Salesforce alternatives in 2026

Q: Does HubSpot Free CRM include sales pipeline stages?

HubSpot provides a free CRM. The source does not state a fixed stage count or lost-deal reason list, so check the CRM setup for whether it uses fixed stages and a fixed lost-reason list.

Compare Salesforce alternatives by what they do: HubSpot Free CRM, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM, and Connections Sales by Uncommon Comforts.

By Uncommon Comforts · 2026-11-02

Uncommon Comforts is published by the team behind Connections, whose products are compared here alongside other tools.

Connections Sales runs as a signed-in web workspace where each deal sits in one of five stages, a rule-based check-up reviews your work, and lost deals are marked with a fixed reason list.

Option	Option	Own plan fee	Card payment fee
HubSpot Free CRM	Free CRM ^[1]	not published	not published
Pipedrive	14-day free trial, no card required ^[2]	not published	not published
Zoho CRM	not published	not published	not published
Connections Sales	Free, $0 ^[3]; Pro, $39.99 a month ^[3]; Business, $99.99 a month ^[3]	not published	not published

What to weigh in Salesforce alternatives

Salesforce describes its platform as an AI-powered customer relationship management platform. ^[4] It offers agentic CRM solutions tailored for companies of all sizes. ^[4] Salesforce agentic AI can personalize every interaction across marketing, sales, and service channels. ^[4] It can predict business outcomes, including which deals are likely to close. ^[4] It can reason, plan multistep actions, and execute tasks. ^[4] It can organize contact information, leads, and customer service data. ^[4] It can automate tasks such as logging calls and sending follow-up emails. ^[4] It can automate complex workflows such as lead qualification and service case resolution. ^[4] Salesforce offers a free starting option for its CRM platform. ^[4] Salesforce provides a unified set of applications powered by agentic AI and data that help marketing, sales, service, commerce, and IT work as one. ^[4] Before choosing, check whether your team needs agentic AI for multistep reasoning, or whether a simpler pipeline with fixed stages and a rule-based review fits your work.

HubSpot Free CRM: a free CRM to start with

HubSpot provides a free CRM. ^[1] It offers a Small Business Bundle built for startups and small businesses. ^[1] Check whether the free CRM covers the pipeline stages, deal loss tracking, and check-up style you actually use before committing to a broader bundle.

Pipedrive: AI-powered tips to focus on winning deals

Pipedrive includes AI-powered personalized tips to help users focus on winning deals. ^[2] It provides real-time visual data for performance insights. ^[2] It is GDPR compliant and secure. ^[2] It offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. ^[2] Check whether the AI deal tips match how your team records lost reasons and reviews deals, since the source does not describe a fixed lost-deal list.

Zoho CRM: sales automation and AI agents

Zoho CRM provides sales automation for follow-ups, approvals and contextual suggestions. ^[5] It allows users to build custom agents in Zia Agent Studio. ^[5] It includes pre-built agents in Zia Agent Store. ^[5] Check whether the AI agents match your workflow, since the source does not state a fixed deal-stage count or a rule-based review without AI.

Connections Sales: a signed-in sales workspace

Connections Sales is made by the team that publishes this site. ^[3] The web console with Home, Today, People, Pipeline, Check-up and Give has shipped. ^[3] Sales is a signed-in web workspace, not a public content page. ^[3] Each deal sits in one of five stages: new, talking, proposal, won or lost. ^[3] When you mark a deal lost, you pick a reason from a fixed list such as price, timing or chose competitor. ^[3] The sales check-up is rule-based, with no AI model call and no credits. ^[3] A prospect is recorded one person at a time. ^[3] You state why you may contact each prospect, and self-declared reasons are capped per day. ^[3] Marking someone do-not-contact removes them from plays immediately, with no approval step. ^[3] For a deal marked won, you can request a testimonial with a unique capture link. ^[3] Connections Free costs $0, and going over a limit stops the feature rather than billing you. ^[3] Connections Pro, the first paid plan, is $39.99 a month and adds premium features across every Connections product. ^[3] Connections Business is $99.99 a month, with higher limits across every Connections product. ^[3]

How to pick the right Salesforce alternative

Start with whether your team needs agentic AI for multistep workflows or a fixed pipeline with a rule-based review. Salesforce offers agentic AI that can reason, plan multistep actions, and execute tasks. ^[4] If your work is a deal pipeline with five fixed stages and a fixed lost-reason list, Connections Sales provides those stages and reasons without an AI model call. ^[3] ^[3] ^[3] If you want a free starting option, HubSpot provides a free CRM. ^[1] If you want a 14-day trial with no credit card, Pipedrive offers that. ^[2] If you need AI agents, Zoho CRM allows users to build custom agents in Zia Agent Studio. ^[5] Check what a candidate charges and whether it bills past a limit or stops the feature, since Connections Free stops the feature at a limit rather than billing. ^[3] Before choosing, confirm whether the workspace is public or signed-in, since Sales is signed-in only. ^[3]

Things to check before you choose

Check whether you need agentic AI that plans multistep actions, since Salesforce offers that and Connections Sales does not use an AI model call for its check-up. ^[4] ^[3] Check whether you want a fixed list of lost-deal reasons, since Connections Sales provides one and the rival sources do not describe a fixed list. ^[3] Check whether you want a fixed stage count: Connections Sales uses five stages, new, talking, proposal, won or lost. ^[3] Check whether you need a signed-in workspace rather than a public page. ^[3] Check whether your team needs AI-powered personalized tips, since Pipedrive offers those and the source does not describe a rule-based review. ^[2] ^[3] Check whether you want a free option that stops at a limit rather than billing, since Connections Free costs $0 and stops the feature when a limit is reached. ^[3] Check whether you need a testimonial request link for won deals, since Connections Sales offers that. ^[3]

Frequently asked questions

Does HubSpot Free CRM include sales pipeline stages?

HubSpot provides a free CRM. ^[1] The source does not state a fixed stage count or lost-deal reason list, so check the CRM setup for whether it uses fixed stages and a fixed lost-reason list.

Can Pipedrive take payments on a deal?

Pipedrive gives users a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. ^[2] It provides real-time visual data for performance insights. ^[2] The source does not state a payment feature for deals, so check whether your pipeline needs a separate payment service or if Pipedrive connects to one.

Is Zoho CRM free to start?

Zoho CRM provides sales automation for follow-ups, approvals and contextual suggestions. ^[5] The sources here do not publish Zoho CRM's pricing, so check its current pricing page for a starting cost.

What does Connections Sales cost?

Connections Sales has Connections Free at $0, with limits that stop a feature rather than billing. ^[3] Connections Pro, the first paid plan, is $39.99 a month. ^[3] Connections Business is $99.99 a month. ^[3] Check which plan covers the stage count and check-up rules you need.

How does Connections Sales handle lost deals?

Connections Sales uses five deal stages: new, talking, proposal, won or lost. ^[3] When you mark a deal lost, you pick a reason from a fixed list such as price, timing or chose competitor. ^[3] The sales check-up is rule-based, with no AI model call and no credits. ^[3] Check whether this fixed-list approach matches your team's review process.

Connections Free costs $0, and going over a limit stops the feature rather than billing you. ^[3] Connections Pro, the first paid plan, is $39.99 a month and adds premium features across every Connections product. ^[3]

Try Connections Sales