Our CRM Software Ratings Methodology

How we rate CRMs

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is a critical tool for driving sales and interacting with potential or current customers. The best CRMs help you organize and store all of the data that relates to customers and your interactions with them, and they have features to help you measure and track the progress of these relationships. These features include task automations, database libraries, pipeline management tools and detailed analytics.

Our team of experts reviewed 51 CRM software products and evaluated over 5,300 data points. In over 100 hours of research, we developed our rankings to provide readers and small business owners with essential information as they consider CRM software solutions.

All companies we assess in our research are ranked on a five-star scale based on criteria developed specifically for the category, which is listed below. We use these ratings to rank the products so SMBs can determine their best option. 

It is important to note that advertisers do not influence our editorial decisions or content. 

Methodologies

How we choose the products we ranked

We research and analyze all of the top CRM systems on the market and consider factors such as how popular they are for small businesses, whether they offer additional features like client portals or sales territories, and if they offer comprehensive support.

To make our list of the best CRMs, here are a few (but not all) of the features common to CRMs that we weigh:

• Monthly rates.
• Number of users.
• Live chat availability.
• Analytics or reporting tools.
• Integration with common apps.
• Availability of document management libraries.
• Third-party automations.

Top CRM systems are transparent about their pricing, easy to use and understand, allow users to customize the system that best suits their needs and offer multiple support channels for small business owners who may need help at odd hours.

CRM ranking factors

CRM features 

Because a lot of customer data needs to be managed in an easily accessible way, a CRM’s features are a make-or-break aspect of our rating. The CRMs that make the top of our list have most, if not all, of the following features:

Pipeline management dashboard

When you’re managing a lot of relationships, you need to be able to see the sales process and understand where you’re at within the pipeline. 

Analytics tools

Tracking your analytics gives you baselines and benchmarks for tracking metrics correlating to how well your business is performing.

Third-party integrations

Third-party integrations within a CRM minimize the time that you’d need to spend switching between different platforms and may allow you to automate some tasks that the CRM can’t do alone.

Customizable dashboard

Not everyone sees things the same way: A customizable dashboard gives you different views into your business, allowing you to gain new insights or set up a visual that makes the most sense to you.

Document management library

To make it easier for your sales team and your customers, a document management library within the CRM serves as a centralized place to store sales collateral and customer files. 

Automations

Automations are key to a good CRM, as they take a lot of the manual input and maintenance out of the processes of creating and using a database. Automations help streamline repetitive tasks and reduce the margin of error for processes. Contact management, task management, document management and lead assignment can all benefit from the application of automations.

Task assignments

A good CRM should allow users to create, assign and manage tasks for team members and customers. This ensures that everyone knows their role and what they need to do to keep the sales pipeline running.

We also consider factors like whether a mobile app is available, if the CRM supports international currencies, if it has a client portal, if it supports formatting of international telephone numbers and addresses, if it allows data exports and if it allows users to set up sales territories.

Pricing and value 

For value, we consider things like month-to-month subscription costs, annual subscription costs, the number of users you’re able to have with those costs, and whether there’s a free trial or a money-back guarantee.

Service and support 

To make sure you can configure and get the most out of your CRM system, it’s important that the company you choose has ample support options. We consider whether the company has phone, chat, or ticket support, and whether you can reach the support team at all hours.

Expert score 

Our expert score is based on our editorial opinion and comes from years of experience with CRM systems. We consider what features are most important, the value, how popular the system is, and how easy it is to use.

CRM software methodology

To make our list of the best CRMs, a company must perform highly in the following areas:

• Features: 52%.
• Pricing and value: 28%. 
• Expert score: 10%.
• Service and support: 10%.

Our expert score consists of our editorial assessment of the product in the following areas: features (2.5%), value (2.5%), reputation (2.5%) and ease of use (2.5%). 

We value pricing transparency and considered if pricing information was publicly available (1%). We then assessed:

• Month-to-month subscription cost per user (if applicable): 7%.
• Annual subscription cost per user (if applicable): 7%.
• Flat organizational rate per month (if applicable): 3%.
• Flat organizational rate per year (if applicable): 3%.
• Maximum number of users: 3%.
• Free trial period length (in days): 2%.
• Money-back guarantee period length (in days): 2%.

To evaluate service and support, we looked for the availability of live chat (2%) and phone support (2%). We also considered if there was a knowledge base (2%) or other support channels (2%) available. Finally, we looked at the availability of a maintenance or service contract (2%).

Features make up the majority of our assessment. We looked at both general core features and a number of additional ones. Key general features were:

• Pipeline management dashboard: 4%.
• Ability to customize dashboard layout and content: 3%.
• Analytics or reporting tools: 4%.
• Document management library: 3%.
• Open API and developer library: 3%.
• Integration with email applications: 3%.
• Integration with mobile or VoIP telephony systems: 3%.
• Integration with third-party automation applications or systems: 4%.
• Support for multiple currencies for international businesses: 2%.
• Support for international formats of telephone numbers and addresses: 2%.

The additional features we evaluated were:

• Quotes generation and estimates for customers: 2%.
• Create, assign and manage tasks for team members and customers: 3%.
• Sales territories for users: 2%.
• Automations for parts of the sales and marketing process: 3%.
• Client portal: 2%.
• Full export of contact data allowed: 3%.
• Mobile app available that enables the use of ordinary CRM features: 3%.
• Sales forecasting and projections: 3%.

Read our full best CRM software in 2024 guide.

In our evaluation of the best contact center CRMs, we used the following criteria:

• Expert score: 10%
• Pricing and value: 27%.
• Service and support: 5%. 
• Features: 33%.
• Contact center: 25%.

Our editorial team’s assessment of the product with regard to features (2.5%), value (2.5%), reputation (2.5%) and ease of use (2.5%) make up our expert score. 

We derived our pricing and value score by assessing first if pricing information was publicly available (1%) and then considering:

• Month-to-month subscription cost per user (if applicable): 5%.
• Annual subscription cost per user (if applicable): 5%.
• Flat organizational rate per month (if applicable): 5%.
• Flat organizational rate per year (if applicable): 5%.
• Maximum number of users: 3%.
• Free trial period length (in days): 2%.
• Money-back guarantee period length (in days): 1%.

Our service and support evaluation looked for the availability of live chat (1%) and phone support (1%). We also considered if there was a knowledge base (1%) or other support channels (1%) available. Finally, we looked at the availability of a maintenance or service contract (1%). 

We looked at both general core features and a number of additional ones. Key general features were:

• Pipeline management dashboard: 3%.
• Ability to customize dashboard layout and content: 3%.
• Analytics or reporting tools: 2%.
• Document management library: 2%.
• Open API and developer library: 2%.
• Integration with email applications: 2%.
• Integration with mobile or VoIP telephony systems: 2%.
• Integration with third-party automation applications or systems: 2%.
• Support for multiple currencies for international businesses: 2%.
• Support for international formats of telephone numbers and addresses: 2%.

The additional features we evaluated were:

• Quotes generation and estimates for customers: 1%.
• Create, assign and manage tasks for team members and customers: 2%.
• Sales territories for users: 1%.
• Automations for parts of the sales and marketing process: 2%.
• Client portal: 1%.
• Full export of contact data allowed: 2%.
• Mobile app available that enables the use of ordinary CRM features: 1%.
• Sales forecasting and projections: 1%.

Finally, we evaluated the contact center-specific features offered by the provider. These included:

• Call routing: 5%.
• Call recording: 5%.
• Autodial feature: 5%.
• Call queue transfer feature: 5%.
• Call reporting analytics: 5%.

Read our full best contact center CRM in 2024 guide.

How we collect data

Our editorial and data teams work together to collect and sort data on an ongoing basis. We start by establishing specific data points and a clear methodology. Data is collected both online and over the phone with company representatives.

Once the initial data is gathered, both our data team and editorial team perform quality checks. We then finalize our methodology, considering any relevant software testing factors to ensure comprehensive and accurate data collection.

We collect our data from company representatives and from publicly available information on company websites. This data is rigorously fact-checked by four editors and three data team members, ensuring it goes through seven layers of verification.

To maintain data accuracy, we recollect data every six months at a minimum. Additionally, we regularly check for updated pricing information and maintain contact with the companies we review. Our editorial team also performs random spot checks to ensure that our data remains current and accurate.

USA TODAY Blueprint’s editorial standards

At USA TODAY Blueprint, our small business team is dedicated to providing unbiased analyses of products and services that will guide small business owners in building a successful company. Our editors and data team thoroughly fact-check each company in our ranking to ensure our articles offer the most accurate, up-to-date information.

Our data-driven methodologies are based on the needs and values of small business owners and determine each company’s Blueprint rating. It is important to note that advertisers do not influence our writers, editors, editorial decisions or content. Our team’s editorial independence is crucial to empowering small business owners to make informed decisions.