Best CRM for Small Businesses and Freelancers

The picks that stand out

Simplest CRM for a small team

Capsule CRM

Contacts, a sales pipeline, follow-ups and a shared inbox for sales@ or info@, with project boards after the deal is won. The free plan covers up to 2 users, 250 contacts and one pipeline. Starter is 19 EUR per user a month on monthly billing, less on yearly billing; automations and several pipelines start at Growth, 40 EUR. Paid plans carry a 14-day trial with no card.

Free CRM that grows into marketing and service

HubSpot

The free tools hold contacts, companies and deals with no card required, and the same platform covers marketing and service later. Paid plans are billed per seat; Starter was shown with a time-limited discount when we read it, so we do not quote it. Current prices: hubspot.fr/pricing.

Best when the pipeline is the job

Pipedrive

Built around a visual deal pipeline. Lite is 24 EUR per seat a month on monthly billing, 14 EUR billed yearly, and the page states prices exclude VAT. Email sync and automations start at Growth, 49 EUR. No free plan, a 14-day trial with no card.

At a glance

Criterion	Capsule CRM	HubSpot	Pipedrive
Used mainly for	Contact and client records, sales pipeline and follow-ups	Contact and company records, deal tracking	Sales pipeline management, deal and contact tracking
Entry price	€19.00/mo · Starter	€7.00/mo, billed yearly (promo)	€24.00/mo · Lite
Free plan	✓Yes	✓Yes	✕No
Free trial	✓Yes	✓Yes	✓Yes
Works on	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Documented integrations	Gmail, Outlook, Xero, Zendesk, Import2	–	–
Setup	Easy: 30 min	Moderate: 1 hr	Easy: 30 min
Main limitation	Every paid plan is billed per user, so the cost grows with the team	Starter was shown with a time-limited discount: check the price once the offer ends	No free plan
Our evidence level	Vendor documented	Vendor documented	Vendor documented
Try it	Try Capsule CRM ↗Partner link	Try HubSpot ↗	Try Pipedrive ↗

Every cell comes from the tool's record, built from its official documentation and pricing page. The integrations listed are the ones the vendor documents, not tested by us.

How we ranked these three

We did not test these CRMs hands-on; this page compares what each vendor publishes. We read each official pricing page from France, on the monthly view, and kept the price you pay without a yearly commitment. We leave out promotional prices, because they expire. We compared four things only: whether a permanent free plan exists and what it caps, the unit you are billed in, the price of the entry plan, and the plan where automations start. The order of the picks follows the size of team each one suits, not a score. Capsule is an affiliate partner: if you subscribe through our link we may earn a commission, and that did not change its place or its text. Prices move; the date of each read is on each tool page.

Free plan or trial

Capsule and HubSpot both have a permanent free plan: Capsule's stops at 2 users, 250 contacts and one pipeline, HubSpot's has no card requirement and covers contacts, companies and deals. Pipedrive has no free plan, only a 14-day trial. If you are one or two people, start free.

How the bill grows

All three charge per user. On monthly billing the entry plans are 19 EUR (Capsule Starter) and 24 EUR before VAT (Pipedrive Lite); HubSpot Starter was on a time-limited discount when we read it, so we do not quote it. The jump that matters comes next: automations sit in Capsule Growth (40 EUR), Pipedrive Growth (49 EUR) and HubSpot Pro (price on hubspot.fr/pricing).

Check taxes and promotions

Pipedrive states its prices exclude VAT. HubSpot's cards do not say, and its Starter price carried a time-limited discount when we read it. Compare totals at checkout, and the price you will pay in month thirteen.

Pricing side by side

Frequently asked questions