When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn With the best CRM software in Canada, you can manage your sales pipeline, improve your customer relationships and customer service, automate repetitive tasks, and track key metrics—all from one platform.
To help you find the top CRM solution in Canada that’s best suited to your specific needs and budget, I’ve tested and compared the market’s best options. I’ve looked at core features, pricing, and pros and cons, to ensure you pick a CRM tool that meets your needs.
Best CRM Software for Canada Tested by Our Experts
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The Top CRM Software Reviewed and Compared for 2024
Below you’ll find more in-depth reviews and comparisons of the best CRM systems for Canadian businesses. I’ll evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and highlight areas in which they really excel.
1. monday CRM – Best CRM Platform for Flexibility
monday CRM is one of the best CRM and email marketing tools. Integrating your email with Monday lets you automatically log customer data, messages, and interactions, and use personalized email templates to save time.
Generating emails is simple, too. All you have to do is enter a subject line, and Monday.com’s AI tool will suggest relevant templates.
For instance, if your subject line contains the keyword “proposal,” monday CRM can automatically pick the best proposal-related template for you. You’ll then just need to edit the custom fields provided, and you’ll be good to go. The content generation and optimization tools aren’t limited to emails, either.
If you’ve jotted down notes during a meeting with a client, you can use monday CRM’s content AI to quickly summarize the information and provide a precis of the most important details. What’s more, it can transcribe your call recordings so your communications are fully searchable.
We do feel, though, that Monday could improve customer communication by adding call management. Freshsales, for example, comes with a built-in phone service, helps you buy business and toll-free numbers for your company, and offers a range of additional call management features.
That said, Monday’s lead management offers some excellent automation features. For instance, when a new lead comes in, it automatically gets assigned to a suitable sales rep, fast-tracking your responses – so if you’re looking for the best CRM for marketing automation, Monday Sales CRM is a great choice.
You’ll also be notified every time a lead opens your email so you can track the best time to contact them again with another proposition. Monday also sets reminders for upcoming tasks. In short, It ensures you’re never late with your leads and always at the top of your game.
2. Thryv – Best All-in-One Canada CRM for Small Businesses
Thryv offers the best CRM software for Canadian businesses after an all-in-one solution. Thryv’s core CRM features are available under Thryv Business, which is perfect for people looking for a comprehensive plan.
You get an estimate and invoice tool, for example, that can be used to send out professional quotes and bills to clients. Your clients can even choose to pay directly through Thryv, as it supports payment processing.
For the price of the CRM system, you’ll also get access to its SMS, email, and social media marketing features. These features let you manage all your posts and customer interactions in one place, so you don’t have to hop from one app to another to collect customer updates.
Having all your customer interactions in one place helps you respond faster and with the certainty that you have all the relevant information in hand, making it easier to improve your customer relationships.
The CRM tool itself is strong. You can create custom profiles for each client, recording their contact details and likes and dislikes. You can also add tags to every profile and the associated payments and files so you can quickly locate them.
Depending on the plan you pick, you’ll also have access to Thryv’s cloud storage, which starts at 20GB and has the option to upgrade to unlimited storage.
Since Thryv doesn’t have separate CRM plans, it’s quite expensive compared to its competitors on this list. Monday’s cheapest plan starts at $8/seat/month, while Thryv’s cheapest package with CRM functionality starts at $199/month per location.
If you consider the benefits it offers, though, and calculate the cost of purchasing these features as separate tools, you’ll likely come to the conclusion that Thryv is actually good value for money.
3. NetSuite CRM – Best for Gauging Buyer Readiness
NetSuite CRM neatly divides its tools to cater to every department involved in customer relationship management. This includes the teams reaching out to leads and executing the marketing and sales strategy and the customer support team taking care of after-sales service.
The buyer-readiness marketing feature, for example, is used to qualify leads and indicates whether a lead is likely to be ready to do business with you.
This feature differs from Freshsale’s contact scoring, which is used to convert cold leads into active leads, while buyer-readiness is intended to gauge the interest of already active leads. Once a cold lead meets buyer-readiness conditions, which you can customize, it can be automatically transferred to your main sales pipeline.
Similarly, in the sales stage, Netsuite CRM centralizes and unifies customer management processes so your marketing, customer support, or sales teams can quickly access every lead’s file. You can use this CRM data to upsell existing customers and forecast expected orders.
NetSuite’s CRM system also extends support by helping you provide post-purchase service to your customers with an online portal for your customers to file and manage queries. They’ll also be able to track their cases online, ensuring your team isn’t bombarded with emails from angry customers.
The CRM has a wide range of features and ties closely into NetSuite’s ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) module, which includes order management, inventory tracking, and accounting.
Smaller Canadian businesses may find this CRM platform’s feature set overwhelming, but it’s a great option for large firms willing to pay for a comprehensive tool. It doesn’t have fixed prices, so you’ll need to get a custom quote—this ensures you’ll only pay for the features you use, however.
4. Salesforce – Best Value for Money CRM for Small Canadian Businesses
Salesforce provides its marketing and service tools in the Salesforce Customer 360 package and is the best CRM for AI capabilities. It has a built-in, multi-functional AI bot called Einstein, which can serve as a personal assistant.
If you need to find customer data, such as a lead’s profile, you can give Einstein the file name, and it’ll do the work for you. This also works for subjects without existing reports in the system.
For example, unlike with many CRM tools, you can ask, “How many customers responded to the last email campaign?” The system will comb through your database to find the answer.
Einstein can also help you create personalized email marketing campaigns. Every single customer will feel like you’ve handcrafted a message for them, but you’ll save tons of time by not having to manually write the messages.
Another benefit of using Salesforce’s AI tools is that they can help you target the best customers. They’ll review all your leads and tell you which deals have the highest revenue potential. You can then allocate your resources accordingly to focus on closing them.
The only thing you might not like about Salesforce is the site interface – it’s not the most easy to use CRM, and it can be a little tricky to find what you’re looking for. Once you’re past that, it’s seamless from there on, though.
Salesforce can also help you build an interactive hub for your team. It offers third-party integrations with tools like Slack and syncs in real-time, so if a user updates a task on Salesforce, everyone on the team will be instantly notified in Slack. This ensures all the relevant personnel can be kept in the loop without endless emails.
5. Freshsales CRM – Best for Unified CRM Sales Boost
Freshsales is the CRM solution for those who want to communicate with their customers over the phone. Beyond CRM features, it comes with a built-in phone system, and you can buy local and toll-free numbers so your customers can easily contact you.
The call recording facility is one of the best parts of Freshsale CRM’s call management features. You can keep a copy of each conversation to help improve the customer experience or, if needed, to defend the company in disputes in the future.
Other calling features include call masking, which lets you hide your original number, warm call transfers (transferring calls to another agent after giving them context), and holiday routing, which lets you divert calls to voicemail or different numbers during holidays.
Another way to interact with customers is through live chat. Freshsales CRM has a live chat widget that you can embed on your website. This chatbot can send automated replies to engage customers before a live agent is ready to take over.
Subscribers also benefit from Freshsales’ sales pipeline management features, including a contact scoring tool, which will help your sales and marketing teams identify which leads are most likely to close, so you can allocate resources to the right accounts.
The rotten deals tool, meanwhile, notifies you when deals have stagnated past a certain period and there are slim chances of closing. This stops you from wasting time and money on dead leads, making Freshsales one of the best CRMs for small businesses that don’t have resources to waste.
If there’s one drawback, it’s that Freshsales lacks workflow automation features, which are included in the Freshmarketer product.
The Best CRM Services in Canada Compared
These are the best CRM solutions for Canadian businesses. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t other services that excel in specific criteria and which may be just what you’re looking for.
The following table compares the top 14 best CRM software providers to help you find the best CRM in Canada for your needs:
| Providers | Best For | Starting Price | Free Version | Customer support | Mobile Support | Integrations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| monday CRM | Flexibility and ability to scale | US$13.65/user/month (annual – three-seat minimum) | Free plan for 2 users | Live chat, email, call, knowledge center | ✅ | 200+ |
| Thryv | Complete all-in-one business package | US$249/month per location | Free team tools | Live chat, email, call, knowledge center | ✅ | 200+ |
| Oracle NetSuite | Gauging buyer readiness | Custom pricing | Demo | Online support and knowledge center at basic tier | ✅ | Unlimited via SuiteCloud Platform Integration |
| Salesforce | Value for money for small businesses | US$25/user/month (annual) | 30-day trial | Live chat, call, knowledge center | ✅ | Unlimited via MuleSoft |
| Freshsales | Unified CRM sales boost | US$15/user/month | Free plan + 21-day trial | Live chat, email, call, knowledge center | ✅ | 35+ |
| Bigin by Zoho CRM | Small businesses on a budget | Free / CA$9/user/month (annual) | Free plan for 1 user + 15-day trial | Call, email, knowledge base | ✅ | 90+ |
| Zoho CRM | Onboarding and usability | CA$19/user/month (annual) | Free for 3 users + 15-day trial | Live chat, email, call, knowledge base | ✅ | 800+ |
| Act! | Hybrid deployment options | US$30/user/month (annual) | 14-day trial | Live chat, call, knowledge base, and support tickets at basic tier | ✅ | 20+ |
| Salesflare | Small businesses with automated data entry | US$29/user/month (annual) | 30-day trial | Email, live chat, knowledge base | ✅ | 200+ |
| EngageBay | Combined marketing, CRM, and help desk product | Free / US$12.74/user/month (two-year plan) | Free plan for 15 users | Email and chat at basic tier | ✅ | 45+ |
| Agile CRM | Comprehensive help desk for startups | Free / US$8.99/user/month (annual) | Free plan for 10 users | Live chat, email, call, knowledge center | ✅ | 40+ |
| Copper | Easy integration with Google platforms | US$23/user/month (annual) | 14-day trial | Live chat, knowledge center | Android | 65+ |
| HubSpot | Large teams | CA$27/month (annual) | Free plan for 2 users | Live chat, email, and knowledge center at basic tier | ✅ | 1,500+ |
| Streak | Email marketing | Free / US$15/user/month (annual) | Free plan | Live chat and knowledge base at basic tier | ✅ | 9,000+ via Zapier |
How We Review And Test CRM Software
We base our recommendations on first-hand testing. All the CRM Software products we feature, have been tested based on the following criteria:
- Ease of Use: We assess the CRM service’s overall UX across platforms. Some CRM services we’ve used have a learning curve, so we also factor in their online documentation.
- Functionality: We consider the depth of features on offer, including contact, lead, and pipeline management, marketing capabilities, and the depth of reporting on offer.
- Integrations: We assess the CRM platform’s ability to integrate with essential everyday tools like email marketing services, accounting software, and ERPs, for example.
- Security and Compliance: We look for features like data encryption, role-based access controls, GDPR compliance, and industry-specific regulations like HIPAA.
- Customization: We check for features like custom fields, workflows, and automation rules, to assess whether the platform can be tailored to specific needs and industries.
- Value for Money: We weigh the feature-to-price value on offer and consider whether the provider offers affordable scalability.
- Mobile Accessibility: To ensure sales reps and managers can use the CRM on the go, we test the mobile apps available and evaluate their functionality.
- Reputation: We don’t waste our time with tools that don’t have a good reputation. We note what other users have to say to ensure we offer full insight into the tools we feature.
What is CRM Software?
CRM tools, or Customer Relationship Management software, allow you to improve team communication, increase marketing reach, boost customer experience, and get more prospects on board, all at the same time.
CRM solutions are used in marketing, sales, customer service, HR, and software development. Most CRM software tools are cloud-based, and they collect and store business and customer data.
CRM software helps you create a customer database with information like job titles, addresses, and phone numbers, which can enable you to personalize your messaging. You can also automate repetitive tasks by creating sales funnels and adding tasks and reminders.
Additionally, many CRM companies in Canada offer third-party integrations with apps like Skype, Slack, Google Docs, and Gmail and social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
You can make calls and send emails directly from the platform to reach more prospects. Some of the best CRM software companies also include communication tools and can act as central information repositories.
The Benefits of Using CRM Software
The best CRM software products offer numerous benefits, here are the main ones worth noting:
Besides third-party integrations, the best CRM software for Canadian businesses offers built-in communication features that let you streamline internal communications and centralize customer communications, whether through phone calls, social media, or emails.
The best CRM software providers let you manage your customer relationships efficiently. With up-to-date information on past purchases, complaints, and other information, your customer service or sales teams will be better equipped to cater to each individual lead or customer, ultimately improving your relationships with them.
Even with advanced CRM features like marketing automation, where you can automatically send welcome emails or tag/segment leads, for example, the best Canadian CRMs let you personalize each interaction with your leads and customers.
Personalized customer support or marketing campaigns will ultimately boost your customer relationships and offer better sales results.
A CRM system offers workflow automation and lets you automate your sales processes and, in most instances, even your customer support. Automating your email marketing, lead scoring, and other business processes will ultimately boost your productivity, allowing your teams to focus on more important tasks.
Having lead and customer data automatically updated, for example, means you can say goodbye to manually updating your database and won’t have to worry about outdated or incorrect details being used.
From sales metrics, including sales forecasting, to lead and opportunity insights, marketing campaign performance, and loads more, you’ll have all the data you need to make informed decisions for your business. You’ll also have invaluable insights into your leads and customers to help you better cater to their needs.
Without a CRM, it can be nearly impossible to ensure the safety of the data you store on leads and customers. Most CRM tools offer compliance with leading data privacy regulations to give their users peace of mind. The same can be said for laws around email marketing, like CAN-SPAM.
How to Choose the Best Canadian CRM
Here are the most important aspects to consider when choosing the right CRM software to grow your Canadian business.
Customer relationship management (CRM) software helps you improve your business processes with workflow and marketing automation tools that let you automate repetitive tasks.
That said, the features you get will depend on the plan you choose, so be sure to factor in the core CRM features you need to ensure they are available with the plan you can afford.
You should ensure you get basic features like lead generation, lead management, deal management, and email marketing. Sales and marketing features are also handy, as are project management and employee tracking capabilities.
CRM software tools differ in the number of available features, interface simplicity, compatibility with third-party tools, and, of course, price.
Solutions like Salesforce’s Sales Cloud offer the best value for money. This CRM software offers a richer feature list on its lower-priced plans and is typically used by mid-to-large scale businesses.
It provides different plans for varying-sized businesses and is quite budget-friendly, but every Canadian business’s budget is different, so you’ll want to compare prices before choosing.
CRM is important for strategic management, and companies that fail to choose the best CRM for them risk stagnation and may end up chasing their own tails.
Don’t spend more than you can afford, but also don’t get too tied up in the CRM software cost — factor in value for money and scalability.
Getting a new CRM solution doesn’t mean changing your working habits and erasing everything you did before.
When choosing a CRM platform, be sure that it can integrate with the tools your business already uses. Selecting a CRM provider that offers this will ensure a smoother transition and prevent drops in your team’s productivity during the process.
It’s also worth noting that some integrations may be limited to higher-end plans.
All CRM software tools are built for desktop and laptop devices by default. However, you may not always be by your computer.
Choosing a mobile CRM that offers fully functional iOS and Android apps will allow you to finish your tasks on the go. Make sure the mobile interface is similar to its desktop version, as it’ll help you get the most out of your CRM tool.
Choose a CRM platform according to your business needs. Think about how your company compares to others in the same niche and, more importantly, where you’d like to be in the future.
Be realistic in your assessment and choose a CRM system supporting your growth. Look for CRM software that can scale with your organization.
Once you implement this solution for the first time and your team gets used to it, you’ll quickly realize how complex and costly switching CRMs can be.
If you plan on sticking to one niche, that’s fine. All you need to do is choose the right CRM software for the job, and you’re good to go.
However, if you intend to spread your company around different industries, you’ll need to look for a more versatile CRM software provider.
Not all Canadian CRMs are specialized for all industries. Some focus more on marketing, sales, or customer service, while others are more suitable for software development or design.
Before you choose the best CRM software for your needs, you need to have a plan of what you do now and what your company will do in the future.
If you don’t, you may find you lack the basic CRM features you need and will have to spend more. Doing this can cost a lot of money, and it’ll take time to implement a new CRM strategy.
All the best CRM software products offer different interfaces with varying learning curves. While this alone shouldn’t be the determining factor, it’s important to consider it.
We recommend making use of any free plans or free trials to test the CRM before you commit to a paid plan. Some, like Salesforce and HubSpot, are considered harder to use, yet many, including small Canadian businesses, still choose them.
Free vs. Paid CRMs: Which Should I Choose?
Small Canadian business owners will be tempted by free CRMs. A free plan may very well suit your needs currently, but we can’t emphasize enough the importance of factoring in the cost to scale and the limitations.
While most CRM software solutions offer a free plan, even the best free CRM software has limitations. For example, many features have caps on how many times you can use them, and some, like AI features, are out of reach entirely.
So, while a free plan may suffice for a Canadian startup, it’s not a long-term solution, so it would be wise to factor in how much it’ll cost you to stay with that provider when your business grows.
Emerging Trends in CRM
As the culture of using customer relationship management software in our day-to-day business keeps evolving and changing, we may see many more industries implementing CRM software in their strategies.
We’re witnessing how ChatGPT is revolutionizing smart contracts and blockchain, for example. The power and influence of AI in our everyday lives keep growing, and AI has already been implemented in some areas of CRM systems.
Despite their remarkable results, AI-powered CRM features are still in the early phase of their evolution. AI will become more dominant as technology progresses, and CRM software providers that embrace this will likely become industry leaders.
Advanced CRM features we expect to see in the future include ticket-resolving chatbots, voice, and conversational UI, and increasingly sophisticated integrations.
