Best CRM for Freelancers: Top 8 Providers for 2023
This article is part of a larger series onCRM.
Freelancers work as independent contractors or solo-operated businesses providing services. To generate business and oversee clients, they need customer relationship management (CRM) software that offers lead monitoring, deal tracking, invoicing, marketing, and project management tools in one platform. Based on affordability, features, and user experience, we’ve identified the top providers as the best CRM for freelancers:
- Best marketing features:HubSpot CRM
- Excellent for acquiring clients:Pipedrive
- Best free CRM for freelancers:Freshsales
- Solid freelancer CRM for total value:EngageBay
- Great social media CRM for solopreneurs:Zoho CRM
- Best freelance client management software:HoneyBook
- Simplest CRM for self-employed individuals:monday Sales CRM
- Great for freelancers to manage customer support:Agile CRM
Best CRM for Freelancers Compared
Provider |
Starting Monthly Price per User* |
Free Plan? |
Our CRM Rating Out of 5 |
---|---|---|---|
|
$18 (up to two users) |
✓ |
4.65 |
|
$14.90 |
✕ |
4.59 |
|
$15 (free for 3 users) |
✓ |
4.50 |
|
$14 |
✓ |
4.38 |
|
$14 |
✓ |
4.38 |
|
$12.80 |
✕ |
4.36 |
|
$10 |
✕ |
4.35 |
|
$14 |
✓ |
4.15 |
*Based on annual billing. Monthly billing is available for slightly higher rates.
Pro tip:
What’s your plan for scaling your freelancing operation into a multiperson team? You’ll need to consider adding tools to your technology stack that offers a single source of truth for sales data and facilitates team collaboration within your small business. For product insights, check out our guide on thebest small business CRM systemsthat offer excellent sales features at affordable prices.
HubSpot CRM: Best Marketing Tools
Pros
- Free plan includes a suite of sales, marketing, service, and content management tools
- Highly intuitive CRM for solo entrepreneurs that has a minimal learning curve
- Excellent marketing tools like mass email, ads management, blog and video hosting, and design tools for landing pages and forms
Cons
- Paid plans get expensive on the higher tiers
- Telephonic features not available for free
- Can’t obtain signatures on sales documents until the Professional plan
- You want robust marketing features:If you’re a new freelancer trying to createbrand awareness, HubSpot has what you need. It offers Marketing and Content Management Hubs you can pair with the Sales Hub or bundle as a Suite. With it, you can deploy mass email campaigns and online ads, host a blog or video library, obtain search engine optimization (SEO) insights, conduct content A/B tests, and create landing pages.
- You need a free, simpleCRM system:HubSpot is great for solopreneurs for its tremendous user experience. This stems from its free-plan availability, which includes access to all the software Hubs and has a high degree ofCRM simplicity. Users get a quick and easy setup process, a clean and modern interface for system navigation, and intuitive tool operability that demands only a minimal learning curve.
- You want a free CRM phone system:While HubSpot has a free-forever plan and the ability to integrate voice-over-internet-protocol(VoIP) phone systemsin the CRM to place and receive calls, those attributes cannot combine to offer freelancers a free phone system as calling minutes require a paid plan:
- Alternative:Freshsales is a great alternativeprimarily because of its free built-in telephone system.
- You need a more cost-scalable option:One of HubSpot’s downfalls is that the paid plans get expensive when a business needs more advanced features or additional data capacity. Since we are exclusively referring to freelance CRMs, it’s not worth some of the costs on these paid plans for just one user to have access:
HubSpot CRM Monthly Pricing Plans*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-month breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Each plan offers a 14-day free trial. Pricing reflects pricing info available at the time of publishing. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers tocheck current pricing here.
**Pricing uses the monthly Sales Hub costs for individuals and small teams. The provider also offers Enterprise-level products for larger sales teams and the CRM Suite, which includes sales, marketing, customer service, CMS, and operations software in one product for a higher price.
Our Expert Opinion
HubSpot offers freelancers a robust CRM with free-forever plans and easy-to-use features. Even so, the best use case for this CRM is developing a personal and business brand. HubSpot’s marketing and content tools enable solo-operated businesses to promote themselves and present thought leadership, particularly through its mass email, digital ads, and content management features for creating and hosting blogs, video libraries, and landing pages.
Pipedrive: Best for Generating New Business Sales
Pros
- Robust lead and deal tracking features with proposal generation tools to streamline the sales process
- Low-cost AI sales assistant to give solopreneurs insights and a productivity boost
- Includes built-in project management
Cons
- Doesn’t offer a free plan
- Project management and e-signature tools get expensive
- Relatively expensive to use Gmail or Outlook email in the CRM
- You use a direct sales approach to get clients:Pipedrive is a sales CRM system that helps boost deal pipeline efficiency. It contains robust tools for organizing and monitoring leads and tracking deal progress and has excellent proposal features to auto-generate contracts for you to send, track, and get signatures. You can also get rotten deal updates, schedule meetings, and access an AI assistant to help improve performance.
- You are a project-based business:Pipedriverecently launched its Power planwhich includes a built-in project management module. Even once the deal is closed, freelancers can now oversee the planning, tracking, and delivery of client projects all in the same system they’re storing contact data and managing proposals.
- You need no-cost freelance CRM software:While not necessarily expensive, Pipedrive does not offer any free-forever plan to its users:
- Alternative:Freshsalesis our top recommended pick for freelancers seeking a free-forever CRM option.
- You want less expensive email accessibility:One of the odd attributes of Pipedrive that is not ideal for solopreneurs is you must be on the Advanced plan for $27.90 per user monthly for email sync with Gmail or Outlook. This is what allows users to send and receive emails in the CRM:
Pipedrive Monthly Pricing Plans*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Paid plans include a 14-day free trial. Pricing reflects pricing info available at the time of publishing. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers tocheck current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
Pipedrive is the ultimate solution for freelancers to optimize the sales process and automate lead management activities. Solo-run businesses can use the CRM solution as a client-generation tool for all sales pipeline stages. We are also pleased with the product update that now includes project management that adds even more use cases of the software even after a closed deal.
Freshsales: Best Free CRM for Freelancers
Pros
- Growth plan allows free access for up to three users
- Has features vital to a freelancer like a built-in telephone, appointment scheduling, quote and invoice generation, and task tracking
- Lets you automate chat conversations and lead scoring with Freddy AI tools
Cons
- Lacks project management tools
- Automated profile enrichment requires Enterprise plan
- Doesn’t let you manage ads, content, or social media profiles from the CRM
- You need a solid free CRM:While we consider HubSpot thebest free CRMoverall, Freshsales is the best free CRM specifically for freelancers. The main reason is that it offers all the essentials like a built-in phone, email, contact data storage, lead scoring, account management, invoice and quote generation, and appointment scheduling on the Growth plan. The first three users on Growth can access these features for free.
- You want access to multiple communication channels:作为自由职业者依靠它们与成矿的关系d their network, obtain business, and support customers, it’s good to have an array of communication tools in your CRM system. That said, Freshsales comes with a bundle of outreach channels, including the built-in phone system, email, live chat, text, and the AI chatbot for automating website conversations.
- You need built-in project management:While Freshsales is great for bringing in and maintaining business, you won’t be able to use it to service clients as it lacks project management tools to oversee client deliverables:
- Alternative:Pipedrive,HoneyBook, andmonday Sales CRMare the best alternatives with project management modules.
- You want to use broader marketing strategies:Freshsales’ features make it primarily useful for sales and account management activities. Therefore, you couldn’t use it for mass marketing outside of running email campaigns:
Freshsales Monthly Pricing Plans*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Freshsales offers a 21-day free trial and optional paid add-ons for additional workflow automations and phone credits starting at $5. Pricing reflects pricing info available at the time of publishing. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers tocheck current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
Freshsales takes the title for best free CRM for freelancers. While it offers no-cost features for appointment scheduling, account management, deal tracking, and invoicing, its free communication tools stand out the most. The built-in telephone, for example, allows solopreneurs to easily make and log calls directly from contact records. This goes well with the other outreach channels available by the platform, like email, live chat, text, and chatbot.
EngageBay: Best Overall Value for the Price
Pros
- All-in-one sales, marketing, and service CRM features included on Free plan
- Includes lead scoring on the free-forever plan
- 大多数自由职业者的关键特性包括d either for free or on Basic plan
Cons
- Bare-bones free plan only allows 250 contact and company records and 1,000 email sends
- Telephonic capabilities not available for free
- Expensive proposal management, and automation features
- You want the best bang for your buck:EngageBay offers a free plan and scalable paid plans that start at $13.79 per user monthly. What makes it so appealing to freelance businesses is that it includes free features to manage an entirerevenue operationthrough its sales, marketing, and service modules. Additionally, users can upgrade to the Basic plan for capabilities like calling and custom deal milestones.
- You need affordable lead scoring:As freelancers are bogged down by day-to-day administrative tasks in addition to the business development and service activity, it’s nice to have automatedlead scoringto help prioritize opportunities. While most CRMs treat this as an advanced feature only available on the high-tiered plans, EngageBay includes it for free.
- You need more capacity on your Free plan:Despite offering an all-in-one free-forever plan with sales, marketing, and service tools, the data capacity available on that plan is limited to just 250 contacts and companies and 1,000 email sends:
- Alternative:HubSpot’s free plancan offer more capacity with 1 million stored records plus 500 daily email sends.
- You want more affordable proposal toolsEngageBay users must encounter a significant price hike to access proposal generation and management tools. This requires the Growth plan which costs $45.99 per user, per month:
- Alternative:Freshsalesincludes cost-friendly contract, quote, and proposal features on its same-named Growth plan for just $15 per user, per month, which is free to the first three users.
EngageBay Monthly Pricing Plans*
*根据年度mon用户计费定价thly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost and biennial billing is available for a lower cost. Pricing reflects pricing info available at the time of publishing. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers tocheck current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
EngageBay is an ideal CRM for freelancers looking to get the most for their dollar. Both the free and Basic plans come with sales tools for managing leads and deals, marketing features for deploying campaigns, and service capabilities to support customer tickets without breaking the bank. Additionally, you can access nearly all the communication tools like email, phone calling, web forms, and live chat on the Basic plan for sales outreach and customer service activities.
Zoho CRM: Best Social Media CRM
Pros
- Free and cost-friendly plans available
- Excellent social CRM for managing content and interacting with customers on social media platforms
- Workflow automation available on Free plan
Cons
- Steep learning curve required
- Cloud phone access is not available for free
- Does not include third-party integrations on the Free plan
- You need a solid social CRM:Allowingintegration with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, Zoho is the best freelance CRM for social media management. Once connected, users can monitor and interact with followers, generate leads through campaigns and interactions with users, and send direct messages to customers. Additionally, freelancers can build up their brand through content posts from the CRM.
- You want affordable workflow automation:One of the key benefits of investing in Zoho is the low-costworkflow automation. Available on the free-forever and Standard plans, freelancers can focus on clients by automating repetitive tasks, such asemail follow-ups, record creation, and data updates. Additionally, they can get email notifications for sales activity and create scheduled actions based on time intervals.
- You need a simpler CRM:One issue with Zoho is product usability. Many users find the interface clunky and that the features demand a substantial learning curve, which could be problematic for solopreneurs new to using a CRM:
- Alternative:monday Sales CRMandHubSpotare great alternatives that perform well in user experience and ease of use ratings.
- You want free telephone and email features:While Zoho has a free-forever plan, it does not include communication features such as email or telephone channels to engage leads:
- Alternative:Freshsalesincludes both a built-in phone system and email integration support on the Growth plan, which is free for three users,
Zoho CRM Monthly Pricing Plans*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-user monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Zoho CRM comes with a 15-day free trial for the paid plans. Pricing reflects pricing info available at the time of publishing. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers tocheck current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
Zoho CRM provides the best CRM for solopreneurs looking to leverage social media as a brand awareness andlead generationtool. Business coaches, consultants, and freelance content creators can all benefit from this robust yet affordable social CRM. There’s also something to be said about its cost-friendly workflow automation tools that give individual business owners the productivity power of a larger team.
HoneyBook: Best for Client Management
Pros
- Affordable and scalable paid plans
- Built specifically for independent contractors and freelancers to manage clients, projects, proposals, and payments
- Payment processing features including on Starter plan
Cons
- No free plan
- Some poor usability ratings
- Most third-party integrations require the Essentials plan and above
- You need a specialty freelancer CRM:HoneyBook是一家专业CRM为independe建造nt contractors and freelancers. It includes all the modules needed for a solo-operated business, such as client, project, and proposal management. It also comes with payment processing, appointment booking, digital signatures, invoicing, and service and price book management.
- You want affordable payment processing:One of the value-adds of HoneyBook is the affordable payment processing feature. On the Starter plan for $12.80 per user monthly, freelancers can send payable invoices to clients that let them pay via credit card or ACH bank transfer. While payment processing fees are attached, it’s still the least expensive CRM for that feature.
- You need a free CRM:While HoneyBook is a cost-friendly CRM system with plenty of features needed by freelancers, it does not offer a free-forever plan:
- Alternative:Freshsalesis our pick for the best overall free CRM for solopreneurs and freelancers.
- You want a wider range of third-party integrations:HoneyBook is limited indirect integrationsto Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, QuickBooks, Zapier, Meta ads, Zoom, and Calendly. Additionally, most of these aren’t available until the Essentials plan:
- Alternative:Zoho CRMis the best option for widespread integrations—allowing nearly 1,000 unique options.
HoneyBook Monthly Pricing Plans*
*根据年度mon用户计费定价thly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. HoneyBook offers a seven-day free trial and the first two months free for annual billing plans. Pricing reflects pricing info available at the time of publishing. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers tocheck current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
HoneyBook has the best client management features for freelancers. This stems from its specialty-built system designed for solo businesses to manage clients, track projects, generate proposals, and collect payments. If it weren’t for the usability ratings and lack of a freemium plan, HoneyBook would rank higher on our list. Nevertheless, the product is a great option to oversee the day-to-day activity and grow your book of business.
monday Sales CRM: Best for Ease of Use
Pros
- High reviews and ratings for product usability that uses spreadsheet format for data management
- Flexible CRM system that lets freelancers customize boards to manage many functions like projects, sales, or marketing campaigns
- Excellent no-code workflow designer that's intuitive to use and useful for automating tasks and data updates
Cons
- No free plan, plus misleading pricing; paid plans require a minimum of three users
- Dedicated client management module with projects tracking requires the Enterprise plan
- Doesn’t offer a built-in appointment scheduler
- You prioritize user experience:monday Sales CRM is known for its product usability that helps maximize the user experience (UX). It lets freelancers add and manage their client data using a familiar spreadsheet-style format and then convert it to various views to evaluate their data. Additionally, the automation uses no-code design, pre-made workflow templates, and dropdown selection to create automations.
- You need robust CRM flexibility:In addition to product simplicity, monday Sales CRM does well forCRM customization. Through its use of tailorable boards and data items, users essentially can create their own modules to store any information for their business. This includes sales deals, leads, and accounts, as well as client projects, administrative processes, or marketing campaigns.
- You need built-in appointment scheduling:monday Sales CRM does not offer access to a built-in meeting scheduler in the platform:
- Alternative:HubSpotoffers a great meeting scheduler tool on its free-forever plan to book client or lead appointments.
- You want a free CRM option:While it has cost-friendly paid plans, monday Sales CRM no longer offers a free-forever plan:
- Alternative:We recommendFreshsales, which includes a built-in phone, meeting scheduling, and invoicing on the free-forever plan for three users.
monday Sales CRM Monthly Pricing Plans*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a monthly per-user breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. There is a 14-day free trial for the paid plans. Pricing reflects pricing info available at the time of publishing. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers tocheck current pricing here.
monday Sales CRM automation designer (Source:monday.com)
Our Expert Opinion
monday Sales CRM takes a key victory in the best freelancer CRM debate for its usability. As many freelancers are new to operating a CRM system, they can maintain confidence knowing this product’s interface and tools are well-designed for individuals at all skill levels. A solopreneur will also enjoy an easy setup process to configure the CRM boards to meet infinite business processes and projects.
Agile CRM: Best for Service Management
Pros
- Free plan available plus cost-scalable paid plans
- All-in-one sales, marketing, and service system
- Free plan includes ticketing, lead scoring, and appointment scheduling
Cons
- Only one integration and plugin allowed on Free plan
- Email integration with Gmail or Outlook is not included for free
- Relatively expensive telephonic features
- You need to manage client inquiries:Agile CRM is an all-in-one sales, marketing, and service management tool. Some solopreneurs, particularly those providing software or information technology (IT) support services, need a solution for tracking customer tickets. Agile CRM includes this feature on the Free plan and allows you to group tickets, label them based on the type of issue, and generate quick, one-click canned responses through live chat.
- You want cost-friendly sales tools:敏捷CRM提供负责人评分、跟踪,和appointment scheduling, all on the free-forever plan. Additionally, for $8.99 per user monthly, users can expand their sales capabilities to engage leads via email. They can create automations to put follow-ups, data updates, and live chat conversations with prospects on auto-pilot.
- You need free email access:While Agile CRM has an excellent free-forever plan with sales, service, and marketing features, email synchronization and access to Gmail or Outlook from the CRM is not included in that package:
- Alternative:We recommendFreshsalesfor free email access in the CRM to send direct or mass emails.
- You want to integrate with many third-party tools:One of the restrictions Agile CRM has is the number of integrations or plugins allowed at one time. The Free plan only allows one, while the Starter only gives three. Users must be enrolled on the Regular or Enterprise plan to get up to 50 connections:
- Alternative:HubSpotallows third-partyCRM integrationson the Free plan for over 100 apps at a time.
Agile CRM Monthly Pricing Plans*
*根据年度mon用户计费定价thly breakdown. Monthly billing is available for a higher cost. Pricing reflects pricing info available at the time of publishing. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers tocheck current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
Agile has a narrow use case as a CRM for sole proprietors. Specifically, we find it useful for its customer service and ticketing capabilities to help resolve client issues. While customer support teams are often found in businesses with multiple departments and teams, certain freelancers do need to prioritize service operations. These include IT support specialists, contracted software developers, and individuals who sell apps.
How We Evaluated the Best CRM for Freelancers
确定最佳自由CRM软件,我们evaluated the specific features relevant to an independent contractor or solopreneur. For instance, project management tools allow freelancers to oversee client services and deliverables, while invoicing allows them to bill clients for their work. We also looked at other critical software attributes, including customer support, product affordability, and user experience ratings.
The tabs below offer insight into our evaluation process of the best freelance CRM software:
25% of Overall Score
Starting at the top, general features are capabilities that are must-haves in CRM systems, regardless of the use case or the size of the business. System customization, for instance, lets a freelancer design pipelines and data fields to meet their unique operation. We also wanted a solid mobile app for on-the-go sales and a wide range of third-party integration options.
20% of Overall Score
Affordability is vital to solo-operated businesses on a tight budget. We wanted each provider to offer a free-forever option and cost-friendly paid plans that are scalable for when users are ready to add team members. We also considered billing flexibility in terms of offering monthly and annual pricing as well as the cost specifically for niche CRM features like project management or proposal generation tools.
20% of Overall Score
Separated from the general features, niche CRM features are the tools and capabilities specifically useful for freelancers. These include presales tools, such as appointment scheduling and proposal generation, as well as productivity features like calendar tracking. We also looked at features for handling clients after a deal is closed, like project management and invoicing.
20% of Overall Score
Extensive help and support ensure a solid user experience while operating the software products. This was evaluated in terms of availability, such as offering 24/7 helplines for billing or technical support. We also looked at the range of channels offered, including phone, email, live chat, and self-service resources like a knowledge base and user forum.
15% of Overall Score
In addition to first-hand experience with these freelance CRMs, we wanted to gauge what actual users say about the products based on online reviews. This helped us understand how subscribers felt in terms of value for the price paid and which features they liked the most. It also substantiated our analysis of the product’s ease of use for setting up, operating, and navigating each CRM.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A CRM for freelancers is software that lets solo-operated businesses or contractors build and maintain client relationships. Rather than focusing on team collaboration features, a freelance CRM has tools especially useful to individuals like project management, appointment scheduling, quote generation, proposal management, and invoicing. These are in addition to the normal CRM capabilities like contact storage, lead management, and deal tracking.
Yes, even freelancers should have a CRM system or analternative solutionto manage opportunities and client relationships. Despite not having team members to collaborate and share data with, a CRM built for freelance businesses allows individuals to automate tasks and manage leads, client projects, and documents, like invoices and proposals, all on one interface. They also come with communication tools to engage clients via email, phone, or live chat.
Bottom Line
A CRM for freelancers is software built specifically for individually-owned and managed businesses. Rather than focusing on team collaboration features, this type of CRM will have tools that let solopreneurs generate and maintain clientele. While HubSpot CRM scored the highest for its marketing features that allow someone to build their personal and business brand, other CRMs are a better fit depending on feature needs, usability requirements, and budget.