Best Zoho CRM Alternatives for 2025 (Top 7 Picks)

Let’s be real, Zoho CRM is pretty popular. It’s got all the usual bells and whistles you’d expect in a CRM: contact management, automation, analytics, you name it. But just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s perfect for everyone. Maybe you’ve tried it, and it felt a bit too much. Maybe the pricing made you do a double-take. Or maybe you’re just looking for something that’s a bit more... you.

Whatever the reason, you’re not stuck. The good news is there are some fantastic alternatives out there. In this guide, we’ve put together a list of the top 7 Zoho CRM alternatives, each with its own style, pricing, and standout features. So whether you're a startup hunting for an affordable option or a scaling business craving some advanced functionality, we have you covered.

What is Zoho CRM?

Zoho CRM is a cloud-based customer relationship management platform that's part of the expansive Zoho ecosystem - a suite of over 45 integrated applications covering sales, marketing, finance, HR, and more. It is designed to help businesses manage their sales, marketing, and customer support efforts.

With over 150,000 businesses using Zoho CRM worldwide, it's known for its versatility, integrations, and automation features. Zoho CRM helps companies manage contacts, sales pipeline, marketing campaigns, customer service, and much more.

Its customizable interface, sales automation tools, and robust reporting features have made it a go-to CRM solution for businesses of all sizes. However, the complexity of the platform, the steep learning curve, and the pricing structure are some of the factors that may lead businesses to explore alternatives.

Key Features of Zoho CRM (2025)

• Zia – Your AI Assistant: Zia's can help predict trends, spot anomalies, and even help you automate repetitive tasks.

• Custom Dashboards: You build dashboards with charts, graphs, or tables that give you the exact insights you need.
• Automation: Create workflows that do the work for you, from sending follow-up emails to assigning leads automatically.
• Multi-Channel Support: Engage with your customers across email, social media, WhatsApp, and more, Zoho brings them all together in one place.
• Lead Management: With features like lead scoring and automated routing, converting leads to customers becomes a breeze.
• Security: Keep data safe with role-based access, encryption, and audit logs.

Why Look for Zoho CRM Alternatives?

While Zoho CRM is a solid choice for many businesses, there are some common pain points that businesses face:

1. Complexity: Zoho CRM is feature-rich but can be overwhelming for small businesses or users who need a simpler solution. The interface and setup process can feel cumbersome.
2. Pricing: Zoho CRM can become expensive, especially as your business grows. The tiered pricing structure can add up as you scale, with additional charges for integrations, customization, and advanced features.
3. Customization Limitations: While Zoho CRM offers some customization options, it may not offer the level of flexibility needed for businesses in certain industries or with very specific workflows.
4. User Experience: Despite offering extensive features, the user interface (UI) and overall experience may not be as intuitive as other CRMs. It can take time to navigate and set up effectively.

Because of these issues, many businesses seek Zoho CRM alternatives that provide more flexibility, better pricing, and user-friendly interfaces.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a CRM Alternative

When looking for an alternative to Zoho CRM, consider the following factors:

1. User friendly Interface and Ease of Use: The CRM should have an intuitive and simple user interface that doesn’t require steep learning curves for your team.
2. Customization Options: Choose a CRM that offers robust customization options to fit your specific business needs, workflows, and industries.
3. Integrations: The CRM should integrate seamlessly with your other tools and platforms like email marketing, social media, and accounting software.
4. Pricing and Scalability: Look for a CRM that offers transparent pricing that fits your budget, and one that scales with your business growth.
5. AI Assistance and Automation: Choose a CRM that comes with built-in AI assistants that can help you with data insights, lead scoring, predictive analytics, and automating routine tasks.
6. Customer Support: Having access to responsive customer support when you need it is crucial, especially if you're migrating from another platform.

Top 7 Zoho CRM Alternatives

Now that we’ve covered some key points about Zoho CRM and why businesses look for alternatives, let’s dive into the top 7 Zoho CRM alternatives that could be a better fit for your business.

1. Stackby CRM

Stackby CRM offers an intuitive, flexible, and highly customizable CRM experience. One of the standout features of Stackby is its blend of a no-code platform with the flexibility of traditional databases and ease of spreadsheets. This makes it ideal for businesses that need full customization without the complexity of traditional CRM systems.

You can design your CRM using a drag-and-drop interface, creating customized linked tables, fields, and views to track and manage leads. Stackby provides integrations with a range of apps like Google Sheets, Excel Sheets, and more. This makes Stackby a solid Zoho CRM alternative for businesses looking for something simple yet powerful.

Key Features:

• No-code interface for easy setup and customization.
• Customizable tables with 30+ column types (text, date, checkbox, formulas, attachments, and more).
• Organize your data with six different views: Grid, Calendar, Kanban, Gallery, List, and Timeline. Design custom forms to collect data seamlessly.
• Automate repetitive tasks with built-in automation by setting trigger-actions, save time and ensure consistent workflows.
• Real time collaboration where your team can leave comments, checklists, and set reminders, directly within the CRM.
• Choose from a wide range of pre-built templates to jump-start your projects or enhance your CRM capabilities with Powerups.
• Seamlessly connect with 5000+ apps via 3rd party Integration like Zapier, Make etc., to automate workflows and sync data.
• Inbuilt Apps Marketplace for visualizing data with charts, pivot tables, and more.
• Row-level collaboration with comments, reminders, and history tracking.

Pricing:

• Free plan with basic features.
• Paid plans starting from $5/user/month.

Rating: 4.7/5 on G2, 4.8/5 on Capterra

Why Choose Stackby?

Stackby offers flexibility that many other CRM tools don’t. You can start with a simple spreadsheet-like interface and then scale it into a fully automated CRM as your needs grow.

2. Salesforce CRM

Salesforce is one of the most popular CRM solutions out there, known for its powerful features, including advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and customizable dashboards, and offers extensive customization options. However, its complexity and high pricing make it more suited for larger enterprises.

Key Features:

• Highly scalable for large businesses
• Advanced sales automation, marketing automation, and customer support tools.
• AI-powered analytics with Einstein Analytics.
• Customizable dashboards and reporting.
• Extensive third-party app marketplace (AppExchange).

Pricing:

• Starts at $25/user/month (Essentials plan).
• Enterprise plans can go much higher, depending on customization.

Rating: 4.5/5 on G2, 4.2/5 on Capterra

Why Choose Salesforce?

If you need a CRM that can scale with your business and offers advanced automation and analytics, Salesforce is a solid choice.

3. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a user-friendly CRM designed primarily for sales teams to manage their pipeline efficiently. With its visual sales pipeline with drag and drop feature, task automation, and email integration features, Pipedrive is perfect for businesses that need a sales-centric CRM with a user-friendly interface.

Key Features:

• Easy-to-use interface and intuitive pipeline view.
• AI-powered sales assistant for insights and task automations.
• Customizable deal stages and activities.
• Integration with email, calendar, calls and third-party apps.

Pricing:

• Starts at $14/user/month.

Rating: 4.3/5 on G2, 4.5/5 on Capterra

Why Choose Pipedrive?

If your primary focus is sales management, Pipedrive provides a clear, visual way to manage leads and close deals.

4. Nutshell CRM

Nutshell is an all-in-one CRM built for small businesses that need a simple yet powerful tool to manage their sales processes. It offers contact management, sales automation, email marketing, and team collaboration features.

Key Features:

• Simple and visual pipeline management.
• Contact and lead management.
• Sales automation and pipeline tracking
• Built-in email marketing tools.
• Seamless integrations with Google Workspace and Office 365.
• Customizable reporting and analytics.

Pricing:

• Starts at $13/user/month.

Rating: 4.3/5 on G2, 4.3/5 on Capterra

Why Choose Nutshell?

Nutshell is great for small businesses looking for an affordable, all-in-one CRM solution.

5. Freshsales (Freshworks CRM)

Freshsales, part of the Freshworks suite, is a popular CRM solution known for its intuitive design and AI-powered insights. It offers a 360-degree view of customers, combining sales automation with lead scoring, email tracking, and customizable pipelines, making it perfect for sales teams who want to improve their sales cycle.

Key Features:

• AI-powered contact scoring and insights.
• Built-in phone system and email tracking.
• Visual and customizable sales pipeline.
• Workflow automation.
• Integration with other Freshworks products.

Pricing:

• Starts at $9/user/month.

Rating: 4.5/5 on G2, 4.5/5 on Capterra

Why Choose Freshsales?

If you’re looking for a CRM with strong AI capabilities and built-in communication tools, Freshsales is an excellent choice.

6. Insightly CRM

Insightly is a CRM and project management solution rolled into one. It helps businesses manage relationships while also tracking projects, making it perfect for businesses that need to combine customer data with project management.

Key Features:

• Contact and lead management.
• Project management and task tracking.
• Customizable fields and data views
• Workflow automation and reporting dashboards.
• Integration with Google Workspace, Office 365, and QuickBooks.

Pricing:

• Starts at $29/user/month.

Rating: 4.2/5 on G2, 4.0/5 on Capterra

Why Choose Insightly?

If you want a CRM that also helps you manage projects, Insightly can be a great fit.

7. HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is a free, user-friendly CRM,and a part of the larger HubSpot ecosystem that includes marketing, sales, customer service, and content management. It is known for its easy-to-use interface and powerful integrations. It offers a wide range of features, including email tracking, automation, and lead management tools, making it an excellent choice for businesses looking for an all-in-one marketing and sales CRM.

Key Features:

• Contact management and deal tracking.
• Email marketing automation.
• Live chat and chatbot capabilities.
• Comprehensive analytics and reporting.
• Integration with HubSpot's marketing and service hubs

Pricing:

• Free for basic CRM features.
• Paid plans for advanced tools start at $20/month.

Rating: 4.4/5 on G2, 4.5/5 on Capterra

Why Choose HubSpot?

If you’re a growing business looking for an all-in-one platform with a generous free plan, HubSpot is hard to beat.

Comparison Table

Stackby CRM - The Best Alternative

If you're coming from Zoho CRM, you might find Stackby a breath of fresh air. Stackby CRM stands out for businesses that want a no-code solution with powerful database functionality. Stackby offers customizable fields, intuitive views, and built-in automation, which allows users to track leads, manage customer data, and automate workflows without needing to rely on complex technical setups.

Stackby can replace the more rigid structure of Zoho CRM and adapt to your business model without requiring advanced training or time-consuming setup.

Easy Steps from Zoho CRM to Stackby

1. Export Your Data: From Zoho CRM, export your contacts, leads, and other data in CSV format.
2. Set Up Stackby CRM: Choose a template that fits your business or create a new one from scratch. Choose from 30+ column types for fields like customer info, lead status, or sales metrics.
3. Import into Stackby: Use Stackby’s import feature to map your data into tables.
4. Set Automations and Integrations: Use Stackby’s third-party integrations (like Zapier, Integromat, etc.) to sync your email, calendar, or other tools.
5. Customer’s Insights: Use Stackby’s Apps Marketplace for charts, pivot tables, summary boxes and more.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right CRM tool is crucial for any business that values customer relationships and efficient sales processes. While Zoho CRM has its strengths, the alternatives we’ve discussed here offer unique features and benefits that could suit your business better.

Whether it’s the flexibility of Stackby CRM, the enterprise-ready features of Salesforce, or the sales-focused simplicity of Pipedrive, there’s an alternative out there that fits your needs. Explore these options and find the CRM that helps your business grow efficiently.

Ready to make the switch? Start your journey today and explore the best CRM that fits your business needs.

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