact management, deal pipeline, meeting scheduling, live chat, and email integration. HubSpot monetizes by selling premium hubs (Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub) that add advanced features like automation, custom reporting, and sequence emails. The free CRM is the permanent gateway product — HubSpot has no incentive to remove it because it drives paid upgrades organically.
HubSpot Free is the best choice for most solo founders. It has no user or contact limits that would matter for a single person, integrates with Gmail/Outlook, includes meeting scheduling (replacing Calendly), and has a strong mobile app. The live chat widget doubles as a simple customer support tool. If you are privacy-conscious and prefer open-source tools, consider self-hosting SuiteCRM (open source) or using Zoho CRM Free within the broader Zoho ecosystem.
Upgrade when you hit one of three triggers: (1) you need more users than the free tier allows and your team cannot share accounts, (2) you need automation workflows to handle repetitive tasks that consume significant manual time, or (3) you need advanced reporting to make data-driven decisions about your pipeline. For most small businesses, the free tier works for the first 6-18 months. Do not upgrade preemptively — use the free tier until you feel the friction, then upgrade based on the specific feature you actually need.