The ideal customer relationship management (CRM) software for freelancers should centralize customer interactions, transactions, and projects in an intuitive platform. Furthermore, it should also have an affordable price tag for self-employed freelancers on a tight budget. We compared dozens of solutions and narrowed it down to the six best, including the best overall, based on time tracking, cloud storage, price, mobile apps, and guest access for client collaboration.
The six best CRMs for freelancers are:
- Zoho CRM: Best overall for freelancers needing a CRM to manage contacts and track customer activity
- Agile CRM: Great for individuals or solo entrepreneurs who require a CRM with ecommerce capabilities
- HubSpot: Ideal for freelancers looking for time-saving processes and automation tools
- Freshworks CRM: Good alternative for freelancers who want a CRM with easy data import, export, and management tools
- Zendesk Sell: Best suited for solopreneurs who need guest access for client and customer collaboration
- Dubsado: Particularly beneficial for consultants who want a CRM with time tracking and invoicing functionality
How We Evaluated the Best CRM for Freelancers
To determine the best CRMs for freelancers, we considered core requirements such as ease of use and budget friendliness when evaluating their service plans. While the top solutions don’t need to be industry-specific CRMs, it should address some of the common pain points of freelancing, including customer contact and activity management.
Zoho CRM’s score of 4.95 out of 5 makes it the best overall CRM for freelancers. It offers feature-rich plans that include fast and reliable customer and client billing, robust cloud storage and client collaboration portals.
Click on the tabs below to explore our evaluation criteria:
40% of Overall Score
While the most budget-friendly solutions are free, some freelancers may require advanced features typically found with paid service plans. In addition to evaluating a CRM’s free plan features, we also assessed its fee-based service plans for value and affordability.
20% of Overall Score
Though many freelancers are tech-savvy, learning a complex new platform takes time and effort that could be better spent taking care of existing clients and prospecting for new ones. The solutions we evaluated are easy enough for most people to set up and use, regardless of technical abilities.
20% of Overall Score
Deal and opportunity management is a core function of modern CRMs. However, our top-scoring solutions also contained features that specifically benefit freelancers, such as time tracking and built-in invoicing.
10% of Overall Score
No matter how full-featured a CRM is, sometimes freelancers want a solution that integrates with business apps they already use. Our CRM selections were assessed for their ability to accommodate native and third-party business apps like email, live chat, and ecommerce tools.
5% of Overall Score
Most CRMs offer some level of customization, such as the ability to create unique contact fields. The best CRMs for freelancers and consultants also allow users to customize other aspects of the platform, such as pipelines, reports, and dashboards.
5% of Overall Score
Freelancers and solo business owners have a lot on their plates, so the more business processes that can be automated, the better. We assessed each CRM on how well it offers automation tools for common business practices like email drips, task reminders, and pipeline management.
Zoho CRM: Best Overall CRM for Freelancers
Zoho CRM
What We Like
- Cloud document sync and storage
- Customizable invoices and payment
- Send time sheets for approval from inside the CRM
What's Missing
- Time tracking features only available in other Zoho apps (e.g., Zoho People, Zoho Projects)
- Free plan limited to three users
Zoho CRM Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: Supports three users
- Standard: $12 per user, per month
- Professional: $20 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $35 per user, per month
- Ultimate: $45 per user, per month
- Free trial of paid plans: 15 days
*Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
Zoho CRM is our top-ranked CRM for freelancers for a number of reasons, including its cloud-based file storage and free mobile app, which enables a smooth collaboration with customers and clients no matter their location. For easy client and customer billing, it can also manage time sheets, generate invoices or quotes, and send payment reminders.
Zoho CRM Features
Zoho CRM time sheet
(Source: Zoho CRM)
- Customizable invoices and quotes
- Time sheet management options
- Generates auto-populated invoicing
- Seamlessly import and export data
- Zoho WorkDrive cloud storage platform
- Mobile app with CRM features to close deals on the go
- Guest access or restricted access to collaborate with clients
Agile CRM: Best Freelance CRM for Ecommerce Businesses
Agile CRM
What We Like
- Stores data on a single database via Google Cloud
- Administrator can control data or features accessible to users
- Mobile app with intuitive dashboard and contact management features
What's Missing
- Lacks time tracker
- Requires third-party integration for invoicing and quotes
- Limited pipelines, reporting, and analytics capabilities
Agile CRM Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: Supports up to 10 users
- Starter: $9.99 per user, per month
- Regular: $39.99 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $64.99 per user, per month
*Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
Agile CRM is the ideal solution for solopreneurs launching an ecommerce business. This solution offers robust marketing and service automation, campaign workflows, and custom deal milestones—among many others. While Agile CRM lets you sell and market several products, it lost some points for its lack of features many freelancers need, such as time tracking system and cloud storage options.
Agile CRM Features
Agile CRM timeline dashboard
(Source: Agile CRM)
- Instantly import or export data
- Access controls to customize user privileges
- Mobile app for deal management and lead conversion
- Has highly secure namespace on Google cloud to store data on a single database
- Integration with third-party service billing plugins, such as QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Stripe, and Xero
HubSpot: Best Freelancer CRM for Automating Workflows
Hubspot
What We Like
- Create and share quotes and invoices
- Mobile app to manage outreach, sales, and team collaboration
- Use workflows to automate sales processes and finish tasks efficiently
What's Missing
- Lacks time tracker
- Add-on bundles with additional features are expensive
- Mobile app has limited features
HubSpot Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: For unlimited users
- Starter: $45 per month, starts at two paid users
- Professional: $450 per month, starts at five paid users
- Enterprise: $1,200 per month, starts at 10 paid users
*Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
HubSpot CRM allows users to create professional quotes, quickly import or export data, and customize reports. However, where it really shines is its ability to create automated workflows for several essential business functions, including reminders and email drips. Unfortunately, HubSpot CRM’s mobile apps are somewhat limited in their ability to access and manage as much data as you can from the desktop.
HubSpot Features
HubSpot quotes dashboard
(Source: HubSpot)
- Includes cloud storage option
- Create and send professional quotes and invoices
- Mobile app to keep up with contacts, tasks, and deals
- Quick and easy import and export of data
- Account access permission for client collaboration
Freshworks CRM: Best Solution for Importing & Exporting Data
Freshworks CRM
What We Like
- Mobile app to track sales activities
- Built-in cloud telephony
- Cloud storage to streamlines sales and marketing interactions
What's Missing
- Can get expensive when adding additional users
- Lacks guest access for client collaboration
- No time tracking feature
Freshworks CRM Pricing at a Glance*
- Growth: $29 per user, per month
- Pro: $69 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $125 per user, per month
- Free trial of paid plans: 21 days
*Pricing shown is based on annual billing.
Freshworks CRM features an all-in-one solution for sales and marketing teams with artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots, multichannel communication, and functional mobile apps. Third-party integration with apps for file sharing, accounting, and billing, data migration, and access management also guarantee you’ll get more out of this solution. Although Freshworks CRM has a custom roles option, we docked some points because it does not offer guest access for client collaboration.
Freshworks CRM Features
Freshworks CRM data migration
(Source: Freshworks)
- One-click data migration
- Automated workflows
- Manage user access with custom roles option
- Mobile app for managing contacts and tasks and tracking sales activities
- Built-in cloud telephony to make calls from laptops or smart devices
- Third-party integration with QuickBooks, Xero, PayPal, and Stripe for accounting and billing
Zendesk Sell: Best CRM for Client & Customer Collaboration
Zendesk Sell
What We Like
- Admin can add new users and define their roles or privileges
- Mobile app for collaboration with sales reps
- Manage bills and invoices
What's Missing
- No time tracker
- Lacks cloud storage option
- No support for quotes
Zendesk Sell Pricing at a Glance*
- Team: $19 per user, per month
- Professional: $49 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $99 per user, per month
- Free trial: 14 days
*Pricing shown is based on annual billing.
Zendesk Sell is the best CRM for freelancers who need to collaborate with clients and customers on a regular basis. Users can define roles for users and identify permissions, as well as create a dedicated URL for each client space. Each web-hosted portal can be securely set up right from the client’s deal card in the pipeline However, Zendesk Sell lacks a free plan as well as support for quotes and time trackers, which cost it some evaluation points.
Zendesk Sell Features
Zendesk Sell client collaboration tool
(Source: Zendesk Sell)
- Manage invoices
- Export and import content
- Create custom roles and define user permissions in Enterprise and Elite plans
- Mobile app for lead management, tracking sales opportunities, and collaborating with sales team
Dubsado: Best Freelancer CRM for Time Tracking & Invoicing
Dubsado
What We Like
- Customize roles for each user
- Apply billable hours to invoice
- Create and send invoices
What's Missing
- Lacks mobile app
- No cloud storage option
- Requires third-party integration with Zapier for business phone
Dubsado Pricing at a Glance
- Free: For up to three users
- Monthly: $35 per month, first three additional users are free
Additional users can be added according to the following tiers:
- Four to 10 users: $25 per month add-on fee
- 11 to 20 users: $45 per month add-on fee
- 21 to 30 users: $60 per month add-on fee
Dubsado is a CRM with core CRM functionalities including a time tracker and invoicing system for getting paid quickly. It supports payment processing through PayPal, Stripe, and Square, and even offers clients the option to include a tip when making a payment. However, Dubsado did lose evaluation points for its lack of a mobile app and cloud storage option.
Dubsado Features
Dubsado client management
(Source: Dubsado)
- Time tracker
- Multi-user roles
- Send invoices and quotes
- Import or export client data
- Migrate existing clients
