9 Best Lead Management Software for Small Businesses

• You want free lead management tools: HubSpot CRM offers a robust free plan that supports two users and includes lead, contact, and deal management tools. This CRM system lets users add up to one million contacts and company records using a lead’s corporate email address or pulling the data straight from web forms.
• You need robust marketing automation tools for lead engagement: HubSpot CRM’s free plan includes a vast library of email templates and no-code email automation features. Regardless of your technical skill level, you can easily send bulk emails that automatically send or resend depending on lead segments and engagement activity, such as opens and clicks.

• You want a more scalable solution for your growing sales team: After the free and Starter plans ($15 per month for two users), there’s a huge price jump when you upgrade to the Professional plan ($1,170 per month for five users).
  • Alternative: EngageBay is our top recommendation for small teams and businesses looking for a more scalable solution. It offers a robust free plan for 15 users and affordable paid plans that range from $13.79 to $110.39 per user monthly.
• You need a low-cost lead scoring system: HubSpot CRM’s lead scoring features are unavailable until the Professional plan at $1,170 per month for five users. Whether you bundle it with other HubSpot products or pay for it as an individual module, this could still be quite expensive for small teams and businesses.
  • Alternative: With Zoho CRM, you can access lead scoring rules under the Standard plan for just $14 per user monthly. If you want advanced scoring rules, go for the Enterprise plan, which is significantly more affordable at $40 per user monthly than HubSpot CRM’s Professional plan at $1,170 per month for five users.

• You use multiple channels for lead engagement: Zoho CRM is one of the few lead management solutions in the market that offers an omnichannel communication platform. This feature enables you to engage your leads via multiple channels, including email, telephone, live chat, social media, and SMS from a single platform.
• You want to automate your contact management process: With Zoho CRM’s free workflow automation features, you can autoadd contact records to your CRM database via social media and web forms. When you upgrade to the Enterprise plan ($40 per user monthly), you can automatically maintain fresh contact details through its data enrichment capabilities. You can also prioritize leads based on lead scoring criteria.

• You’re looking for a beginner-friendly lead management solution: Zoho CRM’s wide customization options and robust feature set make it difficult for absolute beginners to use and navigate.
  • Alternatives: HubSpot CRM and monday CRM have a simple and intuitive interface that makes them easy to use, even for beginners. HubSpot CRM’s email automation features don’t require coding. On the other hand, monday CRM offers multiple viewing options, customizable boards, and a spreadsheet-style workspace for seamless data access and management.
• You need free email and call features: Zoho CRM’s freemium plan does not include native email and call management tools. If you want to make calls as a part of your sales process using this CRM, you must integrate this CRM with Zoho PhoneBridge. This integration starts in the Standard plan (at $14 per user every month) for voicemail, inbound and outbound calls, and call forwarding.
  • Alternative: HubSpot CRM offers a freemium plan that enables users to integrate CloudTalk or Aircall without plugins or extensions. It’s equipped with a built-in phone system, meeting scheduling, and email integration capabilities, which help with lead engagement and customer support.

• You need an intuitive lead management CRM: monday CRM is one of the best simple CRM software to use. You can quickly view, add, and analyze data on its user-friendly interface in a familiar spreadsheet format. Users can easily qualify leads by creating color-coded labels and columns to monitor lead data like current pipeline status.

Users can convert tabular data into a Kanban board or other viewing options like charts, maps, and timelines for quick data access and analysis. Moreover, you can seamlessly track leads across pipeline stages with its drag-and-drop functionality.

• You need lead automation capabilities: Boost efficiency by creating workflows with monday CRM’s no-code automation design system. For instance, you can set a rule for your CRM to automatically capture leads, like upon website registration, digital product (like e-book) download, or newsletter signup. In the same way, you can set up your CRM to automatically send a ‘thank you’ email once a visitor upgrades their free plan to a premium.

• You want a free lead management CRM software: While monday CRM offers a 14-day free trial, it doesn’t have free tools. Small business owners who aren’t ready to purchase a CRM system can use free alternatives.
  • Alternatives: Available for two users, HubSpot CRM is one of the best free CRM systems for handling leads. Meanwhile, Bitrix24 offers free tools for unlimited users.
• You want more affordable lead scoring capabilities: monday CRM is equipped with a lead scoring feature. However, you must have an Enterprise plan (at a custom price), which is costlier than other CRM providers.
  • Alternative: Zoho CRM’s Standard plan ($14 per user monthly) offers lead scoring with 10 criteria per module. Or access 50 criteria per module in its highest plan.

• You’re looking for a sales CRM with low-cost lead routing capabilities: With the Salesforce Starter Suite, starting at $25 monthly, you can easily create automated routing rules to assign leads to reps. You can customize the assignment according to criteria or ZIP code, or use the round-robin method. These capabilities ensure proper workload allocation and prompt lead nurturing for a higher likelihood of conversion.
• You want to leverage AI to optimize lead engagement: Salesforce Starter Suite has a built-in AI tool called Einstein Activity Capture, which automatically syncs your email and calendar activities with your CRM to easily track and respond to lead correspondence. Meanwhile, Einstein Send Time Optimization helps you identify the best time to send emails to leads and prospects so they’re more likely to engage.

• You need a free solution for generating leads from websites: While Salesforce Starter Suite offers web-to-lead capture capabilities, it has no free option. Scaling up can be costly for small businesses with a tight budget, from Starter Suite at $25 per user to the Pro Suite at $100 per user monthly.
  • Alternative: Bitrix24 is our top choice for web-to-lead generation. This feature is available with its free plan, which supports unlimited users.
• You want to use a more affordable lead scoring tool: Salesforce’s Unlimited plan offers AI-powered lead scoring to help sales teams prioritize and focus on high-converting leads. However, this plan costs $330 per user, which is relatively more expensive than others. If you’re good at using basic lead-scoring tools, you can choose a more affordable alternative.
  • Alternative: Zoho CRM provides low-cost lead scoring tools starting in the Standard plan for only $14 per user every month. It provides 10 lead scoring criteria per module, which is suitable for small sales teams. If you have a large team, Zoho’s Ultimate plan offers multiple scoring rules with 50 criteria per rule.

• You need a solution with smart capabilities for lead data enrichment: Pipedrive has a Smart Contact Data feature starting in its Advanced plan ($34 per user monthly). This tool automatically pulls information like a contact’s current job and employer from web and social media sources like LinkedIn. With up-to-date and accurate data, you can build a more powerful lead database that your customer-facing team can use to nurture leads better.
• You need smart document management tools to manage leads more productively: Pipedrive’s Smart Docs is one of its standout features available starting in the Professional plan ($49 per user monthly).
  You can quickly deploy proposals to get high-quality leads and autopopulate data into relevant fields on a quote or proposal. Plus, you can request a lead’s e-signature for seamless document management and quickly convert leads to customers.

• You’re a solo user or small team needing free lead management software: Pipedrive currently does not offer a free plan. However, you can sign up for its 14-day free trial before you commit to a plan.
  • Alternative: HubSpot CRM has a free plan that supports an unlimited number of users and includes basic lead management tools. In addition, you get access to email scheduling, email templates, email insights, and email tracking features at no cost.
• You’re looking for built-in ticketing and case management tools: Pipedrive’s features are mainly for lead management, so it doesn’t have supplemental customer support tools, such as ticket and case management. But you can integrate Pipedrive with customer ticketing solutions like Zoho Desk and Help Scout to equip your CRM with these functionalities.
  • Alternatives: If you want an all-in-one solution that offers built-in lead and ticket management features, subscribe to EngageBay’s free plan. Zoho CRM’s Professional plan ($23 per user monthly) and Salesforce’s Starter Suite ($25 per user monthly) both offer built-in case management tools.

• You’re a startup looking for a free lead segmentation tool: EngageBay offers lead segmentation, starting its free plan for 15 users. Alongside contact segmentation, the free plan includes predictive lead scoring capabilities, which can help you determine if you have the right leads based on their level of interest.
• You need a lead management solution with cross-channel communication: EngageBay offers multiple channels for meaningful lead engagement. With the free plan, you can automate and send bulk emails, use live chat, and integrate social media messengers from within the system. The Basic plan ($13.79 per user) adds outbound call capabilities, while the Growth plan ($59.79 per user) includes website messaging.

• You’re looking for a solution with built-in or directly integrated telephone features: EngageBay offers calling features via third-party integrations, but they’re not available until the Basic plan ($13.79 per user monthly).
  • Alternatives: Bitrix24, Zoho CRM, and HubSpot CRM have a built-in phone system for making outbound calls to engage with your leads.
• You need built-in project management tools for lead conversion: Unfortunately, EngageBay does not offer tools for managing projects. This can be a drawback for service-based businesses dealing with multiple projects like construction companies.
  • Alternatives: Bitrix24 is an excellent alternative that offers built-in project management capabilities in its Basic plan at $49 per user (includes five users). You can convert leads into deals and track the product and service delivery as a project within the CRM. Insightly CRM is another option that allows you to convert won opportunities into projects.

• You need built-in web-to-lead forms: Bitrix24 allows you to create CRM and web forms that you can put on your business website, social networks, and mailing lists. Using these forms, you can obtain prospects’ contact information, like names, phone numbers, and email addresses, and then send them a product or service offer.
• You want a lead management CRM with ecommerce features: All Bitrix24 users get access to a free mobile chat to quickly engage with leads like online shoppers. It has a robust set of ecommerce features like an online store builder and tools for managing products, orders, payments, coupons, and inventories. These notable functionalities place Bitrix24 among the best ecommerce CRM software.

• You want lead tracking tools that are simple to use: Bitrix24 is the best lead management software in this list, but its robust CRM capabilities and customization options make it difficult to set up and navigate. It has an intuitive interface, but users will need to get accustomed to its many menu options and tabs to navigate it smoothly.
  • Alternatives: Pipedrive, monday CRM, and EngageBay CRM are included in our list of the best simple CRMs for small businesses. These providers offer neatly designed and highly intuitive interfaces that are easy for everyone to learn, use, and navigate.
• You’re looking for free in-app phone features: Bitrix24 does not offer free telephone features. You’ll have to subscribe to its Basic plan ($49 per month) to access them.
  • Alternative: With HubSpot CRM, you get access to calling features built into the lead management software for free. You can use this system to get in touch and follow up with your leads.

• You want to convert leads and won opportunities to sales projects: Insightly CRM allows you to convert a lead into a deal or project. This contact record contains all of the lead’s files, tasks, emails, and notes. Hence, you can preserve post-sales record data to ensure all users have access to up-to-date information.

Sales reps can use this data to generate new hot leads for upselling or suggesting a product or service upgrade. You can also use it for cross-selling or offering complementary products or services to existing customers.

• You require record-linking features for referral marketing: Insightly CRM’s Plus plan ($29 per user monthly) has record-linking capabilities that allow you to label business-to-business (B2B) relationships. This makes it easy to connect referrals to a lead, contact, or company in your CRM records. With these capabilities, Insightly made it in the list of the best CRM for B2B sales teams.

• You want a more affordable solution with lead assignment tools: Insightly CRM’s lead assignment and routing tools are available until the Professional plan at $49 per user monthly. There are other options that offer similar features at more affordable rates.
  • Alternative: Salesforce offers automatic lead assignment and routing features at just $25 per user monthly. You can automatically assign leads using the round-robin, balanced-load, or location-based method.

• You need a solution with solid social media features: Unfortunately, Insightly CRM does not offer tools for social engagement, social media account management, and social profile enrichment.
  • Alternatives: HubSpot CRM and Zoho CRM are among our top recommended social CRM software. All these providers offer tools for generating leads and engaging directly with them from within the CRM.

• You need prospecting tools to find ideal leads: Zendesk Sell’s sales engagement tools include prospecting and enrichment credits. You can use these credits to automatically uncover a point of contact or retrieve key company details that could affect buyer behavior, like market capitalization or company size. These tools are available starting with the Sell Growth plan at $55 per user monthly.
• You want geolocation features for your field sales reps: Zendesk Sell’s mobile app has geolocation features that use Google Maps. With this capability, all users can track visits to leads and sync Google Maps with their calendar appointments.

• You need free or low-cost bulk email tools: If you’re on a tight budget and need mass marketing tools, Zendesk Sell may not be the right choice for you. These features are available only starting with its Sell Growth plan at $55 per user monthly.
  • Alternative: HubSpot CRM is the best sales lead software for teams needing free email marketing features or the ability to manage email campaigns from your CRM.
• You need a more affordable lead and deal scoring tool: Zendesk Sell offers lead and deal scoring starting with its Sell Professional plan at a relatively higher price ($115 per user monthly) than other providers.
  • Alternative: Zoho CRM’s Standard plan offers lead scoring for only $14 per use every month with 10 criteria per module included. As you upgrade your plan, you can get higher scoring rule limits of up to 50 criteria per module on its highest tier, the Ultimate plan ($52 per user monthly).