Best Simple CRM (March 2024) (2024)

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On Zoho's Website

Zoho CRM combines ease of use and functionality to make it one of the best simple CRMs in the industry. The interface is immediately intuitive to almost any user, though setup may come with a slight learning curve. And once you have workflows automated, it’s like Zoho CRM just works in the background, so you hardly have to touch it (which is kind of the point of CRM with automation).

There are several plans, so Zoho CRM grows with your business. A solo operation or a very small business could get started with the free plan and not need to upgrade for a while. The free plan lets you manage leads, contacts, accounts and deals with no limits. You’ll miss out on many helpful features, but for a slim CRM solution, it works well. And you’ll be able to automate some workflows and customize pages and tabs. File storage is limited to 1GB, so that could be an issue, but we still named it the best free CRM.

If you choose to upgrade, the paid plans range from $14 per user, per month to $52 per user, per month, if paid annually, and you’ll unlock integrations, custom fields and custom reports for all plans. Professional plans and above benefit from macros, reminders and an increase in email notifications allowed per day. The high-tier plans get exclusive features, such as Zoho’s artificial intelligence (AI) tools (known as Zia). With these AI tools, you’ll get better predictions on conversion rates and suggestions for better workflows and assignments based on what you’re already doing in Zoho.

Learn More: Read our full Zoho CRM review.

Who should use it:

Zoho CRM is known for being an easy-to-use CRM, but it’s also a powerful and scalable solution for any size business. It’s a great choice for small businesses because of its integrations with popular apps and relative affordability.

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Via partner site

Although CRM can be used by any department or team, Freshsales was built with sales teams in mind. This simple CRM starts with a clean interface that’s easy to read with columns you can easily show or hide. If you stick to the free plan, you’ll have a lot of work ahead of you because there’s no automated workflows at this level. It’s easy to figure it all out, but a CRM should remove a lot of tedious work.

What you do get on all the plans are basic CRM (contact and account management, tasks, appointments and notes), custom fields and a built-in dialer. You’ll even get a live chat widget for your website. These features make Freshsales an easy pick for small sales teams even for just the free plan. Upgrade to get the automation you need, the all-important sales dashboard and visual sales pipelines. Messaging integrations, such as SMS, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are only available on paid plans. It might be worth upgrading to a paid plan just for the AI-powered chatbot, though. You’re limited to 2,000 to 5,000 sessions, depending on the plan you choose.

Learn More: Read our full Freshsales review.

Who should use it:

Regardless of which Freshsales plan you choose, each one is made for sales teams with features that make it easier to reach out, follow up and close deals.

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Via partner site

As with many CRMs, noCRM.io is built for sales teams. The features in this app are meant to streamline the prospecting and sales processes. One of the best things about noCRM is that you can start using it right away—there’s almost no setup to do. It’s one of the most user-friendly CRMs you’ll find that sales teams are sure to adopt quickly. If you do need onboarding, it’s a bit expensive, starting at $1,200.

You’ll find a lot of reviewers tout noCRM as one of the best lead management tools on the market, which is likely because it makes it so easy for you to know at a glance where each prospect or lead is in a pipeline. The Kanban-style view of opportunities and drag-and-drop method helps with its ease of use. You can easily import contacts, sync with your calendars and get notifications in the app or on your mobile phone.

There is no free plan for noCRM, but there is a 15-day free trial that lets you try all the features. To get the most out of noCRM, you may want to opt for its highest-tier plan at $32 per user, per month (if paid annually). It’s at this level you’ll get advanced email management tools, such as email tracking and custom email templates. Besides, the low paid plan only allows you to have up to three users, so most small businesses will outgrow that quickly.

Who should use it:

If you’re looking for an easy-to-use CRM that sales teams will adopt quickly because little to no training is needed, noCRM may fit your needs.

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Via partner site

You know when a CRM doesn’t offer high-priced onboarding that it’s going to be easy to use. Less Annoying CRM lives up to its name in many ways. To start, there are no pricing tiers—you pay $15 per user, per month. There is no long-term contract and you don’t have to upgrade to get more features. You also don’t have to dodge calls or emails trying to upsell you.

As far as the app itself goes, it offers a simple dashboard with everything you need in one place: contacts, calendar, tasks and pipelines. You can customize fields and pipelines however you want. Plus, Less Annoying CRM lets you integrate the essentials: Google and Outlook calendars, Mailchimp and Google Contacts. There are a handful of third-party apps you can connect to but it’s a short list.

Less Annoying CRM offers free customer and tech support during business hours on weekdays (Central time zone) and it doesn’t charge you for that support. The company is betting its software is so simple that you’ll hardly need support, so it doesn’t even offer onboarding (but the team will still help if you need it).

Who should use it:

Less Annoying CRM may not meet the complex needs of large sales teams, so it’s best suited for small businesses that don’t want a complicated system full of unnecessary features.

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Via partner site

A great CRM includes all the features you need to manage contacts, track deals, set up sales pipelines and automate tedious tasks. OnePageCRM does all of that and much more, but all in the name of making it easier for sales team members to manage all their processes. There are two plans from which you can choose: Professional or Business, which cost $9.95 per user, per month (paid annually) and $19.95 per user, per month (paid annually), respectively.

The Professional plan is packed with helpful features, including unlimited contacts and deals, visual deal management, email sync and a business card scanner, to name a few. Go with the Business plan if you need advanced features, such as email tracking, multiple pipelines or user permissions for groups (or to restrict access for single users).

One of the best features of OnePageCRM is that it includes an AI-assisted route planner, so team members meeting with clients face to face can add those they plan to visit and the route planner will choose the best route based on time of day, traffic and how long your meetings average. That feature is available for both plans. OnePageCRM is easy to set up, but some teams may not make use of all the functionality, so it could be too much CRM for smaller teams.

Who should use it:

Power CRM users are likely to make the most of OnePageCRM—it’s a robust program, but easy to customize and learn.

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Via partner site

Insightly is known for being more than a CRM—it’s a project and work management app, too. It’s easy to use, but it has a steeper learning curve than some other CRMs on this list. You can use Insightly as a regular CRM to manage contacts, leads, deals and create sales pipelines. It also lets you create and track tasks, projects and events.

There’s a visual deal management board, so you can see opportunities in a Kanban drag-and-drop style. Insightly also includes email templates, web-to-lead capture and an automatic profile enrichment feature (from social media) for all plans.

Insightly is a pricier option compared to most other simple CRM apps, ranging from $29 per user, per month (if paid annually) to $99 per user, per month (if paid annually). There are limits on storage and records for most plans—10GB storage and 100,000 records for the low-tier plan and 100GB storage and 250,000 records for the mid-tier plan. Automated workflows aren’t included on the low-tier plan at all.

Learn More: Read our full Insightly review.

Who should use it:

Insightly is an easy-to-use CRM that has features helpful for many departments in a business, from sales and marketing to customer support and business development teams.

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On Pipedrive's Website

The drag-and-drop interface makes Pipedrive instantly intuitive. Even automation is easy to learn. Pipedrive includes a lot of valuable features in its CRM, but you have to pay for them. The lowest-priced plan is full of basic tools you need to manage leads and deals, so it could be worth it to start on Pipedrive if you plan to upgrade as your business grows. The Essential plan costs $14.90 per user, per month (paid annually) and includes the basics you need, such as lead and deal management, custom pipelines, custom fields and calendars.

For more advanced features (or to remove or decrease limits), you have to upgrade to the Advanced, Professional or Enterprise plan—pricing tops out at $99 per user, per month (paid annually). Get fully synced email on most plans, but Pipedrive won’t give you an in-app caller until the Professional plan. Active workflows are limited on all plans (up to 100 on the Enterprise plan).

One of Pipedrive’s features that goes beyond the basics is its visual custom dashboard. Essential and Advanced subscribers get one dashboard, but you can have an unlimited number of them on the high-tier plans. These custom boards let you choose which reports or other info you prefer to see, so you can keep your eye on deals closing or deals rotting, for example.

Learn More: Read our full Pipedrive review.