CRM categories compared for Australian small businesses
Types of CRM by how they are priced, who they fit and what to watch for, with illustrative price ranges only.
This table compares categories of CRM, not individual products. Vendors move between categories as they add features, and most sell several tiers. The price column is an illustrative range per seat per month, before GST and currency effects, to show the relative cost of each category. It is not a quote for any product. Use it to decide which one or two categories fit how your business sells, then shortlist products within them and get written quotes.
Read across a row: how the category is priced, the kind of business it usually suits, and the trap that most often raises the real cost.
Select a column header to sort.
| CRM category | How it is usually priced (illustrative) | Often a good fit for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet plus shared inbox | No licence; staff time only | Sole traders with a handful of active deals | No reminders, no audit trail, consent and unsubscribe records easily lost |
| Free or starter CRM tier | $0 for basic seats, then about $15–$40 per seat a month | Very small teams testing whether they will use a CRM | Key features (automation, reporting, more pipelines) only in paid tiers; limits on contacts or emails |
| Sales pipeline CRM | About $40–$100 per seat a month by tier | Teams that quote and follow up deals: B2B services, wholesale, agencies | Calling, forecasting or AI add-ons priced per seat on top |
| All-in-one sales and marketing suite | Per seat for sales, plus marketing priced by number of contacts | Businesses that run regular email campaigns and nurture leads | Marketing-contact tiers that jump as the list grows; annual commitment |
| CRM inside job-management or trade software | About $30–$90 per user a month, sometimes per job or per business | Trades and field services that quote, schedule and invoice | Weaker marketing tools; data export may be limited |
| Industry-specific CRM (real estate, recruitment, health, education) | Per user or per office, often with set-up fees | Sectors with special workflows or record-keeping rules | Higher switching costs; check data ownership and export |
| CRM module of an accounting or business suite | Added to an existing subscription or per user | Businesses already standardised on that suite | Sales features thinner than dedicated CRMs; tied to one vendor |
| Enterprise CRM platform | About $100–$250+ per seat a month by edition, plus partner fees | Growing businesses with complex processes and admin capacity | Implementation partner costs, edition upgrades, long contracts |
| Open-source or self-hosted CRM | No or low licence; hosting, support and developer time | Businesses with in-house technical skills | Security, backups, updates and privacy obligations sit with you |
All prices are illustrative ranges to show relative cost, not vendor prices, and exclude GST and exchange-rate effects. Real prices change often, differ for monthly and annual billing, and may be in USD. Check each vendor's current pricing page and get a written quote. Examples of products in each category are discussed in the guides only as examples, never as a ranking.
Before you commit, check the rules that apply to your contact data with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Spam Act, Do Not Call Register) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (Privacy Act), and contract fairness with the ACCC. See how to choose a CRM step by step.