6 Best Marketing CRM Software for Sales & Marketers

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Marketing CRMs are software that combine standard sales and pipeline management features with powerful marketing capabilities that help you generate and nurture inbound leads. The top options offer tools like social media integration, email marketing, website builders and visitor tracking, and marketing automation and analytics, which help you reach leads from multiple sources and bring them into your pipeline. We've reviewed the best solutions to help you choose one.

Below is our list of the top six marketing CRMs for marketers and salespeople:

• Zoho CRM: Best overall marketing CRM for features and pricing (free starting price)
• HubSpot Marketing Hub: Best free marketing CRM with upgrades (free starting price)
• ActiveCampaign: Best marketing CRM for email automation tools (14-day free trial)
• Pipedrive: Best CRM with advanced add-on marketing features (14-day free trial)
• EngageBay: Best for bundled marketing, sales, and service features (free starting price)
• Bitrix24: Best marketing CRM to run social media advertisements (free starting price)

How We Evaluated the Best Marketing CRM Software

In our evaluation of the best CRM software for marketing features, we used six criteria to analyze our options, each containing subcriteria and holding a specific amount of weight toward the final score. Then, we used these benchmarks to assign each option a rating out of five, as well as to determine an overall winner. Finally, we identified a main use case for each option on our list.

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

While all of the CRMs on this list are great options, we found that Zoho CRM offers the best overall value for sales and marketing professionals seeking a marketing CRM. Check out how the CRMs fared with regard to each scoring category below.

Zoho CRM: Best Overall Marketing CRM

Offers robust marketing features such as email campaigns, social media management, and more.

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

Overall Rating Marketing Features Ease of Use Sales Features Expert Score Pricing Customization

Pros:

• Manage social media platforms
• Highly customizable
• Free version is available

Cons:

• Missing online tutorials and guides
• Occasional duplicate database entries
• Technical support could improve

Zoho CRM is a leading sales and marketing CRM that offers robust multichannel marketing features and a free plan. Starting at its paid Standard level, you'll receive access to marketing automations, email campaigns, social media management tools (earning it the top spot as a social media CRM), and more in addition to standard CRM sales tools. Zoho CRM also offers affordable marketing add-ons, such as Campaigns for advanced email marketing.

While Zoho offers a free level with basic sales and marketing features, you must upgrade to access most of its key tools. Check out HubSpot Marketing Hub if you're looking for a free plan that's truly usable.

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 for all paid plans

Zoho CRM Key Features

• Social Media Monitoring: Flags social media posts that mention your brand name.
• Intelligent Sales Tools: Use Zia AI for workflow automation, data enrichment, and more.
• Email Campaigns: Send mass emails from within Zoho CRM or via Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo.
• Track Your Competitors: Create a feed of competing brands and keep up with trends.

Visit Zoho CRM

HubSpot Marketing Hub: Best Free CRM With Upgrades

Provides solid features in its free tier plus the ability to upgrade and integrate with Sales Hub and Service Hub.

Price Range: Free to $3,200 per month

Overall Rating Marketing Features Ease of Use Sales Features Expert Score Pricing Customization

Pros:

• Quick and responsive UI
• Automatic reminders for activities
• Prioritize your leads and contacts

Cons:

• Leads are difficult to manage
• Paid tiers can get expensive
• Tough to find certain data

HubSpot Marketing Hub is HubSpot's marketing platform that offers critical free and paid tools. When you sign up for the free version (aka HubSpot CRM), you'll receive some Marketing Hub tools like email marketing, web forms, and live chat, plus basic sales and service features. Upgrade to a paid Marketing Hub level for more robust versions of your existing marketing features plus additional ones like social media management and landing page A/B testing.

HubSpot's free version of Marketing Hub is highly useful and its upgrades provide a solid amount of additional features plus seamless integration with the Service and Sales Hubs, but the paid tiers get pricey. For a free CRM with more affordable upgrades, check out Zoho CRM.

HubSpot Marketing Hub Pricing

• Free Version: Support for unlimited users
• Starter: $45 per month for 1,000 marketing contacts
• Professional: $800 per month for 2,000 marketing contacts
• Enterprise: $3,200 per month for 10,000 marketing contacts
• Additional marketing contacts can be purchased for a monthly fee
• Integrates seamlessly with HubSpot's CRM (free tier available)

HubSpot Marketing Hub Key Features

• Online Chat: Chat with visitors while they’re browsing your website or Facebook page.
• Voice Chat: Easily add support for live voice chat, such as VoIP and even telephony.
• Conversational Bots: Automated bots can mimic human actions and responses.
• Scalability: Upgrade within Marketing Hub and integrate with the Sales and Service Hubs.

Visit Hubspot Marketing Hub

ActiveCampaign: Best for Email Automation

Email marketing software offering email automation and typical CRM functionality.

Price Range: $9.00 to $549+ per month (14-day free trial)

Overall Rating Marketing Features Ease of Use Sales Features Expert Score Pricing Customization

Pros:

• Marketing, sales, and service tool
• Great customer support
• Two-week free trial

Cons:

• Automation setup not intuitive
• Must pay for more contacts
• CRM features could improve

ActiveCampaign is an email marketing tool with a CRM to manage contacts who respond positively to your marketing efforts. Manually send emails to your entire list or certain segments, or use ActiveCampaign's automation tools to set up trigger emails and/or autoreponders that send when a lead takes an action. Also set up scheduled emails to nurture your leads or customers on their work anniversary or other key event, or to remind them to make a purchase.

ActiveCampaign's email automations earned it a top spot on our list of the best email marketing CRMs, but some users struggle with the platform because it's not a CRM first. If you're looking for a CRM that offers great email marketing capabilities, check out Pipedrive instead.

ActiveCampaign Pricing

• Lite: $9.00+ per month for 500+ contacts
• Plus: $49+ per month for 500+ contacts
• Professional: $149+ per month for 500+ contacts
• Enterprise: Call for quote
• Free Trial: 14 days
• Additional contacts can be purchased for extra

ActiveCampaign Key Features

• Email Builder: Create and automate email campaigns or drip sequences for certain leads.
• Customer Support: Training tools and customer support help you master the software.
• Lead Scoring: Identify your likeliest leads with the automated engagement score feature.
• Multi-Function Suites: Use ActiveCampaign for marketing plus sales and service.

Visit ActiveCampaign

Pipedrive: Best for Marketing Add-Ons

Simple, visual CRM offering marketing add-ons to get the best possible sales and marketing features.

Price Range: $14.90 to $99 per user, per month (14-day free trial)

Overall Rating Marketing Features Ease of Use Sales Features Expert Score Pricing Customization

Pros:

• Easily organize your sales process
• Affordable add-ons
• Easy to use platform

Cons:

• Aggressive upselling strategies
• Features locked behind higher prices
• Social media management lacking

Pipedrive is an easy-to-use CRM with a visual approach to marketing and lead management via its kanban-style pipeline. While its plans include some marketing features, where it really shines is with its marketing add-ons, including LeadBooster to generate leads, Web Visitors to track your site viewers, and Campaigns to market to your new leads via email. The add-ons transform this solid sales CRM into a robust marketing tool (and the best email marketing CRM) as well.

While Pipedrive is great for teams that are willing to purchase a paid CRM plus add-ons, it's not right for those looking to start with a free plan and upgrade only when necessary. If this is you, check out HubSpot Marketing Hub for a great free place to start.

Pipedrive Pricing

• Essential: $14.90 per user, per month
• Advanced: $27.90 per user, per month
• Professional: $49.90 per user, per month
• Power: $64.90 per user, per month
• Enterprise: $99 per user, per month (minimum 10 users)
• Free Trial: 14 days
• Pay for sales and marketing add-ons

Pipedrive Key Features

• Visual Pipeline: See and move leads along the kanban-style drag-and-drop pipeline.
• Campaigns Add-On: Segment your lists and send marketing drips and more.
• Customizable Stages: Use a premade template or reflect your unique sales process.
• Pipedrive Marketplace: Choose from over 300 app integrations for more tools.

Visit Pipedrive

EngageBay: Best for a Variety of Features

Provides a highly affordable all-in-one package for marketing, sales, and service.

Price Range: Free to $89.99 per user, per month

Overall Rating Marketing Features Ease of Use Sales Features Expert Score Pricing Customization

Pros:

• Strong free bundle
• Affordable Basic plan
• Free service tools

Cons:

• Not very customizable
• UI is clunkier than others
• Newer and less established

EngageBay is a newer CRM and marketing platform with a free version and premium tiers. It offers separate marketing, CRM and sales, and service packages, but it's designed as an all-in-one platform. This is reflected in its bundle pricing, which is affordable and similar in cost to the individual plans. This means your marketing team can generate leads, sales team can close deals, and support team can handle tickets, all on a single platform for a low monthly fee.

EngageBay offers a basic free option and a discount on a two-year commitment, but if you have budget constraints and are looking for the best free bundle available, check out HubSpot Marketing Hub, which offers even better marketing, sales, and service tools for free.

EngageBay Pricing

• Free Version: Supports 500 contacts
• All-in-One Basic: $13.49 per user, per month
• All-in-One Growth: $44.99 per user, per month
• All-in-One Pro: $89.99 per user, per month

EngageBay Key Features

• Biennial Pricing: Choose a two-year commitment for more savings than an annual plan.
• Free Service Bay: The service package is fully free, including a help desk and live chat.
• Landing Pages and Web Forms: Bring leads to a designated page and capture them there.
• Push Notifications: Send timely messages and review analytics to improve results.

Visit EngageBay

Bitrix24: Best for Social Media Advertising

Give users access to native social media advertising management not typically provided by other CRMs.

Price Range: Free to $159 per user, per month (30-day free trial)

Overall Rating Marketing Features Ease of Use Sales Features Expert Score Pricing Customization

Pros:

• Free plan supports unlimited users
• Fully customizable CRM
• Highly collaborative tools

Cons:

• Upgrades can get expensive
• UI could improve
• Customer support is lacking

Bitrix24 is a CRM offering many sales and marketing tools, including robust social media management. What makes Bitrix unique is that within the CRM, you can manage your social media profiles, create lookalike audiences, and publish social media advertisements. Most CRMs require you to leave the platform when working with social media ads, so this native integration is useful for businesses that prioritize social media marketing for lead generation.

Bitrix24's paid social media features make it more convenient to use if social media is key to your marketing plan, but its UI is tough to navigate. If you want an easier-to-use CRM that also offers great social media tools, consider Zoho CRM as an alternative.

Bitrix24 Pricing

• Free Version: Support for unlimited users
• Basic: $39 per user, per month; 5-seat max
• Standard: $79 per user, per month; 50-seat max
• Professional: $159 per user, per month
• Free Trial: 30 days

Bitrix24 Key Features

• Social Media Ads: Natively distribute paid social campaigns to lookalike audiences.
• Website Builder: Create and host a site that helps you generate and capture leads.
• Collaboration Tools: Use team chat, a shared calendar and workspace, and more.
• Projects and Tasks: Set, delegate, and manage tasks to avoid missing deadlines.

Visit Bitrix24

Bottom Line: Best Marketing CRM Software

Advertising and marketing campaigns are rarely successful in the 21st century without the support of CRM marketing software. But CRM software is more than a simple hub for connecting salespeople and marketers with their customers. In modern times, it can serve as a launchpad for your entire business model. Choose from this list of the best marketing CRMs or check out our article on the four types of CRMs, which includes marketing CRM software plus others.