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Our research shows that Zoho CRM is the best client management software thanks to its robust analytic tools, solid lead conversion features, and its many integrations with other first- and third-party platforms. Freshsales Suite is also a good option if you need an easy-to-use platform, and monday CRM is your best bet for some serious customizability.
The platforms we’ll compare in this guide are some of the best when it comes to building, cultivating, and maintaining relationships with your clients. We’ve compared them in a wide variety of categories to make sure you have the most pertinent information to make your decision. Be sure to check out our CRM comparison page for more information about the best providers. Here are our top three:
Zoho CRM – Best overall client management software
Freshsales Suite CRM – Easiest software to use
monday CRM – Best for customization
These are the providers we recommend based on our research. Clicking on the links will take you to the provider’s website.
| Plan | Price Billed annually | Free Trial | Users | Storage | Support | Lead scoring | API | Try it | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| HubSpot | ||||||||||
| Professional | Growth | Pro | Sell Professional | Free | ||||||
| 15 days | 21 days | 14 days | | | ||||||
| Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2 | ||||||
| User: 20MB | 2 GB | 100 GB | 10GB per user | Unlimited | ||||||
| Live chat, phone, email | 24/5 | 24/7 | Live chat | Knowledge center | ||||||
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| Try Zoho CRM | Try Freshsales | Try monday CRM | Try Zendesk | Get started free |
Top Client Management Software for Businesses
The best CRM for client management is largely going to depend on what you need it for. Each of these platforms is offers different features at different price points, so keep scrolling to learn more about these providers with some in-depth reviews.
- Zoho CRM – Best overall client management software
- Freshsales Suite CRM – Easiest software to use
- monday CRM – Best for customization
- Zendesk Sell – Good for sales teams
- HubSpot CRM – Best free client management software
Zoho CRM – Best overall client management software
You’ll find Zoho CRM at the top of a lot of CRM ranking lists, because it provides a whole lot of features at a lower price point than competitors like Zendesk and HubSpot, substantially undercutting them when it comes to value.
This CRM integrates with the massive Zoho family of apps and features a lot of third-party integrations to really give it some power to become an all-in-one hub.
Since our last update...
Social media becomes more and more important for businesses every day, which means that social media integration with CRM software is vital to the success of your business. Fortunately, Zoho CRM has added a new feature that will make life easier when it comes to testing out your social campaigns before they go live.
Announced in October 2023, Zoho CRM will now have Zoho Social integration with the Zoho CRM sandbox. This means you’ll be able to test out the integration before launching it on your platform, giving you a bit more control over how the platform works for you.
For client management specific, Zoho CRM scored highly on important categories like lead conversion, as well as data and reports, in which Zoho CRM received a perfect 5 out of 5 score. This makes it a great CRM platform for accountants, sales teams, and other businesses looking to maintain close oversight of how deals are progressing.
The CRM leads page on Zoho CRM
Image: Tech.co testing
Simply put, you can’t do much better than Zoho CRM, particularly as it’s the best CRM for small businesses, according to our research.
Pros
- 15-day free trial
- Includes sales and marketing functionality available in free plan
- Highly customizable dashboards and fields across platform
- Integrate with other Zoho services or the vast app library
Cons
- No spam prevention on web forms
- Onboarding assistance for your team costs extra
- Team management functionality lacks with limited storage space
- Free plan available
- Standard: $14/user/month
- Professional: $23/user/month
- Enterprise: $40/user/month
- Ultimate: $52/user/month
- Plus: $57/user/month
Zoho CRM pricing
Zoho CRM offers five different pricing plans: Standard, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate, and Plus. Zoho CRM also has a basic free plan with lots of limitations, but it doesn’t cost anything.
The Standard plan costs $14 per user, per month, the Professional plan costs $23 per user, per month, the Enterprise plan costs $40 per user, per month, the Ultimate plan costs $52 per user, per month, and the Plus plan costs $57 per user, per month.
Our research found that the Professional plan is the best option for client management, unlocking custom reports and user storage, allowing for more in-depth information about customers to act on.
Check out our Zoho CRM pricing guide for more information
| Plan | Price Billed annually | Users | Storage | Support | Lead scoring | API | Custom reports | Custom automation builder | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRY FOR FREE | | BEST FOR SMB | | | | ||||
| Free | Standard | Professional | Enterprise | Ultimate | Plus | ||||
| 3 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||||
| User: n/a | User: n/a | User: 20MB | User: 50MB | User: 100mb | User: 1GB | ||||
| Basic | Standard | Live chat, phone, email | Standard | 24/7 live | 24/7 live | ||||
| | | | | | | ||||
| | | | | | | ||||
| | Max 100 | | | | | ||||
| | | | | | |
Freshsales Suite – Easiest software to use
As an all-in-one sales and marketing CRM, Freshsales Suite is uniquely positioned to provide excellent client management functionality for businesses. The prices are competitive, the features are plentiful, and the platform is easy to use, even for beginners. In fact, it scored highest in usability, netting a 4.7 out of 5 in our research in the category.
Even better, Freshsales Suite offer built-in VoIP software, which allowing a more seamless way to communicate with clients in the long run.
The contacts page on Freshsales Suite
Image: Tech.co testing
Where it really shines as far as client management is concerned is that it provides robust analytics for tracking your client progress, including sales forecasting in its most expensive plan. Our researchers also found that it’s scoring was quite comprehensive, providing positive and negative indicators to let you know which ones are ripe for the picking.
Plus, scoring a 3.5 out of 5 for lead communication features, Freshsales Suite has some of the best, beating out even Zoho CRM in the category. This allows it to offer the tools necessary to manage client needs and gain meaningful insights into pain points that may be impeding your pipeline.
Pros
- Accessible pricing options for all users
- More digital selling options than most
- Good customer support options including 24/7 coverage
Cons
- Lacks some team organization capabilities found in competitors
- Doesn’t provide an IP restriction security feature
- Growth: $9/user/month
- Pro: $39/user/month
- Enterprise: $59/user/month
Freshsales Suite pricing
Freshsales Suite offers three different pricing plans: Growth, Pro, and Enterprise. It also offers a free plan that will let you test out the platform before making a financial commitment.
The Growth plan costs $9 per user, per month, the Pro plan costs $39 per user, per month, and the Enterprise plan costs $59 per user, per month.
Our research has found that the Growth plan is the best option for client management, as it costs far less than a lot of other providers and still unlocks the majority of features you need, like lead scoring and custom automation builders.
| Plan | Price Billed annually | Users | Storage | Lead scoring | API | Custom reports | Custom automation builder | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | BEST FOR SMB | | | |||||
| Free | Growth | Pro | Enterprise | |||||
| $9/user/month | $39/user/month | $59/user/month | ||||||
| 3 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | |||||
| None | 2 GB | 5 GB per user | 100 GB per user | |||||
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| | | | | |||||
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| | 20 | 50 | 100 |
monday CRM – Best for customization
Customizability factors in greatly to whether or not a CRM is good for client management, and you can’t get much better than monday CRM. This platform is built on customizability, offering plenty of ways to change it to fit your particular business needs. The data and reports are excellent too, providing custom reports across all plans.
The leads dashboard on monday CRM
Image: Tech.co testing
The features that keeps monday CRM from being at the top of the list is the lead conversion tools, which are lacking a bit. Having scored only a 3 out of 5 in our research in this category, monday CRM is more geared towards organizing your information rather than acting on it too much.
Still, if you’ve got a specific need for a CRM in terms of client management, monday CRM can likely help you mold the platform to those needs. In fact, our researchers found it to be one of the best in terms of customization, because it allows you to add extra columns in dashboards and tables to accommodate additional information.
If it sounds like the provider for you and you’d like to find out a bit more about it, check out our monday CRM review.
Pros
- 14-day free trial
- Simple and modern layout with basic color-coded system
- Custom fields across platform, including customizable dashboards
- Many reports: deals, activity, recurring revenue, and more.
Cons
- Workflow automations are capped monthly
- No centralized inbox to improve team management
- No phone support on any plan, but live chat is available
- Basic: $12/user/month
- Standard: $17/user/month
- Pro: $28/user/month
monday CRM pricing
The CRM monday.com offers four different pricing plans: Basic, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise. It also offers a simple free plan that is pretty limited but can get you started on a smaller budget.
The Basic plan costs $12 per user, per month, the Standard plan costs $17 per user, per month, and the Pro plan costs $28 per user, per month. Each plan requires a minimum number of three users, so $36 per month is your minimum possible cost. The Enterprise plan does not have publicly available pricing, so you’ll have to reach out to monday.com for more information.
Our research found that the Pro plan is the best plan for client management software, primarily because it unlocks some analytical tools, like sales forecasts, so you can more effectively convert leads.
It’s worth noting that, while monday CRM is more affordable than options like Zoho CRM and Freshsales Suite on a per user basis, the platform requires a minimum of three users across all its plans, so you’ll be paying at least $36 per month no matter what. Subsequently, those other CRMs might be better if you only need a single user.
| Plan | Price Billed annually | Users | Storage | Lead scoring | Custom automation builder | Activity timeline | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | | | ||||
| Basic | Standard | Pro | Enterprise | ||||
| Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||||
| 5GB | 20GB | 100GB | 1000GB | ||||
| | | | | ||||
| | 250 actions/month | 25,000 actions/month | 25,000 actions/month | ||||
| 1 week | 6 months | 1 year | 5 years |
Zendesk Sell – Good for sales teams
As you can likely guess from the name, Zendesk Sell is a sales-focused CRM that offers a sleek, intuitive interface, making it easy to operate for everyone in your company. The prices can get a bit high, but the lower priced plans still offer lots of functionality for your business.
The contact database from Zendesk Sell
Image: Tech.co testing
In regard to client management, Zendesk Sell’s biggest selling point is its many organization and management features, which can encourage your sales team to be more productive. From task management tools to team KPIs, you’ll be able to keep track of it all, enabling your team to more effectively stay in touch with clients.
Pros
- 14-day free trial
- Provides great security options to secure data
- Offers good customizability including custom fields
- Lots of infrastructure to manage teams long term
Cons
- Very few digital selling tools for ecommerce businesses
- No quotes or proposal features
- No onboarding support for team members
- Team: $19/user/month
- Growth: $49/user/month
- Professional: $99/user/month
Zendesk Sell pricing
Zendesk Sell offers four different pricing plans: Team, Growth, Professional, and Enterprise.
The Team plan costs $19 per user, per month, the Growth plan costs $55 per user, per month, the Professional plan costs $115 per user, per month, and the Enterprise plan costs $169 per user, per month.
Our research shows that the Growth plan is best for client management, as it isn’t too expensive and still adds API access, so you can customize the platform to your particular client management needs.
Zendesk Sell is far more expensive than the other platforms on this list, like Zoho CRM and monday CRM, but it still offers a lot. If you’re exclusively looking for sales features, it could be a good move, but Zoho CRM is just a better value when it comes to all-in-one CRM hubs.
Check out our Zendesk pricing guide for more information
| Plan | Price Billed annually | Users | Storage | Lead scoring | Custom automation builder | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEST FOR SMB | | | | |||
| Sell Team | Sell Growth | Sell Professional | Sell Enterprise | |||
| Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | |||
| 2GB per user | 5GB per user | 10GB per user | 25GB per user | |||
| | | | | |||
| | | | |
HubSpot CRM – Best free client management software
If you’re in the market for a free CRM that can actually get some work done, HubSpot is what you’re looking for. While it offers a lot of pricing plans, some that can get pretty expensive, HubSpot offers a great free plan that doesn’t skimp too much on the features you need for client management.
In fact, our researchers found that HubSpot offers some excellent client-facing features, including a personalized marketing communications experience for brand fans and customers that will engage them for future interactions.
The contacts page on HubSpot free
Image: Tech.co testing
Obviously, you’ll miss out on some key features like lead scoring, but HubSpot still provides a customizable sales pipeline and quote proposal management at no cost, as well as the ability to view revenue data. Understandably, you won’t get all the organization and management features, but for free, you could do a lot worse.
Since our last update...
A CRM is only as valuable as its potential add-ons, and the HubSpot app store recently got a massive upgrade, adding a wide range of essential tools that will help your business run even smoother.
Announced in September 2023, HubSpot is adding up to 20 services to its app marketplace, including Gmail, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Outlook, Slack, and Zoom. And if you’ve been in the business world for more than a few minutes, you know how important these integrations will be to your company.
From a value standpoint, we still have to give the edge to Zoho CRM, simply because it offers so many features for such a reasonable price. Still, if the budget is tight and you can get by on the basic features, we understand that a free plan from HubSpot is hard to beat.
Pros
- Sales and marketing features for growing businesses are included on all plans
- Tidy, easy-to-navigate interface for simple setup
- Shared team inbox makes chasing leads and support tickets way less complex
- Feature-rich free plan with lots of tools, perfect for small teams on a tight budget
- Easy-to-use AI and automation tools for streamlining processes
Cons
- Virtually no customer support on the free plan, so it's tough if you get stuck
- Free plan file storage limit of 5 documents, so you'll have to use other apps
- Hefty onboarding fees will put some businesses off the priciest plans
- Free plan available
- Starter: $15/user/month
- Professional: $90/user/month
HubSpot pricing
HubSpot is more geared towards larger companies, with pricing plans that get pretty expensive. However, the CRM offers a surprisingly robust free plan that offers excellent tools for client management at no cost to users. We’d recommend sticking to the HubSpot free plan if you’re a smaller business.
If you do want to scale with the platform, though, HubSpot offers three different hubs for sales, service, and marketing, which each have three pricing plans within them. Take a look at the pricing table below to learn more.
Check out our HubSpot pricing guide for more information
| Plan | Price Billed annually | Onboarding fee | Users | Storage | Lead scoring | API | Custom reports | Advanced forecasting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEST FOR SMB | | | | ||||||
| Free | Starter | Professional | Enterprise | ||||||
| | | $1,500 | $3,500 | ||||||
| Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||||||
| 5 documents | 5000 documents | 5000 documents | 5000 documents | ||||||
| | | | Predictive scoring | ||||||
| | | | | ||||||
| | | | | ||||||
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What to Look for in Client Management Software
Clearly, you’re in the market for client management software, which is why it’s so important to understand exactly what kind of features are important to this kind of software. In our research, we looked at a few key features that you’ll want to investigate when it comes to making the right decision for your business. Here are the key features of client management software:
- Lead conversion – These kinds of features are useful for turning prospects into clients. Our research measured whether providers can track client relationships with customizable sales pipelines, lead scoring, and comprehensive quoting.
- Data and analytics – Reporting tools are key when it comes to seeing the big picture of your client relationships. The right platform will allow you to view your clients in terms of revenue generated.
- Third party integrations – The ability for a platform to integrate with communication tools like VoIP and web conferencing software will make a big difference when it comes to keeping in touch with your clients in the long run.
- Organization tools – These features will enable you to stay on top of client communication with tools like unified inboxes, team calendars, and task management functionality.
On top of all that, you’ll obviously want to consider factors like price and ease of use, because the last thing you want is a software that is costing you more money than its making or causing headaches for other employees.
Why Do Businesses Need Client Management Software?
If you’ve made it this far, you likely know that you need client management software, but you may not be 100% sure why. Fortunately, we can explain all the benefits of client management software for businesses, so you know exactly what you’re getting in to and why.
First off, client management software allows users to analyze data and understand clients better, facilitating better campaigns. Additionally, it allows you to segment your customer base to provide more personalized experience across the board.
Client management software also typically provides features that can help you set up your sales pipeline with advanced lead scoring, so you know where your most likely sales are coming from. On top of that, keeping track of client histories facilitates better retention rates and empowers your team to more effectively solve problems and make sales.
Overall, though, client management is about improving the client experience. And considering 86% of clients are willing to pay more for a better experience, it’s safe to say this kind of software can make a big impact on your business.
Expert tip
A CRM is vital for any sales team to properly manage and convert pipeline. The analytics provide management with an arsenal of data to pinpoint bottlenecks in the sales cycle and allows them to optimize process to ensure their teams are being as efficient as possible.
We take our impartial research and analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we're giving you the clearest, most useful recommendations.
After conducting an initial exploration to identify the most relevant, popular, and established CRM tools in the market, we put them through their paces to find out more about their strengths and weaknesses. In total, we analyzed 13 CRM systems, grading them across 84 areas of investigation.
Based on years of market research and CRM product testing, we've established a CRM research methodology to score products, which consists of six main assessment categories and 13 subcategories. This covers everything from the available features and scalability capacity to the product's value for money and much more.
Our main testing categories for CRM systems are:
Features: The functionalities and capabilities provided by the CRM software, such as contact management, lead and opportunity tracking, and task and activity management.
Help and Support: The resources and assistance available to users when they encounter issues or require guidance while using the CRM software.
Customization: The ability to tailor the CRM software to suit the specific needs and processes of the organization, e.g. customizing fields, layouts, and workflows.
Scalability: The ability of the CRM software to accommodate the growth and changing needs of the organization, such as the capacity to handle a growing customer database.
Price: The cost associated with using the CRM software. It includes factors such as licensing fees, subscription plans, and additional charges for add-on modules or features.
Team Structure – Sales CRM: Determining if a platform makes it easier to manage large sales teams, including team dashboards, team hierarchies, and team inboxes.
Usability – Small Business CRM: Assessing the simplicity of the interface, the ease of navigating through menus and options, and the overall user experience.
When it comes to calculating a product's final score, not all testing areas are weighted evenly, as we know some aspects matter more to our readers than others, which are merely "nice to have." After hundreds of hours, our process is complete, and the results should ensure you can find the best solution for your needs.
At Tech.co, we have a number of full-time in-house researchers, who re-run this testing process regularly, to ensure our results remain reflective of the present day.
Verdict: What Is the Best Client Management Software?
Our research shows that Zoho CRM is the best client management software, offering plenty of analytics, lead conversion features, and integrations across its plans to keep track of all your client interactions. Freshsales Suite represents the easiest to use option on the list, while monday CRM is the most customizable.
If these CRM providers aren’t a good fit, though, the industry is rife with options that could meet your needs a bit better. Be sure to check out our CRM comparison page to see even more providers and feel free to check out our other CRM guides on Tech.co comparing pricing, providers, and features.
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