Quick answer: Our top pick is HubSpot CRM (Sales Hub), followed by Close and Pipedrive. Entry prices start near $9/mo. All 5 are compared below on price, strengths and the key trade-off of each, so you can match one to your needs.
The shortlist below is ordered for real-world value, not marketing budget. This guide rounds up the 5 tools we'd actually recommend for this job, with what each does best, what it costs, and who should pick it.
Each pick was judged on the job in this guide rather than a generic scorecard, weighing results, price and ramp-up time. Pricing is taken from public plans at the time of writing.
Basic from ~$12/seat/mo; Standard ~$17; Pro ~$28; Enterprise custom (3-seat minimum, billed annually).
Teams already on monday.com
The picks, ranked
1. HubSpot CRM (Sales Hub) all-in-one CRM
Free-to-start CRM with Sales Hub layered on top, part of HubSpot's unified marketing-sales-service platform. Picked here for how cleanly it handles free crm to start.
Why it's on this list: Start free, then scale into a unified marketing-sales-service platform. Aimed squarely at scaling SMBs wanting a free CRM that grows into an all-in-one platform.
Standout features:
Sales Hub layers sequences, automation and advanced reporting (Professional+)
Free unlimited view-only seats within paid portals
Standout strength: Single platform across marketing, sales and service.
Worth knowing: Professional onboarding fee ~$1,500.
Pricing: Free CRM; Sales Hub Starter from ~$20/seat/mo; Professional ~$100/seat; Enterprise higher (billed annually).
Inside-sales CRM with built-in calling, SMS and email, designed for high-velocity remote sales teams. It stands out for inside/remote sales teams without a heavy setup cost.
Why it's on this list: An inside-sales CRM with a real phone system and dialers built in, made for call-heavy remote teams. Built for high-velocity inside/remote sales teams and startups doing heavy call/SMS outreach.
Standout features:
Multi-channel automated sequences and pipeline/opportunity tracking
Built-in calling with Power Dialer and (higher tiers) Predictive Dialer
Standout strength: Calling, SMS and email built in, no third-party phone integration needed.
Worth knowing: Calling/SMS usage billed separately from the seat fee.
Pricing: Base from ~$19/user/mo; Startup, Professional and Enterprise tiers scaling up (historically ~$49-$139/user/mo, billed annually). 14-day trial.
Visual, pipeline-first sales CRM built for SMB sales teams who want deals to move forward with minimal admin. A strong default when smb outbound sales teams is the priority.
Why it's on this list: The pipeline-first CRM that sales reps adopt without fighting, with AI baked into every tier. Made for sMB outbound and B2B sales teams who want a visual pipeline with little admin overhead.
Standout features:
Visual drag-and-drop sales pipeline with customizable stages and unlimited custom fields (tier-dependent)
Built-in AI Sales Assistant that surfaces win-probability, flags stalled deals and recommends next best actions
Standout strength: Large integration marketplace.
Worth knowing: Some 2026 third-party reviews report a Lite/Growth/Premium/Ultimate renaming; confirm current tier names on Pipedrive's pricing page before publishing.
Pricing: Essential from ~$14/user/mo; Advanced ~$34; Professional ~$49; Power ~$64; Enterprise ~$99 (billed annually). 14-day trial, no free plan.
AI-assisted sales CRM (Freddy AI) with built-in phone, email and lead scoring, part of the Freshworks suite. Picked here for how cleanly it handles smbs wanting ai + phone in crm.
Why it's on this list: A sales CRM that ships with a phone system and Freddy AI, strong value inside the Freshworks suite. Made for sMBs wanting AI plus built-in phone in one affordable CRM, especially Freshworks users.
Standout features:
Sales sequences and workflow automation
Territory management and custom modules on Enterprise
Standout strength: Built-in telephony avoids buying a separate dialer.
Worth knowing: Part of relaunched 2026 Freshworks affiliate program (per input dataset).
Pricing: Free plan; Growth from ~$11/user/mo; Pro ~$47; Enterprise ~$71 (billed annually).
Flexible, highly visual CRM built on the monday.com work-OS, easy to customize for any sales process. A strong default when teams already on monday.com is the priority.
Why it's on this list: A work-OS CRM you build like a spreadsheet on steroids, ideal when sales and projects live together. A natural fit for teams already on monday.com or wanting one flexible tool for sales plus project/ops work.
Standout features:
No-code automations to assign leads, update stages and trigger follow-ups
Two-way email sync (Gmail/Outlook), mass email and sequences
Standout strength: Cross-team visibility when already using monday.com.
Worth knowing: Built on monday.com Work OS, shared engine across CRM/projects/ops.
Pricing: Basic from ~$12/seat/mo; Standard ~$17; Pro ~$28; Enterprise custom (3-seat minimum, billed annually).
Don't over-think the ranking: the gap between adjacent picks is small. Decide what you can't compromise on — price, a specific strength, or learning curve — and let that pick for you. Free tiers and trials mean a 30-minute hands-on test beats another hour of reading.
FAQ
What is the best option in this list?
For most people, HubSpot CRM (Sales Hub) is the strongest all-round pick in this guide, but the right choice depends on your budget and exact workflow.
Are there free options?
Yes — HubSpot CRM (Sales Hub), Pipedrive and Freshsales (Freshworks) offer a free plan or tier, so you can validate fit before paying. Check each entry's pricing line above.
How were these tools chosen?
Each pick is judged on fit for the specific job in this guide — its real strengths, pricing and who it suits — using features and facts drawn from independent reviews and the vendors' own documentation, cited in Sources below.
How often is this guide updated?
We revisit pricing and rankings regularly as vendors change plans and ship features.
Sources
The features, strengths and facts cited for each pick above are drawn from these independent reviews and vendor pages: