A common misconception about customer relationship management (CRM) systems is that they are overly complicated. However, there are simple CRM solutions that aren’t saturated with overwhelming features and a clunky dashboard, making them easier to operate. Instead, they have a clean interface, logical navigation menu, and intuitive features essential to a sales operation.
We evaluated dozens of CRM products that let small businesses manage customers with ease and narrowed it down to our top seven options:
- Simplest CRM for small business: Freshsales
- Best project management features: Capsule CRM
- Basic CRM software for sales automation: Pipedrive
- Easiest CRM for multichannel campaigns: EngageBay
- Best free all-in-one simple CRM: HubSpot CRM
- Great choice for CRM customization: Zoho CRM
- Best easy CRM for Google users: Streak
Identifies promising leads and streamlines follow-ups for your B2B startups |
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Best Simple CRM Software Compared
Provider | Free Plan? | Our CRM Rating out of 5 | |
---|---|---|---|
$9 | ✓ 3 users | 4.74 | |
$18 | ✓ 2 users | 4.68 | |
$14 | ✕ | 4.55 | |
$11.95 | ✓ 15 users | 4.53 | |
✓ Unlimited users | 4.50 | ||
$14 | ✓ 3 users | 4.50 | |
✓ 1 user | 4.34 | ||
Freshsales: Best Simple CRM for Small Business
Pros
- Free plan for three users includes account management, and a built-in phone system
- Scalable, low-priced paid plans
- Built-in artificial intelligence (AI) tools for analytics and automated conversions
Cons
- Price, quotes, invoices, and onboarding documents management requires paid add-on
- Automated profile enrichment gets expensive
- Two-way email sync not included on free plan
- You want a simple CRM with solid free sales management tools: Freshsales offers a built-in account and deal management modules. It also has a native telephone for cold calling activities, email templates, and custom fields for easy tracking in its free plan, making it our top-rated call center CRM software. These sales operation features are not only highly useful for sales operations, but they also streamline marketing efforts. In addition, all these features are notably easy to use, even for absolute beginners.
- You want artificial intelligence (AI)-powered task automation: Freshsales offers the Freddy AI tool that lets teams do more with less work. They can auto-engage prospects through live chat, deduplicate CRM data records, and discover insights into deals and forecasts using AI.
- You need low-cost features for auto-updating contact data: Freshsales has an automated profile enrichment feature. However, it is not available until the Enterprise plan, which costs $69 per user, per month.
- Alternative: Pipedrive offers automated contact data enrichment on its Advanced plan for just $29 per user, monthly.
- You need project management tools in your CRM: Though great for lead and deal management activities and engaging with customers through various channels, Freshsales does not have any built-in project management tool to handle side sales projects or client service projects.
- Alternative: Capsule CRM has robust attributes for project management. You can access these tools even from its free plan.
Freshsales Pricing Plan & Overview*
Freshsales Pricing Add-ons:
- CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote): $19 per user, monthly
- Workflows: $5 for 10 workflows (paid plans only)
- Phone Credits: Starts at $5 (all plans)
- Freshbots (chatbot session packs): $100 for 1,000 Freshbot sessions
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-user, monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is also available for a higher cost. You can sign up for a 21-day free trial to test its paid plans. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
Freshsales has sophisticated yet simple features and a user-friendly interface that sales reps can navigate easily, even with less familiarity with a CRM system. In addition, it offers tools that automate routine tasks. Freddy AI, for instance, keeps data clean and offers valuable insights on deal and forecast trends. Freshsales’ simplicity also pairs nicely with its cost-effective plans, making it the perfect CRM for startups and small businesses.
Capsule CRM: Best Easy-to-Operate Project Management Tools
Pros
- Built-in project and task management
- Free plan includes artificial intelligence (AI) Content Assistant that helps craft and optimize sales emails
- Email marketing campaign designer with templates, drip automation, dynamic content, and campaign analytics
Cons
- Free plan limited to 250 contacts, basic dashboards, and email tools
- Customer support is limited to email ticketing
- Lacks ecommerce features, like inventory management, website designer, and purchase order processing
- You run a project-based business: Capsule CRM offers tools for project management across all its plans. You can track project timelines, conduct onboarding processes, and monitor customer activities, support requests, and client deliverables. If you subscribe to the paid plans, you can also access premium integrations that include QuickBooks and Xero for accounting and billing.
- You want to use AI assistance to write sales emails: Capsule CRM’s paid plans include an artificial intelligence (AI) content assistant tool that helps you generate quality email drafts from within contact records. It gives you recommendations on the content, length, and tone of your email message.
- You want a CRM that offers email tracking tools: Capsule CRM offers basic email marketing features with templates, but it has no advanced features like tools for email tracking.
- Alternatives: HubSpot CRM tops our list of the best CRM for email marketing because it offers advanced tools like mass email and performance tracking at no cost. Freshsales also offers excellent email marketing capabilities that include automated sales email sequences that complement its lead nurturing features.
- You need a CRM for managing your ecommerce business: Capsule CRM offers basic email marketing features with templates, but it does not have advanced features like tools for email tracking.
- Alternative: Zoho CRM is one of our top recommended ecommerce CRMs for small businesses. It offers various tools for online businesses, such as inventory management, marketing, analytics, and customer support.
Capsule CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
Capsule CRM Pricing Add-on:
- Transpond (marketing automation tools): Starts at $11 per user, monthly
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-user, monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is also available for a higher cost. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
Capsule CRM’s ease of use is one of its strongest selling points, as evident in its high usability ratings. It has a straightforward dashboard that makes it easy to learn and operate. Plus, using its native project management tools is intuitive. We can’t also miss its free AI Content Assistant, which helps reps reduce manual work by auto-generating sales emails based on contact data.
Pipedrive: Best for Easy Sales Automation
Pros
- Sales process management tools include automation for sales activities and pipeline visualization
- 24/7 multilingual live chat and email support
- Solid third-party integrations, such as Microsoft Outlook and Slack
Cons
- No free plan
- Phone support limited to the Enterprise plan
- Lead generation and web tracking tools cost extra
- Your sales agents need robust yet easy-to-use sales automation tools: This platform is one of our top recommended sales automation software. It lets you automatically assign or create sales tasks, update CRM records, and even send emails to prospects. Its smart Sales Assistant tool analyzes CRM data to provide suggestions on how you can prioritize deals and improve your performance.
- You use Microsoft Outlook and Slack: Pipedrive is among our best choices for CRMs that integrate with Outlook. It has a two-way integration for email, contacts, and calendar with Outlook, which keeps your data consistent between the two systems. It is also included in our top picks for CRMs that integrate with Slack. It features a Dealbot that notifies users via Slack whenever there are updates or changes on deals in their CRM.
- You want a free CRM: While Pipedrive offers affordable paid plans, it does not offer a free plan. Hence, if you’re a freelancer or a startup looking to explore a CRM system at no cost, consider looking elsewhere.
- Alternatives: Freshsales and HubSpot CRM are free and easy to use for beginners and small businesses. Both CRM solutions have robust features in their free plans that include deal management, marketing tools, and built-in calling.
- You want a CRM with free or low-cost automation features: Pipedrive’s workflow automation tools are only available starting with its Advanced plan, which costs $29 per user, monthly.
- Alternative: Subscribe to Zoho CRM if you need a CRM that offers basic workflow automation for free.
Pipedrive Pricing Plan & Overview*
Pipedrive Pricing Add-ons:
- LeadBooster (lead generation tool set): Starts at $32.50 per company, monthly
- Web Visitors (web tracking and lead ranking): Starts at $41 per company, monthly
- Campaigns (customizable email campaigns): Starts at $13.33 per company, monthly
- Smart Docs (trackable documents): Starts at $32.50 per company, monthly (free with Professional, Power, and Enterprise plans)
- Projects (project management): Starts at $6.70 per user, monthly
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a per-user, monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is also available for a higher cost. You can sign up for a 14-day free trial to test its paid plans. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
Pipedrive provides automation for data management, profile enrichment, and even proposal generation. Plus, compared to other basic CRM systems in this guide, Pipedrive makes it easier to understand CRM data through its visualization tools. This platform also offers in-app calling and integration with more than 300 services and tools from its App Marketplace, including Microsoft Outlook and Slack.
EngageBay: Best for Multichannel Campaigns
Pros
- Free plan has advanced campaign tools like lead scoring, social media monitoring, and live chat
- All-in-one sales, marketing, and service tool
- Cost-scalable CRM solution that lets small businesses upgrade their feature and data requirements affordably
Cons
- Relatively limited number of contact records allowed on Free and Basic plans
- No free calling features
- Marketing tools, workflow automation, and proposal management are not available until the Growth plan for $45.99 per user, monthly
- You use an omnichannel approach for customer engagement: With EngageBay, you can interact with your leads and customers through email, live chat, social media, short message service (SMS), and video messaging all from a single platform. It also allows you to integrate your CRM with voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) telephone systems like RingCentral and Twilio.
- You need free lead scoring features: EngageBay’s predictive lead scoring features are available even with its free plan. Scoring your leads improves conversion in that you get to identify qualified leads that are closest to making a buying decision. Hence, the fact that these features are available for free makes EngageBay a solid choice for lead generation on a budget.
- You’re seeking a CRM with low-cost proposal generation features: EngageBay’s proposal generation and management features are not available until the Growth plan, which costs $45.99 per user, monthly.
- Alternative: Freshsales’ CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) feature is available with all of its paid plans, starting at $9 per user, monthly.
- You need free and affordable CRM options with more data capacity: EngageBay’s free tier has a 250-limit on contact storage. Hence, it’s not ideal if you’re catering to contact data on a massive scale.
- Alternative: If you’re looking to build relationships with more than 250 leads and customers at no cost, try HubSpot CRM. Its free option allows you to store up to 1,000,000 contacts.
EngageBay Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is also available for a higher cost and two-year billing for a lower cost. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
EngageBay has a simple interface that is easy to navigate once you familiarize yourself with it. Its greatest strengths include its multichannel campaign management feature and its Social Suite, which allows you to engage with leads on social media. All in all, this all-in-one platform is a great CRM for freelancers looking to get the most value out of their subscriptions.
HubSpot CRM: Best Free All-in-One CRM Software
Pros
- Free plan for unlimited users
- CRM Suite includes sales, marketing, and service in one bundle
- The interface design has a simple layout which makes it easy to navigate for a great user experience
Cons
- Paid plans get expensive
- Social media tools not available until the Professional plan
- Payment processing not available for free
- You are a startup or small team looking for a free all-in-one CRM: HubSpot is free for unlimited users and many of the sales, marketing, and service features that help a new business obtain and retain customers are also included in the free plan. These features include email campaigns, ads, list segmentation, deal and contact management, and live chat. It also has prospecting tools that identify companies visiting your website—all of which are a steal for startups.
- You want to put marketing campaigns on auto-pilot: One of the top easy CRM software tools for HubSpot is the email automation features. Many of the email features are free, and the automation uses a no-code format. This lets users at all skill levels deploy mass emails that automatically send or resend depending on contact segments or engagement activity like opens and clicks.
- You need scalable paid plans: Though it has excellent free tools, all of the paid plans, whether you bundle them or purchase them individually, are expensive and not cost-effective for fast-growing businesses.
- Alternatives: Freshsales and Zoho CRM offer easy-to-use CRM features and cost-friendly paid plans that start at $9 and $14 per user, respectively.
- You are a small business selling multiple product lines: HubSpot CRM’s free plan allows you to manage only one pipeline, while its Starter plan limits you to two. The Professional plan costs $90 per month for 15 unique pipelines.
- Alternatives: Zoho CRM allows five pipelines on the Standard plan for $14 per user, monthly, and then 10, 20, and 50 pipelines, respectively, on the Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate plans. EngageBay’s paid plans also allow you to manage multiple deal pipelines starting at $11.95 per user, monthly.
HubSpot CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is also available for a higher cost. Each plan offers a 14-day free trial. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
**CRM Suite includes sales, marketing, customer service, content management system (CMS), and operations software. Individual modules can be purchased for lower monthly costs.
Our Expert Opinion
HubSpot CRM does a great job offering a robust free plan with end-to-end solutions, making it among our top picks for the best CRM for small business. Creating automations for sending marketing emails requires less effort and a minimal learning curve. It’s a no-code, drag-and-drop system that lets users quickly configure if/then branches. Its modern color scheme and simplistic CRM menu buttons also make it less intimidating, especially with beginners.
Zoho CRM: Most Customizable Easy CRM Solution
Pros
- Offers a free plan and a range of affordable pricing options with CRM customization features
- Has artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities
- Easily integrates with Zoho’s ecosystem of business tools, including Zoho Desk and Zoho Campaigns
Cons
- Phone features not available in the free plan
- Has limited file storage allocation in most plans; only the Ultimate plan offers a 5GB storage allocation
- Limited customer support; premium support requires a separate purchase
- You need a CRM solution with thorough database customization: Zoho CRM offers mass CRM customization options in its free plan, with advanced tools in its paid plan starting at $14 per user, monthly. This allows teams to alter data fields for specific information, create custom record views, change search layouts, and even build custom modules. For this reason, Zoho CRM made our list of the best customizable CRMs.
- You’re looking for a solid social CRM: Zoho CRM integrates with Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn. This allows users to monitor and interact with their followers, generate leads via social media campaigns, and engage directly with customers via comments and messages.
- You’re looking for a sales-focused CRM: Zoho CRM is an all-in-one platform with plans that include comprehensive tools for sales, marketing, and customer service. It’s less ideal if you only need tools solely for sales processes.
- Alternatives: Freshsales and Pipedrive both offer specialized tools for sales. These include time-saving workflows, visual sales pipelines, and deal management. Alternatively, you can check out our guide to the best sales enablement tools.
- You want a CRM with free telephone and email features: Zoho CRM’s free-forever plan does not include communication tools for lead engagement, such as native telephone and email management tools.
- Alternatives: Freshsales and HubSpot CRM offer free plans that allow access to lead engagement tools like a built-in phone system, email integrations, and meeting scheduling.
Zoho CRM Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is also available for a higher cost. You can sign up for a 15-day free trial to test its paid plans. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Zoho CRM Pricing Add-ons:
- Additional File Storage: $4 per month for 5GB (paid plans only)
- Additional Data Storage (up to 200 users): $4 for 100MB per month (for Professional and up)
- Additional Data Storage (>200 users): $2 for 100MB per month (for Professional and up)
- Data Backup: $12 per request
Our Expert Opinion
Zoho CRM stands out by offering complete customization and automation tools with its free and lower-priced plans. This makes it an excellent solution for teams who want to tailor their CRM to their unique operation. That said, it has a slight learning curve because of its rich feature set, but its highly intuitive interface makes it easy to use once you become familiar with the system.
Streak: Best for Google Workspace Integration
Pros
- Integrates with Google Workspace and allows CRM tool operation in Gmail
- Free plan includes unlimited contact storage and mass email campaigns
- Scalable paid plans
Cons
- Only one user can access the free plan
- Third-party integration outside Google apps gets expensive
- Requires the Pro+ plan to access workflow automation
- You want an easy CRM software to use with Google Workspace: Streak is one of our top Google CRMs because it integrates with Google Workspace and its major apps like Docs, Sheets, and Drive. Plus, it connects seamlessly with Gmail, allowing you to access CRM data and tools from within your inbox. That way, you can monitor pipeline stages, records, and tasks without hopping back and forth between two platforms.
- You want unlimited contact data capacity: Even in its free plan, you can already store unlimited contacts and track associated data in the pipeline—a feature made exclusive to paid plans in other providers. On top of that, you can readily use these data to deploy mass email campaigns for prospects and leads.
- You want affordable workflow automations: Setting sales processes and workflows on auto-pilot will require you to shell out $69 (Pro+ plan) when using Streak. This price may appear too hefty for small businesses on a budget.
- Alternative: Pipedrive is our top pick for easy-to-use CRM for small businesses with solid yet less costly automation features under its Advanced plan for only $29 per user.
- You need a free plan for multiple users: While Streak offers a free-forever plan with the essential CRM features, it is limited to only one user. If you’re a team looking for a gateway CRM, you may want to consider looking elsewhere.
- Alternative: HubSpot CRM provides access to five users in its free plan. You can also go for EngageBay for teams of up to 15 members.
Streak Pricing Plan & Overview*
*Pricing is based on annual billing on a monthly breakdown. Monthly billing is also available for a higher cost. We update pricing information regularly but encourage readers to check current pricing here.
Our Expert Opinion
Streak redefines CRM simplicity by leveraging people’s familiarity with the use of Google Workspace. By integrating the core CRM features in the Gmail inbox, you save yourself the extra time to master a new interface in one go. On top of that, you can centralize collaboration, tasks and pipeline monitoring, lead tracking activities, and mass emailing efforts in one space.
How We Evaluated the Top Easy CRM Systems
When choosing the best CRM, we narrowed down our list to simple CRM systems for small businesses to those with an intuitive interface and require a minimal learning curve to operate. These basic products offer a clean layout with modern color schemes and simple button placement for navigability and a solid user experience. Additionally, we looked at other essential product attributes, such as features, pricing, and customer support availability.
The tabs below offer insight into our evaluation process for the easiest CRM to use:
30% of Overall Score
Pricing was a top criterion in our evaluation, apart from ease of use. We considered free plan availability and various scalable pricing options businesses could afford as they grow. We also looked at the availability for a subscriber to either pay monthly or save by paying annually.
40% of Overall Score
We looked at overall features crucial to any CRM system, regardless of its primary use case or usability ratings. For instance, we wanted to see if each product has capabilities essential to any sales operation. With that, it should have customizable pipelines, reporting and analytics tools, and an extensive range of third-party and native integration options.
15% of Overall Score
Though each product is assumed to be easy to operate, extensive support and service are still necessary to help prevent poor experiences users may encounter while using any of these CRMs. This category was evaluated in terms of customer service hours and the availability of support via phone, live chat, and email. We also looked at self-service and help center resources users can access, like tutorials, forums, or training modules.
15% of Overall Score
In addition to firsthand experience with these intuitive CRM systems, we evaluated what actual users say about each product according to online reviews. These criteria consider how customers feel in terms of product ease of use. It also provides insights into customer feelings regarding value for the price paid and how useful they find the CRM’s features.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The simplicity of CRM depends on the user’s experience and preference. For example, while we rated Freshsales as the easiest CRM to use for phone operations and account management systems, you might prioritize other usability aspects like sales automation. In this case, you should check out Pipedrive instead.
A CRM for beginners is intuitive, with a straightforward layout and navigability, and minimal learning curve when operating for the first time. Your best options for beginner-friendly CRMs include all the providers mentioned above. However, you may want to lean more toward HubSpot CRM for a more general experience in operating a holistic CRM or Streak if you want a CRM integrated to Google Workspace.
Yes, you can set up your own CRM using Excel or spreadsheets like Google Sheets. Start by identifying the data to be processed in your CRM. Then, create various tabs for process tracking and name your column headings. Lastly, you need to configure simple sales formulas and automations functions.
Bottom Line
Simple CRM software is built so users at any technical level can navigate the interface and operate the features. These products tend to use minimal button menu options, clean layouts, and calming color schemes that don’t overwhelm the user and impact their experience with the product. While Freshsales was our pick for the best overall CRM solution, other products could be a better fit depending on feature preferences and ease of use.