Best free CRM for small businesses (2026): limits compared

It is mid November. A regular emails asking for "the same thing as last December", and you are scrolling through two years of texts, a notebook and an old spreadsheet trying to find it. That is the real reason small businesses look for a CRM: one place that remembers who bought what and when to follow up.

The short answer: five CRMs have a free plan a small business can use. Zoho CRM Free gives the most room, with 3 users and 5,000 records. HubSpot's free tools suit owners who also want to send marketing emails, with 2 users, 1,000 contacts and 2,000 sends a month. Bigin (1 user, 500 records) and Capsule (2 users, 250 contacts) are the simplest, and Freshsales advertises a free plan for 3 users that its own pricing page does not list. None of the free plans prices in Canadian dollars.

Key takeaways

Zoho CRM Free has the highest ceiling here: 3 users and 5,000 records across all modules, but no mass email.
HubSpot's free plan is the only one with marketing email built in: 2,000 sends a calendar month with HubSpot branding, for up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts.
Canada's privacy commissioner says you stay responsible for customer data you hand to a service provider, including one outside Canada, and you should tell customers it may be processed in another country.

A shop owner with glasses standing with his arms crossed in his clothing store

At a glance

Free CRM plans for small businesses. Limits and prices from each company's own pricing pages; Vaelolab did not test these tools.
Tool	Best for	Free plan limit	Paid from	Canadian note
Zoho CRM	Small teams of up to 3	3 users; 5,000 records; 1 GB file storage; no mass email	Standard; the official pages we read showed prices in rupees only	No CAD price shown
HubSpot	Owners who also send marketing email	2 users; 1,000 contacts; 2,000 email sends a month with HubSpot branding	Starter US$20 a seat a month regular price; new customer offer from US$7	Priced in USD
Bigin by Zoho	A solo owner with one simple pipeline	1 user; 500 records; 1 pipeline; 3 automations	Express US$7 a user a month billed yearly, US$9 monthly	Priced in USD
Capsule	Service businesses with a short client list	2 users; 250 contacts	Four paid plans; per user prices not shown on the pages we read	Prices offered in USD, GBP or EUR
Freshsales	Teams that phone and message customers	Free CRM page says up to 3 users; pricing page lists no free plan	Growth US$9 a user a month billed yearly	Priced in USD

How we chose

Official pages only for every limit and price: each company's pricing page, free plan page or edition comparison.
Published features and pricing, not hands on testing.
What matters to a small Canadian business: a free plan that does not expire, enough users for a small team, room for your real customer list, and a clear price when you outgrow it.
Nobody pays to be included.

The five free CRMs

Zoho CRM Free

Zoho CRM is a full customer management system with a free edition that Zoho describes as free for 3 users, forever.

Best for: a business with two or three people who all need to see the same customer list and follow ups.

Room: 5,000 records across all modules and 1 GB of file storage for the account.
Everyday tools: contact management, follow up reminders, tasks, meetings and call logs, import and export, and mobile apps.
Automation: workflow rules, with up to 10 rules per module and 5 active at once.
Web forms: one form per module for leads and contacts, so website enquiries land in the CRM.

Why it stands out: the most users and the most records of any free plan here.

Limits: no mass email on the free edition. Custom fields and custom modules are not available. The free page lists 10 custom email templates and data export up to 10 times.

Price: free for 3 users. The paid editions are Standard, Professional and above; the official pricing page did not show amounts for our region, and the edition comparison sheet showed rupees, so check the price in your currency when you upgrade.

HubSpot free tools

HubSpot is a CRM with marketing, sales and service tools on top, and a free plan with no time limit and no credit card.

Best for: an owner who wants contacts, a meeting link, a website form and a monthly email newsletter in one free account.

Contacts: up to 1,000, plus up to 1,000 records across other standard object types such as deals.
Email marketing: 2,000 sends a calendar month.
Bookings and chat: one personal meetings link and live chat.
Reports: 10 dashboards with up to 50 reports each.

Why it stands out: the only free CRM here that can also send your marketing emails.

Limits: 2 users only. Emails, live chat, forms and the meetings link carry HubSpot branding. Only 10 custom properties and 3 email templates.

Price: free for 2 users. Starter's regular price is US$20 a seat a month. HubSpot advertises up to 65% off for new customers for a limited time, at US$7 a seat a month billed yearly or US$10 monthly, without an end date. Plan your budget on the regular price.

Bigin by Zoho

Bigin is Zoho's simpler, pipeline first CRM, built for very small businesses.

Best for: a solo owner who tracks quotes or jobs through a few stages, such as enquiry, quote sent, booked and paid.

One pipeline with up to 500 records.
Three automations on the free plan.
Trial then free: the 15 day trial needs no card and falls back to the free plan, with no automatic charge.

Why it stands out: the gentlest step up from a spreadsheet, with a clear path to paid plans in US dollars.

Limits: one user and 500 records is tight once you add past customers. Only one pipeline.

Price: Express is US$7 a user a month billed yearly or US$9 monthly; Premier is US$12 or US$15.

Capsule

Capsule is a contact and sales pipeline CRM whose core features are free forever, according to its free CRM page.

Best for: a consultant, agency or trade business with fewer than 250 clients and a partner or assistant.

Contacts: up to 250, with notes, emails and files on each.
Pipeline: track deals from first enquiry to closed sale.
Calendar: connects to a Gmail or Outlook calendar, with tasks linked to contacts.

Why it stands out: two users on a free plan built around people, not marketing.

Limits: 250 contacts is the smallest cap here. The paid plans' per user prices did not display on the official pages we read.

Price: free for 2 users. Starter, Growth, Advanced and Ultimate are paid, with up to 18% off for paying yearly, and a 14 day trial with no card.

Freshsales

Freshsales is Freshworks' sales CRM, with a built in phone, chat and email sync.

Best for: a small team that calls, texts and messages customers and wants it logged in one place.

Free CRM page: says free for up to three users, with two way email sync, click to call, chat, SMS and a visual pipeline.
Mobile app and custom fields listed as free features.
Trial: 21 days with full access.

Why it stands out: calling and messaging tools other free plans do not mention.

Limits: the pricing page lists only paid plans, so confirm at sign up that you land on a free plan rather than a trial that suspends the account. Automation and AI scoring are paid.

Price: Growth US$9 a user a month billed yearly; Pro $39 and Enterprise $59 on the same page.

Canada's privacy rules your CRM has to fit

A CRM is a database of personal information, so the federal privacy law, PIPEDA, applies to most businesses that use one. Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec have their own similar laws, but information that crosses provincial or national borders is still covered by PIPEDA.

You stay accountable. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner says a business remains responsible for personal information it sends to a third party for processing, including one outside Canada.
Tell customers. The same guidance says to tell people, in plain language and ideally when you collect their details, that their information may be processed in another country and be accessible to its courts, law enforcement and national security authorities.
Collect less. Limiting collection and limiting retention are two of PIPEDA's ten principles. Do not store what you do not need, such as birthdates for a lawn care list.
Email needs consent. Sending newsletters from your CRM falls under Canada's anti spam law. Our free email marketing tools guide covers the consent rules and a sign up template.

Copy and paste privacy notice line

"We keep your name, contact details and order history in our customer management software so we can serve you and follow up on your orders. Our software provider may store and process this information outside Canada, where it may be accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of that country. To see or correct your information, email us at [your email]."

Add it to your privacy page and near any sign up or booking form. If you handle health or financial information, ask a lawyer first.

Set up a free CRM in one hour

If your follow ups live on sticky notes today, you already have a pipeline: each column is a stage. The setup below turns that wall into something the whole team can see from a phone.

Orange and blue sticky notes with tasks arranged in columns on a whiteboard

Export what you already have: phone contacts, your email platform's list, your invoicing software's customer list. Save each as a CSV.
Clean it in a spreadsheet: one row per customer, delete duplicates and anyone you would not contact again. This also keeps you under the free plan cap.
Create five fields, no more: first purchase date, last purchase date, what they buy, how they found you, and whether they agreed to marketing emails (with the date).
Set up one pipeline with four stages that match your work, for example Enquiry, Quote sent, Booked, Paid.
Import, then spot check ten records to make sure names and emails landed in the right columns.
Add one follow up rule: a task to check in 30 days after a job is marked Paid. Our customer retention ideas give you something to say.

A cap you will pass this year. Count your past customers first. If you have 400, Capsule and Bigin are already too small.
A trial dressed as a free plan. Check the account settings after sign up for the plan name and any end date.
Promo prices without the regular price. Write down what you will pay once the new customer discount ends.
No easy export. Before you add hundreds of customers, export a test CSV. Your list should never be stuck inside one company's tool.

Our take

This is a judgment based on the published features and pricing, not a hands on test.

Solo owner who just needs reminders and a pipeline: Bigin. One user and 500 records is enough for a new business, and the trial falls back to free instead of charging you.

Small team of two or three: Zoho CRM Free. Three users and 5,000 records is the most generous free plan here.

Online store or anyone who sends a monthly newsletter: HubSpot, because 2,000 email sends a month are included and the branding is a fair trade at this stage.

Service business with a short client list: Capsule, as long as you stay under 250 contacts.

When the pick changes: if your team lives on the phone, try Freshsales and confirm the free plan at sign up. When you outgrow a free plan, remember the US dollar price will be converted on your card. For more picks by job, see the software hub.

Frequently asked questions

Is HubSpot CRM really free?

Yes. HubSpot's free tools have no time limit and need no credit card, for up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts. Emails, forms, chat and the meetings link show HubSpot branding until you pay for Starter.

Which free CRM allows the most users?

Zoho CRM Free allows 3 users. Freshsales' free CRM page also says up to three users, but its pricing page lists no free plan, so confirm what you get at sign up.

Do I need a CRM if I already use a spreadsheet?

Not always. A spreadsheet works for a short list. A CRM helps once you need reminders, a shared view for staff, or a record of every email and call with a customer.

Can a Canadian business keep customer data in a CRM hosted outside Canada?

Yes. The Privacy Commissioner treats sending data to a provider for processing as a use, not a disclosure, but you stay accountable and should tell customers it may be processed in another country.

5 best free CRMs for small businesses (2026): free plan limits compared