{"id":89849,"date":"2025-11-28T15:04:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T14:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/?p=89849"},"modified":"2026-03-17T17:01:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T16:01:40","slug":"salesforce-alternatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/salesforce-alternatives\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Best Salesforce Alternatives in 2026 (Review & Comparison)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Salesforce is one of the biggest names in CRM software. As the world\u2019s first SaaS product, it pioneered modern cloud software. And it still ranks as the most-used CRM platform in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s renowned for its sales, marketing and customer service tools. In recent years it has invested heavily in AI. But for all its strengths, Salesforce isn\u2019t for everyone. Top of that list are SMEs. Salesforce is a big platform built for big businesses. For smaller companies, it\u2019s often too expensive and tricky to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what are the best alternatives out there for SMEs? I\u2019ve used and reviewed 20+ small business CRMs in my time. So I put my thinking hat on and came up with the top 10 Salesforce alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Salesforce Alternatives Overview<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a hurry? Here\u2019s a quick summary of our top 10 Salesforce alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/td>Best for<\/strong><\/td>Free Plan\/Trial<\/strong><\/td>Starting Price<\/strong><\/td>Score<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
ActiveCampaign<\/a><\/td>Automation<\/td>30-Day Free Trial<\/td>$15\/mo<\/td>\"5<\/td><\/tr>
HubSpot<\/a><\/td>Free CRM<\/td>Free Plan<\/td>$20\/mo<\/td>\"4.5<\/td><\/tr>
Engagebay<\/a><\/td>Small Teams<\/td>Free Plan<\/td>$12.74\/mo<\/td>\"4<\/td><\/tr>
GetResponse<\/a><\/td>SME eCommerce<\/td>Free Plan<\/td>$13.40\/mo<\/td>\"3.5<\/td><\/tr>
Brevo<\/a><\/td>Channel Choice<\/td>Free Plan<\/td>$8.08\/mo<\/td>\"4<\/td><\/tr>
Pipedrive<\/a><\/td>SME Sales <\/td>14-day Free Trial<\/td>$14\/mo<\/td>\"4<\/td><\/tr>
Freshsales<\/a><\/td>Value<\/td>Free Plan<\/td>$9\/mo<\/td>\"4.5<\/td><\/tr>
Zoho CRM<\/a><\/td>AI-Powered CRM<\/td>Free Plan<\/td>$14\/mo<\/td>\"4<\/td><\/tr>
Monday.com<\/a><\/td>Project Management<\/td>Free Plan<\/td>$24\/mo<\/td>\"4.5<\/td><\/tr>
Microsoft Dynamics<\/a><\/td>Enterprise<\/td>30-Day Free Trial<\/td>$65\/mo<\/td>\"3.5<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>What\u2019s Wrong With Salesforce?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Salesforce isn\u2019t the best pick for small businesses for 2 main reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s expensive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Salesforce<\/a> is very expensive. Its sales CRM is called Sales Cloud and starts at $165 per user, per month. And that doesn\u2019t even unlock all of the features in Salesforce. If you want to add Salesforce AI and data management to Sales Cloud that costs an extra $500 a month. And there are many extra products, tiers and add-ons that only make it way more expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Salesforce<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a small business suite that costs just $25 per user, per month. But it\u2019s very basic. You can build simple email campaigns and sales pipelines. Several platforms in our alternatives list let you do that for free. Even the small business \u2018Pro\u2019 suite starts at $100 per user per month. And that only gets you sales automation tools that should be standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheaper alternatives:<\/strong> ActiveCampaign<\/a>, Engagebay<\/a>, GetResponse<\/a>, Brevo<\/a>, Pipedrive<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hard to use and too complex<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many of Salesforce\u2019s tools are very impressive, but also complex and come with a steep learning curve. A lot of users complain about the cluttered, hard-to-navigate interface. That\u2019s the downside of having a legacy platform wirth too many <\/em>features. You may even need it customised and hire a developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the truth is, for a small business or someone new to CRM, you just don\u2019t need complex functionality. You want a platform that is simple, intuitive and quick to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy-to-use Salesforce alternatives:<\/strong> ActiveCampaign<\/a>, HubSpot<\/a>, Engagebay<\/a>, Brevo<\/a>, Pipedrive<\/a>, Monday.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What To Look For In a Salesforce Alternative<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are the top things to look out for when choosing your Salesforce alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n