Best CRM for free

AI's answer · live, with web access

HubSpot

Contested

99/100 slot score

100% of answers name it

1st avg. position

+15 ahead of Zoho CRM

HubSpot wins every single answer on the free-CRM question, landing at position 1 across all 12 responses from all three models.

With a score of 99 and a 15-plus point gap over the next tier, HubSpot's grip on this question is near-total, driven consistently by its unlimited-contacts-and-users free tier and built-in marketing tools like email, live chat, and meeting scheduling. Zoho CRM and Bitrix24 both appear in 100% of answers as well, averaging position 3, so the real competition is for the supporting slots rather than the top recommendation. Freshsales and EngageBay split the fourth spot unevenly: ChatGPT favored Freshsales in all four of its answers while Gemini pushed EngageBay every time, showing those two brands are serving different mental models of what a free CRM buyer looks like. Answers cite unlimited-user policies and permanently free plans as the deciding criteria, which is what keeps HubSpot ahead of tools with more restricted free tiers.

AI-generated analysis of the September 2026 measurements.

The full field

Every brand recommended for this question, from 12 answers across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.

#	Brand	Slot score	Appears in	Avg. position
1	HubSpot	99	100%	1st
2	Zoho CRM	84	100%	#3
3	Bitrix24	83	100%	#3
4	Freshsales	53	75%	#4
5	EngageBay	49	67%	#4
6	Zite	15	17%	#2
7	ClickUp	14	25%	#6
8	Streak	13	25%	#7

Slot score is position-weighted, 0 to 100: being recommended first counts far more than a trailing mention. "Appears in" is the share of answers naming the brand at all.

How this was measured

ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini each answered this question in two phrasings, several times each, with live web access and citations: the closest API-reachable version of the real assistant experience (no personalization or account memory, which no vendor can provide). Model-memory answers (no web) are measured separately and shown above as a comparison surface. A brand counts once per answer that recommends it. The exact questions:

• "What's the best CRM for someone who needs a genuinely free plan?"
• "We're not able to spend anything yet, so we need a real free plan, not a trial. Which CRM should we use?"

Part of the CRM ranking. Method details on the methodology page. Rankings reflect measured AI answers, not paid placement.

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