8 Best CRM Software of 2023 (Compared and Reviewed)

Coordinating between the moving parts of your business and making sure your customers have the best experience possible is difficult.

This is why you need to invest in the right CRM software.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software makes it easier to develop a relationship with your customers by providing a unique, personalized customer journey and experience across all channels.  

Over 91% of companies prefer using a CRM software as they help streamline business operations by taking care of most of the mundane day-to-day tasks while improving communication between teams.

Thanks to a plethora of options available in the market, it is important to choose the right CRM that meets your business needs and budget.

What is the best CRM software?

Well, that answer is subjective. It truly depends on what you and your business need. Are you a small business or an enterprise? Does the CRM fit into your current workflow? Is it easy to use? Can your employees use this software?

But most important, does the CRM software make your life easier?

After fiddling around with a bunch of different CRMs for both enterprise and small businesses, here is our curated list of the 8 best CRM software categorized by different use cases.

1. Keap

Best Overall CRM Software

If you need a CRM tool for your small business, then Keap is the best option for you. This all-in-one sales and marketing automation platform is designed to help entrepreneurs grow their business.

Formerly known as Infusionsoft, Keap is the all-in-one solution every entrepreneur needs to win. Keap understands that every business is unique when it comes to customer relationship management and offers the flexibility your small business needs.

Key Features

CRM
Cross-platform software allows you to access all your customer information from any device

Sales & Marketing Automation
Automated emails, texts, and other marketing actions triggered by the customer

Sales Pipeline
You can easily track all your leads in one place as they move through the sales pipeline

Ecommerce and Payments
You can create custom ecommerce features, invoicing, and payment processes that meet your business needs

Reporting and Analytics
Keap also offers a comprehensive reporting and analytics system to visualize sales information and stats, and gain valuable insights to help your business grow

User Experience

Keap is a powerful, flexible CRM software that allows business owners to automate marketing and sales processes. Its comprehensive reporting and analytics function gives every member of your team a bird’s eye view of the entire business and makes it easier to track and manage payments. Integration with different platforms and devices makes it easier for users to communicate with team members and clients.

It will take users some time to get used to the different features and options available with Keap.

Pricing Plans

Keap offers three plans at three distinct price points. Pro and Max at $169 and $249 per month respectively, and the fully-customisable Max Classic plan (their equivalent to and enterprise plan).

PROS

• Best CRM software for small businesses
• Comprehensive reporting and analytics systems

CONS

• Learning curve

2. Pipedrive

Best CRM Software for Sales Teams

Pipedrive is ideal for small businesses looking to improve sales. It is the most affordable option on the list with plans starting at $11.90, and the platform is said to help new users average at least 28% more deals in their first year.

Pipedrive is a CRM software built by sales people making it ideal to help drive sales for your business. The platform helps make your sales team more efficient with activity-based selling and features like a visual sales pipeline, task automation, and activity reminders. 

Key Features

Workflow Automation
Remove manual repetitive tasks and free up sales rep’s time for more important tasks

Activities Overview
You will never miss a task or forget a call with to-do lists, focus-views, reminders and more

Visual Sales Pipeline
Know exactly where each prospect is in the pipeline and take action to move them forward in their journey

Over 350+ integrations
Seamless integrations with third-party applications allows your sales teams to work from anywhere

Mobile app
Mobile integration allows you to call prospects directly from your browser or mobile app

User Experience

One of the main benefits of Pipedrive is its ease-of-use. The simple layout and intuitive design removes the complexity that comes with other CRM softwares, making it a great choice for first-time CRM users.

Integrations with third-party applications like Google Apps, Mailchimp and Zapier, and a powerful API ensures most business processes can be found in one place. Overall, it is a simple, affordable, and easy-to-use CRM for your small to medium business.

Pricing Plans

Pipedrive offers four paid plans: Essential, Advanced, Professional, & Enterprise with prices ranging from $11 to $74.90 per user per month.

PROS

• Easy-to-use and intuitive layout
• Seamless integration with over 350+ apps
• Affordable pricing

CONS

• Need more comprehensive filters to derive insights easily

3. Kartra

Complete CRM for your Business

With Kartra, you can easily take your product or service to the world using an all-in-one solution for your business. From email marketing to page building to automated sales funnels, no matter what you do – Kartra has every feature you need to sell your product. 

Kartra takes away the hassle of integrating different solutions at different stages of the pipeline by bringing everything under the Kartra umbrella. It doesn’t wound like your traditional CRM software, but that’s what makes it unique. It has every feature you need to manage your customer’s information, cultivate relationships, and sell your products.

Key Features

Kartra Page Builder
Kartra’s most popular feature offers 100+ templates to choose from and the drag and drop builder makes it easy for anyone to use.

Sales Funnel
Build a complete sales funnel that integrates seamlessly with the Kartra ecosystem

Kartra Analytics
Comprehensive analytics right at your fingertips to see which emails are performing, landing pages are converting, and which funnels are driving the most sales

Email Marketing
Automate your email marketing campaigns with behavior-based automation. Know what works and what doesn’t with intelligent split testing

User Experience

Since Kartra comes with so many features, there is a lot to learn for the new user. Thanks to well-made training videos and a thriving community of solopreneurs, help is always a question away. 

Kartra is built for ease-of-use for new businesses who are not well-versed in website design and building. Since it is an all-in-one platform, it saves users time and money in learning new softwares and integrating with their current workflow.

Pricing Plans

Kartra offers 4 plans: Starter, Silver, Gold, & Platinum.
Small Biz Elevator has convinced Kartra to offer a 14-day trial of their software for new business owners. For only $1, you can get access to all the features in your selected plan. This gives you the opportunity to really test out the platform before committing.

4. Hubspot

Best CRM Software for Marketing

Hubspot CRM is the best CRM for marketing teams but works incredibly well across sales, and customer service teams as well. It offers a free version that outshines every other CRM software in the market, and can be upgraded to meet the needs of your growing business.

Hubspot enables growth-minded businesses to optimize customer relationships and sales processes. It is the perfect CRM software to help both small and large businesses scale at their pace with a completely customizable suite of solutions to meet their needs.

Key Features

Free CRM
Get access to hundreds of powerful features and manage up to a million contacts without ever paying a cent

Scalable Solution
All Hubspot tools are designed to scale with your business and face the need for more advanced features across departments

Sales Pipeline
You can view your entire sales pipeline in one place with actionable insights into individual performance and sales activity

300+ Integrations
The CRM supports over 300 integrations with apps, APIs, and solution partners to create a customizable user experience

User Experience

Hubspot CRM is lightweight and easy to use with all the tools your sales team needs. You can grow your leads and move them along the pipeline faster with lead scoring and sales prospecting features.

Hubspot is not just for sales teams but also helps marketing teams create web forms, landing pages, and emails easily with its drag-and-drop capabilities.

Pricing Plans

Hubspot has a free plan with some great features that you can start with, after which you can upgrade your plan depending on your needs. You have three upgrades to choose from: Starter, Professional, Enterprise starting at $50/month and going up to $3,600/month.

Also, if none of these plans suit your needs, Hubspot offers an entirely custom CRM bundle where you choose only the features you need to grow your business. 

5. Zoho

Best Enterprise-level CRM Software

With the functions and capabilities the platform has to offer, ZohoCRM is one of the best CRM software available in the market at its price point. 

Although it is a great entry-level option for small businesses, Zoho truly shines when you subscribe to their enterprise level plans. Its clean and intuitive interface makes it simple and easy to use for users at any level.

Key Features

Highly-customizable
Zoho CRM is a highly customizable platform with extensions and integrations to better manage sales, finances, and so on

AI-powered Sales Assistant
Zia, Zoho’s AI assistant, has advanced capabilities that assist in workflow automation and revenue forecasting, making the job of sales teams easier

Third-party Integrations
It allows integrations with other third-party systems like Evernote, Mailchimp, G Suite, WordPress, and Unbounce, to name a few

User Experience

Zoho CRM is one of the easiest platforms for first-time CRM users. Recent updates to the UI gives the platform a more modern feel. Also, the Kanban board elements have been rearranged for more clarity and ease of use.

A variety of external integrations, including with other Zoho products, allow the user to create a more personalized experience. However, these options are limited in the free plan.

Pricing Plans

Zoho offers 4 different plans: Standard, Professional, Enterprise, & Ultimate starting from $18 to $55 per user per month.

PROS

• Highly-customizable platform at very affordable prices
• Great option for both small and large businesses
• Workflow automation available with all plans

CONS

• Free plan has very limited option, and is only good enough for an individual or small business
• Limited customer support

6. Monday

Best CRM Software for Workflows

Monday.com allows you to customize every aspect of the sales cycle, from lead generation to post-sale support. It is useful for small teams, startups and businesses, helping them stay organized and streamlining processes. 

This CRM software is good for automating simple tasks and frees up employee time to focus on more important things.

Monday.com is a great CRM platform for both in-house teams and remote workers to simplify workflows, improve cross-team collaboration, and optimize time-and resource management. The visual dashboard is suitable for managing both simple and complex tasks.

Key Features

Switch between multiple views
Multiple view options such as Gantt charts and Kanban let teams easily navigate projects from start to finish

Visual dashboards
Visual dashboards help managers track progress, timelines, and budgets at a glance

Dedicated solutions
Monday.com offers solutions for specific use cases like sales, marketing, and development

User Experience

Monday.com CRM is a streamlined and user-friendly platform. You can get more information on every element by just clicking on it.  It’s visual dashboard of graphs, pie charts, and tables gives you a great overview of what your team is up to in an easily digestible format.

Pricing Plans

Prices range from $0 for the Individual (Free) plan to $16 per person for the Pro plan. They offer an Enterprise level plan for organizations looking for enterprise-grade features.

PROS

• Great tool to improve workflows
• Free version for up to 2 users

CONS

• High learning curve

7. Freshsales

Best CRM Software for Context-driven sales

Freshsales is the complete salesforce automation solution for your business. Its features are designed to empower your sales team with contextual information about your customers and automate menial tasks, so that your sales team can focus on what’s important – closing the deal.

Freshsales is a sales-focused CRM helping grow your revenue with context-driven sales. It helps you personalize your customer experience with a 360-degree view of the customer behavior.

Key Features

Freddy AI
Freshsales AI-powered assistant provides actionable insights that your sales team can use to deliver highly-personalized customer experiences

Mobile App
You can manage leads and prospects on the go with the Freshsales mobile app, available on both Android and iOS devices

Deal Management
You can visualize your entire sales process and break it down into actionable tasks to increase your chances of conversion

User Experience

Freshsales is an easy-to-use CRM software that maps out the entire customer journey in one place, giving you the ability to view all the customer’s interactions. 

Pricing Plans

Freshsales offers four plans: Free, Growth, Pro, and Enterprise. The prices differ for the monthly and annual plan. The monthly plans range from $0-$83 per user billed monthly. The annual subscription ranges from $0-$69 per user per month, billed monthly.

PROS

• Advanced automation and workflows
• Visual pipeline 
• 21-day free trial

CONS

• Integration with other solutions need improvement

8. Clickfunnels

Best CRM Software for Customer Journeys

Clickfunnels is the most popular platform for building your customer journey. This CRM software helps you understand your audience, build trust, and create a strong and lasting relationship. It is perfect for start-ups, freelancers, and coaching and consulting businesses.

Clickfunnels allows you to collect valuable customer’s information and create a personalized experience they’ll never forget.

Key Features

Landing Page Templates
You can use Clickfunnels to create professional landing pages for your website or funnel t grow your audience and increase sales

Split Testing
You can create multiple variations of your pages to ensure your marketing campaigns are functioning at their very best

Targeted Funnel Creation
Clickfunnels lets you create sales funnels to target the right customer, generate leads, and sell your products

User Experience

Clickfunnels makes setting up your sales funnels straight-forward with a simple user interface and a drag-and-drop editor. The dashboard presents everything you need in a clean and organized manner.

Pricing Plans

Freshsales offers four plans: Free, Growth, Pro, and Enterprise. The prices differ for the monthly and annual plan. The monthly plans range from $147-$297 per user billed monthly. The annual subscription ranges from $127-208 per user per month, billed monthly.

PROS

• Great all-in-one solution with tons of tools under one roof
• Massive user base and industry respect
• Cult-like following among direct response marketers 

CONS

• Pricing plans are more on the expensive side
• Customer support needs improvement

BONUS: Bitrix24

Best CRM Software for Mid-to-Large Teams

Bitrix24 is a collaborative suite that connects CRM, instant messaging, collaboration, and task management into one package trusted by over 10 million companies worldwide.

Bitrix24 helps you manage and streamline your business process. You can integrate most software, making it easier to organize and manage multiple CRM tools. 

Key Features

Sales Pipeline
With Bitrix24, you can easily visualize your sales pipeline and get a complete overview of interactions

Marketing Automation
Bitrix24 offers comprehensive marketing automation tools to ensure tasks are done effortlessly and consistently

Multi-channel Communication
Bitrix24 makes communication between teams easier with multiple channels to keep everyone tracked and informed

Mobile App
The mobile app gives you access to all the information and tools you need from anywhere at anytime

User Experience

Bitrix24 offers an extremely wide range of features which brings with it a steep learning curve. However, it comes with a large number of training resources to help the novice get a hang of the tool.

Pricing Plans

Apart from the Free version, Bitrix offers 4 different plans: Basic, Standard, Professional, and Enterprise with prices from $61 to $499 per month. Each version has a fixed number of users that can access the platform.

PROS

• 100% free CRM available
• Affordable pricing

CONS

• Steep learning curve
• Limitations on certain features like chat

Best CRM Software for Marketing Agencies

Highlevel CRM is a sales and marketing CRM software built by agencies for agencies. It incorporates everything you need to take your agency to the next level.

Key Features

Capture, Nurture, Close
The all-in-one platform can help you create the perfect funnel to nurture your leads and convert them into customers

Custom Apps
Create custom applications using Highlevel that you can sell to your customers at any price

24/7 Multichannel Support
You get access to an award-winning support service from anywhere at anytime

User Experience

Highlevel offers everything a digital marketing agency needs to succeed as a business. It is simple to use and offers a large number of features at a competitive price point. The steep learning curve is addressed with helpful training videos and 24/7 customer support.

Pricing Plans

Highlevel offers two plans: Starter at $97 per month & Unlimited at $297 per month. You can also get the comprehensive White Label Mobile App + Custom Zap Upgrade at $497 per month.

PROS

• All-in-one solution for your marketing campaign
• Easy to use
• Mobile app

CONS

• Steep learning curve

What is CRM software?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is an online tool that helps businesses manage customer information, track customer interaction, and add customer accounts.

What should you look for in a CRM software?

1. Workflow Automation

CRM software was developed to make your life easier and help you and your team become more productive by automating your workflow. You need to look for CRMs that do this effectively without disrupting your normal workflow.

2. Lead Management

The CRM should grow your leads through the entire sales pipeline, from lead to close.

3. Integrations

You should be able to integrate all or most of the tools you use on a daily basis with your CRM software to ensure you can go about your day with minimal disruptions. Remember, the CRM exists to make your life easier.

4. Analytics and Reporting

A good CRM software will have built-in reporting capabilities and provide intelligent insights into your customer and business.

5. Simple User Experience

Having an easy-to-use CRM ensures that your team is comfortable working with the software and is not wasting time trying to figure out how it works.

What are the benefits of CRM Software?

• Helps you understand and serve your customers better
• Ensures better collaboration between teams
• Improves workflow efficiency
• Reduces cost to the business