Check out our independent editorial review of the best crm software for sales professionals, including use cases for each option.
Contact management software is a tool that stores and organizes lead and customer data in a centralized location. The best contact management software are CRMs that allow users to create segmented lists, track interactions, and easily update contact information so they can better engage new leads and keep current customers happy. To help you find an efficient way to store and access contact data, we’ve evaluated the top contact management software.
Here are the eight best contact management software solutions:
If you’re specifically trying to manage lead contact information, you might find lead management software helpful. For more information, check out our guide on the best lead management software.
We began our evaluation by combing through each software’s CRM features for key contact management functions like activity tracking and list segmentation. Next, we considered cost and ease of use since the best contact management software is accessible and reasonably priced. Rounding out our evaluation are an expert score (a culmination of our opinion plus public reputation), customizations and third-party integrations, and quality of user support options.
Note: All per-user prices are with a one-year commitment unless noted.
Per our scoring, Zoho CRM is the top contact management software overall; it also placed first in core features and customer support. Meanwhile, Salesforce Essentials led in expert score (along with HubSpot CRM) plus apps & customization. Keep reading to understand how each contact management software option fared in all categories.
Integrates with social media and other channels to enrich contact data and track real-time activity.
Price Range: Free to $52 per user, per month (15-day free trial)
Zoho CRM is a contact management solution known for its tight social media integration. Syncing with Facebook and other social networks enables reps to have conversations with people (which are then saved) and automatically enrich contact data. Zoho CRM also allows users to track and interact via email, telephony, and other channel integrations. It’s the best contact management software for businesses that run multichannel marketing campaigns.
Provides a visual interface that can be customized with color-coded tags and hundreds of templates.
Price Range: Free to $16+ per user, per month for 2-3 users (14-day free trial)
monday.com is an open platform software that can be tailored to suit a company’s contact management needs through customizable visual boards. It has a colorful, highly-visual dashboard that can be outfitted with 200+ templates, including designs specifically made for contact management. Further organize contact data with color-coded tags for segmentation. monday.com is best for those who want to display key information in a simple, appealing way.
Features hundreds of third-party integrations along with an accessible kanban-style interface.
Price Range: $12.50 to $99 per user, per month (14-day free trial)
Pipedrive is a user-friendly CRM with kanban-style pipelines made with a drag-and-drop builder. Pipedrive’s solid suite of core features, which includes two-way email sync and social-media-enriched contact data, can be enhanced by adding any of its 250+ third-party sales app integrations for lead generation, contacts and calendar sync, and more. It’s a great choice for users who want an accessible sales tool that can adapt to their needs via integrations.
Free platform supports unlimited users, stores up to one million non-marketing contacts, and auto-updates list segments.
Price Range: Free to $1,200 per month (Sales Hub)
HubSpot CRM is an industry leader in lead generation that offers a solid suite of free contact management tools. These include email activity tracking, data extraction via Gmail or Outlook, and automatically updated list segments. Plus, unlike most free plans, HubSpot CRM provides up to a million non-marketing contacts at no cost and also supports unlimited users. HubSpot CRM is ideal for small businesses wanting a scalable CRM they can eventually upgrade.
Harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to add, score, and engage with contacts.
Price Range: Free to $69 per user, per month (21-day free trial)
Freshsales is contact management software with built-in AI automation. Known as Freddy, this AI assistant engages with contacts, scores leads, and deletes duplicate contact data — it also automates email sends, invoicing, and general data entry. Sales reps can keep contact info organized in Freshsales by segmenting using demographics and behaviors. Busy professionals needing to streamline their sales process should check out this CRM.
Enhances Gmail by tracking email opens, automatically categorizing messages, and enriching contact data.
Price Range: Free to $129 per user, per month (14-day free trial)
Streak is a CRM that makes it possible to manage contacts right within Gmail. Its free tier tracks email opens, categorizes messages into a pipeline, and integrates with the rest of the Google Workspace suite. Upgrading to Pro and up allows Streak to auto-enrich Gmail contacts with company info and other pertinent data. This easy-to-use CRM is the best contact management solution for salespeople who are firmly planted in Google’s ecosystem.
Allows for customization of reports, dashboards, and pipelines, along with hundreds of integrations for added functionality.
Price Range: $25 per user, per month for up to 10 users (14-day free trial)
Salesforce Essentials is a scaled-down version of Salesforce CRM, but it still has robust contact management features. It creates contact profiles by extracting data from Gmail or Outlook and keeps everything orderly by blocking duplicate information. Salesforce Essentials also offers advanced customization, from reports and dashboards to 500+ integrations. It’s great for small businesses looking for affordable advanced features and customization.
Offers storage for unlimited contacts, along with tools to help teams communicate real-time contact updates.
Price Range: Free to $159 per user, per month (30-day free trial)
Bitrix24 is a CRM that offers free unlimited contacts and leads, plus solid collaboration tools. In-app chats and deal notifications make it easy for teams to broadcast contact updates. Meanwhile, the contact center serves as a central hub for sales reps to track and interact with contacts on Facebook, WhatsApp, and other channels. Bitrix24’s free platform can suit most sales teams, but those who want even more collaborative tools might want to upgrade.
If you’re still relying on spreadsheets to manage your contacts, consider any of the eight options above to help organize and streamline your data. What’s more, the best contact management software options are also CRMs, which means you’ll be able to avail of other functions that will make your overall sales process even more efficient. Whatever your business’s needs or priorities, you’re bound to find what you’re seeking among these worthy sales software options.
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