8 Best Commercial Real Estate CRMs for 2022
Gina is a licensed real estate salesperson, experienced trainer, and former high school educator of 1,000+ learners. She writes for Fit Small Business with a focus on real estate content.
This article is part of a larger series on CRM.
Commercial real estate customer relationship management (CRM) software provides tools to manage properties, contracts, and sales leads. The best commercial real estate CRMs provide effective, integrated solutions for sales, marketing, and servicing residential and office tenants. We identified the eight best options so you can compare the pricing, reviews, strengths, and features each commercial real estate software offers to choose the one best for your business.
- Freshsales: Best overall, and best commercial real estate CRM for customized mass email marketing campaigns
- Apptivo: Top option for companies looking for low-cost commercial real estate software to manage operations
- Insightly: Best commercial real estate CRM for those needing project management tools
- LionDesk: Great choice for teams with a high volume of direct sales calling
- Copper: Designed for brokerages using Google Workspace productivity, collaboration, and communication apps
- ClientLook: Best commercial real estate CRM for managing and monitoring listings
- Top Producer: Best for commercial real estate agents who want enhanced lead insights
- Chime: Best commercial real estate software for large agencies looking for an all-in-one platform for real estate sales, marketing, and transaction management
Best Commercial Real Estate CRMs at a Glance
Commercial CRM | Starting Price | Free Plan | Marketing Capabilities | Customer Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $18 per month | ✓ | Phone, chat, and email | Phone, email, and live chat |
 | $8 per month | ✓ For 1 user | Email | Phone, email, and live chat |
 | $29 per month | ✕ 14-day free trial | Email and forms | Phone and email |
 | $21 per month | ✕ 30-day free trial | Email, text, phone dialer, and Facebook advertising | Phone, email, and live chat |
 | $25 per month | ✕ 14-day free trial | Email | Email |
 | $89 per month | ✓ 4-month free trial | Email | Phone, email, virtual assistant, and live chat through mobile app |
 | $60 per month | ✕ | Email, IDX website, social media | Phone, email, and live chat |
 | $499 per month | ✕ | Email, IDX website, social media, and phone dialer | Phone, email, and live chat |
Freshsales: Best Overall & Best Commercial Real Estate CRM for Email Marketing
Freshsales
What We Like
- Dashboard is easy to navigate
- Easy drag-and-drop functionality for email customization
- Free option available for unlimited users
What's Missing
- Plans get expensive and some tools are add-ons requiring an additional cost
- Relatively limited integrations for productivity applications
- Users encounter difficulties importing data
Freshsales (formerly Freshworks CRM) Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: Unlimited users (limited features)
- Freshsales Suite: Ranges from $18 to $38 per user, per month
- Freshsales: Ranges from $18 to $83 per user, per month
- Free trial: 21 days
*Pricing is based on a monthly billing option, or you can save by paying annually. Freshsales Suite annual subscriptions range from $15 to $69 per user, per month.
Freshsales, formerly known as Freshworks CRM, offers valuable tools for customizing and deploying large-scale email campaigns to your target market audience based on demographic and geographic attributes. The customization options can be used to promote rental and lease listings, agent services, and sending event information to current tenants.
Tools like integrations with Facebook Messenger and customizable email campaigns are useful for deploying high-volume commercial real estate marketing campaigns to help keep vacancy rates low. Even those who are not experts in digital marketing can easily use Freshsales’ premade email templates and drag-and-drop editing tools to customize their email marketing campaigns.
Freshsales Reviews
Overall, Freshsales reviews are very positive, with a rating of 4.6 out of 5. Users found it was easy to learn and use to organize client communication and contact information and integrate client insights from multiple platforms like LinkedIn and email. People also love the automated task reminders and notifications tools that keep them apprised of client relationships before, during, and after a transaction is completed.
Less-satisfied Freshsales reviews indicated that customer support was not up to expectations and wished the support team responded faster. They also thought that integrations were lacking and the system did not upload spreadsheet data well for data imports. If you’re looking for more integration options, consider Copper, which works seamlessly with Google Workspace.
Freshsales Features
Freshsales email campaign generator (Source: Freshsales)
- Drag-and-drop email editing capabilities
- Built-in Configure, Price, Quote tool for proposal and contract management available as an add-on for $39 per user, per month
- Automated reports and marketing analytics tools for measuring campaign performance
- Multiple built-in contact communication channel options, including phone, email, live chat, WhatsApp, SMS texting, and Apple Business Chat
- Marketing segmentation features automate the grouping of potential customers based on geography, demographics, and behavior
Not sure if this is the right tool for your commercial real estate (CRE) business? Check out our Freshsales review, where we explore its rich feature set in more depth.
Apptivo: Best Low-cost Commercial Real Estate Software for Operations Management
Apptivo
What We Like
- Inexpensive compared to similar CRM options
- Customer support available 24/7 by phone, live chat, and email
- Built-in contract management tools for generating and authorizing contracts
What's Missing
- Starter plan doesn’t offer any integration capabilities
- Platform can be challenging to use, especially at the beginning
- Minimal ability to customize dashboard
Apptivo Pricing at a Glance*
- Starter: Free for 1 user and 8 apps
- Lite: $8 per user, per month
- Premium: $12 per user, per month
- Ultimate: $20 per user, per month
- Enterprise: Customized pricing for more complex integrations
*Pricing is based on annual billing. You can also choose a monthly billing option at slightly higher rates.
Apptivo offers an array of solutions specifically beneficial to commercial real estate businesses with built-in tools for handling contracts and sales activities at a reasonable cost. Manage sales activities with Apptivo’s features for communicating with leads and organize property management activities with tools for handling on-site tenant issues. Per user monthly Apptivo pricing ranges from $0 to just $20, or request a quote for Enterprise-level features and integration capabilities.
While Apptivo’s commercial real estate software has a complex user interface, its low prices give smaller businesses access to powerful CRM software features. For example, some of its built-in features include invoice management, electronic signatures, and work order management.
Since Apptivo doesn’t include third-party integrations on the free Starter plan, successful commercial real estate businesses looking for integration capabilities should look to Freshsales and Insightly. Both of these commercial real estate CRMs offer free plan options that can integrate with other native applications each provider offers.
Apptivo Reviews
Based on Apptivo reviews, customers give the CRM a 4.4 out of 5 average rating. Many said the software helped them scale their commercial real estate businesses and get them away from older CRMs that were outdated and not effective for communication. Other customers reported there were a lot of bugs when the system updated and that the customization features are lacking. To better customize your CRM software to your commercial real estate business’ needs, try LionDesk or Top Producer.
Apptivo Features
Apptivo invoice creator (Source: Apptivo)
- Built-in e-signature tool for acquiring signatures and handling contract change management
- Centralized system for procurement management, purchase orders, and inventory management
- Integrates with Authorize.net for secure invoicing and payment processing
- An all-in-one estimate-to-order management system for creating work order estimates
- Field service tools allow property managers to schedule, report, and execute service orders to tenants
Insightly: Best Commercial Real Estate CRM for Project Managers
Insightly
What We Like
- Project management features synchronize with Google Workspace and Office 365 productivity apps
- Wide range of third-party integration options available
- All of the mobile capabilities are available on the lowest-priced plans
What's Missing
- Built-in phone dialer is not automatically included
- Quote proposal features only available on higher-priced plans
- Limited customer support with only phone and email communication channels
Insightly Pricing at a Glance
- Free: Up to 2 users
- Plus: $29 per user, per month, billed annually
- Professional: $49 per user, per month, billed annually
- Enterprise: $99 per user, per month, billed annually
- Free trial: 14 days
Insightly has project management features that track tasks and milestones, synchronize with calendar apps, automatically convert opportunities or deals to projects, and customize processes for each project. Insightly also offers a mobile app that allows people to monitor projects on the go and on-site. These features are most beneficial to commercial real estate firms that renovate commercial properties for lease or sale.
The Insightly CRM provides lead management through lead routing, workflow automation, and email tracking. Commercial real estate brokerages can prioritize leads and distribute them to individual agents to optimize conversion rates and increase their return on investment. Agents can set task reminders and notifications to make sure they stay on top of leads and communication.
Insightly Reviews
The feedback based on Insightly reviews is primarily positive with a 4.2 out of 5-star rating. Users loved the Google syncing and praised the contact organization capabilities of the platform. By using tagging tools and linking their client’s contact information on projects, documents, and communication, they were able to easily pull up all correspondence in one click.
Some thought that the Insightly CRM was not user-friendly and were disappointed that Insightly doesn’t integrate with real estate platforms like Trulia or Realtor.com. If you need a CRM with both project management tools and integration capabilities with real estate websites, we recommend using LionDesk and integrating it with the Microsoft Project application within Office 365.
Insightly Features
Insightly projects tab on the dashboard (Source: Insightly)
- Built-in project management features for task tracking, calendar synchronization, and custom project processes
- Ability to auto-schedule and send out business intelligence reports
- Online lead capture forms to submit and transfer the contact information of potentially interested parties from online ads or landing pages into the CRM
- Multi-project management capabilities available on mobile devices
Insightly’s built-in project management capabilities are further enhanced with workflow automation tools. Take a look at our Insightly review to learn more about the features and benefits that might make it the best CRM for your commercial real estate business.
LionDesk: Best Real Estate Specific CRM for Telesales & Marketing
LionDesk
What We Like
- Advanced call management and handling features
- Lead import capabilities through integrations with real estate sites
- Prebuilt audience lists for Facebook Ads
- Features for designing digital and printed mail marketing and advertising collateral
What's Missing
- Customer service only available during standard business hours
- Learning curve is required for navigating the interface
- No built-in project management features
LionDesk Pricing at a Glance*
- Starter: $21 per month
- Pro+: $42 per month
- Elite: $83 per month
- Free trial: 30 days
*Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
Unlike Freshsales, which relies on customization to support specific business types, LionDesk was designed for use in the residential and commercial real estate industry. It offers unique phone calling features that allow businesses to make many calls in a short period of time. One of these is click-to-call functionality, which lets users make outbound calls faster with a single click instead of needing to manually dial phone numbers.
Another feature is the power dialer, which offers advanced calling tools including call recording, the ability to choose what’s shown on caller ID, automatic call tracking, and calling up to three lines at once. There is also the capability to preset an outbound call queue. This is especially useful for commercial real estate agents who generate leads through cold calling or communicate with landlords and owners by phone.
LionDesk Reviews
LionDesk has a 4.1 out of 5 average rating, with reviews praising the software’s lead tracking, email drip campaigns, and third-party integrations. Busy commercial real estate agents who are getting leads from Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com benefit from all of their leads syncing to one centralized location for follow-up and consistent communication.
Since there is a steep learning curve for navigating the LionDesk interface, you may want to consider Freshsales as a top alternative. Freshsales offers drag-and-drop editing functionality for some of its tools, most notably email campaign design, and minimizes the number of buttons on its dashboard to prevent the user from being overwhelmed.
LionDesk Features
LionDesk power dialing page (Source: LionDesk)
- Facebook Ad Portal for ad generation within the LionDesk platform
- Transaction management tools for tracking properties and closing deals
- Lead importing capabilities through third-party sites like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com
- Drip campaign functionality for sending automated texts and phone calls
- Click-to-call capabilities minimize dialing time and errors and allow for tracking inbound and outbound calls
Industry-specific software generally requires less customization. Read our LionDesk review to get more information on whether this is the right commercial real estate CRM for your business.
Copper: Best CRM for Google Workspace Syncing & Integration
Copper
What We Like
- Built specifically to integrate and sync with Google Workspace apps
- Automated contact enrichment features
- Easy-to-navigate interface and mobile app
What's Missing
- Lacks project and operations management tools
- Doesn’t have extensive marketing capabilities
- No free plan
Copper Pricing at a Glance*
- Basic: $25 per user, per month
- Professional: $59 per user, per month
- Business: $99 per user, per month
- Free trial: 14 days
*Pricing is per user, per month, paid annually.
Copper’s seamless Google Workspace integrations make it easy for commercial real estate agents and brokerages to collaborate, organize contacts, and communicate with clients. Copper automatically pulls information from a contact’s email and adds it to the CRM so no manual data entry is necessary. You can also customize input fields and tags to prioritize leads, set up targeted drip campaigns, track deal progress, and create alerts.
Copper is ideal for commercial real estate businesses that use Google Workspace apps and have a large client base to manage and collaborate on deals. But while the pipeline management system keeps track of client communication and nurturing, Copper doesn’t have all of the marketing and advertising features needed for optimal real estate lead generation. Consider using Freshsales or Chime for a CRM with more marketing capabilities.
Copper Reviews
With a 4.5 out of 5 rating, Copper reviews show users found the platform easy to use and said the email tracking feature, especially the click rates, were extremely helpful in determining email reach and effectiveness. The Google Workspace app integrations reportedly save agents hours of time, and the notes section allows for personalized communication with clients.
Some Copper reviews indicated users did not feel supported by customer service and were disappointed in the integration options. A few had a difficult time canceling the product once they decided they no longer wanted to use it. Copper has a free 14-day trial, but check out the free plans from Apptivo or Freshsales before purchasing a paid plan.
Copper Features
Copper mobile app activity center (Source: Copper)
- Import contact lists and comma separated values (CSV) spreadsheets directly into the CRM
- Build multiple customized pipeline processes to track clients, projects, and transactions
- Copper reports 40% faster response rates from clients and 13 hours saved on manual data entry
- Customize and schedule reports to be delivered to team members
- Activity feed updates in real time to keep track of all communication
Want to learn more about Copper? Check out our expert review of Copper CRM, where we explore its rich feature set and explain more about why it’s a top option for Google Workspace users.
ClientLook: Best for Listing Management & Reports
Clientlook
What We Like
- Full database of commercial property listings
- Virtual assistant available to update listings across all platforms
- Pricing based on number of users rather than features
What's Missing
- Limited integration options
- No operations management tools
- Minimal marketing features
ClientLook Pricing at a Glance
- Free plan: $0 per user for 4 months, then $99 per month thereafter
- Annual: $89 per user, per month (billed annually)
- Monthly: $129 per user, per month, month-to-month term
- Free trial: 10 days
Designed specifically as a commercial real estate CRM, ClientLook not only manages clients and deals but also has a database of property listings and comparable properties, or comps, unlike other CRMs. Monitor your listings and upload listings from other companies’ sites to keep track of availability, expiration, and marketing efforts. You can also attach clients to particular properties to make sure they are kept in the loop for updates to the listing.
Create comp reports using a variety of templates for retail, land, industrial, office, and other specialty commercial properties to share with team members or clients. In addition, the virtual war room portal gives clients access to all deals you’ve completed with them, including documents, comments, communication, marketing, and property tours. This guarantees that clients are fully updated and engaged throughout the transaction and reduces the need to manually provide historical documents.
ClientLook Reviews
ClientLook reviews are excellent, with a high 4.7 out of 5 average rating. Many customers liked the CRM’s ability to track listings and current property activities as well as the pipeline visibility. Several users mentioned that it made their interactions with clients go a lot smoother because of the option to collaborate through the virtual war room portal.
Other clients were not fans of the advanced filtering options and thought that inputting data was cumbersome. Although the virtual assistant can help with data entry, one user said that compiling their contact information for input was just as troublesome and would rather do it themself. There also aren’t extensive marketing features. Explore Chime for advertising and direct mail marketing or Top Producer CRM for IDX website marketing options.
ClientLook Features
ClientLook contact profile page (Source: ClientLook)
- Send clients a traditional market report or go high-tech with a fully integrated war room that displays all communication, documents, offers, and more
- Configure your website to send leads automatically to the virtual assistant and instruct it to perform specific tasks for all new leads
- Mobile app includes all features of the desktop version, like property database, contact history, pipeline tracking, and more
- Open and click through to better measure the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns
Top Producer: Best Commercial Real Estate CRM for Lead Insights
Top Producer
What We Like
- All-in-one marketing platform
- Unique social insight tool for advanced information about potential buyers
- Mobile app doesn’t require additional syncing
What's Missing
- No free option available
- Integration with third-party applications can be difficult
- No built-in sales enablement tools for invoicing or payment processing
Top Producer CRM Pricing at a Glance*
- Starter: $60 per user, per month
- Professional: $95 per user, per month
- Advanced: $105 per user, per month
*Pricing is for monthly billing. Annual billing is available at a lower price.
Top Producer CRM is a one-stop shop for commercial real estate agents to manage contacts, follow up with leads, and manage property transactions and real estate marketing activities. Its standout feature is the social insights tool, which gathers unique information on potential buyers and sellers through their social media accounts and compiles them into reports. These enhanced insights give an advantage to agents before they meet a prospect.
Along with the social insights tool, other “X Factor” tools from Top Producer include property and market insights, customizable workflows, and professional real estate templates. Property insights track buyers through a free multiple listing service (MLS) connection, showing listings viewed, interested in, or inquired about, and workflows and templates allow for easy and organized client follow-up.
Top Producer doesn’t offer built-in tools for sales enablement like invoicing or payment processing, and the best alternative for this is Freshsales. Freshsales provides built-in invoicing capabilities and integrates with payment processing applications like Stripe and PayPal.
Top Producer Reviews
Top Producer reviews are mixed, with a 3.7 out of 5 rating. Customers praised the support team for the setup and onboarding process, and several reviews mentioned that integration with real estate listing websites was integral to their lead generation strategy.
A few reviews mentioned that it was challenging to cancel their subscription once they decided not to move forward with Top Producer. Since Top Producer does not have a free trial or plan, it may be difficult to gauge whether the product will be a good solution for your business. In this case, consider a CRM with a free trial option like Insightly or ClientLook.
Top Producer CRM Features
Top Producer social insight feature (Source: Inman)
- Import contact lists into your commercial real estate CRM account from websites such as Zillow, MLS, Trulia, as well as productivity applications like Gmail and Outlook
- Social insights tool collects information from a lead’s social media accounts, so that agents can view social bios, interests, and the links to their online profiles before reaching out
- A sales follow-up coach within the Top Producer CRM helps you stay consistent with leads in the pipeline
- Take advantage of the agency website design tool within the platform to create Internet Data Exchange (IDX) websites that show up-to-date property listings
- Includes reporting capabilities for tracking both projected and earned commissions
Want to learn more about this platform’s tools for lead insights, real-time market intel, and workflow automations? Check out our Top Producer CRM review, where we explore its rich feature set.
Chime: Best All-in-One CRM for Sales, Marketing & Transaction Management
Chime
What We Like
- All-in-one commercial real estate CRM for sales, marketing, and transaction management
- Advanced lead management tools for lead insight and analysis
- Broker website tools for creating an agency website through Chime
What's Missing
- Expensive, may be out of reach for smaller real estate agencies
- Customer service is only available during standard business hours
- Website design features are only available in highest-priced plan
Chime Pricing at a Glance
- Growth: $499 per month + $500 setup fee for up to 3 users
- Team: $899 per month + $1,000 setup fee for up to 15 users
- Team Leads Package: $1,549 per month
- Broker: Customized pricing
Chime is advanced software that offers commercial real estate businesses an all-in-one CRM with tools for sales, marketing, team collaboration, and transaction management. Because of its high prices in conjunction with plentiful features, larger real estate organizations are likely to get more value out of this platform than smaller ones.
Build your real estate brand with targeted marketing and advertising on Facebook, Instagram, Yahoo, and more. Chime CRM software includes templates that cater to a variety of niche audiences from listing promotions to specific ZIP codes to referral lead generation. In addition, use similar marketing templates to send direct mail to your target farm areas.
There is a wide range of automation features for managing incoming leads and property listings that are easy to organize, especially for large agencies, but plans are expensive. Less expensive alternatives can still provide basic real estate functions like integrations with real estate sites and transaction management tools, such as LionDesk ($21 to $83 per month) and Top Producer ($60 to $105 per user, per month).
Chime Reviews
Chime reviews earned a 4.3 out of 5 average rating for its ease of use and setup. Also, real estate agents feel the platform capitalizes on texting, emailing, and calls to generate leads and grow business. Goal and analytics reporting helped customers better allocate funds and keep track of their spending, which optimized their return on investment.
A few users said the leads they received were not responsive or viable for conversion. Others said that the platform was very expensive, so it was difficult to fit it into their financing. For lower-cost commercial real estate CRM software options, try Apptivo or Freshsales.
Chime Features
Chime team chat on mobile application (Source: Apple App Store)
- Power dialer tools for automated outbound call placements
- Artificial intelligence (AI) features for lead management, lead scoring, insights, and analytics
- Create IDX websites with up-to-date real estate listings
- Lead, transaction, and website management features are convertible to the mobile application
- Tools specific for team management include built-in communication via text, phone, and email, automatic lead routing, and an open lead pond that stores unassigned leads for agents to claim
How We Evaluated the Best Commercial Real Estate CRMs
When selecting software for commercial real estate, value for the money is a critical factor. We measured this by evaluating pricing and capabilities specific to commercial real estate operations, such as work order management for tenants, contract generation tools, and functions for managing transaction opportunities. We also considered other factors associated with product usability and customer support.
Based on our evaluation, Freshsales is the best overall choice due to its all-around competitive prices and built-in tools specific to commercial real estate. For example, Freshsales software includes built-in contract generation features, contact communication channels, and marketing segmentation features. There’s also a free plan, so you can determine whether it’s the best software for your business without risk or obligation.
The tabs below offer more insight into our evaluation process for choosing the best CRM for commercial real estate businesses:
40%
Pricing
20%
General Features
15%
Ease of Use
15%
Help & Support
10%
Expert Score
40% of Overall Score
Total costs and various pricing options are typically the most important criteria for any small business decision, so it was most heavily weighted when reviewing the CRM software for commercial real estate. We considered access to free account options, varying subscription plans, and whether or not monthly billing plans are available.
20% of Overall Score
The purpose of any CRM is to provide functional solutions associated with sales, marketing, customer service, and project management. Specifically, we looked at features we consider necessary in a solid commercial real estate CRM, including mobile capabilities, contract management tools, email marketing functionality, and project management tools helpful in managing properties.
15% of Overall Score
The functions of any application are only as beneficial as they are usable. These criteria were analyzed by knowledge required to set up the software, skill needed to operate the platform, and intuitiveness of the user interface.
15% of Overall Score
Extensive support and service can prevent issues that a user might encounter. These were evaluated in terms of customer service hours and availability of support through various channels like phone, live chat, and email.
10% of Overall Score
In addition to our firsthand experiences with the providers, we evaluated what others users are saying about each platform. These criteria consider how other experts rate each CRM and how customers feel based on their reviews to gauge popularity, ease of use, and overall value for money.
*Percentages of overall score
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