In today’s cost-conscious environment, finding a crm for small business free isn’t just a luxury – it’s a necessity. Free CRM software allows small teams to centralize customer data and streamline the sales pipeline without upfront investment, giving you all the core crm features – from contact management and deal tracking to basic reports and automation features – at no cost. According to EngageBay’s June 2025 analysis, free CRM apps are revolutionizing how small businesses manage contacts and campaigns, providing essential functionality like email automation, customizable pipelines, and built-in reporting without paying a penny. (engagebay.com)
Leading free crm platforms in 2025 include:
- Lark: Offers a generous free plan for up to 20 users, with all the tools – messaging, project management, and a fully integrated CRM – under one roof. Key marketing, automation features, and analytics features are unlocked in the free tier, making Lark a standout crm software platform for small teams. (larksuite.com)
- Bitrix24: Provides unlimited users on its free tier, supporting customer relationship management across an entire organization. It includes deal management, task tracking, and video calls, plus an app marketplace for integrations with popular tools such as Mailchimp and Google Workspace. (larksuite.com)
- Zoho CRM: Free for up to three users, Zoho CRM offers sales automation, email marketing, and AI-driven insights on its free plan. Paid tiers start at just $14/user/month, adding features like advanced analytics, scalable integrations, and 24/5 support. (larksuite.com)
- HubSpot CRM: Known for its user-friendly interface, HubSpot’s free account supports two users and includes unlimited contacts, deal tracking, live chat, and built-in phone dialer functionality. Upgrades begin at $15/user/month for expanded sales and marketing capabilities. (larksuite.com)
These free crm tools empower small businesses to maintain a contact database, monitor the sales cycle, and run marketing campaigns – all from a single crm platform. While free crm software usually places limits on users, records, or advanced features, they offer a risk-free way to test crm systems in real-world operations. As your needs evolve, each of these platforms provides clear upgrade paths – with affiliate program links and transparent pricing tiers – so you can scale from a free crm solution to a full-featured suite without data migration headaches. Whether you’re managing an excel file of leads today or automating multi-step customer journeys tomorrow, a free plan CRM can boost your sales team’s efficiency and lay the foundation for sustainable growth.
Free CRM
Free CRM solutions have evolved into powerful free crm platforms that empower small businesses to manage customer relationship management workflows without any cost, yet with clear upgrade paths to paid CRM applications. Leading free crm software options such as Bitrix24, Zoho CRM, HubSpot CRM, and Lark offer robust contact management, deal tracking, and automation features on their free tiers, alongside tiered pricing plans for growing teams. For instance, Bitrix24’s free plan supports unlimited users and includes 5 GB of online storage, CRM, tasks & projects, video calls, and an app marketplace, while paid tiers range from the Basic plan at £36/organization per month (billed annually) with 24 GB storage and 5 users, up to the Enterprise plan at custom pricing for up to 10 000 users.
Zoho CRM’s free crm solution accommodates up to three users with core features – email marketing, sales automation, and customer data storage – while its paid tiers start at $14/user/month for the Standard plan (adding workflow automation, scoring rules, and 100 K records), rising to $52/user/month for the Ultimate plan, which includes AI-driven analytics features, unlimited custom modules, and premium support.
HubSpot’s free CRM app offers unlimited users and contacts, live chat, built-in phone dialer, and a free tools suite for marketing campaigns and sales pipeline management, with paid Sales Hub seats starting at $20/seat/month (Core), $45/seat/month (Professional), and $120/seat/month (Enterprise), each adding features like advanced reporting, forecasting, and permissioning. Lark’s free tier, designed for up to 20 users, integrates CRM software, messaging, video calls, and project management, with a paid Business plan at $8/user/month unlocking unlimited storage, advanced automation features, and higher API limits .
Recent user reviews on G2 praise Bitrix24’s affordability and vast feature set but note a steep learning curve and occasional UX clutter, while Capterra reviewers laud Zoho CRM’s affordability and customization yet mention limited mobile functionality on the free plan (reddit.com). Reddit discussions highlight HubSpot’s intuitive crm platform and seamless integrations with marketing tools, though some users express concerns over rising paid plan costs as contact counts grow (capterra.com). Overall, these free crm tools provide a free crm solution ideal for small businesses to streamline sales processes, centralize contact details, and run basic marketing campaigns, with transparent pricing tiers, affiliate program links, and scalable plans to support growth from a free plan to enterprise-grade CRM systems without data migration headaches.
CRM Ssoftware
Customer relationship management software has evolved into an indispensable tool for businesses of all sizes, offering modular crm features – from contact management and deal tracking to marketing automation and analytics features – across both free software CRM and few paid CRM applications. In 2025, the leading CRM software platforms strike a balance between accessibility and scalability through tiered pricing and robust support offerings.
HubSpot CRM remains a go-to choice with its free plan – unlimited users, up to 1 million contacts, live chat, and a built-in phone dialer – and paid tiers starting at £16/user/month (Starter), £45/user/month (Professional), and £120/user/month (Enterprise), each adding features like advanced reporting, sales forecasting, and custom permissions (engagebay.com). It integrates natively with Marketing Hub, Service Hub, and over 1,000 third-party apps (Slack, Salesforce, Mailchimp), with 24/7 live chat and email support on paid plans.
Zoho CRM offers a free software CRM plan for up to three users and 5,000 records, plus email marketing, workflow automation, and basic dashboards. Paid tiers begin at $14/user/month (Standard), $23/user/month (Professional), and $40/user/month (Enterprise), unlocking AI-driven sales predictions, advanced customisation, and multi-regional data residency. Zoho’s 24×5 support and extensive API make it a top pick in G2 reviews for affordability and customisability, though Capterra notes occasional slow mobile performance on the free plan.
Bitrix24 delivers a truly free CRM software platform with unlimited users, 5 GB storage, video calls, project management, and an app marketplace; its paid Start+ plan (£36/organization/month) adds HD video, 24 GB storage, and priority support, scaling to £149/month (Professional) and custom Enterprise pricing . Users on Reddit praise its breadth of features but cite a steep learning curve and occasional UX clutter (reddit.com).
Beyond freemium, EngageBay (£0–£119.99/user/month) and Freshsales (£9–£59/user/month) round out the mid-tier market with built-in phone dialers, more generous reporting, and dedicated account managers (engagebay.com). Salesforce Essentials (£25/user/month) brings enterprise-grade automation, AI insights, and 24/7 support, but at a higher entry cost. For open-source enthusiasts, SuiteCRM (AGPL-licensed) and Vtiger (free community edition & cloud pricing from $10/user/month) offer unlimited custom fields and self-hosting flexibility.
Pros across platforms include intuitive dashboards, unified customer data views, and seamless integrations with email marketing tools. Cons often centre on feature bloat in free versions, rising upgrade costs as contact volumes grow, and learning curves that can hamper adoption.
Contact Management
Effective contact management lies at the heart of every CRM, ensuring your contact database, contact records, and contact details are organized, up to date, and actionable. Bitrix24’s free tier provides unlimited contacts and users, with built-in deduplication, custom fields, and automatic import from excel file or third-party sources. Their app marketplace lets you integrate Google Contacts, Outlook, and Mailchimp with just a few clicks, while deal management boards let teams visualise pipelines and move contacts through stages with drag-and-drop ease .
Zoho CRM supports up to 5,000 records on its free plan, with contact segmentation, web-to-lead forms via a form builder, and automated workflows to assign contacts to the right sales team members. Paid tiers add advanced scoring rules, territory management, and multi-regional data residency, starting at $14/user/month for the Standard plan .
On HubSpot CRM, you get unlimited contacts and companies for free, complete with property-based segmentation, GDPR-compliant data capture, and integrated email marketing sequences. The built-in phone dialer and video calls capabilities let reps reach out directly from the contact record, while the Sales Hub paid plans (from £16/user/month) unlock custom behavioural events, predictive lead scoring, and meeting scheduling links .
Lark CRM, though less well known, offers unified contact cards that combine chat history, call logs, and task assignments in one pane, ensuring no detail falls through the cracks. The free tier’s generous limits – 20 users with unlimited contacts – make it ideal for teams that value both project management and CRM in one integrated workspace .
Pros from recent G2 reviews highlight Bitrix24’s unbeatable user limits and comprehensive integrations, but note its UX can feel cluttered for new users. Capterra users praise Zoho CRM’s flexible fields and reliable support, though some mention the mobile app can lag under heavy data loads. On Reddit, HubSpot fans laud the intuitive contact view and robust free crm software platform, yet warn that rapid data growth can escalate upgrade costs faster than expected .
Whether you’re just centralising an contact database or building advanced segmentation and automation, each platform’s free plan offers core contact management tools – deduplication, import/export, and custom data fields – so you can keep your customer data clean, actionable, and always at your fingertips.
Best Free CRM
Choosing the best free CRM for your small business hinges on balancing features, limits, and growth paths. In 2025, four platforms rise above the rest:
- Bitrix24: Unlimited users and contacts, 5 GB storage, sales pipeline boards, task and project management, built-in video calls, plus an app marketplace for deeper integrations. Paid tiers begin at £36/organization/month (Basic) and scale to custom enterprise pricing .
- HubSpot CRM: Unlimited users and contacts, live chat, built-in phone dialer, basic analytics features, and email sequences. Sales Hub Starter starts at £16/user/month, adding productivity tools and simple forecasting .
- Zoho CRM: Free for three users with 5,000 records, workflow automation, lead scoring, and basic dashboards. Paid plans start at $14/user/month, unlocking AI-driven insights, higher record limits, and 24×5 support .
- Lark: Integrates messaging, CRM, and project management for up to 20 users. The Business plan at $8/user/month offers unlimited storage, advanced automation features, and API access .
Key features across these top picks include contact management, deal management, automation features, and analytics features on free plans.
According to G2, Bitrix24’s generous free tier earns it a 4.1/5 for feature breadth but a 3.7/5 for usability, while HubSpot scores 4.5/5 for ease of use and 4.3/5 for free-plan value. Zoho CRM holds a steady 4.2/5 overall, praised for customisability but marked down for mobile performance . On Reddit, small business owners recommend Bitrix24 for teams needing unlimited users, Zoho CRM for data-driven workflows, and HubSpot for a frictionless user experience – despite potential paid-plan price increases as contacts scale .
By comparing storage limits, user caps, and core crm features, you can identify which free CRM software best aligns with your current needs and future growth, ensuring you start on a solid foundation without spending a penny.
Free CRM Applications Generally
The landscape of free CRM applications generally in 2025 shows a clear trend toward generous freemium models designed to lock in long-term customers. Most platforms offer core crm features – contact management, sales pipeline, automation features, and basic reports – with limits on users, records, or advanced capabilities.
- User limits range from three (Zoho CRM) to unlimited (Bitrix24, HubSpot), with Lark capping at 20 users on the free plan .
- Record caps vary: Zoho CRM allows 5,000 records, HubSpot and Bitrix24 have no caps, and Lark provides unlimited contacts but may throttle API calls at scale .
- Storage is typically 5 GB in Bitrix24, 1 GB per user in HubSpot’s free plan, and 5 GB shared in Zoho CRM’s free tier .
- Features commonly included: email marketing, form builder, pipeline visualisation, task tracking, and integrations with Gmail, Outlook, and Slack. Advanced features – AI-driven analytics, web-to-lead forms, and report customisation – usually require paid upgrades.
Pros of freemium CRMs include risk-free onboarding, hands-on evaluation of crm systems, and immediate access to contact database and marketing campaigns tools. Cons often involve feature bloat, confusing UX for non-technical teams, and the “freemium trap,” where key capabilities (advanced reporting, territory management) are locked behind higher-tier plans that can become costly as you grow .
Reddit threads consistently highlight that migrating away from a freemium CRM – especially once API-based automations and custom fields are in use – can involve significant data-export challenges and retraining costs. Capterra reviewers recommend evaluating both current needs and anticipated growth, to choose a platform whose paid tiers balance cost with essential features, rather than simply chasing the highest free limits .
In summary, free CRM applications generally provide a solid launchpad for small businesses to master contact management and basic marketing, with clear upgrade paths to few paid CRM applications – but it’s critical to factor in long-term costs, migration complexity, and user adoption when making your choice.
Marketing Campaigns
A robust marketing campaigns toolkit within your CRM can be a game-changer for marketing teams aiming to market smarter. On free plans, top CRMs deliver email marketing, form builder, landing pages, and simple automation:
- HubSpot CRM includes the Email Marketing add-on for up to 2,000 sends/month on its free plan, plus drag-and-drop form builder and landing pages, with basic A/B testing and contact segmentation. Paid Marketing Hub plans (starting at £35/month) unlock behavioural targeting, custom reporting, and social media management .
- Zoho CRM offers web-to-lead form builder, email templates, and workflow-driven drip campaigns for up to 500 emails/day. The Standard plan ($14/user/month) adds modules for marketing campaigns, audience segmentation, and basic ROI tracking .
- Bitrix24 provides email blasts (up to 1,000/month), SMS campaigns, and landing page creation. The free tier’s 5 GB storage covers media assets, while paid plans offer advanced analytics, retargeting pixels, and call tracking from £36/organization/month .
Pros from Capterra note HubSpot’s intuitive campaign dashboards and reliable deliverability, but flag limits on sends and the need for paid tiers for advanced segmentation. G2 reviewers love Zoho CRM’s tight workflow integrations between sales and marketing but call out the absence of native social scheduling on lower tiers. Reddit users applaud Bitrix24’s multi-channel campaign capabilities but warn that email templates can be less polished than dedicated ESPs .
For small businesses aiming to win customers, leveraging these free marketing tools can unlock significant ROI: build landing pages that capture leads directly into your contact database, run automated workflows to nurture prospects, and track campaign performance with basic reports – all without upgrading until you need more sophisticated analytics or higher send volumes.
Free CRM Applications
Among the most popular free CRM applications in 2025 are:
- Bitrix24 (Unlimited users, 5 GB storage, video calls, tasks & projects; paid from £36 / organization / month)
- HubSpot CRM (Free for unlimited users; up to 1,000 marketing contacts and unlimited non-marketing contacts at no cost; includes live chat, built-in phone dialer; Sales Hub seats from £16 / user / month)
- Zoho CRM (3 users, 5,000 records free; paid from $14 / user / month)
- Lark (20 users free; Business plan $8 / user / month)
- Freshsales (Free for unlimited users with basic features; paid from £9 / user / month)
- EngageBay (Free up to 500 contacts; paid from £8.99 / user / month)
All these platforms cover contact management, deal management, automation features, and **basic reporting, with varying limits and upgrade paths. Pros include risk-free trials of core crm features and hands-on familiarisation with sales process workflows; cons centre on record caps, limited storage, and withheld analytics or advanced integrations .
Reddit and G2 communities recommend starting with your critical must-haves – whether that’s unlimited contacts, integrated customer communications, or analytics features – then vetting free plans for those capabilities. That ensures you can scale within the same platform rather than face costly migration later .
Customer Satisfaction
Driving customer satisfaction hinges on delivering seamless interactions across the customer journey. Modern CRMs offer tools from survey distribution to support ticketing under a unified roof:
- HubSpot Service Hub free CRM users can send up to 1,000 feedback surveys/month, manage a shared ticket inbox, and access basic reports on response rates and NPS. Paid plans (£45/user/month Professional) add custom survey forms, playbooks, and knowledge base features .
- Zoho CRM integrates with Zoho Desk – free for three agents – providing ticket management, SLAs, and customer portal access. The Team plan ($12/agent/month) adds multi-channel support and advanced SLAs .
- Bitrix24 includes a free helpdesk with unlimited tickets, SLA rules, and canned responses. Its paid Plus plan (£36/month) brings call-center integrations and detailed customer satisfaction analytics .
G2 reviewers highlight HubSpot’s survey automation and clear reporting dashboards but note the limit of 1,000 sends/month can be restrictive for mid-sized teams. Capterra users praise Zoho Desk’s ticketing flexibility but mention that toggling between CRM and Desk can feel disjointed. On Reddit, users laud Bitrix24’s unified inbox but warn of occasional latency under heavy support loads .
By leveraging built-in feedback loops, ticketing, and analytics, small businesses can monitor customer relationships, address pain points swiftly, and drive improvements that boost overall customer satisfaction – all within a free CRM software platform.
Small Businesses & Free Tools
For small businesses, adopting free tools like HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM, Bitrix24, or Lark can revolutionise operations without stretching limited budgets. Key benefits include:
- Sales pipeline visualisation that helps teams prioritise deals and forecast revenue.
- Automated workflows for lead routing, follow-ups, and data enrichment, reducing manual work and human error.
- Streamline processes by integrating with email, calendars, and messaging apps – ensuring all your data and communications live in one place.
- Operations tools such as task tracking, project management, and basic financial dashboards built into your CRM platform.
Free CRMs also support unlimited users (Bitrix24, HubSpot) or generous user caps (Lark’s 20-user limit), making them ideal for growing teams. From managing a simple contact database to orchestrating multi-step marketing campaigns and monitoring the full sales cycle, these free plan platforms provide a robust springboard for scaling up.
Reviews on Reddit emphasise that starting on a feature-rich free tier helps teams adopt CRM best practices early, avoiding messy migrations later. Capterra notes that businesses using free CRMs report up to a 30 % improvement in customer relationship management efficiency within three months of adoption .
By leveraging free crm applications, small businesses can boost sales, improve customer relationships, and lay the groundwork for future growth – all without initial software investment.
