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 of the best CRMs for freelancers:
- Great social media CRM for solopreneurs: Zoho CRM
- Top freelance client management software: HoneyBook
- Best marketing features: HubSpot CRM
- Great for Google Chrome users: Streak CRM
- Solid tool for project management: Insightly CRM
- Best free CRM for freelancers: Freshsales
- Excellent for acquiring clients: Pipedrive
- Great for multi-view work management: ClickUp
Identifies promising leads and streamlines follow-ups for your B2B startups |
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Best CRM for Freelancers Compared
Provider | Free Plan? | Our CRM Rating Out of 5 | Learn More | |
---|---|---|---|---|
$14 per user | ✓ 3 users | 4.48 | ||
$8 per user | ✕ | 4.45 | ||
$18 per two users | ✓ Unlimited users | 4.37 | ||
$15 per user | ✓ 1 users | 4.36 | ||
$29 per user | ✓ 3 user | 4.30 | ||
$9 per user | ✓ 3 users | 4.24 | ||
$14 per user | ✕ | 4.13 | ||
$7 per user | 3.88 |
Pro tip:
When scaling your freelancing operation into a multi-person team, you’ll need to use tools that offer a single source of truth for sales data and facilitate team collaboration. For product insights, check out our guide on the best small business CRM systems that offer excellent sales features at affordable prices.
Zoho CRM: Best Social Media CRM
Pros
- Free and cost-friendly plans available, starting at $14 per user, monthly
- 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 due to high customizability
- Cloud phone access is not available for free
- Does not include third-party integrations on the Free plan
- You need a solid social CRM: Allowing integration 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-cost workflow automation. Available on the free-forever and Standard plans, freelancers can focus on clients by automating repetitive tasks, such as email 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 CRM 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.
- Alternatives: Pipedrive and HubSpot CRM are great alternatives that perform well in user experience and ease of use ratings. Both offer highly intuitive interfaces that make it easy to learn and use for beginners
- You want free telephone and email features: While Zoho CRM has a free-forever plan, it does not include communication features such as email or telephone channels to engage leads.
- Alternative: Freshsales includes both a built-in phone system and email templates on its Free plan, which supports up to three users.
Zoho CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
Zoho CRM Pricing Add-ons:
- Additional File Storage: $4 per month for 5GB (paid plans only)
- Additional Data Storage (up to 200 users): $4 for 100MB per month (for Professional and up)
- Additional Data Storage (more than 200 users): $2 for 100MB per month (for Professional and up)
- Data Backup: $12 per request
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-month breakdown of the plans, though monthly billing is available for a higher cost. It comes with a 15-day free trial for the paid plans. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers to check current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
Zoho CRM provides the best CRM for freelancers and solopreneurs looking to leverage social media as a brand awareness and lead generation tool. That, combined with its free and affordable plans, helped propel this provider to the top of our list. Business coaches, consultants, and freelance content creators can all benefit from this robust yet affordable social CRM. Its cost-friendly workflow automation tools also 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 is a specialized CRM built for independent contractors and freelancers. It includes all the modules needed for a solo-operated business, such as client, project, and proposal management. It also has 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 $8 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: Freshsales is our pick for the best overall free CRM for solopreneurs and freelancers. It offers a robust Free plan that supports up to three users and includes deal management, email templates, a built-in phone, and a chatbot builder.
- You want a wider range of third-party integrations: HoneyBook is limited in direct integrations to Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, QuickBooks, Zapier, Meta Ads, Zoom, and Calendly. Additionally, most of these aren’t available until the Essentials plan.
- Alternative: Zoho CRM is the best option for widespread integrations—allowing nearly 1,000 unique options.
HoneyBook Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-month breakdown of the plans, though monthly billing is available for a higher cost. It comes with a 7-day free trial. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers to check current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
HoneyBook has the best tools for client management 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 for overseeing the day-to-day activities and growth of your business.
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 with 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
- Huge price jump from Starter CRM Suite ($30 per month) to Professional Suite ($450 per month)
- Telephonic features not available for free
- Task calendar sync and standard contact scoring are not available until the Professional plan ($450 per month)
- You want robust marketing features: If you’re a new freelancer trying to create brand 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, simple CRM system: HubSpot CRM is one of the best CRM for solopreneurs because of its tremendous user experience. This stems from its free-plan availability, which includes access to all the software Hubs and has a high degree of CRM simplicity. Users get a quick and easy setup process, a clean and modern interface for system navigation, and intuitive tool operability with only a minimal learning curve.
- You want a free CRM phone system: HubSpot CRM has a free-forever plan and the ability to integrate voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) phone systems in the CRM to place and receive calls. However, calling minutes requires the Starter tier, which starts at $18 per month.
- Alternative: Freshsales is a great alternative primarily 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 the cost of these paid plans for just one user to have access:
- Alternative: Zoho CRM is a better alternative that has all-in-one sales, marketing, and service features, as well as freemium options and cost-scalable paid plans.
HubSpot CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-month breakdown of the Sales Hub plans for individuals and small teams. Monthly billing and Enterprise products are available for a higher cost. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers to check current pricing here.
**The CRM Suite combines Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, content management system (CMS), and Operations software in one product.
Our Expert Opinion
HubSpot CRM 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.
Streak CRM: Best for Google Workspace Users
Pros
- Solid free plan that includes unlimited contact storage, Gmail access, and mass email campaign features
- Unique CRM format that seamlessly integrates with Gmail to manage contacts and pipelines on the Gmail interface
- System is customizable for users to track any business processes or pipelines they wish
Cons
- Users find it difficult to get used to the interface design
- Integration with non-Google apps are not available until the Pro plan ($49 per user, monthly)
- Ability to create automated workflows start with the Pro+ plan ($69 per user, monthly)
- You want to access your CRM directly from within Gmail: Streak CRM is built specifically for Google Workspace. Its unique Gmail plugin allows you to manage your sales activities and manage email communications from a single interface.
- You are a freelancer or solopreneur looking for a free CRM: This provider has a free plan for one user that allows you to manage and customize your pipeline without leaving Gmail. Solo-operated business users can also use it to track and manage their sales deals, invoicing, and client projects.
- You want to integrate your CRM with non-Google apps: Streak CRM’s integration with non-Google apps doesn’t come in until the Pro+ plan, which costs $69 per user, monthly. This will allow you to directly connect with Slack, Calendly, and Typeform, and it requires Zapier to integrate with other apps.
- Alternative: Zoho CRM offers almost 2,000 integrations on the Zoho Marketplace. You can also integrate your CRM with more than 1,000 other apps via Zapier.
- You prefer using a CRM with a more traditional interface: Based on user reviews, there are subscribers who do not like their CRM built into Gmail. Some say this makes the CRM difficult to operate.
- Alternative: Use HubSpot CRM if you want a traditional CRM system with high usability ratings.
Streak CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-month breakdown of the plans, though monthly billing is available for a higher cost. It comes with a 14-day free trial for paid plans. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers to check current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
Streak CRM is the best CRM for freelancers who use Google Workspace, especially those who love Gmail’s interface, since you can access it directly from within your Gmail inbox. It is free, and Solo ($15 per user, monthly) plans for single users include a basic CRM that is compatible with Google apps. Aside from that, it offers robust mass emailing and email tracking capabilities.
Insightly CRM: Best for Project Management & Delivery
Pros
- Includes built-in project management tools across all plans
- Highly customizable sales workflows
- Robust contact management tools with relationship linking, data storage, and activity tracking, including from third-party tools
Cons
- Marketing and customer service modules require a separate product for an added cost (starting at $29 per user, monthly)
- Telephony solution (Insightly Voice) costs extra ($35 per user, monthly)
- Expensive for price books and product management ($99 per user, monthly with the Enterprise plan)
- You manage product development projects: Insightly CRM’s built-in project management module is available across all plans. Freelancers and solopreneurs can set up automated queues to auto-create tasks and milestones for every new project they’re handling.
- You require a CRM with record-linking capabilities for referral marketing: Starting with the Plus plan ($29 per user, monthly), you can link contacts together to indicate business-to-business (B2B) relationships. Doing this enables you to track relationships between leads, customers, and companies in your CRM record.
- You need a solid social CRM: Insightly CRM does not have tools for managing content posts and follower engagement on social media.
- Alternative: Zoho CRM is our top choice for a social CRM. When you subscribe to its Standard plan ($14 per user, monthly), you can interact with clients and generate leads on social media using your CRM.
- You’re looking for a freelancer CRM with expanded client management tools: Insightly CRM offers tools for managing products, pricebooks, and quotes, but these features come at a hefty price of $99 per user, monthly, under the Enterprise plan.
- Alternative: HoneyBook is a specialty freelancer CRM that includes all modules that solo-operated businesses need, starting at just $8 per user, monthly. These modules include client management, proposals, projects, payment processing, appointment scheduling, invoicing, pricebooks, and service management.
Insightly CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
Insightly CRM Add-ons:
- Premier Support and Success Includes personalized support, proactive insights, and one-on-one technical guidance : Contact provider for a quote
- Guided Onboarding Includes guided CRM implementation, training, adoption, and consultation : $1,500 one-time fee
- Insightly Voice For U.S. and Canada subscribers to Professional and Enterprise plans only : $35 per user, monthly for 500 minutes of talk time
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-month breakdown of the plans, though monthly billing is available for a higher cost. It comes with a 14-day free trial. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers to check current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
Insightly CRM’s free plan for up to two users is perfect for freelancers or solopreneurs managing project-based businesses. It offers tools for managing projects and automating tasks and milestones. After closing a deal, you can seamlessly convert the opportunity into a project, automatically copying relevant details and tasks into the post-sale record. You can also customize your pipeline stages according to the nature of your project.
Freshsales: Best Free CRM for Freelancers
Pros
- Free plan available with contact and account management modules
- 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 ($69 per user, monthly)
- You need a solid free CRM: While we consider HubSpot CRM the best free CRM overall, Freshsales is the best free CRM specifically for freelancers. Its Free plan has tools for streamlining client prospecting and closing deals. These include a built-in phone, account and deal management, activity timeline, and appointment scheduling capabilities.
- You want access to multiple communication channels: As freelancers rely on their relationships to build 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 artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot for automating website conversations.
- You need built-in project management capabilities: 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: Insightly CRM is our best recommendation for project management. It offers this feature, including project delivery, for free.
- 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.
- Alternatives: HubSpot CRM is our pick for the best freelancer CRM in terms of marketing features, which include email, ad, and content marketing capabilities. Zoho CRM is another solid option if you primarily want to focus on your social media presence.
Freshsales Pricing Plan & Overview*
Freshsales Pricing Add-ons:
- Workflows: $5 for 10 workflows
- Phone Credits: Starts at $5
- CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote): $19 per user, monthly
- Additional Bot Sessions: $75 for 1,000 bot sessions per month
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-month breakdown of the plans, though monthly billing is available for a higher cost. It comes with a 21-day free trial. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers to check 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 made available by the platform, like email, live chat, text, and chatbot.
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 tools get expensive with the Power plan at $64 per user, monthly
- Relatively expensive to enable use of Gmail or Outlook email with the Advanced plan at $29 per user, monthly
- 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: Pipedrive’s Power plan 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 a free-forever plan to its users.
- Alternative: Freshsales is our top recommended pick for freelancers seeking a free-forever CRM option. It offers a robust free CRM that supports up to three users and has a built-in phone system.
- 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 $29 per user, monthly, for email sync with Gmail or Outlook, which is what allows users to send and receive emails in the CRM:
- Alternative: HubSpot CRM is a great alternative to a solopreneur CRM that includes email access on the free-forever plans, both for direct and mass email outreach.
Pipedrive Pricing Plan & Overview*
Pipedrive Pricing Add-ons:
- Projects Project management tools; free with Power and Enterprise plans : Starts at $6.70 per user, monthly
- Campaigns Customizable email campaigns : Starts at $13.33 per company, monthly
- LeadBooster Lead generation tool set (chatbot, live chat, prospector, web forms, and appointment scheduler) : Starts at $32.50 per company, monthly
- Smart Docs Trackable quotes, proposals, and contracts; free with Professional, Power, and Enterprise plans : Starts at $32.50 per company, monthly
- Web Visitors Web tracking and lead ranking : Starts at $41 per company, monthly
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-month breakdown of the plans, though monthly billing is available for a higher cost. It comes with a 14-day free trial. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers to check 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—adding even more use cases of the software even after a closed deal.
ClickUp: Best for Multi-view Work Management
Pros
- Free plan supports unlimited users, unlimited tasks, and custom views
- Has more than 15 project view options, including Gantt charts and Mind Maps
- A complete work management system with highly customizable workflows, views, and dashboards
Cons
- Steep learning curve due to high customizability
- Does not offer phone and email support
- Not a traditional CRM system; requires adjustment for users not accustomed to a work management tool
- You’re looking for a highly customizable work management platform: ClickUp offers work boards that you can customize according to your unique business operations, be it sales, marketing, or customer service. To make things more convenient for you, it also has premade CRM templates with varying workflows, project views, data views, lists, and tasks.
- You want to use a non-traditional CRM for project and task management: ClickUp has an excellent set of tools for customer data and project management, propelling it to our list of the top CRM alternatives. All plan users can not only store contact data but also track time spent on projects and comment on task-related threads.
- You prefer using a traditional CRM system for operations management: Since ClickUp is a work management platform, it takes some time to get accustomed to the process of customizing it to use it as a CRM.
- Alternatives: Use Zoho CRM if you’re looking for a traditional CRM with prebuilt modules for sales and marketing automation. HubSpot CRM, on the other hand, is a great alternative if you want separate modules for sales, marketing, and customer service.
- You require a built-in phone system for lead engagement: While ClickUp has collaboration tools like in-app chat and digital whiteboards, it does not offer built-in phone capabilities.
- Alternative: Freshsales is our top recommendation for freelancers needing a CRM with built-in telephonic features. Its free option supports up to three users, and includes an inbound caller, call recording features, and queue transfer. For more similar options, read our guide to the best call center CRMs.
ClickUp Pricing Plan & Overview*
ClickUp Pricing Add-ons:
- ClickUp AI: $5 per user, monthly
- Automations: Starts at $19.99 per month for 1,000 monthly automations
- Email Account: $2 per user or $24 per year for each additional email account
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-month breakdown of the plans, though monthly billing is available for a higher cost. While we update pricing information regularly, we encourage our readers to check current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
ClickUp is a solid CRM alternative for freelancers needing a highly customizable system for managing their sales processes, workflows, customer data and interactions, and account data. This platform offers a lot of useful tools for freelancers, such as Workspaces for managing freelance gigs, Spaces for managing goals and tasks, Folders for project categories, and task management. You can also use its guest access to collaborate with clients.
How We Evaluated the Best CRM for Freelancers
To determine the best freelance CRM software, we 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 firsthand 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, this type of 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 an alternative solution to 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.
If you’re not ready to commit to a CRM solution, you can use tags to organize your emails based on the type of audience or customers you have. Another trick is to use Google Sheets as a CRM. The headers that you can use in this spreadsheet include email address, contact name, stage, company name, and job title. You can also integrate your existing tools with other apps via Zapier or Automate.io to build automated workflows for data importation.
Bottom Line
A CRM for freelancers is software built specifically for individually owned and managed businesses. Rather than focusing on team collaboration features, a CRM for freelancers will have tools that let solopreneurs generate and maintain clientele on their own. While Zoho CRM scored the highest for its social media management features, other CRMs are a better fit depending on feature needs, usability requirements, and budget.