Top 8 CRM Freeware: Find the One that Works for You
The world of CRM software can be a daunting one. With so many options out there, it's hard to know where to start.
One way you can decide is by trying free versions of the more popular CRMs on the market provided they have a free version available.
In this post we will go through a list of 8 freeware CRMs and tell you what they offer in their free versions, which may help you narrow down your decision-making process when choosing a marketing tool for your business!
1. Freshsales
Freshsales is one of the best examples of a fully-fledged sales force automation solution. It provides everything a salesperson needs to attract quality leads, engage in contextual conversations, drive deals with AI-powered insights, and nurture customer relationships.
With built-in email, phone, chat & telephony, Freshsales empowers sales teams with more time for selling by automating the sales process and increases efficiency & productivity in their daily activities.
With Freddy AI, salespeople can get insights into the best deals to go after and what actions to take & predict revenue with sale forecasting.
Features
- Freshsales has all the core features that you would expect to see in a CRM, including customisable pipelines & stages, qualified lead management and predictive analytics.
- The free version of Freshsales allows businesses to have users with access to email support for questions about using the software.
- It's an all-in-one cloud accounting solution that lets you send invoices, track time spent on projects and monitor expenses without leaving your browser.
2. Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is another popular choice with a free CRM offering. Bitrix24 is still one of the best options for small businesses and freelancers looking to manage contacts, deal pipelines & tasks.
One of its most interesting features is that you can install it on your own server if you want total control over your data, or you can use the cloud version, which also includes chat & phone support.
With Bitrix24 you can create projects, tasks & timesheets and manage your contacts from a single location.
Features
- It allows 12 users to collaborate on a common project or account.
- Bitrix24 also has a social network-like activity feed that keeps everyone informed about what's going on in the company, whether they're using it themselves or not.
- It offers an intuitive user interface and is very easy to set up. This is important for those who don't have a lot of time to spend on learning new software.
3. Zoho CRM
Zoho is best known for their suite of business apps, which includes CRM, accounting and marketing tools in both cloud-based and downloadable versions.
Zoho offers all the basic features you would expect from a full service CRM platform including activity management, contact lists & calendars plus support for over 40 file types out-of-the-box.
One of the best features is that Zoho CRM offers deals which can be used to structure deals, contracts, proposals and tenders. These are excellent for businesses looking to grow their sales with a full pipeline management system.
Features
- The most important feature is that Zoho has a free plan which includes unlimited users, access to all features and apps, plus email & chat support.
- Zoho also offers a free plan for its accounting software which allows users to track time, manage expenses and invoices.
- This feature-packed CRM is packed full of tools that help you keep your customers happy whilst keeping an eye on the competition at the same time.
4. HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM is the most popular CRM on this list, partly because it's a good choice for smaller businesses.
It's easy to see why so many businesses choose HubSpot CRM as their go-to contact management solution; it has all the basic features you need plus some advanced tools that help drive your business forward.
HubSpot CRM is one of the best options if you're looking for an intuitive interface that's easy enough to use even without training.
HubSpot CRM provides great support to their customers, offering email & chat assistance from within the software itself. Their library of help articles also makes it easy enough to get started with HubSpot CRM without any training.
It has an integration of AI & machine learning features which provides salespeople with up-to-date information about their contacts.
This helps them come across as more knowledgeable and improves the chances of converting potential customers into real ones.
Features
- HubSpot CRM has all the basic tools you would expect from a standard CRM, including customisable pipelines & stages, qualified lead management and predictive analytics.
- The CRM is free for small businesses with a limited number of users, while the more advanced features are only available on paid plans.
- One of its best features is its integration with over 600 apps in its app marketplace, which makes it easier to connect your CRM with other apps you're already using.
5. Insightly
Insightly is a CRM software that offers all the features you would expect from an industry leader and more. Insightly has all the basic features you would expect from a CRM, including contact management, sales pipeline & stages, customisable pipelines and advanced analytics.
Insightly also offers integrations with many popular apps such as Gmail, Slack and Google apps. It's also possible to connect Insightly with other CRMs such as Salesforce.
One of its most interesting features is that you can install it on your own server if you want total control over your data. That's great news for businesses that are worried about security or who want to keep their data close at hand.
Features
- Insightly is packed full of tools that help you to create a customer-focused organisation.
- It has automations for tasks such as follow up emails and lead scoring, which helps your sales team prioritise their efforts and spend more time closing deals.
- It also offers task management, project management & reporting features alongside apps like Google Drive integration, MailChimp integration and customer portal.
- Insightly is known for its high level of security, great support options, including live chat and email support, and a variety of pricing plans with many features included in the free plan.
6. Capsule CRM
Capsule CRM is a relatively new entrant into the market, but it's already making waves with its unique approach to contact management.
Capsule has all the basics you need from an industry leader including customisable pipelines, tasks & stages and advanced analytics.
The user interface is one of the highlights as its refreshingly simple and provides a great overview of your entire sales pipeline.
Capsule's unique selling point is how it differentiates itself from other CRMs by allowing you to manage all your contacts in an email inbox.
That means Capsule doesn't have separate module for tasks or deals, and that makes everything a lot less complicated.
Features
- Capsule CRM is a great option if you're looking for something different from the standard contact management software . It's fast, easy to use and has all the basic tools you need without being too overwhelming with its features.
- Customized pipelines are a great way to keep track of your contacts and deals, while Capsule's email inbox makes it easier to manage all your daily tasks.
- It has integrations with popular apps such as Dropbox, Zapier, Google Drive & Slack . It also offers full API access which is an ideal option for businesses who want complete control over their CRM.
7. Agile CRM
Agile CRM is an all-in-one software that's packed with features and offers a wide variety of customizable options.
It has the remarkable ability to create marketing campaigns that follow "if/then" branching rules which is great for creating dynamic sales pipelines.
Workflow creation is limited to one campaign and only one trigger rule with the free version, but it's great for running a single campaign without fear of hitting limitations.
Agile is a good way to manage contacts, deals and tasks while also offering a range of other tools to help your business grow.
Agile is more than just CRM software as it has advanced features that help you create campaigns for lead generation, customer surveys & feedback, email marketing, social media management and even SEO.
Features
- Captures leads with customizable pop-ups, landing pages and forms. You can choose the pages to display, when they appear and the conditions for displaying.
- It also integrates with Google Analytics so you can easily see who has visited your site.
- It offers a free version that includes many key functions or if you want more options, there are plenty of affordable plans with more features on each one.
- Agile has a great reporting system that provides detailed data for each step in your sales pipeline.
8. Freshworks
Freshworks is a well-established business that's been around for many years. It has all the basic features you'd expect from an industry leader including sales forecasting, customisable pipelines, task management and analytics.
The standout feature is definitely Freshworks' integration with Google sheets which allows your team to access any data stored in spreadsheets directly within their CRM.
The free version includes unlimited users, deals and tasks with the added benefit of Google Sheets integration. It has all the basic features you need to run your business including customisable pipelines, contacts management & task management.
Features
- Freshworks' team collaboration tools are some of its best features as it's easy for teams to share reports, data, tasks and more.
- Customizable pipelines are useful for tracking deals from first contact to close as well as managing your team's workflow. Other features include email marketing automation & social media management.
- The free CRM is basic and includes a Kanban pipeline, tasks, activity timelines, and data transfer from other CRMs.
Conclusion
CRM Freeware is an affordable option if you're on a tight budget or just want to try before investing in premium software.
Though it's not as feature-rich as the paid versions, these apps are more than capable of streamlining your business and helping you manage tasks, contacts & deals. You can make use of the free plan features or upgrade to one of the paid plans.