Last updated: October 20, 2026. Prices were re-checked on each vendor’s pricing page on that date.
Almost every CRM now says it has AI built in. The catch for a small business is that the useful AI features (lead scoring, deal summaries, drafted follow-ups) usually sit on a higher plan than the one advertised on the homepage, or they draw on a monthly allowance of “credits.” So the honest question isn’t “which CRM has AI?” but “what will I actually pay per month to get the AI features I want, for my team size?”
This guide answers that for teams of 1 to 20 people. We list the plan where each AI feature starts, show a worked cost example for a three-person team, and link every price to its source. If you also miss a lot of phone calls, read our comparison of the best AI receptionist for small business too, because the two tools work best together.
AI CRM pricing at a glance
| CRM | Free plan | Entry paid plan | Where the AI you’d actually use starts | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Sales Hub | Yes (up to 2 users) | Starter, approx. $15–20/seat/mo | Paid plans include monthly HubSpot Credits for AI (500 on Starter, 3,000 on Professional). Professional is approx. $90–100/seat/mo plus a $1,500 one-time onboarding fee | Teams that want marketing and sales in one place |
| Zoho CRM | Yes (up to 3 users) | Standard, approx. $14/user/mo | Predictive intelligence from Professional (approx. $23); Zia AI sales assistant from Enterprise (approx. $40) | Tight budgets that still want prediction features |
| Freshsales | No | Growth, $9/user/mo (annual) | Contact scoring from Pro ($39/user/mo annual); Freddy AI Agent is an add-on ($49 per 100 sessions) | Teams that want calling and email built in |
| Pipedrive | No (free trial) | Lite, approx. $14/seat/mo (annual) | AI sales assistant features are spread across plans; Growth (approx. $39) is where most small teams land | Sales teams that live in a pipeline view |
| Attio | Yes (up to 3 seats) | Plus, approx. 31 per seat/mo (annual) | AI features on every plan, metered by credits (more credits on Plus and Pro) | Small, data-heavy modern teams |
| Salesforce | No | Starter Suite, approx. $25/seat/mo | Advanced Agentforce AI sits in higher editions and add-ons; expect a sales quote | Teams that expect to grow well past 20 people |
Prices are approximate, in USD unless noted, and change often. Attio showed us prices in euros; the USD figure on its page may differ slightly. Pipedrive’s pricing page blocked our automated check, so its figures come from 2026 third-party roundups and should be confirmed on Pipedrive’s site.
What “AI CRM” means in practice
Strip away the marketing and most AI CRM features fall into four groups:
- Lead or contact scoring: the CRM ranks leads by how likely they are to buy, based on past deals and activity. It only works once you have some history in the system, so it is less useful in month one.
- Drafted emails and follow-ups: the CRM writes a first draft of a reply or a follow-up sequence. You still edit and send it.
- Summaries: a short recap of a contact or deal so you don’t scroll through months of notes before a call.
- AI agents: newer features that take actions on their own, such as enriching contact records or answering website chats. These are the ones most often billed by credits or sessions.
Before you compare tools, write down which of these four you would really use every week. Most small teams only need drafted follow-ups and summaries, which are the cheapest to get.
Worked example: a three-person team that wants lead scoring
Headline prices are per seat, so the real bill depends on your headcount. Here is what three users would pay per month on annual billing, on the cheapest plan that includes some form of lead or deal prediction:
| CRM and plan | Calculation | Approx. monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Zoho CRM Professional | 3 × $23 | $69 |
| Freshsales Pro | 3 × $39 | $117 |
| Pipedrive Growth | 3 × $39 | $117 |
| HubSpot Sales Hub Professional | 3 × $90, plus $1,500 one-time onboarding | $270 (+ $125/mo if you spread onboarding over a year) |
The spread is large: the same team can pay $69 or roughly $400 a month in year one for broadly similar scoring features. That doesn’t make the cheapest one the best choice, but it shows why you should price your own team size before booking demos.
The options in more detail
HubSpot Sales Hub
HubSpot’s free CRM is still the easiest place to start: contacts, deals and email tracking for up to two users at no cost. Its AI tools (branded Breeze) draw on HubSpot Credits that come with paid plans, so the free plan is best thought of as a contact database, not an AI CRM. The jump to Professional is steep because of the per-seat price and the one-time onboarding fee.
Zoho CRM
Zoho gives you the most AI per dollar. Its pricing page lists predictive intelligence (the likelihood of a lead converting or a deal closing) from the Professional edition, and the Zia AI sales assistant from Enterprise. The trade-off is a busier interface that takes longer to set up. Zoho’s free edition covers up to three users but has no AI features.
Freshsales
Freshsales has the lowest entry price ($9 per user on annual billing) and includes built-in phone and email. Contact scoring starts on Pro. Its Freddy AI Agent is sold separately in blocks of sessions, which is fine if you only want it on your website chat but adds up if you use it heavily.
Pipedrive
Pipedrive suits teams that think in stages (“quoted,” “negotiating,” “won”). The visual pipeline is the reason people choose it, and its AI assistant mainly helps with deal insights and email drafting. Budget for Growth rather than Lite if you want automations.
Attio
Attio is free for up to three seats and lists its AI features (Ask Attio, call intelligence, AI agents) on every plan. The limit is credits: each plan includes a monthly allowance per seat and per workspace, shared with workflows. It’s a good fit for small teams comfortable with a flexible, spreadsheet-like data model.
Salesforce
Salesforce Starter Suite is affordable at about $25 per seat, but the advanced Agentforce AI is priced for larger companies. Choose it only if you already know you’ll need Salesforce’s ecosystem as you grow.
How to choose
- One or two people, want free: HubSpot Free, then add AI later on a paid plan.
- Want prediction on a small budget: Zoho CRM Professional.
- Need calling built in: Freshsales.
- Pipeline-driven sales team: Pipedrive Growth.
- Up to three people who like flexible data: Attio Free.
- Planning to scale fast: Salesforce, with a quote for the AI you need.
A CRM is only as good as the data going into it. Connecting it to your forms, phone and calendar is covered in our AI automation for small business guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get AI features in a CRM for free?
Only in a limited way. Attio’s free plan includes a small monthly allowance of AI credits for up to three seats. HubSpot’s and Zoho’s free plans are useful CRMs, but their AI features sit on paid plans.
Is lead scoring worth paying for in a new business?
Usually not yet. Scoring learns from your past deals, so with only a handful of closed deals it has little to learn from. Start with a cheaper plan and upgrade once you have a few months of data.
Can I switch CRMs later without losing data?
Contacts and deals export to CSV in all of these tools. Automations, email sequences and AI settings generally do not transfer, so expect a few hours of rebuilding.
What’s the difference between monthly and annual pricing?
Most vendors advertise the annual price, which is billed upfront for the year. Paying month to month typically costs 15–30% more per seat.
Real estate agents have CRMs built for their workflow; see our guide to AI tools for real estate agents.