The Best Free CRM - SBG’s Top Picks

Overview 

When looking for the best free CRM software for businesses, Hubstaff is a name you’ll no doubt come across often. Since it was founded in 2006, HubSpot has been one of the key players in this market. HubSpot’s system allows business owners to get all of the important sales, marketing, and customer service tools in one place. The software offers several hubs, including marketing, sales, service, operations, and CRM. They are all excellent and work particularly well together, but in our CRM review here, we will focus on the free HubSpot CRM software tools.

Ease of Use

Creating an account with HubSpot is a breeze and can be done through the company’s website. Go to HubSpot.com, fill out your personal details (name and email address), and provide information about the business type you run, your job position, and the number of employees you have.

This free online CRM is beginner-friendly, but if you haven’t used similar tools before, the free wizard will show you how to set up the software and make the most of it for your business. 

HubSpot has a clear and well-organized dashboard. We didn’t have any problem exploring the software’s tools and features. Moreover, you can customize the dashboard to fit your needs.  

Features 

HubSpot’s free version comes with a wide range of tools, unavailable at most other free CRM systems. You can add up to 1,000,000 contacts and an unlimited number of users. Moreover, you’ll get free forms and landing pages, free sales tools, and live chat options for your customers. 

When it comes to contact management features, the free CRM system enables you to organize and manage your contacts effortlessly. The same features are available regardless of whether you manage personal contacts or companies. You can see details like email, phone number, and lead status. Among many useful tools is a call analyzer. After you finish your meeting or a video conference call, you can use the Conversation Intelligence tool to analyze your conversations. 

Third-party Integrations

When it comes to CRM integration, HubSpot's free version is limited to only a few options. You will be able to connect the software with Gmail, G Suite, and Outlook in order to import contact details. 

However, other integrations with this CRM are not free, and you’ll need to upgrade your subscription. Suppose you want to publish your content on social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) or link your blog to your social media accounts? You must pay for the Marketing Hub plan. There’s also workflow automation for your marketing companies, but you’ll need to subscribe to a paid version of the app for this feature, too. 

Analytics and Reports 

When it comes to reporting, free HubSpot CRM stands out from the rest of the competitors. It allows you to see your report library with the revenue and sales performance. That said, if you want to get custom reports, you must upgrade to one of the paid versions of the software.

Overview

The next one on our list of free CRM tools is Freshsales. Launched in 2016, Freshsales is a cloud-based CRM software product designed for small and mid-sized businesses. Freshsales is created by Freshworks, an India-based software company that creates different SaaS products - from CRM software and recruitment apps to customer support software. Freshsales CRM software is available in several versions, including one that you can use for free for a lifetime. However, the free software is not feature-rich compared to paid versions. 

Ease of Use

Freshsales is designed for small businesses, startups, and mid-sized companies. It can be a valuable CRM tool for different industries, including sales, eCommerce, real estate, finance, education, healthcare, retail, and more. 

Like other free sales CRM products, Freshsales is a lightweight app that works on various platforms and operating systems. There’s also a mobile application for iOS and Android phones that you can quickly download to help manage your business operations while on the go. Just like the desktop version, the mobile app has a modern yet straightforward interface. You can access the main dashboard with a few simple clicks and instantly get essential information about your clients

Features

Depending on the version of the software you use, you can check up on your next meetings, track sales performances, get performance metrics, and so on. Unfortunately, the free CRM tool is not feature-rich as the paid versions of Freshsales. The features you get are limited to contact management and customer communication tools. 

You will be able to add contacts and accounts to your CRM system. You can track information about your leads, prospects, and customers. There’s also an option to import contacts from .csv and .xlsx files. 

When it comes to sales management, the free version of the app grants access to chat software that allows you to communicate with your customers in real-time. 

Third-party Integrations

One of the best things about Freshsales is its seamless integration into the Freshworks business ecosystem. Freshsales allows you to connect the CRM app with other native Freshworks apps, including Freshdesk, Freshmarketer, Freshconnect, and more. Additionally, you can connect your CRM with accounting software products, like Xero or Quickbooks. 

Freshsales’ simple free CRM tools also let you link your account with your Gmail, Zoho Mail, and Microsoft Office 365 accounts.

Analytics and Reports  

Unfortunately, the free version of the software doesn’t offer any free analytical tools and reports. Custom reports are available with the paid version of the software.

Trusted by over 10,000 business entities, Bitrix24 is an all-in-one software solution for managing various business operations. It includes a powerful CRM app and has tools to support other aspects of your business. From task management and team collaboration tools to built-in HR software and tools that can help you create and manage your website, Bitrix24 covers everything. As for the free CRM system, Bitrix24 is on top of our list for offering excellent CRM capabilities. 

Ease of Use

When you first enter Bitrix24, you will be pleasantly surprised with its social-media-like interface. The UI simplifies communication with prospects, leads, and customers. It’s modern, with vivid colors and icons, enabling you to search for the tools you need faster. 

Once you create your Bitrix24 account, the introductory video will appear on your screen. This way, you can see how the software works and learn to use the different tools available. Moreover, there are lots of video tutorials and guides to help you learn the basics about lead generation, best sales practices, and so on. 

Features

The free CRM app allows you to add as many contacts and deals as you want. This is especially good for companies with many clients, enabling simplified contact management, project creation, and team communication. Unfortunately, Bitrix24’s free version is limited when it comes to lead management. If you want to have an option to add unlimited leads, you’ll need to get a paid version of the software.

As for the rest of the free tools, Bitrix24 enables direct communication with your clients through its dashboard. You can use live chat, link your phone, email address, or Facebook/Instagram account. You can also receive and manage all clients’ calls directly from the Bitrix24 platform. 

Another great feature is free reminders. Bitrix24 sends regular alerts to remind you of important client meetings and calls. 

Third-party Integrations

Bitrix24 is one of the best free CRM software products when it comes to app integrations. From different payment methods, like Stripe and PayPal, to MailChimp, Asterix, and QuickBooks, the Bitrix24 ecosystem is compatible with many valuable business tools.  

Analytics and Reports  

If you are looking for an analytical CRM product, Bitrix24 is not the best option. The free version of the software is not equipped with any analytics or reporting tools.

Overview 

When talking about the best free CRM for a small business, it’s impossible to skip Zoho CRM. A key part of the powerful Zoho software ecosystem, Zoho CRM is now available for free, and it comes with a variety of tools for lead, account, and deal management. Sadly, unlike many of its counterparts, Zoho’s free CRM version is limited to three users. This makes it suitable for small teams, but growing businesses wouldn’t be able to benefit from its extensive set of customer relationship management tools. 

Ease of Use

If you already use an app from Zoho’s ecosystem, you can access free CRM tools instantly. You just need to provide basic information, like your company’s name and phone number. After that, you can start using the CRM software free of charge.

The upper ribbon of the dashboard displays the most important features (lead, contacts, deals, activities, reports, and so on). You can easily add customers, manage leads, and create deals.

You can access Zoho CRM accounts from your desktop computer or mobile phone. The software is web-based, but there is also a native mobile app for iOS or Android. 

Features 

Zoho CRM's free version can support only three users, which is its main downside. This makes it perfect for small teams and startups but, unfortunately, useless for larger businesses. On the bright side, companies that are satisfied with this number of users will be delighted with a rich set of CRM tools that they can use. 

The first thing worth mentioning is that Zoho’s free CRM software supports up to 5,000 records - contacts, deals, campaigns, and accounts. Unlike many other CRM applications, Zoho CRM provides excellent lead management. You can trace leads, get their contacts, and move them further in your sales process. Good lead generation is a necessary part of any successful sales pipeline. 

Another great thing you get with Zoho CRM is workflow automation. This will help you increase your productivity and automate routine tasks. 

Third-party Integrations

When it comes to integration options, Zoho’s contact management software free version supports the Zoho SalesIQ app. This app helps you improve conversion. It provides information about how your audience interacts with your content and allows you to chat with customers in real-time. 

Analytics and Reports  

Zoho CRM’s free version offers free analytical tools. This way, you can get insights into your sales performances, marketing campaigns, and revenue.

Overview 

Agile CRM has been in operation since 2013. This customer manager software is already used by 20,000 clients, who praise its capabilities. Although Agile CRM is a free CRM software for small business owners, it comes with a wide range of sales, marketing, and communication tools. The free version is great for small teams that want to streamline communication and increase sales.

Ease of Use

Based on client reviews, Agile CRM is a very easy to use CRM solution. The software scores 4.8 on TrustPilot, and many users praise the app’s functionality, like the automation of email campaigns. Many users are delighted with the company’s customer support, claiming that they are very helpful and ready to solve any problems quickly.

As far as the user interface goes, Agile does pretty well here, too. The dashboard is well organized, with the most important tools placed on the left side of the screen. There you will find all of the sales and marketing tools you’ll need. You can also import or create contacts very quickly.

One downside is the lack of native apps for mobile phones, but the web version of the software is well-optimized for smaller screens, so that shouldn’t be a problem for most people.

Features

Agile CRM is a free, open-source CRM as long as the number of users doesn’t exceed ten. This is certainly more than the three found in the free version of Zoho CRM, but not enough for medium or large-sized companies. This version allows you to create up to 1,000 contacts and campaigns, as well as unlimited documents, tasks, and deals. You will also get a wide range of sales tools like the ability to create custom data fields, lead scoring, email tracking, and appointment scheduling.

Unlike many other online CRM software products, Agile CRM allows you to create email campaigns, but this option is only available in the $8.99/mo Starter plan and above. You can also use various tools to build email templates, forms, and landing pages. The free software version allows the implementation of one campaign workflow and one automation rule.

As with the best free CRMs around, Agile allows you to use various CRM service tools such as a helpdesk and organize your workflow better with the easy creation of groups and labels. 

Third-party Integrations

Agile CRM offers dozens of options for software integration, including various social media and service channels, payment methods, and more. However, with the free version, you get only one plugin. For example, you can connect your account with Zendesk or Freshbooks, but not both. If you want to use other plugins, you’ll need to subscribe to one of the paid plans.

Analytics and Reports  

The good thing about the Agile CRM’s free version is that you still get access to reports. You can request to see the latest sales performance and revenue and use this data to calculate your ROI faster.