logo
Search for anything...
About

Best CRM for Founder-Led Sales Teams 2025

Written by Paddy Stobbs

Co-Founder & CEO

Edited by Steph Leung

Product & Operations Lead

Updated onApr 2, 2025

In founder-led sales, the right CRM can save you hours and help you close more deals. In this guide, we break down the best CRMs for founders doing it all – from ease of use to automation and reporting. We’ve tested them ourselves, so you can skip the guesswork and pick a tool that actually helps you grow your business.

Best CRMs for different use cases

For ease of use:

Attio product logo

Attio

Stackfix Rating:

8.1 / 10

For founder-led sales teams that value speed, simplicity, and a clean interface, Attio is a great fit. It’s modern, fast, and easy to navigate – with keyboard shortcuts, quick page loads, and a layout that feels intuitive from day one. If you’re a founder juggling a dozen things at once, having a CRM that doesn’t slow you down matters.

Attio’s customisability is also a standout. You can tailor data structures, pipelines, and views to fit your process – without needing to wade through bloated enterprise-level complexity. It adapts to how you work, not the other way around.

The Chrome extension is another win. With one click, you can pull contacts straight from LinkedIn, Gmail, or Google Meet into your CRM. For founders who are constantly networking or prospecting, this saves a ton of time. Add in automatic data enrichment and connection strength scoring, and you’ve got a system that keeps your contact list clean and context-rich without much effort.

It’s not perfect – Attio doesn’t have a native dialer, and live chat relies on third-party integrations. But if you’re focused on simplicity and want a CRM that’s fast, flexible, and founder-friendly, Attio is one of the best options out there. In our testing, it earned 8/10 for ease of use – a strong showing for a CRM that’s clearly built with real-world usability in mind.

Jump to product

For marketing automation:

HubSpot Sales Hub product logo

HubSpot Sales Hub

Stackfix Rating:

5.8 / 10

HubSpot Sales Hub is a strong choice for founder-led sales teams that want CRM and marketing in one place. Its native integration with HubSpot Marketing Hub creates a unified system for managing the full customer journey – ideal for startups running an inbound sales motion where marketing and sales work hand in hand.

The marketing tools are a real asset. You can build emails with a drag-and-drop editor, track website activity, spin up landing pages, and schedule social posts – all without leaving the platform. It’s a great way for founders to nurture leads and keep prospects warm without juggling multiple tools. Custom forms and live chat plugins add even more flexibility.

In our evaluation, HubSpot’s marketing capabilities earned a 10/10 – it’s one of the most complete offerings in the space. But the trade-off is price and complexity. Most of the advanced marketing features are locked behind higher-tier plans, which might stretch early budgets. And while the tool is powerful, it can take time to learn.

Still, for founder-led teams who want to combine CRM and marketing in a single platform – and plan to grow into more advanced capabilities – HubSpot is a solid long-term bet.

Jump to product

For high-volume sales outreach:

Close product logo

Close

Stackfix Rating:

6.9 / 10

Close is a top choice for founder-led sales teams focused on high-volume outreach and cold calling. It’s built for outbound – with features like a power dialer, predictive dialer, call coaching, and automatic transcripts that help you move through lead lists fast and stay focused on conversations that convert.

Beyond calling, Close supports multi-channel sequences across email, SMS, and voice. You can segment leads with granular filters, build targeted lists, and even randomise send times to make outreach feel more human. For founders who are doing sales themselves – or building their first reps – these time-saving features make a real difference.

In our testing, Close earned a 10/10 for its in-browser calling experience – it’s one of the best platforms we’ve used for high-volume phone outreach.

There are a few trade-offs. Close doesn’t offer much in the way of marketing automation, so if you’re planning inbound or lead nurturing, you’ll need to layer in other tools. It also comes at a premium price, and while it’s powerful, the learning curve can be steep if you’re new to sales ops. Some integrations also require third-party workarounds.

Still, if you’re all-in on outbound and want a CRM that’s built for calling at scale, Close is fast, focused, and built to help you sell more, faster.

Jump to product

For B2B lead management:

Relate product logo

Relate

Stackfix Rating:

7.1 / 10

Relate is a great fit for founder-led B2B sales teams that want a clean, focused CRM built around lead management. It’s lightweight, easy to navigate, and helps early-stage teams stay organised without the clutter of a traditional enterprise tool.

The standout is “Prospect” – a dedicated lead qualification pipeline that gives SDRs a clear, structured flow before handing leads off to sales. You can customise lead statuses to match your process, and the workflow is simple enough that new team members can get started with minimal ramp time. Built-in Clearbit enrichment automatically pulls in company and contact data, giving your team extra context without the manual work.

In testing, Relate scored 9/10 for lead management. It nails the basics and keeps your pipeline sharp.

There are some limitations. Email sequences are capped at 50 sends per day, and automation is minimal. If you’re running larger outbound campaigns or need more advanced workflow control, you may hit a ceiling.

But for founder-led teams focused on speed, clarity, and getting qualified leads into the hands of sales, Relate does the job without getting in your way. It’s a simple, no-fuss CRM that keeps your team moving.

Jump to product

For teams with limited budgets:

Bigin product logo

Bigin

Stackfix Rating:

6.3 / 10

Bigin is one of the best-value CRMs for founder-led sales teams on a tight budget. At just $7 per user per month, it’s incredibly affordable, yet it still manages to offer a solid set of core features. For early-stage startups that need a CRM without blowing their budget, Bigin is a smart starting point.

One of its standout features is multi-team pipelines, which let you track deals, support tickets, or projects all in one place. That’s especially helpful for founders juggling multiple roles and needing a system that can flex with them. Bigin also includes built-in phone and email sequencing, which means you don’t have to pay extra for additional tools – a big plus when resources are limited.

The interface is simple, and while support is basic, the platform is easy enough to figure out. In our testing, Bigin consistently impressed with its balance of affordability and functionality, making it a great fit for small teams just getting started.

There are limitations. You won’t get advanced features like custom objects or complex automation workflows, and it’s not built for scaling into an enterprise-grade solution. But if what you need is a clean, functional CRM that won’t drain your runway, Bigin is one of the best budget-friendly options available.

Jump to product

For LinkedIn prospecting:

Folk product logo

Folk

Stackfix Rating:

7.4 / 10

Folk is a great fit for founder-led sales teams that lean on LinkedIn and social media to generate leads and run outreach. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and designed around the way modern founders actually build relationships – through networking, not spreadsheets.

The Chrome extension is where Folk really shines. You can pull in contact profiles from LinkedIn, Gmail, X, and Instagram with one click, add prospects in bulk from LinkedIn searches, and even export leads who’ve engaged with your posts. You can also use message templates directly in LinkedIn or Gmail to speed up personalised outreach – a huge win when you’re doing everything yourself.

It’s not trying to be a full-featured enterprise CRM. There’s no workflow automation or advanced analytics, and its data enrichment is basic. But for early-stage teams who want a simple, social-first CRM to track conversations and stay organised, Folk does the job well.

If you’re a founder spending time on LinkedIn, managing your own outreach, and want something fast and flexible, Folk is a strong choice. It’s built for the hustle – not the handoff.

Jump to product

PS

Meet your expert: Paddy Stobbs

Stackfix Co-Founder & CEO

I've spent over a decade deep in the world of business software - personally managing more than $2M in purchases across companies I've built and led. From intimate 10-person teams to organizations of 150+, I've developed a particular obsession with Sales and HR tools – testing, implementing, and scaling them at every stage of growth. My journey started at Cambridge University, led me through Google, and most recently culminated in selling my previous venture to TikTok. Now, I'm channeling all of that hands-on experience into helping others navigate the complex landscape of business software.

Attio logo

Attio

HubSpot Sales Hub logo

HubSpot Sales Hub

Close logo

Close

Relate logo

Relate

Bigin logo

Bigin

Folk logo

Folk

Our rating
Functionality
7

Functionality

7/10

<p>Attio offers simple, intuitive CRM functionality that ticks the boxes for most SMBs. Beyond the essentials like contact and pipeline management, it stands out with some standout features: a slick Chrome extension for effortless one-click contact addition from LinkedIn/X, impressive data enrichment, and AI-powered workflow automation. They’ve even recently added email sequencing and phone calling (via an integration) into the mix.</p><p>That said, there are a few missing pieces that sales teams might notice - like native lead capture from website forms.</p>
9

Functionality

9/10

<p>HubSpot offers all functionality that most companies will need, besides functionality required by the largest/ most sophisticated companies. For example, HubSpot's reporting functionality and ability to build highly customised workflows aren't on par with Salesforce's.</p>
8

Functionality

8/10

<p>Close offers most of the functionality that SMB sales team will need. Besides allowing you to manage contacts, leads and your sales pipeline, Close also allows you to create automated sales sequences (email, calls, SMS), and best-in-class call functionality.</p><p>However, it lacks some advanced features such as automated lead scoring, and being able to directly add contacts from LinkedIn.</p>
6

Functionality

6/10

<p>Relate delivers the core functionality early-stage B2B startups need. It excels in prospecting, sales pipeline management, data enrichment, sequencing, LinkedIn contact imports, and customizable reporting.</p><p>However, it’s missing several features that larger teams rely on, such as workflow automation and robust third-party integrations.</p>
6

Functionality

6/10

<p>Bigin offers essential features for small teams, like flexible contact and pipeline management, built-in phone, email sequencing, workflow automation, and analytics—all at an affordable price. However, advanced features like email marketing campaigns and data enrichment require add-ons or integrations.</p>
5

Functionality

5/10

<p>Folk focuses on delivering functionality that startups &amp; small teams will need. Besides the CRM basics like managing contacts and pipelines, Folk also offers email sequencing, data enrichment, and an excellent Chrome Extension that allows you to add contacts from anywhere.</p><p>However, its lack of any meaningful analytics and automation functionality prevents it from being a CRM that can be used by larger teams.</p>
Ease of Use
8

Ease of Use

8/10

<p>Attio offers one of the best-in-class user experience for its core functionality. Key workflows such as creating pipelines, adding contacts to Attio via its extension and moving contacts to lists are highly intuitive, and available via keyboard shortcuts.</p><p>However, we found Attio's automation and reporting modules less intuitive and complex, since they're more powerful and flexible than the average CRM.</p>
3

Ease of Use

3/10

<p>HubSpot is so packed with features and customisation options that it will take an average SMB employee at least a week to learn how to navigate the platform. Even if you're only using HubSpot CRM, you'll see irrelevant modules and fields form other products in its suites everywhere, which can get quite confusing. But once you're past the initial learning curve, most key processes can get quite intuitive.</p>
7

Ease of Use

7/10

<p>Close is designed for power users, so you need to know what you're doing. Setting up filters to target the right leads can feel overwhelming due to the extensive options, and there are no templates for automation workflows. Once familiar, Close becomes user-friendly with standout features like smart views, which keep targeted lists accessible via one-click. You can easily create workflows, edit deal cards without extra clicks, and get AI summaries of all contact activity, which will all save a lot of time for sales reps.</p>
9

Ease of Use

9/10

<p>If you’re an early-stage B2B startup, you’ll likely find Relate intuitive and closely aligned with how your processes already work. Getting up to speed is quick and straightforward.</p><p>However, if you’re familiar with traditional CRMs, you might experience a learning curve. Relate introduces some unique concepts, like connecting pipelines through “processes,” which may take a little time to adjust to.</p>
7

Ease of Use

7/10

<p>Navigating Bigin is straightforward and intuitive, and should take about an hour for most SMB users to get comfortable. Its "spreadsheet views" for contacts and pipelines are especially great for teams transitioning from spreadsheets. However, be aware of confusing terms like "touched records," and note that setting up email sequences can be cumbersome.</p>
8

Ease of Use

8/10

<p>Folk is quick and simple to use, like a spreadsheet. It takes no time to get started with Folk. With a few clicks, you can import all the contacts you've had interactions with by syncing your Gmail + Google Calendar. Folk also automatically suggests groups you can create based on your contacts.</p><p>However, there are some UX quirks that will take some time to get used to e.g. the list of all your people &amp; companies are tucked behind the "search" menu.</p>
Look and feel
10

Look and feel

10/10

<p><span style="color: rgb(9, 9, 11);">Attio is one of the most visually appealing CRMs we've come across. We love the clean and blazingly fast UI, and page loads are +20% faster than the majority of other CRMs on the markets. Its pages are also beautifully colour-coded and accompanied by emojis, making it a joy to use.</span></p>
4

Look and feel

4/10

<p>We find HubSpot's interface to be tired and overwhelming compared to the newer CRMs on the market. There is often an overwhelming amount of actions you can take on a single screen, which makes it difficult to locate key information at times.</p>
6

Look and feel

6/10

<p>We find Close visually acceptable, though the lack of colour-coding and labelling of icons can make it a bit plain at times. Page loads are acceptable (~2 seconds per page).</p>
8

Look and feel

8/10

<p>Relate’s modern, minimalist design will appeal to tech startups, but it might come across as too plain for others. That said, the platform shines with its blazingly fast page loads—easily some of the fastest we’ve seen, which offers a seamless user experience.</p>
5

Look and feel

5/10

<p>Bigin loads quickly, but its interface feels plain and uninspiring.</p>
8

Look and feel

8/10

<p>Folk has a clean and modern interface that's visually appealing. It also has fast load times (1 second per page).</p>
Customisability
9

Customisability

9/10

<p>Attio is a highly flexible CRM designed to meet the needs of any teams. It allows you to create custom data objects (on top of the standard "people" and "companies"), fully customisable pipelines, automation flows, highly customisable reports, and workspaces for any and all kinds of use cases (e.g. marketing, recruiting, project management).</p>
9

Customisability

9/10

<p>HubSpot offers the highest degree of customisability out of all CRMs besides Salesforce.&nbsp;You can create complex workflows via code, and fully customise fully customize the design of client-facing assets, such as emails and webpages.</p>
8

Customisability

8/10

<p>Close offers significant customization for fields, workflows, and pipeline stages. You can create custom data objects to track items beyond people and companies, such as partnerships. It also supports extremely granular custom filters to target contacts and leads. However, Close is squarely a CRM for sales teams, and we don't think you can adapt Close to other use cases.</p>
6

Customisability

6/10

<p>Relate offers strong customizability for early-stage B2B startups. You can tailor pipelines and reporting to match your workflows. However, it’s not as flexible as more general-purpose CRMs (like Folk and Attio). The platform is firmly sales-focused, with pipelines designed exclusively for tracking deals and reporting geared entirely toward sales metrics.</p>
7

Customisability

7/10

<p>You can customize Bigin by setting up pipelines, adding custom fields, and saving filters. Its standout multi-team, flexible pipelines help track deals, projects, and support tickets. However, it lacks custom objects and advanced automation workflows.</p>
8

Customisability

8/10

<p>Folk is a highly flexible CRM designed to be used with different use case, from tracking sales, recruitment, partnerships and more. To that end, you're able to fully customise your pipelines, and even create pipelines based on custom data objects e.g. a pipeline to track "products".</p><p>However, we did find some limitations with data types that can be stored e.g. you're unable to add data as percentages, checkboxes, ratings.</p>
Ease of Setup
8

Ease of Setup

8/10

<p>Attio offers a generous, self-serve free tier —up to 3 users and fully self-serve. Thanks to Attio's familiar spreadsheet-like layout, we found the initial setup to be extremely simple. It took less than 5 minutes to set up, and connecting our email was as simple as a few clicks, with all our contacts syncing automatically.&nbsp;That said, if you want to dive deeper and fully customize the platform, expect to spend 1-2 days exploring Attio’s incredibly flexible automation and reporting tools.</p>
3

Ease of Setup

3/10

<p>HubSpot's free trial is available without having to speak to sales. Basic setup - importing contacts and creating pipelines - takes about 10 minutes. However, its extensive features and complex settings mean full customization can take weeks, especially for advanced settings like custom objects, chatbots, and automation. Many users we've talked to ended up hiring a HubSpot consultant for implementation. HubSpot's pricing structure adds another layer of complexity, with multiple plans and bundles to navigate during upgrades.</p>
6

Ease of Setup

6/10

<p>Close offers a free trial without need to speak to sales. Completing basic setup is simple, taking around 10 minutes to import contacts and set up pipelines. However, fully setting up the platform and upskilling your reps can take up to a week, given Close's powerful and rich outbound functionality.</p>
8

Ease of Setup

8/10

<p>Relate offers a self-serve free trial. Thanks to Relate's familiar spreadsheet-like layout, we found the initial setup to be extremely simple (taking &lt;10 mins). The only nit is that unlike other modern CRMs (e.g. Attio, Folk), connecting your email doesn't sync your contacts automatically. For B2B sales team, Relate's thoughtful set up out-of-the-box means it's easy to fully customise the platform, and should be largely done within 1-2 business days.</p>
8

Ease of Setup

8/10

<p>Bigin offers offers a simple, self-serve free trial for their platform. When tested, we found the initial setup to be straightforward (taking ~10 mins). Fully customising the platform can take 1-2 days given Bigin's breadth of features and integrations e.g. setting up call functionality, payment links, advanced automations.</p>
10

Ease of Setup

10/10

<p>Folk offers a simple, self-serve free tier. Thanks to Folk's familiar spreadsheet-like layout, we found the initial setup to be extremely simple (taking &lt;5 mins). You can connect your email with a few clicks, and all your contacts sync automatically. Due to Folk's limited feature set, fully customising the platform is also a breeze <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">e.g. downloading Folk's extension, setting up sequences)</span>, and should be done within 1-2 hours.</p>
Customer Support
10

Customer Support

10/10

<p>Attio offers in-app live chat with live, human agents who are very quick to respond (within a few minutes) and always goes above and beyond with personalised screenshots and explanations!</p>
6

Customer Support

6/10

<p><span style="color: rgb(9, 9, 11);">HubSpot's support team responds via live chat/ email in less than 3 minutes, 24/7. </span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(9, 9, 11);">That said, you don't get access to their phone/ video support, unless you pay for Professional/ Enterprise, and now if you're signed up to their discounted startup plan. We also find their support sometimes frustratingly bureaucratic - you can only speak with the assigned rep in your territory.</span></p>
7

Customer Support

7/10

<p>You can only contact Close's support team via email, however the team is often helpful and replies within 15 minutes. Close also offers a lot of helpful onboarding guidance and high quality self-help resources.</p>
8

Customer Support

8/10

<p>Relate provides in-app live chat support during US business hours with a friendly team that usually responds in around an hour. The help center is another strong point—it's well-written, thorough, and easy to follow.</p>
3

Customer Support

3/10

<p>Support is available via phone and email. Although there's a "Chat with Us" button, it was non-functional during testing. Online resources are limited and not very helpful.</p>
9

Customer Support

9/10

<p>Folk offers in-app live chat with live, human agents who are helpful and very quick to respond (within a few minutes).</p>
Integratability
4

Integratability

4/10

<p>Attio has a few pre-built integrations with a handful of the most common software tools (e.g. Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Mailchimp). But, in the main, Attio pushes you to build your own integrations using Zapier, Make or its API. ‍</p>
10

Integratability

10/10

<p>HubSpot offers native integrations with the overwhelming majority of 3rd part products a company will want to connect their CRM with, plus an ever-growing marketplace of more than 350 free and paid-for apps.&nbsp;&nbsp;The chances are that if you need a particularly integration and HubSpot don't have it, it will unlikely be provided by a competitive product.</p>
5

Integratability

5/10

<p>Close's library of pre-built integrations lacks a few key integrations. For example, Close has no pre-built integrations with Zendesk and Intercom for Customer Support, or Mailchimp for Email Marketing.</p>
1

Integratability

1/10

<p>Integrations are a major weak spot for Relate. It only connects with Google Calendar, Outlook, and Slack, and basically pushes you to build you own integrations entirely through Zapier. There’s no API for custom integrations.</p>
6

Integratability

6/10

<p>Bigin integrates with key third party tools like Google and Outlook Calendar, Mailchimp, Shopify, and over 100 telephony vendors. It has a marketplace for third-party plugins like Slack, Twilio, and Eventbrite. While it integrates well with Zoho products, it lacks key integrations with major customer support vendors like Zendesk and Freshdesk. An API is available for custom integrations.</p>
2

Integratability

2/10

<p>Folk offers limited pre-built integrations, covering only a few popular tools like Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Mailchimp, and Calendly. Instead, it encourages users to build their own integrations through platforms like Zapier and Make. Additionally, it lacks an API for custom integrations, which limits flexibility for more tailored solutions.</p>
Ease of Migration
8

Ease of Migration

8/10

<p>Attio allows users to export key data data via self-serve. Export of most other data are also available via API or on request.</p>
8

Ease of Migration

8/10

<p>HubSpot allows users to export key data data via self-serve. Export of most other data are also available via API or on request.</p>
8

Ease of Migration

8/10

<p>Close allows users to export key data via self-serve. Export of most other data is also available via API or on request.</p>
6

Ease of Migration

6/10

<p>Relate allows you to export key contact, organization, and deal information through its reporting module. The process is self-serve, but limited to basic data.</p>
9

Ease of Migration

9/10

<p>You can easily export key information such as contacts, deals, and reports from dashboards. All data can also be exported via API.</p>
6

Ease of Migration

6/10

<p>Folk offers exports of key data available self-serve. However, it doesn't seem possible to export data via an API.</p>

Best for ease of use

Attio product logo
Attio

Stackfix Rating:

8.1 / 10

Visit website

Starting at

$0

Calculate your price
Updated onApr 2, 2025

For founder-led sales teams that value speed, simplicity, and a clean interface, Attio is a great fit. It’s modern, fast, and easy to navigate – with keyboard shortcuts, quick page loads, and a layout that feels intuitive from day one. If you’re a founder juggling a dozen things at once, having a CRM that doesn’t slow you down matters.

Attio’s customisability is also a standout. You can tailor data structures, pipelines, and views to fit your process – without needing to wade through bloated enterprise-level complexity. It adapts to how you work, not the other way around.

The Chrome extension is another win. With one click, you can pull contacts straight from LinkedIn, Gmail, or Google Meet into your CRM. For founders who are constantly networking or prospecting, this saves a ton of time. Add in automatic data enrichment and connection strength scoring, and you’ve got a system that keeps your contact list clean and context-rich without much effort.

It’s not perfect – Attio doesn’t have a native dialer, and live chat relies on third-party integrations. But if you’re focused on simplicity and want a CRM that’s fast, flexible, and founder-friendly, Attio is one of the best options out there. In our testing, it earned 8/10 for ease of use – a strong showing for a CRM that’s clearly built with real-world usability in mind.

Want to know more? Get a full breakdown of Attio's features and pricing.

Pros

  • Fast pace of product iteration

  • Excellent Customer Support

  • Highly Customizable Platform

  • Efficient LinkedIn Integration

  • Powerful Contact Data Enrichment

  • Outstanding User Interface and Performance

Cons

  • Automation Limitations

  • Complex Reporting Interface

  • Basic Marketing Capabilities

  • Limited Core Sales Features

  • Limited Integration Capabilities

Compare all CRMsRead the full review

Best for marketing automation

HubSpot Sales Hub product logo
HubSpot Sales Hub

Stackfix Rating:

5.8 / 10

Visit website

Starting at

$0

Calculate your price
Updated onApr 2, 2025

HubSpot Sales Hub is a strong choice for founder-led sales teams that want CRM and marketing in one place. Its native integration with HubSpot Marketing Hub creates a unified system for managing the full customer journey – ideal for startups running an inbound sales motion where marketing and sales work hand in hand.

The marketing tools are a real asset. You can build emails with a drag-and-drop editor, track website activity, spin up landing pages, and schedule social posts – all without leaving the platform. It’s a great way for founders to nurture leads and keep prospects warm without juggling multiple tools. Custom forms and live chat plugins add even more flexibility.

In our evaluation, HubSpot’s marketing capabilities earned a 10/10 – it’s one of the most complete offerings in the space. But the trade-off is price and complexity. Most of the advanced marketing features are locked behind higher-tier plans, which might stretch early budgets. And while the tool is powerful, it can take time to learn.

Still, for founder-led teams who want to combine CRM and marketing in a single platform – and plan to grow into more advanced capabilities – HubSpot is a solid long-term bet.

Want to know more? Get a full breakdown of HubSpot Sales Hub's features and pricing.

Pros

  • Integrated CRM suite for sales, marketing & support

  • Powerful customization

  • Robust Workflow Automation

  • Best-in-class marketing automation capabilities

  • Superior lead management functionality

  • Extensive integration capabilities

Cons

  • Complex Pricing with Steep Increases

  • Cluttered and Dated Interface

  • Difficult to Learn and Navigate

  • Bureaucratic Support System

Compare all CRMsRead the full review

Best for high-volume sales outreach

Close product logo
Close

Stackfix Rating:

6.9 / 10

Visit website

Starting at

$19

Calculate your price
Updated onApr 2, 2025

Close is a top choice for founder-led sales teams focused on high-volume outreach and cold calling. It’s built for outbound – with features like a power dialer, predictive dialer, call coaching, and automatic transcripts that help you move through lead lists fast and stay focused on conversations that convert.

Beyond calling, Close supports multi-channel sequences across email, SMS, and voice. You can segment leads with granular filters, build targeted lists, and even randomise send times to make outreach feel more human. For founders who are doing sales themselves – or building their first reps – these time-saving features make a real difference.

In our testing, Close earned a 10/10 for its in-browser calling experience – it’s one of the best platforms we’ve used for high-volume phone outreach.

There are a few trade-offs. Close doesn’t offer much in the way of marketing automation, so if you’re planning inbound or lead nurturing, you’ll need to layer in other tools. It also comes at a premium price, and while it’s powerful, the learning curve can be steep if you’re new to sales ops. Some integrations also require third-party workarounds.

Still, if you’re all-in on outbound and want a CRM that’s built for calling at scale, Close is fast, focused, and built to help you sell more, faster.

Want to know more? Get a full breakdown of Close's features and pricing.

Pros

  • Quick to get started

  • Best-in-class calling functionality

  • Powerful automated sales sequences

  • Advanced lead management and filtering

  • Highly customizable system

  • Strong data export capabilities

Cons

  • Weak Marketing Capabilities

  • Limited Workflow Automation

  • Poor Integration Ecosystem

  • No Lead Scoring

  • Limited Email Analytics

Compare all CRMsRead the full review

Best for B2B lead management

Relate product logo
Relate

Stackfix Rating:

7.1 / 10

Visit website

Starting at

$0

Calculate your price
Updated onApr 2, 2025

Relate is a great fit for founder-led B2B sales teams that want a clean, focused CRM built around lead management. It’s lightweight, easy to navigate, and helps early-stage teams stay organised without the clutter of a traditional enterprise tool.

The standout is “Prospect” – a dedicated lead qualification pipeline that gives SDRs a clear, structured flow before handing leads off to sales. You can customise lead statuses to match your process, and the workflow is simple enough that new team members can get started with minimal ramp time. Built-in Clearbit enrichment automatically pulls in company and contact data, giving your team extra context without the manual work.

In testing, Relate scored 9/10 for lead management. It nails the basics and keeps your pipeline sharp.

There are some limitations. Email sequences are capped at 50 sends per day, and automation is minimal. If you’re running larger outbound campaigns or need more advanced workflow control, you may hit a ceiling.

But for founder-led teams focused on speed, clarity, and getting qualified leads into the hands of sales, Relate does the job without getting in your way. It’s a simple, no-fuss CRM that keeps your team moving.

Want to know more? Get a full breakdown of Relate's features and pricing.

Pros

  • Powerful and intuitive pipeline automation

  • Excellent lead management for B2B sales

  • Exceptional ease of use for B2B startups

  • Responsive customer support

  • Efficient contact enrichment and LinkedIn integration

Cons

  • Severely Limited Integration Capabilities

  • Primitive Workflow Automation

  • Restrictive Email Sequencing Limits

Compare all CRMsRead the full review

Best for teams with limited budgets

Bigin product logo
Bigin

Stackfix Rating:

6.3 / 10

Visit website

Starting at

$0

Calculate your price
Updated onApr 2, 2025

Bigin is one of the best-value CRMs for founder-led sales teams on a tight budget. At just $7 per user per month, it’s incredibly affordable, yet it still manages to offer a solid set of core features. For early-stage startups that need a CRM without blowing their budget, Bigin is a smart starting point.

One of its standout features is multi-team pipelines, which let you track deals, support tickets, or projects all in one place. That’s especially helpful for founders juggling multiple roles and needing a system that can flex with them. Bigin also includes built-in phone and email sequencing, which means you don’t have to pay extra for additional tools – a big plus when resources are limited.

The interface is simple, and while support is basic, the platform is easy enough to figure out. In our testing, Bigin consistently impressed with its balance of affordability and functionality, making it a great fit for small teams just getting started.

There are limitations. You won’t get advanced features like custom objects or complex automation workflows, and it’s not built for scaling into an enterprise-grade solution. But if what you need is a clean, functional CRM that won’t drain your runway, Bigin is one of the best budget-friendly options available.

Want to know more? Get a full breakdown of Bigin's features and pricing.

Pros

  • Superior Data Export Capabilities

  • Efficient Contact Management

  • Flexible, Intuitive Pipeline Management

  • Solid calling capabilities

Cons

  • Poor Customer Support

  • Limited Email Sequence Functionality

  • Lackluster Interface Design

  • Missing Critical LinkedIn Integration

Compare all CRMsRead the full review

Best for LinkedIn prospecting

Folk product logo
Folk

Stackfix Rating:

7.4 / 10

Visit website

Starting at

$25

Calculate your price
Updated onApr 2, 2025

Folk is a great fit for founder-led sales teams that lean on LinkedIn and social media to generate leads and run outreach. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and designed around the way modern founders actually build relationships – through networking, not spreadsheets.

The Chrome extension is where Folk really shines. You can pull in contact profiles from LinkedIn, Gmail, X, and Instagram with one click, add prospects in bulk from LinkedIn searches, and even export leads who’ve engaged with your posts. You can also use message templates directly in LinkedIn or Gmail to speed up personalised outreach – a huge win when you’re doing everything yourself.

It’s not trying to be a full-featured enterprise CRM. There’s no workflow automation or advanced analytics, and its data enrichment is basic. But for early-stage teams who want a simple, social-first CRM to track conversations and stay organised, Folk does the job well.

If you’re a founder spending time on LinkedIn, managing your own outreach, and want something fast and flexible, Folk is a strong choice. It’s built for the hustle – not the handoff.

Want to know more? Get a full breakdown of Folk's features and pricing.

Pros

  • Exceptional LinkedIn Integration & Chrome Extension

  • Highly Customizable Platform

  • Responsive Customer Support

  • User-Friendly Interface

  • Effective Email Sequence Management

Cons

  • Missing Core Sales Features

  • Limited Reporting Capabilities

  • Weak Data Enrichment

  • Basic Pipeline Management

  • Poor Integration Capabilities

Compare all CRMsRead the full review

How we test products

With so many CRM platforms on the market, we focus on identifying the best options for small and midsize businesses. Our evaluation process is built around real-world usage, prioritizing functionality, ease of use, and overall value. Here’s how we do it:

Functionality

A CRM should help businesses manage relationships, not complicate them. We start by identifying key use cases—contact management, pipeline tracking, automation, and reporting—then test how well each platform supports these needs. CRMs that offer essential features without unnecessary complexity score highest.

User Experience & Onboarding

A CRM should be intuitive enough for teams to adopt quickly. We test each platform’s interface by navigating core features without prior training and track onboarding time—from account setup to first data import. CRMs that require extensive customization or technical knowledge to function properly lose points.

Automation & AI Capabilities

Automation is key to scaling sales and customer management. We evaluate each CRM’s automation features, such as lead scoring, email sequencing, and workflow automation. We also assess AI-driven insights to determine whether they provide meaningful improvements or just add complexity.

Integrations & Compatibility

A CRM rarely works in isolation—it needs to sync with email, marketing tools, and Sales Engagement platforms. We test how well each CRM integrates with essential business tools, prioritizing native integrations over third-party connectors.

Pricing & Value

We compare pricing across competitors, analyzing what each plan includes and whether critical features are locked behind paywalls. Hidden costs—such as per-user fees, premium automation features, or required onboarding services—are factored into our assessment. CRMs that offer strong core functionality at a fair price perform best.

Stackfix’s Fit Score

All of these factors contribute to Stackfix’s Fit Score, a proprietary ranking system that measures how well each CRM aligns with a buyer’s needs. It combines two key elements:

  • Requirements Met – How many buyer requirements the CRM fulfills
  • Stackfix Rating – Our expert assessment of the software’s overall quality, usability, and value

The result? A clear, data-driven recommendation that helps businesses choose the right CRM—without hours of trial and error.

FAQs

What is a CRM?

Put simply, a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a platform that helps you manage and analyze your interactions with customers, both potential and current. It’s essentially a centralized place to store customer data, and help you forge and build stronger relationships with these customers. The key features of a CRM usually include:

  • Contact Management: Helping you store customer information, including their name, contact information, key information like whether they’ve bought from you in the past, and any communication history.
  • Sales Pipeline Tracking: This helps you track potential deals from the initial contact up until closing, which helps your sales team stay on top of opportunities and forecast revenue.
  • Analytics and reporting: Most CRMs also generate reports and insights based on your aggregated consumer behaviour, sales performance, and trends across the business.

What should I consider when buying a CRM?

Choosing the right CRM can make or break your sales and customer management process—so it’s essential to find one that fits your business needs, tech stack, and budget. Here are the key factors to consider before making your decision.

  1. Your requirements. It's important to first define what you need the CRM to accomplish. Consider your current sales needs and growth plans – a smaller startup focused on personal relationships may need different features than a larger startup managing thousands of leads at once.
  2. Ease of use. Look for an interface that your team will actually like and use. A cluttered or overly complex interface can overwhelm less experienced teams - meaning all those fancy features go to waste. That’s why Stackfix gives every CRM an ‘Ease of Use’ rating - so you can quickly see which ones are intuitive and user-friendly. Click into each product above to find the right fit for your team.
  3. Technical infrastructure. Take stock of your current tech stack. Do you need seamless integrations with your existing tools (e.g. Email, Scheduling and Customer Support software)? If you’re migrating from another CRM, can this new one handle your data volume and user count without breaking a sweat?
  4. Cost. When choosing a CRM, look beyond the headline price-per-user. Factor in setup costs, workflow limits, and how pricing scales as your team grows. The last thing you want is to lock into a “cheap” CRM that gets expensive fast when you actually start using it.
  5. Customer support. This is one of those things you don’t think about—until you really need it. If something goes wrong during setup or day-to-day use, will the vendor be there to help? Look at response times, availability (24/7 or just business hours?), and self-serve resources like help centers or community forums. To make this easier, Stackfix rates every CRM on customer support. Click into each product above to see how they stack up.

What are the common mistakes to avoid when buying CRM software?

Avoiding common pitfalls when choosing a CRM can save you time, money, and headaches down the line. Here are some of the biggest mistakes startups make—and how to avoid them.

  1. Buying based on features instead of quality. Many businesses buy comprehensive CRMs (often the big players like HubSpot and Salesforce), without considering whether all the features are crucial functionalities that they really need. Don’t be wowed by extensive features lists, if these features don’t align with your actual business processes.
  2. Not planning data migration. Many startups fall into the trap of buying a CRM without thinking about how they’ll move all customer data in the new system – keep in mind that this includes cleaning up old data, and ensuring all new fields are mapped correctly.
  3. Failing to think about scaling. Startups frequently select a CRM that fits their current needs, without thinking about their growth trajectories. Make sure to ask yourself: where do you want to be in 5 years? Does the CRM offer advanced features which you might need later, or will you have to make another switch? Consider the vendor’s frequency of updates, and ensure the CRM will continue to serve your needs as you grow.
  4. Not checking the adequacy of integrations. Integrations are particularly important for apps like email – make sure you verify that integrations are sufficient for your needs (e.g., if a CRM integrates with emails, does it sync custom fields for you? Make sure to test each integration before committing.)

How much does CRM Software typically cost?

Most CRM solutions range from $12-300 per user monthly, with entry-level options starting around $12-30 and premium solutions exceeding $150 monthly. Most vendors structure pricing in tiers based on features and scale, so be sure to enter your requirements as accurately as possible in our pricing calculator.

Many providers offer free plans with core functionality for very small teams but restrict users (typically 2-5), contacts, or available features. HubSpot, Zoho, and Freshsales all provide capable free tiers for businesses just getting started.

For enterprise plans and above, you can expect to speak to sales for a bespoke price. These custom quotes typically factor in implementation costs ($1,000-$60,000+), data migration, and specialized training. To skip the demo calls, be sure to check out our pricing calculator.

Compare other CRMs

View our comparisons of other CRM

ZCC

Zoho CRM vs Copper

PF

Pipedrive vs Freshsales

LAZS

Less Annoying CRM vs Zendesk Sell

TO

Twenty vs Odoo