The price of a CRM varies according to several criteria: brand, number of users, support provided, functions covered, integrations, training, support, AI integration. We’ll explain these factors in detail, give you some examples of CRM prices on the market, and show you that the most expensive CRMs aren’t the best.
CRM pricing criteria
- Brand: the best-known brands are generally the most expensive. Salesforce, Microsoft and Oracle are the best-known and generally among the most expensive. These big names in CRM are best suited to very large companies that have the budgets, want to secure themselves with well-known names, wish to integrate their own systems, and whose sales performance is not always a priority.
- Number of users: the majority of CRM providers use a pricing model based on the number of users, which is flexible and can be adapted to all customer sizes.
- Business sector: some of the larger systems offer prices based on business sector, and you need to specify this to request a quote.
- Support: systems based on the organization’s site have higher base prices than those based in the Cloud. This last solution is cheaper, simpler and more effective for small businesses and start-ups.
- Les fonctions offertes : la fonction essentielle d’un CRM est le développement des ventes et la prospection, mais les applications des CRM sont nombreuses.
- customer service
- marketing automation
- direct marketing
- analysis
- social media management
- company-wide teamwork
- Integration with existing company systems. This is important for large companies, but less so for SMEs, which have their own systems and don’t want to change everything. The same goes for a self-employed worker who knows the systems he or she uses: integration would be costly and would change his or her work habits, reducing productivity.
- Support and training can account for a significant proportion of the budget. Support for integration with your systems is normal if you ask for it, but if training is required, this is proof that the system is not intuitive and that the business model is based on selling additional services. A good CRM is designed to be simple and effective.
- AI integration : although not yet fully developed for CRM, AI is increasingly offered by major brands, and learning your systems requires a significant budget.
- There are three billing options
- A fixed price for adaptation, then licenses per number of users
- An annual prize
- A monthly price
Billing and free trials
There are three billing options:
- A fixed price for adaptation, then licenses per number of users
- An annual prize
- A monthly price
Almost all providers offer a free trial period of 8 days, 15 days or 1 month. Others, like ActionClient, offer a version with unlimited duration and a maximum number of users, ideal for certain professions or start-ups.
Current market prices
In general, market CRMs range from $25 to over $300 per month per user in 2023-2024. The major suppliers offer low entry-level prices of around $25, but don’t be fooled: the real price for the majority of users is much higher, thanks to the maze of multiple plans and customized offers.
- Salesforce: the version they present as the most popular is priced at US$185 per user, the unlimited version with support at $330 per user per year.
- Microsoft Dynamics : it’s very difficult to know how much it costs, as there are so many plans, but the most common range from $147 to $248.
- Hubspot: costs $585 per month for the professional version with a minimum of 5 users and $1,950 per month for the enterprise version with a minimum of 10 users.
- Zoho: offers 4 options, Standard: $20 Professional: $31 Enterprise: $50, Ultimate: $65
- Pipe Drive: from US$15 to $100
- ActionClient: US$11 (CAN$15) per user. The reason for its low price is its deliberate simplicity, its focus on sales and efficiency, and its targeting of freelancers and startups. ActionClient also offers a free, unlimited version for less than 20 customers.
Please note that these prices are those displayed on supplier websites at the time of writing. They will vary and do not take into account additional options that are presented as compulsory.
In conclusion
Paradoxically, higher CRM prices are not at all indicative of greater efficiency, but rather of greater complexity, which often means lower efficiency for users. In large companies, decisions are taken by people who often know nothing about the realities of the field, who want to protect themselves with a big name, and who often work for the marketing department or general management, whose analytical imperatives run counter to users’ desire for simplicity. Decision-makers are more likely to want to justify poor results than to help people in the field beat their competitors. As this is probably not the case for you and for small companies or startups, choose a system that is simple, inexpensive and above all effective in developing your business, which remains the primary function of a CRM.
Jean-Pierre Mercier
