Choosing the right CRM tool as a first-time founder hinges on balancing affordability with access to essential features. This section compares three popular and budget-conscious CRM platforms: Freshsales, Copper CRM, and Monday.com CRM, highlighting their entry-level pricing, core capabilities, and suitability for early-stage startups.
1. Freshsales (freshworks.com)
Entry-Level Options & Pricing
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Free Plan: Available for up to 3 users at $0/user/month. Features include contact and account management, pipeline management, built-in phone dialer, website integration, mobile app, and 24/5 support. Limitations are absence of AI-powered lead scoring and capped user numbers.
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Growth Plan: Priced at $9/user/month (billed annually) or $11/user/month (monthly). It offers all Free Plan features plus sales automation tools (sales sequences, enhanced pipeline management), WhatsApp Business integration, 2,000 bot sessions monthly, 2GB storage per user, AI-driven lead scoring (Freddy AI), and chat/email support. This plan supports unlimited users, making it ideal for teams seeking scalable automation and lead scoring.
Key Features
- Kanban-style sales pipeline
- Contact and account management
- Tasks, calendar, reminders
- Integrated chat, phone, email
- Mobile app
- AI lead scoring (Growth Plan)
- Basic workflow automation
- 24/5 customer support
Considerations The Free Plan suits small founder teams, while the Growth Plan unlocks AI and automation critical for growth. Additional costs may apply for integrations and advanced support.
2. Copper CRM (copper.com)
Entry-Level Options & Pricing
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Starter Plan: $9/user/month billed annually or $12 monthly, with no mandatory minimum seats. This includes seamless Google Workspace integration (Gmail, Calendar, Drive), tasks and activity feeds, form building, Zapier integration, mobile apps, and collaboration tools, but limits contacts to 1,000 and excludes AI lead scoring.
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Basic Plan: $29/user/month billed annually. Adds workflow automation, sales/project pipelines, contact enrichment, raised contact limits (2,500), and AI-powered lead scoring via Marketing Tools.
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Higher Plans: Offer advanced analytics, email campaigns, reporting, multi-currency support, and premium support.
Key Features
- Deep Google Workspace integration
- Task and activity management
- Customizable pipelines and forms
- Zapier third-party tool integration
- Basic contact management
AI Features AI lead scoring is only available starting at the Basic Plan ($29/user/month).
Considerations Copper is excellent for Google-centric founders managing smaller contact lists. For AI tools and scalability, upgrades are necessary. A free trial without credit card is available.
3. Monday.com CRM (monday.com)
Entry-Level Options & Pricing
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Free Plan: $0 for up to 2 seats with 3 boards, basic templates, and mobile access, suited for solo founders with minimal needs.
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Basic Plan: $9/user/month billed annually (minimum 3 users = $27/month minimum). Includes unlimited viewers/items, 5GB file storage, 500 monthly AI credits, dashboards (board-based), and standard support.
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Standard Plan: $12/user/month adds project views (timeline, Gantt), guest access, 250 automated integration runs, and combined dashboards.
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Pro Plan: $19/user/month with advanced features.
Key Features
- Customizable boards and pipelines
- Task, deal, and project management
- Document handling and storage
- Basic automation and integrations (from Standard Plan)
- Dashboard and reporting tools
AI Features Includes 500 monthly AI credits focused on productivity assistance rather than lead scoring. AI-driven lead scoring is not offered at the lower plans.
Considerations The free plan is notably limited, and more advanced CRM features require paid plans with minimum seat counts. The platform is best suited for teams needing visual project and CRM workflow integration rather than deep CRM analytics.
Summary Table
| CRM | Free Plan | Entry Paid Plan (Cost/User/Month) | AI Lead Scoring (Lowest Plan) | Notable Entry-Level Features | Seat Minimum | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshsales | Yes (3 users) | Growth - $9 (annual), $11 (monthly) | Yes (Growth Plan) | Pipeline, contact mgmt, sales automation, Freddy AI | None | Founders needing scalable CRM & automation |
| Copper CRM | No | Starter - $9 (annual), $12 (monthly) | No (Basic at $29/mo) | Google integration, forms, tasks, Zapier | None | Gmail-centric, small contact databases |
| Monday.com | Yes (2 users) | Basic - $9 (annual, min 3 users = $27 total) | No (focus on workflow AI) | Boards, docs, dashboard, templates, 5GB storage | 3 (paid) | Teams needing visual project+CRM blend |
Conclusion and Recommendations
For first-time founders on limited budgets, Freshsales offers the most generous free plan and cost-effective access to AI-powered lead scoring, suitable for both solo founders and scaling teams. Copper CRM is ideal for those integrated into Google Workspace with simple CRM needs but requires pricier plans for AI features. Monday.com CRM suits small teams prioritizing visual project and task management alongside CRM but offers less robust CRM-specific features and requires paid plans for practical use.
Choosing the right tool depends on your startup’s immediate needs, team size, and growth plans. Early experimentation with free trials can also help identify the most fitting platform.