Top 15 CRM Software for Small Business in 2025

As a small business just starting out, you could have a sizeable budget for marketing and sales. But if you’re not retaining your customers, you see money out the door. The Harvard Business Review states that it’s five to 25x more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one.

Naturally, building a relationship with your customers takes center stage. In this guide, we’re rounding up the 15 best CRM software for small business to help you retain the right customers and highlight the benefits of using a CRM for small business.

What is CRM Software?

Definition of CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a technology solution designed to help businesses manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle. By providing a centralized platform, CRM software enables businesses to store and manage customer information, track sales and marketing activities, and automate various business processes. This comprehensive approach to customer relationship management ensures that businesses can efficiently handle customer interactions, leading to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Brief History of CRM

The concept of Customer Relationship Management has been around for decades, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that the first CRM software solutions began to emerge. Initially, these early solutions focused primarily on sales force automation and contact management, helping businesses keep track of their customer interactions and sales processes. Over the years, CRM software has evolved significantly, incorporating a wide range of features and functionalities. Today, modern CRM systems include marketing automation, customer service and support, and advanced analytics, making them indispensable tools for managing customer relationships and driving business growth.

Why Do Small Businesses Need Customer Relationship Management Software?

Customer relationship management software is the key to effectively managing customer relationships for small businesses. Here’s how:

• Boosts Customer Retention: Happy customers stay longer. Even a small 5% increase in customer retention can raise profits by 25% to 95%. CRM helps businesses stay in touch with customers, send reminders, and understand their needs better so they keep coming back.
• Streamlines Operations: A CRM stores all customer information in one place so you can find it easily. It manages repetitive tasks like sending follow-up emails or reminders so that you can focus on value-add creative priorities.
• Drives Sales Growth: CRM keeps track of new leads and helps businesses close more deals. It also points out opportunities to cross-sell or upsell to existing customers.
• Improves Marketing: Businesses can leverage CRM data to send the right messages to the right people at an opportune time. It also shows which marketing efforts are working best.

Benefits of Using CRM Software for Small Business

Improved Customer Relationships

One of the most significant benefits of using CRM software for small businesses is the ability to enhance customer relationships. By centralizing customer information, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ needs and preferences. This enables them to provide more personalized and effective customer service, which in turn leads to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

CRM software also streamlines sales and marketing processes, allowing businesses to automate routine tasks and focus on building stronger relationships with their customers. With features like automated follow-ups, targeted marketing campaigns, and detailed customer insights, businesses can engage with their customers more effectively and efficiently.

Moreover, CRM software provides valuable analytics and insights, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions. By analyzing customer data, businesses can identify trends, measure the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns, and optimize their customer relationship management strategies.

By implementing a CRM system, small businesses can:

• Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty
• Increase sales and revenue
• Enhance customer engagement and retention
• Streamline sales and marketing processes
• Gain valuable insights and analytics
• Make data-driven decisions

Overall, CRM software is an essential tool for small businesses looking to build strong and lasting relationships with their customers. By providing a centralized platform for managing customer information and automating business processes, CRM software enables businesses to deliver exceptional customer experiences and drive long-term growth and success.

Key Features of CRM Software for Small Business

For small businesses, CRM platforms simplify customer management, boost productivity, and enhance team collaboration. As such, the software must possess a few must-have features, such as:

• Contact Management: Use the CRM as a customer and prospect database. It stores all contact details and gives you a simple way to organize and access them.
• Lead Tracking: Log calls, schedule meetings, track emails, and resolve customer issues or complaints. This ensures you have a complete record of every interaction.
• Task Automation: Set reminders for when to contact customers. Get alerts if a customer hasn’t been reached in a while, and access key details before reaching out.
• Sales Reporting: Monitor how your marketing efforts (think: bulk emails or ad campaigns) perform. Identify what works best and uncover cross-selling opportunities as well as new leads.
• Integration: Connect your CRM with email, accounting, and marketing tools to keep everything in sync and save time.
• Mobile Access: Access customer details and manage tasks from anywhere with mobile-friendly CRM software

Top 15 CRM Software for Small Business in 2025

1. Nifty

Nifty is an all-in-one CRM and project management software that streamlines client relationships, communication, and project workflows for small businesses. It benefits customer service teams by providing a centralized database for accessing historical client interactions. It provides a centralized workspace that helps reduce email clutter, increase engagement, and collect information quickly.

Key Features:

• Advanced contact and lead management to streamline communication: Nifty’s contact management system allows you to organize and track client information in one centralized location. This way, you can keep all relevant details on hand, including client preferences, project milestones, and past interactions.
• Visual task boards to track sales workflows: Nifty’s task boards use visual formats such as Kanban, Board, Timeline, Calendar, and Swimlane views to help you manage your sales and project workflows. Leverage these views to organize, prioritize, and track tasks in real time.
• Automated reminders and scheduling to ensure timely follow-ups: With automated reminders and scheduling, Nifty ensures that important tasks, follow-ups, and deadlines don’t get missed. You can set reminders for meetings, deliverables, and client follow-ups and schedule them to occur at any time of your choosing.
• AI-based project management for smart working: Nifty integrates AI-powered project management capabilities with Nifty Orbit AI to enhance productivity. You can automate project workflows, assign tasks, and track progress. The AI feature can assist you in creating project agendas, repeatable templates, and more.
• Seamless integration with marketing tools and accounting software: Nifty offers seamless integration with a wide range of marketing tools and accounting software, keeping all your systems in sync.
• Mobile access: The mobile access feature ensures that all essential information and tasks are accessible on the go.

Pricing:

• Free: $0
• Personal: $7/month per user
• Pro: $10/month per user
• Business: $16/month per user
• Enterprise: Contact sales

Pros:

• User-friendly interface that requires little to no training for both team members and clients
• Powerful integration with third-party tools such as Zoom, YouTube, and Google Calendar for seamless coordination across tasks, meetings, and documentation.
• Flexible task management with customizable views like Kanban, List, and Timeline to suit different project workflows
• Real-time collaboration features, including discussion threads, document sharing, and feedback gathering

Limitations:

• The interface may feel overwhelming for users unfamiliar with project management software

Ratings:

• G2: 4.7/5
• Capterra: 4.6/5

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2. Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is an ideal solution for small businesses looking to scale efficiently without breaking the bank. Zoho CRM helps sales teams manage longer sales cycles and improve customer relationships by centralizing customer data for tracking leads and enhancing communication. Offering a solid free plan and affordable pricing tiers, Zoho CRM provides powerful features like advanced reporting, machine learning, and AI, all while remaining budget-friendly.

Key Features:

• AI-powered assistant (Zia)
• Advanced reporting and machine learning
• Email marketing and automated lead scoring
• Self-service portals for customers
• Seamless integration with Zoho Projects and other Zoho apps
• Zapier integration for connecting with third-party apps
• Affordable pricing with scalable plans

Pricing: Starts at $0 a month for the free version

Pros:

• Cost-effective solution, ideal for small to medium-sized businesses
• Highly customizable to fit unique business needs and workflows
• Integrates with Zoho and third-party applications
• User-friendly interface, suitable for those without extensive technical skills

Limitations:

• Offers a vast range of features, which can be overwhelming for new users.
• Learning curve may pose a challenge for businesses with limited technical knowledge
• Some complexity in setup and use, which might make implementation and adoption difficult

Ratings:

• G2: 4.7/5
• Capterra: 4.6/5

3. HubSpot CRM

HubSpot is an all-in-one CRM solution that excels in managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations. It helps businesses track and enhance the customer journey from initial engagement to post-purchase experiences. It stands out as the best CRM for building a content-rich business website due to its powerful CMS Hub, which allows users to easily create and manage a business website without a web design experience.

Key Features:

• User-friendly website creation tools with customizable layouts and templates
• AI-powered content generation and blog management for SEO and audience engagement
• ChatSpot integration for accessing CRM data and managing tasks through a chat interface
• Automation and integration capabilities with tools like Zapier for syncing data and setting up workflows
• Extensive help content and onboarding resources to support users in leveraging advanced features

Pricing:

• Free Tools
• Starter Customer Platform: Starts at $12/month (includes 1 seat)
• Professional Customer Platform: Starts at $1170/month (includes 5 seats)

Pros:

• Access to advanced features as your business scales
• Extensive help resources and support

Limitations:

• Pricing structure is complex

Ratings:

• G2: 4.7/5
• Capterra: 4.6/5

4. Salesforce Essentials

Salesforce Essentials offers essential sales and support features. It simplifies the transition from spreadsheets to a dynamic CRM system. Salesforce Essentials helps improve business relationships by enhancing customer experiences and increasing loyalty. Combining ease of use with the power of Salesforce’s advanced technology, you get an affordable version of the Salesforce platform for customer relationship management.

Key Features:

• Comprehensive contact and account management, including automated data capture for emails and calendars
• Intuitive, customizable dashboard with drag-and-drop widgets for a personalized CRM experience
• Integrated sales and support functionalities within a single platform, streamlining operations for small teams
• AI-powered Einstein Activity Capture to automate manual data entry
• Mobile apps with full feature parity for seamless management on Android and iOS devices

Pricing: Contact the sales team

Pros:

• An interface that is intuitive and easy to navigate
• Seamless integration of calendar and email for effective contact management
• A reliable solution for organizing and managing CRM tasks
• Mobile apps with exceptional functionality and convenience
• Access to the extensive capabilities of the Salesforce technology stack

Limitations:

• A high starting price that may not suit all budgets
• Fewer options for generating detailed reports
• Workflow processes can be confusing for beginners

Ratings: NA

5. Pipedrive

Pipedrive offers an intuitive pipeline-focused interface that lets you track leads and opportunities with ease. It offers extensive customization to fit unique sales cycles. 

Key Features:

• Customizable pipelines with adjustable stages and fields to track leads
• Detailed reporting and dashboards that help track progress against goals
• Integration with over 350 third-party platforms and services

Pricing:

• Essential: $14/month per user
• Advanced: $34/month per user
• Professional: $49/month per user
• Power: $64/month per user
• Enterprise: $99/month per user

Pros:

• Easy to use with a user-friendly interface
• Client data and company details are easily accessible and modifiable
• Integrates with email to show client info alongside emails
• Customizable templates and auto-fill options for emails
• Contact filters and personalized email scheduling
• Project management feature for tracking service-based processes
• Automations for repetitive tasks and mass email campaigns
• Fast platform speed

Limitations:

• Occasional bugs like inbox display issues and email drafts not disappearing
• Inconsistent language usage between English and Spanish
• Quick shortcuts sometimes don’t work and require refreshing
• Unable to link the same contact to multiple companies, leading to duplicates
• Difficulty in marking contacts as subscribed in Campaigns add-on
• Poorly implemented two-factor authentication with email-based codes instead of security keys

Ratings:

• G2: 4.3/5
• Capterra: 4.5/5

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6. Freshsales

Freshsales’ onboarding process is quick and includes helpful guidance at every step. The tool stands out for its user-friendly design that doesn’t compromise on functionality. It also provides direct support through phone calls, which adds extra value for users.

Key Features:

• AI-powered Freddy identifies priority leads and suggests follow-up times
• Seamless integration with Freshworks suite for added marketing and customer service features
• Support for handling documents tracking products and integrating phone and chat functions
• Option to connect with Zapier for further workflow automation

Pricing:

• Free (for three users)
• Growth: $9/month per user
• Pro: $39/month per user
• Enterprise: $59/month per user

Pros:

• Integrated with the Freshworks software suite
• Strong AI features for lead scoring and predictions

Limitations:

• Occasional slow performance

Ratings:

• G2: 4.5/5
• Capterra: 4.5/5

7. Insightly

Insightly’s superpower lies in its contact management functionality. It offers a multitude of tools to track customer data, manage leads, and organize opportunities. Small to medium-sized teams will benefit from this easy-to-manage tool.

Key Features:

• Customize quotes with branded templates
• Create PDFs and email quotes from within the Insightly platform
• Automatically copy opportunity details, records, and tasks into projects to ensure complete visibility into customer requirements
• Pipelines and milestones improve cross-team communication
• Real-time, customizable data visualizations created in minutes with the most important data for your business

Pricing:

• Plus: $29/month per user
• Professional: $49/month per user
• Enterprise: $99/month per user

Pros:

• Comprehensive contact management system that allows archiving of customer details, tracking leads, and monitoring sales-related processes
• Integration with Gmail and Outlook streamlines email communication
• Customization features include tailored workflows, custom fields, and the ability to adapt the platform for specific sales team needs
• Highly responsive customer support that resolves issues quickly 
• Flexibility in usage makes it suitable for small teams and adaptable for various industries
• Offers pipeline visibility and tracking tools that simplify managing complex sales processes

Limitations:

• Reporting features lack the flexibility to generate insights based on specific metrics such as geography, product lines, and individual sales performance
• Can be overwhelming for new users due to the extensive feature set 
• Limited offline access 
• Occasional technical glitches
• Some users find it difficult to form specific statistical reports

Ratings:

• G2: 4.2/5
• Capterra: 4/5

8. Monday Sales CRM

Monday CRM is a no-code platform that centralizes your sales process. It helps you manage pipelines, automate tasks, enhance communication, and track sales performance. 

Key Features:

• A single system stores all customer interactions and email logs in one place
• AI suggestions and ready-made email templates improve outreach efforts
• A clear view of customer and prospect information helps track opportunities and understand their progress at every stage of the sales pipeline
• Automatic lead assignments and activity reminders improve follow-ups and help teams stay organized
• Notifications for opened emails provide timely updates on engagement
• Customizable workflows and deal pipelines allow users to align the platform with their sales process
• Columns, deal stages, and contact management options can be tailored to specific needs

Pricing:

• Free
• Basic: $12/month per seat
• Standard: $17/month per seat
• Pro: $28/month per seat
• Enterprise: Contact sales

Pros:

• Extensive documentation and support resources
•  Interface is user-friendly and easy to use
• Good balance of simple and functional features
• Customizable workflow organization

Limitations:

• User interface feels lagged at times
• Some users report it is hard to prioritize jobs

Ratings:

• G2: 4.6/5
• Capterra: 4.7/5

9. Nimble

Nimble helps you stay organized, build stronger relationships, discover new opportunities, and achieve your business goals. It’s the best sales CRM software for small businessesand solopreneurs.

Key Features:

• Contacts emails and calendars are unified into a single platform
• Custom web forms and email sequences allow for personalized lead capture and outreach at scale
• Customizable deal pipelines and lead qualification workflows help track sales
• Mobile apps provide access to CRM data insights and deal management anytime from anywhere
• Integration with over 100 tools, including Google Workspace and Microsoft 365

Pricing: $24.9/month per seat

Pros:

• Excellent customer service that is responsive and helpful
• Integration with platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and email 
• Effective lead tracking and management features
• Attractive graphics and user-friendly features 

Limitations:

• Requires reloading the page when using shortcuts to navigate back
• Higher cost compared to similar tools in the market
• Limited functionality in the mobile app for on-the-go usage
• Interface can be confusing for less tech-savvy users
• Occasional issues with quality and accuracy of outputs

Ratings:

• G2: 4.5/5
• Capterra: 4.4/5

10. Keap

Keap is a CRM built for small businesses that want to save time and grow efficiently. It helps you capture leads, manage customer interactions, and track sales, all while automating repetitive tasks.

Key Features:

• Contact management and lead capture through custom forms and fields
• Activity-based segmentation with tagging based on customer behavior such as form submissions, email clicks, and video views
• Integrated texting features, including a dedicated business line for sending messages, triggering automations from missed calls, and managing texts via desktop or mobile
• Visual sales pipeline with drag-and-drop deal management, automated campaign triggers, and clear tracking of contacts through customizable stages
• Built-in invoicing and payment tools, including credit card and PayPal support, with checkout forms that integrate into personal sites

Pricing: Starting at $224/month

Pros:

• Automates marketing, employee email sequences, client and prospect communication, and so on
• Easily create campaigns that can be used repeatedly
• Customer support team is responsive
• Useful customization options in the new email broadcast builder

Limitations:

• Tool rolls out too many changes in email deliverability rules and client behavior 
• Mobile app can be better as per some users
• For some users, the UI and UX are lacking

Ratings:

• G2: 4.2/5
• Capterra: 4.1/5

11. Apptivo

Want to schedule events, reminders, and meetings scheduled with ease? Apptivo allows you to migrate data from other CRMs and seamlessly import leads in CSV formats. You can drive custom projects and reach out to the customer service team quickly with an in-built chat feature.

Key Features:

• Collaborative workspaces with Milestones and Gantt Charts for project planning and tracking
• Case management, assignment, and resolution with tracking for open and closed customer tickets
• Sales funnel stages categorized for analyzing pipelines and closing deals 
• Targeted marketing campaigns with effective tracking and measurement
• Bulk email campaigns, custom templates, and seamless email communication

Pricing:

• Lite: $15/month per seat
• Premium: $25/month per seat
• Ultimate: $40/month per seat
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Pros:

• Easy to use with customers claiming they learn more every day
• Customer service is great
• Effective campaign launch, tracking, and follow-up features
• Highly visual interface with easy customization of information fields and views

Limitations:

• Doesn’t have enough videos on integrations
• Search feature isn’t as advanced as it should be

Ratings:

• G2: 4.4/5
• Capterra: 4.4/5

12. Copper

Copper is a great fit for small businesses. Customers love the Google plugin. If you want a  sales and operations CRM that allows seamless integration with Google tools, Copper is right up your alley.

Key Features:

• Automatically scrapes and pre-populates contact information and ingests all emails sent between you and a contact for complete interaction history
• Access the CRM directly in Gmail or Inbox to manage leads, create contacts, and update opportunities without switching tabs
• Two-way sync with Google Calendar pulls meetings automatically into the CRM
• A smart bot in Google Chat rooms notifies you of critical changes to Leads and Opportunities
• Attach and access Google Drive files such as contracts, presentations, or shared documents directly from CRM records
• Export data to Google Sheets to create advanced dashboards, charts, and reports tailored to your business KPIs

Pricing:

• Starter: $9/month per seat
• Basic: $23/month per seat
• Professional: $59/month per seat
• Business: $99/month per seat

Pros:

• Lightweight and fast with a simple UI
• Connects directly with Google Workspace
• Good integration with Android
• Allows cloud-based access

Limitations:

• Canceling the subscription is difficult
• Setting up connections and automation is clunky and complex

Ratings:

• G2: 4.5/5
• Capterra: 4.4/5

13. Zendesk Sell

Zendesk Sell is a CRM platform that helps businesses manage leads and streamline their sales processes. Want to log calls, record conversations, and send/receive texts directly from leads, contacts, or deals? This tool is perfect for you.

Key Features:

• Sync your email with Zendesk Sell for automatic tracking, access to templates, and alerts 
• Easy to create targeted prospect lists and customized email sequences that automatically follow up with leads
• Ability to handle routine sales activities like outreach and follow-ups using Task Player
• Filter and segment leads and deals in real-time with smart lists and templates
• Quickly connect with prospects using the power dialer, which automatically cycles through a custom call list
• Send personalized bulk emails to a selected list of prospects or customers using merge tags to include their information automatically
• Automate your workflow with sales triggers

Pricing:

• Team: $19/month per agent
• Growth: $55/month per agent
• Professional: $115/month per agent
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Pros:

• Intuitive and user-friendly interface with easy navigation
• Tasks are simple to create, and action buttons are well-placed
• Strong integration between support and chat features
• Adaptable settings and customization options to match user requirements
• Useful ability to import names and pull information from job portals

Limitations:

• Search feature doesn’t support custom fields like “Other email”
• Users with limited permissions can still open and edit others’ tasks
• Broken merge feature for Leads, Contacts, and Deals, which leads to duplicate custom fields
• Integration with other systems can be complicated
• Support response is slow and unhelpful, often handled by basic bots

Ratings:

• G2: 4.2/5
• Capterra: 4.3/5

14. Capsule CRM

CRM software that feels intuitive and simple to use is the best. Capsule CRM doubles up as a database of important customer conversations, user history, and more.

Key Features:

• A centralized database to store customer emails, notes, and attached documents
• Pipeline management tools to align with your sales process, with alerts for follow-ups and task milestones
• Dynamic lists that update automatically for easy segmentation
• Integration capabilities with popular tools such as Mailchimp, Xero, QuickBooks, and Gmail
• Marketing app for managing communications and tracking activity via Transpond by Capsule
• Business intelligence insights via integration with Looker Studio
• Tools to manage team roles and control data access
• Task and calendar tools for organizing meetings, calls, and deadlines

Pricing:

• Free: $0 (for up to 2 users and 250 contacts)
• Starter: $18/month per user
• Growth: $36/month per user
• Advanced: $54/month per user
• Ultimate: $72/month per user

Pros:

• Simple, easy-to-learn and easy-to-setup
• Prompt customer service despite users switching to the free plan
• Instant access to the latest customer interaction
• Ability to personalize responses on app and site

Limitations:

• Features such as the project management board logic is not clearly explained
• Contact/Organization fields do not have categories
• Too simple for growth marketing 

Ratings:

• G2: 4.7/5
• Capterra: 4.5/5

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15. Bitrix24

Ideal for businesses of all sizes, Bitrix24 CRM combines powerful tools with flexible features to optimize customer management.

Key Features:

• Access detailed analytics for sales trends, employee performance, and customer interactions. Filter reports by any field, including custom fields, to create targeted insights, like tracking won deals or segmenting performance data
• Segment customers based on specific product interests and behaviors
• Add and manage custom fields to capture information beyond standard CRM forms. Store unique customer insights
• Track employee performance through CRM Analytics and build customer-focused workflows
• Leveragetools such as email marketing and campaign customization directly within the CRM

Pricing:

• Basic: $43/month per organization
• Standard: $87/month per organization
• Professional: $175/organization/month
• Enterprise: $325/organization/month

Pros:

• Free plan includes CRM, project management, task management, and communication tools, which help in the early stages of the customer lifecycle
• Useful task management features like Kanban boards and employee management
• Supports video calls and group chats
• A variety of CRM add-ons for sales, project management, etc. available
• Integration with email marketing is helpful

Limitations:

• Too complex for beginners
• Inability to export subtasks of a task to create a report
• Customization is restricted to specific needs

Ratings:

• G2: 4.1/5
• Capterra: 4.2/5

Nifty: The Best Free CRM Software for Small Business

Managing customer relationships needs a personal touch. While Nifty automates everyday tasks like sending emails and gathering real time customer data, you can focus on wowing your clients.

On the privacy side, Nifty lets you decide what your clients see. You can keep internal conversations private and only share what matters. Plus, the tool tracks billable hours and logs all your interactions in one place.

For your team, you can assign tasks and clear deadlines while keeping everyone accountable. This means fewer follow-ups and stress. Want to save time and stay organized, all the while building organic relationships with your clients? Sign up for Nifty CRM now.