7 Best CRMs for Small Business in 2022

Customer relationship management (CRM) software provides a system for organizing contacts and communicating with potential buyers and customers. The best CRM for small business also offers a centralized platform for managing and collaborating on sales, marketing, and administrative activities. It should also give users the ability to automate certain tasks that ultimately increase productivity.

We evaluated dozens of small business CRMs and narrowed it down to the seven best options:

• HubSpot CRM: Overall best option for startup businesses looking to scale
• Freshsales: Excellent for small businesses with lengthy or unique lead nurturing processes
• Zoho CRM: Best all-in-one option for organizations that heavily utilize social media marketing
• Pipedrive: Ideal for business-to-business (B2B) companies with simple sales models or focused on direct selling
• Close: Great tool for managing telesales engagement and optimizing lead conversion
• Salesforce Essentials: Solid solution for small sales teams wanting a robust mobile application
• Bitrix24: Top option for small ecommerce businesses

Best CRM Software for Small Business Compared

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*Pricing based on annual billing.

Take our quiz to find out which CRM can help you manage your small business.

HubSpot CRM: Overall Best CRM for Scalability

*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is available at a higher cost.

HubSpot CRM is an excellent CRM option for startups and small businesses that are growing or are interested in scaling their operations. It offers a free plan with basic tools for contact organization, communication with leads, scheduling appointments, and managing service tickets.

HubSpot CRM’s plans are also structured for scalability, regardless of which plan is selected. For example, its Starter plan is priced starting at $45 (with two users included), with the ability to add more users at $23 per user. It also provides a unique supplemental tool that generates a marketing plan designed to help new businesses grow, or assist growing businesses with expansion.

Unfortunately, HubSpot CRM does not provide users with project management features. Small businesses looking for ways to manage and monitor projects should consider Bitrix24, as it includes robust project management tools in their free plan.

HubSpot CRM Sales Hub Plan Summary

HubSpot CRM Key Features

• Custom workflow automations: Create tasks based on lead-triggering activities
• Quotes: Easily generate professional quotes using click-to-quote tools
• Communication features: Built-in telephone and email communication tools
• Event management feature: Data from marketing events can be stored and managed through integrations with event planning and scheduling applications like Eventbrite, atEvent, and Attendease
• Appointment setting tools: Built-in meeting scheduling tools for leads to set appointments

Read our in-depth HubSpot CRM review to learn more about how this platform helps small businesses grow. Plus, check out how HubSpot CRM compares to another robust CRM product in our comparison review of Insightly vs HubSpot.

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Freshsales: Best CRM for Lead Management & Integration Capabilities

*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is available at a higher cost.

Freshsales is great small business CRM software, specifically due to how well it functions for lead management activities. Its Pro and Enterprise plans include Freddy AI, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered bot that engages website visitors in real-time conversation to convert them into leads.

Users can manage their leads with automated lead nurturing functionality. They can also track their sales pipelines with visualizations showing progress, potential value, and expected date of deal finalization. It is also equipped with omnichannel communication tools, which include phone, email, and chat. These, along with its invoicing and phone features, make it a great CRM for freelancers wanting to reach their clients anytime, anywhere.

In addition to the lead management capabilities, users find plenty of value in its ease of use, as well as the availability of a free option and low-cost subscription plans. The platform also gives businesses the ability to integrate with other Freshworks products like Freshdesk and Freshservice. This allows them to have a full-service small business management system with modules for managing human resources, customer service, call centers, and IT ticket servicing.

While Freshsales has the ability to automate tasks within specific CRM workflows, accessing this functionality requires subscribing to higher-priced plans. If you want better automation capabilities at a lower price, we recommend Zoho CRM as the best small business CRM that offers low-cost task automation.

Freshsales Plan Summary

Freshsales Key Features

• Visual sales pipelines: Its visual sales pipelines can be viewed in a funnel, Kanban, or timeline style
• Web integration: Integrates with websites to create web forms for generating leads and track website traffic
• Marketing segmentation features: Automate the grouping and filtering of leads based on geography, demographics, and behavior
• Sales forecasting features: Create revenue estimates and sales key performance indicator (KPI) reports
• Freddy AI insights: Deduplication of contact data, auto-appointment booking with leads, and predictive lead scoring

Want to learn more about this CRM? Check out our comprehensive Freshsales review, where we explore its rich feature set.

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Zoho CRM: Best CRM for Businesses Marketing on Social Media

*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is available at a higher cost.

Social media marketing is an extremely cost-effective method for growing a small business. Zoho CRM offers small businesses a centralized CRM platform for managing social media content, monitoring page activity, and generating leads through several social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Zoho CRM has a free option, which makes it affordable for solopreneurs and small businesses. However, it’s limited regarding the number of allowed users and features, such as the ability to conduct mass email campaigns. If you’re looking for a free CRM with this feature, we suggest considering Freshsales as an alternative.

Zoho CRM Plan Summary

Zoho CRM Key Features

• Social media tools: Integrations with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for publishing, scheduling, and managing social media content; it also offers features for social media monitoring, automatic lead generation from social media, and centralized history of customer interactions
• Zoho Finance Suite integration: Enables processing of quotes and purchase orders
• Business card scanning features: Built-in business card scanner on mobile application syncs contact information to CRM database
• Remote management capabilities: Cliq and Meeting integrations for online meetings
• Integrations: Allow users to synchronize inboxes, contacts, and calendars into the CRM

Read our Zoho CRM review and find out what it does best and how it helps small businesses achieve their goals. Plus, learn how Zoho CRM directly compares to another popular CRM in our comparison review of Zoho CRM vs Salesforce.

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Pipedrive: Best Small Business CRM for Direct Sales Operations

*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is available at a higher cost.

The Pipedrive features related to direct sales operations are particularly beneficial for the sales teams of small businesses. Its smart contact data features provide insights on leads based on data found online and through social media profiles. Smart Docs tools allow you to send quotes, business proposals, and contracts, as well as create e-signatures from within the CRM. Sales teams can also send invoices and collect payments through outside integrations.

While Pipedrive is a strong platform for sales activities, its revenue forecasting capabilities are only available on the higher-priced Professional and Enterprise plans. Small businesses looking for sales forecasting tools at a lower price should consider Zoho CRM, which offers forecasting on its Enterprise plan for $40 per user, each month, billed annually.

Pipedrive Plan Summary

Pipedrive Key Features

• Smart Docs: Built-in document management tools for monitoring quotes, proposals, and electronic signature gathering
• Built-in appointment booking tool: Sends calendar links to leads via live chat, then syncs meetings to the sales rep’s calendar through Pipedrive Scheduler
• Smart contact data feature: Provides extensive information on leads using email address and publicly available data such as Google+ and LinkedIn
• AI sales assistant: Gives sales representatives tips for improving performance based on past customer behavior and data within the CRM
• Integrations: Xero, QuickBooks, Paycove, PayKickstart, and RoyPay for invoicing and processing payments

To learn more about this CRM, read our Pipedrive review to explore its rich feature set. Plus, be sure to check out other customizable CRMs in our article on the best customizable CRMs.

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Close: Best Small Business CRM for Telesales Engagement

*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is available at a higher cost.

Close is a solid tool for sales engagement because it is packed with sales automation features that help you convert more leads into revenue. Known for its simple and intuitive dashboards, it lets you easily import your leads from other CRMs. Its Smart Views provide a single place to access your saved lead filters, follow-up list, tasks, and reminders. It also has a Power Dialer that automatically makes and logs calls with a single click.

While Close is equipped with excellent lead, contact, and pipeline management features, its more advanced tools require a subscription to its Professional plan ($89 per user on a monthly basis). These include the Power Dialer, bulk email sending, and email sequences. Freshsales, on the other hand, offers a basic phone dialer across all plans. Its sales email tools are also available with its lowest paid tier, which is much more affordable at $15 for each user, every month.

Close Plan Summary

Close Key Features

• Power Dialer: Automatically dials and logs calls with just a single click without having to manually click into each lead on your Smart View list
• Email marketing: Includes bulk email sending, email tracking, email scheduling, follow-up email reminders, customized sales sequences, and templates
• SMS (Short Message Service): Features for sending automated SMS messages (U.S., Canada, Great Britain, and Australia only) and viewing your team’s SMS insights
• Reporting: Tools for tracking and analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs), pipeline health, sales velocity, and individual rep performance
• Integrations: Native integrations include Google Workspace, Zoom, Geckoboard, and Leadinfo; no-code integrations include HubSpot, Stitch, and LeadsBridge; Zapier integrations include ActiveCampaign, Calendly, Facebook Lead Ads, and Mailchimp

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Salesforce Essentials: Best Mobile Application

*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is available at a higher cost.

Although Salesforce Essentials offers artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, robust email marketing tools, and excellent solutions for report customization. One of the standout features of this CRM system is its mobile application. The mobile app can perform nearly all of the functions done on its web application, making it easy for you to monitor sales pipelines, manage leads, and communicate with other team members―all while on the go.

Salesforce Essentials lacks the availability of a free plan, something that is highly desired, especially by small businesses. If you’re looking for free small business CRMs, HubSpot CRM is a solid choice. We also recommend taking a look at our in-depth review of the best free CRM software.

Salesforce Essentials Key Features

• Customer service features: Tools for servicing customers through email, phone, live chat, social media, and a self-service help center
• Lightning App Builder: Build custom applications within the Salesforce platform using prebuilt templates and a drag-and-drop interface
• Email auto-sync: Email data automatically syncs with CRM to create contact profiles
• Integrations: DocuSign, Dropbox, Zapier, and Active Campaign
• Deals and opportunities: Custom visualization options for deal and opportunity management

Read our Salesforce Essentials review to learn if this is the right platform for your sales team.

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Bitrix24: Best for Small Ecommerce Businesses

*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly and quarterly billing options are available at a higher cost.

Bitrix24 is a unique platform that offers ecommerce capabilities, enabling small businesses to create a website, process orders, and manage their inventory, all while integrating with the CRM. It is also a great CRM for online retail businesses because they can access these tools for free. They can also process payments through integrations with popular applications, including PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net.

One of the most common issues found in Bitrix24 is its usability, specifically with navigating the interface. This can be intimidating with all of the functional buttons displayed on a given page. Companies looking for an easy-to-navigate CRM system should find HubSpot CRM or Freshsales more intuitive, both of which are featured in our article about the best simple CRM systems.

Bitrix24 Plan Summary

Bitrix24 Key Features

• Online store website builder: Create an ecommerce store that integrates with the CRM, takes online orders, processes payments, and manages inventory
• Contact center solutions: Built-in telephone, call-back widgets, and call tracking tools
• Quotes and invoicing: Built-in tools for attaching quotes or invoices to lead profiles
• Project management features: Built-in project management tools for creating and tracking project tasks
• Human resource management features: Basic tools for absence management, work-time tracking, meeting brief generation, and compilation of employee directory

To learn how this CRM meets the needs of many small businesses, read our comprehensive Bitrix24 review.

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How to Choose the Best CRM Software for Small Business

There is no generic approach to choosing the right CRM system for your organization because every business is different. This process entails careful deliberation to ensure you get the most out of your financial investment. You need to consider several factors before you commit to a provider. These include pricing, feature inclusions, ease of use, quality of customer support, as well as the nature and size of your business.

For example, Zoho CRM is the best choice if your company engages in social media marketing. If you are looking for a free solution that you could easily scale up later on, HubSpot CRM is a solid option. Businesses that employ field agents would benefit best from Salesforce Essentials’ robust mobile app.

To help you decide more efficiently on which CRM provider to commit to, we have developed an ultimate guide to choosing a CRM. This article also includes a free downloadable guide that covers the essential factors you should consider, which we mentioned above. If you’re looking for another option than investing in a comprehensive CRM system, read our guide about CRM alternatives for smaller teams.

How We Evaluated the Best CRM for Small Business

To determine the best customer relationship management software for small business, we evaluated product pricing as well as general CRM features particularly suited for small businesses. Solopreneurs and the owners and employees of small businesses often wear multiple hats within the operation. For this reason, we also considered a tool’s overall usability across the board and customer support (having dedicated sales, marketing, and accounting departments).

Based on our evaluation, HubSpot CRM is the best overall CRM for small businesses because of the combination of its ease of use, affordability, and robust lead scoring features. It also comes with tools for email and SMS marketing, workflow automation, and appointment scheduling. Moreover, it offers 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, and email.

The tabs below offer insight into our evaluation process for choosing the best small business CRMs: