6 Best Email Marketing CRM Integrations for 2019

Customer relationship management (CRM) tools are used to manage sales pipelines. With email marketing CRM integration, information continuity between email and a CRM database is improved as teams learn what prospects find relevant. We considered dozens of CRMs and assembled this list of the six best CRMs with email integration, including the best overall.

Top CRMs With Email Integration 2019

How We Evaluated CRMs With Email Integration

CRMs that integrate with email offer added functionality like conversation tracking and marketing automation to core features. Not only can CRM email integration end the need to copy and paste messages into a CRM database, but it can also remove the burden of manually sending mass emails and, through tracking, provide insight into what prospects find relevant, making them particularly useful for inbound marketing-focused teams.

To determine the best email marketing CRM integrations, we used the following criteria:

• Price: We compared and contrasted the pricing and features of all plans from each featured CRM.
• Ease of use: We examined how easy it is to use and to set up each tool.
• Email Integration: We evaluated how well each CRM supports integration with the most common small business email platforms.
• Customization: Customization is essential to some teams, so we considered the degree to which each CRM can be tailored to mirror custom processes.
• Reporting tools: We compared each CRM’s capacity for reporting and analytics.
• Workflow automation: Finally, we considered each CRM’s ability to automate administrative tasks.
• Customer service: Resources are critical to the success of most product implementations, so we probed CRM user reviews to understand how well each CRM provides ongoing customer support.

We chose Zendesk Sell as the best overall CRM with email integration because it offers a low-cost, introductory plan that includes email integration. Zendesk Sell provides robust email functionality such as email tracking and email sentiment analysis as well as deal management, forecasting, email sentiment analysis, and flexible options for customer support, making it ideal for teams of any size that want to get the most out of a CRM email integration.

Zendesk Sell: Best Overall CRM With Email Integration

Zendesk Sell is a well-rounded CRM platform with competitive pricing ranging from $19 to $199 per user, per month. In addition to an introductory plan that includes a customizable sales pipeline, it also offers the best integrated email and marketing automation capabilities at the lowest price, making it affordable to send custom emails and to track engagements. That is why it is our best overall pick for the best small business-friendly CRM with email integration.

Zendesk Sell Pricing

Zendesk Sell offers four distinct plans. Its base plan accommodates up to three users for $19 per user, per month and, in addition to basic CRM features, offers email integration with tracking. Subsequent plans range from $49 to $199 per user, per month, and provide additional features like unlimited users, web-to-lead capture, and task automation.

Zendesk Sell Tiered Features

Team

The Team plan from Zendesk Sell is just $19 per month and enables up to three users to co-manage contacts, accounts, and leads. These three can also integrate the CRM with email, including Gmail and Office 365 accounts, allowing them to send potential leads personalized bulk emails designed from preloaded email templates as well as the ability to track email opens and clicks.

The package also includes click-to-dial functionality and a customizable deal pipeline, allowing the system to mimic custom business processes. It is because of this flexibility, its low price, and comprehensive email marketing functionality that we recommend the Team plan for freelancers and solopreneurs looking to utilize built-in email integration to fill their sales funnels.

Professional

The Professional plan is $49 per user, per month, from and adds sales goals and forecasting onto its base plan. Users can specify estimated close dates and win probability from each identified deal. They can also monitor team progress toward goals from within the CRM, helping to keep management and reps on the same page.

With unlimited custom fields, administrators can completely revamp the Zendesk Sell interface to mimic internal sales processes and terminology. This includes the ability to adjust the forecast percentage associated with each deal stage. Because of formalized forecasting at the user level, the Professional plan is perfect for teams who want a CRM capable of email integration and supporting improved forecasting and resource planning.

Enterprise

Building on two previous packages with the addition of email sentiment analysis and task automation is the Enterprise plan from Zendesk Sell. At a monthly price of $99 per user, unlimited users can be notified on a per-email basis of customer sentiments. Artificial intelligence studies the linguistic patterns in emails from individual prospects and will trigger alerts to signify that a deal is close to being lost.

The Enterprise plan also includes activity reports which can be extremely helpful to sales performance analysis and future goal-setting. The ability to drill into activity histories and to gain actionable email insights with A.I. make this plan the best overall plan for small businesses who want an email marketing CRM integration that can help fuel process improvement.

Email sentiment analysis

Elite

The Elite plan is the most comprehensive of the offerings from Zendesk Sell. For a per-user price of $199 per month, the package introduces advanced reporting, customizable deal stages and forecast categories, granular reporting, and email integration with tracking. This includes advanced sales insights and reports on deal source performance, deal loss reason, and conversion rates by deal stage.

Elite plan subscribers also gain access to premium customer support, increasing the likelihood of a successful implementation. This flexible service option, reporting capabilities, and higher-end price make the Elite package our pick for large businesses looking for a CRM tool with email integration, detailed reporting, and streamlined customer service.

What Zendesk Sell Is Missing

Zendesk Sell is a robust tool, indeed, but unlike competitors, it does not offer a free-forever plan. Teams wanting a free CRM with email integration should instead consider HubSpot for its built-in email tracking or Freshsales for its built-in caller and lead scoring.

What Users Think About Zendesk Sell

Despite some complaints about the lack of customization permitted with its introductory plans, users rate Zendesk Sell highly, agreeing that the layout is user-friendly and that customer service is superb. To read more about the user experience, visit our Zendesk Sell user reviews page.

Where to Find Zendesk Sell

Because of its built-in email integration and analysis, high degree of customization, and competitive price point, Zendesk Sell is flexible enough for businesses of any size to both gain control of sales activities and to leverage emails to generate demand. Learn more about Zendesk Sell or visit its website to sign up today.

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HubSpot CRM: Best Free CRM With Email Integration

HubSpot CRM is a free tool that teams of any size can use to monitor marketing and sales activities. Its free plan includes the ability to manage contacts and deals, support web-based calling, and handle support tickets. It also supports integration with Gmail and Outlook and the ability to track emails, making it our top choice of free platforms offering email marketing CRM integration.

HubSpot CRM Pricing

HubSpot CRM users can access tools like account, contact, deal, and task, and pipeline management for free. HubSpot CRM also offers email tracking with notifications, file sharing, meeting scheduling, basic reporting, and a mobile app. There are add-ons available for marketing and service, starting at $50 per month as well.

HubSpot CRM Features

HubSpot CRM provides contact and pipeline management from its web platform for an unlimited number of users completely free. The tool also includes email integration for Gmail and Outlook users, simplifying email-based activities such as campaigns.

Email Integration & Automation

HubSpot CRM includes email integration for free. Administrators can perform a one-time Gmail or Outlook service integration to permit even more advanced capabilities around email automation. Users can then use built-in tools to analyze email performance. Viewing the open rate, click rate, and deliverability results like unsubscriptions and bounces can help them devise more effective future marketing campaigns.

Contact & Lead Management

Contact management through HubSpot CRM makes it easy to add new contacts and to associate them with companies, deals, files, and support tickets. With HubSpot CRM email integration, these same contact records, and even deals, can be easily linked to email conversations. Not only does this eliminate the need to transfer these threads manually, but it also ensures that reps can pick up deals in progress and determine the next steps easily.

Pipeline Management & Forecasting

HubSpot CRM makes it possible for users to create, update, and track deals in progress. Integration with email allows agents to use recent conversation threads to drive forecasting updates. HubSpot CRM also helps companies create deals and manage the sales pipeline using default deal stages that can be customized to match sales processes. We recommend HubSpot CRM for small businesses wanting a free tool that allows some customization.

HubSpot CRM deal management

What HubSpot CRM Is Missing

HubSpot CRM stands out because it is essentially a free-forever CRM plan for unlimited users. However, HubSpot CRM does not offer lead scoring, deal registration, Web API [application programming interface], and other features offered with paid plans from Zendesk Sell and Salesforce.

What Users Think About HubSpot CRM

Our readers rate HubSpot CRM favorably, sharing that it is easy to use. They also appreciate the functionality, especially given that it is free. However, some lament that automation requires a pricey add-on. Visit our HubSpot user reviews page.

Where to Find HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is an incredibly comprehensive, free CRM tool that offers email integration and email tracking features that are ideal for businesses who want to grow their sales funnels and improve marketing efforts. Visit HubSpot’s website to get started for free today or to learn more.

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Pipedrive: Best Visual CRM With Email Integration

Pipedrive CRM allows users to forward emails from native clients to the web-based interface with its entry-level plan, starting at $12.50 per person, or sync automatically with upgraded packages. It also includes Kanban-style views of sales pipelines and reports, which enable salespeople to make quick decisions about what next steps are needed. This makes Pipedrive our top choice for teams who want a highly visual CRM with email integration.

Pipedrive Pricing

Pipedrive offers four software packages ranging in price from $12.50 to $99 per user, per month, making it one of the most competitively priced featured CRMs. Its entry-level plan offers standard CRM features like deal management, but only its upgraded plans offer two-way email sync, email tracking, and workflow automation.

Pipedrive Tiered Features

Essential

Pipedrive’s Essential plan is $12.50 per user, per month, and offers manual email integration with a smart blind carbon copy (BCC) tool. Essential plan subscribers can simply bcc a custom Pipedrive email address to link email conversations with CRM contacts and deals.

The Essential package also allows administrators to customize information fields, deal stages, and pipelines. In addition to built-in Kanban-style pipeline views that break up your custom sales process into stages represented by individual placards, these customizations enable an even more user-centric experience, making it our choice for teams who want a CRM that makes unique visualization a central tenant of its platform.

Advanced

Pipedrive’s Advanced package is $24.90 per user, per month, and introduces two-way email sync, eliminating the need for the manual BCC action. Conversations are linked with CRM records automatically, reducing the burden on reps to copy and paste or forward entire threads, as well as the likelihood of important information falling through the cracks.

With the addition of 30 workflow rules, the Advanced plan makes it possible for administrators to automate trigger events and action events. Triggers stem from “if” statements while actions stem from “then” statements. Because of these straightforward tools alleviating administrative duties, we like this plan for teams who want a uniquely visual CRM experience that also gives admins the ability to automate workflows.

Pipedrive workflow automation

Professional

The Professional package from Pipedrive is $49.90 per user, per month. The plan offers team management, team goals, and cumulative forecasting, enabling users to monitor individual and team performance as well as team pipeline health.

Unlike the plans from Salesforce, this plan includes security dashboards, but also unlike the Salesforce plan, it does not offer a way to configure contracts, quotes, and orders. For these reasons, we like the Professional plan for security-conscious businesses who want email integration and goal tracking for multiple teams but do not need product and order management.

Enterprise

The Enterprise plan from Pipedrive is its most feature-inclusive at a monthly price of $99 per user. Plan subscribers gain access to 24-hour telephone support, offering teams around the clock, flexible support of their very own.

The plan also adds to its automation package. Because of an increase in the number of workflows from 60 to a total of 100, we think this package is good for teams who don’t want to pay extra with Salesforce or Zendesk Sell are OK with a workflow limitation of 100.

What Pipedrive Is Missing

Pipedrive’s introductory plan is just $12.50 per user, per month, but does not include two-way email sync as does its Advanced plan for $24.90 per user, per month. Users who want two-way email sync at an even lower price should consider the Essentials plan from Salesforce.

What Users Think About Pipedrive

Our readers think that Pipedrive is especially useful for tracking deal progress and for keeping sales teams organized. Some, however, assert that its marketing automation capabilities can be expanded. Visit our Pipedrive user reviews page to learn more about the Pipedrive user experience.

Where to Find Pipedrive

Pipedrive is extremely beneficial to teams who want individual sales representatives to have information that is easily decipherable at their fingertips and the ability to leverage email integration for sending personalized emails and tracking engagements. Visit its website to learn more or to start a free trial today.

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Salesforce: Best Advanced CRM With Email Integration

Salesforce is a cloud-hosted CRM that offers comprehensive account, case, contact, lead, and pipeline management as well as advanced plans that offer forecasting, lead scoring, opportunity registration, and workflow automation. With pricing from just $25 and a host of features geared toward complex CRM usership, we think that Salesforce is perfect for small businesses wanting affordable, two-way email integration and advanced CRM features.

Salesforce Pricing

Salesforce’s entry-level plan is just $25 per month, per user, and accommodates up to 25 users. Additional plans with more features are available and range from $75 to $150 per user, per month.

Salesforce Tiered Features

Essentials

For just $25 per user, per month, the Essentials plan from Salesforce includes two-way integration for Gmail and Outlook users, allowing them to link emails, including attachments, to Salesforce records. Users can do this manually with a BCC to Salesforce or allow the system to do it automatically.

The plan includes CRM core functionality, like account, contact, lead, opportunity, and task management, equipping users with a range of relevant information fields that feed reporting. Administrators can run and export custom reports that aid process analysis and improvement. For this reason, we recommend the Essentials plan for teams with 25 or fewer users who want email integration and the ability to scale into enterprise features with time.

Salesforce opportunity management

Professional

Salesforce’s Professional plan has a monthly per-user cost of $75. It offers more distinguishing and meaningful features, such as collaborative forecasting, opportunity registration, roles and permissions, and territory management, than many of the featured plans. For example, opportunity registration honors channel partner involvement and makes this plan the lone featured plan to address small businesses with reseller programs.

Lead scoring helps reps prioritize the most valuable leads, and with price books and quotes, they can create and offer pricing to prospects quickly. Reps remain aware of team performance with views of the team pipeline and forecasted deals, and they can even accept purchase orders. Because it outfits reps with so many tools, we like the Professional plan for teams who need email integration, as well as tools for partner and customer management.

Enterprise

At a monthly price of $150 per user, the Enterprise plan introduces web services API and, finally, workflow automation. It’s important to note that Zendesk Sell, Freshsales, and Pipedrive each offer workflow rules for less so that we only recommend this Salesforce plan for larger teams whose processes necessitate unlimited automation.

For $300 per user, per month, Salesforce subscribers gain the best of the platform with dedicated support and configuration services. This Unlimited option is best for larger teams who conduct business 24-hours a day and need a CRM with technical support access around the clock as well.

What Salesforce Is Missing

Salesforce offers a good, introductory option for teams who just want essential CRM functionality, but the plan is limited to 25 users. As teams grow, they could be forced into another, more costly plan. Teams that want an affordable CRM that offers email integration for an unlimited number of users with its entry-level offering might prefer HubSpot, Freshsales, or Pipedrive.

What Users Think About Salesforce

Salesforce users say the platform is too expensive for teams with more than 25 users and that implementation is challenging. Overall, however, they rate the system highly for its dynamic dashboards and reporting capabilities. Read more on our Salesforce user reviews page.

Where to Find Salesforce

Salesforce is available to teams who want a cloud-hosted solution for managing contacts, leads, and opportunities and is especially ideal for small businesses who want the option to grow into more advanced features. Learn more about Salesforce or start a free trial today.

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Really Simple Systems: Best Case Management CRM With Email Integration

Web-based CRM tool Really Simple Systems can be used to manage activities at every stage of the customer journey. Its free-forever plan offers contact and pipeline management. However, paid plans, ranging from $14 to $46 per user, per month, include email integration, marketing automation, case management, and advanced reporting. We like it, because of these additional features, for teams who want a marketing and service CRM that also offers email integration.

Really Simple Systems Pricing

In addition to a free-forever option, Really Simple Systems offers an entry-level paid plan for $14 per user, per month, including pipeline management and other core CRM features. Additional plans offer more advanced features and range from $30 to $46 per user, per month.

Really Simple Systems Tiered Features

Starter

Building on the contact and pipeline management, forecasting features included with the free plan, the Starter package is $14 per user, per month, and adds email integration. With this integration, Gmail and Outlook users can link emails with CRM contacts automatically, though there is no BCC feature as with Salesforce. The integration also includes email scheduling that enables users to schedule emails like customer follow-ups to be sent later.

The Starter plan also tracks email responses. Users can view clickthrough rates, unsubscriptions, and bounces, and use the data to influence future campaigns. It’s also less expensive than the entry-level option from Salesforce. That’s why we recommend the Starter plan for teams who want an affordable email marketing CRM integration but do not need case management.

Professional

The Professional offering from Really Simple Systems introduces capabilities around case management at a per-user price of $30 per month. Cases are ranked by level of priority and feed custom service dashboards from which users can track individual and team progress.

The Professional plan also includes email integration specifically with customer service cases, offering a more reliable way of tracking conversations with customers, both for performance evaluation and training purposes. Finally, because this package also includes telephone support from the team at Really Simple Systems, we think this plan is best for businesses who want a marketing, sales, and service management CRM but do not need true workflow rules.

Really Simple Systems cases

Enterprise

Really Simple Systems offers its Enterprise plan for a per-user price of $46 per month. In addition to unlimited document storage, teams gain the capacity for single sign-on (SSO), allowing them to use company credentials to log into the system, and the ability to schedule reports like activity metrics and email engagements.

Also included are a dedicated account manager and team training on the CRM platform itself. We like the Enterprise plan for larger teams who do not need workflow automation but want a plan that offers email integration, case management, and hands-on help getting started at a price that’s more affordable than competitors like Salesforce.

What Really Simple Systems Is Missing

Really Simple Systems touts automated task creation from new leads but is missing true workflow rules. It also lacks mobile apps. However, the company says that they are in development. Teams who need task automation and mobile functionality that has been tried and tested should try any of the other featured CRMs.

What Users Think About Really Simple Systems

Despite the lack of mobile apps and limited features around case assignment, our readers consistently share that Really Simple Systems is easy to use. For more on what they have to say, take a look at our Really Simple Systems user reviews page.

Where to Find Really Simple Systems

Really Simple Systems provides a great way for small business sales teams to manage entire customer journeys due to built-in email integration with email scheduling, and pipeline and case management. Sign up for a free account today or visit its website to learn more.

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Freshsales: Best Built-in Phone CRM With Email Integration

Freshsales is a cloud-hosted CRM that offers email integration with a wide feature-set, including workflow automation and pipeline management. Freshsales is part of the Freshworks ecosystem giving users comprehensive functionality, including web-based calling. With a free plan and competitive paid plans starting at $12 per user, per month, Freshsales is our number one choice for voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP)-enabled CRM with email integration.

Freshsales Pricing

Freshsales is available as one of four paid plans that build on the features included with its free-forever option, the Sprout plan, such as contact and pipeline management. These paid plans range from $12 to $79 per user, per month, and include a range of features such as audit logs and website visitor tracking.

Freshsales Tiered Features

Blossom

The Blossom plan from Freshsales is just $12 per user, per month, and includes the ability to connect email accounts through Gmail, Microsoft Office 365, and Zoho Mail. This integration enables inbound emails to be associated automatically with the appropriate contact and lead records, making it more efficient to track conversations as well as bulk email metrics, offering insight into the most and least successful campaigns.

The Blossom plan features a web-based caller and, in addition to automatic call-logging, permits users to add conversation notes immediately following the call. It’s the most affordable plan featured and the most affordable featured plan to provide web-based calling and access to telephone customer support. We like it for small businesses who want calling and email integration without sacrificing phone support.

Freshsales caller

Garden

The Garden plan from Freshsales builds on the preceding plans by incorporating advanced customization for $25 per user, per month. This gives administrators the option to create an environment in which users can work with the information fields and processes familiar to them.

It has sales forecasting, reports, territory and lead assignment, and the ability to schedule reports too. Because it can provide teams with meaningful data like sales forecasts at regular intervals and inform new initiatives, we think this plan is right for teams who want a CRM plan that offers email integration, and that can help them manage goals.

Estate

The Estate plan from Freshsales is $49 per user, per month, and introduces auto profile enrichment. Existing contact and lead records are automatically compared with public Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter profiles and then updated, keeping the CRM database current.

Web-to-lead capture and visitor tracking are also offered at this level. Teams can leverage the CRM itself to generate new leads, making the Estate plan ideal for businesses that want email integration and the ability to convert website traffic into leads.

Forest

At a per-user price of $79 per user, per month, the Forest plan from Freshsales offers increased workflows and bulk emails, lessening the restrictions of the former plans. Teams with a large number of CRM users can send bulk emails and view advanced reporting that helps them discern the success of various campaigns.

Forest plan administrators can access audits to see a history of system changes, assuaging concerns around quality and user control. Admins also gain access to a dedicated account manager and, in the event of a problem, can engage assistance quickly. The plan is our pick for businesses who want CRM email integration, built-in calling, and dedicated support.

What Freshsales Is Missing

Freshsales does not include the option to manage price books, products, nor quotations. Teams who need these features, in addition to email integration, should look at the Professional plan from Salesforce or the Professional plan from Really Simple Systems.

What Users Think About Freshsales

Users think Freshsales is affordable and appreciate the built-in phone capabilities. Some, however, wish the system supported integration with social media accounts and the ability to create landing pages. For more on what users think, visit our Freshsales user reviews page.

Where to Find Freshsales

Freshsales is a good option for teams who want phone support, email integration, and web-based calling, all-in-one CRM platform. Visit its website to learn more or to sign up for a free Freshsales account today.

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Bottom Line: CRM Email Integration

CRM email integration can have multiple beneficial impacts on small businesses. Teams can transfer information from email to CRM seamlessly and improve information continuity, schedule emails, send mass emails, and track email engagements, response, and click tracking. This helps them improve workflows and develop insights that can drive future email campaign effectiveness.

Zendesk Sell is a cloud-hosted CRM that offers email integration for Gmail and Outlook users as well as task automation and an affordable range of plans starting at just $19 per user, per month. To learn more or to get started with email marketing from Zendesk Sell, visit its website today.

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