Capsule Plans: Free vs Paid and Qualifying Tiers

Map must-haves to Capsule plan names before you compare starting tiles.

1. Write your day-one must-haves as a list, in outcome language.
2. Beside each one, write the lowest Capsule plan that research shows carries it. Plan-gated in research: lead management (Starter, Growth, Advanced, Ultimate); custom pipelines (Growth, Advanced, Ultimate); email sync (Starter, Growth, Advanced, Ultimate); email sequences (Starter, Growth, Advanced, Ultimate).
3. Highlight anything unclear and check it on /pricing/capsule/ or in the trial.
4. Note add-ons separately.
5. Ask which plan any demo runs on before you use it as evidence.

Worked example: a 12-person B2B advisory team needs contact management and lead management, email sync, and weekly reporting from Capsule. Two of those sit on the entry tier in research; the highest-gated one sets the plan, so they stop comparing anything cheaper.

Read these as capability tiers — not good / better / best marketing.

1. Free — Free start for a pilot pod or a solo operator. Research shows it carries contact management, pipeline management, and deal management. Research shows up to 2 users, up to 250 contacts, up to 1 pipeline, up to 5 custom fields. Outgrow it when you need lead management and email sync.
2. Starter — Adds lead management, email sync, email sequences, and reporting in our research on top of Free. Choose it when at least one of those is a day-one must-have — not because it sits comfortably in the middle. Research shows up to 30,000 contacts. Snapshot records a 14-day trial.
3. Growth — Adds custom pipelines, workflow automation, and sales automation in our research on top of Starter. Choose it when at least one of those is a day-one must-have — not because it sits comfortably in the middle. Research shows up to 60,000 contacts. Snapshot records a 14-day trial.
4. Advanced — Adds data enrichment in our research on top of Growth. Choose it when at least one of those is a day-one must-have — not because it sits comfortably in the middle. Research shows up to 120,000 contacts. Snapshot records a 14-day trial.
5. Ultimate — Quote-led tier — no public price in our snapshot. Ask which capabilities require this tier. Get gates, seats, and term in writing before you design around it. Research shows up to 240,000 contacts.

Worked example: a 12-person B2B advisory team drops Free once must-haves sit higher, and compares only the Capsule plans that clear every gate.

1. Do all day-one must-haves sit on Free? If no → paid.
2. Do seats fit? Free: up to 2 users, up to 250 contacts, up to 1 pipeline, up to 5 custom fields. A 12-seat team already exceeds Free (up to 2 in research).
3. Will you hit a record/object cap within two quarters? If yes → paid now.
4. Using free to defer a decision? Run a scoped trial with a decide-by date instead.

Worked example: a 12-person B2B advisory team cannot fit 12 people into Free, so free becomes a two-week sandbox — not the plan they run on.

Hand this five-line algorithm to anyone on the buying team.

1. List must-haves (M1…Mn).
2. For each Mi, find the lowest Capsule plan that carries it.
3. Take the highest of those — that is the qualifying plan.
4. Check capacity. Researched capacity limits: Free: up to 2 users, up to 250 contacts, up to 1 pipeline, up to 5 custom fields; Starter: up to 30,000 contacts; Growth: up to 60,000 contacts; Advanced: up to 120,000 contacts. If you do not fit, move up one tier.
5. Count seats honestly (sellers, managers, ops, paid viewers).

Then estimate that plan in the Cost Calculator; add admin / migration / training as categories, not invented totals.

Worked example: a 12-person B2B advisory team lands on a Capsule qualifying plan set by their highest-gated must-have, counts 12 seats plus ops, and prices only that combination.

1. Stay on the cheapest qualifying plan when must-haves and seats fit.
2. Step up when one must-have sits higher — buy the tier, skip the forever workaround.
3. Walk when the qualifying Capsule plan breaks a written constraint. Research: stronger for Small businesses wanting a simple CRM and Teams graduating from spreadsheets; weaker for Teams needing marketing automation or sales engagement suites and Enterprise orgs needing complex governance.
4. Write plan name, must-have that set it, and re-check date.
5. Use the worth-it guide for fit — not invented payback maths.

Worked example: when the cheap Capsule tier missed a must-have, a 12-person B2B advisory team bought the qualifying plan or shortlisted Streak and Pipedrive — they did not pretend the workaround was free.