By Alpit Patel and the aibrevo team · October 22, 2026 · 6 min read
Free CRM Plans Compared 2026: Which CRMs Are Really Free and Where the Limits Are
Free CRM plans compared from each vendor's own pages, checked October 22, 2026: which CRMs have a free plan and which only have a trial, the user, contact and record caps on each free plan, and what forces the upgrade. Covers HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Zoho Bigin, Capsule, Attio, Vtiger, Odoo, Bitrix24, Streak and 11 trial-only CRMs.
Key takeaways
- Of the CRMs checked on October 22, 2026, nine have a permanent free plan: HubSpot (2 users, 1,000 contacts), Zoho CRM (3 users), Zoho Bigin (1 user, 500 records), Capsule (2 users, 250 contacts), Attio (3 seats, 50,000 records), Vtiger (10 users, 3,000 records), Odoo (one app, unlimited users), Bitrix24 (1 to 2 users per its plan card) and Streak (Gmail tools only, no pipelines).
- Freshsales, Insightly, Close, Nutshell, Copper, Keap, ActiveCampaign, folk, Less Annoying CRM, Pipedrive and monday CRM show a trial, not a free plan, on their pricing pages. Trials run 14 to 30 days where stated.
- The most generous free plan by users is Vtiger at 10 users, but it caps records at 3,000. HubSpot gives 2 users and 1,000 contacts. Attio gives the most records, 50,000, for 3 seats.
- Odoo's free plan is limited by apps, not people: one app with unlimited users. Installing a second app moves you to the Standard plan.
- Freshsales' current pricing page lists no free plan, only a 21-day trial after which the account is suspended, even though its meta description still mentions one.
Nine of the CRMs we checked have a permanent free plan, and every one of them caps something: users, contacts, records, apps or features. The caps below come from each vendor’s own pages, checked October 22, 2026. Eleven more CRMs that rank for “free CRM” have only a trial, and one of them, Freshsales, mentions a free option in its meta description while its plan cards show none.
Method. We read each vendor’s pricing page on October 22, 2026 and recorded only what it states. Where a cap is not stated, the table says so. Paid-plan prices are in the small business CRM pricing comparison.
Which CRMs have a free plan, and what are the limits?
| CRM | Free plan | Caps stated on the page | What forces the upgrade |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | Yes, no time limit | 2 users; 1,000 contacts; 1,000 records across other standard objects | More than 2 users or 1,000 contacts means a paid product |
| Zoho CRM | Yes, “free forever for 3 users” | 3 users; 10 custom email templates; 10 data exports; 5,000 API calls a day; no record cap stated | A fourth user, or features above the free edition |
| Zoho Bigin | Yes | 1 user; 1 pipeline; 500 records; 3 automations | Express adds 3 team pipelines, 50,000 records, 30 automations, email and WhatsApp integration |
| Capsule | Yes | 2 users; 250 contacts; 5 custom fields; 1 sales pipeline; Gmail or Outlook mail connection | Starter adds 30,000 contacts and email templates; Growth adds workflow automations and email sync |
| Attio | Yes | 3 seats; up to 3 objects; 50,000 records; up to 3 reports; 1 email account per user; workflows included | Plus raises seats to 10 and records to 250,000; sequences start at Pro |
| Vtiger | Yes, “forever free” | Max 10 users; max 3,000 records; lead and contact management | More users or records, and anything beyond the free feature set |
| Odoo | Yes (“One App Free”) | One app; unlimited users; hosting on Odoo Online | Installing a second app switches you to the Standard plan; Studio or multi-company switches to Custom |
| Bitrix24 | Yes | Plan card: “100% free for 1 to 2 users”; 5 GB storage; basic CRM (deals, contacts) | Sales pipelines start at Basic; unlimited leads at Standard. A FAQ on the same page says the free plan allows unlimited users, so the two statements conflict |
| Streak | Gmail tools only | Email tracking, snippets, 50 mail merge sends a day; no CRM pipelines | Pipelines need Pro ($49 per user annual) |
Source: vendor pricing pages and FAQs, checked October 22, 2026. Odoo’s paid prices were shown in rupees to our fetch, so none are quoted. Where a cell says “not stated”, the vendor page did not give a number in the text we could read.
Which CRMs only have a free trial?
These pricing pages offer a trial and no free plan. Trial terms are as the page states them.
| CRM | Trial stated on the page | What happens after |
|---|---|---|
| Freshsales | 21 days, full CRM | Account suspended if you do not pay |
| Close | 14 days, no card; $5 of calling and enrichment credits | Account pauses, data stays available for a limited time; 30-day money-back guarantee after purchase |
| Nutshell | 14 days, no card | Ends automatically, no charge |
| Insightly | 14 days, no card | Not stated on the page we read |
| Copper | “Start free, no credit card required”; length not stated | Not stated |
| Keap | Free trial, no card; email limited to 25 sends, no payments, no texts | Upgrade to continue |
| ActiveCampaign | 14 days | Not stated |
| folk | 2 weeks, all premium features, no card | Account blocked, data not deleted immediately; one extra week on request |
| Less Annoying CRM | 30 days, no card, no limitations | Not stated; one paid plan at $15 per user |
| Pipedrive | 14 days, no card | See our Pipedrive free plan answer |
| monday CRM | 14-day trial, then a paid plan | See monday.com free options |
Source: vendor pricing pages and FAQs, checked October 22, 2026. A folk FAQ line mentions downgrading “on the free plan”, but its pricing cards list only Standard, Premium and Enterprise, so we count it as trial-only.
What are the real costs of a “free” CRM?
The plan can be free while the work is not. Three costs show up in the pages themselves. First, caps arrive early: 250 contacts (Capsule) or 500 records (Bigin) is a small spreadsheet’s worth. Second, free tiers withhold the time-savers. Capsule’s free plan has no workflow automations, and Bigin’s allows 3. Third, leaving costs time: moving 1,000 contacts and their notes into a bigger CRM needs a clean export and a mapped import, which the CRM import limits comparison sizes by CRM.
Odoo is the odd one. Its free plan is free for unlimited users, but “all our plans include unlimited support, hosting and maintenance” does not cover implementation services or in-app credits such as SMS, which the page lists as not included. So a free Odoo CRM still needs someone to set it up.
Which free CRM should you choose?
Match the cap to your situation
- A solo operator with under 500 records: Zoho Bigin Free (1 user, 3 automations).
- A 2-person team that wants a recognised name: HubSpot (2 users, 1,000 contacts).
- A 3-person startup with automation needs: Attio Free (3 seats, workflows, 50,000 records).
- A team of up to 10 with a small list: Vtiger Free (10 users, 3,000 records).
- A business that needs one tool across many staff: Odoo One App Free (one app, unlimited users), if you can fund setup.
- You will outgrow 3 users within a year: skip the free tier and compare paid seats in the pricing comparison, which shows 10-seat yearly costs from $840.
For the eight CRMs aibrevo implements, the paid-tier comparison is in the CRM pricing comparison.
When to get help
A free plan is a fine place to start and a bad place to be stuck with 3,000 records and three automations nobody documented. The cost shows up at the move: field mapping, de-duplication, rebuilding automations and import batching. aibrevo implements Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics 365, Zoho CRM, Pipedrive, monday.com, Airtable and GoHighLevel, and quotes per project for any other CRM. Migration into one of those eight is the common request from teams outgrowing a free plan. Book a short call or send a message, and see the HubSpot service page or Zoho service page. The CRM migration guide covers planning.
Sources
All checked October 22, 2026.
- HubSpot, CRM pricing and free tools: 2 users, 1,000 contacts, 1,000 records.
- Zoho, Zoho CRM pricing: Free Edition for 3 users and its stated limits. Zoho, Bigin pricing: Free and Express caps.
- Capsule, pricing: free plan for 2 users and 250 contacts; paid-plan features.
- Attio, pricing: Free plan seats, objects, records, reports, workflows.
- Vtiger, pricing: forever-free plan, 10 users, 3,000 records.
- Odoo, pricing: One App Free, upgrade rules, items not included.
- Bitrix24, prices: free plan card, features by plan, FAQ.
- Streak, pricing: free Gmail tools plan and Pro+ trial.
- Pricing pages for Freshsales (Freshworks), Close, Nutshell, Insightly, Copper, Keap, ActiveCampaign, folk, Less Annoying CRM, Pipedrive and monday CRM: trial terms.