Best CRM systems comparison in 2025

If your motto is “the customer is always right,” you need to put that into practice. Thankfully, at least in 2025, this is easier than ever, with some help from the best CRM systems.

These tools are not just your everyday workload automation, planning, or sales solutions – they are based on powerful software for driving customer-focused business decisions. Whether it’s funnel optimization, eCommerce boosts, or marketing efforts you’re looking to expand, CRM programs are your all-around solution.

If you know how to pick one, that is. So, I’ve crafted this detailed guide featuring the best customer management software in 2025. Through it, I’ll give you my firsthand picks for strengthening the bonds with your customers, boosting your company’s outreach, and keeping all business channels up to date with customer-related data.

Best CRM systems – shortlist

1. Salesforce – my top recommendation for the most powerful CRM software overall
2. Monday – best budget-friendly CRM with flexible pricing plans
3. Pipedrive – top choice for extensive integrations and customization
4. Bitrix24 – ideal CRM for advanced business and sales analytics
5. Zoho CRM – leading platform for automating sales processes
6. HubSpot CRM – best free CRM for email marketing and outreach tools
7. EngageBay – comprehensive CRM covering marketing, sales, and customer support
8. Insightly – versatile CRM with built-in lead tracking and marketing capabilities
9. Capsule – best solution for organizing tasks, contracts, and workload management
10. Less Annoying CRM – ultimate all-in-one CRM tailored for small businesses
11. Zendesk Sell – go-to CRM for enhanced pipeline tracking and visibility
12. Streak – top option for seamless email marketing and CRM integration

The best CRM systems compared

Before we take a deep dive into the best CRM software, I'd like to give you an overview of the benefits and drawbacks of each of my picks. I’ve already checked how they stack up in terms of pricing, features, and a few other metrics so that you don’t have to:

CRM tool	Best for	Business size	Top features	Contact management	Customer support	Marketing automation	Sales force automation	Customizability	Reporting and analytics	Integration capabilities	Mobile Access	Starting Price
Salesforce	Businesses in need of a complete sales, marketing, and commerce solution	Small to midsize	AI-powered assistants with 24/7 support, Agent Builder tool, revenue tracking	Great	Mid-tier	Best	Great	Great	Mid-tier	Great	Great	Custom(30-day free trial)
Monday	Businesses and startups looking for a CRM platform for optimizing leads	Small	Web forms for lead capture, more than 200 tailored templates, weekly activity logs	Basic	Mid-tier	Basic	Mid-tier	Great	Mid-tier	Great	Best	From $15/seat/month(14-day free trial)
Pipedrive	Businesses looking for lead and pipeline management options	Small and midsize	Fully AI-powered sales assistant, over 400 integrations, custom reports	Great	Great	Mid-tier	Great	Great	Mid-tier	Best	Great	From $14/seat/month (14-day free trial)
Bitrix24	Businesses Looking for a complete CRM solution	Large	AI sales-assistant copilot, omnichannel communication, social media integrations	Mid-tier	Basic	Great	Great	Mid-tier	Basic	Great	Mid-tier	From $61/organization/month to $499/organization/month (15-day free trial)
Zoho CRM	Businesses in need of sales automation	Small	Advanced sales customization, forecasting, and outreach tools	Mid-tier	Great	Basic	Best	Basic	Great	Great	Great	From $21/month per user to $70/month per user (15-day free trial)
HubSpot CRM	Businesses looking for a free CRM for organizing emails	Small	Free email template builder, live chat, AI meeting scheduler	Basic	Great	Basic	Basic	Basic	Mid-tier	Great	Mid-tier	Free version available, dedicated marketing plans start at $800/month (14-day free trial)
EngageBay	Companies looking for a sales and marketing CRM	Midsize	AI-powered marketing tools, visual reports and sales dashboards, email automation	Mid-tier	Great	Best	Mid-tier	Mid-tier	Great	Mid-tier	Great	From $14.99/seat/month to $119.99/seat/month (Free plan available)
Insightly	Businesses in need of a lead tracking and pipeline management solution	Small and midsize	Customizable objects and fields, pipeline management features with visually appealing dashboards	Mid-tier	Great	Great	Mid-tier	Basic	Basic	Great	Basic	From $29/month per user to $99/month per user (14-day free trial)
Capsule	Companies in need of an all-in-one CRM, workflow automation, and sales pipeline tool	Midsize	Pipeline value features, an all-in-one client contact platform	Great	Mid-tier	Great	Great	Mid-tier	Basic	Great	Basic	From $22/month per user to $97/month per user (14-day free trial)
Less Annoying CRM	Businesses in need of an intuitive and beginner-friendly tool with experienced customer support	Small	Unlimited contacts and pipelines, 25 GB of file storage per user	Great	Best	Mid-tier	Great	Mid-tier	Great	Mid-tier	Great	From $15/month per user (single plan only) (30-day free trial)
Zendesk Sell	Businesses looking for a higher pipeline visibility and lead generation tool	Midsize to large	Custom agent roles, audit logs, Zendesk official support, social media integrations	Best	Great	Mid-tier	Mid-tier	Mid-tier	Great	Basic	Great	From $25/user/month (14-day free trial)
Streak	Businesses looking for a fully automated CRM platform	Small to midsize	Business process tracking, email merging and tracking	Mid-tier	Great	Great	Great	Best	Basic	Mid-tier	Mid-tier	From $59/user/month(14-day free trial)

Comparison of the 12 best CRM systems – our detailed list

Now that you’re a bit more familiar with the ups and downs of these CRM software platforms, it’s time for a detailed checkup. I’ll give you a thorough overview of each, including its key traits, best application, price tag, and trial details.

1. Salesforce – my top pick for the best CRM system overall

Best for:	Small to midsize businesses
Free trial:	Available (30-day application trial)
Starting price:	Custom
Top features:	AI-powered assistants with 24/7 support, Agent Builder tool, revenue tracking

Visit Salesforce

Salesforce made it to the top of my list of software CRM due to its versatility, but it’s mainly used for boosting sales. Loads of automated features confirm this, such as the personal, AI-powered sales agent you can customize to fit your company's needs.

On top of that, Salesforce also has its own sales forecasting feature and an ROI tracker. Of course, these two are also based on AI, but this time, the brand’s signature predictive AI runs on models that are proven to work in the business world.

That means you can get a thorough prediction of your sales and revenue based on the marketing and outreach model you’re using. Naturally, it’s not foolproof, but it’s invaluable when crafting your sales strategy.

In terms of CRM-specific features, it runs deep analysis based on your customer data and interactions, explains performance through visual dashboards, and reports obtained information. You can also use its AI toolbox to manage your eCommerce and marketing outreach.

2. Monday – the best CRM solution with affordable price plans

Best for:	Small businesses
Free trial:	Available (14-day application trial)
Starting price:	From $12/month per seat
Top features:	Web forms for lead capture, more than 200 tailored templates, weekly activity logs

Visit Monday

Monday is an interesting customer relationship management solution if you’re just looking for a to-do organizer, planner, and interaction tracker. It’s a very versatile option that can be used as a workload planning solution, and it even has a free plan for starters. Truth be told, it’s limited to just two seats (users) and offers up to 3 boards which is not enough for organizing your projects or client-related work.

Still, the paid plans are relatively affordable, so it’s one of the best-value tools I’ve found. For those looking to stay up to date with their project deadlines, it’s the go-to pick. It has user-friendly dashboards where you can pin projects, tasks, and operations, as well as add timelines for each.

There are around 200 different options for custom dashboards. Monday also offers around 50 integrations, starting with simple tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Gmail. However, it also has some high-end tools like Jira and Mailchimp. Despite all that, I liked its lead-displaying capabilities and sales-tracking features the most.

3. Pipedrive – best custom option for adding hundreds of integrations

Best for:	Small and midsize companies
Free trial:	Available (14-day application trial)
Starting price:	From $14/seat/month
Top features:	Fully AI-powered sales assistant, over 400 integrations, custom reports

Visit Pipedrive

Pipedrive is the best CRM management tool for integrations, offering more than 400 top-of-the-line tools and apps with a wide area of use in sales, marketing, and business overall. For instance, you can use tools like SURFE, Apollo.io, Zapier, Microsoft Teams, and DocuSign, to name a few.

Pipedrive is an all-in-one CRM tool that covers everything from client communication to electronic contract signings and marketing management. To make things even better, it also has lead optimization options, and that’s not just due to its extensive integration capabilities.

There are unique built-in tools, such as the email marketing feature. So, you can combine Mailchimp with Pipedrive’s native tool to get the best combined email marketing results. That’s just one example of how it can be used, so you get the bigger picture.

4. Bitrix24 – best for business and sales analytics tools

Best for:	Large businesses
Free trial:	Available (15-day application trial)
Starting price:	From $14/organization/month
Top features:	AI sales-assistant copilot, omnichannel communication, social media integrations

Visit Bitrix24

Bitrix24 is an excellent choice if you’re looking for IT CRM software that handles everything from collaboration and communication to project tracking and online store management. It’s a complete online workspace, and I particularly liked the option to migrate your data from the CRM you’re already using if you decide to switch to Bitrix.

Regarding customer relation specifics, it offers valuable tools and features like a complete project management suite. You can also explore valuable options like a fully automated Sales Intelligence feature based on AI insights. With it, you can get automatic customer journey tracking that displays the customers' activities that led them to your website.

You can use these insights to optimize your marketing and outreach strategies, and that’s just one example of how Bitrix24 works. It has other useful tricks up its sleeve, like the integrated e-signature option for signing contracts, customer reports, and a segment-based sales generator.

5. Zoho CRM – top CRM platform for sales automation

Best for:	Small businesses
Free trial:	Available (15-day free trial)
Starting price:	From $21/user/month
Top features:	Advanced sales customization, forecasting, and outreach tools

Visit Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM checks all the right boxes for small businesses needing customer relationship management CRM software. It’s a dedicated sales automation solution with features for generating, optimizing, and managing leads in the most intuitive way possible.

It does it all through a user-friendly dashboard, and even though I’ve seen far too many of those for the sake of this guide, Zoho might just take the crown. It’s a simple view offering detailed representations of key categories like feeds, leads, accounts, contracts, deals, activities, and reports.

It’s not just about the visual representation either – the data is organized in a way that allows you to share it with the appropriate branch of your company quickly. Zoho CRM also features dedicated tools for advanced sales analytics using predictive AI and helps you keep a thorough record of contract history, transactions, and records, packed in a single dash.

6. HubSpot CRM – best free tool for email outreach and marketing

Best for:	Small businesses
Free trial:	Available (14-day free trial)
Starting price:	Free version available, dedicated marketing plans starting at $800/month
Top features:	Free email template builder, live chat, AI meeting scheduler

Visit HubSpot CRM

While I’m sure most of you have heard of HubSpot as a marketing tool, I’d bet you didn’t know it had a free CRM add-on. In fact, it’s more like a complete email outreach and marketing solution that comes completely free. While there are no tricks, its marketing plans cost a lot, and major corporations might need to get those hefty plans to unlock the tool's full marketing potential.

But, you don’t have to pay a dime to use HubSpot CRM as your cloud CRM software for email management and campaigns. Some of its standout traits include a custom dashboard for reporting client meetings, conversations, and interactions. You can also mark the key pointers within the integrated Notes section, which can be customized to your liking.

On top of that, HubSpot’s free CRM handles a few other things well, mainly adding a whole suite of integrations at practically zero cost. For instance, you can use it with Mailchimp for email campaigns, or integrate Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Outlook for client communication.

7. EngageBay – all-in-one CRM for marketing, sales, and support

Best for:	Midsize companies
Free trial:	Free plan available
Starting price:	From $14.99/seat/month
Top features:	AI-powered marketing tools, visual reports and sales dashboards, email automation

EngageBay is another excellent example of customer relation management software that handles everything from emails to marketing and sales. I also liked the convenience of choosing a plan for a particular set of needs. For instance, if you needed just the basic CRM features like email broadcasts, autoresponders, and a helpdesk, you could get them all for free.

It sounds too good to be true, but EngageBay still offers all these nicely packed in its free plan. But, if you’re looking for something more robust and powerful, it also checks those boxes splendidly. In higher-end plans, you can use automated email templates, lead scoring features, tag managers, role management, and uptime SLA tools.

All these tools help boost your outreach, manage access control within the company, and promise an operational system for your clients with no chance of downtime. It even has an integrated support solution, and I especially liked that one since it’s not AI-based like most other CRM tools but involves real human support.

8. Insightly – all-around CRM with lead tracking and marketing additions

Best for:	Small and midsize businesses
Free trial:	Available (14-day free trial)
Starting price:	From $29/user/month
Top features:	Customizable objects and fields, pipeline management features with visually appealing dashboards

Insightly offers fully customizable objects, fields, and project management stages, making it an excellent option for those who want to make it their own. It even has some handy tools like the native lead tracking and routing feature which requires no integrations.

I was amazed by its range of CRM services, from lead tracking and management to pipeline optimization and a full client communication feature. However, it does have a very hefty price tag, so I’ve expected nothing less.

Among all customer relationship management applications, Insightly does ticketing and support the best. Plus, it covers product price books and quotes splendidly. It even checks the boxes for SLA management and insights to ensure your customers are satisfied with the agreed level of service.

9. Capsule – top choice for managing workload lists and contracts

Best for:	Small and midsize businesses
Free trial:	Available (14-day free trial)
Starting price:	From $22/month per user
Top features:	Pipeline value features, an all-in-one client contact platform

Some client relationship management tools are perfect for documentation, and Capsule is one of those. It helps you leave notes within the calendar and mark client conversation insights and takeaways, making each interaction much more straightforward. On top of that, you can also use the document library to set up specific alerts and reminders.

Capsule also boasts numerous integrations with decent communication management and automation tools. You can use it with Zendesk and Zapier to connect customer support with apps and services. Or simply add QuickBooks into the mix to check the accounting box.

It’s also a great email marketing tool that allows you to run custom campaigns. As the cherry on top, it also allows you to book meetings with clients and provide your customers with a complete help desk suite.

10. Less Annoying CRM – best all-in-one CRM for small companies

Best for:	Small businesses
Free trial:	Available (30-day free trial)
Starting price:	From $15/month per user
Top features:	Unlimited contacts and pipelines, 25 GB of file storage per user

Less Annoying is one of the first customer management system tools, established back in 2009. Its team boasts years of experience in the CRM field, which translates into better human support.

I’d recommend it to small businesses due to its affordable pricing, with just one $15 plan offering all the features. Those include its built-in calendar with notes and alerts, a dedicated task automation dashboard, and a special section for client relations.

That said, it falls short a bit in terms of customization potential, but you can still get custom forms. With various email logging features and integrations, it’s an excellent option for all sorts of workload automations, from marketing campaigns to sales and invoices. Some standout integrations include Invoco, Google Forms, Outlook Calendar, and Zapier.

11. Zendesk Sell – top choice for boosting pipeline visibility

Best for:	Midsize to large businesses
Free trial:	Available (14-day free trial)
Starting price:	From $25/user/month
Top features:	Custom agent roles, audit logs, Zendesk official support, social media integrations

Zendesk Sell is a dedicated tool for maximizing your revenue via pipeline visibility. It ensures that your company’s sales leaders can easily avoid bottlenecks and track the progress of client deals in real-time. Plus, it offers some forecasting features, although I prefer Salesforce in that segment.

However, it’s still one of the best CRM programs for boosting productivity. A perfect example is the Task Player feature, which allows you to optimize outreach and follow up on sales activities. It also has sales engagement tools with prospect lists for identifying new sales targets.

Zendesk also includes audit logs and support features, such as its AI-powered chatbot. Plus, you can integrate it with a few email marketing tools to get the most out of your targeted prospect lists via custom email sequences.

12. Streak – best for email integrations and marketing

Best for:	Small to midsize businesses
Free trial:	Available (14-day free trial)
Starting price:	From $59/user/month
Top features:	Business process tracking, email merging and tracking

Lastly, I chose to include one of the many CRM platforms for managing prospective clients via email. That’s where Streak shines with its dedicated email integration and functions. It allows you to get a CRM solution integrated via Gmail to keep track of sales, project management, and even support in real time.

You can get a custom view of your pipeline with a clear and intuitive visualization of deals and client interactions. Streak is also a great pick among CRM vendors with communication-based integrations via tools like Google Chat.

It enables companies to keep track of email statuses and customize pipelines through different integrations. Among them, you’ll find the complete G-Suite and a few other tools like Typeform and native webhooks.

How did we select the best CRM systems

While ranking different CRM packages and tools, I used a specific methodology to ensure I’m giving you the best options. I’ll break it down below so you can use the same criteria in your search:

1. Feature sets (30%). The most important factor for me was the feature set of each of these tools. I examined a variety of different customer relationship management solutions suitable for all sorts of businesses. Some tools, like Salesforce, feature dedicated AI-based agents and predictive analysis to boost eCommerce efforts and sales. Others include Mailchimp integration for email marketing or in-house options for purposes similar to those of HubSpot with its free CRM.
2. Pricing plans (15%). I also checked pricing plans and details and found a few free options. You can use HubSpot’s CRM entirely free, and Monday has a free version with limited capabilities. Of course, some options like Salesforce have custom plans that easily exceed $100/month for enterprise solutions. Others, like Bitrix24 start at $61, still a rather hefty price tag.
3. User feedback (20%). I also focused on CRM reviews on reputable platforms like Trustpilot. I then compared the input from other users with my own impressions to give you accurate and unbiased takes on each.
4. Ease of use (15%). It’s also crucial to put convenience to the test, so that’s what I did to save you the trouble. I used numerous tests of different CRM products by actual companies and organizations to ensure you get at least a few intuitive solutions like Less Annoying and complex, enterprise-level options like Pipedrive.
5. Integration capabilities (20%). Last but not least, I had to compare the integration capacities of different tools. I added the absolute best platforms like Pipedrive with hundreds of integrations, while also giving you some affordable options with fewer integrations like Monday.

What is a CRM system?

CRM software solutions have gone a long way from offering basic planning and organization capabilities to being fully-fledged business automation options. Some, like Monday, have kept that simplicity and continue to offer basic features, but even they now provide some marketing and sales features.

On the other hand, we now have a variety of prominent tools like Salesforce, which stand out from the crowd with AI-powered sales automation agents and options. A CRM tool should make client communication and interactions easier while providing your company with a centralized customer database and an easier way to manage customer data. Simply put, it should help different branches of your business connect through customer information.

For instance, the accounting section could use this information to manage contract forms and invoices. On the other hand, the eCommerce branch could use it to develop tailored marketing strategies. So, whether it is email marketing campaigns or something as simple as automated dashboards with client notes – the best CRMs do a huge chunk of the work for you.

Key CRM features

While looking for the best CRM management software, you’ll want to focus on a specific set of features. I’ve listed some of the crucial ones below to help you make an educated decision:

1. Contact management. This one is the backbone of proper CRM, and it refers to recording your clients’ information related to the way in which they interact with your business. It can be something as small as social media impressions or more palpable like the number of purchases and email reads. Salesforce excels in contact management features available in the Starter Suite plan.
2. Sales pipeline management. A good CRM package should also include a sales pipeline management toolbox for monitoring the supply chain, inventory, product flow, and sales. Some options that have proven better than others in this aspect include Pipedrive and Zendesk Sell.
3. Marketing automation. Marketing automation is just as important as it benefits from your stored customer data and helps you craft a tailored marketing strategy. Tools like HubSpot CRM feature in-house automated email sequences, while others do it through integrations like Monday.
4. Reporting and analytics. Tools like Pipedrive come with integrated reporting features, while others like Zoho CRM offer customizable reports for sales data. Either way, report insights help with marketing campaigns and product visibility, while some tools even use generative AI for insights.
5. Integration capabilities. From Pipedrive with 400 integrations to Monday with around 50, top CRM platforms provide companies with complete suites of third-party tools. Some can be used for client communications like Google Chat, Slack, and Outlook, while others like QuickBooks are used for specific tasks like accounting.
6. Customization. The customization potential of a CRM tool can be seen through its features, from integrations to custom forms, campaigns, and email sequences. Zendesk Sell is a perfect example of how the latter works for your benefit.
7. Mobile access. Finally, it’s essential to have mobile access to CRM features. For that, I recommend mobile-friendly tools like Salesforce and EngageBay.

CRM requirements by industry

While customer relationship software helps every type of company, it is especially effective in particular niches. Here’s an overview of some industries in which CRM tools might make the most significant impact:

1. eCommerce. I’d say that sales CRM software tools have a massive effect on the eCommerce industry, crafting detailed client outreach and marketing campaign strategies. Some tools even go as far as to offer a dedicated sales agent with the sole mission of driving customer engagement and making more sales. Others feature inventory tracking, sales records, and order lists for a complete eCommerce solution.
2. Healthcare. The impact of top CRM tools is also significant in the healthcare industry. Here, CRMs help with patient communication tools and provide centralized databases of patient medical records and history of prescribed medicine.
3. Real estate. In the real estate industry, CRM tools can help via lead tracking and routing. They also do a massive chunk of work in terms of property management and managing information like property records in a way that’s easy for employees to fetch.
4. Financial services. Cloud-based CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot are incredibly convenient for storing financial information. That’s why they also have a wide application in the financial industry, providing centralized transaction history databases and other helpful information.
5. Small businesses. Businesses that can benefit the most from CRMs are startups and small businesses. Of course, enterprise-level companies can also step up their game with these tools, but affordable options like Monday and HubSpot make a massive difference for companies that are just getting started with client outreach, project scheduling, and marketing.

How to choose the right CRM system for my needs

I’ve been asked how to choose the right software for CRM too many times now, and my answer is always the same – consider your company's needs first. Of course, there’s a lot more to it, but that’s what you should base your research on. To help you with this challenging task, I’ll give you a few other tips:

1. Consider your budget. As you select the CRM software for your company, you’ll also need to consider your budget. You can start exploring free options like HubSpot and Monday, and if they don’t live up to the task, you can proceed by checking out some paid products.
2. Check integration options. Another thing worth considering is the number and quality of integrations. While some tools like Pipedrive feature hundreds, others offer a fairly limited amount. In some cases like with Zoho CRM, you won’t find any integrations in lower-tier plans.
3. Look for scalability. Drawing from my reviewing experience, you should also focus on CRM vendors and solutions that could grow with your company. To achieve that, look for options with various integrations and different features and plans you could upgrade to.
4. Test with free trials. Finally, you should put even the best CRM app to the test via free trials. These range from 30-day trials for Salesforce and Less Annoying to 7-day trials for other tools.

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Other sales & CRM tools you might be interested in:

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Final word on best CRM systems

Browsing different CRM solutions won’t get you far if you don’t know what your company needs. Hopefully, this guide will set you on the right track to figuring that out. Feel free to use my review as the starting point for picking the best CRM for your business.

Startup owners and small business managers can go with Monday’s free plan and work their way up from there. You can upgrade to higher plans as needed or go with more comprehensive, midsize-level solutions like Salesforce and Pipedrive for a robust option.

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