![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/27131357\/rawpixel-com-351765.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/27125439\/cs-200px.png\")
<\/div>\n![\"illustration](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/22130931\/startup-idea-quiz-blog-hero.png\")
<\/div>What makes a great small business CRM?<\/h2>\n
Most small business owners have modest software budgets, so price is usually their most crucial consideration.<\/p>\n
We focused on CRMs with plans that cost less than $50 per month per user.<\/p>\n
Small businesses also find usability necessary. Because your team probably won’t have experts in the CRM you’re using, the CRM should be easy to use across your company. Salespeople, marketers, your office manager, and even the CEO should be able to quickly and easily add, change, and use the information in the CRM.<\/p>\n
And because small business owners often run into software problems, we ensured each company offered strong phone, email, and chat support.<\/p>\n
Finally, we ensured that each CRM integrated with other business software. A stand-alone CRM is challenging and will ultimately hurt your marketing and sales efforts.<\/p>\n
Where to start when looking for a CRM<\/h2>\n
Many niche CMRs focus on specific industries, including lawyers, doctors, real estate agents, and beauty salons. And there are also more general CRMs that are customizable to work across many industries.<\/p>\n
The good news: whatever your needs, there\u2019s likely a CRM out there for you, so let’s look at the best CRMs for small businesses and startups.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/27131357\/zoho.png\")
Zoho CRM<\/p><\/div>\n
Zoho CRM<\/h2>\n
Zoho has been offering SaaS (software as a service)<\/a> since 1996 and boasts a considerable slate of apps.<\/p>\n Need email? Accounting software? A customer service system? Zoho has them and over 40 more apps.<\/p>\n One of their most popular apps is Zoho CRM<\/a>.<\/p>\n Like many apps, Zoho CRM has a free trial for their paid plans.<\/p>\n Zoho CRM offers web-based and mobile app support. Plans start from $14 per month and range to $52 per user for their ultimate edition.<\/p>\n Hubspot CRM<\/p><\/div>\n Hubspot CRM<\/a> is free.<\/p>\n However, just because it\u2019s free doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s light on features.<\/p>\n In addition to tight integration with Hubspot\u2019s other two products (for marketing and sales), Hubspot CRM has rich email features, social media and phone call support, SMS CRM integrations<\/a>, and integrated notes and meeting scheduling.<\/p>\n Hubspot CRM is considered a leader in this space. The robustness of its features, flexibility, and ease of use make it easy to see why.<\/p>\n The fact that you can use it free of charge makes this service a compelling choice, though it’s still worth exploring Hubspot alternatives<\/a> depending on your needs.<\/p>\n If you’re interested in a suite of products that work together, Hubspot may fit the bill.<\/p>\n Insightly<\/p><\/div>\n Insightly<\/a> has CRM features that may appeal to small businesses.<\/p>\n In addition to the usual customer relationship features like contact management<\/a> and sales pipeline management, Insightly supports transaction tracking and integrates with time-tracking services.<\/p>\n Well-designed mobile apps make accessing Insightly easy from just about anywhere. The service also offers customizable forms to capture leads and customer information<\/a> from the web.<\/p>\n It integrates with over 40 apps and services, from Google Apps and Mailchimp to Slack and Dropbox.<\/p>\n A range of paid plans is available, from $29 per user per month to $99 per user per month, with a free trial offered in each plan. If you have a small team, they have a free plan that supports two users.<\/p>\n Freshsales<\/p><\/div>\n Freshsales<\/a> is one of seven cloud-based apps created by Freshworks, headquartered in California.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a popular CRM with tools supporting small business needs to enterprise-level companies.<\/p>\n Freshsales is well-known for its extensive analytics and reporting features.<\/p>\n As primarily a sales CRM, its dashboard design and workflow are optimized for salespeople, but it\u2019s flexible enough to accommodate the needs of many different organizations.<\/p>\n Pricing ranges from $29 to $125 per user\/month for the enterprise level.<\/p>\n Base<\/p><\/div>\n Zendesk Sell<\/a> offers a \u201csales platform\u201d with a full-featured CRM alongside several sales-related products. Zendesk acquired the company that created Base, a popular CRM, and its Sell incorporates the popular features from Base. It’s a CRM built for salespeople.<\/p>\n Your account level determines the number of products you can access. Prices range from $19 per user per month to $99 per month for the full package.<\/p>\n Pipedrive<\/p><\/div>\n Pipedrive<\/a> targets small businesses that want a quick and easy way to get started with a CRM.<\/p>\n The interface is intuitive and straightforward, and it shouldn\u2019t take long to get going.<\/p>\n Like many other services here, Pipedrive has solid mobile apps and integrates with many third-party services.<\/p>\n There is support for web forms and email templates to gather and respond to leads quickly and efficiently.<\/p>\n Pipedrive does not have a free plan but provides a 14-day free trial. Plans cost between $12.50 per user\/month to $99 per user\/month.<\/p>\n Copper<\/p><\/div>\n Are you heavily invested in the Google ecosystem? Copper<\/a> could be the perfect match for you.<\/p>\n It\u2019s often called the \u201cG Suite CRM,\u201d for a good reason.<\/p>\n It integrates deeply into Google Apps, with many features available directly from Gmail or Google Calendar.<\/p>\n Copper is another CRM created with small businesses in mind.<\/p>\n It may not have as deep a feature list as some more robust CRMs, but it’s worth looking for many small businesses (especially those that use Google Apps).<\/p>\n Copper offers a free trial for plans that start at $25 per user\/month and go up to $119 per user\/month.<\/p>\n Less Annoying CRM<\/p><\/div>\n There\u2019s no missing Less Annoying CRM<\/a>\u2019s angle – it\u2019s right there, in the name. Less Annoying CRM wants to be, well, less annoying.<\/p>\n Built specifically for small businesses, Less Annoying CRM has an uncluttered interface that is functional and straightforward.<\/p>\n The emphasis here is on tools that meet the needs of small businesses.<\/p>\n There are no fancy, complex reports here, just cleanly designed features that try to avoid overwhelming users.<\/p>\n Like the service, Less Annoying CRM\u2019s pricing is also simple. There are no account tiers: it\u2019s $15 per user\/month, and that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n Small businesses that need a clean, simple CRM should look at Less Annoying CRM.<\/p>\n Nimble<\/p><\/div>\n Nimble<\/a> has a different focus than the other services on our list. It\u2019s optimized for social media communications and offers a full-fledged CRM with Google Apps and Office 365 integration.<\/p>\n You can set up alerts that find your company’s social media mentions and track conversations you\u2019ve had with customers (potential and existing) on many social media services.<\/p>\n Nimble concentrates on the communications part of sales by helping you stay in contact with leads via many different social networks. Unfortunately, due to Facebook’s change, Blink cannot connect directly with that network. (A Chrome extension works around some of these issues.)<\/p>\n Nimble Business costs $19 per user\/month and has a free trial.<\/p>\n Streak<\/a> uniquely approaches the concept of CRM. If you live in your inbox, you’ll appreciate Streak.<\/p>\n You can manage your contacts, deals, pipelines, and more from Gmail without using a different platform. If you’re trying to keep things simple and feel productive with email, this might be an excellent solution.<\/p>\n Think of Streak as an Excel spreadsheet embedded directly in email. Visually, it’s not as clean as dedicated stand-alone CRMs, but once you get used to it, it feels intuitive and easy.<\/p>\n Streak has four pricing plans: A free basic CRM plan and plans ranging from $15 per month to $129 per month for people who need more contacts, mail barge, custom permissions, and more.<\/p>\n Salesflare<\/p><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/27131356\/hubspot.jpg\")
Hubspot CRM<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/27131356\/560819-insightly-crm-panel.png\")
Insightly<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/27131356\/freshsales.png\")
Freshsales<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/27131355\/screenshot1.png\")
Zendesk Sell<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/27131354\/pipedrive.png\")
Pipedrive<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/27131354\/prosperworks.png\")
Copper<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/27131353\/9401-less-annoying-software-1498229388-3752284.png\")
Less Annoying CRM<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/27131353\/nimble.jpg\")
Nimble<\/h2>\n
Streak<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/25105953\/salesflare-crm.png\")
Salesflare<\/h2>\n
![\"EngageBay](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/01133828\/engagebay-crm.png\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/06164945\/small-business-blog-master-cta.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"