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6 Best Lead Scoring Software for Sales & Marketing 2023

Name: Zoho CRM
Item: Zoho CRM
Rating: 4.3
Author: Jen Sako

Written By

JS

Jen Sako

Jul 21, 2023

2 minute read

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Lead scoring software is a tool that automatically rates leads for businesses so they can uncover the viability of sales opportunities and nurture the prospects most likely to convert. The top scoring software are typically CRMs or marketing software that have built-in scoring functionality based on specified demographics and customer behavior. To help you choose the right one for your business, we’ve ranked the top lead scoring options and what each does best.

Here are the best lead scoring software options to consider:

Zoho CRM: Best overall option for multichannel lead scoring (15- to 30-day free trial)
Freshsales: Best software option for scoring sales pipeline leads (free starting price)
HubSpot Marketing Hub: Best for advanced marketing features (14-day free trial)
EngageBay: Best lead scoring software for lead segmentation (free starting price)
Salesforce: Best software option for advanced lead scoring (30-day free trial)
monday sales CRM: Easiest-to-use lead scoring software option (14-day free trial)

Although some options in our list scored highly in one category or another, we found Zoho CRM to be our top lead scoring software, winning first place in cost, core features, and customization. Jump down to see how each lead scoring software performed across six categories, or keep reading to check out their primary use cases, pricing plans, and key features.

Note: All monthly prices are with a one-year commitment unless noted.

Zoho CRM: Best for Multichannel Scoring

Offers powerful marketing features and lead management tools to help close deals quickly.

Price Range: $14 to $52 per user, per month (15- to 30-day free trial)

Overall Rating

4.3

Cost

4.6

Core Features

4.7

Ease of Use

3.6

Customer Support

3.3

Advanced Features

4.3

Customizations

4.9

Pros

Has a free forever plan
Sales & marketing automations
Multi-channel lead scoring

Cons

Beginners may need training
Customer service can be slow
No lead scoring in free plan

Zoho CRM is top marketing software that helps generate leads from multiple channels and score them for further nurturing. Users can reach out to leads via email and social media campaigns and set scoring rules based on their demographics and engagements. Customize your parameters based on how each lead responded to your marketing campaign, how often they visit a webpage, and how they interact on social media like Facebook via likes or shares.

While Zoho CRM is our best-rated lead scoring option, its user interface can be hard to learn and it may be missing some sales CRM features that you need. If you need a sales-forward lead scoring option, visit Freshsales instead.

Zoho CRM Pricing

Free Version: Supports up to 3 users (doesn’t include lead scoring)
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

Email Marketing: Run personalized email campaigns to target and nurture your leads.
Lead Management: Auto-score leads and track them throughout your sales pipeline.
Analytics: Turn lead data into insights that you can use as a basis to prioritize deals.
Task Management: Create tasks, track conversations, and view history for each lead.

Freshsales: Best for Scoring Sales Leads

Provides AI-powered lead generation features and tools for scoring sales leads in your pipeline.

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

Overall Rating

4.2

Cost

4.3

Core Features

4.3

Ease of Use

4.1

Customer Support

3.9

Advanced Features

4.3

Customizations

4.1

Pros

Full suite of reports
Filter deals in pipeline
Intuitive mobile app

Cons

Cumbersome to export data
Growth plan lacks forecasting
Fewer integrations than most

Freshsales is a leading CRM that uses powerful AI for lead scoring, lead prediction, and deal management. Its AI assistant, Freddy, scores sales leads based on characteristics and behavior, so you can rank prospects in your pipeline. Automatically add scores to leads that match the buyer persona you’ve created and deduct points otherwise. Along with this predictive scoring, Freddy supplies analytics for sales forecasting and triggers follow-ups to move deals.

Freshsales is the best option for scoring sales leads; however, it's missing some key marketing features. For a more robust marketing lead scoring option, try Zoho CRM, which also provides AI-powered lead scoring via Zia AI.

Freshsales Pricing

Free Version: Supports up to 3 users (doesn't include lead scoring)
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

Freshsales Key Features

AI Assistant: Get actionable insights for better lead engagement via Freddy AI.
Predictive Scoring: Identify leads in your pipeline that are most likely to close.
Lead Generation: Capture inbound leads via live chat and online email forms.
Lead Management: Track leads through the sales process with a drag-and-drop tool.

HubSpot Marketing Hub: Best Marketing Features

Helps you automate and manage tasks for SEO, social media, blog posting, and advertising.

Price Range: $18 to $3,600 per month (14-day free trial)

Overall Rating

4.1

Cost

3.7

Core Features

4.6

Ease of Use

3.6

Customer Support

4.2

Advanced Features

4.1

Customizations

4.8

Pros

Free tier available
Syncs with sales & service hub
Advanced marketing automation

Cons

Scoring only in premium tiers
Can be pricey for some
Learning curve can be steep

HubSpot Marketing Hub is an all-in-one marketing automation and management platform offered by HubSpot. Toggle between traditional lead scoring with its free scoring templates and predictive lead scoring powered by machine learning, depending on the size of your database. Then, utilize its advanced marketing features to nurture good-fit leads, such as blog and SEO management, social media management, paid ad management, and targeted email campaigns.

However, HubSpot’s lead scoring is only available in its Professional and Enterprise tiers, starting at $800 per month. For a more cost-effective lead scoring option, check out Zoho CRM, which is our top marketing software.

HubSpot Marketing Hub Pricing

Free Version: Supports unlimited users (doesn’t include lead scoring)
Starter: $18 per month for 1,000 contacts
Professional: $800 per month for 2,000 contacts
Enterprise: $3,600 per month for 10,000 contacts
Free Trial: 14 days with Professional
Access to HubSpot App Marketplace

HubSpot Marketing Hub Key Features

Blog Management: Write, optimize, and publish content directly to your website.
SEO Tools: Plan your content strategy and optimize your blog posts for SEO.
Ad Management: Launch social media and ad campaigns directly on the platform.
Lead Scoring Automation: Use bots to qualify and distribute leads at scale.

EngageBay: Best for Lead Segmentation

Helps filter and categorize your contacts via predictive lead scoring, smart lists, and automation.

Price Range: Free to $110.39 per user, per month

Overall Rating

3.9

Cost

3.0

Core Features

4.4

Ease of Use

4.1

Customer Support

4.0

Advanced Features

4.1

Customizations

4.2

Pros

Free lead scoring
Biennial pricing discount
Native social suite

Cons

Automation require upgrade
Limited reporting feature
Mobile app could be better

EngageBay All-in-One is a unified sales, marketing, and service platform with built-in predictive lead scoring and segmentation tools. Customize and automate how you want to score your leads based on their activities, location, and survey responses, and at the same time predict their future behavior. Use its contact management features to filter your leads according to scores and segment them into lists to determine future marketing campaigns for them.

While EngageBay has great lead scoring and segmentation, its reporting tools can be clunky. If you need lead scoring software with robust reporting features, try Salesforce, which offers custom reports and dashboards.

EngageBay Pricing

All-in-One Free Version: Supports up to 15 users
All-in-One Basic: $13.79 per user, per month
All-in-One Growth: $59.79 per user, per month
All-in-One Pro: $110.39 per user, per month

EngageBay Key Features

Predictive Lead Scoring: Use a data-driven scoring model to qualify your leads.
Smart Lists: Segment contacts based on lifecycle stages or browsing behavior.
Landing Page Builder: Create simple, intuitive landing pages via drag-and-drop.
Social Suite: Manage your online engagement and launch social media campaigns.

Salesforce: Best for Advanced Lead Scoring

Tracks leads from generation, routes them accurately, and offers robust reporting features.

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

Overall Rating

3.8

Cost

3.0

Core Features

4.6

Ease of Use

2.8

Customer Support

4.0

Advanced Features

4.7

Customizations

4.8

Pros

Wealth of business integrations
Customizable pipelines
Robust reporting dashboards

Cons

Could be easier to use
Upgrades can be pricey
Lead scoring costs extra

Salesforce Sales Cloud is a customizable software offering advanced AI-powered lead scoring. Einstein AI helps you analyze your data to find leads that are most likely to convert via predictive lead scoring. Unlike most software, Einstein employs negative scoring to filter out web visitors right away to find the right leads to score. It also builds a comprehensive scoring model from your database and a database generated from Salesforce customers around the world.

Salesforce is a robust platform for lead scoring and reporting, but its customization capabilities can be overwhelming. For more user-friendly software, check out Freshsales, which also offers predictive lead scoring and advanced sales features via Freddy AI.

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 AppExchange

Salesforce Sales Cloud Key Features

Lead Tracking: Dynamic timeline lets you see updated activity and customer records.
Third-Party Integrations: Extend your CRM’s functionality with apps via AppExchange.
Lead Routing: Score and send sales leads to the right sales rep or team automatically.
Contact Management: Create contact records with advanced data the team can see.

monday sales CRM: Best for Usability

Offers a user-friendly interface to track, score, and filter leads in one place.

Price Range: $10 to $24+ per user, per month (14-day trial)

Overall Rating

3.7

Cost

3.4

Core Features

3.6

Ease of Use

4.3

Customer Support

4.6

Advanced Features

2.5

Customizations

4.2

Pros

Easy-to-use interface
24/7 customer support
Unlimited boards & pipelines

Cons

No built-in AI assistant
Limited marketing tools
Reports require upgrade

monday sales CRM is an easy-to-use CRM software built by monday.com that helps you score and manage leads. Organize your leads in one centralized location and track new ones by creating a separate column in your leads board. Then, keep your leads’ relevant information in the same column by adding kanban cards so it’s easier for you to score them. Arrange them by status by setting different colors for labels like "qualified,” "unqualified,” "follow up,” and more.

Although monday sales CRM offers an intuitive platform to manage your leads, it lacks advanced automations. For a lead scoring software with robust workflow automation, try Freshsales, which also features modern views like kanban boards, tables, and more.

monday sales CRM Pricing

Basic CRM: $10 per user, per month
Standard CRM: $14 per user, per month
Pro CRM: $24 per user, per month
Enterprise: Contact for quote
Free Trial: 14 days
Access to app marketplace

monday sales CRM Key Features

Kanban Boards: Segment your leads according to their status in colorful lead boards.
Email & Activities Tracking: Get instant notifications when a lead opens your emails.
Lead Scoring: Assign scores to your leads based on a predefined set of parameters.
Team Collaboration: Share lead information and email tracking insights with your team.

Top 4 Lead Scoring Software Features:

The best lead scoring software options offer these functions:

Utilize advanced lead scoring tools or AI-powered insights to automatically score and rank your leads and also predict their future behavior.

How We Evaluated the Best Lead Scoring Software

Lead scoring software is a feature of many top CRMs and marketing automation software, so every option we reviewed had lead scoring at the minimum. To find the best one for your business, we scored each lead scoring software across six weighted categories made up of relevant subcriteria. Then, we named our overall winner and determined each option’s primary use case, pricing plans, and key features.

Evaluation Criteria

In our evaluation, we put the most weight on the cost and core features of each lead scoring software. We also looked into each option’s accessibility in terms of ease of use and customer support provided. Finally, we assessed the advanced features each software offers and their customization capabilities.

Methodology weights

Cost 25%

Core Features 25%

Ease of Use 20%

Customer Support 10%

Advanced Features 10%

Customization 10%

Bottom Line: Best Lead Scoring Software

Having good lead scoring software as a part of your CRM is an excellent way to get salespeople focused on qualified leads and using the right tasks to convert them into wins. The top options we’ve included in our list are CRM software with basic and advanced lead scoring tools paired with core CRM functions. If you’re specifically looking for a platform that offers other lead management features, read our in-depth review of the best lead management software.

JS

Jen Sako

Jen is a Pittsburgh-based contributing writer for Selling Signals specializing in CRM software buyer's guides. As a freelancer, she also writes about hospitality and tourism sales, including sales and marketing tech and travel content. When she isn't on assignment, Jen catches up on her many newsletter subscriptions, watches no-code tutorials, and spends time with her family.