Sales is often portrayed as glamorous—the skilled sales rep making sharp calls, closing deals, and winning big. That’s part of the picture, sure. But behind every big win is a lot of groundwork.
We're talking:
- Closely tracking each lead’s journey
- Timing follow-ups with pinpoint accuracy
- Knowing where to focus efforts for the biggest impact
It’s these “mundane” tasks behind the scenes that keep the sales process running smoothly. And the engine that powers it all? A sales CRM.
Without a sales CRM to automate and organize activities, driving sales forward becomes overwhelming at best and downright unmanageable at worst. The question now is, which sales CRM do you go for?
This article explores today’s best sales CRMs, highlighting their standout features, pricing plans, and interesting quirks to inform your selection.
What Makes a Sales CRM Different?
Unlike run-of-the-mill CRMs, a sales CRM is specifically designed to address the unique demands of a sales environment. Naturally, it provides a 360-degree view of opportunities in a sales funnel as well as what’s needed to close them.
But more than just storing data, an effective sales CRM helps you spot patterns, predict outcomes, and make smarter decisions about where to focus your time and energy.
In other words, it makes your data actionable, so every sales rep knows which leads to prioritize, what task to automate, when to reach out, and how to draft messages that hit home.
In short, a sales-focused CRM brings clarity to the chaos of a sales environment, which inevitably translates to better, more sustainable sales performance.
Choosing the Right Sales CRM: What to Look For
Selecting a suitable sales CRM requires carefully evaluating your specific needs, workflow, and team dynamics.
As you explore the market, here are the most important elements to prioritize:
- Lead and Pipeline Management: You want a CRM that lets you track leads from initial interest to close. So, look for features that let you categorize, score, and prioritize high-potential opportunities. A clear pipeline view also ensures everyone on the team knows where each deal stands and what’s needed to move it forward.
- Task Automation: Repetitive tasks can bog down even the best sales reps. Automation helps by taking care of repetitive tasks like friendly reminders, pre-scheduled emails, and lead status updates. This frees up your team to concentrate on building relationships and closing deals.
- Contact and Communication Tracking: A solid sales CRM maintains a log of every interaction—calls, emails, meetings—so you get a complete history of communication with each lead. This means each rep can pick up where another left off, personalize outreach easily, and make every touchpoint count.
- Customizable Reporting and Analytics: To make informed decisions, you need to understand your sales data. So skip the fancy charts and choose a CRM that lets you track core metrics like conversion rates, average deal size, sales velocity, etc.
- User-Friendly Interface: Sales teams work fast, and they need a CRM that can keep up. Prioritize a user-friendly CRM to minimize time spent on training and setup. The quicker your sales team can adapt, the sooner they’ll be seeing results.
- Mobile Accessibility: Sales doesn’t just happen in the office. A mobile-friendly CRM lets your sales reps access and update information from anywhere. This way, they’re always connected and able to follow up on leads on the go.
10 Best CRM Software for Sales Teams
Looking for a CRM that moves the needle for your sales team? We've done the heavy lifting, analyzing and comparing the top solutions to help you make an informed choice. Let’s check them out.
Instantly Dealflow
G2 Rating: 4.9/5 ⭐ from 3,298 reviews
Instantly Dealflow is designed specifically to simplify the demands of high-velocity sales. Unlike traditional CRMs that try to be everything to everyone, Dealflow zeros in on helping you close more deals with less hassle.
It's built from the ground up for sales teams who need to move fast, reach out across multiple channels, and never let a hot lead slip through the cracks.
With a clean, minimalist interface for efficiency and automation features to help your team streamline outreach across multiple channels (email, SMS, and calls), Dealflow is a sales team's best ally.
The cherry on top? You get unlimited seats for your entire team on a fixed subscription, making it perfect for growing businesses. Try it for free today!
Top Features
- Multichannel outreach across emails, SMS, and calls
- Email warmup to get your messages in inboxes, not spam
- Unlimited seats for your sales team on a single subscription
- A master inbox to bring all customer interactions into one clean view
- Custom sales analytics to show you exactly what's working and what needs attention
- AI-powered workflows to automate tasks and spot winning patterns in your sales data
- Integration with a lead database boasting 260+ million verified contacts to save your team countless hours on lead research
Pricing
Instantly Dealflow offers a free trial along with flexible monthly and yearly pricing plans. The monthly paid pricing plans are as follows:
- Growth: $37/month
- Hypergrowth: $97/month
- Light Speed: $358/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
To top it all off, you get a 20% discount on all Instantly pricing plans when you go for the yearly option.
Freshsales
G2 Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐ from 1,208 reviews
Freshsales shines as a modern CRM that manages to pack serious power without the complexity. It's built for sales teams who want deep insights without drowning in data.
What sets it apart is how it blends AI smarts with real-world usability. The interface is clean and intuitive, putting everything you need right where you'd expect to find it. Plus, its flexible pricing structure means you're not paying for features you'll never use.
Top Features
- Visual pipeline tools to track deals intuitively
- AI-powered contact scoring to prioritize leads
- Custom reporting that shows you relevant metrics to your bottom line
- Built-in phone and email capabilities that turn your CRM into a complete communication hub
Pricing
Freshsales offers a 21-day free trial along with flexible monthly and yearly pricing plans. The monthly paid pricing plans are as follows:
- Growth: $11/user/month
- Pro: $47/user/month
- Enterprise: $71/user/month
Pipedrive
G2 Rating: 4.3/5 ⭐ from 2,079 reviews
Pipedrive does one thing exceptionally well: it makes pipeline management feel like second nature. Unlike CRMs that overwhelm you with bells and whistles, Pipedrive focuses on the core of sales: moving deals from first contact to deal close.
Its visual approach means you can literally see your sales pipeline in action. This laser focus makes it a favorite among sales teams who value clarity over complexity.
Top Features
- Visual deal rotting indicators that flag stalled opportunities before they go cold
- Data-driven insights for spotting and replicating successful sales patterns
- Smart email tracking and activity scheduler to stay on top of follow-ups
Pricing
Pipedrive offers a 14-day free trial along with flexible monthly and yearly pricing plans. The monthly paid pricing plans are as follows:
- Essential: $24/seat/month
- Advanced: $44/seat/month
- Professional: $64/seat/month
- Power: $79/seat/month
- Enterprise: $129/seat/month
You can also get up to 42% discount on Pipedrive’s pricing tiers when you choose the yearly option.
Monday CRM
G2 Rating: 4.6/5 ⭐ from 802 reviews
Monday CRM flips the script on traditional sales management. Instead of forcing you into a rigid system, it lets you build your sales process exactly how you want it. Think of it as a blank canvas for your sales workflow—but one that comes with all the power tools you need.
The platform's board-based approach makes it instantly familiar to anyone who's used Kanban-style project management (but with added sales muscle under the hood).
Top Features
- Customizable board views that adapt to how your team works
- Visual analytics that turn complex sales data into actionable insights
- Built-in team collaboration tools to keep everyone aligned
Pricing
Monday CRM gives its users a free trial along with flexible monthly and yearly pricing plans. The monthly paid pricing plans are as follows:
- Basic: $15/seat/month
- Standard: $20/seat/month
- Pro: $33/seat/month
- Enterprise: Contact the team
Users also get an 18% discount on all pricing tiers by going for the yearly option.
HubSpot
G2 Rating: 4.4/5 ⭐ from 11,949 reviews
HubSpot's CRM breaks the mold by offering decent CRM features in its free tier. It's not just a stripped-down teaser. You get some pretty helpful functionality without spending a dime.
The platform particularly excels at turning your website into a lead-generation machine, with tools that automatically capture, nurture, and convert prospects. While the paid tiers unlock more horsepower, the free version works well enough for small sales teams.
Top Features
- Website lead capture tools that turn visitors into contacts
- Deal pipeline tools that adapt to your unique sales process
- Email tracking and notification system that tells you when prospects engage
Pricing
HubSpot CRM has a completely free version. Its paid plan starts at $15/month/seat and goes up to $90/month for its professional tier. Importantly, HubSpot’s Professional and Enterprise plans come with a one-time onboarding fee of $1,500.
Zendesk Sell
G2 Rating: 4.2/5 ⭐ from 486 reviews
Zendesk Sell focuses on what sales teams need to hit their numbers. The platform stands out with its Reach feature, a built-in lead generation tool that helps fill your pipeline with qualified prospects.
But where Zendesk shines is in its ability to turn raw data into actionable sales intelligence. You're not just tracking deals—you're spotting trends and opportunities that might otherwise escape your notice.
Top Features
- Smart Lists that automatically organize contacts based on specific sales criteria
- Power dialer with local presence and call recording to boost connection rates
- Advanced forecasting tools that help predict and hit sales targets
- Automated task sequences that keep deals moving
Pricing
Zendesk Sell offers a free trial along with flexible monthly and yearly pricing plans. The monthly paid pricing plans are as follows:
- Sell Team: $25/user/month
- Sell Growth: $69/user/month
- Sell Professional: $149/user/month
- Sell Enterprise: $219/user/month
Zoho CRM
G2 Rating: 4.1/5 ⭐ from 2,684 reviews
Zoho CRM hits the sweet spot between power and simplicity. Rather than forcing you to choose between basic and overwhelming, Zoho incrementally scales with your team. You simply start with the essentials and then add muscle as your team grows.
Zoho’s AI assistant, Zia, acts like a digital sales coach who spots trends, forecasts outcomes, and suggests next steps. Even better, Zia adapts to different sales styles and team sizes without missing a beat.
Top Features
- Territory management tools to coordinate larger sales teams
- Zia AI assistant that predicts deal outcomes and suggests best actions
- Real-time analytics that helps you make data-backed decisions on the fly
- Customizable dashboards that put your most important metrics front and center
Pricing
Zoho CRM offers a free tier that supports up to 3 users and a 15-day free trial for monthly and yearly pricing plans. The monthly paid pricing plans are as follows:
- Standard: $18/user/month
- Professional: $30/user/month
- Enterprise: $45/user/month
- Ultimate: $55/user/month
Key Takeaways
The best sales CRMs make a measurable difference in your team's performance, from enhancing efficiency to boosting conversions.
Short on time? Here's a quick rundown:
- Unlike general CRMs focused on broader relationship management, a sales CRM prioritizes pipeline visibility, lead nurturing, and sales-specific metrics that impact your bottom line.
- When evaluating CRMs, prioritize features like contact and deal tracking, automated follow-ups, multi-channel outreach, mobile support, and real-time analytics.
- Our top sales CRMs include Instantly Dealflow, Freshsales, Pipedrive, Monday CRM, Zendesk Sell, Zoho CRM, and HubSpot.
If you're looking for a sales CRM that seamlessly balances ease of use with features that support high-velocity sales, Instantly Dealflow is second to none. Sign up for a free trial today!
