Find the best Small Business CRM Software

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Salesforce Sales Cloud

Grow your revenue and profits with intelligent sales automation with Sales Cloud. Help every rep be more efficient. Close more deals. Collect cash faster. Boost growth and profit with intelligent automation and integrated tools fr...Read more about Salesforce Sales Cloud

4.4 (18265 reviews)

201 recommendations

Thryv

Thryv is an all-in-one business management solution designed to help small businesses with essential business functions. With Thryv, business owners can expand their online presence, improve any customer relationship, and streamli...Read more about Thryv

4.2 (495 reviews)

109 recommendations

HubSpot Sales Hub

Supercharge your sales process with Sales Hub, a powerful and easy-to-use sales CRM that includes sales engagement tools, configure-price-quote (CPQ) functionality, and robust sales analytics and reporting for growing teams. Optim...Read more about HubSpot Sales Hub

4.5 (448 reviews)

73 recommendations

Topline

*What is Topline?* Topline OS is an all-in-one growth operating system that brings together all the tools you need to run and grow your business in an easy to use, modern platform. It's packed with features like a complete CRM to ...Read more about Topline

5.0 (5 reviews)

48 recommendations

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Shape

Shape's cloud-based solution offers tools designed to manage online marketing and promotions, capture leads from online sources, organize sales pipelines, connect with customers and automate everyday tasks. Shape is suitable for b...Read more about Shape

4.8 (41 reviews)

41 recommendations

FreeAgent CRM

FreeAgent CRM is a fully-featured CRM that helps your team get organized, gain visibility into day-to-day work, and get more done with a powerful, easy-to-use sales platform your sales team will actually love. Work smarter and f...Read more about FreeAgent CRM

4.7 (72 reviews)

30 recommendations

TOP PRODUCER

Top Producer is an all-in-one business management platform designed specifically for real estate agents and teams. Grow your database and convert more leads with cutting-edge lead generation and marketing automation. Smart follow-...Read more about TOP PRODUCER

3.9 (256 reviews)

29 recommendations

Claritysoft CRM

Claritysoft is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) solution designed for midsize and large enterprise businesses. It offers sales automation, customer service and support, marketing automation and social CRM withi...Read more about Claritysoft CRM

4.5 (167 reviews)

26 recommendations

Maximizer CRM

Maximizer CRM is a powerful solution specifically designed for sales. We understand the unique challenges faced by sales managers and sales teams. That's why we provide a game-changing alternative to complex CRM solutions and cumb...Read more about Maximizer CRM

4.0 (351 reviews)

21 recommendations

OA Mobile

Our primary goal is too make your life easier. OA Mobile is like having an extra employee. We will do most of the work for you. After 32 years and thousands of customers we know how to make a CRM work for you. OA Mobile is a CR...Read more about OA Mobile

5.0 (46 reviews)

19 recommendations

SugarCRM

SugarCRM is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, expertly crafted to enhance interactions with prospects and customers while accelerating sales success. Renowned for its cost-effectiveness, this potent solution enabl...Read more about SugarCRM

3.8 (406 reviews)

15 recommendations

monday sales CRM

Built on top of monday.com Work OS, monday sales CRM is a no-code, customizable solution that empowers managers and sales teams to take control of their entire sales cycle - from lead capturing and sales pipeline management to pos...Read more about monday sales CRM

4.7 (383 reviews)

13 recommendations

Less Annoying CRM

Less Annoying CRM is a customer relationship management solution built for small businesses. It offers cloud-based deployment, various configuration options and a dashboard that provides an overview of contact information, project...Read more about Less Annoying CRM

4.8 (579 reviews)

12 recommendations

Rolldog

Rolldog is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution, with the perks of Sales Enablement all rolled into one. Rolldog helps companies manage their business relationships, increase revenue, and boost sales & marketing effec...Read more about Rolldog

4.9 (27 reviews)

8 recommendations

LeadSquared

LeadSquared is a cloud-based marketing automation and customer relationship management (CRM) solution for businesses of all sizes. It serves clients in industries such as finance, e-commerce, education, health and wellness, market...Read more about LeadSquared

4.3 (157 reviews)

5 recommendations

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a web-based marketing automation service with millions of users worldwide. The application allows users to share newsletters on various social networks and track customer engagements. The application provides tools to...Read more about Mailchimp

Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is a cloud-based business management platform that caters to businesses of all sizes. It offers sales and marketing automation tools with helpdesk, analytics and customer support functions. Zoho CRM helps users respo...Read more about Zoho CRM

HubSpot CRM

With its cloud-based, customer relationship management (CRM) platform, HubSpot CRM helps companies of all sizes track and nurture leads and analyze business metrics. HubSpot is suitable for any B2B or B2C business in a variety of ...Read more about HubSpot CRM

Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a web-based Sales CRM and pipeline management solution that enables businesses to plan their sales activities and monitor deals. Built using activity-based selling methodology, Pipedrive streamlines every action invol...Read more about Pipedrive

Nimble

Nimble offers browser widget and mobile-based sales force automation and social CRM solution for small and midsize businesses. The solution automatically populates customer profiles and interaction histories from contact lists, em...Read more about Nimble

Buyers Guide

Last Updated: November 07, 2023

What is Small Business CRM Software?

Small Business CRM software is a tool for small businesses who need to manage interactions with both current and prospective customers. CRM systems offer tools for sales, marketing and customer support.

With the growing number of affordable, Web-based products on the market, more and more small businesses are looking for customer relationship management (CRM) software to manage interactions with both current and prospective customers.

Many are seeking to upgrade from basic email marketing or contact management systems. However, the capabilities of CRM systems can range widely, with varying levels of functionality for sales, marketing and customer support. We developed this guide to help buyers understand exactly what these products can offer, so they can select the solution that best meets their needs.

Here's what we'll cover:

What is Small Business CRM Software?

A Comparison of Top Small Business CRM Solutions

Common Reasons Small Businesses Shop for a CRM Solution

Common Features of Small Business CRM Software

Pricing: Web-Based vs. On-Premise

Key Considerations for Small Businesses

A Comparison of Top Small Business CRM Solutions

There are many popular small business CRM solutions on the market, and it can be hard to know what distinguishes one product from another and which is right for you. To help you better understand how the top small business CRM systems stack up against one another, we created a series of side-by-side product comparison pages that break down the details of what each solution offers in terms of pricing, applications, ease of use, support and more:

Top Insightly Comparisons

Top Zoho CRM Comparisons

Top Zendesk Comparisons

Insightly vs. Base Insightly vs. Nimble Insightly vs. Zoho CRM

Insightly vs. Zoho CRM SugarCRM vs. Zoho CRM

UserVoice vs. Zendesk

Common Reasons Small Businesses Shop for a CRM Solution

Thousands of small businesses contact us every year, looking for advice to help them select the CRM solution best suited to their company. Some are just getting started, while others are looking to replace an outdated or problematic system.

Startups may have their own needs, in some cases related to but unique from the needs of small businesses in general. If you're a startup, check out our guide to CRM for startups here.

Small businesses most commonly look to purchase a CRM system because they are:

  • Hoping to consolidate customer records and reduce double-entry.

  • Seeking to automate functions (alerts, follow-up emails etc.).

  • Looking to generate, track and manage leads more efficiently.

  • Needing specific features (e.g., trouble ticket management).

  • Frustrated with current CRM software (too complicated or not enough features).

  • Experiencing transition or company growth.

Screenshot-of-Pipedrive

Live dashboard in Pipedrive

Core CRM Applications for Small Businesses

Application

Function

Best for...

Contact management

The core component of any CRM solution, contact management systems consolidate critical customer data (e.g., names, addresses and company info) into a single database, as opposed to scattering it across many individual inboxes or address books.

Most small businesses; any business that needs to organize contact information or associate notifications, tasks, notes, files etc. with specific customers.

Sales management

Basic sales management applications allow businesses to track deals at different stages of the sales pipeline, integrating sales activities and appointments with the general contact database. Some may also include limited automation (e.g., automatically sending follow-up emails or setting up reminders) and reporting.

Any small business with a dedicated sales team, or that needs to organize a high volume of leads and automate follow-up (e.g., real estate agencies).

Marketing automation

Entry-level marketing automation applications allow small businesses to quickly set up landing pages, Web forms and email templates that inspire potential customers to take action. They may also offer some degree of automation to send targeted, personalized messages based on prospects’ behavior.

Small businesses with a dedicated marketing team, and/or looking to attract potential customers through email marketing or Web traffic.

Customer service management

Simpler customer service applications typically focus on basic trouble ticket management, which allows small businesses to document, track and resolve customer issues.

Small businesses with a dedicated customer service team, or any business that needs to resolve a high volume of customer inquiries and/or complaints (e.g., software companies).

Pricing: Web-Based vs. On-Premise CRM

Most small businesses should consider hosted, cloud-based CRM solutions. Because these systems are hosted by the vendor, they eliminate the need for you to have a dedicated IT team for managing and maintaining your own server. They also drastically reduce upfront investment and installation costs.

In addition, they typically offer monthly subscription pricing, which makes them scale well for fast-growing companies that need to add additional user licenses or features down the road.

However, small businesses with sufficient IT resources and capital may still benefit from on-premise CRM systems. These solutions usually require purchasing an expensive perpetual license up front, but they may become the cheaper option if you use the same system over an extended period of time.

You can see how pricing for these two models compares to figure out what works best for you using this tool. However, keep in mind that with on-premise solutions, you might also pay additionally for upgrades, customizations or maintenance.

Key Considerations for Small Businesses

With so many options and feature sets to choose from, selecting the right CRM for your small business can quickly become an overwhelming task. To narrow things down, here are four key factors for small businesses in particular to keep in mind as they evaluate different products:

Which Applications to Prioritize?

Because CRM encompasses so many functions (e.g., sales, marketing and customer service), many entry-level products are actually “best-of-breed” solutions. This means they focus on only one of the core applications listed above (although all CRM systems will provide some level of contact management functionality). “Integrated suites,” meaning solutions combining multiple applications in one software package (often billed as “professional” or “enterprise” editions) are much more expensive.

So before you begin shopping, start with a clear assessment of exactly which functions you need. The “Best for...” column in the chart above provides recommendations as to which types of companies may need which applications.

System Complexity and Ease-of-Use

Many small businesses we speak with say they’re replacing their CRM system because it’s too complicated or difficult to use. And if your employees find it too burdensome to input data into your program, you’ll wind up with a spotty, incomplete customer database, which defeats the entire purpose of having a system in place.

As a result, small businesses should pay particular attention to ease-of-use as they evaluate CRM software options. Consider solutions with smart, intuitive interfaces. Also, take advantage of the demos and trials offered by many companies to get a real sense of how user-friendly a system is.

Integration Considerations

While small businesses may not have as many integration requirements as larger companies, you should still consider CRM solutions that integrate with programs that you and your employees already use, such as email clients, calendars and accounting software.

For instance, integration with email clients such as Outlook and Gmail will make it much easier to import contacts and conversations into your new system. It also allows your employees to continue using the programs they’re comfortable with, while ensuring your contact database remains comprehensive and up-to-date.