In the case of small businesses, handling customer relations constructively is a decisive factor towards success. CRM software for small businesses are to assist the companies in keeping track of communication with customers as well as to improve the efficiency of the sales process and customer satisfaction. By choosing suitable CRM solutions, small business owners get access to data on customer activity and preferences, ensure the most paperless and efficient business processes, and improve interdepartmental cooperation most effectively.
No matter if you are at the beginning of your journey, or considering your CRM as a foundation for growth, choosing the right platform can lead to a better sales funnel, marketing strategies, and customer support. The market offers various CRM solutions, which is why you need to select software that will meet your company’s requirements. In this article, we will take you through the 15 best CRM software that would assist in being in charge of your customer relations advantageously.
What is a CRM for Small Business?
CRM software for small businesses is a tool designed to help businesses manage interactions with current and potential customers. It provides a centralized platform where all customer information is stored, making it easier to track sales, monitor marketing efforts, and provide better customer service. For small businesses, it is crucial to find CRM software that is affordable and scalable.
It ensures that every customer interaction is recorded and can be referred back to when necessary. With the right CRM, businesses can manage customer data, schedule follow-ups, and nurture leads without any hassle. CRM software helps small businesses stay organized, boost productivity, and enhance customer relationships with ease.
What are the Benefits of Using CRM for Small Businesses?
- Improved Customer Relationships: This application enables organizations to maintain and develop relationships with customers, which makes it easier to monitor communication and be ready to address the issues on behalf of a customer.
- Increased Efficiency: Using follow-ups, reminders, and reporting as automation saves time for small businesses to engage in other more important activities.
- Better Data Organization: CRMs congregate customer data, which in turn enables businesses to access key information within a short period.
- Sales Growth: CRM tools to help in lead capture, Sales opportunities, and analytically, small businesses will be in a good position to convert and generate revenues.
- Enhanced Communication: CRMs manage the communication of the teams to maintain coherence and synergy.
- Scalability: It means that, unlike other business tools that may become ineffective as the business expands, CRMs can expand too and manage more functions and interactions without degrading the quality of service.
Key Features That Make CRM Best for Small Businesses
- Contact Management: Storing customers’ information in one place, so that all communication and interactions with the customer can be recorded.
- Sales Automation: It helps in maintaining the record of follow-ups, pipelines, and leads and in scoring of leads.
- Email Marketing Integration: Helps businesses to conduct personalized emails and monitor the reactions from customers.
- Customizable Dashboards: This enables one to plot data and extract tailored information depending on the business requirements.
- Task Management: This can be useful in solving the problem of task distribution in some organizations, setting up timely prompt,s and tracking follow-up actions.
- Affordable Pricing Plans: The other thing about CRMs for small businesses is that they come cheaper, and the cost does not have to increase as the business expands.
Comparison Table
CRM Name | Rating | Best For | Starting Price |
Zoho CRM | 4.5/5 | Sales automation & analytics | $14/user/month |
HubSpot CRM | 4.7/5 | Marketing & sales integration | Free plan |
Salesforce | 4.6/5 | Scalable solutions for growth | $25/user/month |
Pipedrive | 4.4/5 | Visual sales pipeline management | $14.90/user/month |
Monday.com | 4.5/5 | Project management & CRM integration | Free plan |
Agile CRM | 4.3/5 | Email marketing & sales automation | Free plan (10 users) |
Less Annoying CRM | 4.2/5 | Simplified CRM for small teams | $15/user/month |
Capsule CRM | 4.4/5 | Contact & sales management | Free plan (up to 2 users) |
Freshsales | 4.5/5 | Lead management & AI insights | Free plan |
Zendesk | 4.6/5 | Customer support & service | $49/user/month |
Freshworks | 4.5/5 | Customer service & sales automation | Free plan |
Insightly | 4.3/5 | Project management & CRM | Free plan (up to 2 users) |
Keap | 4.6/5 | Marketing automation & CRM | $79/month |
Vtiger | 4.4/5 | All-in-one sales & support | $12/user/month |
EngageBay | 4.4/5 | Sales, marketing & customer service | Free plan |
List of the Best CRMs for Small Businesses
1. Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is widely regarded as one of the best CRM software solutions for small companies, addressing the challenges of managing customer relations, sales, and work routines. It provides advanced sales assistance through Artificial Intelligence and features such as flexible process configurations and seamless integrations with numerous external applications. Zoho CRM’s flexibility makes it especially suitable for expanding companies. Its simplicity and affordability make it an excellent tool for sales teams to nurture and track leads while continuously learning and improving how customers interact with their product or service.
Key Features:
- Sales automation
- AI-powered insights
- Customizable workflows
- Multi-channel communication
- Lead and deal management
- Mobile app for on-the-go access
Pricing & Plans:
- Free Plan: 3 users
- Standard Plan: $14/user/month
- Professional Plan: $23/user/month
- Enterprise Plan: $40/user/month
Website: https://www.zoho.com/en-in/crm/
2. HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is a simple and uncomplicated solution ideal for small business companies. It offers a basic free package with facilities like a contact list, email history, and sales funnel view. HubSpot CRM supports other HubSpot instruments, so it provides users with a full marketing and sales solutions set. It has the potential to assist different companies in handling the relationships they have with customers and to also automate certain activities and enhance communication. Being a free CRM with a paid upgrade option, HubSpot is an ideal choice for small businesses that intend to expand without spending money.
Key Features:
- Contact management
- Email tracking and templates
- Sales pipeline tracking
- Integration with HubSpot Marketing tools
- Marketing automation
- Task and activity tracking
Pricing & Plans:
- Free Plan
- Starter Plan: $45/month
- Professional Plan: $800/month
- Enterprise Plan: $3,200/month
Website: https://www.hubspot.com/products/crm
3. Salesforce

Salesforce is widely recognized as one of the best CRM software solutions, offering a powerful cloud-based system suitable for both small and large companies. It includes features such as sales automation, customizable dashboards, and access to advanced analytical tools. Salesforce is especially admired for its integration capabilities and its scalability. It provides basic plans tailored for small businesses to manage leads, opportunities, and customer data, while also allowing them to expand into using even more effective tools. With its vast ecosystem of add-ons and apps, Salesforce remains the go-to option for many businesses seeking to improve their processes and achieve growth.
Key Features:
- Sales automation
- Customizable dashboards
- AI-powered predictions
- Lead and opportunity management
- Marketing automation
- Extensive integrations
Pricing & Plans:
- Essentials Plan: $25/user/month
- Professional Plan: $75/user/month
- Enterprise Plan: $150/user/month
- Unlimited Plan: $300/user/month
Website: https://www.salesforce.com/in/crm/
4. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a CRM tool specifically tailored for sales and has been developed to enable small businesses to track their deals with ease. As it has an interface that can be easily navigated by simply drag and drop, it enables business entities to define and manage sales stages and activities. The platform uses a visual pipeline where the current status of a deal is well displayed making it possible to offer real-time information to the sales department. It also has complete compatibility with other relevant applications that further enhance the selling experiences of different businesses, the tracking of leads, and deal-making.
Key Features:
- Visual sales pipeline
- Activity reminders and follow-ups
- Sales automation
- Reporting and analytics
- Email integration
- Customizable stages and fields
Pricing & Plans:
- Essential Plan: $14.90/user/month
- Advanced Plan: $24.90/user/month
- Professional Plan: $49.90/user/month
- Enterprise Plan: $99/user/month
Website: https://www.pipedrive.com/
5. Monday.com

Monday.com is a flexible tool that can work as a project management tool as well as CRM software for small businesses to monitor tasks, sales, and communication with clients. By offering a flexible flow that allows setting up the Custom Workflows, integrating Drag & Drop, and embarking on Collaborative Features, Monday.com enhances the work of the teams. It provides healthy integration capabilities so that it can link up with the programs you are using right now. As for customer relationships, projects, sales management, and everything in between, Monday.com is flexible enough to cater to all team sizes and still can be scaled as you grow.
Key Features:
- Customizable workflows
- Lead and deal tracking
- Collaboration tools
- Automation and integrations
- Visual dashboards
- Project management tools
Pricing & Plans:
- Individual Plan: Free
- Basic Plan: $10/user/month
- Standard Plan: $12/user/month
- Pro Plan: $20/user/month
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing
Website: https://monday.com/
6. Agile CRM

Agile CRM is easily accessible and is widely regarded as one of the best CRM software for small business needs. It offers affordability and a robust set of features tailored to smaller companies. Services include contact management, Mailchimp integration, and sales tracking. Agile CRM also provides extensive customization options, with integrations including Gmail, Shopify, and Mailchimp, among others. Most activities related to leads, sales, and customer interactions are efficiently managed through its user-friendly interface. With its budget-friendly subscription rates, Agile CRM is an ideal choice for small businesses with lean budgets seeking to streamline customer relationship management effectively.
Key Features:
- Contact management
- Email marketing
- Sales automation
- Landing pages and forms
- Task tracking
- Reporting and analytics
Pricing & Plans:
- Free Plan (10 users)
- Starter Plan: $8.99/user/month
- Regular Plan: $29.99/user/month
- Advanced Plan: $47.99/user/month
Website: https://www.agilecrm.com/
7. Less Annoying CRM

Less Annoying CRM is simple, and logical and was built for small businesses. Easy to use: in addition to having no unnecessary interface elements, It offers basic contact management, task lists, and calendar integration to be perfect for any team that doesn’t want unnecessary complications. Less Annoying CRM is important to users to manage donor data in one place and make communication more efficient. Affordability and the NO surprise cost mean it is ideal for newcomer small businesses who need basic CRM with basic features.
Key Features:
- Contact management
- Task and calendar integration
- Lead tracking
- Simple user interface
- Easy data import/export
- Customizable views
Pricing & Plans:
- Single Plan: $15/user/month
Website: https://www.lessannoyingcrm.com/
8. Capsule CRM

Capsule CRM provides simple and robust tools to set up small business customer relationship management, sales, and marketing systems. It makes it possible for a business to capture and archive customer communications, monitor and organize sales leads, and execute business processes. One world is vis-à-vis that of extent to Capsule CRM is quite flexible, which means that it can easily be adapted to suit the needs of a business. This means that with integration capabilities, you can easily integrate it with Google Workspace and MailChimp, among others.
Key Features:
- Contact management
- Sales pipeline management
- Task management
- Custom fields and tags
- Reporting and analytics
- Integration with third-party apps
Pricing & Plans:
- Free Plan (up to 2 users)
- Professional Plan: $18/user/month
- Teams Plan: $36/user/month
Website: https://capsulecrm.com/
9. Freshsales

Freshsales is widely recognized as one of the best CRM software solutions available today, designed to help businesses identify leads and track deals effectively. With features like lead scoring, email tracking, and AI-driven insights, it empowers teams to work efficiently with valued clients. Freshsales stands out with its easy-to-use interface and extensive customization options, such as workflow automation. Additionally, it seamlessly integrates with other programs in the Freshworks family, offering an all-encompassing sales and customer relationship management app.
Key Features:
- Sales pipeline management
- Email tracking
- AI-powered insights
- Lead scoring
- Workflow automation
- Reporting and analytics
Pricing & Plans:
- Free Plan
- Growth Plan: $15/user/month
- Pro Plan: $39/user/month
- Enterprise Plan: $69/user/month
Website: https://www.freshworks.com/crm/sales/
10. Zendesk

Zendesk is a CRM tool built specifically to address customer service and support needs with a focus on small companies and their ability to successfully deal with customer issues. It has functionalities that cover ticket management, knowledge base, and multi-Canvas including emails, chat, and social media support. Zendesk also works to the advantage of businesses as it gets the support closing process done in a shorter time. It is designed with simple interfaces and has enhanced reporting features that help business organizations improve their customer relations and establish long-term business relationships.
Key Features:
- Ticket management
- Multi-channel support (email, chat, social)
- Knowledge base
- Automated workflows
- Reporting and analytics
- Customer satisfaction tracking
Pricing & Plans:
- Suite Team Plan: $49/user/month
- Suite Growth Plan: $79/user/month
- Suite Professional Plan: $99/user/month
- Suite Enterprise Plan: $150/user/month
Website: https://www.zendesk.com/
11. Freshworks

Freshworks is widely regarded as one of the best CRM software solutions, offering a unified system that integrates sales, marketing, and customer support tools to help small businesses manage client relationships seamlessly. It includes lead management, sales pipeline tools, marketing automation software, and customer service functions, all in one package. Freshworks’ intuitive interface and simple implementation make it especially appealing to business owners, while its use of artificial intelligence ensures smooth operations and efficient communication. With flexible pricing plans, Freshworks is the ideal CRM software for growing small businesses looking for powerful tools to optimize their processes.
Key Features:
- Sales automation
- Lead and deal tracking
- Multi-channel support
- Helpdesk and customer service
- Reporting and analytics
- Marketing automation
Pricing & Plans:
- Free Plan
- Growth Plan: $15/user/month
- Pro Plan: $39/user/month
- Enterprise Plan: $69/user/month
Website: https://www.freshworks.com/
12. Insightly

Insightly is a business solution application that acts as a customer relationship management and project management tool for small businesses. Insightly has key features such as Sales Automation, Pipeline, and Task to help businesses be well organized and on top of the deadline. Integrations with regular apps such as Gmail and Microsoft Outlook are also available making it easier to transfer data. Insightly is the best CRM for small businesses.
Key Features:
- Project and task management
- Sales pipeline tracking
- Email tracking
- Workflow automation
- Reporting and analytics
- Integration with third-party tools
Pricing & Plans:
- Free Plan (up to 2 users)
- Plus Plan: $29/user/month
- Professional Plan: $49/user/month
- Enterprise Plan: $99/user/month
Website: https://www.insightly.com/
13. Keap

Keap, previously known as Infusionsoft, is widely regarded as one of the best CRM software solutions for small companies seeking to automate their marketing, sales, and customer follow-ups. It helps businesses capture leads, implement effective marketing strategies, and manage the sales pipeline efficiently. With Keap, companies can save hours by automating repetitive processes, allowing them to focus on growth and customer engagement. Additionally, it supports various third-party applications through APIs, ensuring seamless data transfer between systems. Keap is an ideal choice for businesses needing a comprehensive CRM system with advanced automation tools to enhance customer relations.
Key Features:
- Marketing automation
- Sales pipeline management
- Task automation
- Email and SMS marketing
- Reporting and analytics
- Appointment scheduling
Pricing & Plans:
- Keap Lite: $79/month
- Keap Pro: $169/month
- Keap Max: $199/month
Website: https://www.googleadservices.com
14. Vtiger

Vtiger is a full-fledged CRM system built to cater to mid-sized organizations to build, sell, and manage customer relationships. The main features of Nutshell include contact management, sales pipeline management, and customer support all in one application. Even if Vtiger is primarily a CRM solution, it has several tools that may improve business processes and engage clients – custom workflows, email automation, and valuable reporting services. There is both cloud and on-premise deployment available at Vtiger and this gives the small businesses the freedom and growth they need for their ideal CRM system.
Key Features:
- Contact management
- Sales automation
- Marketing automation
- Helpdesk and ticket management
- Customizable workflows
- Reporting and analytics
Pricing & Plans:
- Cloud Plan: $12/user/month
- Professional Plan: $24/user/month
- Enterprise Plan: $42/user/month
Website: https://www.vtiger.com/
15. EngageBay

EngageBay is a cost-effective sales, marketing, and customer relationship management software that is often considered one of the best CRM software for small business needs. It offers features like lead scoring, automated email marketing, sales pipeline management, and ticketing. With its simplicity and integrated solutions, EngageBay is a highly suitable CRM option for small businesses. It also provides a free package, and the pricing for its paid services is affordable, making it an excellent choice for businesses seeking a reliable CRM without a significant initial investment.
Key Features:
- Lead management
- Sales pipeline tracking
- Email marketing automation
- Helpdesk and ticketing
- Landing pages and forms
- Reporting and analytics
Pricing & Plans:
- Free Plan
- Basic Plan: $12.99/user/month
- Growth Plan: $24.99/user/month
- Pro Plan: $49.99/user/month
Website: https://www.engagebay.com/
How to Choose the Right CRM Software for Small Businesses
- Determine Your Business Needs: Determine the functions you need—basic or high-level automation and, possibly, regular reports?
- Consider Ease of Use: Your CRM should be easy to implement and integrate with your business processes for your team to embrace.
- Look for Scalability: Select CRM that is scalable, which means that it will add features as the business expands.
- Integration Options: Make sure that the CRM works well with other applications you use daily email, accounting etc..
- Customer Support: A caring and immediate customer care service is always useful in dealing with any problem.
- Pricing: Select your CRM based on your budget; however, on the same note, your CRM should be able to provide you with basic functionalities.
Conclusion
The right choice of the best CRM tool for small business can be one of the key factors in improving customer relations and expanding the business’s scope. The right CRM enables small businesses to manage customer data effectively, communicate efficiently with clients, and streamline routine tasks without additional investments. The software solutions presented here range from entry-level tools to more complex systems with advanced features, depending on the specific needs of the business.
Not only does the best CRM software for small businesses assist with sales and customer retention, but it also simplifies day-to-day operations. It is a long-term investment that enhances customer understanding, eases marketing efforts, and fosters better inter-team collaboration. Choosing the correct CRM tool helps small businesses build a solid foundation for long-term growth by strengthening the relationship between the business and its buyers.
FAQs
What is CRM software?
CRM is an application that supports the realization of customer communications and information processing to enhance customer relationships and sales.
What are the advantages associated with the use of CRM software for small businesses?
Advantages include enhanced customer contacts, enhanced revenues, enhanced cooperation, business process automation, and real-time data.
Which CRM software is suitable for my small business?
The criteria by which it is possible to evaluate potential CRM are the convenience of its use, cost, adaptability for further development, compatibility with other programs and services, as well as customer support.
Is HubSpot CRM free?
Yes, HubSpot provides free-of-cost CRM without a limited set of features. Other features are also available in packages that one has to pay for to get the more upgraded features of the website.
Can CRM software expand more than the size of my business?
Yes, the majority of the CRM tools are scalable and come with extra tools as the business expands.