Question 1

Is there a genuinely free CRM for small business?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but with severe limits. HubSpot Free and Freshsales Free both offer a permanently free tier — but both cap automation, email campaigns, and reporting in ways that make them impractical for any active sales team. HubSpot Free has no email sequences or campaign sending. Freshsales Free has no workflow automation and very limited reporting. If your team has fewer than 3 users, fewer than 500 contacts, and you only need a simple pipeline to track deals manually, a free tier can work. For anything beyond that, a paid plan (or a full-featured trial like Vedain's) is the honest answer.

Question 2

What does HubSpot's free CRM actually include?

Accepted Answer

HubSpot Free includes unlimited contacts, unlimited users, a basic deal pipeline, meeting scheduling, and live chat. What it does NOT include: email marketing campaigns (requires Marketing Hub at $800+/month), email sequences for sales (requires Sales Hub at $90/user/month), workflow automation, custom reporting, or call recording. The free CRM is designed to give you a taste — but every feature that drives revenue is behind a paid hub.

Question 3

Why doesn't Vedain have a permanently free tier?

Accepted Answer

Because permanently free tiers are either unsustainable or require gutting the product. HubSpot's free tier is a loss leader designed to upsell you to $800+/month Marketing Hub. Zoho's free tier caps you at 3 users forever. Vedain's choice is different: a full-featured 14-day trial with no limits, followed by $10/user/month with everything included. We'd rather you evaluate the full product honestly than get hooked on a watered-down version and then face sticker shock.

Question 4

Is a 14-day trial better than a free tier?

Accepted Answer

For most teams, yes. A free tier with gutted features doesn't tell you whether the CRM actually works for your workflow — you're evaluating a crippled version. A 14-day full trial lets you run real leads, send real campaigns, and see real results. If the CRM doesn't fit in 14 days, you'd have found out in month 3 on a free tier anyway — but only after wasting time building on it. Vedain's trial includes every feature: email campaigns, automation, WhatsApp, calling, AI coaching. No credit card required.

Question 5

What's the cheapest CRM that includes email campaigns?

Accepted Answer

Vedain is the cheapest full-featured CRM that includes email campaigns — at $10/user/month (₹500 in India, AED 25 in UAE) with no add-ons. Pipedrive charges $13+/user/month extra for Campaigns on top of its base plan. HubSpot requires a $800/month Marketing Hub subscription. Zoho Campaigns is a separate product starting at $500/month. No permanently free CRM tier includes email campaigns — this is always a paid feature.

Question 6

How many contacts can I have in a free CRM?

Accepted Answer

It varies by platform. HubSpot Free allows unlimited contacts — but you can't email them at scale without a paid Marketing Hub subscription. Zoho Free allows unlimited contacts too, but only for 3 users. Freshsales Free allows unlimited contacts. The contact limit isn't usually the problem with free tiers — it's the feature walls that block you from actually using those contacts productively. Vedain has no contact limits at any tier.

CRM	Free contacts	Free users	Email campaigns	Automation	When it stops being free
HubSpot Free	Unlimited	Unlimited	Not included	Not included	The moment you need email campaigns or sequences
Zoho Free	Unlimited	3 users only	Not included	Not included	When you need a 4th user or email automation
Pipedrive	No free tier	—	No free tier	—	Trial ends in 14 days
Freshsales Free	Unlimited	Unlimited	Not included	Not included	The moment you need reporting or automation
VedainThis page	14-day full trial	Full access	included at $10/user	included	Never — everything included at $10/user

The Truth About "Free" CRM Software

What free CRM plans actually give you

The 4 free CRM traps

Contact limits

User limits

Feature gating

The upgrade cliff

What a real free trial looks like

14-day full trial

$10/user after trial

Better than "free"

When a free CRM is the right choice

Vedain after trial

Free CRM alternatives compared

Common questions

Start your 14-day full trial — $0 until you decide to stay