Buyer guide
Best CRM for consultants: pricing and practice fit compared
This guide compares 18 CRMs using current monthly prices from each vendor's pricing page. The shortlist focuses on repeat work, referrals, partner time, and the security controls consulting clients may require. Lumenbase is included, with clear notes on its fit and limits.
Compare 18 CRMs for consultants
Sort by price or name, then filter for free or lower-cost plans. Use the live CRM cost calculator to compare prices at your firm's seat count.
| Best for | Free | Compared / seat | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Premier Source record: 15 September 2026 | Solo and micro practices | $7 | $12 | $96 | |
Business Source record: 15 September 2026 | Next-action selling | $9.73 | $19.51 | $156 | |
Business Silver Source record: 14 September 2026 | Automatic relationship history | $17 | $21 | $168 | |
Professional Source record: 15 September 2026 | Budget and customization | $14 | $23 | $184 | |
Complete Source record: 7 September 2026 | Relationship-led consultancies | $24.17 | $24.17 | $193 | |
Nimble Business Source record: 15 September 2026 | Contact-first simplicity | $24.90 | $24.90 | $199 | |
Growth Source record: 15 September 2026 Priced in EUR, converted | Simple pipeline plus projects | $16.30 | $30.43 | $243 | |
Growth Source record: 15 September 2026 | Simple sales pipeline | $14 | $39 | $312 | |
Pro Source record: 15 September 2026 | Affordable and full-featured | $13 | $42 | $336 | |
Premium Source record: 5 October 2026 | Small partner-led teams | $24 | $48 | $384 | |
Professional Source record: 12 October 2026 | CRM plus project delivery | $29 | $49 | $392 | |
Professional Source record: 15 September 2026 | Google Workspace practices | $23 | $59 | $472 | |
Pro Source record: 15 September 2026 | Building your own model | $35 | $79 | $632 | |
Sales Hub Professional Source record: 15 September 2026 Free CRM: up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts | Firms marketing at scale | $7 | $90 | $720 | |
Pro Suite Source record: 15 September 2026 | Large partnerships | $25 | $100 | $800 | |
Scale Source record: 14 September 2026 Priced per seat per year | Advisory and deal networks | $166.67 | $191.67 | $1533 | |
Everything included Source record: 5 October 2026 | One flat price, no tiers | n/a | n/a | ||
Business Source record: 14 September 2026 Priced in GBP, converted | Mid-market services firms | n/a | n/a |
8 users, USD, list price on the basis selected above, cheapest professional-band plan, pricing source dates 20 July 2026 to 12 October 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.
What the upgrade costs, tier by tier
Monthly cost at 8 seats for each published band, billed annually, USD
Each segment is the step up from the tier below, so a row's full length is what its top tier costs at 8 seats. Sorted by how far that top tier sits above the entry one, because that multiple is what a compliance requirement will cost you. Quote-only tiers have no published price and are not shown.
Where the price hides
Consulting firms often pay for occasional users and top-tier security features. These four details can change the total monthly cost.
- The compliance tier. Audit logs and single sign-on often sit in a top plan. If a client contract or regulator requires either, use that tier in the price comparison from the start.
- Paying per partner who barely logs in. Partners who open the CRM only a few times a month can still require full-price seats. Ask about viewer, read-only, and contributor access.
- Projects sold separately. Project delivery may require a separate module or partner integration. Confirm the workflow, data handoff, and added price before treating it as part of the CRM.
- The single-user trap. A solo plan may stop working once a second consultant needs access to the same client. Compare the price for the team size you expect next year.
Best CRM for consultants by practice type
An independent consultant, a specialist boutique, and a large partnership need different systems. These picks cover common practice types and include alternatives.
Bigin or Less Annoying CRM
Independent consultants
both are low-cost, quick to set up, and simple enough for one person to maintain.
Also consider: OnePageCRM, Nimble
A relationship-first CRM
Boutique and partner-led firms
the partner network and client history stay visible during busy delivery periods.
Also consider: Lumenbase, folk, Capsule
Lumenbase
Firms living on repeat and referral work
it tracks account history and surfaces past clients who have gone quiet before the next referral or engagement.
Also consider: Cloze, Affinity
A PSA like Productive or Scoro
Firms where utilization is the constraint
a PSA is built around staffing, utilization, and billing. Connect it to a CRM when the firm also needs a sales pipeline.
Also consider: Insightly, Workbooks
Check the audit trail before the features
Regulated and audited practices
audit logs and single sign-on usually require a higher tier. Start the comparison with the plan that meets the client contract.
Also consider: Salesforce, Vtiger
Insightly or Workbooks
Consultancies that bill from the CRM
both can carry a won deal into project delivery and reduce repeated entry before invoicing.
Also consider: Lumenbase, Copper
Affinity
Advisory, corporate finance, and deal work
its relationship graph suits intermediated work where introductions and network history shape the mandate.
Also consider: Attio, Cloze
Salesforce or HubSpot
Large partnerships and multi-office firms
both support the deeper configuration needed across offices, teams, and client views. Include admin work in the budget.
Also consider: Microsoft Dynamics 365
The compliance tier, and what it costs
Client contracts may require single sign-on, audit logs, or both. Across the full pricing dataset, every one of the 9 CRMs that offer single sign-on puts it behind an upgrade, at a median of $388 a month for 8 seats. Audit logs follow the same pattern at 14 of 15 vendors that list them. Use the lowest tier that meets your client contracts as the starting price.
- SSO / SAML. Every one of the 4 that offer it puts it behind an upgrade. The cheapest way in is $336 a month at 8 seats.
- Sandbox. Every one of the 6 that offer it puts it behind an upgrade. The cheapest way in is $320 a month at 8 seats.
- Audit logs. 3 of 4 that offer it charge more for it. The cheapest way in is $193 a month at 8 seats.
- Roles and permissions. 10 of 12 that offer it charge more for it. The cheapest way in is $56 a month at 8 seats.
- AI agents. Every one of the 5 that offer it puts it behind an upgrade. The cheapest way in is $336 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 consultancies. These are the parts most relevant to this comparison.
- The client record keeps the full account history across engagements and partner handoffs.
- Email, meeting, and LinkedIn capture reduce the manual logging expected from billable partners and consultants.
- Account health signals show when a past client or active account has gone quiet.
- CRM, delivery, invoicing, and AI tools sit in one plan, which makes the quoted tier easier to compare.
Affinity fits advisory work built around a relationship graph. Productive or Scoro fit firms led by utilization and resourcing. Salesforce supports deep configuration for a multi-office partnership. Less Annoying CRM and Bigin keep costs low for one-person firms. See the consultancies page, the boutique firm guide, the same comparison for the best CRM for agencies, 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 18 CRMs, 16 of them priced on the default basis. Pricing source records span20 July 2026 to 12 October 2026. See the CRM feature comparison for the full method, capability data, and treatment of flat and quote-only plans. Plan bands are our categories and do not guarantee equal features. Taxes, onboarding, usage charges and add-ons are excluded.
Frequently asked questions
HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho, Affinity, and other names are trademarks of their respective owners. Lumenbase is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by them. Pricing source records span 20 July 2026 to 12 October 2026; products, pricing, and features change and vary by plan, so verify on each vendor's pricing page before deciding.