Zoho CRM is a capable product and a sensible default for many Indian businesses. It is not the right fit for every team, though. If you are looking for a Zoho alternative, it is usually because of how the editions are bundled, how the pricing adds up for your team size, or because you need something simpler or more specialised.
This guide explains the common reasons teams look elsewhere, compares eight Zoho CRM alternatives with their published prices, and walks through how to move your data when you switch.
Prices are taken from each vendor's official pricing page as of October 2026. Several vendors show US dollar prices from India, so confirm the current figure on the linked page before you buy.
Disclosure: this article is published by Salesfresh, which also sells a CRM and is one of the alternatives below. We kept every comparison to published prices and features, and listed Salesfresh's limitations alongside its strengths.
Why teams look for Zoho CRM alternatives
Most teams that leave Zoho CRM do not leave because it is missing features. Zoho CRM has a very wide feature set. They leave because of how that feature set is packaged, or because their needs are different. These are the usual reasons.
Features are bundled by edition
Zoho CRM has five editions: Free, Standard, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. Each feature lives in a specific edition, and every user on the account pays for the same edition. If your team needs one feature from Enterprise, such as approval processes or Zia's full AI features, all 10 users move from ₹1,400 to ₹2,400 per month, not just the two who use it. That is an extra ₹1,20,000 a year before GST for a 10-person team.
The headline price is the annual rate
Zoho's pricing page leads with annual billing: ₹800, ₹1,400, ₹2,400 and ₹2,600 per user per month for the four paid editions, before GST. Zoho advertises savings of up to 34% for annual billing, which means monthly billing costs noticeably more. Teams that want to stay flexible for the first few months pay a premium for it.
It can be more CRM than a small team needs
Zoho CRM has a lot of settings, modules and options. For a five-person team that wants a pipeline, email sync and reminders, the setup can feel heavy. Some teams look for something simpler. Others stay with Zoho but move to Bigin, Zoho's lighter CRM.
A specific need it does not fit
Some businesses need something Zoho CRM is not focused on: a flat price for a large team, built-in telephony minutes, very high-volume lead distribution, or a CRM that is tied into the Microsoft stack. In those cases a more specialised product can be a better fit.
For the full breakdown of Zoho's editions, GST and hidden costs, read our Zoho CRM pricing India guide.
Zoho alternatives at a glance
All prices are the entry paid tier, per user per month on annual billing unless stated, before 18% GST.
| CRM | Starting price (paid) | Free plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho CRM (for reference) | ₹800 | Yes, up to 3 users | Growing SMBs that want depth |
| Salesfresh | ₹599 (monthly), about ₹509 annual | Yes, up to 3 users | Indian SMB sales teams that want INR pricing, automation and telephony |
| Zoho Bigin | ₹400 | Yes, 1 user | Very small teams that want to stay with Zoho |
| Freshsales | US$9 | Not listed on plan cards | SMBs that want a ready-to-use CRM |
| HubSpot Sales Hub | US$20 per seat, billed monthly | Yes, up to 2 users | Teams that run sales and marketing together |
| Pipedrive | See its pricing page | No | Pipeline-driven sales teams |
| LeadSquared | ₹2,500 | No | High-volume lead businesses |
| Bitrix24 | ₹1,910 per month for 5 users | Yes | Larger teams that want a flat price |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales | ₹5,410 | No | Businesses standardised on Microsoft |
8 Zoho CRM alternatives compared
1. Salesfresh
Who it suits: Indian small and mid-sized sales teams that want INR pricing, workflow automation and built-in telephony at a lower per-user price than Zoho CRM's comparable tiers.
Pricing (per user per month, billed monthly, pre-GST): Free for up to 3 users. Starter ₹599, Professional ₹1,199. Enterprise is priced by the sales team. Annual billing takes 15% off Starter and Professional, to about ₹509 and ₹1,019. 7-day free trial for up to 5 users. See the Salesfresh pricing page.
What stands out: no-code multi-step Flows, lead scoring, embeddable lead-capture forms, data share policies for record access, individual and team sales targets, a products catalogue, quotes and contracts with e-signature and renewal reminders. Telephony is included from Professional (500 minutes a month) and Enterprise (2,000 minutes a month). Integrations: Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp Business, Zoom and Google Ads.
Keep in mind: there is no customer invoicing, so teams that bill from Zoho today will need a separate invoicing tool. The integration list is shorter than Zoho's, and the annual discount (15%) is smaller than the "up to 34%" Zoho advertises.
Cost against Zoho: for 10 users on annual billing, Salesfresh Professional is about ₹1,22,300 a year and Zoho CRM Professional is ₹1,68,000, both before GST.
2. Zoho Bigin
Who it suits: very small teams that find Zoho CRM too much but want to stay inside the Zoho ecosystem.
Pricing (per user per month): Free for 1 user. Express ₹400 billed yearly or ₹550 monthly. Premier ₹720 billed yearly or ₹900 monthly. A Bigin 360 plan sits above Premier. Source: Bigin pricing.
What stands out: a simple, pipeline-first CRM that is quick to set up, at the lowest INR entry price in this list, with a path back up to Zoho CRM if you grow.
Keep in mind: the free plan is for one user, and Bigin is built for small teams by design. It is a lighter Zoho product, not a move away from Zoho.
3. Freshsales
Who it suits: small and mid-sized businesses that want a clean CRM with email, phone and chat built in.
Pricing (per user per month, billed annually): Growth US$9, Pro US$39, Enterprise US$59. 21-day trial. Source: Freshsales pricing.
What stands out: a low entry price and an interface new users pick up quickly. Freshworks was founded in Chennai.
Keep in mind: prices are shown in US dollars, there is a big step from Growth to Pro, and some capabilities are paid add-ons.
4. HubSpot Sales Hub
Who it suits: teams that want sales and marketing data in one platform.
Pricing (per seat per month): Free for up to 2 users. Starter US$20 monthly. Professional US$100 monthly, plus a one-time US$1,500 onboarding fee. Enterprise US$150 billed annually, plus a one-time US$3,500 onboarding fee. Source: HubSpot Sales Hub pricing.
What stands out: a usable free CRM, tight links with HubSpot's marketing tools and a large app ecosystem.
Keep in mind: US dollar pricing, a large jump from Starter to Professional, and mandatory onboarding fees on the higher plans.
5. Pipedrive
Who it suits: sales teams that live in a visual deal pipeline.
Pricing: per seat per month, in US dollars, on several plans. Check the current prices on Pipedrive's pricing page.
What stands out: a drag-and-drop pipeline that reps find easy to keep updated, and a focus on the next activity for each deal.
Keep in mind: no free plan and US dollar pricing.
6. LeadSquared
Who it suits: businesses with a high volume of inbound leads, such as education, lending, insurance and healthcare.
Pricing (per user per month, billed annually): Sales Pro ₹2,500, Sales Super ₹5,000. Source: LeadSquared sales CRM pricing.
What stands out: published INR pricing and a strong focus on capturing, distributing and following up on leads at volume.
Keep in mind: no free plan, annual billing on the listed plans, and a higher entry price than Zoho CRM Standard.
7. Bitrix24
Who it suits: teams of 20 to 50 that want CRM, tasks and chat for one flat monthly price.
Pricing (whole account, per month): Free plan available. Basic ₹1,910 annual or ₹2,990 monthly for 5 users. Standard ₹4,790 annual or ₹6,890 monthly for 50 users. Professional ₹9,590 annual or ₹13,790 monthly for 100 users. Source: Bitrix24 India pricing.
What stands out: flat INR pricing that gets cheaper per person as your team grows, plus tasks, projects and video calls in the same tool.
Keep in mind: the breadth of tools makes it busier to learn than a focused CRM.
8. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales
Who it suits: larger businesses already running on Microsoft 365, Teams and Azure.
Pricing (per user per month, paid yearly, GST extra): Sales Professional ₹5,410, Sales Enterprise ₹8,735, Sales Premium ₹12,480. Source: Dynamics 365 Sales pricing.
What stands out: published INR pricing, deep Outlook and Teams integration and Copilot features on higher plans.
Keep in mind: the highest price in this list, no free plan, and setup usually needs a Microsoft partner. It is an alternative to Zoho CRM Enterprise or Ultimate, not to Standard.
Salesforce Sales Cloud is also a common Zoho alternative for larger companies. We cover it in our comparison of the best CRM software in India.
How to choose the right Zoho alternative
Start from the reason you are leaving.
| If your reason is | Look at |
|---|---|
| Paying a higher edition for one feature | A CRM whose mid tier already includes it. Compare feature lists tier by tier |
| Price per user for a growing team | Salesfresh, Bigin, or Bitrix24's flat pricing |
| Too complex for a small team | Bigin, Pipedrive, Freshsales |
| Need built-in telephony minutes | Salesfresh Professional or Enterprise |
| Very high lead volume | LeadSquared |
| Running on Microsoft | Dynamics 365 Sales |
Then shortlist two or three, and test each with a sample of your real data before you commit.
How to switch from Zoho CRM
Moving CRMs is mostly a data job. A clean migration takes planning, not heroics.
1. Export your data from Zoho
Zoho CRM lets anyone with export permission export a module, such as leads, contacts, accounts or deals, to a CSV file, up to 200,000 records at a time. Admins can also request a full data backup as CSV files, and paid editions include free backups. Export every module you use, including notes and activities, and keep the files safe.
2. Clean before you import
Remove duplicates, fix phone number formats and archive leads that have been dead for years. Importing clean data is far easier than cleaning it inside the new CRM.
3. Map your fields and stages
List Zoho's fields and your custom fields, and match each one to a field in the new CRM. Recreate your pipeline stages first, so imported deals land in the right place.
4. Import in order
Import accounts first, then contacts, then deals, so the links between them are kept. In Salesfresh, import templates give you a ready format for bulk imports.
5. Rebuild automation
Workflow rules, assignment rules and email templates do not move with a CSV export. Recreate the ones you still need, and use the switch to drop the ones nobody relies on.
6. Run both for a short overlap
Keep Zoho read-only for two to four weeks while the team works in the new CRM. Time the switch so you do not pay for a new year of Zoho on annual billing just before you leave.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Zoho alternative in India?
It depends on why you are switching. Salesfresh and Bigin suit small teams watching per-user cost, Freshsales and HubSpot suit teams that want a polished all-rounder, LeadSquared suits high lead volumes, and Dynamics 365 Sales suits Microsoft-based companies.
Is there a free alternative to Zoho CRM?
Yes. HubSpot is free for up to 2 users, Salesfresh for up to 3, Bigin for 1, and Bitrix24 has a free plan. Zoho CRM itself is also free for up to 3 users.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Zoho CRM?
At comparable tiers, several are cheaper per user. For 10 users on annual billing, Salesfresh Professional costs about ₹1,22,300 a year against ₹1,68,000 for Zoho CRM Professional, before GST. Compare features tier by tier, not just price.
Can I move my data from Zoho CRM to another CRM?
Yes. Export each module from Zoho CRM to CSV, clean the data, map fields to the new CRM and import accounts, contacts and deals in that order. Automation rules need to be rebuilt by hand.
Is Bigin a Zoho CRM alternative?
Bigin is Zoho's own lighter CRM for small businesses. It is a good option if you want something simpler but would like to stay with Zoho, with an upgrade path back to Zoho CRM.
The bottom line
Zoho CRM is a strong product, and the best Zoho alternative is the one that fixes the specific reason you want to leave. Price out your real team size on annual and monthly billing, check which tier holds every feature you need, and test with your own data.
To see how Salesfresh compares, view the plans on the pricing page or sign up for Salesfresh free. Prefer a guided tour? Book a free CRM demo.