Buyer guide
Best CRM for agencies: pricing and fit compared
This guide compares 15 CRMs on published prices from each vendor's own pricing page, every row quoted on the same billing basis, at the same seat count, from each vendor's professional tier. It covers the plan costs, upgrade points, and use cases that matter to marketing, creative, and software agencies. Lumenbase is included, with clear notes on where another CRM fits better.
Compare 15 CRMs for agencies
Switch between annual and month-to-month, sort by price or name, then filter for free or lower-cost plans. Use the live CRM cost calculator to compare prices at your agency's seat count.
| Best for | Free | Pro / seat | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
monday CRM Standard | Visual work management | $12 | $17 | $136 | |
Complete $49.17 base, 2 seats included | Software and outsourcing agencies | $24.17 | $24.17 | $194 | |
Capsule Growth | Simple, flat pricing | $28 | $28 | $224 | |
Attio Plus | Flexible, build-your-own | $29 | $29 | $232 | |
GoHighLevel Unlimited Flat agency plan, unlimited users | Agencies that resell | Flat | Flat plan | $248 | |
Freshsales Pro | Value all-in-one | $9 | $39 | $312 | |
Nutshell Pro | Affordable and full-featured | $13 | $42 | $336 | |
folk Premium | Lightweight relationships | $24 | $48 | $384 | |
Pipedrive Professional | Simple sales pipeline | $14 | $49 | $392 | |
Salesflare Pro | Auto-capture for SMBs | $29 | $49 | $392 | |
Copper Professional | Google Workspace teams | $23 | $59 | $472 | |
HubSpot Professional | Marketing agencies in its ecosystem | $7 | $90 | $720 | |
Close Growth | Inside sales and calling | $35 | $99 | $792 | |
Insightly All-in-One Professional All-in-one bundle, flat monthly | CRM plus projects | Flat | Flat plan | $899 | |
Salesforce Pro Suite | Enterprise customization | n/a | n/a |
8 users, USD, list price on the basis selected above, cheapest professional-band plan, pricing checked 26 August 2026. A vendor that publishes no price for that plan on the selected basis shows “Not published” rather than a price from a cheaper plan. Flat-plan and quote-only vendors are marked. Verify on the vendor's own pricing page.
Named in this guide but not priced in the table: Zoho CRM. Left out rather than estimated, because we hold no price for it we can publish.
Monthly cost at 8 seats
Professional tier, billed annually, 12 per-seat plans, USD, sorted low to high
Where the price hides
The per-seat rate is only one part of the bill. Check these four pricing details before you choose a plan.
- Seat minimums. Some plans have a minimum purchase. HubSpot Sales Hub Professional starts at five seats, so a three-person team still pays for five.
- A flat fee plus per seat. Some plans combine a platform fee with per-user pricing. HubSpot Starter and Lumenbase Complete both charge a monthly base plus a seat charge, which changes the total for a small team.
- Per-module upsells. Marketing, service, advanced reporting, and other features may be sold through separate hubs or modules. Include every required product in the quote.
- The free-tier cliff. A free plan may cover a solo agency. Price the first paid tier as well, since automation, reporting, and extra seats can trigger a large increase.
Best CRM for agencies by use case
The right shortlist depends on how the agency wins and delivers work. These picks cover eight common agency models, with alternatives for each one.
Zoho combines a low seat price with broad customization. HubSpot Free can cover a solo team. Its paid plans rise quickly.
Also consider: Bigin, Freshsales, Capsule
HubSpot has a large integration marketplace and connected campaign tools. Zoho offers more configuration at a lower entry price.
Also consider: monday CRM, EngageBay
retainers depend on account history and continuity across handoffs. The client record should outlast the account manager who owns it.
Also consider: Capsule, folk
it connects long sales cycles, referrals, renewals, delivery, and invoicing on the same account record.
Also consider: Pipedrive, HubSpot
it offers a white-label platform that agencies can rebrand and resell under a flat agency fee.
Also consider: Bitrix24
its focused deal management is quick to set up and easy for a small sales team to run.
Also consider: Capsule, Less Annoying CRM
it offers deep configuration for teams with the budget and admin capacity to maintain it.
Also consider: Microsoft Dynamics 365
a PSA puts resource planning, utilization, time tracking, and invoicing at the center of the system.
Also consider: Insightly, Copper
What costs extra
Pipelines, email and calendar sync, and mobile apps are widely available. Plan tiers now create more of the price difference. This section shows which capabilities require an upgrade and the cheapest plan that includes them.
- SSO / SAML. Every one of the 4 that offer it puts it behind an upgrade. The cheapest way in is $632 a month at 8 seats.
- Territories and quotas. Every one of the 4 that offer it puts it behind an upgrade. The cheapest way in is $200 a month at 8 seats.
- Audit logs. Every one of the 7 that offer it puts it behind an upgrade. The cheapest way in is $472 a month at 8 seats.
- Sandbox. 5 of 6 that offer it charge more for it. The cheapest way in is $194 a month at 8 seats.
- Custom objects. 5 of 6 that offer it charge more for it. The cheapest way in is $232 a month at 8 seats.
The full breakdown, every capability against every plan tier, is on the CRM feature comparison.
Where Lumenbase fits
Lumenbase is our product. It is built for relationship-led firms, including agencies. These are the clearest differences in this comparison.
- HubSpot sells several products and applies a five-seat minimum to Sales Hub Professional. Lumenbase sells one plan, so nothing in this comparison is behind an upgrade.
- Salesforce offers much deeper enterprise configuration. Lumenbase takes less admin work and publishes its agency-scale pricing.
- Pipedrive has a focused sales pipeline. Lumenbase adds account history, AI briefings, delivery, and invoicing for post-sale work, and costs less at the seat count this table compares.
- PSA suites lead with resourcing, utilization, and project delivery. Lumenbase leads with the client relationship and carries a won deal into delivery and invoicing.
HubSpot suits agencies already using its marketing and service products. Salesforce suits teams that need deep enterprise configuration. Productive or Scoro will fit better when resource planning and utilization drive the decision. A free CRM can cover a solo agency. See the agencies page or Lumenbase pricing.
How we compared
Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page, on whichever basis the table is set to: annual-billed or month-to-month. A basis is never calculated from the other, so a vendor publishing only one shows a dash on the other rather than an estimate. The 8-seat column always uses the cheapest plan in a vendor's professional band, and a vendor with no published price for that plan is left blank instead of being quoted from a cheaper tier. This page lists 15 CRMs, 14 of them priced on the default basis. Pricing was refreshed 26 August 2026. See the CRM feature comparison for the full method, capability data, and treatment of flat and quote-only plans.
Frequently asked questions
HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho, and other names are trademarks of their respective owners. Lumenbase is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by them. Prices describe the vendors as of 26 August 2026; products, pricing, and features change and vary by plan, so verify on each vendor's pricing page before deciding.