Which CRM fits my business? (quiz)
Answer 8 quick questions and see whether a ready-made CRM, a ready-made CRM with setup help, or a custom CRM fits, and why.
Systems & automation · CRM comparison
HubSpot vs Zoho vs Pipedrive
for small businesses in Malta.
HubSpot, Zoho CRM and Pipedrive are three of the CRMs small businesses in Malta and Gozo ask us about most. All three are good products, and none is best for everyone. HubSpot is the easiest place to start if marketing and your website matter. Zoho CRM is the most flexible if you want to shape it around your own process and already use or like Zoho’s other apps. Pipedrive is the simplest if your work is a sales pipeline of deals to chase and close. This guide compares them on what matters here: WhatsApp, lead ads, EU data, setup and the real cost, and says when none of them fits.
HubSpot · Zoho · PipedriveFit first, then price
Short answer
HubSpot suits small businesses whose website, forms and email marketing drive sales; Zoho CRM suits those who want to shape the CRM around their own process or already use Zoho apps; Pipedrive suits small sales teams chasing deals in a simple pipeline. HubSpot and Zoho CRM have free plans and Pipedrive a free trial. Malta Digital helps businesses in Malta choose, set up or replace them with a custom CRM.
Key takeaways
- Which is better, HubSpot or Zoho CRM? HubSpot is easier to start and stronger on marketing, forms and email. Zoho CRM is more flexible and customisable and fits well if you use other Zoho apps. Try both with your own enquiries.
- Is HubSpot better than Pipedrive for a small business? HubSpot suits businesses where the website, forms and email marketing drive sales. Pipedrive suits small sales teams who mainly chase and close deals and want the simplest pipeline.
- Which CRM has a free plan? As of October 2026, HubSpot has free CRM tools for up to two users and 1,000 contacts, and Zoho CRM has a free edition for up to three users. Pipedrive has no free plan but offers a free trial.
The short answer
Which one fits, in one minute.
Choose HubSpot if you want CRM, email marketing, forms and a website chat in one place, you value a clean interface and you are happy to pay more as you add marketing or service features. Choose Zoho CRM if you want lots of control over fields, modules, rules and automations, or you already use Zoho Books, Desk or other Zoho apps. Choose Pipedrive if your team lives in a deal pipeline, wants something it can learn in an afternoon and does not need marketing tools in the CRM.
All three offer a way to try before you pay: HubSpot and Zoho CRM have free plans for very small teams, and Pipedrive has a free trial. The best test is your own week of enquiries, not a feature list. If you are not sure where to start, our two-minute CRM quiz narrows it down.
HubSpot
HubSpot: easiest start, strongest on marketing.
HubSpot’s free CRM tools cover contacts, deals, tasks, forms and live chat for up to two users and 1,000 contacts, with no time limit. The interface is clear and the help library is large, so a small team can get going quickly. Its strength is joining sales and marketing: website forms, landing pages, email campaigns, ads reporting and the CRM all share the same contact record.
The thing to watch is how the cost grows. HubSpot is split into hubs (Marketing, Sales, Service and others), each with Starter, Professional and Enterprise tiers, and many features you might want sit in the higher ones. WhatsApp is a good example: connecting WhatsApp to HubSpot’s conversations inbox needs a Marketing Hub or Service Hub Professional or Enterprise plan. For data, HubSpot says accounts with only free tools are hosted in its US data centre, while paid accounts are placed in a data centre, including one in the EU, when they are created. If EU hosting matters to you, check it before you start.
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM: most flexible, most to set up.
Zoho CRM has a free edition for up to three users and paid editions called Standard, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. Even the lower paid editions let you add custom modules and fields, so you can model things a plain sales CRM does not expect, such as bookings, properties, vehicles or applications. It connects closely with the rest of Zoho, including Books for accounting, Desk for support and Forms. Zoho also offers Bigin, a simpler pipeline CRM aimed at teams moving from spreadsheets.
The flexibility is also the cost. Zoho has a lot of settings, and a CRM shaped around your process still has to be designed by someone, so plan time or help for setup. WhatsApp Business integration is available in the free trial and all paid editions, using message credits you buy through Zoho on top of Meta’s own charges, and only Meta-approved templates can start a conversation. Zoho runs data centres in the EU, in Amsterdam and Dublin, and you can check which one your account uses.
Pipedrive
Pipedrive: simplest for chasing deals.
Pipedrive is built around a visual pipeline: deals move from stage to stage, and the app keeps nudging you towards the next activity. Sales teams usually find it the quickest of the three to learn, and it is good at the daily job of making sure every deal has a next step. Plans are called Lite, Growth, Premium and Ultimate. There is no free plan, but there is a free trial that does not ask for a card.
It is narrower than the other two on purpose. Marketing, website and service tools are add-ons or come from other apps, so if you need those inside your CRM, compare the total. Its WhatsApp integration is on the Growth plan and above and was still marked as beta in Pipedrive’s help pages when we checked. On data, Pipedrive says EU customers contract with its EU company, based in Estonia, and it explains how it handles GDPR and sub-processors in its help centre.
Side by side
HubSpot vs Zoho CRM vs Pipedrive, compared.
The table sums up the points above. It leaves out prices on purpose: they change often and depend on plan, users and billing period, so check each vendor’s price page for current figures.
| HubSpot | Zoho CRM | Pipedrive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built around | Marketing and sales on one contact record | A flexible database of modules you can shape | A visual sales pipeline |
| Free option | Free CRM tools for up to two users and 1,000 contacts | Free edition for up to three users | No free plan; free trial without a card |
| Conversations inbox on Marketing Hub or Service Hub Professional and Enterprise | Free trial and all paid editions, with message credits | Growth plan and above, marked beta | |
| EU hosting | EU data centre for paid accounts; free-only accounts in the US | EU data centres in Amsterdam and Dublin | EU customers contract with its EU company; see its GDPR page |
| Customisation | Good; deeper options on higher tiers | Very high, including custom modules | Moderate; custom fields and pipelines |
| Best fit | Businesses where the website, forms and email marketing drive sales | Businesses with their own process or using other Zoho apps | Small sales teams chasing and closing deals |
| Watch out for | Cost rising as you add hubs and higher tiers | Setup time and the number of settings | Needing marketing or service tools later |
Malta checks
Five things to check for a business in Malta.
WhatsApp. Most enquiries here start on WhatsApp. Check which plan includes the integration, whether it uses the official WhatsApp Business Platform, how message fees are charged and whether your team can keep using the WhatsApp Business app on their phones alongside it.
Facebook and Instagram lead ads. If you advertise on Meta, leads should land in the CRM within seconds with the campaign name, not wait in Leads Center. All three can do this, natively or through an integration; test it during the trial.
Accounting and invoices. Check whether the CRM connects to the accounting tool you already use for VAT invoices, or whether quotes and invoices will live somewhere else. EU data and GDPR. Check where your account’s data is stored, sign the data processing agreement and limit who sees what. Setup and support. Decide who will set it up, move your data and train the team, and how fast you can get help when something breaks.
Not sure which CRM fits?
Apply now and tell us how your team sells and where enquiries come from. We’ll tell you which CRM we’d pick for you and why, including when a ready-made one is enough, or message us on WhatsApp.
Price
What about the price?
We do not list the three vendors’ prices here, because they change often and depend on your plan, team size and whether you pay monthly or yearly. All three price per user per month, with higher tiers unlocking automation, reporting and permissions, and HubSpot also prices some marketing features by the number of marketing contacts. Check the official price pages linked below on the day you decide.
The subscription is rarely the biggest cost anyway. Setup, data import, connections, add-ons, WhatsApp messaging fees and staff time usually matter more. Our guide to how much a CRM costs breaks down every part, and the lost leads calculator shows what missed follow-ups cost you today.
When none fits
When none of the three fits.
Ready-made CRMs are built around a standard sales process: a lead comes in, becomes a deal and is won or lost. Many businesses in Malta and Gozo do not work like that. Some run bookings with staff, vehicles or rooms to schedule, some need a portal where customers or partners log in, some have several teams that each touch the same job. You can bend a ready-made CRM to fit, but past a point you are paying for workarounds and a spreadsheet kept next to it.
That is when a custom CRM is worth it. Malta Digital builds custom CRM systems from €7,500, excluding VAT, designed around how your business already works. For a childcare agency we built one platform with an office command centre, a nanny portal and a booking app for parents. For a skip hire company we built a booking and dispatch system covering vans, drivers, capacity and job assignment. If one of the three CRMs above fits, we will tell you so.
Decide
How to choose in two weeks.
Write down five must-haves, such as WhatsApp, lead ads, quotes, two teams with different steps and EU hosting, and three nice-to-haves. Shortlist two CRMs that cover every must-have on the plan you would actually buy, not the trial. Run both for a week each with real enquiries and the people who will use them every day, not just the owner.
During the trial, test the awkward parts: connect a real lead form, send a WhatsApp message, export your data, add a user with limited access. Then compare the total for two years, including setup and add-ons. Our CRM setup checklist covers what to do once you have chosen.
How we help
How we help you choose and set up.
We start with a call about how customers reach you and where enquiries get lost, then tell you whether HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Pipedrive or a custom CRM fits better, and why. If a ready-made CRM fits, we can set it up, move your data and connect your channels. If none does, we map your process and send a written proposal for a custom CRM, from €7,500, excluding VAT.
See the CRM page for what is included and our case studies for systems we have built.
A few straight answers
What you might be wondering.
Which is better, HubSpot or Zoho CRM?
HubSpot is easier to start and stronger on marketing, forms and email. Zoho CRM is more flexible and customisable and fits well if you use other Zoho apps. Try both with your own enquiries.
Is HubSpot better than Pipedrive for a small business?
HubSpot suits businesses where the website, forms and email marketing drive sales. Pipedrive suits small sales teams who mainly chase and close deals and want the simplest pipeline.
Which CRM has a free plan?
As of October 2026, HubSpot has free CRM tools for up to two users and 1,000 contacts, and Zoho CRM has a free edition for up to three users. Pipedrive has no free plan but offers a free trial.
Which CRM works with WhatsApp?
All three can connect to WhatsApp, on different plans: HubSpot through Marketing Hub or Service Hub Professional and Enterprise, Zoho CRM in its trial and paid editions, Pipedrive from the Growth plan, in beta. Meta also charges for messages.
Do HubSpot, Zoho and Pipedrive store data in the EU?
Zoho has EU data centres in Amsterdam and Dublin. HubSpot has an EU data centre for paid accounts, but free-only accounts are hosted in the US. Pipedrive’s EU customers contract with its EU company. Check your own account.
What if none of them fits my business?
If your process involves bookings, portals or several teams, a custom CRM may fit better. Malta Digital builds custom CRM systems from €7,500, excluding VAT.
Can Malta Digital set up HubSpot, Zoho CRM or Pipedrive for us?
Yes. If a ready-made CRM fits your business, we recommend it and can set it up, move your data and connect your channels. If none fits, we build a custom CRM.
Keep reading
Related guides.
How much does a CRM cost?
Subscriptions, setup, data, WhatsApp and add-ons explained, plus custom CRM systems from €7,500, excluding VAT, and how to budget without surprises.
CRM vs Excel
When a spreadsheet is enough, the signs it has stopped working, GDPR, and how to move to a CRM without losing data.
A useful first step
Ready to pick and set up your CRM?
We help you choose, then set up the ready-made CRM that fits, or build a custom CRM when none does, with your channels connected and your data moved. Custom CRM systems from €7,500, excluding VAT.