CRM pricing: how vendors charge and how to compare
How CRM vendors price: per seat, tiers, add-ons, seat minimums, annual contracts and the costs that never reach the price page. Compare offers properly.
Spodus team
Published 5 min read
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CRM pricing is usually a price per person per month, multiplied by a tier that unlocks more features, plus add-ons for things the tier does not include. The number on the price page is rarely what you pay. Seat minimums, annual contracts, setup fees and the tools you keep running beside it decide the real CRM cost.
How CRM pricing works
Almost every CRM vendor uses the same structure, with different names.
Per seat. A seat is one person who signs in. The price is per seat per month. Ten people is ten seats. Some vendors count only the people who edit; most count everyone with a login, whatever they do once they are in.
Tiers. Two to four tiers, each unlocking features: more automation, more reports, permissions, an audit log, custom objects. The tier price applies to every seat, so moving one person to a higher tier often means moving everyone.
Add-ons. Things sold separately from the tier: extra storage, email sending volume, a dialer, marketing features, extra automation runs, premium support. Add-ons are the main reason the invoice is higher than the price page.
Seat minimums. Some tiers cannot be bought for fewer than a set number of seats. A small team wanting one feature on a high tier can end up paying for seats it will not use.
Contract term. Monthly, with the right to stop any time, or annual, paid up front at a lower monthly figure.
Usage limits. Records, contacts, emails, automation runs or storage per plan, with a charge when you pass the limit. These are the least visible line on a price page and the most common surprise on the invoice.
A few vendors price the workspace as a whole instead of per seat. That model suits teams where many people need occasional access. It is less common than per-seat pricing and is usually limited to smaller tiers.
The five things that decide CRM cost
When you compare offers, these five decide the number. Work through them in order.
- Seats. Count everyone who will need to sign in, including the part-time person and the owner who looks at the dashboard on Friday. Add the people you expect to hire this year.
- Tier. List the features you cannot work without. Find the lowest tier on each vendor that has all of them. That is the tier you compare, not the cheapest one.
- Add-ons. Ask what is not in the tier. Email sending, storage, automation runs and support are the usual ones.
- Term. Decide whether you will commit to a year. If not, compare monthly prices.
- Minimums and limits. Check the seat minimum on the tier you chose, and the record and usage limits against your data.
Write each vendor's answers in one table and the comparison does itself.
What is not on the price page
The subscription is only part of the first-year cost.
Migration. Getting your contacts, deals and history out of the old tool and into the new one, cleanly. Either your time or a paid service.
Setup. Pipelines, fields, templates, automations, permissions. A few days for a small team; weeks for a larger one.
Training. The time everyone spends learning it, and the work that slows while they do.
Integrations. The connectors that keep the CRM talking to your email, calendar, accounting and support tools. Some are included, some are add-ons, some need a third-party service with its own subscription.
The tools you keep. If the CRM does not handle invoicing, support or projects, those tools stay on the bill. A CRM software price is only comparable once you add the tools each one still needs beside it.
The exit. Exporting your data if you leave. Check that a full export is possible on your tier before you sign.
Annual vs monthly
Annual billing is normally cheaper per month, often by something between a tenth and a quarter. In return you commit for the year and pay up front.
The trade-off is simple. If you are sure you will use the tool for a year, annual saves money. If you are not, monthly costs a little more and lets you leave. Three months is usually enough to tell. Start monthly, switch to annual once the tool is part of how you work.
Watch the renewal terms. Some annual contracts renew automatically, some raise the price at renewal, and some require notice weeks before the end. Put the notice date in your calendar the day you sign.
How to compare CRM software price across vendors
A method that takes an hour.
- Count seats, including this year's hires.
- List your must-have features and find the lowest qualifying tier per vendor.
- Note the seat minimum on that tier. If your count is below it, use the minimum.
- Multiply seats by the tier price, by twelve, for the annual subscription.
- Add the add-ons you will need in year one.
- Add the tools each CRM still leaves you paying for.
- Add a rough figure for migration and setup.
- Compare the year-one totals, then the year-two totals without the setup.
The vendor that is cheapest on the price page is often not cheapest on line eight. A CRM that also handles invoices and support requests can cost more per seat and less per year, because two other subscriptions go.
Not every vendor publishes a price. Spodus does, per seat, on its pricing page, and it is free for up to three people, so the same method applies: bring the seat count and the feature list, and compare the year-one total against the others.
Questions to ask the vendor
- Who counts as a seat? Does someone who only signs in to read a dashboard pay the same as someone who edits?
- What is the seat minimum on the tier I need?
- What are the record, storage and automation limits, and what happens when I pass them?
- Which integrations are included, and which cost extra?
- Is a full data export available on my tier?
- What does the price do at renewal?
- What is included in support, and what is an add-on?
A vendor that answers all seven plainly will be easier to deal with as a customer.
Questions, answered
- How much does a CRM cost?
- It depends on three things: how many people need a login, which tier has the features you cannot do without, and which add-ons you end up needing. Most vendors charge per person per month, and the tier multiplies that figure. The honest answer for your business is the annual total after you count seats, tier, add-ons and the setup work, which this guide shows how to work out.
- Why do CRM vendors have seat minimums?
- A seat minimum sets the smallest number of licences you can buy, often on the higher tiers. Vendors use it so that a tier's price covers the cost of supporting the customer, and so small teams do not buy an enterprise tier for one power user. For a three-person business it can mean paying for seats nobody uses, so check the minimum on the tier you actually want.
- Should I pay for a CRM annually or monthly?
- Monthly for the first three months, annually after that if the tool has stuck. Annual billing is usually cheaper per month, but it is a commitment, and a quarter is usually long enough to find out whether the tool will stick. Paying a year in advance for software you abandon in March costs more than the discount saved. Once you are sure, take the annual rate.
