Well, Brody was our only true puppy (12 weeks old) since Rhianna was already pee pad trained and 6 months old when we got her. Brody would not have anything to do with his crate . . .it sounded like he was getting murdered!
He would literally scream . . .So we ended up giving in for our sanity and gated him up in one room of our house . . .then little by little he was introduced to the rest of the downstairs.
Rhianna, since she was our second furbutt, had full use of the house when she arrived, but like I said, she was already pee pad trained.
The crate is supposedly the safest place for a young pup and they are supposed to feel secure . . .I'd give the crate a try first, and if didn't work out for you, you should keep the pup in just one area of your house until he is potty trained and able to walk around and not get into everything.