CRM Software Reviews: Honest Breakdowns of the Top Platforms

Picking the right CRM is a pain. There are dozens of options, pricing is deliberately confusing, and every vendor claims they're "#1 for small businesses" or "enterprise-grade." Let's cut through the noise.

I've used most of these platforms (or helped clients implement them), and I'll tell you what actually matters: ease of use, real costs (including the hidden ones), and whether the tool actually helps you close more deals.

If you want a quick comparison, check our CRM software comparison page. For specific budget picks, see our guides to the best CRM software and free CRM software.

The Quick Verdict: Which CRM Is Right for You?

• Best for small sales teams who want simplicity: Close – Built specifically for inside sales, with calling and email built in
• Best free option: HubSpot Free CRM – Genuinely useful free tier, though they'll upsell you constantly
• Best for large enterprises: Salesforce – The industry standard, but expensive and complex
• Best value for growing teams: Pipedrive – Clean interface, reasonable pricing, gets the job done
• Best for budget-conscious businesses: Zoho CRM – Tons of features at low prices, but UI feels dated

1. Close CRM – Best for Sales-Focused Teams

Close is built specifically for sales teams that spend their days on the phone and sending emails. Unlike most CRMs that feel like glorified contact databases, Close has calling, SMS, and email sequences built directly into the platform.

What's Good About Close

• Built-in calling: Make and receive calls directly from the CRM. Call recording is automatic. No third-party integrations needed.
• Email sequences: Set up automated follow-up sequences without needing a separate tool like Outreach or Salesloft.
• Fast and clean UI: The interface is genuinely well-designed. Your reps won't hate using it.
• Smart views and filtering: Easy to build lists of leads that need follow-up without complex saved searches.

What's Not Great

• Marketing features are limited: This is a sales CRM, not a marketing automation platform. If you need lead scoring and nurturing campaigns, look elsewhere.
• Reporting could be deeper: Basic sales reporting is fine, but power users may want more customization.
• No free plan: There's a trial, but no permanent free tier like HubSpot offers.

Close Pricing

Close starts at $49/user/month for the Startup plan, which includes calling and email integration. The Professional plan at $99/user/month adds features like multiple email accounts and call recording. Enterprise at $149/user/month gives you custom fields, call coaching, and predictive dialing.

All plans require annual billing for the best rates. For a deeper dive, check out our Close CRM review and Close CRM pricing breakdown.

Try Close free for 14 days →

2. Salesforce – The Enterprise Standard (With Enterprise Pricing)

Salesforce dominates the CRM market with around 22% market share. It's incredibly powerful, infinitely customizable, and will take you six months to fully implement. That's not an exaggeration.

What's Good About Salesforce

• Customization: You can build literally anything. Custom objects, workflows, automations, dashboards—if you can dream it, Salesforce can do it.
• AppExchange ecosystem: Thousands of apps and integrations. Whatever tool you use, it probably connects to Salesforce.
• Scalability: From 5 users to 50,000 users, Salesforce can handle it.
• AI features: Einstein AI provides lead scoring, forecasting, and predictive analytics (though you'll pay extra for it).

What's Not Great

• Complexity: The learning curve is brutal. Most companies need a dedicated Salesforce admin.
• Price creep: Base prices are just the beginning. Add-ons, storage upgrades, and premium support add up fast.
• Implementation costs: Budget $25,000+ for a proper implementation with a certified partner.
• Annual contracts: No monthly billing on most plans. You're locked in for a year.

Salesforce Pricing

Salesforce pricing starts at $25/user/month for the Starter Suite, which is designed for small businesses and includes basic sales, service, and marketing features. This is limited to 325 users maximum with just 1GB of file storage.

The Pro Suite jumps to $100/user/month and adds sales forecasting, territory management, and enhanced customization options.

For dedicated sales teams, Sales Cloud pricing gets serious: Enterprise runs $175/user/month, and Unlimited hits $330/user/month with priority support and full API access.

Here's what they don't tell you upfront: the Premier Success Plan (which you'll probably need for real support) costs an additional 30% of your license fee. Storage overages and add-ons can push your actual costs 50-100% higher than the sticker price.

A small business using Starter Suite might spend $1,500-$3,000/year for a 5-user team. A mid-sized organization on Enterprise can easily hit $120,000-$150,000/year including setup and support.

3. HubSpot CRM – Best Free Option (But Watch the Upsells)

HubSpot's free CRM is genuinely useful—it's not a crippled trial. You get contact management, deal tracking, email tracking, and basic reporting at no cost. The catch? HubSpot makes their money by getting you hooked on the free tier, then charging premium prices for marketing and sales features.

What's Good About HubSpot

• Actually free: The free tier includes contact management, deals, tasks, and email integration for unlimited users.
• Clean interface: One of the easiest CRMs to learn. Your team will actually use it.
• Marketing integration: If you use HubSpot's marketing tools, the CRM integration is seamless.
• Strong reporting: Even the free version has decent dashboards and reports.

What's Not Great

• Aggressive upselling: Every feature you want beyond basics requires a paid upgrade. The "Start free" messaging is everywhere.
• Expensive paid tiers: Professional plans start around $450/month. Enterprise is $1,200+/month.
• Limited customization on free: You'll hit walls quickly if you need custom properties or workflows.
• Data limits: Free tier has storage limitations and feature restrictions that push you toward paid plans.

HubSpot Pricing

Free CRM: $0 for unlimited users with basic features. Starter: $20/month for 2 users. Professional: $450/month for 5 users. Enterprise: $1,200/month for 10 users. Additional users cost extra on paid plans.

If you're a small business looking for a CRM, HubSpot's free tier is worth trying. Just be prepared for the upgrade pressure once you're invested in the platform.

4. Pipedrive – Best Value for Growing Teams

Pipedrive focuses on one thing: pipeline management. It's not trying to be your marketing platform, customer service tool, and project management system. That focus shows in the clean interface and straightforward pricing.

What's Good About Pipedrive

• Visual pipeline: Drag-and-drop deal management that actually makes sense. See your entire sales process at a glance.
• Easy setup: You can be up and running in an afternoon, not six months.
• Reasonable pricing: Entry-level plan is genuinely usable, not a bait-and-switch for enterprise pricing.
• Mobile app: One of the better mobile CRM experiences. Field sales teams love it.

What's Not Great

• Limited reporting: Basic reports are fine, but advanced analytics requires higher tiers or add-ons.
• No free plan: Just a 14-day trial. HubSpot beats them here.
• Email integration could be smoother: Works, but not as polished as Close or HubSpot.
• Scaling limits: Once you need complex automations or enterprise features, you'll outgrow it.

Pipedrive Pricing

Essential: $14/user/month. Advanced: $29/user/month. Professional: $49/user/month. Power: $64/user/month. Enterprise: $99/user/month. All prices are for annual billing—monthly costs more.

The Professional plan at $49/user/month is the sweet spot for most teams. You get workflow automations, email sequences, and e-signatures.

5. Zoho CRM – Budget Champion (With Trade-offs)

Zoho CRM offers more features per dollar than almost any competitor. The trade-off is a dated interface and occasional clunkiness. If budget is your primary concern and you're willing to work around some UI rough edges, Zoho delivers serious value.

What's Good About Zoho

• Price-to-feature ratio: You get enterprise-level features at mid-market prices.
• Zoho ecosystem: Integrates seamlessly with Zoho's other tools (email, analytics, support desk).
• Customization: Build custom modules, workflows, and automations without breaking the bank.
• Free plan available: Up to 3 users with basic CRM functionality.

What's Not Great

• Interface feels dated: Not ugly, but not modern either. Some screens feel cluttered.
• Learning curve: So many features that it can be overwhelming to configure.
• Support quality varies: Higher tiers get better support, but lower tiers can feel abandoned.
• Mobile app is mediocre: Gets the job done, but nothing special.

Zoho CRM Pricing

Free: Up to 3 users. Standard: $14/user/month. Professional: $23/user/month. Enterprise: $40/user/month. Ultimate: $52/user/month. Prices are for annual billing.

For most small businesses, the Professional plan at $23/user/month offers excellent value with workflow automations, inventory management, and web-to-lead forms.

6. Monday Sales CRM – For Project-Focused Teams

Monday.com started as project management software and bolted on CRM features. If your team already uses Monday for projects, adding their CRM makes sense. If not, you're probably better off with a dedicated CRM.

What's Good About Monday CRM

• Familiar interface: If you use Monday.com, you already know how it works.
• Visual boards: Great for teams that think visually about their pipeline.
• Automations: Monday's automation builder is genuinely powerful and easy to use.
• Integrations: Connects well with common tools like Slack, Gmail, and Zapier.

What's Not Great

• Not a true CRM: Lacks depth in areas like call logging, lead scoring, and sales sequences.
• Pricing gets expensive: Feature tiers and seat minimums can inflate costs.
• Better alternatives exist: If you don't already use Monday, dedicated CRMs offer more for less.

Monday CRM Pricing

Basic CRM: $12/seat/month (minimum 3 seats). Standard CRM: $17/seat/month. Pro CRM: $28/seat/month. Enterprise: Custom pricing.

Check our Monday.com pricing and Monday.com reviews for more details.

Try Monday CRM free →

How to Choose the Right CRM

Stop comparing feature lists. Most CRMs have the same basic capabilities—contacts, deals, tasks, reports. What actually matters:

1. What Size Is Your Team?

• Solo or 2-3 people: HubSpot Free or Zoho Free. Don't pay until you need to.
• 4-15 people: Close, Pipedrive, or HubSpot Starter. Real features without enterprise complexity.
• 15-100 people: Salesforce Starter/Pro, HubSpot Professional, or Pipedrive Professional. You need proper automations and reporting.
• 100+ people: Salesforce Enterprise or HubSpot Enterprise. Budget for implementation and training.

2. What's Your Primary Use Case?

• Inside sales (phone + email): Close is purpose-built for this.
• Inbound marketing + sales: HubSpot's integration between marketing and CRM is unbeatable.
• Field sales: Pipedrive's mobile app and visual pipeline work well on the road.
• Enterprise with complex processes: Salesforce can handle anything, if you're willing to pay for it.

3. What's Your Real Budget?

Don't just look at per-user costs. Factor in:

• Implementation/setup costs (especially for Salesforce)
• Training time for your team
• Add-ons you'll need (email automation, calling, integrations)
• Support plan upgrades
• Storage overages on data-heavy platforms

A $25/user/month CRM might cost you $100/user/month by the time you add what you actually need.

CRM Features That Actually Matter

Skip the feature comparison spreadsheets. Here's what separates useful CRMs from data graveyards:

Email Integration

If your team has to manually log emails, they won't. Auto-capture of sent/received emails is non-negotiable. Close, HubSpot, and Salesforce all handle this well.

Mobile Access

For field sales, this is critical. Pipedrive and HubSpot have strong mobile apps. Salesforce's mobile app is functional but clunky.

Workflow Automation

Automatically assigning leads, sending follow-up reminders, and updating deal stages saves hours. Available on most mid-tier plans.

Reporting That's Actually Useful

Can you quickly see: pipeline value, conversion rates, activity metrics, and forecasts? Test the reporting before you buy.

Bottom Line

There's no universally "best" CRM—there's only the best CRM for your specific situation. If you're doing high-volume inside sales, Close will make your life easier. If you want a free starting point with room to grow, HubSpot is hard to beat. If you need enterprise-grade customization and have the budget to match, Salesforce remains the industry standard.

Whatever you choose, get your team trained on it properly and commit to actually using it. A mediocre CRM used consistently beats a perfect CRM that no one touches.

For more detailed comparisons, check out our best CRM tools roundup, or browse our guides to cheapest CRM software if budget is your main concern.