The best CRM for a solopreneur covers five steps on one plan: inquiry, proposal, contract, deposit invoice and follow-up. Workspace369 fits a one-person business that wants all five, plus a client portal, from its entry plan at $23.25 a month billed yearly. Moxie Pro is the lowest-priced client-work plan we read whose page text lists workflow automations, at $20 a month billed yearly. HoneyBook has the longest trial, and Bigin suits a pipeline inside Zoho. All prices are billed yearly and were read November 2, 2026. Before you start a trial, print our free trial checklist.
What a CRM for solopreneurs is (and is not)
A CRM for a solopreneur is the one place a client’s details live from the first inquiry to the paid deposit and the follow-up afterward. With no team to forecast for, no reps to assign leads to and no pipeline review on Monday, what one person needs is narrower than a sales CRM: a way to turn “someone asked” into “paid, and followed up” without copying the client’s details between three apps.
It is not a sales-forecasting tool for a team, and it does not replace your accounting software. If most of your week is cold outreach and calls, a pipeline CRM may fit better; our best CRM for freelancers guide covers the wider list.
How we compared these tools
On November 2, 2026 we read the public pricing pages of Moxie, Bonsai, Dubsado, HoneyBook, 17hats, Bigin by Zoho and Workspace369, in US dollars, for one person. For each plan we recorded the price, the seat basis and the trial terms, and checked which of these five steps the page text lists:
- Inquiry. A form on your site that creates the client record, so you don’t retype it.
- Proposal. The client sees the scope and the price, and ideally picks an option.
- Contract. The client signs online.
- Invoice. The client pays a deposit online.
- Follow-up. Reminders go out without you: an unsigned proposal, an unpaid invoice, a thank-you.
The fifth step is the one that separates plans, so the table prices the plan whose page text lists workflow automation. We compare on yearly billing, because that is the one billing basis every page we read confirmed.
What we did not test. Claims come only from those pricing pages, 17hats’ help center and Workspace369’s plan data. A feature shown only as an icon in a plan grid is not counted, and a feature a page does not state is marked “not stated on the page, November 2, 2026”, not treated as missing. We did not test the apps hands-on, we have no customer ratings, and we left out time-limited sales and promotions.
The best CRM for solopreneurs in 2026
The order follows documented fit for one person who sells, signs and bills each client alone. Workspace369 publishes this guide and is one of the options.
1. Workspace369, best for all five steps and a client portal on one entry plan
Workspace369 suits a solopreneur who wants every step on the plan they start with. Its lowest plan, Cadet, is $23.25 a month billed yearly ($278.99 a year) for one seat. Every plan lists public intake forms, proposals with optional add-ons and a deposit on acceptance, contracts clients sign online, invoices and a private client portal. Cadet allows up to 3 active workflows at once, which covers a proposal reminder, an invoice reminder and a welcome message.
The limits: Moxie Pro costs less, Cadet is one seat, its automations are email only (text-message steps start on Voyager), and three workflows can run at a time; Voyager, $59.25 a month billed yearly for 2 seats, raises that to 10. Online booking pages start on Specialist, $119.25 a month billed yearly for 10 seats, so a solopreneur who takes bookings would weigh that cost. The trial is 14 days, and a card is required to start it.
Best for: a one-person business that wants the inquiry, proposal, contract, deposit and reminders on one client record from the entry plan. Workspace369 pricing
2. Moxie, best for the lowest client-work price with workflow automation
Moxie Starter is $10 a month billed yearly ($120 a year). Its page text lists client management, project management, time tracking, a sales pipeline, basic accounting, a custom form builder and meeting schedulers. Proposals, contracts and invoices are not stated in the page text, November 2, 2026. Workflow automations are listed on Pro, at $20 a month billed yearly ($240 a year), which also adds a white-label client portal, a custom domain, a phone line, API integrations (Zapier, Make, webhooks, public API) and a QuickBooks integration.
The limit is that automations need Pro, so the realistic price for a one-person business that wants reminders sent for it is $20, not $10. Teams, for up to five members, is $32 a month billed yearly if you hire. The page’s title gives a 14-day trial, and says you can cancel anytime without penalty. Our Bonsai vs Moxie vs 17hats vs Plutio comparison compares it with other all-in-one tools.
Best for: a solopreneur who wants workflow automation at the lowest list price. Moxie pricing
3. Bonsai, best for hourly work on per-user pricing
Bonsai prices per user. Basic, $9 a month billed yearly, lists a CRM, time tracking, task management, unlimited clients and projects, and iOS and Android apps. Proposals and contracts, and invoices and payments, are listed on Essentials: $19 per user billed yearly. Premium is $29 per user billed yearly ($348 a year) and lists a deals pipeline, project insights, profit and productivity reports, workload management, a Gantt view and integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Zapier, Calendly and Google.
Which Bonsai plan includes automations is not stated in the page text, November 2, 2026; the page shows it only in an icon grid, so we do not place it. Workspace369 and Moxie also list time tracking, so compare the follow-up price once you confirm it in the trial. The trial is 7 days. Our Bonsai review walks through the tiers.
Best for: a solo consultant who bills hourly and wants time tracked against the client it is invoiced to. Bonsai pricing
4. HoneyBook, best for the longest trial
HoneyBook Starter is $29 a month billed yearly and lists proposals, contracts, invoices, a client portal and up to 2 live lead forms. Scheduler and automations are listed on Essentials, $49 a month billed yearly, with up to 2 team members, SMS reminders and a QuickBooks Online integration, so Essentials is the HoneyBook plan for all five steps.
The limit is price: Essentials is more than twice Moxie Pro on yearly billing. Its strengths are the trial, 30 days with no credit card required, long enough to run two or three real clients through Essentials’ automations before you pay, and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Our HoneyBook review goes deeper on the plans.
Best for: a solopreneur who wants a long trial of the automations before paying. HoneyBook pricing
5. Dubsado, best for form and workflow control on yearly billing
Dubsado Starter is $335 a year billed yearly and lists form creation tools, invoicing, canned emails and client portals, with one active lead capture form. Automated workflows, scheduling templates and bookkeeping integration are listed on Premier, $525 a year billed yearly, which has unlimited lead capture forms. The page says “Enjoy 3 additional users for free” without tying that to a plan, and lists larger teams as a flat monthly add-on, starting at $25 a month for 4-10 users. Monthly plan prices are not confirmed on the page text.
Premier is the Dubsado plan for automated workflows. Whether public proposals and contracts sit on Starter or Premier is not stated in the page text, November 2, 2026; the page shows it only in an icon grid. Its 21-day trial gives full access to Premier with no credit card, so plan it around one real client. Our Dubsado review covers the plans in detail.
Best for: a solopreneur who wants detailed forms and workflows and will pay yearly. Dubsado pricing
6. 17hats, best for one fixed price with no plan choice
17hats sells one all-inclusive plan: $600 a year billed yearly or $800 for two years, which its page says provides nearly everything you need to organize and automate the business. The page also offers a monthly option, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Bank connect is a $5 monthly add-on, and extra users are $5 a month. Its page currently shows a sale banner with 50% off the first year if you skip the trial; like other vendors’ time-limited offers, it is left out of the prices here.
The pricing page does not itemize features in text, and its help center ties advanced workflows to the Premier level, with Standard offering basic workflows and Essentials none. Which of those levels the one plan equals is not stated on the page, November 2, 2026, so confirm the follow-up step in the trial. The trial is 7 days, and its page says you can restart it once. It also lists a free CRM with unlimited contacts and projects.
Best for: a solopreneur who wants one price and no tiers, after confirming its workflows in the trial. 17hats pricing
7. Bigin by Zoho, best for a pipeline inside Zoho
Bigin is a pipeline CRM: the free plan covers 1 user and 500 records, and lists 3 automations. Express is $7 per user a month billed yearly and lists 30 automations, Payment Links, a QuickBooks integration and Zoho Sign document management. Premier is $12 per user billed yearly and adds advanced field types, stage transition rules and AI tools.
How Bigin’s pieces map to the five steps is not stated on the page, November 2, 2026, so we did not count a single Bigin plan as covering all five and show its automation prices in the table. If you already pay for Zoho apps, that may suit you. The trial is 15 days with no credit card, and the page offers a money-back guarantee (30 days on monthly billing, 45 on annual).
Best for: a solopreneur whose work is mostly pipeline and who already uses Zoho. Bigin pricing
Side-by-side comparison
List prices in US dollars, billed yearly, read November 2, 2026, for one person. Bonsai and Bigin price per user, HoneyBook Essentials includes up to 2 team members, and Workspace369 Cadet includes 1 seat. The table lists the plan whose page text places workflow automation; it does not claim the other four steps for any rival.
| Plan the page text ties to automation | Per month, billed yearly | A year, billed yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Bigin Free (3 automations, CRM) | $0 | $0 |
| Bigin Express (per user, 30 automations) | $7 | 12 x $7 per user |
| Moxie Pro | $20 | $240 |
| Workspace369 Cadet (1 seat, 3 active workflows) | $23.25 | $278.99 |
| Dubsado Premier | Not shown; the page lists $525 a year | $525 |
| HoneyBook Essentials | $49 | 12 x $49 |
| Bonsai (per user) | not stated on the page, November 2, 2026 | not stated on the page, November 2, 2026 |
| 17hats (one plan, $600 a year) | level not stated on the page, November 2, 2026 | $600 |
Bigin’s automations are listed on its page as CRM features. Whether they send client reminders is not stated on the page, November 2, 2026, which is why it is shown here without a verdict on the five steps.
Which CRM fits your one-person business
| If you… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Want all five steps and a client portal from one entry plan | Workspace369 Cadet | $23.25 a month billed yearly for one seat, 3 active workflows |
| Want the lowest client-work price with workflow automation | Moxie Pro | $20 a month billed yearly |
| Bill by the hour and follow up by hand | Bonsai Essentials | $19 per user billed yearly |
| Want the longest trial | HoneyBook Essentials | 30-day trial, no card |
| Want detailed forms and workflows, billed yearly | Dubsado Premier | $525 a year |
| Want one fixed price and no tiers | 17hats | $600 a year; confirm workflows in the trial |
| Mainly need a pipeline and already use Zoho | Bigin | Free for 1 user; Express lists Payment Links and QuickBooks |
A worked example: a solo brand strategist sells a $3,200 positioning sprint with a 40% deposit, about two new clients a month. That person needs one proposal with an optional add-on, a signature, a $1,280 deposit invoice and two automatic reminders. The deciding cost is the automation tier: among the client-work plans in the table that list it, Moxie Pro is $20 a month billed yearly, Workspace369 Cadet $23.25, HoneyBook Essentials $49 and Dubsado Premier $525 a year. If those reminders are the reason you’re buying, price the plan that has them, not the entry plan.
Before you pick
- Run one real client through the trial, from inquiry form to paid deposit. Note every place you copy a detail by hand.
- Check the follow-up step on the exact plan you’d buy. That’s where the entry plans differ. Our workflow automation guide shows what to test.
- Count yourself correctly. Check the seat terms before you add a subcontractor.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best CRM for a one-person business?
Workspace369’s Cadet plan covers all five steps and a client portal for one seat at $23.25 a month billed yearly. For the lowest client-work price with automation, Moxie Pro is $20 a month billed yearly (read November 2, 2026).
Do solopreneurs need a sales CRM like Bigin or HubSpot?
Only if your work is mostly pipeline: many leads, many follow-up calls. If each client goes through a proposal, a contract and an invoice, a client-work tool covers more of the job in one app. Bigin Express is $7 per user a month billed yearly and lists Payment Links, a QuickBooks integration and Zoho Sign (read November 2, 2026).
Which of these has the longest free trial?
HoneyBook, at 30 days with no credit card required. Dubsado lists 21 days, Bigin 15, Moxie and Workspace369 14 (Workspace369 requires a card), and Bonsai and 17hats 7 (read November 2, 2026).
Is HoneyBook Starter enough for a solopreneur?
For proposals, contracts and invoices, yes: Starter is $29 a month billed yearly. Automations are listed on Essentials, $49 a month billed yearly (read November 2, 2026), so if you want reminders sent for you, budget for Essentials.
Do any of these charge per user?
Bonsai and Bigin price per user (read November 2, 2026). HoneyBook Essentials includes up to 2 team members, and Dubsado says 3 additional users are free; adding a person to Workspace369 Cadet means moving to Voyager, $59.25 a month billed yearly for 2 seats.
Next step: test the five steps
Write down your five steps with one sample client, then trial two tools against them. If Workspace369 is one of them, start the 14-day Workspace369 trial (card required) and run that client from the intake form to the paid deposit.
