NERDY PICKS · CRM & SALES
Best CRM & Sales tools
Track leads, write outreach and manage the sales pipeline.
Prices checked Oct 26, 2026
Which crm & sales tool should I start with?
If you want free, start with HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM, Bigin by Zoho. Track leads, write outreach and manage the sales pipeline. Below you'll find 25 tools with what each one does, the free plan and the cheapest solo plan in US dollars, checked Oct 26, 2026.
| Tool | What it does | Free plan | Paid from | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot CRM | Free CRM for keeping track of contacts, deals and emails, with paid sales add-ons. | Yes | Starter: US$10/month (promo), or US$7/month on a yearly plan (US$84/year) (promo) | Oct 30, 2026 |
| Pipedrive | Easy visual sales pipeline CRM for small sales teams. | No | Lite: US$24/month, or US$14/month on a yearly plan (US$168/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Zoho CRM | Full-featured CRM with a free plan for small teams. | Yes | Standard: US$20/month, or US$14/month on a yearly plan (US$168/year) | Oct 25, 2026 |
| Bigin by Zoho | Simple, low-cost pipeline CRM from Zoho for very small businesses. | Yes | Express: US$9/month, or US$7/month on a yearly plan (US$84/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Freshsales | Sales CRM from Freshworks with email, phone and an AI assistant. | Unclear | Growth: US$11/month, or US$9/month on a yearly plan (US$108/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| folk | Lightweight CRM that pulls in contacts from LinkedIn, Gmail and more. | Yes | Standard: US$30/month, or US$24/month on a yearly plan (US$288/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Attio | Flexible, modern CRM you can shape around your own data. | Yes | Plus: US$44/month, or US$35/month on a yearly plan (US$420/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Close | Sales CRM with built-in calling, email and SMS for small teams. | Unclear | Solo: US$19/month, or US$9/month on a yearly plan (US$108/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Copper | CRM that lives inside Gmail and Google Workspace. | Unclear | Basic: US$29/month, or US$23/month on a yearly plan (US$276/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Apollo.io | Database of business contacts plus tools to email and call leads. | Yes | Basic: US$65/month, or US$49/month on a yearly plan (US$588/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| lemlist | Cold outreach tool for personalized email and LinkedIn campaigns. | Unclear | Email: US$69/month, or US$55/month on a yearly plan (US$660/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Instantly | Sends cold email campaigns at scale with warmup and a lead database. | Unclear | Growth: US$47/month, or US$37.60/month on a yearly plan | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Clay | Spreadsheet-like tool that finds and enriches lead data from many sources with AI. | Unclear | Launch: US$185/month, or US$167/month on a yearly plan (US$2,004/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Capsule CRM | Straightforward CRM for small businesses and freelancers. | Yes | Starter: US$22/month, or US$18/month on a yearly plan (US$216/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Streak | CRM built right into Gmail for tracking deals from your inbox. | Unclear | Pro: US$59/month, or US$49/month on a yearly plan (US$588/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Less Annoying CRM | Simple, one-price CRM made for small businesses. | No | Less Annoying CRM: US$15/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| monday CRM | Customizable sales CRM built on monday.com boards. | Unclear | Basic: US$18/month, or US$12/month on a yearly plan (US$144/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| OnePageCRM | Action-focused CRM that tells you the next step for every deal. | Unclear | Professional: US$15/month, or US$9.95/month on a yearly plan | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Copy.ai | AI writing chat plus workflow automation for sales and marketing teams. | Unclear | Chat: US$29/month, or US$24/month on a yearly plan (US$288/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Fireflies.ai | AI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes meetings. | Yes | Pro: US$18/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Fathom | Free AI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes video calls. | Yes | Premium: US$20/month, or US$16/month on a yearly plan (US$192/year) | Oct 28, 2026 |
| tl;dv | Records Zoom, Meet and Teams calls and writes AI notes and reports. | Yes | Pro: US$29/month, or US$18/month on a yearly plan (US$216/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| HubSpot Service Hub | HubSpot's customer service tools: tickets, live chat and a help desk tied to the CRM. | Yes | Starter: US$10/month (promo), or US$7/month on a yearly plan (US$84/year) (promo) | Oct 30, 2026 |
| Bardeen | Automates web research and lead sourcing tasks from your browser. | Unclear | Basic: US$10/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Avoma | AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes and summarizes calls and syncs notes to your CRM. | Yes | Startup: US$29/month, or US$19/month on a yearly plan (US$228/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
All 25 tools
HubSpot CRM
Free CRM for keeping track of contacts, deals and emails, with paid sales add-ons.
Free plan: Yes: Free foundational tools.
Paid from: Starter: US$10/month (promo), or US$7/month on a yearly plan (US$84/year) (promo)
Discounts: Special Starter pricing for new customers (limited time, no end date stated).
Cheaper or similar: Zoho CRM, Bigin by Zoho
Checked Oct 30, 2026
Pipedrive
Easy visual sales pipeline CRM for small sales teams.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Lite: US$24/month, or US$14/month on a yearly plan (US$168/year)
Discounts: Annual billing saves up to 42%.
Cheaper or similar: Less Annoying CRM, Bigin by Zoho
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Zoho CRM
Full-featured CRM with a free plan for small teams.
Free plan: Yes: Free for 3 users (per page title).
Paid from: Standard: US$20/month, or US$14/month on a yearly plan (US$168/year)
Cheaper or similar: Bigin by Zoho, HubSpot CRM
Checked Oct 25, 2026
Bigin by Zoho
Simple, low-cost pipeline CRM from Zoho for very small businesses.
Free plan: Yes: Free CRM plan.
Paid from: Express: US$9/month, or US$7/month on a yearly plan (US$84/year)
Discounts: Yearly billing saves up to 35%.
Cheaper or similar: Less Annoying CRM, Pipedrive
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Freshsales
Sales CRM from Freshworks with email, phone and an AI assistant.
Free plan: Unclear: Not confirmed in what we read.
Paid from: Growth: US$11/month, or US$9/month on a yearly plan (US$108/year)
Discounts: Annual saves 20%.
Cheaper or similar: Pipedrive, Zoho CRM
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
folk
Lightweight CRM that pulls in contacts from LinkedIn, Gmail and more.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan offered.
Paid from: Standard: US$30/month, or US$24/month on a yearly plan (US$288/year)
Discounts: Annual saves 20%.
Cheaper or similar: Attio, Streak
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Attio
Flexible, modern CRM you can shape around your own data.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan.
Paid from: Plus: US$44/month, or US$35/month on a yearly plan (US$420/year)
Discounts: Save 20% with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: folk, HubSpot CRM
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Close
Sales CRM with built-in calling, email and SMS for small teams.
Free plan: Unclear: Not confirmed in what we read.
Paid from: Solo: US$19/month, or US$9/month on a yearly plan (US$108/year)
Discounts: Save up to 50% with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Pipedrive, Copper
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Copper
CRM that lives inside Gmail and Google Workspace.
Free plan: Unclear: Not confirmed in what we read.
Paid from: Basic: US$29/month, or US$23/month on a yearly plan (US$276/year)
Discounts: Annual billing shown as 'Up to 26% off'.
Cheaper or similar: Streak, Pipedrive
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Apollo.io
Database of business contacts plus tools to email and call leads.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan for exploring or light use.
Paid from: Basic: US$65/month, or US$49/month on a yearly plan (US$588/year)
Discounts: Lower per-seat price with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Instantly, lemlist
Checked Oct 26, 2026
lemlist
Cold outreach tool for personalized email and LinkedIn campaigns.
Free plan: Unclear: Not confirmed in what we read.
Paid from: Email: US$69/month, or US$55/month on a yearly plan (US$660/year)
Discounts: Lower per-month price with yearly billing.
Cheaper or similar: Instantly, Apollo.io
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Instantly
Sends cold email campaigns at scale with warmup and a lead database.
Free plan: Unclear: Not confirmed in what we read.
Paid from: Growth: US$47/month, or US$37.60/month on a yearly plan
Discounts: Lower per-month price with yearly billing.
Cheaper or similar: lemlist, Apollo.io
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Clay
Spreadsheet-like tool that finds and enriches lead data from many sources with AI.
Free plan: Unclear: Not confirmed in what we read.
Paid from: Launch: US$185/month, or US$167/month on a yearly plan (US$2,004/year)
Discounts: Lower per-month price with yearly billing.
Cheaper or similar: Apollo.io, Instantly
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Capsule CRM
Straightforward CRM for small businesses and freelancers.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan.
Paid from: Starter: US$22/month, or US$18/month on a yearly plan (US$216/year)
Discounts: Annual billing saves up to 18%.
Cheaper or similar: Less Annoying CRM, OnePageCRM
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Streak
CRM built right into Gmail for tracking deals from your inbox.
Free plan: Unclear: 'Free to try'.
Paid from: Pro: US$59/month, or US$49/month on a yearly plan (US$588/year)
Discounts: 20% off with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Copper, folk
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Less Annoying CRM
Simple, one-price CRM made for small businesses.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Less Annoying CRM: US$15/month
Cheaper or similar: Bigin by Zoho, Pipedrive
Checked Oct 26, 2026
monday CRM
Customizable sales CRM built on monday.com boards.
Free plan: Unclear: Not confirmed in what we read.
Paid from: Basic: US$18/month, or US$12/month on a yearly plan (US$144/year)
Discounts: Yearly billing saves 33%.
Cheaper or similar: Pipedrive, HubSpot CRM
Checked Oct 26, 2026
OnePageCRM
Action-focused CRM that tells you the next step for every deal.
Free plan: Unclear: Not confirmed in what we read.
Paid from: Professional: US$15/month, or US$9.95/month on a yearly plan
Discounts: Annual billing: 4 months free.
Cheaper or similar: Less Annoying CRM, Capsule CRM
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Copy.ai
AI writing chat plus workflow automation for sales and marketing teams.
Free plan: Unclear: Site offers 'Try for free' but no free plan is listed on the pricing page.
Paid from: Chat: US$29/month, or US$24/month on a yearly plan (US$288/year)
Discounts: Cheaper with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Rytr, QuillBot
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Fireflies.ai
AI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes meetings.
Free plan: Yes: Limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team, 20 AI credits.
Paid from: Pro: US$18/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year)
Discounts: Save up to 44% with annual billing; volume discounts mentioned in FAQ.
Cheaper or similar: Otter.ai, Fathom
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Fathom
Free AI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes video calls.
Free plan: Yes: Unlimited recordings and transcription with instant summaries.
Paid from: Premium: US$20/month, or US$16/month on a yearly plan (US$192/year)
Discounts: Save 25%+ annually; 90-day guarantee; 10 free seats for nonprofits; up to 2 years free Team for eligible startups.
Cheaper or similar: Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai
Checked Oct 28, 2026
tl;dv
Records Zoom, Meet and Teams calls and writes AI notes and reports.
Free plan: Yes: Unlimited recordings and transcription; AI notes for 10 meetings; 3-month data retention.
Paid from: Pro: US$29/month, or US$18/month on a yearly plan (US$216/year)
Discounts: Up to 40% off with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Fireflies.ai, Otter.ai, Read AI · cheaper tl;dv alternatives
Checked Oct 26, 2026
HubSpot Service Hub
HubSpot's customer service tools: tickets, live chat and a help desk tied to the CRM.
Free plan: Yes: Free tools at $0.
Paid from: Starter: US$10/month (promo), or US$7/month on a yearly plan (US$84/year) (promo)
Discounts: Special Starter pricing for new customers (limited time, no end date stated); regular price US$20/seat/month.
Cheaper or similar: Freshdesk, Help Scout
Checked Oct 30, 2026
Bardeen
Automates web research and lead sourcing tasks from your browser.
Free plan: Unclear: Not stated in what we read.
Paid from: Basic: US$10/month
Cheaper or similar: Zapier, Clay
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Avoma
AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes and summarizes calls and syncs notes to your CRM.
Free plan: Yes: Viewers and collaborators are free; free trial of paid plans.
Paid from: Startup: US$29/month, or US$19/month on a yearly plan (US$228/year)
Discounts: Annual saves up to 33%.
Cheaper or similar: Fathom, Fireflies.ai
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Other jobs
FAQ
What's the best free crm & sales tool?
12 of the 25 crm & sales tools here have a free plan, including HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM, Bigin by Zoho, folk. Start with the one whose job description matches yours, and check the free-plan limits in each card before you commit.
What's the cheapest paid crm & sales tool?
Of the prices we could confirm, HubSpot CRM is cheapest: its Starter plan is US$10/month (promo), or US$7/month on a yearly plan (US$84/year) (promo). Next is Bigin by Zoho: its Express plan is US$9/month, or US$7/month on a yearly plan (US$84/year). Prices are in US dollars before tax, checked Oct 30, 2026.
How do you check these prices?
We read each tool's official pricing page (or the maker's own help pages) in US dollars before tax, and note the date. If a price isn't shown clearly, we leave it blank rather than guess.
Want to spend less? Tick the tools you pay for in the Nerdy Savings calculator.