Customer relationship management (CRM) software provides businesses with tools for attracting, retaining, and monitoring customers as they move through the sales pipeline or buyer journey. A good CRM software will include features to help you craft marketing campaigns, keep track of deals, build product and customer lists, generate reports, address support tickets, and more.
CRM features may be part of other software such as point-of-sale systems, or they can be stand-alone software that also include other features such as payment processing.
In our evaluation, the best free CRM software systems are:
- HubSpot: Best overall free CRM software
- Capsule CRM: Best for writing sales emails
- Bitrix24: Best for unlimited free users
- Zoho CRM: Best for back-office features
- EngageBay: Best for lead management
If these don’t fit your needs, check out our comprehensive guide to the Best CRM Software.
Featured partners
HubSpot: Best Overall Free CRM Software
Overall Reviewer Score
3.92/5
Pricing:
5/5
Core CRM features
4.5/5
Additional features
4.82/5
User experience and interface
4.25/5
Scalability and integration
4.5/5
Pros
- Excellent core CRM features
- Lots of free integrations
- Free AI Content Writer tool
Cons
- Free for up to 2 users only
- No email and chat support in free plan
Why we chose HubSpot
HubSpot’s primary draw, and the reason it earned the top spot on our list, is its extensive set of marketing, CRM, and back-office features, many of which are available on the free plan. This plan also includes a builder tool for a conversational chatbot, which can help you automate tasks like qualifying leads, collecting customer data, and setting appointments—all at a faster pace and larger scale than employees could do manually.
HubSpot also integrates with over 1,000 applications including a wealth of free tools such as Gmail, WordPress, Google and Meta Ads, and Mailchimp.
- Comprehensive CRM and marketing tools: HubSpot has an impressive set of CRM and marketing features in its free subscription, including email marketing of up to 2,000 sends per month; email scheduling; sales and ticket pipeline tracking; CRM data importing; and a mobile app.
- Social media and communications integrations: Connect HubSpot with Slack for in-house communication and coordination, and Facebook Messenger for connecting with your audience.
- Reporting dashboard: Monitor your business performance with a customizable reporting dashboard that shows revenue reports, goals, and custom datasets.
- Free plan available
- Starter Customer Platform: $20 per user, month (Annual pricing: $12 per month and $15 per additional user)
- Marketing Hub Professional: $890 per month, includes 3 seats; $50 per additional seat (Annual pricing: $800 per month, includes 3 seats; $45 per additional seat)
Capsule CRM: Best for Writing Sales Emails
Overall Reviewer Score
3.49/5
Pricing:
4.38/5
Core CRM features
4.06/5
Additional features
3.39/5
User experience and interface
5/5
Scalability and integration
3/5
Pros
- Multiple plans available for software upgrades
- Many integrations and automations available (via Zapier)
- AI content assistant for writing emails
Cons
- Only 250 contacts in free plan
- Only 2 users for the free plan
- Few team management tools unless you upgrade
Why we chose Capsule CRM
Capsule CRM is a capable and easy-to-use customer relationship management system. It has a free plan for up to 2 users and transparent, affordable pricing for its software upgrades. While the core CRM features and back-office tools in the free subscription are not quite as comprehensive as those in HubSpot, they are still substantial. Email integrations, sales and customer milestones, opportunity tracking, AI content assists, and the Kanban visual pipeline are all available.
However, you’ll need to upgrade to access most of the team management and reporting tools such as activity and team reporting, sales reporting, and additional customer information.
- AI content assistant: This AI-powered writing tool helps you craft attention-catching emails. If you’re stuck just tell the AI what you want to write about plus the tone that you want for the email. Once the system has written a draft for you, you’ll be able to edit the text to your liking.
- Project management tools: Capsule’s project management tools include customizable boards that let you break down large projects into manageable stages with clear start and finish dates. As you continue to refine your established workflows, your team members will become more and more efficient.
- Kanban visual pipeline: For each sales pipeline you review in Capsule CRM, you’ll see a board that lays out all the sales opportunities and milestones for that pipeline, plus the status of each. A simple drag-and-drop interface lets you customize and update the board as you like.
- Free: $0
- Starter: $18 per user, per month
- Growth: $36 per user, per month
- Advanced: $54 per user, per month
- Ultimate: $72 per user, per month
Bitrix24: Best for Unlimited Free Users
Overall Reviewer Score
3.47/5
Pricing:
4.69/5
Core CRM features
5/5
Additional features
4.46/5
User experience and interface
3/5
Scalability and integration
3/5
Pros
- Unlimited users in the free plan
- Many features and integrations available
- Comprehensive project management tools
Cons
- Low online storage in free plan
- Many email features require upgrade
- High-level plans are expensive
Why we chose Bitrix24
Like HubSpot, Bitrix24 has lots of free features on offer for contact management, pipeline tracking, and task monitoring. However, Bitrix24 allows for unlimited users even in the free subscription, something that is fairly rare among CRM software.
Bitrix24 also has a good set of core CRM tools—personalized quotes and invoices, multichannel lead capture, opportunity tracking and analytics, and more. The software is also good for managing your own staff, with features like task checklists, reminders, Gantt charts, video conferencing, integrations with office tools, and mobile app functionality. Bitrix 24 is a great, balanced choice for businesses that want to keep a close eye on both internal and customer-facing processes.
- Unlimited free users: Bitrix24 allows for unlimited users in its free plan. Paid plans have limited users that increase in number as you keep upgrading.
- Engagement tools: The free plan has numerous engagement tools available, including CRM invoices, lead tracking, multichannel communication, marketing automations, and analytics.
- Project management: You can use various project management features to keep yourself and staff members on track—task assignments, video calls, Gantt charts, task view modes, and more.
- Free: $0
- Basic: $61 (Annual pricing $49)
- Standard: $124 (Annual pricing $99)
- Professional: $249 (Annual pricing $199)
- Enterprise: $499 (Annual pricing $399)
Zoho CRM: Best for Back-office Features
Overall Reviewer Score
3.43/5
Pricing:
4.38/5
Core CRM features
5/5
Additional features
4.64/5
User experience and interface
3/5
Scalability and integration
2.75/5
Pros
- AI-powered sales assistant
- Good collaboration tools and integrations
- Data management features
Cons
- Many features missing from free plan
- Only 3 users unless you upgrade
Why we chose Zoho CRM
Zia is a balanced, affordable software solution that contains useful features for both CRM and back-office or internal processes. It’s an especially good choice for businesses that need strong collaboration or cross-functionality tools, plus data management and integrations. You can create workflows and rules; manage tasks and calendars; and integrate with analytics and campaign tools.
Finally, you can also take advantage of special tools like SalesSignals and Zia AI, which enhance your engagement capabilities and optimize your CRM processes, respectively. However, you’ll need to upgrade to paid subscriptions to unlock these high-level features.
- AI-powered sales assistant: Zoho CRM includes a digital sales tool powered by an artificial intelligence called Zia. Zia can examine the data that your sales reps enter into Zoho and then present you with predictions for sales or opportunities, detect anomalies or problems before they become serious, and assign records to your highest-performing or most qualified team members.
- SalesSignals: SalesSignals is a feature that notifies your team members whenever a potential customer interacts with your business. This interaction can be a website visit, email opening, or a mention of your business on social media. SalesSignals will alert your staff to these even if your staff members are using third-party applications.
- Back-office tools: Zoho got a near-perfect score in our evaluation of its non-CRM features. It has generous file and data storage capabilities, interface and layout customization, workflow rules and task management, and integrations for projects and analytics.
- Free: $0
- Standard: $20 per user, per month (Annual pricing $14)
- Professional: $35 per user, per month (Annual pricing $23)
- Enterprise: $50 per user, per month (Annual pricing $40)
- Ultimate: $65 per user, per month (Annual pricing $52)
EngageBay: Best for Lead Management
Overall Reviewer Score
3.33/5
Pricing:
4.06/5
Core CRM features
4.06/5
Additional features
3.75/5
User experience and interface
4.25/5
Scalability and integration
2.50/5
Pros
- Predictive lead scoring with segmentation
- Live chat and video marketing
- Automations and workflows (paid plans)
Cons
- Many advanced/custom tools require paid plans
- Free plan has no phone support or onboarding
Why we chose EngageBay
In terms of lead management in particular, EngageBay stands above the other options on our list of CRM software. The free subscription includes a basic version of the predictive lead scoring feature, which gives you a picture of what potential customers are doing, what they might be feeling, and how best to engage with each one.
With plan upgrades, EngageBay also offers automations to speed up your processes and free up team members for higher-level tasks, and appointment-scheduling tools to allow sales reps to meet a customer and seal the deal. Upgrading also gets you push notifications, A/B testing for landing pages, web analytics, and customized reports.
- Predictive lead scoring: EngageBay assigns each of your contacts a number score based on how frequently and in what ways they interact with your business. The software adjusts a customer’s score based on actions like visiting your website, submitting a form, or unsubscribing from a newsletter. By checking each contact’s score, you can determine the next best step for each contact, as well as the best place to apply your time and energy.
- Marketing automations: EngageBay paid plans automate repetitive or predictable marketing tasks like sending scheduled emails or forms, onboarding new contacts, or answering basic questions from customers.
- Appointment scheduling: EngageBay’s intelligent appointment scheduling tools can minimize back-and-forth communications by letting your leads book meetings directly. The system will also send out messages to booked customers, reminding them about appointments.
- Free: $0
- Basic: $14.99 per user, per month
- Growth: $64.99 per user, per month
- Pro: $119.99 per user, per month
Common limitations and omissions in “free” versions
Customer relationship management systems that offer free subscriptions will usually provide basic CRM tools in the free plan—email marketing and templates, product and customer databases, integrations, and perhaps simple automation features. However, you’ll almost always need to subscribe to a paid plan to access the most advanced features. These will usually include things like additional storage space, advanced team management and analytics, customizable reports, and AI assistance.
Take note that most CRM software that offer free plans will only support a limited number of users for those plans; in some cases, as few as 2 free users. Your customer support options may also be limited; for example, some CRM providers only make phone support available for paying users.
Read more: Best CRM for Startups
Key features to look for in the best free CRM software
A good CRM software should include the following features:
- Email marketing: A must-have for CRM software. Send out mass emails to prospective and current customers.
- Sales pipeline tracking: Keep track of where each customer is in their journey, the opportunities to get them more engaged or converted, and potential values and revenues.
- Support ticket handling: Sort customer support tickets by category, ensure they get to the right team, and solve issues as quickly as possible.
- Product library: Stay on top of inventory levels and management, and assign product codes for quick reference.
- Customer database: Maintain a database of all your contacts and customers, plus their information, preferences, and more. This feature works well with sales pipeline tracking to give you a more complete picture of your buyers.
- CRM Analytics: Measure the performance of products, campaigns, sales tactics, and employees over time to continuously refine and improve your business.
- Workflow automation: Automate marketing and sales tasks, communication, updates, and more to free up your staff for more complex work.
- CRM Integrations: Seamlessly connect your CRM with software for email, calendars, team communication, social media, and more.
Choosing the best free CRM software for your business
Keep the following points in mind when choosing the ideal CRM software for your business:
Pricing
Just because a CRM software has a free plan available doesn’t mean you’ll get the full set of features on that plan. If you’re running a new or small business, or don’t have many customers yet, you might be able to get by on the limited features of a free subscription.
Still, it’s a good idea to check the pricing for the paid plans as well; you may want to switch to these plans once your business begins to grow, or if you decide that you need the additional features. You might be able to get good deals on paid plans if you opt for annual pricing, which is commonly available.
Standout features
While all CRM software providers offer similar basic features like email marketing tools, different systems may specialize in different niches. For example, Capsule CRM has an AI assistant tool designed to help you craft sales emails; Bitrix24 has tons of project management tools; and EngageBay focuses on lead management optimization.
Before deciding on a CRM system, clarify what your business model aims to prioritize. Do you need email-writing tools for digital campaigns? Appointment scheduling for face-to-face client meetings? Which integrations do you want? Which channels will you be marketing on? Answering these questions before pulling the trigger on a CRM software will ensure you get the most suitable choice for your needs.
Read more: Best Open Source CRM Software
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
