The best small-business CRM software of 2025: Expert tested

If you’re looking for a way to implement a CRM as the next stage of your growing business, many people will point you toward HubSpot. 

This CRM starts you off with a free plan, and when we say free, this means you don’t have to hand over any payment card details. Just enter an email address, go through the verification process, and let HubSpot know if you’re new to CRM software, and away you go.

What I particularly like about this CRM is that it’ll tailor your learning experience based on your priorities — whether you want to automate marketing schemes, generate sales leads, build a website, or improve your customer support system.

You’ll find that the basic, free CRM can be used for tasks such as contact management and email marketing. But you’ll need to pay to access the sales dashboard, helpdesk suite, surveys, or customer portal.

Paid plans begin at $15/user/month for starter plans. However, subscription to the next level costs $90/user/month if you want to upgrade to Service Hub Professional. HubSpot’s enterprise plan, Service Hub Enterprise, is $150/user/month.

HubSpot is a good option if you’re just entering the CRM world, with many smaller outfits reporting that they’re happy with the system. However, some also note that the costs can quickly escalate if you want advanced features.

Hubspot features: Different workspaces | Website help | Dashboards | Contact sync | Tutorials | App marketplace | Free plan, 14-day Pro trial

Zoho is another excellent option, with affordable plans for small businesses looking to explore the benefits of CRM software.

Zoho not only provides users with an extensive range of functions and customization options, but it also places automation and orchestration at the heart of its software. Users can capture leads and automate sales and support tasks with ease, not to mention that predictive analytics is also available. 

If you want a sales-focused option for your small business, you should consider Zoho CRM. By using CommandCenter, you can track customer journeys and sales processes, giving you insight into any issues or sticking points and allowing you to improve customer experiences and outcomes. 

Prices start at $14/seat/month. The entry-level Zoho CRM plan includes email campaigns, forecasting, and workflow management features. Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate subscriptions — priced at $23, $40, and $52/seat/month, respectively — offer advanced tools including the Zia AI assistant, orchestration, custom functions, analytics, and business insights. There’s also a limited, free plan available.

Zoho CRM reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with many small-business owners considering it a game changer.

Zoho CRM features: Sales automation | Orchestration | User portals | Customization | Microsoft 365 integration | Analytics | Forecasting | AI assistant | Free plan, 15-day trial

Monday.com could be the right CRM software for you if your focus is on workflow organization and management. 

I’ve used Monday previously as a contractor, and I’ve found that it’s very easy to learn and useful for daily task organization. The platform uses “boards” to manage tasks and assignments, making it easy to keep track of employee activities. I like this option, as small businesses can start with workflows and then adopt the full CRM if they choose, expanding board usage and diving into sales and lead generation, customer onboarding, marketing activities, outreach programs, and sales forecasting. 

You can also purchase AI “credits” that let you assign AI to complete tasks for you, including assigning employee projects, analyzing risks, creating summaries, and performing data capture.

If you’re interested, you can use Monday.com’s workflow management setup for free, as long as you don’t need more than two seats. If, however, you’d like to use it to handle team collaboration and assignments, prices start from $9/seat/month if you just want boards, or $12/user/month for the full CRM. 

Customers say Monday.com provides excellent management features but that customer support is lackluster.

Monday.com features: Workflow dashboards | Task assignment | AI | Automation | Sales forecasting | Lead capture | Free plan

Less Annoying CRM is a CRM best suited for small businesses that need a clean, clutter-free CRM experience for daily task and sales management. 

Less Annoying CRM doesn’t limit its customers based on plan. Thus, from the beginning you’ll have access to unlimited contact and sales pipeline field entry, task assignments, agendas, calendars, event handling, lead data, and more. 

The CRM also supports third-party integrations with popular software including Google Calendar, Mailchimp, JustCall, and Xapp.ai. 

This vendor has adopted an interesting pricing structure — and one many small businesses will appreciate. You pay a fixed $15/user/month (plus tax) for unlimited pipelines, 25GB of storage per user, and full access to the software suite. However, once you need more than 10 seats, you’ll need to contact the company to discuss an upgrade. 

Customers of Less Annoying CRM say it’s an excellent platform for simplifying management, but some note that businesses may outgrow it rather quickly.

Less Annoying CRM features: Daily task management | Pipeline entry | Team management | Mobile support | 2FA | Third-party integration | Free trial

Salesmate CRM is another top choice for small businesses, especially if you’re focused on analytics and data analysis. 

Used by over 8,500 organizations worldwide, the Salesmate CRM offers a range of CRM services, but it shines when it comes to data management and analysis. Teams can create their own custom dashboards and take advantage of hundreds of widgets to display information relevant to their projects. It’s also possible to implement custom modules to generate reports based on business datasets.

You have three tiers to choose from: Basic, Pro, and Business. Though the Basic plan ($23/seat/month) comes with features such as deal pipeline management, email sync, and contact management, the Pro plan is a better choice for emerging businesses. It’s more expensive, at $39/seat/month, but you’ll have access to quotes management; tickets; team inboxes and management functions; and custom dashboards. 

The Business plan, priced at $63/user/month, offers advanced features such as service level agreement creation, SSO, and advanced goal management. 

Salesmate CRM customers like the platform for small and medium-sized businesses, but some say formatting functions could be improved.

Salesmate CRM features: Advanced analytics | Team management | Third-party integrations | Mobile support | Sales, marketing automation | Sandy AI | Free trial