CRM + Email Stack for a 1-Person Practice Under $100/mo
Short answer (prices checked 2026-10-23): Pipedrive Lite + ActiveCampaign Starter costs $29/mo on annual billing ($14 + $15). Swap in Kit Creator ($33/mo annual, $39 monthly, at 1,000 subscribers) for a newsletter-first practice and the bill is $47. The $0 route is HubSpot CRM Free + Kit Free (Kit Free covers up to 10,000 subscribers). Check your own mix in the Stack Cost Calculator.
You do not need a $1,200/mo RevOps stack to run a consulting practice. You need a CRM you will open, an email tool you will send from, and boring backups.
This build keeps software under $100/month for a one-person practice (annual billing assumed where it helps). Numbers match our Pricing Snapshot and the solo recipe in the Stack Cost Calculator. Domain, accounting, and proposal tools are noted separately.
Affiliate note: Tool links use /go/ placeholders until partners are connected. Disclosure · Methodology.
Target stack (recommended)
| Layer | Tool | Approx. monthly (annual) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRM | Pipedrive Lite (1 seat) | ~$14 | Pipeline, activities |
| ActiveCampaign Starter (~1k) or Kit Creator | $15 (AC Starter) – $33 (Kit Creator) | Newsletter + welcome / light nurture | |
| Forms | Native ESP forms or Tally free | $0 | Lead capture |
| Calendar booking | Cal.com or Calendly free/low | $0–$12 | Discovery calls |
| Total | Usually ~$29–$51 | Room under $100 |
Alternative money-saver: HubSpot CRM Free + Kit/MailerLite can run near $0–$30/mo if you stay off HubSpot paid hubs. Client-ops path (HoneyBook Starter ~$29) if proposals/invoices are the pain — see Calculator.
Option A — “Calm pipeline” (our default)
Pipedrive + Kit
- Pipedrive owns deals and follow-ups. (Pipedrive — affiliate pending)
- Kit owns the audience. (Kit — affiliate pending)
- Connect: when someone books a call or replies with intent, create/update the Pipedrive deal manually at first. Automate later with Zapier only if you hate the manual step (Zapier may consume the rest of your budget — stay disciplined).
Why this wins: Clear separation of jobs. Hard to accidentally build a Rube Goldberg system.
Option B — “Minimum cash”
HubSpot Free + MailerLite
- HubSpot Free for contacts/deals. (HubSpot — affiliate pending)
- MailerLite for newsletters. (MailerLite — affiliate pending)
- Spend your money on a good domain email (Google Workspace / Microsoft 365) instead of CRM seats.
Why this wins: Cheapest serious setup. Risk: HubSpot upgrade temptation. Write your upgrade policy down: e.g. “No paid HubSpot until $20k/mo revenue.”
Option C — “Automation bias”
ActiveCampaign alone (lower tier) + light CRM fields
- Use ActiveCampaign’s lists, automations, and deals. (ActiveCampaign — affiliate pending)
- Skip a separate CRM until deals become messy.
Why this wins: One login. Risk: Solo consultants often underuse AC and overpay relative to Kit + Pipedrive. Stay on Starter (~$15 annual at ~1k) until you need Plus (~$49) for unlimited automation actions — see AC vs Kit.
What $100/mo should not be spent on (yet)
- Marketing attribution suites
- Conversation intelligence for a team you do not have
- Two CRMs “just to try”
- Premium AI writing add-ons as a substitute for a point of view
- Enterprise SSO features
Budget guardrails
- Prefer annual billing only after a 30-day trial proved you use the tool weekly.
- Cap contact tiers. Delete unengaged subscribers quarterly; it is cheaper and kinder.
- One automation live before building five drafts.
- Quarterly CSV exports from CRM and ESP to your drive.
- Revisit at $10k and $25k/mo revenue — the right stack changes with volume, not vanity.
Sample monthly math (annual billing, Snapshot v0.6)
| Line item | Low | Mid |
|---|---|---|
| Pipedrive Lite 1 seat | $14 | $14 |
| AC Starter (~1k) or Kit Creator | $15 | $33 |
| Calendly/Cal.com | $0 | $12 |
| Zapier (optional) | $0 | $20 |
| Sum | ~$29 | ~$79 |
Still under $100. Pipedrive Growth (~$39) alone still fits if you drop Zapier and keep Kit Free / AC Starter. Month-to-month stickers are higher (Lite ~$24) — prefer annual after a trial proves weekly use.
Outside the $100 (but still needed)
These are not CRM/email, but solos forget them:
- Domain + email: ~$6–$12/mo for Workspace/365 + ~$12/yr domain
- Accounting: Wave/FreeAgent/Bench alternatives vary; do not skip books
- Proposals/e-sign: Can stay manual (PDF + HelloSign free tier) early on
- Password manager: Non-negotiable
30-day implementation plan
Week 1: CRM stages, import contacts, connect calendar/email. Week 2: ESP domain authentication; import audience; write a 3-email welcome. Week 3: One lead magnet or newsletter CTA → tag → manual CRM deal rule. Week 4: Delete unused fields; schedule a recurring Friday pipeline review (30 minutes).
Bottom line
Under $100/mo is easy if you refuse platform maximalism. Pipedrive + Kit (or HubSpot Free + MailerLite) covers nearly every solo consulting motion until you have a real marketing hire or serious inbound volume.
Keep reading: Best CRM for solos · Email tools for agencies · Stack Cost Calculator · Admin Hours.