Zoho CRM costs $14–$52 per user a month billed yearly, and its AI agents start on Professional at $23. For AI answers on your website and WhatsApp plus a pipeline at one team price, try CRMsoftware.pro (from $19 a month for 8 users). For a free CRM that grows with marketing tools, HubSpot. For a simple sales pipeline, Pipedrive. For a low per-user price, Freshsales. For deep customization, Salesforce. For visual boards, monday CRM. For a modern, data-first CRM, Attio. For one flat price with tasks and chat, Bitrix24. For the simplest setup, Less Annoying CRM.
We checked every price on the vendor's own pricing page on October 14, 2026, from a US location, billed yearly unless we say otherwise, before tax. Zoho's limits come from its official feature list. CRMsoftware.pro is our own product, so we list its limits too. No made-up scores or tests: each tool gets its real price, its pros and cons, and who it suits.
What Zoho CRM costs in 2026
Zoho CRM is priced per user. The US pricing page shows four plans; a fifth, Ultimate, now appears only in the page's FAQ and on Zoho's edition comparison page.
| Edition | Per user a month | Who it's for | Key limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 for up to 3 users | Trying a CRM | 5,000 records, 1 pipeline, no mass email, no AI agents |
| Standard | $14 yearly ($20 monthly) | Small teams | 100,000 records, 5 pipelines, 250 mass emails a day, 100 custom reports |
| Professional | $23 ($35) | Teams that need automation and AI | AI agents, 10 pipelines, 500 mass emails a day, unlimited reports |
| Enterprise | $40 ($50) | Larger sales teams | Sandbox, approval processes, more Zia AI features, 20 pipelines |
| Ultimate | $52 ($65) | Large, custom setups | The highest limits, 4 data backups a month |
A few costs sit outside the plan price:
- AI usage. Zia Agents come free with Professional and above, but the language model they run on is billed by tokens: Zoho-hosted standard-tier models are free up to 30 million tokens a month, then $1 per million (the Pro-tier model: 20 million free, then $3), or you connect your own OpenAI, Gemini or Claude key and pay that vendor.
- Faster support. Classic support (8 hours a day, 5 days a week) is included in paid plans. Premium support costs 20% of your subscription fee.
- Storage and backups. Extra file storage costs $4.60 a month per 5 GB and extra data storage $4 a month per 100 MB. Standard to Enterprise include 2 data backups a month; extra backups cost $12 each.
There is a 15-day free trial. Monthly billing costs up to 52% more than yearly ($35 instead of $23 for Professional).
Why teams look for a Zoho CRM alternative
- AI costs a plan upgrade. Standard's Zia features are limited to data enrichment and a few builder tools. AI agents, summaries and the writing assistant start on Professional, so a 5-person team goes from $70 to $115 a month.
- Standard's limits. 100,000 records, 5 pipelines, 250 mass emails a day and 100 custom reports can push a growing team to Professional.
- Per-user pricing adds up. Every new seller adds $14 to $52 a month ($23 or more with AI agents), and monthly billing costs more.
- Depth to maintain. Blueprints, custom functions, portals and quoting are powerful, but a small team that only needs a pipeline still has to set up and maintain a large product.
- Support speed costs extra. The included support answers within 8 hours on weekdays; a 3-hour first response needs Premium support at 20% of your subscription.
Zoho CRM alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Entry price (checked Oct 14, 2026) | AI | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho CRM (for reference) | Custom sales processes on a budget | $14/user/mo | AI agents from Professional; model tokens billed after a free allowance | Yes, 3 users |
| CRMsoftware.pro | AI answers on chat channels plus a pipeline | $19/mo for up to 8 users | AI messages included in every plan | Yes, 3 users, website chat only |
| HubSpot | Free CRM that grows with marketing | $7/seat/mo (Starter, shown as a discount from $20) | HubSpot Credits: 500 on Starter | Yes, 2 users |
| Pipedrive | Simple, visual sales pipeline | $14/seat/mo | AI reports on every plan; AI email tools on Premium | No, 14-day trial |
| Freshsales | Low per-user price | $9/user/mo | Freddy AI Agent add-on, $49 per 100 sessions | No, 21-day trial |
| Salesforce | Deep customization and scale | $25/user/mo (Starter Suite) | Agentforce for Sales from $125/user/mo | No, free trial |
| monday CRM | Visual boards and team workflows | $12/seat/mo, minimum 3 seats | AI agents from Standard | No, 14-day trial |
| Attio | Modern, data-first CRM | $35/user/mo (Plus) | AI credits per seat and per workspace | Yes, up to 3 seats |
| Bitrix24 | One flat price, CRM plus tasks and chat | $49/mo for 5 users | AI tools included; unlimited AI from Standard Vibe+ | Yes |
| Less Annoying CRM | Simplest setup, one price | $15/user/mo | None listed | No, 30-day trial |
What a 5-person sales team pays
One realistic setup: 5 sellers who need a pipeline, email in the CRM and some AI help with writing, summaries or follow-ups. Plan fee only, billed yearly, on the cheapest plan with a pipeline and email, adding AI where that plan includes it; rows note where AI is missing or extra, and where onboarding fees apply.
| Tool and plan | How the bill adds up | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Starter | 5 × $7 (discounted from $20) with 500 HubSpot Credits; sequences and forecasting need Professional at 5 × $90 = $450 plus a $1,500 onboarding fee | $35 |
| Freshsales Growth | 5 × $9; no AI listed on the plan; sequences need Pro at 5 × $39 = $195 | $45 |
| CRMsoftware.pro Growth | $49 flat for up to 20 users, unlimited pipelines, CRM AI Co-Pilot and 3,000 AI messages | $49 |
| Bitrix24 Basic | $49 flat for 5 users, with AI tools for everyday work | $49 |
| Less Annoying CRM | 5 × $15, everything included, no AI listed | $75 |
| monday CRM Standard | 5 × $17 with AI agents and 250 automations a month | $85 |
| Zoho CRM Professional | 5 × $23 with AI agents; standard-tier model tokens free up to 30 million a month (Standard without AI agents: $70) | $115 |
| Salesforce Starter Suite | 5 × $25; Agentforce for Sales costs from $125 per user a month more | $125 |
| Attio Plus | 5 × $35 with 500 AI credits per seat and 1,500 per workspace | $175 |
| Pipedrive Growth | 5 × $39 with email sync, automations and sequences; AI email tools need Premium at 5 × $59 = $295 | $195 |
The cheapest row depends on the features you need: HubSpot's low Starter price is shown as a discount, and both HubSpot and Freshsales put sequences on their second plan. Try our free SaaS cost savings calculator to add up your current stack.
Monthly cost at 3, 10 and 25 users
Per-user and flat pricing split apart as the team grows (billed yearly, cheapest paid plan that fits the team size):
| Tool and plan | 3 users | 10 users | 25 users |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRMsoftware.pro (Launch up to 8 users, Growth up to 20, Scale up to 50) | $19 | $49 | $99 |
| HubSpot Starter | $21 | $70 | $175 |
| Freshsales Growth | $27 | $90 | $225 |
| Bitrix24 (Basic up to 5 users, Standard up to 50) | $49 | $99 | $99 |
| Zoho CRM Standard | $42 | $140 | $350 |
| Less Annoying CRM | $45 | $150 | $375 |
| monday CRM Standard | $51 | $170 | $425 |
| Zoho CRM Professional | $69 | $230 | $575 |
| Attio (Plus up to 10 seats, then Pro) | $105 | $350 | $1,975 |
| Pipedrive Growth | $117 | $390 | $975 |
The 9 best Zoho CRM alternatives
1. CRMsoftware.pro: best for AI answers on chat channels plus a pipeline
CRMsoftware.pro is our product, so judge this section with that in mind. It is not a Zoho-style sales suite: it is an AI agent, a team inbox and a CRM in one. The AI answers on your website, WhatsApp, email, Telegram and Slack, hands over to a person, and turns each conversation into a lead, a contact and a deal on a Kanban pipeline, with bookings, quotes and invoices in the same product.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Free for 3 users and 100 AI messages a month on website chat (AI only: no human handover or unified inbox, 1 pipeline). Launch $19/mo billed yearly ($24 monthly) for 8 users, 1,000 AI messages, 3 pipelines, chat channels, human handover, bookings, quotes, invoices and e-signatures. Growth $49 ($59) for 20 users, 3,000 AI messages, unlimited pipelines, CRM AI Co-Pilot, reports and CSV export. Scale $99 ($119) for 50 users, 10,000 AI messages, API, webhooks and CRM sync with HubSpot and Salesforce.
Pros: one flat price for the whole team; AI messages included; leads from chat land in the pipeline on their own; bookings, quotes and payments built in.
Cons: a lighter sales CRM than Zoho: our pages list no sales forecasting, CPQ, territories or Zoho-style custom modules; best when most leads start as conversations.
Best for: small sales and service teams whose leads come from website chat, WhatsApp and email.
If your leads mostly write to you first, compare Zoho's per-user price with a flat plan where AI answers and qualifies them. Start free, no card needed, or see pricing.
2. HubSpot: best free CRM that grows with marketing
HubSpot and Salesforce are the CRMs most often compared with Zoho. Its free CRM covers contacts, deals and email, and paid Sales Hub plans add calling, AI agents, sequences and forecasting. Marketing, service and content hubs connect to the same records.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Free for up to 2 users. Starter $7/seat a month billed yearly ($10 monthly), shown as a discount from $20, with 500 HubSpot Credits for AI agents. Professional $90/seat yearly (shown as a discount from $100) with sequences, forecasting and 3,000 credits, plus a required $1,500 onboarding fee. Enterprise from $150/seat with 5,000 credits and a $3,500 onboarding fee.
Pros: a real free plan; low Starter price; the widest marketing ecosystem; AI agents on Starter.
Cons: big jump from Starter to Professional; onboarding fees; AI usage is metered in credits.
Best for: teams that want marketing and sales on one platform and may grow into it. More options in our HubSpot alternatives guide.
3. Pipedrive: best simple sales pipeline
Pipedrive is a sales-first CRM built around a drag-and-drop deal pipeline. It is quick for sellers to learn and has a large app marketplace.
Price (Oct 14, 2026, billed yearly): Lite $14/seat a month (pipeline, calendar, AI report creation, meeting intelligence). Growth $39 (full email sync, automations, sequences, forecast reports). Premium $59 (lead routing, scoring, AI multi-email tools, e-signatures). Ultimate $79 (security rules, sandbox, extended phone support). Yearly billing saves up to 42% compared with monthly. Add-ons such as LeadBooster start at $32.50 and Campaigns at $13.33. 14-day free trial, no card.
Pros: very easy pipeline; mobile apps and 500+ integrations; email sync and sequences on Growth.
Cons: no free plan; useful features sit in paid add-ons; email sync needs Growth.
Best for: small sales teams that live in their deal pipeline. See our Pipedrive alternatives too.
4. Freshsales: best for a low per-user price
Freshsales, from Freshworks, is a sales CRM with built-in chat, email and phone, and it connects to Freshdesk for support teams.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Growth $9/user a month billed yearly ($11 monthly) with Kanban view, chat, email and phone, custom fields and basic workflows. Pro $39 ($47) with contact scoring, deal insights, territories and sales sequences. Enterprise $59 ($71) with forecasting insights, custom modules, sandbox and audit logs. Add-ons: Freddy AI Agent $49 per 100 sessions and branded documents $19/user. 21-day free trial.
Pros: a $9 entry price (only HubSpot Starter's discounted $7 is lower here); phone and chat built in; sequences and territories on Pro.
Cons: no free plan; the cheap plan has basic workflows only; the AI agent is a paid add-on.
Best for: small teams that want a cheap, complete sales CRM, especially Freshdesk users.
5. Salesforce: best for deep customization and scale
Salesforce is the largest CRM platform, with the deepest customization, reporting and app ecosystem. Its suites bundle sales, service and marketing tools.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Starter Suite $25/user a month, billed monthly or yearly, with lead, account, contact and opportunity management, sales flows, lead routing, email marketing and AI that syncs emails, events and contacts. Pro Suite $100, billed yearly, adds quoting, forecasting and more automation. Sales Cloud editions run $195, $395 and $550 per user a month billed yearly. Agentforce for Sales starts at $125 per user a month. Free trial available.
Pros: almost unlimited customization; huge ecosystem and talent pool; a Starter Suite that small teams can afford.
Cons: the step from $25 to $100 and then $195; AI agents cost extra; larger setups often use an implementation partner.
Best for: growing companies that expect complex processes and want the market standard.
6. monday CRM: best for visual boards and team workflows
monday CRM puts leads, contacts and deals on colorful, customizable boards, and it connects to monday.com projects for teams that hand work over after a sale.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Basic $12/seat a month billed yearly ($18 monthly), Standard $17 ($25) with AI agents (outreach caller, lead sourcer, meeting prep, notetaker) and 250 automations a month, Pro $28 ($41) with more AI, 25,000 automations a month and higher limits, and a custom Ultimate plan. Plans start at 3 seats. 14-day free trial, no free plan.
Pros: easy, visual setup; AI agents on Standard; strong link to project work.
Cons: 3-seat minimum; monthly billing costs much more; automations are counted per month.
Best for: teams that already use monday.com or think in boards.
7. Attio: best modern, data-first CRM
Attio builds the CRM from your email and calendar, with flexible objects, fast lists and AI that enriches records and runs workflows. It targets startups and investors, with a startup program and a deal-flow use case.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Free for up to 3 seats. Plus $35/user a month billed yearly ($44 monthly) for up to 10 seats. Pro $79 ($99) with call intelligence, sequences and advanced reporting. Enterprise custom. AI credits: 100, 500, 1,000 or 2,500 per seat a month by plan, plus 250, 1,500 or 10,000 per workspace; 5,000 more workspace credits cost $70 a month billed yearly ($85 monthly).
Pros: modern design; automatic contact syncing; free plan for 3 seats; flexible data model.
Cons: Plus stops at 10 seats; higher per-user price than Zoho; AI usage is metered.
Best for: startups and small teams that want a flexible CRM built on their inbox.
8. Bitrix24: best flat price with tasks and chat
Bitrix24 bundles a CRM with tasks, projects, chat, video calls, a website builder and telephony integration, all priced per organization rather than per user.
Price (Oct 14, 2026, billed yearly): Free plan (the plan card says 1–2 users; the FAQ says unlimited users, with telephony and Market apps only on paid plans). Basic $49 a month ($69 monthly) for 5 users, Standard $99 ($144) for 50 users, Professional $199 ($289) for 100, Enterprise $399 ($579) for 250. Vibe+ plans add an app builder, unlimited Market apps and the REST API, with unlimited AI from Standard Vibe+; they cost $59 to $480 a month billed yearly under a launch offer that runs to December 10, 2026 ($89 to $799 monthly). 15-day free trial.
Pros: flat price, very cheap per user at 10+ people; CRM, tasks and chat in one; a free plan.
Cons: a large suite with many tools to learn; Basic stops at 5 users; unlimited AI needs Standard Vibe+ or higher.
Best for: small companies that want CRM, tasks and internal chat for one price.
9. Less Annoying CRM: best for the simplest setup
Less Annoying CRM does the basics well: contacts, companies, pipelines, tasks, calendar and email logging, with free support for everyone.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): one plan at $15 per user a month with everything included: unlimited contacts, unlimited pipelines, unlimited custom fields, 25 GB of file storage per user and user permissions. 30-day free trial, no card, no contract.
Pros: one simple price; a deliberately simple product; free support.
Cons: no AI features listed; no mass email or advanced automation listed; no free plan.
Best for: small businesses that find Zoho too complex and need a clean contact and pipeline tracker.
Also considered
Close is a sales CRM built for calling and email, at $9 (Solo, 1 user), $35, $99 or $139 per user a month billed yearly ($19, $49, $109 or $149 monthly), with calls and SMS passed through at cost. Bigin by Zoho is the lighter option if you want to stay with Zoho; see below.
Free Zoho CRM alternatives
Zoho CRM is free for up to 3 users. These are the other free plans that matter on October 14, 2026:
| Tool | Free plan | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Zoho CRM Free | 3 users, 5,000 records | No mass email, no AI agents, no included data backups |
| HubSpot Free | Up to 2 users | Paid features start at Starter |
| Attio Free | Up to 3 seats | Fewer AI credits and features |
| Bitrix24 Free | Basic CRM, tasks, chat, 5 GB | User limit unclear on its own page; no telephony |
| CRMsoftware.pro Free | 3 users, 100 AI messages a month | Website chat only, 1 pipeline |
| Bigin by Zoho Free | 1 user, 500 records | One pipeline |
When to stay on Zoho CRM
- You use other Zoho apps. Zoho Books, Desk, Campaigns or Zoho One share data with the CRM, and leaving the CRM breaks those links.
- You need deep customization at a low price. Custom modules, Blueprints and portals cost far less on Zoho than on Salesforce.
- You only need a lighter CRM. Bigin by Zoho costs $7 a user billed yearly ($9 monthly) for Express, $12 ($15) for Premier with 1,000 AI credits a month, and $18 ($21) for Bigin 360, and it keeps you in the Zoho family.
How to choose
- Count your sellers in a year, not today. Per-user tools (Zoho, Pipedrive, Attio, Salesforce) grow with every hire; flat plans (CRMsoftware.pro, Bitrix24) only step up when you pass a user limit.
- Check where AI sits. Zoho, HubSpot and Attio meter AI usage; Salesforce sells Agentforce separately; Pipedrive splits AI features across plans; CRMsoftware.pro includes a fixed number of AI messages in each plan (100 to 10,000 a month).
- Look at the second plan. Sequences usually start one step up: HubSpot Professional, Freshsales Pro, Pipedrive Growth. Forecasting comes with them on HubSpot and Pipedrive, but sits on Freshsales Enterprise and Zoho Standard.
- Map where leads come from. If most start as chats, an AI chat tool with a pipeline may replace two products. Our CRM sales pipeline template helps you map the stages first.
- Use the free trial with real deals from Zoho before you move everything; the sales pipeline calculator shows what your pipeline should produce.
How to switch from Zoho CRM and keep your data
- Request a data backup. An admin can request one from Zoho CRM's data administration settings. You get CSV files in a ZIP archive, with attachments, through a link that works for 7 days. Standard, Professional and Enterprise include 2 backups a month and Ultimate 4; the Free edition has none.
- Know what the backup leaves out. Email content and email attachments, documents and data from integrations are not included, so keep your mailbox and re-sync email in the new CRM.
- Export modules you need now as CSV or Excel files from each module's export option, for example leads, contacts, accounts and deals.
- Rebuild automation by hand. Workflows, Blueprints and custom functions are settings, not records, so list them before you cancel and recreate them in the new tool.
- Cancel at the right time. If you are still not satisfied after Zoho tries to fix the issue, it refunds annual plans in full within the first 45 days and monthly plans within the first month, and moves the account to the free edition.
FAQ
What is the best Zoho CRM alternative?
For a free CRM that grows with marketing, HubSpot. For a simple pipeline, Pipedrive. For a low per-user price, Freshsales. For deep customization, Salesforce. For one flat price, Bitrix24. For AI answers on chat channels plus a pipeline at one team price, CRMsoftware.pro.
How much does Zoho CRM cost in 2026?
On October 14, 2026 (US): Free for 3 users, Standard $14 per user a month billed yearly ($20 monthly), Professional $23 ($35), Enterprise $40 ($50) and Ultimate $52 ($65). AI agents start on Professional, and Premium support costs 20% of the subscription.
Is Zoho CRM still free?
Yes. Zoho CRM's free edition covers up to 3 users and 5,000 records, with no time limit, but it has no mass email, no AI agents and no included data backups.
Who is Zoho CRM's biggest competitor?
Salesforce and HubSpot. G2's Zoho CRM alternatives page lists Salesforce Sales Cloud and HubSpot Sales Hub first, followed by Freshsales; Pipedrive is also in its top 10.
Which Zoho CRM alternative is cheapest?
For 5 users billed yearly, HubSpot Starter costs $35 a month at its discounted price and Freshsales Growth $45. For larger teams, flat plans win: Bitrix24 is $99 a month for up to 50 users and CRMsoftware.pro $49 for up to 20.
Does Zoho CRM include AI?
Zia Agents are included from Professional. The language model behind them is free up to 30 million tokens a month on Zoho-hosted standard-tier models, then $1 per million tokens, or you can connect your own model key. Standard has only basic Zia features such as data enrichment.
How do I export my data from Zoho CRM?
Request a data backup as an admin (CSV files in a ZIP with attachments; 2 a month on Standard to Enterprise) or export each module as CSV or Excel. Email content, documents and integration data are not in the backup.
Can I get a refund if I leave Zoho CRM?
If you are still not satisfied after Zoho tries to fix the issue, its refund policy gives a full refund within the first 45 days of an annual plan or the first month of a monthly plan, and the account moves to the free edition.
Sources
- Zoho CRM pricing (US page, monthly and annual), edition comparison and complete feature list (updated May 12, 2026), checked Oct 14, 2026.
- Zoho: Zia Agents pricing; Zoho CRM support plans; Zoho CRM: requesting a data backup; Zoho refund policy; Bigin pricing.
- Pricing pages checked Oct 14, 2026: HubSpot Sales Hub, Pipedrive, Freshsales, Salesforce, monday CRM, Attio, Bitrix24, Less Annoying CRM, Close, CRMsoftware.pro.
AI answers and a pipeline, one price for the team
An AI agent, a team inbox and a CRM pipeline without per-user fees. Free for 3 users; Launch is $19/month billed yearly for 8 users and 1,000 AI messages, Growth $49 for 20 users, unlimited pipelines and 3,000 AI messages.
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