Best CRM for Sales Teams (2026)

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Quick Take

Sales teams need a CRM that helps them close deals, not do data entry. These picks are ranked by how well they support the actual sales workflow: pipeline visibility, communication tools, and activity tracking.

Our Top Picks at a Glance

# Tool Best For Starting Price Score
1 Pipedrive Best visual pipeline $14/mo 8.9/10
2 Close Best for inside sales $59/mo 8.0/10
3 HubSpot CRM Best all-in-one for sales $0/mo 9.3/10
4 Salesforce Best for complex sales $25/mo 8.9/10
5 Freshsales Best AI for sales $0/mo 9.0/10

1. Pipedrive | Best visual pipeline

Pipedrive is built by salespeople, for salespeople. The visual pipeline interface is the best in the business — drag-and-drop deals across stages, get activity reminders, and see exactly where every deal stands. It's not trying to be a marketing platform or helpdesk. If your team lives in the pipeline view, this is it.

Our take: Drag-and-drop deals, activity reminders, and deal rotting. Built by salespeople, for salespeople.

Pipedrive Pricing

PlanMonthlyAnnual
Essential $14 $12/mo
Advanced $39 $30/mo
Professional $49 $42/mo
Power $64 $56/mo
Enterprise $99 $79/mo

Full Pipedrive pricing breakdown

2. Close | Best for inside sales

Close is built for inside sales teams that live on the phone and email. Built-in calling, SMS, and email sequences mean you don't need separate tools. The UI is fast and opinionated — it's designed to minimize clicks between activities. Not cheap, but if your sales motion is high-velocity outbound, the productivity gains justify the price.

Our take: Built-in VoIP, SMS, and email sequences. The fastest CRM for high-velocity outbound.

Close Pricing

PlanMonthlyAnnual
Startup $59 $49/mo
Professional $109 $99/mo
Enterprise $149 $139/mo

Full Close pricing breakdown

3. HubSpot CRM | Best all-in-one for sales

HubSpot CRM is a free CRM platform with marketing, sales, and service hubs that scale from startups to enterprise. The free tier is genuinely useful — but once you need automation or reporting, costs jump fast. The Marketing Hub Pro at $890/mo is where most growing teams land, and it's not per-user — it's per portal.

Our take: Sequences, meeting scheduler, and lead scoring. Plus marketing tools when you need them.

HubSpot CRM Pricing

PlanMonthlyAnnual
Free Tools $0
Starter $20 $15/mo
Professional $890 $800/mo
Enterprise $3600 $3600/mo

Full HubSpot CRM pricing breakdown

4. Salesforce | Best for complex sales

Salesforce is the 800-pound gorilla of CRM. It can do virtually anything — but that flexibility comes with complexity and cost. You'll need an admin (or a consultant) to set it up properly. Per-user pricing adds up fast, and most useful features require Enterprise tier or add-ons. The ecosystem of AppExchange apps is unmatched.

Our take: Territory management, forecasting, CPQ. The enterprise standard for a reason.

Salesforce Pricing

PlanMonthlyAnnual
Starter Suite $25
Professional $80
Enterprise $165
Unlimited $330

Full Salesforce pricing breakdown

5. Freshsales | Best AI for sales

Freshsales (part of Freshworks) offers AI-powered lead scoring and a clean interface at a fraction of HubSpot's price. The free plan includes contact management, email, phone, and chat. Freddy AI handles lead scoring and deal insights. The catch: some advanced features require the Freshsales Suite, not standalone Freshsales.

Our take: Freddy AI scores leads and surfaces deal insights. Strong value at $47/user Pro.

Freshsales Pricing

PlanMonthlyAnnual
Free $0
Growth $11 $9/mo
Pro $47 $39/mo
Enterprise $71 $59/mo

Full Freshsales pricing breakdown

How We Ranked These Tools

We weighted pipeline management, communication features, and ease of use more heavily. A CRM is only useful if reps actually use it.

Read our full scoring methodology for details.