5 Best HubSpot CRM Alternatives in 2026 for Small Businesses

Here's a question worth asking before you set up another CRM:

Do you need a customer relationship management platform? Or do you just need to remember who to follow up with?

HubSpot is one of the most established CRM platforms available. It offers contact management, deal pipelines, reports, marketing tools, and automation.

For growing companies with dedicated sales teams, that's a good thing.

But if you're a freelancer juggling twelve clients, you might not need an entire revenue operations department inside your browser.

These five HubSpot alternatives cover different levels of complexity.

Disclosure: We built LeaveItToBumBum, so our own tool appears in this comparison. Our recommendations reflect publicly documented product features and intended use cases. We have not conducted controlled hands-on testing of every competitor. External vendor plan details were reviewed in October 2026.

Quick comparison

1. Leave It to Bum Bum: Best for remembering client follow-ups

Leave It to Bum Bum offers a tiny CRM called Purrsuit.

It's built around a common small business problem: you meet someone, have a great conversation, promise to follow up, and then completely forget.

Purrsuit helps you keep track of clients, identify who needs a follow-up, and figure out what to say next.

Instead of setting up an entire sales pipeline, you can focus on maintaining relationships.

Why consider it?

• Keep track of people you need to contact
• See who needs a follow-up
• Get help deciding what to say
• Avoid unnecessary CRM complexity
• Keep your everyday tools together in one place

Where HubSpot wins: Company-wide contact management, deal reporting, shared sales workflows, marketing automation, and deep integrations.

Best for: Freelancers, independent consultants, solo founders, and small service businesses whose biggest challenge is staying in touch.

Try Purrsuit

2. Zoho CRM: Best for small sales teams

Zoho CRM offers contact management, deal tracking, workflow rules, reporting, and a mobile app.

Its free edition supports up to three users, making it a credible free alternative for a small team that genuinely needs a CRM.

Best for: Growing businesses that need a more structured sales process.

3. Pipedrive: Best for visual pipelines

Pipedrive centers the sales process around moving deals from one stage to the next.

Its visual interface makes it useful for companies managing multiple prospects and sales opportunities.

Best for: Small B2B sales teams that want pipeline visibility.

4. folk: Best for relationship-driven businesses

folk focuses on organizing contacts and managing professional relationships.

It's particularly relevant to founders, agencies, and teams doing relationship-driven outreach.

Best for: Agencies, partnerships, recruiting, and founder-led sales.

5. Bigin by Zoho CRM: Best for simple sales pipelines

Bigin is Zoho's streamlined CRM for smaller businesses.

It offers a more focused approach to pipeline management than a comprehensive CRM suite.

Best for: Teams moving beyond spreadsheets that still want formal deal stages.

Is HubSpot too much for a small business?

Not necessarily.

HubSpot's core CRM has a free edition, and paid options expand its capabilities. Starter is advertised from $15 per seat per month, subject to offer and eligibility conditions.

If you need customer data, marketing, reporting, and sales in one connected system, HubSpot can be a sensible investment.

But if your actual problem is that you forget to follow up with people, start by solving that problem.

Our recommendation: Try Purrsuit for individual client relationships, Zoho or Bigin for basic sales management, and HubSpot when you need a more connected business platform.

Keep your client follow-ups organized with Bum Bum

Frequently asked questions

What's the simplest alternative to HubSpot?

For personal client follow-ups, Purrsuit is a lightweight option. For formal pipeline management, Bigin is worth considering.

Is HubSpot CRM free?

Yes. HubSpot offers a free CRM with contact and pipeline management features. Advanced capabilities may require paid plans.

Do freelancers need CRM software?

Not always. Freelancers often need a reliable way to remember clients, conversations, and next steps rather than a full sales platform.

What's the best free CRM for a small team?

Zoho CRM is worth evaluating because its free edition supports up to three users.

Can a follow-up tracker replace HubSpot?

For simple relationship tracking, possibly. For team reporting, marketing workflows, and more complex sales operations, a full CRM is better suited.