Best Alternatives to Salesforce

While Salesforce is definitely a top pick for CRM, it's not perfect for everyone. Our research shows that HubSpot is the best alternative to Salesforce, thanks to its notable value, its overall ease of use, and its advanced features. There are plenty of other great alternatives though, so keep scrolling to learn about each one.

The biggest name in the CRM world is Salesforce, which is about as close to a household name as a piece of specialized online business software can get. Still, Salesforce isn't the only game in town, and while the market leader might be the right choice for some, it does fall short in a couple of areas. It's a little bit pricey (not even offering a free tier), and it can be a bit difficult to use for newcomers. So which providers pick up the slack?

• HubSpot is a far better choice for marketing than any other CRM including Salesforce
• SugarCRM offers a great budget option, although it seriously lacks when it comes to customer service
• Freshworks CRM has a genuinely good free tier (something Salesforce can't offer)
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a pretty expensive option, but offers great integration with other Microsoft products

Additionally, if you're a small business looking for a reasonably priced, easy to use CRM that won't overload your team too much, Zoho CRM is our top-rated CRM for small businesses, thanks to its intuitive interface and functionality for sales, marketing, and service industries.

So, with all these great Salesforce alternatives on the market, would we ward you off choosing Salesforce entirely? No chance – Salesforce is a market leader for good reason, and between best-in-class features and some surprisingly competitive tailored pricing plans there are plenty of reasons to opt for Salesforce.

In this guide, we'll examine the merits of each of Salesforce's main competitors, and those of Salesforce itself, helping you to decide which is the best CRM software for your own business, whether it be for marketing, sales, or customer service.

In This Guide:

Choosing a CRM platform is all about finding the right fit – something that offers the features you need, and the customizability every business requires. Our advice is to always seek out a personalized quote for the needs and scale of your business – and you can do this using our simple, no-obligation CRM quotes form. That way, you can make sure you're investing in a CRM solution that's fit for your purposes and budget.

Top Alternatives to Salesforce CRM

It's tempting to think that all CRM platforms must be the same, since they all have similar goals in mind, but nothing could be further from the truth. Each platform has its own focus and specialization, as well as various supporting services that will create a unique fit for each company. Here's a quick rundown of the Salesforce alternatives we'll be looking at in this article:

• HubSpot — A “freemium” CRM that offers its basic-tier CRM platform for free, and features stellar marketing tools for your business
• Freshworks CRM — A highly intuitive, feature-packed CRM that has a respectable free plan
• Microsoft Dynamics — A top choice if integration with existing Microsoft business services and platforms is key
• SugarCRM — A flexible, intuitive CRM platform with loads of customization options

Customer Relationship Management is a key part of any business strategy. With the right CRM platform, companies can keep better track of their customers, convert leads into recurring customers, and retain current customers with the right attention. If you're having trouble deciding which CRM platform to use, this article will help by running through the highlights of the biggest competitors to Salesforce, as well as taking a brief look at Salesforce itself.

HubSpot CRM

The key appeal of HubSpot is also its biggest differentiation from Salesforce: it starts by offering the basic HubSpot CRM for free, with virtually no limits on users or features for the basic CRM for following up on leads, opportunities, and tracking your customer database. The company prides itself on offering a product that takes “minutes to learn,” and provides a dashboard with an at-a-glance view for all ongoing deals. It also integrates with Gmail and Outlook to easily pull in email data, for better visibility of customer interactions within your organization.

HubSpot Features

For any business that needs to go beyond the basic CRM, HubSpot offers additional CRM-related platforms called ‘hubs' for one-to-one marketing, sales (beyond the basic CRM), and customer service. All of these hubs have free tiers; however, the added features that most businesses would want to require a monthly subscription.

HubSpot Pricing

HubSpot pricing varies pretty dramatically based on which hubs you're interested in taking advantage of, with each adhering to three pricing plans: Starter, Professional, and Enterprise. If you're interested in marketing, sales, and service hubs, the price is going to be pretty hefty, particularly for the enterprise-level plans. That's the benefit of HubSpot, though: you can mix and match depending on your needs to save a bit of money.

Why HubSpot Is a Better Alternative

HubSpot is a better alternative to Salesforce because of the marketing features available. In fact, HubSpot is the best CRM available for marketing features, according to our research. HubSpot's marketing hub offers ad management and retargeting, conversational chatbots, and landing pages, and that's all found in the Starter plan. Simply put, if you're looking for a CRM with marketing capabilities, HubSpot is your absolute best bet.

Check out our guide HubSpot Pricing for more, or see our full HubSpot vs Salesforce guide

Freshworks CRM

Freshworks is the umbrella under which Freshsales, Freshmarketer, and Freshdesk operate under. These offerings are typically a bit more affordable than your average CRM and offers enough features to get you through. With a highly intuitive UI and a powerful feature set including built-in phone and email, AI-based lead scoring, visual deal pipeline, intelligent workflow automation, and customizable visual reports and dashboards, it gives businesses everything they need to manage their sales without having to juggle multiple tools.

Freshworks CRM Features

At these prices, it's understandable that Freshworks doesn't have all the features of a Salesforce or a Hubspot, particularly when it comes to data visualization and analytics. However, at this price, it offers quite a lot of features, especially those that are used to engage new customers online. Simply put, if you're trying to save a bit of money without sacrificing a lot, Freshworks is a great place to start.

Freshworks CRM Pricing

Freshworks CRM offers three different pricing plans across its many offerings: Growth, Pro and Enterprise. You'll also get access to a free plan across the board, allowing you unlimited users with obviously stripped-down functionality compared to the paid plans. Still, it's a great way to test out the software before making a financial commitment.

Why Freshworks CRM Is a Better Alternative

It's got to be the price on this one. Freshworks is infinitely less expensive than Salesforce, even when it comes to infamously expensive marketing plans. In fact, on average Freshworks plans are nearly ten times less expensive than their Salesforce counterparts, making it a good to budget option that doesn't sacrifice too much.

Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft's newest mission is to bring its software to every platform with seamless integration between its various products, and the company's CRM, Microsoft Dynamics, is no exception. If your company already lives and breathes the Microsoft platform, with products such as Office 365 and Outlook for email, then the Dynamics CRM can make a lot of sense. Dynamics is also a good platform if you've been wanting to try out Microsoft HoloLens as a business tool, since it integrates with that as well. Dynamics feels very much like a tool that is ideal for large enterprises and active medium-sized businesses but may be overkill for smaller companies.

Microsoft Dynamics Features

Microsoft offers some unique tools that go beyond the CRM within the Dynamics umbrella of services. These include platforms for finance, operations, and talent recruiting, as well as services we've seen elsewhere, such as customer service and marketing platforms. It's incredibly robust as far as features are concerned, which is why it's such a great option.

Microsoft Dynamics Pricing

The Microsoft Dynamics pricing scheme is certainly different than what you might be used to. Like HubSpot, it offers a wide range of specific options, so that you can mix and match exactly what you're looking for. It can get pretty expensive if you're looking to add every piece of it, which includes field service, customer service, marketing, sales, finances, operations, commerce, and human resources, but hopefully you're only looking for a few of these.

Why Microsoft Dynamics Is a Better Alternative

Microsoft Dynamics is similarly robust when it comes to comparisons with Salesforce, but the biggest edge it has over everyone's favorite CRM is that it's from Microsoft. This means that it integrates flawlessly with Office, Outlook, and many other Microsoft systems. So if your company is already set up with Microsoft, then the Dynamics platform is the way to go.

Interested in Microsoft Dynamics? Head to our Microsoft Dynamics review

SugarCRM

SugarCRM isn't the biggest name in the business, but it prides itself on being able to hang with the big boys. It has a simple, easy to understand interface, with deep customization options — making it incredibly flexible and adaptable. Sugar also has no hidden fees, offering three standard pricing plans ranging from $40 to $150 per user, per month, each providing a different service: Sugar Sell, Sugar Market, and Sugar Serve.

SugarCRM Features

SugarCRM has a range of tools to facilitate collaboration between different business functions and works seamlessly across mobiles and tablets making it great for mobile workers. SugarCRM is easy to integrate with your existing IT infrastructure, offering SaaS and on-premises installations.

SugarCRM Pricing

SugarCRM's pricing model is similar to that of HubSpot, with different options for service, marketing, and sales. Additionally, you can combine all of them in two different plans, Professional and Enterprise, which cater to small and large companies depending on your needs.

Why SugarCRM Is a Better Alternative

Customizability is the name of the game when it comes to SugarCRM. With a widely flexible platform designed for particular needs, this platform can be molded to suit whatever metrics and functionality you need. Plus, with a stylish, easy to use interface, you can't go wrong with SugarCRM when it comes to customizability.

Reasons to Choose Salesforce

And then there's Salesforce, a popular choice among businesses of many different sizes. The key with Salesforce is the absolute breadth of its services beyond the basic CRM platform, including services for running ecommerce, one-to-one marketing, customer service, and many others.

While we've stated that Pipedrive, Freshworks, and Zoho are all cheaper than Salesforce, that doesn't mean it's expensive by any means. In fact, compared to contemporaries like HubSpot and Zendesk, Salesforce is extremely affordable.

Salesforce also has a robust application programming interface (API), allowing developers to create custom apps for Salesforce and integrate your Salesforce data with programs you might already be using.

While Salesforce might have more services than a small or medium-sized business might need, it can still be a useful platform for companies of any size. Plus, as the CRM platform in widest use, it's much easier to find support and tutorials on how to get the most from your subscription.

Salesforce also offers a wide range of great add-ons that can really improve your growing business if you can afford them. Salesforce Anywhere, for example, is perfect for a newly remote business due to the pandemic, as it allows for team collaboration, real-time chat, and document sharing. Plus, with Tableau, the platform's new analytics tool, you'll get all the data you need about your customers to make the best decisions every time.

Check out our full guide to Salesforce Pricing for more

Automation

The whole point of CRM software is to save you a little time, which is why automation features are so necessary in a good provider. After all, what's the point of installing business software if it isn't going to take care of the small projects for you? Finding the right software means discovering exactly what each provider can do for your automation needs, so make sure not to overlook that.

What's more, automation allows you to expedite leads through your sales pipeline based on pre-programmed criteria, making it easier for your business to generate sales.

Ease of Use

Whether you're an expert or a beginner, having an easy to use platform can make a huge difference when it comes to improvements in productivity. Salesforce, in particular, is quite complicated for beginners due to its robust feature catalogue and reporting tools. If you're giving CRM software a go for the first time, ease of use needs to be at the top of your list.

Support

Speaking of beginners, having a little help from an expert support team can go a long way when adapting to new software, which is why noting the customer service options is invaluable to understanding a provider. From 24/7 service to sporadic ticket systems, providers run the gamut as far as customer support goes, so if you're just starting out, it's certainly worth noting.

Pricing

Let's be honest of course you're looking at price when it comes to CRM software. From pricing plans to providers, there are hundreds of different price points to consider. Fortunately, compared to Salesforce, most CRM software is markedly more affordable, but the range is still pretty substantial. Not that we have to say it, but seriously: take a look at your pricing options before pulling the trigger on your new CRM software.

How We Rate CRM Software

Finding the best CRM software is about more than just looking at the logo. We at Tech.co take the ranking of business software like CRM very seriously, which is why we spend our time thoroughly researching each provider. This data is designed to help you get the most objective information about CRM providers, so you can make the right decision for your business.

There are a lot of aspects of CRM software to consider when it comes to our rankings, and that's why we take it so seriously. Our rankings take into consideration a wide range of metrics, including support options, key functionalities, depth of features, and of course, price. Additionally, we assign each provider a customer score, which is an aggregate of online reviews, competitor scores, and our own, independent research.

Choosing business software can be stressful. A simple installation could be the difference between a successful business and a fun memory, which is why we want to make sure you have all the information necessary to make the best decision for your company.

Frequently Asked Questions