6 Best CRMs for Startups in 2022

The CRM market is growing at an average annual rate of 11.3% and has grown over 8 times its size since 2001. In 2022, the global revenue for CRM products was $10 billion with a projected growth to be $19 billion in 2023. This article discusses 6 possible ways that startups can use this technology to grow their businesses quickly on their terms.,

The “zoho crm” is a software that provides an easy way to manage customer relationships. It’s one of the best CRMs for startups in 2022.

While customer relationship management (CRM) software is beneficial to all sorts of organizations, startups need a CRM that is considerably more adaptable and adjustable than that required by more established firms. Startup companies also want a CRM with a short learning curve, low-cost choices, and flexible subscription plans that allow them to add capabilities as their firm grows. They also need automation technologies to generate new business and prepare for future expansion.

Here are the six top CRMs for startups, according to our research:

• HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is the greatest overall CRM and the best choice for small organizations looking for a simple CRM.
• Zoho CRM is a great CRM for companies who want to leverage social media to sell themselves.
• Agile CRM is ideal for new firms looking for a variety of free sales tools.
• Pipedrive is the best CRM for startups with a lot of sales meetings to organize.
• Streak is a good CRM alternative for firms who use Google Workspace apps.
• Insightly: Excellent for entrepreneurs looking for project management solutions integrated into their CRM.

Comparison of the Best CRMs for Startups

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HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management): Best Overall CRM for Startups & Best User Interface

HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

4.40 OUT OF 5 STARS FOR THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE

What We Enjoy

• For an infinite number of users, it’s free.
• For payment processing, it integrates with Stripe.
• User-friendly navigation, easy-to-use functionality, and a pleasant user experience

What Isn’t There

• In the free and Starter plans, there is no sales forecasting.
• After the free and Starter choices, plans get substantially more costly.
• It doesn’t support limitless e-signature.

A Quick Look at HubSpot’s Pricing*

• There are no limits to how many people may utilize it (limited features)
• Starter: $45 per month (up to two users, then $23 per month for each additional user)
• Professional: $450 per month (for up to five users, then $90 per month for each additional user)
• Enterprise: $1,200 per month (up to ten users, then $120 per month for each additional user)
• 14-day free trial

*Pricing is based on yearly payment; however, for a higher fee, monthly billing is also possible.

If a startup business is investing in a CRM for the first time and is looking for an easy-to-learn option, HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is the best choice. Its clean interface clearly identifies available features, making it easy to navigate through and operate its built-in tools such as workflow automation, email tracking, and e-signature.

HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management) can be used free, forever, by an unlimited number of users. Upon scaling up to the Starter plan, users gain access to the Stripe payment integration, goal tracking, and Slack integration features. Additionally, the HubSpot Academy offers free courses, videos, and learning tutorials—some of which offer HubSpot certifications for sales, marketing, service, and HubSpot software products.

Only the Professional and Enterprise subscriptions have access to the sales forecasting tool, which is especially valuable for assessing growth potential as part of starting company planning. For those looking for a less priced option with sales forecasting skills, Zoho CRM is an excellent option.

HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Plan Summary

HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Key Features

• For project estimation, there are built-in quotation creation tools.
• Capabilities in sales forecasting
• Features for document management, such as e-signatures
• All premium subscriptions provide simple task workflow automation for recurring activities.
• Data fields, reports, dashboards, and record layouts may all be customized.

Dashboard for HubSpot reporting (Source: HubSpot)

Stripe integration with HubSpot (Source: HubSpot)

Not sure if HubSpot is the best CRM for your business? Check out our comprehensive HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management) review to gain insights on its features, best-for scenarios, and what other users are saying about their experience with HubSpot.

Go to HubSpot CRM’s website. (Customer Relationship Management)

Zoho CRM: The Best Social Media Marketing CRM for Startups

Zoho CRM

4.38 OUT OF 5 STARS FOR THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE

What We Enjoy

• Extremely cost-effective—free plan for up to three users and a modest per-user cost
• The Standard plan includes sales forecasting tools.
• Management tools for social media

What Isn’t There

• On lower-cost programs, there are no artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
• There isn’t a free plan for more than three people.
• On the free or Standard plan, there are no quotations or bills.

A Quick Look at Zoho CRM Pricing*

• Up to three users are free.
• Standard: $14 per month per user
• Professional: $23 per month for each user
• Enterprise: $40 per month for each user
• Ultimate: $52 per month per user
• 15-day free trial

Native Software and Add-ons

• Bigin: It’s free or $7 per month per user.
• Zoho CRM Plus costs $57 per month per user.

*Pricing is based on yearly payment; however, for a higher fee, monthly billing is also possible.

Businesses that are just getting started often seek to communicate with prospective consumers or clients through social media. You can monitor discussions, create leads, and share content using Zoho CRM’s connection with prominent social networking networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Zoho Bigin, a Zoho CRM add-on for small and micro-sized organizations, is a rudimentary CRM with minimal deal, contact, and product management functionality. Zoho also offers a free version that enables businesses to manage leads and interact through direct chat and team calendar synchronization. However, whenever a firm requires capabilities like as social media management and sales forecasting, they must upgrade to the Standard plan.

Zoho CRM has a free plan option but it limits you to three users. If you need a free CRM that supports more than three users, we recommend HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management), which allows an unlimited number of users on their free forever plan, or Agile CRM, which allows up to 10 users.

Summary of the Zoho CRM Plan

Key Features of Zoho CRM

• Monitoring and connecting with leads on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn using social media tools
• Automatic chatbots, profile searches, analytics, and sales projections are all available with Zia AI.
• Zoho Calendar, Zoho Workspace, Zoho Desk, and Zoho Social all provide native software alternatives for integrating the CRM system.
• Estimation and reporting tools for sales forecasting
• Tools for team cooperation with direct chat and calendar synchronization

LinkedIn Sales Navigator with Zoho CRM integration (Source: Zoho)

List of Facebook leads generated by Zoho CRM (Source: Zoho)

Zia AI tool from Zoho CRM (Source: Zoho)

Zoho CRM includes a lot of features and a variety of subscription tiers. Our Zoho CRM review includes more details on the software’s features, plans, usability, and connectors to help you decide whether it’s the best match for your company.

Go to the Zoho CRM website.

The Best CRM for Startups With Free Sales Tools is Agile CRM.

Agile CRM

4.20 OUT OF 5 STARS FOR THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE

What We Enjoy

• There is a free option for up to ten people.
• The free plan includes lead scoring and appointment scheduling.
• Deals, tasks, and document storage are all unlimited.

What Isn’t There

• It’s not easy to use, particularly for novices.
• On low-tiered plans, there is no phone system.
• On all plans except Enterprise, automation rules and triggers are restricted.

A Quick Look at Agile CRM Pricing*

• Up to ten users are free.
• Starter: $9.99 per month for each user
• Regular price: $39.99 per month, per user
• Enterprise: $64.99 per month for each user

*Pricing is based on yearly billing; monthly billing is possible at a higher cost, while bi-annual billing is less expensive.

Agile CRM stands out for its sales and marketing functionality, particularly because many sales tools that you’d expect to need a subscription plan are accessible for free. A lead scoring tool, an integrated appointment planner, up to 1,000 contacts or business data, and bespoke deal milestones are just a few of the sales tools available in Agile CRM’s free edition.

Users will need to switch from the free edition to the Starter plan whenever they need marketing automation tools and email integrations. Users will need to subscribe to the Regular plan for telephonic capabilities through a built-in, two-way phone or integration.

Because it’s not particularly user-friendly, Agile CRM may be a poor fit for newer or non-tech-savvy users. For a CRM that offers an intuitive user experience with easy-to-operate tools and a clean interface (and also has a free-forever plan), check out HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management) as a viable solution.

Summary of the Agile CRM Plan

Key Features of Agile CRM

• Option to integrate with voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) providers and Twilio using the built-in two-way telephone.
• For contact and lead profiles, lead scoring tools are available.
• Appointment-scheduling tools built-in
• Text campaigns using the simple messaging service (SMS) provide mobile marketing capability.
• You may create and send up to 5,000 branded emails.

CRM VoIP call placement that is flexible (Source: Agile CRM)

CRM contact record with lead score and tags that is flexible (Source: Agile CRM)

Is Agile CRM the most appropriate CRM for your company? Read our Agile CRM evaluation to determine whether the features, cost, and best-for situations are suitable for your CRM requirements. You’ll also learn who Agile CRM isn’t right for and what other users think of the software.

Visit Agile CRM for more information.

Pipedrive: Best CRM for Startups With Appointment-scheduling tools built-in

Pipedrive

4.15 OUT OF 5 STARS FOR THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE

What We Enjoy

• For insights and sales advice, the AI sales assistant is accessible on the Essentials package.
• Personalize data fields, pipelines, email layouts, and email signatures with this very adjustable solution.
• Meeting scheduling tool built-in

What Isn’t There

• There is no free plan available.
• On low-tiered subscriptions, there is no phone assistance for customer care.
• CRM subscriptions do not include any lead creation capabilities.

A Quick Look at Pipedrive Pricing*

• Essentials: $12.50 per month for each user
• Advanced: $24.90 per month for each user
• Professional: $49.90 per month for each user
• Enterprise: $99 per month for each user
• 14-day free trial

Add-ons

• Starts at $32.50 per month for LeadBooster.
• Starts at $41 per month for website visitors.

*Pricing is based on yearly payment; however, for a higher fee, monthly billing is also possible.

Pipedrive is a CRM tool for salespeople that allows them to build and manage sales pipelines, leads, and transactions. While there is no free version, these capabilities, as well as the artificial intelligence (AI) sales assistant, are included in the lowest-tiered package. Users may start arranging meetings and automating tasks after upgrading to the Advanced plan for the first time.

Pipedrive has built-in features for organizing and managing meetings with sales contacts starting with the Advanced plan, which may help businesses create strong first impressions. Teams may even leverage video conferencing technologies like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom to employ the scheduling functions as a sales communication channel.

LeadBooster, an optional add-on that enables users to communicate with and produce inbound leads through chatbot, live chat, and online web forms, as well as locate prospects using a prospecting tool, is one of Pipedrive’s optional add-ons. Users may use the Website Visitors add-on to see which organizations are visiting their website and which pages they are looking at.

Startups that choose Pipedrive as their CRM provider have access to some cost-effective options but not to a free-forever plan. If you prefer to start off with a free plan before committing to a paid one, we recommend checking out HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or Agile CRM.

Summary of the Pipedrive Plan

Key Features of Pipedrive

• Insights and sales advice from an AI sales assistant to boost performance.
• Sending proposals, contracts, and invoices, as well as acquiring e-signatures, are all possible with document management tools.
• Catalog of items that can be customized
• Video conferencing feature and built-in meeting planner
• For creating and monitoring sales funnels, solid lead and deal management functions are available.

Pipedrive is a tool for arranging meetings (Source: Pipedrive)

Scheduled Pipedrive Meeting Page (Image courtesy of Pipedrive)

Deal management using Pipedrive (Source: Pipedrive)

Check out our Pipedrive CRM review to see whether it’s the right match for your company. In this post, you’ll learn about the advantages Pipedrive has to offer your company, as well as the platform’s usability and integration possibilities.

Go to Pipedrive.com.

Best for Google Workspace Integration Capabilities, according to Streak

Streak

3.90 OUT OF 5 STARS FOR THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE

What We Enjoy

• Google Workspace applications integration
• Non-sales operations such as operational procedures and recruiting processes may be controlled using pipeline processes.
• Deals may be managed right from your Gmail inbox.

What Isn’t There

• Low-cost plans lack reporting features.
• Plans at a higher level become pricey
• There is no customer service via phone.

A Quick Look at Streak Pricing*

• One user is free.
• For up to one user, the cost is $15 per month.
• Pro: $49 per month, per user
• Enterprise: $129 per month for each user
• 14-day free trial

*Pricing is based on yearly payment; however, for a higher fee, monthly billing is also possible.

Streak is a CRM designed for companies who want to interact with Gmail and other Google Workspace products like Calendar, Drive, Sheets, and Chat. Deal pipelines, projects, and tasks can all be tracked using Gmail, and sales teams may cooperate on sales activity by sharing pipelines.

You can design your pipelines, interact with Google apps, and send a restricted amount of emails each day with the free plan. Upgrades allow for more capacity. Users who upgrade to the Solo plan, for example, may send up to 800 bulk emails every day. They can also store up to 5,000 data rows and verify data by establishing rules for when particular variables should be changed.

Unlike other CRM systems, which provide basic reporting tools in their free and low-tier plans, Streak does not enable users to produce reports unless they upgrade to the Pro plan. We propose Zoho CRM for low-cost CRM choices with report generating, which includes basic reporting in its free plan and custom and scheduled reporting in its Standard subscription.

Summary of the Streak Plan

Key Characteristics of the Streak

• From inside Gmail, you can manage your deals.
• Contact enrichment methods based on data from Google apps and the internet
• Sales pipelines, operational pipelines, hiring pipelines, and project pipelines
• Pipeline linking allows you to simply move between linked pipeline components.
• Automatically categorizes emails and changes pipelines using the auto-boxing function.

Gmail-based sales pipeline management (Image courtesy of Streak)

Collaboration on sales streaks through Gmail (Source: Streak)

For sending automatic bulk emails, use the Streak mail merge tool (Source: Streak)

For solopreneurs searching for a personal CRM solution, Streak is a terrific alternative. In our Streak CRM review, we look into why this is so and other best-use situations, as well as how other users feel about the platform.

Pay a visit to Streak.

Features of Insightly: Best for Project Management

Insightly

3.55 OUT OF 5 STARS FOR THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE

What We Enjoy

• Capabilities in project management
• Event management tools built-in
• Business card scanner, data synchronization, and voice notes are all included in this mobile software.

What Isn’t There

• Low-tiered plans lack quotation generating and a product catalog.
• The cost of higher-tier plans increases.
• Customer assistance is only accessible during business hours and may be reached through phone or email.

A Quick Look at Insightful Pricing*

• Up to two users are free.
• Plus, each user pays $29 each month.
• Professional: $49 per month for each user
• Enterprise: $99 per month for each user
• 14-day free trial

*Pricing is based on yearly payment; however, for a higher fee, monthly billing is also possible.

When beginning a new firm, there are a slew of tasks to complete before introducing a product, such as kicking off marketing campaigns, adopting technology, or finishing a series of activities. Insightly helps you manage projects like this by monitoring milestones and tasks, as well as converting opportunities into projects and syncing them with your calendar.

Users may obtain sales management capabilities like contact and lead management, as well as project management tools like task tracking and calendar synchronization, with Insightly’s free subscription. Mass emailing, file sharing, and lead collecting through online forms are all accessible with the initial upgrade to the Insightly Plus plan.

Unfortunately, capabilities like creating quotations and personalizing product catalogs are only accessible on Insightly’s Enterprise subscription, which isn’t perfect for many small startups on a tight budget. Pipedrive is a great option that lets customers maintain a product catalog on the Essential level while also generating quotations on the Professional subscription.

Summary of Insightful Plan

Key Features with Insight

• Customizable email templates with bulk email distribution options
• Tools for generating leads, including a web form for capturing leads
• Project management tools, dashboards, and views are all built-in.
• With a thorough picture of a record, including history, earlier conversations, and connections to additional agreements or possibilities, contact the company.
• To guarantee profiles are up to date, auto-profile enrichment utilizing web data is used.

An in-depth look into project management activities (Source: Insightly)

Based on our in-depth Insightly CRM review, Insightly is one of the top CRMs for startups, small enterprises, and businesses like real estate firms. Check it out to find out more about the CRM system’s features, subscription pricing, and general usefulness.

Take a look at Insightly.

How Did We Pick the Best CRMs for Startups?

We assessed the essential CRM features and traits that a newly created firm need to find the overall best CRM for startups. For example, startups often have limited budgets and need tools to promote new (and perhaps unique) company offers, thus they require a CRM that allows for extensive system customization as well as low-cost or no-cost plan alternatives.

We found that HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is the best CRM for startups. It has a free forever plan and delivers the best user experience with easy-to-learn features and an intuitive interface. Additionally, HubSpot Academy gives startup businesses access to tons of free learning resources, including sales, marketing, and software video tutorials for optimizing the HubSpot CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system.

Go to HubSpot.com to learn more.

The headings below provide an overview of our criteria for selecting the best CRMs for startups:

40% of the overall score

Because cost is one of the most essential variables for any organization, particularly for startups with limited resources, it was given the highest weight while analyzing the top CRMs for startups. Pricing was based on the availability of a free plan, scalable pricing choices, and the ability to pay monthly.

20% of the overall score

We looked at connectivity possibilities, reporting and analytics tools, and a mobile app, all of which are essential aspects in CRMs for small firms. We also looked at features like sales forecasting, lead generating tools, project management, and marketing capabilities for social media, content, and email campaign management, which are all things that startups want.

15% of the overall score

The usability of the platforms used by the top CRMs for company beginnings was also considered. The knowledge necessary to set up an account, the learning curve for usage, the ease with which the CRM can be integrated with third-party apps, the competence required to operate the features, and the intuitiveness with which the system’s interface can be navigated were all considered.

15% of the overall score

Extensive support and service assist avoid problems that a solopreneur or startup company owner can have while utilizing any of these CRM programs. Customer service hours and the availability of assistance by phone, live chat, and email were considered while evaluating help and support.

10% of the overall score

In addition to firsthand experiences with the best CRMs for startups, we evaluated what other users are saying about each product. These criteria consider how customers feel based on their reviews to gain insight on platform popularity, User-Friendliness, and overall value for the price.

*Percentages based on total score

The “best crm for startups reddit” is a website that has been around since 2006. The site provides information on CRMs, and the best 6 CRMs in 2022.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best CRM for a startup business?

A: There are many CRMs that you can use for a startup, but some of the best ones are Hubspot and Salesforce.

What CRM startups use?

A: The CRM startups we have evaluated are Zoho, Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

What is the CRM of the future?

A: The CRM of the future would be a system that is able to take into account individual preferences and interests, but also personal knowledge such as an employees level or previous work experience.

Related Tags

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