Best free CRM software in 2026: which plan should you choose?
Short answer. HubSpot is the easiest starting point for a two-person team that needs a lasting contact database and pipeline. Zoho CRM gives three users more sales structure. Brevo is the strongest fit when contacts, marketing email, and transactional messages need to live together. Freshsales suits a small sales team that wants email, phone, and chat in one workspace. Bitrix24 combines basic CRM and collaboration, but its current free plan is limited to two users. The best choice depends on which limit your team will hit first.
Free CRM software is not necessarily cost-free software. A plan can remain free forever while charging for the automation, permissions, sync, or volume a growing team eventually needs. A late migration can cost more than several months of subscription fees.
This comparison covers five free plans checked against each vendor's official pages on July 16, 2026. Plans change, so confirm any deal-breaking limit before you commit.
Best free CRM software at a glance
| Free CRM | Advertised free users | Notable capacity or limit | Evaluate it first when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot CRM | 2 | Up to 1,000 contacts with no time limit | You want a fast start, an approachable interface, and a broad ecosystem |
| Zoho CRM | 3 | Up to 5,000 records on its Free CRM page | You need leads, deals, tasks, and basic workflow rules |
| Brevo | 1 | Up to 100,000 contacts, 300 emails per day, automation for 2,000 contacts | CRM, marketing email, and transactional email need to work together |
| Freshsales | 3 | Contact, account, and deal management plus email, phone, and chat | A small sales team wants its conversations in one place |
| Bitrix24 | 1 to 2 | 5 GB, basic CRM, and collaboration tools | A very small team wants an all-in-one workspace |
These numbers are not perfectly equivalent. A marketing contact, a sales lead, and a message recipient can follow different billing and storage rules. Test the complete workflow, not just database size.
1. HubSpot: the easiest free CRM to start with
The official HubSpot CRM pricing page lists a $0-per-month plan for two users and up to 1,000 contacts, with no credit card or time limit. It includes limited free tools across marketing, sales, service, content, operations, and commerce.
HubSpot is a good fit if:
- no more than two people manage contacts and opportunities;
- you want forms, meetings, a pipeline, and activity history connected;
- you may add marketing, service, or content tools in the same ecosystem;
- ease of adoption matters more than deep customization at the start.
The limit to plan for: advanced needs do not all scale on the same pricing axis. Automation, reporting, governance, sequences, and marketing contacts can require a different edition or Hub. Price the configuration you expect to need in twelve months, not only the first paid tier on the page.
Verdict: the best general-purpose starting point for a solo operator or two-person team, provided you model the paid capabilities you will need next.
2. Zoho CRM: the best free option for three sales users
Zoho offers a free-forever edition for three users. Its official free CRM overview lists leads, contacts, accounts, deals, tasks, events, workflow rules, reports, and mobile apps. The page also advertises up to 5,000 records, 150 emails per day, and five workflow rules for the free edition.
Zoho CRM is a good fit if:
- three people need access to the CRM;
- your process revolves around leads, accounts, and opportunities;
- you want a few simple automations before upgrading;
- your company already uses other Zoho products.
The limit to plan for: a generous quota in one area does not guarantee that segmentation, customization, reporting, and integrations will be sufficient. Compare the free edition with the current Zoho CRM pricing table using your actual objects, rules, and dashboards.
Verdict: a strong choice for a structured small sales team. It is less direct when ecommerce lifecycle orchestration is the primary job.
3. Brevo: the best free CRM for contacts and email
Brevo's official plan overview describes a $0 free plan for one user, with 300 emails per day, up to 100,000 contacts, and automation for up to 2,000 contacts. Its free sales tools also include 50 open deals, one pipeline, one meeting calendar, and one inbox.
Brevo is a good fit if:
- one person owns contacts, campaigns, and transactional messaging;
- you want to test automation with a small audience;
- contact capacity matters more than user seats;
- your sales process is still simple.
The limit to plan for: 300 emails a day is not comfortable campaign capacity for a large database. Compare Brevo's official free-plan limits with your sending frequency, the number of people entering automations, and your reporting needs.
Verdict: excellent for validating a contact-and-email system at low sending volume. If ecommerce is central, test event depth and lifecycle journeys too, then read our Brevo vs Klaviyo comparison.
4. Freshsales: the best free plan for a small sales team
The official Freshsales pricing page lists a free plan for three users. It includes contact, account, and deal management, email templates, a Kanban view, plus built-in phone and live chat.
Freshsales is a good fit if:
- three salespeople need a shared pipeline;
- email, phone, and chat conversations should remain visible;
- you prefer a sales-focused experience to a broad marketing suite;
- your initial process fits standard CRM objects.
The limit to plan for: verify communication allowances, workflows, fields, sequences, reports, and required integrations. A capability that exists elsewhere in the Freshworks range is not automatically included in the free Freshsales plan.
Verdict: a useful candidate for a small sales team that wants to start working immediately, but not a substitute for advanced ecommerce lifecycle marketing.
5. Bitrix24: free CRM and collaboration for two people
The current Bitrix24 pricing table presents a free plan for one to two users, with 5 GB of storage and basic CRM, task, calendar, and collaboration capabilities.
Bitrix24 is a good fit if:
- one or two people want customers, tasks, and internal communication together;
- you are comfortable configuring a broad product suite;
- storage and collaboration matter from day one;
- your pipeline remains simple.
The limit to plan for: some secondary vendor pages may still show older allowances. Treat the current pricing table as the source of truth and get any decisive detail confirmed in writing before migrating.
Verdict: worth considering when a micro-team wants to consolidate several tools. The current user cap makes an upgrade likely as soon as the team grows.
How to choose free CRM software without starting over later
1. Find the first limit you will hit
Project twelve months of growth across five dimensions:
- users;
- contacts, leads, or records;
- emails and other communications;
- active automations;
- reporting, permissions, and integrations.
The best free plan is the one with headroom on your binding constraint. A 100,000-contact allowance will not help a four-person team if the plan includes only one user.
2. Run a proof of concept with 20 real contacts
Import a small, representative sample with appropriate consent. Then build:
- a form or import;
- a three-stage pipeline;
- an automated task;
- a segment or saved view;
- a report;
- a complete export.
Record every workaround. A prepared proof of concept is more reliable than a feature checklist or scripted demo.
3. Calculate the price of the first overage
Ask for the exact cost of adding:
- one user;
- 10,000 contacts or records;
- a multistep automation;
- role-based access;
- one critical integration;
- support or a test environment.
Include migration, cleanup, training, and maintenance. The free CRM with the longest feature list can become the most expensive choice if its next edition requires several add-ons.
4. Test the exit before the entry
Export contacts, companies, deals, activities, owners, custom fields, and consent data. Check attachments, notes, and relationships between records too. A contacts CSV alone cannot recreate the history your team relies on.
5. Separate sales CRM and lifecycle activation when needed
A B2B team can keep opportunities in HubSpot, Zoho, or Freshsales and sync only eligible audiences to an email platform. An ecommerce brand may instead make browsing and purchase events the center of its system.
Our guide to the best ecommerce CRM software compares Klaviyo, Omnisend, Customer.io, HubSpot, Brevo, and Salesforce through that lens. This guide answers a narrower question: how far can you go without a subscription?
Our recommendation by use case
| Use case | First CRM to test | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Solo operator or duo, general CRM needs | HubSpot | Brevo when email is central |
| Three sales users and a structured pipeline | Zoho CRM | Freshsales |
| Contacts, newsletters, and transactional email | Brevo | HubSpot |
| Selling through email, phone, and chat | Freshsales | Zoho CRM |
| CRM, tasks, and collaboration for a micro-team | Bitrix24 | HubSpot |
| Ecommerce with advanced events and flows | No automatic winner | Compare ecommerce CRMs on your own data |
Do not choose the plan that simply offers the most. Choose the data model, next pricing tier, and export path that fit your organization.
Free CRM software FAQ
Is free CRM software actually free?
Yes. All five products in this comparison offered a $0 plan when we checked. Extra communication volume, advanced features, users, or records can still require a paid upgrade.
What is the best free CRM for a small business?
HubSpot works well for a solo operator or general-purpose two-person team. Zoho CRM and Freshsales each include three free users. Brevo is a more natural fit when one person mainly owns contacts and email.
Which free CRM stores the most contacts?
Brevo advertises up to 100,000 contacts on its free plan, but limits sending to 300 emails per day and automation to 2,000 contacts. Raw database capacity does not tell you how much work the plan supports.
What is the best free CRM for ecommerce?
Brevo can be an accessible starting point. For journeys based on browsing, orders, refunds, and catalog data, also compare integration depth and the future cost of specialist ecommerce platforms.
Can I migrate away from a free CRM easily?
Contacts are usually exportable. Activities, object relationships, consent records, automations, and reports take more work. Test a full export before you commit.
Need to choose or migrate your stack without losing lifecycle data? Let's review your journeys, constraints, and total cost.
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