Best Salesforce Alternatives 2026: 6 CRM Options

Salesforce dominates the CRM market, but many businesses find it overly complex for their needs. Common pain points include: high total cost of ownership (licensing plus implementation plus administration), steep learning curve requiring dedicated training, needing a Salesforce administrator on staff, and paying for capabilities that simpler tools handle well.

• HubSpot CRM: Free CRM with marketing, sales, and service hubs. More intuitive than Salesforce with strong inbound marketing capabilities.
• Zoho CRM: Feature-rich CRM at 60% lower cost. Part of the broader Zoho ecosystem with 45+ business apps.
• Pipedrive: Sales-focused CRM with visual pipeline management. Fastest setup and simplest to learn.
• Freshsales: AI-powered CRM with built-in phone and email. Strong value for SMBs.
• Microsoft Dynamics 365: Enterprise CRM for organizations invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.
• Close: Inside sales CRM with built-in calling, SMS, and email sequences. Best for sales-intensive teams.

• HubSpot: Free CRM, Starter $20/mo, Professional $500/mo
• Zoho CRM: Free (3 users), Standard $14/user/mo, Professional $23/user/mo
• Pipedrive: Essential $14/user/mo, Advanced $29/user/mo
• Freshsales: Free, Growth $9/user/mo, Pro $39/user/mo
• Dynamics 365: Sales Professional $65/user/mo, Enterprise $95/user/mo
• Salesforce: Essentials $25/user/mo, Professional $80/user/mo, Enterprise $165/user/mo

• Best Free CRM: HubSpot
• Best Value: Zoho CRM or Freshsales
• Easiest to Use: Pipedrive
• Best for Microsoft Users: Dynamics 365
• Best for Inside Sales: Close

For most SMBs, HubSpot or Zoho CRM provide 80% of Salesforce's capabilities at a fraction of the cost. Sales-first teams should consider Pipedrive or Close for their focused, easy-to-learn interfaces. Organizations committed to Microsoft 365 may find Dynamics 365 the most natural enterprise CRM alternative.