Integrating Slack with a CRM makes professional discussions more meaningful and effective by giving teams the ability to access customer data or schedule calls and tasks without having to switch between tools. The best Slack CRMs will offer other benefits like an intuitive user experience or additional reporting features for a competitive price. We evaluated a variety of different CRMs that work with Slack to determine the five best integrations.
- Zoho CRM: (Best overall) Organizations that want to take advantage of a wide range of features like rules-based Slack notifications
- Pipedrive: Great for collaborative teams that are scaling quickly and want to take advantage of automated insights
- HubSpot CRM: Excellent choice for Slack users who also want payment processing built into their customer relationship manager (CRM)
- Salesmate: Great option for companies that utilize high-volume, outbound sales activities as well as Slack communication and want a lot of sales automation features
- Salesforce: Solid choice for Slack-friendly organizations looking for customizable sales pipelines
How We Evaluated the Best Slack CRM Integrations
Slack integrations are powered by its application programming interface (API), which is code that lets two pieces of software talk to each other. The level of integration then depends on how the CRM’s developers choose to use that API. However, a CRM’s other features can still offer great benefits even if the integration isn’t the most robust. So to determine the best value, we considered pricing and other factors in addition to how well a CRM works with Slack.
Based on our evaluation, Zoho CRM is the best overall Slack CRM due to its pricing, features, and ease of use. It also supports multiple communication channels, which makes it a great option for businesses that want to manage conversations and capture leads across multiple sales channels.
Our evaluation was done in a measurable way; click through the tabs below to learn more about our evaluation criteria:
40% of Overall Score
Total costs, along with a variety of pricing options, is arguably the most important criteria for any small business decision. Therefore, it was the most heavily weighted when reviewing all of the CRMs that can integrate with Slack. This criteria took into account free options, different subscription levels, and the availability of billing plans.
20% of Overall Score
The purpose of any CRM software is to provide functional abilities associated with sales and account management activities (among other things). Specifically, we looked at features we consider a “must” in a solid CRM, including reporting and analytics functions, customizable pipelines, integrations, and mobile capabilities.
15% of Overall Score
The functionality of any application is only as useful as it is usable. Therefore, ease of use of the various CRMs is the next high weight of criteria. This is analyzed in terms of the skill required to set the system up, the skill required to operate the platform, and the intuitiveness of the user interface.
15% of Overall Score
High levels of support and service can counteract issues that a user might have with the total usability. So help and support will hold the same weight as the ease of use criteria, and be evaluated in terms of customer service hours, phone support, live chat support, and email support.
10% of Overall Score
In order to gather additional sources of input, this criteria is used to present what other experts are saying about each CRM. The elements associated with it are similar to the other ones we evaluated, including features, overall value for money spent, popularity, and ease of use.
Zoho: Best Overall CRM That Integrates With Slack
Zoho
What We Like
- Multichannel (omnichannel) communication capabilities
- Tons of integration options
- “Sales Enablement” system for inventory and invoicing management
What's Missing
- 24/7 telephone support
- Limited DocuSign integration (Admin only)
- Pricing consistency (increases every year)
Zoho CRM Pricing at a Glance
- Free: Up to three users (minimal features)
- Standard: $20/user/month, billed monthly or $14/user/month, billed annually
- Professional: $35/user/month, billed monthly or $23/user/month, billed annually
- Enterprise: $50/user/month, billed monthly or $40/user/month, billed annually
- Ultimate: $65/user/month, billed monthly or $52/user/month, billed annually
- Zoho CRM Plus: $57/user/month, billed annually
Overall, Zoho CRM is very strong in its CRM market position with all that it has to offer, and through the Slack integration, teams can effectively communicate using the tool they are most comfortable with throughout each of the different sales stages. It also supports multiple pipelines, making it even more versatile for collaborative teams.
Additionally, the automation rules of Zoho CRM work within the Slack application when it’s integrated. This range of capabilities and price options, which includes a free plan, makes it appealing to a range of businesses in size and scope.
Zoho CRM Features
Zoho CRM inventory features: sales order sample (Source: Zoho CRM)
- Elaborate inventory management system
- Marketing integration with Google Ads
- Team communication features designed specifically for remote working
- Data security features, including role assignment and accessibility control
- Automated performance management functions for sales forecasting using artificial intelligence (AI)
Pipedrive: Best Slack CRM for Organizations Quickly Scaling
Pipedrive
What We Like
- Solid sales automation features
- Great use of AI to optimize sales process
- Automatic generation of lead information
What's Missing
- Free plan
- Minimal customer support by phone
- Project management capabilities
Pipedrive Pricing at a Glance
- Essential: $12.50/user/month, billed annually or $18/user/month, billed monthly
- Advanced: $24.90/user/month, billed annually or $33/user/month, billed monthly
- Professional: $49.90/user/month, billed annually or $59/user/month, billed monthly
- Enterprise: $99/user/month
- Free trial: 14 days full access
The notable features Pipedrive offers include their prioritization of automation, use of AI, and focus on the sales process. These attributes, in combination with Slack’s Workflow Builder (automation) feature, is the reason that organizations going through a high sales growth phase would benefit best from this CRM.
Also, Slack’s ability to handle large-scale file collaboration pairs well with some of the sales growth functions Pipedrive offers, creating better scaling capabilities for the business without costing too much time or money. This can be specifically seen in the Dealbot for Slack feature by Pipedrive, which automatically sends real-time information regarding closed deals to the team in order to synchronize in a timely manner.
Pipedrive Features
Pipedrive workflow automation templates page (Source: Pipedrive)
- Workflow automation features
- AI Sales Assistant capabilities to determine next tasks
- Smart Contact feature to automatically pull lead data from internet and social media platforms
- Automation of email communication to keep leads warm while optimizing sales reps’ time
- Customizable insights and reports dashboards
HubSpot CRM: Best for Centralized Communication & Payment Processing
HubSpot CRM
What We Like
- Free option if you just need a few basic features
- 24/7 customer support on all channels
- High document storage amounts
What's Missing
- Only includes Sales CRM (Sales Hub); must pay extra for other common CRM features
- Relatively expensive for Starter and Professional Plans
- Certain account management features only available for Professional and Enterprise plans
HubSpot CRM Pricing at a Glance
- Free: Limited features
- HubSpot for Startups: Starts at $40 to $89 per month depending on type
- Starter: $50/month, billed monthly or $45/month, billed annually
- Professional: $500/month, billed monthly or $450/month, billed annually
- Enterprise: Starts at $1,200/month
HubSpot CRM is best for teams that use Slack and that utilize electronic payments as part of the operation. All of Slack’s communication channel options pair well with the sales enablement tools of HubSpot, including quote generation, eSignature, invoicing, and even payment processing (collection of payments) on the higher-tier plans.
HubSpot CRM Features
HubSpot signature and payment sample page (Source: HubSpot Sales Enablement)
- Easy administrative task management with easy quote generation features
- Sales email automation capabilities
- Free meeting scheduler included in plans
- Payment processing capabilities with Stripe integration
- Customizable dashboard design features
Salesmate: Best for Teams With High Outbound Sales Activities
Salesmate
What We Like
- Different plans available for different size businesses
- Offers a wide range of communication channels
- Robust sales automation features
What's Missing
- No free plan available
- Limited number of integrations available
- Not the most intuitive interface
Salesmate CRM Pricing at a Glance
- Starter: $15/user/month, billed monthly or $12/user/month, billed annually
- Growth: $30/user/month, billed monthly or $24/user/month, billed annually
- Boost: $50/user/month, billed monthly or $40/user/month, billed annually
One factor that sets the Salesmate CRM platform apart from other integrated CRMs is how well it pairs with Slack’s Connect feature. This pairing allows for robust communication, scheduling, and collaboration with other businesses and potential clients. In addition, Slack users involved in a lot of outbound sales activities also benefit from the Salesmate sales automation features.
Like Zoho CRM, Salesmate CRM supports a number of communication channels while also including more unique features than offered by the other platforms on this list designed specifically for upselling or cross-selling. This makes it great for businesses that use a high mix of outbound sales marketing strategies.
Salesmate Features
Salesmate upselling and cross selling text message example (Source: Salesmate)
- Power Dialer feature allows automatic dials from preselected activities
- Sales Automation features can be used for outreach and assigning tasks to team members
- This product can sync with many Google Workspace applications to centralize some processes
- 24/7 customer support is offered on all communication channels, including phone, live chat, and email
- Solid product management features help with inventory management and effectively selling as a whole
Salesforce: Best for Businesses Looking Robust Customization
Salesforce
What We Like
- Different lines of products specific for industry, need, and size of business
- Free option available
- Very customizable
What's Missing
- Monthly billing options only available on Essentials plan
- Larger teams would need to purchase separate plans if they wanted sales and service features
- Limited specialty features which can be offered by other CRMs
Salesforce (Small Business) CRM Pricing at a Glance
- Essentials: $25/user/month, billed annually or $35/user/month, billed monthly (up to 10 users)
- Sales Professional: $75/user/month, billed annually (sales features only and for unlimited users)
- Service Professional: $75/user/month, billed annually (customer service features only and for unlimited users)
- Pardot Growth: $1,250/month (tons of marketing automation tools)
Salesforce offers a Slack integration that makes it easy to collaborate with your team without going back and forth between the two platforms. Communicate in real time between Slack and Salesforce Chatter and search for Salesforce details contact and account details right within Slack and vice versa. This helps sales reps save time by streamlining searches and giving users the ability to collaborate in one place.
However, what sets it apart from other Slack-ready platforms is how customizable its platform is. Slack is just one of the many third-party integration tools offered by Salesforce that allows you to truly tailor the CRM to the needs of your specific business. It also has some of the most advanced functionality in the marketplace.
Salesforce Features
Salesforce customer service dashboard (Source: Salesforce)
- Integrates with the most commonly used small business applications (Dropbox, DocuSign, QuickBooks, and Slack)
- High customization options are available for sales pipelines and processes and the system’s dashboard
- High-quality tutorials are available to set up and use the software
- Mobile application available that can offer everything from the web application
- Simple setup features that allow a user to get going quickly and smoothly once their email is connected
