Quick answer: Our top pick is HubSpot CRM (Sales Hub), followed by Pipedrive and Close. 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.
We compared the field so you can skip the trial-and-error. 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. Best suited to teams that care most about free crm to start.
Why it's on this list: Start free, then scale into a unified marketing-sales-service platform. A natural fit for scaling SMBs wanting a free CRM that grows into an all-in-one platform.
Standout features:
Free CRM for unlimited users and up to 1M contacts (contact/deal records, pipeline tracking)
Email tracking/scheduling, live chat, forms and meeting scheduling on free tier
Standout strength: Genuinely free CRM with unlimited users to start.
Worth knowing: Free CRM supports unlimited users and up to 1M contacts.
Pricing: Free CRM; Sales Hub Starter from ~$20/seat/mo; Professional ~$100/seat; Enterprise higher (billed annually).
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: AI assistant and automation available across all tiers, not locked to top plan.
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.
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. Aimed squarely at high-velocity inside/remote sales teams and startups doing heavy call/SMS outreach.
Standout features:
Built-in calling with Power Dialer and (higher tiers) Predictive Dialer
Native two-way email sync, SMS and a unified communication inbox
Standout strength: Power and Predictive dialers boost call volume per rep.
Worth knowing: Affiliate terms revised Feb 2025 to ~30% for up to 12 months (per input dataset).
Pricing: Base from ~$19/user/mo; Startup, Professional and Enterprise tiers scaling up (historically ~$49-$139/user/mo, billed annually). 14-day trial.
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:
Freddy AI: lead scoring, generative email drafting, contact auto-enrichment
Visual Kanban deal pipelines and multiple pipelines (higher tiers)
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. It stands out for teams already on monday.com without a heavy setup cost.
Why it's on this list: A work-OS CRM you build like a spreadsheet on steroids, ideal when sales and projects live together. Aimed squarely at teams already on monday.com or wanting one flexible tool for sales plus project/ops work.
Standout features:
Built on monday.com Work OS so CRM, projects and ops share one platform
2026 AI: AI Sales Agent, AI Lead Agent, AI email composition, column autofill, sentiment analysis
Standout strength: Cross-team visibility when already using monday.com.
Worth knowing: Automation actions metered per tier.
Pricing: Basic from ~$12/seat/mo; Standard ~$17; Pro ~$28; Enterprise custom (3-seat minimum, billed annually).
Work backwards from the one job you most need done. Match it to the entry whose ‘why it's on this list’ lines up, sanity-check the pricing against your budget, then shortlist two and trial them on the same real task. Whichever clears your workflow with the least friction is your pick.
FAQ
What is the best option in this list?
We'd reach for HubSpot CRM (Sales Hub) first, though the ‘best’ tool is the one whose trade-offs fit your priorities — compare the entries before deciding.
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: