Capsule review: pricing, limits, and who it’s for
The simplest CRM here, with a free plan that is really a demo.
The verdict
7.4/10SolidHow this score is built
- 1.Prices read on each vendor's official US pricing page in August 2026, in USD. Three of these four sites serve euros or rupees depending on where you sit, so what you see may not match what we quote: check the currency before you compare.
- 2.The free plan is ranked first, then the cost of the first paid seat, because the cheapest CRM is the one you are never forced to leave in a hurry.
- 3.Contract terms are treated as a feature. Annual commitment, mid-term downgrade rules and refund policy sit in the table, because over two years they cost more than any price gap here.
- 4.Pipedrive and Folk were priced and left off. Neither has a free plan, only a trial that locks the account when it ends, so neither answers the question this page asks. Padding a free CRM comparison with paid tools is the standard trick on this search, and we would rather have four honest entries than six.
- 5.We are not in a single affiliate program for any CRM on this page. Every link here is a plain link to the vendor and earns us nothing, including the one we ranked first. On a 'best free CRM' page that is unusual, and it is the only real reason to trust the order.
- 8.0 and up
- Strong. Wins its category on the criteria below, with a known trade-off.
- 7.0 and up
- Solid. Right answer for a specific reader, wrong one for others.
- 6.0 and up
- Adequate. Works, and something on this page does the same job better.
- under 6.0
- Weak. We would not buy it at this price.
Capsule sits last on a page about free CRMs for one honest reason: its free plan is not one. Two hundred fifty contacts is a demo. Judge it on its paid entry instead and it improves sharply, eighteen dollars a seat for thirty thousand contacts, monthly billing, no contract, and the least confusing interface of the four. It is a good answer to a different question, and we would rather say that than pad a ranking with a free plan nobody can use.
Who this is for
Its paid entry tier gives you 30,000 contacts for eighteen dollars, the best contact-per-dollar rate on this page.
Price and free plan
- Price
- $18/user annual
Free for 2 users and 250 contacts. Starter is $18 per user per month on annual billing, $21 monthly, and lifts the cap to 30,000 contacts. Growth is $36 annual, $38 monthly, for 60,000. Advanced is $54 annual, $60 monthly, for 120,000.
- Free plan
- 250 contacts, 2 users
Technically. Two users, 250 contacts, one pipeline, five custom fields. That is a fortnight of a working freelancer, not a plan you can build on.
What holds up, and what does not
What holds up
- The simplest CRM in this comparison to actually operate: you understand the entire product in an afternoon, which is not true of the other three
- Starter carries 30,000 contacts for $18 a seat, where a HubSpot Starter seat includes 1,000 marketing contacts and charges $50 per additional thousand
- Monthly billing published at every tier, so no annual commitment is required to start
- Marketing tooling is an optional add-on from $11 a month rather than a forced jump to a higher tier
Where it falls short
- 250 contacts on free is the tightest ceiling on this page by a factor of four, and a working freelancer clears it in weeks
- Five custom fields and one pipeline on free, so you cannot model a real process before paying
- The top tier carries no published price, which in 2026 means a sales call
- The smallest integration ecosystem here, so more of your stack ends up wired together through Zapier and billed separately
Who should not buy Capsule
Do not buy Capsule if
- You are shopping for a free CRM, which is the question this page exists to answer. Capsule's free tier is a trial with the clock removed, and 250 contacts is not a business. Come for the $18 paid tier or do not come at all.
If that is you, buy HubSpot instead. It is ranked #1 on this page.
Capsule at a glance
| Free plan | Flagged: this reading costs you money. 250 contacts, 2 users |
|---|---|
| Users on free | 2 |
| First paid tier | $18/user annual |
| Contacts or records | Flagged: reading in your favour. 30,000 contacts on Starter |
| Branding | Flagged: reading in your favour. None on free |
| Contract terms | Flagged: reading in your favour. Monthly or annual |
| The catch | Flagged: this reading costs you money. Free caps at 250 contacts |
Check the price
Straight answers
Which of these free CRMs is genuinely free forever?
All four, in the sense that none of them expires. What differs is what each one counts. Attio gives you 50,000 records and 3 seats, which almost nobody outgrows. HubSpot gives 1,000 contacts and 2 users, which a working freelancer reaches inside a year or two. Zoho gives 3 users and publishes no record cap at all. Capsule gives 250 contacts, which is a fortnight. 'Free forever' is not the useful question. The useful question is what the ceiling is made of and how fast you walk into it.
Where Capsule sits in the ranking
Capsule is ranked #4 of 4 in our crm comparison. See every price and limit side by side before you decide.
Best Free CRM for Solopreneurs (2026)
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