The Best Cloud-Based CRMs in 2024

Our extensive research has found that Zoho CRM is the best cloud CRM for UK businesses. It has the most advanced features including custom reporting, automated workflows and over 1,000 third-party integration options (although you’ll need Zoho Payroll for any payroll services).

And choosing the best cloud-based CRM is critical to driving growth in 2024’s competitive online landscape. Whether you are searching for a powerful, cheap CRM or an adaptable solution for scaling your business, your team needs a CRM that offers real-time insights, seamless automation, and secure, 24/7 access from any device.

Read on for the complete list of our top five ranked cloud-powered solutions, all designed to boost productivity, improve customer relationships and simplify your sales processes in different manners.

The Best Cloud-Based CRM for Small Business

Now you’ve decided that cloud-based CRM is the best avenue for your business, it’s time to pick the right provider. And, because you’re busy running that business, we’ve made it simple to make the right choice. 

We looked at a range of key suppliers in the CRM space; rating, reviewing, and ranking them based on several factors crucial to small businesses. These include task tracking and scheduling, workflow management, a group calendar, and effective external communication features – essentially, anything that can improve the efficiency and ease with which your team collaborates.

Here are the top cloud-based CRM providers, according to our data:

1. Zoho CRM: Best for Customisation

For a highly affordable, clean-looking cloud-based CRM, make Zoho your top pick. We believe its Professional Plan has a comprehensive toolset, with an emphasis on customisation and workflow automation, and is Zoho’s best balance of feature and price.

You have many features to play with, including sales forecasting, inventory management, and Google Ads integration. Still, it can be overwhelming due to its extensive feature set, so new starters might need a little time to get to grips with the interface. Below is a summary of how Zoho fared in our extensive research, plus the price points of its various plans.

What are Zoho CRM’s best cloud CRM features?

Zoho CRM excels in customisation, allowing users to tailor their interface with its Canvas tool. It also integrates well with over 1,000 third-party apps via its marketplace and includes robust workflow automation, which is powered by its AI assistant, Zia, to optimise tasks and enhance productivity.

• Extensive contact management: The Professional plan allows for up to 5 million contacts with robust storage options, making it ideal for businesses handling large volumes of customer data.

• Workflow automation: The Professional Plan supports automated workflows and custom list views, helping teams streamline operations and improve efficiency.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: This plan includes sales forecasting and custom reporting, key tools for improving sales performance

Where could Zoho CRM improve?

• Customer support: Zoho CRM’s Professional plan only offers standard customer support, and 24/7 support is not included. Businesses may need to purchase additional onboarding assistance or support for optimal usage.
• Complex interface: While Zoho offers a wealth of features, the interface can be overwhelming for new users, particularly when navigating between customisation options like Canvas and Wizards.

How does Zoho CRM compare to other top cloud CRM software?

We found that Zoho CRM offers more advanced customisation options than the likes of HubSpot or Pipedrive, particularly with its workflow automation and integration with over 1,000 apps.

Zoho’s file storage capacities are decent too, offering 10GB of space for the whole organisation on its Professional plan. Depending on your staff numbers that could better the likes of Freshsales, which limits each user to 2GB (Growth plan) or 5GB (Pro plan), although Monday CRM offers ten times as much storage as Zoho (100GB) on its Pro plan.

However, our user-testers found that platforms including HubSpot and Monday CRM are more user-friendly, due to the wealth of customisation options on Zoho, and offer better free-tier support.

What businesses is Zoho CRM best for?

Zoho CRM is best suited for mid-sized businesses that need extensive customisation, particularly those looking to scale their operations with automated workflows and advanced sales forecasting tools​.

2. Freshsales Suite: Best for Sales Automation

Our research has concluded that the Growth Plan of Freshsales Suite should help businesses looking to streamline their sales processes with automation. It offers unlimited contact storage and user flexibility, alongside strong sales pipeline management features such as lead prioritisation tools and a handy visual representation of the whole sales pipeline.

With higher-tier plans such as Pro and Enterprise, businesses gain access to additional storage and advanced capabilities like deeper sales forecasting and enhanced data management, should that be important for your business. Read our scorecard summary of what its cloud-based CRM platform can offer your business below.

What are Freshsales’ best cloud CRM features?

• Unlimited contacts: Via its Growth Plan, you’ll get unlimited contact storage, although the system does restrict the number of active contacts for email campaigns.
• Freddy AI: One of Freshsales’ standout tools is Freddy AI, which uses artificial intelligence for lead scoring. The system assesses how likely leads are to convert based on custom criteria you set, helping to focus efforts on the most valuable prospects. While Freddy AI is powerful, we did find there can be occasional inconsistencies in scoring, especially with contacts that have similar details, but it is still incredibly handy to use.
• Kanban deal management: The drag-and-drop Kanban board for deals allows you to effortlessly manage sales opportunities by moving them between stages, made popular by tools like Trello. This visual approach simplifies any deal-tracking organisation.

Where could Freshsales improve?

• Customer support and onboarding: Across all its plans, Freshsales lacks 24/7 support and onboarding assistance, which may limit usability for businesses that require more hands-on guidance. Instead, you’ve got a phone and email line between 9am-5pm between Monday and Friday. Its basic support extent may not be suitable for teams handling large amounts of queries.
• Steep price jumps: While the entry-level Growth Plan is affordable, and priced lower than Zoho CRM, the jump to the Pro Plan is a significant £22 leap per user, per month. That’s something to consider when it comes to the scalability of this product.

How does Freshsales compare to other cloud CRM software?

Freshsales’ focus on sales automation is clear, with it offering more contact flexibility compared to Zoho CRM at similar tiers.

We also found Freshsalles to be extremely user-friendly and far easier to navigate to where we needed to be than Hubspot or huge names that just missed out on our top five, such as Salesforce.

The platform’s Launchpad tool, a built-in search function that helps users quickly find features, is particularly useful in our view, especially compared to the more menu-heavy navigation of competitors.

However, it may not be as scalable as Zoho CRM, especially when transitioning between pricing tiers. Similarly, its customer support lags far behind competitors like HubSpot, which provides more comprehensive assistance even on its free plan, and so onboarding new staff could be more of a challenge with Freshsales than other options (though given its usability, hopefully, that’s not the case).

What businesses is Freshsales best for?

As you might expect given what we’ve outlined so far, Freshsales should be appealing to businesses that prioritise sales process automation and need unlimited contacts, though don’t require the heavyweight tools of Zoho CRM.

However, for customer service-centred operations, Freshsales may not be the best choice due to its limited ticketing and ranking capabilities.

3. Pipedrive: Best for Visual Sales Pipeline Management

Our standout plan for Pipedrive CRM is its Advanced Plan, however, we found the whole software straightforward to use thanks to its visually-driven sales pipeline

It simplifies deal management, using a Kanban-style interface that lets users easily track and manage deals across different stages by simply dragging and dropping them.

Each pipeline is customisable, you can create automated workflows, and its AI-driven sales assistant helps out too so you can get to work without any painful setup. Here’s what else you should know before we dive into its specific plus and minus points.

What are Pipedrive’s best cloud CRM features?

Pipedrive’s visual pipeline is its standout feature, making it easy to track deals at every stage. It also offers workflow automation, email tracking, and smart sales reporting, which help streamline the sales process.

• Customisable pipelines: Pipedrive offers a highly customisable visual sales pipeline, allowing users to tailor their deal stages based on unique workflows. The Advanced Plan also enables integration with email, letting you contact leads with ease.
• Onboarding assistance and support: Unlike some competitors, Pipedrive’s Advanced and higher-tier plans offer 24/7 live support, ensuring that users can get help whenever needed, which is crucial for businesses operating across different time zones.
• AI sales assistant and workflow automation: Higher-tier plans come with an AI-powered sales assistant, offering recommendations on how to manage deals effectively. Pipedrive also includes 30 pre-built workflow automations, designed specifically for sales teams to set up their operations faster. It works by assigning leads to team members based on custom criteria, which isn’t as easily implemented in platforms like Zoho CRM or Freshsales​.

Where could Pipedrive improve?

Pipedrive lacks some of the more robust features offered by competitors like Zoho, such as inventory management or comprehensive marketing tools.

In fact, many of Pipedrive’s top features, such as AI assistance and advanced automations, are not available in the more affordable plans. Full access to these features requires either the Professional or Enterprise plans, which start at a higher price point.

And while Pipedrive offers great customer support in the Advanced Plan, onboarding assistance is not included.

How does Pipedrive compare to other cloud CRM software?

Pipedrive’s strength lies in its simplicity and ease of use. Its Kanban board and deal management features make it less complex than Zoho CRM and more intuitive than Freshsales, but it may not offer enough flexibility for businesses that need extensive customisation​ (Zoho has more, it’s just a bit complicated to make the most of them).

What businesses is Pipedrive best for?

Pipedrive is perfect for sales teams that need a straightforward, visual approach to managing deals and pipelines.

However, most of its strengths do lie with sales tools first and foremost rather than other areas like marketing, customer service, and project management. For marketing functionality, Zoho CRM or HubSpot are better choices, while Zendesk is a stronger option for customer service​.

4. HubSpot: Best for Free CRM Tools

HubSpot’s Free Plan is one of the most popular cloud CRM software packages for small businesses due to a lack of upfront investment. It offers a solid foundation of tools for managing customer relationships, including contact management, email marketing, and deal tracking.

If you do want extra features, Hubspot allows users to pick and choose what they need from its three paid tiers (Starter, Professional, Enterprise) by selecting ‘Create a Bundle’ at checkout.

What are HubSpot’s best cloud CRM features?

HubSpot’s free plan offers plenty of functionality from features such as a contact management centre, email marketing, and sales pipeline tracking. It also integrates seamlessly with other HubSpot tools. Here are a few standout picks:

• Extensive contacts: HubSpot’s Free Plan allows for up to 1 million contacts, far surpassing many other free-tier CRMs.
• Mix-and-match premium features: HubSpot’s unique “Create a Bundle” option on the checkout page allows businesses to mix and match features from different tiers. For example, companies can select the Starter plan for marketing while opting for Professional or Enterprise for more advanced sales features, offering incredible flexibility.

• Comprehensive sales and customer service features: HubSpot has a variety of tools for different use cases. It enables users to call contacts directly from the CRM with a HubSpot-provided number, which is available on all paid plans, and they are recorded automatically. Meanwhile, customer service teams can switch communication channels seamlessly and create dynamic ticket routing rules to ensure customer queries reach the appropriate staff member.
• Marketing features: Users can also embed videos that contain CTAs and forms in emails, on your website, and social media, and track performance through Hubspot.

Where could HubSpot improve?

The free plan, while generous, has limitations on reporting and automation features, which are only available in the paid versions. It may not provide enough scalability for businesses needing advanced customisation and analytics.

Users are also restricted to uploading five documents in the free version each, which is next to no storage in the long run.

That means you may need to upgrade your package beyond a free tier. While HubSpot’s pricing structure is flexible, its paid tiers can be expensive, reaching up to £72 per user, per month (minimum 5 users) for its Professional plan and £98 per user, per month for its Enterprise plan.

How does HubSpot compare to other cloud CRM software?

HubSpot’s free tier has a lot going for it, including a huge contact limit, and is a more comprehensive cost-free option than Zoho’s zero-cost plan. We think the platform is pretty intuitive too, with a decent range of features considering it costs nothing.

However, the platform’s file storage restrictions and the lack of advanced features in the free version mean that businesses looking for deep customisation or robust automation will need to upgrade sooner rather than later.

We love its bundle package options for its pricing, but its paid tiers can become more expensive when compared to the likes of Zoho and Pipedrive. We’d recommend those options for long-term scalability.

What businesses is HubSpot best for?

Ideal for small businesses looking for a user-friendly CRM without initial costs, Hubspot is a great entry point to the cloud-based CRM world.

It is something of an all-in-one platform, offering sales, marketing, and customer service features that can be bundled with different The bundle pricing option means businesses have the flexibility to choose the CRM functions they need, making sure they don’t overpay for features they don’t use. However, be wary of its advanced plans, as costs can spiral if you aren’t careful.

5. Monday CRM: Best for Project Management

Monday CRM’s Pro Plan combines customer relationship management with project management, making it highly effective for teams that need to track both sales and project workflows. Its visually-driven platform simplifies task management while providing essential CRM functionalities.

What are Monday CRM’s best cloud CRM features?

Monday’s Pro Plan offers a range of useful tools for project management, team collaboration, and automation. You can manage customer relationships while also tracking project timelines, resources, and workflows from a single platform. Here are some features that stand out:

• Customisable workflows: Monday CRM’s main boon is that it allows businesses to tailor sales processes to their specific needs. Project-driven teams, where tasks, timelines, and resources need to be tracked and updated in real-time, will find this particularly appealing.

• Unlimited contacts: Starting from the Standard Plan, Monday CRM allows for unlimited contacts. That means no worry about capacity constraints when it comes to your customers.
• Flexible storage: The Pro Plan includes 20GB of file storage per user, which is ideal for teams handling extensive project documentation alongside CRM activities. The Enterprise Plan offers even more storage, up to 100GB of storage, should it be required.

Where could Monday CRM improve?

Monday CRM lacks some of the deeper CRM-specific features. Its sales and lead management tools are not as advanced, which may limit its effectiveness for sales-heavy teams.

How does Monday CRM compare to other cloud CRM software?

Compared to Zoho CRM or Freshsales, Monday’s strengths lie in its project management features rather than sales automation. It offers more visually intuitive project tracking, but it’s less focused on CRM-specific functionalities.

We think that makes it a unique proposition compared to most CRM platforms, and one worth considering. Though, if your priority is for lead scoring or automated workflows, then Zoho or HubSpot may be a better fit.

For businesses focused on project management with CRM capabilities as a secondary need, Monday is an ideal choice.

What businesses is Monday CRM best for?

Monday CRM’s Pro Plan is best for project-driven teams or businesses that need a hybrid solution for managing both sales and project workflows.

Its combination of task management, CRM, and collaboration tools makes it an excellent fit for cross-functional teams that require real-time updates on both projects and customer relationships.

Cloud-Based CRM Buying Guide

When purchasing a cloud-based CRM system, we recommend weighing up your business priorities to help decide which one is for you. After all, there are plenty of options – you just need one which fits your business needs best. In our buying guide below, we’ll go through some of the things you’ll need to consider to help simply your decision-making.

User experience and onboarding

A CRM system should be easy to use for your team, so consider the overall user experience when making your choice. A system that’s intuitive to navigate should aid productivity and prevent frustration among staff. After all, no one wants to use troublesome software day in, day out.

More advanced platforms may require more setup time but can be worth the investment if they align well with your team’s skillset, accessibility needs or even general workflow preferences.

However, you’ll also want to think about new hires who are likely to need teaching on how to use software. If the software is easy enough to teach, then (hopefully) it should be easy enough for newbies to learn when your team’s staffing situations change.

Costs & scalability

A core consideration for your business will come down to the cost of any cloud-based CRM subscription. You can often save money by committing to an annual subscription, as many providers offer discounts for yearly payments. We recommend testing any software before committing to these longer terms, and you should be able to since the majority of CRM offers a free trial or demo program.

Other than those core package costs, you’ll also want to be mindful of potential add-ons. Some features might only be available in higher-tier packages, while other software allows you to mix and match features of different tiers.

Even if you’re opting for a basic plan to begin with, it’s worth thinking about how well the CRM will support your business as it grows. Transitioning to a new system later can be costly and time-consuming, so selecting a CRM that can expand alongside your business – with higher cost plans that would be palatable in price to your business – is essential.

You’ll want to have a handle on the number of users, customers, and data each tier can handle and for what price.

CRM features and functionality

The precise number, variety and extent of tools you can use in your chosen cloud-based CRM software is arguably the most important consideration of all. Here are a few to get your mind racing if you aren’t certain about the features and functions your team requires:

• Contact management: Ideal for service-based businesses like consultancies or real estate firms that need to track ongoing client interactions and maintain detailed contact information.
• Sales pipeline tracking: Suits B2B companies such as software providers or manufacturing firms that manage long sales cycles and multiple deal stages.
• Lead scoring: Essential for digital marketing agencies and e-commerce businesses where you need to prioritise large volumes of leads based on conversion potential.
• Email and social media marketing: Perfect for a variety of businesses, from retailers to non-profits, looking to nurture customer relationships through automated newsletters and promotional campaigns or engage with customers on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
• Task and activity management: Beneficial for lots of different companies that need to assign tasks to different teams and track project progress.
• Reporting and analytics: Detailed reports on sales performance, customer retention, and productivity can help several sectors of business that want a closer look at their tracked business metrics.
• Automation: Especially important for smaller businesses which need to save time, automation of repetitive tasks like follow-up emails and invoicing can save you a lot of time.
• Customisation: Vital for enterprises that require bespoke CRM configurations to fit their complex workflows, especially in niche industries like the legal or pharmaceutical sectors.

Integration options

For businesses that use a variety of other tools in their day-to-day operations, integration of other software into your cloud-based CRM might be a crucial point of difference between providers.

Whether it’s your email platform like Mailchimp or Moosend, accounting software like Quickbooks or Xero, or e-commerce solutions like Shopify or Woocomerce, different CRM platforms support different integrations.

Some host largely internal tools built by the CRM itself, while others allow for additional API access for fully custom tools. Many have a variety of out-the-box integration options for big names like Google, Microsoft and more. The more seamless the integration and the wider the number of possible integrations, the better for most businesses.

Support options and availability

Technical issues are inevitable at some stage. And consequently, you’ll want to know that you have the resources to fix any problems as they arise with your cloud-based CRM.

Look out for online resources, ‘how-to’ guides and other self-help information for more simple issues that could arise, as well as more comprehensive customer support options. There can be some key differences here between providers, with some offering a chatbot and others a live chat with a support agent, or a slower-response email line compared to a live-response phone line.

They may have different availability hours too, usually between Monday to Friday across working day hours or 24/7 support with the best equipped cloud-based CRM providers.

Cloud-Based CRM vs On-Premise CRM

The key difference between on-premise CRM and cloud CRM lies in data storage and accessibility.

• On-premise CRM stores data locally on a company’s own servers, requiring upfront investment in hardware, installation, and maintenance of your storage system. It offers full control over data but demands internal IT resources for security and updates.
• Cloud CRM, by contrast, is hosted on remote servers by the CRM provider, offering easy access from any internet-connected device and requiring minimal setup.

Because of its comparative affordability, flexibility, and scalability, cloud-based CRMs are far more popular today, while on-premise CRM is now mainly used by larger enterprises with specific data control and security needs.

What are the advantages of cloud-based CRM?

• Simplicity: Opting for a cloud-based CRM eliminates the need for complex installations and hardware of on-premise alternatives, allowing easy access through an internet browser (via computer or smart device) without the need for physical servers or equipment.
• Collaboration: Real-time updates and centralised data allows for teamwork across multiple locations and time zones, preventing data silos and improving communication within teams.
• Mobility: Most cloud-based CRMs offer mobile apps which can mean real-time updates and access from anywhere in the world your team may be located.
• Security: Cloud CRM providers usually offer advanced security features like data encryption, automatic backups and two-factor authentication to protect your vital company information.
• Affordability: Cloud CRM reduces upfront costs by offering subscription-based pricing, eliminating the expenses associated with installation, maintenance, and infrastructure.

What are the advantages of on-premise CRM?

• Cheaper in the long run: On-premise systems have a significant upfront cost, but ongoing maintenance fees are generally lower than cloud-based options, making them more cost-effective over time.
• Highly customisable: On-premise CRMs provide source code access, allowing extensive customisation if you have the technical expertise.
• Greater visibility and control: You have more control over security, data, and user rights, enabling compliance with various regulations.
• Less reliant on the internet: On-premise systems operate independently of internet connectivity, making them more reliable during outages.

Next steps

Cloud-based CRM is an essential tool for managing and engaging your client base, and nurturing those all-important customer relationships. And what’s more, 91% of businesses (and counting!) now use a cloud-based CRM solution in 2024.

In other words, you don’t want to be your team to be in the 9% of businesses left behind. We recommend Zoho CRM above all other options since it has the most comprehensive and user-friendly software system we’ve researched. That’s especially true if you want to customise your pipeline for your specific business needs.

The other options are still top performers though, or they wouldn’t have made this page, and each offers a unique selling point that could suit your specific operations.

If you want a quick answer about the best cloud-based CRM for you, let us know some details about your team’s requirements. It’s free for UK-based businesses, and when you’re all done, we’ll match you with the cloud-based CRM providers best poised to help you scale. They’ll then be in touch with tailored, no-obligation quotes.