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Best CRM for a consultant in 2026
A consultant needs a pipeline, a follow-up reminder and a way to send a proposal - not a marketing suite. These are the real per-seat prices for the four CRMs we track, re-checked from the vendors' own pricing pages this week.
Prices last re-checked 2026-09-27. Every number below is read from the vendor's own pricing page.
The short answer
Cheapest real CRM: Zoho CRM
Free for up to 3 users, then Standard at $14 per user per month billed annually ($20 monthly) with 100,000 records and workflows.
See Zoho CRM pricingBest free tier: HubSpot
HubSpot's CRM is free for unlimited users with a deal pipeline and 1,000,000 contacts. The paid jump is steep: Starter is $15 per seat annually, Professional $90.
See HubSpot pricingBest pipeline-first tool: Pipedrive
Essential is $14 per seat per month billed annually ($24 monthly) and the whole product is built around the deal pipeline.
See Pipedrive pricingOne-minute chooser
- Cheapest real CRM → Zoho CRM
- Best free tier → HubSpot
- Best pipeline-first tool → Pipedrive
The prices, plan by plan
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM is free for up to 3 users, then $14 per user per month on Standard, $23 on Professional, $40 on Enterprise and $52 on Ultimate, billed annually.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo (no annual discount published) | Up to 3 users, 5,000 records, basic lead and deal management |
| Standard | $20/mo, or $14/mo billed annually | Per user. 100,000 records, scoring rules, mass email, workflows |
| Professional | $35/mo, or $23/mo billed annually | Per user. SalesSignals, inventory management, 25,000 records per module |
| Enterprise | $50/mo, or $40/mo billed annually | Per user. CommandCenter, multi-user portals, custom modules, 100,000 records |
| Ultimate | $65/mo, or $52/mo billed annually | Per user. Enhanced feature limits, advanced customisation, 500,000 records |
What to watch: Zoho prints the annual per-user rate by default; the monthly-billing rates come from the page's monthly toggle. Zoho's free tier caps at 3 users, which is the lowest free-user cap in this cluster.
Source: https://www.zoho.com/crm/zohocrm-pricing.html, read 2026-09-27.
See Zoho CRM pricingHubSpot
HubSpot's CRM is free for unlimited users, then $20 per seat per month on Starter and $100 per seat per month on Professional for the Sales Hub, billed monthly.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo (no annual discount published) | Unlimited users, 1,000,000 contacts, deal pipeline, contact management |
| Starter | $20/mo, or $15/mo billed annually | Per seat. Simple automation, 2 paid seats, email tracking, 1,000 marketing contacts |
| Professional | $100/mo, or $90/mo billed annually | Per seat. Sequences, forecasting, custom reporting, 2,000 marketing contacts |
| Enterprise | $150/mo (no annual discount published) | Per seat. Custom objects, predictive scoring, 10,000 marketing contacts |
What to watch: HubSpot's free tier is genuinely free and unlimited, but the paid tiers are per seat and the marketing-contact limits are separate from your CRM contacts - read both numbers before comparing it to a flat-rate CRM.
Source: https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/crm, read 2026-09-27.
See HubSpot pricingPipedrive
Pipedrive starts at $14 per seat per month on Essential, $34 on Advanced, $49 on Professional and $64 on Power, billed annually; monthly billing costs more.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $24/mo, or $14/mo billed annually | Per seat. Lead, deal and activity management, 3,000 open deals, 10 pipelines |
| Advanced | $44/mo, or $34/mo billed annually | Per seat. Email sync, workflow automation, 100,000 open deals, 15 pipelines |
| Professional | $64/mo, or $49/mo billed annually | Per seat. Revenue forecasts, team goals, projects, 30 pipelines |
| Power | $79/mo, or $64/mo billed annually | Per seat. Project templates, 5-minute sync, phone support, 100 pipelines |
| Enterprise | custom quote | Custom quote. Unlimited pipelines, security alerts, implementation |
What to watch: Pipedrive prints the annual per-seat rate by default; the monthly-billing rates come from the page's monthly toggle. Pipedrive's own page states the annual figures are the discounted rate.
Source: https://www.pipedrive.com/en/pricing, read 2026-09-27.
See Pipedrive pricingGoHighLevel
GoHighLevel is $97/mo Starter, $297/mo Unlimited and $497/mo Agency Pro, or $970 / $2,970 / $4,970 billed yearly. Every plan includes unlimited contacts and unlimited users.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $97/mo | 3 sub-accounts, unlimited contacts, unlimited users, all core features |
| Unlimited | $297/mo | Unlimited sub-accounts, rebill phone & email at no markup, basic API |
| Agency Pro | $497/mo | SaaS mode, automated sub-account creation, rebill with markup, advanced API |
| Enterprise | custom quote | Custom quote |
What to watch: Every plan price, annual total and add-on price on this page was read from gohighlevel.com/pricing itself. GoHighLevel does not publish a free plan, and the add-ons are billed per sub-account, so the sticker price is not the monthly bill for an agency with clients.
Source: https://www.gohighlevel.com/pricing, read 2026-09-27.
See GoHighLevel pricingQuestions people ask
What is the cheapest option here?
Zoho CRM - Free for up to 3 users, then Standard at $14 per user per month billed annually ($20 monthly) with 100,000 records and workflows.
Are these prices first-party?
Every number on this page is read from the vendor's own pricing page or from the source named under each tool. Where a vendor renders prices in JavaScript, the caveat under that tool says so and names the source we used instead.
How often are these prices re-checked?
The dataset behind this page was last re-checked on 2026-09-27. Prices change without notice, so confirm on the vendor's page before you buy.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We do not accept payment for placement, and the price tables are generated from the same dataset we re-check weekly. Full disclosure.