HubSpot CRM Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying

HubSpot CRM is free forever: 1,000 contacts, 2 users, no time limit. It includes email marketing, live chat, forms and ticketing, with branding until you pay.

By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-13T07:23:10+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-13T07:23:10+00:00

HubSpot CRM Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying

HubSpot CRM is free forever. There is no time limit. You can add up to 1,000 contacts. You can add up to 2 users. That is the core offer. The free plan also includes lite versions of tools from the Marketing, Sales, Service and Content Hubs. This guide explains what is actually included, what is capped, and when paying starts to make sense.

HubSpot CRM free plan limits at a glance

The free plan has hard limits. Know them before you build on it.

Free accounts are subject to a limit of 1,000 records across all other standard object types per account. If you need more than 1,000 contacts, you upgrade to a paid product. The free CRM is the shared database under every HubSpot product. It powers each hub you add later.

What the free CRM actually includes

The free CRM covers contact and company management. You can store contact details, track deals, and log activity. You can connect HubSpot to Gmail, Google Workspace and many versions of Outlook. Email tracking shows when a contact opens your message. The mobile app is included. These are real tools, not demos. A small team can run its whole pipeline on the free plan. The catch is scale. Two users and 1,000 contacts suit a startup. They do not suit a growing sales team. The free plan also includes support through the HubSpot Community, HubSpot Academy and the Knowledge Base. Support covers English, French, German, Japanese and Portuguese.

Free marketing tools: what you get

The free Marketing Hub tools are useful but branded. Email marketing allows 2,000 sends per calendar month. HubSpot branding stays on those emails. Live chat includes HubSpot branding too. Forms are included. You can build landing pages, up to 30 in total, with HubSpot branding. One blog is included on the same subdomain as your website, with up to 100 posts. Ad management covers 3 connected accounts. CRM segments allow 10 active segments and 1,000 static segments. Website traffic analytics use the standard dashboard. Cookie management tools allow up to 100 consent banners. Conversational bots have limited features. These tools cover the basics of a small marketing setup. Branding is the main trade-off. Removing it needs a paid plan.

Free sales and service tools: what you get

The free Sales Hub tools cover the daily work of a small sales team. Meeting scheduling gives you one personal link, with HubSpot branding. Email templates cap at 3 per account. Canned snippets cap at 3. The free Service Hub adds ticketing and live chat. Conversational bots are limited. Facebook Messenger integration sends and receives simple messages and quick replies. Reporting dashboards cap at 10 dashboards with 50 reports each. These limits are workable for a two-person team. They break down fast once a third person joins. The free plan also includes a website builder with up to 30 website pages, with HubSpot branding and no custom domain. Multi-language content covers up to 3 supported languages.

What the HubSpot CRM free plan does not include

Several things stay behind the paywall. HubSpot branding cannot be removed on the free plan. Email automation allows only one automated action. Sales automation is not included. Calling is not included on the free plan. Custom reporting is limited. The free plan has no access to the paid automation workflows that move deals without manual work. It has no access to advanced segmentation criteria beyond form data, contact properties and email activity. It has no dedicated support channel. Free users rely on community and self-serve help. None of this is hidden. HubSpot lists the free and Starter columns side by side on its pricing page. Read them before you commit your data.

When to upgrade from the HubSpot CRM free plan

Upgrade when a limit starts to cost you time. Three seats is the first trigger. The free plan allows two users. A third hire forces the upgrade. The second trigger is branding. If your emails and chat widgets carry HubSpot branding, customers notice. Starter removes it. The third trigger is automation. One automated action is not enough once you run real campaigns. Starter adds automation, meeting scheduling without branding, e-signatures, payments, multi-currency support and a dedicated phone number. Starter is normally priced at $20 a month per seat. New customers can get a limited-time discount of $7 a month per seat with an upfront annual payment, or $10 a month per seat month to month. Check the live price before you buy. Discounts change. Startups and nonprofits can also ask about discount pricing through the HubSpot for Startups and HubSpot for Nonprofits programs.

Getting started with the HubSpot CRM free plan

Setup takes minutes. Create a free account on the HubSpot website. Import your contacts from a spreadsheet or from your email account. Connect Gmail or Outlook so emails log to the CRM. Add your team member, since the plan allows two users. Build one pipeline for your deals. Add a form to your website to capture new leads. Set up the meeting link and share it in your email signature. Check the reporting dashboard after a week. You will see which contacts opened emails and which deals moved. That is the whole setup. No credit card is needed. No trial clock runs. You can stay free for as long as the limits fit.

Bottom line

The HubSpot CRM free plan is genuinely useful. You get 1,000 contacts, 2 users, 2,000 marketing emails a month, live chat, forms, ticketing and reporting, with no time limit. The limits are clear and the branding is visible. Upgrade to Starter when you add a third user, need branding removed, or need real automation. Until then, the free plan does the job.