A Comprehensive Vendor Selection Guide

In today’s competitive business landscape, customer data keeps accumulating, and getting insights from customer data is crucial for company success. That’s where Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software comes into play. CRM software helps businesses

• Streamline their sales processes
• Manage their customer services from a single platform
• Enable them to better understand their customers
• Improve interactions with customers
• Drive growth.

However, with numerous CRM software options available in the market, selecting the right solution for your business can be a challenging task. According to research, ~ 40% of customers spend most of their time in their buying journey evaluating which CRM system can handle their existing challenges better (see Figure 1).

Source: Gartner

Figure 1. Time spent on each phase of CRM software buying process

To assist businesses in making an informed decision when choosing a CRM tool, we have compiled a comprehensive vendor selection guide featuring the top 12 CRM software solutions.

Industries that can benefit from a CRM system

1. Sales and Retail: CRM software can help these businesses manage customer interactions, predict customer behavior, score leads, and streamline sales processes. Omnichannel support and real-time monitoring can improve customer service.

2. Healthcare: CRM can help healthcare providers in managing patient information, streamline appointments, and improve patient communication.

3. Financial Services: Financial institutions, such as banks, credit unions, and wealth management firms, can use CRM software to maintain customer data, track interactions, handle customer inquiries, and manage complaints.

4. Insurance: CRM software can assist insurance companies in managing client policies, handling claims, and providing customer support. 

Top 12 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software

While determining the vendors to examine in our research, we narrowed our vendor list based on some criteria. We used the number of B2B reviews and employees of a company to estimate its market presence because these criteria are public and verifiable.

Therefore, we set certain limits to focus our work on top companies in terms of market presence, selecting firms with:

• 600+ employees
• 350+ reviews on review platforms including G2, Trustradius, Capterra
• at least one Fortune 500 reference

We have analyzed the vendors in terms of market presence and commercials (e.g., number of reviews, pricing, etc. ). Please note that we did not include whether there is a free trial for the tool, as all vendors offer free-trials. You can sort Table 1, for example, by the total number of reviews on software review platforms (including G2, Capterra, and Trustradius).

Vendors	Employee size	Number of reviews*	Ratings* (out of 5)	Quality of support** (out of 10)	Pricing
Creatio	649	390	4.6/5	9.1	Starts from $25 / month per user with monthly subscription
Pipedrive	962	4948	4.3/5	8.3	Starts from $14.90 / month per use
HubSpot Sales Hub	8879	11340	4.4/5	8.6	Starts from $50 / month for two user
Zendesk Sell	6202	548	4.1/5	8.5	Starts from $19 / month per user
Freshsales	7637	1761	4.3/5	8.9	Starts from $15 / month per user
Quickbase	806	1724	4.5/5	8.7	Starts from $30 / month per user, paid annually
ClickUp	1044	13118	4.6/5	8.9	Starts from $5 / month per user
Salesforce Sales Cloud	71750	36475	4.3/5	8	Starts from $25 / month per user, paid annually
monday Sales CRM	1802	1096	4.5/5	8.8	Starts from $27 / month per 3 user, billed annually
ActiveCampaign for Sales	851	2317	4.3/5	8.5	Starts from $49 /month per user, paid annually
SAP Sales Cloud	109701	858	4.1/5	8	Custom pricing
Zoho CRM	18151	9661	4.1/5	7.5	Starts from $14 / month per user, billed annually

*Based on the total number of reviews and average ratings on software review platforms G2, Trustradius, and Capterra.

1- Creatio

Creatio is a no-code platform for workflow automation and CRM, offering businesses freedom and flexibility. Trusted by thousands of enterprises in more than 100 countries, millions of workflows are launched on the platform every single day.

Features

• Low-code no-code development
• Next action recommendations
• Call data entry & collection automation
• Omnichannel customer support
• Advanced compliance management
• Predictive lead scoring
• Real-time monitoring
• Offline synchronization
• Advanced compliance management
• Advanced analytics & reporting

Pricing

• Starts from 25$ per user/month with monthly subscription options
• Free 14-day trial is available

User ratings

G2: 4.6/5

Capterra: 4.8/5

Trustradius: 8.8/10

Pros

• They offer a quality customer service when customers need technical support when navigating in the tool.
  
• The intuitive drag-and-drop design enabled by low-code no-code possibilities offer customers flexibility while customizing their dashboard even without prior coding experience.
• Once a customer subscribes to the preferred subscription model, there are no additional expenses.
• Customer interaction and meeting their demands are made simple by omnichannel customer support capability.

Cons

• There is a room for improvement in terms of the number of integration to third party tools.
• There is a steep learning curve of the CRM software.

2- Pipedrive

Features

• Low-code / no-code development
• Predictive lead scoring
• Call data entry & collection automation
• Omnichannel customer support
• Real-time monitoring
• Advanced compliance management

Pricing

• Starts from $14.90 / month per user
• Free trial is available

User ratings

G2: 4.2/5

Capterra: 4.5/5

Trustradius: 8.2/10

Pros

• They offer a user-friendly interface.
• They have an advanced notification system.

Cons

• They offer limited branding and customization possibilities (see the image below).

• It is challenging to get a comprehensive view of the consumer base because they don’t provide advanced reporting capabilities.
• The updates in the tool can be slow.
• If you want to unlock all features, the costs can quickly pile up, especially for small businesses.

3- HubSpot Sales Hub

Features

• Predictive lead scoring
• Call data entry & collection automation
• Omnichannel customer support
• Real-time monitoring
• Advanced compliance management

Pricing

• Starts from $50 / month for two users
• Free trial is available

User ratings

G2: 4.4/5

Capterra: 4.5/5

Trustradius: 8.6/10

Pros

• There are numerous third-party integration options available.
• They offer visualizations easy-to-understand.

Cons

• Appointment calendar function can be improved (see the image below).
  
• Additional features such as email sequencing campaigns or advanced reporting can scale up the costs.
• Responsiveness of the platform can be improved.

4- Zendesk Sell

Features

• Low-code development
• Predictive lead scoring
• Call data entry & collection automation
• Omnichannel customer support
• Offline synchronization
• Advanced compliance management

Pricing

• Starts from $19** / month per user
• Free trial is available

**This price is relevant when paid annually. If a company chooses a monthly subscription, then the price is $25 / month per user

User ratings

G2: 4.2/5

Capterra: Not provided

Trustradius: 7.9/10

Pros

• They offer a very simple and easy-to-use interface.
• Omnichannel customer support possibilities make it easy to handle technical problems.

Cons

• The system can sometimes crash or slow down.
• To gain access to all of the features, you will need to purchase a more expensive subscription model.
• Third party integration tool options can be increased.

5- Freshsales

Features

• Predictive lead scoring
• Next action recommendations
• Call data entry & collection automation
• Omnichannel customer support
• Real-time monitoring
• Offline synchronization
• Advanced compliance management
• Advanced analytics & reporting

Pricing

• Starts from $15** / month per user
• Free 21-day trial is available

**This price is relevant when paid annually. If a company chooses a monthly subscription, then the price is $18 / month.

User ratings

G2: 4.5/5

Capterra: 4.5/5

Trustradius: 8.2/10

Pros

• The tool offers various third party integration possibilities.
• Customization of the dashboard is easy and user-intuitive.

Cons

• Any setup in the platform may require external technical experience and support.
• There is room for development in the mobile app version in terms of functionality and user experience.
• One-on-one assistance for customers may not always be possible (see the image below).

6- Quickbase

Features

• Low-code / no-code development
• Predictive lead scoring
• Omnichannel customer support
• Real-time monitoring
• Advanced compliance management

Pricing

• Starts from $30 / month per user, paid annually (min 20 users)
• Free trial is available

User ratings

G2: 4.5/5

Capterra: 4.5/5

Trustradius: 9.2/10

Pros

• Customization is easy through the platform’s no-code development feature.
• Onboarding and setup processes are easy and don’t take much time.

Cons

• Pricing is above the CRM industry standards.
• There are additional costs if one-on-one customer support is needed.
• Mobile app version needs improvement.

7- ClickUp

Features

• Low-code / no-code development
• Call data entry & collection automation
• Omnichannel customer support
• Real-time monitoring
• Advanced compliance management
• Offline synchronization

Pricing

• Starts from $5 / month per user
• Free trial is available

User ratings

G2: 4.7/5

Capterra: 4.7/5

Trustradius: 8.6/10

Pros

• Compared to other vendors, their basic model is less expensive.
• They offer unlimited places per workspace.

Cons

• The tool has a steep learning curve.
• When compared to the web interface, the mobile app lacks some functionalities.

8- Salesforce Sales Cloud

Features

• Low-code development
• Predictive lead scoring
• Next action recommendations with Einstein GPT
• Call data entry & collection automation
• Omnichannel customer support
• Real-time monitoring
• Offline synchronization
• Advanced compliance management
• Advanced analytics & reporting

Pricing

• Starts from $25 / month per user, billed annually
• Free 30-day trial is available

User ratings

G2: 4.3/5

Capterra: 4.4/5

Trustradius: 8.2/10

Pros

• There is an AI-powered implementation in their platform which is called Einstein and helps in automating processes.
• There are various third-party integration possibilities with the CRM system.

Cons

• The reporting functionality has some bugs (see the review below).

• Initial setup and configuration might require expertise.
• Not all functions on the dashboard are useful, making it messy (see the review below).

9- monday Sales CRM

Features

• Predictive lead scoring
• Call data entry & collection automation
• Omnichannel customer support
• Real-time monitoring
• Offline synchronization
• Advanced compliance management
• Advanced analytics & reporting

Pricing

• Starts from $27 per 3 user/month, billed annually
• Free 14-day trial is available

User ratings

G2: 4.7/5

Capterra: 4.6/5

Trustradius: 8.6/10

Pros

• The interface is user friendly and it is easy to navigate in the tool.
• The reminder system is quite useful for sending follow-ups to the team members.

Cons

• The tool doesn’t have a built-in automated email system that enables gathering customer contact information.
• When multiple users work on the same board, there might be lags.
• The tool might not be suitable for enterprises (see the review below).

10- ActiveCampaign for Sales

Features

• Low-code / no-code development
• Predictive lead scoring
• Next action recommendations
• Omnichannel customer support
• Real-time monitoring
• Advanced compliance management
• Advanced analytics & reporting

Pricing

• Starts from $49 /month per user, paid annually (min 3 users)
• Free trial is available

User ratings

G2: 4.4/5

Capterra: Not provided

Trustradius: 8.4/10

Pros

• Its automated sales follow-ups assist sales teams in staying up to date throughout the sales funnel.
• It is easy to set up campaigns for the customers.
• Its customer support is responsive and they tackle technical problems rapidly.

Cons

• There is a steep learning curve of the tool.
• The reporting function can be improved.
• The platform may sometimes slow down.
• The mobile version of the tool requires improvements.

11- SAP Sales Cloud

Features

• Low-code / no-code development
• Predictive lead scoring
• Next action recommendations
• Omnichannel customer support
• Real-time monitoring
• Offline synchronization in the mobile app version
• Advanced compliance management
• Advanced analytics & reporting

Pricing

• Custom pricing (Customers should contact sales reps)
• Free trial is available

User ratings

G2: 4.1/5

Capterra: 3.9/5

Trustradius: 8.4/10

Pros

• Integrated AI function helps in providing intelligent recommendations.
• It has broad third-party integration possibilities.

Cons

• Its limited offline synchronization capacity may be inconvenient.
• The software can have a slow loading time at times.
• The tool has a steep learning curve.

12- Zoho CRM

Features

• Low-code / no-code development
• Predictive lead scoring
• Next action recommendations
• Call data entry & collection automation
• Omnichannel customer support
• Real-time monitoring
• Offline synchronization
• Advanced compliance management
• Advanced analytics & reporting

Pricing

• Starts from $14 / month per user, billed annually
• Free trial is available

User ratings

G2: 4/5

Capterra: 4.3/5

Trustradius: 8.2/10

Pros

• The tool has a user-intuitive interface.
• It integrates with other Zoho applications, thus providing a wide range of features.

Cons

• The tool has a steep learning curve which can be overwhelming for the new users.
• Customer support response time can be slow at times.

> Top 12 CRM software vendor comparison criteria

Research shows that the demand for CRM systems with AI or machine learning methods is rising.¹ This trend is driven mostly by AI’s revolutionary potential, which enables CRM systems to move beyond simple data management and into predictive analytics, customized interactions, and proactive customer engagement.

As a result, the incorporation of AI in CRM software is no longer an optional feature but rather a crucial component that drives improved customer experiences and business growth. So, we divided CRM capabilities into AI-powered and other essential features.

As all vendors offer advanced compliance management, we didn’t include this feature in the table. You can sort Table 2, for example, by the low-code no-code development possibilities.

Vendors	Low-code / no-code development	Predictive lead scoring	Next action recommendations	Call data entry & collection automation	Omnichannel customer support	Quality of support* (out of 10)	Real-time monitoring	Offline synchronization	Advanced analytics and reporting
Creatio	Available	Available	Available	Available	Email Telephone Social media SMS 24/7 Live chat	9.1	Available	Available	Available
Pipedrive	Available	Available	N/A	Available	Email Knowledge base Live chat	8.3	Available	In mobile app	N/A
HubSpot Sales Hub	Not provided	Available	N/A	Available	Email Phone Live chat	8.6	Available	N/A	w/ additional costs
Zendesk Sell	Low-code	Available	N/A	Available	Email Phone Knowledge Base 24/7 Live chat	8.5	N/A	Available	N/A
Freshsales	N/A	Available	Available	Available	Email Phone Live chat	8.9	Available	Available	Available
Quickbase	Available	Available	N/A	N/A	Email Telephone SMS 24/7 Live chat	8.7	Available	N/A	N/A
ClickUp	Available	Not provided	N/A	Available	Email Telephone Social media SMS 24/7 Live chat	8.9	Available	Available	N/A
Salesforce Sales Cloud	Low-code	Available	Available	Available	Email Knowledge base Phone Live chat	8	Available	Available	Available
monday Sales CRM	N/A	Available	N/A	Available	Email Knowledge base Forum Social Media	8.8	Available	Available	N/A
ActiveCampaign for Sales	Available	Available	Available	N/A	Knowledge Base Email/Help Desk Chat FAQs/Forum Phone Support	8.5	Available	N/A	Available
SAP Sales Cloud	Available	Available	Available	Not provided	Email/Help Desk Phone Support Knowledge Base FAQs/Forum	8	Available	In mobile app	Available
Zoho CRM	Available	Available	Available	Available	Email Telephone Social media SMS Live chat	7.5	Available	Available	Available

*Ratings on software review platform G2.

> AI-powered CRM features

1- Low-code // no-code development

According to research, 55% of CRM purchasers consider the tool’s ease of use while making a purchase.² Low-code/no-code development refers to visual, drag-and-drop interfaces that allow users to design and customize apps without writing long lines of code. This simplifies the process of designing and modifying the CRM platform to meet the specific needs of a business for CRM systems.

Companies can create customized interfaces that reflect their operational procedures using low-code/no-code CRM development. This includes the development of dashboards, report templates, and customizable applications for managing multiple customer interactions such as email marketing, customer feedback, sales pipelines, and more. These solutions create better alignment between the CRM system and business operations by allowing firms to adapt the CRM platform to their specific needs, enhancing efficiency and productivity.

2- Predictive lead scoring

Predictive lead score is a machine learning application, a subset of AI, in which the system predicts outcomes through statistical analysis. The predictive powers of AI are a great tool for sales teams, assisting them in streamlining procedures, optimizing strategies, and ultimately increasing sales success.

3- Next action recommendations

Based on analysis of historical data and prediction algorithms, the CRM system can recommend the next best course of action with the use of machine learning such as creating emails involving the next actions regarding a customer. This improves the efficiency of decision-making processes and helps to promote consumer engagement and satisfaction.

4- Call data entry & collection automation

Artificial intelligence can automate the process of data entry and gathering from customer interactions, including phone calls. AI-powered CRM features can transcribe phone calls, collect essential data and automatically fill CRM fields.

This automatic data gathering not only saves hours of manually entering data but also ensures that critical information is not skipped. Companies can utilize this information to better understand their consumers’ requirements, interests, and behaviors, allowing them to customize sales and marketing activities.

> Other essential CRM features

5- Omnichannel customer support

As customers navigate the learning curve that comes with any system, 24-hour customer service can be a beneficial resource. Furthermore, providing support across many channels helps to meet varying user preferences. According to a recent survey, 44% of CRM purchasers consider customer support and service capabilities of CRM software to be an important component in their purchasing choice.³

6- Real-time monitoring

A CRM system can track and record customer interactions as they occur across numerous channels, such as emails, phone calls, website visits, social media interactions, or live chat, using real-time monitoring. This data is immediately available to your employees, providing them with an up-to-date picture of a customer’s behaviors, requirements, and preferences.

Furthermore, CRM systems with real-time monitoring can track sales and marketing actions as they happen. For example, after a marketing email is sent, the system can track open rates, click-through rates, and responses. Instead of waiting until the campaign is over to evaluate its success, this data can be evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the campaign and make quick adjustments if necessary.

For those interested, here is our article on the top 10 retail CRM software.

7- Offline synchronization

Offline synchronization enables users to view and work on their CRM data even when they are not connected to the internet. For example, a sales professional in a remote location or on a flight can still update customer profiles, record events, take notes, and organize follow-up activities.

Offline synchronization is a feature in CRM systems that ensures seamless operations, data consistency, and increased productivity, particularly for companies with remote workers. By allowing businesses to work from any location at any time, it ensures that they can service customers effectively and efficiently, even when on the move.

8- Advanced compliance management

As businesses go through a complex web of rules, having a CRM system that can handle compliance is essential. This tool assists businesses in remaining on the right side of the law, reducing the risk of costly penalties and damage to their reputation.

9- Advanced analytics & reporting

CRM software requires advanced analytics and reporting to go beyond simple data collecting and storage. These features make use of advanced analytical techniques to extract valuable insights from the system’s vast quantities of customer information. Businesses can make informed decisions, detect patterns, and optimize their strategy for better consumer engagement and sales process performance by investigating and comprehending this data.

For those interested, here is our data-driven list of CRM software.

Transparency Statement

AIMultiple serves numerous tech companies, including Creatio.

If you need help in your vendor selection process, reach us:

Find the Right Vendors

1. “Software Market Insights: Customer Relationship Management (CRM)” (PDF). Gartner. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
2. “Software Market Insights: Customer Relationship Management (CRM)” (PDF). Gartner. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
3. “Software Market Insights: Customer Relationship Management (CRM)” (PDF). Gartner. Retrieved July 20, 2023.

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