Written by Duncan Lambden Reviewed by James Macey Updated on 20 March 2023 On this page HubSpot Zoho Freshsales monday.com Salesforce Zendesk Pipedrive Our Methodology Next steps FAQs Expand Our site is reader-supported – by clicking our links, we can match you with a potential supplier, and we may earn a small commission for this referral. Looking for an affordable CRM system that can still boost your business? You’re in the right place. From our research, we know that the best cheap CRM software is provided by HubSpot, Zoho and Freshsales.However, we also know that those three CRM companies might not be the perfect match for your business. That’s why we’ve selected and reviewed the 7 best cheap CRM software suppliers in the country, reviewing their features, pricing, and key pros and cons. By the end, you’ll know exactly which of the cheapest CRM systems is the right pick.Or, if you’re short on time, you can find the most suitable cheap CRM software quickly and easily by using our free comparison tool. You simply answer a few questions and we’ll match your business with the right CRM company. Swipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward Best Value HubSpot Zoho Freshsales monday.com Salesforce Zendesk Pipedrive Score 4.3 Score 4.7 Score 4.5 Score 3.9 Score 3.7 Score 3.3 Score 4.2 Starting Price £19 per user per month Starting Price £12 Starting Price £7 per user, per month Starting Price £10 per user per month Starting Price £20 per user per month Starting Price £15 per user per month Starting Price £14 per user, per month Free Trial/Plan Free Trial/Plan Free Trial/Plan Free Trial/Plan Free Trial/Plan Free Trial/Plan Free Trial/Plan Try HubSpot Try Zoho Try Freshsales Try monday.com Try Salesforce Try Zendesk Try Pipedrive HubSpotFree plan available HubSpot 4.3 Pricing From £19 per user, per month (2 user minimum) Try HubSpot Quick overview What makes a free CRM plan generous, do you think? Is it unlimited users? Features for boosting your sales, marketing, and customer service automation efforts, perhaps? Or is it being able to store up to one million contacts? Whatever your definition of the perfect cheap CRM looks like, HubSpot is close to it. And yes, while it is one of the more expensive CRMs to upgrade, the fact is that you may not even need to – especially because HubSpot works so seamlessly with G Suite, Outlook, and most of the tools your team already uses every day.As with most free and cheap CRM software, though, there is a catch. If you use HubSpot’s free CRM product in conjunction with its Marketing Hub, any contacts you add to the free version will automatically end up in the database of your paid marketing tool. Unsurprisingly, this can lead to costs quickly ballooning (HubSpot charges you for extra contacts – go figure!), so it’s worth making a mental note of. Read more + Read less - Strengths Sports a stunning interface, and even more immaculate UX (user experience) Powered by drag-and-drop functionality Its free plan includes strong list segmentation and email marketing capabilities Live chat and conversational bots included Weaknesses When you want to upgrade from HubSpot’s cheapest CRM plans, things get expensive – fast! Pricing See more See less PlanPrice Starter £19 per user per month (minimum 2 users) Professional £72 per user per month (minimum 5 users) Enterprise £98 per user per month (minimum 10 users) HubSpot’s free plan is one of the most generous free plans on the CRM market. Here are some of its highlights:Website visitor tracking, which can help you keep on top of your numbersA chatbot for your website (very rare on a free plan!)A quote and proposal manager, which allows you to contact your leads with offersLoads of integrations, allowing for great customisationThe only shortcoming of the free plan is its lack of customer support options. However, this is improved on in HubSpot’s lowest paid plan, the Starter plan, which offers chat and email options. ZohoFree plan available Zoho 4.7 Pricing From £12 per user, per month Try Zoho Quick overview A free plan and a free trial? Sign us up. As well as boasting one of the most user-friendly, eye-catching, and dynamic interfaces around, Zoho’s CRM is also one of the cheapest. For just £12 per user, per month, Zoho’s ‘Standard’ plan sets the standard – offering everything its free plan does, plus workflows, lead scoring, and mass email capabilities. Add in multiple pipelines and custom dashboards, and Zoho emerges as a CRM that’s equal parts style and substance. Read more + Read less - Strengths Zoho’s cheapest CRM plan includes email insights and sales forecasting Custom reporting available No contractual commitments Zoho Analytics also offers an on-premise solution Highly customisable Weaknesses Zoho (especially its cheapest CRM plans) may prove just a little too simplistic for the needs of some businesses Its mobile app can be slow to update with data, with some online reviews suggesting branding it ‘cumbersome’ Limited range of integrations, particularly when compared to some other analytical CRM software providers Pricing See more See less PlanPrice Standard £12 per user per month Professional £18 per user per month Enterprise £35 per user per month Ultimate £42 per user per month Zoho is one of the bigger platforms out there, so let’s see what their free plan has on offer:Viewable data on sales reps and pipeline stages, which can show you weak and strong pointsA custom automation builder, which can allow certain tasks to be completed automaticallyOrganisation features, including a unified inbox, calendar, task management, and team communication toolsEmail-based customer support FreshsalesFree plan available Freshsales 4.5 Pricing From £7 per user, per month Try Freshsales Quick overview What’s better than a CRM system that can help maximise your profits? A CRM that’s cheap. We're talking £7 per user, per month cheap. Freshsales (also known as Freshworks CRM) fits this mould – in fact, it’s our top CRM pick for sales teams, period. Here’s why.Firstly, lead scoring. You can prioritise new opportunities by their potential value to your business, and manage contacts, deals, and accounts hassle-free – all from a customisable visual pipeline. Secondly? Integrations. Whether it’s your existing email provider, your SMS marketing tool, or over 100 of the apps your small business uses every day, Freshworks CRM has you covered. Thirdly? 24/5 email, chat, and phone support, included with all plans. Need we say more? Read more + Read less - Strengths Works with ‘Freshcaller’, Freshsales' own integrated VoIP telephony product Connects to over 100 third-party business apps Lead management and scoring both available with Freshsales' cheapest CRM version Weaknesses Bulk email marketing not available with Freshsales' Sales Cloud – you'll have to opt for its Marketing Cloud plan, instead Pricing See more See less PlanPrice Growth £7 per user, per month Pro £29 per user, per month Enterprise £49 per user, per month Freshsales’ free plan isn’t particularly fleshed-out, but it does have some gems if you seek them out.Task management features, which allow your team to keep on top of their various objectivesContact communication history tracker, and list segmentation, allowing you to sort leadsPhone, email, and live chat-based support monday.comFree plan available monday.com Pro 4.2 £24 - £31 per user, per month Try monday.com Who it's best for monday.com is a slick, drag-and-drop-powered software that is best for teams who need to customise processes to suit their workflow and gain a clear overview of their contacts in custom layouts such as Kanban board and Gantt chart formats. Read more + Read less - Quick Facts See more See less Price paid monthly £31 per user Price paid annually £24 per user, per month Contact limit Unlimited File storage per user 100GB User limit Unlimited We won’t lie, monday.com’s free plan isn’t the most robust out there. However, it’s one of the only four free plans that we found amongst our research, so it’s still worth looking at. Overall, the provider packs:Customisable sales pipeline, offering you full control over your business’ sales processContact communication history and list segmentation, allowing you to keep on top of your customers at an individual levelWeb forms on all of your pagesEmail customer supportIt also fares well when measured against to the competition. In our Pipedrive vs. monday.com comparison, for example, its customisation prowess made it shine. That’s because its top-tier Enterprise plan offers up to 250,000 actions per month for automating workflows, while Pipedrive only offers up to 100 actions per month on its top-tier Enterprise plan.monday.com also earns recognition due to its lowest paid tier, priced at a particularly reasonable £8.50 per user per month. This plan picks up a bit of the free plan’s slack, allowing for things like custom reports and viewable revenue data. SalesforceFree trial available (30 days) Salesforce 3.9 Pricing From £20 per user per month Try Salesforce Read our review Quick overview Best in class analytics, 24/7 phone-based support, and pricing that starts from £20 per user, per month? We like the sound of that. Offering thousands of app integrations, unlimited contacts, and just about every feature a business could ask for, Salesforce is one of our top CRM selections. Be warned, though – Salesforce does come with a fairly steep learning curve, and beyond its cheapest tier, it gets expensive – and fast. We’d recommend small businesses stick to the ‘Essentials’ plan, to keep costs down! Read more + Read less - Strengths Its ‘Einstein Analytics’ add-on is one of the most advanced reporting tools money can buy No contact limit Free trial available for sales, service, and analytics modules Tailored to insights for the specific needs of sales and customer service teams Integrates with thousands of third-party applications User-friendly mobile app Weaknesses No free trial for its marketing automation product 24/7 phone-based support is restricted to Salesforce’s more expensive pricing plans At £60 per user, per month, Einstein Analytics is expensive – particularly when added to Salesforce’s already steep costs Notoriously difficult to get to grips with Pricing See more See less FunctionStarting priceHighest price Sales/Service £20 per user per month £240 per user per month Marketing £320 per month £1,000 per month Analytics £60 per user per month £120 per user per month The first of our providers without a free plan, but don’t let that turn you away. Salesforce’s lowest plan, the Essentials plan, offers a solid array of features for its relatively low price of £20 per user per month.A customisable sales pipeline allows you to craft a sales sequence that suits your business.Custom reports and a chart builder allow you to visualise and use your data to its fullestA user hierarchy and knowledge base that allows a solid grasp of your business’ inner workingsLoads of integrations allow you to pick and choose tools that suit youChat and email customer support ZendeskFree trial available (30 days) Zendesk 3.3 Pricing From £15 per user, per month Try Zendesk Quick overview With robust modules for sales and customer service, Zendesk is a versatile CRM offering plenty of value for small businesses. You can get started with a monthly fee of just £5 per user, and benefit from some of the highest quality help and support we came across during our research. Zendesk’s contact management features are a breeze to use, as is calling people through their profiles (pictured). That said, Zendesk – perhaps more than any other small business CRM here – ails from freemium software’s biggest weakness; that you’ll need to upgrade to the most expensive plans to enjoy its finest features. Read more + Read less - Strengths Extremely low starting price Excellent ticket management capabilities Boasts an aesthetically-pleasing user interface Low starting price Weaknesses No document storage Doesn't provide the same level of data analysis as Salesforce and SugarCRM Pricing See more See less PlanPrice Team £15 per user per month Growth £39 per user per month Professional £79 per user per month Zendesk’s lowest plan is pretty thin on offerings, but for only £19 per user per month, there are worse deals out there. This plan includes:Robust contact database features, like duplicate detection and list segmentationViewable revenue data, allowing you to asses your income stream in a more minute wayLive chat customer supportThose are the main features, so you can see that it isn’t much, but if you’re a fan of their layout, their more expensive plans are a lot better equipped. PipedriveFree trial available (14 days) Pipedrive 4.2 Pricing From £14 per user, per month Try Pipedrive Quick overview Pipedrive is a new face on the CRM scene, but that doesn't mean they should be disregarded. In fact, they're one of the stronger CRM platforms on offer, bring highly streamlined and usable, having loads of integrations, and having the best organisational functionalities of any platform we've looked at.Likely inspiring its name, Pipedrive's signature aspect is its pipeline builder. It's an easy (or even fun) to use drag-and-drop system that allows you to automate workflows and pipelines to be as efficient as possible.Pipedrive is available at four different pricing tiers. You can start with its ‘Essential’ plan (£14 per user, per month), although it’s fairly sparse when it comes to features. We recommend springing for at least Pipedrive’s ‘Advanced’ plan (£29 per user, per month), to benefit from its excellent email marketing and sales automation capabilities. Read more + Read less - Strengths Fairly affordable High-quality chatbot High quality organisation tools Weaknesses No free tier Support isn't reviewed particularly well Pricing See more See less PlanPrice Essential £14 per user, per month Advanced £29 per user, per month Professional £49 per user, per month Power £64 per user, per month Enterprise £99 per user, per month Pipedrive’s free trial is only 14 days, but its cheapest plan only costs £14, which is pretty reasonable. Let’s see what you get:A robust contact database, allowing you to detect duplicates and segment them into listsViewable data on both individual sales reps, and pipeline stagesA unified team inbox and calendar, allowing for efficient teamworkLive chat customer support How Did We Find the Best CRM Software?Our team of independent researchers looked at a selection of the most widely-used and popular CRM software. After finding all the information we need, the researchers then compare each software against its competitors, allowing us to find the cream of the crop. The criteria we look at include:Price: Simple enough – the platform with the lowest price tag scores the bestCustomization: What does the platform allow you to toy with in order to make it suit your business?Features: Again, fairly easy to assess. Whichever platforms offer the best variety of features are given a better placement than those that have a more skint collection of tools.Team Infrastructure: How does the platform allow you to manage large sales teams?Customer Support: Again, easy enough – look at the options available and see what each platform offers its customers when it comes to their support resourcesScalability: It can be a pain to switch providers over and over as your business grows. So how much does each software allow your business to grow over time?After factoring in all this information, alongside the scores they received, we were able to calculate a final overall score for each CRM platform. Next steps That’s it for our list of the top 7 cheap CRM suppliers. If you’d like to browse more of our expert CRM content, why not explore our guide to the best CRM systems for small businesses? Or better yet, our in-depth CRM pricing comparison page?Oh, and remember, it’s easy to compare quotes with us. Simply hit one of the buttons below to start our quote-finding questionnaire. It takes about 30 seconds to complete, and helps give us an idea of your business’ unique CRM requirements.When you’re done, the leading CRM suppliers we match you with will be in touch with tailored, no-obligation quotes for the finest (and cheapest) CRM software around. All you have to do is pick up the phone, and decide which deal (if any!) is the best fit for your business. Good luck! Frequently asked questions 1. Which is the easiest CRM system to use? All of the CRM systems featured on this list should be fairly easy to get to grips with, but Zoho and Freshsales stand out as being particularly user-friendly. 2. What’s a cloud-based CRM system? With a cloud-based CRM system, your customer data is stored in ‘the cloud’. This means you can access it from anywhere, so long as you have internet, rather than having to have the software downloaded onto that particular device. 3. How much does a CRM system cost? While it’s possible to find free CRM systems, paid plans will cost anywhere between £13 and £325 per user per month. How much you should be spending depends on the size of your business, and the functionality that you need. Pop your details into this short form to receive your custom quotes. Written by: Duncan Lambden Software Expert Duncan (BA in English Textual Studies and Game Design) is one of Expert Market's local Software Experts. His articles focus on ecommerce platforms and business software that allows small businesses to improve their efficiency or reach, with an emphasis on invoice financing, project management, and customer relations. Reviewed by: James Macey Senior Business Software Researcher James thinks all businesses can improve if they use the right technology. At Expert Market, he utilises his 4+ years experience as a researcher to offer specialised advice on a wide range of categories from CRM to Fleet Management.