Costs and pricing
Part of Planning CRM costs with dated quotes, full labour and a separate ROI ledger
Small business CRM pricing models: three plans compared on one set of units
Compare three exact CRM plans on consistent commercial units, while leaving price blank until an England buyer has a dated GBP and VAT-specific quotation.
What to take away
- On published annual-billing list prices, before VAT, Zoho CRM Standard is the cheapest of the three at about £11 per user per month.
- Pipedrive Lite lists at about £14 per seat and HubSpot Sales Hub Starter at about £12 per Core Seat, both before VAT.
- Five users for twelve months cost between about £792 and £1,008 including VAT, depending on the plan.
- Migration, training and internal admin add several hundred pounds, so licences are a minority of first-year spend.
- Confirm every figure with a dated GBP quote, because region, billing period and add-ons move the rate.
What the title compares
The three plans bill on different commercial units, so this comparison forces one: GBP per named access unit per month, annual billing, before VAT. The figures are published list prices checked on 6 September 2026 and can change without notice.
Published list prices on one unit
Access unit
- Pipedrive Lite
- Seat
- HubSpot Sales Hub Starter
- Core Seat
- Zoho CRM Standard
- User
List price, GBP per unit per month, ex VAT
- Pipedrive Lite
- £14
- HubSpot Sales Hub Starter
- £12
- Zoho CRM Standard
- £11
Billing basis
- Pipedrive Lite
- Annual; monthly costs more
- HubSpot Sales Hub Starter
- Annual commitment
- Zoho CRM Standard
- Annual; monthly costs more
HubSpot publishes its Starter rate on the Sales Hub pricing page, alongside monthly options. Pipedrive and Zoho quote in other currencies by region, so an England buyer should ask for GBP in writing. A CRM cost guide built from a dated quote shows how to turn a list rate into a comparable figure.
Example: five users for twelve months
Take five users on annual billing and the standard VAT rate of 20%, published by GOV.UK.
Monthly ex VAT
- Pipedrive Lite
- £70
- HubSpot Sales Hub Starter
- £60
- Zoho CRM Standard
- £55
Annual ex VAT
- Pipedrive Lite
- £840
- HubSpot Sales Hub Starter
- £720
- Zoho CRM Standard
- £660
VAT at 20%
- Pipedrive Lite
- £168
- HubSpot Sales Hub Starter
- £144
- Zoho CRM Standard
- £132
Annual inc VAT
- Pipedrive Lite
- £1,008
- HubSpot Sales Hub Starter
- £864
- Zoho CRM Standard
- £792
Seat price times user count times twelve produces the monthly and annual columns. These totals cover licences only; onboarding, data work and training are excluded and appear next.
First-year total, not just the subscription
Licences are usually the smallest part of year one. The table uses illustrative buyer-set rates for the five-user Zoho case, and you should replace them with your own approved figures.
| Cost line | Basis | Ex VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Software | 5 users x £11 x 12 | £660 |
| Migration | supplier one-off fee | £450 |
| Training | two half-day sessions | £300 |
| Internal admin | 20 hours at £35 | £700 |
| Exit and export | contingency | £150 |
| Total | £2,260 |
VAT on the supplier lines adds £282, so cash in year one comes to about £2,542. Reviewing hidden CRM costs early helps, because migration, extra seats and exit fees rarely appear in a headline rate.
Where usage limits change the ranking
Add-ons, credits and edition upgrades can push a plan above its list rate. Ask each supplier which allowance covers records, storage, integrations and metered activity, and what happens at the boundary.
Terms matter as much as rates. A monthly equivalent is cancellable monthly only when the contract says so, and annual commitments normally renew unless notice is given.
Build the figure, step by step
- Request a written GBP quote from each supplier for the same user count and term.
- Convert each response to annual ex VAT and annual cash inc VAT at 20%.
- Add migration, training, internal admin and exit costs at approved rates.
- Re-run the totals whenever the user count or a usage tier changes.
What stays outside the price score
Product fit, privacy, PECR and security sit outside the price comparison. Data accuracy, retention and storage limits are legal duties described in the ICO guide to UK GDPR, not pricing variables. Compare whole-life cost only after those gates pass.
Buyer checklist
- Ask every supplier for the same workload schedule.
- Record list price ex VAT and cash price inc VAT for the full term.
- Add implementation, migration, training and exit at approved rates.
- Mark any limit that cannot be expressed in the common unit as incomparable.
- Reopen the table when a quote expires or the user count changes.
A CRM budget template keeps quote, labour, VAT and exit fields in one file, so the totals can be rebuilt at your own rates.
Common questions
Which plan is cheapest per user per month?
On published annual-billing list prices checked on 6 September 2026, Zoho CRM Standard is lowest at about £11 per user. HubSpot Sales Hub Starter follows at about £12, and Pipedrive Lite at about £14. A dated GBP quote decides the final order, because regional and billing differences can change it.
How much does VAT add for five users?
At the 20% standard rate, VAT adds £168 to Pipedrive, £144 to HubSpot and £132 to Zoho over twelve months for five users. Annual cash totals are about £1,008, £864 and £792.
Why is first-year cost higher than the subscription?
Migration, training, internal admin and exit preparation are one-off or buyer-side costs. In the worked five-user Zoho case they add about £1,600 before VAT, more than the £660 licence total.
When should the comparison be redone?
Redo it when a quote expires, the user count changes, a usage limit becomes live, or the supplier repackages an edition. Keep the same units so the figures stay comparable.
