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Freshsales is a favorite among companies that want AI-powered sales tools, customizable elements, and built-in phone and chat clients at an affordable cost. However, businesses looking for more in-depth analytics, extensive app integrations, and quality customer support will want to explore other options. In our independent review, we rank the top seven Freshsales alternatives and competitors to help you find the best CRM for your sales needs.
Here are the seven best Freshsales alternatives for salespeople:
Read our independent Freshsales review if you’re curious to learn more about this CRM’s key features and best use cases. Otherwise, scroll down for our list of top Freshsales alternatives.
To find the best Freshsales alternatives, we made a scoring rubric featuring six weighted categories, each with its own set of subcriteria. After ranking all options against what Freshsales has to offer, we selected the CRMs with an average of 3.7 or higher to feature on our list. We picked an overall winner and assigned use cases to the six runners-up based on their performance in specific categories. Our evaluation criteria is below:
We assigned the most weight to cost, core features, and ease of use, as we believe these are the three most crucial factors to consider when choosing a CRM. Additionally, we evaluated each CRM's level of customization (including third-party integrations), availability of advanced CRM features, and quality of user support.
We considered each CRM's starting costs for its basic and enterprise tiers, availability of free versions or trial periods, and overall value for money.
Criteria Winner: EngageBayWe evaluated every CRM for essential sales features such as pipeline management, CRM reporting, and workflow automation.
Criteria Winner: SalesforceThis score is based on UI design plus consensus from past and current users regarding setup and usability.
Criteria Winner: Multiple winnersWe took a look at each platform’s flexibility, including custom workflows, multiple pipeline views, and support for third-party integrations.
Criteria Winner: SalesforceWe combed through each platform for advanced CRM features like AI, lead routing, and live chat widgets.
Criteria Winner: SalesforceThis includes each CRM's available help channels, service hours, and reputation among customers.
Criteria Winner: monday sales CRMNote: All per-user prices are with a one-year commitment unless noted.
Salesforce earned three category wins: core features, customization, and advanced features. Despite this, we determined that Zoho CRM is the best Freshsales alternative overall because it’s the most well-rounded platform of the bunch — it didn’t score below four points in any category. However, if you prioritize top-notch user support or an intuitive UI, other software on this list may be a better fit. Below is a detailed breakdown of how each CRM scored.
Zoho CRM is a versatile platform with an AI sales assistant plus various online marketing tools.
Price Range: Free to $52 per user, per month (15- to 30-day trial)
Pros:
Cons:
Zoho CRM is the best Freshsales alternative overall. Both CRMs are similarly priced and offer a deep set of core sales tools, including an AI-powered sales assistant. (Zoho CRM's Zia AI can respond to commands and answer queries via text or voice.) However, Zoho CRM is a more versatile option for sales and marketing teams that want to attract and engage with leads through multiple channels including email, chatbots, telephony, web forms, and social media.
Zoho CRM is robust sales and marketing software, but Salesforce may be a better fit for enterprises that require complex sales analytics and more flexible automations.
EngageBay's free CRM boasts ample sales and marketing features plus 24/7 user support.
Price Range: Free to $73.59 per user, per month
Pros:
Cons:
EngageBay is a free CRM that’ll suit small businesses seeking an affordable, accessible platform. It supports up to 15 users (versus three for Freshsales' free version) and has predictive lead scoring, live chat, native social media integration, and 24/7 support (live chat and phone). Upgrade to one of EngageBay’s paid plans to add custom reporting, sales automation, and gamification tools; purchase a two-year subscription for the lowest monthly per-user rates.
If your team exceeds the 15-user max for EngageBay's free CRM, consider HubSpot's free CRM since it has unlimited seats plus a variety of sales and inbound marketing tools.
HubSpot CRM’s 1,000+ integrations allows companies to tailor the platform to meet their needs.
Price Range: Free to $1,200 per month (Sales Hub)
Pros:
Cons:
HubSpot CRM is a platform with a range of sales, marketing, service, and operations features in both its free and paid plans. While the UI itself may lack flexibility, the HubSpot App Marketplace offers over 1,300 integrations with tools such as Slack, Trello, and Mailchimp, and much more. (By comparison, the Freshworks Marketplace has around 650 integrations.) This makes it easy for companies to customize HubSpot CRM to fit the needs of different areas of their business.
HubSpot CRM's premium upgrades can be expensive for smaller companies; Pipedrive is a more cost-effective option to scale your CRM with enhanced features.
Salesforce offers a wealth of advanced sales tools plus myriad customization options.
Price Range: $25 to $330 per user, per month (30-day trial)
Pros:
Cons:
Salesforce is a comprehensive CRM designed to handle complex, enterprise-level sales processes. Compared to Freshsales, Salesforce offers greater flexibility in customization, supports a wider range of native and custom integrations, and provides more options for in-depth reporting and custom workflows. Salesforce’s Einstein AI provides more accurate forecasts and deeper analytics; however, it costs an extra $50 per user, per month.
Salesforce is great for large organizations, but it could overwhelm solopreneurs and startups. monday sales CRM is a more affordable and user-friendly option that can be easily customized to fit almost any sales process.
Salesflare simplifies B2B prospecting through consolidating data from various public outlets.
Price Range: $29 to $99 per user, per month (30-day free trial)
Pros:
Cons:
Salesflare is a CRM with more of a focus on B2B prospecting than Freshsales. Its data consolidation capabilities extend beyond email and social media sources to include other publicly available information, ensuring sales professionals have access to the most up-to-date and relevant customer data. Meanwhile, its LinkedIn sidebar allows for quick and easy lead data management, reducing the need to toggle windows and limiting the risk of duplicate contacts.
Although Salesflare is known for its user-friendly interface, finding live support can be challenging if you're not based in Central Europe. EngageBay, on the other hand, provides around-the-clock phone and chat support for prompt assistance wherever you are.
monday sales CRM is a highly-customizable and intuitive system with excellent user support.
Price Range: $10 to $24+ per user, per month (14-day free trial)
Pros:
Cons:
monday sales CRM is an easy-to-use platform with a colorful drag-and-drop UI that allows for extensive personalization without much coding needed. Unlike Freshsales, monday sales CRM offers unlimited custom pipelines on all plans, giving teams more flexibility to organize their sales process. Plus, monday sales CRM has an excellent reputation for quality user support, offering 24/7 access to help via live chat, email, phone, and a vast self-service knowledge base.
monday sales CRM is affordable, accessible, and highly customizable — but its reporting features are limited. For businesses seeking advanced reporting and AI insights at a reasonable cost, consider Zoho CRM.
Pipedrive enables teams to add sales, marketing, and productivity tools as they see fit.
Price Range: $14.90 to $99 per user, per month (14-day trial)
Pros:
Cons:
Pipedrive is a straightforward CRM with a range of extras for sales teams who want to add more functionality as needed without upgrading to a new plan. Add-ons include tools for lead generation, email marketing, project management, document management, and activity tracking. Pipedrive's simple kanban-style interface will especially appeal to new CRM users, along with 24/7 email and chat support. (By comparison, Freshsales only offers 24/5 support.)
Pipedrive’s add-ons are fairly inexpensive, costing between $6.40 and $41 per month – however, that can all add up. If you're looking for a CRM with native sales and marketing tools, Zoho CRM may be a more suitable alternative.
Freshsales is among the popular CRM software for its AI-powered sales tools, superb pipeline management, and high-level of customization at lower costs than many of its competitors. However, for businesses that need a mix of sales and marketing tools, advanced reporting and analytics, or a robust freemium CRM, there are better options. The Freshsales alternatives we’ve highlighted here will ensure that you find the best CRM for your needs.
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