Capsule is a plain, tidy contact manager with a pipeline. It's free for 2 users and 250 contacts. Starter is $18 per user a month billed annually. Workflows, email sync and multiple pipelines start on Growth at $36.
$0 free for 2 users; Starter $18/user/mo annually
Pros
Free plan for 2 users and 250 contacts
No setup fee and no onboarding fee; cancel any time
Starter includes 30,000 contacts
14-day free trial, no card
4.7/5 on G2 from 529 reviews
Cons
Workflow automation, email sync and multiple pipelines start on Growth ($36/$40)
Support is by email (Ultimate adds an account manager)
Starting free, then growing into paid tools8.9/10Very good
HubSpot has the most useful free CRM here (2 users, 1,000 contacts) and a cheap Starter plan. The catch is the jump to Professional: $90 to $100 per seat, an annual commitment and a required $1,500 onboarding fee.
$0 free for 2 users; Starter $20/seat/mo list price
Pros
Free plan with no time limit: 2 users and 1,000 contacts
Starter is $20/seat/month at list price, with new-customer discounts to $7 (annual) or $10 (monthly)
Starter already includes up to 15 pipelines and 50 workflows
Sales, marketing and service tools on one contact record
4.4/5 on G2 from 14,393 reviews
Cons
Professional costs $90/seat/month billed annually, or $100 paid monthly, and both require an annual commitment
Professional adds a required one-time onboarding fee of $1,500 (Enterprise: $3,500)
Sequences and lead scoring are only on Professional and Enterprise
The $7 and $10 Starter prices are new-customer discounts; list price is $20
Inside sales teams that live on the phone7.9/10Good
Close is built for teams that sell by calling and emailing. Calling, SMS and email are built in. Workflows (automated sequences) start on Growth at $99 per user billed annually, which makes it one of the pricier picks for a team.
Zoho CRM gives you the most features per dollar: a free plan for 3 users, then $14 per user billed annually for Standard with multiple pipelines, workflows and mass email. There's no contract. It takes more setup than Pipedrive or HubSpot.
$0 free for 3 users; Standard $14/user/mo annually
Pros
Free plan for 3 users with workflow automation and 5,000 records
Standard is $14/user/mo billed annually ($20 monthly) with 5 pipelines and workflow rules
No contracts: pay monthly or yearly
Free onboarding listed on the pricing page
Cons
4.1/5 on G2, the lowest rating among the big names here
Standard caps mass email at 250 a day per organization
Faster support (Premium, 24x5) costs 20% of your subscription
More settings to learn than simpler tools such as Capsule or Pipedrive
A consultant or freelancer usually works alone or with one partner. The CRM has to hold contacts and past conversations, show a short list of open proposals, and cost little or nothing for 1 or 2 seats.
Seat minimums, setup fees and annual contracts all hurt more at this size. So the order below rewards free plans that fit 2 people, cheap paid tiers, and terms you can walk away from.
Why the picks are in this order
1. Capsule
Capsule is first because it's a tidy contact manager with a pipeline, which is most of what a consultant needs. It's free for 2 users, 250 contacts and 1 pipeline, per Capsule's pricing, with no setup or onboarding fee.
When you pass 250 contacts, Starter is $18 per user billed annually ($22 monthly) and includes 30,000 contacts. For 2 people that's $432 a year ($18 x 2 x 12). It rates 4.7/5 on G2 from 529 reviews.
2. HubSpot
HubSpot is second because its free plan is more generous on contacts: 2 users and 1,000 contacts with no time limit, per HubSpot's CRM pricing. A consultant with a big address book can stay at $0 longer than on Capsule.
Starter is $20 per seat at the normal price, so 2 seats cost $480 a year. New customers pay $7 billed annually ($168 a year for 2) or $10 month to month. It sits below Capsule because its pricing is built for growing teams: the step after Starter, Professional, costs $90 per seat billed annually with an annual commitment and a required $1,500 onboarding fee.
3. Close
Close is third for the solo consultant who wins work on the phone. The Solo plan is $9 a month billed annually ($19 monthly) for 1 user and 10,000 leads, per Close's pricing. That's $108 a year, with calling, SMS and email built in and calls at about $0.02 a minute at cost.
It's third because Solo stops at 1 user and has no workflows or bulk email. Adding a partner means Essentials at $35 per user billed annually: $840 a year for 2. There's no contract, and Close offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
4. Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM's free plan is the largest here: 3 users and 5,000 records, with basic workflows. A consultant who wants automated follow-ups without paying can start there.
It's fourth because there's more to set up than a small practice needs, and it rates 4.1/5 on G2. Standard is $14 per user billed annually ($20 monthly), or $336 a year for 2 people, with no contracts.
What to watch out for
Contact caps on free plans: Capsule stops at 250 contacts and HubSpot at 1,000. Count your existing contacts before you import them.
HubSpot's $7 and $10 Starter prices are for new customers, and HubSpot calls $20 the normal price.
Capsule doesn't refund partial periods, per its terms, so an annual plan you stop using midway is still paid. Monthly billing costs $4 more per user on Starter ($22 against $18) but keeps you free to leave.
How we checked
We compared each vendor's pricing, terms and product pages and its G2 reviews, checked on Nov 12, 2026. This is research-based: we did not run these CRMs ourselves. Picks are ordered by what 1 or 2 people pay, how far the free plan stretches, and how easy it is to stop paying.