Artisan vs Freshsales — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Freshsales starts at $11/mo. Artisan uses custom pricing — request a quote to compare.
See price history: Artisan · Freshsales
AI-native sales platform anchored by Ava, an autonomous AI SDR that finds prospects, writes personalized outreach, and books meetings. Pricing: enterprise-only starting ~$3K/mo per Ava agent, Multi-agent deployments custom. Popular with Series A-B startups scaling GTM without adding SDR headcount.
CRM from Freshworks (publicly traded, ~$5B market cap), positioned as the value alternative to Salesforce Starter and HubSpot Sales. Distinctive for its Freddy AI features built in at lower tiers rather than charged separately at competitors. Notable 2026 pricing move: cut Growth plan from $15 to $11/user in June 2026 to defend the low end against HubSpot Free and monday CRM. Popular with SMB sales teams that outgrew spreadsheets.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Artisan monthly | Artisan annual | Freshsales monthly | Freshsales annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | — / Free | — | — | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Ava / Growth | $3000 | $3000 | $11 | $9 |
| Pro / power | — / Pro | — | — | $47 | $39 |
| Enterprise | — / Enterprise | — | — | $71 | $59 |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Artisan is worth it if… scaling startups where founders don't want to hire and manage a 5-10 person SDR team. Ava at ~$3K/mo does the work of a low-mid tier SDR at 30% the cost.
Freshsales is worth it if… small-to-mid sales teams (5-50 reps) that want a CRM bundled inside the Freshworks ecosystem (Freshdesk, Freshchat, Freshcaller) — particularly if you value single-vendor simplicity over best-in-class. Growth is the entry paid tier; Pro adds advanced automation and territories; Enterprise adds AI-based lead scoring.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose Artisan over Freshsales if…
Choose Artisan if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, custom pricing).
- You match the profile Artisan is built for: scaling startups where founders don't want to hire and manage a 5-10 person SDR team.
- You need a general-purpose crm & sales option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Freshsales if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $11/mo).
- You match the profile Freshsales is built for: small-to-mid sales teams (5-50 reps) that want a CRM bundled inside the Freshworks ecosystem (Freshdesk, Freshchat, Freshcaller) — particularly if you value single-vendor simplicity over best-in-class.
- You need a general-purpose crm & sales option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Artisan | Freshsales | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Entry price | Custom | $11/mo |
| Enterprise available | No | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Seat | Per Seat |
| Last verified | — | September 14, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 14, 2026. Tracked daily.