Integrating customer relationship management (CRM) with customer service (CS) software lets users sync information between the two tools and communicate with leads and customers from a centralized platform. The best integrations allow users to reach customers via live chat and chatbots, email, in-app phone, and social media. Find out which CRM and CS integrations would work best for your specific business needs.
- Freshdesk: Best choice for users who need to integrate an all-in-one customer service management solution, including a help desk, live chat, email, and ticketing
- Zendesk: Excellent option for users who want tools to enrich their customer profiles to deliver highly personalized support to their customers
- LiveChat: Great choice for users who frequently use live chat tools to communicate with their customers, leads, and contacts
- HubSpot Service Hub: Best choice for users who frequently use voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) calls to reach out to leads, consumers, and contacts
- HappyFox: Best choice for teams that need robust automation tools for streamlining customer service needs
- Help Scout: Solid, all-around CRM-integratable customer service software for startups and nonprofit organizations due to its special pricing plans
- Insightly Service: Great for those who need customer service software natively integrated with their customer relationship management (CRM) system
- Salesforce Service Cloud: Best choice for Salesforce users who utilize social media as their key customer service platform
Best CRM-integratable Customer Service Software Compared
No. of Seats on the Free Plan | Starting Price | Free Trial for Paid Plans | In-app Caller | Live Chat | Customer Support | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Unlimited | $15 per user, per month | 21 days | ✔ | ✔ | 24/5 live chat, email, and phone |
 | No free plan | $19 per user, per month | 30 days | N/A | ✔ | 24/5 email, live chat, and phone support |
 | No free plan | $16 per user, per month | 14 days | ✔ | ✔ | 24/7 live chat, email, and phone support; knowledge base and community forums |
 | Unlimited | $63 per month with two users included | 14 days | N/A | ✔ | Email, live chat, and phone support |
 | No free plan | $29 per user, per month | N/A | N/A | ✔ | Email, live chat, and phone support |
 | No free plan | $50 per month for 10 users | 15 days | ✔ | ✔ | 24/6 email support; knowledge base and community forums |
 | No free plan | $29 per user, per month | N/A | ✔ | N/A | Email and live chat for Plus; with phone support for Professional and Enterprise |
 | No free plan | $25 per user, per month | 30 days | ✔ | ✔ | Premium support costs 30% of subscription |
Need more help in choosing which customer service software to integrate with your CRM? Read our guide on how to choose customer service software.
Freshdesk: Best CRM-integratable Customer Service Software With 360-Degree Customer Views
Freshdesk
What We Like
- Offers extensive omnichannel communication channels, including live chat, email, and ticketing
- Robust social media management feature, allowing users to answer and resolve customer queries from their social accounts directly from the app
What's Missing
- Its Omnichannel plan doesn’t have a free version
- Doesn’t offer 24/7 customer support
Pricing Summary*
Support Desk
- Free: Unlimited user allocation
- Growth: $15 per user, per month
- Pro: $49 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $79 per user, per month
Omnichannel
- Growth: $29 per user, per month
- Pro: $59 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $99 per user, per month
Free trial for both types of plans: 21 days
Add-on:
- Additional bot sessions: $75 for 1,000 bot sessions per month
*Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
Freshdesk can be natively integrated with various popular CRMs, including Freshsales, HubSpot CRM, and Salesforce. Once connected, it enables users to communicate using multiple communication channels with the customer and leads saved in their CRM account. The channels include a help desk, live chat, email, and ticketing. It also provides agents with 360-degree customer views and guided resolutions to improve CS agents’ productivity.
However, Freshdesk’s Omnichannel support option doesn’t have a free plan. It also doesn’t provide around-the-clock customer support. Users who want a free plan that covers multiple communication channels can consider HubSpot Service Hub, while those who want access to 24/7 customer support can consider Insightly Service.
Freshdesk Features
Freshdesk offers workflow automation and 360-degree customer views for more efficient and personalized customer support. Below are features we find most beneficial for users:
- Extensive integrations: Dozens of integrations with popular CRM software and other apps, such as email marketing and social media management
- Email ticketing: Allows users to automatically convert customer emails into help desk tickets to track, prioritize, and resolve support requests in one place
- Chat and messaging: Lets users engage with customers through live chat and various messaging platforms, including popular messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Apple Business Chat
- Social media integration: Lets users communicate with their customers on social channels like Facebook and Twitter, and receive notifications about important tweets from its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered social signals monitor
Freshdesk and Salesforce integration: Agents can view a customer or a lead’s profile from Salesforce within their Freshdesk dashboard. (Source: Freshdesk)
Zendesk: Best CRM-integratable Customer Service Software That Provides Unified Customer Profiles
Zendesk
What We Like
- Offers users rich customer profiles
- Robust customer service analytics and reporting tools
What's Missing
- No free plan
- No phone support
Pricing Summary*
- Foundational Support: $19 per user, per month
- Suite Team: $49 per user, per month
- Suite Growth: $79 per user, per month
- Suite Professional: $99 per user, per month
- Free trial: 30 days
*Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
Zendesk natively integrates with CRM systems like Zoho CRM, Capsule CRM, Nutshell, Salesforce, HubSpot CRM, and Pipedrive. Its CRM integration allows users to reach their customers straight from their Zendesk account through live chat, chatbots, social media, email, and voice calls. It offers robust customer profile enrichment tools that build a unified customer view where agents can access all information about a specific customer.
However, Zendesk has no free plan nor phone support. Users who want access to a free plan can consider HubSpot Service Hub, while those who prefer phone support access can consider Freshdesk.
Zendesk Features
Zendesk provides users with essential customer service and customer profile enrichment tools. Below are features we find most beneficial for users:
- Single customer profile view: Gives customer service reps a single view of everything about a customer, including order history, loyalty status, and web activities
- Intelligent case routing: Offers built-in routing and intelligence features to collect critical customer details and reduce agents’ data entry; it also escalates and routes issues to the agent best suited to help
- Reporting and analytics: Lets users access real-time and historical data to analyze trends in their customer service activities
- Self-service content: Lets users create instructional materials that customers can refer to, saving agents’ time from taking actual calls
Zendesk and HubSpot CRM integration: Zendesk’s integration with HubSpot shows users the status of Zendesk tickets and cases straight from their CRM dashboard. (Source: HubSpot)
LiveChat: Best CRM-integratable Customer Service Software With Extensive Live Chat Tools
LiveChat
What We Like
- Live chat function can be used in multiple websites with no additional charge
- 24/7/365 customer support via live chat, email, and phone
- Extensive live chat functionalities, such as message sneak-peek, canned responses, and chat history
What's Missing
- No free plan
- No in-app phone
Pricing Summary*
- Starter: $16 per user, per month
- Team: $33 per user, per month
- Business: $50 per user, per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
- Free trial: 14 days
*Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
LiveChat natively integrates with a handful of popular CRM systems, such as Salesforce, HubSpot CRM, Pipedrive, SugarCRM, and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Once integrated, it lets users communicate with customers via LiveChat using various functionalities like message sneak-peeks, canned responses, chat transfers, and chat ratings.
However, LiveChat doesn’t offer a free plan and an in-app phone. Users who want access to free customer service tools can consider either Freshdesk or HubSpot Service Hub. Meanwhile, those who need an in-app phone can consider Zendesk.
LiveChat Features
LiveChat provides users with a wide variety of live chat tools that easily integrate with their CRM. Below are features we find most beneficial for users:
- Message sneak-peek: Shows users the messages that their customers are typing before they hit send, letting them search for an answer faster and respond in seconds
- Canned responses: Lets users save responses to common questions and reuse them in other conversations
- Chat ratings: Allows users to gather feedback to learn if customers are happy with their live chat experience through star ratings and post-chat surveys
- Chat history: Provides customers with a chat transcript and history so they can backtrack messages and reduce the need for repetitive queries
LiveChat and Pipedrive integration: Users who integrate their LiveChat account with Pipedrive can easily chat with their leads and customers via LiveChat. (Source: Pipedrive)
HubSpot Service Hub: Best CRM-integratable Customer Service Software With VoIP Technology
HubSpot Service Hub
What We Like
- Has a free plan
- Allows users to make high-quality calls directly from the platform
What's Missing
- Paid pricing plans are expensive
- Doesn’t offer 24/7 customer support
Pricing Summary*
- Free: Unlimited user allocation
- Starter: $63 per month with two users included
- Professional: $504 per month with five users included
- Enterprise: $1,200 per month with 10 users included
- Free trial for paid plans: 14 days
Note: More users can be added to all paid plans for an additional cost
*Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
HubSpot Service Hub is easily integratable with HubSpot CRM as well as other third-party CRM apps, such as Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM, Copper, and Insightly. Apart from ticketing, live chat, and team inboxes, HubSpot Service Hub has VoIP functionality that provides excellent call quality, which customers can use directly from the app. It also offers tools for help desk automation, a knowledge base, and customer feedback surveys for seamless customer support.
However, HubSpot Service Hub has steep pricing plans for its paid version and doesn’t offer 24/7 customer support. Users who want pocket-friendly pricing options can consider Freshdesk, while those who want 24/7 support can consider LiveChat.
HubSpot Service Hub Features
HubSpot Service Hub provides users with omnichannel customer service tools and robust VoIP functionalities. Below are features we find most beneficial for users:
- Knowledge base: Converts frequently asked questions (FAQ) into a searchable library of help articles, videos, and documentation
- Live chat: Automatically routes customers to readily available customer service reps to get answers to their questions quickly
- Ticket routing: Allows users to route tickets to available customer service reps for faster issue resolutions
- Team inbox: Lets multiple customer service reps access a centralized inbox and take on pending cases to help expedite case resolutions
HubSpot Service Hub and Insightly CRM integration: HubSpot Service Hub easily connects with Insightly and syncs customer information in both systems. (Source: HubSpot Service Hub)
HappyFox: Best CRM-integratable Customer Service Software With Robust Automation Tools
HappyFox
What We Like
- Provides anti-agent collision tools that prevent agents from working on the same case at the same time
- Offers automation functions that help expedite case resolutions
- Easy to set up and use
What's Missing
- No in-app caller feature
- CRM integrations are limited to 10 providers
- No free plan and no free trial
Pricing Summary*
- Mighty: $29 per user, per month
- Fantastic: $49 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $69 per user, per month
- Enterprise Plus: $89 per user, per month
Note: Requires a minimum of five users for all plans
*Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
HappyFox integrates with 10 popular CRM software, such as Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Insightly, SugarCRM, Pipedrive, Batchbook, and HubSpot CRM. Once integrated, it provides users with a centralized platform to handle all inbound customer queries. It also enables users to automate entire workflows to prevent tickets from being stuck in a stage. HappyFox also has an automation tool called Smart Rules that triggers actions if prescribed conditions are matched.
However, HappyFox doesn’t have a free plan, and it only integrates with 10 CRM apps. It also doesn’t have an in-app caller and requires integration with RingCentral. Users who want to try a customer service software for free can consider Freshdesk, while those who want extensive CRM integrations can consider Zendesk. Meanwhile, those who need an in-app caller can consider HubSpot Service Hub.
HappyFox Features
HappyFox provides users with automation features, helping them keep track of their customer service tickets. Below are features we find most beneficial for users:
- Ticket categorization: Allows users to classify inbound tickets into predefined categories, such as products, sales, and support
- Ticket queues: Lets users create custom ticket queues by adding one or more rules to filter tickets based on priority and responsibility
- Agent collision monitoring: Enables users to avoid agent collision by showing who else in the team is viewing or acting on a ticket to avoid agent overlaps
- Ticket auto-assignments: Lets users assign tickets to currently active agents, and use load balancing algorithms to balance their team’s ticket assignments and workload
HappyFox and Salesforce integration: HappyFox users can easily see their customers’ CRM records through its integration with Salesforce. (Source: HappyFox)
Help Scout: Best CRM-integratable Customer Service Software for Startups & Nonprofits
Help Scout
What We Like
- Provides an affordable pricing plan for startup companies and lifetime discount for nonprofits
- Simple to use and set up
What's Missing
- No in-app caller
- Only integrates with seven CRM apps
- No free plan
Pricing Summary*
- Startups Plan: $50 per month for 10 users; $5 per extra user, per month
- Standard: $20 per user, per month
- Plus: $35 per user, per month
- Company: $60 per user, per month
- Free trial for paid plans: 15 days
Note: Nonprofit organizations get a lifetime 10% discount
*Based on annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are also available at slightly higher rates.
Help Scout integrates with seven popular CRM apps, including Pipedrive, Capsule CRM, Salesforce, PipelineDeals, and HubSpot CRM. It offers users essential customer service tools like live chat, shared inboxes, and a knowledge base. Help Scout also generates analytics and reports, enabling users to view their overall customer service activities and performance. It has pricing plans built specifically for startup organizations and nonprofits.
However, Help Scout doesn’t have an in-app caller or a free plan. It also has very limited CRM integrations. Users who want an in-app phone can consider Freshdesk, while those who want a free plan can choose Zendesk instead. Users who want customer service software that integrates with many CRMs can consider HubSpot Service Hub.
Help Scout Features
Help Scout offers affordable customer service tools to startups and nonprofits. Below are features we find most beneficial for users:
- Shared inbox: Lets agents take on and answer any pending case or email with visibility to the email trail through shared mailboxes
- Knowledge base: Allows customers to do self-help support through available instructional articles and videos
- Live chat: Automatically routes customers to readily available reps to get answers to their questions in real time
- Reporting: Provides users with overall reports on all their ongoing and closed cases, including the number of active cases, amount of cases resolved in a particular period of time, and customer sentiment toward the quality of support provided
Help Scout and HubSpot CRM: Help Scout’s integration with HubSpot CRM lets users reply to customers from within their CRM account. (Source: Help Scout)
Insightly Service: Best Customer Service Software Built Within a CRM System
Insightly Service
What We Like
- Housed within Insightly CRM
- Offers customer satisfaction surveys to help users evaluate the quality of their customer support
What's Missing
- No free plan and no free trial
- No monthly plans available
Pricing Summary*
- Plus: $29 per user, per month
- Professional: $49 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $99 per user, per month
*Only annual billing available.
Insightly Service is a service and support application that’s made specifically for Insightly users. It provides users with a robust view of their customers, including communication and activity history. It provides customizable dashboard reports to track agent performance against key performance indicators (KPIs). The system also scans keywords in tickets to get actionable insights on the nature of recurring customer issues.
However, Insightly Service has no free plan. It also doesn’t offer a free trial or month-to-month billing plans. Users who need a free plan or free trial can consider Freshdesk, while those who want month-to-month plans can consider HappyFox or LiveChat.
Insightly Service Features
Insightly Service offers holistic customer views and a customizable dashboard to track agent performance. Below are features we find most beneficial for users:
- Customer satisfaction surveys: Lets users send surveys after resolving cases to get customer feedback
- Community forums: Allows businesses to create forum pages for their customers where they can post their questions and get insights from fellow users
- Knowledge base: Lets users publish instructional articles that cover general and specialized topics that their customers can refer to later
- Notifications and reminders: Sends users reminders for unresolved tickets, so no issue remains unresolved
Insightly Service and Insightly CRM integration: Insightly Service provides users with analytics tools that show an overall view of their team’s customer service activities. (Source: Insightly Service)
Salesforce Service Cloud: Best for Social Customer Service
Salesforce Service Cloud
What We Like
- Lets users respond to queries from social media platforms directly from the app
- Has extensive omnichannel communication tools, including email, social, and live chat
- Allows users to make calls directly from the software
What's Missing
- Does not offer a free plan; expensive to upgrade to higher-priced plans
- Monthly billing option is only available in the lowest-priced plan (the Essentials plan)
Pricing Summary*
- Essentials: $25 per user, per month**
- Professional: $75 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $150 per user, per month
- Unlimited: $300 per user, per month
- Free trial: 30 days
*Based on annual billing.
**Essentials plan is the only plan that offers monthly billing plans.
Salesforce Service Cloud can only be integrated with Salesforce products. It is a feature-rich customer service platform that lets users manage and route cases and tickets, customize customer service processes, access customer activity history, and extract customer service reports. It has excellent social customer service features that let users monitor, listen, and respond to customer posts on social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
However, upgrading to a higher-priced plan in Salesforce Service Cloud requires a steep investment in pricing. Users are also tied to annual plans for its higher-priced plans. In addition, support must be purchased separately for 30% of a user’s total subscription cost. Small businesses that want more affordable plans and monthly billing options across all plans can consider Zoho Desk, while those that want free access to customer support can consider Zendesk.
Salesforce Service Cloud Features
Salesforce Service Cloud offers users essential customer service tools, including managing customer queries from social media accounts. Below are features we find most beneficial for users:
- Social customer service: Lets users route social media cases to the right agent by using keywords, classifiers, and language detection to ensure timely responses
- AI (artificial intelligence) chatbots: Saves agents’ time by allowing chatbots to take action on customer queries like checking claims status or modifying orders using natural language on real-time channels like chat and messaging
- Phone integration: Allows users to make calls directly from the app and save call logs for future reference
- Intelligent routing: Lets managers distribute work based on agent skill set, availability, and capacity to handle incoming work based on their case pipeline
Salesforce Service Cloud and Salesforce Sales Cloud integration: Salesforce Service Cloud lets users easily communicate with their customers. (Source: Salesforce Service Cloud)
Visit Salesforce Service Cloud
How We Evaluated the Best CRM-integratable Customer Service Software
The best CRM and customer service software integrations allow users to scale the customer service capability of their CRM—giving them tools to communicate with customers using various channels. These include live chat, chatbots, email, and an in-app phone. While using their CS software, a customer or lead’s details from their CRM are easily displayed on their dashboard, letting them provide more personalized support.
- Pricing: Pricing is typically the most important factor for small business owners. We also considered the availability of a free version, range of pricing plans, and other relevant add-on fees.
- General feature: The purpose of any customer service software is to provide CRM users with easy solutions to deliver high-quality support to their customers. We looked at the options and evaluated which ones offer the essential features for users.
- Ease of use: User-friendliness and intuitiveness are two of our key considerations when choosing the best customer service software to be integrated with CRMs. We evaluated whether the software requires a high level of technical experience to get users up to speed with using the system.
- Help and support: Support is a critical part of any type of software, especially for teams with no in-house technical support. We analyzed the types of support offered by these providers through live chat, email, and phone, as well as determined the hours when support channels are available.
- Expert score: We looked through existing customer reviews on credible sites to measure the level of satisfaction current users have, as well as any problems that they typically encounter. We also added our thoughts and expert opinion on key features, value for money, and popularity.
