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Short answer:
– Systeme.io if you want contacts, tags, pipelines, email, funnels, and courses in one low-cost tool. Its free plan covers up to 2,000 contacts, and the next plan is $17 a month.
– Zoho CRM if you want a classic sales CRM at no cost: its free plan is “forever free, for 3 users.”
– Pipedrive for a visual deal pipeline, from $14 per seat per month billed annually.
– HoneyBook or Dubsado if your work is client projects: proposals, contracts, invoices, and a client portal alongside the CRM. HoneyBook starts at $29 a month billed yearly, and Dubsado at $335 a year.
– HighLevel if you want a full marketing and automation platform with CRM pipelines, text messaging, and the option to run client accounts later. At $97 a month, it’s more than most solo consultants need on day one.
This is research-based. Prices and limits come from each vendor’s official pages, checked on October 17, 2026. We have not used these tools with real clients, so run a free trial with your own pipeline before you commit. We left out HubSpot because its pricing page didn’t load for us.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Free plan | Paid pricing (official pages) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Systeme.io | Yes: up to 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course | Startup $17/mo (5,000 contacts), Webinar $47/mo, Unlimited $97/mo | Coaches who also sell courses and run email funnels |
| Zoho CRM | Yes: free for 3 users | Paid editions exist; prices weren’t readable on the page we fetched | A free, traditional sales CRM |
| Pipedrive | No (14-day trial) | Lite $14, Growth $39, Premium $59, Ultimate $79 per seat/mo billed annually | Visual pipelines and follow-up automation |
| HoneyBook | No (free trial) | Starter $29, Essentials $49, Premium $109 per month billed yearly | Client projects, proposals, contracts, invoices |
| Dubsado | No (21-day trial) | Starter $335/yr, Premier $525/yr | Client onboarding workflows and forms |
| HighLevel | No (14-day trial) | Starter $97/mo ($970/yr), Unlimited $297/mo, Agency Pro $497/mo | CRM plus marketing automation, texting, and agency growth |
What a solo consultant or coach needs from a CRM
Most solo practices need a short list: capture a lead from a form, track where each prospect is (inquiry, call booked, proposal sent, signed), send follow-ups, and get paid. The tools below split into two camps. Marketing-style CRMs (Systeme.io, HighLevel) put funnels, email, and automation first. Client-work CRMs (HoneyBook, Dubsado) put proposals, contracts, and invoices first. Sales CRMs (Pipedrive, Zoho CRM) put the deal pipeline first.
1. Systeme.io: best low-cost all-in-one
What it costs (checked Oct 17, 2026): Systeme.io’s pricing page lists four plans based mainly on contact limits. The FAQ describes them as Free (2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, 1 course), Startup $17 per month (5,000 contacts, 10 funnels, 5 courses), Webinar $47 per month (10,000 contacts, 50 funnels, 20 courses, plus evergreen webinars), and Unlimited $97 per month. Every plan lists unlimited email sends, unlimited sub-accounts, and 0% transaction fees. The free plan needs no credit card and has one custom domain, one automation rule, and one email campaign. Annual billing shows “2 months free.”
CRM features: the pricing page’s feature list includes contacts, tags, and CRM pipelines, alongside funnels, email, courses, and affiliate tools.
Pros: a genuine free plan; one tool for CRM, email, funnels, and courses; low entry price.
Cons: the free plan caps automation at one rule and one email campaign; it’s a marketing-style CRM rather than a project or proposal tool.
Try Systeme.io free (affiliate link). For free-plan details, see Systeme.io free plan limits.
2. Zoho CRM: best free sales CRM
What’s free (checked Oct 17, 2026): the Free edition is “forever free, for 3 users.” It lists contact management, follow-up reminders, workflow automation, custom email templates (up to 10), tasks, meetings and calls, data import, standard reports, a mobile app, and 5,000 API calls per day. Export is limited to 10 free exports, per the page.
Paid editions: Standard, Professional, and Enterprise add features such as email integration and mass emails, multiple pipelines, calendar integration, forms, forecasting, and AI agents. Zoho also lists Bigin, a simpler CRM, on the same page. The prices didn’t appear in the text of the page we fetched, so we can’t quote them. Check Zoho’s live page.
Pros: forever-free plan; workflow automation even on the free edition.
Cons: multiple pipelines, forms, and email integration are on paid editions; paid prices unverified here.
3. Pipedrive: best visual deal pipeline
What it costs (checked Oct 17, 2026): per seat per month billed annually, Lite $14, Growth $39, Premium $59, Ultimate $79. Lite covers lead, calendar, and pipeline management, AI-powered report creation, 500+ integrations, and meeting intelligence. Growth adds full email sync with tracking, automations and nurturing sequences, a meeting scheduler, and subscription and forecast reports. Premium adds lead generation and routing and contracts with e-signatures. The trial is 14 days with no credit card. Pipedrive’s prices are shown without VAT.
Pros: simple pipeline view; Lite is the cheapest paid CRM seat here; 14-day trial.
Cons: email sync with tracking and automation start on Growth ($39); contracts and e-signatures need Premium; no free plan.
4. HoneyBook: best for client projects and getting paid
What it costs (checked Oct 17, 2026), billed yearly: Starter $29 per month, Essentials $49, Premium $109. Starter lists unlimited clients and projects, invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, a calendar, a client portal, basic reports, up to 2 live lead forms, and HoneyBook AI. Essentials adds a scheduler, automations, QuickBooks Online integration, up to 2 team members, up to 10 lead forms, SMS reminders, and the option to remove “Powered by HoneyBook.” Premium adds unlimited team members and lead forms, priority support, multiple companies, and advanced reports. The page says all plans start with a free trial and you can change or cancel anytime. We did not find the month-to-month prices in the text we read.
Pros: proposals, contracts, invoices, and scheduling in one place; unlimited clients on every plan.
Cons: automations and the scheduler start on Essentials; it’s a client-work tool, not an email-marketing platform.
5. Dubsado: best for onboarding workflows
What it costs (checked Oct 17, 2026): Starter $335 per year and Premier $525 per year (about $27.92 and $43.75 a month by our math). Both list email integration, unlimited projects and clients, invoicing and payment plans, form and email templates, client portals, calendar connection, and a mobile app. Premier adds unlimited lead capture forms (Starter has 1), bookkeeping integration, advanced scheduling, automated workflows, public proposals, and a Zapier integration. Extra brands cost $10 per month each, and extra users cost more beyond the 3 free additional users. The trial lasts 21 days with full access to Premier.
Pros: unlimited clients and projects; strong workflow tools on Premier; long trial.
Cons: Starter is limited to one lead form, with no automation; annual billing only on the page we read.
6. HighLevel: the most powerful option, and usually more than a solo practice needs
What it costs (checked Oct 17, 2026): Starter $97 per month (or $970 per year), Unlimited $297 per month ($2,970 per year), and Agency Pro $497 per month ($4,970 per year). Starter lists 3 sub-accounts, unlimited contacts, unlimited users, and 24/7 support. There’s a free 14-day trial on any plan, and HighLevel says it is month-to-month with no long-term contracts.
What’s included: CRM and pipelines, a website and funnel builder, email and SMS marketing, calling, booking calendars, forms and surveys, workflow automation, payments and invoicing, courses and communities, and reporting. HighLevel marks conversation AI, voice AI, reviews AI, email and SMS marketing, and calling as having usage-based charges, and it lists optional add-ons priced per sub-account, so the real bill can run higher than the plan price.
Pros: unlimited contacts and users; the most complete automation and messaging toolkit here; room to grow into running client accounts.
Cons: the highest entry price; usage-based charges for texting, email, calling, and AI; more setup than a solo practice usually needs.
Try HighLevel free for 14 days (affiliate link). For a closer comparison, see GoHighLevel alternatives for solo consultants.
Worked yearly costs for a solo consultant
Our arithmetic from the prices above (one user, annual billing where noted, before tax and usage charges).
- Zoho CRM Free: $0
- Systeme.io Free: $0; Startup: 12 x $17 = $204 (if billed monthly)
- Pipedrive Lite: 12 x $14 = $168; Growth: 12 x $39 = $468
- HoneyBook Starter: 12 x $29 = $348; Essentials: 12 x $49 = $588
- Dubsado Starter: $335; Premier: $525
- HighLevel Starter: $970 billed annually (or 12 x $97 = $1,164 monthly), plus any usage-based charges
How to choose
- Start free, grow later: Systeme.io if you sell courses or run email funnels; Zoho CRM if you mostly track sales conversations.
- Your work is custom client projects with proposals and contracts: HoneyBook or Dubsado.
- You live in a deal pipeline: Pipedrive.
- You want texting, calling, and automation in one platform, and may add client accounts: HighLevel.
- Not sure: pick two, run each for the free or trial period with five real leads, and keep the one you actually open every day.
FAQ
What is the best free CRM for a solo consultant?
Zoho CRM’s free edition (3 users) and Systeme.io’s free plan (up to 2,000 contacts) are both $0. Zoho is a traditional sales CRM, and Systeme.io is a marketing-style tool with funnels, email, and courses.
Is HighLevel worth it for one person?
It can be, if you’ll use its texting, calling, automation, and funnel tools together. For a CRM and basic follow-up only, cheaper tools cover more of what a solo practice needs.
Do these tools handle contracts and invoices?
HoneyBook and Dubsado list proposals, contracts, and invoicing. Pipedrive lists contracts and e-signatures on Premium. HighLevel lists payments and invoicing.
Can I try before paying?
Pipedrive: 14 days, no card. HighLevel: 14 days. Dubsado: 21 days with full Premier access. HoneyBook: all plans start with a free trial. Systeme.io and Zoho CRM have free plans.
Last checked: 2026-10-17. Prices and limits come from each vendor’s official pages on that date and can change. We have not tested these products hands-on. Prices checked Oct 17, 2026.