Best CRM Extensions for Gmail (2026): HubSpot vs Streak vs Salesflare
Judged on the part you actually live in, the sidebar inside your inbox, plus the free tiers and the trust question every Gmail CRM raises: it can read your whole inbox.
The short answer: for a lightweight CRM that lives entirely inside Gmail, pick Streak (best free, inbox-native). For a full CRM platform with a Gmail extension attached, pick HubSpot (generous free tier, scales, but pricey upgrades). For hands-off automatic logging, Salesflare. Whichever you choose, remember the catch: a Gmail CRM reads your inbox, so install only the real publisher's version and weigh the access.
Two kinds of "Gmail CRM"
The label covers two different things, and picking the wrong kind means either too little or too much tool:
Inbox-native CRMs live inside Gmail, your pipeline, contacts and notes are in the Gmail window. Streak is the purest example. Best when your work genuinely happens in email.
Full CRMs with a Gmail layer are standalone platforms (HubSpot, Salesflare, Copper, Pipedrive) whose extension brings a sidebar into Gmail. Best when you need a shared company CRM, reporting and automation, with Gmail as one surface among several.
This piece focuses on the in-Gmail experience, the sidebar, tracking, templates, what syncs, because that's what you touch all day. If you're looking for tools that find contacts to put into these CRMs, that's a different job, see our email finder extensions guide.
The comparison
Tool
Type
Free tier
Paid from
In-Gmail strength
Streak
Inbox-native
Yes
~$49/mo
Pipelines in the inbox
HubSpot Sales
Full CRM + layer
Yes (full)
Free; pro ~$90/mo
Tracking + contact panel
Salesflare
Full CRM + layer
Trial
~$29/mo
Auto-logging
Copper
Full CRM + layer
Trial
~$9/mo
Workspace-native feel
Pipedrive
Full CRM + add-on
Trial
~$14/mo
Visual pipeline sync
Mailtrack / Mixmax
Tracking layer
Yes (basic)
~$5–29/mo
Open/click tracking
Pricing as of June 2026 and changes often; HubSpot's free CRM is genuinely free, but unlocking its advanced sales tools is among the steeper upgrades. Check each vendor's current pricing.
How we compared them
We focus on observable, in-inbox things: does the sidebar surface useful context on the person you're emailing, does logging happen automatically or by hand, are templates and tracking built in, and what does the free tier actually include. We don't publish invented satisfaction scores. We also weigh the permissions each one asks of your Google account, because for a Gmail CRM that's not a footnote, it's central.
Streak has done one thing since 2011: be a CRM that runs entirely inside Gmail. Your pipelines, deals and contacts appear as part of the inbox, no separate app to switch to. For solos and small teams who live in email, it's the most natural fit, and the free tier is genuinely usable. The honest limitation: because everything is Gmail, it's less suited to a company that needs a shared platform with heavy reporting, and the jump to paid tiers is steep relative to its simplicity.
HubSpot's Gmail extension drops a contact/company panel and email tracking (opens, clicks) into your inbox, backed by a full free CRM that scales as you grow. The free tier is the most capable here for the money, which is to say, none. The honest limitation: the free CRM is real, but the genuinely powerful sales automation, sequences and reporting sits on higher tiers that get expensive quickly. Start free, but go in knowing the upgrade path is pricey.
Salesflare's pitch is zero manual data entry: it automatically logs your emails and meetings, and enriches contacts with company and social data pulled from your correspondence. If you hate updating a CRM by hand, it's the one to try. The honest limitation: there's no permanent free tier, and the automation requires deep access to your inbox and calendar to work its magic, useful, but the most data-hungry option here, which makes the permissions section below especially relevant.
Copper is built specifically around Google Workspace, so its Gmail and Calendar integration feels native rather than bolted on. A good pick for teams all-in on Workspace who want a CRM that matches that look and flow. The honest limitation: that Google-centric design is also a constraint if part of your stack lives outside Workspace.
Pipedrive is a popular visual-pipeline CRM, and its Gmail add-on syncs your inbox conversations into those deal stages. The right choice if you already run Pipedrive and want Gmail to feed it. The honest limitation: the Gmail layer is a bridge to the main app rather than a full in-inbox experience, so you'll still spend time in Pipedrive proper.
Not full CRMs, but worth knowing if all you need is the one CRM feature most people actually use: email tracking. Mailtrack does open/click tracking with a free tier; Mixmax adds templates, sequences and scheduling on top. The honest limitation: these are layers, not systems, you get tracking and light automation, but no real contact or deal management, so they suit people who want tracking without committing to a CRM.
The inbox-access tradeoff (read this before installing any of them)
Here's the part the listicles bury under feature tables. A Gmail CRM works by reading your email, that's how it logs conversations, surfaces contact history and tracks opens. So installing one means granting a third party broad access to your inbox, often the most sensitive data you have. That's not a reason to avoid them, it's the deal you're making, and it's worth making consciously.
Established providers are the safe default. HubSpot, Streak, Salesflare and Copper are widely used in business and operate under published privacy and security policies. The access is used to run the product, as described.
The danger is lookalikes. "Free Gmail CRM" and "email tracker" are exactly the kind of high-trust categories that attract clone extensions, which request the same inbox access with none of the accountability. Install only the verified publisher's extension.
On a work account, ask first. A CRM reading a shared or managed inbox is a data-governance decision; your Google Workspace admin may need to approve it, and some companies restrict it.
Before you grant inbox access: confirm the extension is the real vendor's, check exactly what Google-account permissions it requests, and prefer providers with a clear data-handling policy. The same logic we cover in how to tell if an extension is safe applies double when the data at stake is your entire inbox.
About to give a CRM access to your inbox? Vet it first with our Extension Safety Checker, it reads publisher, permissions and install signals in one pass. Free, no account.
Does it work with Google Workspace, Outlook and other browsers?
All the major Gmail CRMs here are built for Google Workspace as well as personal Gmail, with Copper the most Workspace-centric. Browser-wise, these are Chrome extensions, and because Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi are Chromium-based, they install there directly from the Chrome Web Store; Firefox support is thinner and Safari support is rare, since the workflow is desktop-Gmail-centred. For Outlook users, HubSpot, Salesflare and Pipedrive offer Outlook add-ins too, but Streak is Gmail-only by design. On a managed Workspace account, your admin may need to approve the extension before it can read mail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Streak and HubSpot lead. Streak's free plan adds a lightweight CRM and pipelines inside Gmail, ideal for solo users and small teams. HubSpot's free tier is a fuller CRM with contact management and email tracking that scales, though advanced sales tools get expensive. For solo Gmail use, start with Streak; if you expect to scale, start with HubSpot.
Streak lives entirely inside Gmail and is the simplest way to run a pipeline from your inbox, best for solo users and small teams. HubSpot is a full CRM platform with a Gmail extension attached, better if you need marketing, reporting and a CRM your whole company shares. Streak for inbox-first simplicity, HubSpot for a scalable platform.
It's a real tradeoff. A Gmail CRM needs to read your email to log conversations and track opens, so you grant broad inbox access. Established providers (HubSpot, Streak, Salesflare) handle this under published policies and are widely used in business. The risk is unknown or lookalike CRM extensions, install only the verified publisher's version and review what each requests.
Yes. Streak, HubSpot, Salesflare and Copper are all built for Google Workspace and Gmail, and Copper in particular is designed around Workspace. Your Workspace admin may need to approve the extension's access, so on a managed account check with IT before installing.
If you already run Salesforce, HubSpot or Pipedrive, use that vendor's own Gmail extension so data flows into the CRM you have, HubSpot and Pipedrive both offer Gmail add-ons that sync natively. Standalone Gmail CRMs like Streak are their own system rather than a sync layer, so choose based on whether you want a new CRM or a bridge to your current one.