9 Best FREE Real Estate CRMs in 2021

One of your first tasks as a real estate agent is deciding on a CRM.

But when you add up the monthly costs of quality CRMs, it can get expensive for a new agent!

Are there any free CRMs (customer relationship management software) for real estate?

Yes-ish!

Below are several different contenders for the best free real estate CRM, though only one is specifically designed for real estate agents.

Can you get by on any of these for free without a paid plan? It depends on what works best for you. The best CRM is the one you use, and if the free version does what you need to stay on top of contacts and your lead generation and nurturing, that is great!

Streak

What it’s got

Streak is a beautiful way to get the most out of your Gmail.

Even if not for your real estate business CRM, there are probably lots of ways you could use Streak to help achieve your goals and organize your life contacts. The extension easily adds all your contacts to a customizable sales pipeline, so you can easily make your way through your day right there in your email.

What it costs

• FREE!
• $15/mo for Solo
• $49/mo for Professional
• $129/mo for Enterprise

What it’s missing

The task list is a premium feature, and one you’ll probably want fairly soon if you really want to make Streak work. It also is not the ideal transaction management solution by any means, but combine it with Folio and now you’re cooking!

Bitrix24

What it’s got

Bitrix24 is designed as an all-in backend for a business, including your website (not in the free version, of course), task management, contact management, and team collaboration.

The main dashboard has the feel almost of your desktop, with dashboard items and widgets everywhere for your tasks.

The free version comes with 5GB document storage and up to 5000 emails a month for 12 users. It has a lot of neat extras for organizing and viewing your team or brokerage

What it costs

• FREE (up to 12 users)
• $19/mo for Start+
• $55/mo for CRM+
• $79/mo for Standard
• $159/mo for Professional

What it’s missing

If you’re looking for a free CRM, you are probably looking for something for just yourself. Bitrix24 has a lot of neat tools but with a strong focus on teams and enterprises.

The free version is limited to 1 pipeline, which may or may not be sufficient for a startup company.

HubSpot CRM

What it’s got

HubSpot is a global leader in marketing software. Their website is a tremendous resource for website builders and content creators, even if you don’t use their products. And true to that billing, HubSpot is a great resource for marketing, sales, and websites.

Their products are structured a little differently. The basic CRM is free. But you must buy add-ons – either marketing or sales, to implement its full functionality. Realistically, you would need the starter packages of either of these to have the kind of functionality expected of a paid subscription to a real estate CRM, at a multiple of the price.

It can be an interesting option for anyone who knows they are going to eventually scale into a big team or enterprise and want to take advantage of HubSpots’ powerful tools and services like website building and more.

What it costs

What it’s missing

As with most of the ones on this list, HubSpot is not real estate specific, and it can take a lot of work to force it into playing well with our industry niche.

Also, when you’re ready to upgrade to the paid version and its powerful features, it quickly gets significantly more expensive.

Insightly

What it’s got

The free version includes a mobile app, up to 2500 contacts for 2 users. Even the free version is fairly robust. You can likely get by for a while if you are a new agent just starting out. But you will likely find yourself wanting to upgrade after at time to get additional email templates, social media integrations, and more.

Fortunately, upgrading won’t break the bank, as the full range of tools comes in under $100, less than most of the other ones on this list and quite competitive with many other real estate CRMs.

What it costs

• FREE (up to 2 users)
• Plus, $29/mo
• Professional, $49/mo
• Enterprise, $99/mo

What it’s missing

The initial trial plan you sign up is a trial for the “Plus” version of the software. After 14 days, you can then select the plan you want, including the free version.

In the free version, you are limited to 5 email templates, 10 mass emails/day, only 200MB of data storage, no calendar integrations, and few other integrations. And again, it is not a real estate specific CRM, meaning that some of the tools and functions that are no-brainers on real estate CRMs don’t exist or have to be built.

Podio

What it’s got

Podio is one of if not the #1 CRM used by real estate investors. I hear about it all the time in my investor circles. It works based on building your own workflows, both for lead nurturing and transaction management. It is almost like Slack or another project management tool – a lightweight option for teams.

What it costs

• FREE (up to 5 users)
• Basic, $7.20/mo
• Plus, $11.20/mo
• Premium, $19.20/mo

You do have to submit your credit card to sign up, even for the free plan.

What it’s missing

Podio feels more like a project management system than it does a CRM. Automated workflows don’t come until the Plus subscription, and even at a Premium level it doesn’t have the integrations or natural, pre-built sales cycle features you would expect from most CRMs.

Zillow Premier Agent CRM

What it’s got

Yes, Zillow! Designed primarily for your Zillow lead management, they have a simple, easy to use, and free real estate CRM for agents.

The CRM includes your inbox, contacts, and tasks.

It is a spartan CRM with very little fluff or extras, but one that might appeal to an agent who just needs something simple but better than an Excel file or Post-it-Notes. You can make notes on contacts, update their status, and create contact-specific tasks.

The CRM is free. There are no paid versions. Of course, how Zillow hopes to make money is selling you buyer and seller leads.

What it costs

• FREE

What it’s missing

There are very few extras, no automation, no templates, and no email marketing campaigns. Zillow’s CRM is not designed for anyone needing anything even slightly complex.

It might work great for a single agent who cherishes simplicity (and especially if they are going to make Zillow leads a pillar of their business), but has no chance of being useful to a small business or sophisticated marketing.

Zoho

What it’s got

Zoho’s CRM is actually one piece of a suite of cloud-based software, including accounting software, mail, and even an app builder.

I found that Zoho starts as a blank slate, but a very intuitive interface and very customizable dashboard, which I love.

Zoho is a very international CRM supporting 20 different languages, in case that were an important consideration.

What it costs

• FREE (up to 3 users)
• Standard, $12/mo
• Professional, $20/mo
• Enterprise,$35/mo
• Ultimate, $45/mo

What it’s missing

The free version has very little automation. You can save clients and add tasks individually, but very little else. The professional plan is the first plan with email integration and “blueprints”, which are templated workflows, which you would almost surely need fairly early in your real estate career.

eWay-CRM

What it’s got

Microsoft Office has its own extension as an answer to something like Streak for Gmail: eWay-CRM!

If you are an Outlook user, eWay-CRM is worth testing out for free, and making your online experience as smooth and simple as possible. It’s a powerful add on for real estate professionals to manage their client relationships all within the Outlook ecosystem you already know.

What it costs

• FREE!
• $24/mo for Basic
• $28/mo for Essential
• $38/mo for Enterprise

What it’s missing

The paid subscription is necessary for the mobile app support, multiple users, or the full range of customization features.

It also won’t ever have the kinds of real estate specific native integrations that some of the more powerful real estate CRMs have. Consider eWay-CRM if you’re an Outlook user who wants a robust client outreach all in your email but don’t need much else.

Agile CRM

What it’s got

The free plan is actually pretty robust, including up to 50,000 contacts, custom fields, email tracking, and appointment scheduling. It’s free! I recommend giving it a go just to see if you like the style and UI, which is pretty darn good!

What it costs

• FREE
• $8.99/mo for Starter
• $29.99/mo for Regular
• $47.99 for Enterprise

What it’s missing

You’ll need to upgrade if you want to use forms, email campaigns, or branded emails.

I found applying workflows and funnels a little challenging. If you work well just having your leads in front of you with tags and don’t need a robust “to do” list, Agile CRM might be fine. But that’s not me.

My Recommendation

Hey! They’re free! Try them all! That’s what I did in order to write this article.

My personal favorite was Insightly. But take that with a grain of sale as a big driver in my decision was my subjective assessment of the sleek navigation and appearance. You may have different preferences.

I also like Insightly’s price plan for when it is time to upgrade. It has a lot of features that you can add on incrementally as your business grows. It also seems to have the most usability as a free version and would work at least reasonably well for a time before you have to upgrade.

I am also a big fan of the email extensions like Streak and eWay-CRM. If you can get more out of the tools you already use and don’t need to learn from scratch, all the better!

The other option would be Zillow for any agents who expect to work Zillow leads as a major pillar of their business. Especially for newer agents starting out, Zillow leads are not a bad option. Perhaps work them in the Zillow CRM for a time as your business matures and gets more sophisticated.

Affordable Real Estate CRMs

These aren’t free, but they are cheaper real estate CRM software all under $50/mo.

• Wise Agent
• LionDesk
• Realvolve
• Contactually
• Follow Up Boss

These CRMs have the benefit of being tailored to the needs of Realtors. For example, many may have a transaction management tool, team management features, and MLS integrations.

Conclusion

I generally recommend getting one of the real estate specific CRMs that I’ve reviewed on my site. Real estate sales are a bit different than other sales needs (for example, our sales cycle is measured in months or years, not days). The CRMs above are free, but almost all of them are more expensive once you’ve upgraded to the same kind of power and functions of true real estate CRMs.

But these aren’t bad software either, for non-industry specific solutions! In fact, they are world-class software and might suit your business just fine for now, or be scalable solutions into the future for your enterprise-to-be.

Updated January 19, 2021; Originally published January 9, 2019.