Best HubSpot Alternatives in 2026: 7 CRMs Compared for Small Businesses

Key takeaways

• HubSpot's free CRM is generous but capped at 2 users and 1,000 contacts, and its paid tiers start at $15 per seat per month for Starter, $50 for Professional and $75 for Enterprise, per HubSpot's CRM page.
• Zoho CRM has a free edition for up to 3 users, and Bigin by Zoho is a lighter, cheaper option with paid plans from $7 per user per month on annual billing.
• Less Annoying CRM is the simplest to price: one plan at $15 per user per month with all features and a 30-day trial.
• Freshsales starts at $9 per user per month on annual billing, which makes it the cheapest of the full-featured CRMs we could verify.
• Pipedrive and Salesforce Starter Suite suit teams focused on selling, but Pipedrive's price was not visible to us, so check its pricing page before you compare.

Quick comparison

The best HubSpot alternatives

HubSpot is a strong platform, and its free CRM is hard to beat on contact limits. People look for alternatives for a few reasons: the jump from the free tools to paid plans, the price of adding seats, or simply wanting a tool that is easier to run. These seven are the ones we think are worth a look. Prices below come from each vendor's own site in October 2026, and we say plainly where we could not confirm one.

1. Zoho CRM

• Best for: Small teams that want a free start and room to grow
• Starting price: Free / See website
• Free plan: Yes
• Website: zoho.com

Zoho CRM is the closest like-for-like alternative to HubSpot, because it offers a free tier and a ladder of paid editions. Zoho's page says the Free Edition is free forever for 3 users, which is one more user than HubSpot's free CRM allows.

Paid editions are Standard, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate, priced per user per month. Zoho says annual billing saves up to 34%. The page we checked did not display dollar amounts for the paid editions and did not state the trial length, so we cannot quote a price here. Zoho points buyers to its pricing calculator, and we suggest using it before comparing against HubSpot.

The honest trade-off is complexity. Zoho CRM has many modules and settings, which gives you flexibility but needs some setup time. It suits owners who are comfortable configuring a system, or who already use other Zoho apps.

Pros

• Free Edition for up to 3 users
• paid editions from Standard to Ultimate
• annual billing saves up to 34%

Cons

• Paid prices are not shown clearly on the page we checked
• a wide set of options can overwhelm new users

2. Pipedrive

• Best for: Sales teams that live in a visual pipeline
• Starting price: See website
• Free plan: Free trial (14 days)
• Website: pipedrive.com

Pipedrive is a sales-first CRM. Its main screen is a pipeline of deals that you move from stage to stage, which makes it popular with small sales teams who want to see at a glance what needs attention.

Pipedrive's site describes workflow automation, automatic lead routing between reps, two-way email and calendar sync, and more than 500 integrations. It also lists an AI sales assistant that predicts which deals are likely to be won or lost, plus a newer feature called Nova that creates pre-call briefs and transcribes calls. A 14-day trial is offered with no credit card required.

We were not able to load a current price list, so we have left the price as See website. Pipedrive does not give you the all-in-one marketing tools that HubSpot bundles, so a business that relies on email marketing and landing pages will need to add separate tools.

Pros

• Kanban-style pipeline that is easy to read
• workflow automation and lead routing
• 14-day trial with no credit card

Cons

• We could not verify its current prices
• focused on sales rather than marketing

3. Freshsales

• Best for: Budget-minded teams that want built-in AI
• Starting price: $9 per user per month (billed annually)
• Free plan: Free trial (21 days)
• Website: freshworks.com

Freshsales is Freshworks' CRM, and it competes with HubSpot on price. Freshworks' pricing page lists the Growth plan at $9 per user per month on annual billing, Pro at $39 and Enterprise at $59. Monthly rates were not shown in the text we could read.

Freshworks describes a 21-day trial with full access and no credit card on its CRM page. The product includes lead capture and routing, a drag-and-drop pipeline, and Freddy AI, which assigns intent scores to leads and recommends deals. The page also mentions a free plan, but it does not list that plan's limits, so check the details before you rely on it.

Freshsales is a good option for a small team that wants AI hints without the higher price of HubSpot's Professional tier. The catch is that the cheapest plan is basic, and AI-heavy features usually sit in the higher tiers.

Pros

• Low entry price
• Freddy AI scores leads and recommends deals
• sales and marketing views in Freshsales Suite

Cons

• Monthly prices were not shown on the page we checked
• the free plan's limits were not listed

4. Bigin by Zoho

• Best for: Solo owners and tiny teams
• Starting price: Free / $7 per user per month (billed annually)
• Free plan: Yes
• Website: bigin.com

Bigin is Zoho's stripped-down CRM for very small businesses. If HubSpot feels like too much software for a shop with one or two people, Bigin keeps the focus on contacts, deals and follow-ups.

Per its pricing page, Free costs $0 for 1 user with 500 records, a single pipeline and 3 automations. Express is $7 per user per month on yearly billing ($9 monthly) with 50,000 records and 3 team pipelines. Premier is $12 yearly ($15 monthly), and Bigin 360 is $18 yearly ($21 monthly). There is a 15-day trial, and the FAQ says that after the trial you are moved to the Free plan instead of being charged automatically.

The limits are the catch. One free user and 500 records is much tighter than HubSpot's free CRM, and the lower plans have caps on pipelines and automations. It is a better fit for a one-person service business than for a growing sales team.

Pros

• Free plan with 1 user and 500 records
• paid plans from $7 per user per month
• falls back to the free plan after the trial

Cons

• Free plan allows only 1 user and 3 automations
• Express is limited to 3 team pipelines

5. Salesforce Starter Suite

• Best for: Small businesses planning to grow into Salesforce
• Starting price: $25 per user per month
• Free plan: Free trial (30 days)
• Website: salesforce.com

Salesforce is the name most people think of for CRM, and Starter Suite is its entry product for small businesses. The pricing page lists it at $25 per user per month, billed monthly or annually, with a 30-day trial that needs no credit card.

Starter Suite includes Assistive AI with an Employee Agent, email nurture campaigns with lead scoring, built-in sales flows with lead routing and a free Slack workspace connected to the CRM. The next step, Pro Suite, is listed at $100 per user per month, billed annually with a contract, and adds quoting, forecasting and more customization.

The honest drawbacks are cost and the jump between tiers. Salesforce notes that transaction fees apply, and prices can change, so contact its sales team for exact numbers. For most very small businesses it is more than needed, but it makes sense if you expect to grow into a larger sales operation.

Pros

• Starts a path into the largest CRM ecosystem
• includes AI, lead scoring and email nurture campaigns
• 30-day trial with no credit card

Cons

• Transaction fees apply
• Pro Suite jumps to $100 per user per month with a contract

6. Capsule

• Best for: Simple contact management for small offices
• Starting price: Free / See website
• Free plan: Yes
• Website: capsulecrm.com

Capsule is a long-running, easy-to-use CRM for small businesses that mostly need to keep track of contacts, conversations and deals. The pages are clean, and the setup is lighter than HubSpot.

According to its pricing page, the Free plan covers up to 250 contacts, 2 users, 1 sales pipeline and 5 custom fields, and Capsule describes it as a way to test the software. Starter, Growth, Advanced and Ultimate plans scale from 30,000 contacts up to 120,000, and the Growth plan adds workflow automation, reporting dashboards and multiple pipelines. There is a 14-day trial with all features and no card needed. A Marketing add-on starts at $11 per month.

The page we loaded did not show the per-user prices for paid plans, and annual savings were stated as both up to 18% and up to 15% in different places. Check the current figure on the site. Capsule is not as feature-rich as HubSpot, which is exactly the point for many owners.

Pros

• Free plan for up to 2 users and 250 contacts
• 14-day trial of paid plans with all features and no card
• paid plans scale up to 120,000 contacts

Cons

• Free plan is meant for testing and has 1 pipeline
• we could not see paid prices on the page

7. Less Annoying CRM

• Best for: Owners who want one simple price
• Starting price: $15 per user per month
• Free plan: Free trial (30 days)
• Website: lessannoyingcrm.com

Less Annoying CRM lives up to its name. There is one plan, priced at $15 per user per month, and every feature is included. No tiers, no upsells, and no contract.

The pricing page lists unlimited contacts and companies, 25 GB of file storage per user, unlimited pipelines and custom fields, task management, email logging, mobile access, user permissions and free support. It also lists HIPAA compliance, which may matter for health-related businesses, though you should confirm what that covers for your situation. A 30-day trial needs no credit card.

It is the opposite of HubSpot's all-in-one approach. There is no built-in marketing platform, and the site suggests staying below 50,000 total contacts and companies. If you want a simple address book with deals and follow-ups at a flat price, it is hard to beat.

Pros

• One price with all features and no tiers or contracts
• unlimited contacts and companies
• free support

Cons

• No free plan after the trial
• the site suggests staying below 50,000 contacts and companies

How we picked these

We compared the CRMs using each vendor's own pricing and product pages in October 2026, and HubSpot's CRM page for the baseline. We did not run our own long-term trials, so we report what vendors publish. Where a pricing page did not load or showed no dollar amounts, we wrote See website instead of using a third-party number.

We looked for CRMs that suit small businesses, have a published free plan or trial and cover contacts, deals and follow-ups. We included one big-brand option (Salesforce), several mid-market tools (Pipedrive, Freshsales, Zoho CRM) and lighter tools (Bigin, Capsule, Less Annoying CRM).

How to choose a HubSpot alternative

Start with what you use HubSpot for. If it is mostly a contact list and a sales pipeline, a lighter CRM will do. If you rely on email marketing, landing pages and forms, check whether the alternative has those or whether you would need to add and pay for separate tools.

Compare free plans honestly

HubSpot's free CRM supports up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts with no time limit. Zoho CRM's free edition allows 3 users, Capsule's allows 2 users and 250 contacts, and Bigin's allows 1 user and 500 records. So the "free" alternative is not always more generous. Count your users and contacts first.

Watch the price of growth

The real cost shows up when you add seats. HubSpot lists Starter from $15 per seat, Professional from $50 and Enterprise from $75, and Salesforce's Pro Suite starts at $100. Multiply by the number of people who will log in, and check whether features you need, such as automation or reporting, sit in a higher tier.

Check how you will move your data

Ask whether the new tool can import your HubSpot contacts, deals and notes, and how you can export them later. Do a test import with a small sample before you switch the whole team.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best free HubSpot alternatives?

Zoho CRM (free for up to 3 users), Bigin by Zoho (free for 1 user) and Capsule (free for 2 users and 250 contacts) all have free plans. HubSpot's own free CRM allows 2 users and 1,000 contacts, so compare limits before you move.

What is the best HubSpot alternative for a small business?

It depends on how you work. Zoho CRM and Freshsales suit teams that want features at a lower price, Pipedrive suits sales-focused teams, and Less Annoying CRM suits owners who want a flat price and little setup.

Why do people leave HubSpot?

Common reasons are cost and complexity. Costs rise as you move from the free tools to Starter, Professional or Enterprise and as you add seats. Some businesses also only need a basic CRM and do not use the marketing features.

Is there a cheaper HubSpot CRM alternative with the same features?

Not an exact copy. Freshsales and Bigin have lower published entry prices. None bundle every HubSpot marketing, sales and service tool in the same way, so list the features you actually use.

Can I move my data from HubSpot to another CRM?

Usually yes, through CSV exports and import tools. Confirm that contacts, deals, notes and custom fields come across, and run a small test first.

Sources

1. https://www.hubspot.com/products/crm
2. https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/crm
3. https://www.zoho.com/crm/zohocrm-pricing.html
4. https://www.zoho.com/crm/pricing/
5. https://www.pipedrive.com/en
6. https://www.freshworks.com/crm/pricing/
7. https://www.freshworks.com/crm/sales/
8. https://www.bigin.com/pricing.html
9. https://www.salesforce.com/crm/pricing/
10. https://capsulecrm.com/pricing/
11. https://www.lessannoyingcrm.com/pricing