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Updated Oct 03, 2024

Best CRM Software of 2024

Need top of the line CRM software? Our best picks combine usability, automation and integrations to boost sales and marketing.

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Written By: Jeff HaleBusiness Operations Insider and Senior Analyst
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This guide was reviewed by a Business News Daily editor to ensure it provides comprehensive and accurate information to aid your buying decision.
Adam Uzialko
Business Strategy Insider and Senior Editor
Business News Daily earns compensation from some listed companies. Editorial Guidelines.

The best CRM software will integrate with email marketing software and text message marketing software to automatically capture communications on these channels, reducing the need for a team member to perform manual data entry and ensuring communications records are comprehensive. Not all CRM systems are created equal and some are designed for specific purposes, from retail CRM solutions to customer support CRM systems. Knowing what you need a CRM system to do can help you make the best possible choice for your business. If you’re looking for a CRM software that will get the job done, our guide and reviews will help you find it.

Sponsored Partners
HubSpot CRM
Best for Integrations
Hubspot company logo
Visit Site
Links to HubSpot CRM
  • Free for up to five seats
  • Month-to-month or annual subscription
  • 14-day free trial
Zoho CRM
Best for Remote Teams
Zoho CRM logo
Visit Site
Links to Zoho CRM
  • Starts at $14/month/seat
  • Month-to-month or annual subscription
  • 15-day free trial
HoneyBook
Best All-in-One Solution
HoneyBook logo
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Links to HoneyBook
  • Starts at $16/month/seat
  • Month-to-month or annual subscription
  • 7-day free trial
Creatio
Best for Automation
Creatio logo
  • Starts at $25/month/seat
  • Month-to-month or annual subscription
  • 14-day free trial
Freshsales CRM
Best for Communications
freshworks CRM company logo
  • Starts at $9/month/seat
  • Month-to-month or annual subscription
  • 21-day free trialf
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Table of Contents

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At Business News Daily, we’ve spent years researching and testing the technology that enables entrepreneurs to accomplish their goals and scale their businesses more efficiently. Our team of small business tech specialists conducts independent evaluations of the best technology platforms to determine which best meet the needs of small business owners. We also regularly consult with technology experts. including IT professionals, developers, implementation specialists and cybersecurity professionals, to stay on top of the latest tech trends impacting small businesses. And every review we publish is evaluated by our editorial staff to ensure objectivity, accuracy and fairness are at the core of our decision-making. Learn more about our editorial guidelines.

How We Decided

To determine our picks for the best CRM software, our team of small business experts spent dozens of hours attending live demonstrations, conducting meticulous research and testing software firsthand. We examined pricing and plans to ensure there were options suitable for small businesses’ budgets, and then we got to work testing out the most important features CRM software has to offer. These included...

Read MoreRead More

To determine our picks for the best CRM software, our team of small business experts spent dozens of hours attending live demonstrations, conducting meticulous research and testing software firsthand. We examined pricing and plans to ensure there were options suitable for small businesses’ budgets, and then we got to work testing out the most important features CRM software has to offer. These included automated workflows, alerts and notifications, tools to monitor deal rot and integrations with marketing software. We also examined customer reviews to get an idea of how real small businesses used each CRM platform and how their experiences lined up with our testing. 

65

considered

25

reviewed

7

selected

To determine our picks for the best CRM software, our team of small business experts spent dozens of hours attending live demonstrations, conducting meticulous research and testing software firsthand. We examined pricing and plans to ensure there were options suitable for small businesses’ budgets, and then we got to work testing out the most important features CRM software has to offer. These included automated workflows, alerts and notifications, tools to monitor deal rot and integrations with marketing software. We also examined customer reviews to get an idea of how real small businesses used each CRM platform and how their experiences lined up with our testing. 

65

considered

25

reviewed

7

selected

Keeping track of customer needs in an organized way, at scale, can be daunting. CRM software helps your team understand your customers’ needs better by establishing individual client profiles for each of them and then tracking all interactions they have with your team members. It can also help to improve customer experience by providing sales and marketing teams with valuable information on your customers, increasing their ability to capture new leads, drive conversions and close deals.

monday CRM contact board

CRM software is intended to simplify the process of creating client profiles and tracking interactions with them. This image shows the contact board of monday Sales CRM, complete with a contact’s company, title, and phone number, along with their priority, their company’s lead type, and the date of a next scheduled interaction with the client. (Source: Monday.com) 

Find the Right CRM Software for Your Business

Fill out this questionnaire to find vendors that meet your needs.

Compare Our Best Picks

BND Ribbon
Our Top Picks for 2024
HubSpot CRM
Zoho CRM
HoneyBook
Creatio
Freshsales CRM
PipeDrive
NetSuite CRM
Salesforce CRM
monday Sales CRM
Rating9.3/109.2/108.3/108.5/109.4/109.1/109.3/109.5/109.5/10
Best For

Integrations

Remote Teams

All-in-One Solution

Automation

Communications

Visual Sales Pipeline

E-Commerce

Small Business

Project Management

Pricing

Starts at $0 for up to five users

Starts at $14 per month per user

Starts at $16 per month for one user

Starts at $25 per month per user

Starts at $9 per month per user

Starts at $14 per month per user

Custom Quote

Starts at $25 per month per user

Starts at $12 per month per user

Free Trial

14 day free trial

15 day free trial

7 days

14 day free trial

21 day free trial

14 day free trial

No

30 day free trial

14 day free trial

Customer Support

24/7 email and chat

24/5 phone and email

Email and chat

Email support for all plans; phone support for enterprise and unlimited plans

24/5 phone, email and chat

24/7 email and chat

24/7 email and chat

24/7 phone support with Premier plan

24/7 email and chat

Minimum Seat Requirement?

Yes

N/A

No

Yes

No

No

N/A

No

Yes

Contract Terms

Monthly or annual subscription

Monthly or annual subscription

Monthly or annual subscription

Monthly or annual subscription

Monthly or annual subscription

Monthly or annual subscription

Annual

Mostly annual

Monthly or annual subscription

Review Link
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Our Reviews

Hubspot company logo
Editor's Rating: 9.3/10
Visit Site
Links to HubSpot CRM

Why We Chose HubSpot

HubSpot is our pick for the CRM with the best integrations. With thousands of integration capabilities featured in the new Operations Hub, HubSpot is a great option for sales teams looking to improve their performance by centralizing data from various software providers. Customers can connect third-party tools to sync and clean customer data easily while automating business processes to assist the efficiency of your team. Once you have integrated your other software platforms, your HubSpot CRM tracks sales funnel metrics, activity insights, productivity and performance across your sales activities.

We like how HubSpot offers a forever-free plan with more than 90 report templates available for customized dashboards, while its paid CRM solution with unlimited free user seats adds customer report builders so you can access precise data and fine-tune report results. If your small business is looking to integrate and centralize your sales operations, HubSpot’s free plan may be ideal. The entry-level paid Starter plan has a variety of essential marketing, sales, service, CMS and operations features to help you launch a new business online or streamline an existing one.

Hubspot integrations

HubSpot CRM provides a vast integration app marketplace. In the image above, a user navigates through the most popular app integrations in the marketplace. (Source: HubSpot) 

Hubspot Pricing

Subscription PlanPriceFeatures and Tools
Free Tools$0 per month, up to five usersEmail reply tracking; email scheduling; Slack integration; Stripe payment processing; app marketplace integrations; contact and user management; Facebook messenger integration; Gmail, Outlook, and Microsoft Exchange integration;
Sales Hub Starter$15 per month, per user charged annuallyConversation routing; sales content analytics; task calendar sync; 500 minutes of calling time; handles up to five currencies
Sales Hub Professional$90 per month, per user charged annuallyHandles up to 30 currencies; 3,000 minutes of calling time; sales analytics; usable by up to 10 teams; default and custom forecasting; ABM tools and automation; duplicate management; Salesforce integration
Sales Hub Enterprise$150 per month, per user charged annuallyConversation intelligence; lead form routing; recurring revenue scoring; predictive lead scoring

HubSpot Pros

  • You can integrate your HubSpot CRM platform with nearly any popular business application.
  • You can manage your website, marketing, sales, service and operations from the same bundled platform.
  • You can provide everyone at your company with limited user accounts for free.

HubSpot Cons

  • The Professional plan includes a mandatory $3,000 onboarding fee.
  • The advanced plans are relatively expensive for smaller businesses that aren’t able to benefit from a price structure based on unlimited seats.
  • Plans are limited by the number of marketing contacts, forcing many businesses to purchase additional contacts at a significant rate.

What HubSpot Customers Have To Say

HubSpot CRM customers often praised the company for its wide range of integrations across over 1,000 popular tools as well as the CRM’s ease of use. However, some noted that they would like more customization options when it comes to reporting. HubSpot earned an 8.5/10 on TrustRadius.

Read our full HubSpot review for more information.

Zoho CRM logo
Editor's Rating: 9.2/10
Visit Site
Links to Zoho CRM

Why We Chose Zoho CRM

Many businesses are shifting to hybrid and remote work roles as it becomes easier to hire employees regardless of their geographic location. Naturally, working with far-flung team members means having highly effective communication and collaboration tools, including a CRM system that ensures your marketing, sales and customer service teams stay on top of leads. That’s where Zoho CRM shines, supporting your sales funnel across all channels.

Zoho CRM dashboard

We liked how Zoho CRM’s dashboard consolidated all client communications in one place, so you could see at a glance the latest conversations. Source: Zoho

What stood out in our testing is how Zoho CRM connects employees and keeps them on the same page, whether they’re in the same office or not. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy to get started, so you and your team can hit the ground running without a steep learning curve. One of the things we really appreciated is how Zoho brings all your communication channels (email, phone, SMS, social media) into one place, ensuring you stay connected with customers and prospects wherever they prefer to communicate.

To keep your team running smoothly, Zoho’s flexibility is a big plus. You can tailor the system to suit your business’s specific needs, streamlining workflows and boosting productivity. Additionally, Zoho’s built-in AI helps automate tasks like managing contacts and tracking deals. Another feature we think small business owners will appreciate is Zoho’s app marketplace, which offers a variety of tools to integrate with the CRM, further enhancing efficiency and performance.

Zoho CRM Pricing

Subscription PlanPriceFeatures and Tools
Standard$14 per user per month250 emails daily; lead scoring; automation workflows; multiple pipelines; mass email; sales forecasting; custom fields and reports; classic support level; 1 GB of free file storage.
Professional$23 per user per monthEverything in the Standard plan plus: 

500 mass emails daily; custom links; unlimited custom list views; workflow blueprints; Google Ads integration.

Enterprise$40 per user per monthEverything in the Professional plan plus: 

1,000 mass emails daily; custom signals; custom modules and buttons; page layouts; AI tools; advanced analytics.

Ultimate$52 per user per monthEverything in the Enterprise plan plus: 

2,000 mass emails daily; enhanced storage and feature limits; advanced support; 5 GB of free file storage; extended 30-day free trial.

Zoho CRM Pros

  • Zoho CRM delivers a complete set of tools for sales, marketing, and customer support, offering a well-rounded solution for small businesses.
  • Its AI tools are a standout feature, helping to automate processes, analyze data and provide valuable insights to improve efficiency.
  • The Zoho Marketplace offers numerous integrations, making expanding and tailoring your CRM with additional features and apps easy.

Zoho CRM Cons

  • Although the basic plan is budget-friendly, it may miss some key features, especially in marketing automation.
  • More advanced customization options like custom buttons, modules and layout configurations are typically locked behind higher-priced plans.
  • Some users have noted occasional connectivity problems, especially during high-traffic periods.

What Zoho CRM Customers Have To Say

Zoho CRM earns a solid rating of 8.3 out of 10 on TrustRadius. Users highlighted its robust organizational features, customizable functions, and seamless integration with other Zoho tools. One user shared their experience, saying, “We used Zoho CRM as our database for customer interactions and upcoming tasks for construction projects. Zoho CRM has allowed us to work remotely when it is needed most. There are hundreds of apps that can integrate to work with Zoho CRM- which is really helpful. The customization of dashboards is really neat because it allows the individual user to focus on what is most important to them.”

Read our full Zoho CRM review for more information.

HoneyBook logo
Editor's Rating: 8.3/10
Visit Site
Links to HoneyBook

Why We Chose HoneyBook

HoneyBook is a cost-effective CRM that offers a wide range of tools that not only support lead generation and nurturing but also existing client management functions, making this a valuable all-in-one solution. We like that this platform includes invoicing and payment tools, giving businesses the option to forgo a separate invoicing service. In fact, HoneyBook is designed to be a one-stop shop so you no longer need to separate tools to manage your lead pipeline, sales proposals, customer relationships, billing and other aspects of your company. Virtually all front-end and back-end operations can be conducted through this one program.

When testing the software, we especially enjoyed HoneyBook’s AI-powered automations, which make it easy to set up custom workflows and support your business’s unique sales funnel with the support of artificial intelligence. There’s no need for coding knowledge to do so, so HoneyBook is a truly accessible tool for any entrepreneur or sales professional. Your customers will also appreciate how easy it is to use the client portal.

Honeybook sales leads

HoneyBook provides a clear look at where your leads are in the sales funnel. Source: HoneyBook

HoneyBook Pricing

Subscription PlanPriceFeatures and Tools
Starter$16 per month for one user, charged annuallyUnlimited clients and projects, invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, calendar, templates, client portal, basic reports
Essentials$32 per month for up to two users, charged annuallyEverything in the Starter plan, plus: scheduler, automations, expense management, profit and loss statements, QuickBooks Online integration, standard reports
Premium$66 per month for unlimited users, charged annuallyEverything in the Essentials plan, plus: advanced reports, multiple companies, onboarding specialist, priority support

HoneyBook Pros

  • You can use HoneyBook to manage the entire client lifecycle, from initial contact to bill payment.
  • The software helps you build customizable, interactive proposals to share with prospects.
  • HoneyBook offers a 60-day money-back guarantee.

HoneyBook Cons

  • Businesses that want to give more than two employees access to HoneyBook have no choice but to sign up for the most expensive plan.
  • The helpful workflow automations aren’t available with the entry-level package.
  • HoneyBook will set up your files for free, but only Premium users can get onboarding assistance from a specialist.

What HoneyBook Customers Have to Say

HoneyBook earned an 8.7/10 on TrustRadius. Similar to our experience, HoneyBook users found the software’s automation capabilities among the most appealing. The program was “instrumental in streamlining automated processes early in the business lifecycle with an agile staff team,” said one customer, who further noted that HoneyBook “solved for having multiple external platforms to send contracts, onboard clients, and collect payments into one platform.”

Creatio logo
Editor's Rating: 8.5/10

Why We Chose Creatio

Creatio offers a CRM software with powerful no-code automation capabilities that streamline workflows and eliminate the most tedious tasks your sales team need to perform. The software starts at $25 per user per month and is especially well-suited to medium-sized and large businesses.

We liked Creatio’s ability to automate the customer journey and implement workflow customizations easily with no coding knowledge, which allows your sales team to focus on nurturing leads and closing deals rather than wrestling with software. We also liked how Creatio incorporated generative AI into its CRM software with Creatio Copilot, which offers an additional layer of support when communicating with leads and customers, as well as managing daily tasks.

Creatio dashboard

Creatio offers vibrant, color-coded reporting tools that give you clear data visualizations at a glance. These dashboards can help every user stay apprised of their own performance and how they’re trending toward their individual and company goals. (Source: Creatio)

Creatio Pricing

Subscription PlanPriceFeatures and Tools
Growth$25 per month, per userNo-code user interface designer; no-code workflow designer; web, desktop and mobile apps; customization via scripts; 1 GB database and attachment storage.
Enterprise$55 per month, per userEverything in growth plus custom branding for the user interface and 2 GB database and attachment storage.
Unlimited$85 per month, per userAvailable for 50+ users. Everything in enterprise plus unlimited storage space for databases and attachments.

Creatio Pros

  • No-code customization allows users to tailor the platform to suit their needs.
  • User-friendly experience and clear data visualizations make navigating reports straightforward.
  • Cost-effective pricing plans and a clear, transparent structure mean you’ll know what you pay for.

Creatio Cons

  • Best suited for medium-sized and large businesses, so small businesses may find some of the features unnecessary.
  • Creatio lacks social media integrations, so businesses looking to optimize their social media channels may be disappointed.
  • Creatio requires a minimum of five seat minimum for its growth and enterprise plans.

What Creatio Customers Have To Say

Customers often praise Creatio for its flexible, no-code customization, which supports the design of unique user interfaces and automated workflows. However, some users report occasional bugs that impact performance, as well as a lack of integrations for social media platforms. Creatio earned a 3.8 out of 5 from users who reviewed it on Trustpilot.

freshworks CRM company logo
Editor's Rating: 9.4/10

Why We Chose Freshsales CRM

Freshworks’ Freshsales CRM is our pick for the best CRM for communications. Both intuitive and adaptable, this CRM offers built-in tools designed to optimize communications and understand customers better. The powerful AI assistant, Freddy, is designed to help you develop a more comprehensive understanding of your customers based on historical sales data, activities and engagement. Freshworks also has a basic built-in VoIP phone service with toll-free local numbers available for purchase in more than 90 countries and calling ability from any device.

Once you have your pipelines, workflows and forecasting tools in place, Freshsales makes it easier to better understand and serve your customers’ targeted products and services. From within the platform, you can run personalized bulk email marketing campaigns, manage deals, predict deal performance, forecast revenue and strategically engage with prospects. Your Freshsales CRM can also automatically build your prospects’ contact profiles, spot rotten deals and reawaken cold leads that still have potential.

Freshsales Freddy AI

Freshsales provides the powerful Freddy AI assistant. In the image above, a user navigates through the Freshsales platform and gets an alert from Freddy AI on a deal prediction. (Source: Freshworks) 

Freshsales Pricing

Subscription PlanPriceFeatures and Tools
Growth$9 per month, per user charged annuallyKanban view; built-in chat, email, and phone; email templates; custom fields; basic workflows; curated reports; mobile app; 24/5 support
Pro$39 per month, per user charged annuallyContact scoring, sales emails, and deal insights by Freddy AI; custom sales activities; sales sequences; multiple sales pipelines; custom reports; advanced workflows
Enterprise$59 per month, per user charged annuallyForecasting insights by Freddy; custom modules; audit logs; workflows for custom modules

Freshsales Pros

  • All paid Freshsales plans include Al-powered tools that provide actionable insights across the entire customer journey.
  • Freshsales has basic built-in VoIP phone service with virtual phone numbers available in more than 90 countries.
  • You can manage global transactions with over 150 currencies and multiple language support.

Freshsales Cons

  • The built-in phone system is lacking in cloud-based call management features.
  • You’ll have to pay $75 for 1,000 extra bot sessions if you go over your limit.
  • There’s no discounted rate for purchasing a large number of seats.

What Freshsales Customers Have To Say

Freshsales customers often praised the company for its sales sequences and customizations. However, some noted that the interface could be a little more intuitive and user friendly. Freshsales earned an 8.1/10 on TrustRadius.

Read our full Freshsales review for more information.

Pipedrive logo
Editor's Rating: 9.1/10

Why We Chose Pipedrive

Pipedrive is our pick for the CRM that’s best for presenting a visual sales Pipeline. Its powerful visual sales pipeline provides at-a-glance information and data visualizations. These make it easy to understand each opportunity, while the drag-and-drop interface helps team members respond easily to the mission-critical tasks highlighted on the dashboard. With customizable pipelines and fields, you can optimize your existing workflow systems and improve processes across departments. With a powerful mobile app, Pipedrive also helps you engage with customers and team members on the go.

Pipedrive dashboard

Pipeline focuses on a visual pipeline to provide information to users at a glance. In the above view, a user can see a Pipeline dashboard focusing on what stage each deal is in. (Source: Pipedrive)

Pipedrive Pricing

Subscription PlanPriceFeatures and Tools
Essential$14 per month, per user charged annuallyLead, calendar, and pipeline management; over 400 integrations; personalized onboarding; reporting for activity, contact, and deals
Advanced$29 per month, per user charged annuallyAutomation builder, including for email sequences; email sync and templates; scheduling for meetings, email, and calls
Professional$49 per month, per user charged annuallyE-signature support for contract and proposal management; AI-powered assistant for sales and emails; revenue forecasts; custom field reporting
Power$64 per month, per user charged annually24/7 live chat support; phone support; project tracking, planning, and delivery
Enterprise$99 per month, per user charged annuallyEnhanced security; unlimited reporting and customizations

Pipedrive Pros

  • Pipedrive is a sales-focused CRM that’s specifically designed to grow your business from your sales funnel.
  • The platform can automate routine tasks and administrative work to let you focus on closing more sales.
  • Pipedrive’s artificial intelligence (AI) tool picks up on key opportunities for improvement with performance recommendations and suggested tasks

Pipedrive Cons

  • Many key features — like automations, two-way email syncing and team goals — are missing without an advanced plan.
  • Many important tools have user limits that could effectively force businesses into a more expensive plan.
  • Small accounts have limited support options.

What Pipedrive Customers Have To Say

Pipedrive customers often praised the company for its marketing automation features, as well as its overall platform. However, some complained about its third-party software integrations and its ability to interact with social media platforms. Pipedrive earned a 7.9/10 on TrustRadius.

Read our full Pipedrive review for more information. 

NetSuite logo
Editor's Rating: 9.3/10

Why We Chose Oracle

Oracle NetSuite is our pick for a CRM that’s best for e-commerce. Midsize e-commerce companies that rely on repeat business from their customers need a CRM platform that will help them understand their customers’ shopping habits better. Oracle’s NetSuite is a cloud-based ERP platform with CRM capabilities that is well-suited for business owners who want to provide the best customer experience possible. The CRM module helps companies obtain maximum value from each client interaction at every touchpoint. NetSuite organizes, automates and synchronizes your customer interactions across different departments, including marketing, sales, customer service and technical support. That means any employee can access all necessary context when interacting with a customer.

Oracle NetSuite customer dashboard

NetSuite provides a wealth of information on clients across all different organizational departments. Here, a user can see a customer dashboard providing customer contact information, KPIs, as well as links to more in-depth information. (Source: Oracle NetSuite) 

NetSuite Pricing

Subscription PlanPriceFeatures and Tools
NetSuiteCustom QuoteAutomates and synchronizes customer data; dashboards provide 360 degree view of customer data; built-in forecasting tools; seamless mobile app integration; dashboard provides insight into key performance indicators, monthly data analysis, leads, and active campaigns

NetSuite Pros

  • NetSuite is a unified, all-in-one commerce solution for sales, marketing and operations.
  • The highly customizable platform can be built to your exact specifications.
  • Native integrations ensure a common user interface and perfect functionality across all modules.

NetSuite Cons

  • You have to call for NetSuite’s CRM pricing.
  • Using the CRM requires an annual license for other NetSuite products.
  • You will be charged a one-time fee for your initial NetSuite setup.

What NetSuite Customers Have To Say

NetSuite customers often praised the company for its integrations, its highly functional prebuilds, and its automation capability. However, some users complained about its dated look and the at times cumbersome process for report or automation building. NetSuite earned a 8.0/10 on TrustRadius.

Read our full NetSuite review for more information. 

Salesforce company logo
Editor's Rating: 9.5/10

Why We Chose Salesforce

Salesforce is our pick for the best CRM for small business as it offers a popular essentials-level platform that’s ideal for small and growing businesses. Small businesses will benefit from the workflow builder, helping to automate every task your team performs repeatedly. The Salesforce mobile app is also designed for ease of use, mirroring the Salesforce desktop experience with room to be customized for employees with different roles.

With one of the industry’s largest third-party app marketplaces, Salesforce has integration capabilities for an impressive amount of platforms. Additionally, Salesforce recently introduced an upgraded version of its AI-powered Einstein tools, Einstein Copilot for natural language queries from the Salesforce Data Cloud and Einstein Copilot Studio for AI-powered app creation for functions like sales acceleration and customized websites.

Salesforce analytics

Salesforce’s visual dashboards provide a wealth of information at a glance. In the above view, the Incident Management Dashboard displays information of incidents over time, status breakdowns, priority breakdowns, and more. (Source: Salesforce)

Salesforce Pricing

Subscription PlanPriceFeatures and Tools
Small Business Starter Suite$25 per month, per user charged annuallyEmail marketing and analytics; customer service; prebuilt sales processes
Small Business Pro Suite$100 per month, per user charged annuallyGreater customization and automation; sales quoting and forecasting; live chat support
Sales Starter Suite$25 per month, per user charged annuallySimplified setup and onboarding; email integration; lead, account, contact, and opportunity management
Sales Professional$80 per month, per user charged annuallyForecast management; customizable reports and dashboards; quoting and contracting
Sales Enterprise$165 per month, per user charged annuallyPipeline management and deal insights; conversation intelligence; workflow and approvals automation
Sales Unlimited$330 per month, per user charged annuallyPredictive AI; conversation intelligence and sales engagement
Sales Einstein 1 Sales$500 per month, per user charged annuallyEinstein Copilot; performance management, sales program, and team collaboration with Slack; Data Cloud and Revenue Intelligence integration
Service Cloud Starter Suite$25 per month, per user charged annuallyCase management; customizable reports and dashboards; knowledge base
Service Cloud Professional$80 per month, per user charged annuallyCase swarming; computer telephony integration; omni-channel case routing
Service Cloud Enterprise$165 per month, per user charged annuallyAI for customer service; self-service help center; workflow automation
Service Cloud Unlimited$330 per month, per user charged annually24/7/365 support; AI-powered chatbots
Service Cloud Einstein 1 Service$500 per month, per user charged annuallyEinstein Copilot; Data Cloud

Salesforce CRM Pros

  • An expansive range of available CRM products means that Salesforce can grow with your company.
  • Salesforce acts as a single source of customer data for everyone in your company to improve customer experiences and outcomes.
  • Salesforce has a targeted set of CRM products engineered for small businesses.

Salesforce CRM Cons

  • Larger businesses may have to pay additional fees to use Salesforce integrations effectively.
  • Most Salesforce plans require an annual commitment.
  • It could be difficult to get immediate technical assistance during non-business hours.

What Salesforce CRM Customers Have To Say

Salesforce customers praised the company across various iterations of its product, including Starter, Sales, and Cloud. Salesforce customers across the board largely praise the products for their integrations, ease of setup, and customer report. However, some complained about lacking functionality in cheaper plans and how enterprise editions can be pricey for smaller businesses. Salesforce Starter earned a 8.2/10 on TrustRadius; Sales Cloud earned a 8.4/10 on TrustRadius; Salesforce Service Cloud earned a 8.8/10 on TrustRadius.

Read our full Salesforce review for more information. 

monday sales CRM logo
Editor's Rating: 9.5/10

Why We Chose Monday Sales CRM

Monday Sales CRM is our pick for the CRM that’s best for project management. The core work management platform provides key timesaving and organizational capabilities. Monday Sales CRM customers enjoy easy-to-use interfaces and unlimited boards to organize projects. Whether you need a custom dashboard for specific communication needs or want to delve into analysis with customer data visualization tools, monday Sales CRM offers intuitive technology to support your success. The core work management platform stands out in its intentional design and ability to run and scale to any workflow. monday Sales CRM is also highly customizable, allowing for customer integration with communications platforms like Slack, eliminating the need for regular status update meetings by automatically alerting team members when a project or task is ready for further action.

monday CRM Deals dashboard

Monday Sales CRM provides an easy-to-use CRM platform. In the image above, a user views a Deals dashboard showing both projects currently in the pipeline and deals closed and won, as well as at-a-glance details about each individual deal. (Source: Monday.com) 

monday Pricing

Subscription PlanPriceFeatures and Tools
Basic CRM$12 per month, per user charged annuallyUnlimited customizable pipelines; unlimited contact databases; unlimited boards; included templates; Android and iOS apps
Standard CRM$17 per month, per user charged annuallyAccount, contact, and deal management; Gmail and Outlook email integration; AI email generator; quotes and invoices; duplicate data merger
Pro CRM$28 per month, per user charged annuallySales forecasting; mass emailer; mass email tracking; Google calendar sync; sales analytics; email tracking and automations
Enterprise CRMVariable rates based on needLead scoring; HIPAA compliance; enterprise-grade security and governance; enterprise-scale automations and integrations

Monday Sales CRM Pros

  • All plans include unlimited boards to organize projects, clients and processes.
  • Timesaving automations are especially easy to build and deploy.
  • All monday sales CRM plans have 24/7 customer support.

Monday Sales CRM Cons

  • All paid monday sales CRM plans have a three-seat minimum.
  • Automations are limited to a set number of actions per month.
  • Lacks some of the wider integration support for third-party tools that some of its competitors boast.

What Monday Sales CRM Customers Have To Say

Monday customers often praised the company for its team collaboration and task management features, as well as its wealth of automations. However, some complained that scalability could be difficult at times. Monday earned an 8.4/10 on TrustRadius.

Read our full monday Sales CRM review for more information.

What Is CRM Software?

CRM, or customer relationship management, software is a computer program that can help your sales teams log communications with potential and existing customers, manage leads and sometimes build marketing campaigns. In other words, a CRM allows you to foster and maintain relationships with your customers.

Businesses use CRM software for various reasons. Initially, the CRM industry was geared primarily toward sales and PR professionals, offering a convenient way for them to store information and track communications with prospects and customers. Today, CRM solutions straddle several areas, such as marketing, analytics, communications and light project management. Some CRM systems even have built-in chatbots and calling capabilities, letting your team communicate with clients directly from the system.

Organizations that need a digital way to manage their customer pipeline, nurture client relationships, and coordinate between their sales and marketing teams use CRM systems. Usage spans sectors, from retail businesses to service companies and across both B2B and B2C enterprises.

What Are the Benefits of CRM Software?

Zendesk integrations

Many CRM platforms come with third-party app integrations to extend their functionality and provide support to customers’ preferred tools. Pictured is a view of Zendesk’s app directory, which features integrations with a range of popular external tools. (Source: Zendesk)

CRM software provides a central digital location where your employees can log all customer communications, track sale deals and build marketing campaigns. This offers businesses a range of abilities and advantages. Below are some of the top benefits of using a CRM.

  • Organize and maintain customer information. CRM software is ideal for companies that rely on up-to-date data to service their customers. This is the most basic yet essential benefit that CRM software can provide for your business — an easily accessible database of customer information.
  • Streamline and scale your sales cycle. With the data you collect via your CRM system, you can streamline your sales process and cut out unnecessary steps. As the program tracks sales behavior and outcomes, you’ll see which types of communication work and which don’t. When you need to expand your sales process, a CRM solution can help with that, too.
  • Build customer relationships. CRM software helps your team engage and build lasting connections with potential and existing customers. Using the data stored in your CRM, your team can track customer information and cater their interactions to meet each client’s unique needs and preferences.
  • Automate your workflows. CRM software automates data entry and administrative tasks, allowing your team to focus on building meaningful customer relationships. CRM workflow automation also minimizes the potential for human error and makes your business operate more efficiently. [Find out the difference between automation and machine learning.]
  • Forecast your sales. CRM software allows you to predict future sales based on past sales data. Sales reports generated by your CRM and the insights you glean from them are valuable for companies that want to project future needs and costs.

How Much Does CRM Software Cost?

Most CRM software is priced on a per-user, per-month basis. Many businesses opt for annual billing to simplify the payment process and save money, as most CRM vendors reduce their monthly rates for clients who pay annually.

With that in mind, these are the general subscription costs you can expect when shopping for a CRM system.

  • $0: Free CRMs are worth considering for brand-new businesses and independent contractors who are getting started with this type of platform. Most free plans include a very limited set of CRM features and user accounts. Ultimately, they can be a good way to learn how to organize customer outreach and begin using modern sales tools, but they’re not a long-term solution for most businesses.
  • $10 to $15: Inexpensive CRMs are a great option for tiny businesses with modest needs. Many providers charge only $10 to $15 per user per month for these products. Affordable systems like these don’t usually require much in-house tech support to implement the CRM. If you want a fast CRM solution with just the essential tools and minimal hassle, this price range is a great place to find one. Just make sure the storage options meet your needs, as low-cost CRM software usually has caps on the number of customer records you can store.
  • $20 to $40: For features beyond the basics and a broader range of integrations with third-party systems, a CRM in the realm of $20 to $40 per user per month will likely meet your needs. The majority of CRM software we reviewed falls into this price range because they’re designed to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. As you consider platforms at this cost, check for limitations on the number of supported users and storage caps that could force you to upgrade to higher-priced plans.
  • $50 to $75: CRM software that costs between $50 and $75 per user per month is typically intended for large businesses. Such solutions often include options to integrate with legacy systems and allow greater customization than less expensive CRM software. As powerful as they are, systems like these are not necessary for most small businesses.
  • $250 or more: The most high-end CRM systems and their vendors often provide extensive training, customization and implementation services with the software. Another reason for the steep cost of these solutions is that they usually aren’t cloud-based services. Instead, they are hosted locally, which is helpful for organizations with unique security needs.

CRM providers usually break down their services into packages that vary in features and costs. For example, a vendor may have multiple plans that range in price from $20 to $40 per user per month based on the tools included. Beyond this monthly subscription cost, there may be fees for additional users, more records, implementation, custom onboarding and phone support. Some vendors also offer add-on services (like Pipedrive’s lead-boosting tool) that, while appealing and valuable, can increase your expenses.

Did You Know?Did you know
Most CRM services offer free trial periods for new customers, so you can test-drive the system of your choice without the risk of sinking money into a product that ultimately doesn’t work for you.

How to Choose CRM Software

Not all CRM software is created equal. The steps below will help you choose a CRM system that suits your business and integrates seamlessly into your existing workflow.

1. Set a budget.

CRM costs range from free to upward of $1,000 per month, so it’s best to set your budget before you start shopping. Consider how much you can realistically afford to spend each month for this continuing service. As you search the market, eliminating CRM software outside your price range will help you narrow down your options before you drill down into feature sets and service plans.

2. Make a feature list.

The number of tools and functions in even the most basic CRM system can be overwhelming. For clarity, list the CRM features you must have and those that would be nice to have but aren’t crucial. This is a good time to survey employees in your company who will use the CRM. They may recommend features you hadn’t thought of or cross off ones you thought they would need.

3. Gather referrals from businesses like yours.

In a crowded sales technology market, choosing the right CRM can be daunting.  Recommendations from people who understand the needs of your industry from the inside are invaluable. If you don’t personally know anyone who can give you a referral, reading user testimonials on sites like TrustRadius can be helpful.

4. Assess the current market.

The CRM space changes rapidly as technology evolves, so high-profile solutions you’ve heard of in the past may no longer be the best choice. Small business advice websites like Business News Daily and trade publications are the best way to see what’s currently popular and what’s not. Look for recommendation guides like this one that can point you to the best products.

5. Test your top choices.

At this point, you should be able to narrow down the list of possibilities based on your budget, desired features, referrals and testimonials, and professional recommendations. You’ll have a sense of which CRM software has the most potential, so take each one of the remaining contenders for a test drive.

Most providers offer free trials, so try as many programs as your team is interested in before spending money on a permanent solution. Vendor sales reps are usually eager to answer any questions you have or show you a demo of their product, but remember that it’s their job to present their CRM in the best light possible. Using the software yourself is the best way to see if the performance matches the hype.

6. Make your decision.

Once you’ve done your due diligence, it’s time to make a final selection. Which CRM checked all your boxes and performed best under testing? It may take a while to arrive at this answer, but it’s time well spent on such an important investment.

Key TakeawayKey takeaway
CRM software is a critical part of your sales and marketing teams’ daily operations, which serve as the engine of your revenue. Keep detailed notes as you explore various platforms and invite other team members to join demos and take advantage of free trials.

What Are Some Features of CRM Software?

When searching for CRM software, it’s important to know what kind of functionality you want and need. Here are the essential features you’ll find in most CRM systems.

Contact Management

Contact management tools allow you to collect information about your customers and build customer profiles. You can then segment customers into different client groups, identify patterns and trends across your customer base, and tailor your services accordingly. You can also use contact management features to communicate with customers and track all interactions.

Lead Management

As your business generates leads, you need ways to store and evaluate them. Lead management tools can help you develop a lead pipeline and qualify those leads. With lead scoring, you can identify which prospective customers are the most promising.

Deal Management

Your sales team will continually determine which leads to pursue, and you’ll need a way to monitor where each lead is in the sales process. Deal management features allow you to see which leads are in the closing stages and which opportunities need more effort.

Marketing Tools

The best CRM systems include marketing tools that aid sales conversion. Many programs, for example, include email templates that target prospects at different stages of the sales process or let you personalize messaging. Some integrate with social media platforms, allowing you to optimize your posts to better reach your desired audience. These features enable your marketing and sales teams to work toward shared goals. [Read related article: How CRMs Streamline Email Marketing]

Workflow Automation

Workflow automation features let your CRM conduct tasks without much (or any) employee involvement. For example, you could set the software up to automatically notify a sales representative whenever a customer fills out a form on your website. You can also customize triggers that send emails to clients, generate recurring reports and update customer records.

Reporting

Pipedrive reporting

Each CRM software provides reporting and insights differently, with some tools providing greater granularity or report customization features. In the above, a user navigates through a reporting dashboard example on Pipedrive, which displays a range of information visually, including data on revenue forecast, deals started by employee, and deals added by month. (Source: Pipedrive)

CRM reports break down your sales and marketing data to help you better understand and analyze leads, customer buying behaviors, the number of outbound calls your team makes and other vital metrics. Some CRM platforms offer more report types than others, with some allowing you to customize your CRM metrics and decide how you want the data presented, such as in bar graphs or pie charts.

CRM Software vs. ERP: What's the Difference?

CRM software and ERP, or enterprise resource planning, systems have some overlap and are sometimes mistakenly confused with each other. However, they have distinct differences.

ERP platforms are used to manage nearly every aspect of a business’s operations, including accounting, human resources, inventory and analytics. As such, CRM capabilities are often built into ERP software. An example of this is Oracle Netsuite, which is an ERP program that boasts CRM tools. Businesses purchase the core Netsuite platform and can add on the CRM module.

In contrast, CRM software focuses specifically on managing customer information, logging interactions with clients, storing sales-related lead details and coordinating marketing tasks. While some CRMs can integrate with accounting software and POS systems that feature inventory management tools, they are built specifically for sales and marketing use cases. This narrower focus compared to ERP software can be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on your business’s needs.

What Are Some Alternative CRM Software Options?

Not sure if our best picks above are the right fit for your CRM software needs? Consider these alternative options, which — based on our reviews and testing — also provide reliable and effective customer relationship management services.

Zendesk

Zendesk offers unique native integrations and customer service products to provide support through the entire customer life cycle. Zendesk Sell maximizes collaboration across departments, allowing sales, marketing and support teams to work together with the same centralized data and goals. This CRM provider unifies data from multiple customer touchpoints, preventing different departments from duplicating communications or missing context. Zendesk’s smart lists also help sales teams segment customers and filter leads, enabling marketing teams to monitor customer engagements and develop effective communications. Whether you’re using the basic plan or an upper-level package, you’ll be able to provide high-level customer support with all of the current and historical information you need at a glance. Read our full Zendesk review for more details.

HoneyBook

HoneyBook is a cost-effective CRM that offers a wide range of tools that not only support lead generation and nurturing but also existing client management functions. We liked that this platform includes invoicing and payment tools, giving businesses the option to forgo a separate invoicing platform. We also liked HoneyBook’s AI-powered automations, which make it easy to set up custom workflows and support your business’s unique sales funnel with the support of artificial intelligence. There’s no need for coding knowledge to do so, making HoneyBook a truly accessible tool for any entrepreneur or sales professional.

Zoho

Zoho CRM is designed to increase leads, accelerate sales and measure performance accurately with ease and efficiency. Zia, the CRM’s AI-powered assistant, predicts leads and deals, identifies potential customers for conversion and helps large sales teams focus their efforts with user-friendly guidance. Zoho is an appealing option for remote workforces thanks to its gamification features that encourage friendly competition among sales teams. Every lead, call and deal can be made into a trophy that generates a competitive and encouraging sales atmosphere, no matter where your team members are located. With Zoho, it’s also easy to build a custom and user-friendly system with hundreds of available integrations and a flexible dashboard. Read our full Zoho review for more information.

Insightly

Offering a unique and highly useful relationship-linking feature, Insightly CRM gives customers extra control over their sales operations. For small teams without the ability to manage all the details of sales processes, Insightly offers a dynamic and easily customizable solution. Administrators and sales representatives can build their ideal CRM dashboards to highlight particular contexts, metrics and workflows. While AI and predictive tools are available only with the most expensive packages, all of Insightly’s service plans allow you to create specific rules for common events that trigger actions within the sales process.

LessAnnoying

LessAnnoying CRM is an ideal tool for small businesses or startups that need basic, turnkey CRM functionality done well. LessAnnoying focuses on simplicity. The platform offers a straightforward interface and only one plan tier. Even so, LessAnnoying provides strong customer support. While barebones to start, LessAnnoying comes with native integrations for some of the most popular third-party tools, including Google, Mailchimp and Microsoft Outlook. In focusing on simplicity, LessAnnoying does lack some advanced features, customization options and data tracking that some teams may consider essential. However, for beginners, LessAnnoying provides a strong foundation.

Keap

With its user-friendly interface and simple setup, Keap is another appealing tool for businesses engaging with CRM software for the first time. Keap is designed to help users learn quickly without assuming they’re CRM experts. This all-in-one CRM platform stores all customer activity in a centralized space and automatically adds all customer interactions to grow your team’s ability to sell and offer support efficiently. Right from the dashboard, your team can text, email, book appointments, process purchases and add invoices with one click. To make building your business easier, Keap automates contact management intuitively from activities across multiple platforms. Designed to help grow your business, Keap provides premade and customizable templates for new pipelines and helpful video guides explaining the software’s capabilities. Without any coding experience, you can trigger automated actions to help turn leads into sales. Read our full Keap review for more information.

Methodology

At Business News Daily, our team of small business sales and tech experts have been researching and testing CRM software for years, comparing some of the leading solutions across more than 20 key metrics. We considered 65 CRM software platforms and closely reviewed and tested 25 of them before selecting our seven best picks above. 

Below are the factors we considered when determining our best picks. Each is weighted according to how much the criteria typically influences business owners’ buying decisions.

  • Pricing (30%): We considered not just the base cost of the software but also the number of pricing plans, per user fees, and add-on costs to determine which provide the most value per dollar.
  • Features (25%): We particularly evaluated the dashboard and tested features like customer data management, workflow automation, sales pipelines, deal rot measurement and built-in communications tools. We also looked for AI tools such as predictive analytics or automated follow-up notifications.
  • Usability (20%): We paid close attention to the ease with which the software could be set up, how intuitive we found the navigation and use of key features, and the training and informational resources available to new users. We also considered whether the software offered a responsive mobile app or mobile browser.
  • Customer Support (15%): We examined the ease with which customers can contact the team in need of help. We reviewed customer feedback to determine how well the customer service team meets the needs of existing customers.
  • Expert Insight (10%): Our product reviews are conducted by software and sales experts who are deeply familiar with CRM solutions. Given their institutional knowledge of different platforms and firsthand experiences using these programs, we take their judgment into account when determining our best picks.

In addition to scoring each CRM software we reviewed based on this criteria, we also determined the best use case scenarios for each. No two businesses are exactly alike, so we put ourselves in the shoes of different types of small business owners and identify the best CRM software for a variety of needs.

To learn more about how we review and test tech products and services for small businesses, read about our editorial process here. 

Frequently Asked Questions About CRM

When CRM software claims to be “open source,” it typically means that some or all of the source code is available to users for review and modification. Developers and programmers who want the ability to customize their CRM software extensively often opt for open-source solutions.

Yes, you can integrate CRM software with other tools. Sales and marketing add-ons are the most common integrations for CRM solutions. For example, you may want to integrate Mailchimp to expand your CRM’s email marketing functionality. Reporting and tracking tools are also popular. 

Direct integrations, also known as native integrations, typically connect most quickly and seamlessly, while third-party integrations require middleware to facilitate the exchange of data between the CRM, the operating system and the other applications. Custom application programming interface (API) integrations typically take longer to implement because the integration has to be built.

CRM systems help your sales team log communications, manage leads and sometimes build marketing campaigns. In other words, a CRM allows you to build and maintain relationships with your customers and other businesses.

Organizations use CRM solutions for various reasons. Initially, though, the CRM industry was geared primarily toward sales and PR professionals, offering a convenient way to store information and track communications with customers. Today, CRM solutions straddle several areas, such as marketing, analytics, communication and light project management. Some CRM systems even have built-in chatbot and calling capabilities, letting your sales reps communicate with clients directly from the system.

Hubspot is the best free CRM software. This vendor offers a “Free Tools” package for up to five users at no cost. You’ll have access to features like contact management, deal pipeline, list segmentation, reporting dashboards, form automation, email marketing and more. Hubspot’s free plan is the ideal solution for businesses with basic CRM needs, but we like that you can also use the App Marketplace to integrate the Hubspot platform with other programs and make it more robust.

Whether you need CRM software for your business depends on the kind of business you run and your sales and marketing needs. For example, an extremely small one-person business that doesn’t rely on repeat customers but rather on one-off sales probably doesn’t need a CRM because their company doesn’t need to nurture customer relationships. That said, that solopreneur potentially could still benefit from using the software to track leads, move prospects through the sales cycle and monitor their marketing efforts’ impact on sales.

More generally, if your business has goals to increase its closing percentage, align its sales and marketing workflows, have a central repository for customer, sales and marketing data, and have tools to analyze that data, you need CRM software. Other reasons you may need a CRM include low customer retention, wasted time on administrative tasks, poor communication with customers, and inaccurate customer segmentation and sales forecasting — all problems a CRM platform can help you solve.

Any business that wants help managing its lead pipeline, closing deals and fostering customer relationships should consider CRM software. Companies with dedicated sales and marketing teams will find CRMs particularly useful, but even smaller organizations with a handful of team members can benefit from using these programs. Common types of businesses that use CRM software include real estate brokerages, brick-and-mortar and e-commerce retailers, B2B vendors, hotels, manufacturers, nonprofits, car dealerships, consultancies — the list is really endless, with business sizes spanning from tiny hair salons to corporate behemoths like Coca-Cola.

Yes, you can use your CRM software on a mobile device if your chosen CRM platform has mobile-browser compatibility or a dedicated mobile app. Freshsales, Salesforce and Pipedrive, for example, all have mobile apps and include them in their entry-level plans. These apps allow you to execute sales and marketing tasks on your mobile device. [Learn about the benefits of mobile CRMs.]

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Written By: Jeff HaleBusiness Operations Insider and Senior Analyst
Jeff Hale is a communications and content marketing expert with extensive experience leading teams as a managing editor. He has deep knowledge of B2B communications technologies, including business phone systems and customer relationship management (CRM) software. Jeff is also an entrepreneur who knows the realities of launching and managing a small business, where he serves as a Content Director and SEO Consultant. At Business News Daily, Jeff primarily covers business technology, including VoIP phone systems, remote PC access software and CRMs. Jeff is also an entrepreneur who knows the realities of launching and managing a small business, where he serves as a Content Director and SEO Consultant. In his role as an entrepreneur and professional, Jeff has identified new market opportunities for Fortune 500 clients and developed communications strategies and digital branding for tech startups and small businesses. Jeff holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Irvine, and an MBA from Chapman University.
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