How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- EngageBay gives you the most free seats (15 users), while Bitrix24 offers unlimited users on its free plan with no time limit.
- HubSpot CRM is the safest long-term free pick: the free tier includes up to 1 million contacts and the platform scales when you grow.
- Zoho CRM and Freshsales cap free plans at 3 and 10 users respectively, which works for founders but not for teams.
- If you live in Gmail, Streak is the only pipeline tool that runs entirely inside your inbox.
- Paid upgrades range from about $9 to $15 per user per month at the entry level, so check the free limits before you commit your data.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 HubSpot CRM | Small businesses that want a free CRM with room to grow | $9/seat/month (Sales Hub Starter, billed annually) | Yes (free CRM with up to 2 seats and 1 million contacts) |
 Zoho CRM | Budget-conscious teams that want a full-featured free CRM | See website | Yes (free for up to 3 users) |
 Bitrix24 | Teams that need unlimited users without paying | See website | Yes (free forever for unlimited users) |
 Agile CRM | Small teams wanting sales and marketing automation on the free tier | See website | Yes (free for up to 10 users) |
 Freshsales | Sales teams that make a lot of calls | See website | Yes (Sprout plan for up to 10 users) |
 EngageBay | Small businesses that want the most free seats in one platform | $12.74/user/month | Yes (free for up to 15 users) |
 Streak | Teams that live in Gmail and hate switching tabs | See website | Yes |
 Spotler CRM | B2B small businesses that want a straightforward free CRM | From $14/user/month (Starter) | Yes |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best free sales pipeline software
You do not need to pay for a sales pipeline. Every tool on this list gives you a real, usable free plan, not a 14-day trial dressed up as "free." The catch is always in the limits: how many users, how many contacts, and which features stay locked until you pay. These eight tools cover the genuine free sales pipeline software market, with the free-plan boundaries spelled out for each.
#1
HubSpot CRM
Best for: Small businesses that want a free CRM with room to grow
Visit hubspot.com
Starting price$9/seat/month (Sales Hub Starter, billed annually)
Free planYes (free CRM with up to 2 seats and 1 million contacts)
HubSpot CRM is the default free pick for a simple reason: the free plan does not punish you for growing. You get contact management, deal pipelines, email tracking, meeting scheduling and reporting for up to 1 million contacts without paying anything. When you outgrow the free tier, Sales Hub Starter begins at $9 per seat per month on annual billing, which adds automation and removes HubSpot branding.
The honest catch is the upgrade path. HubSpot's pricing is modular across its hubs, and costs rise fast once you need Professional-tier automation or marketing contacts at scale. Professional plans also carry mandatory onboarding fees. But as a free starting point, nothing else gives you this much headroom before the first invoice.
What we like- Free tier supports up to 1 million contacts, far more than rivals
- One platform for sales, marketing and service when you are ready to upgrade
- Large integration marketplace with 1,700 plus apps
Watch out for- Paid plans escalate quickly once you need automation
- Mandatory onboarding fees apply at Professional and Enterprise tiers
- Marketing contacts are metered separately from CRM seats
#2
Zoho CRM
Best for: Budget-conscious teams that want a full-featured free CRM
Visit zoho.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes (free for up to 3 users)
Zoho CRM has offered one of the most generous free CRM tiers for years, and it still does: up to 3 users get contact management, lead management, deal pipelines, tasks and basic workflows at no cost. For a founder or a tiny sales team, that covers the essentials. Paid plans are among the cheapest in the CRM market, and Zoho does not charge the onboarding fees that inflate HubSpot contracts.
The limit is the user cap. Three seats means a team of four is already paying. Zoho also spreads advanced capabilities across its wider app suite, so the "cheap" CRM can get complicated once you add campaigns, forms and analytics. Still, for a small team that wants a real CRM free, Zoho is hard to beat on value.
What we like- Genuinely capable free tier with leads, contacts, deals and workflows
- Paid plans start lower than most rivals
- No mandatory onboarding fees
- 45 plus native Zoho apps integrate tightly
Watch out for- Free plan caps at 3 users, so teams outgrow it fast
- Advanced marketing features live in separate Zoho apps
- Interface feels dated next to newer rivals
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes (free forever for unlimited users)
Bitrix24 takes a different approach to free: instead of limiting seats, it limits storage and records. The free plan supports unlimited users, which makes it the only serious option here for a larger team that refuses to pay per seat. Paid plans use flat monthly fees rather than per-user pricing, so adding your twentieth user costs nothing extra.
The trade-off is complexity. Bitrix24 packs CRM, tasks, chat, video calls, HR tools and a website builder into one workspace, and the interface shows it. New users often need a week to feel oriented. But if your priority is getting the whole team onto a pipeline for zero dollars, Bitrix24 stands alone.
What we like- Unlimited users on the free plan, which no rival matches
- Flat-fee paid pricing instead of per-seat billing
- Bundles CRM, project management, chat and telephony in one workspace
Watch out for- Steep learning curve with a dense interface
- Free plan limits storage and CRM records
- The all-in-one scope can feel bloated if you only want a pipeline
#4
Agile CRM
Best for: Small teams wanting sales and marketing automation on the free tier
Visit agilecrm.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes (free for up to 10 users)
Agile CRM built its reputation on giving small businesses enterprise-style features without the enterprise bill, and the free plan reflects that: up to 10 users get contact management, deal tracking, email marketing, built-in calling and marketing automation. Few free tiers bundle this much beyond the pipeline itself.
The product shows its age in places. The interface is functional rather than polished, and reviewers note that support responsiveness drops on free and entry-level plans. Data storage limits on the free tier can also pinch growing contact lists. But for a team of up to ten that wants automation free, Agile CRM delivers more than its price suggests.
What we like- Free for 10 users with no credit card required
- Includes email marketing, telephony and helpdesk, not just pipeline
- Straightforward setup for non-technical teams
Watch out for- Interface looks dated compared with modern CRMs
- Customer support quality is inconsistent on lower tiers
- Customization options are thinner than enterprise platforms
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes (Sprout plan for up to 10 users)
Freshsales stands out in the free CRM crowd for one reason: the phone. The free Sprout plan includes a built-in cloud phone system with calling, call recording and voicemail drop, which removes the need for a separate dialer. For teams that sell by phone, that alone justifies a look. The free plan supports up to 10 users with contacts, accounts, deals, email and basic lead scoring.
Freshworks is less generous with pipeline depth on free. Multiple sales pipelines, sales sequences and AI-powered automation sit on paid tiers, with Pro as the realistic entry point for a serious sales operation. But the free tier is genuinely free rather than a trial, and the built-in telephony is unmatched at this price.
What we like- Built-in cloud phone with call recording on the free tier
- Freddy AI provides lead scoring even at low tiers
- 21-day free trial on all paid plans, longer than most rivals
Watch out for- Free Sprout plan restricts features and records
- Multiple pipelines and sales sequences require the Pro tier
- Reporting is less flexible than dedicated analytics tools
#6
EngageBay
Best for: Small businesses that want the most free seats in one platform
Visit engagebay.com
Starting price$12.74/user/month
Free planYes (free for up to 15 users)
EngageBay wins the free-seat contest outright: 15 users on the free plan, with CRM, email marketing, live chat and helpdesk included. For a small business that needs marketing and support alongside the pipeline, getting all of it free for fifteen seats is unmatched. Paid plans start at $12.74 per user per month, which undercuts HubSpot's paid tiers substantially.
The compromise is ecosystem depth. EngageBay integrates with fewer third-party tools than HubSpot or Zoho, and the interface, while usable, lacks the polish of the market leaders. But if your priority is maximizing free seats across sales, marketing and support, EngageBay is the pragmatic choice.
What we like- Free for 15 users, the highest seat count on this list
- All-in-one platform with CRM, email marketing, live chat and helpdesk
- Paid plans start lower than HubSpot equivalents
Watch out for- Smaller integration marketplace than the big platforms
- Interface is less refined
- Advanced automation and reporting require paid tiers
#7
Streak
Best for: Teams that live in Gmail and hate switching tabs
Visit streak.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
Streak is the only pipeline tool here that does not ask you to leave your inbox. It lives inside Gmail as an extension, turning your email into a CRM with pipelines, deal tracking, email scheduling and mail merge. For founders and small teams who already work in Gmail all day, the zero-learning-curve pitch is real: your pipeline is where your email already is.
The limitation is also the pitch. If your team uses Outlook, Streak is not an option. And while it handles pipeline management well, it does not match the automation, reporting or customization depth of HubSpot or Zoho. But for Gmail-centric teams that want a pipeline without changing how they work, Streak is the path of least resistance.
What we like- Runs entirely inside Gmail, so adoption is nearly automatic
- Pipeline setup takes minutes with no training
- Email tracking, mail merge and snippets built in
Watch out for- Gmail-only, with no real option for Outlook users
- Lacks the depth of a full standalone CRM
- Per-user pricing on paid plans adds up for larger teams
Starting priceFrom $14/user/month (Starter)
Free planYes
Spotler CRM, formerly known as Really Simple Systems, keeps the philosophy its old name promised: a CRM you can set up yourself in a day. The free plan covers contact and account management, opportunity tracking and task management for small B2B teams. Paid tiers start from $14 per user per month, keeping it in the budget tier.
It will not win on feature depth. If you need complex automation, custom objects or a thousand integrations, look at HubSpot or Zoho. But for a small B2B business that wants a clean pipeline, lead scoring and email integration without a learning curve, Spotler CRM does the job at a fair price.
What we like- Simple setup with no consultant required
- Strong B2B lead management with scoring and nurturing
- Direct integration with email marketing tools
Watch out for- Fewer advanced features than the bigger platforms
- Smaller user community and integration ecosystem
- The rebrand from Really Simple Systems may confuse existing reviewers
How we chose
We started with the searches buyers actually run: free sales pipeline software, free CRM and free pipeline tools. For each candidate we opened the vendor's own site, confirmed the free plan exists today and checked its user and feature limits, then compared paid upgrade prices, pipeline features and fit for small US businesses. Where a paid price could not be verified on the vendor's own pages we wrote "See website" rather than guessing. We excluded tools that only offer a free trial, since a trial is not a free plan.
What the free plan actually limits
Free never means unlimited, and the limits decide whether a tool fits. User caps are the first filter: Bitrix24 allows unlimited users, EngageBay allows 15, Agile CRM and Freshsales allow 10, Zoho CRM allows 3, and HubSpot's free tier covers 2 seats with up to 1 million contacts. If your team is bigger than the cap, you are paying from day one.
The second filter is records and features. Free plans typically restrict the number of contacts, deals or emails per month, and they almost always gate automation, custom reporting and multiple pipelines behind paid tiers. Check three things before you commit your data: the contact or record limit, whether email integration and basic automation are included, and what the cheapest paid tier costs when you hit the ceiling. A free plan with a $50 per user upgrade is a different proposition from one with a $12 upgrade.
Data portability matters too. Before you invest weeks entering contacts, confirm the tool exports to CSV without a paid plan. All eight tools here allow exports, but some restrict API access or bulk actions on free tiers. Your pipeline data should never be held hostage by a pricing tier.
When to upgrade from free to paid
Stay on free as long as the limits do not cost you deals. The usual triggers are concrete: you hire past the free user cap, you need automated follow-up sequences, you want more than one pipeline, or you need reports your manager actually trusts. Until then, the free tier is doing its job.
When you do upgrade, price the whole team, not one seat. A $14 per user plan for 10 users is $140 per month, or $1,680 per year. Compare that against the value of the paid features: if automated follow-ups save each rep an hour a week, the math usually favors paying. Also check billing terms. Annual billing typically saves 15 to 20 percent, but it locks you in, so run at least a month on monthly billing before committing to a year.
One more consideration: switching costs rise with data. Migrating pipelines, custom fields and email history between CRMs is tedious, so the free tool you pick today is likely the paid tool you use in two years. Choose the free plan from the vendor whose paid tiers you can live with.
Frequently asked questions
Is free sales pipeline software really free?
Yes, with limits. Every tool on this list offers a permanent free plan, not a trial. The limits usually cover the number of users, contacts and emails, plus gated features like automation and advanced reporting. Read the free-plan boundaries before you invest time entering data.
How many users can I have on a free CRM?
It varies widely. Bitrix24 allows unlimited users free, EngageBay allows 15, Agile CRM and Freshsales allow 10, Zoho CRM allows 3, and HubSpot's free tier includes 2 seats. Match the user cap to your team size before you start.
Will I outgrow a free plan?
Most teams do eventually. The common triggers are hiring past the user cap, needing automated follow-ups, wanting multiple pipelines, or requiring trustworthy reports. The good news is that all eight tools here let you upgrade in place without migrating data.
What is the cheapest paid upgrade?
Entry-level paid plans in this set start around $9 to $15 per user per month on annual billing. EngageBay starts at $12.74 per user per month, HubSpot Sales Hub Starter at $9 per seat per month annual, and Spotler CRM from $14 per user per month. Always price the full team for a year before comparing.
Can I run my whole sales process on a free plan?
For a founder or a team of two or three, yes. Free plans cover contacts, deals, pipelines and basic email. You will miss automation, sequences and advanced reporting, which is where paid tiers earn their keep. If your process depends on automated follow-up, budget for paid from the start.
Is my data safe on a free plan?
Your data is as safe as on a paid plan with the same vendor, since free and paid share the infrastructure. The risk is not safety but portability: confirm CSV export works on the free tier before you commit. All the tools listed here allow exports, so you are never locked in.
Sources we checked (12)
- https://hubspot.com/
- https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/hubspot-sales-hub-pricing
- https://www.zoho.com/crm/
- https://bitrix24.com/
- https://www.agilecrm.com/
- https://www.freshworks.com/crm/sales/
- https://support.freshsales.io/support/solutions/articles/218794-how-to-activate-the-free-plan
- https://engagebay.com/
- https://streak.com/
- https://reallysimplesystems.com/
- https://www.g2.com/categories/crm
- https://www.capterra.com/crm-software/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.