8 startup CRMs · prices checked October 3, 2026
CRM for startups: 8 CRMs compared
A startup CRM has to be cheap or free on day one, quick to change as the sales motion changes, and able to grow to a real sales team without a migration. Here's what each one costs as you add people.
- Free plans flagged
- Open source option
- Prices from each company's page
Sponsored
AttackDesk
Start free, pay as you go, and build the CRM your sales motion needs as it changes: rewrite your app's own code with your AI tools or a developer, and connect your product through the API and MCP. Texting, calling and AI agents are built in, with no per-user fee.
- Free to start
- Pay as you go
- Rewrite the software
- Developer friendly
- Build what you need
Calculator
What would your team pay?
Startup CRMs are priced per user. Free plans cover a few seats; this compares the first paid plan as the team grows.
First paid plans. Attio is free for up to 3 seats, Capsule for 2 users and HubSpot for 2 users; Twenty is free if you host it yourself. HubSpot's $7 is a new-customer offer against a regular $20.
Side by side
The 8 startup CRMs
Each one in detail
Best for: Any industry that wants its own fields and workflow
- Your own app code
- Texting and calling built in
Each company gets its own app code that it can change with its own AI tools, so a brokerage can add listing fields, a law firm matter stages, a nonprofit donor history or a recruiter candidate pipelines. Texting, calling, email and AI agents are built in, pricing is per company with no per-user fee, and pay as you go has no monthly fee.
Best for: Startups that want a flexible, data-first CRM
- Free: 3 seats, 50,000 records
- Pro adds call intelligence
The free plan covers up to 3 seats. Plus is $35 per user a month billed yearly or $44 monthly, for up to 10 seats, and Pro is $79 yearly or $99 monthly with call intelligence and sequences.
Best for: Founders and relationship-driven teams
- AI fields and research
- Premium adds custom objects
Standard is $24 per member a month billed yearly ($288 a year) or $30 monthly. Premium is $48 yearly or $60 monthly, and Enterprise starts at $80 yearly.
Best for: Technical teams that want open source
- Open source (AGPL)
- Cloud Pro $9 yearly
Twenty's cloud Pro plan is $9 per user a month billed yearly or $12 monthly, and Organization is $19 yearly or $25 monthly. The software is open source and free to self-host.
Best for: Small teams that want a tidy, simple CRM
- Free: 2 users, 250 contacts
- Starter: 30,000 contacts
The free plan covers 2 users and 250 contacts. Starter is $18 per user a month billed yearly or $22 monthly with 30,000 contacts, Growth $36 yearly and Advanced $54.
Best for: Teams that want their pipeline inside Gmail
- CRM lives in Gmail
- Free plan has no pipelines
Pro is $49 per user a month billed yearly or $59 monthly and puts the CRM inside Gmail. Pro+ is $69 yearly and Enterprise $129. The free plan is Gmail email tools only, with no pipelines.
Best for: Small teams that want to start free
- Free for 2 users
- $1,500 onboarding on Pro
The free plan covers 2 users with no card required. Starter shows $7 per seat a month as a limited-time offer for new customers, billed yearly, against a regular $20. Professional is $90 per seat a month and Enterprise starts at $150, and both carry required one-time onboarding fees of $1,500 and $3,500.
Best for: Visual sales pipelines
- $168 per seat a year on Lite
- Premium $59 yearly
Lite is $14 per seat a month on a yearly plan, which Pipedrive bills as one $168 payment per seat. Month to month, Lite is $24. Growth is $39 yearly ($49 monthly) and Premium, the plan it marks most popular, is $59 yearly ($79 monthly).
Checklist
What a startup CRM should handle
- Free or cheap at 1 to 3 users: so the founders can start before there's revenue.
- A flexible data model: custom objects and fields as you learn who buys.
- Email and calendar sync: every founder conversation logged without manual entry.
- An API: connect product signups and usage to the CRM.
- Room to grow: sequences, permissions and reporting when the first salespeople join.
Common questions
What is the best free CRM for a startup?
Attio is free for up to 3 seats with 50,000 records, Capsule for 2 users and 250 contacts, and HubSpot for 2 users and 1,000 contacts. Twenty is open source and free if you host it yourself.
When should a startup buy a CRM?
Once more than one person talks to customers, or when deals start slipping because follow-ups live in someone's inbox. Free plans make it cheap to start early.
Can a startup build its own CRM?
Open-source Twenty can be self-hosted and changed, and AttackDesk gives each company its own app code it can rewrite. See building your own CRM.