NEWJoin 2M+ software buyers|Get Weekly Insights, Trends & Expert PicksSubscribe free →

Last updated:

SAM Alternatives: 12 Options Compared, Including Free (2026)

Explore 12 alternatives to SAM, vetted by our editors with real user reviews, pricing, and feature comparisons.

The 12 best free SAM alternatives, summed up

Quick answer

If you're after an SAM alternative, start with SuiteCRM, Solid Performers CRM and Sugar Sell. SuiteCRM leads on SpotScore (8.9), backed by a 4.43★ rating. See how all 12 compare on score, rating, and price below.

If SAM isn't pulling its weight, this list points you to better options. These 12 CRM software free alternatives are ranked by SpotScore (verified satisfaction and market presence), ratings, and pricing model, with editorial review on every entry. Compare them in the table, then read the detail for each pick below.

ProductSpotScoreRatingPricingBest for
SuiteCRMEfficiently manage customer relationships and data.8.9★★★★☆ 4.43(109)FreeFree Trial · Open-source · Subscriptionteams of all sizes
Solid Performers CRMOptimize your relationships with simple CRM solutions.8.8★★★★★ 4.97(55)FreeFree Trial · Subscriptionteams of all sizes
Sugar SellRevolutionize your sales process with SugarCRM.8.7★★★★★ 4.55(30)Freefrom $49/moteams of all sizes
eWay-CRMStreamline your business with powerful CRM and eCommerce tools.8.5★★★★☆ 4.35(10)Freefrom $18 /User/Monthteams of all sizes
OnpipelineStreamline your sales with Onpipeline CRM.8.3★★★★☆ 4.33(3)Freefrom $12 /User/Monthteams of all sizes
CrmOneBoost your business with CrmOne.8.1★★★★★ 4.57(14)Freefrom $42/moteams of all sizes
ActiveCampaign for SalesAutomation for smarter sales success.8★★★★☆ 4.44(1770)Freefrom $19/moteams of all sizes
Bigin by Zoho CRMStreamline your sales and build better relationships.9★★★★★ 4.6(294)FreeFree Trial · Freemium · Subscriptionsmall businesses
SalesRabbitBoost your sales with streamlined contact management.9.8★★★★★ 4.61(309)FreeFree Trial · Subscriptionteams of all sizes
Agentforce Sales (formerly Salesforce Sales Cloud)AI agents for sales — Salesforce CRM with Agentforce autonomous selling, pipeline & forecasting9.8★★★★★ 4.55(710)FreeFree Trial · Subscriptionteams of all sizes
Zoho CRMEfficiency at your fingertips.9.8★★★★☆ 4.14(2488)FreeFree Trial · Freemium · Subscriptionteams of all sizes
ClickUpEffortlessly streamline your projects with ClickUp9.8★★★★★ 4.87(2889)FreeFree Trial · Freemium · Subscription · Quotation Basedteams of all sizes

8.9

SpotScore

SuiteCRM - CRM Software

SuiteCRM

Efficiently manage customer relationships and data.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is SuiteCRM?

SuiteCRM is a free, open-source CRM for businesses that need sales, marketing, and customer support management without paying per-seat licensing fees. It provides lead management, dynamic reporting, task tracking, and extensive customization options backed by an active developer community. ...

Read more about SuiteCRM
Free TrialTry Free →

8.8

SpotScore

Solid Performers CRM - CRM Software

Solid Performers CRM

Optimize your relationships with simple CRM solutions.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is Solid Performers CRM?

Solid Performers CRM is an affordable CRM for startups and mid-sized businesses that need to track leads, manage contacts, and centralize sales-to-invoicing workflows in one tool. It combines lead tracking, follow-up reminders, and project and activity management without requiring a large ...

Read more about Solid Performers CRM
Free Trial

8.7

SpotScore

Sugar Sell - CRM Software

Sugar Sell

Revolutionize your sales process with SugarCRM.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

watch-demo

Watch Demo

What is Sugar Sell?

SugarCRM is the only sales force automation software that has all the features of a full featured customer relationship management system and the features of a full featured sales force automation software. SugarCRM is also extensible and can be customized to meet your individual business needs ...

Read more about Sugar Sell
Free Trial

Spotsaas Ads

Want your product up here? Put it in front of buyers the moment they're comparing your category.

Reach in-market buyersRank above rivals2M+ buyers a year

8.5

SpotScore

eWay-CRM - CRM Software

eWay-CRM

Streamline your business with powerful CRM and eCommerce tools.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is eWay-CRM?

eWay-CRM is a CRM that runs inside Microsoft Outlook, designed for sales and project teams that spend most of their day in email and want to avoid switching to a separate CRM interface. It centralizes contacts, deal pipelines, call notes, and project tracking within the familiar Outlook ...

Read more about eWay-CRM
Free TrialTry Free →

8.3

SpotScore

Onpipeline - CRM Software

Onpipeline

Streamline your sales with Onpipeline CRM.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is Onpipeline?

Onpipeline is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software that enables marketing and sales teams to collaborate easily, make smart decisions, and is easy to use. It has all the features you need to convert leads into customers, including email prospecting, customer ...

Read more about Onpipeline
Free Trial

8.1

SpotScore

CrmOne - CRM Software

CrmOne

Boost your business with CrmOne.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

watch-demo

Watch Demo

What is CrmOne?

CrmOne is the ideal CRM tool for businesses of all sizes. With unlimited users, businesses, contacts and capabilities, you can easily keep track of sales and marketing progress, streamline customer communication, maximize conversions, create tasks, meetings and communication, schedule email ...

Read more about CrmOne
Free TrialTry Free →·

CrmOne offers custom pricing plan

8.0

SpotScore

ActiveCampaign for Sales - CRM Software

ActiveCampaign for Sales

Automation for smarter sales success.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is ActiveCampaign for Sales?

ActiveCampaign for Sales is a highly specific tool to help your team meet their daily targets and exceed their longer-term objectives. Utilize automation for your sales process so that more deals can be closed with minimal to no extra effort, eliminating the need to employ extra sales ...

Read more about ActiveCampaign for Sales
Free Trial·

ActiveCampaign for Sales offers custom pricing plan

9.0

SpotScore

Bigin by Zoho CRM - CRM Software

Bigin by Zoho CRM

The Best Overall

Streamline your sales and build better relationships.

Best for: SMB teams

Add to compare

What is Bigin by Zoho CRM?

Bigin is Zoho's lightweight CRM designed for small teams under 50 people running straightforward sales cycles. Its drag-and-drop pipeline and email sync with Gmail and Outlook allow reps to get productive within a day without extensive onboarding. Direct integrations are largely limited to ...

Read more about Bigin by Zoho CRM
Free TrialTry Free →·

Starts from $7/User/Month when Billed Yearly, also offers free forever plan

9.8

SpotScore

SalesRabbit - Contact Management Software

SalesRabbit

Boost your sales with streamlined contact management.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

What is SalesRabbit?

SalesRabbit is a contact management software that helps sales teams organize and sell more effectively. The contact info of a prospect is one of the most important elements while selling to them. SalesRabbit acts as the middleman to manage sales process and streamline workflow, making it easy ...

Read more about SalesRabbit
Free TrialTry Free →·

Starts from $25/User/Month when Billed Yearly

9.8

SpotScore

Salesforce - CRM Software

Agentforce Sales (formerly Salesforce Sales Cloud)

AI agents for sales — Salesforce CRM with Agentforce autonomous selling, pipeline & forecasting

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

watch-demo

Watch Demo

What is Agentforce Sales (formerly Salesforce Sales Cloud)?

Agentforce Sales (formerly Salesforce Sales Cloud) is Salesforce's flagship AI-powered sales CRM. It combines core CRM — lead, contact, opportunity and pipeline management, forecasting and analytics — with Agentforce, Salesforce's suite of autonomous AI agents that prospect, answer rep ...

Read more about Agentforce Sales (formerly Salesforce Sales Cloud)
Free TrialTry Free →·

Starts from $25/user/month when monthly

9.8

SpotScore

Zoho CRM - CRM Software

Zoho CRM

Efficiency at your fingertips.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

watch-demo

Watch Demo

What is Zoho CRM?

Zoho CRM is an intuitive and powerful customer relationship management solution designed to enhance business workflows and improve collaboration. With its user-friendly interface and drag-and-drop functionality, it simplifies data sharing within organizations and with customers, ensuring ...

Read more about Zoho CRM
Free TrialTry Free →·

Starts from $9/user/month when yearly, also offers free forever plan

9.8

SpotScore

ClickUp - Collaboration Software

ClickUp

Effortlessly streamline your projects with ClickUp

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Start Free Trial

Add to compare

watch-demo

Watch Demo

What is ClickUp?

ClickUp is a versatile cloud-based project management platform designed to cater to both individual project needs and the complex demands of enterprise-level teams. Offering a customizable planning experience, it allows users to toggle between two distinct views, providing flexibility based on ...

Read more about ClickUp
Free TrialTry Free →·

Starts from $7/User/Month when yearly, also offers free forever plan

The main SAM competitors

Buyers comparing SAM usually weigh it against these 12 CRM software competitors, starting with SuiteCRM, Solid Performers CRM and Sugar Sell. Each is compared against SAM on rating, pricing and feature coverage below.

Tools similar to SAM

Searches for "sites like SAM" and "apps like SAM" land on the same set of options as "SAM alternatives" — the 12 options below cover both, whether you want a like-for-like replacement or something lighter.

Why each earned a place here

SuiteCRM8.9Best for teams of all sizes

Dashboard setup and task management require little technical expertise.

Watch for: User interface is outdated and many users find it unattractive.

Solid Performers CRM8.8Best for teams of all sizes

Simple interface reduces the learning curve across all employee levels.

Watch for: Certain advanced features and customizations, such as campaign and project management, need further refinement.

Sugar Sell8.7Best for teams of all sizes

Flexibility and customization options let users personalize workflows, modules, and fields to suit specific business needs.

Watch for: Steep learning curve for new users due to the extensive flexibility and customizability, leading to higher required training time.

eWay-CRM8.5Best for teams of all sizes

Strong integration with Outlook and Excel, making it an essential tool for users who frequent these applications.

Watch for: Slows down Outlook for some users, which can affect workflow efficiency.

Onpipeline8.3Best for teams of all sizes

User-friendly interface

Watch for: Limited offline functionality

CrmOne8.1Best for teams of all sizes

Unlimited users and contacts

Watch for: Complex for new users

ActiveCampaign for Sales8Best for teams of all sizes

Email automation and campaign creation are straightforward, with a clean drag-and-drop interface.

Watch for: The platform can feel overwhelming for beginners due to the abundance of features and functionality.

Bigin by Zoho CRM9Best for small businesses

Simple design with a short learning curve — accessible for non-technical users.

Watch for: Limited integrations with social media apps and LinkedIn or Facebook ad platforms.

SalesRabbit9.8Best for teams of all sizes

Streamlines daily workflow and enhances productivity by offering a wide range of features.

Watch for: Initial overwhelm due to the abundance of features, requiring time to explore and understand the full potential.

Highly customizable, allowing businesses to tailor processes and workflows to their specific needs.

Watch for: Licensing costs are high, with additional charges for features, making it less accessible for small businesses or startups.

Zoho CRM9.8Best for teams of all sizes

Easy to use with a clear interface requiring minimal technical expertise.

Watch for: Limited scalability and depth for larger businesses with more complex requirements.

ClickUp9.8Best for teams of all sizes

Versatile platform with constant updates and amazing customer support that prioritizes user feedback promptly.

Watch for: Steep learning curve initially, which may be challenging for newcomers without a technical background.

Why teams look for an SAM alternative

Before comparing options, it helps to name why teams leave SAM in the first place:

  • Limited customization options
  • May lack advanced analytics
  • Not suitable for large enterprises
  • Integration limitations

What to focus on in an SAM alternative

Here's the data-driven picture across all 12 CRM software free alternatives: 12 offer a free tier; paid plans run $12–$49, with Onpipeline the cheapest entry point; and Solid Performers CRM is the highest rated at 4.97★ across 55 reviews.

The logic behind the ranking.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Stuck on something? We're here to help with all the questions and answers in one place.

The top-rated alternatives to SAM are Solid Performers CRM (5.0★), ClickUp (4.9★), SalesRabbit (4.6★). Compare all 12 alternatives side-by-side above.

When evaluating alternatives to SAM, prioritize: Quotes (Proposals), List Management, Marketing Automation, Referral Tracking, Lead Scoring, transparent pricing, free trial availability, and integrations with your existing tools. Use the filters above to compare by feature, budget, and team size.

SAM starts from $50 /User/Month. Many alternatives offer similar functionality at different price points — some with free tiers, others with more flexible per-seat pricing. Use the filters above to narrow by budget.

Migration difficulty depends on how deeply SAM is integrated into your workflows. Most alternatives offer data export/import tools and dedicated onboarding support. We recommend narrowing to 2–3 options, running a free trial, and checking each vendor's migration guides before committing.

Deciding on the right SAM alternative

  • On a budget / just exploring: start with a free tier — SuiteCRM, Solid Performers CRM and Sugar Sell let you evaluate without paying upfront.
  • If real-user ratings matter most: Solid Performers CRM has the strongest star rating (4.97★) among the options with verified reviews.
  • Want the safest pick: SuiteCRM has the highest Spotsaas Score (8.9) in this list — a strong default if you're unsure.

Switching from SAM

Replacing SAM is easiest when you plan the data move first. Export your records, confirm the new tool imports them, and verify your key workflows hold. Pilot the switch free, then migrate fully, keeping SAM open as backup until you're settled.

Disclaimer: This research has been collated from a variety of authoritative sources. We welcome your feedback at [email protected].