What is The Role of CRM in Gaining Business Intelligence?

CRM is dead — and AI can’t come to the rescue fast enough

For quite some time, “best practice” has been to make connecting with actual live human beings as inconvenient as possible, encouraging otherwise recalcitrant customers to find online solutions to their problems. This isn’t even necessarily a bad idea. In many cases, once customers figure out how to use a DIY system they end up preferring it — a convenience win for the customer and a financial win for the vendor.

But there’s a wide gorge separating “inconvenient” from “impossible” (yes, I know, gorges are narrow by definition, but I didn’t like “canyon” or “channel” for the metaphor; also, my gorge was rising).

Where was I? Oh, yeah: It appears that in the lofty towers in which business decision-makers reside, making the customer experience dehumanizing isn’t good enough anymore. A fully de-humaned business appears to be the only satisfactory end-point.

What is The Role of CRM in Gaining Business Intelligence?

Remote Job Jargon—What CRM, KPIs, And 20 Other Acronyms Mean In 2024

Aug 14, 2024,03:30pm EDT

Trump And Harris Both Support ‘Tax-Free’ Tips—Here Are The Pros And Cons Of Eliminating Taxes On Tips”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:1,”title”:”Trump And Harris Both Support ‘Tax-Free’ Tips—Here Are The Pros And Cons Of Eliminating Taxes On Tips”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66bd04c32c4e2274e932c35d/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”03:30″,”amPm”:”pm”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723663849329},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2024/08/14/trump-and-harris-both-support-tax-free-tips-here-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-eliminating-taxes-on-tips/”}},”id”:”a56qbrphj9dk00″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,12:00pm EDT

business intelligence cycle – WaysUp

10 Fully Remote Jobs Hiring That Pay Up To $245,000 In 2024″,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:2,”title”:”10 Fully Remote Jobs Hiring That Pay Up To $245,000 In 2024″,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66bc9b003cfeaa3af6edd67d/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”12:00″,”amPm”:”pm”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723651211000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwells/2024/08/14/10-fully-remote-jobs-hiring-that-pay-up-to-245000-in-2024/”}},”id”:”drkq35mgklmo00″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,12:00pm EDT

Give Email – and Yourself – a Rest”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:3,”title”:”Give Email – and Yourself – a Rest”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66bbc6e41741a78b55126449/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”12:00″,”amPm”:”pm”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723651200000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/harmoncullinan/2024/08/14/give-email–and-yourself–a-rest/”}},”id”:”d84fggfal8h400″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,11:57am EDT

Integrating your CRM and Business Intelligence to Maximize Results
Integrating your CRM and Business Intelligence to Maximize Results

Didn’t Feel A Connection With The Interviewer? Here’s What To Do”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:4,”title”:”Didn’t Feel A Connection With The Interviewer? Here’s What To Do”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/65661b7c301af01a1c639fa2/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”11:57″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723651060308},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecenizalevine/2024/08/14/didnt-feel-a-connection-with-the-interviewer/”}},”id”:”22qnj8165keo00″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,11:00am EDT

5 Green Flags You Should Look Out For In Your Job Search”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:5,”title”:”5 Green Flags You Should Look Out For In Your Job Search”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66bb48b210c1c0e7cb7e9099/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”11:00″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723647600000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/shodewan/2024/08/14/5-green-flags-you-should-look-out-for-in-your-job-search/”}},”id”:”22a5p9hbqani00″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,06:00am EDT

The Role of Business Intelligence in a CRM – Salesforce Consulting

How To Politely Decline A Job Offer In 2024″,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:6,”title”:”How To Politely Decline A Job Offer In 2024″,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/64f75d0153bbd0d0411e8144/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”06:00″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723629600000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwells/2024/08/14/how-to-politely-decline-a-job-offer-in-2024/”}},”id”:”c8k6qnbikddk00″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,12:30am EDT

6 Tips For Using Your Phone Less While Working”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:7,”title”:”6 Tips For Using Your Phone Less While Working”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/665b042f858899a5f9c92545/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”12:30″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723609800000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/ginnyhogan/2024/08/14/logging-off-tips-for-using-your-phone-less-at-working/”}},”id”:”a2p3m9obnjh800″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 13, 2024,12:15pm EDT

Top 10 Resume Trends In 2024: What You Need To Know To Stand Out”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:8,”title”:”Top 10 Resume Trends In 2024: What You Need To Know To Stand Out”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66baacc63ccee60fc2ce815f/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 13, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”12:15″,”amPm”:”pm”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723565700000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinryan/2024/08/13/top-10-resume-trends-in-2024-what-you-need-to-know-to-stand-out/”}},”id”:”6fddhle0g9q400″}],”breakpoints”:[{“breakpoint”:”@media all and (max-width: 767px)”,”config”:{“enabled”:false}},{“breakpoint”:”@media all and (max-width: 768px)”,”config”:{“inView”:2,”slidesToScroll”:1}},{“breakpoint”:”@media all and (min-width: 1681px)”,”config”:{“inView”:6}}]};
Best CRM software of 2024

The best CRM software will integrate with almost every aspect of your business, helping you track customer relations, streamline processes, and boost sales. Many though also offer adjacent functionalities such as email marketing or helpdesk, fueled by the rise of AI.

But with countless CRMs to pick from, it can be difficult to know which one is right for your business. We have spent hundreds of hours testing the best CRMs on the market, now we have created this guide to help you find the ones that perfectly meets your needs.

Our experts have unpicked the main features and benefits of each platform we have reviewed and outlined the best solutions on the market for all business types. So, whether you are looking for the best CRM for small business or seeking out the best free CRM, we have what you are looking for.

Our top 3 best CRMThe best CRM software of 2024 in full:

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Best overall

(Image credit: Salesforce)

Best overall CRM

Specifications

Price: From $25 per user/mo

Free plan: No

Trial: 30 days

Support: Email ticketing and phone

Reasons to buy+

All-in-one functionality

+

Advanced customization

+

30-day free trial

+

Upfront pricing

Reasons to avoid-

Pricier than the competition

No free plan

Support requires login

Salesforce is a global leader in CRM, with advanced, customizable functionality, user-friendly design, and outstanding reporting tools. They proudly state on their website that “98% of customers meet or exceed their ROI goals” which is quite impressive.

The main CRM core is Salesforce Sales Cloud, which can be integrated with Marketing Cloud for email automation or with Einstein Analytics for AI-powered business intelligence, among others. While the lower Sales Cloud tiers are comparable with those from Zoho CRM or Apptivo, it’s the Enterprise Plan, or the even higher Unlimited Plan’s features that justify the higher prices.

These upper plan features include Workflow Approval and Automation, which can automate standard business processes, and Sales Teams that can designate the members of the team to work on the individual deal. Furthermore, on top of pipeline management, call and email logs, and customizable contact management, Enterprise plans and above include advanced reporting and prediction, app development, full sandbox, sophisticated process automations, and external system integrations via web services APIs.

The cost of Salesforce can get expensive on the upper tiers, considering that it is billed per each individual user. While there is also no free tier, we do appreciate the 30-day free trial that is available without a credit card, and does not require any software download. Another benefit is that the pricing is upfront, transparent, with a long list of features designated by the plan for ease of comparison.

In use, Salesforce Sales Cloud is intuitive and focuses on getting your leads over the line, but you can customize a significant part of your interface to suit your team’s needs, from dashboards to reports and contact forms. The support requires a login to connect directly. We did find the sales number in multiple places, but not any support number or email, giving us pause on any potential difficulty for direct communication should the need arise. Furthermore, there is a help area of the website with self-help content via a searchable database.

In large organizations, the app development and sandbox features can help make teams even more productive by customizing permissions and workflows across territories, customer verticals, and sales funnel stages.

Read our full Salesforce Service Cloud review.

Best for midsize businesses

(Image credit: Workbooks)

Best for midsize businesses

Specifications

Price: From $34 per user/mo

Free plan: Yes (up to 2 users)

Trial: 30 days

Support: Email, phone, Knowledge Base

Reasons to buy+

Involved and supportive onboarding

+

Low price for the number of features

+

Free consulting days

+

No credit card required for free tier

+

Free 30-day trial

Reasons to avoid-

Free version limited to two users

Choice limited to only two paid tiers

No large third-party app marketplace

Workbooks is an excellent CRM for midsize businesses, offering solutions for customer service, sales, marketing, and operations teams.

Its primary differentiator is its Shared Success program, which gives customers access to free consulting hours, along with annual workshops to ensure that Workbooks continues to align with a client’s business goals.

Workbooks lacks a diverse third-party app marketplace or developer community, unlike competitors such as Salesforce and HubSpot. Therefore, it might not be the best choice for users who require a large number of third-party customizations.

In addition, its free version is limited to only two users and has fewer features, which could make it less appealing to very small businesses. It also requires a business email, along with a phone number to sign up, but it does not require a credit card.

Paid tiers for this offering are limited to a choice of two: the lower one called CRM, and the higher one, Business. Each one costs a monthly fee for each user, and we note the lack of a volume discount for multiple users, and also the inflexibility in pricing that the only option is to pay annually, while other services offer a month-to-month price with an annual discount. We like the 30-day free trial, but keep in mind that there are a myriad of additional features available, each with a monthly cost that with several chosen, the cost can add up quickly. These additional cost features include multilingual, multi-currency, web analytics and intelligence, and audit trail among many others.

Overall, we think Workbooks is a fantastic CRM platform when used for its intended purpose – providing CRM software solutions to midsize organizations.

Read our full Workbooks review.

Best for start ups

(Image credit: Hubspot)

Best for free functionality

Specifications

Price: From $45 per two users/mo

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 14 days

Support: Live chat, phone, online meeting

Reasons to buy+

Powerful free CRM core

+

Website marketing integrations, including ad management

+

Free tier

+

Annual payment discounts

Reasons to avoid-

Marketing contacts limited to 2,000 on non-enterprise plans

Limited reporting functionality

Expensive beyond the free tier

HubSpot actually takes the #2 spot in our guide to the best CRM for startups, being beaten to the top position by Salesforce. However, HubSpot is a worthy competitor, beating Salesforce in some key areas. The platform earns its spot as best for start ups on this guide primarily due to its powerful free plan, offering starts ups a cost-free way to roll out a CRM during their fledgling days.

While several CRM providers offer free plans, none are as functional as the one from HubSpot CRM. The basics are well covered, including contact management, call and email logs, deal pipeline, and integrations with apps including Slack and Gmail. It even includes email scheduling, and Facebook Messenger integration-features that we did not expect at this level.

On paid plans, the core CRM is enriched with features from HubSpot’s Marketing, Sales, and Service Hubs, which then integrate nicely across these different offerings. With the marketing functionality, you can generate pop-up forms, chatbots, and ad retargeting on your website, as well as automate and track email campaigns. Premium sales features include deal assignment automation, customizable reports, and intelligent lead scoring to help focus your team’s efforts.

The biggest obstacle is that the contacts you can market to – for example, via bulk emails or ads – are limited to 2,000 on all plans apart from Enterprise, which has a limit of 10,000. However, you can store and track up to 1 million prospects.

While enviable, HubSpot’s combined sales and marketing functionality comes with a steep price. Moving up from the free tier gets us to the Professional tier at a cost of $450/month. While it does support 5 users at that price, has a product library and forecasting, and supports eSignatures, that price point may be a barrier for smaller businesses. We think it is a missed opportunity that there are no additional tiers of plans to choose from, with an appropriately lower price of entry.

Read our full HubSpot CRM review.

Best for small business

(Image credit: Freshsales)

Best for small business

Specifications

Price: $15 per user/mo

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 21 days

Support: Phone and email (Mon-Fri)

Reasons to buy+

Intuitive, user-friendly interface

+

Strong sales features, including built-in phone

+

Free tier and 21-day free trial for paid tiers

+

Direct support options

Reasons to avoid-

No business card scanning tool

No internet-scraping lead generation feature

Freshsales works best for small to medium businesses that prioritize ease of use over advanced customization.

Its desktop and mobile interface is highly intuitive, including quick access to contact records and communications, and drag-and-drop Kanban-style boards for sales pipeline management. Its intelligent assistant tool, Freddy AI, can also help suggest which deals to close and how if you give it sufficient historical data to work with.

Its main focus is on sales team productivity and deal closure. You can integrate your email client – including Microsoft Outlook and Gmail – into the software, enabling you to create email templates, send bulk emails to prospects, and log incoming and outgoing messages. It is also designed to integrate with other tools including PayPal, DocuSign, Slack and Intuit Quickbooks for a streamlined workflow.

Furthermore, there’s an in-built calling tool with a recording feature that automatically updates customer communication records. We also like that when it comes to support, there is a toll-free number, along with a direct email for getting directly in touch should the need arise for some help.

Freshsales CRM is limited in terms of lead generation tools, such as business card scanners. It does, however, feature customizable web forms, capturing lead data from your website and automatically assigning sales leads. Other features include several thousand Bot sessions per month depending on the plan, a visual sales pipeline, and Contact Lifestyle management.

There are four plans: a free tier, and three paid tiers. The free tier, while it has its limits, does still have 24/5 support, along with a mobile app. Paid tiers progressively add more features up to the top Enterprise plan with a dedicated account manager, audit logs, and AI-based forecasting insights.

Read our full Freshsales review to learn more about the sales-focused CRM; our Freshdesk review to find out about its customer engagement CRM; our Freshmarketer review to learn about the marketing CRM element; and Freshservice to discover its IT support CRM.

Best for collaboration

(Image credit: Apptivo)

Best for business collaboration

Specifications

Pricing: From $10 per user per month

Free plan: No

Trial: 30 days

Support: Email and Telephone

Reasons to buy+

Affordable

+

Very customizable

+

Intuitive interface

Reasons to avoid-

Difficult to set up

Integrations need improvement

Apptivo is a comprehensive platform for business management and collaboration, with a CRM tool included. The Apptivo CRM is famous for its simplicity and scalability. It has a minimal and uncluttered interface that makes it easy to navigate. It’s also very customizable; you can create your unique views, fields, and layouts to simplify your business workflow. Most of the customization occurs with a drag-and-drop workflow, which makes it easy to implement.

This CRM has a mobile app that enables you to manage your sales leads on the go. You can do this from anywhere with your smartphone, especially where it’s uncomfortable to use your workstation, e.g., during a commute.

Apptivo has integrations with many other tools to help customers improve their workflow. For example, its integration with Google’s G Suite and Microsoft’s Office 365 makes it easy to send invitations to customers or potential clients outside an organization. Yet, we observed customer complaints about Apptivo’s integrations being difficult to implement and work with.

With this CRM, you can create and manage leads for your business with ease. You can also use the activity tracking tool to manage your routine tasks and ensure you or your colleagues don’t fall behind on important tasks. You can get a detailed overview of your notes, emails, calls, scheduled meetings, follow-ups, etc. The contact management tool enables you to track all your contacts in one centralized dashboard and reach out to them when need be, and you can also do the same for your customers.

A major advantage of using Apptivo is that it’s more than just a CRM tool. It has many other useful products for businesses, such as an email marketing tool, an invoicing and billing tool, a procurement management tool, etc. However, these tools aren’t free; you’ll need to pay for them in addition to your CRM bill.

Read our full Apptivo review.

Best for project management

(Image credit: monday.com)

A winning combination of clever tools and accessible features

Reasons to buy+

Attractive interface

+

Useful project visualization tools

+

Supports integrations with other platforms

+

Encourages transparency and accountability

Reasons to avoid-

Expensive if you have a large team

Lacks advanced task tracking features

Monday.com is a dedicated project management system designed to give you a flexible and transparent way to organize your work. With a highly visual scheduling interface and customizable workflows, Monday.com adapts to the unique way members of your team approach their projects.

There are four different levels of Monday.com membership: Basic, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise. Prices vary depending on the number of user accounts you require, with the cheapest memberships only allowing you to add two users and top-end options supporting more than 200 accounts.

Monday.com is the ideal project management tool for anyone looking for an accessible system that their team will actually use. Unfortunately, some important features, like calendar views, are only available with its more expensive subscriptions. All the same, Monday.com stands out for its slick design and adaptable third-party integrations.

Read our full Monday.com review.

Best for business tool integration

(Image credit: Zoho)

Best overall toolkit

Specifications

Price: From $14 per user a month

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 15 days

Support: Email (Mon-Fri)

Reasons to buy+

Integration with the Zoho suite

+

Social media lead generation

+

Workflow automation and customization

+

Free trial

Reasons to avoid-

Steep learning curve

Limited customer support

Lacks free tier

We think Zoho CRM would work well for most people who are looking for a sales management solution. It does all the basics well – contact and pipeline management, communications tracking, workflow automation, and reporting. Further improving its reputation is that it is trusted by about 250,000 businesses worldwide, such as Suzuki, Bose and Purolite.

But its added value is in integrating with other apps from the Zoho sales, marketing, and project management suite, including Zoho Invoice and Zoho Campaigns, which can input valuable prospect data into your pipeline. Moreover, Zoho CRM can scrape contact details from social networks and scan business cards, making it a powerful lead-generation system.

In use, the product is highly customizable: you can add fields to contact records, create lead assignment rules, and even personalize the look and feel of your CRM interface to maximize internal usage. Reporting and analytics features are also strong, including customizable performance reports and visualization tools.

Unfortunately, there is no free tier, but there is a free trial that can last for 15 days. While it does not require a credit card, it does need a work email and phone number, and any of the tiers can be tried. The entry-level plan, known as Standard features advanced functionality with multiple currencies, advanced filters, sales forecasting, and multiple pipelines. On higher tiers, the Enterprise and Ultimate plans, you get the Zia AI feature, which recommends what leads to focus on and what emails to write, as well as how to assign workflow. There is also flexibility in payment, whether month to month or alternatively for a discount, annually.

Read our full Zoho CRM review.

Best for email marketing

(Image credit: Keap)

Best for email marketing

Specifications

Price: From $40 per user/month

Free plan: No

Trial: 14 days

Support: Online chat, phone, community

Reasons to buy+

Unlimited email marketing

+

Worflow automation

+

Very easy to use

+

Choice to pay monthly or annually

Reasons to avoid-

Limited contact storage

Limited reporting

Free trial too short

Keap is not your typical CRM software. Its combined set of features blurs the line between sales and marketing, with native payments, appointment booking, and email marketing functionality built on top of a core contact and pipeline management system.

Keap helps you convert leads through advanced marketing campaigns and save time through workflow automations and payment integration. Features include lead & Client management, sales pipeline, and analysis, text marketing, and email marketing. A straightforward interface and generous support options make Keap highly accessible even for the most novice CRM users.

Unfortunately, Keap does not have a free tier, and while there is an offer of a free trial, it is limited to only 14 days, which is shorter than some of its competitors. The paid tiers are only two: Pro and Max. However, each tier includes a certain number of contacts, 1,500 on the lower tier by way of example, and only 2 users for the subscription fee. Adding contacts beyond that come at an additional cost, and the same situation for additional users, although it is less expensive than getting another individual subscription so at least there is a discount of sorts.

With Keap, you can get started straight away and reap benefits from email campaigns and automated triggers without a huge learning curve.

Read our full Keap review.

Best for automation

(Image credit: Insightly)

Best for project management

Specifications

Price: From $29 per user/mo

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 14 days

Support: Email and phone (at additional cost)

Reasons to buy+

Integrated project management tools

+

User-friendly interface

+

250+ app integrations available

Reasons to avoid-

No live support options included with plans

Inbuilt telephony feature costs extra

Lacks free tier

Insightly is a great CRM system for managing complex sales pipelines, as you’re able to customize contact data fields, sales funnel stages, and more.

Workflow automation, including scheduling emails when sales stages change, can save a lot of time and refocus team efforts on nurturing relationships. The CRM offering has three tiers, but all of them are paid, and there is no free tier.

Another strong point is its integration capabilities: contact sheets can integrate social media posts, while communications can be drawn from Mailchimp, Microsoft Outlook, and other programs.

Also, Insightly’s reporting function can work with Microsoft Power BI to create advanced custom dashboards and reports, helping you measure and plan your sales productivity.

That said, lead generation features are slim: while Insightly features a mobile business card scanner, it’s not able to scrape the internet for new leads. We do like the Insightly mobile smartphone apps, which integrate well with features such as mobile voice notes, and the aforementioned mobile business card scanner. You don’t get much hand-holding, either: Insightly’s plans include only email and knowledge base support, and phone assistance has an added cost.

Read our full Insightly CRM review.

Best for communication

(Image credit: Bitrix24)

Best for communication

Specifications

Pricing: From $49 per user per month

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 30 days

Support: Email, live chat, and Telephone

Reasons to buy+

Supports unlimited contacts

+

Free version available

+

Multi-channel communication

Reasons to avoid-

Steep learning curve

UI needs improvement

Bitrix24 is an all-in-one CRM platform that does much more than generate and manage leads. Apart from that, you can use it to automate your workflows and monitor the activities of your sales representatives with ease. You can also run marketing campaigns and build landing pages to entice leads using this platform.

Bitrix24 offers a mobile CRM platform that you can use to manage clients on the go. This mobile app gives you access to the features you’ll normally find on the website. For example, you can use the sales funnel tool to get a breakdown of your sales results and track KPIs to see if your sales team is reaching its targets. You can also use chat or video calls to communicate with clients and leads.

This platform provides the tools that let you capture a lead and convert it into a customer. You can use the free website templates to build landing pages and collect contact information from leads. Afterward, you can start communicating with them to convince them to become a customer. You can build your custom sales pipeline with stages specific to your product and manage all your leads from a centralized dashboard.

The main drawback of using Bitrix24 is that its interface isn’t as smooth and easy to navigate as some other CRM tools on this list. There’s a steep learning curve to follow if you want to get familiar with the platform either as an end user or administrator.

Read our full Bitrix24 review here.

Best for user experience

(Image credit: Pipedrive)

Best for user experience

Specifications

Pricing: From $10 per user per month

Free plan: No

Trial: 14 days

Support: Email and live chat

Reasons to buy+

Very easy to use

+

Affordable

+

Customizable sales pipelines

Reasons to avoid-

No free version

Reporting needs improvement

No phone support

Pipedrive is a cloud-based CRM tool that’s younger than many on this list; it was founded in 2010. Yet, in a relatively short while, it has amassed a user base of over 100,000 businesses around the globe. The platform boasts of being “designed by salespeople, for salespeople”.

Pipedrive makes it easy to set up a sales pipeline for your products and services and follow up on different steps of the pipeline to close a sale. You can create the stages for your pipeline by yourself or use an existing template to make it easier. You can add deals or import them from a spreadsheet or from an external CRM into the pipeline.

If you’re dealing with many leads, you’ll like that Pipedrive lets you set automatic alerts and reminders to ensure you’re on top of your deals. You can also update your sales forecast each time you progress through a deal to reflect your organization’s expectation for increased sales.

A unique thing about Pipedrive is that it incorporates artificial intelligence (AI). There’s an AI-powered Sales Assistant that helps you decide what to do to close your deals and automate mundane tasks. For example, the assistant can analyze your sales actions and suggest methods to make your workflow smoother. It can track email opens and community discussions and give you activity reminders to keep you attuned to your deals.

A major drawback of using Pipedrive is that there’s no free version. However, you can take advantage of the 14-day free trial period to test its features before making your final purchase decision. Besides, Pipedrive is one of the most affordable CRM tools, starting at just $10 per user per month, compared to a rival like Salesforce which starts at $25 for the same period.

Read our full Pipedrive CRM review.

The best CRM software comparedSwipe to scroll horizontallyCRM softwareScoreLowest monthly feeFree versionKey featuresSupportSalesforce5$25 per user30-day free trialSophisticated workflow automation; Enterprise app developmentEmail ticketing and toll-free phoneWorkbooks5$34 per userFree plan; 30-day free trialCoaching program, supportive onboardingEmail, phone, knowledge baseHubSpot4.5$45 per two usersFree plan; 14-day free trialCombined sales and marketing workflow; Website usage analyticsLive chat, phone, and online meeting supportFreshsales4.5$15 per userFree plan; 21-day free trialDeal management AI; In-built calling toolPhone and email support, Mon–FriApptivo4.5$10 per userFree starter planUnique bundled series of apps; customizable and scaleable24/7 support via email and live chat; live phone support on weekdays.Zoho CRM4$14 per userFree plan; 15-day free trialLead generation through website scraping; Deal management AIEmail support, Mon–FriKeap4$40 first user then $30 per user14-day free trialUnlimited email marketingOnline chat, phone, communityInsightly4$29 per userFree plan; Two-week trialDatabase and workflow customization; Powerful reporting integrationsEmail support only; Premium phone and training support costs $1500/ yearBitrix244$39 per monthFree planComprehensive commnuications platform; website builderLive chat; knowledge baseMonday.com4$8 a seat per monthFree for individualsVisual project management; accessible systemKnowledge base; live chat, email, callPipedrive3$14.50 per user per month14-day free trialUser friendly; easy-to-use for small businesses24/7 email and chatHow we tested the best CRM software

When we review CRM software, we look at indicators including feature set, interface and ease of use, plans and pricing, and support options.

A high level of automation capability in managing leads, deals, and workflow is an example feature that could contribute towards a high score. Another important strength would be a desktop and mobile interface allowing quick, intuitive access to basic features.

We look at pricing plans and competitors to check whether higher subscription prices are warranted by features you can’t find elsewhere in the market, or whether a good deal could benefit those with lower budgets.

Generous customer support options are also prioritized, especially for CRM software which may come with a steep learning curve.

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.

How to choose the best CRM for you

Wondering how to pick the best CRM for you? Here is what to look out for:

Features

The focus of each CRM software solution varies from project management tools to marketing automation to lead generation, so look for the specs that fit your requirements.

Take time to assess the features list and see how many will work for you and your business. Many CRM platforms offer a free plan or free trial, this can be an excellent way to really get to grips with whether a CRM offers everything you need.

Price

Price can play a major role in which CRM you choose. Research the plans on offer from the CRMs that meet your needs. Some CRMs offer a free plan, but these can be limited in what they offer.

When possible, pick a plan that gives you everything you need, but not one where you are paying for features or limits that you won’t use.

Although you may not be using it straight away, it can also be worth assessing higher tier plans that are on offer from your CRM of choice. As you grow, knowing there are affordable plans available will save you considerable time and effort migrating to a different platform.

Integrations

CRMs are all about speeding up business processes. Finding a CRM that seamlessly integrates with your other business tools, or offers integrations with tools you would benefit from, can save you considerable time and money.

Best CRM software FAQsWhat is a CRM?

Let’s start with the basics: CRM helps you manage relationships with business prospects, close deals, and make your internal resources more productive.

In practice, it enables you to do the following:

Store data about your contacts, including names, job titles, emails, and phone numbers.Assign and track workflow tasks to sales teams, such as sending follow-up emails, writing business proposals, and tracking invoices.Analyze and improve the effectiveness of sales and marketing activities through generating custom reports, forecasting future revenue, and anticipating sales bottlenecks.

Many CRM solutions, such as Salesforce above, offer desktop and mobile apps. (Image credit: Salesforce)

Without a CRM solution, you’d be doing significant manual work to store, track, and interact with contacts, and the sales pipeline would be more sluggish without automation or reminders.

Many CRM solutions can integrate with software including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, Mailchimp, and business intelligence programs such as Microsoft Power BI.

Populating your CRM database with customer data from elsewhere tends to be seamless: most providers allow imports from spreadsheets or contact apps such as Google Contacts.

How does CRM software integrate with the sales pipeline?

Here’s a quick example: Someone in sales could begin by scanning a prospect’s business card, then create a follow-up task, log a phone call, send an email campaign, see recent social media posts, close a deal, and track the status of the project—all in the same software solution. This is how CRM integrates with the sales pipeline.

How much does the best CRM software cost?

CRM software is usually priced as a monthly or yearly subscription, with plans varying in feature complexity. Usually, the quoted price is per user, unless stated otherwise.

Many vendors offer unlimited free tiers, while paid plans grow in functionality from Starter to Professional to Enterprise. Sometimes, add-ons come at an extra cost; for example, phone credits, premium support, or access to automated marketing tools.

The first paid tier in CRM software, which generally works well for small businesses, tends to be between $8 to $29 a month per user, charged on a yearly basis.

Mid-tier plans fit growing businesses and are priced between $20 to $75 a month. As a benchmark, Zoho CRM packs a competitive set of features in its affordable $23 monthly Professional plan.

Finally, the Enterprise tiers tend to be on the expensive side, offering customization options and a higher level of support: the range is from $40 to $150 monthly, with HubSpot’s full CRM suite reaching a whopping $4,000 a month.

What can a CRM do?Does my small business need a CRM?

We’ve also listed the best cloud CRM.

Get in touchYou’ve reached the end of the page. Jump back up to the top ^
CRM is dead — and AI can’t come to the rescue fast enough

For quite some time, “best practice” has been to make connecting with actual live human beings as inconvenient as possible, encouraging otherwise recalcitrant customers to find online solutions to their problems. This isn’t even necessarily a bad idea. In many cases, once customers figure out how to use a DIY system they end up preferring it — a convenience win for the customer and a financial win for the vendor.

But there’s a wide gorge separating “inconvenient” from “impossible” (yes, I know, gorges are narrow by definition, but I didn’t like “canyon” or “channel” for the metaphor; also, my gorge was rising).

Where was I? Oh, yeah: It appears that in the lofty towers in which business decision-makers reside, making the customer experience dehumanizing isn’t good enough anymore. A fully de-humaned business appears to be the only satisfactory end-point.

Remote Job Jargon—What CRM, KPIs, And 20 Other Acronyms Mean In 2024

Aug 14, 2024,03:30pm EDT

Trump And Harris Both Support ‘Tax-Free’ Tips—Here Are The Pros And Cons Of Eliminating Taxes On Tips”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:1,”title”:”Trump And Harris Both Support ‘Tax-Free’ Tips—Here Are The Pros And Cons Of Eliminating Taxes On Tips”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66bd04c32c4e2274e932c35d/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”03:30″,”amPm”:”pm”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723663849329},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2024/08/14/trump-and-harris-both-support-tax-free-tips-here-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-eliminating-taxes-on-tips/”}},”id”:”a56qbrphj9dk00″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,12:00pm EDT

10 Fully Remote Jobs Hiring That Pay Up To $245,000 In 2024″,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:2,”title”:”10 Fully Remote Jobs Hiring That Pay Up To $245,000 In 2024″,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66bc9b003cfeaa3af6edd67d/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”12:00″,”amPm”:”pm”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723651211000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwells/2024/08/14/10-fully-remote-jobs-hiring-that-pay-up-to-245000-in-2024/”}},”id”:”drkq35mgklmo00″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,12:00pm EDT

Give Email – and Yourself – a Rest”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:3,”title”:”Give Email – and Yourself – a Rest”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66bbc6e41741a78b55126449/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”12:00″,”amPm”:”pm”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723651200000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/harmoncullinan/2024/08/14/give-email–and-yourself–a-rest/”}},”id”:”d84fggfal8h400″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,11:57am EDT

Didn’t Feel A Connection With The Interviewer? Here’s What To Do”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:4,”title”:”Didn’t Feel A Connection With The Interviewer? Here’s What To Do”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/65661b7c301af01a1c639fa2/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”11:57″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723651060308},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecenizalevine/2024/08/14/didnt-feel-a-connection-with-the-interviewer/”}},”id”:”22qnj8165keo00″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,11:00am EDT

5 Green Flags You Should Look Out For In Your Job Search”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:5,”title”:”5 Green Flags You Should Look Out For In Your Job Search”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66bb48b210c1c0e7cb7e9099/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”11:00″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723647600000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/shodewan/2024/08/14/5-green-flags-you-should-look-out-for-in-your-job-search/”}},”id”:”22a5p9hbqani00″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,06:00am EDT

How To Politely Decline A Job Offer In 2024″,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:6,”title”:”How To Politely Decline A Job Offer In 2024″,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/64f75d0153bbd0d0411e8144/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”06:00″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723629600000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwells/2024/08/14/how-to-politely-decline-a-job-offer-in-2024/”}},”id”:”c8k6qnbikddk00″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 14, 2024,12:30am EDT

6 Tips For Using Your Phone Less While Working”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:7,”title”:”6 Tips For Using Your Phone Less While Working”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/665b042f858899a5f9c92545/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 14, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”12:30″,”amPm”:”am”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723609800000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/ginnyhogan/2024/08/14/logging-off-tips-for-using-your-phone-less-at-working/”}},”id”:”a2p3m9obnjh800″},{“textContent”:”

Aug 13, 2024,12:15pm EDT

Top 10 Resume Trends In 2024: What You Need To Know To Stand Out”,”scope”:{“topStory”:{“index”:8,”title”:”Top 10 Resume Trends In 2024: What You Need To Know To Stand Out”,”image”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66baacc63ccee60fc2ce815f/290×0.jpg”,”isHappeningNowArticle”:false,”date”:{“monthDayYear”:”Aug 13, 2024″,”hourMinute”:”12:15″,”amPm”:”pm”,”isEDT”:true,”unformattedDate”:1723565700000},”uri”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinryan/2024/08/13/top-10-resume-trends-in-2024-what-you-need-to-know-to-stand-out/”}},”id”:”6fddhle0g9q400″}],”breakpoints”:[{“breakpoint”:”@media all and (max-width: 767px)”,”config”:{“enabled”:false}},{“breakpoint”:”@media all and (max-width: 768px)”,”config”:{“inView”:2,”slidesToScroll”:1}},{“breakpoint”:”@media all and (min-width: 1681px)”,”config”:{“inView”:6}}]};
5 Best Marketing CRM for 2024 Best free CRM with available upgrades: HubSpot Best enterprise marketing and CRM solution: Salesforce Best for social media marketing: Zoho CRM Best for team collaboration: monday CRM Best for creating email marketing campaigns: Pipedrive

Marketing CRM software is a sales solution that specifically aids businesses in creating and managing lead generation and nurturing through digital or in-person campaigns. Campaigns and strategies you can implement include email marketing, social media marketing, digital content marketing, in-person events, referral programs and so much more. Marketing CRM tools can manage all this, plus track how prospects interact with your content, all while promoting a positive perception of your brand.

1 monday CRM

Employees per Company Size

Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+)

Any Company Size Any Company Size

Features

Calendar, Collaboration Tools, Contact Management, and more

3 HubSpot CRM

Employees per Company Size

Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+)

Micro (0-49 Employees), Medium (250-999 Employees), Large (1,000-4,999 Employees), Small (50-249 Employees) Micro, Medium, Large, Small

Top marketing CRM software comparison

CRM providers typically offer marketing products in tandem with sales tools or they offer marketing features embedded into the sales CRM itself. If your business is looking for a CRM provider with advanced marketing functionality, key features to consider are content generation, such as email templates, integrations and general marketing automations.

PREMIUM: Choosing the right CRM for your organization

Below, I review top sales CRM providers for their marketing expertise and capabilities. My list of the best marketing CRM software providers includes HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM and others. I list out pricing details, pros and cons, and identify ideal use cases for each to help you pinpoint which provider best fits your marketing needs.

SoftwareMarketing automationsContent generationIntegrationsFree versionStarting premium pricing HubSpotYesYes1,500+Yes$15 per user per month SalesforceYesYes7,000+No$25 per user per month Zoho CRMYesYes900+Yes$14 per user per month Monday CRMYesLimited150+Limited$12 per user per month PipedriveYesYes350+No$14 per user per month Priced when billed annually HubSpot: Best free CRM with available upgrades

Star rating: 4/5

Image: HubSpot

HubSpot has a product called HubSpot Marketing Hub that offers both free and paid features. Within the free CRM tool, users can access email marketing, web forms, live chat, ad management and mobile optimization. If your business wants more marketing tools and is in a position to purchase a paid subscription, then multiple currencies, email health insights, social media integrations and adaptive testing are advanced features that are up for grabs.

Pricing Free CRM: Free for up to five users with contact management, quotes, live chat and more. Sales Hub Starter: $15 per seat per month, billed annually, or $20 when billed monthly. The Starter plan includes all free tools, plus simple automation, e-signature, conversation routing and more. Sales Hub Professional: $90 per seat per month, billed annually, or $100 when billed monthly, plus a one-time $1,500 onboarding fee. This plan includes all Starter features and prospecting workspace, playbooks, forecasting and more. Sales Hub Enterprise: $150 per seat per month, with an annual commitment and a one-time $3,500 onboarding fee. Users receive all Professional tools, plus advanced permissions, predictive lead scoring, conversation intelligence and lead form routing. Marketing Hub Free: $0 per month for up to five users. Marketing Hub Starter: $15 per seat per month, billed annually, or $20 when billed monthly. Marketing Customer Platform: $15 per seat per month, billed annually, or $20 when billed monthly. Marketing Hub Professional: $800 per month, billed annually, or $890 when billed monthly. This includes three seats with additional seats starting at $45 per month. Marketing Hub Enterprise: $3,600 per month and includes five seats. Additional seats start at $75 per month. Features A/B testing: Implement adaptive testing of different marketing strategies by receiving real-time feedback and insight into campaign success. Web forms: Generate leads directly from your business website by building online forms. Marketing campaign management: Align marketing and sales teams by allowing collaboration in one central place. Task tracker within campaign management tool. Image: HubSpot HubSpot pros and cons ProsCons Users report easy platform setup.No free trial for paid plans. 24/7 user support for paid plans.No live support for free users. Offers a variety of free tools and templates.Users report lacking reporting features. Why I chose HubSpot

HubSpot is the ultimate free CRM software for its rich marketing, sales and support features. As a popular provider thanks to its usability and user support, HubSpot can be a great choice for businesses that are new to using a CRM, want an affordable option or aim to level up their lead generation strategies.

HubSpot’s free CRM is extremely useful, but those upgrades can be costly for small businesses. For a free CRM with more affordable premium upgrades, I would recommend checking out Zoho CRM.

For more information, read the full HubSpot review.

Salesforce: Best enterprise marketing and CRM solution

Star rating: 4.1/5

Image: Salesforce

Salesforce is enterprise CRM software built to handle the needs of large organizations. As one of the most flexible sales solutions, Salesforce allows enterprises to add niche elements and custom app integrations. It offers a marketing solution that can organize campaigns and assets and associate them with sales activities. This allows users to accurately communicate ROI to stakeholders and make strategy decisions based on campaign data history with reporting features.

Pricing Starter Suite: $25 per user per month, billed annually. Users get account, contact, lead and opportunity management, as well as the mobile app, email integration and more. Professional: $80 per user per month, billed annually. The Professional plan includes everything in the Starter Suite plus Sales Cloud, full offline functionality and more. Enterprise: $165 per user per month, billed annually. This tier offers opportunity scoring and deal insights plus data synchronization and harmonization. Unlimited: $330 per user per month, billed annually. The Unlimited tier includes all features mentioned above plus developer pro sandbox, lead scoring and five campaigns per opportunity. Einstein 1 Sales: $500 per user per month, billed annually. This tier includes all Salesforce CRM features like collaboration tools via knowledge shares and Slack and more. Marketing Cloud Engagement: $1,250 per organization per month, billed annually. Includes email marketing, content creation and robust analytics. Marketing Cloud Account Engagement: $1,250 per organization per month, billed annually. This tier includes up to 10,000 contacts, lead nurturing and scoring, engagement history backboards and campaign reporting. Marketing Cloud Growth Edition: $1,500 per organization per month, billed annually. This includes AI-powered emails and campaigns, multi-channel journeys and landing pages. Data Cloud for Marketing: $108,000 per organization per year. These subscriptions unify data into a single customer profile with data ingestion, harmonization and insights and predictive analytics. Marketing Cloud Personalization: $108,000 per organization per year. Includes web and email personalization, segmentation, rule-based decisioning, A/B testing and reporting and product and content recommendations. Features Content creation and selection: Use generative AI that learns from your brand and campaign data to create copy and visual content. SMS messaging: Manage and track SMS messages by sending alerts and transactional messages to customers using templates and a drag-and-drop interface. Marketing analytics: Optimize spend and customer engagement by unifying performance data, automate reporting and identify performance opportunities with AI-backed insights. Einstein AI marketing insights. Image: Salesforce Salesforce pros and cons ProsCons 30-day free trial.Users report time-consuming implementation and setup. Provides customizable reports and dashboards.Software might be too complex for small businesses. Offers powerful automations for marketing and sales processes.An extensive catalog of features and products can make Salesforce complicated. Why I chose Salesforce

Salesforce is another popular CRM that is ideal for teams with complex sales cycles that rely on accurate data to make business decisions. Salesforce has the ability to generate custom CRM reports, display in-depth analytics and produce real-time forecasts. Additionally, its mobile CRM allows reps to access critical data on the go.

If cost is a bigger concern, Zoho CRM offers a fair amount of customization at a much more affordable rate. Though it’s not as flexible a platform as Salesforce, Zoho CRM costs between $14 and $52 per user per month, and a free version is also available. For this reason, Zoho CRM is an inexpensive alternative to Salesforce.

To learn more about this provider, check out our Salesforce review.

Features AI email predictions: AI assistant Zia can suggest the best time to contact each lead to get the best results, such as email open rates. Real-time notifications: Receive real-time notifications for every client interaction by integrating any app to get all alerts on one platform. Automated lead generation: Set up triggers to automatically add new leads or contacts from social media based on their interaction with your brand to cut out manual data entry. Automate lead generation from social media. Image: Zoho CRM Zoho CRM pros and cons ProsCons 15-day free trial.Users report inconsistent customer support. High level of customization options throughout the dashboard.Add-on features can get pricey. Offers advanced team collaboration features.Users report a learning curve with the platform interface. Why I chose Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is a leading CRM provider due to its multichannel marketing management, sharp sales tools and affordability. This makes it appealing software for startups or small businesses. If you’re a business already familiar with CRM software and are in need of a tool to help generate and nurture leads, Zoho CRM is a great choice for its moderate learning curve but strong customizations.

Since there are multiple user reports of the Zoho CRM interface being difficult to use, Pipedrive is a suitable alternative for those seeking simplicity. Even though PIpedrive is more expensive than Zoho CRM, all Pipedrive plans include AI sales tools and 24/7 customer support, in addition to an intuitive visual interface.

Head over to our Zoho CRM review for more information on this CRM provider.

monday CRM: Best for team collaboration

Star rating: 3.6/5

Image: monday CRM

monday CRM is a visual CRM platform that offers advanced collaboration tools and colorful dashboards that are simple to set up and use. Any user with permission and access can co-edit and comment in real time. With the clean interface, users can collaboratively organize deals, projects and campaigns on the kanban boards that include assignment tabs, color-coded statuses, document tracking and deadlines.

Pricing Free version: Basic CRM offerings only available for students and nonprofit organizations after submitting an application. Basic CRM: $12 per user per month when billed annually, or $15 when billed monthly. This tier offers unlimited pipelines, boards and contacts, as well as templates for lead, contact and deal management. Standard CRM: $17 per user per month when billed annually, or $20 when billed monthly. This includes advanced account, contact and deal management, two-way email integration with Gmail and Outlook, and AI email generator. Pro CRM: $28 per user per month when billed annually, or $33 when billed monthly. This tier includes Sales forecasting, email templates with custom parameters, mass emails and added integrations. Enterprise CRM: Contact monday.com for a quote. This level of support offers lead scoring, team goals and advanced analytics. Features Activity management: Log all lead or contact-related activity, such as calls, meetings, notes and more, to know where all communication stands. Email composition and rephrasing: Create any type of email or use a template for professional emails. Automated task generation: Utilize AI to automate meeting outcomes or marketing strategies into actionable tasks. Task automation generator. Image: monday CRM Monday CRM pros and cons ProsCons 14-day free trial.HIPAA compliance is only available at the highest paid tier. Can upload unlimited contacts.Lacks more advanced marketing tools. Offers unlimited custom pipelines.Doesn’t offer live user support. Why I chose monday CRM

Monday CRM is a fully customizable sales platform that can be built without coding knowledge. With its intuitive interface and robust automations, users can save valuable time by automating repetitive work. As a hub for all centralized client communication, reps can efficiently speak with customers through email integrations.

Similar to monday CRM, Pipedrive also offers robust industry specializations and intuitive dashboards. If you’re looking for a tool similar to monday CRM with user-friendly features plus additional email marketing capabilities, I encourage you to look into Pipedrive or Zoho CRM.

Read our monday CRM review for more details on pricing, top features and more.

Pipedrive: Best for creating email marketing campaigns

Star rating: 4.3/5

Image: Pipedrive

Pipedrive offers robust email marketing software that helps users send email marketing campaigns to effectively engage with customers. Pipedrive’s campaigns can capture the attention of your ICP with customizable layouts and additional tracking, analytics and filtering features. Users can access the same intuitive drag-and-drop element from the sales CRM to create custom layouts or use a premade template. Reps can see contact information in lead profiles and all email communications on one dashboard.

Pricing Essential: $14 per user per month, billed annually, or $24 per user when billed monthly. The Essential plan includes people and organization management, product catalog, sales assistant and more. Advanced: $29 per user per month, billed annually, or $39 per user when billed monthly. The Advanced plan offers all Essential features plus automations, two-way email sync, group emailing and more. Professional: $49 per user per month, billed annually, or $64 per user when billed monthly. This tier supports all Advanced features and contacts timeline, free Smart Docs add-on, automatic assignment and more. Power: $64 per user per month, billed annually, or $79 per user when billed monthly. The Power plan includes all Professional offering plus phone support, 500 custom fields and more. Enterprise: $99 per user per month, billed annually, or $129 per user when billed monthly. This tier offers all mentioned features plus up to 180 active automations, unlimited teams and unlimited custom permissions. Features Email builder: Choose from free email templates, import pre-existing HTML or use a drag-and-drop editor to create an email from scratch or modify an existing one. Email reporting: Dive into how your audience is receiving your emails with real-time reporting, including open rate, click rate, click-through rate and total/unique clicks. Email segmentation: Ensure the right customers are receiving the right email message by creating filtered recipient lists. Use built-in filters such as subscription status, email bounce reason, send data and more. Email segmentation feature. Image: Pipedrive Pipedrive pros and cons ProsCons 14-day free trial.Doesn’t offer a free-for-life tier. Intuitive mobile app for iOS and Android.User reports of limited analytics. Offers 24/7 customer support for users.No social media marketing tools. Why I chose Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a top scoring CRM solution that has made its way onto several of my guides, and for good reason. It is a scalable tool for small businesses up to enterprise level organizations. It also offers extensive in-market expertise for niche industries like automotive sales, government, hospitality and more.

Even though Pipedrive’s premium plans are competitively priced for the mix of marketing and sales features, there is no free tier. If that’s a goal for your business to explore before committing to a paid subscription, I recommend looking into HubSpot or Zoho CRM first.

For more insights, read the full Pipedrive review.

More about CRM How to choose the best marketing CRM software for your business

Before selecting CRM software, I recommend following best practices to research the software in depth in order to determine if it can provide real solutions for your organization. Starting with the providers on my list, consider signing up for free trials or demos and mapping out each option’s onboarding process with their sales team.

Here are some questions to ask before committing to a paid subscription:

Does this CRM tool integrate with all of my existing tech tools? Does this CRM tool offer the marketing tools that my business needs? Are the core sales features offered by this software equipped enough to streamline my sales process? How quick is the onboarding process to get started using this tool? Can the CRM software scale up to adapt to my growing business? Does this CRM tool have any in-market specialization in my industry? Review methodology

To evaluate each provider’s marketing CRM offerings, I used my in-house rubric with outlined criteria of CRM industry standards. After running each CRM software through this rubric, an algorithm calculates an overall rating, scoring each out of 5 stars. I use those scores and major feature callouts to assign each software an ideal use case that best represents the software’s best offering.

Here’s the exact breakdown of my predefined scoring criteria:

Cost: Weighted 25% of the total score. Core features: Weighted 25% of the total score. Customizations: Weighted 15% of the total score. Integrations: Weighted 15% of the total score. Ease of use: Weighted 10% of the total score. Customer support: Weighted 10% of the total score. Frequently asked questions (FAQs) What is a CRM model in marketing?

A CRM model in marketing is very similar to the general CRM model for sales and support. It’s a framework that helps users and businesses manage all aspects of customer relationships. A CRM model for marketing includes the processes, technologies and methodologies used to define an ideal customer profile, generate leads that fit that ICP and then retain them. This model will include a structured framework that displays all the steps and strategies from end-to-end sales.

Which is the best CRM for marketing?

HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, monday CRM and Pipedrive are the best CRM options for marketing. From this list of providers, determining which can provide the best marketing solution for your business is ultimately up to you. If you want to optimize social media marketing, I would recommend Zoho CRM. If you just want strong email marketing campaigns, I suggest Pipedrive. If you’re looking for AI-powered marketing insights, I’d say Salesforce should be your go-to provider.

What is CRM in e-marketing?

E-marketing is an all-encompassing term for online marketing, which can include email, social media, influencer marketing, affiliate marketing, organic search and much more. A CRM that can monitor e-marketing will come with features such as omni-channel communication, lead segmentation and templates for copy creation.

Best CRM software of 2024

The best CRM software will integrate with almost every aspect of your business, helping you track customer relations, streamline processes, and boost sales. Many though also offer adjacent functionalities such as email marketing or helpdesk, fueled by the rise of AI.

But with countless CRMs to pick from, it can be difficult to know which one is right for your business. We have spent hundreds of hours testing the best CRMs on the market, now we have created this guide to help you find the ones that perfectly meets your needs.

Our experts have unpicked the main features and benefits of each platform we have reviewed and outlined the best solutions on the market for all business types. So, whether you are looking for the best CRM for small business or seeking out the best free CRM, we have what you are looking for.

Our top 3 best CRMThe best CRM software of 2024 in full:

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Best overall

(Image credit: Salesforce)

Best overall CRM

Specifications

Price: From $25 per user/mo

Free plan: No

Trial: 30 days

Support: Email ticketing and phone

Reasons to buy+

All-in-one functionality

+

Advanced customization

+

30-day free trial

+

Upfront pricing

Reasons to avoid-

Pricier than the competition

No free plan

Support requires login

Salesforce is a global leader in CRM, with advanced, customizable functionality, user-friendly design, and outstanding reporting tools. They proudly state on their website that “98% of customers meet or exceed their ROI goals” which is quite impressive.

The main CRM core is Salesforce Sales Cloud, which can be integrated with Marketing Cloud for email automation or with Einstein Analytics for AI-powered business intelligence, among others. While the lower Sales Cloud tiers are comparable with those from Zoho CRM or Apptivo, it’s the Enterprise Plan, or the even higher Unlimited Plan’s features that justify the higher prices.

These upper plan features include Workflow Approval and Automation, which can automate standard business processes, and Sales Teams that can designate the members of the team to work on the individual deal. Furthermore, on top of pipeline management, call and email logs, and customizable contact management, Enterprise plans and above include advanced reporting and prediction, app development, full sandbox, sophisticated process automations, and external system integrations via web services APIs.

The cost of Salesforce can get expensive on the upper tiers, considering that it is billed per each individual user. While there is also no free tier, we do appreciate the 30-day free trial that is available without a credit card, and does not require any software download. Another benefit is that the pricing is upfront, transparent, with a long list of features designated by the plan for ease of comparison.

In use, Salesforce Sales Cloud is intuitive and focuses on getting your leads over the line, but you can customize a significant part of your interface to suit your team’s needs, from dashboards to reports and contact forms. The support requires a login to connect directly. We did find the sales number in multiple places, but not any support number or email, giving us pause on any potential difficulty for direct communication should the need arise. Furthermore, there is a help area of the website with self-help content via a searchable database.

In large organizations, the app development and sandbox features can help make teams even more productive by customizing permissions and workflows across territories, customer verticals, and sales funnel stages.

Read our full Salesforce Service Cloud review.

Best for midsize businesses

(Image credit: Workbooks)

Best for midsize businesses

Specifications

Price: From $34 per user/mo

Free plan: Yes (up to 2 users)

Trial: 30 days

Support: Email, phone, Knowledge Base

Reasons to buy+

Involved and supportive onboarding

+

Low price for the number of features

+

Free consulting days

+

No credit card required for free tier

+

Free 30-day trial

Reasons to avoid-

Free version limited to two users

Choice limited to only two paid tiers

No large third-party app marketplace

Workbooks is an excellent CRM for midsize businesses, offering solutions for customer service, sales, marketing, and operations teams.

Its primary differentiator is its Shared Success program, which gives customers access to free consulting hours, along with annual workshops to ensure that Workbooks continues to align with a client’s business goals.

Workbooks lacks a diverse third-party app marketplace or developer community, unlike competitors such as Salesforce and HubSpot. Therefore, it might not be the best choice for users who require a large number of third-party customizations.

In addition, its free version is limited to only two users and has fewer features, which could make it less appealing to very small businesses. It also requires a business email, along with a phone number to sign up, but it does not require a credit card.

Paid tiers for this offering are limited to a choice of two: the lower one called CRM, and the higher one, Business. Each one costs a monthly fee for each user, and we note the lack of a volume discount for multiple users, and also the inflexibility in pricing that the only option is to pay annually, while other services offer a month-to-month price with an annual discount. We like the 30-day free trial, but keep in mind that there are a myriad of additional features available, each with a monthly cost that with several chosen, the cost can add up quickly. These additional cost features include multilingual, multi-currency, web analytics and intelligence, and audit trail among many others.

Overall, we think Workbooks is a fantastic CRM platform when used for its intended purpose – providing CRM software solutions to midsize organizations.

Read our full Workbooks review.

Best for start ups

(Image credit: Hubspot)

Best for free functionality

Specifications

Price: From $45 per two users/mo

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 14 days

Support: Live chat, phone, online meeting

Reasons to buy+

Powerful free CRM core

+

Website marketing integrations, including ad management

+

Free tier

+

Annual payment discounts

Reasons to avoid-

Marketing contacts limited to 2,000 on non-enterprise plans

Limited reporting functionality

Expensive beyond the free tier

HubSpot actually takes the #2 spot in our guide to the best CRM for startups, being beaten to the top position by Salesforce. However, HubSpot is a worthy competitor, beating Salesforce in some key areas. The platform earns its spot as best for start ups on this guide primarily due to its powerful free plan, offering starts ups a cost-free way to roll out a CRM during their fledgling days.

While several CRM providers offer free plans, none are as functional as the one from HubSpot CRM. The basics are well covered, including contact management, call and email logs, deal pipeline, and integrations with apps including Slack and Gmail. It even includes email scheduling, and Facebook Messenger integration-features that we did not expect at this level.

On paid plans, the core CRM is enriched with features from HubSpot’s Marketing, Sales, and Service Hubs, which then integrate nicely across these different offerings. With the marketing functionality, you can generate pop-up forms, chatbots, and ad retargeting on your website, as well as automate and track email campaigns. Premium sales features include deal assignment automation, customizable reports, and intelligent lead scoring to help focus your team’s efforts.

The biggest obstacle is that the contacts you can market to – for example, via bulk emails or ads – are limited to 2,000 on all plans apart from Enterprise, which has a limit of 10,000. However, you can store and track up to 1 million prospects.

While enviable, HubSpot’s combined sales and marketing functionality comes with a steep price. Moving up from the free tier gets us to the Professional tier at a cost of $450/month. While it does support 5 users at that price, has a product library and forecasting, and supports eSignatures, that price point may be a barrier for smaller businesses. We think it is a missed opportunity that there are no additional tiers of plans to choose from, with an appropriately lower price of entry.

Read our full HubSpot CRM review.

Best for small business

(Image credit: Freshsales)

Best for small business

Specifications

Price: $15 per user/mo

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 21 days

Support: Phone and email (Mon-Fri)

Reasons to buy+

Intuitive, user-friendly interface

+

Strong sales features, including built-in phone

+

Free tier and 21-day free trial for paid tiers

+

Direct support options

Reasons to avoid-

No business card scanning tool

No internet-scraping lead generation feature

Freshsales works best for small to medium businesses that prioritize ease of use over advanced customization.

Its desktop and mobile interface is highly intuitive, including quick access to contact records and communications, and drag-and-drop Kanban-style boards for sales pipeline management. Its intelligent assistant tool, Freddy AI, can also help suggest which deals to close and how if you give it sufficient historical data to work with.

Its main focus is on sales team productivity and deal closure. You can integrate your email client – including Microsoft Outlook and Gmail – into the software, enabling you to create email templates, send bulk emails to prospects, and log incoming and outgoing messages. It is also designed to integrate with other tools including PayPal, DocuSign, Slack and Intuit Quickbooks for a streamlined workflow.

Furthermore, there’s an in-built calling tool with a recording feature that automatically updates customer communication records. We also like that when it comes to support, there is a toll-free number, along with a direct email for getting directly in touch should the need arise for some help.

Freshsales CRM is limited in terms of lead generation tools, such as business card scanners. It does, however, feature customizable web forms, capturing lead data from your website and automatically assigning sales leads. Other features include several thousand Bot sessions per month depending on the plan, a visual sales pipeline, and Contact Lifestyle management.

There are four plans: a free tier, and three paid tiers. The free tier, while it has its limits, does still have 24/5 support, along with a mobile app. Paid tiers progressively add more features up to the top Enterprise plan with a dedicated account manager, audit logs, and AI-based forecasting insights.

Read our full Freshsales review to learn more about the sales-focused CRM; our Freshdesk review to find out about its customer engagement CRM; our Freshmarketer review to learn about the marketing CRM element; and Freshservice to discover its IT support CRM.

Best for collaboration

(Image credit: Apptivo)

Best for business collaboration

Specifications

Pricing: From $10 per user per month

Free plan: No

Trial: 30 days

Support: Email and Telephone

Reasons to buy+

Affordable

+

Very customizable

+

Intuitive interface

Reasons to avoid-

Difficult to set up

Integrations need improvement

Apptivo is a comprehensive platform for business management and collaboration, with a CRM tool included. The Apptivo CRM is famous for its simplicity and scalability. It has a minimal and uncluttered interface that makes it easy to navigate. It’s also very customizable; you can create your unique views, fields, and layouts to simplify your business workflow. Most of the customization occurs with a drag-and-drop workflow, which makes it easy to implement.

This CRM has a mobile app that enables you to manage your sales leads on the go. You can do this from anywhere with your smartphone, especially where it’s uncomfortable to use your workstation, e.g., during a commute.

Apptivo has integrations with many other tools to help customers improve their workflow. For example, its integration with Google’s G Suite and Microsoft’s Office 365 makes it easy to send invitations to customers or potential clients outside an organization. Yet, we observed customer complaints about Apptivo’s integrations being difficult to implement and work with.

With this CRM, you can create and manage leads for your business with ease. You can also use the activity tracking tool to manage your routine tasks and ensure you or your colleagues don’t fall behind on important tasks. You can get a detailed overview of your notes, emails, calls, scheduled meetings, follow-ups, etc. The contact management tool enables you to track all your contacts in one centralized dashboard and reach out to them when need be, and you can also do the same for your customers.

A major advantage of using Apptivo is that it’s more than just a CRM tool. It has many other useful products for businesses, such as an email marketing tool, an invoicing and billing tool, a procurement management tool, etc. However, these tools aren’t free; you’ll need to pay for them in addition to your CRM bill.

Read our full Apptivo review.

Best for project management

(Image credit: monday.com)

A winning combination of clever tools and accessible features

Reasons to buy+

Attractive interface

+

Useful project visualization tools

+

Supports integrations with other platforms

+

Encourages transparency and accountability

Reasons to avoid-

Expensive if you have a large team

Lacks advanced task tracking features

Monday.com is a dedicated project management system designed to give you a flexible and transparent way to organize your work. With a highly visual scheduling interface and customizable workflows, Monday.com adapts to the unique way members of your team approach their projects.

There are four different levels of Monday.com membership: Basic, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise. Prices vary depending on the number of user accounts you require, with the cheapest memberships only allowing you to add two users and top-end options supporting more than 200 accounts.

Monday.com is the ideal project management tool for anyone looking for an accessible system that their team will actually use. Unfortunately, some important features, like calendar views, are only available with its more expensive subscriptions. All the same, Monday.com stands out for its slick design and adaptable third-party integrations.

Read our full Monday.com review.

Best for business tool integration

(Image credit: Zoho)

Best overall toolkit

Specifications

Price: From $14 per user a month

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 15 days

Support: Email (Mon-Fri)

Reasons to buy+

Integration with the Zoho suite

+

Social media lead generation

+

Workflow automation and customization

+

Free trial

Reasons to avoid-

Steep learning curve

Limited customer support

Lacks free tier

We think Zoho CRM would work well for most people who are looking for a sales management solution. It does all the basics well – contact and pipeline management, communications tracking, workflow automation, and reporting. Further improving its reputation is that it is trusted by about 250,000 businesses worldwide, such as Suzuki, Bose and Purolite.

But its added value is in integrating with other apps from the Zoho sales, marketing, and project management suite, including Zoho Invoice and Zoho Campaigns, which can input valuable prospect data into your pipeline. Moreover, Zoho CRM can scrape contact details from social networks and scan business cards, making it a powerful lead-generation system.

In use, the product is highly customizable: you can add fields to contact records, create lead assignment rules, and even personalize the look and feel of your CRM interface to maximize internal usage. Reporting and analytics features are also strong, including customizable performance reports and visualization tools.

Unfortunately, there is no free tier, but there is a free trial that can last for 15 days. While it does not require a credit card, it does need a work email and phone number, and any of the tiers can be tried. The entry-level plan, known as Standard features advanced functionality with multiple currencies, advanced filters, sales forecasting, and multiple pipelines. On higher tiers, the Enterprise and Ultimate plans, you get the Zia AI feature, which recommends what leads to focus on and what emails to write, as well as how to assign workflow. There is also flexibility in payment, whether month to month or alternatively for a discount, annually.

Read our full Zoho CRM review.

Best for email marketing

(Image credit: Keap)

Best for email marketing

Specifications

Price: From $40 per user/month

Free plan: No

Trial: 14 days

Support: Online chat, phone, community

Reasons to buy+

Unlimited email marketing

+

Worflow automation

+

Very easy to use

+

Choice to pay monthly or annually

Reasons to avoid-

Limited contact storage

Limited reporting

Free trial too short

Keap is not your typical CRM software. Its combined set of features blurs the line between sales and marketing, with native payments, appointment booking, and email marketing functionality built on top of a core contact and pipeline management system.

Keap helps you convert leads through advanced marketing campaigns and save time through workflow automations and payment integration. Features include lead & Client management, sales pipeline, and analysis, text marketing, and email marketing. A straightforward interface and generous support options make Keap highly accessible even for the most novice CRM users.

Unfortunately, Keap does not have a free tier, and while there is an offer of a free trial, it is limited to only 14 days, which is shorter than some of its competitors. The paid tiers are only two: Pro and Max. However, each tier includes a certain number of contacts, 1,500 on the lower tier by way of example, and only 2 users for the subscription fee. Adding contacts beyond that come at an additional cost, and the same situation for additional users, although it is less expensive than getting another individual subscription so at least there is a discount of sorts.

With Keap, you can get started straight away and reap benefits from email campaigns and automated triggers without a huge learning curve.

Read our full Keap review.

Best for automation

(Image credit: Insightly)

Best for project management

Specifications

Price: From $29 per user/mo

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 14 days

Support: Email and phone (at additional cost)

Reasons to buy+

Integrated project management tools

+

User-friendly interface

+

250+ app integrations available

Reasons to avoid-

No live support options included with plans

Inbuilt telephony feature costs extra

Lacks free tier

Insightly is a great CRM system for managing complex sales pipelines, as you’re able to customize contact data fields, sales funnel stages, and more.

Workflow automation, including scheduling emails when sales stages change, can save a lot of time and refocus team efforts on nurturing relationships. The CRM offering has three tiers, but all of them are paid, and there is no free tier.

Another strong point is its integration capabilities: contact sheets can integrate social media posts, while communications can be drawn from Mailchimp, Microsoft Outlook, and other programs.

Also, Insightly’s reporting function can work with Microsoft Power BI to create advanced custom dashboards and reports, helping you measure and plan your sales productivity.

That said, lead generation features are slim: while Insightly features a mobile business card scanner, it’s not able to scrape the internet for new leads. We do like the Insightly mobile smartphone apps, which integrate well with features such as mobile voice notes, and the aforementioned mobile business card scanner. You don’t get much hand-holding, either: Insightly’s plans include only email and knowledge base support, and phone assistance has an added cost.

Read our full Insightly CRM review.

Best for communication

(Image credit: Bitrix24)

Best for communication

Specifications

Pricing: From $49 per user per month

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 30 days

Support: Email, live chat, and Telephone

Reasons to buy+

Supports unlimited contacts

+

Free version available

+

Multi-channel communication

Reasons to avoid-

Steep learning curve

UI needs improvement

Bitrix24 is an all-in-one CRM platform that does much more than generate and manage leads. Apart from that, you can use it to automate your workflows and monitor the activities of your sales representatives with ease. You can also run marketing campaigns and build landing pages to entice leads using this platform.

Bitrix24 offers a mobile CRM platform that you can use to manage clients on the go. This mobile app gives you access to the features you’ll normally find on the website. For example, you can use the sales funnel tool to get a breakdown of your sales results and track KPIs to see if your sales team is reaching its targets. You can also use chat or video calls to communicate with clients and leads.

This platform provides the tools that let you capture a lead and convert it into a customer. You can use the free website templates to build landing pages and collect contact information from leads. Afterward, you can start communicating with them to convince them to become a customer. You can build your custom sales pipeline with stages specific to your product and manage all your leads from a centralized dashboard.

The main drawback of using Bitrix24 is that its interface isn’t as smooth and easy to navigate as some other CRM tools on this list. There’s a steep learning curve to follow if you want to get familiar with the platform either as an end user or administrator.

Read our full Bitrix24 review here.

Best for user experience

(Image credit: Pipedrive)

Best for user experience

Specifications

Pricing: From $10 per user per month

Free plan: No

Trial: 14 days

Support: Email and live chat

Reasons to buy+

Very easy to use

+

Affordable

+

Customizable sales pipelines

Reasons to avoid-

No free version

Reporting needs improvement

No phone support

Pipedrive is a cloud-based CRM tool that’s younger than many on this list; it was founded in 2010. Yet, in a relatively short while, it has amassed a user base of over 100,000 businesses around the globe. The platform boasts of being “designed by salespeople, for salespeople”.

Pipedrive makes it easy to set up a sales pipeline for your products and services and follow up on different steps of the pipeline to close a sale. You can create the stages for your pipeline by yourself or use an existing template to make it easier. You can add deals or import them from a spreadsheet or from an external CRM into the pipeline.

If you’re dealing with many leads, you’ll like that Pipedrive lets you set automatic alerts and reminders to ensure you’re on top of your deals. You can also update your sales forecast each time you progress through a deal to reflect your organization’s expectation for increased sales.

A unique thing about Pipedrive is that it incorporates artificial intelligence (AI). There’s an AI-powered Sales Assistant that helps you decide what to do to close your deals and automate mundane tasks. For example, the assistant can analyze your sales actions and suggest methods to make your workflow smoother. It can track email opens and community discussions and give you activity reminders to keep you attuned to your deals.

A major drawback of using Pipedrive is that there’s no free version. However, you can take advantage of the 14-day free trial period to test its features before making your final purchase decision. Besides, Pipedrive is one of the most affordable CRM tools, starting at just $10 per user per month, compared to a rival like Salesforce which starts at $25 for the same period.

Read our full Pipedrive CRM review.

The best CRM software comparedSwipe to scroll horizontallyCRM softwareScoreLowest monthly feeFree versionKey featuresSupportSalesforce5$25 per user30-day free trialSophisticated workflow automation; Enterprise app developmentEmail ticketing and toll-free phoneWorkbooks5$34 per userFree plan; 30-day free trialCoaching program, supportive onboardingEmail, phone, knowledge baseHubSpot4.5$45 per two usersFree plan; 14-day free trialCombined sales and marketing workflow; Website usage analyticsLive chat, phone, and online meeting supportFreshsales4.5$15 per userFree plan; 21-day free trialDeal management AI; In-built calling toolPhone and email support, Mon–FriApptivo4.5$10 per userFree starter planUnique bundled series of apps; customizable and scaleable24/7 support via email and live chat; live phone support on weekdays.Zoho CRM4$14 per userFree plan; 15-day free trialLead generation through website scraping; Deal management AIEmail support, Mon–FriKeap4$40 first user then $30 per user14-day free trialUnlimited email marketingOnline chat, phone, communityInsightly4$29 per userFree plan; Two-week trialDatabase and workflow customization; Powerful reporting integrationsEmail support only; Premium phone and training support costs $1500/ yearBitrix244$39 per monthFree planComprehensive commnuications platform; website builderLive chat; knowledge baseMonday.com4$8 a seat per monthFree for individualsVisual project management; accessible systemKnowledge base; live chat, email, callPipedrive3$14.50 per user per month14-day free trialUser friendly; easy-to-use for small businesses24/7 email and chatHow we tested the best CRM software

When we review CRM software, we look at indicators including feature set, interface and ease of use, plans and pricing, and support options.

A high level of automation capability in managing leads, deals, and workflow is an example feature that could contribute towards a high score. Another important strength would be a desktop and mobile interface allowing quick, intuitive access to basic features.

We look at pricing plans and competitors to check whether higher subscription prices are warranted by features you can’t find elsewhere in the market, or whether a good deal could benefit those with lower budgets.

Generous customer support options are also prioritized, especially for CRM software which may come with a steep learning curve.

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.

How to choose the best CRM for you

Wondering how to pick the best CRM for you? Here is what to look out for:

Features

The focus of each CRM software solution varies from project management tools to marketing automation to lead generation, so look for the specs that fit your requirements.

Take time to assess the features list and see how many will work for you and your business. Many CRM platforms offer a free plan or free trial, this can be an excellent way to really get to grips with whether a CRM offers everything you need.

Price

Price can play a major role in which CRM you choose. Research the plans on offer from the CRMs that meet your needs. Some CRMs offer a free plan, but these can be limited in what they offer.

When possible, pick a plan that gives you everything you need, but not one where you are paying for features or limits that you won’t use.

Although you may not be using it straight away, it can also be worth assessing higher tier plans that are on offer from your CRM of choice. As you grow, knowing there are affordable plans available will save you considerable time and effort migrating to a different platform.

Integrations

CRMs are all about speeding up business processes. Finding a CRM that seamlessly integrates with your other business tools, or offers integrations with tools you would benefit from, can save you considerable time and money.

Best CRM software FAQsWhat is a CRM?

Let’s start with the basics: CRM helps you manage relationships with business prospects, close deals, and make your internal resources more productive.

In practice, it enables you to do the following:

Store data about your contacts, including names, job titles, emails, and phone numbers.Assign and track workflow tasks to sales teams, such as sending follow-up emails, writing business proposals, and tracking invoices.Analyze and improve the effectiveness of sales and marketing activities through generating custom reports, forecasting future revenue, and anticipating sales bottlenecks.

Many CRM solutions, such as Salesforce above, offer desktop and mobile apps. (Image credit: Salesforce)

Without a CRM solution, you’d be doing significant manual work to store, track, and interact with contacts, and the sales pipeline would be more sluggish without automation or reminders.

Many CRM solutions can integrate with software including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, Mailchimp, and business intelligence programs such as Microsoft Power BI.

Populating your CRM database with customer data from elsewhere tends to be seamless: most providers allow imports from spreadsheets or contact apps such as Google Contacts.

How does CRM software integrate with the sales pipeline?

Here’s a quick example: Someone in sales could begin by scanning a prospect’s business card, then create a follow-up task, log a phone call, send an email campaign, see recent social media posts, close a deal, and track the status of the project—all in the same software solution. This is how CRM integrates with the sales pipeline.

How much does the best CRM software cost?

CRM software is usually priced as a monthly or yearly subscription, with plans varying in feature complexity. Usually, the quoted price is per user, unless stated otherwise.

Many vendors offer unlimited free tiers, while paid plans grow in functionality from Starter to Professional to Enterprise. Sometimes, add-ons come at an extra cost; for example, phone credits, premium support, or access to automated marketing tools.

The first paid tier in CRM software, which generally works well for small businesses, tends to be between $8 to $29 a month per user, charged on a yearly basis.

Mid-tier plans fit growing businesses and are priced between $20 to $75 a month. As a benchmark, Zoho CRM packs a competitive set of features in its affordable $23 monthly Professional plan.

Finally, the Enterprise tiers tend to be on the expensive side, offering customization options and a higher level of support: the range is from $40 to $150 monthly, with HubSpot’s full CRM suite reaching a whopping $4,000 a month.

What can a CRM do?Does my small business need a CRM?

We’ve also listed the best cloud CRM.

Get in touchYou’ve reached the end of the page. Jump back up to the top ^
Best CRM for small business of 2024

The best CRM for small business makes it simple and easy for small, starter, and family-run businesses to set up and manage a contact platform for customers, staff, and suppliers.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software’s primary goal is to help small businesses foster better relationships with customers. Simple enough. But with so many CRM platforms coming with countless tools and features, it can be hard to know which one meets your small business’ needs.

Our experts have spent hundreds of hours testing some of the best CRM software on the market. Now we have applied our experience and expertise to create this guide, helping you find the best CRM based on the unique needs of your small business.

Our top 3 best CRM for small business

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

The best CRM for small business of 2024 in full:Best overall

(Image credit: Salesforce)

Best for most small businesses, in most cases

Specifications

Price: From $25 per user a month

Free plan: No

Trial: 30 days

Support: Email ticketing and phone

Reasons to buy+

Advanced customization

+

Small business pricing available

+

Long trial period

Reasons to avoid-

Typically more expensive than competitors

No free plan available

While Salesforce is perhaps best known as the market-leading CRM giant adept at managing the operations of enterprise-level businesses, it offers solutions for small businesses too.

Providing an all-in-one solution to your sales, service, and marketing needs, Salesforce offers competitive plans for smaller businesses with its Small Business Pricing Solutions. The Essentials package provides both sales and customer service in one simple app for just $25 per user a month. This means smaller businesses can enjoy the power of market-leading CRM at a lower price.

Overall, the Salesforce interface is intuitive and sales-focused, but you can customize features like dashboards and reports to match your business needs and personalize your user experience. The CRM also boasts additional features to streamline your sales and business processes, including internal communication tools like on-screen calls, the easy creation of a client knowledge base, data export, email templates, and third-party tool integration with apps like Slack.

Find out more by reading our full Salesforce Service Cloud review.

Best value for money

(Image credit: Freshworks)

Cheapest CRM for small business

Specifications

Price: $9 per user a month

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 21 days

Support: Phone and email (Mon–Fri)

Reasons to buy+

Free plan available

+

Clear, intuitive dashboard

+

Customizable web forms for website data capture

Reasons to avoid-

Limited lead generation tools

Limited third-party integrations

Freshsales provides a variety of tools that make it simple for small- and mid-sized businesses to support their clients, understand customer intent, and efficiently convert leads into sales.

A combination of the Freshworks automation software, the Freshsales suite is all-in-one CRM software that unites sales and marketing.

Utilizing the intelligent Freddy AI assistant, the Freshsales provides transparent insights into customer engagement, helping businesses discover leads, close deals, and nurture client relationships. The software also has an intuitive, user-friendly interface on both desktop and mobile, providing fast access to client records and communications.

Third-party tools like Gmail and Outlook are also easily integrated, allowing you to create bulk email templates while monitoring both sent and received communications to prospective clients. Businesses can also utilize the built-in call feature to automatically update client records.

While the CRM is lacking lead generation tools like business card scanners, it provides customizable web forms to capture lead data from your business website—ideal for smaller businesses looking to grow their client base.

Read our full Freshsales review.

Best for ease-of-use

(Image credit: Zoho)

Get to grips with your CRM fast

Specifications

Price: From $14 per user a month

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 15 days

Support: Email (Mon-Fri)

Reasons to buy+

Easily integrates with other Zoho tools

+

Great for lead capturing

+

Simple to use

Reasons to avoid-

Paid plans can be pricey

Support only available Monday–Friday

Powerful cloud-based CRM software boasting excellent customer management and lead generation tools, Zoho CRM is well-equipped to assist in running a small business.

While the platform is very easy to use, it doesn’t compromise on capability—the software features the ability to search social media and LinkedIn to capture new customer contacts, scan business cards, and provide automated workflows to assist sales teams. Alongside this, you can benefit from reporting, client contact and communication records, website visitor segmentation, and pipeline management.

The main pro to the CRM, however, is the seamless integration with other Zoho tools, including the Zoho sales, marketing, and project management suite, Zoho Invoice, and Zoho Campaigns. Overall, Zoho CRM can be pricey, but with a solid free plan.

Check out our full Zoho CRM review.

Best free

(Image credit: Hubspot)

A great CRM – for free!

Specifications

Price: From $45 for two users a month

Free plan: Yes

Trial : 14 days

Support: Live chat, phone, online meeting

Reasons to buy+

Free-forever plan available

+

Hundreds of app integrations

+

Easy to understand

HubSpot is an ideal CRM solution for small businesses just starting out. While there are several paid plans, you can also get started free of charge with a lightweight yet powerful version of the CRM software.

Users of the free HubSpot CRM can benefit from highly capable client database software to assist in managing and maintaining new leads, with dashboard reporting, company insights, deal tracking, and pipeline management—all of which are portrayed simply via the user-friendly interface.

A wide range of free tools is also at your disposal to organize your customer journey, including email tracking and templates, on-screen calling, and contact management. Plus, you can enjoy integration from over 300 third-party apps like Slack, along with lead-generation software.

If you fancy upgrading from the free plan, both the Sales and Marketing Hubs start at $45 a month for two users, with additional features like task automation notifications and conversation routing included.

Read our full HubSpot CRM review.

Best for sales

(Image credit: Monday)

A dedicated sales CRM for small business

Specifications

Price: From $10 per user per month

Free plan: No

Trial: 14 days

Support: Email, live chat and request a call

Reasons to buy+

Automation of sales processes

+

Email integration

+

24/7 support options

+

Choice of plans

Reasons to avoid-

Three seat minimum

Custom automations and integrations limited on a monthly basis

If you’re a sales and marketing leader, Monday Sales CRM is the perfect CRM platform for you. It’s easy to use and has lots of tools to help you manage your customer journey. Plus, you can customize the software to fit your needs. You can send and receive emails, take notes during meetings, and view all your communications on one timeline.

The main feature is managing contacts, which helps you keep track of all your clients and potential clients in one place. Yes, in fact all of your clients as it is unlimited to the number of contacts that you can have so this is a solution that can certainly grow with your business. Plus, you get email support with templates that save you time by automatically filling out personalized emails.

Automation is another great feature that businesses can take advantage of. It can help you create custom workflows to get rid of admin stuff and make communication easier, but you’ll need a plan that’s higher than the basic one. But if you don’t upgrade to a higher plan, you’ll only be able to do 250 activities a month.

Monday CRM has four different plans. Each plan has to have at least 3 seats, so it’s not great for solo businesses as you will have to pay for seats that are unused. There’s no free trial, but you can try it for two weeks and get 18% off if you pay annually.

Read our full Monday Sales CRM review.

Best for Gmail

(Image credit: Streak)

6. Streak CRM for Gmail

Best for existing Gmail and Google Workspace users

Specifications

Price: From $15 per user a month

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 14 days

Support: Email, with priority support for Enterprise plans

Reasons to buy+

Built into Gmail

+

Free plan available

+

Simple to import and export data

Reasons to avoid-

Expensive for larger teams

For existing users of Gmail and Google Workspace, Streak is the simplest CRM to incorporate into the daily operations of your small business. It is built directly into Gmail, so you can work from your inbox and enjoy integration with other Google Workspace apps like Sheets, Docs, Drive, and Chat to help keep all your data accessible and in one place.

Streak CRM allows you to track client emails, manage contacts, monitor leads, and keep on top of your sales funnel. You can capture leads directly from your contacts, track and share client interactions, easily import or export data, create custom pipelines, and set tasks and reminders, among other things.

With a forever-free plan offering basic CRM to individual professionals, Streak CRM is highly affordable for single professionals or small teams and businesses. However, it can get pricey if you’re working within a larger team.

Best for user experience

(Image credit: Pipedrive)

Reduce friction with an excellent user experience

Specifications

Pricing: From $10 per user monthly

Free plan: None

Trial: 14 days

Support: Live chat and email

Reasons to buy+

User-friendly interface

+

Cost-effective

+

Customizable sales pipelines

Reasons to avoid-

No free plan

Reporting feature needs improvement

No phone support

Pipedrive is a popular CRM tool that’s affordable and thus suitable for small businesses with limited budgets. There’s no free plan, which is a drawback, but there’s a 14-day free trial period that you can start without inputting card details.

Pipedrive boasts of being a CRM “designed by salespeople, for salespeople”. True to its claim, you can do many things with this CRM. To start, you can set up your sales pipeline with ease; you may build a new template or use an existing one. Afterward, you can add deals to the pipeline or import them from a CSV spreadsheet. After adding the deals, you can always monitor the progress up until the deal closes.

You can set up automatic alerts and reminders on Pipedrive to keep you on top of the deals. If a deal closes, the platform will automatically update your sales forecast to reflect it. Like many modern tools, Pipedrive incorporates some aspects of artificial intelligence that lets users automate mundane sales tasks.

This CRM is good for collaboration, so you can set up accounts for your staff to work together to close sales deals. As the administrator, you can always monitor their progress and remind them if they’re falling behind. You can create web forms using Pipedrive and embed them on your website to gather leads. The platform provides form templates designed by professionals, which you can edit to fit your tastes.

Pipedrive gives you detailed reports on your activities or that of your staff. However, we observed a pattern of customer complaints of the reporting features lacking depth and needing improvement.

Read our full Pipedrive CRM review.

Best for project management

(Image credit: Insightly)

Manage project seamlessly

Specifications

Pricing: From $29 per user per month

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 14 days

Support: Email and telephone (at extra cost)

Reasons to buy+

Efficient data upload/download

+

Intuitive interface

+

Integrated project management tools

Reasons to avoid-

Extra cost for phone support

Needs more customizability

Insightly is a CRM platform that lets you handle all your sales functions. You can create custom workflows for your sales deals and track them as you progress toward closing the deal. You can create or update records and generate tasks for other users within your organization to handle.

You can send emails to your leads and customers right within Insightly because it has integrations with email clients. The platform tracks the delivery of your emails and reports back important data such as open and click-through rates.

As a business owner, you have a great deal of control over what your staff can do on this CRM. You can set special permissions and visibility levels for each user or according to role or department. For example, normal employees may not be able to view detailed sales reports, while executives can.

Another good thing about Insightly is that you can use workflow automation to automate a lot of mundane sales tasks. For example, you can set it to send an automatic email once a lead reaches a specific stage of your deal. You can also automatically update your sales forecast after closing a deal. These are just some examples of how your sales team can save time to be put to better use elsewhere. Creating these workflow automations requires a bit of technical knowledge, but it’s not as complex as typical programming.

What customers mostly highlight about Insightly is its extensive integrations with third-party tools. The platform is second to none in this category. You can link your Insightly CRM profile with many other tools for additional functionality. For example, you can link it to your BambooHR account to sync employee records with corresponding user profiles on Insightly or link it to your Shopify account to automatically capture customer details from your online store and add them to Insightly.

The main drawback we observed is that Insightly charges extra money for phone support, unlike most rivals. Without paying, you’re stuck with email support, which is much slower than phone support.

Read our full Insightly review.

Best for tracking

(Image credit: Workbooks)

Boost sales with advanced tracking

Specifications

Pricing: From $30 per user per month

Free plan: Yes

Trial: 30 days

Support: Email and telephone

Reasons to buy+

Cost-effective

+

Extensive reporting features

+

Effective contact management

Reasons to avoid-

Limited free plan

Limited third-party integrations

Workbooks is another good CRM for small businesses. It enables you to track sales and interact with customers within one platform. You can use it to record and keep track of sales activities and ensure that no part of them is overlooked.

Workbooks is very good at contact management; you could use every interaction with your lead or customer to capture knowledge about them and map relationships. You can also segment customers according to different factors and interact with each segment better.

This platform provides tools to track your business’s finances closely. For example, you can track all your suppliers and their prices and record every communication you make with them. You can also create supplier contracts within the dashboard and keep track of each one. Likewise, you can create professional sales quotes to send to clients and track their status are they’re fulfilled.

The area where Workbooks shines most is in its reporting features. The platform makes it easy to generate detailed reports that give you great insight into your sales pipeline. For example, the reports can help you identify which market segments and products are giving you the highest revenue. You can also easily monitor which salespeople in your organization are hitting or missing their targets.

The main drawback with this platform is that it has limited integrations with third-party software, unlike a rival like Insightly.

Read our full Workbooks review.

Best CRM for small business comparedSwipe to scroll horizontallyOur picks for the best CRM for small business, comparedCRM softwarePriceFree plan?Trial periodSupportSalesforceFrom $25 per user a monthNo30 daysEmail, ticketing, and phoneFreshsales$15 per user a monthYes21 daysPhone and email (Mon-Fri)Zoho CRMFrom $14 per user a monthYes15 daysEmail (Mon-Fri)HubSpotFrom $45 for two users a monthYes14 daysLive chat, phone, online meetingStreak CRM for GmailFrom $15 per user a monthYes14 daysEmail, with priority support for Enterprise plansHow to choose the best CRM for small business

Ultimately, choosing the best CRM for small business depends on your needs—does software with more cost-effective pricing take precedence, or are the higher levels of personalization and efficiency that often come with a pricier plan more important?

For instance, Salesforce would be better suited to businesses undeterred by the higher costs associated with the higher levels of customization on offer. It can also expand with your business, while less efficient CRM platforms like Hubspot may struggle to keep up with demand as your business grows. Those looking for an easily-integrable, simple, and affordable CRM solution may want to consider Streak instead.

Overall, ease of use is an important factor to consider. CRM software is something that will be incorporated into the daily operations of your business, so you’ll want something that you and your colleagues can hit the ground running with—there’s no point investing in a technical CRM if no-one can understand it.

You’ll also want to consider the features most beneficial to your daily operations, like project management features, lead generation tools, and third-party app integration, as the focus of each CRM software can differ.

How we test

When finding areas of focus for reviewing CRM software, we look at key components to determine the overall quality of the user experience. We examine aspects like pricing by examining the plans that are available, how many users these allow, and whether any other additional costs are involved.

We also look at the software features that would make your work life easier; reporting, automation, client management, and AI integrations, and whether there is adequate customer support on-hand to assist with this.

Other important areas in our reviews are software usability and support; is the interface user-friendly and intuitive? If you were to get stuck, is immediate support available 24/7, or will responses take two to three working days? By examining aspects like this, we can determine the overall user experience of the software and make informed recommendations.

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.

FAQsWhy do small business need a CRM?

While determining the best CRM for small businesses will depend on individual priorities, the software options presented in this buying guide are all strong contenders for small businesses—though ultimately, the size of your small business will likely determine the best option.

For instance, Streak CRM and HubSpot both offer free plans which would suit individual professionals or businesses just starting out, while Freshworks prides itself on being a good all-rounder for small- to mid-sized businesses. Zoho would provide an ideal CRM for existing users of the Zoho Suite, while Salesforce leads the way overall as the CRM industry giant.

What does a CRM do? Further reading on CRM software

If you want to find out more about CRMs, read our features asking what is CRM software, and what is a CRM in real estate. We also discussed five reasons why you need a small business CRM, and seven changes to a CRM for business that drive customer growth. You might also find our other buying guides helpful, which look at the best CRM for real estate and the best free CRM software.

We’ve also listed the best productivity tools.

Get in touchYou’ve reached the end of the page. Jump back up to the top ^

 

Leave a Comment