Best CRM Software
Customer relationship management (CRM) software is a digital tool designed for businesses to efficiently organize, monitor, and maintain data about their existing and prospective customers. The best CRM software centralizes data from various lead generation, traffic, campaign, and acquisition sources and creates records and profiles. The software has a repository of a complete customer database, which stakeholders use to manage long-term customer contracts and relationships.
CRM software enhances customer experience by streamlining customer support, email marketing, sales outreach, and sales cycles.
CRM software can be integrated with call center infrastructure platforms, digital marketing services, ERP systems, e-commerce platforms, marketing automation software, and CPQ software to reduce the risk of data silos and give real-time updates on the customer journey. Customer journey and funnel are categorized into different sub-processes in the CRM software where sales and marketing can access the data, build communication, and drive them forward to final deals.
There are many different types of CRM software provide a collection of integrated customer-related functions or all-in-one functionality, such as marketing automation, help desk, e-commerce tools, ERP, project or website management, to replace the need for additional solutions and better serve small and mid-market businesses. Standalone CRM solutions, however, focus primarily on sales-related functions such as contact, account, and pipeline management and do not offer extensive marketing help.
The software also has help desk escalation, email automation, sales dispositions, automation workflows, and lead scoring and calling histories to help sales teams navigate to the current lead progress and establish contextual communication.
To qualify for inclusion in the CRM category, a product must:
Featured CRM Software At A Glance
G2 takes pride in showing unbiased reviews on user satisfaction in our ratings and reports. We do not allow paid placements in any of our ratings, rankings, or reports. Learn about our scoring methodologies.
Accelerate revenue from pipeline to paycheck with Salesforce Sales Cloud - your complete growth platform that brings together the power of humans with agents at every step of the sales cycle. Boost pr
Salesforce Sales Cloud is a customer relationship management platform that centralizes sales processes, customer data, and interactions. Users like the platform's flexibility, automation features, and detailed reporting, which reduce manual effort and provide real-time visibility into performance. Users reported that Salesforce Sales Cloud can be complex and overwhelming for new users, with a steep learning curve and potentially high costs for additional features and support.
580,855 Twitter followers
Sales Hub combines sales engagement tools, AI-powered productivity features, and workflow automation into a unified platform designed to help growing teams close deals faster. Core Value Propositio
Hubspot Sales Hub is a tool designed to help users stay updated on deal opportunities, organize deals, and track leads. Reviewers like the platform's user-friendly interface, its ability to automate processes, and its features for tracking deals and handling leads. Reviewers mentioned that some features are only accessible in high-tier plans, which can be costly, and the platform can sometimes be slow.
786,179 Twitter followers
Pipedrive is an easy-to-use sales CRM (customer relationship management) tool that empowers teams of all sizes to close more deals. With its customizable sales pipelines, real-time insights and powerf
14,384 Twitter followers
Close is a conversation-first CRM (customer relationship management) solution built for founders and small, scaling sales teams to manage every conversation in one place — so they can move faster and
Close is a customer relationship management (CRM) tool that offers features such as lead management, email automation, and sales analytics to streamline sales processes. Reviewers appreciate Close's user-friendly interface, AI features, and integrated communication tools, which enhance efficiency and ease of navigation. Reviewers mentioned issues with limited customization options, occasional system lags, and challenges with specific features like power dialer and lead status management.
6,569 Twitter followers
ActiveCampaign is the autonomous marketing platform built to transform how marketers, agencies, and business owners work. Use Active Intelligence to power goal-aware automations and orchestrate person
13,227 Twitter followers
Zoho CRM is a cloud-based 360° customer relationship management tool that caters to business needs of mid-scale businesses to large-scale enterprises. Key features include contact management, sales fu
Zoho CRM is a customer relationship management tool that combines sales automation, analytics, and multichannel engagement to manage sales, support, and customer data under one platform. Users like Zoho CRM's affordability, its seamless integration with other SaaS applications, its automation features, and its ease of use, particularly its simple and intuitive user interface. Users reported issues with the cluttered interface, the steep learning curve for new users, occasional maintenance delays, and inconsistencies in customer support responsiveness.
137,095 Twitter followers
Bigin by Zoho CRM is a simplified customer relationship management (CRM) software designed specifically for small businesses, startups and teams! Trusted by 20,000+ businesses, Bigin helps small busin
137,095 Twitter followers
The only AI-first CRM your team will love monday CRM is the AI-powered CRM built for speed, visibility, and simplicity — empowering revenue teams to move faster, forecast better, and never miss a d
40,893 Twitter followers
HighLevel is an all-in-one Sales & Marketing CRM currently powering hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. Functionality includes CRM, Email, 2-way SMS, Consolidated SMS/Messenger/Instagra
HighLevel is an all-in-one platform for managing email campaigns, automations, and client communication at scale, used by marketing agencies to run email outreach, nurture sequences, and automated workflows for various clients. Reviewers frequently mention the platform's comprehensive features, including its ability to manage campaigns, track performance, automate follow-ups, and maintain consistency across multiple clients, which helps streamline operations. Users experienced a steep learning curve when setting up more advanced automations and workflows, and some areas of the interface require time to configure properly, especially when managing multiple campaigns or clients.
8,298 Twitter followers
SAP Sales Cloud is a cutting-edge sales automation platform / CRM that helps organizations make intelligent selling simple, through connection, insight, and adaptability. Leveraging SAP Sales Cloud, o
297,265 Twitter followers
The lack of a centralised CRM system can result in data disorganisation, ineffective communication, missed sales opportunities and limited customer insights. Many small to mid sized companies struggle
CRMOne is a customer relationship management tool that offers features such as advanced filters, automation of lead assignment and follow-ups, built-in marketing tools, and data security. Reviewers like the real-time alerts, the ability to access CRMOne from various devices, the automation of tasks, and the built-in marketing tools that allow for launching and tracking campaigns directly from the platform. Reviewers mentioned that the user interface looks different across devices, learning how to optimize automation flows takes trial and error, advanced segmentation options could be improved, and the system can slow down when too many people are using it.
10 Twitter followers
Founded in 2010, Nutshell is an all-in-one sales, marketing and engagement platform that helps B2B organizations work together to win more deals. Simple enough for any user and sophisticated enough fo
2,807 Twitter followers
EngageBay is an all-in-one customer engagement platform designed for small and mid-sized businesses that want to manage marketing, sales, and support from a unified system. Positioned as a cost-co
16,928 Twitter followers
Capsule CRM is a growth-oriented customer relationship management (CRM) tool that empowers salespeople, marketers, and business owners to win more business, retain more clients, and deliver exceptiona
5,266 Twitter followers
Instantly turns leads into clients with Automated Outreach, Deliverability Network, Sales Engagement, B2B Lead Database & AI-Powered CRM. Find your leads, create your campaigns, connect your se
Instantly is a cold email tool designed for managing and automating email campaigns, warming up email accounts, and generating leads. Reviewers frequently mention the ease of use, intuitive interface, and the helpful customer support as standout features of Instantly. Users experienced issues with the pricing structure being confusing, lack of transparency in lead generation, and occasional glitches in the user interface.
Learn More About CRM Software
CRM software buying insights at a glance
Customer relationship management (CRM) software strategically manages customer interactions across marketing, sales, service, and analytics functions, using capabilities such as customer data aggregation, workflow automation, and analytics-driven insights.
Organizations primarily use CRM software to manage leads, track customer interactions, automate sales pipelines, and centralize customer data. CRM systems range from sales automation tools to specialized solutions tailored for industries such as real estate, finance, or nonprofits.
Most CRM solutions are priced per user monthly or annually, averaging approximately $35 per user/month, with free plans for small businesses and premium enterprise solutions reaching up to $3,960 per user/year.
If you’re evaluating CRM software, consider your organization's size, desired integrations, pricing transparency, ease of use, feature availability, vendor support quality, and AI capabilities. Essential questions include:
- How transparent and scalable is the pricing structure?
- What training and onboarding resources are provided?
- What integrations are supported, and how user-friendly are they?
- How responsive is the vendor to customer support issues?
- Does the CRM utilize AI to automate interactions or insights?
G2's top-rated CRM systems currently include Salesforce Sales Cloud, HubSpot Sales Hub, ActiveCampaign, ClickUp, and Close.
What is CRM software?
G2 defines CRM software as platforms and applications designed to strategically manage and optimize customer interactions across marketing, sales, service, and analytics functions. Effective CRM systems aggregate multiple data sources, automate customer-facing workflows, and offer insights to accelerate sales conversions.
Organizations typically source first-party customer data through call center interactions, web-based lead forms, social media engagements, and targeted marketing campaigns. CRM modules then organize this information systematically by demographic attributes, customer interactions, purchasing signals, and conversion potential.
CRM tools further simplify sales processes by automating lead nurturing, prospect outreach, and campaign management. These applications provide a centralized system to track deal progression, customer interactions, financial transactions, and post-sale support, delivering a unified, real-time view of the entire customer journey.
The CRM market is projected to reach $96.39 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6% between 2021 and 2026. (Source 1)
G2 currently covers 785 CRM products, with 9963 reviews published in the last 12 months, making it one of the most reviewed and comprehensive software categories on our platform. (Source 2)
What are the top reviewed CRM systems on G2?
G2 scores the top-rated CRM systems based on a proprietary algorithm that factors in real-user satisfaction ratings and popularity from review data. Here are the five highest-rated CRM products G2 for this category:
1. Salesforce Sales Cloud
- Number of Reviews: 20,244
- Satisfaction: 99
- Market Presence: 99
- G2 Score: 99
2. HubSpot Sales Hub
- Number of Reviews: 9,685
- Satisfaction: 99
- Market Presence: 87
- G2 Score: 93
3. ActiveCampaign
- Number of Reviews: 3,503
- Satisfaction: 94
- Market Presence: 70
- G2 Score: 82
4. ClickUp
- Number of Reviews: 1,507
- Satisfaction: 93
- Market Presence: 70
- G2 Score: 81
5. Close
- Number of Reviews: 1,346
- Satisfaction: 98
- Market Presence: 63
- G2 Score: 81
These rankings are determined by combining verified user ratings and publicly available web search popularity data:
- The Satisfaction Score measures user satisfaction with software products based on user feedback, review quality, quantity, and recency. It helps buyers easily understand how well a product meets user expectations.(Source 2)
- The Market Presence Score measures a product's prominence in its market. It combines data from G2 user reviews and external sources, focusing primarily on product-specific factors to reflect real-world popularity and vendor influence.(Source 2)
- G2 ranks products using a unique scoring system called the G2 Score, calculated from real user reviews, online data, and social signals. This score makes it easy to compare and evaluate different software products within each G2 category.(Source 2)
CRM software pricing and cost considerations
CRM software pricing varies significantly depending on the vendor, scale, complexity, and deployment model. Pricing categories typically include:
- Free tier: Basic functionality suitable for startups or small businesses requiring minimal CRM capabilities.
- Entry-level and mid-market Tiers: Moderate feature sets with per-user subscription pricing targeted at mid-sized businesses.
- Enterprise-level tiers: Comprehensive, highly customizable solutions with extensive support, integrations, advanced analytics, and strategic implementation support.
Most CRM software solutions on the market are priced per–user per month, but they can also be offered at annual rates. According to G2 data covering 86 CRM products (245 editions), the average annual license cost is about $415.95, roughly $35 per user per month when paid yearly. Some products offer free versions, while high-end, enterprise-level solutions can cost up to $3,960 per user per year.
Organizations should carefully evaluate Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), including hidden costs such as onboarding, integrations, training, and ongoing technical support. For on-premises solutions, factor in hardware, IT resources, and ongoing maintenance.
Types of CRM software on G2
CRM software solutions typically fall into the following categories, each with distinctive functionalities suited to specific organizational needs:
- Sales Automation CRM: Focuses primarily on automating sales processes, enhancing productivity, and streamlining pipeline management.
- Analytical CRM: Provides deep data-driven insights, predictive analytics, and customer segmentation through advanced AI-driven reporting.
- Industry-Specific CRM: This type of CRM offers specialized features tailored to industry-specific operational requirements. This includes real estate CRM software, construction CRM software, financial services CRM software, mortgage CRM software, legal CRM software, PR CRM software, and nonprofit CRM software.
- Social CRM: Captures and manages customer interactions from social media channels, facilitating seamless cross-platform engagement.
- Mobile CRM: Enables sales and marketing teams to access CRM capabilities via mobile apps, supporting productivity on the go.
- All-in-One CRM: Combines multiple CRM functions into a unified platform, eliminating the need for disparate applications. This software supplants the need for broken software chains like standalone ERPs or human capital management systems (HCMs).
- Standalone CRM: Operates independently without requiring extensive integration into an existing tech ecosystem. Often found in small or mid-sized businesses that prefer simpler setups.
- Cloud-based CRM: Delivers scalable and secure solutions through cloud infrastructure, reducing IT complexity and promoting agile growth.
- Small Business CRM: This type of CRM provides accessible, intuitive CRM tools specifically designed for smaller organizations with straightforward deployment and lower costs.
Top CRM software features rated by G2 reviewers
There is no best CRM software for everyone. Different CRM features within CRM software can help users in a few ways:
- Contact & account management: Store customer data and manage interactions centrally.
- Opportunity & pipeline management: Track sales deals through each stage from lead to close.
- Task & activity management: Schedule tasks, assign deadlines, and track activities.
- Lead management: Capture, qualify, and manage leads throughout the sales process
- Email marketing & campaign management: Create, launch, and measure email and multi-channel campaigns.
- Reporting & dashboards: Visualize performance and trends through intuitive dashboards and customizable reports.
- Mobile & social integration: Access CRM on mobile devices; engage customers through social media channels.
- Workflow automation: Automate repetitive tasks and streamline business processes.
- Customer support & case management: Track and resolve customer inquiries and issues effectively.
- Integration capabilities: Seamlessly integrate CRM with other essential software and business systems.
- AI capabilities: Use generative AI to automate text creation and enhance customer interactions.
Top CRM software benefits identified by G2 reviewers
Effective CRM implementation can yield multiple strategic business benefits, including:
Enhanced customer insights: CRM systems consolidate interaction data for deeper customer understanding, enabling personalized engagements and proactive sales efforts.
“It consolidates all customer data onto a single platform, tracking the entire customer journey within our system through a single interface. This includes all interactions from the initial point of contact, whether inbound or outbound, through marketing or direct sales, to the final outcome of either a closed win or closed loss.” - Akshay S., Sales Development Manager.
Improved revenue growth: CRM tools support targeted marketing campaigns, streamline lead management, and accelerate sales processes that drive increased revenue.
“The tool helps me keep track of leads, follow-ups, and client interactions without things slipping through the cracks.” - Chelsea D., CEO.
Optimized productivity and efficiency: CRM software automates repetitive tasks, minimizing manual intervention and freeing staff to focus on high-value strategic activities.
“The automation features save us a ton of time by cutting out manual data entry and follow-ups. This means we can focus more on growing the business and less on chasing details, which has definitely helped our team stay more productive and organized.” - Byron S., VP, SFDC & Data Administration.
Improved collaboration and transparency: CRM solutions offer centralized visibility into customer journeys, facilitating cross-functional collaboration and aligning sales and marketing efforts.
“The tool allows us to have transparency and a centralized location for all of our staff to store the information we need to help the customers.” - Ryan L.
Top CRM systems challenges identified by G2 reviewers
Implementing CRM software often presents specific challenges that can impact overall success. Analyzing G2 user reviews reveals frequent issues, including pricing concerns, complexity of user experience, limited or underdeveloped features, inadequate customer support, and integration limitations. Here are the most common hurdles users face, along with practical advice to address them:
1. Cost concerns: Reviewers frequently identify high or unclear pricing as a barrier, particularly with enterprise-level CRM systems, making affordability an ongoing concern, especially for small or mid-sized businesses.
- Essential questions to ask your CRM vendor: How is your pricing structured, and what exactly is included in each tier? Are there additional costs for adding users, premium features, or customer support?
- How to overcome the challenge: Seek transparency from vendors upfront and consider scalable solutions or tiered pricing options that align costs with your business growth.
2. Steep learning curve: CRM software often introduces unfamiliar workflows, resulting in slow adoption or even resistance within teams accustomed to different processes.
- Essential questions to ask your CRM vendor: What training programs or onboarding resources do you provide? How do you help teams transition smoothly from their existing processes?
- How to overcome the challenge: To facilitate an easier transition, opt for CRM solutions that offer comprehensive onboarding materials, continuous training, and strong vendor support.
3. Limited or underdeveloped features: Many CRM users express disappointment regarding missing or insufficiently developed functionality, limiting effectiveness in critical business scenarios.
- Essential questions to ask your CRM vendor: Can you outline your current features and upcoming development roadmap? How responsive are you to customer feedback when prioritizing new features?
- How to overcome the challenge: Prioritize CRM providers who are transparent about feature availability and future development, ensuring alignment with your essential business needs.
4. Support and reliability issues: Users commonly cite inadequate customer support, slow response times, or unreliable systems as major pain points negatively affecting daily operations.
- Essential questions to ask your CRM vendor: What support channels are available, and what are your average response and resolution times? Do you provide clearly defined Service Level Agreements (SLAs)?
- How to overcome the challenge: Evaluate vendors based on proven reliability and responsive customer support. Clarify expectations with detailed SLAs.
5. Integration limitations: CRM solutions can become less effective when integration with existing tools is difficult, limited, or complex, reducing overall productivity.
- Essential questions to ask your CRM vendor: What integrations do you currently support, and how complex is the setup process? Do you assist customers with integrations and troubleshooting?
- How to overcome the challenge: Choose CRM software with robust, user-friendly integrations. Confirm compatibility with essential tools early in the evaluation process.
What is CRM software used for?
Analysis of CRM software reviews reveals the following common scenarios:
- Lead management & tracking: Businesses use CRM tools to capture, qualify, assign, and monitor leads throughout the sales funnel, ensuring leads never slip through the cracks.
- Centralized customer & contact data: Reviewers say CRM solutions help store all customer interactions and communications in one centralized system, ensuring multiple departments access accurate, up-to-date records without duplication.
- Pipeline & deal management: CRM applications organize sales opportunities clearly by stage, value, and timeline, allowing sales teams to prioritize deals and forecast revenue effectively
- Collaborative account & case management: Reviewers say CRM platforms simplify customer support by enabling multiple stakeholders to collaborate on customer inquiries, case management, and issue resolution, keeping all communication records linked and up-to-date.
Who uses CRM systems?
CRM software users span various roles, from senior executives to frontline sales and marketing professionals. Based on G2 reviewer demographics, typical users include CEOs, owners, founders, account executives, directors, and managers. Common industries include computer software, marketing and advertising, information technology, financial services, and real estate.
Common CRM software integrations
We analyzed extensive user-review data to identify common software categories users frequently integrate with CRM:
- Marketing automation software: Integrating CRM software with marketing automation tools allows businesses to automate email campaigns, streamline lead nurturing, and enhance lead scoring capabilities.
- Email & calendar tools: CRM integrations with popular email and calendar platforms help centralize communication, appointments, and contact management, providing a unified view of customer interactions.
- Workflow and custom integration tools: Flexible integrations using APIs and workflow automation tools enable businesses to synchronize CRM data seamlessly across multiple applications, enhancing operational efficiency.
- Collaboration & communication platforms: Connecting CRM tools with internal collaboration and messaging platforms facilitates instant communication, simplifies meeting scheduling, and enhances internal team coordination.
- Website and lead capture software: Integrating CRM apps with website and form-building software allows real-time lead capture, automated follow-ups, and personalized customer engagement directly from web-based interactions.
What's the best CRM app for small business owners?
For small business owners, I recommend exploring CRM apps specifically designed for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as they focus on ease of use and cost-effectiveness, such as:
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers a robust solution to boost sales productivity and marketing effectiveness with social insights, business intelligence, and campaign management. It provides both on-premises and cloud solutions, with mobile CRM apps for on-the-go management.
- Vtiger All-In-One CRM is tailored for small to medium-sized businesses, providing a 360-degree customer view. It optimizes sales, support, and marketing touch-points with AI-powered tools and robust automation to enhance customer experiences across various channels.
- BSI Software delivers a comprehensive platform for the digitalization of customer relationships, with a strong CRM system supporting industries like banking, insurance, and energy. It emphasizes a 360° customer view and uses AI to improve processes and customer interactions.
What CRM is the best for e-commerce platforms?
The best CRM software for eCommerce platforms depends on your business size, sale volume, and integration needs. With that in mind, here are some top choices to support your business based on G2 reviews:
- HighLevel: An all-in-one Sales & Marketing CRM with CRM, Email, 2-way SMS, consolidated messaging, outbound calling, and more.
- Close: A CRM designed to help small, scaling businesses close deals fast with built-in communication, automation, and reporting tools.
- Agile CRM: A fully integrated CRM with sales tracking, contact management, marketing automation, and telephony.
Future of CRM software
- AI-driven insights and predictive analytics: CRM platforms increasingly leverage AI and machine learning to process vast customer data, predict behaviors, and recommend the next best actions. (Source 3) This helps teams identify high-value leads, reduce churn, and personalize communications. Predictive analytics accelerate sales cycles and improve marketing campaign targeting. AI-powered insights also automate manual tasks, allowing teams to focus on strategic interactions rather than data entry.
- Omnichannel engagement and conversational interfaces: Businesses are meeting customers on their terms, whether via chat, social media, or voice assistants. CRMs of the future will integrate new channels effortlessly and use conversational AI to streamline interactions. (Source 4)
- Deeper IoT integration for real-time engagement: With the rise of IoT (smart devices, wearables, sensors), next-generation CRMs will sync with real-time data streams. (Source 3) This will enable proactive customer service, automated triggers for maintenance or support, and personalized product recommendations based on real-world usage.
Sources
- 73+ Sales Statistics To Achieve Business Targets in 2024, G2
- G2 reviews data: G2 reviews are sourced from verified software users and factor in satisfaction ratings, market presence, and real-time popularity data. Rankings in this guide are based on an analysis of G2 user reviews published within the last 12 months. For more details, read G2’s full scoring methodology.
- CRM technology trends, SAP
- Keeping Up to Date with CRM Trends in 2025: Here’s What to Expect, Solutions Metrix
Written and researched by Blue Bowen
Reviewed and edited by Sinchana Mistry
