Best free CRM software for your business

In every organization, sales and support teams strive to build and maintain customer relationships. However, the challenges of scattered data and disjointed processes often impede their progress. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software plays a pivotal role in supporting these teams by centralizing all customer data, thereby facilitating efficient customer management, and streamlining sales processes to ultimately drive higher deal closures. Our comprehensive guide on the top 15 free CRM software tools aims to assist organizations in assessing the suitability of these solutions for their unique needs. Developed through meticulous research, our curated list considers key features, competitive advantages, and pricing structures to provide businesses with invaluable insights for informed decision-making.

1. Freshsales

Customers appreciate how easy it is to get up and running with a simple CRM like Freshsales—and that the product is only getting better over time. Says one G2 user, “Freshsales is a user friendly CRM that is constantly looking for ways to improve. I like that they not only take feedback, but actually implement it. It syncs up easily to your email and allows for seamless work across different platforms like Google calendar/[Gmail] and Acuity.” 

Avanse Financial Services, an education-focused new-age non-banking financial company (NBFC), considers Freshsales’ intelligent workflow automation features a major selling point. Intelligent automation rules make it easy for Avanse to assign the right tasks to the right people on the right teams, cutting down on response times and improving customer support.

Freshsales also shines when it comes to building better client relationships. DVV Media International uses Freshsales email marketing tools like email templates and bulk emails to save time, maintain regular communication, and cultivate long-term customer loyalty.

Key features

There are plenty of free CRM solutions available, and it may even be overwhelming to evaluate so many different options. Which is the best free CRM software in the pack? Well, that depends on what you’re looking for. You need a CRM that can grow with you, adapting to your changing business needs. Understanding what is CRM software and its capabilities is crucial in making the right choice. Here are just a few of the Freshsales features that make this possible:

• Communication. Engage your customers on the channel they prefer, including email, phone, and chat.

• Context. Achieve a, unified view of leads during the various stages of their buyer journey, from the awareness stage to the decision stage

• Customization. Rather than limiting you to pre-defined workflows or processes, Freshsales adapts to the way your team works. Create your own lifecycle stages, and custom fields as you see fit

Freshsales also includes some interesting features on their premium plans such as:

• Automation With Freshsales, you can automate daily task management, sophisticated sales sequences, auto-assignment rules, and internal notifications. 

• AI capabilities With the power of Freddy AI, Freshsales helps you score your contacts. This advanced scoring system allows your sales team to reach out to the most promising contacts first for maximum sales conversion.

• Advanced customization Freshsales also provides some advanced customization options such as custom modules, and custom sales activities in its premium plans.

Pros 

• Simple to set up and use

• Keeps improving as new features are added

Pricing

• Free for up to three users

• Paid plans start at $15/user/month (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

Freshsales CRM, driven by AI, is tailored for sales teams aiming to enhance conversions, grow the pipeline, and generate revenue. With customizable workflows and automation options, Freshsales ensures adaptability to diverse sales environments. Though its customer support operates only during weekdays, its ease of use and continuous addition of new and improved features make it a compelling choice for sales-driven organizations. With a free option for up to three users and paid plans starting at $15/user/month, Freshsales offers flexibility for businesses of various sizes.

Learn how you can transform your sales experience. Chat 1:1 with a product consultant today!

2. HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM software is a great fit for businesses seeking sales automation capabilities. Packed with features such as email tracking, contact management, and a meeting scheduler, it is tailored to boost sales team effectiveness while also catering to the needs of other divisions within an organization such as marketing, customer service and operations.

Key features

• Contact management

• Call tracking 

• Company insights 

• Pipeline management

Pros of HubSpot CRM

• Easy to manage deal stages from cold contact through closed deals

• Tracks email correspondence well

Pricing

• Free plan includes unlimited users and basic tools

• More feature-rich plans start at $30/month for unlimited users (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

HubSpot CRM software offers a comprehensive suite of features making it an ideal choice for businesses in need of sales automation capabilities. With easy management of the various deal stages and effective email correspondence tracking, it empowers sales teams to streamline their processes and enhance productivity. While the CRM software lacks advanced AI workflows, its free plan with unlimited users and basic tools provides a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes, with more feature-rich plans available at affordable rates.

3. Bigin 

Bigin CRM software is tailored to meet the needs of small businesses seeking a streamlined approach to managing customer relationships. With its user-friendly interface and intuitive features, Bigin allows businesses to centralize their customer data, track interactions, and manage sales pipelines effectively.

Key features

• Pipeline management, including unified team pipelines and connected pipelines that track customer journeys

• Customer management tools that streamline data integration and enable real-time notification of inbound customer communications

Pros of Bigin

• Easy to use

• Good social media integration

Pricing

• Free for one user

• Paid plans begin at $9/user/month (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

Bigin CRM software offers small businesses a streamlined solution for managing customer relationships. While known for its ease of use and social media integration, some users note limitations in template customization. Additionally, the software may provide more generalized sales approaches, which could potentially restrict its effectiveness in scenarios requiring highly personalized sales strategies.

4. Pipefy 

Pipefy's CRM solution is perfect for small to medium-sized businesses seeking an intuitive system to manage customer relationships. With customizable features and automated workflows, it streamlines CRM processes from lead generation to customer support. 

Key features

• Robust business process automation capabilities

• User-friendly visual workflow design interface

Pros and cons of Pipefy

• Flexible customization and integration

• Not the traditional, dedicated CRM solution

Pricing

• Free for up to 10 users

• Paid plans begin at $32/user/month (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

Pipefy's CRM solution is an excellent choice for small to medium-sized businesses looking to simplify sales processes from lead generation to customer support. Its robust business process automation capabilities and user-friendly visual workflow design interface make it stand out from the rest. While it may not be a traditional dedicated CRM solution, its flexible customization options, and affordable pricing plans, including a free option for up to 10 users, make it a valuable asset for businesses seeking efficient CRM management.

5. Bitrix24

Bitrix24's CRM system serves as the perfect collaboration tool for sales teams by seamlessly integrating all communication channels and managing interactions from a single dashboard. Tailored for businesses requiring both team collaboration features and sales automation, Bitrix24 provides a comprehensive solution to streamline sales processes and boost efficiency.

Key features

• CRM and lead management

• Live chat, web forms, and VoIP options for client engagement

Pros and cons of Bitrix24

• Powerful range of business capabilities including project planning, task management, and time-tracking attributes.

• Users might find Bitrix 24 overwhelming at first. A G2 reviewer summed it up this way: “Think of Bitrix24 as your favorite gadget—it's user-friendly for most tasks, but you might need a moment to get the hang of all its features.”

Pricing

• Free plan includes unlimited users but limited CRM features

• Paid plans begin at $61/month for five users (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

Bitrix24's CRM system stands out as a powerful collaboration tool for sales teams, seamlessly integrating communication channels and managing interactions from a single dashboard. While its robust range of capabilities, including CRM and lead management, live chat, web forms, and VoIP options, make it a versatile choice, users may initially find it overwhelming due to its extensive feature set. 

6. Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is an ideal choice for businesses seeking a powerful solution for managing customer relationships, converting leads, and driving revenue growth. With its user-friendly interface and robust features, Zoho CRM streamlines sales processes, including lead management, contact organization, and deal tracking.

Key features

• Salesforce automation for leads, accounts, contacts, and deals

• Standard CRM analytics reports

Pros and cons of Zoho CRM

• Customizable fields and workflows to suit your unique requirements

• “The learning curve for first time individuals can be high, especially for those who are unfamiliar with CRM programs,” says a G2 reviewer.

Pricing

• Free plan supports up to three users

• Paid plans begin at $20/user/month (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

Zoho CRM is an accessible and valuable solution for businesses looking to optimize their sales operations and drive revenue growth. While its Salesforce automation capabilities and standard CRM analytics reports enhance productivity, users may encounter a learning curve, particularly if they are new to CRM programs.

7. Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a comprehensive CRM solution designed to streamline customer relationship management processes for businesses. With customizable dashboards, contact management, and robust reporting features, it's an ideal tool for organizations aiming to enhance customer engagement and optimize operational efficiency.

Key features

• Contextual emails based on CRM data

• Visual pipeline management including AI-based scoring models

• Strong integration with Microsoft 365 applications

Pros and cons of Microsoft Dynamics CRM

• Good reporting capabilities for sales management purposes

• Knowledgeable customer support

• Price is high compared to other CRMs on the market

Pricing

• 30-day free trial, but no free CRM plan

• Paid plans begin at $65/user/month (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is a comprehensive solution that offers features like contextual emails based on CRM data, visual pipeline management with AI-based scoring models, and strong integration with Microsoft 365 applications. While it boasts good reporting capabilities and knowledgeable customer support, its price may be considered high compared to other CRM softwares in the market considering it only has a 30-day free trial available but no free CRM plan.

8. EngageBay

EngageBay CRM is a comprehensive customer relationship management solution ideal for small businesses that is designed to streamline interactions with leads and customers. It offers tools for managing contacts, tracking deals, and automating sales processes. With features like email marketing, lead scoring, and ticketing system integration, EngageBay CRM helps businesses enhance customer engagement and drive sales growth.

Key features

• Targeted marketing, workflow automation, and visual deals pipeline

• Supports better alignment between the sales and marketing teams

Pros and cons of EngageBay

• Supports streamlined, all-in-one sales and marketing processes

• Responsive and helpful customer support team

Pricing

• Free plan supports up to 250 contacts

• Paid plans begin at $15/user/month (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

EngageBay CRM solution is tailored for businesses seeking to streamline customer relationship management processes. Key features such as targeted marketing, workflow automation, and a visual deals pipeline, help facilitate better alignment between sales and marketing teams. While its streamlined, all-in-one sales and marketing processes and responsive customer support are notable advantages, its limited integration options may require additional setup.

9. Less Annoying CRM

Less Annoying CRM simplifies customer relationship management with its intuitive interface and streamlined features. Businesses can consolidate customer profiles, communications, and team tasks in one place, enhancing collaboration and efficiency. It's the ideal solution for businesses seeking an uncomplicated yet effective CRM platform.

Key features

• Unified view of contact information along with a simple search tool that makes it easy to find contacts

• Calendar and tasks live directly within the CRM; option to sync with Google Calendar

Pros and cons of Less Annoying CRM

• Affordable

Pricing

• 30-day free trial, but no free plan

• There’s just one paid plan: $15/user/month (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

Less Annoying CRM offers a simplified approach to customer relationship management, boasting an intuitive interface and streamlined features. With its ability to consolidate customer profiles, communications, and team tasks in one place, this product enhances collaboration and efficiency for businesses. While its affordability is a significant advantage, the absence of a mobile app may be a drawback for some users. 

10. Insightly

Insightly stands out as a contemporary CRM solution geared towards assisting scaling small businesses in seamlessly integrating sales and project management into their workflow. Boasting a customizable interface, it empowers teams to craft personalized views tailored to their needs. With robust sales pipeline and lead management tools, teams can efficiently prioritize leads by capturing essential information and gain real-time insights into the sales process.

Key features

• Sales pipeline and lead management allow for prioritization and a real-time view into deal status

• Sales lead tracking and opportunity management capabilities allow for efficient risk and opportunity management while accelerating the sales process

Pros and cons of Insightly

• Efficient storage of records and documents

Pricing

• Free for up to two users

• Paid plans start at $29/user/month (billed annually)

Key Takeaway

Insightly CRM emerges as a contemporary solution for small businesses with its robust sales pipeline and lead management tools to enable efficient lead prioritization and offer real-time insights into deal status. While Insightly excels in efficient record and document storage, it lacks AI capabilities. 

11. Salesforce Sales Cloud

Salesforce Sales Cloud is a versatile CRM platform designed to empower sales teams with robust tools and functionalities. Ideal for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, Sales Cloud streamlines sales processes, improves collaboration, and provides valuable insights through advanced analytics.

Key features

• Lead management allows for tracking deals across any channel and provides sales professionals with a handy daily to-do list

• Activity management feature keeps emails and other engagement activities synced and continually updated

• Account and opportunity management tools gather customer data, simplify customer relationship management, and enable timely action

Pros and cons of Salesforce Sales Cloud

• Wide range of functionality to support lead and opportunity management, sales automation, and analytics

• Scales to support future growth and expansion as needed

Pricing

• 30-day free trial, but no free plan

• Paid plans start at $25/user/month (billed annually)

Key Takeaway

Salesforce Sales Cloud stands out as a versatile CRM platform designed to empower sales teams and businesses of all sizes. With features like lead management, activity tracking, and account/opportunity management, it streamlines sales processes, improves collaboration, and provides valuable insights through advanced analytics. While Salesforce Sales Cloud offers a wide range of functionality and scalability to support future growth, its paid plans may be considered expensive compared to other CRMs in the market considering it offers a 30-day free trial but no free plan.

12. ClickUp

ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity platform designed to streamline task management, collaboration, and project organization. It's ideal for teams of all sizes seeking to enhance productivity and efficiency. With features such as customizable task lists, time tracking, and document sharing, ClickUp offers a comprehensive solution for managing workflows and improving team communication.

Key features

• Automated sales processes for assigning leads, tracking follow-ups, and triggering lead status updates

• Convenient visual layouts for tracking prospects, clients, and deals 

• Real-time reporting capabilities that show how well the team is performing

Pros and cons of ClickUp

• Supports cross-team collaboration beyond sales

• Can be customized to support a range of workflows

Pricing

• Free plan supports unlimited users and up to 100MB storage

• Paid plans begin at $10/user/month (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity platform that offers a comprehensive solution for managing workflows and improving team communication. Its key features include automated sales processes, visual layouts for tracking prospects and deals, and real-time reporting capabilities. While ClickUp supports cross-team collaboration and offers customizable workflows, it may not be the ideal choice for businesses new to CRM tools. 

13. Pipedrive

Pipedrive stands out for its user-friendly interface, efficient sales pipeline management, and customizable features. Its seamless email integration and workflow automation streamline processes and provide valuable analytics for informed decision-making. Pipedrive is a favored option for enterprises seeking to enhance their sales and marketing operations through improved sales processes and better customer relationship management.

Key features

• Sales automation including task automation, one-click data collection, an open API, and an AI-enabled sales assistant

• Customizable sales pipelines

• Centralized email and communications that nurture leads through the sales funnel

Pros and cons of Pipedrive

• Effective sales pipeline management processes

• Integrates well with other application and tools

Pricing

• 14-day free trial, but no free plan

• Paid plans begin at $21.90/user/month (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

Pipedrive is a preferred choice for enterprises aiming to elevate their sales and marketing operations. With seamless email integration, workflow automation, and valuable analytics, Pipedrive empowers informed decision-making. While it excels in effective sales pipeline management and integrates well with other applications, its reporting and analytics could be more robust, and it lacks advanced automation capabilities.

14. Copper

Copper is a good option for users looking for essential CRM features such as email marketing, calendar management, and client tracking. Designed with G Suite users in mind, it seamlessly integrates with Google Workspace, allowing for the synchronization of communication records and easy management of meetings and appointments via Google Calendar. 

Key features

• Centrally organizes all your emails, calls, files, and notes for every contact, so you can have a complete view of your relationship with them

• Lets you capture new leads and track conversions from your inbox

• Integrates with Gmail and Google Workspace. A Chrome extension is available, too.

Pros of Copper

• User-friendly and attractive interface

• Allows contacts to be synced with Gmail

Pricing

• 14-day free trial, but no free plan

• Paid plans start at $29/user/month (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

Copper is a compelling option for users seeking key features such as central organization of emails, calls, files, and notes for each contact, lead capture and conversion tracking directly from the inbox. While its known for its user-friendly interface and seamless contact synchronization with Gmail, Copper's customization capabilities may encounter limitations. 

15. Apptivo

Apptivo CRM offers a comprehensive solution designed for businesses looking to effectively manage customer relationships, leads, and sales processes. With features like contact management, lead tracking, and sales automation, businesses can streamline their sales operations and improve customer interactions. It also provides tools for email integration, task management, and reporting to enhance productivity and efficiency.

Key features

• Lead management tool that gathers leads from various sources, scores them, and identifies which ones are ready for conversion

• Sales funnel builder that lets you analyze and map your sales progress

• Pipeline management feature that shows the win rate, sales cycle length, and conversion rate during a specific time frame

Pros and cons of Apptivo

• Makes it easy to keep contacts up to date

• Vendor is open to requests for features or improvements

Pricing

• 30-day free trial, but no free plan

• Paid plans begin at $10/user/month (billed monthly)

Key Takeaway

Apptivo CRM provides a comprehensive solution for businesses seeking to manage customer relationships, leads, and sales processes effectively. With features like lead management, sales funnel builder, and pipeline management, it enables businesses to streamline sales operations and enhance customer interactions. While Apptivo simplifies contact management and offers responsive vendor support, some users may find its interface outdated. 

Benefits of a free CRM

The best free CRM software unifies your sales process under one platform—from customer outreach and closing deals to analytics. It helps you provide seamless customer engagement, just like larger businesses do. But as your business grows, it gets tougher not to burn a hole in your pocket on different solutions for invoicing, lead generation, contact management, marketing tools, automation, messaging and telephony platforms, etc. At the same time, your business needs all of these capabilities to keep growing. This is where a free CRM comes into play.

Here are four key benefits of using free CRM software:

Cost-effective and scalable:

The best free CRM software allows you to manage customer relationships without incurring additional expenses. This is especially helpful for businesses with limited budgets. As you grow and require additional features, many free CRM vendors offer the option to upgrade to a paid plan. This prevents the hassle of migrating all your data to a new system.

Foster stronger customer relationships:

A free CRM system helps you know your prospects and customers better. For example, a customer 360 view pulls together all the information you have and provides a holistic view of each contact. This empowers your salespeople to personalize communication with every prospect and convert them into customers for life.

Increased sales productivity:

A CRM system can streamline many aspects of customer management, such as lead capture, contact and deal management, sales automation, etc. This helps salespeople save time and increase productivity, allowing them to focus on what they’re best at: selling!

Track the right metrics:

A free CRM with reporting and analytics capabilities can provide insights into sales data such as sales performance, tracking sales achieved versus the target, identifying crucial sales trends, and resolving bottlenecks. This can help businesses make more informed decisions about sales strategy and forecasting.

Use cases of customer relationship management software

A free CRM can be valuable to any type of business, and there are many kinds of CRM tools to pick from. Whether you’re looking for a free CRM for small business, the best free CRM for startups, or something more specific like a CRM for real estate companies, you can find a free CRM tool that meets your needs.

Most businesses are looking for a CRM that can help them carry out certain processes or address specific use cases. The best CRM software covers these use cases, for starters:

Contact scoring

This feature allows a company to know which lead to prioritise and engage with them first thereby increasing the chances of earning high-value conversions. A CRM does this by giving you deeper insight into how customers are behaving when they engage with your website or app.

Deal management

Tracking a deal to completion can be a high-touch process, but a CRM makes it easier. Deal management helps you keep tabs on where your various deals are in the pipeline so you can properly manage them. An AI-powered CRM elevates this automation even further by allowing you to predict how your deals will perform, forecast revenue, and make smarter sales decisions in less time.

Workflow automation

Before CRMs arrived, the work of a sales professional involved a lot of manual, repetitive tasks such as following up on leads, sending emails, raising invoices, and so on. By using a CRM to create custom workflow automation, you can significantly reduce the amount of manual work they have to carry out, allowing them to concentrate their time and talent on closing deals.

What are the essential features of a CRM system?

Visual sales pipeline

Freshsales free CRM gives you a visual snapshot of all your current deals in different stages of the sales process with their corresponding value.

Salespeople can identify deals to focus on using: 

• Weighted pipeline: Assign values to every stage in the deal pipeline to determine the chances of deal closure and forecast revenue.

• Rotten deals: Set an age limit to surface deals whose chances of winning diminish, i.e., when the deal rots.

One look at this screen, and you know where you should start for the day. You can also integrate Freshsales with messaging platforms like Slack to collaborate with different stakeholders on a deal right from within the CRM.

Multichannel engagement

When we say Freshsales free CRM is a one-stop solution, we actually mean it. Freshsales customers agree. 

“We realized if we can develop a personal contact before their appointment, and we do that via email and through text messaging through Freshsales, we dramatically reduced our no-show rate,” says Mike Hopkins, senior VP of sales and service at Blue Nile, the world’s leading online diamond retailer.

With the free version of Freshsales CRM, you and your team can engage with prospects and customers across multiple channels such as

Email marketing

Enable a two-way sync between your email client and Freshsales so you can spend less time navigating between the applications and more time selling.

Phone

With a built-in phone, you can place calls with a click, automatically log calls, map the recording to the respective contacts, and record voicemail.

Chat

Route inbound queries to the right salespeople and create FAQs about the topics your customers ask about the most to help them self-serve.

SMS

Send individual, bulk, or automated SMS to prospects and create a two-way communication channel with them.

Facebook Messenger

Connect Facebook Messenger with chat to interact with customers in real time on a platform they frequently use.

Reports and analytics

If you can’t measure your performance, you can’t improve it. And with all the sales data stored in the free version of your CRM solution, using it to generate various reports can help:

• Track sales activities and team performance

• Monitor sales outreach such as email campaigns and sales call performance 

• Identify salespeople, teams, and regions that bring in revenue

• Map sales achieved versus the target

Mobile app

When you have a mobile CRM that gives you the same functionality you would find in the desktop version, you are no longer tied to the office desk. Free CRM software like Freshsales empowers you and your sales teams to work from anywhere and stay productive. Freshsales' CRM apps allow you to:

• View a quick summary of accounts, deals, prospects, and customers

• Schedule, track, and manage your tasks, appointments, and meetings

• Take notes or record conversations and save them as voice note for future reference

• Navigate to your meeting location or book an Uber right from the Freshsales mobile app

• Create, manage, and track the progress of deals using a visual sales pipeline

• Personalize call preferences, notifications, alerts, task reminders, email digests, and more

You can stay updated on the go with push notifications and no gap in data, as information entered into the mobile app seamlessly syncs with the desktop version.

A unified view of your contacts

In Freshsales free CRM, get a 360-degree view of your leads and customers captured on one screen. It provides a quick summary of all essential information, such as: 

• Contact details

• Status of ongoing deals

• Notes, tasks, and related appointments

• Activity timeline with conversations across emails, phone, and chat in chronological order

Intelligent workflows

With powerful automation, a free CRM such as Freshsales enables businesses to optimize for time and get more done, even with a lean team. 

You can automate sales tasks like

• Nurturing new leads with personalized email sequences

• Scheduling follow-up emails for different scenarios

• Raising invoices

• Updating CRM fields based on specific events

• Creating tasks, appointments, and reminders

• Sending renewal reminders

By using intelligent workflows to eliminate manual work, you can quickly grow the business.

“Over the last year, we’ve acquired 10x more customers and are rapidly scaling. To our surprise and relief, through this busy phase, the time spent on administrative tasks by teams dropped by 20%” says Alexandra, CRM operations manager at Humn, a London-based insurtech company.