8 Best Salesforce Alternatives in 2025
Last updated: February 2026 • 27 min read
Salesforce is a popular tool for large enterprises with complex sales processes. With pricing starting at $25/user/mo, it can be expensive for many teams. Whether you're looking for a cheaper option, better features, or an open-source solution, we've compiled the 8 best Salesforce alternatives to help you find the right fit.
📋 Quick Summary
- Total alternatives: 8
- Free alternatives: 6 (HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM, Freshsales)
- Open-source options: Twenty
- Best overall: HubSpot CRM
- Best free: HubSpot CRM
Why Look for Salesforce Alternatives?
People commonly look for Salesforce alternatives for several reasons:
- Cost: At $25/user/mo, Salesforce isn't cheap, especially for small teams and startups.
- Feature gaps: Very expensive and complex setup are common complaints.
- Simplicity: Some users find Salesforce overly complex for their needs and prefer simpler solutions.
- Data ownership: Organizations wanting data sovereignty prefer open-source, self-hosted alternatives.
- Better fit: Different tools excel at different use cases — you may find a tool that's specifically built for your workflow.
📊 Quick Comparison Table
| Tool | Free Tier | Starting Price | Rating | Open Source | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforce | ✗ No | $25/user/mo | ⭐ 4.2 | No | Large enterprises with complex sales processes |
| HubSpot CRM | ✓ Free CRM with unlimited users | $20/mo (Starter) | ⭐ 4.4 | No | Growing businesses wanting free CRM with marketing tools |
| Pipedrive | ✗ No | $14/user/mo | ⭐ 4.3 | No | Sales-focused SMBs |
| Zoho CRM | ✓ Up to 3 users | $14/user/mo | ⭐ 4.1 | No | SMBs wanting value-for-money CRM |
| Freshsales | ✓ Free plan available | $9/user/mo | ⭐ 4.2 | No | Teams wanting built-in communication in their CRM |
| Close | ✗ No | $29/user/mo | ⭐ 4.3 | No | Inside sales teams |
| Folk | ✓ Up to 200 contacts | $20/user/mo | ⭐ 4.2 | No | Relationship-focused teams and small businesses |
| Attio | ✓ Up to 3 users | $29/user/mo | ⭐ 4.3 | No | Modern teams wanting a data-driven CRM |
| Twenty | ✓ Free (self-hosted) | Free cloud beta | ⭐ 4 | ✓ Yes | Teams wanting a modern open-source CRM |
Detailed Reviews of Each Alternative
HubSpot CRM
Free CRM platform with marketing, sales, and service hubs.
HubSpot CRM is a free, powerful CRM platform that forms the foundation of HubSpot's suite of business tools. It offers contact management, deal tracking, email tracking, and basic reporting at no cost. The paid Marketing, Sales, and Service Hubs add advanced features for growing businesses.
Pros
- ✓ Generous free tier
- ✓ All-in-one platform
- ✓ Easy to use
- ✓ Great marketing tools
Cons
- ✗ Expensive at scale
- ✗ Limited free reporting
- ✗ Contacts can get pricey
- ✗ Complex pricing
Pipedrive
Sales CRM designed by salespeople, for salespeople.
Pipedrive is a sales-focused CRM known for its visual pipeline management and ease of use. Designed by salespeople for salespeople, it emphasizes activity-based selling and provides clear visibility into the sales process. It's particularly popular among small and medium-sized businesses.
Pros
- ✓ Very intuitive
- ✓ Great pipeline view
- ✓ Affordable
- ✓ Good mobile app
Cons
- ✗ Limited free plan
- ✗ Basic reporting
- ✗ Limited marketing tools
- ✗ No built-in phone
Zoho CRM
Comprehensive CRM platform part of the Zoho ecosystem.
Zoho CRM is a feature-rich customer relationship management platform that's part of the larger Zoho ecosystem of 50+ business apps. It offers excellent value for money with features like AI-powered sales assistant, multichannel communication, and advanced analytics at competitive prices.
Pros
- ✓ Great value
- ✓ Zoho ecosystem
- ✓ AI features included
- ✓ Good customization
Cons
- ✗ Interface can be clunky
- ✗ Steep learning curve
- ✗ Support can be slow
- ✗ Complex setup
Freshsales
AI-powered CRM by Freshworks for high-velocity sales teams.
Freshsales (by Freshworks) is a modern CRM that uses AI to help sales teams close deals faster. It features built-in phone, email, and chat capabilities, along with AI-powered lead scoring and deal insights. Part of the Freshworks ecosystem, it integrates well with other Freshworks products.
Pros
- ✓ Built-in communication tools
- ✓ AI features
- ✓ Good free tier
- ✓ Affordable
Cons
- ✗ Limited integrations
- ✗ Less customizable
- ✗ Reporting limitations
- ✗ Smaller ecosystem
Close
CRM built for inside sales teams with built-in calling and email.
Close is a CRM specifically designed for inside sales teams. It stands out with its built-in calling, SMS, and email functionality, eliminating the need for separate communication tools. Close focuses on helping salespeople close deals faster with power dialer, email sequences, and pipeline management.
Pros
- ✓ Built-in phone and email
- ✓ Great for inside sales
- ✓ Fast and efficient
- ✓ Good API
Cons
- ✗ No free plan
- ✗ Expensive
- ✗ Limited marketing features
- ✗ Less known
Folk
Modern CRM designed for relationship-driven businesses.
Folk is a lightweight, modern CRM that focuses on relationship management rather than heavy sales processes. With a clean interface inspired by tools like Notion, Folk makes it easy to manage contacts, track interactions, and collaborate with your team on deals and relationships.
Pros
- ✓ Beautiful design
- ✓ Easy to use
- ✓ Modern interface
- ✓ Good for light CRM
Cons
- ✗ Limited features
- ✗ Small contact limit on free
- ✗ New product
- ✗ Limited reporting
Attio
Next-generation CRM built on real-time data.
Attio is a next-generation CRM that automatically syncs with your email, calendar, and other tools to build a real-time view of your relationships. It features a flexible, database-like structure similar to Airtable, making it highly customizable for different workflows.
Pros
- ✓ Modern and flexible
- ✓ Automatic data sync
- ✓ Highly customizable
- ✓ Real-time updates
Cons
- ✗ Still new
- ✗ Limited integrations
- ✗ Can be complex
- ✗ Expensive for advanced
Twenty
Open-source CRM alternative to Salesforce.
Twenty is an open-source CRM that aims to provide a modern, Salesforce-like experience without the enterprise pricing. Built with a focus on developer experience and extensibility, Twenty offers contact management, pipeline tracking, and task management with a clean, modern interface.
Pros
- ✓ Open source
- ✓ Modern UI
- ✓ Self-hostable
- ✓ Free
Cons
- ✗ Early stage
- ✗ Limited features
- ✗ Small community
- ✗ Still in development
🏆 Our Recommendations
Best Overall Alternative:
HubSpot CRM — Growing businesses wanting free CRM with marketing tools
Best Free Alternative:
HubSpot CRM — Free CRM with unlimited users
Best Open-Source Alternative:
Twenty — Teams wanting a modern open-source CRM
❓ FAQ
What is the best free alternative to Salesforce?
The best free alternative to Salesforce is HubSpot CRM, which offers Free CRM with unlimited users.
Is there an open-source alternative to Salesforce?
Yes! Twenty is open-source alternative to Salesforce that you can self-host for free.
What is the cheapest alternative to Salesforce?
The cheapest alternatives are the free options: HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM, Freshsales. For paid alternatives, prices start from as low as $9/mo.
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