Folk CRM Review: The Simple CRM That Might Be Too Simple

Folk CRM is the CRM for people who hate CRMs. It's lightweight, looks like a spreadsheet, and won't make you watch 47 onboarding videos just to add a contact. But here's the thing—sometimes simple means missing features you actually need.

I've dug through the details on Folk to help you figure out if it's the right fit or if you should look elsewhere. Let's get into it.

What Is Folk CRM?

Folk launched in 2019 from eFounders (the same studio behind Aircall and Spendesk) with a clear mission: make CRM feel less like enterprise software and more like a tool you'd actually want to use.

The whole concept is a spreadsheet-like interface for managing contacts. If you've ever tried to use Notion or Airtable as a makeshift CRM, Folk is basically that—but purpose-built with actual CRM features baked in.

Folk targets solopreneurs, small teams, agencies, recruiters, partnership managers, and anyone who needs to manage relationships without drowning in complexity. It's not trying to compete with Salesforce. It's trying to be the anti-Salesforce.

Folk CRM Pricing: What You'll Actually Pay

Folk uses per-user pricing with three tiers. Here's the breakdown:

If you pay annually, you'll save roughly 20% (some sources cite it as low as $19/user/month for Standard when billed yearly).

There's no free plan—just a 14-day free trial that gives you access to Premium features. No credit card required to start.

The pricing trap: That free trial gives you Premium features, so you build workflows around things like email sequences and dashboards. Then the trial ends, and you either pay double or lose functionality you've already integrated into your process. Something to keep in mind.

What Each Plan Gets You

Standard ($20-25/user/month):

What Standard is missing: Deal management, dashboards, email sequences. Those features require Premium.

Premium ($40-50/user/month):

Custom ($80-100+/user/month):

What Folk CRM Does Well

Dead Simple Interface

Folk is one of the easiest CRMs to use. Period. The spreadsheet-like layout means there's basically no learning curve. Users consistently report being able to dive right in without watching tutorials.

The design is minimal—non-distracting colors, few tabs, fast loading (under 3 seconds in most cases). If you're coming from a Notion-based contact system that was slow and cumbersome, Folk will feel like a breath of fresh air.

Contact Import Is Painless

Getting contacts into Folk is where it really shines. You can:

The Chrome extension is genuinely useful for prospecting. See someone interesting on LinkedIn? One click and they're in your CRM with their info automatically categorized.

Built-In Contact Enrichment

Folk pulls data from multiple sources (Apollo, Clearbit, People Data Labs, Dropcontact, Prospeo, Datagma) to fill in missing contact details—emails, phone numbers, job titles, etc. This is bundled into your plan, which is a nice touch since most CRMs charge extra for enrichment.

That said, some users report lower match rates and limited reliability compared to dedicated enrichment tools.

Email Campaigns Without Leaving the CRM

Folk lets you send personalized bulk emails directly from the platform. Select your audience, pick a template, customize with variables (name, company, position), and send. The system provides open rates, click rates, and performance data.

The Standard plan gives you 2,000 emails/month per user. Premium bumps that to 5,000.

Duplicate Management

Folk automatically detects potential duplicates when you import contacts and offers to merge them. There's also a dedicated duplicates view that compiles all duplicate records for you to consolidate.

What Folk CRM Gets Wrong

Missing Features on the Standard Plan

At $20-25/user/month, Folk's Standard plan costs more than typical entry-level CRMs but delivers less functionality. There's no deal management, no dashboards, and no email sequences at this tier.

For a solo user, that might be fine. But add four team members and you're paying $100+/month for software that lacks features competitors include in their lowest subscriptions.

No Workflow Automation

Folk doesn't have automated workflows on any plan. You can set reminders, but there's no "if this, then that" automation built in. You'll need Zapier or Make to handle that, which adds cost and complexity.

Limited Follow-Up Tracking

The only task type you can create is a "Reminder," and these are tied to contacts. Here's the kicker: reminders can't be marked as "done"—only deleted. That means no historical record of completed follow-ups, which makes it harder to review past activity.

Integration Limitations

Folk's native integrations are limited to Google, Microsoft, WhatsApp, and a handful of enrichment providers. For anything else, you're going through Zapier or Make. They recently released a REST API, but it's fairly basic compared to more mature CRMs.

No Mobile App (Previously)

Folk launched mobile apps for iOS and Android in May 2024, so this is no longer an issue. But for a long time, mobile access was a legitimate gap.

LinkedIn Integration Can Be Flaky

Multiple users report that the LinkedIn integration doesn't always work smoothly—which isn't entirely Folk's fault since LinkedIn actively tries to block third-party tools. Still, if LinkedIn prospecting is core to your workflow, be prepared for occasional friction.

Who Should Use Folk CRM?

Folk is a good fit if you're:

Folk is probably NOT right if you:

Folk CRM Alternatives Worth Considering

If Folk sounds close but not quite right, here are some alternatives:

For more robust sales features: Check out our best CRM software roundup. Tools like Pipedrive, Copper, or HubSpot offer more sales-focused functionality, though with steeper learning curves.

For budget-conscious teams: Our free CRM software guide covers options that won't cost you anything to start.

For small business specifically: Our CRM for small business guide breaks down options by use case and budget.

If you need a sales-focused CRM with proper pipeline management and don't mind a more traditional interface, Close CRM is worth a look. It's built specifically for inside sales teams and has better automation than Folk. We've also covered Close CRM in detail here.

The Bottom Line on Folk CRM

Folk CRM is genuinely good at what it tries to be: a simple, relationship-focused CRM that feels more like a modern productivity tool than enterprise software. The contact import features are excellent, the interface is clean, and the Chrome extension is legitimately useful for prospecting.

But it's not a full-featured sales CRM. If you need deal management, you're paying $40-50/user/month. If you need automation, you're bolting on Zapier. If you need mobile access... well, they fixed that at least.

For solopreneurs and tiny teams who've been cobbling together contact management in spreadsheets, Folk is a solid upgrade. For growing sales teams that need a CRM to scale with them, you'll probably outgrow Folk quickly.

Try the 14-day free trial and see if it fits your workflow. Just remember—you're testing Premium features, so make sure to check what you'll actually get on Standard before you commit.