The best Salesforce alternative depends on what's pushing you out: HubSpot if you want a genuinely free CRM to start on, Pipedrive for a clean visual sales pipeline, Zoho CRM for the most features per dollar, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales if your company runs on Microsoft 365, Freshsales for the lowest paid entry price for a team, monday CRM if your team already lives in monday.com, Close for call-and-email-heavy outbound teams, and Attio for a flexible, modern data model. If the real problem is that no CRM fits how you sell, you can also build your own with an AI app builder like Greta.sh. Prices below are as of October 2026.
Salesforce is the CRM other CRMs measure themselves against. Small teams often find they pay for depth they don't use. This guide is about leaving Salesforce specifically. If you're choosing your first CRM, our best CRM for small business roundup starts from a different question.
How we compared
We compared each CRM on its sales pipeline (deals, stages, forecasting), what the free plan or trial actually includes, per-seat price at the entry and mid tiers, billing terms (monthly versus annual-only), and how much admin it needs. Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page, checked on October 12, 2026, in US dollars and on the billing basis each vendor states. We left out marketing-automation suites and focused on CRM and pipeline work.
At a glance
| CRM | Best for | Free option | Entry paid price (as of October 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | Starting free, upgrading later | Free CRM, no expiry | Per seat; varies by billing term |
| Pipedrive | Visual pipeline for small sales teams | 14-day free trial | Lite $14/seat/month, billed annually |
| Zoho CRM | Features per dollar | Free for up to 3 users | Standard $14/user/month, billed annually |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales | Microsoft 365 companies | Free trial | Sales Professional $65/user/month, paid yearly |
| Freshsales | Lowest paid team entry price | 21-day trial | Growth $9/user/month, billed annually |
| monday CRM | Teams already on monday.com | Free trial | Basic $12/seat/month, billed yearly |
| Close | Outbound calling and email | Free trial, no card | Solo $9/user/month annually, $19 monthly |
| Attio | Flexible data, modern UI | Free for up to 3 seats | Plus $35/user/month annually, $44 monthly |
Why teams look for a Salesforce alternative
Start with Salesforce's own numbers. Its small-business pricing page lists Starter Suite at $25 per user per month, billed monthly or annually, and Pro Suite at $100 per user per month, billed annually with a contract required. On the Sales Cloud pricing page, the editions above that are Core at $195, Advanced at $395 and Max at $550 per user per month, all billed annually. Salesforce's pricing page notes that most of its products use annual contracts.
Three reasons come up most often.
The jump between tiers. Going from Starter Suite to Pro Suite is a fourfold increase per user, and Pro Suite brings a contract. For a ten-person team that's the difference between $250 and $1,000 a month.
More platform than you need. Salesforce is built to be customised, and customisation needs someone to own it. A five-person team that wants deals, stages and reminders is paying for a toolkit.
Annual commitment. Pro Suite and every Sales Cloud edition above it are billed annually. If your team is growing or shrinking fast, monthly billing elsewhere is worth real money.
None of this makes Salesforce wrong. If you need its ecosystem and customisation depth, the alternatives below won't match it.
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The 8 best Salesforce alternatives
1. HubSpot – the strongest free start
HubSpot says its free CRM is "100% free with no expiration date," with no credit card required. Paid Sales Hub tiers (Starter, Professional, Enterprise) are priced per seat per month, and the rate shown changes with whether you pay monthly or commit annually, so check the figure for the term you'll actually sign.
Who it's for: small teams that want to start free and grow into a full sales tool. Limits: the step from free to Professional is a big one, so price the tier you'll be on in year two.
2. Pipedrive – a clean visual pipeline
Pipedrive is built around the sales pipeline: leads, deals, contacts and calendar in one workspace. Lite is US$14, Growth US$39, Premium US$59 and Ultimate US$79, all per seat per month, billed annually. Growth adds full email sync with tracking, automations and sequences; Premium adds lead routing, scoring and built-in e-signatures for quotes and contracts. There's a free 14-day trial, no credit card required.
Who it's for: sales teams whose day is moving deals from stage to stage. Limits: the useful email and automation features start at Growth, not Lite.
3. Zoho CRM – the most features per dollar
Zoho CRM has a free edition for up to 3 users. Standard is US$14, Professional US$23 and Enterprise US$40 per user per month, billed annually (monthly billing costs more). Standard already includes workflows, AI agents, cadences, reports and sales forecasting. Zoho's FAQ says there's no contract: you pay monthly or yearly and can change plans.
Who it's for: budget-conscious teams that still want depth, especially if they use other Zoho apps. Limits: the breadth comes with a learning curve, and the best fit is inside the Zoho ecosystem.
4. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales – for Microsoft 365 companies
Dynamics 365 Sales is Microsoft's CRM. Sales Professional is $65 per user per month, paid yearly, and covers core sales force automation with Microsoft 365 interoperation. Sales Enterprise is $105 and Sales Premium $150 per user per month, paid yearly, with Premium including 1,000 Copilot Credits per user per month. A free trial is available.
Who it's for: companies whose identity, email and documents already run on Microsoft 365. Limits: it's priced and built like Salesforce's closest peer, so it's a lateral move on cost, not a cheap exit.
5. Freshsales – the lowest paid entry price for a team
Freshsales from Freshworks starts at $9 per user per month for Growth, billed annually, with a kanban pipeline, lifecycle stages, chat, email and phone, and custom fields. Pro is $39 and adds contact scoring, deal insights, territory management and sequences; Enterprise is $59 with forecasting insights, custom modules and a sandbox. There's a 21-day free trial.
Who it's for: small teams that want a full sales CRM at the lowest per-user team price on this list (Close's $9 Solo plan is for one user). Limits: scoring, sequences and forecasting sit on the higher tiers.
6. monday CRM – if your team already runs on monday.com
monday CRM is the sales product of the monday.com work platform. Basic is $12, Standard $17 and Pro $28 per seat per month, billed yearly ($18, $25 and $41 billed monthly). Standard adds automations and a unified timeline of emails, calls and meetings per contact; Pro adds mass email.
Who it's for: teams that already plan projects in monday.com and want deals on the same boards. Limits: Basic is tight (20 quotes and invoices a month, 5 columns per board).
7. Close – for outbound calling and email
Close puts calling, email and SMS inside the CRM. Solo is $19 per user per month monthly or $9 annually (1 user, 10,000 leads). Essentials is $49 or $35, Growth $109 or $99 (adds workflows and a power dialer), and Scale $149 or $139. Calling is usage-based; Close says most outbound calls cost around $0.02 a minute. Free trial, no credit card.
Who it's for: outbound sales teams that live on the phone. Limits: workflows start at Growth, and call costs come on top of seats.
8. Attio – a flexible, modern data model
Attio is free for up to 3 seats. Plus is $35 per user per month billed annually ($44 monthly) for up to 10 seats, and Pro is $79 annually ($99 monthly) with call intelligence, sequences, permission controls and advanced reporting. Enterprise is custom and billed annually. There's a 14-day trial of Pro.
Who it's for: startups and small teams that want to shape their own objects and views. Limits: Plus caps at 10 seats, so a growing team moves to Pro quickly.
What a 10-person team pays
Using each vendor's annual rate for a mid-level plan, ten users cost roughly: Salesforce Pro Suite $1,000 a month, Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise $1,050, Pipedrive Growth $390, Attio Plus $350, Zoho CRM Professional $230, Freshsales Pro $390, monday CRM Standard $170, and Close Essentials $350. These are list prices before tax, add-ons or usage (calling credits, AI credits), as of October 2026.
Outside Dynamics, the same team pays $170 to $390 a month instead of $1,000. What you give up is the customisation depth and ecosystem that justify Salesforce's price for larger organisations.
When to build your own CRM instead
Sometimes the problem isn't Salesforce's price. It's that your business tracks things no CRM models well: properties, shipments, patients, projects with five sign-offs. Every CRM above will push those into custom fields and notes.
In that case, building a CRM around your own records is a real option. With Greta.sh, you describe the objects, stages and permissions in plain English and it builds a web app with the database and logins built in. You can read the code on every plan and sync it to your own GitHub repo on Pro. Pricing starts with a free plan of 5 credits a day (no deployment); Starter is $5 a month on the welcome offer (normally $20 a month) and adds deployment.
Be honest about the trade. Mature CRMs have spent years on email sync, calendar integration, dialers, mobile apps and integration marketplaces. A custom CRM starts without them, and you build or wire in the ones you need. Our step-by-step guide to building an internal CRM without code and the longer build-instead-of-Salesforce walkthrough show what that involves. For other custom business tools, see building business apps.
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How to choose
- You want to stop paying now: HubSpot's free CRM, Zoho CRM's free edition (3 users) or Attio's free plan (3 seats).
- You want the simplest pipeline: Pipedrive.
- You're a Microsoft shop: Dynamics 365 Sales.
- You sell by phone: Close.
- Your team already works in monday.com: monday CRM.
- You want the lowest paid price: Freshsales Growth or monday CRM Basic.
- Your data doesn't fit any CRM: build your own.
Before you switch, export your Salesforce data and map every field you actually use. The fields nobody has touched in a year are the ones you can leave behind.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Salesforce?
For most small sales teams, Pipedrive or HubSpot. Pipedrive gives you the cleanest pipeline at US$14 per seat per month billed annually, and HubSpot lets you start on a CRM that's free with no expiry. Zoho CRM is the strongest value pick, and Dynamics 365 Sales is the closest like-for-like enterprise alternative.
Is there a free alternative to Salesforce?
Yes. HubSpot's free CRM has no expiration date, Zoho CRM's free edition supports up to 3 users, and Attio is free for up to 3 seats. Each limits features or users, so check what you'll need once the team grows.
What is cheaper than Salesforce?
Almost every option here costs less than Salesforce Pro Suite's $100 per user per month. Freshsales Growth ($9), monday CRM Basic ($12), Pipedrive Lite ($14) and Zoho CRM Standard ($14) are all per user per month, billed annually, as of October 2026, and Close's single-user Solo plan is $9 billed annually. Salesforce Starter Suite at $25 is itself a lower-cost option if you only need the basics.
How much does Salesforce cost?
As of October 2026, Starter Suite is $25 per user per month (billed monthly or annually) and Pro Suite is $100 per user per month, billed annually with a contract. Sales Cloud Core, Advanced and Max are $195, $395 and $550 per user per month, billed annually.
Should a small business build its own CRM instead of buying one?
Only if your data model is the problem. If you mainly need contacts, deals, email sync and reminders, buy one of the CRMs above. If you track objects and workflows no CRM represents well, a custom CRM built with a tool like Greta.sh can fit better, as long as you accept building the integrations yourself.
Leave for a reason, not a logo
Write down the one thing Salesforce does badly for you: price, contract, complexity or fit. Pick the alternative that fixes it, run the trial with real deals, then migrate.
