6 Best CRMs for Salespeople & Teams 2024

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Customer relationship management (CRM) software helps salespeople manage interactions with leads, prospects, and customers. The best CRMs allow you to store customer information, map sales processes, analyze data, collaborate with teammates, and help with things like reminders and task automation. To determine the top option for you, we reviewed dozens of products and scored each out of five to arrive at our overall list, including primary use cases for each.

Here are the top six CRM options for salespeople and teams:

• Freshsales: Best overall CRM for features, pricing, and usability (free starting price)
• Zoho CRM: Best for online marketing and sales pipeline features (free starting price)
• HubSpot CRM: Best free CRM software with premium upgrades (free starting price)
• Pipedrive: Best for an intuitive interface and advanced add-ons (14-day free trial)
• Salesforce: Best CRM for managing long or complex sales cycles (30-day free trial)
• Insightly CRM: Best software for project management and sales (free starting price)

Overall, we found that Freshsales is the best CRM for salespeople and teams, scoring the highest for core features and customer support, as well as tying for cost, ease of use, and customization. Continue reading to learn more about each CRM’s pricing plans, key features, and primary use case. Otherwise, jump down to see our scoring logic.

Note: All per-user prices are with a one-year commitment unless otherwise noted.

Freshsales: Best Overall CRM for Salespeople

Helps you manage sales processes with advanced yet intuitive features at an affordable price.

Price Range: Free to $69 per user, per month (21-day free trial)

Overall Rating Core Features Cost Ease of Use Customization Integration Customer Support

Pros:

• Easy to set up & implement
• Built-in phone, chat & SMS
• Wealth of AI-powered tools

Cons:

• Lacking many marketing features
• Limited native Google integrations
• Multiple pipelines missing in Growth

Freshworks' Freshsales is a robust yet easy-to-use CRM offering core and advanced sales features for a competitive price. Its free tier offers native communication tools, kanban views for deals, and a sales dashboard. Upgrade for a well-designed pipeline interface and advanced features like custom reporting, workflow automation, sales forecasting, and AI insights — these tools even earned Freshsales our titles of best operational CRM and best analytical CRM.

While Freshsales is powerful and affordable, it lacks some marketing features and its free tier doesn't offer a visual pipeline. If these features are important to you, check out Zoho CRM, which is our top marketing software.

Freshsales Pricing

• Free Version: Supports up to 3 users
• Growth: $15 per user, per month
• Pro: $39 per user, per month
• Enterprise: $69 per, user per month
• Free Trial: 21 days
• Integration with Freshworks’ free marketing and service platform tiers
• Access to Freshworks Marketplace

Freshsales Key Features

• Contact Management: Get a built-in phone dialer, SMS, and email feature for free.
• Intuitive User Interface: Manage your sales process with an easy-to-use pipeline.
• AI-Powered Sales Tools: Automate workflows and generate insights using Freddy AI.
• Reporting & Analytics: Use tools for custom reports, sales analytics, and forecasting.

If you'd like to learn more, take a deep dive by reading our editorially-independent Freshsales review. Otherwise, visit the Freshsales website to take advantage of their free tier and free trial:

Visit Freshsales

Zoho CRM: Best for Online Marketing & Sales

Provides sales pipeline features and marketing tools like social media lead management.

Price Range: Free to $52 per user, per month (15- to 30-day free trial)

Overall Rating Core Features Cost Ease of Use Customization Integration Customer Support

Pros:

• Good social media integrations
• Strong marketing automations
• Robust sales reporting & forecasting

Cons:

• Free plan lacks social integrations
• Involves a steep learning curve
• Users report slow customer support

Zoho CRM is leading sales pipeline software known for its AI-powered sales tools and robust marketing features for lead management. While its free plan is basic, you can leverage tools for contacts, deals, and campaigns. Upgrade to its affordable paid tiers for forecasting and predictive lead scoring via Zia AI plus nurturing tools such as social media management and email marketing, or sync with the free version of other Zoho products to extend its functionality.

Although Zoho provides a balance of strong sales and marketing features, its user interface might be too complicated for beginners. For a more user-friendly CRM, try Freshsales, which won in the ease of use category and offers some marketing features.

Zoho CRM Pricing

• Free Version: Supports up to 3 users
• Standard: $14 per user, per month
• Professional: $23 per user, per month
• Enterprise: $40 per user, per month
• Ultimate: $52 per user, per month
• Free Trial: 15 to 30 days
• Access to Zoho One Marketplace Apps

Zoho CRM Key Features

• Online Marketing: Monitor social media campaigns, email marketing, and Google Ads.
• Inventory & Product Management: Manage vendors, create price books, and more.
• AI-Powered Tools: Use Zia for data enrichment, task automation, and sales analytics.
• Customizations: Take advantage of custom fields, integrations, and Zoho’s sandbox.

To learn more about Zoho CRM and whether it's right for you, check out our in-depth Zoho CRM review. Otherwise, head over to their site below:

Visit Zoho CRM

HubSpot CRM: Best Free CRM With Upgrades

Offers a great set of free sales and marketing features with the ability to upgrade into paid tiers.

Price Range: Free to $1,500+ per month (Sales Hub)

Overall Rating Core Features Cost Ease of Use Customization Integration Customer Support

Pros:

• Flush with free CRM tools
• Extensive knowledge base
• Premium sales upgrades

Cons:

• Premium tiers can be costly
• Not specifically sales-focused
• Lacks in-depth data & reporting

HubSpot CRM is a top-rated free CRM option, offering up to 2,500 users robust tools for sales processes and marketing operations. Manage your pipelines with its free contact management, quotes, and calling tools, and reach out to your leads with live chat and email. Sync with other free HubSpot platforms for help desk and digital marketing tools, or subscribe to paid tiers for advanced features such as custom reporting, sales forecasting, and workflow automation.

HubSpot's free tier is the best available, but its paid levels can be pricey for single users or those seeking a mix of marketing and sales tools. If you’re looking for inexpensive yet robust upgrade options, see Freshsales or Zoho CRM, which are both tied in the pricing category.

HubSpot CRM Pricing

• Free Version: Supports up to 2,500 users
• Sales Hub Starter: $18 per month for 2 users
• Sales Hub Professional: $450 per month for 5 users
• Sales Hub Enterprise: $1,500 per month for 10 users
• Additional users can be purchased for extra
• Integration with HubSpot's free marketing, service, and other tools
• Access to HubSpot App Marketplace

HubSpot CRM Key Features

• Robust Free CRM: Manage a deal pipeline with sales, marketing, and service features.
• Sales & Marketing Tools: Use deal tracking, contact management, live chat, and more.
• HubSpot Ecosystem: Access to Marketing, Sales, Service, CMS, and Operations Hubs.
• Extensive Knowledge Base: Explore HubSpot Community’s free educational materials.

For a closer look at HubSpot, check out our HubSpot CRM review, which includes an independent analysis and user roundup. Or, visit their site directly below:

Visit HubSpot CRM

Pipedrive: Best CRM for Add-on Purchases

Highlights a visual drag-and-drop interface with add-on features for sales and marketing.

Price Range: $14 to $99 per user, per month (14-day trial)

Overall Rating Core Features Cost Ease of Use Customization Integration Customer Support

Pros:

• Visual pipelines across all plans
• Affordable tiers with a free trial
• 24/7 live chat & email support

Cons:

• Limited native marketing tools
• Lack of AI-powered workflows
• Lead segmentation can be tricky

Pipedrive is an intuitive CRM that’s easy to use, providing a kanban-style drag-and-drop pipeline to manage leads and prospects. It offers a basic set of solid sales tools, but you can choose to pay for advanced add-ons, including LeadBooster (lead generation), Campaigns (email marketing), Web Visitors (visitor tracking), Smart Docs (esignatures), and Projects (project management). This lets you pay for the top-tier tools you need without upgrading your plan.

Although Pipedrive’s add-ons are robust, they can get pricey with monthly fees ranging from $6.70 to $41. If you're someone who needs a pre-built suite of tools, check out Zoho CRM for its sales and marketing mix.

Pipedrive Pricing

• Essential: $14 per user, per month
• Advanced: $29 per user, per month
• Professional: $49 per user, per month
• Power: $64 per user, per month
• Enterprise: $99 per user, per month
• Free Trial: 14 days
• Pay for a la carte add-on features for sales, marketing, and more
• Access to Pipedrive Marketplace

Pipedrive Key Features

• Visual Pipeline: Manage a kanban pipeline with an intuitive UI and drag-and-drop tool.
• Integrated Inbox: Sync your CRM with major email software like Gmail and Outlook.
• Contact Management: Leverage unlimited contact records across all Pipedrive plans.
• Industry-Relevant Uses: Use integrations and add-ons for niche-specific purposes.

For a complete breakdown of Pipedrive, including whether it's right for you and alternative options, check out our Pipedrive review. Otherwise, visit their website directly:

Visit Pipedrive

Salesforce: Best for Complex Sales Cycles

Provides robust tools for sales teams working on long or more complex sales processes.

Price Range: $25 to $330 per user, per month (30-day trial)

Overall Rating Core Features Cost Ease of Use Customization Integration Customer Support

Pros:

• Advanced custom reporting
• Multiple pipeline tracking
• Over 7,000 app integrations

Cons:

• Interface can be confusing
• Users report slow support
• Difficult to set up & maintain

Salesforce Sales Cloud is a highly customizable CRM offering detailed contact records and separate pipelines to manage leads and opportunities. The platform also includes key communication features like a built-in phone as well as live chat, plus collaboration tools for internal communication within teams. Its fully-customizable reports and dashboards give insights for sales activity, performance, and forecasting via graphs, charts, trends, and more.

While Salesforce Sales Cloud has advanced features, it might be too expensive or complicated for some teams. If you’re looking for a CRM with affordable sales features without sacrificing robust reporting tools, check out Freshsales.

Salesforce Sales Cloud Pricing

• Starter: $25 per user, per month
• Professional: $80 per user, per month
• Enterprise: $165 per user, per month
• Unlimited: $330 per user, per month
• Free Trial: 30 days
• Access to Salesforce AppExchange

Salesforce Sales Cloud Key Features

• Lead & Opportunity Pipelines: Access multiple pipelines and robust contact records.
• Multichannel Communication Tools: Use a built-in dialer, online chat, and more.
• Opportunity Management: View and track a detailed view of your most critical deals.
• Custom Dashboards: Create and organize specific visual reports for at-a-glance info.

For a complete review of Salesforce and its tiers, check out our independent Salesforce review. Or, visit their website directly below:

Visit Salesforce

Insightly: Best CRM for Project Management

Features a solid set of tools and integrations for internal and external project management.

Price Range: Free to $99 per user, per month (14-day free trial)

Overall Rating Core Features Cost Ease of Use Customization Integration Customer Support

Pros:

• Workflows across paid plans
• Separate project pipeline tools
• Wealth of collaborative features

Cons:

• Free tier could be more robust
• Add-ons tend to be expensive
• Phone support requires upgrade

Insightly is a cloud-based CRM with strong project management capabilities, specifically through its separate project pipeline and available integrations with productivity apps for customization. Monitor post-sales processes with its milestone tracking feature, visual kanban boards, and tight app integrations with collaboration software like Slack and Asana. Purchase its mid-tier Professional plan for lead routing and custom business intelligence features.

While Insightly is great for sales and ongoing project management, its free tier might be too barebones for some teams. For a more fully-featured free version, look into HubSpot CRM, which also offers free project management tools.

Insightly Pricing

• Free Version: Supports up to 2 users
• Plus: $29 per user, per month
• Professional: $49 per user, per month
• Enterprise: $99 per user, per month
• Free Trial: 14 days
• Access to Insightly’s app library

Insightly Key Features

• Sales & Project Pipelines: View separate pipelines for sales and project management.
• Mobile App: Manage projects in the field with real-time data sync and visual dashboard.
• Advanced Sales Tools: Access premium features like lead routing and in-app calling.
• Activity Tracking: Monitor leads in real-time and enrich social profiles automatically.

If you’d like to get a detailed view of Insightly CRM, read through our Insightly CRM review. Otherwise, head to the Insightly website:

Visit Insightly

Comparing the Top CRM Options

If you're able to narrow down your choices to a few top options but still need help deciding on the best CRM software for you, we have in-depth articles comparing and contrasting the best choices against each other. Check out our two-product comparative CRM articles below if you'd like a side-by-side analysis:

• HubSpot CRM vs Salesforce: Check out which of these industry leaders is best for you.
• HubSpot vs Zoho CRM: Learn why these are leading sales CRMs with marketing features.
• Pipedrive vs HubSpot CRM: See how these two stack up in terms of form and function.
• Zoho CRM vs Salesforce: Compare these unique CRMs to determine the best for you.
• Pipedrive vs Salesforce: Verify which option is best for your team size and scope.
• Insightly vs Pipedrive: Check which CRM is best for sales and project management.
• Insightly vs Salesforce: Learn which of these robust sales platforms is best for you.

In the above articles, you'll get a complete breakdown of how each option stacks up against the other, including determined winners for key categories like pricing, features, and ease of use.

How We Evaluated the Best CRMs

In our editorially independent review of the best CRM software, we first identified six major categories essential for salespeople and teams looking for a cost-effective platform. We then identified a list of weighted subcriteria to assign each option a total score out of five. Finally, we determined the primary use case for each CRM that scored highly enough to make our list.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Bottom Line: Best CRM Software

With so many CRMs on the market, it can be daunting to try to research every single one of them. The best CRM software doesn’t only allow you to manage your contacts, deals, and pipelines; it also lets you customize and automate your workflows so you can better manage your business. Use our list to narrow your choices, and take our quiz for a personalized answer. If you want to learn more about CRMs and the various tools available, read our guide to essential CRM features.

This article was written by Alison Barretta and updated by Kezia Jungco.