Freshsales Review: Pricing, Features & What the Data Shows
Affordable CRM from Freshworks that gives SMBs a real alternative to HubSpot and Salesforce.
What Freshsales Does
Freshsales is the CRM product from Freshworks — the company that also builds Freshdesk (helpdesk), Freshmarketer (marketing automation), and Freshservice (IT service management). Launched for small and mid-size sales teams that want a functional CRM at an accessible price point, Freshsales includes contact management, deal tracking, a built-in phone dialer, email integration, and AI-powered lead scoring via Freddy AI. With a genuinely useful free tier and paid plans starting at $9/user/month, it's one of the most affordable full-featured CRMs available.
What differentiates Freshsales from the crowded SMB CRM market is the built-in communication channels. While Pipedrive, Copper, and Zoho CRM require separate tools or add-ons for phone and chat, Freshsales includes a native phone dialer, email, and chat directly in the platform. Reps can make calls, send emails, and manage live chat from within the CRM without switching tabs or paying for additional integrations. This integrated approach reduces tool sprawl for small teams that don't want to manage separate subscriptions for each communication channel.
Freshsales benefits from the broader Freshworks ecosystem. The CRM integrates natively with Freshdesk (customer support) and Freshmarketer (marketing automation), creating a consolidated customer platform for teams willing to standardize on Freshworks. The Freshsales Suite bundles CRM with marketing automation at $9-59/user/month — significantly cheaper than buying Salesforce plus Pardot or HubSpot's paid marketing hub. The trade-off is that each individual Freshworks product is good but not best-in-class.
The practical buyer consideration is growth trajectory. Freshsales works well for teams of 2-50 reps with straightforward sales processes. The platform handles contact management, pipeline tracking, and basic automation competently. But as organizations scale beyond 50 users, the customization limits, reporting constraints, and smaller integration ecosystem start to create friction. Companies that expect rapid growth should consider whether starting on HubSpot or Salesforce — despite the higher upfront cost — avoids a painful migration later.
Freshsales Key Features
Built-In Phone & Email
Native phone dialer with call recording, voicemail drop, and local presence dialing — no separate telephony subscription needed. Email integration with tracking (opens, clicks), templates, and bulk email. These communication channels are built into the CRM interface, so reps make calls and send emails without leaving the deal or contact record. Most competing CRMs at this price point require separate tools for calling.
Freddy AI (Lead Scoring)
AI-powered lead scoring that ranks contacts by likelihood to convert based on engagement patterns, demographic data, and behavioral signals. Available on Growth tier and above. Freddy also provides deal insights — predicting which opportunities are likely to close and surfacing risks. The AI is helpful as a directional signal but less sophisticated than Salesforce Einstein or dedicated scoring tools. Works best when the CRM has sufficient historical data to train on.
Visual Sales Pipeline
Kanban-style pipeline view with drag-and-drop deal management. Multiple pipelines can be configured for different products or sales processes. Deal cards show key metrics — value, close date, next activity — at a glance. The pipeline view is clean and functional, comparable to Pipedrive's presentation. Custom deal stages, probability weights, and required fields are configurable.
Workflow Automation
Automate repetitive tasks: lead assignment based on criteria, email notifications on deal stage changes, task creation on schedule, and field updates based on triggers. Available on Growth tier ($9/user/month) and above. The automation builder handles common scenarios but lacks the conditional complexity of Salesforce Flow or HubSpot's workflow engine. Adequate for SMB automation needs.
Freshworks Suite Integration
Native integration with Freshdesk (support tickets linked to CRM contacts), Freshmarketer (marketing campaigns synced with sales pipeline), and Freshservice (IT requests). The integration is seamless — customer data flows between products without configuration. For teams consolidating on the Freshworks ecosystem, this native integration eliminates the data silos that plague multi-vendor setups.
Contact Lifecycle Management
Tracks contacts through lifecycle stages from lead to customer with visual timelines showing every interaction — calls, emails, meetings, notes, and deal associations. The timeline provides complete context for any conversation. Lifecycle stages are customizable to match your sales process. The contact enrichment feature (on higher tiers) auto-populates company and social data from public sources.
Who Uses Freshsales
SMB Sales Teams on a Budget
The primary Freshsales use case. Sales teams of 3-20 reps at small businesses that need real CRM functionality — not just a spreadsheet — at a price that doesn't strain the budget. Freshsales Growth at $9/user/month gives a 10-person team a full CRM for $1,080/year, compared to $5,880 for Pipedrive Professional or $9,600 for Salesforce Professional. The built-in phone and email mean the team doesn't need separate Twilio or email tracking subscriptions. Most small teams can set up and start using Freshsales within a day.
Freshworks Ecosystem Consolidation
Companies already using Freshdesk for support or Freshservice for IT add Freshsales to consolidate customer data on one platform. The native integration means support tickets appear in the CRM timeline, marketing campaign responses flow into sales pipeline, and customer health data spans departments. A mid-size company running Freshsales + Freshdesk + Freshmarketer on the Freshworks platform pays less than they would for separate Salesforce + Zendesk + Mailchimp subscriptions while getting tighter data integration.
Startups Needing CRM + Phone + Email
Early-stage startups that need a CRM with calling capability adopt Freshsales because the built-in dialer eliminates a separate phone subscription. A 5-person sales team can manage contacts, track deals, make calls, and send tracked emails from one platform at $45/month total on Growth. The free tier lets founders test the platform before committing budget. As the team grows, upgrading to Pro ($39/user/month) adds multi-pipeline support and time-based workflows.
Freshsales Pricing
Free
Basic CRM, contact management, built-in chat/email/phone
Growth
Visual pipeline, AI lead scoring, workflow automation
Pro
Multiple pipelines, time-based workflows, AI insights
Enterprise
Custom modules, audit logs, dedicated account manager
Freshsales is one of the most affordable full-featured CRMs available. The free tier supports unlimited users with basic CRM — contact management, deal tracking, and built-in communication channels. Growth at $9/user/month (annual billing) adds visual pipeline, AI lead scoring, workflow automation, and Slack integration. Pro at $39/user/month includes multiple pipelines, time-based workflows, and AI insights. Enterprise at $59/user/month provides custom modules, audit logs, and a dedicated account manager.
Monthly billing is available at 20-30% higher rates. There are no onboarding fees, no implementation requirements, and no minimum seat counts. The 21-day free trial provides access to all features.
The Freshsales Suite (CRM + marketing automation) starts at $9/user/month for Growth, $39 for Pro, and $59 for Enterprise — adding email marketing, web forms, and basic nurture sequences at no additional cost over standalone CRM pricing.
Compared to alternatives: HubSpot's free CRM is more feature-rich for $0, but HubSpot's paid Sales Hub starts at $20/user/month and scales to $150+/user/month for professional features. Pipedrive at $14-99/user/month doesn't include built-in phone. Zoho CRM at $14-52/user/month offers comparable features and pricing. Freshsales' value proposition is the combination of low price, built-in communication channels, and the Freshworks ecosystem integration.
Job Market Demand for Freshsales
Freshsales appears in 1 job postings across 1 companies in our database of 23,338+ analyzed job postings. The average salary range for roles requiring Freshsales: $159K - $197K.
Department
- Senior Manager, Employee Experience and Content Strategy
- freshworks (1)
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Very affordable with a functional free tier and paid plans starting at $9/user/mo
- Built-in phone, email, and chat reduce the need for separate communication tools
- Clean, intuitive UI that doesn't require a dedicated admin to manage
- Freddy AI provides lead scoring and deal insights even on lower tiers
- Part of the Freshworks suite, so it integrates natively with Freshdesk and Freshmarketer
Cons
- Smaller integration ecosystem compared to Salesforce and HubSpot
- Limited customization for complex sales processes and multi-entity orgs
- Reporting isn't as deep or flexible as enterprise CRMs
- Smaller community means fewer resources, consultants, and online guides
- Less name recognition in the market, which can matter for hiring ops talent
Best for: Small and mid-size B2B sales teams (2-50 reps) that want a capable, affordable CRM without enterprise complexity
Not ideal for: Enterprise organizations with complex deal structures, CPQ requirements, or teams that need a massive integration ecosystem
Freshsales Alternatives
| Tool | Starting Price | Job Mentions | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot CRM | $0 | 432 | Marketing-led B2B companies with 10-200 employees who want CRM + marketing automation in one platform |
| Pipedrive | $14/user/mo | 9 | SMB sales teams (5-50 reps) who want a visual, pipeline-focused CRM without enterprise complexity |
| Zoho CRM | $14/user/mo | 20 | Bootstrapped SMBs and cost-sensitive teams who want an all-in-one suite without enterprise pricing |
| Copper CRM | $23/user/mo | 12 | Small to mid-size teams (5-50 users) that live in Google Workspace and want zero-friction CRM |
| Nutshell | $13/user/mo | 1 | Small B2B businesses (2-25 people) that want a simple, affordable CRM with built-in email marketing and zero setup complexity |
Frequently Asked Questions
Freshsales vs HubSpot: which CRM is better for small businesses?
Both have free tiers and target SMBs. HubSpot has a larger ecosystem and stronger marketing tools. Freshsales is cheaper on paid plans ($9/user/mo vs $20/user/mo for HubSpot Starter) and includes a built-in phone dialer. If marketing automation is your priority, HubSpot. If you want the most affordable CRM with solid sales features, Freshsales.
Is Freshsales good enough for a growing sales team?
It works well up to about 50 reps. Beyond that, you'll likely need more customization, deeper reporting, and a broader integration ecosystem than Freshsales provides. Plan for a potential migration to Salesforce or HubSpot Enterprise if you're scaling past that point.
How popular is Freshsales in job postings?
Freshsales appears in 1 job posting in our dataset, reflecting its SMB focus. Enterprise companies hiring for RevOps and CRM roles overwhelmingly ask for Salesforce or HubSpot experience. Freshsales skills transfer well to other CRMs, though.
Our Verdict on Freshsales
Freshsales is the right choice for SMBs that want a real CRM with built-in phone and email at a price point that makes enterprise platforms look absurd. At $9/user/month, it's hard to argue with the value for teams that need contact management, pipeline tracking, calling, and email in one tool. The Freshworks ecosystem adds value for organizations willing to consolidate support and marketing on the same vendor.
The trade-off is growth ceiling and ecosystem depth. Freshsales' integration library is limited compared to Salesforce or HubSpot, and the customization options won't satisfy teams with complex sales processes. Reporting is functional but basic. The talent pool for Freshsales administrators is virtually nonexistent — if you need CRM operations support, finding Freshsales expertise is harder than finding Salesforce or HubSpot talent. Companies planning to scale beyond 50 reps should weigh the future migration cost against the short-term savings.
Freshsales appears in only 1 job posting in our database, reflecting its SMB focus — enterprise companies hiring for CRM roles overwhelmingly require Salesforce or HubSpot experience. The tool's market presence is understated by job posting data because its buyer base consists primarily of small businesses that don't generate high-volume hiring demand for CRM-specific skills.