Salesforce alternatives: which CRM to pick, and how to leave without losing anything
Six CRMs, one for each reason to leave, and an eight-step migration plan.
The short answer: HubSpot if you want the most common exit, with a free CRM to start and a Salesforce integration to pull your records across. Pipedrive if your reps just want a clean pipeline, with a free migration up to one million records. Zoho CRM if you want the most customization per dollar. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales if your company already runs on Microsoft 365 and your needs are still complex. Close if your team lives on the phone. Freshsales if the budget is tight. One thing to know before you choose: your data exports, but your flows, Apex code, reports and sharing rules don't. You rebuild them. We compared these six CRMs and their migration paths in 2026.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Why teams leave Salesforce, and why it's tricky
Nobody argues that Salesforce isn't capable. It's arguably the most complete CRM out there. People leave for other reasons: a bill that jumps at every tier, a contract that's hard to exit, and a platform so deep you need someone just to keep it running. These are the six reasons that come up again and again in forums and user reviews.
Every tier is a big jump
Starter Suite is $25 per user per month. The moment you need quotes, forecasting or real automation, you're on Pro Suite at $100, then Core at $195. For a ten-rep team, going from Starter to Core adds $20,400 a year. Above that, Advanced is $395 and Max is $550.
Annual contracts that auto-renew
Only Starter can be paid monthly. Every other edition is billed annually. Plenty of customers say they found out about an automatic renewal too late, because nobody wrote down the non-renewal notice date on the order form. You don't leave when you want. You leave at term end.
You need an admin to run it
Custom objects, flows, sharing rules: Salesforce bends to almost anything, and that's the trap. A lot of orgs end up customized to the hilt, and only the admin knows why. When that admin quits, the org turns into a black box. It's one of the most common triggers for a switch.
Small accounts get distant support
Small teams report losing access to meaningful help below a certain contract size, and not even knowing what to export when they want out. With three or four licenses, you're a rounding error. SMB-first CRMs treat accounts that size as their core customers.
Features locked behind higher editions
The feature you need usually exists in Salesforce. It's just one edition up. Teams end up paying for a whole tier to unlock a single capability. And if reps never really adopt the tool, each license mostly pays for data entry that feeds a report.
An export full of rules
The native Data Export Service runs weekly on Enterprise, Performance and Unlimited, but only every 29 days on Professional. The zip files are deleted 48 hours after the notification email, and attachments only come along if you tick the right box. Miss one of these and you can lose a month.
You're leaving because… go to…
The right Salesforce alternative depends on what's pushing you out. Usually only one line applies. Each card jumps to the full write-up below.
Free CRM for 2 users, Sales Hub Starter at $20 per seat.
Your reps find Salesforce too heavyPipedriveA visual pipeline, plus a free migration up to one million records.
You want to keep customization without the $195 seatZoho CRMEnterprise at €50 per user, free for up to 3 users.
Your whole company runs on Outlook and TeamsDynamics 365 SalesProfessional at $65 per user, for needs as complex as before.
Your team sells on the phone all dayCloseCalling and email built in, Essentials at $35 per user billed yearly.
Your CRM budget has to shrinkFreshsalesGrowth at $9 per user per month, billed yearly.
Salesforce alternatives, one CRM at a time
For each CRM: why move there, who it fits, its catch, how to get your data in from Salesforce, and what it costs. Scores come from our full reviews. The order follows the most common reasons for leaving, not an absolute leaderboard. The best CRM for you is the one that fixes your specific Salesforce problem.
HubSpot: the most common way out
Sales + marketingWhy switch to it. It's where most teams leaving Salesforce end up, and HubSpot has built a full path for them. You start on the free CRM (2 users), connect the Salesforce integration, and your records come across without wrestling CSV files. Reps need far less training, and sales, marketing and service share one database.
Who it's for. SMBs and mid-market companies that want a CRM reps actually use, with marketing wired into it.
Who it's not for. Orgs that need complex territories, layered hierarchies and fine-grained permissions across thousands of users. That's still Salesforce turf.
The catch. The tiers climb fast too. Sales Hub Starter lists at $20 per seat, but Professional is $100. On the marketing side, Professional comes with an onboarding fee on top. Run the three-year math before you call it cheaper.
How to migrate from Salesforce. Use HubSpot's Salesforce integration: it syncs first, then you import. A migration app on the HubSpot marketplace also runs a free sample migration, even during the trial. HubSpot offers three paths (HubSpot-led, partner-led or hybrid) and says most teams complete the move in three months. Paid Sales Hub plans add an onboarding fee that depends on the package.
Go further. For the full picture, read our HubSpot review and, if you're still unsure, the best HubSpot alternatives.
- Free
- CRM for 2 users
- Paid
- Starter $20, Pro $100 per seat
- Our score
- 4.2/5
- Catch
- onboarding fees on Pro
Pipedrive: a pipeline your reps will actually open
SimplestWhy switch to it. Pipedrive does one thing and does it well: tracking deals through a visual pipeline. Reps see their stages, next steps and follow-ups without clicking through ten menus. For a team that only ever used a slice of Salesforce, the relief is immediate. And it has the best-marked migration path on this list.
Who it's for. SMB sales teams focused on closing deals rather than running marketing.
Who it's not for. Companies that want email marketing, a service desk and a partner portal in the same tool.
The catch. The features that matter sit in higher tiers: Lite at $14, Growth at $39, Premium at $59 and Ultimate at $79 per seat per month, billed yearly. Marketing stays light even at the top.
How to migrate from Salesforce. Pipedrive works with Import2: migration from Salesforce is free up to 1,000,000 records, paid beyond that, and takes around 24 hours. Only a global admin can run it. Create every user in Pipedrive before importing, or deals land without an owner. The trial is 14 days, no credit card.
Go further. For the full picture, read our Pipedrive review.
- Trial
- 14 days, no card
- Paid
- $14 to $79 per seat
- Our score
- 4.2/5
- Migration
- free up to 1M records
Zoho CRM: the most customization for the money
Most customizableWhy switch to it. If price is pushing you out but you love your custom fields, modules and rules, Zoho CRM is the closest in spirit. Custom modules, assignment rules, workflows: the logic will feel familiar. And Enterprise costs €50 per user, about a quarter of the $195 Salesforce Core seat.
Who it's for. SMBs with a well-customized Salesforce org that want to keep that flexibility, and anyone already using other Zoho apps.
Who it's not for. Teams that want something ready on day one. Zoho needs setup time, just like Salesforce did.
The catch. The interface and support are uneven, by most accounts. List prices are €20 (Standard), €35 (Professional) and €50 (Enterprise) per user per month, and Zoho advertises up to 34% off for annual billing. The free plan stops at 3 users.
How to migrate from Salesforce. Zoho's import wizard takes the Salesforce export archive directly. Run a full export first, download the zip, then import object by object. Recreate your custom fields in Zoho before importing so the mapping comes out clean.
Go further. For the full picture, read our Zoho CRM review.
- Free
- 3 users
- Paid
- €20, €35, €50 per user
- Our score
- 3.8/5
- Catch
- uneven UI and support
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales: staying in the Microsoft world
Large teamsWhy switch to it. It's the only option here that genuinely plays in the same league as Salesforce for complex requirements. If your company lives in Outlook, Teams and Excel, Dynamics 365 Sales slots right in. Entry pricing is lower too: $65 per user on Professional, against $195 for Salesforce Core.
Who it's for. Mid-size and large companies already on Microsoft 365, with an IT team or an implementation partner.
Who it's not for. An SMB leaving Salesforce because it's too heavy. Dynamics is every bit as heavy.
The catch. You'll almost always need a partner. Enterprise is $105 and Premium $150 per user per month, billed yearly. You're changing vendors, not complexity.
How to migrate from Salesforce. Microsoft doesn't ship a native Salesforce migration tool, so this goes through partners and their accelerators. One migrates accounts, contacts and users up to 100,000 records; others provide field-mapping templates. Keep API access to your Salesforce org for the whole migration.
Go further. If price is your main filter, check our CRM pricing index. For EU data residency, see European CRMs.
- Paid
- $65, $105, $150 per user
- Commitment
- annual
- Best for
- Microsoft 365 companies
- Catch
- partner-led migration
Close: built for teams that sell on the phone
Calling teamsWhy switch to it. Close puts calling, email and SMS in the CRM itself, so an inside sales team doesn't need a separate dialer bolted onto Salesforce. Reps work a list, call, log and move on, all in one screen.
Who it's for. Inside sales and SDR teams at startups and SMBs that live on outbound calls and email sequences.
Who it's not for. Companies that need deep custom objects, complex approvals or heavy marketing automation.
The catch. Essentials is $35 per user per month billed yearly ($49 month to month), and the Power Dialer only arrives on Growth. Our score is 3.8/5: strong for calling, thinner elsewhere.
How to migrate from Salesforce. Export accounts, contacts and opportunities from Salesforce as CSV, keep the Salesforce ID in a custom field, and import leads first, then contacts and opportunities. Test on a sample before the full run.
Go further. For the full picture, read our Close review.
- Paid
- Essentials $35 per user, yearly
- Our score
- 3.8/5
- Best for
- phone-heavy sales
- Catch
- Power Dialer on Growth
Freshsales: the cheapest way in
Tight budgetWhy switch to it. Freshsales starts at $9 per user per month billed yearly, almost a third of Salesforce Starter. Phone and email are built in, so a small sales team doesn't have to stack extra tools.
Who it's for. Small sales teams that want a tidy CRM with calling and email and no budget for an implementation partner.
Who it's not for. Companies counting on a huge app marketplace and a big pool of consultants. The ecosystem is much smaller.
The catch. You'll need Pro ($39) or Enterprise ($59) as soon as you want advanced features. Listed prices are annual, and Freshworks advertises 20% savings over monthly billing.
How to migrate from Salesforce. The 21-day trial is long enough to import a sample and check field mapping. Use per-object CSV exports (accounts, contacts, deals) and keep the Salesforce ID in a dedicated field so you can relink the files.
Go further. If your budget is truly zero, also see the best free CRMs.
- Trial
- 21 days
- Paid
- $9, $39, $59 per user, yearly
- Best for
- small sales teams
- Catch
- smaller ecosystem
Salesforce and 6 alternatives side by side
Our default picks: HubSpot if sales and marketing need to share a tool, Pipedrive if only the sales team matters. For scale, take ten reps on the tier with forecasting and automation: Salesforce Pro Suite runs $12,000 a year, Pipedrive Premium $7,080. To settle the top three, read HubSpot vs Pipedrive, HubSpot vs Zoho and Pipedrive vs Zoho.
| Free or entry plan | Next tier and migration | |
|---|---|---|
| SalesforceWhere you start | Free for 2 users; Starter $25 (monthly or yearly) | Pro $100, Core $195, Advanced $395, Max $550, yearly |
| HubSpotSales + marketing | Free CRM for 2 users; Starter $20 per seat | Pro $100 per seat; Salesforce integration to import |
| PipedriveSales team | Lite $14; 14-day trial | Growth $39, Premium $59, Ultimate $79; Import2 free up to 1M |
| Zoho CRMCustomization | Free for 3 users; Standard €20 | Professional €35, Enterprise €50; imports the Salesforce zip |
| Dynamics 365 SalesMicrosoft shops | Professional $65, yearly | Enterprise $105, Premium $150; partner migration |
| CloseCalling teams | Essentials $35 yearly ($49 monthly) | Power Dialer on Growth; CSV import |
| FreshsalesTight budget | Growth $9 yearly; 21-day trial | Pro $39, Enterprise $59; CSV import |
Prices per user per month, before tax, subject to change. Always check against your real seat count.
Migrating off Salesforce in eight steps
Order matters. Each step protects something: your contract, your data, your attachments, and whether reps actually adopt the new CRM.
Read your contract before you talk to your rep
FirstPull up your order form and write down three things: the term end date, the non-renewal notice period, and the number of committed licenses. Until that notice goes out in writing, the contract rolls over for another year. Put the date in your calendar with a month of buffer. It sets your entire migration timeline.
- Time
- one hour
- If you skip it
- another year of licenses
Run a full export, attachments included
Safety netIn Setup, open Data Export and export all objects. Tick images, documents and attachments, because they're left out by default. You get an email when the zip is ready, and you have 48 hours to download it. On Professional you can only run it again after 29 days, so don't miss the window. Do this before any negotiation: it's your safety net.
- Window
- 48 hours to download
- Frequency
- weekly or every 29 days
Audit what's actually used
SavingsList objects, custom fields, flows, reports and integrations. For each field, check whether anyone fills it in and anyone reads it. In an older org, a large share of fields are dead weight. Don't migrate one to one: you'd carry Salesforce's mess into the new CRM.
- Time
- one to three days
- Payoff
- a simpler data model
Clean duplicates and bad emails
QualityMerge duplicate accounts and contacts inside Salesforce while you still have its dedupe tools. Remove invalid email addresses and contacts who asked for their data to be deleted. Every clean record you import is one you won't pay to fix later.
- Where
- in Salesforce, before the final export
Set up users, fields and stages in the new CRM
PrepCreate every user in the new CRM first. Without them, deals and contacts arrive with no owner. Then recreate the custom fields you kept, your pipeline stages and picklist values. Keep a "Salesforce ID" field on every object: it lets you relink accounts, contacts and deals, and audit the import.
- Trap
- users created after the import
Run a sample migration
TestImport a few hundred records and check them by hand: owner, amount, stage, notes, attachments, activity history. Migration tools like Import2 offer a free sample run. That's where you catch a misread date field or a broken currency, not after the full import.
- Cost
- often free
- Time
- one day
Import, then rebuild automations and reports
CutoverRun the full import object by object, in order: accounts, contacts, deals, activities. Then rebuild your automations (flows, rules, Apex) in the new tool's logic, since nothing transfers as is. Recreate the reports and dashboards leadership actually looks at, not the ones nobody has opened in months.
- Import
- about 24 hours with Import2
- To rebuild
- flows, Apex, reports
Keep Salesforce read-only, then cut
DoneIf your contract allows, keep Salesforce available read-only for a few weeks to double-check history. Train reps on their real deals, not a demo. Run one last full export right before term end, then send the cancellation within the notice period from step 1. Expect year one to cost more than planned, between overlapping subscriptions and onboarding.
- Last move
- final export before term end
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What makes a Salesforce migration fail
The same mistakes show up in forum threads and vendor import guides alike. None of them is really technical. They're timing, scope and people mistakes.
Missing the notice date
The most expensive one. A missed notice often means a full extra year of licenses for a tool you've stopped using. Write it down on day one.
Copying the org one to one
Rebuilding every Salesforce field and object in an SMB CRM recreates the complexity you were trying to escape. Keep what's filled in and read.
Forgetting attachments
They don't export unless the box is ticked, and the zip vanishes after 48 hours. Signed contracts and quotes often live there.
Assuming automations come along
Flows, validation rules, Apex: all of it gets rebuilt. Budget the time, or you'll cut over to manual follow-ups.
Migrating without the admin
If the Salesforce admin leaves before the move, nobody knows why a field exists. Have them document the org before they go.
Underestimating adoption
A CRM reps never open stays empty, no matter how clean the migration. Bring two reps into the selection from the start.
- Notice date in the calendar, with a month of buffer
- Full export downloaded, attachments included
- Audit of fields, flows, reports and integrations
- Duplicates merged and bad emails removed
- Users created in the new CRM before the import
- "Salesforce ID" field on every imported object
- Sample migration checked by hand
- Automations rebuilt and checked on real cases
- Leadership reports recreated
- Final export done before term end, cancellation sent in writing
Salesforce alternatives: frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Salesforce?
For SMBs, HubSpot is the most common pick because it combines sales and marketing and starts with a free CRM. For large companies with complex needs, it's Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales. If your problem is complexity, look at Pipedrive; if it's cost but you need customization, Zoho CRM.
How do I export all my data from Salesforce?
Use Data Export in Setup. Tick images, documents and attachments, or they stay behind. Download the zip within 48 hours of the email. For targeted or very large pulls, Data Loader is a separate desktop app you install.
Can I cancel Salesforce mid-contract?
Usually not. Apart from Starter, editions are billed annually. What matters is the non-renewal notice period on your order form. Send written notice before that date or the contract renews. Start migrating three to four months before term end.
Do my automations and reports come with me?
No. Data exports, logic doesn't: flows, rules, Apex, reports, dashboards and sharing rules are rebuilt in the new CRM. Use it as a chance to drop what nobody uses. List the five automations that save the most time and rebuild those first.
How much does a Salesforce migration cost?
Anywhere from zero to several thousand dollars. To Pipedrive, migration is free up to one million records. To HubSpot, the Salesforce integration is included, but paid Sales Hub onboarding depends on the package. To Dynamics 365, expect a partner quote. Internal time for cleanup and rebuilding is often the real cost.
How long does it take to switch from Salesforce?
The data transfer itself takes about 24 hours with a tool like Import2. The full project takes longer: HubSpot says most teams finish in three months. A small team without complex automation can be done in a few weeks.
Is there a free Salesforce alternative?
Yes, for small teams. HubSpot's CRM is free for 2 users and Zoho CRM for 3. Salesforce also has a free suite capped at 2 users. Beyond that, Freshsales is paid but starts at $9 per user billed yearly. Our roundup of free CRMs breaks down each plan's limits.
Should we leave Salesforce if our org is heavily customized?
Not necessarily. Salesforce still earns its price for complex hierarchies, territories and fine-grained permissions at scale. If cost is the main issue, audit unused licenses and fields first; that's often where the money goes. If you do leave, Zoho CRM and Dynamics 365 keep the most flexibility.
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