Written by Rob Binns Reviewed by James Macey Updated on March 20, 2023 On this page The 8 Most Popular Top CRM Software Tools 1. Zoho 2. Freshsales 3. HubSpot 4. Pipedrive 5. monday.com 6. Salesforce 7. Sugar 8. Zendesk Our Methodology Next Steps Expand Our site is reader-supported – by clicking our links, we can match you with a potential supplier, and we may earn a small commission for this referral. The top three most popular CRM platforms on the market are Zoho, Freshsales and HubSpot. All of these offer their own strengths and weaknesses, which are discussed at length below, but the main reasons are low cost, a wide array of features, and simplistic interfaces for easy usability.Now that remote and hybrid working are here to stay, the flexibility that CRM brings to team collaboration means that the software is hitting new levels of popularity. What are the top 5 most popular CRM software solutions in 2023? These are the providers we recommend based on our research. Clicking on the links will take you to the provider's website.Zoho CRM – Best for ease of useFreshsales – Best for sales automationHubSpot CRM – Best for scalabilityPipedrive – Best for detailed lead managementmonday.com – Best for managing creative projects and teams Swipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward Zoho CRM Freshsales Hubspot CRM Pipedrive monday.com Salesforce Sugar CRM Zendesk Best for Ease of use Best for Sales automation Best for Scalability Best for Detailed lead management Best for Managing creative projects and teams Best for Automation and analytics Best for Medium-sized businesses Best for Businesses looking for customer service solutions Starting Price $14 per user per month Starting Price $15 Starting Price $25 per user per month Starting Price $14.90 per user per month Starting Price $8 per user per month Starting Price $25 per user per month Starting Price $49 Starting Price $19 per user per month Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Try Zoho Try Freshsales Try HubSpot Try Pipedrive Try monday.com Try Salesforce Try SugarCRM Try Zendesk With so many CRM options out there, how are you supposed to choose the right one? Well, one way to narrow down the top CRM solutions is to be one with the crowd – to embrace conformity, and check out the software that's most popular among your peers. The other option is to fill out our CRM comparison tool, which will match you with some suitable CRM platforms based on your business's information.After all, they're popular for a reason! (The CRMs, not your peers). Let's get started. About pricing Many CRM platforms offer two pricing systems – annual and monthly. If you pay annually, the price will be slightly reduced (for example, Zoho's Standard plan is $20 per month, or $14 per month if you pay for 12 months in one payment). We'll be using their annual prices in this article. The 8 Most Popular Top CRM Software Tools in 2023We know that your competitors are using CRM software. Statistics suggest around 91% of businesses with over 11 employees use a CRM system to manage their deals, marketing, and customer service tickets with greater ease, speed, and efficiency.We know CRM is popular then, but… just which CRM system providers are the most popular? We wanted to find out, so took matters into our own hands with a comprehensive research into CRM features, pricing, customer support, and customer approval – among other things.The goal? To bring you the most popular CRM systems in the US, and to help you decide which one is best for your business.So, without further ado, here they are – the 8 most popular CRM systems in the US, which consist of Zoho, Freshsales, HubSpot, Pipedrive, monday.com, Salesforce, Sugar, and Zendesk. Jump into the list below to navigate straight to a supplier, or scroll on to find out why these sought-after CRM systems cut the mustard. ZohoBest for Value for Money Zoho CRM 4.7 Pricing $14 – $52 per user per month Try Zoho Quick overview Zoho is one of the most affordable CRM softwares on the market, but it more than holds its own against more expensive packages. Sure, the interface isn’t as jazzy, but it gets the job done. If email is your main use for CRM, Zoho will really come into its own. Free for up to three users, with paid plans starting at $14/user/month (billed monthly). Read more + Read less - Strengths Free for up to three users Easy to use and to set up Great email marketing tools, plus web forms for collecting lead info Weaknesses Mobile app has quite limited functionality Reduced customer support Pricing See more See less TiersPrice Standard $14 per user per month Professional $23 per user per month Enterprise $40 per user per month Ultimate $52 per user per month Gallery See more See less Click to expand Zoho's prices start from just $14 per user, per month.And, while its cheaper pricing plans are still pretty feature-rich, you can upgrade to benefit from extra list management, invoicing, reporting, and HR management utilities. Zoho's premium tiers also boast intelligent sales forecasting and mass emailing features, plus social media lead capture.You can try Zoho completely free, for a whole 15 days. Head to Zoho's website now to get started. Pros Simple to use Easy to capture and import leads Managers can keep track of team performance with quota management Cons Customized reporting is limited Weak customer support Up next: The Best CRM Software for Sales Teams FreshsalesBest for user-friendliness and simplicity Freshsales 4.5 Pricing Free – $69 per user per month Try Freshsales Quick overview If you’re a small business looking for a good, affordable CRM system without all the bells and whistles, Freshsales will be right up your street. Get up and running in next to no time with an easy, useful dashboard, packed full of features you’ll actually use. Freshsales is popular across the board, but it’s the small businesses that sing its praises the loudest. Paid plans start at $15/user/month. Read more + Read less - Strengths Great for automating tasks such as logging phone calls A simple software that’s easy to pick up, and won’t require much training Free trial available Weaknesses Offers fewer third party integrations than competitors such as Zoho and Salesforce Pricing See more See less TiersPrice Free Free Growth $15 per user per month Pro $39 per user per month Enterprise $69 per user per month Gallery See more See less Click to expand When you upgrade to one of Freshsales' higher paid tiers – which, like its lower-cost versions, are flexible and contract-free – you'll also meet Freddy.Freddy is Freshsales' own AI-powered ‘assistant'. Learning from your business' CRM data, Freddy offers tailored recommendations, predictions, forecasting, and unique insights to help you get the most out of your customers, and make more impactful, data-driven decisions. Some of the smart functions Freddy powers are:Predictive contact scoringLead gen and answer botsDuplicate contact, deal, and account removalDeal and forecasting insights Pros Transparent pricing and plans – you'll know exactly what you're getting for your money Um... Freddy?! Marvellous mobile app Cons Its lowest pricing tier restricts you to a stingy 1,000 contact maximum HubSpotBest all-in-one solution HubSpot 4.3 Pricing $25 - $120 per user, per month Try HubSpot Quick overview Each of HubSpot’s packages for marketing, sales, and service teams start at a relatively budget-friendly $25 per user, per month. We recommend the Growth Suite, though – it includes HubSpot’s Marketing, Sales, and Service ‘Hubs’ in a single package, with a tasty discount to boot. Upgrading any of HubSpot’s plans to the ‘Professional’ tier ($80 per user, per month for the Growth Suite) buys you task automation, as well as three standout features for marketing teams: A/B testing, website traffic analytics, and video hosting. Read more + Read less - Strengths Impressive free version available, along with a 30-day free trial Offers discounts for startups Weaknesses No 24/7 phone or live chat support It’s expensive! Pricing See more See less PlanMinimum usersPrice (paid annually)Price (paid monthly) Starter 2 $15 per user per month $25 per user per month Professional 5 $320 per user per month $356 per user per month Enterprise 10 $2,000 per user per month Annual payment only Gallery See more See less Click to expand But we’re talking about CRM here, and one of the most appealing things about HubSpot's particularly popular CRM solution is that its (albeit most basic) plan is 100% free.Enabling unlimited users and up to one million contacts, it’s a solid option for budget-conscious businesses. However, some of its features are limited – for example, you can only save up to five email templates, and the chatbots you can set up aren’t exactly the smartest peas in the pod.The key advantage offered by HubSpot is its ability to take care of several vital business needs within the confines of a single, very powerful application. Of course, you will need to pay if you want additional hubs, but you may find that the convenience and intuitiveness of the system makes this worthwhile.For a paid package, prices start from $50 per user, per month. Pros Robust free version Comprehensive suite of services Easy to use interface Cons Additional services are expensive Up next: Compare CRM Software Costs PipedriveBest for detailed lead management Pipedrive Pricing $14.90 – $99 per user per month Try Pipedrive Quick overview Pipedrive is the perfect affordable CRM solution for businesses with several stages in their sales funnel. It’s the perfect way to guide each consumer from prospect to regular customer, especially for high-value products. Easily integrate with third party applications to maximize efficiency. Plans start at $14.90/user/month. Read more + Read less - Strengths Advanced app versions for on the move management Efficient customer service and helpful guidance Comprehensive lead management – clearly see where each contact is in the sales funnel User-friendly interface Free trial available Weaknesses Not as much scope for customization as other platforms, so might not be suitable for more niche industries The features might be overkill for very small businesses Pricing See more See less Pipedrive CRM pricing Essential $14.90 per user per month Advanced $24.90 per user per month Professional $49.90 per user per month Enterprise $99 per user per month Gallery See more See less Click to expand Pros Generous free plan Its email designer is super compatible with mobile devices Cons No phone or email support Little to no email/social media integration monday.comBest for customization monday.com 4.1 Pricing $8-custom per user, per month Visit monday Quick overview At $8 per user per month, the ‘Basic’ plan offers an app for both iOS and Android, as well as 5GB of storage and whiteboard collaboration. We’d recommend at least going for monday.com’s ‘Standard’ plan, though. It adds timeline and calendar views, advanced search functionality, and up to 250 app integrations – and, at just $10 per user per month all in, the plan’s not that much more expensive than its predecessor. Read more + Read less - Strengths 24/7 customer support available, plus daily live webinars and a comprehensive knowledge base Color-coded boards are refreshingly easy on the eye Weaknesses It doesn’t offer the same depth of features as an out-and-out CRM system does Pricing See more See less TiersPrice (billed annually)Price (billed monthly) Basic $8 per user/month $10 per user/month Standard $10 per user/month $12 per user/month Pro $16 per user/month $20 per user/month Enterprise Custom Custom Gallery See more See less Click to expand Photo: monday.com’s Kanban board view makes it easy to view milestones, update priorities, and delegate tasks Photo: monday.com's Calendar Pros Simple to use Extremely affordable Phone-based and email support available, as well as an impressive online knowledge center Cons No live chat support No social media integration SalesforceBest for automation and analytics Salesforce 3.8 Pricing $25 – $300 per user per month Try Salesforce Quick overview There’s a reason why, when googling CRM systems, you’ll find plenty of articles with titles such as ‘7 Best Alternatives to Salesforce’; it’s really set the bar high when it comes to CRM systems, and seems to have a plan to suit everyone. But when it comes to affordability and value for money, how does it stack up? Plans start at $25/user/month. Read more + Read less - Strengths Good range of features that make it well-suited to medium-large businesses Huge number of integrations available, including a number of Salesforce’s own. This makes it a really robust tool for marketing as well as sales Free trial available Weaknesses One of the pricier systems around Not the easiest to get to grips with quickly Very small businesses should opt for a cheaper, easier product Pricing See more See less TiersPrice Essentials $25 per user per month Professional $75 per user per month Enterprise $150 per user per month Unlimited $300 per user per month Gallery See more See less Click to expand Salesforce is one of the largest, most popular CRM platforms on the market, with a market share of almost 20%!As you'd expect from the most-used CRM, it's cloud-based, and also integrates well with ecommerce platforms, content management systems, email providers, and tonnes more. Actually, the Salesforce AppExchange connects your CRM to thousands of third-party applications – so there's very little the software doesn't work with!More add-ons allow for social media management, the creation of custom membership sites, and synchronization with Gmail or Outlook.You'll also be privy (albeit at an extra cost) to ‘Einstein Analytics', Salesforce's leading, AI-powered software for crunching the data powering your business. Just be warned… the learning curve is steep!Which leads us into our next point – that Salesforce's vast feature set can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, learning to use the complex and quirky user interface is tough – however, users who take the time to learn the ins and outs of the service will find quite a bit of power at their fingertips.Plus, the time saved in automation – and the money and potential reputation threat saved in better customer service and client relations – should pay dividends in the end. It was invented by a genius, after all! Pros Feature-rich, with powerful, AI-driven reporting functionality Excellent customer service, with a huge online knowledge base at your disposal Salesforce's basic plan is affordable, and the software comes with no implementation costs...... Cons ...but on the whole, it's expensive As we mentioned above, Salesforce isn't cheap. But if you are looking for CRM software that won't burn a hole in the pocket of your slacks, we can help. We've listed the top 15 cheap CRM systems in the US – go get yourself a bargain! SugarBest for simple plans SugarCRM 3.7 Pricing $49 per user, per month - $1,000 per month Compare quotes Quick overview Predictably by now, SugarCRM splits its pricing out into three packages, based on the type of team they’re designed to support. There’s Sugar Sell (for sales teams, from $49 per user, per month), Sugar Market (for marketing teams, from $1,000 per month), and Sugar Serve (for customer service teams, starting at $80 per month). All are cloud-based, billed annually, and ideal for the needs of fast-growth businesses. Read more + Read less - Pros Provides extensive customisation features Comparatively less expensive than other platforms Cons Does not provide a lot of digital selling tools Doesn’t provide any features to track KPIs ZendeskBest for affordable customer service CRM Zendesk 3.8 Pricing $19 - $150 per user, per month Try Zendesk Quick overview Despite being the only CRM provider on this list not to offer a marketing product, Zendesk makes up for it with affordable, effective solutions for sales and service teams. ‘Sell’ starts from just $19 per user, per month, while ‘Support’ – Zendesk’s product for service teams – is available at the mouth-wateringly low price point of $5 per user, per month.Upgrading to Zendesk’s ‘Growth’ tier ($49 per user, per month) adds reporting dashboards and advanced call analytics, plus sales goals and forecasting. The ‘Professional’ plan ($99 per user, per month) adds skills-based routing to your customer service team’s armory, while your sales hotshots will benefit from lead scoring, task automation, and extra sales pipelines. Read more + Read less - Pricing See more See less TiersPrice Team $19 per user per month Growth $49 per user per month Professional $99 per user per month Enterprise $150 per user per month Gallery See more See less Click to expand Zendesk's pricing is fairly reasonable, starting at $19 per user per month.FunctionStarting priceHighest priceSales$19 per user, per month$199 per user, per monthService$5 per user, per month$199 per user, per month Pros Excellent ticket management capabilities Robust VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)* functionality Cons No document storage Lacks the same level of data analysis as Salesforce and SugarCRM How Did We Find the Best CRM Software?Our team of independent researchers looked at a selection of the best and most popular CRM software. After finding all the information we need, the researchers then compare each software against its competitors, allowing us to find the cream of the crop. The criteria we look at include:Price: Simple enough – the platform with the lowest price tag scores the bestCustomization: What does the platform allow you to toy with in order to make it suit your business?Features: Again, fairly easy to assess. Whichever platforms offer the best variety of features are given a better placement than those that have a more skint collection of tools.Team Infrastructure: How does the platform allow you to manage large sales teams?Customer Support: Again, easy enough – look at the options available and see what each platform offers its customers when it comes to their support resourcesScalability: How much does each software allow your business to grow over time?After factoring in all this information, alongside the scores they received, we were able to calculate a final overall score for each CRM platform. Next StepsRunning a business comes with dozens of challenges, some of which can't easily be addressed by software. Cash flow is never quite what we'd like, our marketing budget could always stand to be larger, changing rules and regulations cause headaches, and finding the right employees is anything but an exact science.However, when it comes to a host of other business issues – lead capture, list management, client acquisition, workflow, project management, customer service automation, and so much more in the consumer lifecycle – the right CRM solution can help your business work as smart as it works hard.So make the right decision, and pick a popular CRM solution. After all, they're tried and tested by thousands of business owners just like yourself.But if you’re still unsure about which of these popular CRM solutions is best for your business, why not try filling out our quick quote-finding form?Simply provide us with a bit of info about your business, and its unique CRM requirements. We'll ask how many team members the system will need to support, and for a little more info about your industry and what (if any) type of contact management software you currently rely on.When you're done, we'll match you with one or more handpicked CRM providers, who'll be in touch with you directly to offer bespoke CRM quotes and advice. You'll just need to set aside around 30 seconds of your time, and be a US-based business. It's that easy! Written by: Rob Binns Services Expert Rob writes mainly about the payments industry, but also brings to the table industry-specific knowledge of CRM software, business loans, fulfilment, and invoice finance. When not exasperating his editor with bad puns, he can be found relaxing in a sunny (socially-distanced) corner, with a beer and a battered copy of Dostoevsky. Reviewed by: James Macey Senior Business Software Researcher James thinks all businesses can improve if they use the right technology. At Expert Market, he utilises his 4+ years experience as a researcher to offer specialised advice on a wide range of categories from CRM to Fleet Management.