Using free CRM software may be the solution you are looking for in your business. It's a valuable tool to enhance productivity, diminish errors, automatize repetitive tasks, and enjoy deal opportunities.
You can centralize all customer information on a single platform, and allow employees to have access to the CRM, so you can assign tasks to them. Besides, they will be able to keep track of customer interactions, and analytic reports to take better decisions and increase the number of sales.
What Is CRM
CRM refers to Customer Relationship Management and it's a type of software that allows you to keep track and manage your customer interactions on a single platform. You can follow their path, identify which buyer's stage they are in, and automate interactions for every step.
The software, including free CRM, helps to identify when there are deal opportunities, so you avoid missing sales. You are notified when your leads and customers send messages, which optimizes the work.
Also, CRM software counts with data analysis to track performance on the actions and strategies you set up. You will have a unified dashboard to follow up on the metrics, create marketing and sales plans, and manage your teams.
CRM software usually has tools to create tasks, assign them, and set deadlines. You can share it with your employees, and define short and long-term goals, without having to use multiple platforms.
Some CRM software come with AI integrated. It gives you suggestions about what to do next, based on data analysis. You will have a broader vision of your whole business, save time, help your team organize their tasks, and dedicate yourself to focusing on what needs to be improved.
Why Use a CRM
Organize Processes
With a CRM, you can organize the activities of your sales and marketing team better. By having the customer interactions centralized in one platform, it's easier to organize the tasks and assign them.
With the KPI reports, you are going to have a better understanding of the processes inside the company to know how to implement new actions and identify what needs to improve.
Improve Teamwork
Everyone in your team will be updated about all the interactions with prospects and leads, which facilitates them to help one another and work together. If someone needs to assist a customer that was talking with another employee, all they need to do is check the customer interaction history to know how to continue the conversation, for instance.
If a team member needs help they can send the customer activities to a coworker who will quickly be able to have an overview of the situation.
Enhance Productivity
With the proper CRM, you can save time by automating tasks. This way, you and your team can focus on what really matters, such as developing new sales and marketing strategies.
Customer Segmentation
To make it simpler to identify your customers, you can segment them according to the criteria that suit your company’s needs. For example, location, age, gender, or buyer's journey stage. Your marketing and sales teams can develop campaigns based on these criteria.
Automation Tools
Many business owners face the challenge of managing the increase in the number of tasks as their business escalates. Using free CRM software helps by enabling you to automate activities from different departments. It's possible to complete a bigger amount of tasks without having to hire more people.
Increase Revenue
A CRM makes it easier to keep track of customers and identify when they are about to close deals.The analytics tools enable you to have a better understanding of the sales process and see what needs to be changed. By knowing better customer behavior, you have the opportunity to develop more efficient actions and sell more.
How to Choose the Best Free CRM Software
When the subject is free CRM, there are some basic features that every good CRM should have, and they must be taken into consideration. Free CRM may not offer all the tools that a paid one would, but this doesn't mean they aren't worth it, on the contrary, they are a great opportunity to start using CRM in your business without having to spend anything.
Marketing Integration
A free CRM should offer marketing tools, so you will be able to manage campaigns and analyze their performance through the platform. Observe if the CRM you are choosing allows you to integrate it with your website, email, SMS, and social media. It will help your sales and marketing team to work in sync, make better use of the data, and consequently increase revenue.
Lead Scoring
Leads have several characteristics that enable you to divide them into many categories. Each one is in a different deal stage, some are more likely to make a purchase than others. Therefore, choose a free CRM that notifies you when there are selling opportunities, and sets a score for each lead based on how likely they are to close a deal.
You just need to set the criteria that indicates when a lead has a high potential to turn into a customer, then the software will send you a notification when it happens.
Task Management
Another essential feature of free CRM software is enabling you to create and assign tasks, set deadlines, and follow up on how each activity is done. It becomes easier to manage your team, and they can organize their time better too.
Data Management
You must be able to centralize all customer data in the platform, and organize it as you prefer. It includes creating contacts lists, keeping track of customer history, and recording each action they make when interacting with your company.
21 Best Free CRM Software
1. JivoChat CRM
Free CRM JivoChat
JivoChat has a free version of its platform where you can respond to customers both in the chat and messengers. But, you can also enjoy the 14-day trial period with the other plans.
With JivoChat you can control every interaction with your customers, from the first message to after sale. All tickets from your communication channels are automatically saved in the dashboard, avoiding the risk of losing crucial information.
You and your team will have access to all requests and deal status. You can enjoy the reports and insights for sales control, schedule calls, meetings, and emails, and integrate JivoChat CRM with other communication channels, like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.
Highlighted features:
Schedule calls, emails, and meetings
Create customized pipelines
Centralize communication
Track reports
Integrate with multiple apps
Mobile app
2. Brevo
Brevo offers a free plan with several tools. To start using it, all you have to do is create an account, then upload all your contact information. You can use different lists to organize your contacts. For example, the stage they are in the buyer's journey, the acquisition source, or any other the criteria that work best for you.
Inside the CRM dashboard, you will find the function to assign tasks where you can organize what every member of your team has to do, insert deadlines and follow each step. This way, you will have a broader vision of the actions that are being implemented and how they are affecting your customers' relationships.
Highlighted features:
- Simple to use
- Segment your contacts
- Assign tasks for your team members
- Add deadlines
- Attach documents and notes to each contact
3. Pipedrive
Free CRM - Pipedrive
Pipedrive provides a 14-day trial so you can get to know the system and present it to your team as well. Enjoy the CRM to track the communications history of each contact, such as emails, and calls, and use the artificial intelligence to learn where you can improve, and direct your leads into your sales pipelines, as well.
The platform also provides customized metrics, so you can make analysis based on your company's short and long-term goals. Besides, it's possible to integrate Pipedrive with sales apps.
To help you keep your schedule and your team's tasks organized, you can create activity reminders, sync with Google Calendar, and customize the activity types. On the dashboard, Sales Pipeline, you will be able to add, find and update your data, insert new contacts and deals, and organize them according to their buyer's journey stage.
Highlighted features:
- Track communications
- Automate tasks
- Receive customize reports
- Integrate with other apps
- Set activities reminders
- Centralized dashboard
4. Freshsales
Free CRM - Freshsales
Freshsales is a CRM software that enables you to have a 360º view of your customer steps to deliver completely personalized experiences. On a centralized dashboard, you can manage the whole sales process, and automate time-consuming tasks.
Through the activity timeline tool, you can understand your customer behavior, identify opportunities, and the best strategies to sell more. Freshsales AI will assist you by providing deal insights, based on data analysis.
It also allows you to customize the sales activities and the contact lifecycle stages. You can integrate the CRM with other important tools, such as PayPal, DocuSign, and Gmail as well.
Highlighted features:
- 360º view of your customers
- Custom sales activities
- Create contact lifecycle stages
- Automate tasks
- Integrate with several tools
- Activity timeline
- AI-based deal insights
5. RD Station
Free CRM - RD Station
RD Station is an all-in-one tool where you can manage your customer experience through different communication channels, control marketing campaigns, develop personalized journeys for them, automate tasks, and identify the best deal opportunities.
The platform offers specialized assistance to help you make the most advantage of its system. You will have access to educational content, and technical customer success specialists’ support.
Another benefit is the marketing and sales data that helps to predict results. You can include to-do lists on the platform, share them with your team, assign each member tasks, and set deadlines.
Highlighted features:
- All-in-one tool
- Create personalized journeys
- Develop marketing campaigns
- Specialized assistance
- Access to data about your customers and actions
- Create projects and to-do lists
6. Zoho CRM
Free CRM - Zoho
Zoho CRM allows you to reach out to your customers through multiple channels, like email, social media, or telephone. You will be notified when there is any interaction between customers and prospects. Besides, you can measure the effectiveness of each communication strategy by analyzing their data.
To optimize tasks and save time, Zoho provides several automation tools, you can set customers' follow-up actions, such as sending a welcome email when they subscribe to your newsletter.
Another advantage offered by the platform is the AI-powered sales assistant, Zia. It was designed to help you find the information you need in the CRM and also sends you reminders and suggestions about the best time to contact your leads.
Highlighted features:
- Fast implementation
- Reach customers across multiple communication channels
- Real-time notifications from customers’ interactions
- Automate tasks
- Trigger instant actions
- Real-time reports and insights
- AI-powered sales assistant
7. Bigin
Free CRM - Bigin
Bigin is a CRM developed for small businesses, It enables you to centralize all prospect information in a single platform and keep a timeline of every interaction with them. Customize deal stages, create workflows, develop a pipeline of your company sales, and enjoy the Bigin app for IOS or Android.
It also allows you to send mass emails, analyze the performance of email marketing campaigns, create personalized web forms, and it has built-in telephony features. To optimize time, you can manage your activities for the day and of your team, send notifications, and mention them as well.
Highlighted features:
- Send mass emails
- Analyze your email marketing campaigns
- Create web forms
- Manage pipelines
- Create workflows
- Activity management
- Customize the way you view your data
8. HubSpot
Free CRM - HubSpot
HubSpot CRM software allows you to have a complete vision of your sales pipeline. You are going to have access to detailed reports on sales activity. You also can follow up on your team's tasks, and individual performance.
When you add a new contact, it's automatically enriched with data from over 20 million businesses. Your sales team is going to be notified every time an opportunity is identified, making it much easier for connecting with prospects.
You will be able to integrate with more than 875 apps, manage marketing campaigns and sales in the same place, and count on 24/7 customer support as well.
Highlighted features:
- Centralized dashboard
- View of your entire sales pipeline
- Unlimited users
- Company insights
- Deal tracking
- Meeting scheduling
9. Salesforce
Free CRM - Salesforce
Salesforce CRM software is going to help you integrate your sales, marketing, commerce, service, and IT teams. They will work aligned, regardless of where they are located, providing a better experience for your customers.
Through Salesforce you can leverage customer data from multiple sources, trigger messages based on customer actions, and send personalized messages. It enables you to create a personalized shopping experience with AI help as well. Also, manage every communication channel in one dashboard, improving response time.
Highlighted features:
- All-in-one platform
- Marketing tools
- Connect commerce to every department
- Personalize shopping with artificial intelligence
- Unify communication channels
- Manage every channel from one view
10. Microsoft Dynamic 365
Free CRM - Microsoft Dynamic 365
The Microsoft Dynamic 365 software aims to simplify the process that involves sales, from supply chain to customer support. You will be able to visualize all your customer data and enjoy AI's insights.
You will be able to understand the sales pipeline and even automate some of the processes. Besides, you can protect and secure your business with built-in security tools and compliance. Customer data will be encrypted to keep it safe, and you can choose who inside the company can access the data.
Highlighted features:
- Visualize your customer data
- Artificial intelligence insights
- Automate tasks
- Personalize customer experience
- Automate order fulfillment
11. Less Annoying CRM
Free CRM - Less Annoying CRM
Less Annoying CRM was developed by a software engineer who realized the need for offering a platform that's simple to use and enables people to quickly implement it in their business. The software aims to provide an affordable solution for small businesses to enhance their workflow and automate tasks.
With the Less Annoying CRM, you can maintain all of your contact information in one place. Every customer will have a profile where you can see their interaction with your company, including notes, pipeline information, files, events, and tasks related to them. You and your team can check the assigned tasks and events on the CRM calendar.
Enjoy the lead report to keep track of every opportunity and avoid losing sales. You can also add as many collaborators as you want to the CRM so that every employee can use these tools as well. You control their access and decide what data they can see.
Highlighted features:
- Contact information in one place
- Team's events and tasks calendar
- Lead reports
- Add as many users as you need
- Customization tools
- Access from any device
- Free updates
12. Keap
Free CRM - Keap
Keap offers a 14-day free trial, so you have the opportunity to get to know the tools provided by them and make sure this platform is what you were looking for. Use it to organize your lead and customer information in one place, so you can segment them and understand the customer journey.
You will be able to identify what can be automated and do it through Keap. The software enables you to send messages automatically, check the status of every deal, generate invoices, and much more.
Highlighted features:
- Automated lead capture
- Lead and customer data centered in a single platform
- Trigger personalized follow-ups
- Integrate with other apps
- Appointment reminder
- Advanced automation builder
13. Insightly
Free CRM - Insightly
With Insightly, you can centralize your customer data to close more deals and create efficient sales and marketing strategies. You have the opportunity to capture relevant information about your leads, identify the ones who should be prioritized, and assign tasks to your team based on that.
Customize the pipelines, automate repetitive tasks, create projects, and keep track of every process in the CRM. The Insightly software is scalable and as several customization options to fit your business needs.
Highlighted features:
- Scalable
- Lead management
- Lead tracking
- Automate tasks
- Capture quality data
- Project and task management
- Customizable CRM
14. Monday
Free CRM - Monday
The Monday CRM software allows you to fully customize your sales pipeline. You can edit every deal stage, and add as many columns as you want. Automate repetitive work, and assign tasks to your team using the CRM tools provided by this platform.
You also can set reminders about upcoming activities, and receive notifications when a lead takes an important action, such as opening an email you have sent. You will be able to centralize the communication in one platform, saving time and preventing errors.
Highlighted features:
- Contact management
- Lead management
- Automate tasks
- Customize your sales cycle
- Centralize client communication
- Lead scoring
- Email tracking
15. SAP
Free CRM - SAP
SAP CRM was created to meet critical business needs and assist you in enhancing customer experience. With the software, you can make data-driven decisions, centralize customer data, and get AI insights about how to sell more.
Understand your customer journey with the marketing and sales tools offered by SAP, identify the tasks that can be automated, and use the CRM to schedule them. You can visualize customer profiles, and their connected relationships, and receive real-time insights about how to segment them better.
Highlighted features:
- Marketing and sales tools
- Automate tasks
- Customer profiles
- AI insights
- Centralized customer data
16. Apptivo
Free CRM - Apptivo
With a Kanban interface, Apptivo offers multiple customization tools so it fits the needs of each one of your company's sectors. It's possible to manage everything on the go with the Apptivo mobile app.
Add your team members to projects, assign tasks, and make data-driven decisions with the CRM tools provided. Integrate the software with other apps, automate tasks, and enjoy the performance analysis tool.
Highlighted features:
- Sales funnel builder
- Pipeline management
- Performance analysis
- Mobile app
- Customize the CRM
- Mobile app
17. Close
Free CRM - Close
Close CRM offers allows you to synchronize your email and calendar with the software to manage everything in one place.
Assign tasks for your team and yourself, and enjoy all the communication features to make sure the expected results will be achieved. You can also automate tasks, create workflows, and prioritize leads. Use the reports tools to get insights and make better decisions.
Highlighted features:
- Synchronize your email and calendar
- Assign tasks
- Automate tasks
- Report tools
- Customizable fields
- Leaderboards
- Integrate with other apps
18. Nimble
Free CRM - Nimble
Nimble is a relationship-focused CRM software that will help you engage with your customers and leads. You can unify all of your business contacts in the platform, which will collect social and business data about them.
You can segment customers, send personalized group emails, and enjoy the analytics and tracking features to analyze the performance of every task inside the CRM. Create a pipeline and plan every stage of the sales funnel.
Highlighted features:
- Unify your contact data
- Live profiles
- Segment contacts
- Engage at scale
- Analytics tools
- Create workflows
- Manage your team
19. Scoro
Free CRM - Scoro
Put everything you need to know about your customers in a single place with Socro CRM. You will get an overview of each customer on one page, and be able to access their interaction history, linked projects, invoices, and more. No need to open several other applications.
You also can track every step of your sales funnel, and the results too. Customize everything to fit your sales process, and automate repetitive tasks to save time. It's possible to manage the activities from your desktop or mobile device and track individual and team sales targets.
Highlighted features:
- Visual overview of your sales funnel
- Overview of each customer
- Track results
- Manage your pipeline
- Analytics tools
20. Salesflare
Free CRM - Salesflare
Salesflare is a CRM software created for B2B companies. With the platform, you can save time from looking for customer information, all you have to do is add the contact and the software will gather all the relevant data about the person, such as their social profiles.
You can connect your phone calendar to the CRM to always keep track of your upcoming meeting and other important events. Each customer will have a profile where you will be able to find the previous interactions they had with your company, and the documents related to them. If Salesflase identifies an opportunity it will highlight it, so you can decide whether to follow up or not.
Highlighted features:
- Fully automated contact and company info
- Customer profiles
- Identify deal opportunities
- Follow up based on your customer's reactions
- Email tracking
- Integrate with other apps
21. Bitrix 24
Free CRM - Bitrix24
Bitrix24 has a free CRM plan that allows you to enjoy multiple features without having to spend anything for an unlimited period of time. You can add as many users as you want, create and assign tasks, set a deadline, and follow up on them.
Unify customer information on this platform, segment leads and customers, keep track of their interactions and set your own rules and triggers. The software also enables you to automate tasks, track worktime and create analytic reports too.
Highlighted features:
- Automate tasks
- Assing and manage tasks
- Keep track of customer interaction
- Centralize customer information
- Marketing and sales tools
- Sales automation
- Sales intelligence
FAQ: Free CRM
Is there a 100% free CRM?
Yes, there are CRM platforms that offer a completely free plan, as you can see above. However, it may present limitations, with fewer features than the paid versions.
Is there a free CRM for small businesses?
Yes, CRM software like JivoChat, Brevo, and Freshsales have free versions that suit small businesses needs. They offer several functions to help you manage customer relationships without costing you anything.
What is CRM automation?
CRM automation means automating repetitive tasks through this software. For example, you can automate data entry and follow-up emails. This way, you and your team can focus on more important tasks.
What is an open-source CRM?
An open-source CRM offers more customization tools to its users who can change the layout and features. This is possible because the CRM source code is public, so if the person knows how to code, they can modify the software as they see fit.
Choose the Best Free CRM Software For Your Company
Now that you have seen some free CRM options, enjoy the opportunity to improve the management process in your company. You can start by testing more than one CRM, through the free trial periods that are offered, and choose the one that you find more suitable to your business needs.
It's fundamental to get your team on board. Therefore, present the free CRM software of your choice to them, explain how it will help to enhance results, and how to use it. It's important the whole team dedicate themselves to making the most of the benefits offered by the CRM.
