Complete CRM pricing guide

What is a CRM?

Struggling to manage customer information? A CRM system acts as a central hub for all your customer data, including emails, purchase history, and preferences – keeping your team organized and revealing valuable insights to boost sales and grow your business.

Take your data dashboard to the next level. Store customer details, interactions, and purchase history. Want to boost sales? Get a firsthand glance at which leads are of high quality and follow up quickly, allowing you to track and close deals faster. CRM adoption can be a game changer for the sales team boosting their overall productivity and efficiency of their sales performance.

How much does CRM cost based on industry?

Whether you need a sharper platform to track your sales analytics or lean on more marketing automation, it’s good to know how and why CRM price points can vary so much. A prime example: CRM tools that support marketing efforts tend to be more expensive, compared to sales and customer service demands, because they offer different levels of automation.

1. Sales CRM cost 

CRMs for sales can vary significantly in cost, typically ranging from $9 to $300 per user, per month. Let’s explore the main factors in this pricing structure: features and business needs. Basic CRMs with core functionalities like contact management and lead tracking start around $9. As you move up the price ladder, you'll find more advanced features like sales automation, email marketing, and reporting.

Starter plans from Salesforce and other sales CRM providers have noticeable gaps in lead capture, communication, and conversion features. Small businesses with a lean sales team might do well with a basic CRM, while larger companies with complex sales processes will need a more robust system with advanced, enterprise-grade features, justifying the higher cost. Enterprise CRMs with extensive customization options can reach $300 or even more per user, but be mindful of what you’re paying towards — it could just be a dial-up of existing features versus more features added into the mix. 

2. The cost of customer service CRM

Typically priced between $14 and $25 per month, customer service CRM is pleasantly rich, offering plenty of customer service-facing features that are geared towards both customers and agents. Where these plans are lacking is team management features, individual targets, and team organization on a basic level.

\The best value for a customer service CRM? In the middle. Like CRMs for sales, your best value is the mid-tier plan, reasonably priced between $49 and $79 per user per month. Added features and functionality with only a minor price increase make these plans a good investment — you'll unlock features like offline customer support options, advanced analytics, and live chat support.

3. Variable pricing of marketing CRM

CRM for marketing is complex, ranging in price from $19 per user per month to $15,000 per user per month. It’s true. The culprit: email marketing. Finding the ideal multi-channel functionality, on the other hand, allows marketing from social media, content, and paid campaigns to sync up with added automation (mid-tier level), which can save time and money for your team.

Having campaign automation, comprehensive analytics, and customer databases are always important for marketing teams. Enterprise-level plans are only designed for large marketing firms that have sufficient capital for technology spends. But, if more email templates, more automation builders, more custom dashboards, or more contacts on your contact list is a priority for your marketing team, go for it.

How much does CRM cost based on business size?

1. Small business

Choosing a sales CRM as a small business can be challenging. Let’s explore solutions that fit to scale. CRM costs for small businesses range from completely free plans (with limitations) to tiered options with advanced features. You can find user-friendly solutions for as little as $10 per month per user, allowing you to ditch the spreadsheets and automate tasks without overstepping your budget constraints.

So, whether you're a startup or a growing team, there's a CRM out there that fits your budget and helps you close more deals.

2. Medium-sized business

Looking for an upgrade from basic functionalities but not sure an enterprise level solution is right? There’s a midpoint pricing option that ranges between $30 and $150 per user, per month — this price point can fluctuate based on the features you add but customization allows you to align your business needs with each offering. Need basic lead management and pipeline tracking? You can find options on the lower end, but if advanced sales forecasting and marketing automation are essential, be prepared to invest more. 

Remember, the right CRM is an investment, not just a cost –  it can boost your sales efficiency and propel your business to the next level.

3. Large businesses

Large enterprises can expect the price tag for a sales CRM to scale alongside their needs. The cost is a direct reflection of the features you'll get, like advanced sales pipeline management, in-depth sales analytics, and integrations with existing enterprise software.

While sticker shock might be real, the potential return on investment can be significant. Imagine a CRM that predicts which leads are most likely to convert, or automates tasks that free up sales reps to close more deals – that's the kind of value that justifies the investment.

Factors to consider when evaluating CRM value

1. Features come first

To get the most out of your CRM, look for features that go beyond basic contact management. A powerful CRM should be a centralized hub with diverse capabilities, turning customer data into actionable insights and analyzing historical sales patterns to predict which leads are most likely to convert. This empowers your sales reps to prioritize their efforts and focus on high-potential opportunities. Advanced sales automation features eliminate repetitive tasks, like sending follow-up emails or scheduling meetings, freeing up your sales team's valuable time to build relationships and close deals.

2. Easy to adopt and use

Don't let your sales team get overwhelmed by too much data: a great CRM can be as intuitive as your favorite social media app. Easy-to-use sales CRMs streamline the entire sales process, allowing reps to focus on what they do best: building relationships and closing deals. A user-friendly CRM empowers your team to quickly ramp up, navigate workflows seamlessly, and access vital customer information with just a few clicks.

3. Integrates with your tech stack

But a CRM that seamlessly integrates with your existing marketing automation platform or email marketing software is equally important. This eliminates the need for data silos and manual entry, ensuring all your customer interactions are recorded and readily accessible. This fosters collaboration across departments and creates a single source of truth for your customer data. By prioritizing ease of use and integration, you're equipping your sales team for success and unlocking the true potential of your CRM.

4. Scalable and customizable

A scalable CRM adapts alongside your business, accommodating more users, contacts, and data as you expand. A system that buckles under the weight of your success will inevitably lead to frustration. A scalable CRM is flexible to be adapted for your growth, ensuring a smooth journey from an ambitious startup to an enterprise business.

5. Robust and out-of-the-box data analytics

Today's dynamic sales environment demands agility and constant connectivity – this is where mobile CRM follows through: If one of your salespersons are off-site at a networking event engaging a potentially high-value client — and a relevant past project detail comes to mind. With mobile CRM access, they can instantly retrieve that information, showcasing expertise and building trust in the moment. Mobile CRM keeps your team constantly connected, helps them capitalize on fleeting opportunities, and accelerate deal closure.

6. Reliable customer support

Exceptional customer support is no longer a differentiator, it's a necessity. Customers expect prompt, personalized, and efficient resolution to their inquiries. The CRM acts as a powerful tool for businesses to achieve this level of reliable customer support. It is designed to consolidate all customer interactions – emails, phone calls, social media messages, and past purchases – into a single, unified platform. This gives support agents a complete customer history, and the context of each inquiry to deliver faster, more relevant solutions.

7. Affordable cost with higher ROI

Look for a system that provides projected ROI.A CRM with projected ROI estimates increased revenue, deal closures, and time saved for your sales team. Projected ROI also allows you to make data-driven decisions, ensuring your chosen CRM becomes a truly strategic investment that fuels real growth for your company.

Are there any free CRMs?

Of course, there are several free CRMs available that can be a great option for small businesses or startups, and here are a few of the most popular options:

• Freshsales CRM: Freshsales offers a free plan that includes features like lead management, contact management, and deal management. The free plan is limited to 10 users.

• HubSpot CRM: HubSpot offers a free CRM with a forever free plan that includes unlimited users and contacts, making it a great option for businesses of all sizes. The free plan does have some limitations, such as only allowing one sales pipeline.

• Zoho CRM: Zoho CRM also offers a free plan with a generous limit of up to 10,000 contacts. The free plan includes features like contact management, deal management, and reporting.

• Bitrix24: Bitrix24 is a free CRM that offers a unique all-in-one suite of tools, including CRM, project management, communication, and collaboration tools. The free plan includes unlimited users and 5GB of storage.

CRM pricing

*Pricing is per user per month

How Freshsales CRM can give you the most for your money

When looking for the most powerful CRM for your sales team, leveraging built-in features like AI and multichannel engagement is a good use of your time and money. A sales CRM like Freshsales can maximize your return on investment in many ways — 360° view of customers, automating repetitive tasks like data entry and follow-up emails, built-in phone and chat for personalized interactions and helping the sales teams close deals faster. Easily gain a full view of all customer interactions, including emails, calls, and notes, giving your team a complete picture of both prospects and customers. Get the help you need to score leads based on their online behavior and demographics, allowing you to concentrate your efforts on the most promising prospects. By helping your sales teams manage and focus on important deals and the recommended next-best-action, your sales agents can be sure of achieving their business targets.

Freshsales is valuable for smaller businesses and startups because of its easy-to-use, 24-hour implementation and faster time-to-value. Freshsales is known for its user-friendly design, making it easy for your team to adapt quickly and compared to complex CRMs, it offers competitive pricing plans with 35% lower starting cost compared to other CRM providers..

Workflows and Sales Sequences ensure the sales team no longer spends long hours in repetitive admin activities like manual data entry, sending follow up emails, scheduling follow ups. They can dedicate their time to convert more prospects and win customers for life.

Freddy AI in Freshsales empowers sales teams in drafting personalized emails and enabling improved conversion. Freddy Copilot can draft new emails, rephrase content and save a lot of manual effort in customer outreach. Freddy Insights provides crucial recommendations via contact scoring, deal forecasting, identifying possible connections, and suggesting next-best action to close the deals faster.