Service businesses follow up with leads, book work and keep past customers coming back. These CRMs cover follow-up automation, from free plans to all-in-one marketing.
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
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
Service businesses that want marketing automation built in6.7/10Fair
Keap is a CRM with heavy marketing automation, payments and texting, sold as one plan from $320 a month for 2 users and 1,500 contacts. Extra users are $39 each. An implementation package is required, and annual contracts carry a $299 early termination fee.
$320/mo 2 users and 1,500 contacts, billed monthly
Pros
One plan with every feature: automation, payments, texting
US-based phone support on business days plus 24/7 chat
A dedicated Customer Success Manager
Free trial with no credit card
Cons
Starts at $320/month for 2 users and 1,500 contacts
Extra users cost $39/month each
Required implementation package ($500 on the services page, shown against $1,500)
$299 early termination fee on annual contracts
3.9/5 on G2, from only 33 reviews on the current Thryv listing
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)
A plumber, salon, clinic or cleaning company makes money on repeat work. The CRM has to follow up with new leads fast, keep each customer's history in one place, and remind past customers to book again.
For most service businesses that means automation more than a big sales pipeline. Some also want quotes, payments and texting in the same tool. We priced each pick for 2 and 5 users.
Why the picks are in this order
1. HubSpot
HubSpot is first because a service business can start free and get automation cheaply. The free plan covers 2 users and 1,000 contacts with no time limit, and HubSpot keeps sales, marketing and service tools on one contact record.
Starter adds up to 50 workflows and 500 calling minutes for $20 per seat at the normal price, per HubSpot's sales pricing. That's $480 a year for 2 users or $1,200 for 5. New customers pay $7 billed annually or $10 monthly.
2. Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM is second because its free plan includes workflows for 3 users and 5,000 records, per Zoho's free CRM page. A small crew can automate lead follow-up at $0.
Standard is $14 per user billed annually ($20 monthly) with workflow rules and mass email, so 5 users cost $840 a year. It's below HubSpot because it takes more setup, which is a real cost for an owner who also runs jobs, and it rates 4.1/5 on G2.
3. Keap
Keap is the most complete tool here for a service business. Its pricing page lists quotes prospects "can review and accept with the touch of a button," one-time or recurring invoices, automated past-due reminders, an appointment scheduler synced with Gmail or Outlook, and automated text messages (US only).
It's third because of cost and terms. One plan covers 2 users and 1,500 contacts at $320 a month billed monthly, plus a required $500 implementation package: $4,340 in year one for 2 users ($320 x 12 + $500). Five users cost $5,744. Annual billing lists the base at $3,195 a year, and annual contracts carry a $299 early termination fee. It rates 3.9/5 on G2 from only 33 reviews.
4. Capsule
Capsule is fourth for a service business that mostly needs a clean customer list. It's free for 2 users and 250 contacts, with no setup or onboarding fee, per Capsule's pricing, and it rates 4.7/5 on G2.
It's last because follow-up automation costs more than on the picks above. Workflows and email sync start on Growth at $36 per user billed annually ($40 monthly), or $2,160 a year for 5 users, and support is by email.
What to watch out for
Keap's base plan covers only 1,500 contacts, 500 texts and 100 voice minutes, and its free trial excludes payments and texting, per Keap's pricing. Cancelling takes a phone call at least 10 days before the next invoice.
HubSpot's free plan stops at 1,000 contacts. A business with years of past customers may need a paid plan from the start.
Zoho's faster Premium support (24x5) costs 20% of your subscription, per its support plans. Keap includes US-based phone support on business days and 24/7 chat in its price.
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 how cheaply each automates follow-up for 2 to 5 users, then by how much else (payments, texting, booking) comes built in.