Best Free CRMs Compared

Every serious business should invest time and money into a robust customer relationship management (CRM) system. Sadly, not all emerging businesses can afford a sophisticated system like SalesForce, considered the industry standard for enterprise level businesses.

Are you a fledgling business just beginning to stretch its wings? An ambitious home business startup? Perhaps you are researching for expanding your existing business. I will give the pros and cons for three of the most promising FREE CRM options out there.

Businesses need to store and manage customer and prospect information to help your marketing team have a ready solution for lead volume. It helps your sales team’s ability to close deals. Most importantly these services will enable your customer service team make your customer base happy with the right help desk solutions.

Zoho

Zoho empowers a global network of over 250,000 businesses of all sizes in 180 countries to convert more leads, engage with customers, and grow revenue.

ProsCons
  • The best customization options.
  • Handles customer/prospect interaction very well.
  • Workflow Tools that address: marketing, projects, social, customer service, emailing marketing, inventory, human resources management, etc.
  • Utilizes workflows and custom fields with Blueprint.
  • There is an API available for creating custom applications.
  • Tutorials are sometimes lacking.
  • Complicated integration at times and not always consistent.
  • The AI assistant is cool but not much value to it.
  • Subscription pricing is per user instead of grouped tiers.

HubSpot

HubSpot optimizes a company’s relationships with leads and customers. Their software allows users to connect with over 875 integration apps, APIs, and solutions partners. HubSpot is presented as an ideal solution to help scale a business, for small to enterprise-level businesses alike.

ProsCons
  • More affordable pricing options.
  • Split testing options that really add value (higher packages).
  • You can grow your email lists on your own terms.
  • It gets expensive…quickly.
  • It’s Difficult to Use Not as an All-in-One Tool.
  • Templates are difficult to modify.
  • Reports are limited

Bitrix24

Bitrix24 is a local-hosted or cloud-based social intranet and project management platform that also contains core HR (HRMS) and CRM features. Bitrix24 also provides time management services and employee self-service.

ProsCons
  • High scalability with its data cataloging.
  • Integrates well with various business management systems as well as platforms like Facebook Lead Ads.
  • Appointments with contacts can be scheduled free of charge
  • Automated notifications are difficult to schedule.
  • Technical support can be lacking.
  • Poor UX/UI.
  • Limited functionality in the mobile app.

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