Contact relationship management (CRM) for LinkedIn integration turbocharges your processes by pulling data like job titles automatically and allowing you to communicate directly with leads through tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator. We looked at several options to determine the best CRM for LinkedIn integration and found the six options for small to enterprise-level businesses.
Top 6 CRMs With LinkedIn Integration for 2020
LinkedIn CRM | Best for |
|---|---|
(Best Overall) Entrepreneurs who want LinkedIn integration for email marketing and lead generation | |
Organizations that need multiple communication channels, including connecting directly with contacts on LinkedIn | |
Companies wanting a LinkedIn CRM capable of mapping out the customer journey or experience | |
Business owners who want enterprise-level CRM customization and advanced LinkedIn integration | |
Entrepreneurs who want an affordable visual CRM with LinkedIn contact profile enrichment | |
Companies that want a CRM with social media profile enrichment and territory management features | |
Last updated on 5/5/2020 | |
How CRM LinkedIn Integrations Work
CRMs integrating with LinkedIn work two ways. The first way it works is through a basic CRM feature, which pulls data like job titles, links to contacts’ profiles, and company information like name and website addresses found on the public social media platform. This type of CRM integration typically pulls data from other social media sources as well, which saves time from manual research and data entry.
The second way this integration works is with LinkedIn Sales Navigator. This advanced tool offered by LinkedIn requires additional licensing, at the cost of $134 per license in addition to the cost of the CRM. It includes tools like InMail and a feature called Icebreaker, which shows you what you have in common with prospects and contacts. It also lets you see who your connections are connected to and offers news associated with those contacts and companies.
How We Identified the Best CRM for LinkedIn
CRM software equipped with basic LinkedIn integration features are less costly than those that rely on the Sales Navigator form of integration. However, there are several good reasons to consider the additional expense, such as time savings and easier access to more actionable data like recommended leads, contact and company news, and commonalities with your contacts.
Therefore, we considered CRM software providers with both basic LinkedIn integration and LinkedIn Sales Navigator. We also used the following additional criteria to evaluate and identify the top six best CRMs with LinkedIn integration:
- Ease of use
- Value
- Direct integration
- Automated profile enrichment
- Prospect insights
- Customer support
- Core CRM features
Based on the above criteria, we recommend HubSpot as the overall best LinkedIn CRM. It includes lead generation and email features that complement the information pulled with LinkedIn Sales Navigator, like deeper insights on individual contacts. It’s also competitively priced with service plans starting at $50 per person, per month.
HubSpot: Best Overall LinkedIn CRM for Lead Generation
HubSpot CRM is a great contact management tool with features like email tracking and web-to-lead forms. However, its Sales Hub add-on makes email and prospecting even more robust with its LinkedIn Sales Navigator integration, which allows you to better target key contacts. HubSpot Sales Hub is great for businesses that want to have LinkedIn Sales Navigator insights, robust marketing, lead generation, and communication tools in one platform.
HubSpot Strengths | HubSpot Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Robust features | Missing expanded calling features |
Ability to communicate with contacts via InMail | Limited number of calling hours on both plans |
Easy-to-use interface | Starter and Professional plans are more expensive than comparable options |
HubSpot Sales Hub Pricing
Although HubSpot offers a free CRM, you need to have an assigned Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise seat and a LinkedIn Sales Navigator Team or Enterprise account to integrate the CRM with LinkedIn. HubSpot Sales Professional is $400 per month, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator Team costs $103 per month. You must contact LinkedIn for Enterprise pricing.
Other pricing considerations are as follows:
- Annual billing offers a 20% discount vs monthly billing
- If you work for a startup, you may be eligible for up to 90% off via the HubSpot for Startups program
- You can add users to the Starter plan for an additional fee
- Customizable bundles are available to combine CRM features
HubSpot Sales Hub Features
HubSpot’s integration with LinkedIn Sales Navigator gives you the ability to communicate with contacts via InMail. You can also access company news, and you get the ice breaker feature to assist with warm introductions.
Its other features include:
- Live chat and conversation routing on all plans
- Email tracking, notifications, and email sequences on all plans
- Lead scoring, workflows, and custom reporting on Professional plan
- HubSpot customer support and community pages available on all plans
LinkedIn Sales Navigator integration dashboard in HubSpot Sales Hub
For more in-depth information about HubSpot Sales Hub, check out our HubSpot reviews page.
Zoho CRM: Best CRM for Multiple Communication Channels
Zoho CRM is a scalable CRM with features designed to help you manage leads generated through sales channels like phone, email, and social media. Its full integration with LinkedIn Sales Navigator allows you to send InMail messages to your contacts and see who your teammates are connected to. Zoho is best for businesses interested in adding LinkedIn to their social monitoring and communication channels.
Zoho CRM Strengths | Zoho CRM Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Social media capture forms included | The free plan does not support LinkedIn integration |
Easy-to-use interface | Missing live chat |
Includes inventory management and Zoho finance suite | Add-on features may require additional cost |
Zoho Pricing
Zoho CRM offers a forever-free plan for a limited number of users. However, to integrate the product with a tool like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you’ll need the Professional version or higher, which starts at $30 per user, per month. These tiers go up to $45 per user, per month for the Enterprise level.
Other pricing information to keep in mind:
- Zoho offers a 15-day free trial
- Annual billing results in a 20% discount
Zoho Features
The Professional plan offers advanced marketing features like mass emails, marketing campaigns, and social media lead capture forms. In addition to having the data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator, like mutual contacts or company news, this plan facilitates building stronger relationships by having multiple communication channels with contacts and prospects.
Other features include:
- Calling features can be added with Zoho PhoneBridge
- Professional plan offers inventory management and Zoho Finance Suite
- Enterprise plan offers additional lead and deal conversion prediction tools
LinkedIn Sales Navigator integration in Zoho CRM
To learn more about Zoho, see our Zoho reviews page.
SugarCRM: Best LinkedIn CRM for Customer Journey Mapping
SugarCRM supports advanced LinkedIn integration, has unique customer journey mapping tools that let you visualize the buying process through the customer’s perspective, automatic data enrichment from LinkedIn to help you make communication more personal, and customer surveys to help build loyalty. It is best for companies wanting to engage with customers on LinkedIn and proactively shape customer experiences.
SugarCRM Strengths | SugarCRM Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Customer journey mapping | Missing integrated phone capabilities |
Email templates and tracking | Limited customization options |
Visual interface | No monthly billing option |
SugarCRM Pricing
Prices range from $52 per user, per month up to $1,000 per month for Sugar Market. However, there is a 10-user minimum required to enroll, and you must also have a LinkedIn Sales Navigator Team or Enterprise account, which starts at $103 per month.
Other things to consider about SugarCRM’s plans:
- SugarCRM offers 7-day free trial
- Includes 60GB of storage
- Includes customer phone support
SugarCRM Features
SugarCRM’s LinkedIn integration really shines in the customer journey mapping and collaboration categories. Journey mapping helps you plan and document customer interactions along the sales cycle. Communication features allow you to connect with your team and your clients, while its LinkedIn integration allows you to connect with contacts and customers on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn specific benefits include:
- LinkedIn ice breakers
- Includes customer journey mapping
- Ability to sync with Google calendar, contacts, and emails
- Email templates and tracking
- Offers LinkedIn News
SugarCRM with LinkedIn Sales Navigator integration
Learn more about how SugarCRM enhances your customer journey mapping on our SugarCRM reviews page.
Salesforce: Best LinkedIn CRM for Advanced Customization
Salesforce is a robust CRM that offers the ability to customize its lead generation and opportunity management features while fully integrating with LinkedIn Sales Navigator. This integration gives users the ability to automatically log InMail Messages and automatically import any record a team might be working on. This makes it great for LinkedIn prospectors with healthy budgets wanting the flexibility to adapt their CRM to their specific needs.
Salesforce Strengths | Salesforce Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Highly customizable | Missing built-in calling features |
Robust CRM | More expensive than Zoho and Freshsales |
Most advanced integration with LinkedIn | All plans require an annual contract |
Salesforce Pricing
Although Salesforce offers a lower-cost Essentials plan designed for small businesses, you need to have the Professional Plan or above to get the LinkedIn integration. You also need to have the Team edition or above of LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The Professional plan starts at $75 per person, per month. To integrate Salesforce with LinkedIn, you can use AppExchange, native integrations in LinkedIn Navigator, or third-party integrations like Zapier.
Other consideration to keep in mind:
- Salesforce does offer a free trial
- Add-on services available with all plans
- Unlimited plan offers 24/7 support and configuration services
Salesforce Features
Salesforce allows you to customize sales processes, apps, profiles, and fields in the opportunities feature helping you tailor your sales process to your unique needs, which will help you close more deals.
Other Salesforce features include:
- Lead scoring on all plans
- Contact, opportunity, lead, and account management
- Integrates with Gmail and Outlook
Ice breakers tab in Salesforce with shared interests and recent activities
Check out in-depth details about Salesforce on our Salesforce reviews page.
Pipedrive: Best Visual CRM With LinkedIn Profile Enrichment
Pipedrive CRM is designed for simplicity and ease of use. It features tools that allow you to visualize the stages and activities of your sales and enhance your contact profiles with data from LinkedIn as well as from other social media channels. Pipedrive is great for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) wanting an affordable option to enrich profiles without integration or the hefty price tag of other integrations.
Pipedrive Strengths | Pipedrive Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Most affordable CRM for LinkedIn integration | Doesn’t offer lead suggestions |
Customizable dashboards | Missing full LinkedIn integration features |
Uses Kanban-style boards | Upper-level plans can be costly |
Pipedrive Pricing
Pipedrive is the most affordable CRM with LinkedIn integration on our list, with plans starting at $15 per user, per month. As you require additional advanced tools and multiple dashboards, prices are still affordable at $99 per user, per month.
- Annual billing offers a $5 to $10 discount per month
- Pipedrive offers a 14-day free trial
- Users are given access to 24/7 customer support
- Pipedrive also offers free apps for iOS and Android
Pipedrive Features
Pipedrive offers an affordable way to benefit from LinkedIn intelligence. You won’t incur the expense of full integration as you don’t need to buy Sales Navigator licenses.
Pipedrive’s additional features and benefits include:
- Contact data enrichment
- Lead capture web forms available on all plans with integration
- Activity schedulers and reminders available on all plans with integration
- Professional plan offers team management capabilities and customizable dashboards
- Enterprise plan offers expanded support, customization, and security
LinkedIn contact management tools in Pipedrive
Visit our Pipedrive reviews page for more details.
Freshsales: Best Basic Linked CRM With Territory Management
Freshsales is a customizable and intuitive CRM that is designed to scale with you. However, what separates it from other LinkedIn CRMs on this list are its features that help you prioritize leads or implement a territory-based lead assignment strategy. This makes it a good option for small businesses that want territory management and contact enrichment but not the price tag of a more advanced LinkedIn integration.
Freshsales Strengths | Freshsales Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Territory management | Lacks ability to communicate via InMail |
Automatically gathers contact information from LinkedIn | Lacks full integration features like news feed |
Intuitive interface | Paid plans can be costly |
Freshsales Pricing
Freshsales offers a forever-free plan for basic contact management. However, to access its more advanced functionality like automatic contact enrichment, which pulls from online sources like LinkedIn, you’ll have to upgrade to one of the higher tiers (costing between $65 and $99 per user, per month).
Factors to consider regarding Freshsales plans:
- You can save more if you elect annual billing, e.g., annual billing of the Estate plan offers savings of almost $200
- Freshsales offers a 21-day free trial
- Plans support unlimited users and contacts
Freshsales Features
Both plans from Freshsales include lead scoring and automatically pull LinkedIn data like job titles, website addresses, and LinkedIn profile pages. Although they lack some of the more advanced features offered by Pipedrive, it’s ideal for businesses with territory-based sales teams wanting to expand their prospecting and lead generation activities more strategically.
Other features include:
- Lead scoring on both plans
- Web-to-lead capture forms on both plans
- Additional sales campaigns and workflows on both plans
Freshsales auto-profile enrichment
See our article on Freshsales CRM user reviews for more details.
Bottom Line
The best types of CRM that smoothly connect with LinkedIn are either fully integrated LinkedIn CRMs or have features that pull LinkedIn data into contact details to supplement contact profiles. Fully integrated LinkedIn CRMs tend to be expensive, while the CRMs that pull in LinkedIn data are more affordable for small businesses. Of all the options presented here, whether fully integrated with CRM features or not, there’s an option for you.
For a comprehensive CRM with robust features and seamless integration with LinkedIn Sales Navigator, HubSpot is your best solution. It’s easy to use and facilitates communication with contacts via LinkedIn’s native email system. Visit HubSpot today for more information.
Christopher Harris
To be frank, I feel like you’re mentioning SalesForce just because you have to in an article like this. Truth be told, I’m a SalesForce customer but just ‘do not get it’ with SalesForce. Your article states “Most advanced integration with LinkedIn” but does not describe why.
Further, the article mentions several ways to integrate, “To integrate Salesforce with LinkedIn, you can use AppExchange, native integrations in LinkedIn Navigator, or third-party integrations like Zapier.” Which one of these archived the “Most Advanced Integration”? How does the reader get what you got? The SalesForce marketplace integration for LinkedIn has very poor reviews: appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=a0N3A00000EnfsaUAB
And as far as I can tell SalesForce does not offer a native integration. I feel like they are constantly hyped and always mentioned everywhere, top of Gartner etc, but I just can never figure out why this really is.
Amanda Norman
Hi Christopher,
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts! .
If you’d like to share your personal experience with Salesforce, you can visit our Salesforce Reviews Page. We appreciate your feedback. Best wishes,
Mandy, Moderator
Konstantin Borovik
One of the best CRM reviews I have read. Thank you.
Amanda Norman
Glad you enjoyed the article, Konstantin! Thanks for visiting the site.
Mandy, Moderator