HubSpot alternatives for one-person businesses (checked September 2026)

The best HubSpot alternatives for a one-person business are Zoho Bigin if you want the cheapest paid CRM, Less Annoying CRM if you want the simplest, Close if you live on the phone, Pipedrive or Capsule if the pipeline is the job, Attio or Folk if you want something newer, and Groundbase if you text customers and want automated follow-up for one flat price. Which one fits depends almost entirely on why you're leaving HubSpot.

Prices below were checked on each vendor's own pricing page between 16 and 19 September 2026, in US dollars, for one user. I build Groundbase, which is one of the eight. It's the right answer for some of the reasons people leave HubSpot and the wrong one for others, and I've said which.

First: should you leave at all?

HubSpot's free plan is genuinely good — "Free for up to 2 users," in HubSpot's words. If a contact list and a pipeline is all you use, there's no reason to move.

People on their own usually leave at one of three moments:

• The Professional jump. Email sequences — automated multi-step follow-up — sit on Sales Hub Professional, at $90 a seat a month billed annually or $100 billed monthly, both on an annual commitment, plus a required $1,500 onboarding fee. For one person, that fee is bigger than the first year of the seat. (Starter does include up to 50 workflows "with restricted triggers and actions," so light automation starts earlier.)
• Texting. HubSpot's own texting needs a separate Marketing SMS add-on, and sending texts through your own Twilio account means adding a third-party marketplace app.
• Too much product. Hubs, add-ons and settings built for sales teams, when there's only one of you.

Starter is currently $7 a seat billed annually or $10 billed monthly, but that's an offer HubSpot describes as for new customers and "for a limited time" — the normal price is $20 a seat. Budget on the normal price unless you know the discount carries forward.

The eight, at a glance

What each of those doesn't include is where the real decision is, so here's each one with its catch.

Each alternative, and who it isn't for

Zoho Bigin — the cheapest. Express is $7 a month billed annually, $9 monthly, and includes email integration, 30 automations and 50,000 records. The free plan is one user and 500 records, and it doesn't include email — that arrives on Express. Not for: anyone who needs email sequences, which Bigin doesn't list. It's compared in detail in Groundbase vs Zoho Bigin.

Less Annoying CRM — the simplest. One plan at $15 per user per month: "No tiers. No contracts. No features locked behind upgrades." It includes unlimited contacts, pipelines and custom fields, email logging and free support. Not for: anyone who needs automated follow-up or texting — neither appears in its plan. It's built to be a calm place to keep track, not a machine that sends things.

Close — for calling. The Solo plan is $9 a month billed annually and $19 monthly, and it's "Limited to 1 user," "Limited to 10k leads," with "Workflows not included." Calling and texting are billed on usage, "passed through at cost." Not for: anyone who needs automated workflows, which start at $99 a month on Growth. See Groundbase vs Close for where Close genuinely wins.

Pipedrive — for the pipeline. Lite is $14 a seat billed annually, and it's the tool most people picture when they think "sales pipeline." Automated emails and follow-ups start on Growth, at $39 a seat billed annually. Not for: anyone who wants calling built in — Pipedrive's own support article says it "doesn't have a built-in calling integration," so calls and texts come from marketplace apps. More in Groundbase vs Pipedrive.

Capsule — a pipeline plus projects. Starter is $18 per user billed annually, with a free plan for up to two users and 250 contacts. Not for: anyone who wants workflow automation or email sync on the cheap plan — both start on Growth, at $36 per user billed annually.

Freshsales — the mainstream suite, cheaply. Growth is $9 per user billed annually. Not for: one person who needs sequences — "Sales sequences" are on Pro, at $39 per user billed annually.

Attio and Folk — newer, more design-led. Folk's Standard plan is $24 a member billed annually ($30 monthly); Attio's Plus is $35 a user billed annually ($44 monthly), and Attio has a free plan. Both feel modern and flexible. Not for: one person on a budget who needs sequences — they start on Folk's Premium at $48 and Attio's Pro at $79, billed annually.

Groundbase — texting and follow-up for one flat price. Groundbase is a CRM for one-person businesses that sends email and texts through your own accounts and connects to the AI assistant you already use. It's $9 a month, billed monthly, with one plan: workflows (including waits that stop when someone replies), campaigns, invoicing, booking links, and web, desktop and Android apps. Texts and calls go through your own Twilio account, so you pay Twilio's rate with no markup. Not for: teams, anyone who wants an annual discount, or anyone who wants texting included without setting up Twilio — that setup is real, and the Phone & SMS help article shows exactly what it involves. The longer head-to-head is Groundbase vs HubSpot for solo founders.

How to choose

Start from why you're leaving:

• "It's too expensive once I need follow-up." Look at what automated follow-up costs elsewhere, not the sticker price — Groundbase at $9, Pipedrive Growth at $39, or Zoho Bigin Express at $7 if simple automations are enough. How much a CRM costs for one person has the full first-year comparison.
• "I need to text customers." Groundbase, if you want it on your own Twilio; Close, if you'd rather have calling and texting bundled and billed on usage.
• "It's too much software." Less Annoying CRM, or Zoho Bigin.
• "I make a lot of calls." Close.
• "I just need somewhere to keep contacts." Stay on HubSpot's free plan. Honestly.

One practical note if you do move: bring contacts and open deals, not history. Rebuilding years of notes into a new system is how migrations stall in week two.

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Leaving HubSpot and not sure which of these fits? Tell me what you use it for: blog-hubspot-alternatives@groundbasecrm.com — I read every one.