Short answer: HubSpot Sales Hub Professional is the sales automation default in 2026 when sequences and the CRM are one product, at $100/seat/mo. Salesforce Starter Suite at $25/user/mo fits teams already on Salesforce. Apollo Professional at $79/user/mo, billed annually, fits teams that still need contacts, while Outreach and Salesloft publish no list price.
10 tools compared on price, features and fit, with prices checked on vendor pages in September 2026.
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HubSpot Sales Hub Professional is the sales automation pick when follow-up sequences and the deal record should live in one product. Starter stores the contacts and the deals and leaves sequences off, so Professional is the first tier that actually automates the sale. A team that signs the homepage price still types the next email by hand.
This page splits the ranking by the job, because a sequencer and a system of record are different invoices. Sequence-only platforms are in the sales engagement platforms guide, and the CRM decision is in the CRM for sales teams guide. If you have not chosen where the opportunity sits, settle HubSpot vs Salesforce before a second tool lands on the bill.
Toolradar data: among the 169 sales engagement tools we track, 31% have a free or freemium plan (3 free and 50 freemium), and 113 are paid only (67%). A free row in that sales engagement category is usually a login or a light CRM. It will not run the sequence, the route, or the stage change a sales team is trying to buy.
How we chose: these 10 were ranked for a US sales team automating follow-up, routing, or stage changes, against the 169 tools in that category. Prices were checked on vendor pages in September 2026, and the method is on how we rate.
Top Picks
Picked by editorial review, informed by G2 and Capterra review volume and rating and by media mentions, the signals behind our category rankings. How we rate
The default when sequences and the CRM are one product, and a miss if you stay on Starter.
Starting price
From $100 /seat/mo
3.9 (19,150 reviews)
Best for
Teams that want follow-up sequences inside the CRM they already plan to buy.
The automation buy when the opportunity already lives in Salesforce, before a second platform.
Starting price
From $25 /user/mo
4.4 (44,685 reviews)
Best for
Companies already on Salesforce that want flows and routing before a second platform.
The outbound seat with contacts included, and the wrong buy if you already pay a data vendor.
Starting price
From $79 /user/mo, annual
4.1 (11,273 reviews)
Best for
Teams that need sequences and contacts and do not already pay for a data vendor.
| Tool | Starting price | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | From $100/seat/mo | 3.9 19,150 reviews | Teams that want follow-up sequences inside the CRM they already plan to buy. |
| Salesforce | From $25/user/mo | 4.4 44,685 reviews | Companies already on Salesforce that want flows and routing before a second platform. |
| Apollo Visit | From $79/user/mo, annual | 4.1 11,273 reviews | Teams that need sequences and contacts and do not already pay for a data vendor. |
| Outreach | No public price | 4.3 3,902 reviews | Revenue teams that want a dedicated sequencer and will take a custom quote. |
| Salesloft | No public price | 4.4 4,535 reviews | Account teams that want Cadence and will scope price with sales. |
| Close Visit | From $99/user/mo, annual | 4.7 2,089 reviews | Inside sales teams that live on the phone and want workflows in the same inbox. |
| Pipedrive Visit | From $39/user/mo, annual | 4.4 6,213 reviews | Small sales teams that need stage automation more than a cold-email engine. |
| lemlist Visit | From $55/mo, yearly | 4.6 2,554 reviews | Teams whose automation is cold outbound, especially email before LinkedIn. |
| Chili Piper | From $1,250/mo, annual | 4.6 736 reviews | Teams whose leak is inbound speed, not outbound copy. |
| Freshsales Visit | From $9/user/mo, annual | 4.5 1,859 reviews | Small teams that need simple workflows before they need a sequencer. |
HubSpot
The default when sequences and the CRM are one product, and a miss if you stay on Starter.
- 4.4 on G2 (13,374 reviews)
- 4.5 on Capterra (4,455 reviews)
- 4.3 on TrustRadius (669 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $100/seat/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 3.9 (19,150 reviews)
Best for: Teams that want follow-up sequences inside the CRM they already plan to buy.
- Pro: Professional is the first tier with sequences and a required $1,500 onboarding fee, so a two-person team still pays for 5,000 sequences and 500 sends a day.
- Pro: Calling minutes are 3,000 a month on Professional and 12,000 on Enterprise, against 500 on Starter, and Enterprise is where the daily send cap rises to 1,000.
- Pro: New customers after March 5, 2024 have no seat minimum, so a two-person team avoids a five-seat pack, and the HubSpot profile has the catalog detail.
- Con: Starter is $20/seat/mo in the catalog, the sales page shows $10 against that $20 list, and neither includes sequences, so the lower number is still a contact list.
- Con: Enterprise is $150/seat/mo billed annually with a $3,500 onboarding fee, and credits of 500, 3,000, or 5,000 reset monthly, so a quiet month saves nothing.
HubSpot's pricing is the most complex in SaaS, 7 Hubs, 4 tiers each, per-seat AND per-contact charges, plus mandatory onboarding fees.
Watch out
Marketing contacts vs non-marketing contacts: HubSpot only charges for 'marketing contacts' (those you email, use in ads, or include in workflows). But the distinction is confusing, and accidentally including contacts in a marketing email converts them to paid marketing contacts with no undo
Salesforce
The automation buy when the opportunity already lives in Salesforce, before a second platform.
- Starting price
- From $25/user/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.4 (44,685 reviews)
Best for: Companies already on Salesforce that want flows and routing before a second platform.
- Pro: Starter Suite, monthly or annual, includes sales flows and lead routing, so you can automate before a second tool, while Free Suite at $0/user/mo only stores the record.
- Pro: Core is $195/user/mo billed annually and adds Slack Business+ and Tableau Next. Max is $550/user/mo billed annually and includes Agentforce for Sales plus 2.75 million Flex Credits per org per year.
- Pro: Advanced is $395/user/mo billed annually, so check the edition on the Salesforce profile before a second sequencer locks in a year.
- Con: Agentforce for Sales is an add-on on Core and Advanced and included on Max, so a Core buyer who wants the agent pays a second line.
- Con: Pro Suite, Core, Advanced, and Max bill annually, while Starter can be monthly, so a month-to-month exit stays on the lower suite, and an open CRM choice is HubSpot vs Salesforce.
Watch out
Premier Support: 30% surcharge on total license fees. Without it, you get no phone support and 2-day response SLAs. Most orgs need it.
Apollo
The outbound seat with contacts included, and the wrong buy if you already pay a data vendor.
- 4.7 on G2 (9,826 reviews)
- 2.9 on Trustpilot (1,049 reviews)
- 4.5 on Capterra (398 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $79/user/mo, annual
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.1 (11,273 reviews)
Best for: Teams that need sequences and contacts and do not already pay for a data vendor.
- Pro: The September 17, 2026 note lists Free at $0, Basic at $49/user/mo annually, Professional at $79/user/mo, and Organization at $119/user/mo with a 3-user minimum, so the top seat is not a solo buy.
- Pro: Basic adds unlimited sequences, Professional adds workflows, AI research, and a dialer, and Organization adds international dialing and SSO once you clear that user minimum.
- Pro: A verified email costs up to 1 credit, a trial includes 50 credits and 5 mobile credits, and the Apollo profile shows what a real month draws from that sample.
- Con: Credits expire at cycle end with no rollover, and add-on packs renew unless you scale them back, so a slow month saves nothing and the pack stays.
- Con: Non-Gmail sending needs a paid plan, Organization is not a solo seat, and Apollo alternatives fit when the credit meter is the objection.
Apollo.io's pricing is fair for a sales intelligence and outreach platform.
- Starting price
- No public price
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.3 (3,902 reviews)
Best for: Revenue teams that want a dedicated sequencer and will take a custom quote.
- Pro: Amplify Core includes sequences and 25,000 AI credits, the first package that sends, and Plus adds personalization and deal agents at 50,000 credits when that pool is the limit.
- Pro: Pro lists 100,000 AI credits, forecast tools, and 1,000,000 API calls, while Essentials lists 10,000 credits and no sequences, so the coaching package will not send.
- Pro: Price is a seat plus credit use, so a seat-only quote understates the bill. The Outreach profile shows which package name includes sequences.
- Con: Outreach publishes no dollar, so you cannot set it next to a CRM seat until the quote arrives.
- Con: Essentials omits sequences and is conversation intelligence, so see Outreach alternatives if the quote blocks you and you still need a sequencer.
Outreach's pricing structure, while not publicly disclosed with specific dollar amounts, appears to be expensive given its modular, per-user, and usage-based model for different functionalities.
- Starting price
- No public price
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.4 (4,535 reviews)
Best for: Account teams that want Cadence and will scope price with sales.
- Pro: Cadence, for engaging buyers, comes with Conversation Intelligence, Deals, and Rhythm, so a sequences-only buyer is already in a suite conversation.
- Pro: The same family includes Clari Forecast, Inspect, Analytics, AI agents, and a signals layer, which can land on the quote when you asked only for Cadence.
- Pro: Logins split across Salesloft, Clari Forecast, Conversations, Drift, and Groove, so one contract is several products, and the Salesloft profile names them with no price attached.
- Con: No seat price, credit price, or minimum is public, so Salesloft stays off a spreadsheet until a sales conversation produces a number.
- Con: Cadence, forecast, and conversation intelligence are one story, so ask for a Cadence-only price in writing or the quote will be the suite.
Watch out
Add-ons increase total cost
- Starting price
- From $99/user/mo, annual
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.7 (2,089 reviews)
Best for: Inside sales teams that live on the phone and want workflows in the same inbox.
- Pro: Growth is $99/user/mo annually or $109/user/mo monthly, the first plan with workflows, a power dialer, bulk email, and Chloe, so phone teams should start here.
- Pro: Scale is $139/user/mo annual, with a predictive dialer and unlimited recording retention, against 90 days on Growth and 30 on Essentials, so buy it when history has to last.
- Pro: Calling is usage-priced, a trial includes $5 of calling credits, and lines start at $1/line/mo, so budget the phone apart from the seat, as the Close profile shows.
- Con: Essentials is $35/user/mo annual, and the one-user plan under it excludes workflows, so a phone team on that seat still clicks every follow-up.
- Con: AI credits refresh monthly with no rollover, and Growth includes 1,500 per user up to 15,000 for the account, so a spiky month burns what a quiet month cannot save.
However, the jump to Growth at $109/user/month ($99 billed annually) is a significant increase, making it expensive for growing teams needing advanced features.
Watch out
Per-user pricing for the Growth and Scale tiers adds up quickly.
- Starting price
- From $39/user/mo, annual
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.4 (6,213 reviews)
Best for: Small sales teams that need stage automation more than a cold-email engine.
- Pro: A May 2026 note lists Lite at $14/user/mo and Growth at $39/user/mo, both annual, and only Growth adds email sync, automations, and sequences.
- Pro: The September 3, 2026 limits give Growth 50 automations, 5 sequences, and 3 if/else steps, Premium 150 and 25, and Ultimate 250 and 50, so the sequence count is the wall.
- Pro: Lite caps leads and deals at 2,500 times seats, every plan caps the total at 300,000, and the Pipedrive profile is where to check that ceiling.
- Con: Lite has no automations or sequences, each automation allows 10 actions and 90 days, and Growth allows only 3 delay steps, so a long nurture will not fit.
- Con: Empty seats stay billed until the next cycle, so compare that on Pipedrive vs HubSpot before you pay for seats you have not hired.
While not the cheapest, the feature set across tiers offers good value, especially for teams needing robust sales pipeline management.
Watch out
Listed prices are billed annually; annual billing saves up to 42% versus monthly
- Starting price
- From $55/mo, yearly
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.6 (2,554 reviews)
Best for: Teams whose automation is cold outbound, especially email before LinkedIn.
- Pro: The 50,000-email tier is $69/mo monthly, $62/mo quarterly, and $55/mo yearly, with unlimited users, and higher tiers reach 1,000,000 emails a month, so price the volume.
- Pro: Multichannel Expert is $109/user/mo monthly or $87/user/mo on the 20% yearly rate, with LinkedIn, 400 calling minutes, and 5 sending addresses, so pay it only if you use them.
- Pro: Enterprise is custom, annual only, with a 5-seat minimum and 800 calling minutes per user. The lemlist profile is the fit when email volume is the whole job.
- Con: The 14-day no-card trial is only on Multichannel Expert. The Email plan has no trial and excludes LinkedIn, calling, and WhatsApp, so you cannot test volume the same way.
- Con: You cannot switch Email and Multichannel in the product, so support must move the team. Volume sending is covered in the cold email guide.
Lemlist's pricing is on the higher side compared to some market alternatives, with the Email Pro tier starting at $69/user/month.
Watch out
Enterprise tier requires 5+ user minimum.
Chili Piper
The inbound router that turns a form into a meeting, priced as an annual platform.
- 4.6 on G2 (736 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $1,250/mo, annual
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.6 (736 reviews)
Best for: Teams whose leak is inbound speed, not outbound copy.
- Pro: Routing and Scheduling starts at $1,250/mo, or $15,000/year, with 15 seats, extra seats at $45/seat/mo, and 45,000 AI credits a year, so a smaller team still pays the platform.
- Pro: That tier routes any Salesforce object, runs round-robin, books from a form, and connects to HubSpot and Marketo, which fits a team whose leak is inbound speed.
- Pro: Experiences starts at $3,500/mo with 30 seats, extra seats at $50/seat/mo, and 150,000 AI credits a year, the jump once routing capacity runs out, as the Chili Piper profile describes.
- Con: There is no monthly billing, and the discounts are 15% off 2 years, 25% off 3 years, and 40% off 4 years, so the cheaper rate is a longer contract.
- Con: ChiliCal alone is $12/user/mo with a 200-seat minimum and no AI credits, so a small team cannot buy the calendar apart from the platform.
ChiliCal standalone is $12 per user/month but requires at least 200 seats.
Watch out
Extra seats cost $45 to $50 per month
- Starting price
- From $9/user/mo, annual
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.5 (1,859 reviews)
Best for: Small teams that need simple workflows before they need a sequencer.
- Pro: Growth is $9/user/mo billed annually, labeled in USD, with basic workflows, templates, and chat, email, and phone, which fits when a stage rule is the whole automation.
- Pro: Pro adds sequences, scoring, and territories, Enterprise adds forecasting, custom modules, a sandbox, and audit logs, and annual billing is the 20% rate to budget.
- Pro: The trial is 21 days on the full CRM, paid plans include 500 bot sessions once per account, and the Freshsales profile covers what follows that sample.
- Con: Sequences are not on Growth, so multi-step email means Pro, a different invoice from the workflow seat.
- Con: The 500 bot sessions are once per account, Freddy AI Agent is an add-on after that, and branded documents are $19/user/mo on top of the seat.
Freshsales has no free plan, only a 21-day free trial, but its paid plans are affordable for small teams.
What sales automation software is
Sales automation software runs the repeatable parts of selling: follow-up sequences, stage-based tasks, lead routing, and meeting booking. A CRM that only stores contacts is a database, and it fails once a rep still writes the next email. The category is the motion you stop doing by hand.
Three jobs share the label, and most teams have only one of them as the real leak. Pipeline automation moves a deal when a stage changes, which fits a small team that lives in one CRM. Outbound automation sends the email, the call task, and the LinkedIn step, which fits a team that prospects every day. Inbound automation turns a form into a meeting, which fits a team losing deals to a slow reply.
One product rarely covers all three, so buy for the leak you can name. HubSpot and Salesforce cover pipeline motion inside the CRM, so price that tier before you add a tool. Apollo, lemlist, Outreach, and Salesloft are the outbound buy if reps are prospecting. Chili Piper books inbound meetings, and Close and Pipedrive automate a small pipeline only above the cheapest seat.
Why the cheap seat usually cannot automate the sale
The homepage price is often the seat that stores deals, and the seat that sends the sequence is the next tier up. Approve only the first number, and the opening month misses sequences, workflows, or the dialer.
HubSpot sequences appear on Professional and Enterprise, and Professional adds a required onboarding fee, so month one is the seat plus a services invoice. Salesforce puts flows and lead routing on Starter Suite, then bills Core and above annually. Agentforce for Sales is included on Max and sold as an add-on below it, so a Core buyer pays a second line. Pipedrive's limits table, updated September 3, 2026, starts automations and sequences on Growth, and Lite has neither, so the cheap seat cannot move a deal.
Model the automation tier before you compare homepage prices, or the first month of real use will miss the budget. Outreach and Salesloft publish no card, so any comparison waits on a quote that may include products you did not ask to buy.
Key Features to Look For
Which tier actually sends (Essential)
HubSpot sequences sit on Professional and Enterprise, Close and Pipedrive automation starts on Growth, and Freshsales sequences sit on Pro. Starter, Lite, and Essentials leave the follow-up as manual work, so a tier that does not name sequences or workflows is a contact list.
Who owns the contact data (Essential)
Apollo bundles contacts with sequences, so a team without ZoomInfo can skip a second data contract. lemlist prices email by volume and puts LinkedIn and calling on Multichannel Expert, so an email-only team should stay off the per-user seat. A CRM-only buy still needs a data vendor when reps cannot find the account.
The meter beside the seat (Essential)
Apollo credits expire at cycle end, and HubSpot and Close credits reset monthly with no rollover, so a quiet month does not fund a launch week. Chili Piper's AI credits are an annual pool with no monthly billing, so you commit to the year before the volume is known.
Calling inside the price (Important)
HubSpot caps calling minutes per account at 500 on Starter, 3,000 on Professional, and 12,000 on Enterprise, so a dial-heavy team can empty the middle pool early. Close bills calling on usage and a trial includes $5 of credits, while lemlist Multichannel Expert includes 400 minutes per user per month.
CRM of record (Important)
Salesforce flows matter when the opportunity already lives there, and HubSpot sequences matter when the record lives in HubSpot, because a second CRM is a migration. Chili Piper can route any Salesforce object and also connects to HubSpot. A sequencer that only exports a CSV splits the forecast the account executive inherits.
A price you can spreadsheet (Important)
HubSpot, Salesforce, Apollo, Close, Pipedrive, lemlist, Chili Piper, and Freshsales print at least one dollar you can budget before a call. Outreach lists credit pools with no dollar, and Salesloft publishes no dollar for Cadence, conversation intelligence, or Clari Forecast, so both wait on a quote.
What to weigh before you sign
-
Name the job first: pipeline motion, outbound sequences, and inbound booking are three purchases, and a winner at one can be the wrong invoice for the other two.
-
Read the tier that names sequences or workflows, because Starter, Lite, Essentials, and Email-only plans leave that automation off the hero price.
-
Match the CRM you already run before the sequencer, because a Salesforce team on HubSpot sequences, or a HubSpot team on a Salesforce-only router, pays for a sync it will fight.
Evaluation Checklist
Confirm the signed tier names sequences or workflows, and write down the cap in sends, automations, or credits before you rank it against a neighbor.
Add onboarding, seats above an included bundle, and calling overages before you compare two vendors, or the cheaper seat wins a spreadsheet it should lose.
During a trial, send one sequence or fire one stage-change workflow against your own CRM fields, and stop if the fields you use are missing.
Check whether credits and calling minutes reset monthly, because an expiring pool misses a spiky month and a quiet month will not refill it.
When the site has no dollar, get the package name, the credit pool, and any bundled forecast product in writing before the demo starts.
Pricing Overview
CRM plus sequences
HubSpot when the record and the follow-up should live together, once you accept the onboarding fee on the first invoice.
Professional seat, plus onboarding
Already on Salesforce
Teams whose opportunity already lives in Salesforce and who can use the built-in flows before they buy Agentforce.
Starter Suite, then annual Core
Database and a sequence
Apollo when reps still need contacts, with the dialer and workflow automation on the Professional seat.
Annual per user
Small-team pipeline
Pipedrive or Close when the team is small and the phone or the pipeline is the motion, once you leave the cheap seat.
Annual seat, automation on Growth
Quote-only engagement
Outreach or Salesloft when a revenue org wants a dedicated engagement platform and will price it on a call.
No public list price
Pricing Comparison
| Tool | Best for | Entry price | Automation starts | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
HubSpot Sales Hub | CRM and sequences together | $20/seat/mo Starter | Sequences on Professional, $100/seat/mo | Catalog list price |
Salesforce | Company already on Salesforce | $25/user/mo Starter Suite | Flows on Starter; Core is $195/user/mo | Starter monthly or annual |
Apollo | Contacts plus sequences | $49/user/mo Basic, annual | Workflows and dialer on Professional, $79 | Annual for those rates |
Outreach | Scaled outbound team | No public price | Sequences on Amplify Core, 25,000 credits | Custom quote |
Salesloft | Cadence for a revenue org | No public price | Cadence is the engagement product | Talk to sales |
Close | Phone-first inside sales | $35/user/mo Essentials, annual | Workflows on Growth, $99/user/mo annual | Annual or monthly |
Pipedrive | Pipeline motion, small team | $14/user/mo Lite, annual | 50 automations on Growth, $39/user/mo | Annual for those rates |
Cold outbound, then LinkedIn | $55/mo Email, yearly | LinkedIn and calling at $87/user/mo yearly | Yearly is 20% off monthly | |
Form to a booked meeting | $1,250/mo, 15 seats | That Routing tier, 45,000 credits/year | Annual only | |
Freshsales | Basic workflows on a budget | $9/user/mo Growth, annual | Workflows on Growth; sequences on Pro | Annual shows the 20% rate |
Verified September 2026 on vendor pages: HubSpot product catalog, Salesforce sales pricing, Apollo plan details, Outreach pricing, Salesloft, Close pricing, Pipedrive plan limits, lemlist plans, Chili Piper pricing, Freshsales pricing.
Mistakes to Avoid
- ×
- ×
Treating Salesforce Starter Suite as Core understates the buy: Starter includes flows and routing, while Agentforce for Sales is on Max and sold separately on Core and Advanced.
- ×
- ×
A cold-email tool on a team whose leak is inbound speed wastes the seat, since lemlist and Chili Piper solve different waits, and list-building sits in the prospecting tools guide.
- ×
Skipping empty seats and onboarding understates year one: Pipedrive bills unassigned seats, and HubSpot Professional and Enterprise charge onboarding of $1,500 and $3,500 after the per-seat math looks done.
Expert Tips
- →
Price the tier and the meter together, because an expiring credit pool on a Professional or Growth seat can cost more in a busy month than a higher seat with a larger pool.
- →
Keep the CRM you trust and automate the gap: Salesforce flows, HubSpot sequences, or Chili Piper when the form is the leak. A second CRM is a migration, a bigger project than the automation.
- →
Use lemlist's Email plan when the team would otherwise pay Multichannel for mail only, and move up when LinkedIn and the 400 included calling minutes are in the motion.
- →
On Pipedrive, start on Growth for the automations and read the 3-delay cap before a long wait. Premium is the step when 5 sequences per company is the wall.
- →
Ask Outreach which package includes sequences before a forecast demo, because Core sends and Essentials is only the coaching package.
Red Flags to Watch For
-
A homepage price that only stores deals is a trap when sequences, workflows, or the dialer sit on the next card you have not modeled.
-
A free or entry plan that only connects Gmail, or that pauses campaigns when a monthly send cap is hit, with no trial on the plan you actually want, will stall the first campaign.
-
An annual platform minimum in the thousands per month is the wrong shape for a team that books a handful of inbound meetings.
-
A quote that bundles forecast software or conversation intelligence into a sequencer you asked to buy alone will not match the job you scoped.
-
Credits, bot sessions, or calling minutes that expire, sold next to a seat price that ignores the meter, will miss a spiky month.
The Bottom Line
Buy HubSpot Sales Hub Professional when sequences and the CRM should be one system, and budget the onboarding fee with the seat. Buy Salesforce when the record is already there, and Apollo when you still need contacts. Close or Pipedrive fits a small team that needs the workflow tier above the cheap seat. lemlist fits cold outbound, Chili Piper fits a leaky demo form, and Freshsales fits when basic workflows have to start cheap.
Outreach and Salesloft stay on the short list until a quote arrives. Prices were checked on vendor pages in September 2026, against the 169 tools in the sales engagement category. Cite this: Toolradar, "Best sales automation tools 2026", September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best sales automation tool in 2026?
HubSpot Sales Hub Professional is the default in 2026 when sequences and the CRM are one product. Sequences start at $100/seat/mo on that seat, and Starter leaves them off, so the homepage price will not send the follow-up. Salesforce Starter Suite at $25/user/mo fits a company already on Salesforce. Apollo's annual Professional seat fits a team that still needs contacts.
How much does sales automation software cost?
In September 2026, Pipedrive Growth is $39/user/mo billed annually for automations, Close Growth is $99/user/mo billed annually for workflows, and Chili Piper Routing is $1,250/mo on an annual contract. HubSpot Professional adds a $1,500 onboarding fee a per-user model leaves out. Outreach and Salesloft publish no list price, and Freshsales' annual Growth seat is the floor, buying workflows before sequences.
Is there a free sales automation tool?
Salesforce Free Suite is $0/user/mo and Apollo has a $0 plan, but free Apollo campaigns connect Gmail only and a non-Gmail mailbox needs a paid plan. HubSpot's free tools omit sequences, which start on Professional, and Pipedrive Lite has no automations. A free login here holds a record, and the sequence engine is a paid tier.
HubSpot or Salesforce for sales automation?
Choose HubSpot when sequences should live in the CRM and you can pay Professional, including the $1,500 onboarding fee a per-seat model leaves out. Choose Salesforce when the pipeline is already there: Starter Suite includes flows and routing, and Core at $195/user/mo billed annually is the suite above it. Agentforce for Sales is included on Max and an add-on on Core, which is the split on HubSpot vs Salesforce.
When should I buy Outreach or Salesloft instead of Apollo?
Buy Apollo for a published annual seat with contacts, sequences, and, on Professional, a dialer and workflows. Buy Outreach or Salesloft when a larger team wants a dedicated platform and will take a quote. Outreach sequences start on Amplify Core, at 25,000 AI credits and no dollar, and Salesloft Cadence also has no public price. Wait for the quote before you call either one cheaper or dearer than Apollo.
Do I need a separate sequencer if I already have a CRM?
Skip a second tool when HubSpot sequences or Salesforce flows already cover follow-up. Add a sequencer for high-volume cold email the CRM tier leaves out, which is what lemlist prices by volume. Add Chili Piper when the gap is routing a form into a meeting, including any Salesforce object. A small team can stay on Pipedrive Growth or Close Growth. The sales CRM for startups guide covers the record.
What is the cheapest tool that actually automates follow-up?
Freshsales Growth at $9/user/mo billed annually is the lowest published seat here with basic workflows, and sequences start on Pro, so multi-step email is a higher invoice. Pipedrive automations start on annual Growth, capped at 50 per company, and the cheaper seat leaves them off. Close workflows also start on annual Growth, and the cheaper Close seat leaves them off.
Cite this page: Toolradar, "Best Sales Automation Tools in 2026", updated September 2026, https://toolradar.com/guides/best-sales-automation-tools
Spotted an outdated price or a wrong fact? Suggest a correction: we check it against the vendor's own page. Work for one of these vendors? Claim your listing to update it yourself.
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