Freshworks CRM (formerly Freshsales CRM) is a customer engagement platform that delivers customized experiences along with different marketing and sales channels. Even though Freshworks CRM focusses at providing the right customers with the right information at the right time, there are several drawbacks that force users to look out for a Freshworks CRM alternative.
Don’t worry as we have got it covered for you. We have listed the drawbacks of Freshworks CRM, and also listed 10 other CRM software vendors which can be a perfect fit for your business.
Why do businesses need a Freshworks CRM alternative?
All tools have their pros and cons and when it comes to CRM there is no best choice. You have to find the CRM or Project management tool that is the best fit for your business. When we started checking the Freshworks CRM reviews online, we found the following issues highlighted by their current and former customers:
- Poor quality customer service as the service team responds slowly and takes a lot of time in resolving the issue.
- Small bugs in the Freshworks software affects usability
- Basic features are available in the higher plans and is not small-business friendly
- The software is clunky and can overwhelm even experienced CRM users. It has a steep learning curve.
- It does not have good reporting functions and that can be a problem for businesses who are in lookout for heavy reporting data.
- Pipeline manager is not always intuitive
- Gets slow when more data is added into the software
Why are we reviewing Freshworks CRM alternatives?
Prior to building TeamWave – an all-in-one, productivity software for small business that combines features of CRM, Project Management and HRMS, we did extensive market research on the popular CRM solutions. Freshworks CRM is one of the top ten CRM apps that we have evaluated. Others namely:
- Salesforce
- Pipedrive
- Scoro
- Nutshell CRM
- Salesflare
- Insightly
- Agile CRM
- Nimble CRM
- Teamleader CRM
We have analysed each of the above software and understood the pros and cons, from a small business user perspective, and here is a summary of our findings:
#1 Freshworks CRM Alternative: TeamWave
TeamWave Highlights:
- Flat pricing of $39/month for UNLIMITED users.
- Visual Sales Pipeline that gives complete visibility of the pipelines across various stages.
- Customize CRM with custom fields to add more data, powerful filters and custom pipelines. Thus customizing the CRM as per your business needs.
- CRM, HRM and Task/ Project Management, all available in one place.
- Has a Mobile app that helps the team stay up-to-date about their deals and projects, even on the go.
- Contact Management
- Detailed reports and forecasts to gain real-time data and actionable insights.
- Email Integration to manage leads and keep track of all the conversations in one place.
- Built-in notifications and reminders to stay informed of all activities and tasks.
- Products Feature that creates a library of all the goods or services the business provides, links them to the deals and also allows the user to create custom fields that are specific to their business needs.
- Integrates with other third-party apps like Gsuite, Zapier and QuickBooks to get all the important information at one place.
How is TeamWave CRM better than Freshworks CRM?
| FRESHWORKS CRM [GROWTH PLAN] | TEAMWAVE |
| Lack advanced features like customizable sales pipeline and sales forecasting. | Includes advanced features like customizable sales pipeline, ability to create custom fields for deals and contacts and sales forecasting. |
| Lacks basic features such as creating product catalogs. | Includes all the basic features such as product catalogs where the users can create product categories, link them to the deal and set prices in multiple currencies. |
| Cannot define custom roles for this plan. | Can define custom roles that have different access levels for different users based on their responsibilities. |
| Integrations with Dropbox, Google Drive, Zapier etc are charged $6/user for each integration. | Integration of tools like GSuite, Mailchimp and Dropbox are all-inclusive and are not charged extra. |
| Total Price for 10 Users = $290/month | Total Price for 10 Users = $39/month.In fact, TeamWave is $39 for UNLIMITED Users. |
Difference between Freshworks CRM and TeamWave
Key Consideration: Flat price at US$39/month for unlimited users along with all important features like customized sales pipeline and product catalogue, makes TeamWave one of the best alternatives for Freshworks CRM. Therefore, TeamWave CRM is an ideal choice for small businesses and startups as it will be easier for them to scale their businesses without incurring very high costs. Freshworks CRM on the other hand, with such limited features and high price, is not at all an affordable choice for small businesses.
Price for 10 users: $39/month
#2 Freshworks CRM Alternative: Salesforce CRM
Salesforce CRM Highlights
- Lightning platform helps users to build app for customers as well as partners
- Workflow automation that supports complex business processes
- Advanced customization options using point and click tools or coding.
- Easily integrates with accounting systems, Ecommerce websites etc
- Trailblazer community offers opportunities that help users to practice and learn the software on their own.
- Social Media Integration
- Territory Management
Key Consideration: Salesforce CRM has a lot of functionalities, but for small businesses, this software is highly expensive. Because, as customization increases, the costs involved increase. Therefore, for businesses that do not have a dedicated sales or marketing team, they will not need such complex software. Also, compared to Freshworks CRM the learning curve is much higher for this CRM. Additionally, the configuration is time-consuming. Having so many features causes confusion and new users find it very difficult to use this CRM. Users also complain about poor customer service.
Price for 10 users: US$ 250/month [Sales Cloud CRM]
#3 Freshworks CRM Alternative: Pipedrive CRM
Pipedrive CRM Highlights
- Users can customize everything
- Can set goals and have detailed reporting features
- Mobile apps and Email Integration
Key Consideration: Pipedrive is an easy-to-use tool. This CRM helps businesses find the right leads and thus grow their business. Pipedrive CRM is best for small businesses but data management is difficult. Especially when businesses start to grow, handling tasks become highly complex. It requires a lot of manual work and there is a need for automated workflow. At present, there are few time-consuming jobs. Few users have reported that customer service has declined one has upgraded from trial to actual plan.
Price for 10 users: US$ 120/month [Essential Plan]
#4 Freshworks CRM Alternative: Scoro
Scoro Highlights
- Dynamic dashboards so that the users can track real time results
- Streamlined workflow
- Detailed enterprise level reports
- Integrations with softwares like Xero and Zapier
Key Consideration: Scoro CRM is a management software that simplifies work and reduces time spent on routine tasks and has a set of a few good features. And that is the exact reason we have added it to the list as Freshworks CRM alternatives. But one major let down is the report section as it is extremely limited. The software needs to be a lot more intuitive and also it has a steep learning curve. Additionally there are many glitches in the software which worsens the customer experience. These reasons clearly show that this does not provide the value for money.
Price for 10 users: US$ 260/month
#5 Freshworks CRM Alternative: Nutshell CRM
Nutshell CRM Highlights
- Provides advanced pipeline automation tools
- Unlimited contacts and data storage
- Fully customizable marketing process automation
- Smart search function
Key Consideration: Nutshell CRM is known for its ease-of-use. Users also say that it is good to set calls, emails or meeting reminders. Few users feel that this CRM is more expensive compared to its competitors and the learning curve is slightly higher. Also, their advanced search feature does not always provide accurate results.
Price for 10 users: US$ 190/month
#6 Freshworks CRM Alternative: Salesflare CRM
Salesflare CRM Highlights
- Intensive sales monitoring
- Users can add custom fields to individual accounts
- Integration with Google Workspace and other platforms
Key Consideration: Salesflare CRM users talk about a few cool features like updating client notes from the phone. But the user interface is out of date and this CRM lacks customizable features. Therefore, preventing it from catering to various business needs. And the price compared to other CRMs is very high which makes it a very expensive option for small businesses.
Price for 10 users: US$ 300/month
#7 Freshworks CRM Alternative: Insightly CRM
Insightly CRM Highlights
- Can be Integrated with over 250 applications
- Schedule email so that the sales team can inform the prospect or lead on time
- Flexible Record linking of the contacts to deals and thus effectively manages customer relationships.
- Customized customer support system
- Custom reporting & forecasting
Key Consideration: Due to many features Insightly CRM is complex and has a high learning curve. Users complain that it has an outdated user interface. Its mobile app does not have important CRM features such as time-tracking, real-time analysis and automatic notification. In addition, as it is more expensive, it will not be an affordable choice for SMBs.
Price for 10 users: US$ 290/month
#8 Freshworks CRM Alternative: Agile CRM
Agile CRM Highlights
- It automates sales, marketing and services at one place. This helps to maintain communication consistency.
- Dynamic Webform
- Advanced marketing metrics
- It is easy to link social media profiles to campaigns and contact views
- It can send personalized messages and includes mobile messaging in campaigns
- The landing page builder creates mobile responsive landing pages and results in high conversion rates
Key Consideration: Agile CRM, is an all-in-one system that does not have a high learning curve. One major drawback is its starter package users can use only single integration. The reports are uncluttered and confusing and users need to take higher plans to review activity reports. In conclusion, this CRM is very expensive with such limited features.
Price for 10 users: US$ 99/month
#9 Freshworks CRM Alternative: Nimble CRM
Nimble CRM Highlights
- Can organize the contacts into different lists and take bulk actions such as group messages.
- Provides a detailed list of completed or scheduled activities, thus helping the team to keep track.
- Automatically links the team tasks and activities to the respective deal so that everyone stays updated.
- Email templates for efficient engagement. It also tracks emails to see the open and click rates.
- Easy integration with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Key Consideration: Nimble CRM is an easy-to-use CRM, which provides a summary of all deals and contacts in the same location. But there are few issues that need to be addressed. It is hard to access emails within the Nimble app and also to forward emails to it. In addition, the user needs the ‘sync’ tool to integrate Nimble with other applications.
Price for 10 users: US$ 250/month
#10 Freshworks CRM Alternative: Teamleader CRM
Teamleader CRM Highlights
- Connect with accounting software and follow the invoices easily
- Record incoming and outgoing calls, emails and other communications
- It is synchronized with the calendar so that all meetings and appointments are updated constantly.
Key Consideration: Teamleader CRM has a nice user interface. In this CRM, where to find different functions, is clearly defined. But the features for each function lacks detailing and is worse compared to other CRMs. The integrations and add-ons come at an additional cost.
Price for 10 users: 250 Euros/month
CONCLUSION
Businesses should consider a variety of factors before choosing the right CRM to provide the best possible experience for their leads, prospects and employees.
You are a click away from trying out the TeamWave CRM. Signup for our free trial and you will know why we call it the best!!