Best CRM systems in 2025

Strong customer relationships are the backbone of any thriving business. Whether you're a fresh startup or a seasoned enterprise, your success depends on your clients. That’s why picking the right CRM software isn’t just important – it’s essential.

When chosen wisely, these digital tools can store and handle contacts and accounts, analyze and report on customers' behavior, and automate and streamline tasks.

To help unlock these benefits, the Cybernews team and I have handpicked the best CRM systems, evaluating their features, usability, customer satisfaction, and pricing. The guide below breaks down our findings.

Best CRM programs - shortlist

• Salesforce – best CRM platform overall
• Monday – top CRM software for sales teams
• Pipedrive – ideal CRM for small businesses and startups
• Bitrix24 – excellent feature-rich CRM system
• ZohoCRM – perfect choice for scaling businesses
• HubSpot CRM – top user-friendly customer management relationship software
• Capsule – great pick if you see valuable third-party integrations
• EngageBay – solid free customer management solution
• Streak – superb CRM for email marketing

Best CRM systems compared

To give you a clear picture of all the best CRM programs, I’ve put together a detailed table overview. You’ll see my top list and the key factors you’ll want to consider when choosing the perfect software for your needs, preferences, and budget.

CRM	Best for	Pricing	Key features	Customization capabilities
Salesforce	Customer management overall	Custom	Industry-geared solutions, extensive automation capabilities, highly customizable features, robust onboarding resources	Yes
Monday	Sales teams	From $15/month	Impressive reputation, user-friendly automation and AI functionality, neat and customizable dashboards, great integration capabilities	Yes
Pipedrive	Small businesses and startups	From $14/month	Simple and intuitive layout, user-geared workflow management functionalities, solid AI-powered assistance, convenient integrations and add-ons	Yes, but only partially
Bitrix24	Companies seeking a feature-rich CRM solution	From $61/month	Live collaborative feed, simple team and lead management capabilities, flexible reports, versatile automation options	Yes
ZohoCRM	Scaling businesses	From $20/month	Feature-packed free plan, AI-driven analytics, broad integration options, refund and plan renewal perks	Yes, but it’s not straightforward
HubSpot CRM	CRM beginners	From $15/month	Straightforward setup and layout, fantastic onboarding materials, reliable customer service	Yes, but only within higher pricing plans
Capsule	Third-party integrations	From $18/month	Convenient integrations, simple and clean design, compatible and easy to use on various devices	Yes
EngageBay	Free CRM services	From $14.99/month	Budget-friendly solution, powerful lead scoring features, diverse web forms and templates, integrating live chat module	Yes
Streak	Email marketing	From $59/month	Various email management features, useful Google Workplace integrations, convenient progress updates, and data organization	Yes

9 Best CRM solutions – our detailed list

Without further ado, let’s dive into the top 9 best CRMs for 2025. The following hands-on reviews lay out what each platform offers, from features to pricing. Explore each to pick the tool that fits your business.

1. Salesforce — best customer management system overall

Best for:	Customer management overall
Free plan:	No, only a 30-day free trial
Starting price:	Custom
Standout features:	Industry-geared solutions, extensive automation capabilities, highly customizable features, robust onboarding resources

Visit Salesforce

Salesforce is a pioneer in the world of customer management software. Its first solution appeared on the market back in 1999, setting the standard. Its long-standing experience and commitment to innovation have kept the platform successful to date.

Salesforce’s CRM lets you choose between a range of industry-geared solutions. It also automates just about everything – lead assignments, task management, proposals, order processing, and record updates.

If your team is familiar with HTML and CSS, you can tweak its dashboards and templates and build custom apps for departments like marketing, HR, and finance. The system is designed to scale with you, whether you’re a startup or an enterprise.

Another element I particularly liked about Salesforce is how easy it makes onboarding. The platform offers a free online learning program called Trailhead, allowing you to interact with your platform through AI. With 24/7 customer support to top it off, you’ll never be left to figure things out alone.

2. Monday – best for CRM for sales teams

Best for:	Sales teams
Free plan:	No, only a 14-day free trial
Starting price:	From $15/month
Standout features:	Impressive reputation, user-friendly automation and AI functionality, neat and customizable dashboards, great integrations capabilities

Visit Monday

Monday is another big name in sales-focused CRM, but my team and I ranked it highly for more than its reputation. A quick dive into its features shows this platform is a fantastic choice for sales optimization.

Monday supports every stage of the sales cycle, from lead generation to closing deals. It cuts down on manual work with no-code automation and AI and keeps data organized and accessible with 50-column customizable dashboards. With its time tracking and multi-level permissions, you'll be able to keep your workload under control.

I’ve also noticed that Monday’s integration capabilities get plenty of praise from users. Namely, the solution is compatible with over 500 tools, including Google Drive, Slack, Gmail, and Dropbox, which makes collaboration effortless. With four pricing plans and a free trial, it’ll easily fit your business needs.

3. Pipedrive – best for small businesses and startups

Best for:	Small businesses and startups
Free plan:	No, only a 14-day free trial
Starting price:	From $14/month
Standout features:	Simple and intuitive layout, user-geared workflow management functionalities, solid AI-powered assistance, convenient integrations and add-ons

Visit Pipedrive

Pipedrive isn’t as well-known as its predecessors on this list. However, its customer relationship management software ticks all the boxes for small and startup businesses.

The platform shines with its pipeline view, giving you a straightforward and intuitive layout to track your workflow. Managing tasks, staying organized, and prioritizing become easier than ever. Moreover, its AI assistant offers helpful tips and generates emails so you can stay on top of your leads and close more deals.

I have to mention that Pipedrive doesn’t offer the most robust customization options. But, its 400 integrations and Project and Smart Docs add-ons help bridge this gap. They’ll offer a cleaner view of your progress per project, let you attach notations and spec sheets, and send digital contracts. Therefore, smaller teams should find it flexible enough.

4. Bitrix24 – best for companies seeking a feature-rich CRM solution

Best for:	Companies seeking a feature-rich CRM solution
Free plan:	Yes
Starting price:	From $61/month
Standout features:	Live collaborative feed, simple team and lead management capabilities, flexible reports, versatile automation options

Visit Bitrix24

Bitrix24 is an all-in-one business management platform offering tools for lead generation, project management, and web development. I was impressed by its broad range of capabilities and felt it deserved a spot on this top CRM list.

One standout feature is its Activity Stream, a powerful collaborative feed that keeps your team aligned. It offers a real-time view of all records, tasks, comments, attachments, and alerts. Plus, it lets you create workgroups, assign them to specific projects, and reach out to them via video, audio, and live chat.

I also thought the reporting and automation capabilities were a major plus. The reports lend themselves to in-depth customization, so you get the exact insights you need. As for automation, it facilitates marketing campaign deployment, handles routine tasks, and lets you send invoices directly from the contact center.

Unfortunately, such a wide range of features is often overwhelming for an average employee.

5. ZohoCRM – best for scaling businesses

Best for:	Scaling businesses
Free plan:	Yes
Starting price:	From $20/month
Standout features:	Feature-packed free plan, AI-driven analytics, broad integration options, refund and plan renewal perks

Visit ZohoCRM

ZohoCRM is another well-known name on our best customer management software list. It boasts over 120 million users, including famous brands like L’Oreal, Amazon, and FedEx. Given its scalability potential, I didn’t find this surprising at all.

ZohoCRM’s free plan lets you store up to 5,000 records on the cloud, tailoring the data views according to your preferences. It offers a rich lead and deal management toolkit, from diverse formatting options for copies and emails to lead activity trackers. The system also generates chart and report-based insights for your sales and marketing campaigns.

Once you pass its 3-seat limit, Zoho’s subscription plans enhance these capabilities with integrations and AI-powered analytics. This feature can help your business grow by identifying anomalies, tracking market trends, and offering assignment and workflow suggestions. The brand seals the deal by offering full refunds and a 5-day grace period between plan renewals.

It’s just a shame its customer support doesn’t quite match the rest of the platform’s capabilities.

6. HubSpotCRM – best for customer management beginners

Best for:	Customer management beginners
Free plan:	Yes
Starting price:	From $15/month
Standout features:	Straightforward setup and layout, fantastic onboarding materials, reliable customer service

No CRMs list would be complete without HubSpotCRM, a powerhouse among digital business management tools. The Cybernews team and I included it for its clean design and beginner-friendly approach.

HubSpotCRM lets you tailor its CRM to your business needs with a quick, hassle-free setup. Thanks to diverse integrations and import options, you can organize all your data and contacts in an intuitive layout within minutes.

Despite its simplicity, HubSpotCRM doesn’t skimp on the onboarding process. It offers visual guides on key features and functionalities, plus a customer support team praised by users for reliability and accessibility.

These features make HubSpotCRM fantastic for newbies and remote teams who may have difficulty learning complicated software. Sadly, the system isn’t as scalable as other CRM platforms on this list since most advanced features are limited to the pricey premium plans.

7. Capsule – best for third-party integrations

Best for:	Third-party integrations
Free plan:	Yes
Starting price:	From $18/month
Standout features:	Convenient integrations, simple and clean design, compatible and easy to use on various devices

Capsule lacks the pedigree some of our software CRM choices boast, but it outshines many of them when it comes to integrations.

The platform is compatible with a range of popular management tools and software. It can handle contacts through Google Contacts, contracts through NiftyQuoter and WebMerge, and email marketing campaigns through MailChimp and Mad Mimi. It also syncs seamlessly with HelpScout, Microsoft, Zapier, ZenDesk, Slack, and FreeAgent.

Another quality I found refreshing about Capsule was its clean, minimalistic design. Its layout includes only six vital customer relation components plus a search button. Combined with seamless integrations, it ensures smooth performance on desktop and mobile devices..

Still, I wish I’d seen more analytics and automation features on the platform. Without these, Capsule falls short for larger businesses and enterprises.

8. EngageBay – best for free customer relationship management services

Best for:	Free CRM services
Free plan:	Yes
Starting price:	From $14.99/month
Standout features:	Budget-friendly solution, powerful lead scoring features, diverse web forms and templates, integrating live chat module

If you’re on a tight budget or unsure about investing in CRM systems, EngageBay might be the perfect choice. Like its competitors, this solution comes with several pricing plans, but I’ve added it to this top list for its free version.

EngageBay’s free plan features smart contact lists, tailored pipelines with drag-and-drop deals, and department-specific dashboards for easy progress insights.

There’s also a full-fledged marketing suite that provides everything you need to capture leads. You’ll have automation marketing features, web forms, and email, newsletter, and pop-up templates at your disposal.

My fellow tech experts and I found the live chat module quite useful. It easily integrates into your website, offering stats on response times and number and duration of chats.

Beyond the expected free plan limitations, my only complaints involve troubleshooting issues and occasional batch-processing delays.

9. Streak – best for email marketing

Best for:	Email markering
Free plan:	Yes (only for email power tools)
Starting price:	from $59/month
Standout features:	Various email management features, useful Google Workplace integrations, convenient progress updates and data organization

Wrapping up this list is Streak, the only CRM built inside Gmail, making it the perfect tool for supercharging your email marketing.

The tool lets you handle customer relationships directly from your Gmail inbox. It facilitates sharing inboxes with your team, tracking correspondences and notes, and streamlining email creation with templates and automations. It even notifies you when a client reads an email and tracks how many times it’s been opened.

Thanks to its Google Workspace integrations, Streak can also pull data from Sheets, Chats, and Drive directly into your pipeline. You’ll get real-time progress updates and benefit from the color-coded layout, making data management easy and efficient.

Unfortunately, many other features don’t measure up. I’ve come across numerous user reviews pointing out problems with non-native integrations and the lack of advanced lead management features.

How did we select the best CRM systems

To choose the best CRM systems, my team and I have developed a thorough evaluation process. We’ve assessed each brand based on a specific set of criteria to ensure an accurate and fair comparison. You can find the breakdown of our approach below.

• Features (30%). Our first step was to make sure the platform was capable of covering basic customer relationship management needs. To that end, we checked key features like data organization, automation, customization, analytics, and integrations. Finding extra functionalities, like AI assistants, sales forecasting, or marketing capabilities, was a bonus.
• Ease of use (20%). Next, we examined each brand’s design. I focused on layout and navigation while my team evaluated features like templates, drag-and-drop tools, and onboarding materials. Our goal was to eliminate CRM software platforms that felt unintuitive or difficult to use.
• Scalability(20%). Cybernews experts and I also spent time considering how these platforms suit different-size businesses. The idea was to find CRMs with the right balance of features and pricing tiers to facilitate business growth and make upgrading seamless.
• Pricing (15%). The cost of each customer management system played a key role in our evaluation. I compared subscription fees against market standards, while my team focused on providers with free plans, testing their functionality and limitations.
• User feedback (15%). Last but not least, we combed the internet for user reviews. They gave us insight into tool performance, service improvements over time, and the quality of customer support. Only the most reliable and well-regarded CRMs made it onto our top list.

What is a CRM system?

A CRM, or customer relationship management software, is a piece of technology designed to help businesses manage and strengthen customer relations.

When it first appeared, these tools had the role of a digital phonebook – a place that stored and organized all your business contacts. However, as the needs of modern companies grew with time, so did these tools’ offerings. Slowly but steadily, CRMs have evolved into powerful platforms that drive marketing, sales, and customer support.

CRM solutions still serve as central hubs for your contacts, letting you organize data in a way that suits your business needs. But their capabilities go far beyond keeping things tidy. They fuel business growth by building customer loyalty and streamlining workflow.

CRMs track project progress, automate tedious tasks, improve team communication, and generate reports on your performance. The best ones also offer tools for scoring new leads and growing revenue.

With AI-driven insights, these platforms can forecast trends, identify upsell opportunities, fine-tune marketing efforts, and even handle invoicing – all in one place. That’s why you can see so many successful businesses, big and small, relying on these tools in their day-to-day work routine.

What makes the best CRM system?

If you take a look at the modern market, you’ll notice it’s flooded with CRM software examples. But dig a little deeper, and it becomes clear they’re not all equal. There are a few key features that really set the best ones apart. For your convenience, I’ve outlined them in the list below.

• User-friendly interface and navigation. The best CRM programs are designed with users in mind. They are easy to set up and get around, and they offer multiple data organization views, customizable dashboards, and accessible automation capabilities.
• Robust automation sales and marketing tools. Quality CRMs streamline the workloads of your sales and marketing teams by automating time-consuming tasks. They take care of data entry, email drafting, appointment setting, follow-up reminders, and similar repetitive tasks. This cuts down on errors and enhances overall productivity.
• Comprehensive analytics and reporting features. For a CRM software solution to be truly effective, it should provide lead and revenue analytics along with forecasting. It must gather and analyze website visitor data, track market trends, and generate reports on potential revenue opportunities.
• Scalability and customization options. CRMs need to be flexible enough to suit businesses of all sizes and industries. They should allow you to customize dashboards, generate tailored reports, and set user roles and permissions. They must also offer basic and advanced features to meet your evolving needs.
• Excellent customer support and training resources. To be included in my top list, CRM software has to prioritize user support. This means employing responsive, knowledgeable customer service and providing helpful onboarding materials. Your team needs to have someone to turn to when pressing questions or urgent issues arise.

How to choose the right CRM system for my needs

Now that you’ve discovered this year’s top CRM platforms and why they matter, let’s take a look at how you should choose between them. Follow my lead, and you’ll be all set.

• Define your needs. Consider your team’s workflow and current success rate and then your business mission and objectives. Seek CRM software that can help close the gap between the two through automation, customization, analytics, and forecasting. Don’t forget to consider the company’s size and target industry when making this decision.
• Check your CRM’s integration options. Look for customer relationship software that seamlessly integrates with the third-party tools your team uses daily. Also, consider any additional tools you might need down the line. Remember, you want to support growth without burdening your employees.
• Consider your CRM’s scalability potential. Think about short and long-term goals and choose a CRM that can help you reach them. Make sure your final choice can handle more data, users, and complexity without slowing you down. Be sure to look for features that support growth, like customizable plans and flexible integrations, to keep things running smoothly.
• Factor in your budget. Aim for a CRM that offers a good return on investment. Even if you start with a free plan, consider how much upgrading down the line will cost. Make sure you pick the option that can meet your requirements as you evolve without breaking the bank.
• Take advantage of free trials. Give your team the chance to test out different CRM products through free trials. Have employees in each department share their thoughts on usability and functionality. Use their input to make an informed choice that benefits the whole company.

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Other sales & CRM tools you might be interested in:

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Final word on best CRM systems

As you can see, CRM software can be the driving force behind your business optimization. It not only helps manage customer interactions but also gives you deep insights into their behavior. It streamlines your sales, marketing, and support, improving efficiency, scoring leads, and nurturing customer relationships.

However, your CRM must be tailored to your unique business needs for all of this to come together. That’s why Cybernews experts and I have done the research to find the finest options. Try Salesforce, the top-rated brand on our best CRM systems list, and see how your company benefits.

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