Best free CRM software in 2026: which plan should you choose?

Short answer (our reading). 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. Bitrix24 combines basic CRM and collaboration, but its current free plan is limited to one or 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 four free plans re-read on each vendor's official pages on November 3, 2026. Freshsales, which appeared in the previous version, is removed (see below). Plans change, so confirm any deal-breaking limit before you commit.

Free CRM software at a glance: four plans compared

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 free CRM page describes a free CRM with no expiration date, up to two users and 1,000 contacts, and no credit card required. The same page lists free and premium plans for Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, Content Hub, Data Hub, and Revenue Hub, and says more advanced CRM features sit in the premium editions.

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 lead, deal, contact, and account management, tasks and events, workflows, and reports. The page also states storage of up to 5,000 entries across all modules and workflows for up to 5 routine tasks.

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 Zoho's current 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 free plan with no time limit for one user, with 300 email sends per day, storage for up to 100,000 contacts, and automation for up to 2,000 contacts. Its free sales tools are capped at 50 open deals, one pipeline, one connected calendar, and one connected 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.

Freshsales: removed from this comparison

The previous version of this article described a free Freshsales plan for three users. The Freshsales pricing page, re-read on November 3, 2026, lists paid plans (Growth at $9 per user per month billed annually, then Pro and Enterprise) and a 21-day trial. The body of that page shows no free plan or free-user limit, but its meta description mentions "a free plan"; we could not resolve that contradiction, so we no longer compare Freshsales. If you are considering Freshsales, ask the vendor directly what is included before weighing it against the plans above.

4. Bitrix24: free CRM and collaboration for two people

Bitrix24's current pricing table presents a free plan for one to two users, with 5 GB of storage, a basic CRM (deals, contacts), tasks (Kanban, Gantt), shared calendars, chat, and video calls.

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: 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. In our reading, 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:

1. a form or import;
2. a three-stage pipeline;
3. an automated task;
4. a segment or saved view;
5. a report;
6. 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 or Zoho 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

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 four products in this comparison show a free plan on their official pages as read on November 3, 2026. 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 includes three free users. Brevo is a more natural fit when one person mainly owns contacts and email.

Which free CRM stores the most contacts?

Among the four plans, Brevo advertises the highest contact cap (up to 100,000 stored contacts, against 1,000 contacts for HubSpot and 5,000 entries for Zoho), 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? Talk to our lifecycle CRM specialists and let's review your journeys, constraints, and total cost.