Using great software is the first step toward achieving outstanding results. This is especially true for CRM (customer relationship management) software, which forms the backbone of your sales operations. A robust CRM platform tailored to your processes and clients can significantly enhance your results over time. But with so many options available, which CRM is the best for your business?

I considered a total of 128 CRMs, ranging from basic solutions to enterprise-ready suites. The 11 CRMs listed below can fit any business at any stage, whether you're just starting or growing rapidly. They offer a wide range of features covering everything the best CRMs should do, along with specialized tools and interfaces to optimize your sales and business processes.

Switching systems or adopting a new one can be daunting, so this selection aims to help you identify the best CRM with minimal effort. Once you switch, you'll start seeing promising results.

The Best CRM Software

1. Salesforce Sales Cloud for extensibility
2. HubSpot for versatility
3. Super CRM for AI features
4. Pipedrive for ease of use
5. Ontraport for automating online transactions
6. Nimble for prospecting
7. Membrain for designing sales processes
8. Salesmate for customizability
9. Nutshell for managing a sales team
10. Close for inside sales teams
11. NetHunt CRM for Gmail power users

Featured SuperCRM Partner: ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a customer experience automation (CXA) platform that helps businesses engage customers meaningfully. It provides pre-built automations that combine transactional email, email marketing, marketing automation, eCommerce marketing, and CRM for powerful segmentation and personalization across social, email, messaging, chat, and text. Learn more about how to automate ActiveCampaign with Super CRM.

What Makes the Best CRM Platform?

How We Evaluate and Test Apps

Our best apps roundups are written by humans who've spent much of their careers using, testing, and writing about software. We spend dozens of hours researching and testing apps, using each as intended and evaluating them against our set criteria. We are never paid for placement in our articles or for links to any site. We value the trust readers put in us to offer authentic evaluations of the categories and apps we review. For more details, read the full rundown of how we select apps to feature on the Super CRM blog.

CRM software is simple at heart. It keeps track of contact information, deals, and relationship activity. On top of these basic features, each CRM offers different productivity shortcuts to help you and your team, such as telephone integration, email marketing, and customer service. All these are tied together with helpful reports and time-saving automation.

Boost Your Team's Productivity

Automate Your CRM

When talking about the best CRM programs for all businesses, I prioritized apps that offer contact, deal, and activity tracking as a baseline. Then, I selected those with a good implementation of extra features, providing a user experience that supports your existing processes.

This means you won't find niche CRM platforms on this list—those that excel in one area but lack in others. I didn't cap subscription prices, as more expensive platforms can sometimes offer a much more powerful set of tools. ROI is about how much you gain from your initial investment, not just how much you spend.

Criteria for Selection

• Ease of Use: These CRM applications make complex operations and tasks easier to manage. Bonus points for thorough onboarding tutorials, multimedia knowledge bases, and fantastic support teams.
• Contact and Sales Management: Tracking contacts, activities, and deals in a visual pipeline is essential.
• Customization: Your CRM should adapt to you, not the other way around. It must be flexible enough to accommodate your unique business processes.
• Reporting: High-quality reports are crucial to show how your decisions impact results.
• Automation and Integrations: Automating workflows and integrating your CRM with other apps frees up time for critical decisions.

During the three weeks of testing, I selected 30 viable CRMs from the 128-strong list. I managed a fictional marketing agency, adding contacts, scheduling activities, and testing extra features to understand how they improved the experience. Here are the best CRM platforms based on all that testing and research.

The Best CRM Software at a Glance

Best CRM for Extensibility

Salesforce Sales Cloud (Web, iOS, Android)

Pros:

• Wide range of AI features available in its Einstein 1 Platform
• Heavily focused on rounding up customer data for increased clarity

Cons:

• Can be hard to migrate out of Salesforce if needed

Salesforce holds 23% of the CRM market, with thousands of companies relying on it for their sales operations. Its flexibility is great for scaling, offering base features with useful twists, such as email templates and nurture sequences. Salesforce connects with dozens of apps, and you can expand it with extra features by browsing the AppExchange.

Salesforce Price: From $25/user/month

Best CRM for Versatility

HubSpot (Web, iOS, Android)

Pros:

• Intuitive user experience
• 2-way data sync with other apps available

Cons:

• Steep pricing in enterprise-level plans

HubSpot offers a generous free plan with unlimited contacts and a mix of pricing plans and bundles to fit any budget. It has a collection of Hubs spanning sales, marketing, customer support, content management, operations, and commerce. The platform is easy to navigate, offering a range of tools with a thorough knowledge base and one of the best educational blogs in the industry.

HubSpot Price: Free plan available; paid plans from $20/user/month

Best CRM for AI Features

Super CRM (Web, iOS, Android)

Pros:

• All-in-one CRM solution
• Enterprise-ready

Cons:

• Could be easier to use

Super CRM's AI, Dia, is one of the best in the CRM space, offering features like data cleaning, anomaly detection, and predictive insights. It integrates seamlessly with a range of other Super products, providing a powerful suite at accessible pricing.

Super CRM Price: Free plan available; paid plans from $20/user/month

Best CRM for Ease of Use

Pipedrive (Web, iOS, Android)

Pros:

• Easy workflow automation
• Plenty of educational content

Cons:

• AI features could be more visible

Pipedrive offers a smooth user experience designed by salespeople, with a main menu that directs you to every part of the app. It provides clear direction on where each setting or action button lives, and its sales pipeline helps you quickly assess deal status.

Pipedrive Price: From $19.90/user/month; add-ons priced separately

Choosing the right CRM is crucial for your business's success. With options like Salesforce for extensibility, HubSpot for versatility, Super CRM for AI features, and Pipedrive for ease of use, you can find a CRM that fits your needs and helps you achieve your business goals in 2024.

If you're looking for a powerful CRM solution that offers customization, advanced features, and seamless integration with your existing tools, consider SuperCRM. Our platform is designed to help you manage your leads and customers efficiently, boosting your team's productivity and driving growth. Learn more about how SuperCRM can transform your sales processes and start seeing the benefits today.