The Best CRM for Startups (15 Tools Reviewed)

Udn Webber

Writer

Managing a startup can sometimes feel like a circus.

You have to juggle multiple tasks throughout the day, which include managing your finances, retaining the best staff, and most importantly, securing a loyal customer base. 🤹

And if you really want to get the ball rolling, you’ll have to find a way to attend client meetings and address feedback while nurturing customer relationships!

But how do you manage all these elements while scaling your business?

Simple: by using the right CRM (client relationship management) software.

In this article, we’ll cover what CRM software is, and we’ll highlight the fifteen best CRM for startups that you can use today.

Let’s get started!

What is CRM Software?

A CRM tool helps startup businesses store all their contacts in one place, monitor every step in the sales process, and build long-term relationships with their customers. These days, you can find many free CRM software available on the market.

But what exactly is CRM?

CRM stands for client relationship management .

CRM helps a startup deepen its relationships with customers, partners, and suppliers. This is especially important because, without good stakeholder relationships, it’s almost impossible for a startup to grow. 🌱

In fact, it’s one of the most important tools for startups because it helps them accomplish so much.

Here are some of the features found in CRM software for startups:

These features ensure that everyone in your startup has access to the most recent customer data. This way, your sales team can provide the best customer experience. One study estimates 65% of consumers convert into long term customers of a brand with good customer experience.

In addition, having the right CRM software can help your team dodge miscommunication issues between your sales and marketing teams, limited data access, and missed opportunities. Data estimates that using a CRM system can increase a business’s cross-selling and up-selling revenue by 39%.

And most importantly, you’ll avoid having to juggle between multiple tools!

Could your startup team benefit from a systematic sales approach?

Check out these project management tips for sales teams.

Top 15 CRM for Startups

Here are the fifteen best CRM tools for startups:

1. UDN Task Manager

UDN Task Manager is one of the world’s highest-rated productivity and startup management software used by teams in small and large companies.

With UDN Task Manager , you can use tags to organize your accounts, get a geographic view of your clients with the Map view , and automatically assign tasks for each stage of your sales pipeline.

In addition, with UDN Task Manager ’s Free Forever Plan , your startup can invest the money you would’ve spent on software into your business!

Not sold yet?

Here’s more info on how to use UDN Task Manager as a CRM.

No Table view in the mobile app (yet).

Take a look at the UDN Task Manager Roadmap to see how we’re fixing such minor drawbacks.

And don’t forget to check out the catalog of exciting features that this free CRM project management tool has waiting for you! 📖

UDN Task Manager offers numerous pricing plans to fit your needs, including:

2. HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is a free CRM for startup companies. It also has many helpful sales tools for startups that help teams manage their pipeline more effectively.

But is this a (Hub) spot-on tool for your startup ?

Let’s find out:

Hubspot CRM has a free plan, and paid plans start at $50/month for two users.

3. Agile CRM

Agile CRM is an all-in-one CRM solution with some project management functionality. With Agile CRM, you can assign tasks to team members, track email campaigns, and gamify your sales process. 🎮

Let’s see how Agile CRM can help you step up your sales game:

Agile CRM has a free plan, and paid plans start at $14.99/month.

4. Salesforce

Salesforce helps teams manage every stage of the sales cycle. With this CRM platform, you can keep an eye on top-performing team members, create quotes, and more.

Let’s see if this sales CRM will turn your salesforce into a force to be reckoned with:

Salesforce pricing plans start at $25/user per month.

5. Zoho CRM

With Zoho CRM , you can set long-term key performance indicators (KPIs) and monitor sales rep performance via dashboards. This way, you can encourage employees to maintain a long-term customer relationship even when deals have been closed.

Zoho CRM has a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/user per month.

6. SugarCRM

SugarCRM is a CRM platform with marketing automation, email templates, and AI-driven predictive analytics.

But how sweet is this tool? 🍬

Let’s find out:

SugarCRM has a professional plan that costs $52/user per month.

7. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a SaaS CRM tool with a cool feature that lets you know when an existing customer is near you. With this feature, you can “randomly” run into clients and keep those relationships secure. 😉

Pipedrive’s paid plans start at $15/user per month.

8. Insightly

Insightly is a CRM system that aims to align marketing, sales, customer support, and project teams around a single source of customer information.

Let’s see what kind of insights you’ll gain from this CRM app:

Insightly has paid plans that start at $29/user per month when billed annually.

9. Close CRM

Close CRM is a great CRM for startup companies. The app lets you record calls, and you can unsend emails if you’ve made a mistake.

But will this platform help you close more deals?

Let’s find out:

Close CRM has paid plans that start at $29/user per month for 1–3 users.

10. Bitrix24

Bitrix24 is a team collaboration tool with CRM functionality. With a native time tracker, sales automation, and granular permissions, you can manage your sales team efficiently.

This CRM software also has a video calling feature that supports up to 24 participants.

Bitrix24 has a free plan, and paid plans start at $24/month for two users.

11. Less Annoying CRM

Less Annoying CRM takes their name very seriously.

This contact management software was designed specifically for small businesses. The app has a simple pricing model, and you can set up pipelines within minutes.

Less Annoying CRM doesn’t have pricing tiers. However, their paid plan starts at $15/user per month.

12. Nextiva

Nextiva brings all communication channels, including voice, video, SMS, chat, and surveys, together in one place.

By combining all these communication channels with your business apps, your sales team can improve customer experience.

Let’s see:

Nextiva’s pricing plans start at $30.95/user per month for 1–4 users.

13. Freshworks CRM

Freshworks CRM (formerly Freshsales) aims to break down data silos by combining sales, marketing, and customer support.

This cloud CRM has a cool feature called Freddy AI, which identifies your best leads. 🤖

Freshworks CRM’s paid plans start at $35/user per month.

14. Keap

With Keap, you can automate your sales process , create daily, weekly, and monthly sales reports, and schedule appointments.

But will your startup want to keep this tool on the list once we’re done reviewing it?

Let’s find out:

Keap’s paid plans start at $79/month for one user. If you want to add more users, it’ll cost you an additional $30/user.

15. Salesflare

Salesflare is an intuitive CRM system that startup companies can use to automate their data entry, track and follow up their leads better, and communicate with customers as a team.

How much flare can this software add to your startup’s sales process?

Salesflare’s pricing plans start at $29/user per month.

Get Started with the Best CRM Platform

It can be super challenging to keep your startup business afloat when you have to manage a storm of tasks on your own. But remember, startups value knowledge over anything else, and there’s nothing more valuable than customer data.

Luckily, with free CRM tools for startups, you can save time and other resources and manage customer relations with ease. This way, you can shift your focus from admin tasks to expanding your business.

But to ensure that your startup sails smoothly in the long run, you need the best startup CRM tool out there!

With UDN Task Manager , you can visualize client projects cwith Mind Maps , plan your team’s work capacity with the Workload view, and set and track your progress towards your funding goals .

Get started with UDN Task Manager for free today to experience the best CRM for startups because: