Best CRM for Small Business: What Actually Works

Let's cut to the chase: you need a CRM, but you don't need to spend enterprise money or waste weeks figuring out complicated software. Most small business owners I talk to have the same story—they started with spreadsheets, hit a wall around 50-100 contacts, and now they're drowning in sticky notes and forgotten follow-ups.

The good news? There are solid CRM options that won't break the bank. The bad news? Every CRM company wants you to believe they're the best, and their marketing sites are designed to confuse you. Here's what you actually need to know.

Quick Comparison: Top CRMs for Small Business

HubSpot CRM: The "Free" Option (With Asterisks)

HubSpot's free CRM is the most talked-about option, and for good reason—it's genuinely free to start. You get unlimited contact storage, deal pipeline tracking, and email integration without paying anything.

What you actually get for free:

• Contact management (recently reduced to 1,000 marketing contacts from the original 1 million)
• Deal pipeline with basic tracking
• Email tracking and notifications (limited to 5 templates)
• Meeting scheduling (one link, minimal customization)
• Basic reporting (3 dashboards, 10 reports each)
• Up to 2,000 marketing emails per month (total, not per user)

What sucks about the free plan:

• HubSpot branding on all emails, forms, and chat widgets
• No automation workflows—zero. You need Starter ($50/mo) for basic automations
• Limited to 2 users for many features
• No custom reporting
• Support is self-service only (community forums and knowledge base)

The real story here is that HubSpot's free plan is a loss leader. It works great for solopreneurs or very small teams just getting started, but most businesses outgrow it within 6-12 months. When you hit those limits, you're looking at $50+/month for Starter, and costs climb quickly from there.

Bottom line: Good for testing the waters. Not a long-term solution for growing businesses.

Zoho CRM: Best Value for the Money

Zoho CRM is the underrated workhorse of the small business CRM world. It's not sexy, but it delivers enterprise-grade functionality at small business prices.

Pricing breakdown:

• Free: Up to 3 users with basic features and 5GB storage
• Standard: $14/user/month with 100GB storage, API access, and 10 workflow rules
• Professional: $23/user/month with advanced automation
• Enterprise: $40/user/month with AI features
• Ultimate: $52/user/month for everything

The free plan for 3 users is actually useful, unlike some "free" plans that are basically demos. You get sales force automation, basic CRM features, and enough functionality to run a small operation.

What's good:

• Integrates with 70+ other Zoho apps if you're already in their ecosystem
• Drag-and-drop customization that doesn't require IT support
• Works with Gmail, Google Docs, and Microsoft tools
• Canvas feature lets you completely redesign the interface

What's not:

• Interface can feel dated compared to newer CRMs
• Support on lower tiers is mostly community forums and FAQs
• Learning curve is steeper than Pipedrive or monday

Bottom line: If you want the most features per dollar and don't mind a learning curve, Zoho is hard to beat.

Pipedrive: Visual Pipeline Done Right

Pipedrive is built by salespeople, for salespeople. The visual pipeline is genuinely intuitive, and most users can get productive within hours, not days.

Pricing:

• Lite: $14/user/month (was called Essential)
• Growth: $39/user/month
• Premium: $49/user/month
• Ultimate: $79/user/month

There's no free plan—just a 14-day trial. That's a downside if you're bootstrapping, but the trial gives you full access to Premium features so you can actually evaluate it properly.

What's good:

• Best-in-class visual pipeline with drag-and-drop deal management
• "Deal rotting" feature flags stagnant deals before they go cold
• Two-way email sync with Gmail and Outlook
• 400+ integrations including Slack, Zoom, and Trello
• Mobile app that actually works

Watch out for:

• Email marketing requires the Campaigns add-on ($16/month for 1,000 subscribers)
• LeadBooster add-on is another $32.50/month for chatbot and prospector features
• A 5-person team with add-ons can easily hit $250+/month

The advertised $14/month looks attractive, but essential features are locked behind add-ons. Budget for at least $39/user on the Growth plan if you need automation.

Bottom line: Excellent for sales-focused teams who want visual clarity. Just watch the add-on costs.

Close CRM: Built for Outbound Sales

If your business runs on phone calls, emails, and SMS outreach, Close is built specifically for you. It's not a general-purpose CRM—it's a sales communication machine.

Pricing:

• Solo: $9/user/month (limited to 10,000 leads, no follow-up reminders)
• Essentials: $35/user/month (unlimited leads, text scheduling)
• Professional: $99/user/month (workflow automation, multiple pipelines)
• Enterprise: $139/user/month (predictive dialer, call coaching)

The jump from Essentials to Professional is steep—$64/user more—but that's where the real automation lives. Neither Solo nor Essentials includes workflow automation or bulk email.

What's good:

• Built-in calling, SMS, and email—no third-party tools needed
• Power dialer and predictive dialer on higher tiers
• Call recording, transcription, and AI summaries
• Clean interface that new reps can learn in days
• Zoom integration syncs meetings directly into the CRM

What's not:

• Expensive compared to alternatives once you need automation
• Less flexible for non-sales use cases
• Calling costs are usage-based on top of subscription

Try Close CRM free for 14 days if you're running an outbound-heavy operation. For more details, check our full Close CRM review and Close pricing breakdown.

Bottom line: The best CRM for phone and email-heavy sales teams. Overkill (and overpriced) for everyone else.

monday CRM: Flexible and Visual

monday CRM started as project management software and evolved into a legitimate CRM option. It's highly customizable and works well for teams that need both project tracking and customer management in one place.

Pricing:

• Free: 2 users, unlimited contacts and pipelines
• Basic: $12/user/month (unlimited boards, 5GB storage)
• Standard: $17/user/month (250 automation actions, integrations)
• Pro: $28/user/month (25,000 automation actions, advanced reporting)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Minimum purchase is 3 seats, so you're looking at $36/month minimum for Basic.

What's good:

• Highly visual with Kanban, timeline, and calendar views
• No-code customization—build exactly what your business needs
• AI features for content generation and data enrichment
• Integrates with Slack, Google Drive, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams
• The free plan actually gives you enough to test it properly

What's not:

• Basic plan has no automations or integrations—just manual tracking
• CRM-specific features are less mature than dedicated CRMs
• Can feel more like project management than true CRM

For more on monday.com, see our monday.com pricing guide and full monday.com review.

Bottom line: Great for teams that need CRM + project management flexibility. Less specialized than purpose-built CRMs.

Less Annoying CRM: Simplicity Wins

Less Annoying CRM does exactly what the name suggests—it removes the complexity that makes most CRMs frustrating.

Pricing: $15/user/month. That's it. One plan, no tiers, no hidden fees.

What's good:

• Single price point with no feature gating
• Minimal learning curve—most users are productive within an hour
• Human support from actual CRM coaches, not bots
• Browser-based, works on mobile and desktop
• Unlimited contacts, customizable fields, and pipeline tracking

What's missing:

• No built-in email sending or calling
• No workflow automation
• No dedicated mobile app (browser-based only)
• Limited reporting compared to more advanced CRMs
• No upgrade path—you'll need to migrate if you outgrow it

Bottom line: Perfect for small teams that want simplicity over features. Not the right choice if you're planning to scale significantly.

What About Salesforce?

Salesforce starts at $25/user/month for their Starter Suite, which is more accessible than their enterprise pricing. But here's the truth: Salesforce is designed for large organizations with complex processes. The customization is powerful but requires training (often weeks of it), and the interface isn't intuitive for most small business users.

If you anticipate significant growth and want a clear upgrade path to enterprise features, Salesforce Starter might make sense. But for most small businesses, you're paying for complexity you don't need.

How to Choose the Right CRM

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What's your budget per user? Free options have real limitations. Plan for $15-50/user/month for useful functionality.
2. Do you need automation? If yes, skip free plans entirely—they almost never include it.
3. How important is calling/SMS? If you're doing outbound, Close has the best built-in tools. Otherwise, any CRM with Zoom/Google Meet integration works.
4. How many people need access? User-based pricing adds up fast. A 5-person team on Close Professional is almost $500/month.
5. What's your technical comfort level? Pipedrive and monday are more intuitive. Zoho and HubSpot have steeper learning curves.

The Real Cost of CRM

Remember that the subscription price is just the starting point. Factor in:

• Implementation time: Budget 1-2 weeks for setup and data migration
• Training: Even "simple" CRMs require some learning
• Integration costs: Connecting to your email, calendar, and other tools may require paid add-ons or Zapier ($20+/month)
• Contact limits: Some CRMs charge more as your database grows

For most small businesses, expect to spend $30-100/user/month for a fully functional CRM setup once you factor in the features you actually need.

Our Recommendations

• Bootstrapped startup (1-3 people): Start with Zoho CRM free or HubSpot free, but have a budget ready for when you outgrow them
• Growing sales team (3-10 people): Pipedrive Growth ($39/user) or monday CRM Standard ($17/user)
• Outbound-heavy sales: Close CRM Professional ($99/user)
• Maximum simplicity: Less Annoying CRM ($15/user)
• Best overall value: Zoho CRM Professional ($23/user)

Looking for free options specifically? Check out our guide to free CRM software or our best CRM software comparison for a deeper dive.