Salesforce is the most popular customer relationship management (CRM) software, but it can be expensive for small businesses as it’s designed to be an enterprise solution. We compared dozens of alternatives for contact and deal management, customization, technical support, and overall affordability to determine the six best Salesforce alternatives for small businesses, including the best overall.
Top 6 Salesforce Alternatives & Competitors 2020
Salesforce Alternatives For Small Businesses | Best For |
|---|---|
(Best overall) Businesses that want a flexible, feature-rich alternative to Salesforce | |
Businesses seeking a free Salesforce alternative for lead generation | |
Sales teams that want a Salesforce alternative with an intuitive, visual pipeline | |
Businesses that want a Salesforce alternative with project management features | |
Organizations that want a Salesforce alternative with built-in social media contact management | |
Professionals who want an alternative to Salesforce offering a la carte features |
In addition to these alternatives, small businesses should also consider Salesforce Essentials designed specifically for teams of up to 10 users. It includes many of the features of the classic version of Salesforce, but at a price that is accessible for small businesses. Users can manage leads, contacts, and deals, create workflows, and manage their sales pipeline for $25 per user, per month for up to 10 users.
How We Evaluated These Salesforce Alternatives
The Enterprise Salesforce product is a full-featured CRM with plenty of integrations, but it can be uneconomical for many small business owners due to its higher cost and complex feature set. As a result, it can be difficult to implement and includes features that are often beyond a small business sales team’s needs. Therefore, small business teams may see a greater benefit by implementing another CRM software with more intuitive functionality at a lower price.
The criteria we used to evaluate the best Salesforce alternatives include:
- Price
- Lead and customer management
- Deal and opportunity management
- Workflow automation
- Reporting tools
- System integrations
- Customization
- Customer support and satisfaction
- Accessible to small businesses
Based on these criteria, we have determined that Freshsales is the best Salesforce alternative for small businesses. Freshsales was given this distinction as it offers the most direct one-to-one comparable features while being more accessible for small businesses, along with additional customization capability at a more affordable price point.
Freshsales: Best Overall Salesforce Alternative for Small Businesses
Freshsales is a robust CRM with contact management as well as flexible lead and opportunity tracking that can be customized to your needs. Because it is easier to use and offered at a lower price point than Salesforce with many of the same robust features, we recommend it as the best overall alternative. We also recommend Freshsales for those seeking a highly customizable and competitively priced CRM for small businesses.
Freshsales Strengths | Freshsales Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Less expensive than Salesforce and offers a free-forever plan | Does not include the ability to issue quotes, manage orders, or send invoices directly |
Highly customizable | Does not include pricing books |
Excellent customer support | Can be slow to load |
Freshsales Pricing
- Free Sprout plan: Provides unlimited users with basic contact management features
- Blossom plan: $12 per user, per month, billed annually
- Garden plan: $25 per user, per month, billed annually
- Estate plan: $49 per user, per month, billed annually
There is a 21-day free trial for all paid plans.
Freshsales Features
- Contact and task management, lead scoring, web-to-lead capture, and sales pipeline tracking available in all plans, which you cannot get for free in Salesforce.
- Phone dialer and opportunity management included in the least expensive plan, which is less expensive than the cheapest Salesforce plan.
- Email tracking, custom opportunity fields, and configurable reports included in the plan, which is similarly priced to Salesforce’s least expensive plan.
Freshsales contact record view
Overall, Freshsales is much more affordable for small businesses than Salesforce and very easy to use, even for non-technical people. You can learn more about how it can help your business and read in-depth reviews on our Freshsales reviews page.
HubSpot CRM: Best Free Salesforce Alternative for Lead Generation
HubSpot CRM is a free contact management application with functionality like smartform lead capture, a chat widget, and customer support ticketing as well as email tracking and deal management. It can also be integrated with the Sales and Marketing Hubs for additional automation features. Overall, HubSpot is a powerful CRM for those looking for a free Salesforce alternative that includes the most important lead generation features small businesses need.
HubSpot Strengths | HubSpot Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Offers a comprehensive free-forever plan | No workflow automation on the free plan |
Offers an extensive library of sales and marketing educational tools | Does not offer marketing automation on the free plan |
Simple-to-use interface anyone can set up quickly and easily | Limited customer support on the free plan |
HubSpot Pricing
- Free version includes many common CRM features, such as contact management, deal management, and email marketing for up to 1 million records.
- Offers add-on functionality through the Sales Hub and Marketing Hub, available at an additional cost ranging from $50 to $800 per month, depending on the specific features added.
HubSpot Features
HubSpot CRM includes a broad range of features for a free CRM. The top features the software offers include:
- Lead capture with embedded website forms
- Contact management
- Insights that include a contact’s recent activity on your website
- Email templates and email tracking
- A live chat widget on your website to capture leads
- Tracking codes on your website to both track visitor activity
- Auto-enrichment of contacts based on the information it pulls from social profiles
- Lead scoring based on both profile information and website activity
Customer profile interface using HubSpot CRM
Overall, HubSpot provides a robust feature set for a free-forever plan, making it a great choice for small businesses that want an easy-to-use CRM without the cost and time it takes to set up Salesforce. You can read more on our HubSpot CRM reviews page.
Pipedrive: Best Salesforce Alternative for Pipeline Management
Pipedrive is a competitively priced CRM designed to simplify the sales process. Pipedrive’s visual pipeline management gives you the ability to see what’s in your sales pipeline at a glance and lets you drag and drop prospects and clients from stage to stage. This makes it easier to track, understand, and manage your deals, making it best for individuals or organizations looking to manage contacts through a visual, customizable sales funnel.
Pipedrive Strengths | Pipedrive Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Simple drag-and-drop interface | No lead assignment and lead-based routing functionality like Salesforce offers |
Offers an extensive library of sales and marketing educational tools | Does not offer marketing automation on the free plan |
Offers 24/7 chat and email support for all plans | No mass email marketing capability |
Pipedrive Pricing
- Essential plan: $12.50 per user, per month, billed annually
- Advanced plan: $24.90 per user, per month, billed annually
- Professional plan: $49.90 per user, per month, billed annually
There is a 14-day free trial for all plans.
Pipedrive Features
- Unlimited storage in all plans is included.
- Contact management, web-to-lead capture, activity feed, customized sales processes, and configurable dashboards and reports included in a plan half the price of Salesforce’s least expensive plan.
- Email tracking included in a plan comparable to Salesforce’s least expensive plan.
Pipedrive’s easy-to-use visual interface
Overall, Pipedrive is an affordable, easy to set up CRM for small businesses compared to the time it takes to customize and price Salesforce. You can read more about what other users are saying on our Pipedrive reviews page.
Insightly: Best Salesforce Alternative for Project Management
Insightly is a robust, competitively priced CRM for small businesses that includes project management functionality, which is something that Salesforce lacks without third-party integrations. This enables you to manage your prospects, deals, project milestones, and vendor contacts. It’s a great option for businesses looking for a Salesforce alternative with contact and project management capabilities, such as interior designers, travel agents, and publishers.
Insightly Strengths | Insightly Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Great project management features | Free plan only includes up to two users |
Ability to add contacts to the database directly from a native email client | Does not offer pricing books, unlike Salesforce |
Paid plans offer guidance, phone support, and training | No ability to manage quotes or orders, unlike Salesforce |
Insightly Pricing
- Free plan: For up to two users
- Plus plan: $29 per user, per month, billed annually
- Professional plan: $49 per user, per month, billed annually
There is a 14-day free trial for all paid plans.
Insightly Features
- Contact and task management, activity feed, sales pipeline tracking, and project management are included in the Free plan.
- Email tracking, bulk email campaigns, lead assignment routing, customized sales processes, web-to-lead captured, and custom CRM fields are included in a plan comparable to Salesforce’s least expensive option.
- Role-based permissions and configurable dashboards are included in the most expensive plan, which is only available in a higher-priced plan of Salesforce that requires annual billing.
Insightly’s sales management process
While Salesforce’s entry-level Essentials plan is comparable to Insightly’s Plus plan, the Professional plan is less expensive compared to Salesforce’s Lightning Professional. If you will only have one to two users, Insightly offers a completely free option. You can read more about Insightly on our Insightly reviews page.
Zoho CRM: Best Salesforce Alternative for Social Media Management
Zoho CRM has many of the same features as Salesforce but with a free plan and paid plans that come at a fraction of the cost of Salesforce. Furthermore, it allows you to incorporate social media into your relationship management with additional sales channels for Facebook and Twitter, which you won’t find in Salesforce’s sales CRM. This makes it ideal for sales teams that prospect on social media sites.
Zoho Strengths | Zoho Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Includes social media relationship management | Free plan only includes three users |
Professional plan includes pricing books and order management for less than Salesforce | Does not offer customer support ticketing like Salesforce does |
Data is easy to import from existing CRMs so customers can make a seamless switch | Bug fixes and new features are slow to roll out |
Zoho CRM Pricing
- Free plan: for up to three users
- Standard plan: $18 per user, per month, billed monthly
- Professional plan: $30, per user, per month, billed monthly
There is a 20% discount for annual billing and a 15-day free trial.
Zoho CRM Features
- Contact, lead, and opportunity management, email tracking, phone dialer, and logging, social integration, task management, and web-to-lead capture are available in the Free plan.
- Custom fields, configurable dashboards and reports, and mass emailing are included in the plan that costs less than Salesforce’s least expensive plan.
- Lead assignment routing, product price books, order management, and territory management are included for a price similar to the least expensive plan of Salesforce.
Zoho CRM deal management
Unlike Salesforce, the Standard plan integrates with Twitter and Facebook. It also allows you to send bulk emails, track website visitor interactions, and provide sales forecasting and email insight for a much lower cost than Salesforce. For more user reviews, visit our Zoho reviews page.
Really Simple Systems: Best Salesforce Alternative With a la Carte Pricing
Really Simple Systems has three tiers as well as optional email marketing and service desk upgrades. With Salesforce, many of these upgrades, like bulk email campaigns, are included in their tiered pricing. This makes Really Simple Systems ideal for price-conscious businesses that only want to pay for the things they intend to use regularly.
Really Simple Systems Strengths | Really Simple Systems Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Allows organizations to purchase marketing upgrades separately, unlike Salesforce | Free plan only includes two users |
Easy to navigate and robust instructional videos | Lacks collaboration and team management tools |
Zapier, Google Contacts, and Outlook 365 integrations available on all plans | No phone dialer or call logging on any plans |
Really Simple Systems Pricing
- Free plan: Up to two users
- Starter plan: $18 per user, per month, billed monthly
- Professional plan: $38 per user, per month, billed monthly
- Marketing add-ons: $26 to $55 per month, billed monthly
- Service desk add-on: $55 per month, billed monthly
There is a discount available for annual billing, and they offer a 14-day free trial.
Really Simple Systems Features
- Free plan includes contact and opportunity management, activity and sales pipeline tracking, customized sales processes, opportunity probability, product and price books, custom fields, and configurable dashboards and reports.
- Two-way email sync, quote management, and role-based permissions are available at a slightly different higher cost than the least expensive plan of Salesforce.
- It includes the ability to purchase optional email marketing and service desk features separately, unlike Salesforce.
Really Simple Systems sales opportunity and forecast summary
Really Simple Systems is a great CRM for startups due to the low cost and how easy it is to use and navigate compared to Salesforce. Visit our Really Simple Systems reviews page to learn more about what other users are saying.
Bottom Line
Salesforce is the gold standard of sales CRMs for large enterprises and is likely to continue being so for years to come. While it has recently begun offering products suited to small businesses like Salesforce Essentials, the number of Salesforce competitors specifically designed for small businesses is on the rise, and they are often more accessible and priced better for small business needs.
We recommend Freshsales as the best all-around Salesforce alternative because it makes it easy for sales reps to win more deals. It also provides all the sales analytics you need to drive improvements to sales performance, and it’s a great value for the money. Freshsales offers a free-forever plan as well as a free trial of its paid plans. Visit Freshsales to get started today.
Helen Armour
Thanks for the review of Really Simple Systems. However, you have omitted any details of our Enterprise plan which includes the features most comparable to Salesforce. This plan includes more advanced features for workforce collaboration and other advanced features. The Enterprise plan costs $46 per user per month.
Allison Potts
Hi Helen,
I am glad you found my review. This article is intended for small business teams who do not need an enterprise-level solution which is why I did not include that level of plan, offered by any provider, in my comparison. Thank you though for pointing out that Really Simple Systems does offer a plan for teams needing enterprise features as well as the information about its costs.
Patryk
Some great info & insights.
I found Livespace CRM (www.livespace.io) to be the best for our company’s needs. It’s like Pipedrive but with more automation and better insights / analytics. And more available space.
Marcin Stańczak
Thanks for your kind words Patryk! 🙂
These are 6 great tools, but I’m sure that Livspace is an interesting competitor. Especially if you need to manage a B2B sales process – then you should definitely test Livespace!
Allison Potts
Thanks, Marcin,
While Livespace.io did not make our list due to the base plan’s price and limited features, it is a product we will continue to keep in mind for future updates.
Nate White
Bitrix24 is great recommendation. I didn’t know that there are free full featured CRM that really do have almost all features that Salesforce. Keep up the great work.
Jeremy Marsan
Hi Nate,
Thanks for reading and dropping in! Bitrix24 is a surprisingly feature-packed system, considering there is no cost. However, I will warn that some CRM functions acted somewhat buggy last time I tested them.
Dane
I am really impressed by Bitrix24 and don’t understand why you did not put it as #1 option. Are you being compensated for sending traffic to Insightly?
Jeremy Marsan
Hi Dane,
I was also very impressed by the social & collaboration tools on Bitrix24, but was not impressed by their CRM. For one, it’s very basic (no workflow automation, mass emails, Facebook/Twitter integration). It’s also somewhat buggy – For example, like most CRMs, you can link an individual to a company and vice versa. But with Bitrix, linking one won’t automatically link the other – you have to go to the company page and link the individual contacts manually. It also runs slower compared to other CRMs and takes a bit more scrolling to navigate through menus.
To answer your second question, we do form a relationship with some our top picks after we write a review, and Insightly is one example. This has no affect on the content of our reviews, however, since we also enter research as a neutral 3rd party. You can read more about this process on our how we make money page, which is linked to at the bottom of every page.
Hope this clears it up!
Best,
Jeremy
Aaron Flynn
Some great info! I’ve used a few of them in the past (mostly Zoho), but some I had never heard of and I was intrigued. After some testing, none of them quite fit my needs though. Over the last few months, I’ve been using a new system that’s not on this list, called SuiteDash (https://suitedash.com) that I’ve been really satisfied with. It has CRM, project management, invoicing, and a ton of other useful features. Everything is really intuitive, and their support team has been incredibly helpful and responsive, sometimes even adding new features just for us! We’ve switched all of our business management over to SuiteDash now, and there’s no signs of us going back.
Check them out at https://suitedash.com if you’re in the market for a reasonably priced and easy-to-use alternative to Salesforce.
Jason Rueger
Aaron,
Thanks for the heads up and the comment. We will check out suitedash next time we update the guide.
Jason