SFDIFY
If your week is proposals, contracts and invoices, an all-in-one client tool will likely fit better than a sales CRM: HoneyBook plans "start as low as $29/mo" and the Starter plan includes proposals, contracts and invoices [1], while Bonsai adds invoices and proposals on its Essentials plan at $19 per user per month billed annually [2]. If you only need contact and deal tracking, Capsule has a free plan "for up to 2 users and 250 contacts" [3], and Streak runs inside Gmail [4].
A freelancer's loop is inquiry, proposal, signed contract, invoice and follow-up. Some tools below handle that whole loop; others only track contacts and deals and leave the paperwork to something else.
How we chose
We compared seven tools: three client-management platforms (HoneyBook, Bonsai, Dubsado), two lightweight CRMs (folk, Capsule), a Gmail-native CRM (Streak) and a sales CRM (Pipedrive). We read each official homepage and pricing page on 2026-11-14 and checked what the entry plan includes for one user. This is based on vendor pages, not hands-on testing, and prices change, so confirm before you buy. SFDIFY earns a commission from some links on this page (folk, Capsule, Streak, Pipedrive); that does not change the order or what we say about them.
Best CRM for freelancers: comparison table
| Product | Best for | Starting price | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| HoneyBook | Service freelancers who want proposals, contracts and payments in one flow | From $29/mo [1] | 30-day free trial, no credit card [1] |
| Bonsai | Freelancers who also track time and projects | $9/user/month billed annually; invoicing starts at $19 [2] | 7-day trial [2] |
| Dubsado | Freelancers who want branded client portals and workflows | $335/yr Starter [5] | 21-day trial of Premier, no card [5] |
| folk | Relationship-heavy consultants who live in email and LinkedIn | $24/member/month billed yearly [6] | No ongoing free plan; 2-week trial [6] |
| Capsule CRM | A simple contact and deal list on a budget | Free for up to 2 users and 250 contacts [3] | Paid from $18/user/month billed annually [3] |
| Streak | Freelancers who run everything from Gmail | $49/user/month billed annually [4] | Free plan has email tools but no pipelines [4] |
| Pipedrive | Consultants with a real sales pipeline to manage | US$ 14 per seat/month billed annually [7] | Contracts and e-signatures start on Premium [7] |
HoneyBook — all-in-one client flow for service freelancers
HoneyBook describes itself as a way to "Send proposals, contracts, and invoices in one seamless flow" [8].
Verified features: The Starter plan lists "Unlimited clients and projects", invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, a client portal, and "Up to 2 live lead forms" [1]. The Essentials plan adds a scheduler, automations and a "QuickBooks Online integration" [1].
Pricing: Starter is $29 per month billed annually, Essentials is $49, and Premium is $109 [1]. You can "try virtually every feature on HoneyBook free for 30 days, no credit card required" [1].
Strengths: One tool covers inquiry to payment, with a long trial.
Limitations: Automations are not on Starter; they start on Essentials [1]. HoneyBook is "currently available for business owners in the U.S., Canada, UK and Australia" [1], so it is not an option elsewhere.
Best fit: A solo designer, coach or consultant who books projects and wants the paperwork in one place.
Bonsai — client management plus time tracking
Bonsai pitches an "all-in-one workspace" [9] covering clients, projects and finances.
Verified features: The Basic plan includes time tracking, task management, CRM and unlimited clients [2]. Essentials adds "Invoices & Payments", "Proposals & Contracts", scheduling and a client portal [2]. Premium adds a "Deals pipeline" and "Integrations (QuickBooks, Xero, Zapier, Calendly, Google)" [2].
Pricing: Annual billing is $9, $19, $29 and $49 per user per month for Basic, Essentials, Premium and Elite; monthly billing costs more [2]. The trial gives "full, unlimited access to Bonsai for 7 days" [2].
Strengths: Time tracking, proposals, contracts and invoicing in one product, priced per seat.
Limitations: The cheapest plan does not include invoicing or proposals, so most freelancers will need Essentials at least, and the deals pipeline only arrives on Premium [2].
Best fit: Freelancers and solo consultants who track hours and want time, proposals and invoices connected.
Dubsado — workflows and branded client portals
Dubsado leads with "Proposal, contract, and invoice — in one send." [10] Like HoneyBook, it is a client-management platform rather than a sales CRM.
Verified features: Both plans include "Unlimited projects & clients", invoicing and payment plans, client portals, email integration and calendar connection [5]. Premier adds features like "scheduling templates, automated workflows, and bookkeeping integration" [5], plus public proposals and a Zapier integration [5].
Pricing: The Starter Plan is $335/yr and the Premier Plan is $525/yr, with "All prices are in USD" [5]. The free trial "lasts 21 days" with full access to Premier and "No credit card info required" [5].
Strengths: Unlimited clients on both plans and a long trial.
Limitations: Starter limits you to one active lead capture form and leaves out scheduling, automated workflows and public proposals [5].
Best fit: A freelancer with a repeatable onboarding process who wants it automated and branded.
folk — a light CRM for relationship-driven consultants
folk is a contact-first CRM with a pipeline, aimed at people who build business through conversations. It does not handle proposals, contracts or invoices.
Verified features: Standard includes "Pipeline management", email campaigns, contact enrichment, a LinkedIn extension and "Email, calendar & WhatsApp sync" [6]. Premium adds custom objects and deals, email sequences and dashboards [6].
Pricing: Standard is $24 per member per month billed yearly [6]. New workspaces get "a 2 weeks free trial" with no credit card [6].
Strengths: Email, calendar and LinkedIn capture on the entry plan suits consultants who win work through introductions.
Limitations: There is no ongoing free tier for a solo user: "At the end of the 2 week trial, if you don't upgrade, we'll block your account" [6]. You will still need a separate tool for contracts and invoices.
Best fit: Consultants who manage a network of contacts and want something lighter than a sales CRM.
Capsule CRM — the cheapest way to start a contact list
Capsule CRM is a straightforward contact and sales pipeline tool, and, of the pricing pages we checked, the only one offering a free plan that includes a pipeline.
Verified features: The free plan covers "up to 2 users and 250 contacts, with one sales pipeline" [3]. Starter raises the limit to 30,000 contacts and adds "direct integrations with tools like Xero" [3]. Gmail and Outlook email sync is listed with the Growth plan [3].
Pricing: Paid plans are "Starter $18, Growth $36, Advanced $54 and Ultimate $72 when billed annually" per user per month [3]. Each paid plan has a 14-day trial with "No card required" [3].
Strengths: You can run a small freelance pipeline for free, and Starter is inexpensive for one seat.
Limitations: 250 contacts fills up quickly, and automatic email logging from Gmail sits on Growth, not Starter [3]. No proposals, contracts or invoicing, so pair it with a billing tool.
Best fit: A freelancer who wants an organized lead list and already invoices elsewhere.
Streak — a CRM inside Gmail
Streak "is built directly into Gmail" [4], so your pipeline sits next to the email threads it comes from.
Verified features: Every paid plan includes "unlimited contacts, pipelines, and records" [4]. Pro includes mail merge and shared pipelines; Pro+ is for teams that need "automations, integrations, and advanced reporting" [4].
Pricing: Pro costs "$49 per user per month" billed annually, or $59 monthly [4]. The free plan includes email and link tracking and "50 mail merge sends per day" [4].
Strengths: No separate app, and the free email tools are useful on their own.
Limitations: "The free plan does not include CRM pipelines" [4], so the CRM itself starts at $49 per month for one person, which is high next to Capsule or Bonsai. Automations sit on Pro+. No invoicing or contracts.
Best fit: A Gmail-based consultant who wants deal tracking without leaving the inbox and is fine paying for it.
Pipedrive — a sales pipeline for consultants who prospect
Pipedrive is a full sales CRM.
Verified features: Lite covers "Lead, calendar and pipeline management" and "500+ integrations" [7]. Growth adds "Full email sync with tracking" and automations [7]. Premium lets you "Send and track quotes, proposals, and contracts directly in Pipedrive with built-in e-signatures" [7].
Pricing: Lite is US$ 14 per seat per month billed annually, Growth US$ 39 and Premium US$ 59 [7]. Every plan has a "Free 14-day trial. No credit card required." [7]
Strengths: The deepest sales pipeline tooling here, with a low entry price.
Limitations: Email sync starts on Growth and contracts with e-signatures on Premium [7], so the freelancer-relevant setup costs more than the Lite price suggests.
Best fit: A solo consultant doing active outreach who needs deal stages more than invoicing.
How to choose a CRM as a freelancer
First decide whether you need a CRM or a client-management tool. If your admin time goes to proposals, contracts and invoices, HoneyBook, Bonsai or Dubsado will likely save more time than a sales CRM. If you already invoice elsewhere and only lose track of leads, a lighter CRM is enough.
Then check these points for one user:
- What the entry plan really includes. Bonsai's Basic plan, Dubsado's Starter and Pipedrive's Lite all hold back features freelancers care about. Price the plan you would actually use.
- Free versus trial. Only Capsule offers a free plan with a pipeline. Streak's free plan is email tools only. The rest are trials.
If you are weighing the best CRM options for freelancers and solopreneurs mainly on cost, our roundup of the best free CRM software goes deeper on free plans, and our guide to the best CRM for contact management covers lighter contact-first tools. If none of these fit how you work, a custom CRM built around your own intake and billing process is another route.
FAQ
Is there a best free CRM for freelancers?
Capsule is the only tool here with a free plan that includes a pipeline: it covers up to 2 users and 250 contacts with one sales pipeline [3]. Streak has a free plan, but it "does not include CRM pipelines" [4]. HoneyBook, Dubsado, folk and Pipedrive offer free trials instead, ranging from 14 to 30 days [1] [5] [6] [7].
What is the best CRM for consultants?
It depends on how you win work. Consultants who mostly need proposals, contracts and invoices fit HoneyBook, whose Starter plan includes proposals, contracts and invoices [1], or Bonsai, which adds them on Essentials [2]. Consultants who manage a network of contacts fit folk, which includes email, calendar and WhatsApp sync on Standard [6]. Those running active outbound sales fit Pipedrive [7].
Which CRM for Gmail works best for a freelancer?
Streak "is built directly into Gmail" and includes unlimited pipelines on paid plans from $49 per user per month billed annually [4]. folk syncs email and calendar on its $24 Standard plan [6]. Capsule lists Gmail and Outlook email sync with its Growth plan [3], and Pipedrive includes full email sync from its Growth plan [7].
Does a solopreneur need a CRM or an all-in-one client tool?
A CRM for solopreneurs only needs to cover the parts of the client process you don't already handle. If you have no invoicing or contract tool yet, an all-in-one like Dubsado, whose plans both include invoicing and client portals [5], may replace several apps. If billing is already solved, a contact and pipeline tool like Capsule's free plan [3] is usually enough.
Our recommendation
For most solo freelancers who sell by the project, start with HoneyBook or Bonsai, since proposals, contracts and invoicing are where admin time goes; outside HoneyBook's countries, look at Bonsai or Dubsado. If you only need to track leads, start on Capsule's free plan, pick Streak to stay inside Gmail, and choose Pipedrive only for a genuine sales pipeline.
Sources
- HoneyBook pricing — checked 2026-11-14
- Bonsai pricing — checked 2026-11-14
- Capsule CRM pricing — checked 2026-11-14
- Streak pricing — checked 2026-11-14
- Dubsado pricing — checked 2026-11-14
- folk pricing — checked 2026-11-14
- Pipedrive pricing — checked 2026-11-14
- HoneyBook homepage — checked 2026-11-14
- Bonsai homepage — checked 2026-11-14
- Dubsado homepage — checked 2026-11-14
