A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software is a kind of application that supports sales and marketing. CRM applications basically help the marketing team in managing their customer relationships. If you are someone running your own business or working in a marketing field, then chances are that you have used or will need to use crm software at one point of time, irrespective of whether it is online or offline.
You might wonder why Hubspot is ranked as the top CRM software for Mac. Well, there are many reasons that it should be your choice if you are trying to find the best free CRM software for Mac. It’s simple, flexible, easy to use and has a powerful set of features.
Bitrix24
- Open source: (via partner network)
- Upgrade price: $19 per month for two users
- CRM emails: 1,000 per month
- Number of users: 12
- Unlimited leads and contacts:
- Analytics and reports:
- Top features: Kanban boards, Gantt charts, workload planning
Bitrix24 is a great choice if you’re looking for a free and open source CRM. Though the open source part of the offering has to be handled by a Bitrix24 partner.
The big reason why I recommend Bitrix24 is the number of features it offers without charging top dollar for them. For instance, you will get unlimited feature records, sales tracking, email marketing, and more – all for free.
The fact that over 7,000,000 companies use Bitrix24 says much about the popularity of this tool. The only downside of this cloud-based CRM software is the learning curve (even with the paid version), especially when you compare it to platforms like Freshsales.
Putting that aside, it is one of the best free CRM software for improving your collaboration and communication, as well as helping you manage your clients with ease. I think it’s a good choice for small businesses looking for a collaboration software that doesn’t put a dent in their marketing budgets and that offers almost all of the advanced features.
Zoho CRM
- Open source:
- Upgrade price: n/a
- CRM emails: 4,500
- Number of users: 3
- Unlimited leads and contacts:
- Analytics and reports:
- Top features: scoring rules, workflows, email notifications, web forms, custom dashboard
Zoho started as a cloud-based CRM. However, over time, they have also added diversification to the picture. Nowadays, they offer an all-in-one suite to help you manage everything from invoicing to customer management.
Although it’s not an open source CRM, it can be easily integrated with other platforms via third party apps. For instance, you can use Zapier to connect to eCommerce platforms like Shopify, which is otherwise not possible.
If you want to use it for a small business, I’d suggest that you go with the Standard plan featuring custom reports and analytics in addition to lead scoring, webhooks, etc. It’s a good choice for startups or new businesses.
Insightly
- Open source:
- Upgrade price: $29 per user/month, billed annually
- CRM emails: 25,000
- Number of users: 2
- Unlimited leads and contacts:
- Analytics and reports:
- Top features: sales tracking, forever free plan, user friendly UI
Insightly is a smart, simplified addition to our list of the best free and open source CRM. This tool focuses on improving your workflow and organization, and getting you better leads. It is marketed as a budget-friendly option for closing more deals, and that’s exactly what this CRM is about.
The free version offers fast onboarding and a free lifetime plan. Additionally, the integrated tracking system is great, which is ideal for newbies. It helps to track everything from sales prospects to delivered projects via the same dashboard.
That said, compared to some of its competition, Insightly provides slightly less features in the paid versions. Other than that, it’s a good CRM for carefully tracking customer relationships, monitoring a sales pipeline, and getting more insights on your sales process overall.
Even the main dashboard alone will provide you with highly detailed stats on your sales and pipeline. With Insightly’s free version, you will get access to around 25,000 records, including contacts, leads, organizations, reports, projects, and more.
Overall, I’d say it’s a great choice for businesses that aren’t looking for a lot of features and functionality options, but simply want to get started with a CRM fast.
Daylite
Benefits:
Daylite is a CRM designed specifically for Mac, iPhone and iPad users. It’s a pretty good platform for startups and small businesses of up to 100 people looking to expand their client list and projects so they can scale.
The Daylite set of tools are divided into CRM features and project management tools. The idea here was to break down the old division between customer-facing tasks and internal ones. It isn’t just for sales and marketing. All departments can use it to stay informed of what’s going on with a project for a client.
Other great assets are the Daylite Mail Assistant, which integrates directly with Apple Mail (something very few platforms do). Daylite offers loads of customization options. These include a variety of ways to categorize and tag contacts, tasks, projects, deals, etc. It allows you to create custom and flexible reports, as well as administrative team and user permissions. Finally, as a Mac tool, it works with other Apple apps like Calendar, Contacts and even Siri.
Drawbacks:
Daylite only has one plan. This means there’s less flexibility in pricing and packages. Another limitation here is that it’s only meant to be a CRM and Project Management app for Apple users.
Pricing:
- Daylite is $24 per user per month, billed annually. Visit the vendor’s site for the most current prices or specials.
Daylite offers a 30-day free trial. It also includes a complimentary 30-minute onboarding call to help new users get started.
Website: marketcircle.com
HubSpot CRM
Benefits:
- Manages workflows for improved project management; you’ll be able to effectively assign and track leads, keep an eye on the sales process, and record customer interactions across channels
- Well-built iOS native app with good functionality on iPad and iPhone
- Works with both G Suite and Microsoft Office
- Zapier integration enhances usefulness by making it easy to share information across apps, such as Google Sheets, Slack, Facebook Lead Ads
- HubSpot CRM is free, so you can get started without overhead, while paid add-on packages for HubSpot pile on features like reporting, AI, and advanced automation
Drawbacks:
- Limited customization options
- The basic, no-cost CRM’s features are many but basic, and you may eventually need to buy Sales Hub or one of HubSpot’s other add-on packages to boost the CRM’s capabilities
Pricing:
- HubSpot CRM is free, and the number of users is unlimited
- Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, and Service Hub add-on packages are $50 each per user/per month, billed monthly
- HubSpot CMS starts at $300 per month, billed monthly
- All-inclusive Starter Growth Suite starts at $113 per user/per month, billed monthly
There are no free trials for the add-on packages.
Website: hubspot.com
Zoho CRM
Benefits:
- Zoho CRM is easy-to-use, with a simple user interface targeted at small businesses, including customizable modules, automation, and social media features
- Lets you define workflows and rationalize everyday tasks, as well as manage leads
- CRM and Mail apps for iOS allow for Apple-friendly productivity on the move
- Data porting features allow you to quickly migrate your data from spreadsheets and contact management software to the Zoho platform, making implementation pretty straightforward
- Integrates with Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ for reaching out and engaging with leads quick and snappy, at just the right time
Drawbacks:
- Zoho doesn’t have individual email tracking or lead notifications; that can be limiting if you rely heavily on one-on-one engagement
- Add-on modules are priced on top of the existing CRM product you purchase, so costs can increase significantly as you expand your use of the platform
Pricing:
- Free version is available for up to three users and is targeted at home businesses
- Standard version is $12 per user/per month, billed annually
- Enterprise version is $35 per user/per month, billed annually
A free trial is available for the Standard and Enterprise versions.
Website: zoho.com/crm
Pipedrive
Benefits:
- Flexible and results-oriented CRM that allows you to construct multiple sales pipelines with customizable, unique stages appropriate to a specific product/service’s context
- Reminders, notifications, and follow-up alerts automatically keep you on task
- iOS app for calling, contact management, activity tracking, and more on the move
- Customize data fields and workflow for your distinct business processes
- Low learning curve speeds pace of implementation
Drawbacks:
- No internal emailing platform, so you’ll have to use the app’s Mailchimp integration
- Pipedrive Dealbot integrates with Slack, giving you a heads up in both apps when a deal is identified, won, or lost, but notifications get lost easily in normal Slack chat
Pricing:
- The Essential plan is $12.50 per user/per month billed annually, and $15 billed monthly
- The Advanced plan is $24.90 per user/per month billed annually, and $29 billed monthly
- The Professional plan is $49.90 per user/per month billed annually and $59 billed monthly
- The Enterprise plan is $99 per user/per month, billed annually
A 14-day free trial is available for the Essential, Advanced, and Professional plans.
Website: pipedrive.com
Zendesk Sell
Benefits:
- Useful for prospecting, deal-making, and improving customer retention and conversions with timely sales interventions and follow-ups
- Sales automation gives sales reps the space to focus on the more important things
- Set triggers when you get a new lead, qualified deal, or incoming deal; everyone on the team gets a heads up and the opportunity to analyze and collaborate, so there are fewer meetings and less crossed wires
- Lead prioritization capabilities and tools like funnel tracking, custom lead forms, customizable lists, communication templates, conversion rate tracking, and channel optimization make it easy to gain context on leads
- Android/iOS version is the #1 rated mobile sales app
Drawbacks:
- Some users have reported a slow loading time and mistakes in automated data entry
- Entry-level pricing might be too high for a startup or small business.
Pricing:
- Contact Zendesk directly for pricing and custom plans
No free trial is available.
Website: zendesk.com/sell
Conclusion
There is a bigger buzz on CRM software these days as more and more people are going online to do their work. Though the concept of CRM is not new, it has received a lot of attention these days as more and more small and big companies are taking advantage of it.