This category contains articles related to enterprise architecture concepts. It touches enterprise architecture from many different perspectives including the conceptual understanding of the architecture, systems that need to be part of the architecture, and integration issues with best-of-breed architecture.
HubSpot CRM, compared to Salesforce, has a somewhat simpler data and process model, making it a better fit for SMBs focused on content-centric marketing workflows. On the other hand, Salesforce serves companies of all sizes, featuring a startup-friendly version and excelling in managing complex CRM workflows. HubSpot, in particular, is designed with a focus on upstream marketing activities, offering a stronger ecosystem, but it may not be the best fit for companies with complex audiences or transactional customer-facing workflows. Whereas, for companies requiring advanced downstream platforms and content workflows across channels, combining Salesforce with a marketing automation system like HubSpot is a superior solution.
HubSpot excels in user-friendliness and customization, even though it may not match the depth of customer and field service workflows or provide as many built-in custom objects for specific industries. On the other hand, Salesforce is not always the ideal choice for entities with unique CRM processes, such as those in real estate or uniquely structured non-profit organizations. To better understand these two CRM systems, let’s take an in-depth look into their features, strengths and weaknesses.
The 2025 Digital Transformation Report
Thinking of embarking on a ERP journey and looking for a digital transformation report? Want to learn the best practices of digital transformation? Then, you have come to the right place.
HubSpot CRM is a leading choice for smaller companies aiming for seamless integration of customer-centric workflows, covering essential CRM processes such as sales, service, CMS, and marketing automation. In contrast to Salesforce, HubSpot excels in user-friendliness and customization, even though it may not match the depth of customer and field service workflows or provide as many built-in custom objects for specific industries.
However, this adaptability might pose challenges for companies unfamiliar with robust data and process governance. HubSpot CRM proves advantageous, especially for content-heavy B2B companies aiming for centralized management of digital marketing and sales channels. The recent acquisition of Clearbit further enhances HubSpot’s capabilities by integrating data and intelligence with core CRM processes, solidifying its position in the market.
What Is Salesforce CRM?
Salesforce serves companies of all sizes,particularly featuring a startup-friendly version and excelling in managing complex CRM workflows. While not always the ideal choice for entities with unique CRM processes, such as those in real estate or uniquely structured non-profit organizations, Salesforce comprehensively covers enterprise sales and marketing workflows throughout all phases—pre-sales, sales, and post-sales.
The platform stands out for its depth in industry-specific sales and marketing processes, offering pre-populated layers of business objects without the need for custom development on vanilla platforms. The Salesforce ecosystem holds authority in headless and commerce spaces, positioning it as an ideal enterprise Cx platform for various industries.
HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM Comparison
Navigating the choice between HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM is a significant decision for businesses particularly looking for operational efficiency and strategic alignment. Thus, this section delves into the comprehensive comparison of HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM across various critical dimensions.
HubSpot CRM
Salesforce CRM
Data Model
Isn’t well-suited for complex operational use cases.
Has extensive data model, catering to the complex requirements of diverse industries and business models.
CRM Features
It may not suit companies with deeper compliance, regulatory, and quoting needs.
Ideal fit for companies with complex customer-centric operational workflows.
Ecosystem
The second choice for most leading marketing technologies to integrate with.
#1 option for best-of-breed architecture.
Marketing Automation
Provides an immersive experience as it’s part of the same product and data model.
Acquired product with enterprise-grade analytics workflows and security but not as embedded with the core CRM workflows.
Integration
Provides options for seamless integration with other CRM systems, CMS platforms, and eCommerce tools.
The integration layer is not as intuitive as with HubSpot.
Operational Capabilities
The operational capabilities are not as detailed as some of the other CRM systems.
Data model may not be as relational as MS Dynamics CRM, although it offers deeper data layers compared to platforms like HubSpot.
Territory and Comp Planning
The weaker data model makes it less suitable for industries requiring robust out-of-the-box capabilities.
Territory and sales comparisons are unlikely to pose challenges with Salesforce, thanks to its sophisticated capabilities.
Customizability
Custom objects come with significant limitations, particularly around parent-child hierarchies.
Customization may not be as intuitive as in other CRM systems.
Price
Offers a free version, but the price spikes substantially with tricky limits and tiers, making estimating prices highly challenging.
Salesforce may have more expensive per-seat and per-email pricing, but the pricing is highly predictable.
HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM Module Comparison
Both platforms offer a plethora of features and functionalities designed to streamline business operations and enhance efficiency. In this feature comparison, we delve into particularly the distinct capabilities of HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM across various critical dimensions, providing insights to aid businesses in making informed decisions regarding their CRM selection. Thus, this section discusses features under each of the following modules, particularly marketing, sales, customer service and e-commerce.
Marketing
In this section, we are discussing a detailed comparison of the marketing capabilities particularly offered by HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM. By examining their respective strengths and functionalities, particularly in managing marketing processes. Businesses can therefore gain valuable insights to determine the best-suited CRM solution for their marketing needs.
Features
HubSpot CRM
Salesforce CRM
Content Creation
Offers tools for creating blog posts, landing pages, and also marketing emails.
Provides content creation tools as part of its Marketing Cloud but particularly might not be as intuitive as tools such as HubSpot, requiring more developer support.
SEO Tools
Includes built-in SEO recommendations and also optimization features.
Offers SEO capabilities through Marketing Cloud to particularly optimize search engine rankings.
Social Media Management
Allows scheduling, publishing, and also monitoring of social media posts.
Particularly provides social media marketing and listening tools as part of its Social Studio.
Email Marketing
Includes email marketing tools with templates, automation, and also analytics.
Offers robust email marketing solutions with segmentation, automation, and also analytics.
Analytics
Provides detailed analytics and reporting particularly on marketing campaigns.
Offers comprehensive analytics and reporting through Marketing Cloud.
Sales
In this comparison, we explore and analyze the sales capabilities of HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM, shedding light particularly on their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Features
HubSpot CRM
Salesforce CRM
Lead Management
Manages leads with tracking and nurturing tools.
Offers advanced lead management particularly with tracking, scoring, and nurturing capabilities.
Sales Pipeline Management
Visualizes and also tracks sales pipeline stages and progress.
Provides a customizable sales pipeline with detailed tracking and management.
Email Tracking
Tracks email opens, clicks, and responses.
Monitors and tracks email engagement and responses.
Meeting Scheduling
Integrates with calendars for easy scheduling of meetings.
Allows scheduling and managing meetings within the CRM.
Collaboration Tools
Facilitates team collaboration with shared information and tasks.
Provides collaboration features particularly like Chatter for team communication.
Customer Service
In this comparison, we explore and analyze the customer service capabilities of HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM, shedding light particularly on their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Features
HubSpot CRM
Salesforce CRM
Ticket System
Offers a support ticketing system for customer inquiries.
Provides case management and ticketing solutions.
Live Chat
Provides live chat support for customer interactions.
Includes live chat and also messaging capabilities for customer service.
Customer Support Automation
Automates customer support processes and workflows.
Automates customer service tasks and workflows particularly with Service Cloud.
Omni-channel Support
Supports multiple channels like email, chat, and also social media.
Provides omni-channel customer support solutions.
E-commerce
In this comparison, we explore and analyze the e-commerce capabilities of HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM, shedding light particularly on their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Tracks and manages order processing and fulfillment.
Offers tools particularly for managing orders and fulfillment processes.
Personalized Shopping Experiences
Customizes shopping experiences particularly based on customer behavior.
Provides personalized shopping experiences through Commerce Cloud.
HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM Pros
When evaluating CRM solutions, understanding the distinct advantages of HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM is crucial. In this section, we are particularly exploring the strengths of HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM across various dimensions. Thus, shedding light on their respective capabilities and functionalities.
HubSpot CRM
Salesforce CRM
Stronger with upstream marketing and also content-driven workflows.
One of the richest data models among best-of-breed CRMs.
Has strong workflows and also custom-coded actions.
Has enterprise-grade workflow security.
Offers consolidated platform that siloed apps.
Offers a comprehensive portfolio and ecosystem.
Offering fairly detailed custom objects.
Has the ability to customize platform particularly for enterprise use cases.
HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM Cons
Just like recognizing strengths is important, it’s also crucial to weigh the specific drawbacks of HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM. Therefore, in this section, we will delve into the limitations and challenges associated with HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM across various operational and financial dimensions.
HubSpot CRM
Salesforce CRM
Not fit for ad-hoc flows.
It is one of the best CRM options for ad-hoc flows.
Overall expensive, also tiers are tricky to work with.
Expensive to customize.
The data model is rigid and also weak for B2B businesses.
The data model is not as relational as MS Dynamics CRM.
It may not suit companies particularly with deeper compliance, regulatory, and quoting needs.
It may not be the best fit for companies particularly requiring deep collaboration with ERP systems.
Conclusion
Choosing the right CRM platform between HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM particularly depends heavily on the specific needs, budget, and long-term goals of a business. HubSpot CRM stands out for its user-friendliness, marketing automation, and affordability, making it a preferred choice particularly for smaller businesses and content-driven workflows. However, its limitations in handling complex data models and operational processes may be a drawback for larger or highly regulated enterprises.
On the other hand, Salesforce offers unparalleled depth and flexibility with its extensive data model, industry-specific solutions, and enterprise-grade workflows, catering to businesses of all sizes. While its higher cost and complexity might pose challenges for smaller companies, it excels in managing intricate CRM requirements across sales, marketing, and customer service. Both systems have their strengths and limitations, so businesses should carefully evaluate their specific need. Also, seeking assistance from an independent CRM consultant can significantly aid the decision-making process.
FAQs
Which CRM is better for SMBs?
HubSpot CRM is often a better fit for SMBs due to its user-friendly interface, seamless integration with marketing workflows, and affordability. It excels in upstream marketing activities and is ideal for content-driven companies. While Salesforce offers powerful tools, its complexity and cost might not be as appealing to smaller businesses.
Can Salesforce CRM handle industry-specific workflows better than HubSpot?
Yes, Salesforce CRM is well-suited for handling industry-specific workflows, offering pre-configured business objects and deep customization options. It is a preferred choice for enterprises requiring robust data models and tailored solutions for industries like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. HubSpot, while versatile, lacks the depth required for such complex use cases.
Which platform offers better marketing automation capabilities?
HubSpot CRM is known for its strong marketing automation features, providing an immersive and seamless experience for managing campaigns across multiple channels like email, social media, and the web. While Salesforce also offers marketing automation through its Marketing Cloud, it may require more configuration and isn’t as inherently tied to the core CRM workflows as HubSpot.
Defining the needs of non-profit organizations as challenging would be an understatement. Many assume that non-profits are less complex than for-profit businesses due to their perceived lack of extensive commercial transactions. However, non-profits often face even greater challenges because of their fluid processes. These organizations blend various business models, including those typically associated with for-profit sectors like construction, real estate, commerce, education, and more. Their customer-facing operations, diverse audiences, and unique journeys are so varied that consolidating them into a single data model or system can be a significant undertaking.
Perhaps this is why the non-profit sector has access to countless CRM solutions tailored specifically to its needs. While many of these options may seem highly appealing at first glance, each comes with its own set of limitations. The most common challenge lies in addressing the diverse requirements of different non-profits. For instance, many CRMs offer robust grant and fundraising features, but they often lack the scalability needed to support other unique aspects of non-profits, such as operations related to construction, real estate, or education.
While the other class of CRM solutions offer greater flexibility in supporting diverse business models, they often demand significant consulting efforts, which is generally out of reach for most smaller non-profit organizations. This complexity frequently results in higher failure rates or poor adoption due to skill gaps and insufficient measures to minimize friction or streamline implementation. Moreover, variations in workflows add another layer of difficulty. For example, some non-profits emphasize recruitment and engagement at the initial stages, while others prioritize nurturing existing relationships and facilitating the smooth progression of their constituents. Given these challenges, which non-profit CRMs stand out as the best in 2025?
The 2025 Digital Transformation Report
Thinking of embarking on a ERP journey and looking for a digital transformation report? Want to learn the best practices of digital transformation? Then, you have come to the right place.
Definition of a non-profit organization. These are companies of any size in the non-profit ecosystem, such as cities, governments, schools, associations, foundations, charities, churches, charitable subsidiaries of large corporations, etc.
Overall market share/# of customers. The higher the market share among non-profit companies, the higher it ranks on our list.
Ownership/funding. The more committed the management to the product roadmap for the non-profit companies, the higher it ranks on our list.
Quality of development. The more cloud-native capabilities, the higher it ranks on our list.
Community/Ecosystem. The larger the community with a heavy presence from non-profit companies, the higher it ranks on our list.
Depth of native functionality for specific industries. The deeper the publisher-owned out-of-the-box functionality, the higher it ranks on our list.
Quality of publicly available product documentation. The poorer the product documentation, the lower it ranks on our list.
Non-profit company market share. The higher the focus on non-profit companies, the higher the CRM system ranks on our list.
Ability to natively support diversified business models. The more diverse the product, the higher it ranks on our list.
Acquisition strategy aligned with non-profit companies. The more aligned the acquisitions are with the non-profit companies, the higher it rank on our list.
User Reviews. The deeper the reviews from non-profit companies, the higher the score for a specific product.
Must be a CRM product. It can’t be a module of an ERP system. It must be a best-of-breed CRM system, preferably recognized in the CRM category by leading analyst firms.
10. Neon CRM
Neon CRM, like other non-profit CRMs, is particularly structured in a very prescriptive way, offering many pre-built capabilities for non-profit workflows. However, just like other prescriptive systems, Neon CRM would be equally constraining, depending on the specific needs of your business model. Neon could be a great fit if you have straightforward business processes for a non-profit with fundraising and maybe simpler programs. More complicated audiences or workflows might be a stretch for Neon CRM. Thus, Neon CRM has secured the #10 spot on our list of top non-profit CRMs.
Strengths
Built-in fundraising and event registration. The key strengths of Neon CRM lie in its built-in fundraising capabilities, as well as its event registration and event management features.
Membership management. Membership management can also involve highly complex workflows, which can be a significant challenge to implement and configure on a standard CRM. Neon CRM contains some of these capabilities natively.
Volunteer scheduling. Volunteers follow a unique data hierarchy, making it difficult to fit in with the existing structure of core and custom objects of standard CRMs. Neon has out-of-the-box capabilities to accommodate unique volunteer workflows.
Weaknesses
Reporting capabilities. The reporting capabilities are relatively limited. The number of pre-built reports is generally low, requiring you to create custom reports.
Customizability. The platform lacks extensive customizability, making it a significant challenge to enable certain capabilities if they are not already available in the CRM.
Scalability beyond simpler business models. Scalability can be a significant challenge. If your CRM needs to accommodate numerous customer experience touchpoints and processes, you may encounter difficulties, leading to using multiple CRMs and resulting in fragmented data and disconnected workflows.
9. Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT/Blackbaud CRM
Blackboard’s Raiser’s Edge and Blackboard CRM are two distinct products aimed at different market segments. Raiser’s Edge is typically suited for smaller organizations, while Blackbaud CRM is designed for larger ones. It’s important to recognize that each product has its own support model, capabilities, and data model, which can vary significantly, even though they are from the same vendor. Hence, it has secured the #9 spot on our list of top non-profit CRMs.
Strengths
Fundraising capabilities. Both Blackbaud products have been proven in non-profit verticals, requiring relatively robust fund-raising capabilities across several non-profit micro-verticals.
Events and membership capabilities. It offers strong event and membership capabilities natively.
Integration with Microsoft Power platform. Blackbaud integrates with the Microsoft Power Platform, enabling you to build custom ad-hoc workflows atop the core CRM data model, which is a unique plus as most non-profit companies require building unique processes.
Weaknesses
Not great for volunteer management. It is not well-suited for volunteer management, as it lacks the necessary layers to enable complex hierarchies of volunteer management. Adding these features can be challenging, especially since Blackbaud is not as diverse as some other options on this list designed to support complex custom business processes.
Technology and cloud-native features. The system is quite prescriptive, particularly in terms of its technology and cloud-native features.
Inconsistency between the on-prem and cloud versions. From a cloud-native perspective, features like enterprise search and mobility capabilities are quite limited. In some cases, you may end up using two different versions of the system. When sophisticated data is required, they may push you towards the on-prem version.
8.Kindful/Bloomerang
Bloomerang is designed for smaller non-profits and is similar to Neon CRM, but it is slightly larger in scale. The vendor is more established, with a greater number of installations overall compared to smaller vendors such as Neon. They are also owned by private equity, which could have its own set of pros and cons. While they will have the financial backing of private equity which might be a risky factor for family-owned products, the support from private equity-owned companies is generally inferior, requiring additional consulting support. Thus securing its spot at #8 on our list of top non-profit CRMs.
Strengths
Move management. Its robust move management capabilities accommodate different move types and their life cycles.
Donor cultivation. Itsdonor cultivation capabilities allow complex workflows related to different donor types and their interactions.
Easy to use. The suite-centric approach is designed to serve a specific business model, which makes it relatively easier to use due to its flatter data model.
Weaknesses
Grant tracking. One of the key limitations is grant tracking, as the data layers may not be as detailed.
Data integrity. Limited constraints at the database level would cause data integrity issues with Bloomerang.
Not meant for education non-profit. Education non-profits require unique operational layers accommodating the needs of students, teachers, and parents, some custom features that would be challenging to implement on Bloomerang.
Percentage fee per donation. Per donation fee might be difficult to estimate to compute the long-term TCO and plan.
Bloomerang payments (recently introduced). Tight coupling with their platform with potentially more expensive payment charges.
7. Virtuous
Virtuous is a prescriptive system similar to Neon CRM and Bloomerang, designed particularly for smaller non-profit organizations. It follows a very prescriptive approach, offering capabilities similar to those of the other systems. While it’s a great fit for smaller non-profit organizations with relatively straightforward needs, it might not be the best fit for larger or complex non-profit organizations. Therefore, it has secured the #7 spot on our list of top non-profit CRMs.
Strengths
Best of breed capabilities for non-profit. It offers best-of-breed fundraising and volunteer management features.
Automation journeys. They also offer more automated journeys, which can be quite appealing. However, the data layers may not be as detailed, even though they provide some automation features. The experience will be similar to HubSpot but with less detailed data.
Integrated payment processing. They also offer integrated payment processing, which can be beneficial if you’re looking for that feature. However, it’s important to consider which vendor they are using and whether you’ll have leverage in negotiating payment rates.
Weaknesses
Higher price compared to smaller CRMs like Neon. While Virtuous is likely to have more detailed layers and advanced features compared to systems such as Neon, its price tag is generally more expensive.
Email templates are not user-friendly. Their technology is not as user-friendly as other platforms where business users can design templates without developers’ support.
Reporting is not as intuitive. Although they may offer some capabilities, they might not be as detailed. Once you start using them, you’ll likely encounter several issues, and the reporting functionality may not be very intuitive. This is another limitation to consider.
6. Oracle CX Cloud
Oracle CX Cloud is ideal particularly for non-profit organizations seeking a scalable solution. It is an enterprise-centric system, so it may not offer all the nonprofit-specific features found in more prescriptive systems. However, if the organization has a complex model with multiple business areas—such as healthcare, real estate, construction, education, and traditional non-profit operations, it can accommodate diverse business models and customer personas. These systems are suitable for non-profits that need to handle different customer journeys across various sectors. Although the implementation budget may increase, Oracle CX Cloud is well-suited for large non-profits that require a scalable, customizable solution without budget constraints. Thus securing the #6 spot on our list of top non-profit CRMs.
Strengths
Integrated HCM. They offer integrated HCM, so if your HCM processes are closely linked with your CRM processes, you would likely need this feature.
Integrated CPQ. They also include integrated CPQ and related workflows as part of the system. While non-profit organizations typically don’t have complex CPQ processes, if you do require them—for example, for grants or when calculating donations or proposals with complex variables. You’ll be able to enable these capabilities within the model.
Customizable for many business models. The underlying data and process model allow supporting most business models and transactions.
Weaknesses
Expensive consulting to enable non-profit-specific workflows. The scalable data layer to support many business models would require substantial consulting effort to understand and configure diverse business models.
Steep learning curve. The scalable data layers demand an understanding of data hierarchies not only from the implementation perspective but also for adoption.
LeadSquared is a prescriptive system tailored to specific industries. It is an excellent fit for organizations with a focused business model, such as those in the public sector or education, as it provides well-established, pre-built functionality for those sectors. The system’s capabilities are proven and tested in similar industries. However, as the organization expands and requires additional features outside the core strengths of LeadSquared, it may outgrow the system. In such cases, limitations may arise as the business model evolves beyond what LeadSquared can support. Thus, it has secured the #5 spot on our list of top non-profit CRMs.
Strengths
Customizable. Although it is a prescriptive system, it offers more customization options due to its proven success in enterprise workloads and use cases.
Well adopted among large public sector and education companies. It is widely adopted by large public sector organizations and educational institutions with a strong portfolio of clients. It is well-proven and highly regarded, which serves as a significant validation.
Student accounts management. For businesses part of the educational institution with complex student information management workflows that need to be closely integrated with CRM workflows, LeadSquared would be an excellent fit for this.
Weaknesses
Limited security layers. The security layers are limited, as the system is not designed for enterprise-level workflows.
Portal stability. Since their technology is not as modern as other CRM systems designed for collaboration, their portals struggle with stability and user experience.
Not as well adopted as a mainstream CRM. While they are proven in the education and public sector, it’s not as recognized and adopted as other mainstream CRM systems such as Salesforce or HubSpot.
4. HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM is an excellent choice particularly for non-profit organizations seeking robust CMS capabilities or advanced upstream marketing workflows. While it has great features for non-profits interested in acquiring newer donors or constituents, it might not be the best fit for non-profits managing their Cx operations workflows on the platform because of the limited pre-built layers for non-profits. The generalized layers also have substantial limitations, such as insufficient parent-child relationships, rigid custom objects, and immutable core objects. Hence, it secured its spot at #4 on our list of top non-profit CRMs.
Strengths
CMS was built with a platform for omnichannel tracking. The biggest plus with HubSpot is its omnichannel traceability, especially across upstream marketing channels for non-profit companies caring for website integration and traceability.
Ecosystem and integration. Although the ecosystem is rich, non-profit-specific options might be limited.
Cloud-native technology. Compared to other platforms on this list that grew through the acquisition of legacy technologies, HubSpot was built from the ground up, managing the entire suite with one code base and data model.
Weaknesses
Limited custom objects. Custom objects are highly constraining in their limited layers, such as parent-child relationships, etc., causing substantial challenges with customization.
Limited workflow triggers. The workflow triggers are not as detailed as those of platforms such as Salesforce or Zoho, limiting even simpler operations such as CRUD on business objects and causing implementation challenges for non-profits.
Limited customizability with core objects. Even core objects are substantially limited, such as the inability to remove (or rename) deal objects, especially since most non-profits would require move management capabilities, requiring them to rename or remove deal capabilities completely.
3.Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM is a better fit for transactional use cases. While it may not offer the same depth in upstream marketing automation or CMS capabilities as HubSpot CRM, it excels in operational and transactional features, making it a strong choice for most non-profit sectors. Thus, it has secured the #3 spot on our list of top non-profit CRMs.
Strengths
Detailed triggers on custom objects. The strengths of Zoho CRM include detailed triggers for custom objects, making it easier to implement non-traditional workflows required by non-profit organizations.
Price for Zoho One. Zoho One offers a single price point, which makes it easier for nonprofits to calculate their costs. When compared to the pricing of platforms like HubSpot or Salesforce, Zoho CRM offers significantly more value for the same cost, which is a major advantage.
Customizable layout and screens. The platform offers highly customizable layouts and screens, which is particularly beneficial for nonprofits with complex needs. For scenarios such as grant or fund accounting/reporting where CRMs would host some of these processes along with an ERP system, Zoho CRM may not be as strong due to the limited pre-built layers and complexity in enabling these capabilities.
Weaknesses
Data model is completely separate for each app. The data model is entirely separate for each app, limiting embeddedness and communication among their apps.
CMS not as robust as HubSpot. The CMS may not be as robust as HubSpot, and it isn’t as well-known or proven within some ecosystems. As a result, there may be fewer integrations and third-party apps available with Zoho CRM.
No communication across data centers. Their data centers don’t allow any communication among them, limiting capabilities for non-profits with global operations with a preference to keep data and processes in their respective countries.
2. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Apps
Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE is ideal for particularly organizations that need a highly customizable CRM. Non-profits, regardless of their market verticals, often require this level of customization due to the complexity of their business models, which is unique compared to other industries. Hence, it has secured the #2 spot on our list of top non-profit CRMs.
Strengths
Power platform. The power platform is a huge plus for non-profits as it allows building collaborative ad-hoc workflows on top of the core Microsoft platform.
Data model designed for complex operational use cases. The data model has layered hierarchies to capture real-world relationships, even for the most diverse non-profit companies.
Ecosystem and integrations. The ecosystem includes apps like Mission CRM, which is built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE, offering a prescriptive experience on top of the Microsoft platform.
Weaknesses
Upstream marketing capabilities. Despite being great for transactional and operational use cases, it might not be the best fit for non-profit companies that are heavier in upstream marketing activities such as website integration and traceability with upstream channels.
Upstream marketing integrations. While MS has one of the richest ecosystems, the ecosystem is primarily concentrated with operational systems and vendors, limiting integration options with data platforms or ad exchanges.
Salesforce is a strong option for large nonprofits in need of an enterprise-grade CRM suite, but it often requires a significant consulting budget. Many best-of-breed components are needed to enable various non-profit workflows, and while the provided service pack can be helpful, it might not fully address all needs. Extending it to fit specific use cases could be challenging, requiring careful planning and expert guidance, such as working with independent CRM or ERP consultants experienced with non-profit CRMs. Non-profits often need deeply integrated capabilities, like fund and grant traceability, which demand a robust data model and also some ERP experience within CRM workflows. Thus, Salesforce secured the #1 spot on our list of top non-profit CRMs.
Strengths
Pre-populated industry templates. Salesforce offers a service pack with non-profit-specific native business objects, reducing implementation costs and risks.
Highly customizable. Just like MS, Salesforce custom objects are highly customizable, exposing a complete development framework above the core platform.
Enterprise territory planning and sales comp. It offers highly customizable options for enterprise territory planning and sales compensation, along with other related features.
Weaknesses
Marketing automation products are not as embedded with the core CRM objects. The marketing automation product is not deeply embedded. While there are many CMS players within the Salesforce ecosystem, they would have their own set of challenges, increasing project, implementation, and integration budgets.
Expensive consulting costs. Salesforce is an enterprise-grade platform that requires a substantial budget for implementation and adoption.
Website integration would require additional add-ons. Website integration would require additional add-ons, and the experience may not be as immersive as what is offered by other systems, such as HubSpot.
Conclusion
Non-profit organizations face unique challenges that require tailored solutions, particularly when it comes to CRM systems. The top non-profit CRM options reflect a diverse range of strengths and weaknesses, catering to various needs such as fundraising, event management, and operational scalability. Systems like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 lead the list for their robust customization capabilities and comprehensive ecosystems, making them ideal for particularly large-scale organizations with complex workflows.
Meanwhile, more prescriptive systems such as Neon CRM, Bloomerang, and Virtuous serve smaller non-profits with straightforward processes, offering ease of use and pre-built functionalities but limited scalability. Options like HubSpot and Zoho strike a balance by providing powerful marketing tools and flexible layouts, albeit with certain limitations in custom objects and data model communication. Ultimately, the choice of a CRM system for a non-profit depends on factors like the size of the organization, the complexity of its operations, and also budget constraints. While this list offers valuable insights, seeking advice from an independent CRM consultant can greatly enhance the implementation success.
FAQs
What is CRM for non-profit organizations?
CRM for non-profit organizations is a tool designed to manage and optimize their interactions with donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders. Unlike traditional CRMs used in for-profit businesses, non-profit CRMs cater to unique needs such as fundraising, grant management, volunteer scheduling, event management, and donor cultivation. These systems aim to streamline diverse workflows, consolidate data, and enhance engagement, making it easier for non-profits to achieve their mission efficiently.
What is the difference between ERP and CRM?
ERP and CRM serve distinct but complementary purposes. While CRM focuses on managing customer relationships and driving sales, ERP is designed to manage internal business operations such as inventory, finance, and supply chain. For startups, a CRM helps track leads, automate sales processes, and analyze customer behavior, prioritizing external customer-facing workflows. In contrast, ERP is used to streamline back-office functions, ensuring efficiency in areas like accounting, procurement, and manufacturing. In product-based startups, CRM and ERP systems may overlap, especially when CRM tools include functionalities like order management, but their core focus remains different: CRM builds customer connections, while ERP ensures operational efficiency.
What factors should non-profit organizations consider when choosing a CRM?
Non-profit organizations should evaluate several factors when selecting a CRM, including scalability, customization capabilities, and the depth of pre-built functionalities for their specific needs. The system’s ability to support diverse business models—such as education, real estate, or community programs is critical. Other considerations include market share, ease of use, quality of customer support, integration capabilities, and the total cost of ownership, including consulting and implementation costs. Additionally, the CRM should offer robust reporting, secure data handling, and a strong ecosystem of third-party apps to address evolving requirements.
Large companies, like other market segments, have specific needs that call for specialized capabilities. As they move beyond the mid-market segment, these organizations must unify their global workloads within a single system to enable cohesive governance and effective global planning. Their workflows and security needs often involve multiple approval stages and layered access controls, which may seem excessive for mid-market businesses. With global teams, diverse business models, and complex compensation structures, their RevOps processes require a heightened level of customization.
CRMs in this category are designed with robust infrastructure to support the complex workflows of larger teams. They include tools for environment migration with carefully managed access privileges and offer an intuitive customization layer to enable enterprise-scale development and implementation. Additionally, these CRMs often integrate enterprise-grade data warehouses, consolidating data from numerous systems and departments. They also feature data structures capable of accommodating any datasets required by sales and marketing teams, utilizing reverse ETL processes for seamless integration.
In the mid-market segment, processes like market development funds (MDF) or channel traceability may not be as critical due to lower spending levels. However, in the larger enterprise segment, these processes must be seamlessly integrated on a global scale to evaluate the impact of marketing investments and inform strategic planning. These requirements often vary by industry. For instance, consumer-focused enterprises such as financial services or telecom frequently implement extensive customizations on their core CRMs to analyze consumer behavior and craft marketing strategies accordingly. This can lead to the development of additional custom applications for data collection. Considering these specialized needs, which are the top 10 large CRMs in 2025?
The 2025 Digital Transformation Report
Thinking of embarking on a ERP journey and looking for a digital transformation report? Want to learn the best practices of digital transformation? Then, you have come to the right place.
Definition of large organizations. More than $1B in revenue or more than 1000 employees. Might be publicly traded and operating in more than ten countries. Global regulations for privacy and data sharing.
Overall market share/# of customers. Higher market share among large companies ranks higher on our list.
Ownership/funding. Funding through well-capitalized firms as well as public equity, drives a higher ranking on this list.
Quality of development. Cloud-native capabilities and modern development drive higher rankings on our list.
Community/Ecosystem. Communities with a heavier presence of large logos drive higher rankings on this list.
Depth of native functionality for specific industries. Native industry-specific capabilities without requiring add-ons command higher rankings on this list.
Quality of publicly available product documentation. Publicly available documentation with a productized release cycle for documentation drives higher rankings on this list.
Larger company market share. The higher the focus on large companies, the higher the ERP system ranks on our list.
Ability to natively support diversified business models. The ability to support diverse business models in the same product scores a higher ranking on this list.
Acquisition strategy aligned with large companies. The more aligned the acquisitions are with the large companies, the higher it ranks on our list.
User Reviews. User reviews concentrated with large companies command higher rankings on our list.
Must be a CRM product. It can’t be a module of an ERP system. It must be a best-of-breed CRM system, preferably recognized in the CRM category by leading analyst firms.
10. ServiceNow
ServiceNow is not traditionally seen as a major CRM player and holds a limited market share in the CRM space. Its primary focus has been on IT-centric workflows and device or asset management processes. This makes it particularly strong in industries like telecom, where large IT departments and extensive asset management are key. ServiceNow’s strength lies in enabling sophisticated workflow automation, which is crucial in CRM operations, making it a standout choice for businesses requiring such capabilities. Hence, ServiceNow has secured the #10 spot on our list of top large CRMs.
Strengths
Data center and IT-centric operational processes. For data centers or IT-centric verticals, CRMs must cater to industry-specific needs, particularly in CPQ processes. These CPQ functionalities must integrate seamlessly with operational systems.
Workflow automation. Even though most CRM systems claim similar capabilities, ServiceNow excels in managing workflows more effectively, particularly for enterprise enablement.
Enterprise security and customizability. This includes handling comprehensive GRC processes and integrating hybrid technologies.
Weaknesses
Not as well adopted as a CRM solution. They are not as well adapted as the CRM solution compared to other CRM systems on this list.
Requires substantial consulting expertise to be successful. It is a highly technical system, often requiring significant consulting support for successful implementation. Unlike many other CRM systems, it may lack pre-built workflows, necessitating deep enterprise architecture and IT expertise to tailor the system effectively to an organization’s needs.
Upstream marketing. It is going to be fairly limited as well. They are not going to be natively built as part of the platform.
9. LeadSquared
LeadSquared is a unique system with a strong industry focus. It is commonly found in sectors like public sector, education, and BSFI. While it has proven capability of handling enterprise workloads in larger market segments, its approach is highly prescriptive. For organizations operating in specific industries, such as public sector education or BFSI, where business models are stable and unlikely to evolve significantly, LeadSquared offers valuable industry-specific capabilities. These features can help streamline operations but may require a significant consulting budget to customize beyond standard CRM functionalities. Therefore, LeadSquared has secured the #9 spot on our list of top large CRMs.
Strengths
Customizable. While customizable, LeadSquared doesn’t offer the same level of flexibility as ServiceNow. In contrast, LeadSquared provides a more business-focused model, catering to different needs but offering less customization.
Well adopted among large public sector and education companies. This has been proven by a large number of logos in the public sector and education companies.
Student accounts management. LeadSquared also supports student account management workflows, which are essential for educational institutions. These workflows, including student account management, student cloud, or student information systems, need seamless integration with CRM processes.
Weaknesses
Limited security layers. Its security model may not support as many enterprises as with larger systems designed to support the complex organizational structure of Fortune 500 companies.
Portal stability. Users have reported issues with portal stability, so buyers are encouraged to vet these capabilities thoroughly if they are likely to be your critical needs.
Not as well adopted as a mainstream CRM. While it’s proven in the niche industries, it’s not as diverse as other mainstream CRM systems on this list.
8.Sugar CRM
SugarCRM is heavier on downstream operational customer-facing processes. Unlike other CRMs on this list primarily designed with an upstream focus, the detailed transactional layers are especially suitable for large companies running on manufacturing ERPs. It also has unique subscription-centric capabilities, making it appealing to IT and financial services industries. While some lower enterprises may be using Sugar CRM at the divisional level, it’s not as proven in the large segment as some of the other larger options on this list, securing its spot at #8 on our list of top large CRMs.
Strengths
BPM for complex ad-hoc use cases. They offer a comprehensive BPM solution, positioning it as a low-code, no-code workflow system designed for handling complex, ad hoc use cases.
Alignment with ERPs and subscription-based functionality. Its financial layers are crucial for customer-centric workflows in ERP-centric industries. Its subscription-based functionality is especially relevant for IT and financial services.
Integrated project management module. This capability is likely more suitable for organizations where project management processes are closely integrated with sales processes rather than with accounting.
Weaknesses
Not as diverse. SugarCRM targets very specific industries, so it might not be the best fit for large companies active with M&A cycles due to their ever-evolving business model.
Integration and ecosystem. The integration and ecosystem are not as advanced as those offered by some other CRM systems.
Marketing automation. While SugarCRM has marketing automation capabilities and might be friendlier for companies that might not appreciate the expensive and ever-increasing price tag of platforms such as HubSpot, making it friendlier for large companies with limited budgets.
7. HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM is an excellent choice for large companies using it alongside another CRM designed for operational downstream use cases. Its scope in this market segment is limited due to its inability to handle complex transactional workflows, such as sales compensation or territory planning. These workflows require robust data layers that are not part of HubSpot’s model. Hence, HubSpot CRM has secured the #7 spot on our list of top large CRMs.
Strengths
Marketing automation. HubSpot CRM excels in marketing automation, offering robust capabilities. If your primary goal is connectivity and traceability with the website, this system could be an excellent choice.
Ecosystem and integration. It also offers a strong ecosystem and integration options supported by an extensive community. If certain capabilities are not available natively, the ecosystem often provides alternative solutions.
Omnichannel tracking across channels. The biggest plus with HubSpot is its omnichannel traceability, especially across upstream marketing channels
Weaknesses
Limited customizability. HubSpot’s customizability is somewhat limited, which can be a key drawback for this market segment. As a result, businesses may outgrow HubSpot relatively quickly.
Limited operational capabilities. The operational capabilities are not as detailed as some of the other CRM systems.
Not suitable for large companies unless used for marketing automation in conjunction with another CRM. HubSpot CRM may not be the best fit for this market segment unless it is being used specifically for marketing automation purposes.
6. Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM offers more operational capabilities than systems like HubSpot CRM. However, its data model lacks the tight integration found in some other CRM systems. The apps within Zoho are relatively disconnected, making it less suitable for the global consolidation of customer experience workflows across multiple geographic regions. For instance, if a company operates in several countries and aims to centralize customer-centric processes, Zoho may face limitations. Its data centers may not effectively communicate, restricting the ability to consolidate customer-centric workflows. Therefore, it has secured the #6 spot on our list of top large CRMs.
Strengths
Data model similar to Salesforce for building complex workflows. The data model closely resembles Salesforce, offering robust technical capabilities for creating complex workflows.
Great capabilities with sales comp and territory planning. From a sales compensation and territory planning standpoint, Zoho offers significant capabilities. However, its less integrated data model may pose challenges in fully enabling these features.
Integration with other Zoho apps. Zoho CRM excels in integrating with other Zoho applications. While this may be less critical in certain market segments, it becomes highly relevant if you require integration with project management tools, as Zoho offers comprehensive capabilities in this are
Weaknesses
Not as integrated in the upstream ecosystem. The upstream ecosystem and integration are not as developed as other leading options such as HubSpot or Salesforce.
Not as open ecosystem as HubSpot or Salesforce. Zoho is less open, making HubSpot or Salesforce a more popular recommendation among vendors due to their stronger integration with them.
Creatio is a highly technical system, comparable to platforms like ServiceNow or Pega. It is well-suited for organizations with unique or unconventional sales processes requiring extensive customization. This system is ideal for large companies seeking to implement highly tailored CRM workflows. Creatio’s low-code/no-code capabilities make it a strong choice for enabling complex workflows without extensive programming, providing flexibility for businesses with specialized needs. Therefore, it has secured the #5 spot on our list of top large CRMs.
Strengths
Customizability. The biggest benefit of Creatio is its customizability because of its fluid technical model, which will have much higher scalability for ad-hoc processes than any business-centric business objects and platforms exposed by most systems on this list.
Integration and ecosystem. You have greater flexibility in terms of integration options and exploring various features within their ecosystem.
Deployment flexibility. For instance, if you’re working with a tight budget and are concerned about licensing costs, they may assist you in deploying the system on another cloud platform.
Weaknesses
Clunky UI. Because of which, you’ll need to build all the necessary boilerplate components that are typically included in systems like HubSpot or Salesforce.
Marketing automation not as intuitive. While they might mimic some marketing automation capabilities, it might not be as intuitive as platforms designed for marketing automation, such as HubSpot.
Not as well adopted among large companies. Not as well adopted among large companies, Creatio is often seen as more suitable for smaller to mid-sized businesses, so it will fit large companies in the lower enterprise segment.
4. SAP C/4 HANA
SAP C/4HANA is ideal for companies operating in industries with high transaction volumes and strict regulatory requirements. For instance, in sectors like medical devices or pharmaceuticals, CPQ workflows often need to adhere to regulatory constraints. Similarly, in financial services, customer workflows involve stringent restrictions that demand robust enablement within CX processes. Smaller systems may lack the necessary layers or hierarchies to handle such complexities effectively. With SAP C/4HANA, businesses benefit from both extensive customization capabilities and advanced security layers to support and control these workflows seamlessly. Hence, it has secured the #4 spot on our list of top large CRMs.
Strengths
Operational workflows. The operational workflows will generally be much more comprehensive, offering deeper and more advanced capabilities for implementing sales funnel scenarios or territory planning scenarios.
CPQ. The CPQ processes are especially friendlier for industrial companies implementing configurator-driven 3D experience, which might be challenging with other systems using an external CPQ and configurator because these processes require tightly embedded data sets among these systems.
Complex sales comp processes and regulated product releases. The system allows the implementation of all those complex regulatory workflows, including sales compensation and territory planning workflows, effectively.
Weaknesses
Marketing automation. The marketing automation capabilities are generally limited, so an external tool may be necessary, which is acceptable, but it won’t provide as much integration.
Need substantial consulting support for integration. From a traceability standpoint, maintaining the required data layers and enabling those workflows will require significant consulting support for customization.
Ecosystem and integration with marketing-centric vendors. Other systems tend to offer more seamless integration between marketing automation, CMS, and operational workflows.
3.Oracle CX Cloud
Oracle CX Cloud offers robust CRM capabilities, particularly excelling in areas like traceability for ad spend and CPQ processes. Its strengths often surpass those of SAP C/4HANA, depending on the industry. For instance, in retail-focused sectors with consumer-driven workflows, Oracle CX Cloud stands out with its superior marketing automation and customer experience features. Similarly, in telecom verticals, which often have consumerized workflows, Oracle enjoys a strong market presence. Additionally, for public sector and nonprofit organizations, Oracle provides highly integrated products that align seamlessly with CRM workflows, making it a standout choice for these industries. Hence, Oracle secures the #3 spot on our list of top large CRMs.
Strengths
Enterprise-grade marketing automation product. It offers an enterprise-grade marketing automation product, similar to Pardot, which is tightly integrated with its CRM workflows, providing robust marketing and automation capabilities.
CPQ. The CPQ processes are especially friendlier for telecom and media companies because of their data model, which might be challenging with other systems using an external CPQ and configurator because these processes require tightly embedded data sets among these systems.
Field service workflows embedded with the core CRM processes. Salesforce also offers a field service portfolio, making it suitable for industries like oil and gas or public sector verticals that require omni-channel traceability and the ability to integrate these capabilities effectively.
Weaknesses
Upstream marketing integrations and ecosystem. The upstream marketing integration and ecosystem are comparable to those found in solutions like SAP C/4HANA.
Requires consulting help. Maintaining the required data layers and enabling those workflows will require significant consulting support for customization.
Change management. Since the platform is relatively large and technical, substantial change management is required to be successful.
2. MS Dynamics 365 Apps
Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE is ideal for companies seeking a highly customizable CRM system with enterprise-grade capabilities. While the platform is designed with a business-centric approach, it offers extensive flexibility for customization, allowing users to tailor the system to their specific needs. However, implementing such customizations often requires hiring skilled developers, unlike more user-friendly systems like HubSpot, where marketers can handle certain tasks independently. For organizations with complex enterprise scenarios that demand advanced customization, Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE proves to be a strong and relevant choice.
Strengths
Power platform. This allows for building custom apps on top of the CRM and facilitating data collection for workflow automation. This capability is particularly advantageous for service-centric industries, which often require managing ad hoc workflows.
Data model designed for complex operational use cases. Unlike other smaller systems with substantial constraints to their custom objects exposed for ease of use, MS offers a developer-friendly customization layer, allowing the overriding of most capabilities.
Ecosystem and integrations. The ecosystem and integrations offer a wide array of add-ons and tools specifically tailored to various industries.
Weaknesses
Upstream marketing capabilities. While stronger with CDP capabilities, the execution capabilities combining various business models are not as robust, requiring dedicated marketing automation tools for each business model.
Upstream marketing integrations. Upstream marketing integration would be limited compared to other ecosystems for specific business models such as B2B or B2C, which are likely to be stronger with dedicated tools for those industries, such as HubSpot for B2B and Klaviyo for B2C.
Steep learning curve. Due to its data and process model designed for enterprise workflows, the learning curve would be steep.
1. Salesforce CRM
Salesforce offers capabilities comparable to Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE, supporting complex transactional and operational models to develop advanced customer-centric workflows. It is particularly suited for large enterprises looking for a robust, enterprise-grade CRM suite to meet their intricate business requirements. Hence, Salesforce CRM has secured the #1 spot on our list of top large CRMs.
Strengths
Pre-populated industry templates. Certain industry templates, such as those for financial services, education, and non-profits, come pre-populated within the service packs. However, challenges may arise if processes vary substantially from the service packs, as their model is generally highly constrained.
Highly customizable. The core platform offers substantial customization capabilities, exposing the entire UI, service, or data layers for developers to override the capabilities, which is generally limited with other platforms.
Enterprise territory planning and sales comp. Territory planning and sales comp capabilities are enterprise-grade or large, complex organizations.
Weaknesses
Marketing automation products not as embedded with the core CRM objects. Salesforce’s marketing automation product is not as tightly integrated with its core CRM objects, which can be a significant drawback. This may be a challenge for businesses requiring a deeply connected experience with marketing automation workflows.
Expensive. Generally, Salesforce is one of the most expensive CRMs out of all platforms due to its enterprise-grade capabilities so it might not be the best fit for large companies limited on budget.
Data models might not be as customizable for complex relational use cases. The data model may lack the level of customizability needed for certain relational use cases.
Conclusion
In conclusion, selecting the right CRM for large enterprises is a critical decision that hinges on understanding the unique needs of the organization. Each platform on this list offers distinct strengths tailored to various industries and business models, from advanced marketing automation to intricate operational workflows. The top CRMs distinguish themselves by balancing customization, scalability, and native functionalities while addressing the complexities of global operations.
However, no CRM is without its limitations. Factors such as integration capabilities, ease of customization, and cost considerations play a significant role in determining the best fit. While this list offers valuable insights, seeking advice from an independent CRM consultant can greatly enhance the implementation success.
FAQs
What is CRM for large businesses?
CRM for large companies refers to a comprehensive system designed to manage and optimize customer relationships while addressing the complex needs of large-scale enterprises. These systems integrate advanced features such as global workload unification, robust security with layered access controls, industry-specific functionalities, and enterprise-grade data management. They enable large organizations to streamline operations, support diverse business models, and maintain cohesive governance across multiple teams and regions.
What is the difference between ERP and CRM?
ERP and CRM serve distinct but complementary purposes. While CRM focuses on managing customer relationships and driving sales, ERP is designed to manage internal business operations such as inventory, finance, and supply chain. For startups, a CRM helps track leads, automate sales processes, and analyze customer behavior, prioritizing external customer-facing workflows. In contrast, ERP is used to streamline back-office functions, ensuring efficiency in areas like accounting, procurement, and manufacturing. In product-based startups, CRM and ERP systems may overlap, especially when CRM tools include functionalities like order management, but their core focus remains different: CRM builds customer connections, while ERP ensures operational efficiency.
What factors should large businesses consider when choosing a CRM?
Large businesses should consider factors such as scalability, industry-specific capabilities, and global compliance support. The CRM should offer robust customization options, seamless integration with other enterprise systems, and strong ecosystem support. Additional considerations include data governance, marketing automation capabilities, user reviews, ease of implementation, and cost-effectiveness. The system must also align with the organization’s specific workflows and long-term strategic goals.
Mid-market companies, like any other market segment, have distinct complexities that require tailored CRM capabilities. Having outgrown small business CRMs, they now face challenges that were less relevant in their earlier stages. This realization allows them to justify a larger implementation budget to address obstacles hindering growth. At this stage, the focus often shifts to strengthening revenue operations, with an emphasis on territory planning and compensation alignment driving revenue growth. In contrast, small businesses typically rely on multiple tools within their marketing tech stack, creating a need for consolidation to unlock cross-departmental synergies as they scale.
The need for diverse business models and varying sales cycles drives demand for customizable platforms that unify layered business objects and their interactions. This allows teams to collaborate effectively on a single system. For example, in media, sponsorship, and events, teams may share contacts, while in non-profits, fundraising and constituent management teams often overlap. Cross-departmental insights can boost pipelines but are often hindered in the small business phase due to data silos, as limited budgets and one-dimensional systems designed for specific business model lead to fragmented CRMs and reduced collaboration.
While some level of consolidation is possible in the mid-market segment, global teams may still operate on separate CRM instances with limited collaboration and synergy. This is often due to varying privacy and compliance laws across geographies, which can make enterprise-grade systems appear overly complex. Additionally, mid-sized CRMs may lack features like layered approval flows, as these are often deemed unnecessary for smaller teams where detailed permission and approval layers are less critical. Considering these unique needs, what are the top 10 mid-sized CRMs for 2025? Ready to dive into the discussion?
The 2025 Digital Transformation Report
Thinking of embarking on a ERP journey and looking for a digital transformation report? Want to learn the best practices of digital transformation? Then, you have come to the right place.
Definition of mid-size organizations. $100M-$1B in revenue or less than 1000 employees. They might be operating in fewer than ten countries. Getting the proper planning and scheduling is critical for growth. The integration of processes and systems is essential to plan and scale.
Overall market share/# of customers. Higher market share among mid-market companies ranks higher on our list.
Ownership/funding. Funding through well-capitalized firms as well as public equity, drives a higher ranking on this list.
Quality of development. Cloud-native capabilities and modern development drive higher rankings on our list.
Community/Ecosystem. Communities with a heavier presence of mid-market logos drive higher rankings on this list.
Depth of native functionality for specific industries. Native industry-specific capabilities without requiring add-ons command higher rankings on this list.
Quality of publicly available product documentation. Publicly available documentation with a productized release cycle for documentation drives higher rankings on this list.
Mid-market market share. Higher revenue segmentation among mid-market companies drives higher rankings on this list.
Ability to natively support diversified business models. The ability to support diverse business models in the same product scores a higher ranking on this list.
Acquisition strategy aligned with mid-market. Acquisitions prioritizing mid-market segments command a higher ranking on this list.
User Reviews. User reviews concentrated with mid-market companies command higher rankings on our list.
Must be a CRM product. It can’t be a module of an ERP system. It must be a best-of-breed CRM system, preferably recognized in the CRM category by leading analyst firms.
10. Keap
Keap, with its strong presence in the small business market, may suit some mid-market companies with simpler needs, lower implementation budgets, and a preference for ease of use. However, its limitations in supporting layered custom objects and complex business models make it less ideal for organizations with diverse sales cycles, placing it at #10 on our list of top mid-sized CRMs.
Strengths
HIPAA compliance. Although its capabilities are limited, Keap stands out as one of the few CRM systems in the market that supports HIPAA-compliant information storage.
Workflows. Although Keap is a relatively small system, it offers workflows within its object structure. This includes capabilities like marketing automation workflows and field updates triggered by specific actions.
Building complex funnels. Building complex funnels is possible with Keap, though limitations can arise. These limitations may not always be technical; sometimes, they are due to licensing, depending on the selected tier.
Weaknesses
Limited capabilities for territory planning. Some other limitations with the Keap system include limited capabilities for territory planning, which may be essential in this market segment. Keap may be restricted in this area due to its security architecture and the specific capabilities required for territory planning.
Limited sales comp capabilities. The sales comp capabilities are fairly limited as well, because the target market of Keap is relatively smaller.
Limited workflow and security. While Keap includes workflow and security layers, these are quite limited. It’s essential to conduct thorough due diligence by mapping out required workflows, defining security needs, specifying roles, and identifying necessary capabilities. Documenting these requirements in advance helps ensure you ask targeted questions aligned with your workflow priorities and system design plans when evaluating Keap.
9. Zendesk Sell
Zendesk Sell is quite similar to Keap, offering a relatively restrictive and rigid model. It is primarily targeted at smaller businesses, not necessarily the mid-market segment. However, we’ve seen some mid-market companies using it as well, but often for limited purposes. For instance, even if a large company, such as one worth a billion dollars, is listed as using Zendesk Sell, it may only be adopted by one division, which limits its overall scope. So, while it may appear to serve larger companies, its usage is often more confined and has a smaller scope overall. Hence, it has secured the #9 spot on our list of top mid-sized CRMs.
Strengths
Intuitive interface. The strengths of Zendesk include a modern and intuitive interface, similar to Keap, as both are relatively newer systems. At first glance, Zendesk appears user-friendly, but as usage deepens, limitations may become apparent in terms of available options.
Customer service-centric workflows. The suite also includes customer service-centric workflows, so if customer experience touchpoints are part of the integration, these are available. However, despite being from the same vendor, the integration within the suite remains relatively light.
Easy and inexpensive implementation. Flattened data models and hierarchies make it easier to use and implement for mid-market companies with straightforward sales cycles.
Weaknesses
Weaker marketing automation. The marketing automation capabilities are not as rich as some of the other systems that we have on this list.
Limited capabilities for territory planning. Just like Keap the territory planning, capabilities are going to be fairly lean.
Limited sales comp capabilities. Sales comp capabilities are a slightly mature feature, they are going to be part of slightly bigger systems. So Zendesk and Keap, they are fairly smaller systems.
8.ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign originally started as a marketing automation system, and its design reflects that focus. While it has expanded its capabilities to include CRM features, its object structure is still more aligned with marketing automation than with downstream processes. If you frequently send a large volume of emails, ActiveCampaign may be a more cost-effective option, as its pricing model is friendlier for volume requirements due to its closer alignment to B2C verticals. However, some users have reported significant price increases. Therefore, it has secured the #8 spot on our list of top mid-sized CRMs.
Strengths
Community enablement and engagement tracking. While systems like Marketo and Salesforce also offer community functionality, their approach differs from ActiveCampaign. ActiveCampaign focuses more on events and omnichannel traceability within the community engagement framework.
B2C Capabilities. Unlike other systems designed purely for B2B use cases, ActiveCampaign has pre-built workflows with most leading eCommerce systems along with transactional emails. It can also support complex, franchise-based business models that have flavors of both B2B and B2C.
Cost of bulk emails. Cost is likely to be a consideration when it comes to bulk emails, and if that’s important to you, ActiveCampaign could be an excellent choice.
Weaknesses
CRM data layers limited for B2B businesses. The CRM data layer might not be as relevant for B2B scenarios, especially for businesses with complex requirements like managing MDF funds or conducting detailed budget tracking.
Limited capabilities for territory planning. Advanced features such as territory planning, which are found in systems that are stronger in downstream processes, are relatively limited.
Limited sales comp capabilities. Just like territory planning features, sales comp features are equally limited as those of other systems on this list.
7. Creatio
Creatio is a low-code/no-code platform with many pre-built processes for CRM workflows. Not only can you enable CRM processes, but if you need additional processes for customer experience (CX), Creatio provides significant flexibility to accommodate those as well. Hence, it has secured the #7 spot on our list of top mid-sized CRMs.
Strengths
Customizability. The biggest benefit of Creatio is its customizability because of its fluid technical model, which will have much higher scalability for ad-hoc processes than any business-centric business objects and platforms exposed by most systems on this list.
Integration and ecosystem. You have greater flexibility in terms of integration options and exploring various features within their ecosystem.
Deployment flexibility. For instance, if you’re working with a tight budget and are concerned about licensing costs, they may assist you in deploying the system on another cloud platform.
Weaknesses
Expensive. It can be quite expensive, as they require significant consulting support and solution architecture expertise to enable workflows. It’s important to keep this in mind, as the costs can add up. However, if you have highly customizable workflows, such as in industries like real estate or the public sector, these systems are invaluable, as they support non-traditional sales processes that differ significantly from the norm.
Clunky UI. Because of which, you’ll need to build all the necessary boilerplate components that are typically included in systems like HubSpot or Salesforce.
Marketing automation not as intuitive. While they might mimic some marketing automation capabilities, it might not be as intuitive as platforms designed for marketing automation, such as HubSpot.
6. Sugar CRM
SugarCRM is an ideal fit for industrial mid-sized companies that are heavier on downstream operational customer-facing processes. Unlike other CRMs on this list primarily designed with an upstream focus, the detailed transactional layers are especially suitable for companies on manufacturing ERPs. It also has unique subscription-centric capabilities, making it appealing to IT and financial services industries, securing its spot at #6 on our list of the top mid-sized CRMs.
Strengths
BPM for complex ad-hoc use cases. They offer a comprehensive BPM solution, positioning it as a low-code, no-code workflow system designed for handling complex, ad hoc use cases.
Alignment with ERPs and subscription-based functionality. Its financial layers are crucial for customer-centric workflows in ERP-centric industries. Its subscription-based functionality is especially relevant for IT and financial services, a limitation requiring add-ons to integrate with other systems.
Integrated project management module. This capability is likely more suitable for organizations where project management processes are closely integrated with sales processes rather than with accounting.
Weaknesses
Not as diverse. SugarCRM targets very specific industries, so if your business model includes elements outside of their core expertise, it might not be the best fit as layers relevant to their core industries, such as industrial or IT might come across as bloated and unnecessary for other industries.
Integration and ecosystem. The integration and ecosystem are not as advanced as those offered by some other CRM systems.
Marketing automation. While SugarCRM has marketing automation capabilities and might be friendlier for companies that might not appreciate the expensive and ever-increasing price tag of platforms such as HubSpot, marketing automation capabilities would not be as detailed as systems richer in upstream marketing processes.
5. Pipedrive CRM
Pipedrive CRM shares similarities with other prescriptive CRMs on this list, like Zendesk Sell and Keap, but offers slightly more robust features for mid-market organizations. Its capabilities include CPQ layers, natively-built document-triggered workflows, and data-driven functionalities, making it particularly appealing for mid-market B2B companies. While it works well for organizations with straightforward needs, it falls short for upper mid-market companies requiring a customizable platform for ad-hoc processes. This positions Pipedrive at #5 on our list of top mid-sized CRMs.
Strengths
Workflow automation. Although not as advanced as larger platforms like HubSpot, Pipedrive supports basic workflow capabilities for moving data within or across business objects.
Similar look-and-feel as HubSpot. Pipedrive CRM shares a similar look and feel with HubSpot, making it an excellent option for users familiar with HubSpot, as it minimizes training and adoption challenges.
Easy customization of reports and goal setting. Pipedrive also provides highly customizable reports and goal-setting features. While most mainstream CRMs offer robust reporting capabilities, they often lack pre-built options tailored to specific needs, potentially requiring significant consulting resources to develop the desired reports.
Weaknesses
Weak data structure for complex B2B companies. The data structure in Pipedrive may be less robust from a B2B perspective. Like other prescriptive CRMs designed for B2B, it may not offer as detailed or rich a data hierarchy.
Limited data import and export functionality. Users report limitations with their data import and export functionality. It’s not as detailed as with Salesforce or HubSpot.
Limited customizability. The custom objects are lighter than HubSpot, and they could be limited for ad-hoc sales processes that can’t be supported by the vanilla sales process built with most CRM systems.
4. HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM is ideal for mid-sized companies focused on upstream marketing, offering a robust B2B ecosystem with content-driven workflows, omnichannel traceability, and a native CMS. However, its downstream workflow capabilities are less developed, making it less suitable for industries like real estate or non-profits that require flexible downstream processes. For larger companies, pairing HubSpot with a CRM focused on downstream workflows may be a better fit, earning HubSpot the #4 spot on our list of top mid-sized CRMs.
Strengths
One tool to centralize all customer channels. HubSpot can provide omnichannel traceability with most upstream marketing channels, including its native CMS.
Ecosystem and integration. The ecosystem and integrations provide extensive flexibility, with a wide selection of apps available in the marketplace. This ensures robust integration capabilities, including support for third-party CMS solutions.
Comprehensive options to integrate with CMS. External CMS options work well for basic data collection forms, but when workflows require back-and-forth triggers and sequential steps, tighter integration with a native CMS, like HubSpot’s, becomes essential.
Weaknesses
Data model not friendly for complex operational use cases. The data model is less suited for highly complex operational use cases compared to platforms like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Limited customizability. HubSpot’s custom objects are more advanced than those of smaller platforms but are less customizable than those offered by Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics, making it limiting for industries requiring highly ad-hoc downstream workflows.
Limited capabilities for territory planning and sales comp.Downstream marketing requires more robust data correlation and structure, which is where systems like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics excel, making them better suited for these needs.
3.Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM is ideal for mid-market companies seeking operational and transactional capabilities from a downstream perspective. While it offers some upstream marketing features, they are not as robust as those in HubSpot, especially in areas like CMS capabilities. Zoho’s integration and ecosystem are also more limited, particularly for upstream marketing needs such as working with ad vendors or telephony providers. Although Zoho excels within its app portfolio, it offers fewer third-party integrations compared to platforms like HubSpot or Salesforce, earning it the #3 spot on our list of top mid-sized CRMs.
Strengths
Data model similar to Salesforce for building complex workflows. The data model is very similar to Salesforce for building complex workflows.
Great capabilities with sales comp and territory planning. Zoho CRM provides detailed features that simplify managing complex scenarios such as sales call management, compensation planning, territory planning, and user security workflows.
Integration with other Zoho apps. Zoho apps offer light integration with each other, operating on separate databases. While data can be transferred between them when needed, the communication is relatively basic and not as seamlessly embedded as in systems where all apps share the same data model or database.
Weaknesses
Not as integrated in the upstream ecosystem. While Zoho has some capabilities for upstream marketing use cases, they are not as developed as tools designed for upstream marketing use cases such as HubSpot.
Not as open an ecosystem as HubSpot. Compared to HubSpot or Salesforce, Zoho is not as well integrated and adopted by third-party apps and vendors.
Might require consulting help for implementation. Zoho’s data model is layered and built for complex mid-market companies, supporting various business models and processes that often require consulting expertise.
2. Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE
Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE is a complex CRM designed to support customizable workflows. If you’re seeking enterprise-grade capabilities, particularly for advanced processes like sales compensation planning and territory planning, Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE is likely the right system for you. Hence, it has secured the #2 spot on our list of top mid-sized CRMs.
Strengths
Customizability. One of the key strengths of Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE is its high degree of customizability. You can modify or override business objects, create new ones, and design custom interactions. This flexibility allows you to build tailored solutions using your preferred programming language or custom applications within the Dynamics 365 CE system.
Integration with field services workflows. Integration with field service workflows is a feature you may not find in smaller CRM systems. However, for certain industries, such as insurance, residential services, or industries like construction, this integration is essential. It supports customer touchpoints within the sales process, making it a critical requirement for those sectors.
Sales comp, and territory planning needs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE includes workflow management, sales tracking, and territory planning capabilities, which are generally more advanced compared to smaller CRM systems.
Weaknesses
Upstream marketing integration. While the ecosystem has several options, the upstream marketing ecosystem and integrations are not as developed as HubSpot or Salesforce, requiring custom integration and consulting help.
Requires consulting help. Given that this is a highly sophisticated CRM, you will likely need significant consulting support.
Limited marketing automation capabilities. While it offers some marketing automation capabilities, they are limited compared to more detailed features found in platforms like HubSpot, Marketo, or ActiveCampaign.
1. Salesforce
Salesforce is an excellent choice for mid-market companies seeking a comprehensive suite with enterprise-grade capabilities. While Salesforce has one of the most developed ecosystems, omnichannel traceability and CMS integration can be a challenge. For companies requiring advanced downstream platforms and content workflows across channels, combining Salesforce with a marketing automation system like HubSpot is a superior solution. This secures Salesforce the #1 spot on our list of top mid-sized CRMs.
Strengths
Industry packs. Industry packs are included with the Salesforce suite and can be purchased directly, but customizing them may be challenging due to licensing restrictions. It’s important to assess how well they align with your data hierarchy and processes. If your processes significantly differ from the predefined custom objects, starting from scratch may be a better option.
Workflow security. One of Salesforce’s key strengths lies in its enterprise-grade workflow security, making it ideal for larger mid-market organizations requiring controlled access to CRM workflows.
Territory and comp planning. Territory and sales comparisons are unlikely to pose challenges with Salesforce, thanks to its sophisticated capabilities.
Weaknesses
Data model is not as relational as MS for complex operational use cases. Salesforce’s data model may not be as relational as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, although it offers deeper data layers compared to platforms like HubSpot.
Marketing automation workflows not as embedded. Salesforce’s marketing automation workflows aren’t as seamlessly integrated as those of platforms like HubSpot, leading many companies to pair Salesforce with additional tools like Marketo or HubSpot to bridge the gap. This reliance on external tools can pose a challenge.
Expensive. Salesforce tends to be quite costly overall, both in terms of consulting services and licensing fees.
Conclusion
Choosing the right mid-market CRMs involves striking a balance between functionality, scalability, and affordability. While small-business CRMs may no longer suffice for companies facing the complexities of diverse business models, larger enterprise-grade systems might feel overwhelming or unnecessary for smaller teams. This list of the top 10 mid-sized CRMs for 2025 highlights the varied capabilities of different platforms, offering insights into their strengths and limitations.
Each CRM on the list has unique strengths, such as HubSpot’s upstream marketing capabilities or Zoho’s operational depth. The rankings consider factors like market share, customization options, integration ecosystems, and user reviews. While no single system fits all needs, the guide provides a comprehensive overview to help mid-market businesses choose a CRM that aligns with their growth goals and operational requirements. While this list offers valuable insights, seeking advice from an independent CRM consultant can greatly enhance the implementation success.
FAQs
What is CRM for mid-sized businesses?
A CRM system for mid-sized businesses is a platform designed to address the specific needs of companies transitioning from small-scale operations to more complex workflows. Unlike CRMs for small businesses, these systems cater to the unique challenges of mid-market organizations, such as managing diverse sales cycles, supporting cross-departmental collaboration, and integrating customizable business models. They often include features like territory planning, sales compensation management, and workflow automation
What is the difference between ERP and CRM?
ERP and CRM serve distinct but complementary purposes. While CRM focuses on managing customer relationships and driving sales, ERP is designed to manage internal business operations such as inventory, finance, and supply chain. For startups, a CRM helps track leads, automate sales processes, and analyze customer behavior, prioritizing external customer-facing workflows. In contrast, ERP is used to streamline back-office functions, ensuring efficiency in areas like accounting, procurement, and manufacturing. In product-based startups, CRM and ERP systems may overlap, especially when CRM tools include functionalities like order management, but their core focus remains different: CRM builds customer connections, while ERP ensures operational efficiency.
What factors should mid-sized businesses consider when choosing a CRM?
Mid-sized businesses should prioritize customizable CRMs that support unique workflows, scalable solutions for growth, and robust integration with existing tools. Industry-specific features, cost-effectiveness, user reviews, and community support are key considerations. Additionally, compliance with privacy and regional laws is essential for businesses operating across geographies.
As smaller businesses outgrow the startup phase, they often need to consolidate data silos. But, with their limited budgets (and somewhat misaligned functions), complete consolidation may be challenging at this stage. Unlike startups, which generally struggle to build a consistent go-to-market strategy due to their limited customer base, smaller businesses commonly have a relatively streamlined approach to the market. However, their current scale doesn’t justify streamlined compensation structures or formally defined sales territories just yet.
CRMs in this segment typically offer somewhat scalable options to support various business models, though customization is often limited by constrained budgets. These systems are generally easier to configure, featuring user-friendly interfaces that simplify customization. However, they may lack advanced customization capabilities, which are seen in larger platforms. Comparing it among different business models, B2B small businesses often require more rigorous traceability for content marketing channels, even if their operational and transactional workflows are less robust. In contrast, B2C small businesses might integrate their CRMs with POS and eCommerce systems but are less likely to have a CDP (or other advanced integrations within their CRM stack).
As for their product design strategy, CRMs for small businesses often include bundled features such as marketing, sales, customer service, and field service (in a single package). Their ecosystems may include other integrated offerings – to offer an optimal experience (across various industries). Common use cases can include integrations with emergency communication platforms, telephony systems, and data providers. While they might support integration with some external systems, more advanced features like auto-routing or ranking are typically absent. Ready to dive into the options uniquely designed for this market segment?
The 2025 Digital Transformation Report
Thinking of embarking on a ERP journey and looking for a digital transformation report? Want to learn the best practices of digital transformation? Then, you have come to the right place.
Definition of small organizations. $10-100 mil in revenue or 25-300 employees. Low implementation budget up to $100K. No appetite for integration or custom development. Some systems (and processes could remain siloed). Little to no planning is needed.
Overall market share/# of customers. Higher market share among small businesses ranks higher on this list.
Ownership/funding. Refined product roadmaps and management’s clarity with product vision rank higher on our list.
Quality of development. Modern cloud-native capabilities and unified user experience rank higher on our list.
Community/Ecosystem. Communities with a heavy presence in the small businesses market segment would drive a higher ranking for the product.
Depth of native functionality for specific industries. Publisher-owned last-mile capabilities for specific industries, as opposed to relying on add-ons, rank higher on this list.
Quality of publicly available product documentation. The quality of user and developer documentation drives a higher product ranking.
Small business market share. Specific market share among small businesses drives a higher ranking on this list.
Ability to natively support diversified business models. The diversity of the product to accommodate many business models drives higher on this list.
Acquisition strategy aligned with smaller businesses. Recent acquisitions aligned to the startup market segment drive higher rankings on this list.
User Reviews. User reviews from the startup market segment drive a higher ranking on this list.
Must be a CRM product. It can’t be a module of an ERP system. It must be a best-of-breed CRM system, preferably recognized in the CRM category by leading analyst firms.
10. Monday.com
Monday.com is a great option for smaller companies needing a CRM with customizable workflows. Although Monday.com and ClickUp are similarly positioned in the market, monday.com is more project-management-focused and not primarily a CRM, though many companies use it as one. Unlike more restrictive tools, Monday.com offers greater flexibility for customizing processes, though it may require more consulting support. This flexibility is a key difference between ClickUp and Monday.com, yet both hold similar positions in the market and are often used in similar ways by companies. Hence, Monday.com has secured #10 spot on our list of top CRMs for small businesses.
Strengths
Great capabilities to build simple funnels. Monday.com’s fluid structure very similar to spreadsheets, allows building as many pipelines and funnels as present then in different formats such as swimlanes or spreadsheets.
Workflows and integration. Monday.com’s cell-level notification and workflow capabilities are especially appealing for building custom integrations and workflows for ad-hoc processes.
Ecosystem. Monday.com has a sizeable presence of the most popular options companies would require for downstream capabilities.
Weaknesses
Relational relationships. While Monday.com offers the ability to connect boards and display different perspectives, the overall connectivity between boards may not be as relational as required in industries where customer relationships or business objects are hierarchical. In such cases, more advanced capabilities would be needed. However, for simpler relationship structures, Monday.com is a suitable option.
Upstream marketing focused integration. Similar to ClickUp, upstream integration options would be limited compared to HubSpot.
Omnichannel marketing traceability. Omni-channel marketing traceability may be a challenge with Monday.com, a feature that is more robust in tools like HubSpot.
ERP Selection: The Ultimate Guide
This is an in-depth guide with over 80 pages and covers every topic as it pertains to ERP selection in sufficient detail to help you make an informed decision.
ClickUp is primarily a project management, collaboration, and document management tool, but many companies also use it as a CRM due to its versatile platform. One of ClickUp’s strengths is that it offers many capabilities within the same suite, which helps integrate your operational processes. However, its CRM options may be more limited. From a ClickUp perspective, the ecosystem is richer, especially when it comes to operational capabilities within the CRM and other workflows that may be part of your process. Therefore, ClickUp has secured #9 spot on our list of top CRMs for small businesses.
Strengths
Ecosystem. The ecosystem is much more robust, particularly when considering the CRM’s operational capabilities.
Integration. ClickUp has a robust ecosystem for integration with several other tools that companies might use, especially for project management and workflow automation capabilities.
Richer suite with PM, doc management and collab. The project management features are generally more advanced, with strong document management and collaboration tools, particularly for marketing collaboration within ClickUp. This is a major benefit.
Weaknesses
Not a true CRM player. While some companies may use it as a CRM, it is typically because they don’t have extensive CRM needs. Their needs prioritize operational process integration over pure CRM capabilities, especially upstream features offered by other solutions on this list.
Upstream marketing integrations. Ecosystem options with upstream marketing might be limited compared to other leading options richer with upstream integrations such as HubSpot.
Primarily an operational CRM. It could be a great fit as an operational CRM for transactional customer-facing workflows but not a fit for upstream marketing workflows.
8.ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign offers strong marketing automation and CRM features, similar to HubSpot, but with fewer advanced capabilities. It’s ideal for budget-conscious companies, although they have increased their pricing recently, which is still lower than other comparable tools such as HubSpot. Positioning themselves for both B2B and B2C, their presence is heavier presence in the B2C verticals. Providing capabilities such as branding guidelines control at the parent entity level (while still allowing branch-level execution), their product is also friendlier for companies with physical retail outlets (as well as organizations with franchise business models). Hence, ActiveCampaign has secured the #8 spot on our list of top CRMs for small businesses.
Strengths
Ideal for B2C companies with B2B flavors in their business model. Unlike other tools in the market, such as Braze being a pure-play B2C solution and HubSpot not as integrated for B2C verticals, ActiveCampaign enjoys a unique position with the flavors of both for business models that contain both B2B and B2C workflows.
Ideal for franchise-centric business models. The solution has unique layers for franchise-centric business models. These capabilities would not be present in other generalized solutions.
Pricing. Although they have increased pricing recently – and removed the limits for unlimited emails, they are still more affordable than similar solutions.
Weaknesses
CRM data layers are limited for B2B businesses. The data layers would be substantially limited for companies with non-standard sales processes.
UX is not as modern as other similar solutions. Users report that UX is not as modern as other competing solutions, such as HubSpot.
Not a good fit for downstream workflow use cases. This is primarily used as a marketing automation tool in conjunction with other CRM solutions such as MS Dynamics 365 CRM and Salesforce.
7. Sugar CRM
SugarCRM is an ideal fit for industrial SMBs that are heavier on downstream operational customer-facing processes. Unlike other CRMs on this list primarily designed with an upstream focus, the detailed transactional layers are especially suitable for companies on manufacturing ERPs. It also has unique subscription-centric capabilities, making it appealing to IT and financial services industries, securing its spot at #7 on our list of the top CRMs for small businesses.
Strengths
Detailed operational layers. Unlike other CRMs designed primarily for prescriptive use cases, SugarCRM has detailed business object layers and pre-built capabilities for ERP-centric industrial verticals.
Strong alignment with manufacturing ERPs. SugarCRM has pre-built workflows for manufacturing ERPs such as Epicor, SYSPRO, Plex, and many more. The companies in these industries would require detailed object layers that are generally not available with CRMs designed primarily for upstream marketing workflows.
Subscription-based capabilities. Unlike other CRM systems that would require an external tool for CPQ and subscription-centric workflows, SugarCRM has that built up natively.
Ecosystem. While they have come a long way in enabling upstream integrations, the integration ecosystem is not as developed as other mainstream CRM systems such as Salesforce or HubSpot.
Not as diverse. The industrial workflows and ERP business objects might not be relevant for other industries and business models, making its scope slightly limiting to certain industries.
6. Keap
Keap is primarily designed for the startup segment and offers limited customizability, security, and workflow capabilities. However, for smaller companies with budget constraints, Keap can be an excellent fit due to its affordability and simplicity. Therefore, Keap has secured the #6 spot on our list of top CRMs for small businesses.
Strengths
HIPAA compliance. Companies in the healthcare sector require their CRMs to be integrated with EHR platforms – along with HIPAA compliance for interoperability between them if CRMs assume the responsibility for communication. Keep has basic capabilities to support HIPAA compliance needs.
Workflows. Keap includes some built-in workflows, although limited in capabilities compared to HubSpot.
Building complex funnels. Creating complex funnels is easy within the platform.
Weaknesses
Limited direct integration with data apps. Integration with various data applications is limited. For instance, when comparing the integration options within ZoomInfo, Apollo, or other tools used for automating marketing and sales funnels, Keap’s pre-built integrations are limited. While there are external tools available to facilitate these integrations, relying on them could increase implementation costs.
Contact-centric with limited B2B hierarchies. Keap is contact-centric. However, in the small business segment, there is often a greater need for hierarchy and a more comprehensive customer 360 view across various customer segments. If the goal is to link all of these customer records together, Keap may present limitations in this regard
Limited options with landing page builders, not as rich suite. The landing page capabilities might not be as detailed as other leading options such as HubSpot.
5. Zendesk Sell
Zendesk Sell is similar to Keap, with a relatively limited data model. Its greatest strength lies in its case management and customer service management platform, making it an excellent option for companies focused on post-sales activities rather than marketing. Zendesk is a good fit for smaller businesses seeking a straightforward system on a budget, as it provides essential functionality without extensive complexity. Hence, Zendesk Sell has secured #5 spot on our list of top CRMs for small businesses.
Strengths
Intuitive interface. Just like Freshsales and Zoho Bigin, Zendesk Sell is a very prescriptive platform designed for smaller companies without complex layers, making the interface intuitive.
Advanced CRM capabilities. Compared to other smaller systems that might not have as advanced capabilities, Zendesk has some capabilities that are considered advanced in this market segment.
Weaknesses
Glitchy. Some users have reported potential glitches. At times, these issues might stem from integrations, depending on their ownership. Additionally, if you’ve customized settings without complete knowledge, certain hiccups may result from that as well. The issue might not necessarily lie with the platform itself.
Zendesk Sell and Support are not tightly integrated. Overall, while Zendesk owns both the sell and support platforms, they are not as tightly integrated as some of the other platforms on this list, such as those for marketing automation.
Marketing automation. While Zendesk has great coverage for downstream and operational use cases, the upstream marketing use cases would be weaker compared to other platforms, such as HubSpot.
4. Salesforce
While Salesforce has a truncated version for smaller companies, it’s a completely separate product. Also, the customization layer is not as friendly as with Pipedrive or HubSpot, making it friendlier for smaller companies only in cases where they have prior experience with the platform. Another case could be when they would like Salesforce to be a long-term platform to reduce adoption risks. The biggest disadvantage of Salesforce for smaller companies is its expensive implementation and steep learning curve with the platform for users with limited CRM experience or technical skills, ranking it at #4 on our list of top CRMs for small businesses.
Strengths
Same interface as the enterprise product. Salesforce has the same user interface for both its essentials and enterprise versions, providing an easier transition for companies as they grow.
Custom objects. Offering fairly detailed custom objects, it may still struggle with highly complex relationships due to the inherent structure of its CRM data model. If your data model includes very complex interactions or hierarchies, Salesforce might face challenges there as well.
Report and list builder. Designed to serve different purposes, the report and list builders aren’t as tightly integrated due to the Salesforce data model’s design.
Weaknesses
Marketing automation not as embedded as other products. Marketing automation is not as embedded or immersive an experience as you would find with HubSpot.
Integrations are not as intuitive. The integration layer is not as intuitive as with other products, such as HubSpot or Pipedrive, requiring developer support.
Might need consulting help. Smaller companies with limited implementation budgets might not appreciate the heavy price tag of Salesforce to enable the same capabilities that can be easily enabled with other platforms.
ERP Selection Requirements Template
This resource provides the template that you need to capture the requirements of different functional areas, processes, and teams.
HubSpot CRM, compared to Salesforce, has a somewhat simpler data and process model, making it a faster fit for smaller businesses. It may not be ideal for the mid-market segment, but overall, when compared to other solutions like Pipedrive, Zendesk Sell, etc HubSpot offers a more complex data model. However, even HubSpot may fall short in terms of customization for complex use cases. Therefore, HubSpot CRM has secured the #3 spot on our list of top CRMs for small businesses.
Strengths
One tool to centralize all customer channels. HubSpot offers a single tool to centralize upstream marketing activities but is not as rich for downstream functions like sales operations, sales activities, and sales planning.
Ecosystem and integration. Pre-integrated options are available primarily for upstream marketing use cases such as ad platforms, telephony vendors, and data providers.
Comprehensive options to integrate with CMS. Numerous CMS integration options exist along with its native CMS, which has a tighter alignment with its data model.
Weaknesses
Data model not friendly for complex operational use cases. Data model has limitations, such as limited support for parent-child relationships among their custom objects and their ability to integrate with forms – posing challenges with complex downstream use cases.
Limited customizability. Because of the data model challenges, HubSpot is not necessarily a good fit for companies requiring highly ad-hoc downstream workflows.
Might be too difficult and expensive for startups despite the initial free option. The pricing can become quite steep with advanced options. This makes HubSpot’s pricing a bit tricky to estimate, as it can be challenging to predict what you’ll ultimately pay.
2. Pipedrive CRM
Pipedrive CRM is an ideal fit for smaller companies seeking a prescriptive platform stronger in downstream marketing workflows. It would work for companies that care for an integrated CPQ and document-driven workflows for B2B companies. While it might not have the same level of customizability as HubSpot, it’s a platform for companies with limited technical skills and implementation budget, securing its rank at #2 on our list of top CRMs for small businesses.
Strengths
Workflow automation. While the platform is relatively smaller, it has basic workflow capabilities similar to HubSpot for autonomous workflows( between different business objects and external systems).
Similar look-and-feel as HubSpot. The look and feel will be very similar to that of HubSpot, a big advantage for users familiar with HubSpot. Pipedrive is also slightly more affordable than HubSpot.
Easy customization of reports and goal setting. Compared to smaller platforms such as MailChimp, the reports are fairly built, as well as some functionality for goal setting if that might be a critical success factor for you.
Weaknesses
Weak data structure for complex B2B startups. The main limitation of Pipedrive is its relatively weak data structure from a B2B startup perspective, especially if there are complex relational connections and need to consolidate interactions (and related data) for those relationships.
Limited data import and export functionality. The import and export functionality is also fairly limited, which smaller companies are likely to need. For this reason, Pipedrive may not be the best fit in such cases.
Limited customizability. While the platform has some customization capabilities, the custom objects are not as detailed and don’t have the same capabilities, limiting it to complex use cases outside of its pre-built workflows.
1. Zoho
Zoho is an excellent choice for smaller companies seeking a comprehensive suite with strong operational features. However, it might not be as rich with upstream marketing capabilities, limiting seamless integration with best-of-breed tools, especially third-party. This is because Zoho’s approach emphasizes promoting its own tools. Hence, Zoho secures the #1 spot on our list of top CRMs for small businesses.
Strengths
Data model similar to Salesforce for building complex workflows. The data model is quite similar to Salesforce, making it well-suited for building complex use cases, particularly in service-centric sectors like non-profit, public sector, or education.
Complete stack. Whether it is CPQ processes or customer relationships, the hierarchies involved are significantly more complex. This is where Zoho truly fits, providing a complete, integrated stack.
Integration with other Zoho apps. There will be integration with other Zoho apps, providing more connections with the processes. While it may not offer the same deeply embedded experience
Weaknesses
Not as integrated in the upstream ecosystem. The integration options are limited for upstream marketing use cases, primarily limited to the apps present in Zoho’s ecosystem. Integrating with other apps would require custom integration and development help.
Not as open ecosystem as HubSpot. It’s a slightly more closed ecosystem compared to HubSpot, as they prioritize protecting their own revenue, preferring to integrate primarily with their own solutions and apps.
Might require consulting help for implementation. It might require consulting help, just because of the complexity of its data model as well as process model.
Conclusion
As small businesses navigate their journey beyond the startup phase, choosing the right CRM can be a game-changer. The best CRMs for small businesses offer solutions tailored to limited budgets and evolving needs, balancing scalability with ease of use. From streamlining customer interactions to integrating essential tools like eCommerce platforms and marketing automation, these systems are designed to support diverse business models, whether B2B, B2C, or hybrid.
While options like Zoho stand out for their comprehensive suite and robust capabilities, platforms like HubSpot and Pipedrive offer user-friendly interfaces and strong marketing integrations. Each solution brings unique strengths—whether it’s affordability, industry-specific features, or seamless integration—ensuring there’s a CRM to match every small business’s goals. However, limitations like constrained customizability or weaker upstream marketing capabilities underscore the importance of aligning your choice with your specific priorities. While this list offers valuable insights, seeking advice from an independent CRM consultant can greatly enhance the implementation success.
FAQs
What is CRM in small businesses?
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system for small businesses is a tool designed to manage and optimize customer interactions, sales processes, and marketing efforts in one centralized platform. Unlike enterprise CRMs, these systems are tailored to meet the unique challenges faced by smaller organizations, such as limited budgets and simpler workflows. They often include user-friendly interfaces and essential features like marketing automation, customer service management, and sales tracking. By consolidating customer data and streamlining operations, CRMs for small businesses help improve efficiency and foster stronger customer relationships.
What is the difference between ERP and CRM?
ERP and CRM serve distinct but complementary purposes. While CRM focuses on managing customer relationships and driving sales, ERP is designed to manage internal business operations such as inventory, finance, and supply chain. For startups, a CRM helps track leads, automate sales processes, and analyze customer behavior, prioritizing external customer-facing workflows. In contrast, ERP is used to streamline back-office functions, ensuring efficiency in areas like accounting, procurement, and manufacturing. In product-based startups, CRM and ERP systems may overlap, especially when CRM tools include functionalities like order management, but their core focus remains different: CRM builds customer connections, while ERP ensures operational efficiency.
What factors should small businesses consider when choosing a CRM?
When choosing a CRM, small businesses should prioritize affordability, ease of use, and scalability to support future growth. The CRM should integrate seamlessly with existing tools like eCommerce platforms or POS systems and offer customization options tailored to the business model, whether B2B or B2C. Additionally, businesses should look for industry-specific functionalities, such as marketing traceability or operational support, and ensure the platform has strong customer support and an active user community for a smoother experience.
CRMs are often the first software that startups adopt, though their scope varies. For some companies, a CRM primarily tracks customer interactions, while for others, it serves to drive revenue. Generally, startup organizations tend to be lean, with minimal layers of management. Sales territories and compensation structures are usually flexible, as early-stage startups may lack a broad customer base to establish streamlined sales and marketing processes.
While most CRMs are likely to support cookie-cutter sales processes, each industry vertical and business model presents unique challenges, requiring significant customization beyond basic CRM functionality. One major distinction tends to be between B2B and B2C models: CRMs designed for B2B often focus on content-centric use cases, while those for B2C prioritize integration with commerce-centric workflows. The focus on products versus services also plays a role. For product-based companies, CRM processes may overlap heavily with eCommerce and ERP systems, whereas service-based companies may require CPQ processes and their unique industry-specific integrations.
CRM systems generally fall into two categories: those designed for upstream marketing and those for operational use cases. CRMs tailored to upstream marketing tend to feature highly flexible data models, but they often lack the structure for customer-facing transactions. In contrast, CRMs designed for operational purposes can be more challenging due to complex configurations that accommodate territories, hierarchical audiences, and varied customer-focused workflows. Selecting and implementing a CRM requires both expertise and an implementation budget, resources that many startups lack—often resulting in multiple CRM systems being adopted across different teams. Let’s explore some options for CRMs for startups that are likely the best fit given these constraints.
The 2025 Digital Transformation Report
Thinking of embarking on a ERP journey and looking for a digital transformation report? Want to learn the best practices of digital transformation? Then, you have come to the right place.
Definition of startups. Less than $10 mil in revenue or 20-25 employees. Founder leading most of the functions. 1-2 employees for each function, including sales, marketing, and customer service. $0-30K implementation budget.
Overall market share/# of customers. Higher market share among startup companies ranks on this list.
Ownership/funding. Refined product roadmaps and management’s clarity with product vision rank higher on our list.
Quality of development. Modern cloud-native capabilities and unified user experience rank higher on our list.
Community/Ecosystem. Communities with a heavy presence in the startup market segment would drive a higher ranking for the product.
Depth of native functionality for specific industries. Publisher-owned last-mile capabilities for specific industries, as opposed to relying on add-ons, rank higher on this list.
Quality of publicly available product documentation. The quality of user and developer documentation drives a higher product ranking.
Startup market share. Specific market share among startup companies drives a higher ranking on this list.
Ability to natively support diversified business models. The diversity of the product to accommodate many business models drives higher on this list.
Acquisition strategy aligned with startups. Recent acquisitions aligned to the startup market segment drive higher rankings on this list.
User Reviews. User reviews from the startup market segment drive a higher ranking on this list.
Must be a CRM product. It can’t be a module of an ERP system. It must be a best-of-breed CRM system, preferably recognized in the CRM category by leading analyst firms.
10. Monday.com
Monday.com is primarily a project management tool, but it also offers some CRM functionalities. One advantage of Monday.com is its use of boards, similar to Trello, allowing you to view the same information in different formats, such as boards, lists, or calendars. However, its CRM capabilities are relatively limited, and it does not offer all the advanced features you might expect. Hence, Monday.com has secured the #10 spot on our list of top CRMs for startups.
Strengths
Great capabilities to build simple funnels. If your goal is to handle simple funnels, lead management, and opportunity management, all of these can be highly customized.
Workflows and integration. Pre-baked upstream marketing capabilities are significantly limited, requiring customization and consulting help on the basic technical platform to enable them.
Ecosystem. The overall ecosystem will be quite widespread. However, if you consider the level of penetration within the marketing tech stack, it won’t be as extensive as tools like HubSpot.
Weaknesses
Relational relationships. Each spreadsheet is an independent object. While some basic linking of these objects is possible, the data model is not relational, posing data integrity issues and limiting its use for transactional use cases.
Upstream marketing-focused integration. Upstream marketing-focused integration, such as tight embeddedness with data platforms and enabling autonomous intent-centric workflows, would be a challenge. The integration with ad-centric platforms to enable building and targeting specific audiences based on layers present inside HubSpot might be challenging.
Omnichannel marketing traceability. Due to the limited integration layers available with different channels, such as with HubSpot, omnichannel traceability would be an issue.
9. Agile CRM
Agile CRM is an excellent entry-level system for startups, especially for contact management and email lead management. It lacks complex features and is generally more affordable, with a simpler processing and data model. This makes it particularly advantageous for startups looking for an affordable CRM solution. Thus, Agile CRM secures the #9 spot on our list of top CRMs for startups.
Strengths
Affordable for startups. The overall UI is quite intuitive, making it easy to configure, manage, and use without the need for consulting assistance.
Intuitive. The user interface is so intuitive that you won’t need consulting to configure, manage, and use it.
Comprehensive capabilities for startups in one solution. Additionally, it offers wide-ranging capabilities within a single solution, reducing the number of data siloes.
Weaknesses
Advanced features such as email templates not as robust. Advanced features like email templates may not be as robust as those found in systems like HubSpot or MailChimp.
Ecosystem integration such as ZoomInfo. The ecosystem integration, particularly with upstream marketing tools, won’t be as robust as with systems like HubSpot or Salesforce. Integrations with data platforms like ZoomInfo or Apollo are also less common.
Poorly documented. The solution lacks comprehensive documentation, which is common with less popular or less well-funded systems. This can present a challenge, especially if you’re managing the implementation on your own, as the limited resources may make it harder to navigate the process.
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Insightly is another small solution, similar to Agile CRM or Freshsales. However, its unique advantage lies in its strong analytics component, which provides more insights and is included as part of the solution. Given its unique custom object tailored for specific use cases, It would also be more suitable for industries that need to be interlocked with CRM workflows. Being a prescriptive platform, it might not be most suitable for companies seeking a customizable solution with non-standard customer-facing workflows. Therefore, Insightly has secured the #8 spot on our list of top CRMs for startups.
Strengths
Custom objects and core project objects. The inclusion of custom and core project objects is a common trend across many systems in the market that combine project management features within the solution.
Analytics. Compared to other platforms, which might barely provide detailed reporting pre-baked or infrastructure without much development or unnecessary customizations, it has a very detailed analytics layer.
Intuitive. Given the simpler data and process model designed for smaller companies, the platform is relatively intuitive.
Weaknesses
Integration issues. The ecosystem is not as widely adopted, which may lead to various integration issues, as users have reported in forums.
Limited ecosystem. It’s also relatively limited and more cost-effective, but this could present challenges in terms of connectivity and functionality.
Cheaper but expensive for startups, tricky consumption-based pricing per lead. While the solution is generally cheaper, it may still be viewed as costly for startups due to its consumption-based pricing, which can be difficult to estimate. As a result, this pricing model might end up being more expensive than other alternatives.
7. Salesforce Essentials
Salesforce Essentials is a larger platform with more advanced security and permission layers, and typically, you would need consulting assistance to set it up and use it effectively. Designed to be a customizable platform for various industries, Salesforce includes pre-built objects for many sectors. There are numerous solutions built on top of these objects, making it a highly robust system. However, for startups, these extensive capabilities may be unnecessary, as they can make the platform overly complex. This complexity can increase implementation costs and make it harder to use. Thus, Salesforce Essentials has secured the #7 spot on our list of top CRMs for startups.
Strengths
Same interface as the enterprise product. Companies can stay on the same interface as they grow; although the startup product is completely different from the enterprise one, the interface and UX are the same, making the transition easier with Salesforce.
Custom objects. Its customizability helps industries where ad-hoc customer-centric workflows would be common.
Report and list builder. The report and list-building functionality would not have the same limitations as those found with other smaller platforms, such as limited layers for complex reporting or fewer reportable objects exposed.
Weaknesses
Marketing automation is not as embedded as other products. The marketing automation product lacks embedded workflows with the core CRM product, making it challenging for companies requiring tighter collaboration of marketing and sales processes.
Integrations not as intuitive. The integrations would not be as intuitive and as easy because of the legacy technology, requiring developer help.
Might need consulting help. The UX doesn’t have the same low-code/no-code capabilities as with other products as with HubSpot, requiring expensive consulting help to customize.
6. HubSpot CRM
HubSpot and Salesforce are not ranked as the top choices for startups primarily due to the consulting costs required for these platforms. While they offer more advanced capabilities, they may not be the best fit for startups. HubSpot, in particular, is designed with a focus on upstream marketing activities, offering a stronger ecosystem, but it may not be the best fit for companies with complex audiences or transactional customer-facing workflows. Therefore, HubSpot has secured the #6 spot on our list of top CRMs for startups.
Strengths
One tool to centralize all customer channels. Whether it’s email, text, ad-centric channels, or social media, into a single model, allowing you to integrate marketing automation and CRM within the same product.
Ecosystem and integration.HubSpot is specifically designed for upstream marketing activities, where it excels due to its extensive ecosystem integration.
Comprehensive options to integrate with CMS. HubSpot offers its own CMS and database, which is a significant advantage if you’re looking to build a custom, sophisticated website.
Weaknesses
Data model not friendly for complex operational use cases. The limitations with HubSpot primarily lie in its data model, which isn’t well-suited for complex operational use cases.
Limited customizability. Custom objects come with significant limitations, particularly around parent-child hierarchies and other advanced configurations.
It might be too difficult and expensive for startups despite the initial free option. Pricing escalates quickly, even though there is a free plan.
5. Keap
Keap is a simplified solution, similar to the previous three, and follows a comparable design philosophy, making it a good fit for startups. Its key strength lies in HIPAA compliance, which is particularly important for companies in the healthcare sector. If you’re handling patient data or tracking patient interactions, your CRM will likely need to work alongside the EHR system. Thus, Keap has secured the #5 spot on our list of top CRMs for startups.
Strengths
HIPAA compliance.Healthcare companies are focused on enhancing both customer and patient experiences, which is why they are looking to implement CRM systems that will work alongside their EHR systems.
Workflows. Keap offers workflows. However, the level of detail in those workflows can vary. While smaller systems like MailChimp provide decent workflows, they may lack more advanced features, such as the ability to sequence workflows or apply segmentation and branching logic within them.
Building complex funnels. Keap allows building complex funnels compared to other smaller platforms that are primarily designed for marketing automation.
Weaknesses
Limited direct integration with data apps. Particularly with data apps and integrations with other CMS providers, such as DAM or search providers, the current marketing tech stack has many players. While some integrations are available, the ecosystem may not be as extensive, and direct integrations could be limited.
Contact-centric with limited B2B hierarchies. The overall object hierarchy is highly contact-centric, which can be a drawback for B2B scenarios where complex company structures and customer master hierarchies are needed. This CRM focuses heavily on contacts, which is common in most CRMs within the startup space as they aim to simplify the structure.
Limited options with landing page builders. Another limitation with Keap is that the landing page builder may not be as robust or feature-rich compared to other solutions.
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Freshsales is part of the FreshBooks portfolio, aligning with a trend where many accounting firms are acquiring email automation and CRM solutions to expand their offerings. This strategy helps them compete with companies like Zoho and Odoo, providing a complete, relatively user-friendly business suite. Freshsales would fall under a simpler-to-use platform for startups with limited implementation budgets and their users with limited experience using a CRM. Therefore, Freshsales has secured the #4 spot on our list of top CRMs for startups.
Strengths
Omnichannel campaign management email, phone, whatsapp. A key strength is its omnichannel campaign management, integrating email, phone, WhatsApp, and more—channels that are essential in the B2C market.
Great for companies implementing in DIY mode. The simpler data model without complicated hierarchies (and audiences) makes it easier for startups to implement in the DIY mode (without requiring as much consulting help).
Weaknesses
Limited permission layers. The permission layers are generally limited, but this makes the solution easier to use since you won’t have to manage numerous permissions.
Limited workflow capabilities such as edits. This limitation is more suited for the startup segment, as the workflow capabilities are somewhat restricted, especially when it comes to editing documents. These features may not be as strong compared to other solutions.
Limited advanced capabilities such as fonts in email templates. The advanced capabilities, particularly with fonts in email marketing, may pose some limitations if you have specific or unique fonts you’d like to use.
3. Zendesk Sell
Zendesk Sell is a platform similar to Insightly or Freshsales, offering comparable features. It’s a great fit for companies already using Zendesk for customer service, as it provides integration between the two tools. This is particularly useful for managing customer service workflows in industries like technology, media, and retail, where customer service is a major function, especially in the post-sales phase. Zendesk Sell leverages base CRM to offer its CRM capabilities, making it an effective solution for those in need of both customer service and CRM functionalities. Thus, Zendesk Sell has secured the #3 spot on our list of top CRMs for startups.
Strengths
Intuitive interface. The interface’s design is for prescriptive use cases, making it ideal for startups seeking a simpler-to-use interface.
Easy and inexpensive implementation. The prescriptive interface limits the number of layers, generally present with scalable platforms accommodating many business models. This design makes it easier and inexpensive for startups to implement.
Easier to train. It will be an ideal fit for companies and their users with limited technical expertise without as steep a learning curve as other advanced platforms.
Weaknesses
Glitchy. Users have reported occasional glitches with the system, but sometimes, these glitches could be because of poorly implemented systems or pre-maturely released features.
Zendesk Sell and Support are not tightly integrated. The integration model is similar to Salesforce’s approach with marketing automation and CRM, and the Zendesk-Sell integration operates in much the same way. Rather than an immersive integration, they primarily exchange data fields.
Marketing automation. The capabilities are quite limited, as are advanced CRM features—which startups likely won’t need anyway. These features are absent from the tool as it focuses on simplifying the overall model.
2.Pipedrive CRM
Pipedrive CRM is similar to Zendesk Sell, designed for simpler use cases, particularly for startup companies that prefer a DIY approach. One of its strengths is workflow automation, which is generally not available with smaller CRM systems. However, it may not offer the same level of depth in automation capabilities as HubSpot. Hence, Pipedrive CRM secures the #2 spot on our list of top CRMs for startups.
Strengths
Workflow Automation. The main strength lies in basic automation workflows such as updating deal value or advancing a deal stage.
Embedded CPQ Workflows. A key strength of Pipedrive is embedded CPQ and document signature workflows, which are critical for some companies requiring tighter embedded and collaboration of these workflows. However, the use cases for CPQ and their integrations might differ for each industry, limiting the use of Pipedrive for those industries unless they use a third-party CPQ.
Integrated data platform. Pipedrive has a very similar acquisition and integration strategy with data platforms just like HubSpot, making it an ideal fit for embedded data-driven use cases without requiring expensive customization.
Weaknesses
Weak data structure for complex B2B startups. Businesses requiring complex audiences or hierarchies would struggle with Pipedrive because of the limited layers of its data model.
Bloated data model for companies not needing CPQ or document workflows. The CPQ and document workflows would be unnecessarily bloated for companies requiring a specialized CPQ.
Limited customizability. The customization options are likely to be inferior to HubSpot but superior to systems such as Zendesk or Freshsales. So, it may not be the best fit for companies requiring non-standard sales processes.
1. Zoho Bigin
Zoho Bigin is ideal for companies seeking a very user-friendly CRM. The strengths of Zoho Bigin include a process and data model similar to other tools in the startup segment. In comparison, their main CRM product might require expensive consulting help and might be challenging for users with limited experience in CRM-driven processes, increasing adoption risks. This makes Zoho Bigin easier to implement in a DIY mode, reducing the need for consulting help, though its simplicity also brings some limitations. Therefore, Zoho Bigin has secured the #1 spot on our list of top CRMs for startups.
Strengths
Super easy to use. Just like Freshsales and Zendesk Sell, Zoho Bigin is a prescriptive platform designed for users with limited CRM experience.
Affordable. Limited layers of data model reduce implementation complexity, making it affordable for companies limited with implementation and consulting budgets.
Integration with other Zoho apps. It integrates seamlessly with other Zoho applications, making it a strong entry-level platform. This integration is especially beneficial for companies not yet ready for a full ERP system, as they gain access to a wide range of applications within the same portfolio.
Weaknesses
Inflexible. One limitation of this solution is its lack of flexibility and limited customizability. This design choice aims to keep the platform simple, so while it’s not strictly a drawback, it may pose challenges if extensive customization is a priority. In such cases, this platform may not be the best fit.
Integration and ecosystem require external tools. You may consider opting for a more advanced tool within Zoho’s portfolio or potentially another CRM, as the integration capabilities and ecosystem might require external tools like Zapier for full functionality.
Limited user-profiles and security options. They won’t offer as many native integrations, and the options for user profiles and security will be more limited. However, for startups, these features are typically not essential.
Conclusion
In conclusion, choosing the right CRM for your startup involves balancing functionality, ease of use, and affordability while aligning with your business model and industry needs. The options outlined above cater to various requirements, from simple contact management to complex workflows and data integration. Each CRM has its strengths and weaknesses, emphasizing the importance of assessing your priorities—whether it’s budget, scalability, or specific features like automation and integration.
For startups with limited resources and a DIY approach, tools like Zoho Bigin and Freshsales provide intuitive, affordable solutions. On the other hand, platforms like HubSpot and Salesforce Essentials may appeal to startups aiming for robust capabilities and long-term scalability, albeit with higher implementation costs. Understanding your unique business challenges and growth trajectory will guide you toward the CRM that best supports your goals, setting the foundation for streamlined operations and sustained success. While this list offers valuable insights on CRMs for startups, seeking advice from an independent CRM consultant can greatly enhance the implementation success.
FAQs
What is CRM in startups?
CRM is a tool that startups often adopt early to streamline customer interactions and drive business growth. In startups, CRMs primarily serve two purposes: tracking customer interactions and supporting revenue generation. These systems help lean startup teams efficiently manage their sales, marketing, and customer service processes by providing centralized access to customer data. For product-based startups, CRMs often integrate with eCommerce or ERP systems, while service-based startups may use CRMs for CPQ (configure, price, quote) and other specialized workflows. By offering a blend of flexibility and scalability, CRMs enable startups to maintain agility while building the foundation for long-term customer engagement and retention.
What is the difference between ERP and CRM?
ERP and CRM serve distinct but complementary purposes. While CRM focuses on managing customer relationships and driving sales, ERP is designed to manage internal business operations such as inventory, finance, and supply chain. For startups, a CRM helps track leads, automate sales processes, and analyze customer behavior, prioritizing external customer-facing workflows. In contrast, ERP is used to streamline back-office functions, ensuring efficiency in areas like accounting, procurement, and manufacturing. In product-based startups, CRM and ERP systems may overlap, especially when CRM tools include functionalities like order management, but their core focus remains different: CRM builds customer connections, while ERP ensures operational efficiency.
What factors should startups consider when choosing a CRM?
Startups should carefully evaluate their unique requirements before selecting a CRM. Ease of use is crucial, as many startups lack the resources for extensive training or consulting. Affordability is another key consideration, especially since most startups operate within constrained budgets. Scalability is essential, ensuring the CRM can grow with the business as its customer base and operational needs expand. Industry-specific functionality is also important; for example, B2B startups may need CRMs with robust content-centric tools, while B2C startups might prioritize eCommerce and marketing integrations. Lastly, integration capabilities are critical, as startups need CRMs that can seamlessly connect with other tools, such as marketing automation platforms or ERP systems, to support diversified business models effectively.
Similar to other horizontally overlapping categories transcending industries, the Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) category is broad, covering a range of solutions, some integrated with hardware vendors while others deeply buried inside ERP systems. The range of use cases might differ based on the industries – and the asset types tracked. For example, in real estate industries, non-profit, or public sector, the assets include buildings requiring compliance with buildings (and city codes). Other industries, such as food and logistics, might have their own fleets – and integrate with vehicle manufacturers. Yet another industry could be large equipment manufacturing, requiring integration with OEM manufacturers and their processes – making the EAM category especially challenging.
In terms of the solution size, the smaller solutions might be highly prescriptive – and relevant for point use cases. Prioritizing ease of use for smaller organizations, their data models might not be as coded as with larger solutions, making them easier to use – but increasing risks of data integrity. The larger solutions, on the other hand, might be too verbose, covering use cases from many different industries and asset types, making them complex – yet increasing implementation and training time.
The overlap with other solution categories is another layer that differentiates these solutions. The solutions tightly intertwined with ERP layers might be friendlier for industries where cost tracking of assets and inventory is critical. The other overlap of EAM systems is with CAD, MES, and engineering systems. This is highly relevant for engineering-heavy manufacturing industries. The final overlap could also be with CRM-centric systems, especially the field service and after-market companies. This makes the EAM category extremely nuanced, making it highly challenging for buyers. Don’t panic – and dive into this list to have a basic understanding of these layers.
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Definition of an EAM system. The companies in this market segment would include companies of all sizes needing an EAM system as a pure-play category that can be deployed without requiring other dependencies.
Overall market share/# of customers. The higher market share among EAM companies drives higher rankings on this list.
Ownership/funding. The superior financial position of the EAM vendor leads to higher rankings on this list.
Quality of development. How modern is the tech stack? How aggressively is the EAM vendor pushing cloud-native functionality for this product? Is the roadmap officially announced? Or uncertain?
Community/Ecosystem. How vibrant is the community? Social media groups? In-person user groups? Forums?
Depth of native functionality. Last-mile functionality for specific industries natively built into the product?
Quality of publicly available product documentation. How well-documented is the product? Is the documentation available publicly? How updated is the demo content available on YouTube?
Product share and documented commitment. Is the product share reported separately in financial statements if the EAM vendor is public?
Ability to natively support diversified business models. How diverse is the product in supporting multiple business models in the same product?
Acquisition strategy aligned with the product: Any recent acquisitions to fill a specific hole for EAM industries? Any official announcements to integrate recently acquired capabilities?
User Reviews: How specific are the reviews about this product’s capabilities? How recent and frequent are the reviews?
Must be a best-of-breed EAM product: Only products that can be deployed independently without requiring other dependencies such as ERP, CRM, CAD, or MES.
10. Assetworks
Assetworks is ideal for companies seeking a smaller solution in North America with traceability and maintenance requirements of buildings and fleets. Despite supporting diverse asset types compared to smaller solutions, it might not be the best for large, global companies seeking a centralized solution covering many geographic areas and layers with asset types, which would be available with more enterprise-grade solutions such as IFS or IBM Maximo. They might also not be suitable for companies where inventory and cost tracking is a higher priority than mobile and user experience, securing its place at #10 spot on our list of top EAM systems.
Strengths
SMB-friendly. Assetworks offers a more affordable implementation and is well-suited for small to medium-sized businesses.
Can cover both properties and fleets. It can manage both properties and fleets. Typically, the workflows for facilities and fleets differ significantly because fleet management systems often have deep integrations with OEMs, while building-centric solutions might require integration with cities and emergency communication systems.
Polling features. It supports polling features, which is helpful for companies requiring real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance.
Weaknesses
Limited to a few geographies. One limitation you may encounter with Assetworks is its restricted coverage in certain regions. If your operations span multiple locations, it may not support all of them.
It is not as cross-functionally integrated as adding inventory manually. Handling inventory costing or serialization scenarios would be a challenge because of text-based inventory on its business objects and form.
Enterprise search for complex scenarios like inventory items. Typically, enterprise search requires inventory items to be coded. If your inventory is text-based, it becomes difficult for the system to support those search capabilities that other more advanced systems offer.
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Aveva is ideal for OT-centric and industry 4.0 industries seeking a pure-play platform – without future expectations of supporting newer business models (or asset types). Providing the integration with hardware vendors, it’s an ideal fit for companies caring for tight embeddedness in their engineering and MES workflows embedded within the same suite. This architecture generally disconnects the operational and financial aspects but might be beneficial for companies prioritizing their plant operations over the needs of other departments at the corporate level, making its name at #9 spot on our list of top EAM systems.
Strengths
OT-friendly. Aveva is OT-friendly compared to other platforms on this list, supporting the relevant machine and edge integrations required in this industry compared to other platforms on this list.
MES and engineering workflows are part of the suite. Organizations prioritizing the embeddedness of EAM workflows with engineering and MES would find Aveva attractive.
Global footprint. Compared to smaller point solutions such as AssetWorks, Aveva can support relatively global organizations.
Weaknesses
Legacy UI. The technology is outdated and clunky, so the user interface won’t be as modern as that of other platforms.
Might not be fit for every industry. It may not be suitable for every industry as it’s primarily an industry-specific solution covering assets and integration relevant to equipment manufacturers and industry 4.0 industries.
It is not as easy to learn and implement as other smaller solutions. It could be more challenging to learn and implement as its layers designed for mid-market organizations might be overwhelming for smaller organizations.
8. UpKeep Maintenance Management
Similar to smaller-sized systems such as Assetworks, UpKeep maintenance management is a smaller point solution relevant for SMBs seeing a cloud-native, easier-to-use, and mobile-friendly solution. But these benefits come with compromises, which would be relevant for slightly larger organizations caring for slightly more detailed transactions and data integrity. It might not also be relevant for companies seeking global and diverse asset types, securing its spot at #8 spot on our list of top EAM systems.
Strengths
SMB-friendly. SMB companies that are limited in budget and technical skill sets would find it relatively easier to implement and use. Affordable.The solution targets smaller companies and does not layer for mid-sized and enterprise companies, making it super affordable and lightweight for the smaller customer segment it serves.
Mobile-friendly. Since the underlying technology is cloud-native and the data models are not as connected to prioritize user experience, the solution will be user-friendly compared to other larger solutions.
Weaknesses
Limited asset and location hierarchies. This would be a challenge for companies maintaining complex asset types and locations where hierarchies would be critical.
Glitches reported by users. Some users have reported experiencing glitches with the system. With smaller systems that may not be as well-funded, you might encounter similar issues.
Scalability issues with complex scenarios such as re-occurring work orders. Intricate billing scenarios and subscription billing might be challenging to manage with this solution.
7. Brightly (Siemens) Asset Essentials
Brightly Asset Essentials, now owned by Siemens, would primarily be software for companies using Siemens machines without the need for additional workflows or an appetite for other software. Due to Siemens’ focus primarily on selling their machines, and this being an add-on feature, it might not receive the same amount of R&D (or attention) as software providers whose core business is to sell software. Also, the competing machine providers would not be as integrated with their software because the goal of the software is to have vendor lock-in. If you are looking for an agnostic option covering more than what this offers, this might not be the best option. But if you can’t afford another software (or have limited use cases just to track and maintain Siemens machines), this would be a great option, securing its spot at #7 on our list of top EAM systems.
Strengths
SMB-friendly. Primarily a very similar software as AssetWorks for Siemens to differentiate with other machines and have control over their customer’s installations.
Ease of use. Just like AssetWorks or UpKeep, this would be fairly easy to use due to limited process and data layers, with the primary use being Siemens able to control and report about their machines.
Limited reporting. Substantially limited reporting with the use cases limited to what matters to Siemens.
Limited scalability for enterprise use cases and asset types. You will face limited scalability for enterprise use cases if you’re searching for a true enterprise asset management platform that can effectively manage technician workflows and preventive maintenance across various asset types. This may not be the most suitable option.
6. MaintainX
MaintainX is comparable to UpKeep Maintenance and Assetworks, but it is slightly larger and more mid-market friendly than Assetworks. From a technology standpoint, it is cloud-native, mobile-friendly, and offers more layers than Assetworks. Its key strengths are that it’s mid-market friendly, easy to learn and configure, and designed with mobile accessibility in mind. Hence, MaintainX secures the #6 spot on our list of top EAM systems.
Easy to learn and configure. MaintainX boasts a user-friendly interface, making it easy to learn and configure for new users.
Mobile-friendly. It is designed with mobile accessibility in mind, allowing users to manage assets and maintenance tasks.
Weaknesses
More suitable for facility management than fleet. Another limitation of MaintainX is that it is better suited for facility management than for fleet management. While it can handle complex facility management scenarios with multiple layers, it may not be the ideal choice for transportation companies with in-house fleets.
Scalability issues with complex datasets such as nested locations. There are scalability issues with complex data sets, like nested locations, as the layers are generally limited. Overall, this product is not designed for enterprise use. It is focused on the mid-market segment, resulting in those limitations.
Limited security layers. Due to its focus on mid-market, it doesn’t support as detailed security layers as required by enterprises.
5. Fiix
Fiix is also a mid-market-friendly system, with MaintainX being a suitable comparison. It is a cloud-native, mobile-friendly platform that is easy to learn and configure, offering a user-friendly experience similar to MaintainX. In terms of size, it’s larger than smaller systems such as AssetWorks or UpKeep maintenance but smaller than other enterprise-grade systems that may have many detailed security and data layers, securing its spot at #5 on our list of top EAM systems.
Easy to learn and configure. Fiix boasts a user-friendly interface, making it easy to learn and configure for new users.
Mobile-friendly. It is designed with mobile accessibility in mind, allowing users to manage assets and maintenance tasks.
Weaknesses
Limited auditability and controls on work orders. The workflow controls for companies seeking audibility, especially around asset availability or inventory, are likely to be limited, causing issues for companies that care for tighter scheduling and costing processes – along with the collaboration aspect of the system.
Limited scalability for enterprise use cases and asset types. There is limited scalability for enterprise use cases and asset types, which means it may not support all the hierarchies found in systems like IFS or IBM Maximo. These systems offer richer asset types with more detailed hierarchies (and use cases) to accommodate enterprise-grade scenarios.
Data integrity issues are caused by the loose data model. The data model is not as coded as the larger peers – as the system prioritizes user experience over data integrity and control. So, you are likely to have data integrity issues, requiring manual maintenance and governance.
4. Oracle EAM
Oracle EAM is an enterprise-grade asset management product particularly suited for companies using Oracle Cloud ERP. Offering more advanced data models compared to smaller SMB-focused systems, it handles complex asset hierarchies and diverse asset types. However, it lacks the pre-built integrations often found in smaller solutions, leading to a more challenging and resource-intensive implementation. The learning curve is steeper, and using the system generally requires more internal and external expertise, making it harder to use overall. Therefore, Oracle EAM secures the #4 spot on our list of top EAM systems.
Strengths
Enterprise-grade capabilities. From a data model perspective, this products offer much more, but they may lack the numerous pre-built integrations found in smaller systems targeting the SMB sector.
Supports complex assets to support reliability analysis. Supporting complex assets for reliability is essential, especially in sectors like IT, media, and telecom. When aiming to meet reliability metrics and SLAs, particularly when managing customer assets.
Weaknesses
Expensive. Oracle EAM will be expensive from the implementation perspective as it requires a lot of consulting help.
Steep learning curve. The learning curve will be steeper, as is typical with enterprise products, and you will likely need extensive customization during the implementation process.
Might require add-ons for integrated capabilities. The integrated capabilities that might be available with smaller systems might be vanilla with larger systems – as they serve a diverse set of industries, missing specific capabilities for micro-verticals (and asset types).
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IBM Maximo is one of the most widely adopted asset management products, particularly for enterprises, excelling in sectors like public services and non-profits. Its key strength lies in its deep enterprise-grade capabilities to handle complex scenarios, hierarchies, and diverse asset types. Architecturally, it’s similar to Oracle EAM, offering strong data and process models but lacking pre-built integrations. Like Oracle EAM, Maximo can be difficult to use, requiring extensive training, change management, and a significant investment in implementation. However, its high customizability allows for extensive support of unique data models and processes. Therefore, IBM Maximo has secured the #3 spot on our list of top EAM systems.
Strengths
Enterprise-grade capabilities. It possesses robust enterprise-grade capabilities designed to handle all of those complex scenarios.
Hierarchies and attributes. From the IBM Maximo perspective, hierarchies and attributes are crucial, as each asset may require tracking thousands of attributes for effective reporting and planning.
Complex scheduling rules and workflows. Complex scheduling rules and workflows are necessary when managing numerous assets for both yourself and your clients. In this context, IBM Maximo is likely to be an excellent fit due to its enterprise-grade capabilities.
Weaknesses
Limited mobile capabilities. They are going to be fairly limited compared to other EAM systems mentioned in this list because of their legacy technology and tight data model.
Might require add-on for BIM integration. The smaller products are likely to support pre-baked integrations, more in the plug-and-play form, because of the fluidity of their data model, which might not be possible with enterprise products such as IBM Maximo.
2.HxGN EAM
HxGN EAM is also an enterprise-grade asset management solution. Previously owned by Infor, Hexagon now maintains a close alignment with existing Infor installations. However, as a machine provider, Hexagon’s primary focus is on selling its machinery, which leads to tighter integration with its asset management product. While HxGN EAM offers slightly more advanced enterprise capabilities, its incentive is to integrate closely with its own assets to drive sales. It is comparable to IBM Maximo and Oracle EAM but is generally more friendly towards OT applications. In contrast, it may not provide as many layers or detailed capabilities for property management or transportation management scenarios. Therefore, HxGN EAM has secure the #2 spot on our list of top EAM systems.
Strengths
Detailed user privileges. The user privileges in HxGN EAM are quite detailed compared to other smaller point solutions.
Ability to support complex asset installations. Like other Infor products, it excels in workflow, security, user-controlled processes, and customization. This makes it particularly useful for managing and supporting complex asset installations.
Enterprise-grade capabilities to support most asset types. If you’re a manufacturer with a wide variety of assets to track and maintain, HxGN EAM could be an excellent fit. Similar to IBM Maximo, it offers enterprise-grade capabilities to support various asset types, making it a strong choice for enterprise environments.
Weaknesses
Legacy UI. The limitations of HxGN EAM are similar to IBM Maximo, particularly with its legacy user interface, as it’s built on older technology. While IBM Maximo has made some advancements in cloud and data technology, making it slightly faster, HxGN EAM still operates with a more dated UI.
Limited mobile capabilities. The legacy technology and tight data model prevent the same fluid experience that is generally found with smaller systems.
Poorly documented. Users report the software is not as well documented, requiring consulting help with ongoing maintenance and support.
1. IFS EAM
IFS EAM is an enterprise-grade asset management solution that is widely adopted in industries such as MRO, airlines, oil and gas, and telecom. With their workflows closely integrated with field service operations, these sectors typically require complex scheduling and management of intricate assets. A significant advantage of IFS is its two best-of-breed enterprise-grade products, field service management, and enterprise asset management, which work seamlessly together for these industries. Compared to other enterprise-grade solutions like IBM Maximo or Hexagon EAM, IFS offers superior technology, making it somewhat easier to use. Therefore, IFS has secured the #1 spot on our list of top EAM systems.
Strengths
Ease of use. When compared to other enterprise-grade products like IBM Maximo and Hexagon EAM, IFS technology stands out as superior.
Enterprise-grade capabilities. IFS EAM features an underlying data model that supports enterprise-grade scenarios, encompassing capabilities, customization, and workflow security. All these functionalities are integral to the IFS EAM system.
Strong predictive maintenance and facility maintenance capabilities.
Weaknesses
Limited language packs. The language packs are not as comprehensive as enterprise companies would expect for global deployments.
It would require consulting help. Since the product is highly complex and designed for enterprise use cases – with thousands of layers of dependencies within their data model, it requires substantial consulting help with implementation (and ongoing upkeep of the system).
Expensive. SMBs not caring for enterprise layers might feel that the product is relatively more expensive than other smaller point solutions.
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In summary, choosing the right EAM system is a complex decision influenced by various factors, including industry needs, company size, and the specific asset types involved. This list highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the top EAM systems, ranging from SMB-friendly, budget-conscious options to enterprise-grade solutions with advanced capabilities for larger organizations. Whether a company prioritizes mobile accessibility, ease of integration, or highly detailed functionality, each solution has unique advantages and limitations that make it suitable for specific applications. By understanding the nuances of each EAM system, buyers can make informed choices aligned with their asset management goals. While this list offers valuable insights, seeking advice from an independent ERP consultant can greatly enhance the implementation success.
FAQs
What is EAM, and why is it important?
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) refers to the process of managing an organization’s physical assets throughout their lifecycle. EAM systems ensure efficient maintenance, compliance, and optimal utilization of assets, which vary by industry, such as buildings in real estate or fleets in logistics. A well-implemented EAM system helps reduce downtime, improve operational efficiency, and enhance cost management.
How do EAM systems differ for small and large organizations?
EAM systems for smaller organizations are typically easier to use, more affordable, and less complex, focusing on specific use cases. However, they may lack robust data integrity and scalability. In contrast, systems for large enterprises offer comprehensive functionality, support diverse asset types, and manage complex hierarchies, but they require more extensive implementation efforts and training.
What factors should be considered when selecting an EAM system?
Key factors include the company’s industry, asset types, and size. For smaller organizations, ease of use, affordability, and mobile-friendly features may be priorities. For enterprises, capabilities like advanced data models, predictive maintenance, integration with other systems (ERP, CAD, MES), and scalability are crucial. It’s also essential to assess user reviews, vendor financial stability, and the system’s ability to support specific business models.
Marketing Automation. The noisiest category ever – due to lower barriers to entry. Generally, falling within the CRM systems category, specifically handling upstream marketing efforts. One key component is email marketing, but they also include SMS marketing and omnichannel capabilities, often integrating with CMS. Whether embedding widgets on websites through a CMS within the marketing automation framework – or using an external system, all these channels feed into the marketing automation system.
Historically, these systems were siloed, with CRMs focused primarily on data storage and operational workflows from a downstream marketing viewpoint. Marketing automation systems lived in their own world, as they didn’t need to be as tightly embedded as other transactional systems. But things changed as upstream marketing use cases matured and with their resulting traceability requirements. Some CRM systems acquired these point solutions, offering a complete suite. On the other hand, other vendors stronger in marketing automation capabilities built a CRM module from scratch within the same product suite. Built products are likely to provide a consistent experience. The acquired products, in comparison, may not have as consistent experience or tight integration, but they may offer the best-of-breed experience some companies prefer. This is how the marketing automation category has evolved.
In this context, we’re capturing systems that are both part of a suite and best-of-breed solutions. From an architectural perspective, marketing automation systems differ slightly, focusing more on workflows rather than processing transactions, which is more common in operationally focused CRMs. Integration and ecosystem are critical for marketing automation, and these integrations tend to be simpler because the systems aren’t as database-driven; they’re more workflow-oriented. This makes their design, mindset, and architecture distinct. You might already be confused, but don’t worry – we got you – with this article, which provides much-needed clarity on these systems.
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Definition of a marketing automation system. The companies in this market segment would include companies of all sizes needing a marketing automation system as a pure-play category that can be deployed without requiring other dependencies.
Overall market share/# of customers. The higher market share among marketing automation companies drives higher rankings on this list.
Ownership/funding. The superior financial position of the marketing automation vendor leads to higher rankings on this list.
Quality of development. How modern is the tech stack? How aggressively is the marketing automation vendor pushing cloud-native functionality for this product? Is the roadmap officially announced? Or uncertain?
Community/Ecosystem. How vibrant is the community? Social media groups? In-person user groups? Forums?
Depth of native functionality. Last-mile functionality for specific industries natively built into the product?
Quality of publicly available product documentation. How well-documented is the product? Is the documentation available publicly? How updated is the demo content available on YouTube?
Product share and documented commitment. Is the product share reported separately in financial statements if the marketing automation vendor is public?
Ability to natively support diversified business models. How diverse is the product in supporting multiple business models in the same product?
Acquisition strategy aligned with the product: Any recent acquisitions to fill a specific hole for marketing automation industries? Any official announcements to integrate recently acquired capabilities?
User Reviews: How specific are the reviews about this product’s capabilities? How recent and frequent are the reviews?
Must be a best-of-breed marketing automation product: Only products that can be deployed independently without requiring other dependencies such as transactional systems or CRM.
10. Zoho Marketing Automation
Zoho Marketing Automation is designed for companies beginning their marketing automation journey on a budget. Its licensing is more affordable than that of other marketing automation systems. Offering deep integration within its own ecosystem and a robust CRM, it’s suitable for slightly more operationally complex scenarios. If a company has ad hoc customer interaction needs that require capturing various custom objects (and workflows), Zoho is likely a good fit. Therefore, Zoho secures the #10 spot on our list of top marketing automation systems.
Strengths
Workflow automation and forms. Key strength is its workflow automation and form capabilities. Zoho also includes the Zoho Creator platform, which is quite similar to Microsoft’s Power Platform.
Salesforce-like data model. The data model is very similar to Salesforce, allowing operational and transactional scenarios – and not struggling as much with complex hierarchies of business objects required in certain industries.
Journey builder for omni-channel experiences. While Zoho covers several modes to build omni-channel experiences, it might not be as comprehensive as systems such as Braze or Klaviyo, which might offer pre-baked B2C scenarios such as real-time interactive experiences.
Weaknesses
Ecosystem not as robust as HubSpot. The ecosystem is not as robust as that of some other comparable platforms, requiring building most integrations with third-party platforms and increasing implementation costs.
Not meant to be for enterprise use cases. With the substantial limitations baked with its business objects, such as the number of fields (or typed fields) allowed on a business object, it is not specifically designed for enterprise use cases.
Not as natively integrated with data platforms. One key limitation would be its ecosystem of pre-integrated data platforms that might be required for either funneling MQLs automatically to the CRM (or for personalization and segmentation).
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MailChimp is aimed at companies seeking a simpler CRM solution, primarily for B2C industries. It might also be relevant for B2B startups – as long as it’s used as a pure-play marketing automation platform. This would be for simpler B2B use cases, such as sending newsletters with relatively simpler tracking requirements (and customer hierarchies). Tailored for startups, it lacks the robust security features of other platforms. Customizability can also be limited, making it less suitable for mid-market, enterprise, or apartment market companies. Therefore, Mailchimp secures the #9 spot on our list of top marketing automation systems.
Strengths
Audiences. It maintains several audiences with different subscription preferences (and communication needs). But note that the same contact included with multiple audiences is treated as a different contact, requiring paying twice for the same contact.
Segments and Campaign Builder. The campaign builder is easy to use and can be picked up easily by most business users. But note the limitations on the number of journeys allowed with each plan.
Support. As of today, MailChimp support is decent and responsive, making it easier for startups with limited implementation and support budgets.
Weaknesses
Limited security layers compared to Pardot. The security layers it provides are not as robust compared to those available with HubSpot or Salesforce.
Would require an additional CRM. You would need an additional CRM, as this platform may not function effectively for transactional use cases or for downstream workflows.
Limited reporting. The pre-baked reporting is substantially limited. Getting meaningful data to design campaigns might not be as easy – and at times not even possible, without over-engineered (and risky) ad-hoc arrangements.
8. ClickDimensions
ClickDimensions is part of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 ecosystem. The core CRM features within the Microsoft platform are robust, allowing for the accommodation and customization of various business models. But it’s not as robust for upstream marketing automation features, hence the need for a ClickDimensions add-on. But even ClickDimension is limited. For upstream marketing and comprehensive omnichannel traceability, including CMS integrations with multiple platforms in the Microsoft ecosystem, ClickDimensions falls short. It lacks the richness and integration of capabilities found in platforms like HubSpot or Salesforce Pardot. Therefore, ClickDimensions secures the #8 spot on our list of top marketing automation systems.
Strengths
Marketing automation workflows. You will have access to essential marketing automation workflows that are sufficiently robust to ensure a strong alignment with Microsoft Dynamics products.
Tight alignment for MS 365. To maintain a strong alignment with Microsoft Dynamics products, ClickDimensions may be the only embedded and integrated option available unless you consider expensive, custom integration.
Well-adopted platform in the MS ecosystem. Additionally, it is widely accepted within the Microsoft ecosystem, making it a significant advantage for companies using Microsoft solutions.
Weaknesses
Very small player compared to other platforms. The limitations you may encounter include being a relatively small player in comparison to others in the market. Their R&D budget is limited, which means they won’t have the same capabilities as larger platforms like HubSpot or Salesforce.
Limited omnichannel capabilities. The channel capabilities are going to be limited and not natively integrated with data platforms.
Not as natively integrated with data platforms. There is no native integration with data platforms. For instance, when considering integrations with services like ZoomInfo or Apollo, the options may be either limited or entirely absent.
7. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Apps
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Apps has a Customer Insights product, which is primarily a CDP product that can integrate with several marketing automation execution systems. However, even Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights could be used for simpler marketing automation workflows, and it is used by companies on their ERP or CRM. The biggest challenge with the product would be to manage richer omnichannel and personalization scenarios possible with other marketing automation products such as Klaviyo or Braze. Therefore, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Apps secures the #7 spot on our list of top marketing automation systems.
Strengths
Customer journeys. Straightforward customer journeys can be easily managed without requiring another specialized system for marketing automation.
Tight embeddedness with MS stack. Marketing could be a suitable option since it is already integrated with the core product, eliminating the need to navigate third-party contracts or systems.
Strong embedded CRM and field services workflows. This is especially true from a customer service and call center standpoint, where you’ll likely need extensive integrations.
Weaknesses
Limited CMS, social, and ad workflows. The limitations you may encounter include restricted integrations with your CMS and data platforms. You won’t find as many integration options available, particularly when it comes to social media and advertising workflows, which may also be limited.
Ecosystem not strong with upstream marketing and data providers. But for simpler marketing automation workflows, it’s not a bad option.
Rigid user and security model. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. On the positive side, if your data is highly structured and relational, you may find this rigidity beneficial. However, it may also make it more challenging to leverage the flexibility offered by systems like HubSpot or Salesforce.
6. ActiveCampaign
Active Campaign is aimed at companies seeking a more affordable option. Generally, marketing automation systems determine their pricing based on the number of subscribed emails and the monthly email volume. This pricing structure can lead to high costs, especially with platforms like HubSpot or Pardot, which can be quite expensive for businesses that send numerous emails but sell lower-priced products. This pricing model can be a barrier for many companies, making Active Campaign a more cost-effective choice compared to other platforms. Therefore, ActiveCampaign secures the #6 spot on our list of top marketing automation systems.
Strengths
Core marketing automation workflows. The core marketing automation workflows are integrated into the suite, providing a comprehensive solution. These workflows streamline various marketing tasks, making them an essential part of the overall platform.
Cost. ActiveCampaign offers more competitive pricing compared to other platforms. Additionally, it provides a more robust suite of features than MailChimp.
Well-adopted. ActiveCampaign is widely adopted, particularly when compared to platforms like ClickDimensions or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights. It boasts a significantly higher number of installations, especially within the email marketing community, and is a well-established product in the space.
Weaknesses
Not as comprehensive as other options. In terms of capabilities, it doesn’t offer the same level of comprehensiveness as some of the other available options.
Limited ecosystem. Their ecosystem would not be as robust as HubSpot or Salesforce, with the number of options available for data platforms, ad and omnichannel integrations, and CMS providers.
Does not have a CRM as part of the suite. It lacks a true CRM component for transactional and downstream CRM workflows within the suite, unlike other products such as Salesforce or Microsoft.
5. Klaviyo
Klaviyo has gained significant popularity recently, particularly among companies operating in a B2C ecosystem. Customer journeys in B2C environments tend to focus on managing touchpoints from a purchase cycle perspective rather than engaging with various touchpoints through content. As a result, Klaviyo is an excellent fit for companies looking to streamline and optimize these purchase-driven interactions. Therefore, Klaviyo secures the #5 spot on our list of top marketing automation systems.
Strengths
B2C-specific journeys and integrations. Customer journeys with B2C companies are distinct, focusing on managing touchpoints from the purchase cycle perspective rather than driving touchpoints through content. This is where Klaviyo’s strength lies, as it is well-suited for handling B2C journey management effectively.
Easy to use and implement. One of the biggest advantages of Klaviyo is that it’s easier for business users to use compared to other enterprise platforms, such as Braze. Platforms such as Braze might require technical expertise for channel integration and data workflows.
Friendly for companies on Shopify. Klaviyo is deeply integrated into the Shopify ecosystem and is widely adopted among Shopify users. If you’re a product-centric or commerce-focused company using Shopify, Klaviyo could be a more suitable option for your needs.
Weaknesses
Billing based on active profiles and usage could be trickier to understand. The billing process can be more complex, and estimating costs may also pose challenges. Their pricing model is based on active profiles or usage, and consumption-based pricing can often be difficult to predict.
Not fit for B2B companies. The B2B companies have very different customer structures and marketing automation workflows compared to the event-centric and real-time workflows of B2C. So, B2B companies might struggle with it.
Expensive. Klaviyo could be expensive for companies that are heavy on emails compared to other platforms on this list.
4. Oracle Eloqua
It is an excellent choice for companies with a slight enterprise focus, especially those using Oracle Cloud CX. Oracle acquired Eloqua, a powerful enterprise-grade product, and integrated it into its Oracle Marketing suite. This solution is particularly well-suited for B2C industries like media and telecommunications, where there are numerous customer touchpoints. Oracle Eloqua excels in ad-centric customer journeys, offering robust content management and other key capabilities as part of the same suite. Additionally, it provides enterprise-level workflows, supporting seamless alignment with field service and call center operations. Therefore, Oracle Eloqua secures the #4 spot on our list of top marketing automation systems.
Strengths
Enterprise-grade capabilities include landing pages, webinars, events, and depth with custom objects. Enterprise-grade capabilities, including enterprise security, landing pages, webinars, and events, are all part of this solution.
Pre-built integration with Oracle CX. One key advantage is that it is tightly embedded and integrated with Oracles’ other applications. So that’s a huge plus for companies already using other Oracle enterprise apps seeking connectivity and traceability with other downstream applications.
Omnichannel workflows. The platform is relatively omnichannel, but it might not be as plug-and-play and fluid as other modern platforms such as Klaviyo.
Weaknesses
Integration not as embedded with CRM. While Eloqua is integrated with the CRM, but the experience might be as embedded as with products created from scratch for seamless collaboration between these two systems, such as HubSpot.
Steep learning curve. Its enterprise workflow and security layers might be overwhelming for SMB customers looking for simpler solutions with a limited implementation budget.
Expensive. SMBs might not appreciate the price tag – and some of the capabilities offered might not even be relevant for the SMBs.
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Adobe Marketer Engage is a robust enterprise-level product that is comparable to solutions like Eloqua and Salesforce’s Pardot. With capabilities baked in, such as events providing omnichannel experiences for design-heavy organizations such as B2C and media, it’s friendlier for B2C industries. It offers advanced capabilities for consolidating various channels, including web ads, into a unified portfolio. This tool enables businesses to track engagements and monitor customer journeys across multiple platforms, making it an ideal solution for enterprises looking to manage and optimize their marketing efforts on a large scale. Therefore, Adobe Marketo Engage secures the #3 spot on our list of top marketing automation systems.
Strengths
Customizability for enterprise use cases. Workflow and security layers are highly customizable for enterprise use cases.
Robust campaign program management features. Larger organizations generally have programs with multiple campaigns covering many different organization-wide goals, needing enterprise-grade capabilities for campaign program management that might not be relevant for SMBs.
Event partner integration. The event capabilities are highly critical for media and event companies as they need to manage their communication as part of the same platform used for event logistics management.
Weaknesses
Expensive. SMBs not looking for enterprise features generally find it expensive.
Legacy feeling. The UI is fairly legacy compared to other products.
Requires coding skills to build landing pages. Business users might need to work with developers for simpler workflows that are as simple as building landing pages.
2.Salesforce Marketing Automation (Pardot)
Salesforce marketing automation is an excellent choice for enterprise companies already using Salesforce CRM, although it works with other CRM products, too. Its strengths include the ability to create custom fields on core Salesforce objects for marketing automation and the availability of an exposed SQL layer, which allows for detailed analysis and segmentation—offering a level of granularity that is often not found in competing products. However, the integration with core CRM objects remains relatively shallow, limiting end-to-end traceability and making it feel as though users are navigating two separate silos, securing the #2 spot on our list of the top marketing automation systems.
Strengths
Enterprise-grade custom fields on top of the core CRM objects. One major advantage of the Pardot product is the ability to create custom fields on top of the core Salesforce objects for marketing automation purposes.
SQL-based querying and analytics capabilities. Another key feature is the exposed SQL layer, allowing for in-depth analysis of various scenarios from a segmentation perspective. This level of granularity is rare among other products on the market, making it more suitable for enterprise use.
Enterprise-grade security. Workflow security is essential, particularly for large marketing teams, as it helps control email campaigns. Also, establishing approval workflows and implementing workflow security is crucial; it allows you to restrict access and manage marketing automation processes effectively.
Weaknesses
Not as embedded experience with Salesforce CRM. It often feels like operating in two separate silos for companies seeking seamless integration between their CRM and marketing automation components.
Expensive. Salesforce marketing cloud is more expensive than other smaller point solutions with simpler workflow and security layers.
Steep learning curve. Enterprise-grade workflows and security layers require substantial training for users with limited technical skills.
1. HubSpot
HubSpot is ideal for content-driven B2B organizations heavy on upstream marketing workflows requiring tight embeddedness with their web workflows. It is widely adopted and integrated platforms, particularly in the marketing automation and CMS space, providing seamless integration with ad platforms, CMS systems, and data providers. Its pre-built integrations make it ideal for consolidating customer interactions and marketing strategies. However, HubSpot’s limitations arise in complex operational use cases, as its object structure and customizability may not meet the needs of companies heavy on transactional and operational workflows. Hence, HubSpot secures the #1 spot on our list of the top marketing automation systems.
Strengths
Ecosystem. HubSpot has one of the most vibrant ecosystems, especially when it comes to connecting with various ad platforms or data platforms that are part of the marketing stack.
Integration with upstream marketing providers such as CMS and data companies. The integration with upstream marketing providers, like CMS and data companies, is also included, especially if you’re using HubSpot CMS.
Embedded CMS. It is likely to be one of the most widely adopted platforms in the CMS community as well. The other systems may rely on third-party CMS systems, limiting the interconnectedness and seamless interactions between these two systems.
Weaknesses
Weak object structure for core CRM, such as parent-child relationships. The core object structure of HubSpot, particularly in operational scenarios, is weaker compared to other systems defined for transactional and downstream workflows such as HubSpot or Zoho.
Limited customizability for enterprise use cases. When it comes to customizability for complex operational use cases, HubSpot is significantly limited.
Not meant to be for commerce-driven B2C industries. Commerce workflows require different events and integration, along with the object structure. HubSpot is not necessarily designed for B2C-centric industries.
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The evolution of marketing automation has created a diverse ecosystem, where each platform brings unique strengths and limitations to the table. Platforms like HubSpot and Salesforce Pardot dominate with their strong integration capabilities and enterprise-grade features, making them suitable for complex workflows and large organizations. Meanwhile, options like Zoho and MailChimp serve smaller businesses and startups by offering more accessible, cost-effective solutions, though they may lack robust integrations and advanced security features found in enterprise systems. While this list offers valuable insights, seeking advice from an independent ERP consultant can greatly enhance your implementation success.
FAQs
What is a marketing automation system, and how does it differ from CRM?
A marketing automation system focuses on upstream marketing workflows, such as email marketing, SMS campaigns, and omnichannel marketing. Unlike CRM systems, which manage downstream workflows and data storage, marketing automation systems are more workflow-oriented and emphasize customer journey management and campaign execution. They integrate with CMS and other tools for seamless marketing operations.
Are marketing automation systems suitable for small businesses?
Yes, marketing automation systems like Zoho Marketing Automation and MailChimp cater to small businesses and startups. They offer affordable licensing and user-friendly features for basic workflows, such as email campaigns and simple customer segmentation. However, their functionality may be limited compared to enterprise-level systems, making them less suitable for complex business needs.
What factors should businesses consider when choosing a marketing automation platform?
Businesses should evaluate integration capabilities with existing tools like CRM and CMS, the platform’s cost based on features and email volume, and its customization options for tailored workflows. Scalability to meet future growth and a strong support ecosystem with user communities and customer service are also critical. Platforms like HubSpot suit enterprises, while ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo are ideal for smaller or B2C-focused businesses.
Unlike most other industries, field service industries have their own “personalities,” with varying business processes depending upon the micro-vertical. An example of these micro-verticals could be traditional field service categories such as appliance repair – or home cleaning (think field workers carrying mobile devices!). However, they could also be the field service department intertwined with other business processes such as engineering, production, or post-sales service. While several ERP systems contain a field service module, the field service systems are generally best-of-breed. With transactional speed requirements similar to those of a POS or CRM-centric architecture, they are generally not as embedded with other operational processes.
Often regarded as another touchpoint from the customer perspective, field service processes sometimes overlap with CRM instead of ERP processes. But generalized CRM systems struggle in this industry, requiring substantial tailoring, which is especially challenging for organizations with limited IT maturity and budget, so field service systems generally incorporate CRM processes as well. With the integration and CPQ requirements being fairly unique, the integration could be very similar to CRM or EDI categories. In these integration scenarios, external sales or marketing channels may funnel the pipeline while the field service system acts as the order capture interface. Due to the layers with quoting variables, the CPQ requirements might be equally challenging.
Additionally, field service systems may integrate with CAD systems, particularly in industries like oil and gas or Industry 4.0. In these cases, they support device servicing, data collection, and monitoring. Overall, field service systems have evolved significantly, and now their suites could be as thick as a CRM or ERP.
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Definition of a field service company. The companies in this market segment would include companies of all sizes with field service operations such as home service, appliance repair, paint or small construction jobs, large CapEx medical devices, insurance, financial services, or data center companies.
Overall market share/# of customers. Higher market share among field service companies drives higher rankings on this list.
Ownership/funding. The superior financial position of the field service vendor leads to higher rankings on this list.
Quality of development. How modern is the tech stack? How aggressively is the field service vendor pushing cloud-native functionality for this product? Is the roadmap officially announced? Or uncertain?
Community/Ecosystem. How vibrant is the community? Social media groups? In-person user groups? Forums?
Depth of native functionality. Last-mile functionality for specific industries natively built into the product?
Quality of publicly available product documentation. How well-documented is the product? Is the documentation available publicly? How updated is the demo content available on YouTube?
Product share and documented commitment. Is the product share reported separately in financial statements if the field service vendor is public?
Ability to natively support diversified business models. How diverse is the product in supporting multiple business models within the same product suite?
Acquisition strategy aligned with the product: Any recent acquisitions to fill a specific hole for field service industries? Any official announcements to integrate recently acquired capabilities?
User Reviews: How specific are the reviews about this product’s capabilities? How recent and frequent are the reviews?
Must be a field service product: this needs to be a best-of-breed product. It can’t be a module of an ERP system.
10. Jobber
Jobber primarily functions as a relatively small system designed to integrate with QuickBooks for field service management. While it offers effective scheduling capabilities, its inventory management may not be as comprehensive. This can pose challenges, particularly with job costing, from an operational and project management perspective. Although you’ll be able to schedule resources and manage calendars efficiently, tracking the profitability of jobs could be difficult due to the limitations in inventory coding. On the positive side, these simplified features also mean the implementation process will be much easier. Therefore, Jobber secures the #10 spot on our list of top field service systems.
Strengths
Easier implementation as data models are not coded. Switching from QuickBooks makes implementation easier since data like customers, vendors, and inventory doesn’t require recoding.
Great for scheduling. The operational scheduling is robust with integrated resource availability. But any cost-related scenarios might be a stretch for Jobber.
Great for timesheets. Since it codes resources and availability as part of the calendar functionality, the timesheet capabilities would be a plus with this system.
Weaknesses
Data integrity issues. These issues arise because of loosely coded datasets, a design choice aimed at reducing implementation costs. You can easily fix them manually by applying governance rules and processes, as the fluid data model without business rules allows flexibility.
Not scalable for financial cross-functional use cases. From a process governance perspective, it won’t scale well for cross-functional, finance-centric use cases.
Billing and invoicing might be challenging. Missing connectivity between your inventory and financial data sets requires relying on ad-hoc arrangements, especially if you frequently edit invoices or billing.
9. Oracle Field Service
Oracle Field Service is an enterprise-grade solution, unlike Jobber, which is more introductory. It is ideal for companies using Oracle Cloud ERP, typically large enterprises. Oracle has a significant market share in industries like media, oil and gas, and service-centric businesses, offering tailored capabilities. It’s also highly robust in the public sector, particularly for scenarios like emergency communication that require device integration in the field, with many of these features natively built into the solution. Therefore, Oracle Field Service secures the #9 spot on our list of top field service systems.
Strengths
Great for complex enterprise use cases such as call handling and dispatching.An excellent fit for enterprises with large call centers and complex dispatch processes.
GPS routing, including traffic. Scenarios involving highly complex GPS routing, especially with weather patterns and other variables, make Oracle Field Service a perfect fit.
Global cloud footprint for companies concerned about their data locations.Funding organizations in the nonprofit or public sector often impose data residency requirements, mandating that data be stored within a specific country. In such cases, Oracle Field Service is likely the better solution.
Weaknesses
Bloated for SMBs. The limitations of Oracle Field Service include the complexity of its layers, as well as the data and process modeling required.
Steep learning curve. Enterprise-centric use cases make the system implementation significantly more expensive. Additionally, the multiple layers contribute to a steep learning curve.
Not mobile friendly. It’s likely that Oracle Field Service won’t be as mobile-friendly as some of the other solutions on the list, such as Jobber. Newer technologies tend to offer better mobile compatibility.
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ServiceNow offers various templates tailored for field service companies. However, it has traditionally been more focused on IT-centric, data center-centric businesses that require IT planning and compliance. It handles more complex tasks like integrating with data center devices, managing billing and invoicing, and supporting hardware-based consumption billing. These are the scenarios where ServiceNow is an ideal fit. Hence, ServiceNow Field Service Management secures the #8 spot on our list of top field service systems.
Strengths
Fluid architecture for ad-hoc business processes. ServiceNow is a great fit when you need a fluid architecture for ad hoc business processes that aren’t formalized enough to be hosted within an ERP.
Data model and processes pre-populated for IT-centric processes. IT-centric businesses will benefit greatly from the pre-populated data model and processes, as many of the compliance procedures are particularly relevant to those industries. They are likely to find a solution that is more aligned with their needs.
Mobile-friendly. The technology is designed to be highly mobile-friendly and scalable, making it suitable for mobile-centric interfaces. It works well with various devices, whether you are integrating with industry-standard folders, IoT devices, or edge devices.
Weaknesses
Overly bloated IT data model for SMBs. ServiceNow can be overly bloated, and its complex data model may not be well-received by SMBs, as navigating the various layers to operate within the model can be challenging. While it excels for enterprises, it may not suit SMBs seeking simpler, more prescriptive processes and interfaces.
Expensive consulting help. As a result of these factors, consulting costs are likely to be significantly higher.
Service Fusion is ideal for home services SMBs looking for a suite that combines commerce and field service. It’s slightly more advanced than Jobber, but still a smaller solution compared to some of the other products on this list. Therefore, Service Fusion secures the #7 spot on our list of top field service systems.
Strengths
Pre-integrated suite.Service Fusion would be especially friendly for companies that might have overlapping field service processes with eCommerce. Certain industries require it, making it an ideal option for them without expensive integration.
Easy to set up and use. It will be easy to set up and use due to its prescriptive workflows, but your data sets may not be as well integrated.
Weaknesses
Glitchy. It is likely to be glitchy, as users have reported minor issues on various review forums.
Poor support after acquisition. While the vendor-provided and maintained integration of commerce and field service capabilities is a benefit, support quality may be a concern due to their private equity acquisition.
No updates to the software. Their private equity seems to be prioritizing marketing makeup over product innovation. Consequently, expect issues with Service Fusion.
6. ServicePower
ServicePower is ideal for relatively larger companies seeking a stronger scheduling engine along with fully managed offerings, including field service workers for verticals, especially for insurance or utility industries. Without a strong ecosystem, especially for industries such as home or appliance repair, ServiceTitan might not be a great fit for those industries, securing its rank at #6 on this list.
Strengths
Enterprise-grade scheduling. One of ServicePower’s biggest strengths is its enterprise-grade scheduling component. In fact, some other solutions on this list also use this advanced, patented scheduling technology to power their scheduling capabilities.
Managed services. A unique aspect of ServicePower is its managed service offering, which allows you to completely outsource your field service functions, including hiring, recruiting, retaining, and communicating with third-party vendors.
Can manage both employed and third-party service providers. ServicePower can manage both in-house employees and third-party service providers using the same solution.
Weaknesses
Might not be as integrated as ServiceTitan. The ecosystem with marketing or compliance is far more developed with other solutions, requiring custom integrations with Service Power.
Not as complete suite as Service Fusion. For industries requiring eCommerce embeddedness, other solutions on this list might be a superior fit.
Not for enterprises. While Service Power technology is used by larger solutions to power enterprises, their solution might not be the best fit for larger enterprises.
5. ServiceMax
ServiceMax is ideal for enterprises seeking a native Salesforce platform with industry 4.0 use cases. Now owned by PTC, ServiceMax is a great fit for industries where field service needs integrate closely with CAD or PLM products. It’s particularly useful in industry 4.0 scenarios that involve communication with edge devices, data collection, and combining that data with field service monitoring. Hence, ServiceMax secures the #5 spot on our list of top field service systems.
Strengths
PTC offerings provided as part of the suite. The integration with PTC offerings can be a great fit, depending on the industry. However, if you seek more Industry 4.0 capabilities in your solution, ServiceMax may be the better choice.
Salesforce embedded experience. ServiceMax is built on the Salesforce platform but lacks deeper capabilities and integrations found in Salesforce’s native field service solution. Salesforce offers two primary solutions, with their own offering being the preferred choice. However, in specific industries, ServiceMax may be a better fit due to its alignment with certain needs.
Communication challenges with core Salesforce objects. Communication with core Salesforce processes won’t be as seamless as with Salesforce’s native solution like the one offered through the Salesforce Service Cloud.
Not SMB friendly. With its enterprise-grade workflow and process layers, it might be too overwhelming for SMB companies.
Limited mobile capabilities. Due to its legacy technology, mobile capabilities are not as user-friendly and flexible as with other solutions on this list.
4. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service is ideal for companies already using Microsoft Dynamics products, whether it’s the CE suite or any of Microsoft’s ERP solutions. Its enterprise-grade and customizable model fits uniquely for companies seeking to customize these capabilities on top of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service Platform. With the risk of being perceived as overwhelming, it might not be the best for SMB companies simpler and prescriptive solution without requiring an expensive implementation.
Strengths
Integrated MS suite. Similar to the CRM category, the field service solution will necessitate more variations, whether you are considering field service payments or integrating with multiple channels to acquire these needs. Therefore, Dynamics 365 Field Service could be an excellent fit for your requirements.
Cloud-native. Unlike other solutions on this list with legacy interfaces, this solution has been completely rearchitected using cloud-native technologies, which is especially relevant for the field workforce.
Extensibility for custom workflows. It will be especially friendly for companies requiring custom workflows without as many constraints as are generally found with smaller solutions.
Weaknesses
Reliance on third-party add-ons for suite offerings. The limitation of this solution is its reliance on various third-party add-ons, which introduces implementation risks and a longer vendor list. This can lead to higher implementation costs and require significant IT expertise for architectural design.
Ecosystem not as integrated or developed for field-service sales-centric use cases. Unlike ServiceTitan, which is likely to have integration with several customer-facing channels and marketing-centric use cases, MS Dynamics would require custom integration, increasing the implementation costs.
Not fit for SMBs. The layers with this solution might be too over-bloated for companies looking for simpler solutions to be implemented on a limited budget.
3. Salesforce Field Service
Salesforce Field Service is another solution within the Salesforce ecosystem, part of the Field Service Cloud they offer. It’s fit for comapnies already on Salesforce looking for embedded experience with Salesforce CRM and CPQ processes.It might not be the best fit for companies not on Salesforce or seeking prescriptive solutions with pre-configured processes for industries such as home services or paint, securing its rank at #3 on this list.
Strengths
Seamless integration with other Salesforce offerings. This solution offers superior communication with your Salesforce objects and integrates seamlessly with the CRM and marketing automation platforms. Therefore, when seeking a consolidated view in one solution, Salesforce Field Service is an excellent choice.
Salesforce ecosystem. It is ideal for all call center-centric scenarios, as it offers numerous apps designed to enhance customer experience. When these processes align with your field service operations, Salesforce Field Service becomes an excellent choice.
Enterprise-grade service management capabilities. If you’re considering enterprise-grade service management capabilities, whether from a specialized or scheduling perspective, you will find all those functionalities available.
Weaknesses
Not SMB friendly. It is not particularly friendly for SMBs and is primarily designed for specialized, service-centric workflows. You may encounter difficulties if your operational processes need to be integrated with your field service processes.
Only designed for best-of-breed service-centric workflows. It is not the best fit for industries where the interconnectedness of financial, cost, or inventory data with customer-facing workflows would be a requirement.
Requires consulting and enterprise architecture expertise. Designing a solution around this particular framework will necessitate extensive consulting and expertise in enterprise architecture.
2. IFS Field Service Management Software
IFS field service management offers the best of both worlds, combining field service capabilities with tight integration into the ERP layers provided by the same vendor. While IFS excels in managing operational processes, challenges may arise with CX-centric processes, such as integrating with your call center or CRM systems. This can become more costly, as these capabilities may need to be custom-built. IFS offers flexibility similar to ServiceMax for Industry 4.0 scenarios, but it doesn’t cover all aspects of customer experience. Choosing the right architecture depends on your priorities. If operational integration and flexibility in field service are key, IFS is a solid choice. Hence, IFS field service management software has secured the #2 spot on our list of top field service systems.
Strengths
Suitable for industries with intertwined EAM and field service workflows. IFS is an excellent choice for asset-centric companies with distinct operational models as part of their EAM solution.
Supports both best-of-breed and embedded workflows. The key strength of IFS is that it can support both best-of-breed and embedded workflows, unlike most point solutions on this list.
Cloud-native. IFS is a cloud-native technology, which is essential for field service companies. Its scheduling component has demonstrated effectiveness with large workloads, including those from Fortune 500 companies.
Weaknesses
Overwhelming for SMBs. The extensive process coding, and data required could be overwhelming for SMBs. This might prove to be very costly for them, and they may not appreciate the multiple layers involved with the solution.
Limited North America presence. While they are performing well in North America, their presence remains limited, as they do not have as many logos, at least for now.
Limited integration with marketing and call center-centric workflows. Unlike modern solutions that are designed to embed marketing and call-center-centric workflows, IFS is not the right fit for those use cases.
ERP Selection Requirements Template
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ServiceTitan is ideal for SMBs, particularly those in residential services, seeking a user-friendly solution with a lower implementation cost. It offers strong connection points, especially for CRM and lead management. In field service businesses, ServiceTitan often functions as the CRM, with robust capabilities to support these workflows. Most companies in this sector likely won’t need an additional CRM to manage their processes. Therefore, ServiceTitan holds the #1 spot on our list of top field service systems.
Strengths
Pre-baked integration. From the ServiceTitan perspective, you can expect a greater number of pre-built integrations. The design philosophy of ServiceTitan is highly workflow-centric, focusing on enhancing both the customer and employee experience in field service.
Marketplace. The marketplace and ecosystem represent one of the largest and most comprehensive suites available for SMBs, particularly in the residential services sector.
Comprehensive suite for SMBs. The capabilities captured as part of the suite are fairly comprehensive for SMBs seeking a prescriptive solution with a limited implementation budget.
Weaknesses
Not meant for enterprises. The prescriptive process and data model might not have the flexibility and the layers that an enterprise would require because of the complexity of its business model.
Limited to best-of-breed setting. Another limitation is that it is restricted to best-of-breed scenarios where your field service must operate independently. If you seek operational correlation with your ERP processes, this could present a challenge.
Only fit for residential services. Overall, while ServiceTitan is well-suited for residential services, it may not be the best fit or as widely adopted in other industries, such as insurance or utilities.
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ERP Implementation Failure Recovery
Learn how Frederick Wildman struggled with Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP implementation failure even after spending over $5M and what options they had for recovery.
Each solution reviewed here excels in specific areas, from enterprise-grade scalability to SMB-friendly implementations and specialized workflows. However, selecting the right field service management software hinges on understanding the unique requirements of your industry, business size, and operational model. While Jobber and ServiceTitan are strong choices for smaller businesses focused on ease of use and residential services, Oracle and ServiceNow offer robust, complex capabilities ideal for larger organizations with advanced operational needs. Solutions like IFS and ServiceMax provide flexibility for industries requiring tightly integrated ERP and field service workflows, supporting complex use cases like Industry 4.0. Ultimately, the best choice depends on aligning the software’s strengths with your business objectives and resources. While this list offers valuable insights, seeking advice from an independent ERP consultant can greatly enhance the implementation success.
FAQs
What industries commonly use field service management systems?
Field service management systems cater to a wide range of industries, including home services, appliance repair, small construction, medical devices, insurance, financial services, and data centers. These systems are also tailored for enterprise-grade industries such as oil and gas, utilities, and manufacturing that integrate field service with engineering and production workflows.
How do field service systems differ from ERP or CRM systems?
Field service systems are designed specifically for managing field operations like scheduling, dispatching, and servicing, with a focus on transactional speed similar to POS or CRM systems. Unlike ERP systems, they prioritize mobility and customer interaction touchpoints. They often overlap with CRM processes but provide deeper functionality tailored for field service use cases, such as quoting (CPQ), device integration, and mobile workforce management.
What factors should businesses consider when selecting a field service management system?
Key factors include the company size, industry requirements, and operational complexity. Considerations include ease of implementation, integration with ERP or CRM systems, mobile capabilities, support for custom workflows, scalability, and vendor support. For SMBs, user-friendly and cost-effective solutions like ServiceTitan or Jobber may be ideal, while enterprises may benefit from robust systems like Oracle Field Service or IFS Field Service Management.
Plastic extrusion companies. Used in various industries such as construction, automotive, aerospace, medical, packaging, consumer goods, electronics, and agriculture, they specialize in the manufacturing process called plastic extrusion. Because of its material efficiency, continuous production, and minimal post-processing needs, it differs from other manufacturing companies. The business model could be B2B or B2C. In the case of B2B, it involves large-scale production, long-term contracts, and customization services to meet specific client needs while focusing on cost efficiency and quality assurance.
Plastic extrusion business processes. The process starts by selecting and preparing raw plastic materials, melting and mixing them, and then forcing them through a die to create specific shapes. The next steps are cooling these shapes, cutting them to a length, and applying additional finishing processes. Additionally, effective supply chain and logistics management ensures the smooth flow of materials and finished goods, including inventory management, packaging, and distribution. Regular maintenance of equipment and providing customer support for product customization and after-sales services are also vital to ensure efficient, high-quality production and delivery.
Plastic extrusion ERP needs. Requiring advanced capabilities in inventory management, production planning, and scheduling, and integrated quality control, they need mature capabilities in supply chain management to streamline procurement and logistics. These processes might also be comparatively complex due to the diverse range of raw materials, coordination of multiple extrusion lines, and adaptation to fluctuating order demands. Additionally, handling custom orders requires flexible processes and effective communication, making ERP selection substantially challenging for plastic extrusion companies.
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Definition of a plastic extrusion company. They specialize in the manufacturing process called plastic extrusion, used in various industries such as construction, automotive, aerospace, medical, packaging, consumer goods, electronics, and agriculture.
Overall market share/# of customers. The higher market share among plastic extrusion companies drives higher rankings on this list.
Ownership/funding. The superior financial position of the ERP vendor leads to higher rankings on this list.
Quality of development. How modern is the tech stack? How aggressively is the ERP vendor pushing cloud-native functionality for this product? Is the roadmap officially announced? Or uncertain?
Community/Ecosystem. How vibrant is the community? Social media groups? In-person user groups? Forums?
Depth of native functionality. Last-mile functionality for specific industries natively built into the product?
Quality of publicly available product documentation. How well-documented is the product? Is the documentation available publicly? How updated is the demo content available on YouTube?
Product share and documented commitment. Is the product share reported separately in financial statements if the ERP vendor is public?
Ability to natively support diversified business models. How diverse is the product in supporting multiple business models in the same product?
Acquisition strategy aligned with the product: Any recent acquisitions to fill a specific hole for plastic extrusion industries? Any official announcements to integrate recently acquired capabilities?
User Reviews: How specific are the reviews about this product’s capabilities? How recent and frequent are the reviews?
Must be an ERP product: Edge products such as HCM, CRM, eCommerce, MES, or accounting solutions that are not fully integrated to support enterprise-wide capabilities are not qualified for this list.
10. Plex
Plex is an excellent choice for plastic extrusion companies, particularly those operating within the Ford or Toyota ecosystems. It adopts a strong MES-first approach, making it a great fit for businesses with highly active shop floors that prioritize Industry 4.0 scenarios. Therefore, plastic suppliers within the automotive ecosystem are likely to find Plex especially appealing. Hence, Plex has secured the #10 spot on our list of top plastic extrusion ERP systems.
Strengths
MES-first approach. It adopts a MES-first approach, making it an ideal choice for businesses with highly active shop floors and a focus on Industry 4.0 scenarios. It’s particularly well-suited for plastic suppliers within the automotive ecosystem, where the capabilities are likely to be highly valued.
Stronger automotive last mile compliance capabilities. It offers robust automotive last-mile capabilities that come pre-built, reducing the need for third-party solutions. This ensures that you have comprehensive, ready-made street capabilities that might require additional vendors with other systems.
Cloud-native. They started as a cloud-native platform, so the experience is likely to be superior.
Weaknesses
Weaker plastic-centric core product and scheduling layers. The plastic industry has unique complexities, particularly in process manufacturing. While some products gain wide adoption for covering plastic-centric processes, these processes often present complications, especially with formulation recipes. Although issues like catch weight may be less prevalent, other typical process manufacturing challenges still arise. While certain systems like Plex tailor and enhance other industry processes, plastic-centric processes may lack some detail.
Not as scalable for diverse business models. It is less scalable for diverse business models, and if your business falls outside the automotive sector, you may encounter challenges despite claims of supporting mixed-mode manufacturing.
Not as well adopted among plastic extrusion companies. Plastic extrusion companies adopt it less widely. While they do have some clients in this sector, their presence isn’t as strong as that of other systems on the list.
9. SYSPRO
Plastic extrusion companies outgrowing QuickBooks and needing a more robust solution find SYSPRO well-suited. These companies are typically looking for a smaller ERP system that provides end-to-end traceability within a single country. SYSPRO offers a solution that includes both discrete and process manufacturing capabilities, making it ideal for handling complex business models. Thus, SYSPRO secures the #9 spot on our list of top plastic extrusion ERP systems.
Strengths
Complex inventory layers. In the plastics industry, inventory management is complex due to various product attributes integral to supply chain and scheduling planning. Some systems may struggle with this, but SYSPRO handles these challenges well, making it an ideal choice.
Formulation and recipe support. The product has natively built formulation and recipe support.
Discrete and process manufacturing in one solution. SYSPRO has both discrete and process manufacturing natively built into one solution.
Weaknesses
Complex plastic extrusion capabilities such as scheduling. Products specifically focused on plastics provide more detailed coverage of complex processes from a plastic perspective.
Not as well adopted among plastic extrusion companies. It has limited overall adoption, with relatively few logos, especially among plastic extrusion company logos.
Limited global consolidation capabilities. You will also have very limited global consolidation capabilities. Therefore, if your company operates in multiple countries and values operational supply chain synergies and collaboration, SYSPRO might not be the best option.
8. QAD
QAD is ideal for companies dealing with highly commoditized products that heavily rely on their supply chain. One of the key strengths of QAD is its integrated solution, which combines both the supply chain suite and ERP within a single platform. This integration is crucial because many other products require separate systems for components like PLM, CAD, ERP, and supply chain management, including WMS and TMS. Plastic extrusion companies, where products are generally commoditized and supply chain planning is essential, tight integration of these components is invaluable. The busy and complex nature of their warehouses necessitates seamless coordination between WMS, TMS, ERP, PLM, CAD, and other processes, making QAD an excellent fit by offering everything from one vendor in a unified solution, eliminating the need to manage multiple systems and ensuring smooth operations. Thus, QAD has secured #8 on our list of top plastic extrusion ERP systems.
Strengths
Supply chain suite + ERP as part of the suite. The solution integrates the supply chain suite and ERP into one system. It is beneficial for plastic extrusion companies with commoditized products. These companies require effective supply chain planning, as well as WMS and TMS capabilities due to their busy warehouses. QAD fits well because it offers all these components—WMS, TMS, ERP, PLM, CAD—within one solution from a single vendor, avoiding the challenges of managing multiple systems and ensuring seamless integration.
Process + discrete. QAD has both discrete and process manufacturing natively built into one solution, just like SYSPRO.
Global capabilities. If you seek global operational synergies, QAD could be a great choice. It localizes in many countries and maintains a broad consulting presence worldwide.
Weaknesses
New technology might not be stable or rolled out to all modules.They have announced plans to migrate their product to cloud-native technology, but it may take a few years to stabilize, and not all modules will migrate immediately. Understanding which modules have transitioned and how these changes will affect you is important, as the full cloud version may take several years to implement completely.
Ecosystem. The ecosystem, including the consulting base, isn’t as extensive as what you’ll find with more generalized products, which is typical for prescriptive solutions.
Not as well adopted among plastic extrusion companies. It’s not as widely adopted among plastic extrusion companies as some of the other products we discuss in business.
7. Oracle Cloud ERP
Oracle Cloud ERP is a robust solution that stands out compared to other products like QAD or SYSPRO, which are generally smaller and used by smaller companies. As companies grow and outgrow these smaller products, Oracle Cloud ERP becomes a more suitable option. Usually, publicly traded companies use Oracle and they operate with diverse business models that require comprehensive solutions for global financial traceability, along with operational and supply chain traceability when needed. Oracle Cloud ERP is a large-scale product and designed to meet the complex needs of these larger enterprises. Therefore, Oracle Cloud ERP has secured #7 spot on our list of top plastic extrusion ERP systems.
Strengths
Diversity of the solution supported different business models. Publicly traded companies often have various business models they need to accommodate within a single solution. They prioritize end-to-end global financial traceability, and sometimes operational and supply chain traceability as well, depending on their consolidation needs and the level of traceability they require. In that case, Oracle Cloud ERP will be a great fit.
Depth of ERP layers for large enterprises. Oracle Cloud ERP provide a better fit for large companies. Its strength lies in its ability to support diverse business models. However, this broad functionality can also be a drawback, as it lacks specialized industry capabilities and integrated suite functions, which can make implementation more costly. The extensive ERP features offer great flexibility for various business transactions, but this complexity often results in longer, more expensive implementations due to the need for thorough testing, configuration, and industry-specific adjustments.
Global financial consolidation and localization. Global financial consolidation and localization features are crucial, especially in regions like South America and Europe where some products have minimal market presence. These areas can be challenging due to their smaller market share, leading many companies to avoid them due to high R&D costs for localization. In such cases, more generalized products like Oracle Cloud ERP provide a better fit.
Weaknesses
Limited plastic centric capabilities natively built. The plastic-centric suite capabilities are not as natively developed or supported by the same vendor.
Expensive implementation. The ERP implementation will be on the expensive side as you are dealing with multiple ERP vendors.
Not as well adopted among SMB plastic extrusion companies. SMB plastic extrusion companies do not widely adopt it. Large firms might use Oracle Cloud ERP for its strong financial features, but it may not be the best fit if they need comprehensive operational consolidation in a single solution.
6. SAP S/4 HANA
SAP S/4 HANA is quite similar to Oracle Cloud ERP in many ways. However, SAP S/4HANA tends to be more prevalent in product-centric industries. Its HANA database is slightly superior, particularly for transactional integrity and business models focused on transactions. For product-centric companies that require end-to-end supply chain collaboration across multiple countries and need to consolidate all MRP workflows, SAP S/4HANA is often a better fit. This is especially true when dealing with tightly correlated products or serial numbers, which can increase the overall system workload. Therefore, SAP S/4 HANA secures the #6 spot on our list of top plastic extrusion ERP systems.
Strengths
ERP layers for complex organizations. Designed for global, highly regulated organizations with very complex business models ranging from discrete to process.
Process + discrete. Both process and discrete manufacturing are integrated into SAP S/4 HANA. These features are natively built into the solution.
Global compliance and localization. Supports localization and compliance requirements of most countries across the world, for companies aiming to consolidate all of their global entities in one database and data model.
Weaknesses
Limited plastic centric capabilities natively built. Just like Oracle Cloud ERP, the plastic-centric suite capabilities are not as natively developed or supported by the same vendor.
Expensive implementation. The implementation may be slightly more expensive because you’re dealing with many different vendors and many different add-ons.
Requires mature internal IT team. In tailoring, customizing, and configuring these capabilities, the same capabilities that are already included as part of the suite, SAP S/4 HANA also requires a very mature internal IT team.
5. Epicor Kinetic
Epicor Kinetic is better suited for plastic extrusion companies that are more discrete in nature rather than process-oriented. These plastic extrusion companies often operate with a hybrid business model. Epicor Kinetic is also ideal for companies that combine manufacturing with distribution. Many plastic companies have a strong presence in e-commerce, and in such cases, they require robust distribution planning and manufacturing-focused solutions. Thus, Epicor Kinetic has secured #5 spot on our list of top plastic extrusion ERP systems.
Strengths
Complex inventory. The inventory is highly complex, which benefits plastic-centric industries. Generally, this complexity will be reflected throughout your end-to-end processes.
Formal engineering governance. For industries like aerospace, where you rely heavily on OEMs and need formal engineering processes, or for metal-based manufacturing requiring detailed tracking of attributes, Epicor Kinetic is a great fit. It can handle complex scheduling and planning effectively.
MES-architecture friendly. If you need a more MES-centric architecture, where quality and production processes are managed within the MES layer rather than the ERP layer, this can be crucial for industries where production is more critical than end-to-end traceability. In such cases, Epicor Kinetic would be a great fit.
Weaknesses
Limited plastic-centric capabilities natively built. The plastic-centric capabilities and integration workflows that you can find with IQMS would require add-ons or customization with Epicor Kinetic.
Weaker suite capabilities for plastic extrusion companies. The suite is not as strong for plastic-centric companies because of missing crucial capabilities for plastic companies.
Not as well adopted among plastic companies. It’s not as widely adopted among plastic extrusion companies as some of the other products we have discussed in the list.
4. Aptean Process Manufacturing ERP
Aptean Process Manufacturing ERP is well-suited for smaller companies with limited budgets, particularly those seeking a comprehensive suite from a single vendor to simplify implementation. This makes the implementation process generally easier. Compared to other products like Acumatica or Epicor Kinetic, Aptean’s solution is smaller in scale, with fewer layers and less detailed ERP features. In terms of product size, if you were to compare them, Odoo would be the smallest, followed by Acumatica, with Aptean Process Manufacturing ERP falling somewhere in between. Larger systems like Infor CSI and Epicor Kinetic are on the other end of the spectrum. Aptean is ideal for budget-conscious companies. Thus, Aptean Process Manufacturing ERP takes the #4 spot on our list of top plastic extrusion ERP systems.
Strengths
Full suite pre-integrated. Because a full pre-integrated suite is present, the implementation costs are going to be cheaper.
Tailored plastic extrusion capabilities. Plastic-extrusion-specific capabilities such as specific PLM, scheduling flows, and quality workflows per customer are natively built with the product.
Well adopted among process manufacturing companies. Aptean Process Manufacturing ERP has a much higher penetration among plastic extrusion companies because of cheaper ERP implementation and tailored workflows.
Weaknesses
Expensive with partial implementation. Buying the complete suite from Aptean may be cheaper. However, if you opt for a rip-and-replace approach or wish to use your favorite tools with Aptean’s solution architecture, costs could increase. You may encounter fewer pre-baked integrations and fewer consultants knowledgeable about these integrations. Aptean may not prioritize supporting external products or suites, which could pose challenges during partial implementations. Thus, choosing between Aptean’s complete architecture or similar products may depend on your specific needs and desired diversity.
Not as diverse. This is not a good fit for companies with hybrid business models as the data and process model is highly tailored for specific plastic extrusion verticals.
Some logos but not as well adopted as other plastic-specific capabilities. Aptean is less widely adopted by plastic extrusion companies than its peers. While they do have some clients in this sector, their presence isn’t as strong as that of other systems on the list.
3. Infor CloudSuite M3
Infor CloudSuite M3 is a much larger product compared to Aptean Process Manufacturing ERP. It is designed for global companies that need to manage global supply chains, operational synergies, collaboration, and consolidation. Infor CloudSuite M3 becomes a better fit when companies outgrow Aptean Process Manufacturing but still require similar capabilities. These companies may have a fixed business model, don’t anticipate significant growth, and are still mindful of budget constraints. Infor CloudSuite M3 offers all these capabilities within a single suite from the same vendor. Therefore, Infor CloudSuite M3 secures #3 spot on our list of top plastic extrusion ERP systems.
Strengths
Comprehensive process manufacturing capabilities. Process manufacturing capabilities are one of the most robust to support the operations of global process manufacturers with many different business models including retail and rental operations.
Comprehensive suite supporting most manufacturing processes. Plastic extrusion companies with other business models, such as machinery or food and beverage, would find Infor CloudSuite M3 to be suitable without requiring multiple ERP systems.
Complex inventory. The inventory is highly complex, which benefits plastic-centric industries. Generally, this complexity will be reflected throughout your end-to-end processes.
Weaknesses
Not as diverse. This is not a good fit for companies with hybrid business models as the data and process model is highly tailored for specific plastic extrusion verticals.
Not suitable for SMBs below $250M in revenue. The advanced layers provided as part of the product might be too detailed for smaller companies looking for ERP systems. Thus, posing adoption challenges.
Ecosystem. The consulting base and marketplaces are limited for Infor M3 compared to other solutions on this list.
2. Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O
Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O is a highly generalized product designed for companies with diverse business models seeking a global presence. It enables these companies to manage all their entities within a single solution, ensuring end-to-end traceability from both financial and operational perspectives. However, because of its broad focus, it doesn’t offer highly tailored capabilities for specific industries. To address this, companies must rely on the partner ecosystem, where vendors provide specialized solutions that are widely adopted alongside the core ERP. Therefore, MS Dynamics 365 F&O secures the #2 spot on our list of top plastic extrusion ERP systems.
Strengths
Comprehensive localization across the globe. It supports a wide range of business models and offers global localization in areas where other products may not be available, with strong consulting and localization support.
Ecosystem. Their ecosystem has many options available for plastic-extrusion manufacturers if they want different options if one of the add-ons doesn’t work while having access to a diverse ERP supporting multiple business models.
The recipe and formulation are supported natively. The product data model has native support for both process and discrete manufacturing modes.
Weaknesses
Last-mile plastic extrusion capabilities through third-party vendors. It is ideal for regions lacking other solutions, providing native localization and expert consulting for local taxation, regulations, and processes.
Expensive implementation. The ERP implementation may be slightly more expensive because you’re dealing with many different vendors and many different add-ons.
Requires a mature internal IT team. In tailoring, customizing, and configuring these capabilities, the same capabilities that are already included as part of the suite, MS Dynamics F&O also requires a very mature internal IT team.
1. DELMIAWorks
DELMIAWorks (formerly known as IQMS) tops our list because it is the go-to solution for SMB plastic extrusion companies. It remains the most widely adopted product in this sector, even if some companies are still using legacy technology or older versions. These companies value the solution because it incorporates plastic-centric processes, making scheduling, inventory management, and supply chain planning feel seamless and natural. This deep alignment with industry needs is why DELMIAWorks is so highly regarded among plastic extrusion companies. Therefore, DELMIAWorks secures the #1 spot on our list of top plastic extrusion ERP systems.
Strengths
Most adopted among plastic extrusion companies. IQMS has one of the highest penetrations among SMB plastic extrusion companies because of its tailored workflows and integration.
Tailored advanced plastic capabilities. The specific plastic-centric capabilities, such as customer-specific quality specifications and unique scheduling requirements with constraints and bottlenecks, are already supported as part of the solution.
Tailored pre-integrated suite for plastic companies.The plastic-extrusion-specific PLM and supply chain planning add-ons are pre-integrated and managed by the same vendor.
Weaknesses
Legacy technology. The system technology is very legacy compared to other systems that we have on this list.
Not as scalable for diverse business models. It may not be as scalable for different business models but is particularly strong for plastic-centric business models. This can also be beneficial for machinery manufacturers who produce their own molds, as they sometimes have plastic components.
Limited ecosystem and consulting base. Their ecosystem and consulting base are likely to be limited, as is common with other niche products.
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ERP Implementation Failure Recovery
Learn how Frederick Wildman struggled with Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP implementation failure even after spending over $5M and what options they had for recovery.
In conclusion, selecting the right ERP system for plastic extrusion companies is crucial for optimizing operations, enhancing efficiency, and meeting industry-specific needs. Each of the top systems reviewed, from DELMIAWorks, which excels in plastic-centric functionalities, to Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O, known for its diverse business model support, offers unique strengths tailored to different operational scales and complexities. Companies must consider their specific requirements, including inventory management, production capabilities, and the integration of supply chain processes when choosing an ERP solution. While this list offers valuable insights, seeking advice from an independent ERP consultant can greatly enhance your implementation success.
FAQs
What industries typically use products from plastic extrusion companies?
Plastic extrusion companies serve a variety of industries, including construction, automotive, aerospace, medical, packaging, consumer goods, electronics, and agriculture. Their products are highly versatile and can be customized to meet specific requirements in these sectors.
How is the plastic extrusion process different from other manufacturing methods?
Plastic extrusion is known for its material efficiency, continuous production, and minimal post-processing needs. The process involves melting and mixing raw plastic materials, shaping them through a die, cooling, cutting, and possibly additional finishing. This efficient workflow distinguishes it from other manufacturing methods.
What are the ERP requirements for plastic extrusion businesses?
Plastic extrusion companies require ERP systems with robust inventory management, production planning, scheduling, and integrated quality control. These systems must also streamline supply chain and logistics management, handle diverse raw materials, and support custom order processes to meet fluctuating demand and client specifications.
