Copper Plans: Free vs Paid and Qualifying Tiers

Map must-haves to Copper 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 Copper plan that research shows carries it. Plan-gated in research: forecasting (Professional, Business); AI assistance (Professional, Business).
3. Highlight anything unclear and check it on /pricing/copper/ 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 Copper. 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. Basic — Entry tier. Research shows it carries contact management, lead management, pipeline management, and deal management. Choose it only when every must-have on your sheet appears here — otherwise its price is irrelevant to you.
2. Professional — Adds forecasting and AI assistance in our research on top of Basic. Choose it when at least one of those is a day-one must-have — not because it sits comfortably in the middle.
3. Business — Research shows the same capability list as Professional in our snapshot, so step up only for a reason you can name: seats, scale, governance, or support. Confirm what changes on the pricing page.

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

1. No free Copper plan in our snapshot — the question is trial vs Basic. Our snapshot records no trial length for Copper — ask for an evaluation window in writing before you commit seats.
2. Do must-haves sit on Basic? If no, entry price is irrelevant.
3. Can you prove the loop in the trial window with real deals? If no, ask for an extension in writing.
4. Prefer monthly while fit is unproven over a long annual term.

Worked example: a 12-person B2B advisory team runs a scoped trial with two sellers, then buys the qualifying plan — not Basic — for 12 seats.

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

1. List must-haves (M1…Mn).
2. For each Mi, find the lowest Copper plan that carries it.
3. Take the highest of those — that is the qualifying plan.
4. Check capacity. Confirm Copper seat/record caps on the pricing page. 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 Copper 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 Copper plan breaks a written constraint. Research: stronger for SMB teams standardized on Google Workspace and Relationship sellers living in Gmail; weaker for Microsoft 365-first orgs and Enterprises needing deep customization.
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 Copper tier missed a must-have, a 12-person B2B advisory team bought the qualifying plan or shortlisted Streak and HubSpot — they did not pretend the workaround was free.