Best WordPress CRM Plugin, and What It Really Costs at 5,000 Contacts

The best WordPress CRM plugin for most sites is FluentCRM. It keeps contacts, tags, campaigns and automations in your own WordPress database and charges per site instead of per contact. At 5,000 contacts that works out to about $153 a year with email sending, against $2,520 for HubSpot's Marketing Hub Starter.

I loaded the same 5,000 test contacts into the free versions of FluentCRM, FunnelKit Automations, Groundhogg and Jetpack CRM on a fresh WordPress install. Then I priced every paid plan, plus HubSpot, for that list size.

My Picks at a Glance

Plugin	Best for	Paid from	Cost at 5,000 contacts	WordPress.org rating
FluentCRM	Most sites, email plus CRM	$129/yr	$153/yr	96/100 (250)
FunnelKit Automations	WooCommerce stores	$149/yr	$173/yr	100/100 (346)
Groundhogg	Sales pipelines, agencies	$20/mo billed yearly	$264/yr	96/100 (150)
Jetpack CRM	Freelancers who quote and invoice	$11/mo billed yearly	$228/yr	86/100 (152)
HubSpot	Sales teams already on HubSpot	$20/seat/mo	$2,520/yr	86/100 (207)

CRM Plugin or Email Marketing Plugin?

An email marketing plugin like MailPoet sends newsletters to a subscriber list. A CRM keeps a record for every person (tags, purchases, form entries, notes, deal stage) and uses it to decide who gets what.

A weekly newsletter needs only an email plugin. Selling, following up with leads or segmenting by purchase needs a CRM, so MailPoet (500,000+ installs) appears here as a cost benchmark and not as a pick.

What a WordPress CRM Costs at 5,000 Contacts

Most WordPress CRMs charge per site, so list size barely moves the bill. Email sending does. A self hosted CRM sends through an SMTP service you connect, and Amazon SES charges $0.10 per 1,000 emails.

Four emails a month to 5,000 people is 20,000 emails, or $24 a year. MailPoet Business and HubSpot include sending in the price.

Plugin and plan	Licence per year	Sending	Year one at list	Per contact limit
FluentCRM Pro, 1 site	$129 ($90 first year now)	SES, $24	$153	None
FunnelKit Automations Pro, 1 site	$149 ($99.50 now)	SES, $24	$173	None
Jetpack CRM Entrepreneur	$204 ($17/mo yearly)	SES, $24	$228	None
Groundhogg Basic	$240 ($20/mo yearly)	SES, $24	$264	None
Groundhogg Plus (adds pipeline)	$480 ($40/mo yearly)	SES, $24	$504	None
MailPoet Business, 5,000 subscribers	$564	Included	$564	Priced by list size
HubSpot Marketing Starter, 1 seat	$2,520 ($1,794 first year)	Included	$2,520	Priced per 1,000

HubSpot Starter includes 1,000 marketing contacts and sells each extra 1,000 from $50 a month. Its calculator, set to one seat and 5,000 contacts, returned $2,520 billed annually, or $1,794 for the first year on the new customer offer.

1. FluentCRM, the Best WordPress CRM Plugin for Most Sites

FluentCRM is a self hosted CRM and email marketing plugin from WPManageNinja, the team behind Fluent Forms. It suits bloggers, course creators, agencies and small shops that want campaigns, tags and automation without a per contact bill.

	FluentCRM
Price	1 site $129/yr, 5 sites $249, 50 sites $499. First year 30% off right now ($90 / $174 / $349)
Lifetime	None sold
Free version	Unlimited contacts, lists, tags, segments, email campaigns, forms
Pro adds	Email sequences, full automation triggers, smart links, advanced reports, 45+ integrations
Sending	Your SMTP (free FluentSMTP connects SES, Mailgun and others)
WordPress.org	96 out of 100 from 250 ratings, 80,000+ active installs

On my test site the setup wizard had four optional steps, and I skipped them. With 5,000 contacts loaded, the dashboard counted 4,705 active (the 295 unsubscribes are excluded) and the contact list stayed quick to page through.

Automation is where the free version stops. In New Automation, New User Sign Up was the only trigger without a Pro badge, and Tag Applied, Contact Added to List, Contact Created and the birthday trigger all need Pro. If automation is why you want a CRM, budget for Pro.

• Use cases: a lead magnet sequence tagged by form, course buyers tagged from LearnDash or Tutor LMS, WooCommerce customers segmented by product, a weekly newsletter to 50,000 people for the same $129.
• The catch: there is no deals pipeline. Sales teams pair it with FluentBoards or pick Groundhogg. You also own deliverability: set up SES and DNS records properly.

Related: Fluent Black Friday Deals, FluentCommunity vs BuddyBoss, Best AI Tool for WordPress, FluentCart vs WooCommerce, Self-Hosted Business Suite for WordPress, Best WordPress Form Plugins

2. FunnelKit Automations, the Best CRM for WooCommerce

FunnelKit Automations, formerly Autonami, is the marketing automation and CRM half of FunnelKit. It is built for WooCommerce stores that want abandoned cart, post purchase and win back emails tied to real order data.

	FunnelKit Automations
Price	Automations, 1 site: $149/yr list, $99.50 right now. Automations plus Funnels: $399 ($199.50)
Lifetime	None on the pricing page
Free version	Pre-built WooCommerce automations, broadcasts, drag and drop email builder
Pro adds	Unlimited automations and actions, contact journey, SMS, tags and lists, A/B tests
WordPress.org	100 out of 100 from 346 ratings, 20,000+ active installs

The free plugin's automations screen offered ready recipes: Optin Follow Up, Abandoned Cart Reminder, Post-Purchase Sequence, Customer WinBack and New Customer First Order. All but the first assume a store.

• Use cases: recover carts within 30 minutes, or send a coupon for a second order.
• The catch: outside WooCommerce it is a thinner CRM than FluentCRM, and CRM basics like tagging contacts from automations are Pro features.

3. Groundhogg, the Best Self Hosted CRM With a Sales Pipeline

Groundhogg is an open source CRM and marketing automation plugin with a visual flow editor. It fits agencies and service businesses that track deals as well as subscribers.

	Groundhogg
Price	Basic $20/mo, Plus $40/mo (3 sites), Pro $50/mo (5 sites), Agency $100/mo (25 sites), all billed yearly
Lifetime	None on the pricing page
Free version	No limits on contacts, flows or emails sent
Paid adds	Sales pipeline (Plus), SMTP and ecommerce integrations (Pro), white label (Agency)
WordPress.org	96 out of 100 from 150 ratings, 2,000+ active installs

The guided setup asks for your business name and postal address first. Anti spam law requires both in every marketing email footer, and Groundhogg adds them for you.

My 5,000 contacts showed up as 4,705 confirmed and 295 unsubscribed, with Flows, Broadcasts and Campaigns one click away in the menu.

• Standout: the Sales Pipeline add-on gives drag and drop deal stages, a Create Deal action inside flows, and a sales rep role that only sees its own contacts.
• The catch: the pipeline needs Plus, $480 a year, and the user base is small, so fewer tutorials and third party integrations exist than for FluentCRM.

4. Jetpack CRM, the Best for Freelancers Who Quote and Invoice

Jetpack CRM is Automattic's contact manager, built around clients. Freelancers, consultants and local businesses that send quotes and invoices get the most from it.

	Jetpack CRM
Price	Freelancer $11/mo, Entrepreneur $17/mo (all 30+ extensions), Reseller $5.40/site/mo, billed yearly
Lifetime	None
Free version	Contacts, companies, quotes, invoices, transactions, segments, forms
Paid adds	Mail Campaigns, Automations, client portal pro, Stripe and PayPal sync, Twilio SMS
WordPress.org	86 out of 100 from 152 ratings, 30,000+ active installs

Each contact carries a status such as Lead, Customer or Refused, and Quotes, Invoices and Transactions sit in the top menu. It was the only free plugin here where I could go from lead to paid invoice without another tool.

• Use cases: a web designer sending proposals, a coach invoicing monthly clients, a WooCommerce shop that wants orders synced to contact records.
• The catch: newsletters and automation are paid extensions, so for email marketing you pay $204 a year and still connect your own sender.

5. HubSpot, the Best Free CRM if You Stay Small

HubSpot's free WordPress plugin connects your site's forms, live chat and visitors to HubSpot's cloud CRM. It suits sales teams that need deals, tasks and call logging while their list stays small.

	HubSpot
Price	Free for up to 2 users. Marketing Hub Starter $20/seat/mo with 1,000 marketing contacts
Extra contacts	Sold in 1,000 increments from $50/mo. 5,000 contacts: $2,520/yr list
Free email	2,000 sends a month with HubSpot branding
Data	Stored on HubSpot's servers, not in WordPress
WordPress.org	86 out of 100 from 207 ratings, 200,000+ active installs

• Use cases: a B2B team logging calls and moving deals, a startup that will grow into HubSpot's Sales Hub anyway.
• The catch: only marketing contacts are billed, but anyone you email counts, so the bill rises with your list. It is also the only pick here that is not self hosted.

WordPress CRM Feature Comparison

	FluentCRM	FunnelKit	Groundhogg	Jetpack CRM	HubSpot
Contact limit	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Paid per 1,000
Email campaigns	Free	Free	Free	Paid extension	2,000 sends free
Automation	Pro	Lite recipes, Pro	Free	Paid extension	Starter, simple
Deals pipeline	No	No	Plus plan	Contact status only	Free
Quotes and invoices	No	No	No	Free	Paid hubs
Email sending	Your SMTP	Your SMTP	Your SMTP	Your SMTP	Included
WooCommerce	Pro integration	Core focus	Pro plan	Order sync	Integration
Price, 1 site	$129/yr	$149/yr	$240/yr	$132 to $204/yr	$240/yr per seat
Lifetime plan	No	No	No	No	No
Your data lives	Your site	Your site	Your site	Your site	HubSpot cloud

Also Considered

• MailPoet: free up to 500 subscribers and 5,000 emails a month; Business costs $564 a year at 5,000 subscribers with sending included. Pick it for newsletters only, see the MailPoet pricing page.
• WP ERP: a free HR, accounting and CRM suite (5,000+ installs). Pro starts at $228 a year for one user, see WP ERP pricing. Pick it only if you want HR and accounting too.

Which WordPress CRM Should You Pick?

If you	Pick	Why
Run a blog, course or membership site	FluentCRM	Unlimited contacts and campaigns for $129 a year
Run a WooCommerce store	FunnelKit Automations	Cart, post purchase and win back flows on order data
Sell services and track deals	Groundhogg Plus	Self hosted pipeline, sales rep roles
Freelance and send invoices	Jetpack CRM	Quotes and invoices are free
Have a sales team and under 1,000 contacts	HubSpot free	Best sales tools at no cost while small
Only send a newsletter	MailPoet	Simpler, sending included

WordPress CRM FAQ

Related Guides

• Best WordPress form plugins, to feed your CRM
• WordPress form plugins that take payments
• Best WordPress backup plugins, because your contacts live in your database
• WordPress plugin Black Friday deals

Disclosure: I earn a commission if you buy FluentCRM or Cloudways through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. I have no affiliate relationship with FunnelKit, Groundhogg, Jetpack CRM, HubSpot or MailPoet. Prices and WordPress.org ratings were checked on 31 October 2026. You can read exactly how I test, verify and update everything on this site.