Tech and businesses need CRM systems to automate tasks, organize leads, increase sales, and drive growth. Statistics show that 94% of tech companies use CRM systems and 70% of businesses utilize them for customer management. These figures point to its extensive benefits across marketing, sales, and client interaction.
In this article, we’ve compiled a list of our top 8 picks, based on efficiency and popularity. Each of these tools offers a range of features that perfectly fit businesses’ needs.
9 Best CRMs for Business Growth
1. Hubspot
Hubspot is the most popular and best choice for startups and small businesses. It functions as a jack-of-all-trades tool. It helps owners manage their clients, sales, and marketing departments from one space.
Hubspot provides basic services such as contact management, email tracking, and pipeline management. All of these are designed to improve the customers’ experience.
Pros
- Its free plan has a lot of powerful features like deal tracking and email marketing.
- Easy to use and user-friendly interface for beginners.
- It is customizable to suit business needs.
- Hubspot offers different “hubs” that coexist seamlessly and are needed for other purposes.
- It provides guides and easy-to-understand tutorials to help navigate the platforms. Additionally, their support team is always on standby to provide answers.
Cons
- Customization is limited with the free plan.
- Access to advanced features is expensive.
- The pipeline CRM is more traditional than modern and cannot handle complex AI operations.
Pricing
- The free plan covers all basic CRM features for 2 users.
- Paid plan starts at $20 monthly (the yearly billing cycle comes with a discount).
Note: The Marketing, Sales, and Operation Hub plans have additional costs.
2. Pipedrive
This CRM focuses on sales; its activities are centered on closing deals. Therefore, Pipedrive is centered around contact tracking, email integration, basic automation, and deal management. It was built to be effective and lightweight, helping teams close more deals without being overwhelmed.
While other CRMs contain multiple features that perform a wide range of functions, Pipedrive sticks to sales visibility. This makes it easy to track activities at ease, without the complexity of running simultaneous business operations.
Pros
- Pipedrive is simple to navigate and easy to learn.
- The pricing is affordable.
- Pipedrive is committed to action and not administrative jargon.
- It has strong automation abilities.
Cons
- It has limited marketing tools as it focuses on sales.
- Pipedrive’s AI tool cannot handle complex tasks
- It doesn’t provide in-depth information on data inputs compared to other tools.
Pricing
- The basic plan starts at $14.90 monthly per user.
- Advanced plans with additional benefits, such as data analysis and automation, and a higher cost of $27.90 monthly per user.
3. Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM has a mark for providing a combination of affordability and advanced features. This AI tool is not only affordable but also flexible and easy to customize. It can be used by small, medium, and large business empires, Real estate brokers, consulting firms, and B2B Saas companies.
As a customer relationship platform, Zoho CRM handles everything from managing, and tracking deals, leads, or projects at their different stages while analyzing performance. Also, it handles marketing campaigns and effective sales automation.
Key features include:
- Customized workflow.
- An AI-powered assistant, “Zia,” that provides insights for better improvement.
- Connect with clients via multiple means of communication.
- Receive detailed insights on business performance.
- Unlike other tools, Zoho allows users to explore other apps within the system.
Pros
- Can be customized at any level.
- AI-powered insights.
- Affordable fees.
- Multiple channels of communication.
Cons
- The interface is not beginner-friendly and may be too overwhelming to handle.
- The workflow system isn’t as appealing as other platforms.
- When in heavy use, the performance rate may drop.
Pricing
- The free plan can accommodate 3 users.
- The basic plan starts at $14 per month per user.
- The enterprise plan starts at $40 monthly per user.
Also read: The Very Best AI for Business Plans
4. Nimble
This is the best platform to manage a customer base on social media. Nimble makes this easy by extracting communication history and social media activities. With this information, business owners can grow relationships and connections.
Key features:
- Nimble sends out smart reminders on important dates.
- It connects with social media to extract information.
- Nimble combines all social interactions, emails, and messages in one place.
- It allows grouping and segregation of contacts across multiple channels.
Nimble is recommended to all business owners, freelancers, and contractors who want easy ways of tracking contacts on social media platforms. It automatically updates new contact records with their corresponding social media information. This can help with customer follow-ups at accurate periods.
Pros
- It is very affordable.
- It is not cumbersome and is easy to use.
- Nimble has integration with popular social media.
- Its smart reminders help with consistent outreach.
Cons
- Limited access to advanced information
- Absence of pipeline management.
- Workflow customization, or AI-driven automation, isn’t advanced.
Pricing
- Nimble has one plan at $29.90 monthly per user.
5. Freshsales
Freshsales is a sales team CRM with AI. It helps to detect leads that are worth pursuing and those that aren’t. Also, it is popularly known for its AI assistant, Freddy. Freddy helps to predict, forecast deals, and recommend the best actions based on results.
Pros
- Simple and easy user interface.
- Inbuilt communication tools.
- Good AI lead scoring is included in the system.
Cons
- It has too many features that can be hard to use on a first trial.
- Its automated features are not as strong as other platforms.
- Freddy AI is less flexible because it focuses more on sales.
- Deep customization requires higher tires.
Pricing
- No free plan.
- The growth plan begins at $18 monthly per user.
- Pro plan begins at $47 monthly per user.
6. Microsoft Dynamics 365
This is another CRM created for sales teams. It is a subsidiary of Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM suite, a home to other products such as Microsoft 365, Teams, and Outlook. It is a great choice for teams that are already embedded in the Microsoft system.
Key features include:
- Seamless integration for businesses already using Microsoft systems.
- Combines CRM and ERP tools.
- Thorough AI-driven insights.
- Provides an in-depth predictive analysis that helps the team make better and more informed decisions.
- All sales processes are automated, increasing efficiency and reducing manual labor.
Pros
- Ideal for businesses already using Microsoft tools.
- Reports can be customized to fit the team’s needs.
- Compatible with businesses that have complex processes because its advanced features can help manage the sales cycle systems.
- It is 100% secure because it’s built on Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure.
Cons
- Microsoft Dynamics is expensive and can be complex because it requires certain resources.
- It requires the services of an IT consultant.
- Licensing costs can become too voluminous to handle, particularly for large businesses or teams.
Pricing
- The basic package is $65 monthly per user.
7. Capsule CRM
Capsule CRM is a simple but fast tool that performs tasks team members may find overwhelming. Examples include marketing activities, managing contacts, sales pipelines, and day-to-day tasks. Rather than being a “jack-of-all-trades”, Capsule CRM focuses on providing a streamlined experience for small teams.
This way, things are organized and deals move faster. Capsule CRM isn’t a regular tool but a classic that serves as a digital address book and a deal tracker. Furthermore, it’s not only limited to small businesses but also to solopreneurs and startups.
Key features include:
- Contact management and tracking.
- Email marketing enables business owners to send emails and stay in contact.
- It integrates with other tools such as Mailchimp, Xero, and G Suite.
- Team tracking helps team members stay on top of tasks and meet deadlines.
Pros
- Visually pleasing with a touch of modern design.
- User friendly and easy to set up making it a perfect choice for beginners.
- It is very affordable.
Cons
- The email marketing tools are basic and may be unsuitable for big businesses.
- Inability to provide in-depth insights and automation, as it does not offer AI workflows.
Pricing
- The starter plan is $21 monthly per user.
8. Monday Sales CRM
Monday Sales CRM, built on the monday.com platform, is designed to help manage the entire sales process, from lead generation through to post-sale activities. Its biggest strength is flexibility.
Everything (pipelines, data fields, automation, and more) can be tailored to a brand’s unique sales processes. Key features include:
- Customizable visual boards to help manage deals, contacts, and pipelines.
- Communication tracking that keeps team members abreast of interactions with customers or prospects.
Pros
- Strong automation that helps streamline processes.
- Highly flexible and can be customized to fit the task.
- A visual board that makes it easy to handle client interaction.
Cons
- It’s expensive.
- It’s limited because it’s just a project management tool.
- Monday Sales is not suitable for all businesses as it lacks certain CRM features.
Pricing
- Basic plan starts at $12 seat/month.
9. Instantly AI
Instantly AI is a sales engagement tool for automating and scaling cold email outreach and lead generation. It was made for businesses, sales teams, agencies, and freelancers to connect with potential clients efficiently and expand their customer base
Pros
- It can accommodate and warm up an unlimited number of email accounts.
- It has warm-up systems, inbox rotation, and protection features to ensure emails avoid landing in spam.
- Instantly has an extensive database of verified B2B contacts that can be filtered down to qualified leads.
- It reduces the effort needed to create complex email outreaches with its automation and sequencing abilities.
- Instantly AI has a centralized reply management feature, Unibox, that converges all replies.
Cons
- The cost of the full suite of features can be steep.
- The pricing structure can be complicated. Access to features may need to be paid for separately (e.g., for sending and for the lead database) or as add-ons.
- Depending on the use case, the CRM can seem basic.
Pricing
- Pricing starts at $47 per month, billed monthly.
The Bottom Line
All CRM listed above have distinct roles they play depending on the required services. For instance, startups benefit more from Zoho or Hubspot, while enterprises will benefit more from Microsoft. The key is to find the right tool that saves time and keeps clients returning.
FAQs
1. What are the 4 types of CRM?
- Operational CRM: Helps manage customer interactions and automate sales, marketing, and service tasks.
- Analytical CRM: Analyzes customer data to improve decision-making.
- Collaborative CRM: Improves communication between teams and with customers.
- Strategic CRM: Focuses on long-term customer relationships and business growth.
2. Is WhatsApp a CRM?
No, WhatsApp is not a CRM. It is a messaging app. However, businesses can connect WhatsApp to CRM tools to manage customer communication.
