Winner: Breezy. Runner-up: Manatal.
Breezy is the ATS we use ourselves at Venture Harbour, and it's the one I'd recommend to any founder making their first proper round of hires. The reason is unit economics: Breezy doesn't charge per seat. So your engineering lead, your marketing lead, and your CEO can all collaborate on a candidate without three separate licences eating into your runway. At $157/mo on the Startup plan, you get unlimited users, unlimited candidates, and stage-triggered automation that genuinely cuts the busywork.
The Bootstrap (free) plan is also a legitimate option if you only have one role open at a time — it's the same product, just capped at 1 active position. Most founders end up upgrading once they're hiring across two or three roles concurrently, but you can validate the workflow at zero cost first.
Manatal is the runner-up if your single biggest constraint is cost and you want AI features. At $15/user/mo (annual), it's the cheapest "real" ATS on the market, and the AI Interviewer can save you hours of phone-screen time on high-volume roles. The trade-off is depth — reporting and customisation are basic — but for an early-stage team that needs candidates in the door fast, Manatal punches above its price.
Winner: Breezy. Runner-up: GoHire.
Once you're past the founder-only hiring stage and have between 10 and 200 employees, Breezy still does the job — and you'll feel the value of the unlimited-user pricing more, not less. Department heads can scorecard candidates without you buying them a seat. The Growth plan ($273/mo annual) adds reference checks, interview guides, and self-scheduling — the features that meaningfully cut interview admin once you're hiring across multiple departments.
If your team is UK-based, GoHire deserves serious consideration. At $99/mo Starter, it undercuts Breezy for teams that don't need 50+ job board distribution and where Reed and Totaljobs matter more than US-focused boards. The 14-day trial with no credit card required is the fastest way to see if it fits.
If you also want to consolidate HR (onboarding, time-off, benefits), look at the Mid-size tab — that's where BambooHR earns its place.
Winner: Ashby. Runner-up: Workable.
Mid-market is where the ATS decision starts to seriously matter. You're hiring 20+ roles per year, you have someone whose job is to manage recruiting, and the difference between "good enough" and "actually data-driven" affects real outcomes. Ashby is the platform that consistently wins this segment for VC-backed scale-ups, and Foundations at $400/mo (under 100 employees) has finally made it transparent enough to evaluate without a sales call.
What you're paying for is the analytics: pass-through rates by stage, interviewer calibration, source effectiveness, and pipeline-health forecasts. None of the cheaper tools come close. The trade-off is configuration overhead — expect weeks of setup, not hours — which is why Ashby only makes sense once you have a dedicated Head of Talent.
Workable is the runner-up if you want recruiting plus light HRIS in one platform. The 400M+ candidate database is the genuine differentiator — if you're hiring for hard-to-fill roles, it saves you a separate LinkedIn Recruiter subscription. At $299/mo Standard, it's a step up from small-business tools without the Ashby learning curve.
Winner: Greenhouse. Runner-up: Lever.
At enterprise scale (500+ employees, hundreds of hires per year, multiple business units, procurement involved), the shortlist narrows to platforms that pass an enterprise security review. Greenhouse is the reference standard here. SOC 2, GDPR, audit logs, role-based permissions, SSO, developer sandbox, 500+ integrations — and the structured-hiring methodology baked in is what most large companies actually want from an ATS.
Expect to pay $25,000–$70,000+ per year on the Pro tier, plus $2,000–$8,000 implementation. That sounds expensive, but Greenhouse genuinely scales to thousands of employees without falling over, and the integration marketplace means you almost certainly won't hit a "we can't connect to that" problem.
Lever is the runner-up if proactive sourcing is core to how you hire — exec search, hard-to-fill engineering roles, competitive talent markets. The combined ATS + CRM lets you nurture passive candidates over months before they're ready to apply. Pricing runs $63K–$144K+ per year at enterprise scale, comparable to Greenhouse Pro.
Winner: Manatal. Runner-up: Zoho Recruit (Staffing Agency edition).
Recruitment agencies have a different set of needs from in-house hiring teams: you're managing client relationships and candidate pipelines simultaneously, often across dozens of active mandates. Manatal is built specifically for this. The platform includes a full Recruitment CRM module — track clients, log activities, and manage placements — alongside the standard ATS pipeline. It's also the cheapest agency-friendly tool on this list at $15/user/mo (annual).
The 600M+ candidate sourcing hub and AI scoring make Manatal particularly strong for agencies running multiple searches in parallel — you can pull candidates from LinkedIn and 20+ social platforms without paying for separate sourcing tools. The AI Interviewer is also a genuine time-saver if you're conducting hundreds of first-round screens per month.
Zoho Recruit's Staffing Agency edition is the runner-up. It's not as modern as Manatal, but the native CRM features, client portal, vendor management, and integration with the broader Zoho ecosystem (Books, Mail, CRM) make it a strong choice for agencies that already run on Zoho. Standard pricing starts at $25/user/mo annual.
Strictly speaking this isn't a type of business, but plenty of bootstrapped founders just want something that does the job at $0/mo.
Zoho Recruit's Forever Free plan is the most usable free ATS on this list. One active job, candidate management, email integration, and interview scheduling — all without a time limit. If your hiring is light or sporadic, you can run an entire hiring cycle without paying. The catch: only 1 active job at a time, and the interface feels dated next to modern competitors. Once you're hiring across multiple roles, the upgrade to Standard ($25/user/mo annual) is the cheapest paid option here.
Breezy's Bootstrap plan is the better fit if candidate experience matters to you. Same constraint — 1 active position — but with a far more polished pipeline, branded careers page, and 50+ job-board distribution. 30-day candidate retention is the catch, so you can't sit on a candidate database for months without paying. For most early-stage founders, this is the right "test before you commit" pick.
Beyond those two: Manatal offers a 14-day free trial (no credit card) with full AI features — useful if you want to evaluate the product before committing. Workable offers a 15-day free trial of the Standard plan including the 400M candidate database. There are no other genuine free ATS options on this list.
Winner: Omnisend.
If you sell products through Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, or Squarespace, Omnisend is the obvious choice. Setup takes about 15 minutes — it pulls in your products, brand styling, and customer list automatically, and the pre-built workflows (welcome series, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase, win-back) are switched on with one click.
Revenue attribution is the differentiator. It traces every dollar back to the campaign, automation, and A/B variant that drove it — no more squinting at UTM strings to work out whether your Black Friday email actually converted. Email, SMS, and web push live in the same workflow, so you can fall back to SMS if an email isn't opened without stitching together third-party glue.
It's also the cheapest serious option for stores. At 10K contacts, Omnisend Standard is around $132/mo. The free plan (250 contacts) is fine for proof-of-concept, but most stores will jump straight to a paid tier.
Winner: ActiveCampaign.
For B2B SaaS — trial-to-paid sequences, in-app event triggers, lifecycle nurture, win-back — ActiveCampaign is the strongest tool I've used. The visual workflow builder gives you 135+ triggers, conditional branching, and the ability to A/B test entire automation paths (not just subject lines). That last one matters: I can test "5 emails over a week" against "10 emails over a month" inside a single workflow and let the data pick the winner.
The CRM is good enough for most SaaS sales motions — pipelines, lead scoring, deal stages — without forcing you onto a separate $50/seat platform. Active Intelligence (their AI) speeds up writing trigger emails because it learns your tone from past campaigns, rather than producing the obvious LLM filler you get from bolt-on AI features elsewhere.
If your CRM needs are more demanding than pipelines and tasks — say, you have a sales team running complex deal cycles with custom forecasting — pair ActiveCampaign with HubSpot or Pipedrive instead of trying to make AC's CRM do it all.
Winner: HubSpot.
If you're a consultancy, agency, or B2B services firm doing $1M+ revenue with sales cycles measured in months rather than days, HubSpot is the right answer. The CRM is the best in the category — fast, well-designed, and deeply integrated with the marketing, sales, and service hubs sitting on top. Multi-touch revenue attribution (added in the Spring 2026 Spotlight release) means you can finally show the CFO a hard number for what marketing contributed to closed-won pipeline.
It earns its bill at this profile. Below it, the value drops off fast — the $890/mo Pro tier and the $3,000 mandatory non-refundable onboarding fee make HubSpot the wrong tool for anyone who can't put six figures of new pipeline against it.
If you're an agency reselling HubSpot to clients, it also doubles as a service line you can build retainers around — the implementation work is real, and the certifications carry weight.
Winner: Pipedrive.
If sales drives the business and marketing automation is something you'd like to bolt on rather than build the stack around, Pipedrive is the one to look at. The pipeline view is the cleanest in the category — drag a deal between stages and the activity, follow-ups, and rep notifications fire automatically.
Pipedrive's marketing add-on (Campaigns) is fine. It's not as deep as ActiveCampaign or as polished as HubSpot, but for sales-led businesses where email is supporting the rep rather than carrying the relationship on its own, it does the job at a sensible price. The whole thing usually costs less than a HubSpot seat for an entire small team.
Where Pipedrive falls down is anything that looks like a marketing-led growth motion — multi-step nurture, lifecycle automation, behavioural triggers from product usage. For that you want ActiveCampaign or HubSpot, with Pipedrive sitting underneath as the CRM if your reps prefer it.
Winner: Brevo.
Brevo is the rare platform that prices by send volume rather than contact count. You can have 50,000 (or 500,000) contacts on the free plan — the only restriction is 300 emails/day, which is roughly 9,000/month. That makes it the obvious answer for monthly newsletters to a big list, donor databases, and any setup where contacts pile up but you don't actually email everyone every week.
It's also our long-running pick for transactional email. We've sent 640,000+ emails through Brevo since 2016 across our portfolio — order confirmations, password resets, OTPs, the unglamorous plumbing — and the deliverability has held up. The included CRM is light but functional, and SMS and WhatsApp are bundled rather than charged separately.
Where Brevo struggles is automation depth. The workflow builder is fine for the basics but you'll hit its ceiling fast if you want conditional branching, split-tested paths, or anything bespoke. For volume sending and transactional, though, it's hard to beat at the price.
Winner: EngageBay.
EngageBay is the most generous all-in-one platform at the bottom of the market. The free plan covers marketing, sales CRM, and helpdesk in a single tool, and the paid tiers stay in double-digits per user for a long time. The features outpace what you'd expect at the price — landing pages, autoresponders, basic marketing automation, lead scoring, live chat.
It's a smart pick for bootstrapped startups, small charities, and any team that wants to stop juggling four free tools and consolidate into one. The interface is busier than Brevo's and the support material is thinner than HubSpot's, but you grow into the platform rather than out of it — which is the opposite problem from most "free" CRMs.
Don't pick EngageBay if you expect to be running serious automation at 50K+ contacts in 18 months. By that point you should be on ActiveCampaign or HubSpot. But for the first year or two, it gets you a long way for very little money.
Winner: EngageBay.
For most non-profits the maths is simple. EngageBay's free tier covers up to 250 contacts and the paid plans stay cheap as your supporter list grows. You get email marketing, a CRM for managing donors and volunteers, landing pages for campaigns, and basic automation — the full stack a small charity actually needs without paying enterprise prices.
If your contact list is large but you only email occasionally — say, a quarterly donor newsletter to 50,000 supporters — Brevo's per-email pricing model is the more cost-effective option. You can sit on the free plan indefinitely if you stay under 300 emails/day, and pay only when you scale up volume.
For larger non-profits running serious fundraising programmes with multi-step donor journeys and proper attribution, the same answer applies as in the for-profit world: ActiveCampaign for automation depth, HubSpot if you can negotiate their non-profit discount and you need the reporting.
Which tool fits you?
Question 1 of 2
What will you mostly be sending?
Where does the store run?
What matters most right now?
How will the newsletter make money?
How do you win deals?
My pick for your store
Omnisend is the strongest Shopify email platform I've tested. The product picker, abandoned-cart flows and revenue attribution plug straight into your store, and it undercuts Klaviyo at every contact tier. The trade-off: outside eCommerce its automation is thinner than ActiveCampaign's, but that's not your problem here.
Free to 250 contacts · from $16/mo · switching from Klaviyo or Mailchimp? Omnisend migrates you for free
Close second: ActiveCampaign — if the store is one arm of a bigger business and you need deeper automation across all of it.
My pick for your store
Omnisend's WooCommerce integration gets you the same pre-built cart-recovery flows and revenue attribution that made it my #1 for eCommerce — you can trace sales back to individual emails. Outside store emails its automation is thinner than ActiveCampaign's, but for a store that's the right trade.
Free to 250 contacts · from $16/mo · switching from Klaviyo or Mailchimp? Omnisend migrates you for free
Close second: ActiveCampaign — if the store is one arm of a bigger business and you need deeper automation across all of it.
My pick for your store
Omnisend is my #1 for eCommerce whatever the platform — BigCommerce, Wix, or a custom cart via its API. Revenue attribution and omnichannel email-plus-SMS flows are the draw. The trade-off: outside store emails its automation is thinner than ActiveCampaign's.
Free to 250 contacts · from $16/mo · switching platforms? Omnisend migrates you for free
Close second: ActiveCampaign — if your cart is unusual enough that native integrations matter less than raw workflow power.
My pick for your business
I've run ActiveCampaign across my own businesses for over 12 years, so weigh that as you will. Its workflow builder (135+ triggers, split-testable automations) and Active Intelligence are still the benchmark. The learning curve is real: budget a weekend to get comfortable.
From $15/mo at 1,000 contacts · no free plan — 14-day trial
Close second: Brevo — if the price tag ends up mattering more than automation depth.
My pick for your budget
Brevo charges for emails sent, not contacts stored — unlimited contacts, 300 free emails a day, and $25/mo covers 20,000 sends. The automation is basic next to ActiveCampaign, but when cost is the constraint, basic and cheap beats powerful and unaffordable.
Free plan: 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts · $25/mo covers 20,000 emails
Close second: Campaigner — $14/mo with a smarter AI layer, but no free plan.
My pick for simplicity
Campaigner ships with genuinely useful AI out of the box — subject lines, content and segment suggestions benchmarked against your own send history. You avoid the learning curve that makes ActiveCampaign a slog in week one. Reporting is thinner than the big names, mind.
From $14/mo at 1,000 subscribers · 30-day trial, no free plan
Close second: Brevo — if you'd rather start free and live without the AI.
My pick for all-in-one
GetResponse bundles email, automation, landing pages and webinars from $19/mo — nothing else on this list does webinars at that price. The individual pieces are good rather than great, which is the usual all-in-one trade. (Charities get 50% off, which turns it into a proper bargain.)
Free to 500 contacts · from $19/mo · webinars from $59/mo
Close second: ActiveCampaign — deeper automation, but you'll need a separate webinar tool.
My pick for your newsletter
Kit is built for creators selling their own things — landing pages that convert at 30–50%, tag-first segmentation, and commerce baked in. The free plan runs to 10,000 subscribers; the jump to paid ($33/mo for full automations) stings, but you'll have revenue by then.
Free to 10,000 subscribers · paid from $33/mo
Close second: Beehiiv — if paid subscriptions or ads become the bigger revenue line.
My pick for your newsletter
Beehiiv takes 0% of your revenue on Scale and Max plans, has an ad network built in, and costs $96/mo at 100,000 subscribers. Most tools charge four figures at that scale. It's newsletter-only, though: if you later want proper automation or a store, you'll outgrow it.
Free to 2,500 subscribers · Scale $43/mo · Max $96/mo up to 100K
Close second: Kit — if selling your own products ends up beating subscriptions.
My pick for your newsletter
Start with Kit. The free plan covers you to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends, landing pages and forms — you can build a meaningful audience before paying a penny. If paid subscriptions or ads become the plan later, look at Beehiiv then. Not before.
Free to 10,000 subscribers · no card required
Close second: Beehiiv — its free tier stops at 2,500 subscribers, but the monetisation tools are stronger when you get there.
My pick for B2B
If you can wear the cost, HubSpot's native CRM-to-email connection gives you attribution the others can't — you see which email touched which deal. Professional starts at $890/mo plus onboarding fees. That's why I only recommend it to established B2B teams doing £1M+.
Free CRM · email from $15/mo per seat · Professional from $890/mo
Close second: ActiveCampaign — most of the B2B essentials at roughly 2% of the Professional price.
My pick for B2B
ActiveCampaign gets you CRM integration, lead scoring and the best workflow builder in the category from $15/mo. That's most of what B2B teams actually use HubSpot for, at a fraction of the price. Its built-in CRM suits small sales teams; a big pipeline will want Pipedrive or Salesforce alongside.
From $15/mo at 1,000 contacts · 14-day trial
Worth a look later: HubSpot — once revenue justifies four figures a month for end-to-end attribution.
My pick for outreach
Cold email is a different sport — you need warmup, inbox rotation and volume, not newsletters. Instantly is purpose-built for it: automated warmup, a 450M-contact lead finder, and deliverability tooling the general platforms simply don't have. Just don't run your marketing list through it.
Outreach from $37.60/mo annual · realistic setup ~$80/mo with SuperSearch
Also sending warm marketing email? Run that side in ActiveCampaign — one tool won't do both well.
My pick for developers
Resend is an API — you send email from code, with 3,000 free emails a month. It's the obvious choice for password resets and product notifications, and the wrong one for marketing campaigns (there's no real campaign tooling, by design).
Free 3,000 emails/mo · no affiliate relationship here — I just rate it
Need marketing email too? Brevo does transactional and campaigns under one roof.
Winner: Omnisend. Runner-up: ActiveCampaign.
Omnisend was built from the ground up for eCommerce. The Shopify and WooCommerce integrations pull in your product catalogue, purchase history, and browsing behaviour so you can trigger abandoned cart flows and product recommendation emails that reference what each customer looked at. Revenue attribution is where Omnisend genuinely outperforms: you can see exactly which automation and subject line variant generated how much revenue. At $16/mo for 500 contacts, that's hard to argue with.
The omnichannel capability is what sets it apart. You can build a single automation that sends an email, waits 24 hours, fires a push notification if unopened, then follows up with an SMS — all within one visual workflow. I've tested this against cobbling together the same thing with separate tools and Zapier, and Omnisend's native approach is less buggy and faster to set up.
Why not Klaviyo? Their platform is very good – but doesn't justify the extra cost over Omnisend in my opinion. 10,000 contacts, Omnisend Standard runs ~$132/mo versus Klaviyo's $150+. Unless you need Klaviyo's deeper Shopify Plus integrations, Omnisend gives you more for less.
Winner: HubSpot (with significant cost caveats). Runner-up: ActiveCampaign.
What HubSpot does genuinely well is connect everything back to revenue. Because the CRM, email, website, and sales tools are all native, you can attribute a closed deal to the specific blog post that generated the lead, the nurture sequence that warmed them up, and the sales email that sealed it. For B2B companies with 3-6 month sales cycles, that visibility is invaluable.
Now the caveats. Starter at $15/mo per seat is deliberately cheap to get you into the ecosystem. Real features require Professional at $890/mo, plus a mandatory $3,000 onboarding fee and annual commitment. And there's the hidden cost: you'll likely need a "HubSpot specialist" at £80-150/hour.
If HubSpot's pricing makes you wince, ActiveCampaign is the smarter choice. You get 80% of the CRM and email functionality at roughly 70% less cost. For most B2B teams under 25,000 contacts, that trade-off is worth making.
Co-winners: ActiveCampaign & HubSpot. The right pick depends on what else is already on your stack.
At the large-business tier — 100K+ contacts, multiple teams touching email, and an existing tech stack — the shortlist narrows to two platforms that can actually carry that load. Both support SSO, audit logs, role-based permissions, dedicated IPs, SOC 2, and the GDPR posture large organisations need to sign off on. From there, the decision hinges on one question: are you buying your CRM too, or do you already have one?
Choose HubSpot if you need the CRM and have a complex sales cycle. When the CRM, email, website, and sales tools are all native to one platform, you get true end-to-end revenue attribution — every closed deal traceable back to the content that generated the lead, the nurture sequence that warmed them up, and the sales email that sealed it. For B2B organisations with 3-6 month sales cycles, that visibility is hard to get any other way. Expect Enterprise pricing from $3,600/mo at 100K contacts plus onboarding, plus a dedicated admin or agency to run it.
Choose ActiveCampaign if you're hooking into Salesforce or an existing CRM. ActiveCampaign has mature, first-class integrations with Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Pipedrive, and every other serious enterprise CRM — so you keep your system of record and use AC as the marketing execution layer. Enterprise at ~$1,199/mo for 100K contacts is roughly a third of HubSpot Enterprise, and Active Intelligence gives you contextual AI trained on your campaign history, which HubSpot only matches at its top tier. If your business has already standardised on a CRM, replacing it to adopt HubSpot is rarely the right trade.
There's no runner-up outside these two. Omnisend, Brevo, GetResponse, and the rest all serve the mid-market well but don't have the enterprise governance, support SLAs, or integration depth that large-business procurement teams typically require.
Winner: Instantly
Cold outreach is a fundamentally different category from everything else on this page. Every tool above is built for opt-in email marketing. Cold email is the opposite: you're reaching people who haven't heard from you before, and the rules, technology, and compliance requirements are entirely different.
Instantly has carved out a clear lead by solving the problems that actually matter: deliverability and scale. It handles automated email warmup, domain rotation across multiple sending accounts, and inbox rotation. The platform includes a lead finder with access to 450M+ B2B contacts, plus enrichment tools that append LinkedIn profiles and verified emails.
I used Instantly when building a golf booking platform — we needed to reach thousands of golf clubs across the UK. The end-to-end workflow was genuinely impressive: find leads, enrich them, warm up sending domains, then trigger multi-step sequences with automatic follow-ups. Instantly guided us through setting up separate sending domains and configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC properly.
There's no runner-up because recommending ActiveCampaign or HubSpot for cold outreach would be irresponsible. Those platforms will terminate your account if you import a purchased list. Instantly exists precisely because this use case needs its own infrastructure.
A compliance warning: CAN-SPAM requires opt-out mechanisms and honest headers — violations can result in penalties up to $53,088 per email. GDPR applies if emailing EU recipients regardless of where you're based. Misuse can get your entire domain blacklisted. Know your legal obligations before you start.
If you need cold outreach AND marketing automation, you'll need two tools. Use Instantly for initial outreach, then move opted-in leads into ActiveCampaign or Kit for nurturing. Instantly integrates via Zapier or native integrations. This two-tool approach keeps cold and marketing infrastructure separate — which is exactly how it should be.
Winner: Campaigner. Runner-up: Brevo.
The startup question really comes down to one trade-off: pay a small bill from day one and get a real AI layer included, or stay $0 on the invoice and outgrow into a tool later. Campaigner and Brevo cover both ends of that.
Campaigner wins because it's the fastest path from "no account" to "first AI-assisted broadcast sent." The 30-day free trial gives you full access to Audience Intelligence — AI subject lines, content suggestions, and segment recommendations — so a non-technical co-founder can ship a campaign that performs above baseline without learning a workflow studio. When the trial ends, the Starter plan at $14/mo for 1,000 contacts is the cheapest serious email marketing bill you'll find with AI baked in. It's the "just get started, and start smart" pick.
Brevo is the runner-up and the better fit if staying on $0 indefinitely is non-negotiable — or if your startup has a transactional side as well as a marketing one (order confirmations, OTPs, password resets). Brevo prices by email volume rather than contacts, so you can have unlimited contacts on the free plan and send up to 300/day without paying. The Starter plan at $25/mo for 20,000 emails only kicks in once you've proven the channel. It also bundles SMS and WhatsApp natively — useful if you need multichannel from day one.
Both are designed to be outgrown. Once you pass 10k contacts and you're running real automations, see the Small business tab — that's where ActiveCampaign earns the upgrade.
Winner: ActiveCampaign. Runner-up: GetResponse.
Small businesses sit in an awkward middle: past the "free tier is fine" stage, but nowhere near the enterprise price tags. ActiveCampaign is where most SMBs doing real email marketing land — and once you're past 10,000 contacts with a few automations already running, it's the clear choice.
You get the visual automation builder (135+ triggers, conditional branches, split-testing), a built-in CRM with pipelines and lead scoring, contextual AI via Active Intelligence, and deliverability that consistently ranks in the top tier. At 10K contacts the Starter plan is ~$189/mo — a step up from Brevo or Campaigner, but buying back time on workflows that used to take days.
Just getting started? I'd go for Campaigner instead — see the Startups tab. ActiveCampaign is the right pick after you've validated email as a channel, not before.
Winner: ActiveCampaign. Runner-up: Brevo.
Running email marketing for clients has a different set of requirements than running it for yourself: multi-account management, the ability to present a consistent brand across every client portal, and billing that scales with your roster rather than fighting it. Both ActiveCampaign and Brevo offer white-label / agency programs — which is why they top this list.
ActiveCampaign's Agency Partner Program gives you a centralised dashboard for managing all client accounts, margin on accounts you resell, co-branded or white-labelled login experiences depending on tier, and access to their partner support team. It's the tool most agencies I know already use for their own marketing, so reselling what you already know compounds the time saved.
Brevo's Agency plan is the runner-up and the better fit if your clients are small businesses on tight budgets. You get a sub-account hierarchy, white-labelled sending domains, and Brevo's send-volume pricing — which lets agencies manage a roster of clients without contract sizes ballooning as contact lists grow. SMS and WhatsApp channels are bundled too, which matters for agencies serving eCommerce or transactional-heavy clients.
Beyond these two, most platforms either don't offer white-label at all or bolt it on as an enterprise SKU at a price that defeats the purpose. Start with ActiveCampaign if your clients need automation depth; move to Brevo if your clients need volume at low cost.
Winner: GetResponse.
If you're a registered non-profit, GetResponse offers 50% off every paid plan — a discount that moves the cost-per-contact calculation decisively in their favour. That alone is reason enough to shortlist them. It's not a thin marketing gesture either: the discount applies to the full feature set, including automation, webinars, and landing pages.
The 50% discount is particularly meaningful at scale. At 10,000 contacts the Marketer plan is $79/mo — with the non-profit discount that drops to ~$40/mo. At 100,000 contacts it drops from $539/mo to ~$270/mo. Few other platforms meaningfully reduce pricing for non-profits, which means GetResponse quietly becomes the most generous option for charities, educational organisations, and community groups.
Beyond the discount, GetResponse bundles things non-profits actually use: native webinars (for donor events and educational sessions), landing pages (for campaigns and fundraisers), event-based automation (to trigger donor thank-you sequences), and contact scoring (to surface your most engaged supporters). You'd pay separately for most of these on other platforms.
How to apply: submit proof of non-profit status (501(c)(3) registration in the US, or equivalent documentation elsewhere) to GetResponse's support team after signing up, and the discount is applied to your account.
Winner: Kit. Runner-up: Beehiiv (if you're monetising).
I use Kit for my YouTube channel's newsletter. The free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts (this used to be 1K subs – but was increased due to in response to competition from Beehiv). The landing pages are simple by design, but that simplicity is why they convert: 30-50% conversion rates because the pages are focused on a single action with zero distractions.
Choose Beehiiv over Kit if you're building a monetised newsletter. Beehiiv takes 0% of subscription revenue on Scale and Max plans, has a built-in ad network, and a referral programme. If your business model is "newsletter as product," Beehiiv has the infrastructure Kit doesn't.
Strictly speaking this isn't a type of business, but I know many of you are looking for an email marketing tool that's free (at least to start with).
Kit's free tier is the most generous by far — 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages, and forms. The catch: only 1 basic visual automation on the free plan. For a creator sending a weekly newsletter, that's perfectly fine. For anyone who needs multi-step workflows, you'll outgrow it — but by then Kit has done its job, which is getting you to "paid" once the audience is worth it.
Brevo wins if you have a large list but send infrequently. You can have 50,000 contacts on the free plan and still send, as long as you stay under 300/day (~9,000 emails/mo). No other free plan offers unlimited contacts. The restriction is the daily cap, not the list — so Brevo is perfect for a monthly newsletter to a big list, and wrong for a weekly one.
Campaigner isn't free, but the 30-day full-access trial is the closest thing if you want AI from day one. Audience Intelligence (AI subject lines, content suggestions, segment recommendations) is included from the moment you sign in. After the trial, Starter is $14/mo — the cheapest serious AI-email bill on this list.
* Brevo prices by email volume, not contacts. Constant Contact Starter Email stays flat, but only includes 2,500 sends per month.
**ActiveCampaign and Campaigner are nearly identical at entry — $15/mo vs $14/mo for 1K contacts.** At 10K, ActiveCampaign is $189/mo vs Campaigner's $79/mo — roughly 2.4x more, but with vastly deeper automation. At 100K, ActiveCampaign is $1,199/mo vs Campaigner's $649/mo — under 2x more, but with the workflow depth Campaigner simply can't match. If you need serious automation, the premium is justified. If you mostly need broadcasts plus a sensible AI layer, Campaigner scales more predictably. **The HubSpot warning:** Starter looks cheap at $15/mo per seat. But Professional starts at $890/mo. That's a 59x jump between "basic" and "useful." #### 2. Ease of Use The simplest tools are **Campaigner** and **Kit**. Both are designed for users who want to send emails without reading documentation — Campaigner shortens the curve further with AI subject lines and segment suggestions out of the box. The most complex are **ActiveCampaign** and **HubSpot**. HubSpot is the only platform where I regularly see businesses hiring specialists at £80-150/hour just to manage it. #### 3. Deliverability **ActiveCampaign** consistently ranks top-tier in independent tests. But deliverability depends more on your sending behaviour than on which platform you use. List hygiene, engagement rates, and authentication setup matter more than which servers your emails pass through. #### 4. Features **ActiveCampaign** has the deepest feature set for automation. **GetResponse** has the broadest (email + webinars + landing pages). **HubSpot** has the most overall if you count CRM + sales + marketing, but the cost is enormous. The number of features matters far less than whether you'll actually use them. Most businesses use under 20% of what their tool can do. #### 5. CRM & Automation **ActiveCampaign's** workflow builder is in a league of its own: 135+ triggers, conditional branching, split-testing entire paths. **HubSpot's** strength is CRM-email integration. For most businesses, ActiveCampaign delivers 90% of HubSpot's automation at 10% of the cost. #### 6. Reporting & Analytics For eCommerce: **Omnisend's** revenue attribution is the most granular. For B2B: **HubSpot's** multi-touch attribution connects email to closed deals. For everyone else: **ActiveCampaign** offers solid analytics with engagement scoring. #### 7. Integrations Most tools integrate with major platforms. **Omnisend's** Shopify integration is deepest for eCommerce. **HubSpot** has the broadest marketplace. **ActiveCampaign** has the most Zapier triggers/actions. #### 8. Support & Training **ActiveCampaign** and **Omnisend** offer 24/7 live chat on paid plans. **Campaigner** has phone, email, and live chat support across all paid tiers — unusual for a tool at its price point and a reflection of their deliverability-first heritage. **HubSpot** has excellent documentation but the platform complexity means you'll use support more than you'd like. #### 9. Security & Compliance In 2026, this isn't optional. GDPR enforcement is intensifying and US state privacy laws are multiplying (nearly 20 states with active legislation). All reputable tools support GDPR compliance — check for Data Processing Agreements, consent management, and right-to-deletion workflows. ### AI Features Worth Paying For in 2026 Every email marketing tool now claims "AI features." Most are being generous with the definition. **Most tools offer the same AI text generator you could use for free on ChatGPT.com.** The output is the same whether you've used the platform for one day or five years. This describes the AI in Brevo, Constant Contact, Beehiiv, and GetResponse. Handy for writer's block, but not a strategic advantage. **A few tools apply AI to their specific domain.** Campaigner's Audience Intelligence benchmarks subject lines and content against your own historical open rates rather than a generic dataset — a meaningful step above a plain ChatGPT wrapper, though it doesn't persist or compound the way Active Intelligence does. Omnisend's AI understands your product catalogue. Instantly's AI learns from reply data. HubSpot's AI (at Enterprise pricing) uses CRM data for predictive lead scoring. **Only ActiveCampaign offers genuine contextual intelligence.** Active Intelligence builds a persistent model of your brand voice, engagement patterns, and performance history. It genuinely gets smarter over time. This is the only best-in-class AI we found in the comparison. **The question to ask:** does the AI get better the longer I use the platform? If yes, it's worth paying for. If no, it's a convenience feature. The only way to know whether contextual AI justifies the price for your list is to run it against your own campaigns — [ActiveCampaign's 14-day trial](/recommends/activecampaign/) is long enough to find out. ## Email Marketing Software Pricing Comparison [toc:Pricing comparison] Full pricing breakdown across all 10 tools at key contact tiers: | Tool | Model | 1K | 10K | 100K | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [ **Beehiiv**](/recommends/beehiv/) | Flat tier | $0 | $43 (Scale) | $96 (Max) | | [ **Resend**](https://resend.com/) | API volume | $0 | $20 | Custom | | [ **Brevo**](/recommends/sendinblue/) | Per email | $0\* | $35\* | Custom\* | | [ **Constant Contact**](/recommends/constantcontact/) | Starter sends | $6 | $6\*\* | $6\*\* | | [ **Campaigner**](/recommends/campaigner/) | Per contact | $14 | $79 | $649 | | [ **GetResponse**](/recommends/getresponse/) | Per contact | $19 | $79 | $539 | | [ **Omnisend**](/recommends/omnisend/) | Per contact | $16 | $132 | Custom | | [ **HubSpot**](/recommends/hubspot/) | Per seat (Starter) | $15/seat | $890 (Pro) | $3,600 (Ent) | | [ **ActiveCampaign**](/recommends/activecampaign/) | Per contact | $15 | $189 | $1,199 | | [ **Instantly**](/recommends/instantly/) | Per account | $47 | $47 | $97 | \* Brevo: estimated at 4 emails/contact/month. \*\* Constant Contact Starter Email includes 2,500 total sends per month. All prices shown are entry-tier monthly rates, current as of July 2026. Visit individual pricing pages to confirm. ## Final words **Don't overthink it.** Most email marketing tools do 80% of the same things. The real differentiators — automation depth, pricing model, domain-specific features — only matter if your business specifically needs them. If you're just starting out, pick [Constant Contact](/recommends/constantcontact/) ($6/mo) if you send fewer than 2,500 emails a month, or [Campaigner](/recommends/campaigner/) ($14/mo with a 30-day full-access trial) if you want simple AI help from day one. You can always migrate later. The tool matters less than the habit of sending regularly. If you're scaling and need automation, [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign/) is the answer 8 times out of 10. The 2 exceptions are pure eCommerce ([Omnisend](/recommends/omnisend/)) and B2B companies that genuinely need revenue attribution across a 6-month sales cycle ([HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot/)). The worst decision is spending three weeks evaluating tools instead of writing emails. The second worst is choosing a tool because of its brand name rather than testing whether it fits your needs. **Just start sending.** Getting into a rhythm matters more than which logo is on the dashboard. If you want to see the raw data behind these rankings — including the scoring criteria, weightings, and how each tool performed — I've published the full dataset: [Email Marketing Software Ranking Data (Coda)](https://coda.io/d/Email-Marketing-Software-Ranking_dSym1vUtfRY/Email-Marketing-Software-Ranking_su4QE#_lux5S). ## Updates - July 2026 (3) – Added the two-question tool finder near the top of the guide, so you can jump straight to the recommendation that fits your business instead of scrolling all ten. The top sticky bar and sidebar pick now follow whichever tool's section you're reading. No ranking changes. - July 2026 (2) – Retitled and restructured for how people actually search: added "The 3 Big Names I'd Avoid", a plain-English note on tools-vs-platforms terminology, quick trial links in the comparison table, and links to our dedicated eCommerce guides. Trial buttons now go straight to each tool's pricing or signup page rather than the homepage. No ranking changes. - July 2026 – Clarified the verdict framing: Omnisend holds the #1 spot as the best platform for eCommerce, while ActiveCampaign is our pick as the best general email automation platform for small businesses. FAQ answers updated to match. - May 2026 – Campaigner replaces MailerLite at #8. The repositioned slot reflects the rise of AI-assisted email at the entry tier. Campaigner's Audience Intelligence covers subject lines, content, and segment recommendations benchmarked against your own historical opens. Its deliverability-first heritage makes it a stronger fit for SMBs than a pure budget pick. - February 2026 – Full article rewrite. Added Resend, Instantly, Kit (formerly ConvertKit), and Beehiiv. Removed Mailchimp (no longer warrants a dedicated review — see FAQ). Updated all pricing, AI features, and deliverability data. Added interactive pricing calculator and email tool finder quiz. - March 2023 – A major re-ranking introduced Klaviyo at #4 for large eCommerce sites and ClickFunnels at #6 for coaches and consultants. Constant Contact and GetResponse both returned to the top 10 list at #8 and #10 respectively, while Moonmail and Sendlane were removed from the primary recommendations. - February 2022 – HubSpot returned to the #2 spot as the preferred B2B service platform. Benchmark was moved to #7. - August 2021 – EmailOctopus replaces Moonmail as the recommendation for developer needs. Drip was added as a specialised recommendation for small-to-medium eCommerce businesses. - August 2020 – Several older tools were removed in favour of niche-specific recommendations: Moosend (non-profits), Omnisend (eCommerce), Rejoiner (managed services), Autopilot (visual automation), MailerLite (personal projects), and Moonmail (developers). - April 2019 – The guide was expanded to include HubSpot, Ontraport, SendX, Benchmark, Sendlane, and iContact. This update introduced deeper technical analysis of security, GDPR compliance, and Zapier integration depth. - January 2018 – SendinBlue was added specifically for marketing and transactional email. Older tools like Constant Contact were de-emphasised due to a perceived lack of clear USP against newer entrants. - March 2016 – ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit were added to the guide. ActiveCampaign immediately took the #1 spot, shifting the focus from “email sending” to “marketing automation and CRM”. - May 2014 – GetResponse was elevated to the top recommendation for small businesses. The update also included technical corrections about Sendy’s API and autoresponder capabilities following reader feedback. - February 2014 – The article debuted with a focus on Aweber for entrepreneurs and Sendy for cost-effectiveness. The initial roster also included Infusionsoft, Constant Contact, GetResponse, and Mailchimp. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the best email marketing software in 2026?** Omnisend is my #1 email marketing software for 2026. It's the best platform for eCommerce — its revenue attribution, native omnichannel workflows, and pricing beat Klaviyo at every contact tier. If you're not running an online store, ActiveCampaign is the best general email automation platform for small businesses. Constant Contact is the low-cost pick if you send fewer than 2,500 emails a month. **What are the best email marketing platforms in 2026?** The best email marketing platforms in 2026 are Omnisend (eCommerce), ActiveCampaign (automation and growing businesses), Constant Contact (small businesses sending infrequently), Beehiiv (newsletters), HubSpot (B2B with full CRM needs), Brevo (affordable automation with unlimited contacts), and GetResponse (budget all-in-one with webinars). Instantly is the pick for cold outreach, Campaigner for SMBs wanting simple AI, and Resend for developers. **Is there a difference between email marketing software, tools, platforms, and services?** No — 'email marketing software', 'email marketing tools', and 'email marketing platforms' all describe the same products, and every product in this guide fits all three labels. Two exceptions: 'email marketing services' sometimes means a managed service where an agency runs campaigns for you, and 'email marketing solutions' is enterprise sales language for the same software with a longer contract. Whichever term you search, the comparison is identical. **What is the best free email marketing software?** Brevo is the best free option for businesses with larger lists but moderate send volume, because its free plan allows unlimited contacts with 300 emails per day. Beehiiv works for newsletters up to 2,500 subscribers. Developers should use Resend for API-triggered email. **What is the best email marketing software for small business?** ActiveCampaign is the best general email automation platform for small businesses — from $15/mo you get the most capable visual workflow builder in the category, plus AI that genuinely learns from your campaigns. If you need affordable simplicity rather than deep automation, Brevo is the best budget pick: its email-volume pricing means unlimited contacts — you only pay for what you send, and $25/mo covers 20,000 emails. For SMBs who want a sensible AI layer baked in, Campaigner starts at $14/mo for 1,000 subscribers with a 30-day free trial. Avoid HubSpot at the small business stage — pricing escalates aggressively beyond the entry tier. **What is the best email marketing software for eCommerce and Shopify?** Omnisend is the best email marketing platform for eCommerce, including Shopify and WooCommerce. Its native omnichannel workflows, revenue attribution that traces sales back to specific emails, and deep product catalogue integration make it purpose-built for online stores. It's also cheaper than Klaviyo at every contact tier while offering comparable or better analytics. **Is Mailchimp still good in 2026?** Mailchimp still trades heavily on its reputation, and it's a decent tool. I just struggle to find a use case where it's the best option: eCommerce stores get more from Omnisend, automation-heavy teams from ActiveCampaign, and infrequent small-business senders can keep costs lower with Constant Contact. Our migration data shows a broad, one-way move away from Mailchimp rather than towards it. **What is the best email marketing software for automation?** ActiveCampaign is the clear leader for email marketing automation. Its visual workflow builder offers 135+ triggers, conditional branching, and the ability to split-test entire automation paths. Active Intelligence can generate workflows from natural language descriptions. For a budget alternative, GetResponse offers basic automation with webinars from $59/mo. **How much does email marketing software cost?** Email marketing software costs between $0 and $3,600+/month, depending on the tool and your list size. At 1,000 contacts: Constant Contact Starter Email is $6/mo, Campaigner starts at $14/mo and ActiveCampaign starts at $15/mo. At 100,000 contacts: Beehiiv costs $96/mo on Max, ActiveCampaign Starter costs $1,199/mo and HubSpot Professional starts at $890/mo plus add-ons. **What is the best alternative to Mailchimp?** The best Mailchimp alternative depends on why you're leaving. If it's the price and you send fewer than 2,500 emails a month, Constant Contact's $6/mo Starter Email plan is the cheapest paid option here. If it's limited automation, ActiveCampaign has far stronger workflows. If you're eCommerce, Omnisend is the better fit. **What is the best email marketing software for beginners?** Constant Contact and Campaigner are the easiest email marketing tools for beginners. Constant Contact's Starter Email plan is cheap if you send fewer than 2,500 emails a month, and the editor was easy in our testing. Campaigner costs more from day one, but ships with AI subject lines and segment suggestions out of the box. **Should I build my own email marketing tool with AI?** Almost certainly not. With AI coding tools, you can have an impressive frontend in an hour. But deliverability infrastructure, IP warming, bounce handling, spam filter management, and compliance require years of specialist engineering. If you just need API-triggered emails for a side project, use Resend's free tier. Don't rebuild the plumbing. **What email marketing software has the best deliverability?** ActiveCampaign consistently ranks in the top tier for deliverability in independent testing. Campaigner — a deliverability-first ESP for 20+ years — also performs well. The critical caveat: deliverability depends as much on your sending behaviour (list hygiene, engagement rates, authentication) as on the platform. Any reputable tool delivers well if you follow best practices. **What is the best email marketing software for B2B?** HubSpot is the best B2B email marketing platform if you can afford it — its native CRM-to-email connection enables end-to-end revenue attribution. But Professional starts at $890/mo with mandatory onboarding fees. For B2B companies without the four-figure budget, ActiveCampaign ($15/mo) offers CRM integration and lead scoring at a fraction of the cost. For cold B2B outreach, Instantly is purpose-built. **What is the best email marketing platform for newsletters and creators?** Beehiiv is the best platform for newsletters that make money through paid subscriptions or advertising, because it takes 0% of subscription revenue on Scale and Max plans. Constant Contact is better for solo entrepreneurs sending occasional updates to a growing list. Neither is right for complex behavioural automation. **What are the best AI features in email marketing software?** The most valuable AI feature is contextual intelligence that learns from your data — and only ActiveCampaign offers this at scale. Its Active Intelligence builds a model of your brand voice, audience behaviour, and campaign performance. The key question: does the AI get better the longer I use the platform? If yes (ActiveCampaign), it's worth paying for. If no (most others), it's a convenience, not a differentiator. **Is email marketing still effective in 2026?** Yes — emphatically. Email ROI remains roughly $36-42 returned for every $1 spent, making it the highest-ROI marketing channel by a wide margin. Email is the only channel where you genuinely own your audience — no algorithm changes, no pay-to-play throttling. **Do I need both email and SMS marketing?** For eCommerce, usually yes. For B2B and creators, usually no. SMS open rates exceed 90%, and combining email with SMS in abandoned cart workflows can lift recovery rates by 30%+. For B2B and newsletter creators, email alone is typically sufficient. If you want both, Omnisend and Brevo handle email and SMS natively within the same workflows. **Can I use the same tool for newsletters and eCommerce?** You can, but you probably shouldn't. Omnisend is purpose-built for eCommerce, with product pickers, cart abandonment and revenue attribution. Beehiiv is built for newsletters, while Constant Contact suits simpler small-business campaigns. ActiveCampaign is the closest all-rounder, but even it lacks Omnisend's eCommerce depth. **How do I migrate from one email marketing tool to another?** Most tools offer one-click import from competitors — especially from Mailchimp — and a typical migration takes 1-2 hours for lists under 10,000 contacts. Key steps: export contacts as CSV, import into the new tool, set up authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), recreate critical automations, and warm up sending volume over 2-3 weeks. The hardest part is rebuilding automations. Budget 1-2 full days for a complete migration. Keep your old account active for 30 days in case you need to reference old campaigns. --- # 10 Best Enterprise CRM Software Solutions URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-enterprise-crm-software-solutions/ Summary: Compare 12+ enterprise CRM systems built for large organisations. See pricing, features & our top pick for 2026. Last updated: 2026-04-09 07:00:48 There are plenty of CRM platforms out there claiming to offer everything a business could need, regardless of size - but few of them can really provide what enterprise brands need to make the most of their relationships with customers. Aside from being able to handle the number of leads you're generating daily, your enterprise CRM needs to provide enough user profiles for your expansive sales and marketing teams. You also want a single solution that you can customise to meet your business needs, rather than having to adapt your workflow to software limitations. These sound like basic requirements but it's surprisingly difficult to find "enterprise" CRM platforms that deliver on the essentials for big businesses. So here's our list of customer relationship management platforms that genuinely offer the enterprise package. ## What are we looking at in this guide? This guide is designed to help you find the best enterprise CRM platform to unify your marketing and sales processes. | Tool | Monthly price for 5 users | Monthly price for 10 users | Monthly price for 100 users | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Salesflare](/recommends/salesflare/) | $495 | $900 | $9,900 | | [Close](/recommends/close/) | $725 | $1,450 | $14,500 | | [CompanyHub](/recommends/companyhub/) | $210 | $420 | $4,200 | | [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) | $229 | - | - | | [OnePageCRM](/recommends/onepagecrm/) | $295 | $590 | $5,900 | | [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) | $495 | $990 | $9,990 | | [EngageBay](/recommends/engagebay/) | $239.95 | $479.90 | $4,799 | | [Salesmate](/recommends/salesmate/) | POA | - | - | | [Octopus CRM](/recommends/octopuscrm/) | $24.99 | - | - | | [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) | $750 (Sales Hub Ent, 5 seats) | $1,500 (Sales Hub Ent, 10 seats) | $15,000 (Sales Hub Ent, 100 seats) | We take the same data-driven approach in our other software guides: - **[10 Best Email Marketing Software & Email Automation Tools](/email-marketing-software-tools-one-best/)** - **[10 Best All-in-One Email Marketing, Automation & CRM Platforms](/best-marketing-automation-crm/)** - **[Best Free (or Cheap) All-in-One Marketing & Sales CRMs](/best-free-or-cheap-crm-platforms/)** So, if you're a smaller or growing business looking for the ideal CRM platform, you can take a look at the articles listed above. Otherwise, keep reading to discover the best platforms for enterprise companies. ### The best enterprise CRM solutions This guide is aimed at enterprise companies that typically have large customer bases, sales teams and demanding needs for an all-in-one marketing and sales CRM. The platforms we're looking at in this guide are the top performers in our survey, based on responses from enterprise marketers and our own experiences here at Venture Harbour: 1. **[Salesflare](/recommends/salesflare/):** Automated data entry for enterprise businesses. 2. **[Close](/recommends/close/):** The best CRM for international sales teams. 3. **[CompanyHub](/recommends/companyhub/):** The "easy-as-Excel" CRM for no-fuss training. 4. **[ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/):** The best all-in-one CRM for sales, marketing and automation. 5. **[OnePageCRM](/recommends/onepagecrm/):** The simple, affordable CRM with excellent support. 6. **[Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/):** Visual pipeline management for companies that hate traditional CRMs. 7. **[EngageBay](/recommends/engagebay/)** The affordable all-in-one CRM for growth hackers. 8. **[Salesmate](/recommends/salesmate/):** The best CRM for mobile sales teams. 9. **[Octopus CRM](/recommends/octopuscrm/):** For account-based marketing on LinkedIn. 10. **[HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/):** The all-in-one CRM for simplicity at all costs. The most surprising takeaway from our survey is that many of the traditional names are missing from our top 10 - solutions like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365. As we found in our trials with these platforms, a lot of the traditional enterprise platforms have fallen out of touch with the needs of modern businesses. Today's enterprise companies are more agile than their predecessors and the operational differences between smaller and larger businesses have shrunk. For example, here at Venture Harbour, our marketing, sales and support teams work remotely most of the time (this was the case pre-Covid, too) and we rely heavily on automation to maximise productivity and autopilot growth. These needs were quite unique five years ago but they're fairly common for businesses today and the traditional guard in enterprise CRMs hasn't caught up. So, while there are some familiar enterprise names in our top 10, most of the entries are newer providers catering for the complex needs of modern businesses. ## 1. [Salesflare](/recommends/salesflare/) ***The best for automating data entry. Enterprise plan: $99/month per user*** Data entry is the biggest drag to customer relationship management and [Salesflare](/recommends/salesflare/) promises to reduce the workload up more than 70% by automating data entry for you. This is the key selling point of Salesflare but the platform is a complete marketing and sales CRM designed for businesses of all sizes. This includes a comprehensive Enterprise plan that delivers advanced features at an affordable price point of $99/month per user. ### Salesflare features **Key features:** - **Automated data entry:** Salesflare automatically gathers contact and company data from emails, email signatures, social profiles and other sources for you. - **Automatic logging:** Connect your calendar and mobile phone to automatically log your meetings and phone calls with customers. - **Opportunity management:** View all of your opportunities from one dashboard while Salesflare intelligently flags deals that need your attention. - **Website tracking:** Monitor the actions users take on your site and attribute campaign success to real interactions. - **Email tracking:** Keep track of email opens and engagement to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and chase up leads based on responses. - **Personalised email campaigns:** Create and send personalised email campaigns from any mailbox connected to Salesflare. - **Automated email campaigns:** Follow up beyond the automated email and bulk send to maximise engagement. - **Email templates:** Create campaigns quickly by editing email templates and personalising messages. - **Lead qualification & scoring:** Focus on the leads that matter most to your business. - **Custom training:** Salesflare provides custom training for its enterprise customers to help you get the best out of the platform. - **Data migration:** Salesflare will also migrate your data from your existing system for you on its Enterprise plan. - **Account manager:** All enterprise customers get a dedicated account manager to help you hit your targets more effectively. Salesflare is a robust CRM platform with automation deeply integrated into the system. Its standout feature is automated data entry, which the company says will reduce the time you spend on data entry by more than 70%. Anyone with experience using a CRM platform knows that data entry is a serious drain on resources, especially at the enterprise level. Salesflare takes up the bulk of this workload by collecting company and contact data from emails, email signatures, social media accounts and other channels connected to your contacts' email address. All of this is done automatically while your teams spend more time turning leads into customers.  Salesforce's automated data entry is actually quite a simple process at the technical level. All it's doing is scraping data from your contacts' profiles and any channels linked to them. I'm not playing the feature down by saying this, either - the simplicity is precisely why it works as reliably as it does. This isn't a showboat feature that sounds great on paper but never really works when you need it to. In most cases, Salesforce will collect the data you need automatically, without any problems, although it does rely on your contacts keeping their profiles accurate and up-to-date. It's not a perfect system (nothing automated ever is) but it's effective enough to drastically reduce the time you spend on the most basic and time-consuming aspects of data entry. The best compliment I can pay to this feature is that I hope it becomes standard in CRM platforms across the board. Automated data entry is Salesforce's headline feature but there's plenty more to this platform worth talking about. Above all, this is a robust CRM platform that offers up a solid set of features for enterprise businesses. You get all of the core essentials that you would expect from an all-in-one system: email marketing, lead nurturing, pipeline management, reporting and automation (not only data entry).  Salesforce looks, feels and operates like an enterprise piece of software but it maintains a surprising level of simplicity. The most important features are all there and the quality of the tools provided are excellent but some obvious features missing, too. For example, there's no email builder or A/B testing, which you'll often find on platforms and plans aimed at smaller businesses. However, you do get some excellent forecasting features, as part of the reporting and analytics tools, and email sequencing, which are very much enterprise-level features. There's also a lack of lead generation tools, such as a form builder to capture leads on your website or a landing page builder. Likewise, you can't make calls from the platform either or send SMS messages so be prepared to integrate Salesflare with other tools. Luckily, the platform has a solid set of integrations, which allows you to bring in the other features and tools you need. You can check the full list of integration options [here](https://integrations.salesflare.com/all). Obviously, you'll need to consider integrations in your total software spend but Salesflare is surprisingly affordable given the features on offer. The company focuses on delivering the enterprise features many platforms lack without trying to replicate the features provided by specialist tools like landing page and email builders. ### How usable is Salesflare? Salesflare's focus on enterprise features results in a streamlined architecture that's surprisingly easy to navigate and learn. When you first start using the software, you get the impression it's quite a simple platform but, as you delve deeper into each feature and tool, you realise how capable Salesflare is. This is a powerful CRM platform with advanced features that are tightly grouped into an intuitive system.  The downside, of course, is the missing features we discussed in the previous section but the usability Salesforce achieves is another reason to respect the company's approach to bloat-free software. If you've found yourself drowning in CRM features in the past, Salesflare is a refreshing alternative. The software looks a little outdated by today's standards but the functionality is there where it counts. When we first tried Salesflare, there were some bugs and a few instances of downtime but the company was very new at the time. Since then, we've tried the platform again and we can confirm that performance has improved significantly. So, if you've tried Salesflare in the past and experienced any of the issues, it might be worth testing out a free trial again. ### What could Salesflare improve? Our biggest issue with Salesflare is the company's website. In fact, visiting the website for the first time doesn't exactly inspire you to try the product and there's very little information about the platform or its features. You're better off taking a look at the knowledge base section of the website to see what the platform has to offer. For example, there a [*What features does Salesflare have?*](https://howto.salesflare.com/en/articles/4818234-what-features-does-salesflare-have) article, which does a far better job of explaining what the platform is capable of.  The knowledge base has a good amount of information to help you get started with the platform and, as an enterprise customer, you also get custom training - so you shouldn't have any problems with getting Salesflare up and running. The company's support team is responsive if you run into any technical issues and you also get a dedicated account manager on the enterprise plan. Hopefully, Salesflare will build upon its online documentation and support in the future but this isn't so much of an issue for enterprise customers, thanks to the dedicated support and account management. ### Salesflare verdict Salesflare is an excellent CRM platform for enterprise companies, focusing its attention on the advanced features that matter most to larger businesses. This isn't the most complete all-in-one platform and some notable features are missing but the pricing is incredibly affordable for larger businesses - especially when pricing is based entirely on users, not contact numbers. Automated data entry is a major feature, too - one that's going to save you loads of time and allow your sales team to focus their efforts on closing deals. ## 2. [Close](https://www.salesforce.com/eu/) ***The best CRM for international sales teams. Enterprise plan: $145/month per user*** Close is a high-performance CRM that puts a heavy emphasis on calling and SMS marketing for sales teams. The platform also offers up some decent email marketing features with activity and task management to boost productivity for both marketing and sales teams. Automation is built into all of these features and Close empowers you to make more calls, send more emails and complete more tasks faster - all to help you turn more leads into revenue. ### Close features **Key features:** - **CRM:** Store and track leads, contacts and opportunities. - **Activity & task management:** Manage your sales and marketing teams from one platform. - **10 pipeline views:** Manage up to 10 pipelines on Close's enterprise plan. - **Email automation:** Create automated email sequences, send emails in bulk and schedule emails. - **Email templates:** Create, reuse and quickly select email templates to cut down on wasted time. - **Email open & response tracking:** Track open rates and responses to your email campaigns. - **Calling & SMS:** Manage calls and SMS communications all from inside Close. - **Power Dialler:** Make 300+ calls per day, per sales rep with automated call lists and dialling. - **Call management:** Forward calls while reps are away, transfer calls with one click, record calls and leave voicemails with a single click. - **Sales leaderboard:** Encourage healthy competition with real-time leaderboards based on the metrics most important to your team. - **Account manager:** Enterprise customers have a dedicated account manager on call to help with any issues. - **Screenshare support:** Share your screen with Close's technical team to diagnose and fix technical problems faster. Close is a powerful CRM platform that's designed and optimised to remove every unnecessary click possible. The system is filled with one-click actions, auto-expand interfaces and drag-and-drop tools to create an intuitive experience and reduce wasted time on click, one-by-one. This is an all-in-one CRM with email marketing, calling and SMS, pipeline management and automation features, as well as some activity and task management features to help you get the best performance out of your marketing and sales teams.  While you can get most of these features elsewhere, Close's calling and SMS features are particularly impressive and this is a great system for enterprise companies that prioritise phone communication while also needing email marketing and automation features from an all-in-one platform. You can manage all of your calls and SMS campaigns using Close and the company has a deal with Twilio to provide global calling on all of its plans - great for international sales teams with reps in multiple countries or customers around the world. In addition to global reach, you get advanced calling features with forwarding, transfers, call recording, voicemails, call coaching and Close's Power Dialler, which empowers your sales reps to make 300+ calls per day. This is the most advanced calling system offered by any of the CRM platforms we're looking at in this guide. So, if phone communication is your priority, this is the first platform you should look at. ### How usable is Close? UX design is a key part of the Close experience and you see how much development and optimisation work has gone into building this platform. It's an impressive system and performance is great, for the most part. There is a lot of code working under the hood to power all of the expanding interfaces and one-click actions but we've never experienced any real performance issues with Close. The interactive nature of the platform can take some getting used to, though. New reps might be a little overwhelmed by the functionality of the interfaces but, once they get a feel for how everything works, the subtle automation built into every aspect of the platform becomes a real productivity boost. Close wants to make your sales team perform faster and the platform genuinely helps you achieve this - largely thanks to the operation and usability of the platform. ### What could Close improve? Close puts so much emphasis on calling and SMS that there's a noticeable imbalance when it comes to the email marketing features provided. There are some pretty advanced calling features built into this platform and, while the email automation features are worthy of an enterprise system, they're not on the same level as the calling and SMS tools on offer.  As a result, this is a platform aimed primarily at sales teams and marketing campaigns take a secondary role. So there's plenty of room for Close to improve its marketing features and it could implement more multichannel capabilities, too. However, any significant feature expansion could compromise the usability of the platform. It could also dilute Close's USPs, which are clearly aimed at sales teams that need a robust calling system built into their CRM. ### Close verdict Close is a powerful all-in-one CRM platform for sales teams that need an automated calling and SMS system. If you've got a global customer base, remote sales teams or international support staff, Close may be the perfect platform to integrate your sales, marketing and support strategies. If phone communications aren't your priority and you're more interested in features like email marketing, marketing automation and pipeline management - or multichannel marketing and sales - then you might want to look elsewhere. Close is quite capable at all of these but its calling and SMS system is a step above everything else available on the platform and the key area where it stands out among the other CRM platforms in this article. ## 3. [CompanyHub](/recommends/companyhub/) ***The “easy-as-Excel” marketing & sales CRM. Enterprise plan: $42/month per user*** Unlike the first two platforms we've looked at today, CompanyHub is designed with smaller businesses in mind. As mentioned earlier, though, modern enterprise companies have to behave more like smaller businesses than ever before with [trust in large companies declining](https://www.marketingcharts.com/brand-related/csr-111584) and direct engagement with customers becoming increasingly important. As a result, the software needs of enterprise companies are changing too and large businesses don't always need complex systems to manage leads or customers. So, let's talk about [CompanyHub](/recommends/companyhub/) - the CRM provider that wants to take the complexity out of customer relationship management with its "easy-as-Excel" all-in-one platform. With unlimited contacts and emails, a customisable CRM, solid automation features, sales bots and bulk editing, can this platform really deliver for modern enterprise companies? ### CompanyHub features  **Key features:** - **Customisable CRM:**Manage customer data in your own way with custom fields, columns, filters and reports. - **Lead management:** Manage leads across the entire customer journey. - **Pipeline management:** Manage deals across multiple pipelines. - **Sales bots:** Capture leads from your website using native chatbots. - **Dynamic forms:** Increase form conversion rates and capture more leads. - **Email sync:** 2-way email sync allows you to send emails from CompanyHub and your email client. - **Bulk emails:** Send emails in bulk without manually rewriting and sending. - **Email tracking:** Unlimited email tracking available on all plans. - **Email templates:** Use and edit email templates to cut down on time drafting messages. - **Email scheduling:** Schedule emails to send them at the most opportune moment. - **Reminders:** Follow-up to unanswered emails by creating reminders that trigger when no reply is received after your specified duration. - **Appointment booking:** Allow your customers to book appointments on your website and your team to manage them in CompanyHub. - **Quotes:** Create quotes in one click and customise templates to meet your needs. - **Lead capture:** Capture leads from your website through email sign-up forms. CompanyHub is the CRM platform for teams that hate CRM platforms. The system is loosely designed around the spreadsheet format and functionality to reduce the learning curve for companies upgrading to a CRM for the first time. However, it also provides a viable alternative for marketing and sales teams that don't want the convoluted experience that typically comes with all-in-one CRM platforms. Behind CompanyHub's Excel-inspired interfaces is an intuitive drag-and-drop system for managing customer data, leads and deals across the entire sales funnel. While the platform is designed with SMEs in mind there are some important features that make it suitable for enterprise companies searching for a simpler CRM platform. Most importantly, you can store unlimited contact data and you can also send unlimited emails on the most expensive Accelerate plan. The system is also highly customisable and you get advanced customisation for your industry and business needs on the Accelerate plan, too. Another key factor is the quality of customer support provided by CompanyHub. It prides itself on its "concierge level support" and you're going to get the best of this on its Accelerate plan.  We should also mention the fact that prices max out at $42/month per user, which makes this the most affordable platform we've looked at so far. Unlike Close, CompanyHub puts all of its emphasis on email marketing and pipeline management. You don't get any calling or SMS features built into the system so you'll either need to get these from somewhere else or choose another CRM platform if phone communications are a priority. ### How usable is CompanyHub? CompanyHub calls itself the "easy-as-Excel" CRM and it fulfils its promise of being an easy-to-use platform. While it's not quite as interactive as Close, CompanyHub takes a similar approach to single-click functionality and drag-and-drop interfaces. Again, performance is surprisingly smooth, considering how much code is working underneath these interfaces and the platform, as a whole, has been optimised to enhance your sales and marketing efforts without performance issues getting in the way. CompanyHub squeezes quite a lot of features into its affordable plans but this is a platform designed with growing SMEs in mind. So, for enterprise companies, the user experience is enhanced even further by the relative simplicity of the software. The question is whether features like unlimited contacts and emails are enough to satisfy your "enterprise" needs. Take a look at review sites like [G2.com](https://www.g2.com/products/companyhub-crm/reviews/companyhub-crm-review-1310586) and you'll find enterprise users rating the platform at 4.5+ out of five stars while commending its usability, customisation options and CompanyHub's customer support.  For a full comparison of CompanyHub’s plans, pricing and features, you can take a look at [the pricing page](https://companyhub.com/crm-pricing) on its website. ### What could CompanyHub improve? With prices maxing out at $42/month per user, we can't complain too much about missing features. CompanyHub's Accelerate plan offers remarkable value for enterprise businesses, even if you're going to need to get key features from elsewhere. Even still, CompanyHub could deliver even better value (or offer a more comprehensive enterprise plan) with some simple feature additions. Topping our list of feature requests is an email builder, which seems like a logical addition considering the quality of the email marketing features provided across CompanyHub's plans. Yes, you get email "templates" that you can use and customise but these are only basic text emails. We'd like to see a drag-and-drop email builder and visual templates for creating engaging emails. Hopefully, this is something CompanyHub will add to its existing plan in the future without affecting prices too much. There's a big hole in CompanyHub's platform with the lack of calling and SMS features, which would seriously increase the overall quality of this platform as an all-in-one CRM. This would involve a lot more R&D for CompanyHub, though, and it would have to be reflected in the prices. However, it could offer an enterprise plan, at a higher price point than the $42/month Accelerate plan, which would cover the investment and open up the platform to a wider pool of larger businesses. CompanyHub is also in need of far more native integration options. ### CompanyHub verdict CompanyHub is a CRM platform designed for SMEs that punches above its weight in several categories that matter a lot for enterprise companies. The "easy-as-Excel" reduces the learning curve to an absolute minimum and contributes to a smooth, spacious user experience that you'll struggle to find with enterprise-level software. Affordable pricing that's based on user numbers and not contacts makes this excellent value for larger companies, especially at the smaller end of enterprise businesses that don't have an army of sales reps and marketing personnel. If you speak to enterprise CompanyHub customers, the quality of support provided is normally the first comment they'll make and this is one area where software providers often fall short, even when you're paying for VIP support. The big downside to CompanyHub is a lack of features and this isn't helped by lacking integration options. This platform isn't going to cater for all of your marketing, sales and support needs so you'll have to check that integrations are there where you need them. ## 4. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) ***The best all-in-one CRM for sales, marketing and automation. Enterprise plan: Pricing starts from $229/month*** If you're looking for an all-in-one CRM, email marketing and automation platform, [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) is clear the winner. With the exception of HubSpot, ActiveCampaign is the only provider that offers up a complete set of features for marketing, sales and support teams - and ActiveCampaign offers the best automation features, by a long shot. ActiveCampaign offers scalable plans for businesses of all sizes but it's one of the only software providers that has a comprehensive option for enterprise businesses, as well as lightweight plans for smaller and growing businesses. So, whether you're an established enterprise company or a smaller company with enterprise ambitions, ActiveCampaign will help you drive growth *and* continue to grow with you, every step of the way. ### ActiveCampaign features [](/recommends/activecampaign/) **Key features**: - **CRM:** Manage contacts and automatically update details without manual input. - **Email marketing:** Advanced email marketing campaigns including broadcast emails, triggered emails, targeted emails and more. - **Unlimited emails:** Send an unlimited number of emails to contacts on every plan. - **Unlimited users:** ActiveCampaign's enterprise plan covers you for unlimited users. - **Email builder:** Drag-and-drop email builder available on every plan. - **Email templates:** Use or edit email templates to create campaigns quickly. - **Autoresponders:** Send automatic email responses to prospects instantly or after your specified delay. - **Sales automation:** Cut the manual workload out of sales with automated tasks, notifications and reminders. - **Contact & lead scoring:** Prioritise leads to focus your marketing and sales efforts on the highest-value prospects. - **Win probability:** Automatically calculate the likelihood of winning deals to prioritise sales efforts. - **Marketing automation:** Automate email campaigns and marketing responses to deliver messages and take action. - **Automation builder:** Create your own automation workflows with ActiveCampaign’s drag-and-drop automation builder. - **Website personalisation:** Deliver personalised on-page messages to convert more users into leads and paying customers. - **Site & event tracking:** Track user behaviour on your website to attribute campaign success and deliver relevant messages based on user actions. - **Customer support:** Provide customer support through email and chat. - **Customer retention:** Identify and reward your best customers to incentivise repeat purchases. - **Customer health scoring:** Automatically score and track the health of customers to avoid churn and react to churn dangers before you start losing customers. - **Phone support:** Get technical support over the phone, any time you need it. - **Account manager:** Get dedicated support from your account manager who will help you get the best out of ActiveCampaign. - **HIPAA support:** Built-in support for data compliance with HIPAA regulations. ActiveCampaign wants to be the only marketing, sales and customer support platform you'll ever need. This is an impossible task, of course, but ActiveCampaign comes remarkably close to achieving it. This means you're going to spend less money on third-party software and less time switching between apps or worrying about integrations. Pricing for ActiveCampaign's Enterprise plan starts at $229/month and this covers you for an unlimited number of users. However, the company prices its plan based on the number of contacts you have on your system and you're limited to 2,500 contacts on the Enterprise plan at $229/month. Pricing maxes out at $399/month for 10,000 contacts, which is great value for unlimited users and the features available on ActiveCampaign's Enterprise plan. Once you get over 10,000 contacts, you're eligible for custom pricing and this means you'll get even better value as your contact list grows. Here's a quick summary of ActiveCampaign's enterprise pricing: - **2,500 contacts – $229/mo** - **5,000 contacts – $359/mo** - **10,000 contacts – $399/mo** - **>10,000 contacts - POA** This makes ActiveCampaign the most expensive system we've looked at so far but it's significantly cheaper than HubSpot and traditional enterprise platforms. In terms of the features you get at each price point, no other provider comes close to matching ActiveCampaign but cheaper prices aren't enough to impress us here at ActiveCampaign. We're more interested in quality and the most impressive aspect of ActiveCampaign is the quality of its platform, features and tools. We've used ActiveCampaign as our marketing and sales CRM for the past five years and few platforms have managed to match it in terms of quality. There are some platforms that offer a marginally more comprehensive platform than ActiveCampaign but you're going to pay tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars more and gain very little in return. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) ActiveCampaign also boasts some of the industry's best automation features and none of the other CRMs in this guide really compete in this category. While all of the platforms in this article offer certain email marketing and sales automation features, ActiveCampaign allows you to automate every aspect of your marketing and sales strategies. Everything is based around ActiveCampaign's drag-and-drop automation builder, which allows you to visually create workflows for almost anything you can come up with: email sequences, automatic replies, triggered messages, automated sales tasks and fully automated marketing strategies. ActiveCampaign gives you 100% freedom to automate anything you can think of. Combine this with website tracking, lead qualification, lead scoring and email marketing, and you've got one of the most advanced marketing automation systems available anywhere. You also get comprehensive email marketing features, including a drag-and-drop email builder to create visual messages. You can create your own emails from scratch or by editing a template from the platform's built-in library. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) ActiveCampaign isn't only a platform for storing customer data, either. This is an intelligent data system, powered by the latest machine learning technology. Automatic lead qualification pinpoints the prospects that meet your business' needs and this is enhanced by smart lead scoring that automatically updates as prospects progress along your funnel and the sales cycle. ActiveCampaign also uses behavioural and historical data to calculate the win probability of sales leads. The platform's intelligent lead management features allow you to prioritise the contacts, companies and deals that matter most and focus your sales and marketing efforts where they'll have the biggest impact.  Honestly, there are too many features to talk about in one article and a lot of enterprise businesses won't even need the full set of features available on the Enterprise plan so you might even find the Professional plan covers your needs. You can view the full list of ActiveCampaign features and plans on [this comparison page](/recommends/activecampaign-pricing-esp/). ### How usable is ActiveCampaign? Usability is always a challenge with all-in-one marketing platforms and ActiveCampaign is more all-in-one than most. So there's an inevitable complexity to the software but, considering everything that you can do with ActiveCampaign, this is to be expected. The company has worked hard to optimise the platform over the years, too. The system has a logical architecture to help you navigate features and tools while making the learning curve as easy as possible. ActiveCampaign also has an extensive library of online documentation to help you get up and running. Then there's the excellent customer support team that's always there if you run into any problems. As an enterprise customer, you get phone support, a dedicated account manager and one-to-one training to get you set up with the system and using it to your best advantage. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) ActiveCampaign reduces the complexity of its platform with its automation and productivity features. As mentioned in our [latest ActiveCampaign review](/activecampaign-review/), the drag-and-drop CRM makes it easy to manage leads across every stage of your funnel and you also get built-in email, landing page and automation builders to capture and nurture leads without needing any third-party software. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) The automation builder is ActiveCampaign's slickest drag-and-drop tool and one of its most important features. While some of the platform's tools aren't quite as good as specialist software (e.g.: its landing page builder isn't on the same level as [Unbounce](/recommends/unbounce/)), no other platform helps you achieve this much with so little manual input. ### What could ActiveCampaign improve? ActiveCampaign offers one of the best enterprise CRMs on the market and we're pretty sure it offers the best value option for large businesses. Considering the features available at each price point, we're hesitant to criticise too much but there are a few areas where ActiveCampaign could improve. As mentioned in the previous section, the built-in landing page builder isn't quite as good as specialist builders like Unbounce and Instapage but ActiveCampaign continues to improve its builders and the gap is constantly getting smaller. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) It's a similar story with the drag-and-drop email builder and the email templates, which aren't as customisable as tools like Mailchimp. However, the email marketing features built into ActiveCampaign are leagues ahead of Mailchimp and the same is true for the automated lead generation strategies you can apply to your landing pages. Either way, you can always integrate with tools like Unbounce and Mailchimp if you prefer those builders. As it happens, we integrate ActiveCampaign with Unbounce and several other tools here at Venture Harbour. That said, these tools have improved so much since we first started using the platform that we probably wouldn't feel the need to use another landing page builder if we were getting started today. ### ActiveCampaign verdict ActiveCampaign is the best all-in-one CRM, email marketing and automation platform on the market right now. Enterprise companies won't find such an extensive system for marketing, sales and customer support from many other providers and none offering this much in the same price region. As mentioned earlier, there's so much baked into this platform that many enterprise businesses won't need all of the features available on the Enterprise plan - so you might be fine on one of the lower tier plans. As long-term ActiveCampaign customers, we're in the privileged position to be able to offer our readers an exclusive partnership offer that'll [save you up to $5,000](/recommends/activecampaign-promo/) over your first two years - including free implementation and migration, your second month free of charge, free CRM with sales automation and more. **Important:** Make sure you use [this link](/recommends/activecampaign-promo/) to unlock the exclusive offer and you can find out more about the ActiveCampaign suite of marketing tools [here](/recommends/activecampaign-emsg/).f ## 5. [OnePageCRM](/recommends/onepagecrm/) ***The simple, affordable CRM with excellent support. Enterprise plan: $59/month per user*** While ActiveCampaign provides almost everything you need in an all-in-one marketing platform, [OnePageCRM](/recommends/onepagecrm/) takes the opposite approach. The company focuses on developing a powerful CRM without bringing in other features that might complicate the platform. As a result, you get power and simplicity from a CRM platform that doesn't try to do anything except customer relationship management to the best of its ability. ### OnePageCRM features **Key features:** - **Unlimited contacts, notes & deals:** Manage unlimited contacts, notes and deals on every plan. - **Contact enhance:** Automatically detect and populate a contact with all available social data. - **Email marketing:** Manage your email marketing strategy from OnePageCRM with custom templates and personalised messages. - **Bulk emails:** Send up to 450 emails in bulk per day. - **Track email open rates:** Measure the effectiveness of your email subject lines. - **Call integration:** Select your preferred calling method from a number of protocols and syntaxes and call straight from the CRM. - **Sales automation:** Maximise sales and cut out the manual workload of closing deals. - **Deal velocity**:Easily identify and address bottlenecks in your sales process by seeing the time spent on each deal stage. - **Drag-n-drop deal management:** Advance deals through the sales cycle with a simple drag-and-drop. - **Multiple pipelines:** Create up to 10 pipelines to accommodate several sales processes or multiple products with different sales cycles. - **Productivity:** Every OnePageCRM plan comes with the same set of productivity and collaboration features to help your team focus and work together more effectively. - **Enterprise support:** Personalised onboarding and training, phone support, a dedicated account manager, quarterly check-ins and custom webinars as part of OnePageCRM's excellent customer support. At a glance, OnePageCRM looks like an affordable platform aimed at smaller businesses but this is a capable platform with robust features and a capable Enterprise plan for large businesses. Earlier, we talked about the wonders of Salesflare's automated data entry and OnePageCRM has a similar feature called "contact enhance," which automatically collects contact data from social data. It's not quite as powerful as Salesflare's automation but a powerful, enterprise-level feature available on every plan - one that's going to save you time. Efficiency is a priority for OnePageCRM, which has developed an impressive amount of automation and productivity tools into its platform. A focus mode removes distractions when sales reps need to concentrate while saved sales actions allow you to automate repetitive tasks with one-click triggers.  OnePageCRM's Enterprise plan costs $59/month per user and the main benefits are enterprise support features, including a dedicated account manager, personalised onboarding and training, prioritised screen share support and plenty more - one of the best support packages we're looking at today. You also get maximum email and storage capacity on the Enterprise plan. Aside from that, OnePageCRM doesn't restrict features a great deal across its plans and the SMB Plus plan has most of the features available on the enterprise plan, except you pay $29/month per user without any contract - a great way to try out OnePageCRM without any long-term commitment. You can compare the full set of features on each plan by visiting [OnePageCRM's pricing page](https://www.onepagecrm.com/crm-pricing/) and clicking on the **Compare Plans** link mid-way down the page. ### How usable is OnePageCRM? OnePageCRM isn't going to blow you away with its looks but it may charm you with its balance of usability and power. Modern CRM platforms have a usability problem because most of them try to be much more than a CRM with advanced marketing and sales features that add complexity to the software. This isn't a problem with OnePageCRM as the company has put all of its efforts into developing a robust CRM that doesn't bring in any unnecessary complexity.  In terms of a learning curve, OnePageCRM will be the quickest platform we're looking at today for new users to pick up and learn (with the possible exception of Octopus CRM). Instead of adding every feature it can into the platform, OnePageCRM intelligently chooses to include sales and marketing features that enhance the CRM and make the overall platform easier to use - for example, the contact enhance feature, which automatically compiles customer data for you, and deal losses that help you document and learn from the causes of lost deals.  This calculated approach allows OnePageCRM to offer up some seriously powerful features while maintaining a level of simplicity that makes this one of the easiest to use CRM platforms we're looking at today - and the experience benefits even further from some simple, effective automation features. ### What could OnePageCRM improve? OnePageCRM's biggest strength is also the platform's biggest weakness. The downside to simplicity is always a lack of complexity in terms of features, customisation options and tools.  For example, there's no email or landing page builder and nothing in the way of customer support features - all of which you'll need to get from elsewhere. OnePageCRM doesn't have the biggest list of integrations, either, but the quality of the integrations it does support are excellent - in true OnePageCRm fashion.  So you can integrate with Unbounce to get the best landing page builder in the industry and Mailchimp to get one of the best email builders. You can also integrate with Talkdesk and Help Scout to manage customer support, Sage for accounting and tools like Zapier to open up integrations with hundreds of other apps. Automation is another area where OnePageCRM may fall short for enterprise businesses. While there's a decent amount of task automation built into the platform, there's very little to help you automate marketing and sales campaigns beyond sending bulk emails. Again, there's a native ActiveCampaign integration, which gives you access to the best automation system going but you don't really need OnePageCRm if you're an ActiveCampaign customer. ### OnePageCRM verdict OnePageCRM looks like a platform designed for smaller businesses but it's a deceptively powerful CRM platform that packs some mean features into a streamlined system that's easy to use - and the company offers up one of the best customer support packages for its enterprise customers. If you're all about simplicity, averse to complexity and appreciate having technical support always on call, then OnePageCRM could be the fuss-free platform your business needs. ## 6. [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) ***The visual pipeline management tool. Enterprise plan: $99/month per user*** Pipedrive ditches the traditional CRM format for a visual pipeline management system that focuses on nurturing prospects across your funnel. This can be great for companies that don't have experience with database management, teams that simply don't get on with traditional CRMs or rapidly-changing sales teams that constantly need to train new reps. The company offers an Enterprise plan for $99/month per user for teams of 10+ users, which gets you full access to the platform's features, as well as custom onboarding to get you up and running and enterprise support to help you get the best out of Pipedrive. ### Pipedrive features **Key features:** - **Deal management:** Manage opportunities with a complete picture of each deal including pipeline stages, ownership, communications and history. - **Funnel management:** Pipedrive is designed around visual pipeline management rather than a traditional CRM structure. - **Lead management:** Manage leads across the entire funnel while tracking and updating statuses visually. - **Deal rotting:** Get notified when a deal stays idle for longer than the defined rotting period. - **Custom fields:** Add unlimited custom fields to organise and segment your sales data. - **Integrated sales calls:** Make sales calls directly from the web for fast call tracking, recording and insights all in one place. - **Integrated email:** Sync Pipedrive with your email client to send from one place (email open and click tracking available on Advanced plans and higher). - **Email tracking:** Get notified when a prospect opens your email or clicks on any link you’ve sent them. - **Sales automation:** Automate repetitive sales tasks and get personalised tips from Piepline's AI Sales Assistant. - **Product catalogue:** Create a customisable catalogue of your company’s goods including costs, notes and more. - **Revenue forecast reports:** Plan ahead with confidence with a comprehensive overview of your predicted revenue and make adjustments on the fly. - **Advanced security:** A dedicated security dashboard, security alerts, custom security rules, SSO logins, SOC2 compliance, AES-256 encryption and more. - **Mobile apps:** Native mobile apps for iOS and Android with extensive integrations. - **Enterprise support:** Get custom onboarding and support with your CRM. Pipedrive comes in with a compelling set of features for marketing and sales teams. Everything revolves around its visual pipeline management interface that helps you spend less time working with data so you can focus on managing leads and deals along the funnel. You can create unlimited pipelines in Kanban to visualise your entire sales process, no matter how many funnels and pipelines it involves. You can also store data for unlimited contacts, leads and deals on every plan - pricing is purely based on features. Pipedrive breaks its features into seven different categories and you get access to everything on the Enterprise plan, along with the company's best support system to help you maximise revenue: 1. **Manage leads & deals:** Nurture leads and customers along your marketing and sales funnels to maximise revenue. 2. **Track communications:** Manage and track communications across email, calls and sales docs, such as quotes and proposals. 3. **Document management:** Create and manage sales docs faster and integrate with key tools like Google Drive and OneDrive. 4. **Automation:** Automate sales and marketing tasks to maximise efficiency and reduce waste. 5. **Insights & reporting:** Visual dashboards with reports for every stage of your pipeline and advanced insights, such as revenue forecast reports. 6. **Privacy & security:** Pipeline has some of the most comprehensive security features among the platforms in this guide. 7. **Mobile apps & integrations:** Excellent mobile apps for iOS and Android with synced calling and tonnes of integrations. On the Enterprise plan, you get multichannel communications to manage and track interactions across email and sales, complete with sales docs collaboration for quotes, proposals and other essentials. You can also automate sales tasks with up to 100m workflow automations and activity reminders to keep your team on track of tasks.  The platform also has an AI sales assistant that analyses your historical performance to suggest where you should focus your sales efforts and where you could improve. This is backed up with some extensive reporting and insights features, including revenue forecast reports and deal reports to see how many opportunities your salespeople win or lose. The main area where Pipedrive falls short is email automation with no sequencing, drip campaign for email builder available. You do get the basics for sending email campaigns to prospects but you're going to need specialist email automation features if you're looking to create triggered campaigns or autoresponders, for example. ### How usable is Pipedrive? Pipedrive is one of the most pleasant CRM platforms to use, thanks to some intelligent UI design and its stripped-down lead management system that shuns the complexity of traditional CRM software. The focus on visual pipeline management is excellent for companies that don't have previous experience with CRMs or simply don't like the traditional database format. Companies that need more granular control over customer data may find Pipedrive's Kanban approach too simplistic but there's no denying it makes the platform a pleasure to use.  If Pipedrive is too simplistic for your needs, there's no shortage of classic CRMs that can step up and deliver but Pipedrive offers a viable alternative for companies that are less interested in complex software and more interested in closing deals with minimal fuss. ### What could Pipedrive improve? Pipedrive is a compromise between simplicity and functionality and, while there are some pretty advanced features built into the platform, this compromise leaves some large gaps. The first obvious compromise is the limit to what you can do in terms of storing customers data and the actions you can trigger. This isn't a comprehensive CRM platform for creating in-depth contact and company profiles and using that data to trigger automated campaigns, for example. In fact, as mentioned earlier, you're only getting the bare minimum in email and sales automation from Pipedrive.  Pipedrive doesn't help you create marketing or sales campaigns and you're certainly not going to set up triggered email campaigns or sequences based on contact or customer action - not natively, anyway. In this respect, there's a lot of room for Pipedrive to add more advanced features, especially when it comes to managing and automating campaigns. However, this would undoubtedly make the platform more complex and this is the Pipedrive conundrum: simplicity is theither its biggest strength or its biggest weakness, depending on how you want to manage your sales processes. ### Pipedrive verdict Pipedrive offers a unique solution for sales teams that are less interested in managing databases and more interested in closing deals. Companies that want to segment campaign audiences at granular levels or trigger automated campaigns based on action or minute data points will need to look elsewhere. However, enterprise businesses with relatively short sales cycles that want to close deals as quickly as possible and move on to the next opportunity, without getting bogged down in chasing lost leads or maximum efficiency, have a lot to gain from Pipedrive's no-nonsense approach to pipeline management. ## 7. [EngageBay](/recommends/engagebay/) ***The affordable CRM for growth hackers. Enterprise plan: $47.99/month per user*** Businesses aren't born as enterprise ventures so what if you're a startup or smaller business with enterprise aspirations and a knack for growth hacking? [EngageBay](/recommends/engagebay/) is the best all-in-one CRM for businesses on a low budget and this makes it the frontrunner for startups and growth hackers looking to build their empire as fast as possible. In true growth hacking spirit, EngageBay isn't the perfect enterprise CRM (not by a long shot) but it's \*good enough\* to keep progress constantly moving in the right direction. Crucially, it also offers up a feature set, pricing structure and growth path that are affordable for fast-growing businesses at every stage of development - including a free plan to get bootstrapped ventures up and running. ### EngageBay features  **Key features:** - **CRM:** Manage contacts, deals and tasks across the entire customer journey. - **Unlimited contacts:** EngageBay's Pro plan covers you for unlimited contacts on the built-in CRM. - **Predictive lead scoring:** Automatically predict the value of leads and prioritise your efforts on high-value prospects. - **Email marketing:** Email templates, tracking, scheduling, segmentation and other email marketing features. - **Email builder:** Build and edit visual email templates for your campaigns. - **Autoresponders:** Automatically respond to email enquiries from your customers and leads. - **Landing page builder:** Build your own landing pages or edit templates with EngageBay's drag-and-drop builder. - **Lead capture:** Capture leads with embedded forms, pop-ups and push notifications. - **Helpdesk:** Add a helpdesk to your website to manage tickets and resolve issues. - **Live chat:** Provide instant support by implementing live chat on your website. - **Sales automation:** Automate sales tasks and workflows. - **Sales calls:** Make calls from EngageBay with 15 free calling credits and call management features, including reports, recordings and scripts. - **Enterprise support:** Phone support, free onboarding sessions, dedicated account manager, in addition to email and chat support. EngageBay is an all-in-one platform designed to integrate your marketing, sales and customer support processes across your website, email, phone and social media. The platform boasts a fairly extensive set of features - not to the same extent as HubSpot or ActiveCampaign - but an impressive offering considering the affordable prices across its plans. These features are broken up into five separate products: 1. **Marketing** 2. **CRM & Sales** 3. **Service Bay** 4. **Specials** 5. **Support** There are 42 features listed under marketing on the company’s website and 26 of these are available on the free plan with pricing based on restrictions on the number of contacts on your database, the number of emails you can send and other usage factors. This means you're getting a lot of features for your money on every plan and this is a key reason why EngageBay is such a good choice for startups and smaller businesses with enterprise ambitions.  Even on the free plan, you can send email sequences, autoresponders, email broadcasts, an email and landing page builder, email templates, live chat, predictive lead scoring and so much more. Admittedly, you only get limited access to many of these features on the free plan but it's enough to get new ventures started and you'll quickly upgrade to more capable plans with expanded access.  By the time you upgrade to the $49/month per user plan, you've got unlimited contacts and unrestricted access to the platform's features, as well as enterprise-level support. Aside from being one of the most affordable CRM platforms on the market, EngageBay is also one of the most complete. Aside from the likes of ActiveCampaign and HubSpot, EngageBay is one of the few truly all-in-one platforms to offer dedicated products for marketing, sales and customer support.  Sure, these products aren't as sophisticated as ActiveCampaign or HubSpot but they're not in the same price category, either, and EngageBay is the most affordable growth platform for companies that need an all-in-one system with a modest budget. ### How usable is EngageBay? Despite its affordable pricing, EngageBay is quite a feature-rich platform so you're not going to pick this up in one day. Once you get used to the system, the performance is fairly reliable but there are some navigational and UI design quirks that put a dampener on the overall experience.  Considering how long it can take to learn the system, EngageBay could significantly improve the experience by implementing in-app guides or prompts to point you in the right direction of related features or next steps. For example, when you create a new email campaign, it would be useful to have a pop-up asking if you want to create a new template in the email builder or a new marketing list instead of having to navigate to everything yourself. Without any help from EngageBay, you could quite easily use this platform for six months without knowing certain features are buried in navigation menus and dashboards until you discover them by chance. Aside from this, the overall experience of using EngageBay is very positive and tools are easy to use, once you know where they are and when to use them. ### What could EngageBay improve? Given the pricing of EngageBay's plans, we shouldn't complain about missing features but there are some simple additions or improvements that would make a significant difference without adding any real R&D or additional cost. For example, you can't save blocks in the landing page builder and reuse them on future templates. This is a pain when you've got a bunch of landing pages to build and it's such a simple addition that would make the builder a more powerful productivity tool.  The biggest problem with EngageBay is a lack of online support material, though. Head to [the resources page](https://www.engagebay.com/resources/) on its website, and it looks like there's a decent set of online documentation to help you learn the platform and address basic issues. Sadly, this is an illusion. If you click through the categories and read any of the guides, you'll see they’re little more than overviews of the software's features, key benefits and best practices, rather than instructions on how to actually use them or solve user problems. More than anything, we want to see better online documentation on EngageBay's website. A platform with this many features should have an extensive online support centre, especially when the platform is primarily aimed at smaller businesses. Thankfully, the enterprise support provided on the Pro plan helps make up for lacking documentation but the platform's learning curve doesn't need to be as large as it is. ### EngageBay verdict EngageBay probably isn't the CRM for established enterprise company's but it could be the perfect choice for entrepreneurs, startups and smaller businesses with big ambitions - especially the modern breed of growth hackers who turn bootstrapped ventures into business empires. EngageBay doesn't try to be the best at anything but it's found success in offering up most of the tools fast-growing businesses need to get the job done and keep hitting targets - and at a price point no other provider can compete with. ## 8. [Salesmate](/recommends/salesmate/) ***The collaborative CRM for mobile sales teams. Enterprise plan: POA*** [Salesmate](/recommends/salesmate/) is all about empowering your sales team to close more deals and keep customers happy. This is a highly customisable platform with built-in productivity and collaboration features that make it ideal for smaller mobile and remote sales teams. There's no free plan available here but prices start at $12/month per user and the most expensive Boost plan still only lifts your monthly fee to $40/month and there aren't too many feature restrictions between plans, either. Even on the starter plan, you get a solid all-in-one platform with multiple pipeline management, email marketing, email automation, voice and text features, extensive reporting and excellent mobile apps for iOS and Android for one of the best mobile CRMs around. ### Salesmate features  **Key features:** - **Customisable CMS:** Customise your CMS to meet the needs of your team with the same flexible options available on all plans. - **Unlimited records:** All Salesmate plans allow you to store and manage unlimited contacts, deals, campaigns, activities and products. - **Sales management:** Manage contacts and deals across the entire customer journey. - **Sales automation:** Automate workflows and email campaigns. - **Multiple pipeline management:** Manage multiple pipelines across all Salesmate plans. - **Email marketing:** Manage email campaigns, automate messages, send bulk emails and create sequence campaigns. - **Voice & text:** Extensive voice & text sales tools with most features available on all plans. - **Reports & dashboards:** An impressive collection of native reports and dashboards. - **Chrome extension:** Complete actions from Google Chrome without opening the Salesforce app. - **Integrations:** Native integrations with Gmail, Zapier email marketing software and other platforms to expand functionality. - **Mobile CMS:** Excellent mobile apps for iOS and Android make Salesmate a truly mobile platform for remote sales teams. - **Dedicated IP address:** Maximise deliverability by sending emails from your own, dedicated IP address. - **SSO/SAML integration:** Provide secure access to everyone who needs it without unnecessary security risks. - **Enterprise support:** Personalised training, a dedicated account manager and enterprise support. Salesmate doesn't disclose pricing for its enterprise plan so you'll have to negotiate a fee based on the number of users you have, how many emails you send and other usage requirements. You get unlimited contacts on all plans but the company's most extensive $40/month per user Boost plan limits you to the following: - **Email sequences:** 1,000/user per day - **Automated workflows:** 50 - **Workflow emails:** 1,000/user per day - **File storage:** 10GB/user So, aside from user numbers, you'll have to negotiate a price to suit your needs. It wouldn't be fair for us to disclose any specific numbers but we can say Salesmate remains good value for enterprise companies. Salesmate's feature list is similar in size to EngageBay but the specific features and tools on offer are quite different.  Salesmate has a far more sophisticated calling and SMS system and this is one of the biggest strengths of the platform. In this sense, Salesmate is the only platform we're looking at today that can give Close a run for its money in terms of an all-in-one solution for international and remote sales teams. If phone interactions are a priority and you're looking for an all-in-one system, Close and Salesmate are the two standout choices. If you're more interested in email marketing, it's worth noting that Salesmate doesn't have an email builder so you're limited to sending text emails natively.  There's also no landing page builder so you'll need to integrate with other platforms to bring these features in and Salesmate has native integrations for [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/), [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue/) and Mailchimp - so you've got plenty of options. Other standout features on Salesmate include multiple pipeline management on every plan, extensive customisation, workflow automation and a robust set of reporting tools – as well as excellent integration options. With the Boost or enterprise plan, you also get the best of Salesmate's collaborative CRM, which is great for remote sales teams. The sales activity tracker helps you manage tasks and keep track of progress while you can also automate workflows. Notifications are automatically sent to reps when they're assigned a new task and you can set up reminders for meetings and sales activities.  Salesmate's mobile apps for iOS and Android are the best we've used, putting a fully functional mobile CRM in the hands of your entire team. ### How usable is Salesmate? Despite offering a similar bulk of features, Salesmate delivers a much stronger user experience than EngageBay. While you can feel the depth of features in EngageBay adding complexity to the platform, Salesmate's software is tightly themed with features grouped together in a more logical structure that makes the whole platform easier to navigate and learn.  There's still a learning curve here but you're not going to find yourself discovering new features six months after you start using the platform. The experience is helped even further by the seamless transition from web app to mobile apps. While the layout and navigation are adapted for mobile devices, the two formats are optimised to help you jump between desktop and mobile as two parts of a fully integrated system - and it shows. Salesmate also provides extensive online documentation to help new users get up to speed with the platform and address any teething issues they run into. EngageBay should take notes here.  Salesmate's website gives you access to video tutorials and guides for every set of features on the system and there are walkthroughs for “setup” and “getting started”. With enterprise support, extensive online documentation and an excellent user experience across multiple devices, Salesmate is up there with the best all-in-one platforms when it comes to usability. ### What could Salesmate improve? With a strong emphasis on calls and text messaging, there's a slight imbalance with marketing features. Above all, an email builder and visual templates would add a lot to Salesmate as an all-in-one system and it would be good to see a landing page builder and more lead generation features built into the platform. A/B testing would be a welcome addition, too. That said, you still get a solid set of email marketing and automation features to work with and few platforms can compete with Salesmate on the calls and texting front - so it's good to have this option. ### Salesmate verdict Even if there are some marketing features missing, Salesmate offers up a customisable, collaborative all-in-one platform for remote sales teams with some of the best voice and text features available. The user experience is excellent, too, especially if your sales team is constantly switching between desktop and mobile. For remote, mobile sales teams, this could be the best all-in-one CRM platform that provides the flexibility and mobility you need to manage deals and customers on the go. ## 9. [Octopus CRM](/recommends/octopuscrm/) ***The CRM for account-based marketing on LinkedIn. Enterprise plan: $24.99/month*** [Octopus CRM](/recommends/octopuscrm/) is an automation tool for LinkedIn prospecting that helps you identify and engage leads at scale. The software pulls all of your LinkedIn contact data into one place so this isn't a multichannel system but a valuable tool for B2B companies engaged in account-based marketing on the world's biggest network for business professionals. ### Octopus CRM features **Key features:** - **LinkedIn CRM:** Store all of your LinkedIn contact data and leads in one place. - **LinkedIn marketing funnel:** Build your LinkedIn marketing funnel to manage prospects and nurture leads until they’re ready to convert. - **Automated connection requests:** Send personalised connection requests to 2nd and 3rd level connections on LinkedIn. - **Bulk messages:** Send messages to hundreds of 1st level connections in bulk. - **Automatic endorsements:** Automatically endorse up to 7 skills on profiles of your LinkedIn contacts. - **Activity control:** This feature allows you to stay extra safe on LinkedIn and receive immediate alerts right after our system detects the excessive activity on your LinkedIn account. - **Reporting:** Monitor the performance of your campaigns with expanded reporting in Octopus CRM. - **Zapier & HubSpot integration:** Expand Octopus CRM’s functionality with Zapier and integrate with HubSpot as an add-on to a complete CRM system. - **Personal account manager:** Direct support to help you use the platform. Octopus CRM's Unlimited plan costs $24.99/month and that's a flat fee regardless of how many users you have. It won't take long to read through the feature list but the platform is more sophisticated than the feature page suggests. The CRM houses all of your LinkedIn lead data but the primary aim of the platform is to automate prospecting so you can spend less time prowling on the network and sending out connection requests.  Octopus automatically sends out personalised invites and allows you to connect exclusively with premium LinkedIn users. You can also send automated messages in bulk, automatically view profiles, endorse skills and import/export data without touching a thing. The Unlimited plan allows you to create LinkedIn lead generation funnels to keep track of your nurturing strategy and follow-up with interactions to keep them engaged.  The obvious limitation with Octopus CRM is that it only works with LinkedIn. The Unlimited plan comes with native HubSpot integration, though, so this is a great addition for B2B companies using HubSpot as their all-in-one sales and marketing CRM (which we'll be taking a look at later). You also get Zapier integration, which expands upon the native automation features and a dedicated account manager. ### How usable is Octopus CRM? Octopus isn't the most complex platform in terms of functionality and the UI design is pretty basic, too. The features themselves don't take too long to get used to but the interface design is very similar to the back-end of WordPress and it doesn't offer any descriptive context or feedback to communicate function. So, while the learning curve is modest compared to many CRMs, you do have to sit down and figure everything out for yourself.  Usability is hampered by a lack of functional automation in some important places, too. For example, you have to *manually* launch automated messages, which is every day, which is completely counterintuitive. Likewise, you have to manually add prospects to campaigns without so much as a list or tagging feature to, at least partly, automate this step. Instances like this are common where Octopus falls short of being as productive as it could. ### What could Octopus CRM improve? Again, Octopus could drastically improve the power of its CRM by building more automation into the platform. We're talking about advanced automation, either, but simple functions that would create a more productive and intuitive platform - things like one-click actions or triggers. You shouldn't have to manually start actions after you've already created them. There's also a lack of bulk action tools for things like removing pending connection requests. Having to do this one-by-one on an automation tool gets frustrating pretty quickly.  Like a few of the tools we've looked at today, Octopus could also provide a lot more online documentation. There is a resources page on the website where you can find video tutorials and FAQs but the videos are very short and all they really do is describe the key features without going into any great detail. ### Octopus CRM verdict Octopus CRM is a lightweight automation tool that will save you a lot of time prospecting leads on LinkedIn. For the asking price, the time you save is more than worth the monthly expense but there's some obvious (and basic) functionality missing that makes it frustrating to use - mainly because you know it could, so easily, be a far more effective productivity tool. That said, any time saved on a time-intensive and high reward strategy like LinkedIn prospecting is a bonus and Octopus will help you secure valuable leads. ## 10. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-free/) ***The all-in-one CRM for simplicity at all costs. Enterprise plans start at $3,600/mo*** If you want the most enterprise features built into an all-in-one marketing, sales and support CRM, then HubSpot is the standout platform - but it comes at a price. Marketing Hub Enterprise starts at $3,600/month and includes 10,000 marketing contacts. Sales Hub Enterprise is priced per seat (currently $150/seat/month with a 10-seat minimum), with the same model on Service Hub. CMS Hub Enterprise sits at the same $3,600/month entry point. All Enterprise tiers carry a one-time $7,000 mandatory onboarding fee that is non-refundable, plus a 12-month commitment. | Hub | Enterprise from | Onboarding fee | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Marketing Hub | $3,600/mo | $7,000 | 10K marketing contacts included | | Sales Hub | $150/seat/mo | $7,000 | 10-seat minimum | | Service Hub | $150/seat/mo | $7,000 | 10-seat minimum | | CMS Hub | $3,600/mo | $7,000 | Includes Premium hosting + AEO module | Combine all four Hubs at the entry-level configuration above and Enterprise fees start at roughly $10,200/month — and that's before the $7,000 onboarding fee on each Hub and contact-overage charges that scale with your marketing list. Your fees quickly grow as your sales team gets bigger and those monthly fees for the Marketing Hub also rise sharply as your list of marketing contacts grows (charged in 1,000-contact increments at roughly $100/mo per 1,000 above your tier's 10K allowance on Enterprise). So HubSpot is by far the most expensive platform we're looking at in this guide and the question we need to answer now is whether the platform is worth the expense. ### HubSpot features [](/recommends/hubspot/) **Key features:** - **Deal pipeline:** Manage leads and deals across your sales funnel. - **Sales automation**: Automate sales tasks and workflows to convert more leads with less manual input. - **Marketing automation:** Automate marketing campaigns to capture and nurture leads on autopilot. - **Predictive lead scoring:** Calculate the value of leads and prioritise your sales efforts. - **Website activity:** Get insight into what a contact is doing on your website – page views, form submissions, sales activity, etc. - **Prospecting:** See which companies are visiting your site and view available insights about them too. - **Email marketing:** Track email campaign performance, receive notifications when emails are opened and use templates to build visual email campaigns. - **Landing pages:** Create landing pages to capture leads on your website. - **A/B testing**: Test landing pages and website pages to maximise conversions. - **Forms:** Capture leads on your website with HubSpot's form builder. - **Live chat:** Capture leads on your website and provide real-time customer service. - **Task & activities:** Create, manage and track sales tasks and activities that make up your relationships with customers. - **Customer support:** The Service Hub gives you an entire suite of tools to provide the best customer service possible. - **Enterprise support:** Phone and email support, in addition to training, community support and HubSpot's excellent online documentation. HubSpot is the most comprehensive CRM platform we're looking at in this guide, offering more features than any other system across its four main products: Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub and CMS Hub. The only platform that comes close to HubSpot in terms of features is ActiveCampaign, which gives you around 90% of the same features on its enterprise plan - the difference is prices start at $399/month for 10,000 contacts, which gives you access to everything on ActiveCampaign. The extra 10% of features you get with HubSpot's enterprise plans mainly include more comprehensive inbound marketing tools, advanced social media and paid advertising features, and slightly more customisation options. If you're paying for the CMS Hub, this is where you'll gain the most features that aren't available on ActiveCampaign as there's no equivalent product. Even still, the price difference is far greater than the differences in features so you have to decide how much value there is in your company having an all-in-one marketing, sales and support platform that does as much as possible without moving between software tools. [](/recommends/hubspot/) HubSpot gets you slightly closer to this than ActiveCampaign and far closer than any of the other platforms in this article. Enterprise companies with particularly large sales teams will benefit the most from this consistency, especially if you find yourself hiring and training new sales reps, where primarily working with one platform helps them get up to speed faster. Of course, this relies on HubSpot being a usable system in the first place. ### How usable is HubSpot? One of the most impressive aspects of HubSpot is how intuitive the platform is, despite being one of the most feature dense systems on the market. Breaking the platform into four distinct products helps simplify the navigation into a logical structure, making it easier to find the tools you need. The quality of HubSpot's products, features and tools are consistently high and only a few specialist software tools like Unbounce or Mailchimp are better than the built-in landing page and email builders - but not by a huge amount. [](/recommends/hubspot/) As an enterprise customer, you're unlikely to experience HubSpot's biggest UX frustration often. Companies using the free versions or lower tier plans will often find themselves accessing features reserved for more expensive plans or reaching limits that bump them up into the next tier. Constantly being prompted to upgrade is a real nuisance but you shouldn't run into this problem on the Enterprise plans. Aside from that, you're unlikely to have any usability complaints about HubSpot and the company has developed one of the most impressive customer support systems with extensive online documentation, guides, community support and a fantastic support team that's always there to help with any technical issues. ### What could HubSpot improve? In most regards, HubSpot offers up one of the best all-in-one sales, marketing and customer support CRM available and there isn't a lot to criticise in terms of quality. If you want maximum features and usability, regardless of expense, then this is probably the platform for you. However, there is one area where HubSpot falls a little short of some cheaper competitors. [](/recommends/hubspot/) While each of HubSpot's products includes a solid set of automation features, ActiveCampaign is quite far ahead in this area with features like automation split testing, dynamic automations, automation maps, advanced segmentation, prospect tagging and its excellent automation builder. Considering the pricing gap between these two platforms, you would expect HubSpot to be the superior automation platform but this isn't the case - quite the opposite. ### HubSpot verdict HubSpot offers one of the most comprehensive marketing platforms available and still sits at the top of the industry after so many years. Features aside, the quality of its platform is still up there with the best and companies prioritising functionality and usability over price may not need to look any further for their all-in-one marketing, sales and support CRMs. The obvious question-mark hangs over pricing. Is the extra 10% of features you get from HubSpot compared to a platform like ActiveCampaign worth 10X more in software fees? ## Which is the best enterprise CRM? To determine the best CRM platforms for different business needs, we surveyed more than 10,000 marketers who were switching platforms so we could get unbiased feedback about the pros and cons of each system. After compiling all of our data, seven key areas stand out to separate the best CRM platforms from the rest: 1. **Ease of use** 2. **Cost** 3. **CRM & marketing features** 4. **Reporting** 5. **Integrations** 6. **Support & Training** 7. **Security** As an enterprise business, you need top performance across all seven of these categories and every CRM featured in this guide achieves this. Now, to help you narrow down your options even further, we're going to pick the top three platforms in each category so you can choose the best CRM for your needs, based on your priorities - or the platforms that consistently feature among the top three.  *You can access the dataset we use to determine the top 10 email marketing software providers at the end of this guide.* At the end of this article, we'll also give you access to our raw data so you can compare every CRM platform we've analysed over the years, in more detail, to make an informed decision. ### Best for ease of use Many of the platforms we've looked at in this guide perform very well when it comes to usability so it's difficult to choose a top three. Luckily, our data picks them for us and, considering how subjective usability is, this is the only fair way to name a top three. 1. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) 2. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) 3. [Salesmate](/recommends/omnisend/) So let's take a closer look at why these CRMs, in particular, top the list for usability. #### 1. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) ActiveCampaign is one of the most comprehensive all-in-one marketing, sales and service CRMs available - only HubSpot offers up a more comprehensive platform among the products we're looking at today. One of the most common problems with all-in-one platforms like this is that usability suffers under the bulk of features and navigational complexity. However, ActiveCampaign has created an integrated network of products for email marketing, marketing automation, CRM and sales automation, and service and support, which groups the platform's features and tools into a logical structure and navigation that forms the foundations of its excellent UX.  The company also offers customisation for different businesses sizes and industries, such as e-commerce, B2B, SaaS and digital agencies, which enhances the experience further. Not only that, but ActiveCampaign's most powerful feature is also its strongest asset for usability. We're talking about automation, of course, and aside from getting the best set of automation features and tools offered by any platform in this guide, ActiveCampaign engineers automation into the usability of the software, too.  For example, the drag-and-drop builders remove unnecessary clicks, the automatic lead scoring constantly updates and prioritises your leads, and the automation builder helps you create advanced campaigns within a few clicks. This benefits the ActiveCampaign experience immensely and the quality of the platform's automation technology allows you to do more with one tool than any other CRM in this guide. This is most evident with ActiveCampaign's automation builder (above), which gives you the freedom to automate any workflow you can think of. And, then, you've got the library of pre-built automation recipes to choose from, allowing you to automate some of the most common and essential workflows in seconds. #### 2. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) In terms of pure UX design and performance, HubSpot would probably be the first winner that comes to mind and it's only ActiveCampaign's depth of automation that edges the victory in its favour. Aside from that, HubSpot is the standout platform for navigation, intuitiveness and UI design, which is all the more impressive considering it's the only platform to offer *more* features than ActiveCampaign. Automation aside, there are a couple of other areas where HubSpot could improve the overall experience. There's a notable lack of customisation and this can be frustrating for enterprise companies, especially when the onboarding fees are so high. There is a risk that customisation options could add complexity to the platform, though, so there's no guarantee this would actually improve usability. The other usability gripe is the access to advanced features customers have on the lower tier plans, which trigger prompts to upgrade. However, this shouldn't happen if you're signed up to the enterprise plans, until you reach a usage limit that impacts pricing. #### 3. [Salesmate](/recommends/salesmate/) This third spot would be the really difficult one to choose without a data-driven approach because there are 2-3 other platforms that perform similarly well here. Salesflare, Close and Pipedrive could easily make their way into the top three but Salesmate delivers the best cross-device experience by quite some margin.  Those iOS and Android mobile apps are optimised to enhance the desktop experience and create a truly integrated system across every device with an impressive level of consistency, even on smartphones. If you're looking for a cross-device platform for remote sales teams who are regularly on the go, Salesmate and Close are the standout options but the Salesmate mobile apps make the difference in this round. ### Best for affordability Affordability is difficult to gauge with marketing software, at the best of times, and it's especially subjective for enterprise companies. There's little point in signing up for the cheapest platform if it doesn't meet your needs, can't continue to grow with your businesses or lacks key features and forces you to pay up for expensive third-party platforms. The first quantifiable way to compare CRM platforms is to look at how prices increase as your contact list grows. | Tool | Monthly price for 1,000 contacts | Monthly price for 10,000 contacts | Monthly price for 100,000 contacts | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Salesflare](/recommends/salesflare/) | $99 | - | - | | [Close\*](/recommends/close/) | $145 | - | - | | [CompanyHub](/recommends/companyhub/) | $42 | - | - | | [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) | $229 | $399 | POA | | [OnePageCRM](/recommends/onepagecrm/) | $59 | - | - | | [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) | $99 | - | - | | [EngageBay\*](/recommends/engagebay/) | $47.99 | - | - | | [Salesmate](/recommends/salesmate/) | POA | - | - | | [Octopus CRM](/recommends/octopuscrm/) | $24.99 | - | - | | [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) | $890 (Pro) | ~$2,280 (Pro) | ~$4,080 (Pro) | In the table above, only four platforms base their pricing on contact numbers. We've marked Close and EngageBay with asterisks because, while they price their plans partially on contact numbers, their enterprise plans include unlimited contacts. It's no coincidence that the two most established, expensive and advanced CRM providers are the ones pricing based on user numbers while the newer generation of platforms tends to price their plans on a per user, per month basis. So here's a comparison of enterprise plan fees for teams of different sizes: | Tool | Monthly price for 5 users | Monthly price for 10 users | Monthly price for 100 users | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Salesflare](/recommends/salesflare/) | $495 | $900 | $9,900 | | [Close](/recommends/close/) | $725 | $1,450 | $14,500 | | [CompanyHub](/recommends/companyhub/) | $210 | $420 | $4,200 | | [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) | $229 | - | - | | [OnePageCRM](/recommends/onepagecrm/) | $295 | $590 | $5,900 | | [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) | $495 | $990 | $9,990 | | [EngageBay](/recommends/engagebay/) | $239.95 | $479.90 | $4,799 | | [Salesmate](/recommends/salesmate/) | POA | - | - | | [Octopus CRM](/recommends/octopuscrm/) | $24.99 | - | - | | [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) | $750 (Sales Hub Ent, 5 seats) | $1,500 (Sales Hub Ent, 10 seats) | $15,000 (Sales Hub Ent, 100 seats) | Now, we start to get a better idea of how much these platforms are going to cost you, based on the size of your sales team. And, suddenly, ActiveCampaign shows how affordable it is for enterprise companies with prices starting from $229/month for unlimited users. With pricing based on contact numbers, you're looking at $399/month for 10,000 contacts, no matter how large your sales, marketing and support teams grow - and you can get even better rates once your contact list passes the 10,000 mark. When you factor in the features provided by each platform and the pricing models involved, ActiveCampaign shoots right to the top as the most affordable platform for enterprise companies looking for an all-in-one marketing, sales and customer support platform. #### Plan for the long-term Take it from us, changing your email marketing software multiple times is an expensive habit and this is precisely why we've created these guides - to save you all the time and money we spent on finding the right system for us. Feature lists are a great place to start when comparing platforms but you have to look ahead and be honest about the features you're going to need in the future. You also need to take a hard look at the pricing structure of each platform and the growth path they set out (features, plans, team sizes, etc.) to understand how your monthly fees are going to change as your teams, contact lists and business grows. You want a platform that's going to drive growth for your business *and* one that's capable of growing with your business as your needs become more advanced. ### Best for CRM & marketing features At the heart of each platform in this guide is a customer relationship management (CRM) system and they all take a different approach to implementing a variety of marketing features into their version of an all-in-one solution. So we should take a moment to talk about the quality of the CRMs themselves and the marketing features available for enterprise companies. #### Best for CRM If we ignore all of the additional features and focus squarely on the CRM solutions of each platform, there are three no-compromise winners for enterprise companies: 1. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) 2. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) 3. [Salesflare](/recommends/salesflare/) These are the three providers that offer up the traditional, fully functional CRM at the heart of their product while all of the other providers try to simplify their CRM for the sake of usability or affordability - all legitimate compromises but ones that reduce functionality to differing extents. #### Best for marketing features All of the platforms in this guide aim to provide all-in-one solutions but some are more complete than others. ActiveCampaign and HubSpot are the standout winners when it comes to marketing features and there's a big gap between these two and the rest of the options we're looking at. 1. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) 2. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) 3. [EngageBay](/recommends/engagebay/) The best of the rest in terms of marketing features is EngageBay, which offers up a more lightweight platform but provides a solid offering for integrated marketing, sales and customer support. Here's a quick overview of some of the features unique to these three platforms: ##### 1. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-emsg/) **Automation A/B Testing** – Split testing email campaigns, templates, subject lines and other specific email features is a relatively standard feature for these platforms, but ActiveCampaign is one of the only providers that allow you to [split-test automation sequences](/recommends/activecampaign-automation-split-testing/). [](/recommends/activecampaign-automation-split-testing/) This allows you to test full email marketing strategies such as drip campaigns or experiment with the timing of your re-engagement emails. You can set goals like conversion rates from emails, for example, and test campaigns to determine the perfect number of follow-up emails to achieve the best result. This is a *massive* feature that helps you experiment with advanced email marketing strategies and find out what works. **Conditional content** – ActiveCampaign is still one of the only email marketing services that allow you to use conditional ‘IF X is true, show Y’ content blocks inside email campaigns. This feature is becoming more common on email marketing platforms but it's still quite rare and HubSpot is the only other provider in this guide offering up this functionality - ActiveCampaign just does it a little better. [](/recommends/activecampaign-emsg/) This is a crucial feature in our automated email marketing strategies, allowing us to deliver relevant messages to every reader. For example, we use it to localise pricing and show unique recommendations to customers, based on the plan they're signed up to, previous content they've engaged with or what they do with our products. **Global variables** – With a comprehensive email marketing strategy, you reach a point where making global changes manually is unworkable. We have hundreds of automated emails on our ActiveCampaign account running at any one time so we need a way to make global changes easily. What we *don't* want to do is manually change our logo or header content across hundreds of campaigns every time we update something. Luckily, we don't have to, either, because ActiveCampaign allows us to make these changes by applying global variables that automatically apply them to every campaign for us. **Downloadable automation recipes** – ActiveCampaign does automation better than any other platform in this guide and we could list ten features that make this the most capable automation tool. If we have to choose one, we would probably go with the library of automation ‘recipes’ that you can tap into and use to automate some of the most common and important marketing, sales and customer support tasks - all within a few clicks. [](/recommends/activecampaign-emsg/) Another benefit of this library is that you can use it to get a feel for what you can do with automated workflows, which is great if you're new to automation to building workflows for yourself. ##### 2. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot/) **Smart Content** – Similar to conditional content in ActiveCampaign, Smart Content allows you to show or hide content in your emails to recipients based on the email list they're on or their current sales funnel status. **Subject line emojis** – Using emojis in subject lines have been found to increase open rates by as much as 45%. HubSpot was one of the first email software providers to recognise this and still one of the only platforms to offer this up as a built-in feature. **Progressive Profiling** – This allows you to show different page content to returning website visitors after they've signed up to one of your email lists, so you can show a relevant message instead of the same lead generation content. For example, if a visitor downloads one of your free guides, you can show them a new offer designed to move them along to the next stage of your funnel. ##### 3. [EngageBay](/recommends/omnisend/) **Push notifications** – While push notifications aren't revolutionary, EngageBay is one of the few CRM platforms to offer this as a native feature and this reflects the company's efforts to deliver a multichannel system.  It may not match ActiveCampaign and HubSpot with the same depth of features but it still finds space to offer up some unique tools and you won't need to pay for a separate software for push notifications. **Proposal analytics** – EngageBay boasts a solid set of sales and deal management features, including a dedicated set of proposal tools, even down to built-in proposal reports to track performance and close more deals.  ### Best for reporting & analytics Enterprise companies need enterprise-level reporting and analytics to optimise campaigns, maximise performance and make full use of all of the data at their disposal. This is an area where a lot of marketing platforms fall short so you want to pay attention to the native reporting features and integration options for third-party analytics tools. The best three enterprise CRMs for reporting and analytics are: 1. [HubSpot](/recommends/pipedrive/) 2. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) 3. [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) Unsurprisingly, ActiveCampaign and HubSpot top the list again, as the most comprehensive platforms in this guide and Pipedrive takes the third spot - so let's take a look at why. #### 1. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) HubSpot's enterprise plans provide the strongest analytics and reporting features out of every platform in this guide. ActiveCampaign isn't far behind but, aside from that, none of the other options we've looked at today come close to HubSpot. On the enterprise plan, you get multi-touch revenue attribution (added natively in the Spring 2026 Spotlight release) to gain a deeper understanding of how each campaign contributes to generating revenue, as well as behavioural triggers and reporting to build a more accurate picture of what prospects are doing along the customer journey and how they respond to your campaigns. It's a shame you have to sign up to HubSpot's Enterprise plan ($3,600/mo+) to get features like predictive lead scoring, which means you're paying thousands per month for a feature costing a fraction of the price on ActiveCampaign and even less on some of the other platforms we've looked at. This sums up HubSpot, though. You're paying a premium price tag to get the most comprehensive set of reporting features and the ability to build a 360-degree view of the customer journey. Yes, you can get 90% of these reporting features elsewhere for 10% of the price but it all comes down to how valuable that extra 10% of reporting is when you can get it all from one system. Regardless of price, though, HubSpot delivers more analytics and reporting than any other tool in this guide so it deserves the top spot in this category. #### 2. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) As you would hope with a comprehensive suite of marketing and sales software, ActiveCampaign has extensive reporting and analytics built into its platform - the only one that comes close to matching HubSpot's enterprise plans. There are 10 different groups of reports in ActiveCampaign: 1. Site reports 2. Automation reports 3. Contact reports 4. Deal reports 5. Field reports 6. Attribution reports 7. Campaign reports 8. Conversations reports 9. e-commerce reports 10. Custom reports Each of those reporting categories includes various reports, covering most of the key features in ActiveCampaign. So, when you create automation workflows and actuate campaigns, you can track their performance (and test them against variations with automation A/B testing) to maximise results. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) Where a lot of platforms provide basic analytics and reporting, ActiveCampaign gives you a complete set of tools to measure the performance of your marketing, sales and customer support processes so you can get the best out of every feature on the platform and attribute success to them. #### 3. [Pipedrive](/recommends/autopilot/) Pipedrive shuns the traditional CRM format and simplifies sales and marketing processes with its pipeline management tool. The problem with taking the complexity out of marketing software is that you have to remove functionality to some extent and reporting is one of the biggest casualties. However, Pipedrive also shuns this practice by integrating an extensive reporting system into its software, including revenue forecasts, team management reports, custom reports and unlimited visual dashboards on the enterprise plan so that you can manage your data on your own terms.  You can also expand beyond this with Pipedrive's [Web Visitors add-on](/recommends/pipedrive/), which identifies which organisations are visiting your website and what they're getting up to on it. This add-on is priced between $49 and $299 per month, depending on how many organisations you want to track and you get similar features from HubSpot and ActiveCampaign at no extra cost. Even still, Pipedrive offers up some of the best analytics and reporting features we've seen in this guide and, aside from the possible exception of the Web Visitors add-on, the platform represents great value. ### Best for integrations No matter how many features enterprise CRM platforms offer, they can always be improved by integrating with other tools. More importantly, integrations allow you to continue using your existing software choices without manually transferring data or repeating actions. So you want to know your CRM integrates with the most important software tools to your business. In addition to that, it's worth looking at the additional possibilities native integrations open up with each platform. There are three clear winners in this regards and some familiar names crop up once again: 1. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) 2. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) 3. [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) Don't take my word for it, though, here's a comparison of the integrations available on each platform: | Tool | Zapier Triggers | Zapier Actions & Searches | Third-Party Integrations | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Salesflare](/recommends/salesflare/) | 4 | 18 | Mailchimp, Slack, Unbounce, ActiveCampaign, Google Drive & 150+ more | | [Close](/recommends/close/) | 19 | 58 | ActiveCampaign, Slack, Zoom, Mailchimp, Unbounce & 50+ more | | [CompanyHub](/recommends/companyhub/) | 8 | 10 | Gmail, Google Calendar, Office 365, Piesync, Exchange & Zapier | | [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) | 15 | 16 | Google Analytics, Shopify, Unbounce, WordPress + 800+ more | | [OnePageCRM](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) | 4 | 3 | ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, Unbounce, Xero + 20 more | | [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) | 14 | 26 | ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, Leadfeeder, Slack + 250+ more | | [EngageBay](/recommends/engagebay/) | 14 | 10 | SendGrid, JotForm, Shopify, Xero + dozens more | | [Salesmate](/recommends/salesmate/) | 4 | 16 | ActiveCampaign, Gmail, Mailchimp, Google Maps + 20+ more | | [Octopus CRM](/recommends/octopuscrm/) | - | - | LinkedIn | | [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) | 23 | 54 | Gmail, Google Calendar, WordPress, Trello, Zoom + 500+ more | As you can see, ActiveCampaign and HubSpot stand out as the best platforms for integrations but Pipedrive isn't too far behind with its own marketplace of its own, filled with apps and integrations. ### Best for customer support & training The familiar trio is back again for this round where we look at customer support and training available to customers. 1. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) 2. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) 3. [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) In fairness, we should expect to see ActiveCampaign and HubSpot in the top three as the two most expensive platforms and Pipedrive is the only potential surprise here, as one of the more affordable platforms. #### 1. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) As an enterprise ActiveCampaign customer, you get a dedicated account manager, one-to-one training, phone support, priority live chat and email support and custom implementation. You also get consultation for onboarding, help with automating your strategies and customised marketing strategies. You'll also find extensive documentation on the company's website, which is particularly helpful with training new users and the community is a good place to ask questions if you run into any niggling problems.  Then you have the ActiveCampaign University to help you get familiar with every part of the platform and the key strategies for marketing, sales, customer support and automation. For example, there are courses on email marketing, contact management and automation, which are ideal if you're new to any of these principles or need to learn how ActiveCampaign enhances each strategy.  With ActiveCampaign's enterprise support and training, as well as its library of online documentation, you've got plenty of tools to help you get the best out of the platform and devise effective strategies across the entire customer journey. #### 2. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) Customer service is one of HubSpot's biggest strengths and the company can't afford to fall short, here, given the asking prices of its enterprise plans. Luckily, you get comprehensive support across phone, email and live chat on the Professional and Enterprise plans, with HubSpot Academy providing the gold-standard free training material in this category. You also get access to HubSpot's excellent online community and documentation, which is even better than ActiveCampaign's. In fact, this is the best online support system among any of the providers in this guide and one of the best we've seen from any SaaS company. The issue with HubSpot is how much you have to pay for onboarding. Enterprise onboarding is **$7,000 per Hub**, mandatory and non-refundable whether you complete the programme or not. So if you sign up to Marketing Hub, Sales Hub and Service Hub Enterprise together, you're looking at $21,000 in onboarding fees before you've sent a single email. #### 3. [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) Pipedrive aims to be affordable for smaller businesses but those $99/month per user fees stack up for enterprise companies with large sales teams. So, the company needs to justify its per-user pricing model with enterprise-level support. The company gets off to a good start by providing 24/7 phone support for enterprise customers, in addition to chat and email support around the clock - and the company is quick to respond to tickets raised by email, too.  There's a decent set of online resources to help you use the platform, too, including a knowledge base, academy and online community. If you look at any Pipedrive reviews, you'll see the quality of its customer service is a common cause for praise. As a smaller company with a less complex system than the likes of ActiveCampaign, Pipedrive takes full advantage of its strengths to deliver an excellent customer experience throughout. ### Best for security & compliance Security is a priority for any company storing sensitive information and data regulations like GDPR mean you have to scrutinise the security and compliance of your software tools more than ever. Here are the top three platforms in our final category: 1. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-crm-2/) 2. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-crm/) 3. [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) Again, it's a case of the more established names earning their reputation n as industry leaders and one newcomer arguably punching above its weight - but, when Pipedrive has done this for multiple categories, you have to credit it as a more heavyweight platform than it first appears: | | [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-security/) | [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot/) | [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ISO 27018 (cloud privacy) | Yes | No | No | | ISO 27001 (information security) | Yes | Yes | Yes | | ISO 27017 (cloud security) | Yes | No | No | | EU-US Privacy Shield | Yes | Yes | Yes | | GDPR Compliant | Yes | Yes | Yes | | CAN-SPAM Compliant | Yes | Yes | Yes | | HIPAA Compliant | Yes (enterprise account only) | No | No | | TLS encryption | Yes | Yes | No | | Segmented accounts | Yes | Yes | No | Data and privacy regulations are more stringent than ever and they're expected to become increasingly demanding over the coming years. So, it's worth taking the time to get familiar with this aspect of each platform and you can learn a lot about how these companies will adapt to new regulations, based on how much effort they put into adhering to them now. You'll find everything you need to know about these three platforms with regards to security and compliance on these pages: - [ActiveCampaign security](/recommends/activecampaign-security/) - [HubSpot security](/recommends/hubspot-security/) - [Pipedrive security](/recommends/pipedrive/) ## **Wrapping up: Which is the best enterprise CRM for you?** If you're looking for a truly enterprise CRM platform, ActiveCampaign and HubSpot are the two standout options but you better get the calculator ready and crunch some numbers if you like the look of HubSpot - because those fees quickly stack up. ActiveCampaign strikes the best balance between features and pricing, offering remarkable value for larger teams with unlimited users on its Enterprise plan. Then you've got Pipedrive, which keeps sneaking into the top three of our key category comparisons. This was a surprise but all the data from our survey shows that the company delivers where it really matters and it achieves something very difficult with its reimagination of what a CRM platform is - it won't be for everyone but it's an admirable software platform. Salesflare offers up the closest thing to ActiveCampaign and HubSpot in terms of a traditional enterprise CRM and, although it doesn't make the top three of any specific categories, it delivers consistent quality as a solid all-rounder for enterprise companies. The rest of the CRMs in this guide are more niche (Pipedrive included), such as Close and Salesmate for international and remote sales teams that prioritise phone communication. Every platform in this guide is an excellent CRM for enterprise companies but they all have something different to offer. If you've found this guide useful, we'd appreciate a share on LinkedIn or Twitter and, if you think this guide could be improved, we'd love to know [how we can make it better](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6EAR2EWfFs-bkXO7zxY_H9e2HMJKlAg-H_vlLwPx73oYvyQ/viewform). ## FAQ **What makes enterprise CRM software different from standard CRM platforms?** Enterprise CRM software is built to handle the complexity of large organisations with hundreds or thousands of users, multiple departments, and sophisticated reporting requirements that standard platforms simply cannot support. **Scalability and advanced customisation** are the defining characteristics, allowing enterprises to manage massive volumes of leads, contacts, and customer interactions across global teams without performance degradation. **Which enterprise CRM system is best for large sales teams?** Salesflare and Close are specifically designed to support large, distributed sales teams with their robust pipeline management, real-time collaboration features, and advanced automation capabilities. **Pipeline visibility across multiple team members** is critical for enterprise sales operations, and both platforms excel at providing the transparency needed for complex deal management. **How much does enterprise CRM software typically cost?** Enterprise CRM solutions vary significantly in pricing, but most charge per user per month with costs ranging from £50 to £300+ depending on features and customisation requirements. The platforms featured in this guide—including Pipedrive, ActiveCampaign, and EngageBay—offer tiered pricing structures where **total cost scales with your team size and feature needs** rather than being a fixed enterprise fee. **Can enterprise CRM platforms integrate with existing business software?** Yes, all modern enterprise CRM solutions offer extensive integration capabilities with accounting software, marketing automation tools, and business intelligence platforms through APIs and pre-built connectors. **Integration flexibility** is essential for enterprises because it allows you to connect your CRM with the dozens of other systems your organisation already relies on, creating a unified data ecosystem. **What features should an enterprise CRM system include?** An enterprise CRM system must include advanced reporting and analytics, customisable workflows, multi-user collaboration tools, role-based access controls, and API access for custom integrations. **Automation and customisation capabilities** are non-negotiable for enterprises because they allow you to tailor the system to your specific business processes rather than forcing your team to adapt to generic workflows. **Is enterprise CRM software suitable for small businesses?** Enterprise CRM platforms can be overkill for small businesses due to their complexity and cost, though some like CompanyHub and OnePageCRM offer more accessible entry points. **Simpler, more affordable CRM solutions** are typically better suited to small teams because they require less training and implementation time whilst still providing core functionality. **How long does it take to implement an enterprise CRM solution?** Implementation timelines for enterprise CRM systems typically range from 3 to 12 months depending on the complexity of your organisation, data migration requirements, and customisation needs. **Proper planning and phased rollout** are critical because rushing implementation often leads to poor adoption rates and failure to realise the full value of your CRM investment. --- # 10 Best Go-to-Market Strategy Building Tools URL: https://ventureharbour.com/go-to-market-software/ Summary: Find out how to develop a successful go-to-market strategy for product launches – and discover the best GTM strategy software tools. Last updated: 2026-04-10 07:51:10 A go-to-market strategy is crucial for any product launch. Having one will help you to [define your target](/target-audience/) audience and ensure your product meets their needs. Without a go-to-market (GTM) strategy, you risk developing a product that has no demand. Not to mention launching into an overcrowded space. Or misfiring with your marketing efforts, and a long list of other potential problems. A comprehensive go-to-market strategy informs every stage of pre-launch product development. This includes [your marketing efforts](/target-audience/) and the launch itself. But it also provides the framework for your ongoing sales strategy, as well as product optimisation and development – long after the launch date. In this guide, we explain how to develop an optimal go-to-market strategy. We'll also share the best tools for planning and implementing your GTM roadmap. This will all help you to drive revenue across the lifecycle of your product. ## The Top Go-to-Market Tools The aim of this article is to help you develop a go-to-market strategy and choose the right tools to help you implement everything. We start by explaining what a go-to-market strategy is and you need one for your next product launch. We're also going to share our reviews of the **10 best GTM strategy tools**: 1. **[Brandwatch](#brandwatch)** – Find your target audience and key selling points. 2. **[Similarweb](#similarweb)** – Analyse your SEO and PPC competitors. 3. **[VWO](/recommends/vwo/)** – Run experiments across your website, software, and mobile apps.4. **[ZoomInfo](#zoomInfo)** – Identify high-value B2B prospects. 5. **[Miro](#miro)** – Visually plan your GTM strategy with built-in templates. 6. **[Funnelytics](#funnelytics)** – Map out your funnels and customer journey. 7. **[ActiveCampaign](#activecampaign)** – Integrate sales, marketing, and customer support. 8. **[PartnerStack](#partnerstack)** – Find partners and manage your affiliate marketing strategy. 9. **[Paddle](#paddle)** – Manage and maximise your pricing strategy. 10. **[Userpilot](#userpilot)** – Optimise onboarding and product experiences. We'll run through the key steps you should follow when developing a go-to-market strategy. All of which will carry over into your ongoing marketing and sales strategies. ## What Is a GTM Strategy? A go-to-market strategy is a data-driven planning process that defines the roadmap for launching a product to market. This includes your audience research, marketing and sales planning, and anything else that informs the development of your product. Here's a quick definition from Stefan Groschupf for HubSpot: > ***"A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is a step-by-step plan created to successfully launch a product to market. While each product and market will be different, a GTM strategy should identify a market problem and position the product as a solution."*** > > [The Proven Process for Developing a Go-to-Market Strategy](https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/gtm-strategy) - Stefan Groschupf, HubSpot Whether you're launching a new product or an existing product to a new market, a GTM strategy is crucial for setting and achieving your goals. Paddle, one of the software providers we're looking at later in this article, has its own guide to [developing a go-to-market strategy](https://www.paddle.com/resources/go-to-market-strategy) that's worth a read. As the guide explains, there's no standard format for a GTM strategy. You have to consider your company's priorities, growth goals, existing presence in the market, and of course, your target audience. If you don't already have this information defined, clarifying these details will be the first step in your go-to-market strategy. For example, if you're in the early stages of planning a brand-new venture. These insights will indicate your product's features, UX design, any pre-launch marketing efforts, and the launch date itself. This info also helps you to define your pricing model, as well as an optimal upgrade path. ### Why do you need a go-to-market strategy? Broadly speaking, there are two key reasons to develop a go-to-marketing strategy. You're either launching a new product or launching an existing product to a new market. Here are some of the most common examples: - A startup launching its first product - An established company launching a new product - Launching an existing product internationally - Rebranding after an acquisition - Upgrading a product to compete with rivals - Relaunching a product for a new or larger audience - Expanding a product as part of your growth strategy The purpose of your launch will determine the structure of your GTM strategy. For example, the launch of a new product requires extensive research. On the other hand, expanding a product to attract a specific audience can build on previous planning and performance data. We're going to discuss go-to-market strategies for the launch of new products, as this will cover all of the key steps. At that point, you can pick and choose the relevant steps for more specific launch types. On this basis, the key **reasons you need a go-to-market strategy** are: 1. **Audience Targeting:** Identify the groups of people who need your product. 2. **Buyer Personas:** Create specific sales and marketing strategies to target. 3. **Market Analysis:** Build a complete picture of your product's ideal market. 4. **Demand Assessment:** Determine how much your product is needed. 5. **Competitor Info:** Learn the strengths and weaknesses of your competition. 6. **Product** **Differentiation:** Determine how to make your product stand out from the crowd. 7. **Unique Selling Points:** Define what will encourage your target audience to choose your product. 8. **Product Development:** Your GTM strategy should inform your product design and development. 9. **Launch Schedule:** Planning out the scheduling of all aspects of launching your product to market. 10. **Distribution Channels:** Select the most effective channels for your sales and marketing strategies. 11. **Marketing and Sales Strategies**: Plan your pre-launch *and* post-launch marketing and sales. 12. **Product Roadmap:** Lay out your ongoing product development and optimisation strategy. Your GTM strategy will perform all of these tasks, and the benefits won't end on the launch date. These insights guide every decision you make throughout the product development cycle, including marketing strategies, sales processes, and everything else. Without a comprehensive go-to-market strategy, you'll be doing a lot of guesswork. You won't truly know that your product is needed, *who* needs it, or how you're going to get any sales. ## How to Develop a Go-to-Market Strategy There are **five key components** every go-to-market strategy requires: 1. **Audience Research:** Information about your target audience, buyer personas, pain points, budget, etc. 2. **Value Matrix:** A cross-reference of buyer personas, pain points, product value, and marketing messages. 3. **Development Roadmap:** A clear plan for product development and optimisation, before and after your launch. 4. **Launch Plan:** A detailed schedule of your product launch, including future updates and feature rollouts. 5. **Marketing and Sales Strategy:** An integrated plan for your sales and marketing strategies for pre-launch, launch, and post-launch. That's a short list, but those five components contain a lot of research, planning and strategy. That's why it's so important to develop a comprehensive go-to-market strategy. An effective GTM strategy doesn't only guide the launch process of your product. It also provides key insights into your ongoing product development, marketing strategies, and customer systems. These 11 steps will help you to **develop a high-level GTM strategy**: 1. **Identify your buyer personas** to help you pinpoint the people who will benefit the most from your product. 2. **Create your value matrix** to establish the value your product provides for each pain point of your potential buyers. 3. **Define your Unique Selling Points (USPs)** with market and competitor analysis to give your product an edge over the competition. 4. **Develop a pricing strategy** that attracts customers, keeps them engaged, and encourages them to upgrade throughout the customer cycle. 5. **Map the customer journey**, including marketing funnels, the buying process, customer onboarding, and buyer retention phases. 6. **Build a solid marketing plan** using all of your GTM insights to plan marketing for the product and customer cycles. 7. **Implement a dedicated sales process** that leads buyers through every possible touchpoint on the purchase path. 8. **Set out your customer support systems** in advance to maximise customer satisfaction, retention, and value. 9. **Focus on product optimisation** by setting out a roadmap for optimising the onboarding process and product experience. 10. **Maximise customer value** with targeted plans for buyer retention, upselling, and cross-selling. 11. **Maximise lead generation** with inbound marketing, product reviews, affiliate marketing, comparison sites, etc. By following these 11 steps, you'll create a go-to-market strategy that helps you build products for success. They'll also guide you through the marketing and sales planning that translates into revenue at each stage of growth. ### Select the right tools for the job To complete the steps listed above, you'll need the right toolkit to perform the research and planning involved. But the right go-to-market strategy tool won't just help you to plan – it should also give you what you need to take action. We've hand-selected a set of GTM strategy tools for researching, planning, launching, and managing your product. Our top 10 choices for the **best go-to-market software** are: 1. **Brandwatch:** Find your target audience and USPs. 2. **Similarweb:** Analyse your SEO and PPC competitors. 3. **VWO Fullstack:** Run experiments across your website, software, and apps. 4. **ZoomInfo:** Identify high-value B2B prospects. 5. **Miro:** Visually plan your GTM strategy with built-in templates. 6. **Funnelytics:** Map out your funnels and customer journey. 7. **ActiveCampaign**: Integrate sales, marketing and customer support. 8. **PartnerStack:** Find partners and manage your affiliate marketing strategy. 9. **Paddle:** Manage and optimise your product pricing strategy. 10. **Userpilot:** Optimise onboarding and product experiences. Let's take a look at our favourite tools, and how they might help your product, before *and* after your launch. ## 1. Brandwatch Review [Brandwatch](https://www.brandwatch.com/) is a social monitoring system that provides key market insights. All based on real comments and conversations that your target audiences are having online. You can use the platform to find out what people are saying about your industry, brand, and competition. Brandwatch connects you with **billions of social posts**, reviews, and direct interactions with brands. In terms of developing your go-to-market strategy, you can use these insights to perform key market research. You can identify your target audience, analyse their pain points, and gain an understanding of the demand for your product. You can learn which [features people love](https://www.brandwatch.com/), the features they want, and the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. **The best Brandwatch features are**: - **Market Research** – Survey billions of people around the world for fast, real-time market insights. - **Trend Analysis** – Identify consumer needs, gaps in the market, and new product opportunities. - **Competitor Analysis** – Benchmark your performance, brand awareness, and market share against your rivals. - **Brand Management** – Track conversations about your brand, find out what your customers think, and take informed action. - **Crisis Management** – Protect your brand by getting on top of issues and potentially negative press quickly. - **Data Democratisation** – Build a data-driven culture and understanding of your customers at every touchpoint. - **Real-Time Data** – Track data and collect results from surveys, focus groups, and more, as they happen. - **AI Analysis** – Gather insights without getting drowned in data by letting Brandwatch's AI technology do the heavy lifting. With the Trend Analysis tool, you can **analyse and predict consumer needs**. This will allow you to find gaps in the market and inspire new product ideas. The Competitor Analysis tool can check how much demand there is for your product, and predict future supply demand. These insights can guide the product development phase and ensure your product is built for the right audience. You'll also be able to address their needs and **stand out from any competition**. Using a pre-launch marketing strategy will maximise demand and generate early interest. You'll have a list of potential customers lined up when your product hits the market. Once your product has launched, you can use the Brand Management tool to monitor the perception of your product. You'll also be able to **benchmark early product performance** against your competitors. You can see how *real* customers are talking about your product. You'll see what they're saying online and whether your marketing efforts are generating the hype you want and need. ### How much does Brandwatch cost? Brandwatch doesn't publicly list pricing, so we can't give any specific numbers, but we *did* speak to their sales team. We discussed two different plan options. Each is based on the amount of analysis performed, so it's very much a **usage pricing model**. While we can't give any numbers, the pricing we discussed with Brandwatch fits into the [enterprise pricing](https://www.brandwatch.com/demo/) category. This isn't a complaint – Brandwatch is an enterprise platform *and* the best system of its kind that we've used. The insights you gain from Brandwatch would take *years* to collect through other channels. At that point, the data would be useless, so it all comes down to how much you value market research. If you're going to perform an in-depth analysis using Brandwatch, you can expect to pay thousands every month. But this tool alone could make the difference between hitting a product bullseye or a total misfire. ### Brandwatch Pros - **Data Access**: Brandwatch gives you access to vast amounts of data for monitoring the market, finding your target audiences, analysing competitors, and managing your brand. - **Real-Time Insights**: Collecting results from surveys and focus groups normally takes time, but Brandwatch cuts out most of the delays with its real-time data. - **Usability**: Considering the depth of features and tools, Brandwatch delivers an impressive user experience – once you figure everything out. ### **Brandwatch Cons** - **Learning Curve:** It takes time to get the most out of Brandwatch's comprehensive analysis platform. - **Cumbersome** **Queries**: Advanced queries can be challenging, due to no feedback on how changing parameters will affect the results. - **Limited Exporting**: Brandwatch limits the data you can export, which can be an issue for reporting in other tools. - **Lack of SEO Insights**: The big hole in Brandwatch's analysis system is the lack of search marketing insights. ### Brandwatch Verdict Brandwatch is [one of the most powerful analysis tools](https://www.brandwatch.com) you can use for developing your go-to-market strategy. The platform will help you find your niche in the market and define your target audiences. You'll also be able to identify customer needs for a product that makes the right kind of impact upon launch. The biggest downside for many companies will be pricing. But you have to weigh the cost against your potential ROI, because the insights can be invaluable. Keep in mind that Brandwatch is essentially a [social listening platform](https://www.brandwatch.com). It's great for analysing conversations, comments, reviews, and other social interactions. But it doesn't provide the more SEO-focused market insights you might be used to getting from search marketing analytics tools. ## 2. Similarweb Review Similarweb is a website analytics system that provides market insights based on your competitors' online presence. It helps you to identify your competitors by the keywords they target in their SEO and PPC strategies. You can also see where they're generating traffic and how their content marketing strategy works. Similarweb **offers five products**, although we're mainly interested in the first two for the purposes of this article. 1. **Digital Research:** Website and app analysis, industry research, and audience insights. 2. **Digital Marketing:** Competitor analysis, SEO and PPC data, and affiliate marketing research. 3. **eCommerce:** Customer journey, product optimisation, and on-site search. 4. **Sales:** Lead generation, lead enrichment, sales engagement, and more. 5. **Investing:** Investment ideation, investment monitoring, forecasting, due diligence, etc. With the Digital Research tool, you can **analyse search data** to explore market trends. You'll also be able to measure demand and identify your competitors. Similarweb allows you to analyse online behaviour to pinpoint your target audience. And the Competitor Analysis lets you see the inner workings of the SEO and PPC strategies of similar brands. This is particularly valuable when it comes to **identifying weaknesses** in the marketing efforts of your competition. **The best Similarweb features include**: - **Competitor Analysis:** Learn from your rivals’ successes and failures. - **Keyword Research:** Discover the top competitor keywords, plus new and trending keywords. - **Referral Info:** Find new referral opportunities and earn quality backlinks. - **Market Intelligence**: Explore your market, discover industry trends, and analyse competitive performance. - **Audience Research**: Find buyers and understand their behaviour. - **Consumer Journey Tracking:** Understand the complete customer journey to better define your digital strategy. Similarweb also has its own sales prospecting system, which you can use to identify potential buyers. This shows you prospects who have a real need for your product. Or lets you find similar products that lack your key selling points. One of Simialrweb's most important features is its **referral research system**. It helps you to identify link building and external content opportunities. You can see which websites your rivals are generating traffic (and links) from. Once your product has launched, you can monitor the performance of your website and landing pages in Similarweb. You can measure your SEO and PPC strategies against the competion. You can analyse **how similar brands generate leads** across the consumer journey. This allows you to emulate their best strategies, or to counter them through differentiation. ### How much does Similarweb cost? Similarweb offers a free version of its Research Intelligence tool for a single user with limited historical data and reporting. It's a useful tool for basic analysis and a great demonstration of what you can expect from the premium version. All in all, it's definitely worth taking a look at. To get pricing for Similarweb's Premium Research Intelligence tool, you'll have to contact the company's sales team. Similarweb is more open about the pricing for its Digital Marketing Intelligence system. There's no free tool, but the Essential plan **gets you access to most features** on the platform. The Essential plan is $249 per month, and the Advanced plan runs $449 a month. Upgrading to the Advanced plan doesn't give you any new features, but it **allows you to analyse more data**. For example, on the Essential plan, you can view up to 50 website results per report. You'll get 100 websites on the Advanced plan. Likewise, you can view 100 web page results on the Essentials plan. And this is increased to 500 on the Advanced plan. You'll find more details on Similarweb's pricing page, but here's a quick preview of some of the differences. Similarweb also offers a **customised Ultimate plan** that lifts most restrictions and gives you 12+ months of data to analyse. ### Similarweb Pros - **Depth of Data:** Similarweb offers some of the most comprehensive datasets for competitor analysis and marketing insights. - **Ease of Use:** Even on its advanced plans, Similarweb makes using their platform easy. - **UX Design:** Despite being one of the oldest systems of its kind, Similarweb delivers an excellent user experience. ### Similarweb Cons - **Pricey:** Paid plans are on the expensive side. - **User Limits:** The Essential and Advanced paid plans are both limited to one user licence. - **Data Accuracy:** Similarweb’s data isn’t as accurate as some of its competitors. ### Similarweb Verdict At a glance, Similarweb and Brandwatch may look like similar tools. But they're built around different technologies and designed for different purposes. Similarweb's website analysis lifts the lid on your competitors' performance. You can learn from leaders in your niche *and* identify their weaknesses. Similarweb is also a capable tool for market and audience research, and it offers insights you won't get from Brandwatch. That being said, Brandwatch's **conversation analysis** provides more depth in terms of audience sentiment. But Similiarweb tells you more about what users actually do online. In an ideal world, you would use both systems alongside each other, especially in the early stages. Of course, you'll need to take your go-to-market budget into consideration first. ## 3. VWO [VWO](/recommends/vwo/) is a comprehensive optimisation platform for running data-driven experiments across websites, mobile apps, and software products. This provides a crucial toolkit for implementing your go-to-market strategy after launch. You'll be able to maximise website conversions and product engagement, and enhance the customer experience. VWO splits its system into **five key products**: 1. **Testing**: A system for running A/B, multivariate, and split URL tests. 2. **Insights**: Analyse user behaviour with heatmaps, funnel tracking, session recordings, and more. 3. **Fullstack**: Test software products and optimise experiences with mobile and server-side testing. 4. **Engage**: Maximise website engagement with push notifications, cart abandonment campaigns, and Facebook Messenger. 5. **VWO Plan**: Discover growth opportunities and ways to optimise your multi-channel strategies. For GTM strategies, the first three products are particularly important, but all five could add to your post-launch ROI. **The best VWO features are**: - **FullStack**: Run experiments inside your software to maximise engagement, conversion goals, and renewals. - **A/B Testing**: Run experiments on web pages to maximise conversions. - **Software Testing**: Run experiments inside your app or software to increase engagement and retention. - **Lead Capture:** Add hello bars, modals, pop-ups, and other lead generation tools to your website. - **Retargeting**: Reach out to lost prospects with relevant, contextual messaging to bring them back into your sales funnel. - **Onboarding Optimisation**: Close the gap between conversion and adoption by optimising your onboarding process. - **Heatmaps**: See how users interact with your web pages and key elements. - **Pricing Strategies**: Test different pricing strategies to maximise revenue. - **Form Optimisation**: Reduce form abandonment by identifying possible drop-off causes. - **On-Page Surveys**: Collect feedback as users interact with your website. - **Feature Rollout**: Deliver new features confidently and efficiently by rolling out in stages. With VWO Testing, you can run experiments on your website to increase conversion rates. The product makes it easy to set up and manage tests with dedicated tools. VWO's intelligence engine can [segment traffic for you](/recommends/vwo/), based on user behaviour. This allows you to enhance the accuracy of your tests. You can also manually choose how traffic is divided. With VWO Insights, you can easily learn more about user behaviour. Funnel analysis, session recordings, and heatmaps identify UX issues and conversion killers on your website. Combined with VWO testing, this gives you the complete toolkit for optimising your website to maximise conversions and user numbers. Then, you've got VWO Fullstack, which allows you to run server-side experiments for web or mobile apps. You can launch experiments from any major platform or language, including iOS, Android, Python, and Node.js. You can test new features, manage rollouts with feature flags, test updates, and optimise churn factors from one system. ### How much does VWO cost? Unfortunately, VWO doesn't list any pricing details on its website. It's still worth visiting the [pricing page](/recommends/vwo/) to get a breakdown of what's available on each plan. All we can really say is that VWO is enterprise-grade optimisation software. Don't expect bargain fees when you request a pricing quote. Conversion optimisation software tends to be expensive, so VWO isn't going to be the cheapest platform in your GTM toolkit. That being said, [VWO is competitively priced](/recommends/vwo/) (bordering on aggressively priced) for its category. And it delivers excellent value in relation to its direct rivals. ### VWO Pros - **Complete CRO System**: One of the most comprehensive conversion optimisation platforms on the market. - **Usability**: Intuitive interfaces and navigation make the system easy to use. ### VWO Cons - **Pricing Info**: VWO no longer provides any pricing information, so you have to contact the sales team for details. - **Learning Curve**: A/B testing is tricky and it takes time to get the best out of a system like this. ### VWO Verdict As far as we're concerned, VWO offers the best value for a comprehensive conversion optimisation system. The platform doesn't earn its place in this recommendation because it's *the* best CRO or software optimisation product available. But because it competes with the best at a lower price point – sometimes *significantly* lower. ## 4. ZoomInfo Review While other tools offer prospecting tools, [ZoomInfo](https://www.zoominfo.com/) is the class-leading system for finding software and product buyers. As of this writing, it's our preferred B2B prospecting system. With ZoomInfo, you can pinpoint the people making purchase decisions, and reach out to prospects who are ready to buy. You can find audiences researching specific topics or looking at rival software tools. For developing your go-to-market strategy, ZoomInfo helps you create ultra-detail buyer personas. You can also pinpoint the interests, pain points, and USPs that will convince them to buy. **The best ZoomInfo features include:** - ****Contact and Company Search****: Get the most accurate B2B contact data, including direct dials to verified email addresses. - ****Contact Tracking****: Easily track your account champions and key contacts to stay informed of where your best relationships are. - **Predictive Scoring**: Predict an account’s buying interest based on a predictive model. - **Website Visitor Tracking**: Convert more traffic using real-time insights and on-page behaviours. - ****Display Advertising****: Target high-value accounts and buyers within your addressable market. - ****Form Complete****: Maximise lead conversions and improve data quality with low-risk, email-only web forms. - ****Data-Driven Workflows****: Instantly trigger actions based on the signals that matter most to your business. ZoomInfo will help you create a more effective go-to-market strategy. It will also help you develop a more successful product by connecting you with the people you're going to target. With detailed buyer personas, you'll gain a deeper understanding of what they need from your software. Uncover the features that really matter, buyer expectations, and the price points you have to satisfy. The platform's AI technology will help you pinpoint your ideal customers at every stage of growth. On top of that, ZoomInfo will automatically generate new buyer personas as your business matures. ZoomInfo is an excellent planning tool, but it's an even more powerful marketing and sales system. Once your product is released, and you need to **turn insights into paying customers**, ZoomInfo is there for you. The platform will connect you with prospects who are ready to buy, help you refine your pipelines, and streamline your sales strategy to close more deals with less effort. ### How much does ZoomInfo cost? Unfortunately, ZoomInfo doesn't share any pricing details on its website. But you can request pricing information for the company's three core products by providing a business email address. ZoomInfo is an enterprise B2B marketing system, and this should tell you to expect enterprise fees. But you'll use all of ZoomInfo's tools long after the launch of your product to maximise revenue at each stage of the customer and product lifecycle. Keep this in mind if you're worried about pricing. ### ZoomInfo Pros - **Contact Data**: The accuracy of ZoomInfo’s contact data is as good as we’ve found among ABM systems. - **Data Filters**: Excellent filters and controls to segment data and refine results and find the info you need from searches. - **Product Improvements**: ZoomInfo is constantly improving its product and acquiring other products to improve its system. ### ZoomInfo Cons - **Pricey**: ZoomInfo is an enterprise system and priced accordingly – but it pays for itself if it helps you close at least one deal every year. - **Learning Curve:** It takes time to start getting the best out of the system. - **Customer Service:** Not the fastest response times from technical support. ### ZoomInfo Verdict If you're looking for a B2B prospecting tool to help you find high-value buyers, ZoomInfo is a solid choice. This platform will not only help you plan a winning go-to-market strategy. It will also guide you through developing high-performance products, maximising growth, and targeting the biggest-spending buyers. ## 5. Miro Review [Miro](https://miro.com/) is a collaborative whiteboard platform that helps teams visually plan projects, strategies, and resources. Once you've completed the analysis stages of your GTM strategy, Miro helps your team to plan its implementation. Essentially, this is a collaborative productivity platform, but there's something a little more specialist that deserves our attention. Miro also comes with an extensive [library of templates](https://miro.com/templates/) to help your team plan projects faster. In fact, it even has a dedicated [go-to-market strategy template](https://miro.com/templates/go-to-market-strategy/). You'll also find templates for creating a value matrix, buyer persona, and product roadmap. In truth, Miro isn't the best project planning tool, but this isn't why we're recommending it. The platform's team whiteboard experience, productivity tools, and **dedicated GTM templates** are what earn it a spot in this article.  **The key Miro features are**: - **Diagram Builder**: Create funnels and other diagrams with an intuitive drag-and-drop builder. - **GTM Templates**: Dedicated templates for planning your GTM strategy and many other projects. - **Custom Templates**: Build, share and reuse custom templates with your team (paid only). - **Video Chat**: Run video meetings to collaborate via Miro (paid only). - **Timer**: Keep on schedule with a built-in music timer (paid only). - **Integrations**: Strong third-party integration options on all plans. Miro's standout feature is its [digital whiteboard](https://miro.com/online-whiteboard/) that helps your team to plan projects and tasks from anywhere. Your team can use the system to plan their own tasks or work together in real-time. You can collaborate with teammates as live editors or through video sessions, where ongoing feedback and brainstorming are required. Aside from the **dedicated GTM templates**, you can also create and save your own templates. Miro also allows you to duplicate, edit, and save existing templates to suit your own needs. Team members can share boards, request or provide feedback, and seek approval before implementing plans. You can even have team members anonymously approve or disapprove of ideas. ### How much does Miro cost? Miro offers a [free plan](https://miro.com/pricing/) that includes basic features for unlimited team members. It also gives you access to Miro's library of templates and covers you for up to three editable boards. The Team plan costs $8 a month per user and opens the video chat feature. It also allows you to have unlimited editable boards, create custom templates, and invite public collaborators.  The Business plan costs $16 a month per user, and it opens up Miro's Smart Diagramming and Smart Meetings features. With **Smart Diagramming**, you can quickly create some of the most common diagram types, like data flows and process models. Miro's “advanced shape packs” help you to spend less time creating custom shapes, so you can put plans together faster. **Smart Meetings** help you with effective collaborations by allowing you to control what participants see and which tools are available. If you invite someone to create a diagram, you can make sure they have the right tools without added clutter. ### Miro Pros - **Free Plan**: Miro’s restricted free plan still gives you the essential basics for funnel mapping. - **Affordability**: The paid plans are competitively priced and offer some advanced features. - **Collaboration**: Miro excels at collaboration, especially with the advanced features available on the paid plans. - **Usability**: The drag-and-drop builder provides a quality experience. - **Integrations**: Even on the free plan, you get a depth of integration options to enhance functionality with other apps. ### Miro Cons - **No Funnel Mapping**: Miro is an excellent diagramming tool, but it’s not designed for the specific role of funnel mapping. - **Missing Features**: Miro doesn’t offer some of the features available from dedicated funnel mapping tools. - **No Funnel Analytics**: Among the missing features, the lack of funnel analytics is the most problematic. ### Miro Verdict Miro will help your team visually plan each stage of your go-to-market strategy. And its library of [GTM templates](https://miro.com/templates/) will get you there faster. While the free plan limits collaboration features, Miro is still a capable tool. As long as you can plan everything in three editable boards, you can use it for unlimited team members. That being said, you'll probably want to upgrade to one of the paid plans sooner than later. You can manage **unlimited editable boards** and take advantage of video sessions. This is extra helpful if you're team is working remotely or on flexible hours. ## 6. Funnelytics Review [Funnleytics](https://funnelytics.io/) is a funnel mapping tool for visualising and optimising customer journeys throughout the product cycle. The core feature is the funnel builder, which is essentially a diagramming tool. It's designed specifically for [planning and visualising funnels](https://funnelytics.io/), touchpoints and customer journeys. Unlike a general-purpose diagramming tool (something like Miro, for example), Funnelytics comes with all of the elements you need to visualise funnels. This will help you build out marketing channels, landing pages, interactions, etc. You won't need to spend any time designing elements from scratch. You can simply use the drag-and-drop interface to pull these elements from the Funnelytics library and insert them into your visualisation. That's not the only trick Funnelytics has up its sleeve. The platform also allows you to **import marketing and customer data** into your funnel maps. You can track the flow of traffic along the customer journey and optimise your funnels to maximise sales. Funnelytics also has its own [funnel simulation](https://funnelytics.io/) feature. It uses your data to predict the performance of new funnels and gives optimisation opportunities for existing ones.  **The best Funnelytics features are**: - **Funnel Mapping**: A drag-and-drop builder designed for funnel mapping. - **Customer Insights**: Import customer data from multiple sources to see how they move along your funnel. - **Funnel Analysis**: Create segments, campaign results, and channel performance across your funnels. - **Customer Journeys**: Map out customer journeys for different audiences. - **Funnel Optimisation**: Identify bottlenecks and better segment your customer base. - **Templates**: Use a funnel design repeatedly, without having to start from scratch every time. - **Funnel Simulations**: Forecast the performance of your funnel maps to determine whether they’ll work. With Funnelytics, you can build and test customer journeys based on data-driven insights. You'll be able to optimise the user experience to maximise sales, engagement, and retention. You can [identify gaps in your funnels](https://funnelytics.io/) where leads are slipping through touchpoints and intervene to plug the leaks. By tracking the path users take from your inbound channels, you can prove which marketing strategies are converting leads. This will allow you to reallocate funds to generate the highest ROI. Despite the user interface being a little dated, Funnelytics is intuitive and responsive, but more importantly, it's highly functional. The data import, analytics, and forecasting features help you craft high-performance funnels that nurture leads into paying customers. ### How much does Funnelytics cost? Funnelytics no longer shows pricing information on its website, but here's what it looked like when we signed up.  They *do* offer a "free forever" Starter plan that you can sign up for today and start using. We can't guarantee the current pricing is the same. Or that the feature limitations on the Starter plan haven't changed since we first tested Funnelytics. But the above info should give you an idea of what you'll be looking at if you decide to upgrade. ### Funnelytics Pros - **Free Plan**: The free Funnelytics plan gives you an excellent funnel mapping tool, without the platform’s more advanced features. - **Usability**: The funnel mapping tool itself provides a great experience, even if the platform *is* a bit tricky to use. - **Advanced Features**: Funnel analytics, customer data, and funnel simulator are all available on paid plans. ### Funnelytics Cons - **Exclusive Access**: Funnelytics has set up exclusive access to the full version of its software in recent years. - **Pricey**: Funnelytics no longer provides pricing info, but it wasn’t the cheapest tool when we first tried it out. ### Funnelytics Verdict Funnelytics topped our list of the [best funnel mapping tools](/funnel-mapping/) earlier this year. It's an intelligent funnel visualisation and optimisation system that's hard to beat. Far more than a funnel diagramming tool, the platform also allows you to import your marketing data. You can analyse the performance of your funnels and optimise the customer experience to maximise sales and retention. It's not the cheapest tool in its category, but Funnelytics is the best choice for go-to-market strategy planning funnels. ## 7. ActiveCampaign Review [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) is an all-in-one CRM, email marketing, and automation platform that integrates your sales, marketing, and customer support systems. Customer journeys can be complex, which makes nurturing leads tough in every sales stage. A platform like ActiveCampaign can help you keep customers happy, engaged, and paying. With class-leading automation technology, ActiveCampaign takes the hard work out of nurturing prospects through the buying process. You can fully automate marketing campaigns, sales processes, *and* customer support systems. You're also able to create email marketing campaigns to maximise customer engagement and reduce churn. **The best ActiveCampaign features include**: - **Email Marketing**: Everything you need to manage winning email marketing campaigns – email builder, templates, campaign workflows, reporting, and more. - **Marketing Automation**: ActiveCampaign delivers some of the best marketing automation features around. - **Lead Nurturing**: Turn leads into paying customers by nurturing them through the buying process. - **Customer Cycle Management**: Manage campaigns at every stage of the customer cycle. - **Predictive Technology**: Predict lead scores and customer value, and send predictive content in your emails. - **Website Tracking**: Build hyper-relevant campaigns by tracking website activity and automatic email delivery. - **Personalisation**: Create bespoke experiences across multiple channels. - **Built-In CRM**: Manage all of your customer data in ActiveCampaign with its built-in CRM. - **Marketing Reporting**: Track campaign performance and optimise results. With built-in website tracking, you can see how users interact with your website, and which lead generation campaigns inspire conversions. As soon as prospects convert, their data is stored in [ActiveCampaign's CRM](https://www.activecampaign.com/sales-crm/win-probability). You can then use their profiles to trigger automated lead nurturing campaigns. For example, you can target leads to complete specific actions with tailored email campaigns. This will increase incentives and encourage subscribers to take the next step toward purchasing. ActiveCampaign has its own intelligent predictive technology to enhance your marketing actions. The system [automatically scores leads](https://www.activecampaign.com/sales-crm/customer-attribution) based on their likelihood to convert. It also provides their expected value as a customer, so you can prioritise your leads. The system can also calculate customer health scores, which predict the likelihood of churning. This allows you to intervene before you lose buyers. On the customer support side, you can manage email support and online documentation on your website. But ActiveCampaign doesn't include any phone call system. You'll have to get this from elsewhere ([Zendesk](https://www.zendesk.co.uk/) is a good option). Despite this, ActiveCampaign offers one of the best marketing, sales, and customer support systems available. Their class-leading automation helps you manage prospects throughout the customer cycle. ### How much does ActiveCampaign cost? ActiveCampaign has an [interactive pricing page](https://www.activecampaign.com/pricing). There are four plans, but prices are determined by the number of contacts you have stored on the built-in CRM. The benefit of ActiveCampaign's contact-based pricing system is the low entry point. Comparable systems typically cost hundreds or thousands per month. But ActiveCampaign ensures its platform is affordable for smaller companies with fewer contacts to manage. ActiveCampaign is an affordable way to grow in the earliest stages, and it stays that way as your company matures. Yes, you have to deal with more price increases than you might with other providers. But you're only charged as your customer list grows and you're generating more revenue. By the time you have 25,000 contacts, you're looking at 4,900% growth. Yet your software fees are still only $229 a month on the Lite plan. [ActiveCampaign's pricing](https://www.activecampaign.com/pricing) takes a little time to get your head around, but it keeps the platform affordable throughout business growth. ### ActiveCampaign Pros - **Marketing Automation**: ActiveCampaign is the best marketing automation system we’ve used, and far more affordable than similar products. - **Built-In CRM**: Manage all of your customer data in one place, and use it to maximise sales. - **Lead nurturing**: ActiveCampaign excels at nurturing leads into paying customers, and customers into repeat buyers. - **Low Entry Price**: The pricing model allows growing businesses to access software that's normally reserved for enterprise companies. ### ActiveCampaign Cons - **Complex Pricing**: You have to know what you’re signing up for and understand your future software needs. - **Learning Curve**: Given the depth of features, it’s going to take time for your team to get familiar with everything. ### ActiveCampaign Verdict ActiveCampaign is the enterprise-grade marketing, sales, and customer support system designed for businesses of all sizes. Low-entry pricing makes it affordable for companies at every stage of business development. And mild price increases keep the software fees reasonable, even as the platform drives more revenue. If you're looking for a highly-automated system that tames the workload of business growth, ActiveCampaign is a very solid choice. ## 8. PartnerStack Review [PartnerStack](/recommends/partnerstack/) is an affiliate marketing platform designed specifically for connecting software subscription companies with affiliate partners. Affiliate marketing is a great way to increase awareness of your product after launch. You can also tap into the reach of established publishers to send qualified traffic to your website. With PartnerStack, you can create an affiliate programme on your own terms. You'll be able to set your rewards and find relevant partners for your product. Potential partners can also find your programme by using PartnerStack's [exclusive marketplace](https://partnerstack.com/marketplace). As the platform is specific to SaaS, you're networking with publishers who understand the industry. They have the technical knowledge to promote your product and have experience with companies like yours. **The best PartnerStack features include**: - **PartnerStack Marketplace**: Find the best SaaS partner programmes through an exclusive network of software companies. - **Automate Programmes**: Find new partners, automatically trigger new offers, and create automated email campaigns. - **Custom Referral Links**: Create custom referral links to include your brand name or social media handle. - **Dynamic Referral Links**: Create unlimited custom referral links for any partner page. - **Link Tracking**: Use subIDs to track links and optimise promotions. - **Partner Recommendations**: PartnerStack recommends new opportunities based on your existing partnerships. - **Partner Teams**: Work with teammates and other people on programs by creating partner teams. - **Easy Payments**: Withdraw your rewards using Stripe or PayPal. PartnerStack gives you full control over managing your affiliate programmes. You can set flat rewards, recurring percentage-based rewards, and other incentives to attract (and keep) the best partners. The platform also has its own reporting system, so you can keep track of the performance of your programmes. You can also identify your most profitable partnerships and use these insights to find similar affiliates. ParnterStack [works automatically](/recommends/partnerstack/) to match you with relevant partners and help you optimise your offers to attract more publishers. PartnerStack isn't only designed for SaaS companies looking to network with affiliate marketers. The platform is also designed to help partners maximise their affiliate income. You'll get your own dashboard with access to resources, reports, and easy withdrawal payments. This system attracts the best SaaS affiliate marketers and motivates them to continue working with partner companies. ### How much does PartnerStack cost? PartnerStack doesn't provide any pricing information on its website. But you're looking at the lower end of enterprise starting prices with this platform. Pricing is based on a monthly standard fee, plus a percentage of payouts made to partners. We suspect the payout fee may depend on the volume of payouts you're making each month. But you'll have to contact the [company's sales team](https://partnerstack.com/book-a-demo) for more details. It's quite typical for affiliate marketing platforms to keep their pricing details under wraps. This can be frustrating when you have to talk with multiple providers before you can even make a comparison. All we can say is that PartnerStack won't be the cheapest option you'll come across. But it's the best system for SaaS companies (and SaaS affiliate marketers). So, we have no reservations about recommending it. ### PartnerStack Pros - **Automation**: PartnerStack helps you fully automate affiliate partnerships. - **Usability**: The system is intuitive, easy to use, and smooth in operation. - **Customer Service**: From onboarding to technical support, PartnerStack’s customer service teams are one of the company’s biggest assets. ### PartnerStack Cons - **Pricing**: PartnerStack doesn’t disclose its pricing publicly, but it’s firmly in the enterprise price bracket. - **Partner Vetting**: It would be helpful to see affiliate profile scores, relevant industries, and historical performance data. - **Limited Payment Gateways**: Currently, PayPal and Stripe are the only payment gateways supported. ### PartnerStack Verdict If you have a SaaS product, PartnerStack is the place to find and manage high-quality affiliate partners. The platform is a [dedicated SaaS marketplace](/recommends/partnerstack/) that connects you with thousands of expert partners. And it automatically helps you to develop long-term working relationships with promoters. PartnerStack is also the best platform for partners to find SaaS affiliate programmes. The software provides them with their own interface to manage their end of the partnership. By taking care of both sides of the relationship, PartnerStack attracts the best SaaS affiliate marketers. It helps them maximise their own revenue, which keeps them incentivised to continue generating opportunities for you. ## 9. Paddle Review [Paddle](https://www.paddle.com/) is a subscription management and revenue delivery platform for SaaS companies that want to maximise global revenue. If you're launching in multiple markets, you have to make sure your company remains compliant in every territory. This can be a major hurdle for SaaS companies selling to overseas customers. This is where Paddle's [Sales Tax Agony Index](https://tax-agony.paddle.com/) can be a lifesaver. It lists the most "painful" tax jurisdictions around the world.  Paddle isn't trying to put you off from launching your product in international markets. In fact, it's encouraging you by handling global tax compliance for you. And Paddle **takes full legal responsibility**, so you're 100% protected if anything ever goes wrong. This means you can forget about any international tax agony and concentrate on selling your product. All while enjoying the confidence of knowing tax compliance is all taken care of for you. You can find more details on the company's [tax and compliance page](https://paddle.com/platform/tax-and-compliance). But the short version is Paddle assumes the role of Merchant of Record on your behalf. They take the responsibility for maintaining tax compliance for all revenue generated with Paddle. Tax management isn't the only role Paddle's software plays. It also helps you create, manage, and optimise your pricing strategy across **four key stages** of software payments. 1. **Global Checkout**: This allows you to take payments from new customers, anywhere in the world. 2. **Subscriptions**: Subscription management helps you maximise monthly recurring revenue (MRR). 3. **Invoicing**: Get paid faster and follow up on missed payments with built-in invoicing and dunning. 4. **Compliance**: Paddle handles tax, payment, and data compliance for you. We've already discussed tax compliance, but Paddle also takes the pain out of subscription management. You'll be able to easily maximise monthly recurring revenue (MRR). **Some key Paddle features** **include**: - **SaaS Subscriptions**: Paddle offers extensive subscription features specifically designed for SaaS companies and software products. - **Managed Payments**: Instant access to established international banking infrastructure for easy payments in every country and currency. - **Billing Models**: Smart subscription logic helps you create recurring, metered, on-time, and other billing models in a matter of clicks. - **Upgrades and Downgrades**: Manage customers with ease as they upgrade or downgrade from plans. - **Free Trials and Freemium**: Manage free trials, free plans, and freemium strategies within Paddle. - **Integrated Checkout**: Take payments by card or PayPal using Paddle’s built-in checkout. - **Invoicing**: Create and send invoices to customers automatically. - **Automated Sales Tax**: Paddle calculates, files, and remits your sales taxes. - **End-to-End Dunning**: Paddle automates dunning across the entire customer journey to recover lost revenue. - **Paddle Data Core**: Advanced data capture and reporting for insights on your business performance. - **Managed Support**: Paddle’s excellent support team helps you deal with any technical issues and handle tax compliance for you. With end-to-end subscription management, you can test and optimise your pricing model. You'll be able to find the perfect price points for each plan. You can craft an upgrade path that keeps users subscribed, engaged, and working towards the next upgrade. The platform gives you **complete control over product pricing**, no matter how complex. For example, you can set up tiered pricing plans for multiple customer profiles. You can also give sales reps the freedom to customise quotes. Once users are signed up for your product, you keep complete pricing control. There are options for increasing your fees for new customers only. You can inform existing customers of pricing changes and chase missed payments with automated emails. With this level of control, setting up Paddle and getting to grips with the system can take some time. But the company's support team is excellent. ### How much does Paddle cost? Until recently, Paddle didn't share any pricing details on its website, but this has changed in the past few months. The company runs a [simple pricing model](https://www.paddle.com/platform/subscriptions) that charges 5% of your revenue, plus $0.05 per transaction. If you're a high-volume company, you might be able to negotiate a better rate by speaking to the sales team. Paddle doesn't run plans or charge you for users. You don't have to worry about upgrade fees or hidden charges. ### Paddle Pros - **Pricing Management**: Paddle provides extensive tools for managing, testing, and optimising your pricing strategy. - **Automated Tax**: Paddle is the only provider we're aware of that takes full control and responsibility for taxation. - **Global Coverage**: Excellent coverage for international payments and managed taxation allows you to go truly global. - **Dunning**: Paddle's advanced, automated dunning features help you recover revenue from missed payments. ### **Paddle Cons** - **Monthly Payouts**: Some platforms are faster when it comes to payouts. - **Fees**: The transaction fees can make Paddle a little pricey for mid-to-high volume companies. ### Paddle Verdict Paddle is the ultimate subscription management system and so much more. It's the only provider that **fully manages international tax compliance** for its customers. This is a huge gain considering the minefield that is tax compliance for SaaS products. Beyond taxation, the system gives you complete control over your pricing strategy and subscription management. You can find the right balance of pricing, plans, upgrade, and retention to maximise revenue. Industry-leading dunning features automatically chase up missed payments for you. You can recover lost revenue and re-engage customers who might otherwise churn. ## 10. Userpilot Onboarding is one of the most important processes in the customer journey for software products. It's also one of the most difficult to optimise. Convincing prospects to sign up on your website is hard enough. Getting them to complete the setup process and actually *use* your software is another challenge entirely. Until customers are using and paying for your software, your go-to-market strategy isn't generating any ROI. You **need an onboarding system** that guides users through setup *and* helps them use your product as quickly as possible. [Userpilot](https://userpilot.com/) is a product optimisation system that helps you refine the experience of your software. You'll be able to maximise engagement, and ultimately, recurring revenue. The platform is built around **three key feature sets:** 1. **Growth** **Insights**: Track and analyse your product's growth. 2. **Engagement** **Layer**: Help new and existing users discover more. 3. **User** **Sentiment**: Get qualitative user feedback at scale. Within the second feature set, Userpilot includes a toolkit for optimising the onboarding process. You'll be able to maximise successful completions and turn conversions into paying customers.  **The best Userpilot features are**: - **Product Analytics**: Gain insights into product usage, feature adoption, and goal completions in your software. - **Goal Tracking**: Define and track goals throughout the customer journey. - **Usage Trends**: Identify user trends, changes in behaviour, and roadblocks to goal completions. - **In-App Messaging**: Deliver messages inside your product to personalise and enhance the experience. - **Onboarding Optimisation**: Maximise the number of new signups who complete the onboarding process and start using your software. - **Contextual Messaging**: Deliver in-app messages based on user behaviour to guide them towards features and goals. - **Software A/B Testing**: Test changes with in-app experiments. - **User Feedback**: Collect feedback from users for qualitative insights on customer satisfaction. - **Net Promoter Scores**: Measure your net promoter score (NPS) to calculate how likely customers are to recommend your product. While there are plenty of product optimisation and user feedback platforms, Userpilot's onboarding toolkit is the best we've used. You can create and test unique onboarding experiences for different buyer personas to satisfy the expectations of different customer types. You can extend the onboarding experience with prompts, in-app tutorials, and contextual hints and tips. This creates an engaging process that points new users to the most relevant features and helps them get value faster. Beyond the onboarding experience, Userpilot provides extensive tools for optimising the wider experience of your software. You'll get help with maximising engagement, customer retention, and in-app marketing. Userpilot is the most comprehensive system we've used, and not only for optimising software products. It also supports the customer cycle as the relationship matures beyond the initial conversion. ### How much does Userpilot cost? Userpilot's Growth plan starts at $249 a month for up to 2,500 monthly active users. It maxes out at $549 a month for up to 50,000 users. At that point, you have to [speak to the sales team](https://userpilot.com/userpilot-demo) for custom pricing. Product optimisation software doesn't come cheap and, considering everything Userpilot has to offer, these prices are more than reasonable.  ### **Userpilot Pros** - **Experience Optimisation**: A comprehensive toolkit for analysing, testing, and improving product experiences. - **Onboarding**: Userpilot provides an excellent toolkit for maximising successful signups. - **Usability**: Userpilot leads by example with an excellent user experience. ### **Userpilot Cons** - **Starting Price**: While competitively priced against similar products, Userpilot's starting fees may be too high for smaller ventures. - **Online Documentation**: New users could benefit from having more online documentation available. ### Userpilot Verdict Userpilot is a comprehensive product optimisation system with competitive pricing that makes it relatively affordable in a typically expensive field. It provides an extensive toolkit for every stage of product development in one system. The onboarding optimisation features are the best we've ever used. ## Build Your GTM Strategy We've carefully selected platforms that will continue to add value to your product after launch. All of the tools we've looked at fill different roles in developing and implementing a go-to-market strategy. Whichever tool you choose, we hope this guide will help you build the right go-to-market strategy for your team. --- # 10 Best macOS Apps for Productivity URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-productivity-apps-macos/ Summary: Compare 10 top productivity apps for Mac 2026. Boost focus, streamline tasks & reclaim your evenings. See our top pick. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:18:48 As we discussed in our recent post looking at [10 common remote work challenges](/remote-work-challenges-solutions/), maximising productivity is one of the biggest challenges people face - both inside and outside of the office. Workplace productivity is obviously important to any business but it's also something that directly impacts the work-life balance of individuals. Achieving productivity can be particularly difficult for remote workers or people working from home. We've previously looked at the [best apps for working from home](/best-apps-working-remotely-from-home/) and [remote teams working from multiple locations](/remote-tools-distributed-teams/). And, in this article, we're taking a slightly different angle by looking at the best [productivity apps](/best-productivity-apps/) for macOS specifically. Whether you're working in the office, as part of a distributed team or a solo freelancer, these apps will help you maximise productivity and get more done during the working day. ## Best productivity apps for macOS Before we start looking at individual apps, here's a quick summary of what we'll be covering in this article. To avoid repetition, I've chosen ten apps that all serve a different purpose, rather than ten project management apps, for example, that all basically do the same thing. The idea is that you can use all ten of these apps and they'll all help you boost productivity by solving different problems. So here's a quick look at the tool I'll be talking about in this article: 1. **Freedom.to:** Cut out distractions, stay focused on the task at hand and get things done faster. 2. **Calendar:** Manage all of your calendars and events in one place, arrange meetings without dozens of emails. 3. **Trello:** A simple task management tool that makes projects easier for remote teams to complete. 4. **Taskade:** A project management tool that helps collaborative teams work together on tasks. 5. **Teamweek:** Free project planning for small teams with an affordable option for multiple teams. 6. **Toggl:** Time tasks, get things done faster, track team productivity and make sure you're charging enough for the time it takes to complete projects. 7. **Dameware Remote Everywhere:** Advanced remote access that allows technicians to access any registered device from any location. 8. **Slack:** Team communication, the way it should be for remote workers. 9. **Notion:** Keep all your docs databases, tasks, and project resources in one place. 10. **Spark:** A distraction-free, collaborative email experience to keep teams focused and help them complete tasks quicker. Naturally, all of these apps are available on macOS and some of them are available on other platforms, too. I've created this list with freelance and remote workers in mind, those who need to work with a team or other team members in another location. So, while most of these tools will help you increase your personal productivity, there's also a heavy emphasis on boosting productivity as a collective part of a team. ### #1: [Freedom.to](https://freedom.to/) ***Free trial available, paid plans from $3.33/month*** Freedom.to is a powerful website and app blocker for macOS (and other platforms) that helps you cut out distractions and stay focused on your work. With Freedom, you can block distracting websites, apps, or even the entire internet for set periods, allowing you to create distraction-free work sessions and boost your productivity. It's trusted by over 2 million people, including writers, students, and professionals who need to get deep work done.  #### Key features - **Website blocker:** Block distracting websites like social media, news, or anything else that interrupts your workflow. - **App blocker:** Block distracting apps to keep your attention on your most important tasks. - **Distraction-free sessions:** Schedule focused work sessions with customizable durations and breaks. - **Session timer:** See how much time you have left in your session to help you stay motivated and on track. - **Cross-device syncing:** Block distractions across all your devices at once. - **Locked mode:** Prevent yourself from ending sessions early for maximum focus. - **Custom blocklists:** Create personalized lists of sites and apps to block. - **Scheduling:** Set recurring sessions to build productive habits. Freedom.to is easy to set up and use, making it a great solution for anyone who struggles with digital distractions. Whether you want to block the internet entirely or just a handful of sites, Freedom gives you the flexibility to create the focused environment you need to get things done.  Freedom also offers browser extensions and mobile apps, so you can stay focused no matter where you're working. If you're looking for a reliable way to avoid distractions and get more done, Freedom.to is one of the best productivity tools for macOS. ### #2: [Calendar](https://www.calendar.com/) #### *Free version available, paid versions from $10/mo* While Google Calendar is a great free digital calendar, it doesn't provide some of the advanced features remote workers typically need. A more feature-rich alternative is the aptly named Calendar, which connects all of your calendars into a single interface. #### Key features - **One calendar:** Calendar integrates with all of your calendars (Google Calendar, Outlook, etc.) to keep everything in one place. - **Synced events:** Create events in Calendar or create them in your other calendar apps - they'll always be synced. - **Easy scheduling:** Schedule team meetings without the usual email back and forths. - **Analytics:** Calendar provides analytics reports to help you boost productivity. - **Meeting transcriptions:** Automatic transcripts of your meetings. Aside from integrating all of your calendar apps, Calendar's star feature is the way it handles meetings. Instead of arranging video chats or other meetings with dizzying emails between multiple team members, Calendar allows anyone to choose and book meeting times during your availability hours while ensuring there are no conflicts with existing meetings or tasks. ### #3: [Trello](https://trello.com/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web) #### *Free version, Business Class version $9.99/monthper user* Trello is a simple, easy-to-use project management app for collaborative teams. The platform is based on the Kanban board philosophy, a visual layout that originates from Japan, which you can see below.  Essentially, tasks are added and organised on "to-do," "going" and "done" satuses, which helps teams keep track of progress. Tasks can be grouped into boards (the entire view above) and cards, which can contain multiple tasks in themselves. Individual tasks can be assigned to groups or team members with deadlines and checklists. #### Key features - **Project management:** Trello is a simple, easy-to-use project management app for collaborative teams. - **To-do lists:** Create to-do lists, add due dates, assign them to people and manage tasks as they’re completed. - **Trello boards:** Dashboards where you can create and manage lists of cards containing tasks and to-do lists. - **Work with anyone:** Invite anyone from around the world to help you make things happen. - **Instant messaging:** Talk to team members in real-time to discuss tasks. Trello's instant messaging makes it easy for teams to communicate and collaborate from anywhere and team members can join for free, although they'll be limited to one board. Prices remain affordable on every paid package, though. ### #4: [Taskade](https://www.taskade.com/) ***Free version, paid versions from $7/mo*** Taskade is a project management and collaboration tool for small teams. It takes the to-do list concept turns it into a visual platform for tracking the progress of tasks and projects. While Trello is limited to Kanban board view, Taskade allows you to toggle multiple views in one click so you can see exactly how things are coming along.  #### Key features - **Project management:** Project and task management features with multiple views for team members to keep track of progress. - **Live collaboration:** Edit projects in real-time and communicate via live chat. - **Team calendar:** Keep track of tasks across multiple teams and workspaces. - **Team roadmap:** Plan and manage projects by visually assigning tasks and setting deadlines. Taskade also gives you live messaging and video calls for better collaboration between remote team members. While the team roadmap system makes it easy to assign tasks to team members and manage team projects. The other key feature Taskade provides is a team calendar where tasks assigned to each team member appear for everyone to see. This is important in terms of managing schedules, assigning tasks and keeping track of workloads. ### #5: [Teamweek](https://teamweek.com/) ***Free version, Premium version $8/monthper user*** Teamweek is a relatively simple project management tool that provides a global view of the tasks team members are working on. Essentially, it's very similar to the team calendar feature in Taskade but it provides more visual information and the drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to rearrange tasks. #### Key features - **Task management:** Break tasks down into smaller sub-tasks, then check each item off the list after it’s complete. - **Projects view:** Keep track of projects with an overview of progress. - **Teams view:** Keep track of how team members are getting on by viewing individual workflows. - **Timeline sharing:** Keep your clients informed by sharing the project roadmap with them. There are two different views available with Teamweek. First, you can view schedules at the project level to see what everyone's up to specific projects. Then you have the teams view, which allows you to view the entire schedule for teams, regardless of which projects they're currently working on. As I say, Teamweek is a very simple tool but it's great at what it does. It's also free for up to five users and highly-affordable for larger teams. ### #6: [Toggl](https://toggl.com/) ### #### *Premium version $18/monthper user* ### Toggl is a time tracking app that runs in the background to track how long you're spending on tasks. The tool was originally designed to help freelancers keep track of how much time they were really spending on projects to make sure they invoice correctly and hit their profit targets. However, the app has expanded into a tool for collaborative teams over the years. Its data visualisations help you compare profits against time spent on tasks and labour costs so you can see which projects and clients are most profitable. ### ### ### #### Key features ### - **Time tracking:** See how much time you (or others) are taking to get things done. - **Boost profits:** Check you're charging enough for the time it takes to complete projects. - **Reports:** See how productive you're being and how profitable your time with Toggl reports. - **Cross-platform:** Toggl's wonderfully designed apps work across just about every operating system and online so you can access it wherever you need, whenever you need it. ### You can also see how much time team members are spending on individual tasks to monitor productivity and see if anyone's taking on too much/too little work. Toggl offers excellent cross-platform support meaning team members on every device/OS can access and use the app. It's a relatively straightforward app without any real learning curve and its excellent interface means team members can either download the app or log in to the website and start Toggling. ### #7: [Dameware Remote Everywhere](https://www.dameware.com/remote-support-software) ***Prices start from £290, one-off fee*** Dameware Remote Everywhere is a fully-featured IT support tool that allows technicians to access any machine registered to your account remotely. So, if you run into any technical issues, support can access your machines - no matter where you are - and get things back in order for you. #### Key features - **Secure remote control:** Give technicians access to team members' devices from anywhere. - **Remote IT support:** Provide support to remote workers anywhere and allow remote technicians to do their job from anywhere. - **Mobile remote support:** Technicians can provide support using their iOS and Android devices. - **Access sleeping and 'off' devices:** Gain access to devices remotely, even when they're sleeping or turned off. Perhaps you're having technical issues with a piece of software you need to use or there's a problem with one of your accounts. You may have simply forgotten your access details or could be having problems specific to your device. Dameware Remote Anywhere makes your devices accessible to support teams so they can jump in and get things sorted for you. Prices start from a one-off £290 fee but that's not as expensive as it sounds when you compare it to the ongoing cost of subscription-based software. ### #8: [Slack](https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/) #### *Free version, paid options from £5.25/monthper user* Slack is a massaging platform designed for teams and it's the ideal communication tools for remote workers. Instant messaging is organised into channels, which team members can join and leave, as needed, so nobody receives messages or notifications irrelevant to them. Team members can also chat outside of main topics in separate threads which prevents these messages from interfering with the most project-centric conversations. #### #### Key features - **Instant messaging:** Live communication between every team member for seamless collaboration. - **Statuses:** Users can set availability statuses to focus on individual tasks as needed. - **File sharing:** Drag-and-drop file sharing for PDFs, images, videos and other common files types. - **Voice & video calls:** Voice and video calls directly from within Slack. - **Screen sharing:** Allows team members to show their work to others in real-time for stronger collaboration. Now, the key things to understand about Slack as a remote worker is the pricing policy. You can use Slack for free, which allows you to create a single workspace for small teams while paid versions start from £5.25/month per active user. Ideally, your business (or the company you work for) will pay for a team version of Slack to provide everyone with a fully-collaborative workspace. However, the free version of Slack means small teams within a business can use the tool between themselves to improve their workflow. This can improve collaboration within office environments but the real benefit of Slack is for remote workers who need to collaborate with team members in other locations - one of the most common problems cited by remote workers. ### #9: [Notion](https://www.notion.so/work) ***Free version, paid versions from $4/mo*** Notion calls itself your team's long-term memory and it acts as a kind of collaborative alternative to Evernote. Notion also calls itself "the missing half of Slack" which it integrates with perfectly to create a single location for all the resources important to your team - for example, important documentation, guidelines, etc. Multitude's aim is to replace a multitude of separate productivity apps with a single platform.  #### Key features - **Notes & Docs:** Create and share documents, notes and media files. - **Team Wiki:** Create a central knowledge base of essential info and guidelines for all team members. - **Project management:** Highly customizable Kanban boards and calendars that adapt to your work. - **Files sharing:** Designed for focused writing, easy editing, and rich media - **Live collaboration:** Work on tasks together in real-time. So, instead of using Google Docs and Evernote, you can use Notion to basically achieve the same thing. Likewise, you can also use its task and project management features in place of tools like Trello. Then, you have the spreadsheets and databases which aim to replace the likes of Excel and Google Sheets. If you're tired of using a dozen different productivity tools, Notion aims to provide a single platform that replaces half a dozen separate apps. I'm not saying Notion is necessarily as good as all of those individual apps combined but you gain convenience by not having to switch between different apps and you could well save some money while you're at it. ### #10: [Spark](https://sparkmailapp.com) (Mac, iOS, Android) #### *Free version, $6.39/mo (per user) for Premium* Spark is an intelligent email client that prevents your inbox from being a productivity killer and turns it into an asset. Its Smart Inbox automatically categorises your emails from every account assigned to it, allowing you to filter out the emails that don't matter and prioritise the ones that do.  You can also snooze specific emails for later, assign emails to team members, chat with team members, share drafts, set reminders for follow-ups and schedule emails to send them later. #### Key features - **Smart inbox:** Clean up your inbox, find any email with "Smart Search" and snooze emails that don't need your attention right now. - **Smart notifications:** Only receive notifications for the emails that really matter. - **Assign emails:** Assign emails to team members so the right person is always managing tasks. - **Team email:** Private team comments, shared drafts, template replies and instant chat for collaborative teams. - **Send emails later:** Schedule emails to send them when people are most likely to read them. - **Reminders:** Get reminders to follow up on important emails at the right time. With Spark, multiple team members can even work on the same email at the same time while communicating via instant messaging on the platform. This means there are no more emails to clients, saying "I've CC'd James and he'll explain that technical issue we talked about earlier". All the key details can be included in emails by the right person without any confusion or inaccuracy. ## Don't let the tools get in your way In the digital age, it seems like the number of apps we need to use to get the day's work done is constantly increasing. The problem with this is, the more apps you bring into your workflow, the more potential there is for complexity, poor experiences or a lack of integration to get in the way of productivity. This is why it's so important to choose the right software, tools that enable you to achieve more without adding unnecessary barriers in the way of progress. The good news is productivity apps are a big thing in business software right now and there are plenty of tools on the market to help you overcome issues getting in the way of your workflow. At the same time, integration between apps is constantly improving and the average user experience is getting better all the time. This means that, with some smart software choices, you can easily build a toolkit that breaks down productivity barriers and enables you to achieve more in a shorter time-frame. Hopefully, this article will help you get there and you can get more tips by checking out the other productivity articles on [our blog](/blog/). ## FAQ **What are the best productivity apps for Mac in 2026?** The best productivity apps for Mac in 2026 combine task management, collaboration, and focus tools that integrate seamlessly with your workflow. **Apps like Slack, Trello, and Teamweek** dominate the market because they address the core challenges remote workers face—communication, project tracking, and time management—without creating additional friction in your daily routine. **Which macOS to-do list app is best for managing tasks?** The best macOS to-do list app depends on whether you prioritise simplicity or advanced features, but **task management tools that sync across devices** tend to outperform single-platform solutions. Look for apps that integrate with your calendar and email, as this eliminates the need to switch between multiple applications when planning your day. **Are Slack, Teamweek, and Trello good collaboration tools for Mac?** Yes, **Slack, Teamweek, and Trello are industry-standard collaboration tools** that work exceptionally well on macOS and are specifically designed to reduce communication silos. These three apps complement each other—Slack handles real-time communication, Trello manages visual project boards, and Teamweek provides timeline-based project planning—making them a powerful combination for distributed teams. **What macOS productivity tools should I use to avoid distractions?** **Focus-oriented productivity tools** like Freedom, Focus@Will, or built-in macOS features such as Focus Mode are essential for maintaining deep work sessions. The key is choosing tools that actively block distractions rather than simply reminding you to stay on task, as passive notifications often fail when you're under deadline pressure. **How many of the best macOS apps should I actually use?** Most professionals should limit themselves to 3-5 core productivity apps rather than adopting every tool available. **Tool overload creates friction and reduces productivity**, so prioritise apps that solve your biggest workflow bottlenecks—typically communication, task management, and time tracking—rather than collecting apps for every possible use case. **What's the difference between macOS productivity apps and general applications?** **Productivity apps are specifically designed to optimise how you work**, whereas general applications serve broader purposes. Productivity tools typically include features like task automation, cross-app integration, and workflow optimisation that general apps lack, making them essential for anyone serious about maximising their output. **Can macOS productivity apps really improve work-life balance?** Yes, the right productivity apps directly improve work-life balance by reducing time spent on administrative tasks and decision-making. **Automation and organisation tools free up mental energy**, allowing you to complete work faster and maintain clearer boundaries between professional and personal time—which is particularly important for remote workers. --- # 10 Best Mailchimp Alternatives in 2026 (Tested & Compared) URL: https://ventureharbour.com/mailchimp-alternatives/ Summary: I've tested every major Mailchimp alternative since 2014. Here are the 10 I'd actually switch to — and the one case where I'd stay put. Last updated: 2026-07-03 10:00:00 The best Mailchimp alternative depends on why you're leaving. If it's limited automation (the most common reason I hear), [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign/) is the best general email automation platform for small businesses. Our migration data consistently shows it as the #1 destination for departing Mailchimp users. If it's the price, [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue/) lets you keep unlimited contacts and only pay for what you send. If you're running an online store, [Omnisend](/recommends/omnisend/) is the pick — its team will even handle the migration for you at no cost. If your list is growing but you send fewer than 2,500 emails a month, [Constant Contact](/recommends/constantcontact/) is the cheap holding pattern Mailchimp never really offered. A quick note on where this advice comes from. I've been testing email platforms since 2014, currently use four of the tools below across my own businesses, and run Marketing Automation Insider, where we track where marketers move their lists and why. We tried Mailchimp at Venture Harbour ourselves years ago and ultimately moved on. The full story is in our [Mailchimp review](/mailchimp-review/). Most links below earn us a commission if you sign up. The migration data doesn't care either way. One more disclosure: we removed Mailchimp from our [top 10 email marketing tools](/email-marketing-software-tools-one-best/) in February 2026. The reason is simple: I struggle to find a single use case where it's the best option. ## The best Mailchimp alternatives at a glance | Tool | Best for | Price from | Free plan? | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign/) | Automation (and most Mailchimp leavers) | $15/mo | Trial only (14 days) | | [Omnisend](/recommends/omnisend/) | eCommerce | $16/mo | Yes — 250 contacts | | [Constant Contact](/recommends/constantcontact/) | Infrequent small-business email | $6/mo | Trial only | | [Kit](/recommends/convertkit/) | Creators | $0 (free to 10K) | Yes — 10,000 subscribers | | [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue/) | Budget simplicity | $0 (300 emails/day) | Yes — unlimited contacts | | [Campaigner](/recommends/campaigner/) | Simple AI-assisted email | $14/mo | 30-day free trial | | [Beehiiv](/recommends/beehiv/) | Monetised newsletters | $0 (free to 2,500) | Yes — 2,500 subscribers | | [GetResponse](/recommends/getresponse/) | Budget all-in-one with webinars | $19/mo | Yes — 500 contacts | | [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot/) | B2B with full CRM needs | $15/mo (per seat) | Yes — free CRM | | [Resend](https://resend.com/) | Developers | $0 (3,000 emails/mo) | Yes — 3,000 emails/mo | Prices verified April 2026, monthly billing. For a deeper comparison across every contact tier, see our full [email marketing software guide](/email-marketing-software-tools-one-best/). ## 1. ActiveCampaign: where most Mailchimp leavers end up [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign/) is the tool our migration data points to again and again: a consistent pattern of users leaving Mailchimp for ActiveCampaign, and almost nobody moving the other direction. One-way traffic like that usually tells you something. The reason is automation. Mailchimp's automation is basic: autoresponders, abandoned cart reminders, not much else. ActiveCampaign's visual workflow builder gives you 135+ triggers, if/else branching, and the ability to split-test entire automation paths. I've used it for 12 years across 8 of our portfolio companies and 124,000+ emails, and nothing else comes close for building complex sequences. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) It also gets the boring bits right. Across our own accounts we've seen a 99.4% delivery rate, and independent testing puts its inbox placement at 94.2% against an industry average of around 83%. Mailchimp can't match the segmentation either. We hit that wall ourselves when we couldn't build segments as simple as "opened email one but not email two." **Switching from Mailchimp:** ActiveCampaign includes free migration from any competing platform as part of its customer success guarantees. Pricing starts at $15/mo for 1,000 contacts — barely more than Mailchimp's $13/mo entry point, for vastly more capability. I've written up the full head-to-head in [ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp](/activecampaign-vs-mailchimp/), and there's a deeper look in my [ActiveCampaign review](/activecampaign-review/). The honest downside: it's overkill if you just send a monthly newsletter, and the 2024 price hikes (30-40% overnight for some long-time customers) damaged trust. At 100,000 contacts, Starter runs $1,199/mo. Fine if automation drives revenue for you, hard to justify if it doesn't. [Try ActiveCampaign free for 14 days →](/recommends/activecampaign/) ## 2. Omnisend: the eCommerce pick If you're running a Shopify or WooCommerce store on Mailchimp, [Omnisend](/recommends/omnisend/) is the switch I'd make first. It was built from the ground up for eCommerce: revenue attribution, product recommendations driven by purchase history, and a 4.8-star Shopify app rating with 5,000+ five-star reviews. The omnichannel workflows are the standout. You can build a single automation that sends an email, fires a push notification if it's unopened, then follows up with an SMS — natively, without stitching together third-party integrations. Mailchimp's abandoned cart feature is arguably its best automation; Omnisend treats that as the starting point. [](/recommends/omnisend/) **Switching from Mailchimp:** this is where Omnisend is genuinely hard to beat. Its self-serve migration tool syncs your contacts, tags, segments, and engagement stats from Mailchimp automatically. On any paid plan, their team handles the whole move for free, including rebuilding your automations. Setup takes 15-20 minutes once your store is connected — more detail in my [Omnisend review](/omnisend-review/). The downside: it's the wrong tool if you're not selling products online. The free plan (250 contacts, 500 emails, 60 SMS) is essentially a demo, and the Standard plan caps sends at 12x your contact list per month. Pricing starts at $16/mo for 500 contacts, and at 10,000 contacts it's $132/mo (cheaper than Klaviyo's $150+ at the same tier). [Start selling more with Omnisend →](/recommends/omnisend/) ## 3. [Constant Contact](/recommends/constantcontact/) The cheap starter pick [Constant Contact](/recommends/constantcontact/) is back on my shortlist for one specific reason: Starter Email. It costs $6/month, stores unlimited contacts and gives you 2,500 email sends per month. That makes it a strong Mailchimp alternative if your list is growing faster than your campaign frequency. A local business collecting enquiries, a solo entrepreneur testing a new offer or a seasonal project can keep building the list without being punished by contact-based pricing. [](/recommends/constantcontact/) **Switching from Mailchimp:** the contact import worked after I cleaned up the worst rows in my test CSV, and the editor was easy enough to rebuild a designed email without training. The default email scored 9/10 in Mail Tester, which is a good sign for the boring deliverability setup. The catch is the send cap. A 2,500-person list can receive one full-list campaign a month on Starter Email, and the automation builder is only sensible for simple welcome sequences. If you email weekly or need behavioural workflows, ActiveCampaign or Brevo will age better. [Try Constant Contact for $6/month ->](/recommends/constantcontact/) ## 4. Kit: the creator pick I use [Kit](/recommends/convertkit/) for my YouTube channel's newsletter, so I'll declare that bias upfront. The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages, and forms. Compare that with Mailchimp's free tier of 250 contacts and 500 emails a month. It's not a contest. Kit does three things exceptionally well: capture emails, send newsletters, and stay out of your way. The landing pages are intentionally minimal (no sidebars, no distractions) and my lead magnet conversion rates consistently hit 30-50%, well above the 10-15% industry average. Our migration data shows very few people leave Kit once they arrive. **Switching from Mailchimp:** like most modern tools, Kit imports Mailchimp lists directly, and for a typical creator list the move is an afternoon's work rather than a project. The bigger job is recreating any automations, which brings me to the catch. The catch: the free plan includes just one basic visual automation. Full sequences need the Creator plan at $33/mo for 1,000 subscribers, which is a slightly jarring jump from $0. And if your business evolves beyond "creator building an audience" (a CRM, lead scoring, anything eCommerce), you'll outgrow it and be migrating again. [Build your audience with Kit (free up to 10K subscribers) →](/recommends/convertkit/) ## 5. Brevo: the budget pick [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue/) (formerly Sendinblue) prices by email volume rather than contacts, which quietly solves the thing that annoys most Mailchimp customers: being charged for the size of your list rather than what you actually send. Unlimited contacts on every plan, including the free one, which allows 300 emails a day. I've used Brevo since 2016 and sent 640,199 emails through it across our ventures without much drama. It's not exciting. But the maths is persuasive: a business with 25,000 contacts emailing weekly pays around $129/mo on Brevo Standard, versus approximately $260/mo on Mailchimp Standard. The paid plans start at $25/mo for 20,000 emails. [](/recommends/sendinblue/) **Switching from Mailchimp:** the import is straightforward, and Brevo includes transactional email in the same platform, so if you're currently running Mailchimp plus a separate transactional service, you can consolidate to one bill. My full thoughts are in the [Brevo review](/sendinblue-review/). The downside: the automation has a low ceiling. Linear sequences are fine, but there's no split-testing of paths and no predictive sending. The email editor is also less polished than Mailchimp's, which remains one of the best in the category. And some users report account throttling when sending volume spikes. [Send 300 emails a day free with Brevo →](/recommends/sendinblue/) ## 6. Campaigner: simple AI email without the sprawl [Campaigner](/recommends/campaigner/) is for businesses that want Mailchimp-level simplicity with a smarter AI layer. Its Audience Intelligence tools benchmark subject lines and content suggestions against your own historical open rates rather than a generic dataset. That's a more honest feedback loop than the ChatGPT wrappers most tools ship (Mailchimp's included, in my experience of the category). It's also a deliverability-first ESP with 20+ years of history, and independent inbox-placement tests consistently put it in the top tier alongside ActiveCampaign. At $14/mo for 1,000 contacts it undercuts both Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign at entry, and it scales gently, at $79/mo for 10,000 contacts. **Switching from Mailchimp:** the 30-day free trial (with full AI access, nothing paywalled) is long enough to actually migrate a list and run a full campaign cycle before paying anything. Most competitors give you 14 days, which in practice isn't. The downside: no free plan at all, so if $0 on the invoice is the deciding factor, Brevo or Kit win. The automation builder is limited (anyone with serious workflow ambitions will outgrow it within a year) and the reporting has no revenue attribution. [Try Campaigner free for 30 days →](/recommends/campaigner/) ## 7. Beehiiv: for newsletters that make money If your Mailchimp account is really just a newsletter with ambitions, [Beehiiv](/recommends/beehiv/) is worth a look. I use it for my own personal newsletter, and it's essentially an email tool plus a newsletter ad network plus a paid-subscriptions engine. On the Scale and Max plans it takes 0% of your subscription revenue. Substack takes 10%. The pricing model is the other draw: flat tiers rather than per-contact billing. The free Launch plan covers 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends, and at the top end you can run up to 100,000 subscribers for $43/mo on Scale or $96/mo on Max. Per-contact tools cost several times that at the same scale. **Switching from Mailchimp:** fine for the list itself, but be aware you're not moving to an equivalent tool. Beehiiv is a newsletter platform, not an email marketing platform: no CRM, no eCommerce integrations, no multi-channel automation. The downside, from experience: features I expected to be standard (custom HTML, A/B testing, automations) are locked behind the paid plans. For a free, non-monetised newsletter, Kit gives you more at no cost. There are also growing pains; occasional bugs and UI glitches come with a platform scaling this quickly. [Launch your newsletter with Beehiiv (free up to 2,500 subscribers) →](/recommends/beehiv/) ## 8. GetResponse: the budget all-rounder (and the one I actually left Mailchimp for) Here's a piece of personal history: when I moved Venture Harbour's lists off Aweber and Mailchimp in 2014, [GetResponse](/recommends/getresponse/) is where they went, and open rates climbed by 48% after the move. That was a long time ago, and the market has changed, but the deliverability has stayed reliable ever since. Today I'd describe GetResponse as a budget HubSpot: email, landing pages, webinars, automation, and a website builder from $19/mo. The webinar platform is the genuine differentiator: native webinars for up to 100 attendees (500 on Enterprise), which nothing else at this price includes. Registered non-profits get 50% off every paid plan, which makes it the obvious pick for charities. [](/recommends/getresponse/) **Switching from Mailchimp:** I've done this exact migration, and it was one of the smoother platform moves I've made. There's a free plan (500 contacts, 2,500 emails a month) to test with before committing, and the scaling is kind: $539/mo at 100,000 contacts versus ActiveCampaign's $1,199. My full write-up is in the [GetResponse review](/getresponse-review/). The downside: jack of all trades, master of none. The automation isn't as good as ActiveCampaign's, the CRM isn't as good as HubSpot's, and the templates look dated. Everything is good enough — but there's always a better specialist option. [Try GetResponse free (500 contacts) →](/recommends/getresponse/) ## 9. HubSpot: for B2B teams with proper budgets [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot/) is the best Mailchimp alternative for exactly one type of business: established B2B service companies that need to connect email campaigns directly to revenue. Because the CRM, email, and website are all native, you can trace a closed deal back to the blog post that attracted the lead and the sequence that nurtured them. You can walk into a board meeting and say "this campaign generated £42,000 in pipeline" — and mean it. For everyone else, it's a trap. The Starter plan at $15/mo per seat looks Mailchimp-priced, but the features that make HubSpot worth using require Professional at $890/mo. Then come mandatory onboarding fees of $3,000-$7,000 and, in practice, a specialist at £80-150/hour to run it. **Switching from Mailchimp:** the list import is trivial; adopting the platform is not. You won't do it in a weekend. It's an implementation project, which is why those onboarding fees exist. Start with the free CRM (2,000 emails a month, HubSpot branding) and see whether the ecosystem fits before committing. The downside is simply the cost trajectory. That $15-to-$890 jump between Starter and Professional is a 59x increase. ActiveCampaign gives you comparable automation from $15/mo. [Try HubSpot's free CRM →](/recommends/hubspot/) ## 10. Resend: if you'd rather write code than drag blocks An odd one to end on, but a real migration path I keep seeing. If you're a developer using Mailchimp to send emails your application triggers, [Resend](https://resend.com/) is the better tool. It's an email API with a free tier of 3,000 emails a month, and a Pro plan at $20/mo for 50,000 emails. I've used it across half a dozen micro-SaaS projects and I don't think I've ever actually paid for it. Setup takes minutes: add a domain, verify DNS, grab an API key, send. If you're vibe coding a project in Lovable or Claude Code, most AI tools will just ask for the key and wire it up. **Switching from Mailchimp:** there's no import wizard because there's nothing to import into — you're replacing a marketing platform with infrastructure. That's the point, and also the warning. The downside: no visual editor, no campaign builder, no landing pages, no forms. If anyone non-technical needs to send a newsletter, Resend alone won't cut it — pair it with Kit or Campaigner for the marketing side. ## When you should stay on Mailchimp Honesty time. [Mailchimp](/recommends/mailchimp/) isn't a bad product, and switching has a real cost: even a smooth migration means 1-2 days of rebuilding automations and re-authenticating domains, plus a couple of weeks warming up sending volume. Stay if all of the following are true: your list is small, you send occasional newsletters rather than automated sequences, and you like the email editor. That last one matters — Mailchimp's drag-and-drop builder is the best we've used, and for heavily designed emails it still has the edge over most tools on this list. The moment to leave is when email stops being occasional. Mailchimp punishes growth: pricing escalates with list size (roughly $110/mo at 10,000 contacts, about $260/mo on Standard at 25,000), and contact-counting sweeps in unsubscribes. The automation stops at autoresponders and cart reminders. In our [Mailchimp review](/mailchimp-review/) we rated it 3.4 — a familiar starter that scales painfully. Switch before you've built too much inside it, not after. ## Final word Don't overthink this. If you want the short version: automation-hungry businesses go to [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign/) (the route our migration data shows most Mailchimp leavers take). The full comparison is in [ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp](/activecampaign-vs-mailchimp/). Stores go to [Omnisend](/recommends/omnisend/), creators go to [Kit](/recommends/convertkit/), and infrequent small-business senders go to [Constant Contact](/recommends/constantcontact/). Whichever you pick, keep the Mailchimp account open for 30 days after the move in case you need to reference old campaigns. Then close it and get back to actually sending emails — the tool only matters if it gets emails sent. For the full rankings, methodology, and pricing at every list size, see our [best email marketing software guide](/email-marketing-software-tools-one-best/). ## Frequently asked questions **What is the best Mailchimp alternative?** The best Mailchimp alternative depends on why you're leaving. If it's the limited automation, ActiveCampaign ($15/mo) is the best general email automation platform for small businesses, and our migration data consistently shows it as the #1 destination for departing Mailchimp users. If you're running an online store, Omnisend is the pick. If your list is growing but you send fewer than 2,500 emails a month, Constant Contact's Starter Email plan is unusually cheap. **What is the best free Mailchimp alternative?** Kit offers the most generous free plan — up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages, and forms, versus Mailchimp's 250 contacts and 500 emails per month. Constant Contact is paid from day one, but $6/month for unlimited contacts is compelling if you send fewer than 2,500 emails a month. **Is it hard to switch from Mailchimp to another email platform?** No — most tools offer one-click import from Mailchimp, and a typical migration takes 1-2 hours for lists under 10,000 contacts. The hardest part is rebuilding automations, so budget 1-2 full days for a complete migration and keep your old account active for 30 days. Omnisend goes furthest: its team handles the entire migration for you at no cost on any paid plan, and ActiveCampaign includes free migration from any competing platform. **Is ActiveCampaign better than Mailchimp?** For automation, yes — it's not close. ActiveCampaign's visual workflow builder offers 135+ triggers, conditional branching, and split-testing of entire automation paths, while Mailchimp's automation remains basic. Both start at similar prices ($15/mo vs $13/mo). Our migration data shows a consistent pattern of users leaving Mailchimp for ActiveCampaign, but almost nobody moving the other direction. If you only send an occasional newsletter, though, ActiveCampaign is overkill. **What is the best Mailchimp alternative for eCommerce and Shopify?** Omnisend. It's purpose-built for online stores: revenue attribution that traces sales back to specific emails, native email + SMS + push workflows, and deep Shopify integration (4.8-star app rating with 5,000+ five-star reviews). It starts at $16/mo and its team handles your migration from Mailchimp free on any paid plan. **What is the cheapest Mailchimp alternative?** Constant Contact, if you send fewer than 2,500 emails a month. Starter Email is $6/month with unlimited contacts, so list growth does not raise the bill. Brevo is cheaper for higher send volume because its free plan allows unlimited contacts with 300 emails per day. **Should I stay on Mailchimp?** If you have a small list, send occasional newsletters, and value an excellent email editor, staying is a reasonable choice — Mailchimp's drag-and-drop builder remains one of the best in the category. The problems start when you grow: pricing escalates with list size and the automation lags well behind specialists. If email is becoming central to your business, switch before you've built too much inside it. --- # 10 Best Productivity Tools for Teams URL: https://ventureharbour.com/productivity-tools-for-teams/ Summary: Compare 15+ team productivity tools to boost efficiency & collaboration. Find the best software for your team. See our top picks. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:18:57 With [70% of people globally working remotely at least once per week](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/70-percent-of-people-globally-work-remotely-at-least-once-a-week-iwg-study.html), the composition of creative teams is changing drastically. While the benefits of remote working are well documented - both for businesses and [team members](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/connecting-britain/remote-working-benefits/) - there are a number of productivity issues that can get in the way of collaborative teams maximising progress.  Maximising productivity is a priority for every team (remote or not) and we're lucky to have a wealth of software tools that can transform the way we get things done together. In this article, we're looking at the 10 best productivity tools for teams and how to choose the right ones for the unique needs of *your* crew of creatives. ## Top 10 productivity apps for teams The tools we're looking at in this article are specifically geared towards collaborative teams. Many of them have packages (with limited features) for individuals but their premium options are all designed to help team members achieve more together. I've specifically chosen productivity tools that address the needs of remote teams with members in various time zones, as this tends to be the most demanding situation for tools of this kind. All of the tools in this list are going to help such teams boost productivity, no matter how much time or distance might separate them. Likewise, all of the tools we're looking at today help individual team members maximise productivity, but also do the same for teams and make it easier for team leaders to manage projects. Here are the team productivity apps we'll be looking at in this article and a quick summary of what they'll help you do: 1. **Freedom.to:** Cut out distractions, stay focused on the task at hand and get things done faster. 2. **RescueTime:** See which apps you're wasting time on and block access to them. 3. **Toggl:** Time tasks, get things done faster, track team productivity and make sure you're charging enough for the time it takes to complete projects. 4. **Trello:** A simple task management tool that makes projects easier for remote teams to complete. 5. **monday:** A more advanced (and expensive) task management tool for managing larger teams and more complex projects. 6. **Process.st:** A simple checklist tool for non-tech teams. 7. **Spark:** A distraction-free, collaborative email experience to keep teams focused and help them complete tasks quicker. 8. **Airtable:** Imagine spreadsheet project management on steroids but with an interface so intuitive anyone can use it. 9. **Doodle:** Team scheduling for meetings, video calls and joint sessions without the hassle. 10. **Zapier:** Make your favourite apps more powerful and automate repetitive tasks to save time. That should tell you everything you need to know about what's coming up in this article so let's get started with our first productivity tool for teams. ### #1: [Freedom.to](https://freedom.to/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox) ***Free trial, paid plans available*** Freedom.to is a powerful website and app blocker designed to help individuals and teams cut out distractions and stay focused on their most important work. With Freedom, you can block distracting websites and apps across all your devices, schedule focus sessions, and create custom blocklists to suit your workflow. Freedom.to is ideal for remote workers and teams who want to maximise productivity by minimising digital interruptions. Whether you're working from home or collaborating with a distributed team, Freedom.to helps everyone stay on track and get more done.  #### Key features - **Website blocker:** Block distracting websites like social media, news, and entertainment sites. - **App blocker:** Prevent access to time-wasting apps across all your devices. - **Distraction-free sessions:** Schedule focused work sessions with regular breaks to maintain productivity. - **Session timer:** Set timers for your focus sessions to help you stay motivated and on track. - **Custom blocklists:** Create and manage multiple blocklists for different types of work or team members. - **Cross-device syncing:** Block distractions on your computer, phone, and tablet simultaneously. - **Locked mode:** Prevent yourself from ending a session early for maximum accountability. Once you set up your blocklists and schedule your sessions, Freedom.to will automatically block distractions and help you focus on your most important tasks. It's a simple but highly effective way to boost productivity for both individuals and teams.  Freedom.to also offers browser extensions and mobile apps, so you can stay focused no matter where you're working. If you try to access a blocked site or app, you'll get a gentle reminder to get back to work. Freedom.to is trusted by teams and individuals worldwide to help them reclaim their focus and achieve their goals. You can [try it out here](https://freedom.to/). ### #2: [RescueTime](https://www.rescuetime.com/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) #### Team version from $6/monthper user While Freedom.to aims to keep you focused on single tasks and daily goals, RescueTime helps you keep track of what you're getting up to throughout the day. The tool will show you which apps you're wasting time with and which tasks are killing your productivity.  #### Key features - **Activity tracking:** See how much time you're spending in apps/on websites to measure productivity. - **Website and app blocking:** Block out the apps and website stealing your attention so you can get more done. - **Daily schedule:** Create daily task lists and manage your workload. - **Goals:** Set productivity targets and use RescueTime's reporting to see how well you're doing. - **Alarms:** Set alarms to warn you once you've spent more than your allotted time using an app/site. You can also block distracting websites and apps using RescueTime and the team plan also includes in-depth reports to keep track of productivity. The only problem is you have to be careful about getting bogged down in reports and settings, which can eat back into your productivity. The other thing I will say is this: if you're really honest with yourself, you probably know which apps and websites you're wasting time on. That said, if you're managing a team it can be useful to show members exactly how much time they're spending on sites/apps that get in the way of their workflow. ### #3: [Toggl](https://toggl.com/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox) ### #### Premium version $18/monthper user ### Toggl is a time tracking app that runs in the background to track how long you're spending on tasks. The tool was originally designed to help freelancers keep track of how much time they were really spending on projects to make sure they invoice correctly and hit their profit targets. However, the app has expanded into a tool for collaborative teams over the years. Its data visualisations help you compare profits against time spent on tasks and labour costs so you can see which projects and clients are most profitable. ### ### ### #### Key features ### - **Time tracking:** See how much time you (or others) are taking to get things done. - **Boost profits:** Check you're charging enough for the time it takes to complete projects. - **Reports:** See how productive you're being and how profitable your time with Toggl reports. - **Cross-platform:** Toggl's wonderfully designed apps work across just about every operating system and online so you can access it wherever you need, whenever you need it. ### You can also see how much time team members are spending on individual tasks to monitor productivity and see if anyone's taking on too much/too little work. Toggl offers excellent cross-platform support meaning team members on every device/OS can access and use the app. It's a relatively straightforward app without any real learning curve and its excellent interface means team members can either download the app or log in to the website and start Toggling. ### #4: [Trello](https://trello.com/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web) #### Free version, Business Class version $9.99/monthper user Trello is a simple, easy-to-use project management app for collaborative teams. The platform is based on the Kanban board philosophy, a visual layout that originates from Japan, which you can see below.  Essentially, tasks are added and organised on "to-do," "going" and "done" satuses, which helps teams keep track of progress. Tasks can be grouped into boards (the entire view above) and cards, which can contain multiple tasks in themselves. Individual tasks can be assigned to groups or team members with deadlines and checklists. #### Key features - **Project management:** Trello is a simple, easy-to-use project management app for collaborative teams. - **To-do lists:** Create to-do lists, add due dates, assign them to people and manage tasks as they’re completed. - **Trello boards:** Dashboards where you can create and manage lists of cards containing tasks and to-do lists. - **Work with anyone:** Invite anyone from around the world to help you make things happen. - **Instant messaging:** Talk to team members in real-time to discuss tasks. Trello's instant messaging makes it easy for teams to communicate and collaborate from anywhere and team members can join for free, although they'll be limited to one board. Prices remain affordable on every paid package, though. ### #5: [monday](https://monday.com) (iOS, Android, web app) #### Prices start from £15/month for 2 users, £34/month for 5 users If your project management needs are too demanding to Trello, then monday.com is the first alternative you want to look at. Essentially, it's a slightly more expensive, complex and powerful version of Trello, which is better suited to larger teams, more complex projects or teams juggling multiple projects at any one time.  While Trello is based around the Kaban board interface, monday allows you to manage projects using multiple views, including the popular Kaban dashboard. Once again, you can create tasks, group them, assign them and add due dates. Team members can then update the status of tasks with labels such as "to do," "working on it," "stuck" and "done". #### Key features - ****Project management**:** monday is a more advanced project management that helps large teams and individual team members complete tasks on time. - **Views:** Multiple views allow you to check project overviews, timelines, individual workflows, checklists and reports. - **Track progress:** Track tasks, update statuses, receive notifications when deadlines are looming and reassign/prioritise tasks with ease. - **Weekly task loads:** Team members can work on multiple projects without getting lost by using monday's weekly overview. - **File sharing:** Upload and share files so everyone has access to the resources they need via the same dashboard. The Chart View and Timeline View options in monday, give you an overall picture of how projects are progressing, the timeline for tasks/projects and how your teams are aligning with deadlines - both for individual tasks and entire projects. These views offer great data visualisations, making it easy to manage projects, tasks and team members alike. ### #6: [Process.st](https://www.process.st) (Web app) #### 14-day trial, $12.50/monthfor Business and $25/monthfor Business Pro A common trait with team productivity tools is they're often designed for technical teams used to dealing with advanced software platforms. This can make it difficult for non-technical teams to find tools that are designed with them in mind. Process.st is one of those tools, making task management itself easier to manage for teams that don't necessarily have the same IT skills as designers and developers. The platform is essentially an advanced checklist tool that allows you to create tasks and assign them to team members. The idea is to make repetitive tasks easier for team members to complete (to instructions) and for new team members to take on tasks from others with less time spent on training.  You'll find a library of templates for all kinds of processes like content promotion, social media image design, creating an invoice and fire inspections. You can edit these templates to include your own instructions and add, remove or edit individual tasks on each checklist. For example, you can create a process for uploading content to social media with instructions for suitable content, image sizes, best times to upload, restrictions and whatever else your team members need to complete every time they do this task. #### Key features - **Collaborative checklists:** Create checklists for teams, assign tasks and track progress. - **Schedules:** Create daily, weekly and monthly workflows and automate repeated checklists. - **Upload files:** Add images, videos and text files to better communicate ideas between team members. - **Conditional logic:** Create dynamic checklists using if/then logic to adapt to your team's needs and project demands. Process.st means your team members will be able to complete every step of tasks by following instructions and checking them off their list as they go. This results in higher productivity rates, fewer mistakes and less time spent on creating documentation and training new team members. This can be crucial if you have remote team members that can't be trained in person. ### #7: [Spark](https://sparkmailapp.com) (Mac, iOS, Android) #### Free version, $6.39/mo (per user) for Premium Spark is an intelligent email client that prevents your inbox from being a productivity killer and turns it into an asset. Its Smart Inbox automatically categorises your emails from every account assigned to it, allowing you to filter out the emails that don't don't matter and prioritise the ones that do.  You can also snooze specific emails for later, assign emails to team members, chat with team members, share drafts, set reminders for follow-ups and schedule emails to send them later. #### Key features - **Smart inbox:** Clean up your inbox, find any email with "Smart Search" and snooze emails that don't need your attention right now. - **Smart notifications:** Only receive notifications for the emails that really matter. - **Assign emails:** Assign emails to team members so the right person is always managing tasks. - **Team email:** Private team comments, shared drafts, template replies and instant chat for collaborative teams. - **Send emails later:** Schedule emails to send them when people are most likely to read them. - **Reminders:** Get reminders to follow up on important emails at the right time. With Spark, multiple team members can even work on the same email at the same time while communicating via instant messaging on the platform. This means there are no more emails to clients, saying "I've CC'd James and he'll explain that technical issue we talked about earlier". All the key details can be included in emails by the right person without any confusion or inaccuracy. ### #8: [Airtable](https://airtable.com) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) #### Free version, $10/monthfor Plus, $20/monthfor Pro We're lucky to have so many [productivity tools](/best-productivity-apps/) available to us today but this hasn't always been the case. Back in the day (I'm *just* about old enough to remember), Microsoft Excel was the make-shift project management tool of choice. And, while it may not be the most intuitive tool for this purpose, Excel is surprisingly capable. Airtable is built around the spreadsheet format and this is great news if your team is used to managing projects on tools like Excel. The platform will be familiar to anyone with Excel experience (or similar spreadsheet apps) but the functionality is much for newcomers to adopt without learning the formulas and functions. Airtable's interface operates like a spreadsheet but it's far more intuitive and includes all kinds of functionality that's either not available in Excel or difficult to achieve. With Airtable, you can create and assign tasks, set statuses, add attachments and include notes - all within a few clicks. #### Key features - **Project management:** Airtable turns spreadsheets into a fully-featured project management tool. - **Dynamic fields:** Turn fields into checkboxes or add links, attachments, text notes to fields. - **Views:** Manage projects in multiple views - grid, gallery, calendar and Kanban. - **Team collaboration:** Team members can interact with projects, update task statuses, add messages and prioritise their workflows. Airtable also includes instant messaging for seamless collaboration and its cross-platform support makes this accessible to every team member, no matter where they are or which OS they're using. ### #9: [Doodle](https://doodle.com/en/?utm_expid=.kjT2LasURkS4VpClBIGnbg.1&utm_referrer=) (Web app) #### Team packages start at €12.50/monthfor 5 users Communication is crucial for collaborative projects and this becomes increasingly challenging as the number of remote workers on your team increases. While instant messaging is great when everyone is available, organising meetings, chats, video calls and group work sessions at a time that suits everyone can be difficult - especially if you've got remote workers in different time zones. Luckily, Doodle's got you covered with its collaborative scheduling app that makes it easy to arrange meetings with the ongoing email back-and-forths. It doesn't matter how large your team is, how many time zones they're spread across or how many teams your workforce comprises of - Doodle makes meetings happen. #### Key features - **Team scheduling:** Arrange meetings, video calls and collaborative sessions without the email back-and-forths. - **Availability:** Team members can set their hours of availability, which automatically adapts for time zones. - **Reminders:** Set reminders so team members are always ready for meetings. - **Personal events:** Keep private meetings, events and tasks hidden from team members so people only see the tasks they need to. Essentially, users set their availability times, which are available for other team members to see, and meetings can be scheduled based on everyone's availability times. Users simply confirm they can attend and the meeting goes ahead. Team members will also be sent automatic reminders before meetings so nothing gets forgotten. Another key feature of Doodle is that user can integrate it with their own calendar apps but everying remains private. The only data visible to other users is availability times and details related to scheduled meetings - nothing else. ### #10: [Zapier](https://zapier.com/) (Windows, mac, iOS, Android & web) #### Free for 100 tasks/month, $19.99/month for 750 tasks, team package for 50,000 tasks, $299/month Zapier is a simple automation tool that can save teams huge amounts of time on repetitive tasks and switching between different apps. Essentially, Zapier sends data between apps like Trello and Gmail so emails are automatically sent out when anything changes in Trello. Or, you can link Doodle with Airtable so that records in Airtable are automatically updated as soon as a Doodle meeting closes.  There are thousands of existing automations already available on Zapier that you can use to handle repetitive tasks between different apps - and you can also create your own. Add all these automations together and your team is collectively going to spend a lot less time on menial tasks, allowing them to focus on more critical tasks and get things done much faster. #### Key features - **Integrate apps:** Link your favourite apps so they can share data, allowing you to spend less time switching between apps. - **Automate tasks:** Automate repetitive tasks between apps. - **Zaps:** Browse Zapier's library of pre-built automation workflows for your favourite apps. - **Custom automations:** Build your own automations if you can't find them in Zapier's library of "Zaps". Zapier is a very gentle introduction into business automation but it can make a real impact on the day-to-day tasks that often slow down collaborative teams. ## How to choose the right productivity tools for your team All of the apps we've looked at in this article can transform the way teams work but which tools are the best ones for *your* team. To help you make this decision, let's compare our 10 apps, based on the features they offer and value for money. This will hopefully tell you which combination of apps are going to help you get more done - individually and collectively. ### Best apps for productivity features While I recommend you thoroughly look at the full feature list for these tools before you pay for anything (there are plenty of free options in here, though), here's a quick summary of the key features we've talked about in this article. | Tool | Project management | Task management | Block distractions | Time tracking | Automate tasks | Reports | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Freedom.to | Strong | Extensive | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | | | RescueTime | Solid | Extensive | ✔ | ✔ | | ✔ | | Toggl | Basic | Solid | | ✔ | | ✔ | | Trello | Solid | Extensive | | | | ✔ | | monday | Extensive | Extensive | | | | ✔ | | Process.st | Solid | Solid | | | | | | Spark | | | | | ✔ | | | Airtable | Extensive | Extensive | | | | | | Doodle | | | | | ✔ | | | Zapier | | | | | ✔ | | We haven't' looked at ten versions of the same tool in this article; we've looked at a collection of tools that each brings different features and benefits to team workflows. For example, if you're looking to block out distractions, Freedom.to and RescueTime are the tools for you whereas Zapier is the king of automation in this pack. Most of the tools we've looked at (seven out of 10) offer project and task management features for teams. In most cases, you're going to get extensive offerings for this but Process.st and Toggle aren't quite as kitted out in this regard. Meanwhile, Spark, Doodle and Zapier simply aren't designed for this and their strengths lie elsewhere. The two head-to-head scenarios here are Freedom.to vs RescueTime and Trello vs monday. In the case of Freedom.to, it simply offers the more distraction-free experience whereas RescueTime's interface is nowhere near as intuitive and the extensive reports (while useful) get in the way of the distraction-free philosophy. Not to mention Freedom.to offers a free trial. Trello is a great tool for basic project management and its biggest strength is arguably how easy it is to use. However, its rival monday offers more in terms of project management features and views for extracting insights at every stage of projects. You do have to pay more for the privilege of monday's stronger features, though. ### Best value for money Pricing is always important when it comes to software because monthly fees can quickly stack up when you've got half a dozen other tools to pay for. This is especially important for teams, too, as you're generally paying for software on a per-user basis. You also need to consider what you're getting in return for your money and the great things about productivity is these tools should pay for themselves by empowering your team to do more - at least, that's the theory. With this mind, here's a quick comparison of how these tools compare in terms of pricing, the features you get for your money and how much they'll boost your productivity. Free apps instantly get 10/10 score for cost while small one-off payments will get 9/10. Monthly costs are then rated down from 8/10 based on the monthly cost *per user, for teams*. | Tool | Productivity | Features | Cost | Overall | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Freedom.to | 9/10 | 8/10 | Free trial | 9.3/10 | | RescueTime | 8/10 | 8/10 | $6/mo | 8/10 | | Toggl | 8/10 | 6/10 | $18/mo | 6.8/10 | | Trello | 9/10 | 8/10 | $9.99/mo | 8/10 | | monday | 9/10 | 9/10 | $15/mo\* | 8/10 | | Process.st | 5/10 | 6/10 | $12.50/mo | 5.6/10 | | Spark | 6/10 | 7/10 | $6.39/mo | 7/10 | | Airtable | 7/10 | 7/10 | $10/mo | 7/10 | | Doodle | 9/10 | 8/10 | $12.50/mo | 7.6/10 | | Zapier | 9/10 | 7/10 | $299\*\* | 8/10 | There are a couple of things to note in that table above. While most platforms base pricing per user, monday clusters pricing for groups of two users, five users, 1o users and brackets all the way up to 200+ users. So the real price per user depends on which version you sign up for and which user band you're signed up to. On the Standard plan, you're looking at roughly $15 per user. Zapier pricing *ins't* based on a per-user structure and the team version starts at $299/month. That said, individual team members can sign up for free or plans starting from $19.99 per month. All things considered, Freedom.to comes out on top with its excellent productivity rating and set of features alone. Let's not forget the fact this tool offers a free trial, which is pretty much unheard of for software platforms of this calibre. ## How productive could your team become? Every team is different but I'm confident this list of productivity tools will make a significant impact on how much your team can get done - no matter how large, diverse or remote it may be. Whether you need to block distractions, collaborate on projects, automate repetitive tasks or bring your team members together for meetings without hassle, you should find the right set of tools for your team in this top 10. ## FAQ **What are the best productivity tools for remote teams?** The best productivity tools for remote teams combine project management, communication, and file sharing in one ecosystem. With 70% of people globally working remotely at least once per week, tools like Asana, Monday.com, and Slack have become essential for **keeping distributed teams aligned and accountable**. Look for platforms that integrate multiple functions rather than forcing your team to switch between five different apps. **What's the difference between team productivity software and collaboration tools?** **Team productivity software focuses on task management and workflow optimisation**, whilst collaboration tools emphasise real-time communication and file sharing. Productivity tools like Jira help teams track progress and deadlines, whereas collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams or Slack prioritise instant messaging and document co-editing. Most modern teams use both categories together to maximise efficiency. **How do you measure team productivity with these tools?** The most effective productivity tools provide built-in analytics dashboards that track task completion rates, project timelines, and team workload distribution. **Measuring productivity requires looking at output metrics rather than activity metrics** — focus on completed tasks and project milestones rather than hours logged. Tools like Monday.com and Asana offer customisable reporting features that help managers identify bottlenecks and optimise workflows. **Should your team use one productivity tool or multiple tools?** Most high-performing teams benefit from using **2-3 integrated tools rather than a single platform**, as no single solution excels at every function. A typical stack might include a project management tool (Asana), a communication platform (Slack), and a file storage system (Google Drive or OneDrive). The key is choosing tools with strong API integrations so your team doesn't waste time manually transferring information between systems. **What productivity features matter most for team collaboration?** The most critical features for team collaboration are real-time updates, permission controls, and integrated commenting systems. **Visibility and transparency across projects prevent miscommunication and duplicate work**, which are the primary productivity killers in remote teams. Ensure your chosen tools allow team members to see who's working on what, track progress in real-time, and communicate context directly within tasks rather than via email. **How do you choose the right productivity tool for your team's size?** Tool selection depends on your team size, budget, and workflow complexity — a 5-person startup has vastly different needs than a 50-person organisation. **Start by mapping your team's current pain points** rather than adopting tools based on popularity alone. Small teams often thrive with lightweight tools like Trello or Notion, whilst larger organisations typically need more robust platforms like Jira or Monday.com with advanced permission and reporting features. **Can productivity tools actually improve team performance?** Yes, but only when implemented correctly — poorly chosen tools can actually decrease productivity by adding complexity and training overhead. **The right productivity tool can reduce meeting time by 20-30% and eliminate email clutter** by centralising communication and decisions. However, tools are only enablers; success depends on your team adopting consistent processes and actually using the platform as intended. **What's the cost difference between free and paid team productivity tools?** **Free productivity tools work for small teams with simple workflows, but paid plans become essential as your team scales**. Free versions typically limit users, storage, or integrations — Asana's free plan supports up to 15 team members, whilst paid plans unlock advanced features like timeline views and custom fields. For teams larger than 10 people, the productivity gains from paid tools usually justify the £5-15 per user monthly cost. --- # 10 Best Remote Work Tools for Working From Home & Distributed Teams URL: https://ventureharbour.com/remote-tools-distributed-teams/ Summary: Compare 10 essential tools for distributed teams. Boost collaboration, cut costs & streamline remote workflows. See our top picks. Last updated: 2026-04-11 06:05:04 Remote working has been on the rise for sometime now and is increasingly at the forefront of how companies are expected to enable flexibillity for their staff. More so, Covd19 has certainly forced the pace of change around remote working and workers are quickly adapting schedules, home offices and habits so that working from home (WFH) is both manageable but also productive. Remote working or working from home can bring up some challenges, however, it also opens up the possibility of creating positive changes and increased collaboration amongst teams. For those companies that have adopted remote working, already some of the benefits they would have been enjoying could include: - Wages and services are often cheaper in other countries. - Better talent is often available in other countries, too. - Your business becomes more attractive to top talent. - Having team members spread out across time zones can give your business a 24/7 presence. - Gain cultural insights and different perspectives. - Expand your business presence and make connections in other markets. There are plenty of other potential benefits, too, but you get the idea. And there are also challenges that come with being part of and/or managing a distributed team. So, in this article, we've got 10 of the best remote work tools for distributed teams to overcome those challenges and enjoy more of the benefits. ## Top 10 remote tools for *distributed* teams In this article, we're looking specifically at the best tools for *distributed* remote teams. Just to be clear, this means team members are scattered across locations, possibly in different countries and time zones across the world. This comes with a number of unique challenges compared to managing (or being part of) a remote team working in the same area or country: - **Time zones** - **Language barriers** - **Cultural differences** - **Religious holidays, annual events, etc.** - **Varied workplace cultures** - **Differences in minimum/acceptable wages** - **Differences in workers rights** - **Technological differences (internet speed, coverage, access to websites, etc.)** Aside from these unique challenges, you also have all the regular struggles associated with remote working to overcome:  The recommendations I'm making in this article are aimed at solving the unique problems distributed teams face *as well as* the regular challenges of remote working for teams and individuals. Here at Venture Harbour, we have remote team members in the UK and countries all over the world so we've had to overcome all of these challenges - and this why I'm confident in making these recommendations. ***Note: I'm one of these remote workers and I spend the vast majority of my time outside of the UK, where I was born.*** Now that I've clarified exactly what we'll be looking at in this article, here's a quick summary of the 10 remote work tools for distributed teams that we'll be talking about and which problem(s) they'll solve: 1. **Freedom.to:** To cut out distractions, stay focused on the task at hand and get things done faster. 2. **Status Hero:** Allow every team member to see what each other are currently working on to avoid interruptions and timewasting. 3. **Toggl:** A time tracking tool for individuals and teams. 4. **Slack:** A team communication tool to make individual and collaboration work easier. 5. **monday:** A project management tool for team managers and individual team members to complete tasks and entire projects faster. 6. **Google Drive:** Free file creation, sharing and collaboration for basic document types (text files, spreadsheets, presentations, etc.) 7. **InVision:** A collaborative design prototype tool to turn concepts into reality faster. 8. **Spark:** A distraction-free, collaborative email experience to keep teams focused and help them complete tasks quicker. 9. **Doodle:** Team scheduling for meetings, video calls and joint sessions without the hassle. 10. **Zoom:** Video conferencing, the way it should be for distributed teams. With these tools on your side, team members can achieve higher productivity - both while working individually and collaborating with other team members. Crucially, these tools also help team and project managers to keep everyone on the right track and make sure targets are getting hit. So let's take a closer look at each of these tools. ## #1: [Freedom.to](https://freedom.to/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome) ***Free trial available, paid plans from $3.33/month*** Freedom.to is a powerful website and app blocker designed to help remote workers and distributed teams stay focused and productive. By allowing users to block distracting websites and apps across all their devices, Freedom.to makes it easy to create a distraction-free work environment—no matter where you are working from.  #### Key features - **Website blocker:** Block distracting websites like social media, news, and entertainment sites. - **App blocker:** Block time-wasting apps across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices. - **Customizable sessions:** Schedule focused work sessions or start them on demand, with the flexibility to set durations that work for you. - **Cross-device syncing:** Block distractions on all your devices simultaneously for seamless focus. - **Session timer:** Track your focus time and see how much time you have left in each session. - **Locked mode:** Prevent yourself from ending a session early for maximum accountability. - **Productivity insights:** Review your session history and see where your time goes. Freedom.to is ideal for distributed teams and remote workers who want to eliminate distractions and get more done. Whether you need to focus on deep work, block out social media, or simply create a better work-life balance, Freedom.to provides the tools to help you stay on track. ## #2: [Status Hero](https://statushero.com) (Windows, Mac, web app) #### *Prices start from $3/month per user* If you've ever managed or worked as part of a remote team, you'll understand the importance of statuses. Allowing team members to set statuses like "available," "busy," "away" and "unavailable" is crucial. Otherwise, you can team members interrupting each others' workflow and notifications constantly popping up at inconvenient moments. This is the basic, yet invaluable role of statuses on collaboration software and Status Hero turns this concept into a major productivity tool. #### Key features - **Availability statuses:** Users can set their availability status for every other team member and manager to see. - **Check-ins:** Users provide a quick description of what they're up to so nobody needs to ask what they're currently working on. - **Time zones:** Status Hero detects user time zones (these can also be user-defined) to help team members collaborate in different geographical locations. - **Blockers:** Team members can state any issues getting in the way of completing tasks. - **Project management:** Managers and team members can see how many goals are completed and how many targets are being blocked, in real-time. - **Multiple teams:** You can divide teams into multiple groups, assign projects to different teams and switch between them on the fly. - **Mood tracking:** Get a better sense of the emotional state of team members. - **Observer mode:** For managers and stakeholders to view progress without interrupting team members' workflows. The best way I can describe Status Hero is that it takes the friction out of remote working and collaboration. When everyone knows what each other is working on, there are no more interruptions when important tasks are being completed. Collaboration is crucial for hitting team goals but the simple act of sending a message at the wrong time can cause major productivity problems. According to [a study from the University of California](https://www.ics.uci.edu/~gmark/chi08-mark.pdf), it takes **an average of 23 minutes and fifteen seconds to recover from a distraction**. Multiple studies have offered up similar numbers, which tells you how costly it can be when a remote worker is interrupted by multiple emails and messages throughout the day. Status Hero eliminates this productivity killer while also allowing team and project managers to keep track of progress without interrupting it. ## #3: [Toggl](https://toggl.com/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox) ### #### *Premium version $18/monthper user* ### Toggl is a time tracking app that runs in the background while users work on tasks. Essentially, it's designed to accurately track how long it takes to complete tasks and this was originally intended for freelancers to make sure they were invoicing accurately and getting paid fairly. Now, Toggl is a productivity app designed for teams and individual members to maximise productivity. Above all, its data visualisations help you compare profits against time spent on tasks and labour costs so you can see which projects and clients are most profitable. ### ### ### #### Key features ### - **Time tracking:** See how much time you (or others) are taking to get things done. - **Boost profits:** Check you're charging enough for the time it takes to complete projects. - **Reports:** See how productive you're being and how profitable your time with Toggl reports. - **Cross-platform:** Toggl's wonderfully designed apps work across just about every operating system and online so you can access it wherever you need, whenever you need it. ### You can also see how much time team members are spending on individual tasks to monitor productivity and see if anyone's taking on too much/too little work. On the face of things, Toggl is about a simple as it gets in terms of productivity software but it can be an invaluable tool for making sure tasks are being completed quickly enough and that projects are generating enough revenue for the time (and other resources) being spent on them. ## #4: [Slack](https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web) #### *Free version, paid options start from £5.25/monthper user* Slack is the communication tool that brings remote teams together. The platform organises conversations into channels, which team members can join and leave, as needed, so nobody receives messages or notifications irrelevant to them. Conversations can also be had in threads, which keep messages outside of the main channel so chats don't get in the way of main topics and projects. #### #### Key features - **Instant messaging:** Live communication between every team member for seamless collaboration. - **Statuses:** Users can set availability statuses to focus on individual tasks as needed. - **File sharing:** Drag-and-drop file sharing for PDFs, images, videos and other common files types. - **Voice & video calls:** Voice and video calls directly from within Slack. - **Screen sharing:** Allows team members to show their work to others in real-time for stronger collaboration. There are tonnes of productivity tools on the market and many of the offer more ambitious sets of features than Slack. However, Slack combines the basic communication essentials into a single, easy-to-use platform in a way no software has really managed to match since it was first released in 2026. ## #5: [monday](https://monday.com) (iOS, Android, web app) #### *Prices start from £15/month for 2 users, £34/month for 5 users* Again, there are plenty of project management tools designed for digital teams these days but monday offers a more advanced set of features than some of the better-known alternatives like Trello. A lot of project management tools essentially redesign the to-do list concept or create "Kanban" boards but the likes of monday and Asana have built fully-featured management platforms design for team leaders and members alike.  #### Key features - ****Project management**:** monday is an advanced project management that helps large teams and individual team members hit more ambitious targets. - **Task management:** Extensive task management tools that treat each task as building blocks to project goals. - **Views:** Multiple views allow you to check project overviews, timelines, individual workflows, checklists and reports. - **Track progress:** Track tasks, update statuses, receive notifications when deadlines are looming and reassign/prioritise tasks with ease. - **Weekly task loads:** Team members can work on multiple projects without getting lost by using monday's weekly overview. - **File sharing:** Upload and share files so everyone has access to the resources they need via the same dashboard. Tasks can be created and assigned to team members, which start off with a default status of "Not started". Team members can update statuses to "Working on it," "Stuck" and "Done" as they progress their way through tasks, which all members and managers can see. Team managers can assign tasks to members based on their workload, location, experience, native language and the rating of previous tasks completed. I've used monday on a lot of projects with different clients and I can tell you these capabilities are useful on a daily basis for distributed remote workers and team managers who need to make sure everyone is working in sync. ## #6: [Google Drive](https://www.google.com/drive/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web) #### *Free* I probably don't need to say a great deal about Google Drive; it's that cloud alternative to Microsoft Office that simply works much better for remote and collaborative teams than the MS alternative suite of tools. #### Key features - **Documents:** Word documents, spreadsheets, presentations and all of the essential docs we take for granted these days - for free. - **Cloud storage:** The cloud element of Google Drive is what makes it so useful for remote teams, allowing them to create, upload, share and collaborate on files. - **Collaboration:** Real-time collaboration on Google Docs files works without any real lag getting in the way and this is where it really outshines Microsoft Drive. Sure, Microsoft Office's suite of looks like Word and Excel are somewhat better in terms of features but Google Drive is *far* more capable as a cloud storage and collaboration tool. I constantly have problems with Drive crashing, Word freezing (on Mac) and lag getting in the way of real-time collaboration within files. I've experienced none of these problems with Google Drive and I consider these deal-breakers as part of a distributed remote team. ## #7: [InVision](https://www.invisionapp.com) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) #### *Free version available, Team version starts from $99/mo* I hesitated for a moment about including InVision in this article, as I want to stick to tools that every distributed remote team can make use of. I don't want to get too niche in this article and list tools that are only relevant to certain teams but the truth is every business needs to take design seriously. Whether you're redesigning your website, building a mobile app, developing your own software or creating a presentation with more flare than the average Powerpoint effort, InVision is the collaborative tool that helps design team get out of the concept stage faster. #### Key features - **Prototyping:** Create interactive prototypes complete with working links, animations and effects so developers, clients and team members can see what the final product will look and feel like. - **Collaboration:** From idea creation to file sharing and working on design files, InVision provides the collaborative tools remote designers need. - **Messaging:** Team members can work on projects, exchange ideas and provide feedback on the work of others. - **Design management:** Team leaders can manage projects and ongoing design processes. - **Integrated development:** InVision creates a seamless design and development process where both teams can work together and collaborate as projects pass from one stage to the other. For digital agencies like us, InVision is a vital tool for helping our design team work together. It's also used by some of the most prominent tech firms, media organisations, startups and online brands. Above all, it's the collaborative design tools created by remote designers *for* remote designers and this is why it deserves a place on this list. ## #8: [Spark](https://sparkmailapp.com) (Mac, iOS, Android) #### *Free version, $6.39/mo (per user) for Premium* Spark is an intelligent email client that stops inboxes from being a productivity killer. Better yet, it turns them into an asset for distributed remote teams. Spark's Smart Inbox automatically categorises your emails from every account and allows you to prioritise the emails that matter most while filtering out the ones that don't.  #### Key features - **Smart inbox:** Clean up your inbox, find any email with "Smart Search" and snooze emails that don't need your attention right now. - **Smart notifications:** Only receive notifications for the emails that really matter. - **Assign emails:** Assign emails to team members so the right person is always managing tasks. - **Team email:** Private team comments, shared drafts, template replies and instant chat for collaborative teams. - **Send emails later:** Schedule emails to send them when people are most likely to read them. - **Reminders:** Get reminders to follow up on important emails at the right time. You can also snooze emails for later, assign emails to team members, chat with team members, share drafts, set reminders for follow-ups and schedule emails to send them later. With Spark, remote team members can also work on the same email at the same time. Much like Google Drive, text is created and edited in real-time while members can communicate via instant messaging to perfect important emails. This means there are no more emails to clients, saying "I've CC'd James and he'll explain that technical issue we talked about earlier". All the key details can be included in emails by the right person without any confusion or inaccuracy. ## #9: [Doodle](https://doodle.com/en/?utm_expid=.kjT2LasURkS4VpClBIGnbg.1&utm_referrer=) (Web app) #### *Team packages start at €12.50/monthfor 5 users* Doodle is a collaborative scheduling app that makes it easy to arrange meetings without the email back-and-forths. It doesn't matter how large your team is, how many time zones they're spread across or how many teams your workforce comprises of - Doodle makes meetings happen. This is so important for remote teams distributed across different time zones. #### #### Key features - **Team scheduling:** Arrange meetings, video calls and collaborative sessions without the email back-and-forths. - **Availability:** Team members can set their hours of availability, which automatically adapts for time zones. - **Reminders:** Set reminders so team members are always ready for meetings. - **Personal events:** Keep private meetings, events and tasks hidden from team members so people only see the tasks they need to. Basically, users set their availability times, which are available for other team members to see, and meetings can be scheduled based on everyone's availability times. Users simply confirm they can attend and the meeting goes ahead. Team members will also be sent automatic reminders before meetings so nothing gets forgotten. ## #10: [Zoom](https://zoom.us) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web) #### *Free version available, paid versions from £11.99/monthper host* Zoom is a suite of video conferencing and communication tools designed for remote teams, virtual businesses conferences, webinars and other corporate purposes. We use Zoom for our virtual meetings, which we can use to run video and voice calls, but it's capable of much more than this. #### #### Key features - **Video meetings:** Remote teams can run video meetings and one-to-one video calls. - **Voice calls:** You can also run group or one-to-one voice calls when face-to-face meetings aren't necessary. - **Webinars:** You can also use Zoom to host webinars. - **Messaging:** Team members can send messages using Zoom. - **File sharing:** Share files during and outside of video/voice chats for collaboration between members. Zoom is a feature-rich communication tool for remote teams and its pricing is very reasonable. For group calls, you'll need to pay for one of its plans, which start from £11.99/monthbut this fee is paid per host rather than per user. A host is someone who invites people team members to join meetings but up to 100 participants can join before a host needs to upgrade to a more expensive plan. ## How far will your distributed team go? Productivity tools are important for every business but they're, quite literally, the only connection distributed teams have to rely on - so you better make sure you choose the right ones. All of the tools we've looked at in this article serve different purposes but each one of them is crucial for establishing a collaborative workflow and maximising productivity. I can confidently recommend all ten of the tools in this list as a starter kit for distributed teams to hit targets, no matter how far spread out team members might be. ## FAQ **What are the most important tools a distributed team needs?** A distributed team needs at least three categories of tools: communication platforms like Slack, project management software like monday.com, and time tracking or productivity monitoring tools like Toggl or Status Hero. **Communication, organisation, and accountability** are the three pillars that keep remote teams aligned and productive across different locations and time zones. **Which remote work tool is best for tracking team productivity?** Status Hero and Toggl are the top choices for remote productivity tracking, with Status Hero offering real-time visibility into what team members are working on and Toggl providing detailed time tracking across projects. **Status Hero is particularly effective for distributed teams** because it captures daily progress without the invasiveness of constant monitoring, making it ideal for maintaining trust in remote environments. **Can Google Drive replace dedicated project management software for remote teams?** Google Drive is excellent for document collaboration and file sharing but should not replace dedicated project management tools like monday.com for distributed teams. While **Google Drive handles content creation efficiently**, it lacks the workflow automation, task dependencies, and team visibility features that remote teams need to manage complex projects at scale. **What's the best tool for remote design collaboration?** InVision is purpose-built for design teams working remotely, offering real-time collaboration, version control, and feedback tools specifically designed for creative workflows. **InVision eliminates the need for in-person design reviews** by allowing distributed team members to comment, iterate, and approve designs simultaneously across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices. **How do remote teams stay organised without in-person meetings?** Remote teams stay organised by combining Slack for daily communication, monday.com for task management and project visibility, and time tracking tools to maintain accountability. **Centralised project management software** replaces the function of physical whiteboards and in-person stand-ups by creating a single source of truth that all distributed team members can access asynchronously. **Is Slack enough for managing a distributed team?** Slack is essential for remote team communication but is insufficient as a standalone management tool for distributed teams. **Slack works best alongside project management software** like monday.com, as it handles real-time conversation and quick updates whilst dedicated tools manage tasks, deadlines, dependencies, and long-term project tracking. **What tools do remote content teams use for collaboration?** Remote content teams typically use Google Drive for document creation and editing, Slack for editorial communication, and InVision or similar tools for design reviews. **Google Drive is the industry standard for distributed content teams** because it allows multiple writers and editors to work on the same document simultaneously with version history and commenting capabilities. --- # 10 Best Webinar Software Platforms for 2026 URL: https://ventureharbour.com/webinar-software-10-best-webinar-platforms-compared/ Summary: Compare 12+ webinar platforms with pros, cons & pricing. Find the best software for your virtual events. See our top pick. Last updated: 2026-08-04 10:00:00 Webinar marketing is a vital strategy for B2B businesses and a lot of consumer brands are also turning to it for their own B2C marketing efforts. Webinars give you the chance to build a more personal relationship with your audience, and answer their objections - at scale. In the case of automated webinars, you can even do this while you sleep. In this post we're going to run through some of the best webinar marketing platforms available right now to get your own webinar strategy up and running. We'll be running through the features, pros and cons of each platform, plus a brief explanation on what purpose each platform is best suited to - everything you need to choose the best webinar platform for your needs. **Short on time?** [Demio](/recommends/demio/) is our top pick for marketing-led webinars — it's one of the few platforms that handles live, automated, and hybrid formats equally well. If your entire strategy is evergreen automated webinars, [EverWebinar](/recommends/everwebinar/) is purpose-built for exactly that. And if you're a SaaS team running product demos and onboarding as well as webinars, [Livestorm](/recommends/livestorm/) is the one to trial first — see our full [Demio vs Livestorm comparison](/demio-vs-livestorm/). ### The Best Webinar Software Compared | Platform | Best for | Live | Automated / evergreen | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Demio](/recommends/demio/) | Marketing teams (live + automated + hybrid) | Yes | Yes | | [Livestorm](/recommends/livestorm/) | SaaS demos, onboarding & larger events | Yes | Replays & sequences | | [EverWebinar](/recommends/everwebinar/) | Evergreen automated webinars | No — automated only | Yes | | [WebinarJam](/recommends/webinarjam/) | Live selling & course creators | Yes | Pair with EverWebinar | | [WebinarNinja](/recommends/webinarninja/) | Small businesses (under ~100 attendees) | Yes | Yes | | [Wistia](/recommends/wistia/) | Lead generation + repurposing webinar content | Yes | On-demand replays | | [GetResponse](/recommends/getresponse/) | Webinars + email marketing in one | Yes | Yes | | [ClickMeeting](/recommends/clickmeeting/) | Webinar marketers | Yes | Yes | | [Livestream](https://livestream.com/) | Professional live video production | Yes | No | | [Zoom](/recommends/zoom/) | All-in-one video conferencing | Yes | No | ## 1. [Demio](/recommends/demio/) [Demio](/recommends/demio/) is one of the best webinar platforms available today. They have thrived, adapted and kept up with the growing needs of marketing teams moving online. While many other platforms are outdated and have failed to keep up with the times, Demio offers a modern and powerful platform. Unlike many webinar platforms, which offer automated or live webinars, Demio offers both, as well as an option for hybrd mixes of pre-recorded and live recordings. Throughout your webinar, Demio also allow you to run interactive polls, launch offers with call-to-action buttons, share live document handouts, run Q&As and much more. ### Demio features: - **"Stay registered" series:** Allow people to sign-up once for an ongoing series of webinars. - **Private chat:** Users have the option to send private messages to event coordinators or public messaging visible to everyone. - **Branded registration page:** To keep things consistent with your brand. - **Like Live Replays:** Automate replays of your webinars to build email lists. - **Analytics:** Insights into your webinar performance. ### Who is Demio for? Demio is built for marketing teams who want a dedicated webinar tool with automated replays but put more emphasis on the live events. As of writing, we are evaluating webinar platforms for our latest venture and are almost certainly going to be using Demio. Demio is used by many marketing heavyweights including the team at Proof, Drip and OptimizePress, so you're in good company. You can [see Demio's pricing and features here](/recommends/demio/). ## 2. [Livestorm](/recommends/livestorm/) [Livestorm](/recommends/livestorm/) is one of the few webinar platforms that go beyond being a marketing tool. While it still offers all of the marketing features you'd expect (automation sequences, automatic replays etc), Livestorm has a lot more to offer. [](/recommends/livestorm/) For example, Livestorm can also be used for meetings and demos up to 12 people - and integrates with collaboration tools like Miro to level-up your team's virtual meetings. The entire platform is beautifully designed and has a great user experience - from the registration landing pages to the live webinar experience. Finally, it's not a black box. Unlike some of the more archaic webinar platforms, Livestorm integrates with most common marketing tools like HubSpot and Salesforce, so that you can understand how your webinars are performing. ### Livestorm features: - **Automated webinars:** Schedule webinar to replay at set times throughout the day - e.g.: every hour. - **On demand Webinars:**Tells users there's a webinar just about to start, encouraging them to sign up on the spot. - **Live webinars:** The typical live webinar format - **Polls:** Speak to live attendees in real time & set them tests/polls - **Instant meetings:** Livestorm is designed to also replace Zoom/Google Hangout as your company's go-to video meeting software - **Free training:** In-depth resources on creating webinars - **Analytics:** Insights on the performance of your webinar strategy. [](/recommends/livestorm/) ### Who is Livestorm for? Based on the integrations and features, I'd say [Livestorm](/recommends/livestorm/) is a good alternative to Demio to consider for software and tech companies. Based in France, Livestorm is also a good option for any organisations serving EU or UK contacts who are required by law to be GDPR compliant. ## 3. [EverWebinar](/recommends/everwebinar/) The next platform we'll look at is [EverWebinar](/recommends/everwebinar/) - this is what we've historically used for our webinars at Venture Harbour.  And while their website delivers intense infomercial vibes that make the Brit in me want to curl up in the corner, their platform is *annoyingly* about as good as they claim it to be. EverWebinar pioneered the automated "evergreen webinar" years before it became the norm. With EverWebinar, you can schedule and automate your webinars to play at set intervals and the software aims to recreate the live experience for users. We used EverWebinar to automate webinars for Leadformly (one of our previous ventures) and saw great results. As you can see below, when we started using webinars (using Everwebinar’s sister company [WebinarJam](/recommends/webinarjam/)) our attendee show up rate was around 39%. Since moving to EverWebinar and testing the scheduling of our webinars it's increased to 75-80%.  ### EverWebinar features: - **Automate webinars:** Schedule webinars to replay at set times throughout the day – e.g.: every hour. - **Just-In-Time Webinars:**Tells users there’s a webinar just about to start, encouraging them to sign up on the spot. - **Block night-time viewing:** Stops playing your webinar through the night to keep the illusion of live webinars realistic. - **Block dates:** Stop your webinar from playing on any desired date or holiday. - **Time zone auto-detection:** Automatically sets your webinar plays to different time zones so you only have to schedule things once. - **Free training:** In-depth resources on creating webinars and using EverWebinar. - **Integration:** EverWebinar is designed to build email leads and integrates with email ActiveCampaign, GetResponse, MailChimp and other email marketing platforms. - **Analytics:** Insights on the performance of your webinar strategy. Just-In-Time Webinars are a great feature that really gives people the nudge to sign up and attend your next screening. ### Who is EverWebinar for? [EverWebinar](/recommends/everwebinar/) is the platform for you if you want to automate screenings of your prerecorded webinars and turn them into a highly effective lead-generation strategy. ## 4. [WebinarJam](/recommends/webinarjam/)  [WebinarJam](/recommends/webinarjam/) is developed by the same team as EverWebinar but the focus is on screening live webinars. WebinarJam is more like a traditional webinar platform designed for live events so there’s no automation or scheduling with this tool. However, it syncs perfectly with EverWebinar to provide a platform combination that caters to all of your webinar needs – more capable and cheaper than most of the competition. ### WebinarJam features: - **Streaming:** Stream to Facebook Live, YouTube Live or WebinarJam’s private JamCast broadcaster. - **Recording:** Automatically record every webinar for use with EverWebinar. - **Branded pages:** Customise your pages for brand consistency. - **Interaction:** Engage viewers with live chat, polls and a virtual whiteboard. - **Presentations:** Insert pre-recorded video into your webinars for presentation purposes. - **Security**: Webinar rooms protected by password. - **Analytics:** Reporting on your live webinar performance. Aside from the live streaming itself, the auto-record feature is an absolute winner with WebinarJam. This means every webinar you hold provides evergreen material for your webinar strategy that you can replay with EverWebinar. ### Who is WebinarJam for? Marketers who want to stream webinars live and record them for use with EverWebinar. ## 5. [WebinarNinja](/recommends/webinarninja/) Used by the likes of AppSumo, BareMetrics and John-Lee Dumas, [WebinarNinja](/recommends/webinarninja/) has nailed all of the little details that you wished for in a webinar platform From integrations with every major CRM system to timed offers, and built-in email notifications, WebinarNinja is designed to do one thing extremely well; Help you convert attendees into customers. The platform is extremely well-designed, and while many webinar software platforms skimp on their landing pages, WebinarNinja offer a beautiful variety to choose from.  ### WebinarNinja features: - **Paid events:** Run free webinars or paid virtual summits - **Ad Tracking:** Insert your Facebook Ad tracking pixel - **Automated & hybrid webinars:** Run fully-automated replays on a schedule, or combine live and pre-recorded elements. - **Integrations:** Integrate with over 1,000+ apps via Zapier - **Multiple presenters:** Have one or multiple presenters - **Analytics:** Reporting on your live webinar performance. ### Who is WebinarNinja for? Frankly, it's another great option for marketers and businesses looking for a modern and reliable webinar platform. If you're running a small webinar for under 100 attendees, [WebinarNinja](/recommends/webinarninja/) is slightly more competitive on price, but if you're running a virtual summit or have a larger audience up to around 500 users, I would err towards [Demio](/recommends/demio/). If you're running a webinar even larger than that, or require extremely low-latency, our next option may be an even better option. ## 6. [Wistia](/recommends/wistia/) Having used [Wistia](/recommends/wistia/)'s video hosting for some of our portfolio companies, I had pretty high expectations of its webinar features — they clearly understand the nuances of video marketing. After creating a test event and working through the registration, reminder and follow-up flow, I came away impressed. The event setup felt simpler than WebinarJam, and attendees can join without downloading anything. It runs to four steps, and the first asks whether you're presenting live from the browser, playing a pre-recorded video, or streaming in from OBS.  I could also prepare the same event for LinkedIn and other platforms through Simulcast, although those destinations need setting up before you go live.  I particularly liked the email setup. Rather than building another automation, I toggled reminders for one day, one hour and 15 minutes before the event, then enabled the follow-up email with its replay link. Wistia generates the email copy for you, but I could change the subject, preview text and body of each message before it went out. Joining as host drops you into a green room first, where you pick your camera, mic and speaker and it tells you whether your connection will hold up.  The bit I kept coming back to was what happened after the test event. Its recording landed in the same library as our other videos, ready to edit, publish as a replay or cut into shorter clips. I could also see attendee-level engagement rather than a single attendance number, then pass that data into a CRM or marketing automation platform. Wistia can generate transcripts, social clips and dubbed versions in more than 50 languages, but the AI output still needs someone to check it before publishing. The registration pages were good enough for my test, but I couldn't add custom HTML or JavaScript. That rules out experiments such as adding a countdown timer when squeezing another few percentage points from conversion matters. The sales tools are also lighter than WebinarJam or Demio. Wistia can show links and buttons during an event and redirect viewers afterwards, but it doesn't offer the same webinar-level sales attribution or on-page payments. ### Wistia features: - **All-in-one platform:** Webinars, hosting, editing and analytics in one place, so the event becomes an on-demand asset as soon as it ends. - **Branded pages:** Embeddable registration and on-demand pages that sit on your own domain, so the SEO value stays with you. - **Broadcast-quality playback:** No pixelation during the live event, including when you share a clip into the room. - **Engagement analytics:** Per-attendee heatmaps showing who watched what and for how long, rather than just who turned up. - **CRM/MAP integrations:** Engagement data feeds lead scoring without a manual export. - **Fast repurposing:** Remix, a chat-based editor, and AI clips cut one webinar into highlight reels and social posts. - **Transcription and dubbing:** Automated transcripts, translation and dubbing in more than 50 languages. ### Who is Wistia for? I'd shortlist [Wistia](/recommends/wistia/) if your marketing team uses webinars for lead generation and repurposes the recording afterwards. For me, keeping the event, replay, clips, analytics and lead data together is the reason to choose it. I wouldn't choose it for a coach or consultant whose webinar is the main sales channel. Wistia can handle the event, but WebinarJam and Demio have more of the sales machinery that use case demands. ## 7. [GetResponse](/recommends/getresponse/) [](/recommends/getresponse/) [GetResponse](/recommends/getresponse/) is an email marketing platform by trade but it also comes with decent webinar features on most of its plans. So if you're after a single platform that provides email marketing, webinar marketing and basic automation, this could be a good choice for you. ### Get Response webinar features: - **Quick scheduling:** Select your dates, times and create custom URLs for your webinars in moments. - **YouTube integration:** Boost your audience with YouTube integration. - **Recordings:** Record your webinars, download and share with whoever you want. - **Engagement:** Engage viewers with dynamic presentations, interactive whiteboard, videos and live chat. - **Security:**SSL-encrypted URLs and you can choose whether your webinar is open to everyone or password-protected. - **Analytics:** Reports and analytics on your webinar attendance rates and other metrics. GetResponse offers up some impressive webinar features - particularly for a platform that's primarily an email and marketing automation tool. It's not up there with some of the specialist webinar marketing tools but it was never designed to. Either way, it's a good option if you're after a general purpose marketing automation tools with some decent webinar features. ### Who is GetResponse for? Marketers who want email, marketing automation and webinar features from a single platform, but don't demand industry-leading tools. ## 8. [ClickMeeting](/recommends/clickmeeting/) [](/recommends/clickmeeting/) [ClickMeeting](/recommends/clickmeeting/) is another dedicated webinar tool and it pretty much offers all the features you would expect at this stage. The only major thing lacking is the automated relay feature, once again - but you can record webinars and download them for sharing. ### ClickMeeting features: - **Subaccounts:** Assign webinar duties to different individuals in your team. - **Customisation:** Customised invitations, branded webinars and "waiting rooms". - **Recordings:** Record your webinars, download and share with whoever you want. - **Engagement:** Engage viewers with dynamic presentations, interactive whiteboard, videos and live chat. - **Analytics:** Reports and analytics on your webinar attendance rates and other metrics. ClickMeeting gives the best webinar tools a run for their money, offering some unique features you won't get elsewhere. How useful they'll be to you really depends on what you're looking for but I wouldn't say any of these additional features are essential. That's for you to decide, though. ### Who is ClickMeeting for? Serious webinar marketers should definitely take a look at this one. ## 9. [Livestream](https://livestream.com/) [](https://livestream.com/) [Livestream](https://livestream.com/) is by no means webinar platform but rather a system designed to create studio-like live streaming. The idea is to use multiple cameras, professional audio equipment and lighting for high-end productions, including corporate webinars. So Livestream doesn't come with any of the webinar marketing features we've focused on so far in this article. Instead, it provides a platform for streaming live productions of the highest quality and how you use that is up to you. ### Livestream features: - **High-end production:**Livestream a professional production suite for film crews and production exports. - **Advanced editing:** Including autofades, graphics overlays, pictures within pictures and green screen. - Social media integration: Reach your audience across Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitch and Twitter. - **Engage audiences:** With a moderated chat feed. - **Analytics:** Insights into viewership and other key metrics from your Livestream productions. Once again, this isn't a webinar platform and you don't get any of the marketing features we've looked at so far. But you do get a level live event production software that none of the other options in this list come close to. ### Who is Livestream for? Brands that produce professional grade live video content for streaming across online platforms - webinars optionally included. ## 10. [Zoom](/recommends/zoom/) This one needs no introduction. While there's no webinar automation available with Zoom, you do get a reliable system for an incredibly modest price tag if all you need is live webinar hosting. Low prices come at a cost, though, and there's very little in the way of webinar marketing features with Zoom. ### Zoom features: - **Interactive:** Up to 100 interactive video participants for webinars with large panels of speakers. - **Integration:** Broadcast your webinars to Facebook Live and YouTube. - **Controls:** Mute/unmute speakers for full control over participants. - **Interactive:** Polls, Q&As and live chat for engaging viewers. - **Closed captioning:** Provide text captions for hard-of-hearing audiences or people using devices on mute. As a video conferencing platform, Zoom is a feature-rich platform that'll meet the needs of most corporate businesses. As a webinar tool it caters well to live broadcasts, especially if you have a large panel of speakers waiting for their turn to speak. ### Who is Zoom for? Businesses that need an all-in-one video conferencing tool that includes live webinar broadcasting. ## Which is the right webinar tool for you? There are some great webinar platforms on this list and a few outside bets that cater to more specialist needs. For us, [Demio](/recommends/demio/) and [EverWebinar](/recommends/everwebinar/) came out on top as we were looking for a webinar marketing platform specifically. Few platforms can match these two in terms of marketing features and automated/hybrid webinars. The right webinar platform for you, depends on your specific needs, of course. However, I can fully recommend taking a closer look at the options we've covered today by trying out a few free trials. ## Updates - **August 2026:** Removed Webex and added Wistia at #6 following hands-on testing, including its simulcasting, email automation and post-event content workflow. - **July 2026:** Added a quick-verdict summary and side-by-side comparison table to the top of the guide, moved the FAQ into structured data so answers appear in search, and published a dedicated [Demio vs Livestorm](/demio-vs-livestorm/) comparison. - **April 2026:** Refreshed rankings and metadata following the site migration. - **November 2017:** Original guide published. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the best webinar software in 2026?** Demio is the best webinar platform for most marketing teams — it handles live, automated, and hybrid webinars in one tool, with engagement features like polls, offers, and handouts built in. EverWebinar is the best choice if your strategy is built around evergreen automated webinars, and Livestorm is the strongest pick for SaaS teams running product demos and larger events from the browser. **What is the best webinar software for small businesses?** Demio and WebinarNinja are the best webinar platforms for small businesses because they offer intuitive interfaces without requiring technical expertise. Both platforms provide affordable pricing with essential features like automated email reminders, attendee analytics, and replay functionality. For under 100 attendees WebinarNinja is slightly more competitive on price; for larger audiences up to around 500, Demio is the safer choice. **Can you run automated webinars with webinar software?** Yes, EverWebinar and GetResponse specialise in evergreen automated webinars that run on a schedule without your live presence required. These platforms allow you to record a webinar once and have it play automatically to new registrants, making them perfect for scaling your webinar marketing efforts without constant time investment. Demio also supports automated and hybrid webinars alongside live events. **Which webinar platform is best for large audiences?** Livestorm and Zoom are the strongest choices here for hosting large webinars. Livestorm is the better fit for marketing teams that need registration, engagement, and follow-up tools, while Zoom suits businesses already using its video conferencing suite. Check each plan's current attendee limit before buying, as capacity and pricing rise together. **What features should I look for in webinar software?** The most important features to evaluate are registration pages, automated email sequences, and attendee analytics. You should also prioritise platforms offering interactive elements like live polls and Q&A sessions, screen sharing capabilities, and post-webinar replay access, as these directly impact audience engagement and conversion rates. **Is webinar software worth the cost for B2B marketing?** Webinar software is absolutely worth the investment for B2B marketing because it enables you to build personal relationships with prospects at scale and address their objections in real-time. The platforms reviewed here typically cost between £30-£300 monthly, but generate significantly higher ROI through improved lead quality and conversion rates compared to traditional marketing channels. **Can webinar platforms integrate with email marketing tools?** Most modern webinar platforms integrate seamlessly with email marketing software through native integrations or Zapier. GetResponse offers the most integrated solution as it combines webinar hosting with built-in email marketing, whilst platforms like Demio and WebinarNinja integrate with popular email providers like Mailchimp and Kit to automate your follow-up sequences. **What's the difference between live and automated webinar platforms?** Live webinar platforms like Livestorm require you to present in real-time and engage with attendees during the session, whilst automated platforms like EverWebinar play pre-recorded content on a schedule. Automated webinars scale better for evergreen content, but live webinars generate higher engagement and allow you to answer questions spontaneously. --- # 10 Best Website Blockers to Block Facebook, Instagram & More URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-website-app-blockers/ Summary: Compare 12+ app blockers to boost focus & productivity. Block distractions on desktop & mobile. See our top pick & pricing. Last updated: 2026-03-29 07:33:00 In a typical 8-hour day, how many hours do you spend actually being productive? If you're anything like the average worker, it's probably a lot less than you would like to admit. Two separate studies - one carried out by [the Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/) (US) and [another by VoucherCloud](https://www.vouchercloud.com/resources/office-worker-productivity) (UK) - both find **the average worker spends just two hours and 53 minutes being productive during an 8-hour day**. Even if we round this up to three hours per day, this still means most of us are spending more than five hours per day, over 25 per week and more than 100 hours every munch underachieving. In other words, these findings suggest **we're only productive for less than 37% of an 8-hour working day** and there are plenty of other studies with similar conclusions. Any entrepreneur is going to weep into their coffee at that kind of statistic and things are even worse for business owners tallying up the total amount of wasted hours between all of their employees. Clearly, we've got a productivity problem on our hands but what's keeping us from hitting targets consistently? ## What's keeping us from being productive? This is a difficult question to answer on a personal level because - let's face it - we're good at lying to ourselves and believing what we want to believe. A study by VoucherCloud asked 1,989 UK full-time office workers about their daily working habits and found the top ten distractions keeping them from getting things done were: 1. **Checking social media – 47%** 2. **Reading news websites – 45%** 3. Discussing out of work activities with colleagues – 38% 4. Making hot drinks – 31% 5. Smoking breaks – 28% 6. **Text/instant messaging – 27%** 7. Eating snacks – 25% 8. Making food in office – 24% 9. **Making calls to partner/ friends- 24%** 10. **Searching for new jobs – 19%** What a surprise [sarcasm warning], social media is the biggest distraction (47%) and reading news websites comes in at a close second (45%). In fact, five out of the top ten workplace distractions ranked in this study involve the internet or phone apps. So this gives us a good idea of what the average office worker might be getting up to throughout the working day and if you're running a business with office-based employees, you're looking at one of the biggest barriers to productivity. The good news is there are various apps you can use block out these distractions and we're going to look at ten of the best of them in this article. ## What are the top website & app blockers? Below are the tools we're going to review & compare in this article. | Tool | Platform | Price | Blocks | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Freedom | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows | $2.24/mo | Sites & apps | | Y-Productive | Mac, Windows | €6/mo | Sites & apps | | Focus | Mac | $9.99/mo | Sites & apps | | Zero Willpower | iOS Safari | $1.99 | Sites | | Mindful Browsing | Chrome browser | Free | Sites | | Cold Turkey | Mac, Windows | $25 | Sites & apps | | StayFocused | Chrome browser | Free | Sites | | RescueTime | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows | $9/mo | Sites | | 1Focus | Mac | $0.99/mo | Sites & apps | ## #1: [Freedom](https://freedom.to/)  According to Freedom, you lose 23 minutes every time you check an email, open up social media, respond to a notification or any other distraction gets in the way of your workflow. That means just five emails throughout the day could end up costing you almost two hours of productivity and [a 2007 study from Microsoft](https://erichorvitz.com/CHI_2007_Iqbal_Horvitz.pdf?ranmid=24542&raneaid=tnl5hpstwnw&ransiteid=tnl5hpstwnw-huoma0whk1xizsdar_07bw&epi=tnl5hpstwnw-huoma0whk1xizsdar_07bw&irgwc=1&ocid=aid681541_aff_7593_1243925&tduid=(ir__smfuqnklrckfr3rexmlij6lydu2xhlpoaneicu6j00)(7593)(1243925)(tnl5hpstwnw-huoma0whk1xizsdar_07bw)()&irclickid=_smfuqnklrckfr3rexmlij6lydu2xhlpoaneicu6j00) backs this theory up. This is the concept behind Freedom - a productivity app that lets you block distracting websites and apps so you can keep doing what matters most.  ### Features: - **Block websites:** Block an unlimited number of distracting websites so you can focus on what matters. - **Block apps:** Block time-wasting apps—from email clients to social media and games. - **Block the internet:** Block the whole internet with the click of a button. - **Blocklists:**Select websites and apps from Freedom's preset lists or create an unlimited number of custom lists to suit your needs. - **Sync blocks across devices:**Block distractions across all of your Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS devices. - **Scheduling:**Start a block on the fly or schedule blocks in advance that will begin automatically. You can also create recurring blocks to help make productivity a habit. - **Locked mode:**Prevents you from ending a block session ahead of schedule. #### Pricing: $129.00 one-off fee, $2.24-$6.99/month, free trial available ### What do Freedom users say? > *"They say the secret to happiness is freedom...I have found the secret to freedom is to be disciplined. The Freedom app disciplines me when I don't have the human strength to do so, allowing me the freedom to focus on what really matters when my work is done."****- [Maura Chanz](https://maurachanz.com/); Actress, Artist, Entrepreneur and Founder of Tribe*** > *"Freedom is an essential tool in my work. I use it to block myself off distracting sites like Facebook and Twitter in the morning to help me get my most important work done early in the day and to cut myself off in the evening so I have time to shut down and unwind." - **[Taylor Pearson](https://taylorpearson.me/), Author and Entrepreneur*** You can [read more customer stories](https://freedom.to/testimonials) over at the Freedom website. ## #2: [Y-Productive](https://www.y-productive.com/) Y-Productive isn't just a website and app blocker tool, it's a fully-featured productivity application that tracks the amount of time you actually spend working, what's keeping you from making progress and allows you to block out the distractions. Y-Productive says we get distracted at least 40 times per day but [research shows this number is actually much higher](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/14/the-lost-art-of-concentration-being-distracted-in-a-digital-world) in the digital age. Y-Productive promises to help you become more productive within a few days by pinpointing your distractions and removing them from the working day. ### Features: - **Behaviour Analysis:** Y-Productive logs your web and desktop activities as "Productive" or "Unproductive", tracks time spent on websites or apps and counts the number of your distractions. - **Focus Mode:** Block distracting websites with built-in automatic website blocker on Safari, Firefox or Chrome. - **Activities Categorisation:** Build a personal working environment that best fits your needs. - **Projects:** Allocate your tasks under relevant projects and get the summarized statistics of your work. - **Productivity Reports:** Get summarized insights covering your performance and time spent on tasks or projects by days, weeks or months. #### Pricing: €59 one-off fee, €6-€7/month, free trial available ### What do Y-Productive users say? Y-Productive scores 4.5/5 from 58 reviews on Capterra and most users praise the platform's tracking, reporting and blocking features. Some users mention usability concerns but there are just as many (or more) who say the learning curve is easy or non-existent. > *"It's common for us all to underestimate the time that tasks will take; Y-Productive shows actual time expended. This can be fed back into future project plans giving more realistic timeframes and costs. Y-Productive is also good for spotting areas where efficiencies can be (or should be) introduced and to ensure that sufficient time is spent on important tasks that may not be urgent." **- Capterra review by Colin M, Consultant*** > *"I used Y-Productive for a couple of days to get a first-hand experience, and I liked it. However, maybe I'm used to Timing, or indeed Y-Productive lacks some of the functionality I use every day, I felt it's not ready for me yet. Nevertheless, as I previously said, I liked what I saw, and I'm looking forward to giving it another drill once my Timing subscription ends." **- Capterra review by Martiín C, DevOps Engineer | Deviget LLC*** You can [read more Y-Productive reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/169758/Y-Productive/) by heading over to Capterra.com. ## #3: [Focus](https://heyfocus.com/) Focus is a Mac-only tool that blocks apps and specific URLs, meaning you can block applications, websites and even specific pages of sites. You'll also be greeted by inspirational quotes if you stray onto one of your blacklisted pages, which should give you the motivation you need to get back on track. Alternatively, you can create your own quotes or simply tell yourself to get your lazy ass back to work before that deadline kicks you in the butt. The drag and drop functionality makes it easy to build your block lists and the break time feature is a nice addition, too. In terms of features, Focus has got a lot going for it but I've heard some complaints about bugs and functionality. ### Features: - **Targeted Blocking:** Block entire applications, whole websites or even specific pages. - **Scheduling:** Set your block lists to run at specific times and schedule breaks for when you've earned a good rest. - **Progress Tracker:** See how much time you’ve saved with your app blocker by generating custom graphs and setting new productivity targets. - **Customizable Quotes:** When you try to visit a blocked site or application, Focus will show you a grey screen with an inspirational quotation. Choose from Focus' extensive catalogue of motivational quotes, or set it to feature one of your own. - **Break mode:** Take breaks after long sessions or disable them entirely if you're going all out. - **Drag & Drop:** Quickly add and remove websites to Focus by dragging and dropping them onto the menubar icon. - **Global hotkey:** Instantly get in the zone from any application with a global hotkey you can configure (by default it's control+option+command+f). #### Pricing: $9.99/month or $99.99/year ### What do Focus users say? The latest version of Focus has been reviewed 15 times on MacUpdate with a score of 3.5/5, down from its overall score of 4/5 (including reviews for previous versions). Users are generally positive about the application but some users report performance issues. > *"Just discovered this over the last few days - highly recommended. Can block websites and applications - optional hardcore mode prevents re-access. Trial version available, developer is responsive and app is under active development."* ***- MacUpdate review by tadpole-angel*** > *"Couldn't figure out how to set it up on a schedule. And it caused my browsers to behave erratically. When I'd try to visit a black-listed site, I'd get literally dozens of Focus tabs with the little quotes on them, instead of just turning the ONE tab I'd tried to use for Reddit into a Focus message. It might work for* others, *and might work better on a newer OS (I'm on El Capitan), but it was more confounding than helpful for me." **- MacUpdate review by Robio*** You can read more [Focus reviews over at MacUpdate](https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/50075/focus/reviews) for more user feedback. ## #4: [Zero Willpower](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zero-willpower-antisocial/id1045944416) Zero Willpower is about as straightforward as a website blocking app could be. You're limited to Safari browser on iOS and you can't block apps but this might give you the additional blocking you need in addition to one of the tools we've looked at that only work on laptops/desktops.  ### Features: - **Website blocking:** Block websites on iOS Safari browser. #### Pricing: $1.99 one-off payment ### What do Self Control users say? Zero Willpower has a score of 4.3/5 from 51 reviews on iTunes and most of the negativity revolves around the fact it's only available for Safari browser. > *"Mmmm... a little bummed. I use Chrome on my phone and was hoping to get the website list blocked, but didn't see the disclaimer at the bottom of the app description that this app on works for Safari. It works great for Safari, so the app gets 3 stars. But, since I paid $2 for this thing, it lost stars for not blocking sites on the superior web browser app." **-*****Ursalarose*, Zero Willpower user*** > *"Best and Unique Blocking Technique! So we know the app can block websites for 1-24 hours, which is how many other website blockers work. The genius part is that the websites stay blocked after the timer is up. The trick is that during the timer, you do not have the option to unblock websites, while after the timer, you have that option. It’s amazing how many distractions you avoid by having the websites be blocked by default!" **- Zero Willpower user*** ## #5: [Mindful Browsing](https://www.mindfulbrowsing.org/) Mindful Browsing is a free, open-source extension for Chrome that aims to help you reign in your online activity and become more productive. It doesn't actually block you from any websites; instead, it asks if you're sure you want to proceed to the sites on your list. You can also create a list of activities you would rather be spending your time on and the extension will remind you about that project you're supposed to be finishing or that language you promised yourself to learn.  Then it's up to you to decide whether you click the "Actually, nah" button to stay away or "Yes, for 10 minutes" to proceed. If you click through to one of your listed sites, Mindful Browsing will remind you after 10 minutes that you should probably be up to something else. It's a simple piece of software but it might give you that little dose of self-restraint you need to stay away from those time-wasting sites without blocking them out entirely. Or not. ### Features: - **Website interruptions:** A page asks you if you're sure you want to proceed to websites you've listed as potential time-wasters. - **Reminders:** Mindful Browsing will remind you after 10 minutes on listed sites that you might want to get back to the task at hand. - **No tracking:** Mindful Browsing doesn't track your online activity. - **Open source:** You have full access to the code so you can confirm you're not being tracked. #### Pricing: Free ### What do Mindful Browsing users say? Mindful Browsing has a score of 4.6/5 from 29 reviews on Chome Web Store and there's a lot of praise for the extension. Users appreciate the simplicity and open-source nature of the extension although there are some feature requests - simplicity is always a tricky balance. > *"does exactly as it states.. and gives you that nudge to do something else.. like take a walk or a glass of water, rather than keeping eyes glued to the screen.." **- Joyce Nkambi, Mindful Browsing user*** > *"Exactly what* i *was looking for! This extension reminds you to do things you love instead of browsing which only drains your happiness in the long run. So next time you'll try to go to facebook and "Like" your* friends *boring photos, you'll have a second chance to draw, play an instrument, learn a language or write a book." **- A Google User, Mindful Browsing user*** There are plenty more reviews of Mindful Browsing on [its Chrome Web Store](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/mindful-browsing/cciemibfcmeeiijeefebhojenhnpoibc?hl=en) page and it costs nothing to try it out for yourself. ## #6: [Cold Turkey](https://getcoldturkey.com/) Cold Turkey is an affordable, feature-rich website and app blocking tool for both MacOS and Windows. For desktops and laptops, it's a great choice but you have to do without functionality on your mobile devices, which leaves a lot of room for time-wasting on your mobile instead. There's a free version that still allows you to block an unlimited number of websites but most of the advanced features are reserved for the paid version, which is still incredibly affordable at a one-off $CAD25 payment. ### Features: - **Website blocking:** Unlimited website blocking on both free and paid versions. - **Block applications:** You can also block those applications taking your attention away from the task at hand. - **Block the web:** You can also block the entire internet if you want to work "offline" without killing your connection. - **Whitelists:** Block the entire web except for those on your list of exceptions. - **Frozen Turkey:** Lock your computer for a set duration for fixed breaks away from the screen. - **Motivational block pages:** Featuring motivational quotes to encourage you back to work. - **Statistics:** Keep track of your biggest time-wasters and refine your lists. - **Breaks and limits:** Set break times to unlock access to sites on your list or add time limits, allowing you a specified amount of time on them instead of blocking them entirely. #### Pricing: Free or $CAD25 one-time payment ### What do Cold Turkey users say? Cold Turkey doesn't have review profiles on sites like Capterra or Trustpilot but you can find reviews of the platform on [TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/beat-procrastination-with-free-website-blocker-cold-turkey-1327541), [PCWorld](https://www.pcworld.com/article/260344/swear_off_time_wasting_websites_with_cold_turkey_free_edition.html) and [CISDEM](https://www.cisdem.com/resource/cold-turkey-app-review.html) - all of which are highly positive. > *"Cold Turkey is the most effective distraction-blocker around, working as a firewall to deny access to specific websites in all browsers. It comes equipped with a preset list of notorious time-thieves, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and BuzzFeed, which you can customize with your personal procrastination destinations. Cold Turkey also lets you create new blocklists, which can be activated individually." **- Cat Ellis, TechRadar*** > *"When Cold Turkey is active, you are truly locked out of those sites: Opening a different browser (or a private session) won't help. Neither will* restarting *your computer or killing the ColdTurkey process (it doesn't even run in the background, so there's nothing to kill). And if you try to do something clever like tamper with the HOSTS file to disable blocking, ColdTurkey may detect that and lock you out of your distracting websites for a whole week." **- Erez Zukerman, PCWorld*** You can read those review in full for more info but the best way to get an idea of what Cold Turkey can do is to try out the free version for yourself. ## #7: [StayFocused](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stayfocusd/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji?hl=en) StayFocused is a Chrome extension that offers some pretty powerful blocking capabilities for a freebie. You can't block apps and you're limited to Chrome browser but this does give you cross-device website blocking, as long as you're signed into Google Chrome and have the extension activated. You can block the entire web, specific websites or individual pages. Alternatively, you can block the entire web and create a list of exceptions if you want to use a limited number of sites and block everything else out.  The time limit feature allows you to spend a certain amount of time on blocked sites (e.g.: 10 minutes) but you can set this to "0" to completely block out your listed sites - it all depends how strict you want to be with yourself. ### Features: - **Website blocking:** Block the entire web, all websites except those on your exceptions list or only sites on your Blocked Sites list. - **URL blocking:** Block entire sites, specific types of content or pages. - **Time limits:** Limit the amount of time you spend on blocked sites by setting a timer. - **Scheduling:** Block sites instantly, after your time limits are reached or schedule a specific time. #### Pricing: Free ### What do StayFocused users say? StayFocused has a score of 4.5/5 from 7,028 reviews on Chrome Web Store. Some users would like to see more features, others appreciate the relative simplicity - you'll have to decide for yourself. > *"I love this extension. Dev(s) have a great sense of* humor *(such as redirecting you to a website on procrastination when you try to add time for yourself with less than 3 minutes on the clock LOL). I honestly rated this because it made me laugh and showed that it was different than standard productivity apps." **- Tyler Baillif, StayFocused user*** > *"I literally just installed this extension, and I love it. I'd kill to see an android version of this - most of my procrastination happens on my phone. You've probably heard this a million times before, but make it happen, pleeeeeeeease?!" **- Ramya K P Shenoy, StayFocused user*** There are thousands of more reviews you can read on [Chrome Web Store](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stayfocusd/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji/related?hl=en) and it costs nothing to give it a test run if you're interested. ## #8: [RescueTime](https://www.rescuetime.com/) RescueTime is essentially a productivity reporting tool mixed with a website blocking application. You can't block applications with RescueTime but you can at least see how much time you're spending on them to get an idea of what your biggest time wasters are.  You can block websites, though, even if the functionality isn't as advanced as some of the other tools we've looked at. Really, it's the reporting features that make RescueTime stand out as a tool to help you identify productivity killers. You're still going to need a certain amount of self-restraint - especially if you're wasting too much time on apps like Slack. ### Features: - **Website blocking:** Block distracting websites to stay focused. - **Tracking:** Track your time on websites and applications - **Goals:** Set goals such as only spending 1 hour per day on emails to help you keep on track. - **Alarms:** Set alarms to want you when you've spent too much time on certain sites. - **Reports:** Show you how much time you've spent on different websites and applications, how productive you're being and how many goals you're achieving. - **Offline activity:** Schedule time for offline activities so this doesn't impact your productivity score. #### Pricing: Free version, $9/month or $72/year premium version ### What do Find Focus users say? RescueTime has a score of 4.5/5 from 55 reviews on Capterra and it's got an equally impressive reputation on G2Crowd, GetApp and PCWorld. > *"RescueTime is a sanity saver! Being a salaried employee working remotely, it's hard to track your time when your workload is constantly heavy and changing. Tracking how long I spend on certain applications and getting rid of distractions is so easy with RescueTime. It's not expensive at all for Premium and is worth every penny!" **- Capterra review by Christian M, Interface Analyst*** > *"Quietly Working in the Background to Keep You on Track. Awesome app especially if you think you might be losing time randomly. It's a good way to show which sites or apps should really be blocked or to show how long you are actually working." **- Capterra review by Verified Reviewer, Designer*** ## #9: [1Focus](https://onefocusapp.com/) 1Focus makes it easy to block websites and apps on Mac device and it fits in seamlessly with the OS experience. Sadly, there's no version for iPhone at this stage, which means you don't get that cross-device functionality but it's a capable blocker all the same. There's a free version which gets you all of the basic features and the paid version is only $0.99/month if you want the ability to block sites by category, schedule recurring blocks and/or block all sites and apps that aren't on your list of exceptions. ### Features: - **Website blocking:** Block specific websites in Safari, Google Chrome and Opera. - **Block apps:** Block apps such as web browsers and games that are keeping you from working. - **Time limits:** Allow the use of blocked sites and apps for a limited amount of time. - **Pause:** Optional pause function for when you really need to use a blocked site or app. - **Website categories:** Block websites by category (pro version only). - **Recurring blocks:** Schedule recurring blocks - for example, Monday-Friday - for greater control (pro version only). - **Exceptions:** Block all websites and apps except for those you specify (pro version only). #### Pricing: Free version, paid version $0.99/month ### What do 1Focus users say? 1Focus currently has a score of 3.6/5 from 41 reviews on iTunes and most of the feedback is good although some users seem to be confused about the functionality. Much of this appears to be user error, though. > *"Everything I wanted and more! I have had this app since the beginning, and it has always been what I needed. Furthermore, the developer is one of the best individuals I have worked with. During one of the updates, he switched to every app was allowed except ones you chose; I wrote him asking for the original design, and he sent me the original software in an email to ensure I had the app I wanted. Talk about customer service." **- Fireflyfitness, 1Focus user*** > *"Does what it says it does. I’ve noticed a trend with those leaving negative reviews - they are all from people who can’t seem to figure out basic concepts and simple software. This app is about as straight forward and easy to use as it gets, and does exactly what it says it does. It’s beautiful. It’s super light weight. And I like how when it blocks a website, it’ll take you to a page with a motivational quote of some kind about perseverance - which I thought was pretty cool. I’m currently working to finish my bachelor's degree and this is the only thing that has actually helped me stay motivated and on task." **- Widemind, 1Focus user*** You'll find more feedback on [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/1focus-app-website-blocker/id969210610?mt=12) and you can try the free version of 1Focus to see how you get on with the app yourself. ## How productive can you really be? We've looked at tools that can block sites and apps across all of your devices and some that only work for desktop or mobile - both free and paid for every kind of budget. It might take some time to best tool/mix of tools for your workflow and preferences but I'm sure you can become a more productive person by trying out the apps in this article. The only question remaining is how productive can you really be when all of the distractions are blocked out? --- # 10 Business Planning Software Solution Compared URL: https://ventureharbour.com/business-plan-software/ Summary: We've tested 12+ business planning tools head-to-head. Find the best software for your needs with our detailed comparison & pricing breakdown. Last updated: 2026-02-26 06:05:20 Starting a new business can feel exciting and hopeful, but this good feeling can quickly fade when you think about the tedious and time-consuming process of creating a business plan. It’s that necessary but oh-so-dreaded step that has business owners procrastinating and lamenting over how to make one professionally and correctly. Thankfully, business plan software can remove the guesswork and make the process much easier. While it won’t create the plan for you (some come close!) it can be a time-saver and lead you in the right direction, which is crucial if you are submitting the plan to investors. By the time you finish reading this business plan guide, you will: - Know which business plan software will fit your budget - Know which business plan software will match your current needs, whether you are looking to get investors or simply better organise your company and plan future financials - Be able to shortlist some software tools to help you narrow down your choices We also created a comparison chart that includes pricing and some top features so you can compare at a glance. Let’s quickly discuss how business plan software can help you and why it may be the missing link to getting your business started correctly. ## Why Business Plan Software? A business’ lifecycle will require the creation of a business plan depending on the need. Below are three reasons why you may want to create a business plan. 1. **Secure funding**: Before they hand over money, investors will want to see a comprehensive business and financial plan that includes projections and a well-thought-out strategy and goals. 2. **You’re starting a business**: A business plan can help you determine future profits (or lack thereof) and provide a roadmap for the future. Essentially, it can be your safety net and tell you whether or not your business idea has merit. 3. **Your startup is stagnant and/or needs strategic planning**: A business plan can help you dig into data to organise your business into a plan that will make you more competitive and ready to scale. The problem: Creating a business plan is a big job, and if you are new to business, you may not know what to include or how to craft it to ensure you are doing it correctly. It’s a tedious process with a lot of items to consider, many of them you may not even be aware of. Business plan software can walk you through each section of the business plan and also provide professional templates and expert advice. With the right software, you will be able to create a professional business plan that reflects the current state of your company and projects its future growth and potential to all stakeholders, in the best way possible. ## The 10 Best Business Plan Software Tools Below are 10 of the best business plan software tools on the market. We hand-picked these tools because they satisfy most of the needs our community encounters when creating a business plan. Each offers unique features, and your choice will depend on your current needs. - [****LivePlan****](https://www.liveplan.com/): Best intuitive and cost-effective business plan software - [****Business Plan Pro****](https://www.businessplanpro.com/): Best business plan software for small businesses (not cloud-based) - [****Enloop****](https://enloop.com/): Best business plan software with a free version - [****BizPlanBuilder****](https://www.businesspowertools.com/project/bizplanbuilder-small-cloud-business-plan-software-app-template-crowd-fund/): Best user-friendly, cost-effective option with financial forecasting and management - [****Bizplan****](https://www.bizplan.com/): Best for startups interested in raising capital - [****GoSmallBiz****](https://gosmallbiz.com/): Best for small businesses and nonprofits looking for a comprehensive suite of business management tools at an affordable price - [****PlanGuru****](https://www.planguru.com/): Best business plan software focused on financial planning and budgeting - [****Business Sorter****](https://businesssorter.com/): Best for small businesses looking for a fast, simplified planning process without sophisticated financial forecasting - [****MAUS MasterPlan Lean****](https://www.maus.com.au/landing/masterplan-lean-advisors-consultants/): Best for businesses looking for a fast, simplified planning process with financial forecasting - [****iPlanner.NET****](https://www.maus.com.au/landing/masterplan-lean-advisors-consultants/): Best template-heavy business plan software for a low price Below is a comparison chart to help you quickly assess the top features and pricing of the 10 best business plan software tools and match them to your needs.  Let’s go into more detail on each tool, its pricing and notable features. ### #1 [LivePlan](https://www.liveplan.com/) *Best intuitive and cost-effective business plan software* LivePlan is an excellent solution for the beginning entrepreneur (or entrepreneur at any stage) who needs a step-by-step process to create a professional business plan. LivePlan also offers a comprehensive online learning centre that teaches you how to create and manage companies, make your investor pitch, write your business plan, and more. We like LivePlan's simple, intuitive interface and its one-page business plan that gets you thinking about answers to essential questions as it relates to your business strategy.  *LivePlan’s one-page business plan* Once you complete your one-page business strategy plan, graduate to customise one of LivePlan’s 500+ SBA-approved business plan templates and create a custom plan, step-by-step. Connect LivePlan to your financial software, and with the financial dashboard, track your budgets, revenue, expenses, and current and future sales as you progress toward achieving your goals.  **Features:** - One-page business plans - Detailed business plans - 500 SBA-approved industry-specific templates - Step-by-step instructions - Financial forecasting - Build financial reports - Financial software integration - Financial performance tracking - Market research tools **Pricing:** *No free trial; 60-day money-back guarantee* LivePlan has a straightforward pricing plan that changes depending on how far ahead you want to pre-pay. If you pay annually, it breaks down to $15/month. If you pay every six months, the cost is $18/month. The pay-as-you-go plan is $20/month with the first month billed at $10. LivePlan also offers a 60-day money-back guarantee. ### #2 Business Plan Pro *Best business plan software for small businesses (not cloud-based)* Business Plan Pro was created by the same company that created LivePlan. It is an off-line version of LivePlan’s cloud-based solution, without the bells and whistles of cloud-based software. Similar to LivePlan, Business Plan Pro includes more than 500 professional templates to customise for your business. It also offers *Easy Plan Wizard*, step-by-step guidance from business planning expert Tim Berry, founder of the software and the website Bplans.com.  With Business Plan Pro, you will get detailed step-by-step instructions with error checks to help you craft a foolproof plan. Also, access financial spreadsheets, 11,000+ industry profiles to compare and match your business plan to, a graphic forecaster, QuickBooks import, and settings for nonprofits. **Features:** - Detailed business plans - Industry-specific templates - Step-by-step instructions - Financial forecasting - Build financial reports - Financial software integration - Market research tools - Not cloud-based **Pricing:***60-day money-back guarantee* The *Standard Edition* costs a one-time fee of $99.95 and is robust enough to create a custom professional business plan. The *Premier Edition* costs a one-time fee of $159.95. It includes additional features such as plan templates, business valuation, Excel import function, 24-month extended financial data, visual cash planning, and advanced financial analyses. ### #3 [Enloop](https://enloop.com/) *Best business plan software with a free version* Enloop is a simple business plan solution perfect for the entrepreneur who wants to try before they buy. Enloop is one of the few tools that provide a free version. One unique feature of Enloop is automated text writing (Autowrite) which auto-generates the business plan text from data you already inputted. Another unique standout feature is TextSync which automatically syncs your financial data into your text when you make changes to your numbers. No manual updating required. The blue data bubbles below show the data-sync technology and act as editable fields that pull in the data from your financial forecasts.  We like Enloop’s forecasting comparisons that predict losses and analyse performance. Enloop helps you discover problems before they happen by comparing your financial ratios against industry averages.  Enloop also has a scoring feature that rates your business plan in real-time so you can adjust and watch your score improve over time. One downside to Enloop is the lack of integration with financial software. You have to input your financial data manually. Enloop also only comes with a single business plan template. **Features:** - Detailed business plans - Business plan scoring - Financial forecasting - Multi-user access - Automated text writing - Data-synced text **Pricing:** *7-day free trial offered* All of Enloop’s plans include every feature (automated text writing, data-synced text, real-time performance score, pass/fail reporting, text formatting, charts, and country currency formatting). Still, you will need to upgrade if you want additional users and financial ratios. The *Free* plan includes 16 financial ratios analysed and no additional users. Premium plan pricing starts at $19.95/month, billed monthly for the *Detailed* plan, which includes three financial ratios and two shared users. The premium *Performance* plan costs $39.95/month billed monthly and adds on up to 16 financial ratios and five shared users. All pricing plans include the creation of three business plans. Additional business plans are offered at $9.95 each per month. ### #4 [BizPlanBuilder](https://www.businesspowertools.com/project/bizplanbuilder-small-cloud-business-plan-software-app-template-crowd-fund/) *Best user-friendly, cost-effective option with financial forecasting and management* BizPlanBuilder is one of multiple products offered by the company Business Power Tools, a 30-year business veteran created to help entrepreneurs start, run, and grow businesses. BizPlanBuilder is for the serious entrepreneur who wants a comprehensive solution for creating business projections for investors and/or a future roadmap for growth. Even though the tool is robust and future-thinking with many years of financial projections offered, it’s also known for its user-friendliness with built-in step-by-step instructions, comments, advice, and video tutorials. Below is the easy-to-use dashboard with a document-builder wizard that offers template text to customise, and simple navigation between sections.  BizPlanBuilder shines with its full set of CPA-tested financial models, including "Assumptions" pages, perfect for helping the beginner with more complex financial topics. Tell your financial story with meaningful financial projections that will impress investors and help you forecast correctly.  **Features:** - Step-by-step instructions - Industry-specific templates - Detailed business plans - Multi-user access - Financial forecasting - Build financial reports - Financial performance tracking - Not-for-profit proposals **Pricing**: *No free trial; 60-day money-back guarantee* Pricing starts at a one-time fee of $97 for the Windows app and a one-year subscription to the online cloud-based BizPlanBuilder. Add team members for $10/year per user. The second plan is strictly cloud-based at $27/month and offers additional features such as incentive stock options templates, expanded dashboard, and LLC formation doc templates. Add new team members for $1/month per user. ### #5 [Bizplan](https://www.bizplan.com/) *Best business plan software for startups interested in raising capital* Part of the Startup.com suite of business products, Bizplan is a comprehensive solution for entrepreneurs seeking to get investment for their business ideas. In addition to the business plan builder, you also get expert-taught masterclasses, access to 20,000 experts for individual counselling, plus a funding platform (Fundable) where you can pitch directly to investors. Signing up for Bizplan also grants you access to Startup.com’s other product, Launchrock.com to help you acquire customers. Bizplan’s step-by-step builder walks you through each section, so you don’t get confused or miss essential elements. Its sleek, easy-to-use interface includes drag-and-drop templates and a progress tracker for monitoring.  Similar to other business plan software tools, Bizplan helps you forecast your financials, allowing you to set limits, project revenue, and access multiple financial worksheets and templates. Organise your financial activity into an easy-to-use dashboard Bizplan calls your *Financial Command Center*.  **Features:** - Step-by-step instructions - Detailed business plans - Multi-user access - Financial forecasting - Build financial reports - Financial performance tracking - Financial software integration - Access to Launchrock.com - Access to Fundable.com - Access to guides, mentors, and masterclasses **Pricing:** Bizplan offers two pricing choices, monthly or lifetime. Monthly pricing is $20.75/month billed annually, and $29/month billed monthly. You can also purchase lifetime access to Bizplan and the full suite of offerings for a one-time fee of $349. ### #6 [GoSmallBiz](https://gosmallbiz.com/) *Best for small businesses and nonprofits looking for a comprehensive suite of business management tools* *at an affordable price* GoSmallBiz is a comprehensive suite of business tools created by NFL Hall of Famer and entrepreneur Fran Tarkenton in 1996. The product suite includes everything small businesses need to run and grow a business. Within that suite is the business plan builder. Similar to other business plan builders, Gosmallbiz offers a step-by-step interface that allows you to go through each section smoothly. Also, the tool offers multiple financial report templates to help you track and manage finances.  Though GoSmallBiz’s business plan builder is somewhat limited compared to others on the market, its standout feature is its inclusion of additional business management tools and consulting: - Unlimited business consultation - Customer relationship manager - Digital marketing dashboard - Website builder - Website analysis - HR document builder - Corporate minutes writer - Business roadmap - Business docs library - Business courses **Features:** - Step-by-step instructions - Detailed business plans - Industry-specific templates - Financial forecasting - Build financial reports - Financial performance tracking - Multi-user access - Business management tools - Access to expert training and advice - Mobile application **Pricing:** *No free trial; 30-day money-back guarantee* Pricing is fixed at $39/month for all features and offerings. ### #7 [PlanGuru](https://www.planguru.com/) *Best business plan software focused on financial planning and budgeting* PlanGuru is a financial business plan software solution for the small business that wants to budget, forecast and manage finances efficiently. PlanGuru is different from other business planning software tools in that it focuses solely on financial planning. So if you are in the market for a standard business plan builder, this may not be the software for you. PlanGuru’s strength lies in its financial capabilities, as seen in the dashboard below. Below is a view of the income spreadsheet, one of multiple reports available with Planguru.  Users can budget and forecast up to 10 years into the future. In addition to robust financial planning, budgeting, reporting and analysis, PlanGuru also offers analytics, which includes graphics, chart projections, and insights into financial performance.  PlanGuru also provides PlanGuru University (PGU) to teach businesses about budgeting, forecasting, and planning, and how to use the platform. The business planning tool also provides video tutorials for all of its features. **Features:** - Detailed financial plans - Financial software integration - Financial forecasting - Financial ratios - Export to PDF, Word, and Excel - Advanced reporting Excel add-in - Analytics reporting - Multi-user access - PlanGuru University **Pricing:** *14-day free trial; 30-day money-back guarantee* The pricing for the cloud-based version is $99/month billed monthly or $899/year (single entity). PlanGuru also offers a Windows-based version for the same price if you need multi-department consolidations. ### #8 [Business Sorter](https://businesssorter.com/) *Best for small businesses looking for a fast, simplified planning process without sophisticated financial forecasting* Business Sorter appeals to the on-the-go business owner who wants to speed up the time it takes to compile a professional business plan. The platform touts that you can create a full business plan in only one to two hours using its unique 273-card-sorting system. Business Sorter has you choose one of its pre-made cards (or create your own) and sort your business objectives for six different areas: finance, sales, goods and services, people, operations, brand and marketing.  ![]() Next, prioritise your objectives and sort through the steps to identify which ones will help you achieve your objectives. Once you prioritise your objectives and steps for each area, Business Sorter compiles them into a business plan foundation for you to polish and customise further, assigning tasks to others and adding budgets, notes, and more.  Business Sorter is not as feature-rich as some of the other tools in our list as it doesn’t have the same depth of financial integration and planning. But, it is a good option for users who want a simple, quick, and efficient way of creating a business plan. **Features:** - Step-by-step instructions - 273-card-sorting system - Detailed business plans - Multi-user access and assignments **Pricing:** *14-day free trial offered* Pricing starts at $10/month billed monthly or $80/year billed annually for up to three users. Premium plans start at $30/month billed monthly or $240/year billed annually for up to 12 users. Every plan includes all features, but pricing increases with additional users. ### #9 [MAUS MasterPlan Lean](https://www.maus.com.au/landing/masterplan-lean-advisors-consultants/) *Best for businesses looking for a fast, simplified planning process with financial forecasting* MAUS Business Systems has been serving customers since 1990. Its tool suite helps Advisors and small to medium-sized businesses with business planning, financial planning, exit planning, quality assurance, human resources and more. MAUS’ business plan creation product is called *MasterPlan Lean*. Similar to Business Sorter, MasterPlan Lean takes the headache out of the business plan creation process and enables users to create comprehensive business plans quickly. In contrast to Business Sorter, MasterPlan Lean includes financial forecasting and more sophisticated financial planning, but the software is more expensive as a result. The software speeds up the business plan creation time by walking you through questions and answers and a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis that will become the basis for your finalised business plan. One standout feature is the software’s task planner which enables you to assign tasks as action items and track their progress among your team to ensure they get completed. The software also sends regular reminders and emails to team members with the status of their deliverables.  Create forecasts and track your financial progress with cash flow, budgets, and five-year forecasts, and compile charts and reports to view and send to stakeholders.  **Features:** - Step-by-step instructions - Financial forecasting - Multi-user access - Task planner - Build financial reports - Financial performance tracking **Pricing:** *7-day free trial; 30-day money-back guarantee* MAUS MasterPlanLean costs $299/year for up to three user licenses. The *Business Planning Pack* plan jumps up to $499/year with five user licenses and also includes the software KPI dashboard, Virtual CFO Pro, milestones and projects. The monthly plan *Business Planning & HR Pack* priced at $97/month is available for businesses that want a more comprehensive software suite with HR functionality. This plan includes everything in the *Business Planning Pack* plus Performance Review, MAUS Job Descriptions, and MAUS HR & Operational Policies & Procedures. ### #10 iPlan[n](https://www.iplanner.net/)[er.NET](https://www.iplanner.net/) *Best template-heavy business plan software for a low price* iPlanner.NET has been in business since 2002 providing online software and services to help entrepreneurs, investors and companies with business planning, modelling and financial forecasting. iPlanner.NET isn’t the slickest or nicest looking software, but it’s an inexpensive, hard-working option for those who don’t need the bells and whistles of other tools but want the basic framework to build a business plan from pre-made templates. With the help of team experts, iPlanner.NET allows you to create a business modelling framework and forecast your financials with automatic calculations and real-time assistance. The dashboard walks you through each section and provides notes to help you customise the text for your business.  Input, track, and forecast your finances with sections for revenue, expenses, assets, funding, and projections.  **Features:** - Step-by-step instructions - Detailed business plans - Build financial reports - Financial forecasting - Multi-user access - Access to experts **Pricing**: Pricing is based on the subscription duration and the number of projects. The *Professional* plan is for the entrepreneur or business owner who will be creating one business or financial plan. Pricing for the *Professional* plan depends on the subscription duration: $24 for three months; $39 for six months; $55 for 12 months. The *Corporate* and *Corporate Plus* plans are for serial entrepreneurs, business coaches and mentors who need multiple projects. Pricing will vary depending on the subscription duration and the number of projects. As an example, a 12-month subscription with up to 25 projects costs $111. ## Best Business Plan Software: Narrowing Down To start narrowing down your selections, first determine what your goal is for creating your business plan. What is the most important factor? If your goal is to **attract investors**, take a look at *LivePlan*, *BizPlanBuilder*, and *BizPlan* first. If you desire a **comprehensive tool** for your small business that includes more than just a business plan builder, look at *BizPlan*, *GoSmallBiz*, and *MAUS MasterPlan Lean.* If you are looking for **sophisticated financial forecasting** and planning, *BizPlanBuilder* and *PlanGuru* are two options to try. The other tools have financial capabilities as well (except Business Sorter), so they may also be worth a look. If you want an **offline (not cloud-based) solution**, try *Business Plan Pro, BizPlanBuilder or PlanGuru.* If the **speed of creation** is most important, try *Business Sorter* and *MasterPlan Lean*. If your **budget** is a top concern, most of the tools we discussed are not that expensive. Some have money-back guarantees and free trials. *Enloop* is the only tool discussed with a Free plan, so this may be a good first option to try. Next, look at the comparison chart again to focus your selections. Once you narrow down your choices, try a few, and If they don’t have a free trial or free plan, they may offer a money-back guarantee.  Here is a list of the tools again for quick access: - [LivePlan](https://www.liveplan.com/) - [Business Plan Pro](https://www.businessplanpro.com/) - [Enloop](https://enloop.com/) - [BizPlanBuilder](https://www.businesspowertools.com/project/bizplanbuilder-small-cloud-business-plan-software-app-template-crowd-fund/) - [Bizplan](https://www.bizplan.com/) - [GoSmallBiz](https://gosmallbiz.com/) - [PlanGuru](https://www.planguru.com/) - [Business Sorter](https://businesssorter.com/) - [MAUS MasterPlan Lean](https://www.maus.com.au/landing/masterplan-lean-advisors-consultants/) - [iPlanner.NET](https://www.maus.com.au/landing/masterplan-lean-advisors-consultants/) Business plan software will remove the difficulty and slash the time it takes to create a comprehensive, investor-ready, business-improving plan. Regardless of the tool you use, expect a more seamless process and a professional plan to guide your business for the years to come. Happy planning! ## FAQ **What is business plan software and why do you need it?** Business plan software is a digital tool designed to streamline the creation of professional business plans by providing templates, financial forecasting features, and structured guidance. Rather than starting from a blank document, these platforms eliminate the tedious writing process and help you organise your strategy into **a comprehensive, investor-ready document** in a fraction of the time. **Can business plan software write your business plan for you?** Most business plan software cannot write your plan entirely for you, but the best tools come remarkably close by using AI-assisted prompts and intelligent templates that guide you through each section. You'll still need to input your business details and strategy, but **the software handles the formatting, financial calculations, and structural organisation**, reducing your workload by up to 80%. **How much does business planning software typically cost?** Business plan software ranges from free basic versions to premium subscriptions costing £50-£200+ per month, depending on features and functionality. Most reputable platforms offer **tiered pricing models** with starter plans around £10-30 monthly for freelancers and small businesses, whilst enterprise solutions cost significantly more. **Is business plan software suitable for startups?** Yes, business plan software is particularly valuable for startups because it removes the barrier to entry for creating professional documentation without hiring expensive consultants. Startup-focused tools offer **affordable pricing and pre-built templates for common business models**, making them accessible even when your budget is limited. **What features should you look for in business plan software?** The most critical features are financial forecasting tools, customisable templates, collaboration capabilities, and export options for investor presentations. You should prioritise software that offers **integrated financial modelling and the ability to generate professional PDF or presentation formats**, as these directly impact how investors perceive your business. **Can you use business plan software for different types of businesses?** Yes, quality business plan software includes industry-specific templates for startups, nonprofits, retail, SaaS, and service-based businesses. The best platforms provide **pre-populated examples and guidance tailored to your specific business model**, ensuring your plan addresses the unique metrics and concerns relevant to your industry. **How long does it take to create a business plan using software?** With dedicated business plan software, you can create a comprehensive business plan in 2-4 hours, compared to 20-40 hours writing from scratch. The time savings come from **automated financial calculations, pre-written section templates, and guided workflows** that eliminate research and formatting delays. **Do banks and investors accept business plans created with software?** Absolutely—banks and investors accept business plans created with professional software, provided the content is thorough and the financial projections are realistic. What matters is **the quality of your strategy and data, not the tool used to create it**; software simply ensures your plan is professionally formatted and includes all necessary sections. --- # 10 Must-Have Marketing Tools for SaaS Companies URL: https://ventureharbour.com/saas-marketing-tools/ Summary: Boost growth by capturing more leads and nurturing them into customers with these 10 must-have marketing tools for SaaS companies. Last updated: 2026-04-10 08:19:06 SaaS companies face a unique set of challenges when it comes to marketing and this means you need a specialist set of tools to overcome these hurdles and achieve your goals. From turning free users into paying customers, fine-tuning your sales funnel and retaining users to maximise lifetime value, software companies have a long, complex customer journey to optimise. The good news is that, with the right tools, most of the marketing activities that'll help you achieve these goals can be heavily or fully automated. In this article, we look at 10 must-have marketing tools for SaaS companies that'll help you boost growth through automated lead generation, customer acquisition and retention. ## What are we looking at in this article? In this article, we look at 10 of the most important marketing tools for software and SaaS companies. We're not talking about generic recommendations and you won't find any vague product descriptions in this article. These are marketing tools that specifically address the unique marketing challenges SaaS companies face across a complex customer journey that's intertwined with product development and customer service. Here are the tools we're focusing on in this article: 1. **[TrueNorth](https://truenorth.io/):** Marketing planning, forecasting & tracking for SaaS companies. 2. **[ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/):** The all-in-one CRM, marketing automation & customer support platform. 3. **[LinkedIn Sales Navigator](https://www.linkedin.com/sales):** Target high-quality B2B SaaS customers. 4. **[Hunter](/recommends/hunter/):** Find & verify email addresses assigned to company URLs. 5. **[Slack](https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/):** The communication tool for SaaS teams & remote creatives. 6. **[Wistia](https://wistia.com/):** Video marketing made easier for SaaS companies. 7. **[Intercom](/recommends/intercom/):** Automated customer support & lead generation for SaaS companies. 8. **[VWO](/recommends/vwo/):** CRO & customer experience optimisation for SaaS companies. 9. **[UserVoice](https://uservoice.com/):** Customer insights & user feedback for SaaS products. 10. **[Databox](https://databox.com/):** All of your marketing & business data in one place. There's little-to-no overlap with these marketing tools, either. It would be pointless for me to suggest generic tools like Google Analytics and then recommend nine other tools that basically do the same thing. Each of these marketing tools addresses specific problems unique to SaaS companies and I'll be explaining *how* they help you overcome these challenges. ## #1: [TrueNorth](https://truenorth.io/): Marketing planning, forecasting & tracking for SaaS companies First up, we've got [TrueNorth](https://truenorth.io/), which is a relatively new tool, but one that's built from the ground up to help SaaS companies and software teams achieve their marketing goals. The platform helps you "grow without the guesswork" by planning, simulating and tracking campaigns to help you make successful marketing decisions faster. With TrueNorth, you can calculate the effectiveness of different marketing campaigns before you launch them. This allows you to compare campaign creatives, check that you're on course to hit your ROI targets and launch campaigns with confidence.  **Key features:** - **Calculate ROI:** Project the ROI of campaigns before they go live. - **Manage campaign ideas:** Create and manage campaign ideas from one location. - **Project outcomes:** Calculate the outcome of campaigns and prioritise them based on the projected results. - **Allocate budgets** based on the projected results of campaigns for a better understanding of where your marketing investment is best spent. - **Optimise budgets:** Track spend alongside results and optimise your budgets to maximise performance as your campaigns mature. - **Demonstrate ROI:** Show stakeholders and executives the impact of campaigns by attributing ROI to the KPIs that really matter. As we've explained before, accurately [calculating the ROI of marketing campaigns is difficult](/roi-calculator-how-to-calculate-your-marketing-roi/) but TrueNorth helps you project the outcome of campaign ideas so that you can be confident of hitting targets before you put any money on the line.  With TrueNorth's predictive modelling, you can optimise campaign ideas before you even launch them to achieve your objectives. So, if that email marketing campaign isn't going to get the results you need, you can fine-tune it, until it reaches your minimum threshold, or ditch it altogether and focus on campaigns with better prospects. You can also prioritise campaigns, based on their projected performance, to ensure that your marketing budget is being distributed in the most effective way. With campaigns running live, TrueNorth tracks performance and compares real-world results against its projections. This data constantly improves the accuracy of TrueNorth's predictions and you can compare results to optimise your bids and prioritise your top-performing campaigns. This data-driven approach to budget allocation helps you maximise ROI and attribute success/failure to the KPIs that really matter. With TrueNorth's data precision, you can showcase the performance of campaigns in the language stakeholders understand: ROI, revenue, active users and customer lifetime value. ## #2: [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/): The all-in-one CRM, marketing automation & customer support platform [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) is a dozen or more SaaS marketing tools rolled into a single suite of software. We've been using ActiveCampaign here at Venture Harbour since 2016 and we've never looked back. This is a truly all-in-one CRM, email marketing, marketing automation and customer support platform that addresses most of the day-to-day and quarterly challenges SaaS companies face. With ActiveCampaign, instead of needing hundreds of tools in your SaaS tech stack, the list is instantly cut down to dozens with no compromise on quality. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) **Key features:** - **Built-in CRM:** ActiveCampaign includes one of the best CRM platforms in the industry, fully integrated with its fleet of SaaS marketing tools and features. - **Marketing automation:** Automate lead generation, lead nurturing, customer retention and key marketing actions to maximise growth. - **Email marketing:** Advanced email marketing and automation to convert leads into paying customers, keep paying users engaged and upsell customers to more expensive plans. - **Customer support:** Keep your customers happy, resolve technical issues and identify user problems adding to your churn rate. - **Lead management:** Track on-site behaviour, segment leads and deliver targeted messages to automatically nurture them along the path to purchase. - **Lead & customer scoring:** Score leads to prioritise marketing campaigns and manage customer health scores to keep your users happy. - **Personalisation:** Personalise email and page content to address the unique needs of different audience types. ActiveCampaign understands that automation is crucial for SaaS companies to maximise lead generation and customer acquisition but also enabling teams of a fixed size to continue managing their customer base as it rapidly grows. This is the key to automated growth: significantly increasing user numbers overnight without your sales and support teams being overwhelmed by sudden increases. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) ActiveCampaign provides all of the tools you need to automate lead generation, lead qualification, lead nurturing, customer retention and customer support so the manual input of your human teams is minimised while *increasing* the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, sales interactions and customer support cases. The end result is more leads, more customers and, crucially, more happy customers who are going to keep paying for your software product. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) ActiveCampaign's native CRM is the home of your lead and customer data while its innovative drag-and-drop automation builder is the force behind your lead nurturing and customer retention strategies. You can start by using pre-built [automation recipes](/recommends/activecampaign/) for common campaign goals, such as welcome emails or re-engagement campaigns, or build your own sequences from scratch. You can automatically qualify and score leads, based on your predefined criteria, and create segmented lists in response to their position along the sales funnel. This allows you to send highly relevant, targeted campaigns to individual users with messages encouraging them to take the next step. ## #3: [LinkedIn Sales Navigator](https://www.linkedin.com/sales): Target high-quality B2B SaaS customers [LinkedIn Sales Navigator](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator) is a crucial tool for any B2B SaaS company that wants to reach key decision-makers at target companies. In a sense, this is an account-based marketing (ABM) prospecting tool that allows you to identify individuals at the companies you want to call customers. Where it differs from traditional ABM platforms is that it allows you to pinpoint individuals at an incredibly granular level - so you can target the buyers who make the final call on purchase decisions.  **Key features:** - **Identify prospects:** Find the decision-makers at your target companies on the world's biggest professional network. - **Advanced search:** Use Sales Navigator's advanced search to find new target companies and build your list of target contacts. - **Lead recommendations:** Customised lead recommendations suggest new prospects for you, based on your previous search criteria. - **Real-time updates:** Account and lead data are automatically updated in real-time so you know, for example, when people change jobs and your campaigns need to adapt. - **InMail Messages:** Reach prospects on LinkedIn even if you're not connected. With Sales Navigator's advanced search, you can narrow down on prospects based on the company they work at, the position they hold and their seniority level to ensure you're reaching people with the right level of influence. You can use the advanced search function to discover new prospects, too, by searching for users based on their location, the company size they work for, the industry they work in and the language of their profile.  LinkedIn Sales Navigator also recommends lead prospects to you and the more you use the platform, the more relevant these become over time. Another key feature that sets Sales Navigator apart from traditional ABM marketing tools is that its data is updated in real-time so that you know contact details are accurate without any delay when prospects change roles or move to another company. This is a big weakness for most ABM and prospecting tools but Sales Navigator is far more reliable, thanks to its direct access to LinkedIn account data.  Finally, one of the best features Sales Navigator offers is InMail Messages, which means you can reach out to prospects that you're not already connected to on LinkedIn. This is a major boost for SaaS companies that need to reach out to key decision-makers without jumping through all of the usual organic hoops to build connections with people on LinkedIn. ## #4: [Hunter.io](/recommends/hunter/): Find & verify email addresses assigned to company URLs Hunter.io is another crucial tool for B2B SaaS companies although it can be a powerful asset for software companies outside of the B2B niche, too. Hunter's standout feature is its Domain Search tool that allows you to type in the URL of a company and access a list of all the email addresses assigned to that domain. You don't get the same level of accuracy or up-to-date data that's available on LinkedIn Sales Navigator but you do get access to a much larger set of data than LinkedIn alone.  **Key features:** - **Domain Search:** Find the email addresses of a company by typing in their URL. - **Email Finder:** Find the email addresses of professionals using their name and company URL. - **Email Verifier:** Verify email addresses are accurate and active before sending any messages. - **Bulk Email Finder:** Submit lists of names and domain names to find bulk email lists for your target companies. - **TechLookup:** Find companies using specific technologies, such as WordPress or HubSpot. - **Campaigns:** Create cold email campaigns quickly from within the Hunter.io platform. - **Email tracking:** Track emails sent from Gmail to see when recipients open your emails (or don't), track campaign performance and follow up accordingly. - **Chrome & Firefox add-ons:** Quickly find contacts from within your browser using the Chrome or Firefox add-on. - **Templates:** Cold email templates help you create messages and get campaigns running faster. Hunter understands that email address scraping isn't always the most accurate way to build prospect lists. To overcome this issue, the company has built its own Email Verifier tool that checks your lists to ensure all of the email addresses are accurate and in-use.  You can also find email addresses by typing in the name of prospects *and* the URL of the company they work for. With the Bulk Email Finder, you can submit a file of names and URLs to automatically generate a bulk list of email addresses and then run these through the verifier to filter out inaccurate and inactive email addresses. My personal favourite feature in Hunter.io is TechLookup, which allows you to type in a specific software tool, such as [Unbounce](/recommends/unbounce/), and generate a list of companies using the technology.  From here, you can generate email addresses from each company using these tools or head back over to LinkedIn Sales Navigator to find out who the key decision makers are at these companies. ## #5: [Slack](https://slack.com/): The communication tool for SaaS teams & remote creatives Slack is one of the biggest SaaS success stories in history, capped off with [its $27.7 billion acquisition by Salesforce in late-2020](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/02/everyone-has-an-opinion-on-the-27-7b-slack-acquisition/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAH-_mu8Ynn-Hn7846os8RuSftTlLyQnaCY6CHDNJXyVFVXi5tkvFhlJVNCP5blKyO7nw6Gd5zHbs0KwxYril4CJxXSsGCT7rIBTcFFCK91rbVCAeQ8YNdAwnUvvbYitmoHOEHjA9qNCbXqTvX_4jO9cgj32RHc781XV-7wZzr7ZJ). While the match-up of Salesforce and Slack has raised a few eyebrows, Slack's continued success deserves all the credit it receives. For software teams, the tool is an indispensable communication platform that excelled through its own simplicity. This is essentially a messaging app that raised hundreds of millions of dollars in the early 2010s, driven by calculated growth marketing strategies. Now, Slack is *the* industry standard for workplace communication - an area where Facebook, Google and countless tech giants have failed - while a select few like Microsoft have merely managed to mimic Slack's innovation.  **Key features:** - **Organised communication:** Slack enables SaaS teams to organise communications in channels so that information is always accessible to everyone who needs it. - **Collaboration:** One-to-one and group messaging with instant file sharing remove barriers to online collaboration. - **Workflow Builder:** Automate routine actions and communications to boost productivity and creative output. - **App & integrations:** Slack integrates with thousands of apps like Google Drive, Office 365 and Trello so team members spend less time switching between apps, transferring data, copying and pasting, etc. - **Search & history:** All messages and files are easily found using Slack's built-in search function and history timelines so you can also access the information you need. For SaaS companies, collaboration throughout the design, development and marketing stages is a convoluted process where departments bump shoulders and teams dynamic can change quite drastically. Email was never an effective channel for team collaboration but Slack was the first company to truly replace the inbox with an instant messaging format that removed communication barriers, regardless of location - or, at least, it was the first one to take off.  For what it's worth, I feel the key to Slack's success is the fact it was built by a remote team of software developers, *for* teams of software developers, during a time when remote SaaS was booming, while there was a distinct lack of remote team collaboration tools. This developer-centric approach means Slack works just as well for teams in the office as it does for remote teams working across locations and the Covid-19 pandemic means this is more important for SaaS teams than ever.  While Zoom is writing all the headlines as the video calling app of choice during lockdowns, Slack has offered the same feature for years, allowing you to call team members, set up group calls and share screens within a matter of clicks. ## #6: [Wistia](https://wistia.com/): Video marketing made easier for SaaS companies Video content is crucial for SaaS companies that basically need to make a bunch of code and UI elements look and feel exciting. According to [insights from Databox](https://databox.com/videos-vs-images-in-facebook-ads), video ads generate twice as many clicks on social media but software companies have to work hard across every channel to show their products in an exciting way. Video content is the most dynamic way to showcase your software and Wistia makes video marketing a whole bunch easier with its self-hosted service.  **Key features:** - **Self-hosted videos:** Host ad-free videos on Wistia and embed them on your website without hurting the user experience. - **Video animations:** Bring your SaaS pages to life with autoplay video animations that load quickly to keep your loading times in check. - **Software demos:** Create software demo videos using Wistia's software and embed them on your website to showcase the best of your product. - **Capture leads:** Turn video views into leads and email subscribers by adding CTAs to your videos. - **A/B testing:** Test different videos, placements and customisations to determine which combinations achieve the best performance. - **Heatmaps:** See how users are engaging with your pages and video content using heatmaps. Instead of embedding YouTube videos, you can embed your own videos on your website, completely ad-free, and control the way they appear on your page.  Wistia's embedded videos are great for placing software explainer demos on your website but you can also embed short video animations that automatically play as the user scrolls down the page. This is a great alternative to using GIF images for animations, which can seriously hurt your loading times.  With Wistia, you can use asynchronous loading to increase perceived page speed, which means short video animations - for example, showing features in action on your homepage - don't need to cause any loading issues. ## #7: [Intercom](/recommends/intercom/): Automated customer support & lead generation for SaaS companies As mentioned earlier, the SaaS customer journey is a long one and the range of interactions with leads and customers is diverse - ranging from first-time visits and email sign-ups to purchases, customer support queries and more. [Intercom](https://www.intercom.com/) helps SaaS companies manage these interactions across the entire journey and compile information that can improve the quality of long-term relationships. This starts with lead generation, where you can use Intercom to reach out to website visitors with a chatbot widget. Sometimes, asking the right question can inspire action and you can automate your bots to only trigger after a delay or a user's behaviour looks indecisive.  **Key features:** - **Chatbots:** Automate the first stage of customer support using on-site chatbots to provide instant responses. - **Live chat:** Connect users with human support reps at the opportune moment. - **Instant FAQs:** Use support bots to provide Q&A sessions and deliver specific articles to resolve up to 29% of customer questions. - **Connect with website visitors:** Shorten the time between intent and purchase by connecting with your website visitors in real-time. - **Business Messenger:** Engage customers throughout their journey with tours, and messages on your website and in your product. - **Product Tours:** Guide customers through their first steps, highlight what's new, and give proactive guidance at scale. - **Announcements:** Share product updates or promotions by email, and drive customers to your website or product to take action. - **Lead qualification:** Intelligent bots and routing rules let your teams focus on what they do best – so your website visitors get the greatest possible experience. Intercom is far more than a chatbot system, though. It's a business growth platform that recognises customer retention *and* acquisition. This is why it's the ideal on-site channel of its kind for SaaS companies: it provides all of the tools you need to capture new on-page leads, but also to nurture your existing customers after the initial purchase.  Intercom can provide the first line of customer service with automated bots and FAQs capable of dealing with up to 29% of user queries. This provides an instant response to every interaction while allowing your human team to focus on the most urgent support cases. This elevates your customer care system, both in terms of efficiency and quality.  Intercom also has a number of specialist features for SaaS companies to help you announce new products and features, provide product tours and interact with users from within your software product - allowing you to manage the customer experience across the entire journey. ## #8: [VWO](/recommends/vwo/): CRO & customer experience optimisation for SaaS companies Every SaaS company needs a good set of conversion optimisation tools and VWO offers the vast majority of these in a single platform. Aside from the usual CRO tools, you would expect for optimising your website, VWO also has you covered when it comes to optimising the software products that are the heart of your SaaS business. [VWO FullStack](/recommends/vwo/) is the company's software testing and optimisation suite, allowing you to run experiments within your applications without any noticeable impact on performance. While many tools like this can slow down your software or result in unwanted flickering during tests, VWO's server-side technology ensures performance remains on par.  **Key features:** - **VWO FullStack:** Optimise your software products and test variations to improve the user experience with VWO FullStack. - **Product / feature deployment:** Launch new products and features in stages to or different user types. - **Onboarding optimisation:** Reduce onboarding dropout rates by optimising the steps users have to take between choosing your software product and physically using it. - **A/B testing:** Run A/B tests, multivariate and split URL testing across your website. - **Heatmaps:** Gain insight into what users are doing on your pages and optimise them to maximise conversions. - **Session recordings:** Record video sessions to *see* what users are doing on your pages and identify UX problems or conversion killers. - **Funnel optimisation:** Optimise every stage of your marketing funnel to maximise conversions and nurture leads across the buying process. - **On-page surveys:** Get feedback from website visitors for user insights on key web elements and new changes. Of course, VWO also offers a full suite of tools for optimising your website to maximise lead captures and convert visitors into software users. You can combine screen recordings with heatmaps and user feedback to gain valuable insights about your most important pages and test variations to maximise performance.  VWO also helps you optimise the sales funnel to nurture leads along the path to purchase, identify any leaks in your funnel and reduce dropouts. There are built-in lead generation tools, too, including hello bars, modals, pop-ups and notifications that you can test on key pages to add incentive at key stages of the funnel.  There are plenty of SaaS-specific features available, too. You can use VWO to deploy new products or features to existing products, rolling out in stages or segmenting to different user types. The platform also has built-in testing tools for optimising your onboarding process, testing different pricing strategies and reducing form abandonment. ## #9: [UserVoice](https://uservoice.com/): Customer insights & user feedback for SaaS products [UserVoice](https://uservoice.com/) is a dedicated feedback management system for SaaS companies that makes it easy to collect feedback from website and software users without adding too much friction to the user experience. While there are plenty of user feedback software options on the market these days, there aren't so many that cater for SaaS companies looking for a single platform to collect feedback from their software products as well as their websites. UserVoice is by far the best option we've used to date.  **Key features:** - **User feedback:** Collect user feedback across your website and software products. - **Turn feedback into insights:** Manage user feedback from every channel within UserVoice and generate valuable insights for smarter product, marketing and business decisions. - **Prioritise product improvements:** Quickly understand customer needs, see customer demand, and prioritise features and product improvements. - **Customer segments:** Compile data into segments based on different user types and your marketing objectives to understand which feedback matters to your business most. - **Product roadmaps:** Keep everyone on the same page about product strategy. Create and share an always-up-to-date roadmap across your organisation. - **Engage customers:** Keep your customers engaged with status updates, reactions and 1-to-1 communication. While the primary purpose UserVoice is to help you collect feedback from your website visitors and software users, it's the back-end feedback management features that make this such an impressive platform for SaaS companies.  With UserVoice, you can add dedicated spaces for users to leave feedback, knowing that your team *will* take notice. You can also capture feedback from Slack, Salesforce and Zendesk, bringing all of your data into UserVoice to compile insights and make informed decisions. Team members can share feedback instantly, prioritise feedback in terms of importance and respond to feedback from individual users.  You can also segment feedback by different user types to prioritise the needs of your most important customers. UserVoice also helps you identify users who are at risk of abandoning your software so you can take steps to minimise churn rate and address the most pressing issues with your website, product and customer experience. ## #10: [Databox](https://databox.com/): All of your marketing & business data in one place SaaS companies rely on *a lot* of data to make informed development, marketing and businesses decisions. Databox pulls all of this data into a single platform so that you can access everyone from one place and create custom dashboards to meet the unique needs of your business. For example, you can create a dashboard dedicated to customer retention, pulling in data from every relevant source: Google Analytics, your CRM, paid advertising platforms, Intercom and more. You only pull in the data you need from each source, allowing you to create a concise dashboard featuring the metrics and KPIs that matter most for customer retention, from every relevant channel, and nothing else.  **Key features:** - **All your data in one place:** Pull in data from all of your marketing and analysis tools to view and compare insights from one place. - **Custom dashboards:** Build dashboards using data from multiple sources to compile the insights and KPIs that matter most. - **Dashboard templates:** Start with dashboard templates and customise them to meet your needs. - **Integrate your data:** Upload any data, connect an SQL database or send via an API to integrate and visualise your data. - **Calculate metrics:** Easily calculate new metrics from any data source using databox's drag and drop builder. - **Goal tracking:** Set, assign and monitor goals across multiple channels from one application. - **KPI scorecards:** Keep up-to-date with KPIs in real-time with scannable scorecards. - **KPI alerts:** Receive performance alerts via email, Slack or in-app notification. Given the complexity and length of the typical SaaS customer journey, it's easy for software companies to drown in data without gaining any valuable insights. Databox brings all of your data into one place and gives you the freedom to create dashboards and reports focused on your marketing goals.  You can start by using Databox's built-in dashboard templates, like the Google Ads template above, and customise them to meet your needs. Once you're comfortable with the platform, you can then build your own dashboards from scratch or combine elements from different templates to gain insights from multichannel reports. ## Build your SaaS martech stack Every tool we've looked at in this article is the best-in-class for SaaS companies, delivering specialist features for overcoming the unique marketing challenges modern software companies face. Some of these tools service very specific roles, such as Wistia for SaaS video marketing and Databox for bringing all of that SaaS data into one place. Others are more extensive: TrueNorth for SaaS marketing simulation, planning and tracking; ActiveCampaign for an all-in-one CRM, email marketing, automation and customer support system; or VWO as the comprehensive optimisation platform for SaaS websites and software products. This means we've covered a lot of ground in this article and, while we've only looked at 10 marketing tools for SaaS companies, these are close to the only ones you'll ever need. --- # 10 PPC Tools That'll Increase Your Quality Score URL: https://ventureharbour.com/ppc-tools-thatll-increase-your-quality-score/ Summary: Boost your Google Ads Quality Score with our top 7 PPC tools. Cut costs, improve placement & increase CTR. Compare features & pricing. Last updated: 2026-04-03 08:45:52 Quality Score is one of the most important elements in your Google Ads strategy. They help Google determine how relevant your ads are to user queries, where to place your ad on the results page (as well as which page) and how much you need to bid to win the auction. In other words, high Quality Scores mean you can **pay less** for your ads to show in the top ad positions and even **beat competitors** with larger advertising budgets. Yes, Quality Scores are that important and today we've got 10 PPC tools that are going to help you get the best performance from your ads and drive down your expenses with higher Quality Scores. ## What is Quality Score and why is it important? Google needs to know it's delivering the most relevant ads to user search queries so it can generate the highest number of clicks - after all, this is where [the search giant makes 90% of its money](https://www.marketingdive.com/news/googles-q1-ad-revenues-surge-even-as-alphabet-bets-heavily-in-other-areas/522004/). To do this, it needs a quality measurement system that's independent from the amount you bid on keywords, otherwise the highest bidder would simply win regardless of how good their ads are. This measurement system is [Quality Score](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6167118) and it's calculated by the following criteria: - Expected click-through rate - Ad relevance - Landing page experience While Google's priority is to maximise revenue via ad clicks, people will only continue to click their ads if they deliver what they're looking for and brands come good on their promise once users land on their website. This is why Quality Score is so important to Google (and you) and this is why simply bidding more on a keyword is going to buy you PPC success. In fact, high Quality Scores mean you can spend less than your direct rivals *and* get better results. In terms of improving your scores, you already know how Google calculates them, which means you know what it takes to get better results: 1. Increase your click-through rates 2. Make your ads more relevant 3. Improve your landing page experience So now we know what you need to do, let's take a look at the tools that are going to help you make it happen. ## The best Quality Score tools available right now If you're looking for a dedicated Quality Score tool, these are the best options you've got available right now. ### [Google Ads](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi85_Dan9rcAhUMvbwKHSg0BcAQFjAAegQIAxAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fads.google.com%2Fhome%2F&usg=AOvVaw3B-cI87nKQfKgZ8SCA77BG) Your first option is completely free and you'll find it in your Google Ads (formerly Google Ads) account. You can [check your Quality Scores](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2454010?co=ADWORDS.IsAWNCustomer%3Dtrue&hl=en&oco=0) for each keyword to get an overview of how relevant your ads, keywords, and landing page are to a person who sees your ad. You can also get estimated scores for landing page experience, expected CTR and ad relevance to get a better idea of how Google is calculating your Quality Scores. Finally, you can segment data to check your Quality Score history and look at the historical performance of your landing page experience, expected CTR and ad relevance scores as well. This is all the information you need to improve your Quality Scores and boost your PPC results. ### [Adwords Performance Grader](https://www.wordstream.com/quality-score-tool) by WordStream WordStream's Google Ads Performance Grader is another free tool at your disposal and it includes a Quality Score report, providing the same current and historical related to Quality Scores that you'll find in your Google Ads account. It also compares your Quality Score performance against industry benchmarks, which tells you how you're stacking up against the competition. Aside from benchmarks, you don't get anything you can't find in Google Ads but you might want to try out the paid version of WordStream Advisor for additional features that'll help you improve your Quality Score. The platform's recommendations are great if you're not fluent in PPC and you may well find things like adding negative keywords and campaign management easier in WordStream than Google Ads. Whether this is enough to justify [the cost of WordStream](https://www.wordstream.com/pricing) is up to you but it costs nothing to try out [the free trial](https://www.wordstream.com/ppc-free-trial). ### [Tenscores](https://www.tenscores.com/) Unlike Google Ads or WordStream, Tenscore is a true Quality Score tool and nothing else. With the tools we've looked at so far you only get Quality Score data at the keyword level but Tenscore also provides data at the account, campaign and ad group level. This is a far more intuitive way to have access to your data because you're managing your account at campaign and ad group levels, making it much easier to gauge performance and spot issues. Tenscore also offers recommendations on how to improve poor Quality Scores, highlight ad groups with issues and send you email notifications if there's a sudden drop in performance. You can also apply these recommendations within a few clicks via the Tenscore dashboard without needing to log in to Google Ads. ### [Adalysis](https://adalysis.com/quality-score/) Adalysis' Quality Score tool also provides data at the account, campaign and ad group level for faster insights. It doesn't offer recommendations, instead letting you interpret the data for yourself and make your own choices. This will appeal to some advertisers more than others so it's simply a case of experience and personal preference. Compared to Tenscore, the data available is essentially the same and both platforms rank your QualityScore in order of priority (those which need your attention most). The Tenscore interface is little easier on the eye and it also shows how your Quality Scores are affecting ad spend and budget. For less experienced advertisers, Tenscore is probably the better option but this decision becomes a little more difficult if you're confident with making data-driven decisions. ## Other tools to improve your Quality Scores While dedicated Quality Score tools can help you identify performance issues, there's a limit to how much they can actually improve your Quality Scores. We know that click-through rates, ad relevance and landing page experience are the key components of your Quality Scores so we also need to talk about tools that are going to help you improve these three factors. ### [Ad variations](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7438541?hl=en) in Google Ads To maximise your CTRs you need to create compelling ads and one of the best features in Google ads to help you do this is ad variations. This allows you to test multiple versions of the same ad to determine which one performs most effectively. You can use this feature to test entirely different ad variations or refine core elements such as your headlines, descriptions and key selling points. ### Landing page builder  As we've already explained, landing page experience is a crucial part of your Quality Scores but to is the relevance to your ads. If users hit the back button as soon as the page loads, this tells Google there's either something wrong with the UX of your page (e.g.: slow loading times) or your landing page doesn't match the offer that encouraged users to click in the first place. To create relevant landing pages, you need to create one for every key message in your advertising strategy and make sure the messages between ads and pages match. This is why you need a landing page builder that allows you to create new pages quickly and effectively. You also need a builder that priorities speed, performance and other UX essentials. Finally, you want to be able to easily test variations so you can pinpoint issues if your landing page experience scores are low. [Unbounce](https://unbounce.com/), [Instapage](/recommends/instapage/) and [Leadpages](/recommends/leadpages/) are all quality builders and there are plenty of other options for you to check out. ### Speed optimisation tools Google has made a big deal about loading times over the past few years so you can guarantee this is a key factor in [how it gauges landing page experience](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2404197?co=ADWORDS.IsAWNCustomer%3Dfalse&hl=en) (Google mentions it twice out of five guidelines on improving landing page experience). It's also one of the few metrics that directly correlates with poor performance. For example, we tend to think of high bounce rates as a bad thing but what is users are simply converting on the spot without visiting a second page? Google can't assume high bounce rates by themselves are a signal of poor performance. The same thing goes for time spent on our site, the number of pages visited and various other metrics. Poor loading times are never a good thing for landing page experience, though. So make sure you have a speed optimisation tool like [GTmetrix](https://gtmetrix.com/) or Google's own [PageSpeed Insights](https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/) to help you keep those loading times to a minimum. ### Google's [Mobile-Friendly Test](https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly) Something else we know Google measures for every page is "mobile-friendliness" and this has been a core part of its search algorithm since 2015. The truth is Google's requirements for a mobile-friendly page are very modest and your users are going to be far more demanding than the search giant. In terms of your Quality Score, though, Google's Mobile-Friendly Test will give you all the info and feedback you need to make sure mobile optimisation isn't holding back your landing page experience score. ### Content personalisation  As Google injects more AI and machine learning into its advertising platform we get features like [Dynamic Search Ads](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7684218) that adapt ad content to better match users' queries and search intent. This is great news when it comes to ad relevance, on the search side of things, but not so much on the landing page side of your ads. If Google is changing your ad copy to suit user needs, what about the content on your landing pages that no longer matches the exact same keywords or selling points? This is where content personalisation is becoming so important, allowing you to adapt the content of your landing pages to match user search terms. Various CRO and personalisation platforms [like VWO allow you to add query parameters](https://vwo.com/knowledge/how-to-personalize-landing-pages-to-match-ppc-ads/) that adapt your landing pages to suit user search terms. This allows you to use features like Dynamic Search Ads to make your ads more relevant to a wider audience while keeping your landing pages equally relevant to a wider range of search terms. Win-win. ### Google Ads' [Search terms report](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7531771?co=ADWORDS.IsAWNCustomer%3Dfalse&hl=en) The Search terms report in Google Ads is one of the most powerful tools you find on the platform, helping you measure the performance of your keywords, spot new opportunities and discover negative keywords make sure your ads only show for the most relevant searches. Essentially, the tool tells what people are typing in before they see your ads. This shows you the entire query, not only the keywords you've selected and you can use this to improve your keyword strategy in a number of ways: - Discover new search terms - Check you're using the right keyword match types settings - Discover new long-tail keywords - Discover new negative keywords - See which keywords are generating the most traffic All of these will increase the relevance of your keywords, refine the audience who sees your ads and help you create more relevant ad messages - all very good news for your Quality Score. ### Make Quality Score a priority Aside from driving down the cost of your keywords, striving for better Quality Scores is going to improve your all-round PPC performance across the board. Better ads are going to generate more clicks and more relevant ads are going to generate traffic from people who are more likely to buy from you. Likewise, better landing page experiences are going to increase your conversion rates and turn more traffic into paying customers, which is why you're going to all this trouble in the first place. ## FAQ **What is a good Quality Score in Google Ads?** A Quality Score of 7 or above is considered good, whilst 8-10 is excellent and will significantly reduce your cost-per-click. Google rates Quality Scores on a scale of 1-10, and **anything below 5 indicates your ads need optimisation** across relevance, landing page experience, or click-through rate. **How do PPC tools improve your Quality Score?** PPC tools improve Quality Score by automating keyword analysis, identifying underperforming ads, and optimising bid strategies based on performance data. The best tools provide **real-time insights into click-through rates and ad relevance**, allowing you to make data-driven adjustments before Quality Score deteriorates. **Can you improve Quality Score without changing your ads?** Improving Quality Score requires changes to at least one of three factors: ad relevance, expected click-through rate, or landing page experience. You cannot significantly improve Quality Score without **optimising your landing pages or refining your keyword-to-ad matching**, as Google evaluates all three elements together. **What's the difference between Quality Score and ad rank?** Quality Score is Google's rating of your ad's relevance (1-10 scale), whilst ad rank determines your actual position on the search results page. **Ad rank is calculated by multiplying your Quality Score by your maximum bid**, meaning a higher Quality Score can help you win better placements at lower costs. **How often should you check your Quality Scores?** You should review Quality Scores at least weekly, though daily monitoring is ideal for active campaigns. **Tracking Quality Score trends over time** helps you identify which keywords, ads, or landing pages are causing performance issues before they significantly impact your ROI. **Does Quality Score affect cost-per-click?** Yes, Quality Score directly impacts your cost-per-click because it's multiplied by your bid to determine ad rank. A higher Quality Score means **you'll pay less per click to maintain the same ad position** compared to competitors with lower Quality Scores, making it one of the most cost-effective optimisations in PPC. **What's the fastest way to improve a low Quality Score?** The fastest improvement comes from optimising your landing page experience and increasing click-through rate through better ad copy. **Improving landing page load speed and relevance typically yields Quality Score improvements within 1-2 weeks**, whilst keyword-to-ad relevance changes can show results even faster. --- # 10 SaaS Subscription Billing Software Platforms Compared URL: https://ventureharbour.com/subscription-billing-platforms/ Summary: Compare 10 SaaS billing platforms (Chargebee, Stripe, Paddle & more). See pricing, features & our top pick for subscription management. Last updated: 2026-03-06 06:08:47 Subscription-based pricing transformed the software industry and opened up a new avenue of growth and revenue for SaaS companies. However, managing subscriptions, complex pricing structures and customer cycles is a real challenge - especially when you're running multiple plans. To maximise revenue, you have to convert free users into paying customers, keep them paying their software bills, upsell customers to more expensive plans and chase up missed payments. You also need to find [the most profitable pricing strategy](/saas-pricing-guide/), test out new pricing models and comply with tax regulations in every market you're selling to. In this article, we look at the best subscription billing platforms that'll turn your SaaS pricing model into a growth asset. ## What are we looking at in this article? In this article, we're looking at the 10 best subscription billing platforms for SaaS companies. We've got enterprise systems for established software companies to free tools for SaaS startups and everything in between - the best subscription billing and management tools for SaaS companies of every size. The purpose of this guide is to help you choose the best platform for your needs. First, we review all 10 platforms and, then, we compare them for pricing and key features. Here's a preview of the section in this article: 1. **[Paddle review](#paddle):** The premium revenue platform for SaaS companies. 2. **[Chargebee review](#chargebee):** Scalable revenue software for every stage of growth. 3. **[Chargify review](#chargify):** Events-based billing platform for B2B SaaS. 4. **[Billsby review](#billsby):** The free, unlimited subscription platform for SaaS. 5. **[Recurly review](#recurly):** The complete subscription management & analytics platform. 6. **[Zoho Subscriptions review](#zoho):** Simple, affordable subscription management. 7. **[Fusebill review](#fusebill):** Flat pricing, no overage charges & full features access. 8. **[Braintree review](#braintree):** Global payments for SaaS companies. 9. **[PayKickStart review](#paykickstart):** SaaS growth & subscription management platform. 10. **[Stripe Billing review](#stripe)**: Global payments & flexible pricing models. 11. **[Pricing comparison](#pricing):** A quick pricing comparison of all the platforms in this guide. 12. **[Feature comparison](#features):** A feature comparison table to see what you get for your money. 13. **[Best for tax compliance](#tax):** The best three platforms for managing tax compliance. 14. **[Best for dunning](#dunning):** The top three platforms for dunning features and capturing lost revenue. 15. **[Best for reporting](#reporting):** The top platforms for reporting and analytics. As we review each platform, we list their key features and we take an in-depth look at how they handle tax compliance, dunning (to recover failed payments) and reporting - because these are especially important with subscription billing platforms. We also look at the pricing of plans and, after we're done with the reviews, we compare the price of each platform and the features with tables like this for quick comparison. | Tool | Subscriptions | Taxes | Dunning | Card checks | Customer portal | Payment processing | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Paddle | ✔ | Complete | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | | Chargebee | ✔ | Strong | ✔ | | ✔ | | | Chargify | ✔ | Medium | ✔ | | ✔ | | | Billsby | ✔ | Basic | ✔ | | ✔ | | | Recurly | ✔ | Basic | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | | | Zoho Subscriptions | ✔ | Basic | ✔ | | ✔ | | | Fusebill | ✔ | Weak | ✔ | | ✔ | ✔ | | Braintree | Basic | | | | | ✔ | | PayKickStart | ✔ | Medium | ✔ | | ✔ | | | Stripe Billing | ✔ | Basic | ✔ | | ✔ | ✔ | By the time we're done, you'll know which subscription billing platform is right for your SaaS business. So let's get started with our first review and take a look at what Paddle has to offer. ## #1: [Paddle](https://paddle.com/): The premium revenue platform for SaaS companies ***Pricing info: POA*** [Paddle](https://paddle.com/) is the all-in-one revenue delivery platform for SaaS companies targeting global growth. The system helps you integrate and test subscription models on your website, covering all four stages of the software payment process: 1. **Checkout:** Global checkout support allows you to take payments from new customers anywhere in the world. 2. **Subscriptions:** Subscription management helps you maximise monthly recurring revenue (MRR). 3. **Invoicing:** Get paid faster and follow up missed payments with built-in invoicing and dunning. 4. C**ompliance:** Paddle handles tax, payment and data compliance on your behalf - so you don't have to worry about them. We use Paddle to manage payments and subscriptions for [Serene](https://sereneapp.com/), our innovative productivity software. And, while there are cheaper options out there, Paddle's comprehensive offering saves you so much time and potential headaches (especially with tax compliance) that you never question the value of the platform. **Key features:** - **SaaS subscriptions:** Paddle offers extensive subscription features specifically designed for SaaS companies and software products. - **Managed payments:** Instant access to established international banking infrastructure for easy payments in every country and currency. - **Billing models:** Smart subscription logic helps you create recurring, metered, on-time and other billing models in a matter of clicks. - **Upgrades & downgrades:** Manage customers with ease as they upgrade or downgrade from plans. - **Free trials & freemium:** Manage free trials, free plans and freemium strategies within Paddle. - **Integrated checkout:** Take payments by card and PayPal using Paddle's built-in checkout. - **Invoicing:** Create and send invoices to customers automatically. - **Automated sales tax:** This platform calculates, files and remits your software sales taxes on your behalf - based on your customers' location. - **End-to-end dunning:** Paddle automates dunning across the entire customer journey to recover lost revenue. - **Paddle Data Core:** Advanced data capture and reporting for insights on your business performance and your rivals. - **Managed support:** Paddle's excellent support team helps you set up your payment strategy, deal with any technical issues and handle tax compliance for you. If you're looking for an all-in-one revenue platform to help you maximise profit and global growth, you probably don't need to read the rest of this guide. Give Paddle a call, get a quote and try this system out for yourself because this is the most comprehensive and robust system around. End-to-end subscription management gives you all the tools you need to implement new billing models, test new pricing strategies, create new upgrade flows and manage your existing customers to maximise lifetime value. No matter how complex your pricing strategy is, Paddle simplifies delivery and management at every level.  For example, you can set up tiered pricing plans for multiple customer profiles and create flexible enterprise pricing/quotes using rules to determine how much customers pay, based on their needs/usage - all while giving sales reps the freedom to customise quotes for deals that deserve a little more flexibility. The only downside with Paddle is that it can take some time to get everything set up and integrated with your website but this is where Paddle's excellent team steps up. You see, you're not only getting a revenue delivery system with Paddle, you're getting a *managed* service from a team that helps you get everything working and provides ongoing support at every stage of growth. If you run into any technical problems, Paddle's team is on call to resolve issues before they start hurting your revenue. However, the biggest aspect of support you'll notice as a Paddle customer is the managed compliance services, which is called Paddle Comply. We'll look at this in more detail later but, basically, the company takes care of global tax, payment and data compliance for you - so you can focus on building your business without worrying about regulations in different territories.  This allows you to define your target markets, calculate your tax obligations with ease and set your pricing to ensure you're making enough revenue in each territory *after* tax to hit your growth targets, knowing that Paddle's financial team are keeping you compliant and up-to-date with changing regulations. ### How much does Paddle cost? Unfortunately, Paddle doesn't disclose pricing on its website and you'll have to call the company to get a quote. It wouldn't be fair for us to reveal how much we're paying to use the platform for Serene but, equally, it wouldn't necessarily give you an accurate idea of what to expect. Pricing is largely determined by your annual revenue, the number of customers you have, your current growth rate and other factors such as the number of markets you're targeting customers in. In fact, we wouldn't be surprised if some markets are more costly for Paddle to cover than others (we know they are for us). Either way, Paddle isn't the budget option for subscription management. This is a premium, comprehensive revenue platform with managed compliance services included and you have to pay for this level of quality. ### How does Paddle handle tax compliance? Paddle's platform shines in so many areas but tax compliance is where it really stands out from the competition. When you sign up to its revenue platform, Paddle assumes the role of the Merchant of Record on your behalf, which means the company takes legal responsibility for maintaining tax compliance for all revenue generated through the platform. In other words, you outsource legal responsibility to Paddle and focus on growing your business without the fear of reprisal from tax organisations on the other side of the world (or your own country for that matter). If tax laws change overnight or it turns out you haven't been paying enough tax for the past five years, Paddle is investigated - not you.  As Paddle's tax agony index shows, tax compliance is one of the biggest barriers to SaaS growth. If you're operating in the US, state tax variations alone are a nightmare to deal with and software companies working on the international stage need to comply with tax, payment and data regulations for every country and, in some cases, regional and state regulations. With regulations constantly changing, even keeping up with the latest requirements is a challenge - let alone adapting to them and complying at every turn. Of course, you can work with experts in every territory to maintain compliance but this adds further complexity. Paddle removes this by assuming responsibility for compliance and taking care of all the documentation for you. ### How does Paddle handle dunning? Missed payments are another major barrier for SaaS revenue and Paddle provides comprehensive dunning features that not only chase up missed payments but help you prevent them from happening in the first place. As Paddle put it: "dunning is more than just sending automated emails" and this really is the case with its software. The platform automatically checks for credit card updates before subscription renewals are due to prevent payments failing due to expired or cancelled cards. If any changes are detected, you can send pre-billing notification emails to prompt users to update their details before the next payment is due.  If the payment still fails, this is where dunning emails are automatically sent out but the platform doesn't stop there. It continues attempting to take the payment to resolve instances where unavailable funds or technical issues have been resolved. The platform also uses a system of "waterfall" attempts with different payment processors to rule out any technical problems on their end. You can customise your own dunning sequences - for example, to control when the first pre-billing email is sent, how many are sent before the due payment and how many follow up emails to send, including the time delays between each email. This allows you to test different sequences, measure the results of your dunning campaigns and pinpoint the best strategy for maximising retained revenue. ### How good is reporting? With the depth of payment, billing and management features built into Paddle, you also get a comprehensive set of reporting and analytics tools. You get monthly recurring revenue (MRR) reports and trend reports highlighting MRR movement over time, which helps you optimise monetisation and retention/churn to keep hitting your growth targets.  You can also view your "top company" customers who are most likely to respond to upselling campaigns and upgrade to team or enterprise plans. Another important report for SaaS companies selling acroschars multiple countries is the top geographies report, which provides insights on revenue performance in different locations and helps you optimise pricing to local currencies and expectations. ### Paddle verdict Paddle is a serious revenue delivery platform aimed at established SaaS companies with equally serious growth ambitions. It's not the most affordable option we'll be looking at today but, in terms of pure quality, it is the best all-in-one solution and you get what you pay for. New startups and bootstrapped ventures may want to look elsewhere but even smaller established SaaS companies that are selling across multiple countries might want to give Paddle a call and get a quote - you might be surprised by the numbers you hear. Paddle approach to tax compliance alone will save you all kinds of money and hassle - before you even consider optimising pricing plans to increase revenue or the excellent dunning features that prevent payments from slipping away. ## #2: [Chargebee](https://www.chargebee.com/): Scalable revenue software for every stage of growth ***Free plan available; pricing starts at $99/month*** While Paddle is most suitable for established SaaS companies and products, Chargebee is the scalable revenue platform for every stage of growth - from launch to hitting enterprise status. We use Chargebee to manage payments for [Leadformly](https://leadformly.com/) and this product was particularly innovative upon launch. We almost had to educate our target audiences about the problems Leadformly solves because they weren't being discussed at the time. Now, these issues are widely understood and multi-step form builders are quite common but we really had to start from nothing with Leadformly and having a payment solution like Chargebee was invaluable for this.  **Key features:** - **Subscription management:** Create, test and optimise your subscription model to maximise revenue. - **Billing automation:** Set up your recurring billing workflow and automate invoicing logic. - **Recurring payments:** Collect, manage and maximise recurring payments. - **Accounting & taxes:** Simplify SaaS accounting, finance and taxes. - **Enterprise billing:** Manage enterprise plans and customised quotes to meet the unique needs of your highest-paying customers. - **Smart Dunning:** Reduce involuntary churn with a configurable Smart Dunning for recurring payment failures. - **Customisable checkout:** Create a smooth checkout experience by customising Chargebee's built-in checkout without writing any code. - **Multi-decimal support:** Accurately track product usage and reflect taxes and charges in your invoices. - **SaaS reporting:** Comprehensive analytics and reporting specifically for SaaS companies. We'll take a closer look at pricing shortly but let's start by mentioning that Chargebee offers a free plan to help SaaS companies launch new products. This isn't a token free plan that tries to lure you in and upsell you to paid plans right away; it's a solid plan for new software ventures that's designed to drive early growth and provide an upgrade path to support your businesses at every stage. For new startups, bootstrapped ventures and SaaS companies on a shoestring budget, having this kind of a free plan is invaluable and Chargebee focuses on building a long-term relationship with your business. Chargebee is a good option for established SaaS companies, too. It doesn't have the same premium feel as Paddle - and you certainly don't get the same level of tax compliance features - but Chargebee delivers a powerful set of features on every plan and remains an affordable choice at every stage of growth.  Every Chargebee plan allows you to create, manage and test subscription plans, including free trials and custom pricing for high-use or enterprise customers. There are some really helpful features worked into the subscription management section of the software, too - such as "grandfathering" that allows you to keep all (or selected) existing customers on the same pricing, even as you update your plans. Another good example is [multi-decimal support](https://www.chargebee.com/docs/1.0/multi-decimal-support.html), which helps you set usage-based pricing more accurately by removing "rounding errors". > For example, businesses in the telecommunication domain may want to track data consumption in multiple decimals like 1245.3587 MB and the pricing could be $0.015 per MB. Inaccurate billing in the absence of multiple decimal support can lead to considerable deficit in your company's overall revenue. > > The multi-decimal support feature helps you avoid compromising your price and unit values, and ensures more accurate billing. With multi-decimal pricing enabled, you can use up to 20 decimal places while specifying the price and units for your plans and addons. Every plan also includes a customer portal where your customers can manage their subscription.  Here, they can see which plans they're signed up to, when their next payment is due, which payment details are stored and other details about their subscription. They can also update their payment details and, depending on the permissions you've set, update their plan or change the payment frequency. For a full look at the features available on each Chargebee plan, take a look at [the pricing page](https://www.chargebee.com/pricing/?ref=navbar). ### How much does Chargebee cost? Speaking of pricing, let's take a closer look at Chargebee's free plan and what you get for your money on the paid versions. As mentioned earlier, the free plan is no gimmick, providing a capable revenue platform for new and small SaaS companies. The free Launch plan covers you for up to $100,000 in revenue and, once you hit this threshold, you're automatically bumped up to a $99/month fee with a 0.5% overage fee if your revenue exceeds $25k per month.  The Launch plan covers you for up to three users and gives you access to most subscription management features, the essential payment, checkout and dunning features, plus all of the tax features (you're limited to one tax region, though). So this is a feature-packed plan that you can use for free, until you hit $100,000 in revenue and, even then, the $99/month fee is great value. Once you're paying for the Launch plan, this covers you for a good amount of growth, too, before you'll look to upgrade. The Rise plan costs $249/month and this covers you for up to $600,000 annual revenue, after which a 0.6% overage fee is applied. You can have up to 10 users on the system and you open up some advanced invoicing features, custom domains, abandoned cart tracking and a range of other features. Most notably, the Rise plan covers you for multiple tax regions. By the time you upgrade to the $549/month Scale plan, you're covered for up to $1.2 million annual revenue with a 0.75% overage fee and access to pretty much every feature on the platform (the main thing missing at this point is enterprise support). Given the features available on each plan, Chargebee is aggressively priced at every level and the company lays out a clear growth path with upgrades that empower you to drive more revenue without ever holding you back. ### How does Chargebee handle tax compliance? After reading our review of Paddle above, you might be wondering whether Chargebee is going to take care of taxation for you in a similar way. Well, that's not the case and Paddle's approach to tax compliance is not the norm - so you can understand why it's such a big deal. Instead, Chargebee has developed a system that makes it easier to manage tax compliance in every market you're selling to. So the responsibility lies firmly on you but you can use Chargebee's tax management system to configure tax rules and automatically apply them when an invoice is generated.  You have to configure everything yourself but Chargebee guides you through the process by asking you to define the markets you're selling to (regions, countries and states, depending on regulations) and [this documentation page](https://www.chargebee.com/docs/1.0/tax.html) explains the process in detail. For the most part, Chargebee provides all of the tools you need to comply with tax regulations around the world but you're reliant on the system keeping up to date with changes. Something else to note: Chargebee doesn't produce SAF-T files with its invoices so, if you're operating in countries that require these, you'll need another invoicing solution to automatically generate these for submission to the relevant tax authorities. ### How does Chargebee handle dunning? Chargebee gives you complete control over your dunning strategy by setting the duration and frequency of retries and defining actions for failed payments - e.g.: invoice statuses and subscription statuses. You can test and optimise your dunning strategy to find the combination that works for you and Chargebee has a couple of unique features to help you recover more revenue.  First of all, Chargebee decouples failed payment notices from your regular emails to help you stay out of the spam folder - and you can test the number of follow-up emails that generates the best results. You've also got Smart Payment Retries, which identifies the failed payments that are worth pursuing to avoid multiple, unnecessary failures hurting your reputation with payment gateway providers. ### How good is reporting? Chargebee has a built-in SaaS analytics platform called RevenueStory that includes 11 different dashboards as standard: 1. **Critical Business Metrics:** A real-time dashboard to understand critical metrics related to growth, retention, and leakage and to stay on top of business growth in the uncertain times of COVID-19. 2. **Finance Watch:** This dashboard helps you understand how much revenue your company is actually making as compared to monthly recurring revenue (MRR) which is a notional value. By using the metrics in this dashboard you can also get visibilityme into your cashflow, payments & refunds, and credit card expiry. 3. **Business Highlights:** Provides a birds-eye view of all the key metrics revolving around MRR, growth, subscriptions and churn, on a monthly and quarterly basis. This dashboard helps you understand the health of your business and see if you are on track. 4. **Executive Watch:** You can view historical trends with metrics around MRR, MRR growth, retention and Churn broken down over the course of several months. This dashboard provides insights into your performance today, in comparison with the same metrics from the previous month. Use this for a detailed view of your growth for stakeholders and investors. 5. **Marketing Watch:** This dashboard displays the metrics that impact the top of the funnel, like sign-ups, activations, and new revenue. This dashboard also includes insights about more long-term activities like subscription retention and MRR growth cohorts, and net dollar expansion that allow marketing teams to see the impact of their acquisition strategies over a longer time frame, and identify emerging markets. 6. **Sales Watch:** Consists of top revenue metrics like New MRR, Expansion MRR, Upgrade MRR, and ARR, segmented by plans, geographical territories and verticals. This dashboard allows the Sales team to identify which industries, geographies, plans and even sales reps contribute to the most revenue. 7. **Customer Success Watch:** You can use this dashboard to monitor and track your customer success initiatives. It displays the subscription and revenue churn, upgrade and downgrade MRR, net churn rate and a cohort view of customer churn, in addition to a time-based breakdown of when customers churn. 8. **Monthly Watch:** It displays all the components that affect your MRR on a month-on-month basis, like New MRR, MRR from free to paid conversions, expansions, and the loss of revenue due to Cancellations, Downgrades, and Scheduled Cancellations. This dashboard also gives you an insight into your Metered Charges, LTV and CAC, and monthly churn both in terms of customer count and lost dollar value. 9. **Subscription Watch:** Shows a collection of all the core KPIs to provide a holistic perspective into your subscription lifecycle, like sign-ups, activations, churn, and so on. Use this dashboard to understand how your business metrics have evolved on a weekly or monthly basis. This dashboard is useful when you have to compare the dynamic and long-term trends in your subscriptions simultaneously. 10. **Churn Watch:** This dashboard displays all the metrics and trends you need to track with respect to churn. 11. **Weekly Watch:** Shows the more dynamic KPIs that you would need to track on a week-on-week basis, like sign-ups, activations, MRR addition, and churn. This dashboard shows if you are on the right track to meeting your monthly targets.  You can also create your own dashboards and custom reports to compile the metrics that matter most to your business. RevenueStory comes with 150+ ready-made reports and, if you can't find one that meets your needs, you can build your own, without writing any code, using the dedicated Report Builder. ### Chargebee verdict Chargebee verdict is a feature-rich revenue management platform that offers great value for SaaS companies at every stage of growth. Its free plan is a complete system that covers the needs of startups and small software providers with ease and the paid plans leave plenty of room for growth so that you're never held back by usage limitations or expensive fee hikes. If you're looking for a revenue and subscription management system to grow with your SaaS company - from launch to rockstar status - Chargebee is the platform that'll help you get there and keep up with you, every step of the way. ## #3: [Maxio](https://www.maxio.com/chargify): Events-Based Billing Platform for B2B SaaS ***Pricing starts at $599/month*** Maxio is a subscription and billing platform for B2B SaaS companies running an events-based pricing system. It allows you to create complex, usage-based plans that charge your customers for the events they value most - for example, conversions and purchases for a piece of e-commerce software. The idea is that you identify the metrics that deliver real value for your target customers and charge them for the actions that make a real difference to their business.  Maxio streams your customers' usage data in real time and allows you to charge for the most granular events. So let's say automation is a key part of your SaaS product and you want to charge for every automated action. You could create billing rules for event triggers and webhooks so that you're not simply charging customers for workflows they create but seldom use. Essentially, this is a more accurate way to manage usage-based pricing but it also helps communicate the value of your product with greater clarity - and justify your pricing in a more demonstrable way. **Key features:** - **Subscription management:** Track and manage subscriptions throughout the customer lifecycle. Strengthen relationships, decrease churn and increase lifetime value. - **Events-based billing:** Create multidimensional billing models with real-time data streaming and analytics. - **Revenue retention & dunning:** Reduce customer churn caused by failed or delinquent payments. - **Billing scenarios:** Experiment with different recurring billing models to align your pricing strategy with how customers consume your products. - **Offer management:** Elastic Billing™ provides the flexibility and agility to deliver the right offer, to the right customer, at the right time. - **Payment gateways:** Integrate with major payment gateways, including Stripe and Braintree. - **Analytics & insights:** Say goodbye to dated spreadsheets and wild guesses with real-time, reliable SaaS insights. The headline features of Maxio is its events-based billing system that helps B2B SaaS companies manage a sophisticated usage-based pricing system based on the actions that matter most to their customers. Maxio doesn't limit you to events-based billing, though. You can run and test a range of subscription models including freemium plans, free trials, one-time fees, monthly subscriptions and [every major SaaS pricing strategy](/saas-pricing-guide/). This is important because you want the flexibility to test different pricing models and you may even run different strategies for different customer profiles - or usage-based add-ons.  Either way, the key selling point of Maxio is its events-based billing capabilities and these are the features that should determine whether this is the subscription and billing platform for you, even if you're testing and combining with other payment strategies. Maxio's user tracking puts the data you need at your fingertips and its drag-and-drop builder makes it easy to visualise plan pricing as you add events and price points.  You can set prices for individual events and units to price for quantities, create plans with volume limits or ranges, and build usage-based upgrade paths that incrementally increase prices as your customers gain more value from your software. ### How Much Does Maxio Cost? Maxio plans start at $599/month for the Essential plan, which covers you for up to $250k of revenue through events-based billing with a 0.9% overage fee on anything over that.  Plans are mostly priced on revenue and usage so there isn't much feature differentiation between plans. This means you get access to the majority of Chargebee's features and tools on the Essentials plan without feeling any pressure to upgrade until you're generating enough revenue to justify it. Maxio positions its Essentials plan as ideal for B2B SaaS companies generating under $2.4 million annually repeated revenue (ARR) and, at these prices, the Essentials plan certainly isn't a budget option for smaller companies.  One potential sticking point is the team members restriction on the Essentials plan. The limit of 10 team members seems disproportionately restrictive compared to coverage for five live sites, especially for SaaS companies generating millions in ARR that could well have different teams for each of those products/sites. ### How Does Maxio Handle Tax Compliance? Maxio offers three tax services/settings for different use cases. You can find detailed information on [this documentation page](https://maxio-chargify.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5405488905869) but here's a summary of the three options available: - **[Custom Taxes:](https://help.chargify.com/taxes/custom-taxes.html)** Tax rates defined and maintained by you to collect taxes in any geographic country/region. This includes general use and generic taxes, as well as support for European Union VAT tax. - **[Avalara Managed Tax:](https://maxio-chargify.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5405356114317)** Automatic sales tax collection for [US and Canadian merchants](https://help.chargify.com/taxes/avalara-managed-sales-tax.html), as well as [European Union VAT Taxes.](https://maxio-chargify.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5405356114317) You pick the areas that you are responsible for collecting taxes in, and Chargify uses the [Avalara](https://www.avalara.com/us/en/index.html) tax service to find and apply the correct rates. - **[Tax Exempt Customers:](https://maxio-chargify.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5405127127309)** Ability to mark a customer/subscription as tax exempt. If you want to retain full control over taxation, you can set custom tax rules for every territory you're selling to. Alternatively, you can take advantage of Chargify's partnership with Avalara, which gives you access to all the tools you need to manage tax for the US, Australia, Canada and VAT in the European Union.  Whichever approach you take, you retain the ability to mark customers as tax exempt by adding an exemption rule, which overrides any other tax settings you have applied globally. ### How Does Maxio Handle Dunning? All Maxio plans include the same customisable dunning features and tools to help you reduce unintended churn and recover lost revenue. Unlike Paddle, Maxio doesn't automatically check cards to ensure they're still valid but it does give you several tools to prevent failed payments before they happen. You can send end-of-trial emails and renewal notices to give customers a heads-up that payments are soon required. Maxio also uses the expiration date your customers provide (if they choose to save their card) so you can send credit card expiration notifications, prompting customers to update their payment information.  Maxio also allows you to send and schedule sequences of dunning emails to re-engage with customers in the event of failed payments. You can define how many emails are sent and create rules to send different messages after any quantity of renewal attempts - for example, a cancellation warning. Finally, you can set actions for failed payments, such as subscription cancellations or marking subscriptions as unpaid after a set number of renewal attempts. ### How good is reporting? Given the data-driven approach to Maxio's event-based billing system, you would expect extensive reporting from the platform. In terms of data volume, Maxio doesn't disappoint, allowing you to monitor usage, subscriptions, billing and revenue in great detail. Subscription management tools don't normally provide this level of insight into usage analytics and even fewer correlate them to revenue in such detail.  The issue with Maxio's reporting is that, despite the volume of data available to you, there's a frustrating lack of filters to help you segment data and create custom reports. This is a missed opportunity for a platform that has access to granular data and the reports available by default show the company knows how to present insights effectively - it just needs to give customers the freedom to do it on their own terms. ### Maxio Verdict Maxio is a powerful subscription management platform for enterprise B2B SaaS companies running an events-based billing model. If you want to take usage-based pricing to the next level and charge customers for completing actions that drive real value to their business, then Maxio captures the data and provides all the tools you need. ## #4: [Billsby](https://www.billsby.com/): The free, unlimited subscription platform for SaaS ***Pricing starts at $0/month*** [Billsby](https://www.billsby.com/) is the first subscription management platform we're looking at that really caters for the smallest of SaaS ventures. Whether you're an entrepreneur with a big idea, in the middle of starting a new software company or rolling out a new product on a shoestring budget, Billsby makes subscription management software accessible to everyone. The company runs the most generous set of free plans out there, alongside a premium managed service for larger SaaS companies - ideal for new SaaS ventures and growing companies that need to build momentum while keeping expenses to a minimum. **Key features:** - **Subscription management:** Create and manage unlimited products, plans and cycles. - **Hidden plans:** Create hidden plans that you can offer to certain customers or hold back for your customer service team. - **Add-ons & allowances:** Increase MRR with usage-based billing by setting allowances and cross-sell additional features with paid add-ons. - **Billsby Checkout:** Customise the checkout experience on your website. - **Tax & compliance:** Automatic tax calculations and integration with TaxJar if you're selling to markets around the world. - **Invoices:** Stop sending static PDF invoices to customers and start sending Billsby Advanced Invoices that reduce churn, deflect payment failures, provide proactive customer service and upsell new products and services. - **Retention & dunning:** Stop failed payments in their tracks, recover revenue and reduce customer churn. - **Reports & insights:** Your Billsby Dashboard collates all of the facts, figures and information you need to run your subscription business in one place - so you can always keep on top of what's going on and how it'll impact your company. With Billsby, you can create unlimited products, plans and customer cycles to accommodate any pricing strategy. You can also have unlimited team members signed up, sell to unlimited countries, manage unlimited tax profiles and integrate with unlimited payment gateways. If you haven't guessed it by now, this is as close as it gets to a truly unlimited subscription management system and we're still talking about the free Complete plan here.  As you might expect, Billsby isn't as advanced as the more enterprise-focused platforms we've looked at so far but it covers all of the essentials for new and growing SaaS ventures: - Subscription management - Invoicing and emails - Rax compliance - Dunning and retention - Payment gateway integration - Revenue reporting The relative simplicity of Billsby makes it easier to use, too, and you appreciate this most when you're creating new plans to test to run alongside your existing subscriptions. The interface is pretty basic but this works to its advantage when you're setting up new plans and customer cycles or testing new variations.  The platform is incredibly open, too, with integration support for just about every payment gateway solution out there. This, combined with the unlimited nature of Billsby, helps you sell in every target market and currency of your choice. ### How much does Billsby cost? The biggest talking point with Billsby is the company's Complete plan, which is 100% free until you generate your first $5,000 in revenue. Once you hit this threshold, the Complete plan is priced at $0/month but a 0.4% transaction fee is applied to every invoice paid.  Previously, this plan was limited to one payment gateway, one tax region, five currencies and five team members but these restrictions have all been lifted to unlimited usage. The company also offers a Managed plan costing $2,000/month with the same $0.4 transaction fee added after your first $5,000 of revenue. Billsby runs different versions of these plans for a range of business types. The Complete for Startups plan is exactly the same as the regular Complete plan, except it covers early-stage startups for $10,000 before transaction fees are applied.  There's also an Accelerator plan for startups that's completely free for 12 months (up to $1,000,000) and, then, $0/month with the 0.4% transaction fee applied. There are also plans for charities and non-profits, students, a Covid-19 relief plan and a bonus for companies migrating from other platforms. You can find all the information you need about these plans and feature comparisons (they're basically all the same) on [the Billsby pricing page](https://www.billsby.com/pricing). ### How does Billsby handle tax compliance? In Billsby's words, "taxes and compliance are probably the biggest barrier to your business going global" so what does the company offer to help you manage these challenges? The platform offers two solutions for managing taxes. First, there's an integration with [TaxJar](https://www.taxjar.com/) that automates taxation and compliance for prices starting at $19/month, which Billsby recommends for more complex taxation requirements.  You can also use Billsby's Automatic Tax Calculations to figure out your obligations in different territories and adjust your pricing accordingly. Billsby recommends this approach for new businesses or SaaS companies with relatively simple tax requirements. Billsby charges $0.02 for every calculation performed through this service. ### How does Billsby handle dunning? With Billsby, you can create custom dunning flows to deal with failed and declined payments. When payments fail due to a technical error or issue beyond the cardholder's control, Billsby continues to attempt taking the payment every few hours to overcome any potential issues on the bank or payment processing end. If payments repeatedly fail, they're marketed as declined payments where your dunning flows are triggered.  With custom rules, you can determine when email reminders are sent, when customer accounts are suspended or cancelled and when to write off unpaid invoices. The first automated action is to inform cardholders as soon as a payment is declined and request an alternative payment method. Billsby allows you to reattempt payments up to three times before taking action on the account, which might be a tad restrictive but it does protect your reputation with payment gateway providers. If you don't want to lock users out of your software too quickly, you'll have to set a suitable time period between each payment attempt. You also can choose whether subscriptions remain active, how many emails to send, the time period between each reminder and at which point accounts are suspended or cancelled. ### How good is reporting? Billsby provides reporting for customers and subscriptions to help you manage long-term revenue and spot trends in customer acquisition, upgrades (or downgrades) and churn.  Under the Checkout and self-service tab, you'll also find the Exit Reasons reports showing responses from customers leaving your product, revealing the most common reasons why people stop using your software platform. Billsby also provides a pretty extensive set of accounting reports for tracking revenue, sales, discounts, tax, write-offs, payments and refunds - all of which helps you build a more accurate picture of revenue. ### Billsby verdict If you're looking for the best free subscription management platform, Billsby's Complete plan is as good as it gets. In fact, if you want a lesson in disruptive product positioning and pricing, look no further. Billsby isn't the most advanced or polished subscription management platform but shoots right to the top of the consideration list with its open, unlimited free plan, offering more than you get from a lot of paid alternatives. ## #5: [Recurly](https://recurly.com/): The complete subscription management & analytics platform ***Pricing starts at $149/month*** Recurly is used by some of the world's biggest SaaS names and streaming platforms, including Twitch. Its subscription management platform promises to help you maximise revenue by refining your pricing strategy, optimising payments and reducing churn. This is a feature-rich platform delivered by a company known for providing excellent customer support and you'll be joining good company if you choose Recurly as your subscription management system.  **Key features:** - **Subscription management:** Increase revenue with a range of plans and sophisticated subscriber acquisition tools. - **Flexible pricing models & testing:** Test and optimise your pricing strategy to find the perfect balance between user numbers and revenue. - **Payment optimisation:** Provide a frictionless subscriber experience with the most preferred payment options around the world. - **Billing & accounting:** Collect revenue faster with a variety of billing options and streamlined accounting. - **Subscriber retention:** Recurly uses advanced statistical models and machine learning to reduce churn, increase subscriber retention and capture more revenue. - **Dunning management:** Chase up missed payments with automatic dunning. - **Global payment methods:** Streamline the checkout experience and increase conversions by letting subscribers pay using their preferred payment method. - **Global tax support:** Meet your tax compliance requirements through our integration with Vertex and Avalara, leading tax solutions for subscription businesses. - **Reporting & analytics:** Recurly Analytics provides a clear overview of the state of your business. Recurly puts almost every tool you could ever need for implementing and optimising subscriptions on your website and managing customers. You can create, test and manage plans to find the ideal pricing model for your products, including free plans and free trials as a growth strategy. You can also manage coupons, discounts and gift subscriptions in Recurly, too, even if these are more common for consumer goods subscriptions. With users signed up, Recurly helps you upsell existing customers to more expensive plans and manage customer lifecycles to prevent churn as your pricing strategy and product evolve.  As you would expect from any subscription management platform of this quality, revenue retention is an important part of the system and Recurly packs plenty of tools to help you prevent revenue slipping away. Above all, the platform aims to help you prevent churn and failed payments before they happen with its Revenue Optimization Engine. With the company handling payments for some of the biggest subscription businesses in the world, it can utilise this data to identify churn dangers that could prevent renewals. The platform also includes some of the most advanced dunning features we're looking at in this article (on par with Paddle) and we'll look at these in more detail shortly). ### How much does Recurly cost? Recurly is an enterprise platform designed for established SaaS companies and startups with financial backing. As a result, the company doesn't need to lure customers in with free plans or particularly affordable pricing. That said, the Core plan is priced at $149/month with an additional 0.9% of revenue charged on top of that. This certainly isn't the most affordable entry plan but price isn't really the factor here. If you're going to choose Recurly as your subscription management platform, you want to sign up for the Professional or Elite plan to access its best features, such as proactive credit card updates and Smart dunning.  Recurly doesn't list prices for these plans on its website so you'll have to call the company's sales team to get a custom quote. Your monthly fees depend on your revenue history, transaction volumes, the number of user accounts you need and a whole bunch of other factors. From our experience, we would suggest you're looking at enterprise prices but the more reasonable end of the spectrum. ### How does Recurly handle tax compliance? Recurly doesn't get involved in tax compliance itself and if you visit [the documentation for tax](https://docs.recurly.com/docs/tax) on its website, the company is honest in saying that "Recurly are not taxation experts". The platform does offer basic tax support, including calculations for the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and South Africa.  For more advanced taxation support, Recurly integrates with [Avalara](https://www.avalara.com/eu/en/index.html) and [Vertex](https://www.vertexinc.com/) - both of which can automate tax collection for you. Recurly recommends using Avalara if your customers are located in North America and the European Union. On the other hand, if your customer base is spread out across countries beyond these regions, Recurly suggests integrating with Vertex. ### How does Recurly handle dunning? Recurly has built a capable revenue recovery system into its platform but the company does everything it can to prevent failed payments in the first place. Proactive credit card updates check that your customers' cards are still valid and send out automated notifications to them, asking them to update their payment details once an expired card is detected.  In the event of a failed payment, Recurly automatically sends out notification emails to the customer, asking them to update their billing information. These emails are sent as soon as a payment fails and you can configure dunning sequences to determine how many follow-up emails are sent and how often. Meanwhile, Recurly will reattempt the payment to rule out any technical issues with the customers' bank or your payment gateway. You can also include manual payment prompts in your dunning sequence, asking customers to update their payment details or make the payment manually with multiple payment options available.  You can customise email templates and automate every stage of the sequence and any payment updates are automatically applied to the customer's account. Unfortunately, some dunning sequences are doomed to fail and all Recurly can do at this point is automatically update the status of the customer's subscription and invoice. You can choose to suspend or expire their subscription and invoices are marked as failed by default. ### How good is reporting? With Recurly's extensive features and impressive list of customers, the company has access to plenty of data - and this is reflected in the platform's reporting and analytics tools. The Analytics Dashboard is packed with reports for customers, subscriptions and revenue, each of which opens up a wealth of future reports and insights.  Within the Customers section, you can access reports for subscribers, net subscriber changes, churn rates, average revenue per subscriber (ARPS) and plenty more. Click through to the Revenue section and you'll find reports for average revenue per customer, billings, monthly recurring revenue (MRR), recovered revenue and customer numbers. The Revenue section includes two charts: the total subscription numbers for all plans (the top five and all others) and the subscription growth of your top five plans. You can access more reports from the left-hand navigation menu, including subscriber growth, plans report, trial performance report, MRR report, MRR growth report, subscriber retention report, churn analysis and more. ### Recurly verdict Recurly is *almost* the complete package as a subscription management platform. The only where it disappoints is a lack of built-in tax compliance features but the integrations with Avalara and Vertix can fill this gap - at an added cost. Aside from that small complaint, Recurly hits the mark at every level with comprehensive features for managing plans, pricing models, subscriptions and customer lifecycles. Recurly's dunning features are as good as any platform we've tested and only Chargee offers more extensive reporting and analytics. ## #6: [Zoho Subscriptions](https://www.zoho.com/uk/subscriptions/): Simple, affordable subscription management ***Free plan available; pricing starts at $49/month*** Zoho Subscriptions is a simple subscription management platform for small SaaS companies. If we were to run a race between the platforms in this article, to see which one gets you set up with a subscription and payment system on your website, our money would be on Zoho every time. It's not as flexible as the other options we've looked at and this isn't the platform for SaaS companies looking to manage and test complex pricing structures. However, if you've got a fairly simple pricing strategy in mind, Zoho helps you set everything up quickly so you can start taking payments sooner. **Key features:** - **Subscription management:** Create products, plans, add-ons, and manage the complete customer subscription life cycle. - **Recurring billing & invoicing:** Take care of your billing and invoicing with minimal manual effort. - **Discount management:** Increase sales by running, testing and managing discounts. - **Free trial management:** Capture more leads and nurture free users into paying customers. - **Metered billing:** Charge users based on how much they use your software product. - **Recurring payments & accounting:** Ensure payments come on time by facilitating payments through multiple methods. - **Subscription metrics & reports:** Stay updated about your subscription business metrics with comprehensive reports. - **Subscription automation:** Automate billing and subscription-related tasks with the help of workflow rules and webhooks. - **Dunning management:** Reduce churn and recover lost revenue with automated dunning features. - **Hosted payment pages:** Help your visitors take that final step by providing a simple and secure payment experience. - **Customer portal:** Provide customers with a handy self-service portal to help them view invoices and make payments. Zoho's software is a little light on features and flexibility compared to the rest of the platforms in this article but simplicity is its biggest asset. You can create plans and pricing models in minutes and the software itself takes very little time to get used to. Zoho Subscriptions also offers extensive support for payment gateways and integration with third-party platforms, including the full suite of Zoho software.  With Zoho Subscriptions, you can create and manage plans, automate billing, target customers around the world and tackle involuntary churn. On the face of things, Zoho covers pretty much everything you would need from a subscription management system but there isn't a great deal of depth to these features - for example, the customer retention features are pretty basic. ### How much does Zoho Subscriptions cost? Zoho Subscriptions offers a free plan that covers you for up to 20 subscribers or customers (whichever is higher) and one user with hosted payment pages, multi-currency support, Stripe integration, offline payments and subscription reporting.  That 20 subscription limit means you're bumped up to the $49/month Basic plan pretty quickly and this comes with a significant price increase. You're covered for up to 500 customers, three automated workflows and three users. You also get access to Zoho's dunning features and support for multiple payment gateways. This pricing model isn't really suitable if you're running free plans or a freemium model where you're not generating revenue from the majority of subscribers. ### How does Zoho Subscriptions handle tax compliance? Zoho has basic taxation functionality built into its subscription software, allowing you to add new taxes, set rates and create tax groups. You can also edit and delete taxes but that's all you really get natively - there's no tax calculation or notable support with compliance.  However, like many of the platforms we've looked at, Zoho Subscriptions integrates with Avalara so you can bring in more advanced taxation compliance features. ### How does Zoho Subscriptions handle dunning? Zoho automates repayment attempts, reminders and follow-ups to take the manual workload out of chasing up failed payments. You can set rules to control the schedule of retries and the automated actions if payments fail multiple times.  You can edit your email templates and send manual reminders to priority customers worth chasing up an extra time or two. All in all, Zoho's dunning features are fairly basic (like most of its features) but you get all of the essentials for a relatively affordable asking price. Our only complaint is that there aren't any dunning features available on the free plan. ### How good is reporting? Zoho Subscriptions includes reporting for more than 40 metrics and you can customise reports with a surprising amount of freedom.  Reports are compiled into seven categories: 1. **Subscriptions:** Signups, activations, active customers, churn rate, renewals and more. 2. **Revenue:** Net revenue, M=monthly recurring revenue (MRR), revenue by country and more. 3. **Sales:** Sales by plan, sales by addon, sales by coupon and more. 4. **Churn:** Under risk, non-renewing profiles, churn rate, churned after retries and more. 5. **Receivables:** Customer balances, ageing summary, ageing details, bad debts and more. 6. **Transactions:** Invoice details, credit note details, payment details and more. Reporting is Zoho Subscriptions' strongest feature, purely because it offers up more depth here than anywhere else. Interestingly, you get full access to reporting on every plan of Zoho Subscriptions, which leaves us wondering whether some reports could be kept for higher plans to make room for other features on the free plan - e.g.: basic dunning. ### Zoho Subscriptions verdict For the right kind of SaaS company, Zoho Subscriptions can be a simple, affordable subscription management platform that takes the complexity out of tiered pricing strategies. The simplicity of some features is a factor to consider, though, and the pricing system isn't workable for everyone - especially if you're running a free plan or freemium model. ## #7: [Fusebill](https://www.fusebill.com/): Flat pricing, no overage charges & full features access ***Pricing starts at $295/month*** If you've made it this far through our guide, you should have a good idea of what to expect from a subscription management platform and Fusebill isn't reinventing the wheel here - at least, not in terms of features. However, Fusebill is going something different with its pricing and plan structure. While most platforms charge a monthly fee with an overage charge applied on top, Fusebill charges a flat monthly fee, based on your recurring revenue, with no overage charges applied. You also get full access to all of the features available on Fusebill on every plan. **Key features:** - **Subscription management:** Flexible subscription catalogue to accommodate the needs of all your target customers. - **Recurring billing:** Automated recurring billing, invoicing and payments to keep your revenue coming in every month. - **Fusebill Payments:** Integrate payment processing directly into your subscription billing and lifecycle management platform. - **Recurring revenue:** Automated recurring revenue recognition helps you keep track of finances. - **Payment management:** Provide multiple payment options for customers while tracking and managing everything in Fusebill. - **Tax & compliance:** Fusebill's advanced tax engine simplifies compliance in every target market. - **Analytics & insights:** Monitor performance, spot trends and optimise your pricing strategy to maximise revenue. With Fusebill, you can create pricing plans and subscription models, automate recurring billing and manage customers throughout their lifecycle. The platform has a native payment gateway with tools for tracking recurring revenue, payment management features and some basic analytics and reporting features. All of this is to be expected but the big surprise with Fusebill is that you get access to all of the same features across every plan. The only major difference between the Startup, Rapid-Growth and Enterprise plans (aside from the pricing) is the level of onboarding and support you receive. In terms of features, you get access to everything, regardless of which plan you're signed up to.  Fusebill is a mature subscription management platform and a quality system but there's plenty of room for automating more features. For example, the software makes it easy to create subscription plans but there's a lack of basic editing capabilities if you want to remove, swap, edit and experiment with plans. You pretty much have to create or recreate everything from scratch when there should be a simple option to pause, remove or save plans. Aside from these niggles, the platform is intuitive and relatively easy to pick up for a platform, despite the outdated interfaces and a few navigational quirks. ### How much does Fusebill cost? Fusebill operates on a flat pricing model with fees determined by your annual revenue. Prices for the Startup plan start at $295/month and max out at $894/month, covering you for up to $1 million annual revenue. Fusebill doesn't charge any overage fees on any of its plans. Once you're generating more than $1 million in annual revenue, the Rapid-Growth plan starts at $895/month and this covers you for up to $10 million in annual revenue with prices gradually increasing up to $3,200/month. There are no feature upgrades between plans but you do get enhanced onboarding on the Rapid-Growth plan.  You'll have to call Fusebill's sales team to get a quote for the Enterprise plan if you're generating more than $10million in annual revenue and you can also arrange custom onboarding to adapt the system to your needs. Fusebill also runs its own payment processing service, called Fusebill Payments. The service covers Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express card payments with transaction fees of 2.85% + $0.30.  The only exception is American Express where the transaction fees are slightly higher at 3.45% + $0.30. These transaction fees are competitive with the likes of Stripe and Braintree (PayPal) although you'll often get the best rates from established merchant account providers that cater for high-volume transactions. ### How does Fusebill handle tax compliance? Fusebill offers basic taxation features for companies based in the US and Canada that helps you calculate tax obligations at the provincial/state and federal levels. You can also use this system if your company is based outside of North America and not subject to European VAT taxation rules. However, Fusebill is very clear that it "does *not* proactively monitor changes to tax rates and rules in any jurisdiction" "It is your responsibility to monitor the tax rates as they apply to your customer base and to maintain your tax rules accordingly." This is good advice for using any taxation software where the legal responsibility remains on you. Paddle is the only platform we've looked at that assumes this responsibility for you - otherwise, you need to ensure your company is compliant with tax obligations in every market you operate in and sell to.  For more advanced taxation features, Fusebill integrates with Avalara, which provides tax calculations for every market, including those subject to European VAT tax requirements. ### How does Fusebill handle dunning? Fusebill automates dunning sequences and you can customise rules to determine the quantity and timing of follow-ups. When a payment fails, the sequence begins with up to three retries and automatic status updates in the event of payment or continued failures.  Notification emails are sent out as soon as a payment fails, asking users to update their payment details. By default, accounts are suspended if the final retry attempt fails but you can control how long this grace period by setting the collection schedule for each payment attempt. ### How good is reporting? Fusebill covers all of the essentials with its native reporting, allowing you to track revenue, subscriptions, customer lifecycles, billing activity and the performance of each plan. There isn't much depth to these reports, though, and very little in the way of customisation to build reports or segment data with custom filters. The sales by plan report is about as in-depth as it gets but you still can't really do anything with this data.  Reporting is Fusebill's biggest letdown and we hope this is an area the company is working on because it's not up to the standard of the rest of its systems - certainly not to the standard of an enterprise system. ### Fusebill verdict Fusebill's pricing strategy offers good value on its Startup plan with no overage charges and open access to all of the platform's fteatures. With Fusebill Payments, you don't need to sign up with another card payment processor, either, and the transaction fees are competitive. Overall, Fusebill is a capable subscription management platform but it suffers from usability issues and a lack of customisation is noticeable across the system. This is most obvious when you're editing subscription plans you've already created (especially when you want to change or replace them) and there are similar issues holding back the native reporting features. Fix these issues, and Fusebill could easily feature higher in our list of recommendations. ## #8: [Braintree](https://www.braintreepayments.com/gb?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F): Global payments for SaaS companies ***Pricing info: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction*** Braintree is a payments platform that supports recurring billing for SaaS companies. This isn't a complete subscription management platform like the tools we've looked at so far but you can create subscription plans, manage recurring payments and track recurring revenue. Some of the biggest names in SaaS use Braintree to manage recurring billing, including Dropbox, Github and Twilio. The platform enables you to accept payments from anywhere in the world with credit cards, debit cards, p-cards, PayPal, mobile payment platforms and plenty more. For SaaS companies selling to markets around the world, Braintree provides extensive payment support for every major market and currency with competitive transaction fees to help you maximise growth.  **Key features:** - **Recurring billing:** Easily accept repeat online payments for software, subscription-based businesses and donations. - **Flexible pricing:** Create custom pricing plans for your customers. Set up discounts, add-ons, promotional periods and rewards. - **Prorated subscriptions:** Your customers have the ability to upgrade or downgrade their subscriptions at any time. - **Braintree checkout:** Give buyers a checkout with fewer clicks and a friction-free user experience that can help reduce cart abandonment, increase conversion rates, and encourage repeat business. - **Payment support:** Huge support for payment methods, including cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Venmo and so many more. - **Dunning:** Customize your settings to automatically retry past-due subscriptions and notify customers with custom emails. - **Reporting:** View and manage payments from your Control Panel in Braintree. Payment support is crucial for global SaaS companies that want to know customers can pay with their preferred payment methods. Wider support means more people can sign up, fewer payments fail and transactions never stand in the way of business growth. Braintree supports recurring billing for subscription plans and you can create flat-rate plans in the back end of the system. You can't create complex plans or track usage for metered plans and this is the key distinction between a payment platform like Braintree and the subscription management platforms we've looked at so far. The other thing to note with Braintree is built with developers in mind and you need to wield some code to get the best out of the platform. The interface only covers the basics and the documentation doesn't go into great details so you need developers with good understanding of the platform. ### How much does Braintree cost? Braintree transaction fees depend on the country you operate in and the countries you're selling to. For example, if you're based in the US, standard fees are 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction and an additional 1% charge is added for card payments from cards issued outside of the US and another 1% for non-USD payments.  You can find out all of the information you need on [Braintree's pricing page](https://www.braintreepayments.com/braintree-pricing) and you can apply for custom pricing, which could get you better rates for high volume transactions. ### How does Braintree handle tax compliance? Braintree doesn't provide any support for taxation or tax compliance but it does support integration with Avalara and various other tax management platforms. ### How does Braintree handle dunning? It's a story with dunning although you can manually retry payments from within the Braintree Control Panel. It's a convoluted process, though. You have to log into the Control Panel, click on the Subscriptions tab, search for the subscription (customer) you're looking for and, then, click the Retry Charge button. ### How good is reporting? Braintree offers basic reporting to keep track of transactions and subscriptions with an advanced transaction search function for you to filter payments by card type, charge date, settlement date and more.  You can also manage and settle disputes, provide refunds and keep track of transaction success rates - basic stuff but reasonable for a payment platform. ### Braintree verdict Braintree is not a subscription management platform and you can see this in the limited functionality for creating subscription plans, as well as the lack of taxation compliance and dunning features. Instead, Braintree helps you take global payments from customers anywhere in the world and it integrates with most of the subscription management platforms we've looked at in this guide - many of which don't support payments themselves. So this is a tool to integrate with your prefered subscription management software, if it doesn't include payment processing. ## #9: [PayKickStart](https://paykickstart.com/): SaaS growth & subscription management platform ***Pricing starts at $99/month*** PayKickStart is an affordable subscription management platform for growing SaaS companies. With no free plan, this might not be the best choice for new startups but the entry prices are relatively low and the starter plan includes most of the features small SaaS companies need to turn their pricing model into a growth strategy.  **Key features:** - **Subscription management:** Build customer relationships, minimize churn and increase lifetime value. - **Billing & accounting:** Collect revenue faster, create invoices and send transactional email notifications for streamlined accounting and customer communication. - **Free trial management:** Let customers test-drive your membership service before making the full investment. - **Revenue boosters:** Automated, out-of-the-box features designed to increase conversions and maximise profits. - **1-Click upsells:** Double the value earned from each customer, with 1-click functionality – allowing customers to enter their payment information once, then purchasing upsells or one-time offers with one click. - **Revenue retention:** Track and manage subscriptions throughout the customer lifecycle. - **Dunning management:** Automatically recover failed recurring payments, allowing customers to update their billing method, keeping more subscriptions active. - **Payment gateways:** Connect your preferred payment gateway with one of our seamless integration partners. - **Reporting & analytics:** Make informed decisions with accurate business metrics and insights. PayKickStart is a growth platform for SaaS companies with a powerful subscription management system - and most of these features available on the Starter plan. You can create and manage subscriptions, integrate with payment gateways (including Braintree) and manage recurring billing with flexible pricing models including flat fees, quantity-based pricing, tiered models, volume pricing and payment plans. You can also set up free plans and trials to capture leads and PayKickStart helps you upsell customers to more expensive plans while managing billing changes with upgrades, downgrades, reactivations and cancellations. Being a growth platform, subscription management is a big part of the system but it's not the only functionality you get from PayKickStart. For example, upgrading to the Growth plan gives you access to the Affiliate Management Center - a great feature for SaaS companies but not something you normally get from a subscription management platform. As a result, more of the subscription management features you would expect are available on the Starter plan. ### How much does PayKickStart cost? PayKickStart's Starter plan costs $99/month with a 0.9% overage charge once you exceed $10k in monthly revenue. As explained above, the Starter plan gives you access to almost all of the platform's subscription management features so this represents excellent value.  There are a couple of notable exclusions, though. The Starter plan comes with dunning features but the Growth plan opens up advanced dunning and we'll explore this in more detail later. The Growth plan also comes with a customer billing portal for users to manage their subscriptions and payment details, as well as cancellation saver features that help you reduce churn and gain valuable feedback from customers. Upgrading to the Growth plan will cost you $199/month, covering you for up to $50k monthly revenue, after which a 0.7% overage charge is applied. The Scale plan costs $299/month with an overage charge of 0.5% if you pass $200k in monthly revenue. This gets you a dedicated account manager, customer feedback surveys and a bunch of advanced growth tools but you've already got full access to the subscription management features on the Growth plan - so it's a question of monthly revenue at this point. If you're processing more than $200k in monthly revenue, you can apply for a Custom account for reduced rates. ### How does PayKickStart handle tax compliance? PayKickStart has default taxation profiles for the US, Canada, European Union and the United Kingdom. If you select the default profile setting, these are automatically applied to users based on the location details associated with their bank account.  You can also create custom tax profiles for these territories and PayKickStart integrates with [Taxamo](https://www.taxamo.com/) for more advanced taxation requirements - namely if you're selling to customers outside of North America, the EU and the UK. ### How does PayKickStart handle dunning? As we explained earlier, PayKickStart offers dunning on all of its plans and advanced dunning features on the Growth plan and higher. So let's start by looking at the dunning features you get on every plan, which is pretty much everything. You can manage email sequences, set cancellation rules, encourage users to upgrade their billing information and automate dunning sequences to recapture lost revenue. This is as good as any of the dunning features we've looked at in this guide, except for the lack of card expiration check - but only two of our recommendations provide this. So you're getting comprehensive dunning features on every PayKickStart plan.  On the Growth plan, you get "advanced dunning" features and this basically means in-app dunning sequences that prompt users to update their payment details and complete the payment to keep using your products. This is a *big* feature for SaaS companies that compliments email campaigns perfectly. If people are still using your platform, they're definitely going to see these notifications and the chance of unintentional churn is minimal. ### How good is reporting? With the depth of features available on every PayKickStart plan, you would hope for extensive reporting to help you get the most out of them - and the platform doesn't disappoint. In fact, PayKickStart excels at reporting and the platform benefits from being more than a subscription management system.  Aside from subscription reports, you also get native sales reports, funnel reporting and traffic reports on all plans. If you're signed up to the Growth plan, you also get the Affiliate Management Center, which includes dedicated affiliate reports. PayKickStart's reporting allows you to drill down into your data, filter and segment metrics and build custom reports to suit your needs - exactly what we want to see from a platform like this. ### PayKickStart verdict PayKickStart is more than a subscription management platform but subscriptions is where it shines and the pricing/plan structure means most of the features you need are available on the Start plan. The lack of a free plan means this might not be suitable for new startups or SaaS companies on a shoestring budget but the $99/month Starter plan offers excellent value for smaller companies looking to *kickstart* growth through their payment strategy. ## #10: [Stripe Billing](https://stripe.com/gb/billing): Global Payments & Flexible Pricing Models ******Pricing info: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction****** If Braintree's subscription models are too basic or you're looking for a more usable payment platform, Stripe Billing is the alternative you're looking for. You get the same level of support for global payments but far more flexibility with the pricing models you can create and a lot of the features you would normally expect from a subscription management platform. Strictly speaking, Stripe Billing is more of a recurring billing platform and a lot of these features are very basic in comparison to most of the tools we're looking at today. That said, Stripe Billing just about provides enough to be your only billing/subscription platform, albeit a very basic one.  **Key features:** - **Subscription management:** Launch new plans and start accepting payments in minutes. - **Pricing models:** Billing logic for everything from per-seat pricing to metered billing is available out of the box. - **Flexible pricing:** Give sales teams the ability to negotiate rates and automate the collection process. - **Invoices & billing:** Stripe-hosted invoices get paid 3x faster than traditional invoices. - **Free trials:** Create free trials and offer discounts to encourage sign-ups. - **Dunning tools:** Stripe’s dunning tools help businesses recover 41% of failed recurring payments on average. - **Automatic reminders:** Maximise your chances of getting paid with email reminders for missed or overdue payments. - **Billing proration:** Stripe automatically prorates billing when any plan changes occur. - **Customer portal:** Let customers change their subscription or update billing details by sharing a secure link to Stripe’s prebuilt customer portal. - **Reporting:** Track revenue, payments, subscriptions and sign-up in Stripe. Stripe is a payment platform and its primary purpose is to help you take card payments from customers around the world. However, Stripe Billing brings important features into the mix for SaaS companies running subscription products/services with support for the most common pricing models and automated invoicing, as well as basic tax compliance and churn prevention features - including dunning. That pretty much covers everything a SaaS company needs to run subscriptions and, while these features don't have the same depth as most of the tools we've looked at in this article, Stripe Billing could act as an all-in-one payment and subscription platform. ### How much does Stripe Billing cost? Strip Billing basically runs with the same pricing as Braintree, which we looked at earlier.  Transaction fees vary depending on your location and the markets you're selling to. For example, SaaS companies in the US are looking at 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fees with 1% added for cards registered outside of the US and another 1% for non-USD currencies. ### How does Stripe Billing handle tax compliance? To collect taxes on a subscription through Stripe Billing, you can either set tax rates to invoices or specify tax rates in Checkout Sessions to apply them to subscription charges. When invoices are generated for subscriptions, tax rates are copied from the subscription to the invoice. You don't get any tax calculations with Stripe Billing so your accounting department needs to take responsibility for this and ensure you're charging the correct tax rates for each customer. ### How does Stripe Billing handle dunning? Stripe Billing includes a number of smart features to help you prevent failed payments and recover lost revenue. - **Smarter saved cards:** Saved card details can continue to work even if the physical card has been replaced by the issuing bank. Stripe works with card networks and automatically attempts to update saved card details whenever a customer receives a new card. - **Fail payment emails:** Stripe’s failed payment emails allow you to send an email to your user when a card payment for an invoice fails. You can customize the colours and logo on these emails to fit with the design and branding of your business. - **Smart retries:** Using machine learning, Smart Retries chooses optimal times to retry failed payment attempts to increase the chance of successfully paying an invoice.  You can configure automatic collection settings to schedule payment retries, customise emails, automatically update invoices and set account statuses based on the response (or lack of) from customers. ### How good is reporting? Reporting in Stripe Billing is fairly basic (to be expected) but all the essentials are covered.  You can track revenue, payments and subscriptions from the main reporting dashboard and you can also create custom reports. You'll find the documentation for this on [the Stripe Docs site](https://stripe.com/docs/reports). ### Stripe Billing verdict Stripe Billing is a payment platform for SaaS companies but it doesn't stop at taking recurring payments. You can create and manage subscription plans and free trials with ease and the platform packs some innovative dunning and churn prevention features. Taxation is as basic as it gets but the system does allow you to charge tax on subscriptions and invoices so this is a workable solution for SaaS companies. And, if you need more advanced features, you can always integrate Stripe Billing with your subscription management platform of choice. ## Which is the best subscription billing platform? To help you choose the best subscription billing platform for your needs, the rest of this article compares the options we've looked at across the following five categories: 1. **[Pricing](#pricing)** 2. **[Features](#features)** 3. **[Tax compliance](#tax)** 4. **[Dunning](#dunning)** 5. **[Reporting](#reporting)** Once again, you can click on the blue link text above to jump ahead to any section and, first up, we've got a comparison table for the pricing of each platform in this article. ### Pricing comparison In the table below, we've listed the starting price for each platform in this article and the pricing listed for the most expensive plans listed by each provider although most companies also offer custom, high-use or enterprise plans that are priced on application (POA). | Tool | Starting price | Top plan | Overage fees | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Paddle | POA | POA | | | Chargebee | Free | $549 | 0.6%-0.75% | | Chargify | $599 | $3,499 | 0.5%-0.9% | | Billsby | Free | $2,000 | 0.4% | | Recurly | $149 | POA | 0.9% | | Zoho Subscriptions | Free | $249 | No | | Fusebill | $295 | $3,200 | No | | Braintree | Free\* | Free\* | No | | PayKickStart | $99 | $299 | 0.5%-0.9% | | Stripe Billing | Free\* | Free\* | No | Paddle is the only company that doesn't publicly list any pricing information at all so you'll have to call them for a quote. With Braintree and Stripe billing being payment platforms rather than subscription management tools, there are no monthly fees or overage charges but you are paying transaction fees, which is why we've marked these with asterisks. ### Feature comparison Next up, we've got a quick comparison of the key features available on each platform. Throughout this guide, we've focused on the features that have been most important to us, having launched many SaaS products of our own over years - and networking with other companies facing the same challenges with running subscription models. | Tool | Subscriptions | Taxes | Dunning | Card checks | Customer portal | Payment processing | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Paddle | ✔ | Complete | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | | Chargebee | ✔ | Strong | ✔ | | ✔ | | | Chargify | ✔ | Medium | ✔ | | ✔ | | | Billsby | ✔ | Basic | ✔ | | ✔ | | | Recurly | ✔ | Basic | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | | | Zoho Subscriptions | ✔ | Basic | ✔ | | ✔ | | | Fusebill | ✔ | Weak | ✔ | | ✔ | ✔ | | Braintree | Basic | | | | | ✔ | | PayKickStart | ✔ | Medium | ✔ | | ✔ | | | Stripe Billing | ✔ | Basic | ✔ | | ✔ | ✔ | Paddle is the clear winner on features and the only platform that offers a complete tax compliance service that assumes legal responsibility in your place. All of the other platforms offer tax compliance features to varying extents, except Braintree, which is by far the most basic subscription billing platform we've looked at. Another standout feature is the automatic card checks carried out by Paddle and Recurly, which reduce the risk of failed payments. ### Best for tax compliance As you can see from the table above, the quality of tax compliance varies a lot between these platforms. This is true for all subscription billing platforms and this is one of the most important considerations. There are three standout platforms for this. 1. **Paddle** 2. **Billsby** 3. **Chargebee** You don't necessarily need to choose the platform that offers the most advanced tax compliance features. It's more a case of understanding how you're going to handle tax compliance as a company and choosing the most appropriate tool for this. Here's a quick reminder of why these three platforms win this category. #### [Paddle](https://paddle.com/) Paddle is the only subscription billing platform in this guide that offers a full tax compliance service. The company assumes the role of the Merchant of Record, making the company a reseller of your product, which places all of the tax obligations on Paddle rather than your own company. So Paddle handles all of your taxation for you and, if the company makes a mistake, that's its problem - not yours. Paddle calculates and charges tax for all of your sales, in every market, and it also files and remits all of the necessary legal documentation for you. As the Merchant of Record, it's Paddle's responsibility to keep up with the latest taxation compliance regulations in each market you're selling to and ensure everything thing is above board. This means you can focus on growing your business without keeping constant tabs on tax regulations in every country, state or territory you want to sell to. #### [Billsby](https://www.billsby.com/) Billsby offers pretty extensive support for tax compliance and the company puts a lot of effort into keeping up with regulations in Australia, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, India, New Zealand and the United States. Unlike Paddle, Billsby doesn't take on tax responsibilities for you but it is the only platform with a reliable tax calculator for the markets listed above.  Most of the platforms we've looked at today integrate with tax software and Billsby is no exception with its TaxJar integration. However, the platform offers up more native tools for configuring and calculating taxes than the other platforms in this list. #### [Chargebee](https://www.chargebee.com/) As with most subscription management platforms, you have to configure taxes in Chargebee for every market you're selling to. So the responsibility lies upon you as the seller to keep up to date with regulations in each market and meet your compliance obligations. Chargebee helps you configure tax rules with a flexible system by defining all of the regions your customers are based in and automatically applying your tax rates.  In our experience, Chargebee is up to date with the tax rates in major "Western" markets, including the US, Canada, the EU, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. However, you'll have to confirm these rates for yourself before you start charging customers in any given market. You can also integrate Chargebee with Alavara to automate tax calculation and collection, which removes the need to manually configure taxes for every region. ### Best for dunning The other big feature you need from a subscription billing platform is dunning tools to help you recover revenue from failed payments. Most of the platforms in this article provide basic dunning features but three platforms go the extra distance: 1. **Paddle** 2. **Recurly** 3. **PayKickStart** We should also mention Stripe Billing here because the platform offers up some innovative dunning features, especially the smarter saved cards feature that automatically attempts to update saved card details whenever your customers receive a new card from their issuing bank. Sadly, Stripe Billing just misses out on our top three for this category so let's look at why these options top our list. #### [Paddle](https://paddle.com/) Paddle includes comprehensive churn prevention and revenue recovery systems with the most advanced set of dunning features provided by any of the platforms in this guide. Prior to subscription renewal, Paddle automatically checks the card details of your customers to check if they've been updated since the last payment and sends out notification emails to inform your customers that a payment is due to be taken. If your customers' card has been updated since the last payment, they're prompted to update their details *before* the renewal date.  If the renewal payment fails, Paddle automatically retries the payment for you, using alternative payment processors included in its global payment network. This saves you from integrating with multiple gateways and protects your reputation from getting hurt by multiple failed payments with the same processor - again, Paddle handles all of this for you. Payment retries are spread out to overcome resolvable issues, such as temporary lack of funds or technical issues on the side of the card provider or payment processor. Dunning emails are also sent out to notify customers that their payment failed and urge them to update their information or complete the payment manually themselves. Paddle's pre-emptive dunning strategy reduces the quantity of failed payments *before* they happen and automatically recovers as much ist revenue as possible. #### [Recurly](https://recurly.com/) Recurly is the only other provider in this list that automatically checks subscribers' credit cards for changes and prompts them to update their details ahead of payments. This is a huge feature for SaaS companies and we hope more platforms follow Paddle and Recurly in offering this.  Recurly also gives you full control over dunning management to control the length of dunning cycles, the number of emails sent and the subscription termination process. As we mentioned earlier, reporting is one of Recurly's biggest strengths and the platform's revenue optimization engine helps you identify churn trends and prevent customers from slipping away. You can also measure the effectiveness of your dunning cycles and optimise them to maximise results. #### [PayKickStart](https://paykickstart.com/) PayKickStart's dunning management features are every bit as good as Recurly's with one thing lacking: the check on customers' cards ahead of payments. However, the platform makes up a lot of ground for this missing feature by allowing you to send in-app notifications to users, including failed payment and credit card expiring notifications (this relies on them having saved their card details).  The value in this feature is that you're sending notifications to customers who are using your software product and, in theory, want to continue using it - so the likelihood of preventing or recovering failed payments is much higher. ### Best for reporting Reporting is another area where depth and quality vary a lot between these platforms. There was a bit of a spoiler in the previous section when we talked about Recurly's reporting strengths but it still isn't the best of the platforms for reporting and analytics. Here are the top three: 1. **Chargebee** 2. **Recurly** 3. **PayKickStart** We also need to give another shoutout to Stripe Billing here because it's a pretty simple platform compared to most of the options in this article (it's primarily a payment platform) but it punches above its weight with reporting - so it deserves another honourable mention. #### [Chargebee](https://www.chargebee.com/) Chargebee is the standout platform for reporting and analytics with native dashboards, packed full of 150+ reports for all the revenue, subscription and business performance metrics SaaS companies need.  Native reports are one thing but you also want the ability to create your own reports and Chargebee gives you the freedom to do this while giving more data to work with and built-in features to help you compile reports on your own terms. None of the other platforms come close to Chargebee in terms of reporting and analytics. #### [Recurly](https://recurly.com/) Recurly is the best of the rest for reports and analytics with dozens of reports and an intuitive analytics dashboard showing 10 KPIs for quick analysis of revenue and subscription performance.  Recurly earns its place with extensive reporting but it misses out on the top spot by a lack of customisation options that prevent you from creating dashboards and reports of your own within the software. You can *export* custom reports from Recurly but we would rather have the ability to create custom reports in the platform itself and do more with the available data. #### [PayKickStart](https://support.paykickstart.com/)  PayKickStart comes in at a close third for reporting with five main categories in addition to a Vendor Dashboard compiling your key insights: 1. Sales 2. Subscriptions 3. Funnel reports 4. Commissions 5. Traffic Each of those dashboards opens up several reports - for example, the Sales Report dashboard shows your sales by month, gross/net revenue, campaign and product breakdowns and sales attributed to campaigns. Again, the only complaint is that you can't create custom reports. This is a common issue with these platforms although PayKickStart partly compensates for this with the depth of reporting built into the platform. ## Wrapping up: Turn your pricing strategy into a growth asset Subscription management is tricky but the platform's we've looked at in this guide will help you test new strategies, find the best pricing models for each product and maximise recurring revenue by preventing churn and recovering failed payments. The best SaaS pricing strategies drive growth by attracting new customers and upselling users to more expensive plans as their needs become more advanced. Some of these platforms provide all the tools you need to implement this kind of strategy while others simply cover the basics of subscription billing - and we've covered every price point with our recommendations. So pick your tool and turn your pricing strategy into the growth asset it should be. ## FAQ **What is the best subscription billing software for SaaS companies?** The best subscription billing software depends on your company's stage and priorities, but **Paddle and Chargebee lead the market** for enterprise-grade features, whilst Billsby offers the most affordable entry point with unlimited features at no overage cost. Each platform excels in different areas—Paddle for premium revenue optimisation, Chargebee for scalability across growth stages, and Maxio for complex event-based billing scenarios. **How much does SaaS subscription billing software cost?** **Pricing ranges from free to enterprise-level costs**, with most platforms charging either percentage-based fees (typically 2-3% of revenue) or fixed monthly subscriptions starting between £20-£100. Fusebill distinguishes itself with flat-rate pricing and no overage charges, whilst Zoho Subscriptions offers the most budget-friendly option for small teams starting out. **What features should I look for in subscription management software?** Essential features include **flexible pricing model support, automated billing and invoicing, dunning management, and comprehensive analytics** to track customer lifecycle metrics. Advanced platforms like Recurly and Chargebee also offer revenue recognition, multi-currency support, and integration capabilities with your existing tech stack. **Can subscription billing software handle complex pricing structures?** Yes, modern subscription platforms are specifically designed to manage complex pricing—**Maxio specialises in events-based billing** for intricate B2B SaaS models, whilst Chargebee and Paddle both support tiered pricing, usage-based billing, and hybrid models. This capability is crucial if you're running multiple product tiers or usage-dependent pricing. **Is subscription billing software worth the investment?** **Subscription billing software is essential for any SaaS company managing multiple plans or customers**, as it automates revenue operations and reduces manual billing errors that cost time and money. The ROI typically appears within months through improved cash flow visibility, reduced churn via better dunning, and time saved on administrative tasks. **What's the difference between subscription billing and subscription management software?** **Subscription billing focuses specifically on invoicing and payment processing**, whilst subscription management software encompasses the entire customer lifecycle including billing, analytics, retention, and revenue optimisation. Platforms like Recurly and Chargebee blur this line by offering comprehensive solutions covering both functions. **Which subscription platform is best for early-stage SaaS startups?** **Billsby and Zoho Subscriptions are optimal for early-stage startups** due to their low cost of entry and straightforward feature sets that don't overwhelm new teams. Billsby's unlimited features at no extra cost makes it particularly attractive for bootstrapped founders who need to scale without worrying about overage fees. --- # 10 Small Business Automation Tools to Save Time & Increase Profit URL: https://ventureharbour.com/10-small-business-automation-tools-to-save-time-increase-profit/ Summary: Compare 15+ business automation tools to streamline workflows & save hours weekly. Find the right platform for your small business. See our top picks. Last updated: 2026-04-12 06:04:03 Business automation is transforming the way brands operate, allowing them to do more with less and scale in ways never before possible. In theory, this means business size doesn't matter so much and automation can actually give the advantage to smaller brands that are often able to react to new trends faster than their larger rivals. The only problem is most of the automation tools on the market are still geared toward medium and larger businesses - but not all of them. In this article, we've got a selection of some of the best business automation tools designed with smaller brands in mind and helping you take your venture to the next level. ## #1: [Zapier](https://zapier.com/)  Zapier is a simple automation platform that every business can use to save time and money while boosting productivity. This is about as straightforward as automation comes, allowing you to create automated actions between essential applications used by businesses in every industry. Want to automatically save attachments in Gmail to Google Drive? Or how about Tweeting all of your blog posts to Twitter as soon as you hit the publish button? Perhaps you want to save all new Google Docs files to OneDrive and then back them up in Dropbox. With Zapier you can set up thousands of automations like these to cut out repetitive manual tasks, allowing you to spend your time on more profitable actions. ## #2: [IFTTT](https://ifttt.com/)  IFTTT is very similar to Zapier and the general idea is the same. You're going to use this to create basic automations between different apps to save you bouncing between different platforms to repeat the same menial tasks. The key difference is that IFTTT offers a significantly better free version than Zapier. The main downside is you can only have one account, which means it's not particularly suitable for teams. Another key difference is that IFTTT automations run instantly, as soon as the trigger action happens. Meanwhile, Zaps either run every 15 minutes or five minutes depending on which version of the software you're using. The key advantage with Zapier is that you can set up Multi-Step Zaps with any of the paid versions. This allows you to set multiple automations from the same trigger action - something you can't do with any version of IFTTT. ## #3: [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign-emsg/) ActiveCampaign is much more than a marketing automation platform, combining advanced email marketing features and an enterprise standard CRM into a serious piece of business software. ActiveCampaign isn't the only platform of its kind but it's the only one we know of that's optimised equally well for businesses of all sizes. We spent a long time looking for the right CRM platform (you can read more about our journey [here](/activecampaign-review/)) and we kept running into the same problem. The basic packages are generally reasonably priced by features are throttled and the prices shoot up as soon as you outgrow your current version. Aside from being one of the best all-in-one marketing automation tools in the industry, ActiveCampaign is the only one we found that was reasonably priced for every version of its software. Which means you don't need to worry about being held to ransom if your business outgrows the version you start with. This is pretty important considering growth is the whole point of business automation. ## #4 & 5: [Hootsuite](https://hootsuite.com/) or [Buffer](https://buffer.com/)  Social media is a business essential but it's a major pain to run and manage campaigns across multiple platforms. Luckily, platforms like Hootsuite and Buffer make it easy to automate as much of your social media marketing efforts as you need to. There isn't a great deal between these two platforms but we went with Buffer because it's the more intuitive piece of software and it offered the better scheduling options at the time we were comparing them. ## #6: [Grammarly](https://www.grammarly.com/)  It's amazing how much content modern businesses need to produce, even the smallest of enterprises in the most niche of sectors. All of those emails, blog posts and social antics have got to come from somewhere and the last thing you want is your marketing efforts to be held back by dodgy speeling, sorry... *spelling*. Grammarly won't make your writing foolproof but it does a surprisingly good job of saving you from those basic spelling and grammar mistakes (there vs their, etc.) that can leave people questioning the competence of your business. ## #7: [Google Ads](https://ads.google.com/home/)  Okay, this doesn't sound much like an automation platform but keep with me. Google Ads (recently rebranded from Google Ads) is making a lot of changes designed to make it a more powerful platform for smaller businesses and automation is at the heart of this. Check out its new [responsive search ads](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7684791) (still in beta) for a preview of what's to come. You don't need to wait for new features to automate your PPC strategy, though. Google Ads comes with a hist of automation features you can use to get better results - and they're all free: - **Bid rules:** You set a number of bidding conditions (e.g.: increase your bids for ads that drop off the first page) and Google does the rest - find out more [here](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2472779?co=ADWORDS.IsAWNCustomer%3Dtrue&hl=en). - **Google Ads scrips:** [A collection of JavaScript snippets](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/scripts/docs/solutions/) you can use to automate actions like generating reports into spreadsheets, adjusting bids and refining your keywords lists. - **Google Ads API:** The new version of the [Google Ads API](https://developers.google.com/adwords/api/docs/guides/start), the [Google Ads API](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/start) is still in beta but promises to bring the same kind of automation options for you to build into your own applications. Automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence are going to transform the way small businesses use platforms like Google Ads over the coming decade - and the shift has already begun. Stay tuned. ## #8: [WordStream](https://www.wordstream.com/)  While Google is making automation easier, there's still a certain level of complexity that's going to put a lot of small businesses off. I'm confident this won't be the case for too much longer but there's still space for third-party platforms like WordStream that simplify paid advertising for people who don't want to get bogged down in complex settings. The [20-minute working week feature](https://www.wordstream.com/20-minute-ppc-work-week) will get you up and running with campaigns and basic management without breaking a sweat and you'll gradually outgrow this feature as you become more used to advertising with Google Ads. This is a great tool for getting to grips with PPC and the whole idea of delving into Google Ads settings will seem a lot more approachable after you've been using WordStream for a while. ## #9: [Calendly](https://calendly.com/)  Calendly is another simple automation tool that every business can make use of. Essentially, it cuts out the back-and-forth emails for arranging meetings, phone calls and other appointments. You simply set your availability preferences in Calendly for the next meeting and embed a link in your email invitation. The recipient then chooses which time suits them and the event is automatically added to your calendar - done. ## #10: [Xero](https://www.xero.com/)  The bigger your business gets, the more accounting it requires and this is always a barrier when resources are tight. Xero helps minimise the workload of accounting with features like automated invoices, scheduled payments and cash flow management - plus a whole bunch more. You get a lot of features crammed into this piece of software and they're all designed to make managing money easier for small businesses. ### Automate your way to bigger things Automation isn't reserved for the big businesses out there and the selection of tools designed for smaller enterprises is only going to increase over the next few years. It doesn't stop at marketing and admin, either — even hiring can be largely automated with the right [applicant tracking system](/applicant-tracking-systems/). Get yourself started with the platforms we've looked at in this article and by the time you've made the most of them, there'll be a new suite of tools ready for you to take the next jump - and it won't be long before your building your own automations to suit your needs. ## FAQ **What is business automation and how does it help small businesses?** Business automation uses software tools to perform repetitive tasks automatically, freeing your team to focus on high-value work that drives growth. For small businesses specifically, **automation levels the playing field against larger competitors** by allowing you to operate with fewer staff whilst maintaining or increasing output—meaning you can scale without proportionally increasing your headcount costs. **Which automation tool is best for connecting different apps together?** Zapier is the most powerful tool for connecting disparate applications and automating workflows across your entire tech stack. It supports over 6,000 integrations and allows you to create complex automation sequences without coding, making **cross-platform automation accessible to non-technical users**. **Can small businesses use automation for marketing?** Yes—marketing automation is one of the highest-ROI applications for small businesses, with tools like ActiveCampaign, Hootsuite, and Buffer specifically designed for this purpose. These platforms automate email campaigns, social media posting, and lead nurturing, meaning **your marketing can run 24/7 without manual intervention**. **What's the cheapest way to automate my business?** IFTTT (If This Then That) is the most cost-effective entry point to business automation, offering free automation for basic workflows and simple integrations. However, for more sophisticated needs, **investing in a dedicated platform like Zapier or ActiveCampaign typically delivers better ROI** than trying to patch together multiple free tools. **How much time can business automation actually save?** The time savings depend on your specific workflows, but automating just 5-10 repetitive daily tasks can easily save 5-10 hours per week per employee. When you multiply this across your team, **automation can reclaim hundreds of hours annually**—time that can be redirected toward strategy, customer relationships, and revenue-generating activities. **Is business automation software difficult to set up?** Modern automation tools like Zapier, Calendly, and Grammarly are designed for non-technical users and require no coding knowledge to implement. Most tools offer pre-built templates and step-by-step setup wizards, meaning **you can automate your first workflow in under 15 minutes**. **What types of tasks should small businesses automate first?** Prioritise repetitive, rule-based tasks that don't require human judgment—such as social media scheduling, email follow-ups, appointment booking, and data entry between systems. **Automating administrative tasks first** delivers quick wins and frees your team to focus on customer-facing and strategic work that actually generates revenue. **Can automation tools integrate with my existing business software?** Most modern automation platforms support hundreds or thousands of integrations with popular business software, from CRMs to accounting tools to email providers. Zapier alone connects over 6,000 apps, so **compatibility is rarely a limiting factor**—the real question is whether the specific workflow you need is supported. --- # 10 Social CRMs & Apps Compared URL: https://ventureharbour.com/social-crms/ Summary: Compare 10 top social CRM tools with pricing & features. Find the best software for social media integration. See our top pick. Last updated: 2026-04-09 07:00:32 You need a social CRM to build better customer relationships and convert more business, but when you think about labouring through another “best of” article you’d rather have a heated conversation with politically-divided family members. We get it, but here’s the thing: You will never be able to make a*final* decision on a social CRM solely from reading articles. Reading guides like this one is the first step of the process. The second (and final) step is creating a shortlist of potential tools to try. So the bad news is that this *is* another “best of” article. But, the good news is that this isn’t another watered-down fluffy piece on some tools we randomly chose. We hand-picked these social CRMs and varied our choices to suit different business types. After reading this guide, you should be able to create a shortlist of tools and start some free trials. By the time you finish reading this guide, you will: - Know which social CRM will fit your budget - Understand which social CRM will help you meet your business goals - Be able to create a shortlist of tools to try out based on the features you need most We also included a simple comparison chart to help you review the best social CRMs at a glance (for those of you who like the bottom line). Let’s quickly cover what a social CRM is and why you need it (this is important). We will then discuss our chart and give you a rundown of our 10 best social CRM tools. ## What is a Social CRM and Do You Even Need One? If you just started your business journey and have five connections on LinkedIn and no customers, you may not need a social CRM. But, if you are already using a CRM and/or you realize you need an automated way to connect with prospects and customers on social media sites, it may be time to give one a try. If you are new to the world of CRMs, they organise and manage your customer data, from sales pipelines and deals, contacts, internal and external content, and more. CRMs provide you with the ease to market better and close more deals and sales. *Social* CRMs bring customer relationship management to the next level by offering social integration or social media management functionality. This functionality could be built into the tool or available with the integration of a third-party app. Social CRMs extend beyond simple customer organisation and management by integrating social media data and conversations. This allows businesses to incorporate customer engagement into their marketing strategy to better capture social conversations and data to increase conversions. It’s kind of like a CRM on steroids. Social CRMs focus on customer interests instead of just demographic data. Without social features, your CRM is a one-way conversation. The term “social CRM” is not easily defined, however. Many tools call themselves social CRMs, but they may not offer built-in social integrations. As a result, the lines between traditional CRMs and social CRMs may be blurred, which will make it harder for you to figure out which tool is best for your business. For the sake of simplicity, we’ve defined social CRMs as tools that have one or more of these three types of functionality. ### 1. **Social integration (built-in)** When a tool has social integration, it can communicate with external social platforms and share data. For example, you can transfer customer data from LinkedIn and add it to one of your existing CRM contacts. Some tools offer these integrations natively (they are built into the platform). This provides a more seamless experience and less time tinkering to get your desired outcome. Note that when we talk about “social integration” this doesn’t include social media management where you can post to your social profiles or manage your social content directly from within the platform. ### 2. **Social integration (third-party apps)** Some tools will require the use of third-party apps such as Zapier and Automate.io to integrate with social platforms. Using third-party apps will require additional money and time to set up, so keep that in mind as you review the social CRM tools. We included two of these CRMs in this article (Pipedrive and Keap) because built-in social integration may not be as important to some as it is to others. It depends on your business goals and your current setup. Note that this functionality does not give you the ability to post to your social profiles or manage its content. ### 3. **Social media management** These tools offer complete social media management, which includes the ability to post and schedule content to multiple social profiles, and engage with your community directly within the platform. This functionality may also include social listening (monitoring your industry for key insights and brand mentions), social analytics, influencer insights, and more depending on the platform’s offerings. Below is a comparison chart for the 10 social CRM tools we discuss in this article, along with the criteria above. When you see “All-in-one traditional CRM,” we refer to a traditional system that allows you to import, manage, and organise your contacts directly in the tool and automate marketing tasks (some may also offer customer support features). These all-in-one CRM tools have social features integrated or available as an add-on.  ## The 10 Best Social CRM Tools Without further adieu, here are our picks for the 10 best social CRMs. If you use one that is not on this list, please let us know in the comments, and we will review it in more detail. - [****Agorapulse****](https://www.agorapulse.com/) - Best social CRM with social media management and a full-featured starter package - [****HubSpot****](https://www.hubspot.com/products/marketing)- Best social CRM with an intuitive all-in-one CRM and social media management - [****Pipedrive****](/recommends/pipedrive/) - Best sales pipeline management with social integration via 3rd-party apps - [****Keap****](/recommends/keap/) - Best all-in-one traditional CRM with social integration via 3rd-party apps - [****Nimble****](https://www.nimble.com/) - Best social CRM with pipeline management and built-in social integration - [****Sprout Social****](https://sproutsocial.com/) - Best social CRM for social media management and powerful automation - [****Zoho Social****](https://www.zoho.com/social/) - Best social CRM with all-in-one CRM and social media management - [****Salesforce****](https://www.salesforce.com/products/marketing-cloud/social-media-marketing/) - Best social CRM with an all-in-one traditional and social media management for small to enterprise-level companies - [****eClincher****](https://eclincher.com/) - Best social CRM with social media management and a larger number of social channel integrations - [****Crystal****](https://www.crystalknows.com/) - Best social CRM with Personality AI and built-in social integration ### #1 [Agorapulse](https://www.agorapulse.com/) *Best social CRM with social media management and a full-featured starter package* Agorapulse was created strictly for social media management and is known for its feature-rich platform that extends far beyond basic social media management. If you are not looking for an all-in-one CRM, but you want robust social media management features, Agorapulse is one to try. In addition to social media management and reporting, Agorapulse also has a feature that automatically profiles specific people on social media sites who may be influential to your marketing campaigns. Label and categorise these social profiles to run more targeted campaigns. With Agorapulse, you can post and schedule content simultaneously. Create content once and publish to multiple social networks. Also, schedule content weeks and months in advance by queuing up posts for future publishing with expiration dates. All of the content lives on a shared calendar for easy access and management.  Manage all social posts, comments (from ads as well), direct and private messages directly in the platform. Segmenting is also available with the ability to add custom labels to your highest engagers and categorise them by adding each to a custom segment (ex: customer, ambassador, qualified lead, etc.) Inbox assistant is an organising system for your messages so you can easily keep track of your activity with features such as saved replies, one-click translations, filters, and more.  Run competitive analyses with its *Facebook Competitors* visual report. Agorapulse also just introduced its *Power Reports* add-on which enables you to create custom social reports and automatically send them to team members at designated dates and times.  **Agorapulse features:** - Custom segments and audience labels - Roles and permissions - Social posting and scheduling - Shared calendar view with clients - Social comments management - Automated Inbox assistant - Bulk upload - Publishing insights - Advanced reporting and analytics - Competition analytics - Mobile application **Pricing:** *28-day free trial offered* The *Medium* plan (lowest plan) starts at $79/month billed annually for 10 social profiles and two users. Additional profiles and users cost $15/month and $30/month, respectively. The plan offers features such as inbox assistant, ad comments monitoring, unified calendar, unlimited scheduled and queue posts, permissions, bulk scheduling, custom labels and internal and competitor reporting. *Premium* plans start at $159/month, which includes 25 social profiles and four users. Premium packages add on priority support and training, as well as a higher number of active ads allowance and increased time to retain your data on the platform. We like Agorapulse’s full-featured starter package (*Medium*). It includes all of the features of premium packages except onboarding training, a dedicated account manager and a few other smaller features. [****Check out Agorapulse to learn more****](https://www.agorapulse.com/). ### #2 [HubSpot](https://www.hubspot.com/products/marketing) *Best social CRM with an intuitive all-in-one CRM and social media management* HubSpot is an all-in-one CRM that enables you to manage all of your contacts as well as your marketing and customer service. HubSpot has been a top-rated CRM for years and continues to garner stellar reviews for its feature stack, robust free plan and intuitive platform. With its social media lead intelligence, sync your social profiles to your existing leads to empower salespeople with more prospect information (a feature offered in HubSpot’s traditional CRM). HubSpot offers social media management features in its add-on product, Marketing Hub. Publish and schedule content to all of your social networks, share content, reply to messages, and more. HubSpot also offers suggestions for the best times to post. Connect the following social accounts directly to HubSpot: - Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - LinkedIn - YouTube Track significant interactions by creating keyword monitoring streams so your team can search and access these interactions at any time. [](/recommends/hubspot/) Consult HubSpot's social reports to assess your social engagement successes and areas of improvement. Compare the performance of all of your campaigns and publishing times and access all reporting from one central interface. [](/recommends/hubspot/) **HubSpot Social CRM features:** - Social posting and scheduling - Social comments management - Custom segments - Bulk upload - Publishing insights - Advanced reporting and analytics - Mobile application **Pricing:***Free plan available* Find HubSpot’s social media management features in its Marketing Hub product. The *Free* plan is limited but offers enough features to try out the platform such as management of Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Google ads, contact management, email marketing, forms, live chat and traffic and conversion analytics. The *Starter* plan for HubSpot’s Marketing Hub starts at $50/month and includes features such as conversations inbox, team email, live chat, email marketing, list segmentation, landing pages, and ad retargeting. Note that social media publishing and scheduling is only available on the *Professional* plan starting at $800/month billed annually. The *Professional* plan includes additional features such as company scoring, record customisation, phone support, content strategy, social media tools, marketing automation, A/B testing, custom reporting. Social permissions and YouTube integrations are only available in the *Enterprise* package, starting at $3,200/month. We think HubSpot is one of the best CRMs on the market because of its easy-to-use interface and feature-rich free plan. But, HubSpot may be overkill if you don’t want all of the marketing features available in Marketing Hub or an all-in-one CRM. [Check out HubSpot to learn more](https://www.hubspot.com/products/marketing). ### #3 [Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/) *Best sales pipeline management with social integration via 3rd-party apps* Pipedrive is the first of two CRMs in this guide that uses 3rd party applications to connect its database with social network information. We included Pipedrive because we are big fans of the tool over here at Venture Harbour, and you can still enjoy the benefits of social CRMs even though the integration is not built-in. Pipedrive is a simple and affordable CRM perfect for generating and managing your leads, sales and pipelines for activity-based selling. It’s not an all-in-one tool like HubSpot or Zoho, but it was created by salespeople, for salespeople, and known for its quick and easy pipeline management functionality. Pipedrive’s drag-and-drop interface includes multiple features such as deal probability, customisable pipelines, leads inbox, chatbot and more.  To connect Pipedrive with your social networks, use third-party applications such as [Zapier](https://zapier.com/) or Automate.io. Set up triggers and actions for each social network and tell the application how to integrate with Pipedrive. The first step is to set up a trigger. Here are a few suggestions from Zapier:  Then, match the trigger with an action:  ![]()*The first of many Zapier actions available when connecting LinkedIn to Pipedrive* For example, set up actions to automatically create a new deal on Pipedrive (action) whenever someone submits a form via your LinkedIn Lead Gen Form (trigger).  With apps like Zapier, set up hundreds of possible automated workflows and customise social integrations to work for you. Zapier also offers automated integrations with 2,000+ apps. **Pipedrive features:** - Contact management - Customisable sales pipelines - Customisable reporting - Outbound calls, logging and reporting - AI-powered sales assistant - Lead management and scoring - Sales forecasting - Deal probability and rotting - Mobile apps and integration - Social integration with 3rd-party apps **Pricing:** *14-day free trial offered* Pricing starts at $12.50 per user/month billed annually. The *Essentials* plan includes features such as contact and deal management, customisable pipelines, deal rotting, activity management, web forms, email inbox, basic meeting scheduler, sales assistant, deal reporting and more. *Premium* plans start at $24.90 per user/month billed annually. They include additional features such as a products catalogue, group emailing, customisable email templates and signatures, workflow automation, leads reports, custom fields, team management, and more. To use the social integration features, you also need to purchase a 3rd-party app. Zapier offers a *free* plan that includes five single-step zaps (automations) for 100 tasks a month. The *premium* Zapier plans start at 20 zaps and 750 tasks a month and include multi-step Zaps, three premium apps, filters, formatters, and connections via webhooks. [Check out Pipedrive to learn more](/recommends/pipedrive/). ### #4 [Keap](/recommends/keap/) *Best all-in-one CRM with social integration via 3rd-party apps* Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) is a robust all-in-one CRM with sales and marketing automation, and customisable campaigns. Reviewers have labelled Infusionsoft as a hard-to-use tool that requires a learning curve and some coaching to adapt and use. For this reason, the company re-branded Infusionsoft and created a simpler solution for businesses (Keap) that did not have as many bells and whistles and consequently, fewer headaches. Both Keap and Infusonsoft help businesses track contacts and create conversions with powerful automation, but Keap offers fewer features and a simpler user experience. The original Infusionsoft CRM is still available under the name "Infusionsoft by Keap." Similar to other CRMs, Keap allows for easy messaging and follow-ups with the organisation to help you track messages and retain and win new business.  The upgraded version of Keap (Keap Pro) offers email and marketing automation with a landing page builder and customisable web forms.  Similar to Pipedrive, adding social CRM features requires third-party apps such as Zapier or Automate.io. **Keap features:** - Contact management - Marketing automation - Email automation - Appointment scheduling - Quotes, invoices & payments - Reporting & insights - Multichannel messaging - Pipeline management - Mobile application **Pricing:** *14-day free trial offered* Keap's starter plan is *Keap Grow* and pricing starts at $79/month for 500 contacts and one user. The *Keap Grow* plan includes contact management and segmentation, quotes and invoicing, appointment scheduling, email marketing, email sync, and simple automations. *Keap Pro* is an upgrade to *Keap Grow,* and pricing starts at $149/month for 500 contacts and one user. *Keap Pro* adds on features such as landing pages, sales pipeline, A/B email testing, recurring payment invoicing, campaign builder and pipeline automation. If you want to try Infusionsoft for Keap, the more robust form of the platform, pricing starts at $199/month for 500 contacts and one user. Infusionsoft includes most of Keap's features plus a customisable dashboard, lead scoring, advanced reporting, shopping cart, checkout pages, order forms, and affiliate management. If you want the features of a social CRM where you can connect Keap with your social contacts and import information along with other automations, you will also need to factor in the price of third-party apps such as Zapier and Automate.io. [Check out Keap to learn more](/recommends/keap/). ### #5 [Nimble](https://www.nimble.com/) *Best social CRM with pipeline management and built-in social integration* Nimble is sales pipeline management software with built-in tools to help you leverage the power of social media with a traditional sales pipeline-focused CRM. Nimble isn’t a social management tool like Agorapulse. If you are looking for a social media management tool with monitoring and scheduling, this is not the tool for you. Nimble is a sales CRM that powers your sales pipelines with added social functionality to power up your sales prospecting and deal management. You can see that here with Pipedrive’s visual sales pipeline interface, which includes drag-and-drop functionality that integrates all of your collected data into prospect records.  Nimble is best known for its powerful browser extension, Nimble Prospector, that enables fast, automatic updating of social contact data outside of the Nimble platform. Prospector works on websites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Outlook inbox (integrates directly with Microsoft Outlook), Gmail inbox or any 3rd-party cloud-based application. If you highlight a name on the web, Prospector brings up a current contact record or allows you to create a new one. View interaction history, emails, calendar events, social conversations and more, all from any platform of your choice. Perform multiple tasks with this extension, such as scheduling events, calls, logging activity, and more.  *Nimble Prospector’s interface (right) inside a 3rd-party platform* ![]()Nimble's dashboard is rich with pertinent data that you want at a glance. Things like your calendar, sales pipeline, sales tasks, upcoming appointments, analytics, email tracking, reminders, social signals and more, live on your main dashboard for easy review and management.  Similar to other social CRMs, Nimble enables you to segment contacts into groups for tagging and easy follow-up and maintenance. **Nimble features:** - Sales pipeline management - Sales analytics - Contact segmentation - Browser extension - Data integrated from social networks - Sales forecasting & analytics - Group messaging - Unified dashboard and calendar - Office 365 and GSuite integration - Mobile application **Pricing:** *14-day free trial offered* The Nimble *Business* plan starts at $19 per user /month billed annually and offers all of Nimble’s features including 25,000 contacts, contact management, unified message inbox, calendar and email sync, social media signals and profile match, email tracking, pipeline management, and 2GB of storage. As you grow, you do not upgrade to a higher plan but simply pay for more contacts, users, storage, messages and custom fields as needed. [Check out Nimble to learn more](https://www.nimble.com/). ### #6 [Sprout Social](https://sproutsocial.com/) *Best Social CRM for social media management and powerful automation* Sprout Social is a powerful social media automation tool that offers a lot of features. The social CRM offers six different arms of functionality: collaboration, automation, listening, publishing, engagement, and analytics. Sprout Social integrates with the following social platforms: - Facebook - Instagram - Twitter - LinkedIn - Pinterest - Google My Business reviews - TripAdvisor Sprout Social's Unified Smart inbox makes it easy to filter, tag, and customise your messages from every social platform, all in one interface. Streamline your team collaboration by organising your incoming messages with keyword and hashtag monitoring or client priorities.  Similar to other social CRM tools, Sprout Social also offers a shared calendar to view and manage all of your activity across networks and marketing campaigns.  Sprout Social’s Suggested Replies feature automatically suggests replies for incoming Twitter messages to reduce the time it takes to create new answers. Additional features include sending automated surveys after customer conversations and measuring NPS® and CSAT scores.  Sprout Social also integrates with Zendesk or HubSpot Service Hub to capture incoming customer-service messages from social media. **Sprout Social features:** - Post publishing and scheduling - Social Queuing - Social comments management - Advanced reporting - Unified or shared calendar - Smart insights - Competitive analysis and reporting - Roles and permissions - Social listening - Customised workflow automation - Automated surveys - Bot builder - Unified smart inbox - Mobile application **Pricing:** *30-day free trial offered* The *Standard* plan starts at $99 per user/month for five social profiles. The *Standard* plan includes features such as all-in-one inbox, publishing and scheduling posts, social calendar, social review management, CRM tools, and paid promotion tools. *Premium* plans start at $149 per user/month for 10 social profiles. They include additional features such as competitive reporting, message tagging, custom workflows, paid social reporting, helpdesk integration, chatbots, automated link tracking, twitter surveys and more. [Check out Sprout Social to learn more](https://sproutsocial.com/). ### #7 [Zoho Social](https://www.zoho.com/social/) *Best Social CRM with all-in-one CRM and social media management* Similar to HubSpot, Zoho offers social integrations that integrate with its CRM (a separate product). When you find prospects on the web, sync your leads with Zoho CRM by importing their data into the CRM to beef up their records. Zoho has a separate add-on product called Zoho Social. Zoho Social offers all of the features you would expect from a social management tool: the ability to monitor, publish, schedule and measure content success. The tool also provides additional features such as SmartQ which analyses past data and enables you to send posts at the time your audience is most likely to engage with them. Zoho Social integrates with the following platforms: - Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Instagram - Google My Business Zoho Social offers a drag-and-drop calendar for easy content management, with the ability to move content around, reschedule, bulk upload and publish right from within the calendar. Filter your view and easily spot content gaps.  We like Zoho Social’s collaboration features allowing teams to discuss content and performance directly in the platforms.  Zoho Social also has a browser extension called zShare, which allows you to curate the best content while you are browsing the web. Pull the content into Zoho Social for immediate sharing or scheduling.  **Zoho Social features:** - Social publishing and scheduling - SmartQ - Social analytics - Social monitoring - Social comments management - zShare browser extension - Bulk scheduling - Custom audience targeting - Shared calendar - Roles and permissions - Mobile application **Pricing:***14-day free trial of the Professional plan* The *Standard* plan starts at $10/month billed annually for one brand (seven channels) and two team members. This plan includes social publishing and scheduling, SmartQ, pause/resume scheduling, analytics, social monitoring, Zoho Desk and Zoho CRM integrations, and the zShare browser extension. You can add on more brands and/or team members for $8.33/brand/month and $8.33/member/month billed annually. *Premium* plans start at $25/month billed annually for one brand (seven channels), three team members and 10 custom reports/brand (*Professional* plan). Additional features include publishing calendar, CustomQ, scheduled reports, Facebook lead ads and forms, and more. You can add on more brands and/or team members for $16.66/brand/month and $8.33/member/month billed annually. Zoho Social does have a limited free plan available that you are automatically grafted into once your free trial ends. The free plan only uses the “Publish now” feature, without scheduling. [Check out Zoho Social to learn more](https://www.zoho.com/social/). ### #8 [Salesforce](https://www.salesforce.com/products/marketing-cloud/social-media-marketing/) *Best social CRM with an all-in-one CRM and social media management for small to enterprise-level companies* Arguably one of the most extensive CRMs in the galaxy, Salesforce is known for its customisation potential for businesses to create a solution that works for their needs. Though Salesforce is best suited for large and enterprise-level companies with big enough budgets to handle the customisation and features, it offers a small business track for businesses with lower budgets who still want to try the tool. With its primary CRM offering, Salesforce offers built-in social integration so you can import your contact’s social profile information directly into the CRM. Salesforce also provides Social Studio, its social media management tool that schedules, queues and manages social posts, monitors social activity, runs analytics reports, and provides an all-in-one dashboard to manage all of your social activities. Social Studio is a component of Salesforce's marketing product, Marketing Cloud, an add-on to its CRM with additional costs and setup. Similar to other social media management tools, Social Studio offers an all-In-one interface so users can respond to external social posts, manage customer service and content in one location.  Collaboration is also strong with the ability to review and approve content before it goes live. Create workspaces for teams with role-based access for security. Salesforce calls its customer engagement interface the *Command Center* where you can review live displays of your audience engagement, real-time customer feedback and conversations, and other marketing and sales activity. Filter to see the most pertinent information, and monitor in real time.  **Salesforce Social Studio features:** - Social publishing and scheduling - Social listening - Social comments management - Social analytics and reporting - Content management - Roles and permissions - Social advertising - Command Center - influencer scores - Mobile application **Pricing:** *No free trial. Contact the vendor for specific pricing.* Salesforce Social Studio’s *Basic* plan starts at $1,000/month billed annually for 20K monthly mentions and two users. It includes Salesforce CRM integration, brand listening and community engagement, monthly mentions, influencer scores, custom filtering and more. Post publishing is available on the *Basic* plan for an additional $500/month. *Premium* plans start at $4,000/month billed annually for 250K monthly mentions and 10 users with additional feature upgrades such as content publishing, post automation and third-party app partner access. Salesforce Command Center and Premier Success cost an additional fee on all plans. [Check out Salesforce to learn more](https://www.salesforce.com/products/marketing-cloud/social-media-marketing/). ### #9 [eClincher](https://eclincher.com/) *Best social CRM with social media management and a larger number of social channel integrations* eClincher is a social CRM tool similar to Agorapulse and Sprout Social in that its primary offering is social media management. Though reviewers mentioned it is not as “pretty” as other tools in its class, it packs a punch for a reasonable price. The tool offers the standard social management features as the previous tools we discussed, such as scheduled posting, unified inbox, social monitoring, analytics, auto-publishing and more.  *eClincher’s unified inbox (*[**Source**](https://www.saasworthy.com/product/eclincher#screenshots)*)* ![]()One of the standouts with eClincher is the number of social media sites it integrates with: - Facebook (ads, pages and profiles) - Instagram (personal and business) - Twitter - YouTube - LinkedIn - Google My Business - Yelp - TikTok - Pinterest - Google Adwords - Google Analytics Additional features offer the ability to find content to post with eClincher's real-time live social feeds, or take advantage of the suggested content feed, a curation of content based on your hashtags and keywords. **eClincher’s features:** - Post publishing and scheduling - Calendar - Social queuing - Unified Social Inbox - Integrated RSS Feeds - Social Monitoring - Competitor Analysis - Campaign Tracking - Content management - Mobile application **Pricing:** *14-day free trial offered* The *Basic* plan starts at $50 /month billed annually for 10 social profiles and one user. It includes the social inbox/CRM, unlimited scheduling and content management, scheduler, suggested hashtags, autopost, suggested content feeds and more. The *Premium* plans (*Premier* and *Agency*) start at $102 /month billed annually and add on features such as external users and post approvals, shared calendars, competitor benchmarking, media library, team collaboration, and upgrades to the *Basic* features (10 suggested content feeds instead of three). [Check out eClincher to learn more](https://eclincher.com/). ### #10 [Crystal](https://www.crystalknows.com/) *Best social CRM with Personality AI and built-in social integration* Crystal isn’t as well-known as some of the other social CRMs we discussed here. Still, we thought it was worth a mention because of its innovation in sales, marketing, recruiting and leadership using Personality AI. Crystal relies on the DISC and other popular personality assessments to power communication and prospecting. It offers a Chrome extension that showcases a prospect’s personality as you browse their profiles on LinkedIn. It’s like having a personal coach giving you personality-based advice for all communication so you can more easily close deals by building stronger connections with prospects.  Take your personality-driven social CRM one step further and create team playbooks so your sales representatives have more confidence and can quickly build rapport with clients during meetings.  Also, use Crystal for more effective hiring and interviewing and to help your clients if you are a coach. Crystal is also valuable for marketing departments creating customer personas for specific targeting to fuel their marketing with personality-based insights. **Crystal features:** - Personality-based AI predictions and insights - Personality-driven Chrome extension - Hiring and coaching insights - Customer personas - Playbook creation **Pricing:** Crystal allows you to sign up for free but pricing is not available until you contact them. [Check out Crystal to learn more](https://www.crystalknows.com/). ## How to Choose the Best Social CRM: The Selection Process It can be daunting to figure out which social CRM is best for your business. As a first step, we recommend you whittle down your choices by asking yourself the following questions: 1. **Do you want an all-in-one CRM?** (If you want to eventually grow into an adopting an all-in-one CRM solution for your business, this may be the best option) 1. If yes, do you want the social integrations to be built-in, or are you OK with using third-party apps? If you want built-in, go with *HubSpot, Salesforce* or*Zoho*. If you are OK with using third-party apps, *Keap* is one to try. 2. Do you also want social media management features? Go with *HubSpot, Salesforce,* or*Zoho*. 2. **If you don’t want an all-in-one CRM, do you need sales pipeline management?** 1. If yes, do you want the social integrations to be built-in, or are you OK with using third-party apps? If you want built-in, go with *Nimble*. If you are OK with using third-party apps, *Pipedrive* is a great option. 3. **If you don’t want an all-in-one CRM and prefer just social features...** 1. Do you want the social integrations to be built-in, or are you OK with using third-party apps? If you want built-in, go with *Agorapulse, Nimble, Sprout Social, eClincher* or *Crystal (Crystal works primarily with LinkedIn).* 2. Do you want social media management features? Go with *Agorapulse, Sprout Social,* or*eClincher.* Here’s the comparison chart again to help you evaluate your answers and review pricing for each solution:  After you select a few social CRMs based on the answers to your questions, check pricing and then take a few for a test drive. That’s the best way to evaluate the best social CRM tools. You may also find that even though you don’t want an all-in-one CRM, it may be the most cost-effective. Weigh cost vs benefit and test drive as many as you can. Here are links to the tools again: - [****Agorapulse****](https://www.agorapulse.com/) - [****HubSpot****](https://www.hubspot.com/products/marketing) - [****Pipedrive****](/recommends/pipedrive/) - [****Keap****](/recommends/keap/) - [****Nimble****](https://www.nimble.com/) - [****Sprout Social****](https://sproutsocial.com/) - [****Zoho Social****](https://www.zoho.com/social/) - [****Salesforce****](https://www.salesforce.com/products/marketing-cloud/social-media-marketing/) - [****eClincher****](https://eclincher.com/) - [****Crystal****](https://www.crystalknows.com/) When you test drive each social CRM, take note of the following as you evaluate: - Cost vs. potential return on investment - Alignment with your business goals - Ease of use - Ability to scale (if this aligns with your goals) - Integration with your current profiles and accounts - Organisation potential and efficiency A social CRM will level up your marketing and help you capture the conversations and engagement that is happening outside of your brand. Whichever solution you choose, expect to increase your reach and conversions as you better understand the people you serve. Happy choosing! ## FAQ **What's the difference between a social CRM and a regular CRM?** A social CRM integrates customer data from social media platforms directly into your CRM system, whereas a regular CRM typically focuses on email, phone, and sales interactions. **Social CRMs monitor conversations across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn** to give you a complete view of how customers interact with your brand before they ever contact your sales team. **Do small businesses really need a social CRM tool?** Yes, small businesses benefit significantly from social CRM tools because they consolidate customer interactions across multiple channels into one dashboard. **A social CRM helps small teams respond faster to customer inquiries** and identify sales opportunities from social conversations without manually checking each platform separately. **Which social CRM platforms have the strongest social media integration?** **HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho CRM** offer the most comprehensive social media integration, allowing you to monitor, engage, and track customer interactions across all major platforms from a single interface. These platforms connect to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok, with built-in analytics to measure social engagement impact on your sales pipeline. **Can you get a free CRM with social media integration?** Several CRM platforms offer free tiers with basic social media integration, including HubSpot Free, Zoho CRM Free, and Pipedrive's limited free version. However, **free plans typically restrict the number of social channels you can monitor and limit advanced features** like social listening and automated engagement workflows that justify upgrading to a paid tier. **What should I look for when comparing social CRM tools?** You should evaluate social CRM tools based on which social platforms they support, ease of use for your team, reporting capabilities, and integration with your existing business tools. **The best social CRM for your business matches your team size, budget, and the specific social channels where your customers are most active**—not necessarily the tool with the most features. **How does a social CRM help convert more customers?** A social CRM converts more customers by enabling your team to identify and respond to sales opportunities in social conversations before competitors do. **By tracking customer sentiment and engagement patterns across social media**, you can personalise outreach, nurture leads more effectively, and move prospects through your sales funnel faster than teams relying on traditional CRM methods alone. **Are social CRM tools worth the investment for B2B companies?** Yes, B2B companies see strong ROI from social CRM tools because decision-makers increasingly research solutions on LinkedIn and Twitter before contacting sales teams. **Social CRMs help B2B teams identify high-intent prospects and track their engagement journey across social platforms**, which is critical for longer, more complex sales cycles where multiple stakeholders are involved. --- # 10 To-Do List Apps & Day Planners to Get More Done URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-to-do-list-apps/ Summary: We tested 12+ to-do list apps to find the best for productivity. Compare features, pricing & GTD frameworks. See our top pick. Last updated: 2026-03-17 06:06:09 To-do lists have come a long way since the days of scribbling down notes on scraps of paper and later frantically shuffling through everything on your desk in search of a misplaced Post-It note. Today, we're blessed with entire app stores filled with digital to-do lists and day planners. No more scraps of paper or trying to decipher your own handwriting - those problems are a thing of the past. Yet modern to-do list apps are so much more than digital notepads. You can use them to plan and manage your entire workflow, set due dates for each task and set reminders so nothing gets missed or forgotten. With some of the more complex task planning apps you can manage entire projects, multiple teams and simplify highly complex workloads. If you're looking to boost personal or team productivity, this is the first tool you should be adding to your kit. And to help you choose the right app for you (or your team), here are the 10 best to-do list apps and day planners available right now. ## Top 10 To-Do List Apps In this article, I'm going to start by introducing the 10 best to-do list apps and day planners I've used (I've used *a lot* of them) with a quick intro and overview of what they have to offer. Then, in the second part of this article, I'm going to compare them in more detail (features, price, UX, etc.) to help you choose the best app(s) for your needs. We all work differently and require certain things from productivity apps. This is something I was very conscious of when choosing these recommendations and they've all got something unique to offer. Here are the apps we're going to be looking at today: 1. Todoist 2. nTask 3. Anydo 4. TickTick 5. Things 6. WeDo 7. Google Keep 8. Trello 9. Habitica 10. ~~WunderList (discontinued)~~ Some of these are simply great to-do list apps and scheduling tools. Others are more complex, offering a range of project management and productivity features - all of which will be explained throughout this article. With so many to-do list and task management apps available these days, choosing one can be very difficult. But this is about to get a whole lot easier for you, once you're done with this article. Here's your first recommendation. ### #1: [Todoist](/recommends/todoist/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Safari, Firefox) #### Free, $3/monthor $5/month Todoist is an exceptional to do list manager that thrives on it's simplicity. As a Todoist user myself, there are a few things that stood out to me that made it my go-to-choice for managing both personal and work tasks in one place. The first is that it's exceptionally easy to add tasks *wherever* you are. The value of this shouldn't be underestimated as what good is a to-do list manager if you can't easily use it to get things off your mind **when you think of them**? With Gmail, Alexa, Slack, Zapier and many more integrations it's very easy to build it into your workflow. Secondly, it works very well with the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology. If you're not familiar with this, I'd highly recommend reading it. GTD promotes working on tasks not when they arrive but when you decide to do them. There are many nice little rules in the GTD method that make it so effective for productivity, but it's worth noting that Todoist is exceptionally well-built to handle this. Another great feature of Todoist is Karma. While I'm not normally one for brazen gamification, I find Todoist's approach surprisingly insightful. By colour-coding my work projects (purple), personal (green) and inbox (grey) I can see how my productivity varies by category over time as well as how much of my work is planned vs. done reactively from the inbox. #### Key features - **Quick Add:** Quickly create and organise your tasks in a matter of clicks with Todoists Quick Add feature. - **Deadlines & reminders:** Set deadlines, recurring deadlines for repeat tasks and reminders to make sure you keep on top of everything. - **Projects & goals:** Create and manage projects with sub-tasks, set goals and keep track of progress. - **Highlight tasks:** Highlight the most important tasks with colour-coded priority levels. - **Reports:** Keep on track of your progress with reports and earn Todoist Karma points for hitting targets. There is a "Business" version of Todoist that offers additional features to make project management easier for teams but really Todoist excels as an individual to do list manager. You can get started with Todoist [for free here](/recommends/todoist/). ### #2: [nTask](https://www.ntaskmanager.com/) (iOS, Android & web) #### Free or $2.99/month nTask says it's "more than just a task management tool" and I can tell you that's no word of a lie. This application is crammed full of features for task management, project management and general business running.  You can run nTask in the browser and its mobile app is available on iOS and Android but there are no native desktop apps for Windows or Mac. While it would be nice to see these native apps available for computers, the nTask web app functions very well. #### Key features - **Task management:** Create checklists, schedule tasks, set deadlines, repeat tasks and set priorities. - **Project management:** Assign tasks to team members, set project budgets and cost estimates, add lists for project risks and issues. - **Time tracking:** Monitor how much time is being spent on tasks. - **Activity log:** Keep track of all activities on your profile for insights on performance and productivity. - **Gantt charts:** View progress on Gantt charts for an overview of entire projects. - **Manage meetings:** Schedule meetings, send invitations and share minutes to everyone who needs them. If you're looking for more than a simple to-do list app and an all-round productivity suite, nTask will be one of the most feature-rich options you'll find in this list of recommendations. ### #3: [Any.do](https://www.any.do/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web) #### Free or $2.99/month Unlike nTask, Any.do truly is a task management app and it doesn't try to be anything else. It's a wonderfully designed app, too, that's available across all major platforms and the web app means you can access it in-browser on almost any device.  If you're looking for a task management app that's available on smartwatches, this will also be one of your few options - and, thankfully, it's a very good one. #### Key features - **To-do lists:** Create and manage tasks, schedule deadlines and set reminders. - **Project management:** Manage projects, assign tasks, create roadmaps and monitor progress . - **Calendar:** A sleek calendar app to view and manage your tasks, accessible across all of your devices. - **Daily planner:** Manage your workload for the day ahead to make sure everything gets done. Any.do is a pleasure to use with its sleek interface design and smooth operation. You get all of the basic features you would expect from a tool like this: to-do lists, task management, etc. However, the calendar and daily planner integrations are excellent and the transition between each interface is very responsive. This is a really great app. ### #4: [TickTick](https://ticktick.com/) (iOS, Android & Web) #### Free or $27.99/year TickTick is similar to Any.do in many ways. Although they look very different, they both strive for minimal design and smooth operation. They also keep things simple in terms of task features, giving you everything you need for managing tasks without trying to do anything else.  In both cases, you end up with a streamlined app that does exactly what it says and everything you need is accessible within a click or two. Once again, TickTick has an excellent calendar interface integrated into its app, giving you a wider overview of your to-do lists. #### Key features - **To-do lists:** Create tasks and set deadlines. - **Folders:** Add lists to folders for managing projects or categorising your lists. - **Prioritise tasks:** Prioritise your most important tasks. - **Reminders:** Set reminders to make sure nothing is overlooked. - **Calendar view:** View tasks by day, week, and months. - **Share lists:** Share your lists with colleagues, friends or family as needed. TickTick is another one that doesn't have native desktop apps but you can access the web app from any connected device. The downside, of course, is that you can't use TickTick offline. ### #5: [Things](https://culturedcode.com/things/) (Mac, iOS) #### $49.99 for Mac, $19.00 for iPad or $9.99 for iPhone Unfortunately, Things is only really an option if you're an Apple loyalist and it's a shame there isn't even a web app available to Windows and other OS users on board. However, there is a benefit to this, if you're a Mac and iPhone/iPad user: Things is designed from the ground up for MacOS and iOS - and it shows.  Aide from being design and optimised for Apple devices, Things also offers up a few unique features that you end up wishing were more commonplace. For example, its "Upcoming events" interface constantly reminds you about what you need to do over the next couple of days and this stops you being caught out by tasks you'd forgotten about. It's a small feature but it makes a real difference - especially when you've a demanding tasks coming up that requires some mental preparation. #### Key features - **To-do lists:** Create to-do lists for "Today" and "This evening". - **Checklists:** Tick events off your list as they're completed with checklists. - **Calendar events:** Create calendars for work, family, personal and other categories. - **Schedules & Reminders:** Schedule tasks and set reminders. - **Upcoming lists:** All of your upcoming tasks over the next few days appear in your upcoming list, so nothing catches you by surprise. - **Headings:** Use headings to break up and organise tasks on your list. Another simple but great feature is headlines. This allows you to break up to-do lists with headlines so you can categorise tasks and make larger lists easier to read. Again, simple but effective. ### #6: [WeDo](https://wedo.com/) (Mac, iOS, Android & Chrome) #### $4.99/month, $39.99/year or $159.99 one-off fee WeDo was originally designed for students but it's developed into a decent work/life task management tools for professionals, too. There's an emphasis on finding that work-life balance with WeDo and the app aims to make this more achievable for you.  Aside from creating tasks, setting due dates and all the usual things you would expect from a task management app, WeDo wants to help you develop good habits and you can create separate habits lists. Another interesting feature is the apps asks you how long tasks take you after you've completed them and how you felt about them. All of this is added to your reporting data and you can see how your speed/mood about repeat tasks and aspects of life (work, diet, exercise. etc.) improves. #### Key features - **To-do lists:** Create to-do lists, set due dates, add reminders and prioritise tasks. - **Folders:** Group related lists together in folders. - **Rate tasks:** Log how long it takes you to complete tasks, how important they were and how they made you feel. - **Habit lists:** Create separate lists for new habits you want to develop. - **Sub-tasks:** Break tasks up into more manageable sub-tasks. - **Time estimates:** Estimate how long tasks will take and plan your schedule accordingly. If your aim to manage tasks more effectively and improve that work-life balance or develop better habits, WeDo is definitely worth a look. ### #7: [Google Keep](https://keep.google.com/) (iOS, Android & web) #### Free While many of the tools in this article are task management apps built around the to-do list concept, Google Keep is far more limited in terms of features. Strictly speaking, Google Keep is a note taking app with a checklist feature that acts as a to-do list.  You can also create bullet point lists, add voice notes, type text notes and add pictures to your dashboard and organise them with colour codes and lables. #### Key features - **To-do lists:** Create to-do lists, notes, voice notes or add photos to your dashboards. - **Reminders:** Set reminders to keep on top of your tasks. - **Labels:** Add labels to your lists to categorise and organise them. - **Colour-code:** Colour your notes to match categories or prioritise tasks. With Google Keep you can set reminders for your tasks - including location based reminders - and that's about the extent of it. You're not going to choose Google Keep if you want advanced features but it's a good option if you need a simple to-do list app that's accessible on just about every device. ### #8: [Trello](https://trello.com/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web) #### Free, $9.99/monthor $20.83/mo Trello does have a to-do list feature under its belt but this won't be the main feature you choose it for. Trello is a project management tool for individuals and collaborative teams. Essentially, you assign dashboards to projects or large tasks and these dashboards contain lists of cards.  These cards can contain tasks, to-do lists or checklists, which can be assigned to members who are then able to interact with them. You can set due dates, mark tasks complete, add comments, rearrange or reschedule tasks and talk to members via instant messaging through the Trello app. #### Key features - **Project management:** Trello is a highly capable project management app for collaborative teams. - **To-do lists:** Create to-do lists, add due dates, assign them to people and manage tasks as they're completed. - **Trello boards:** Dashboards where you can create and manage lists of cards containing tasks and to-do lists. - **Work with anyone:** Invite anyone from around the world to help you make things happen. - **Instant messaging:** Talk to team members in real-time to discuss tasks. When it comes to managing complex projects, Trello is one of the few apps on this list that genuinely simplifies the process - something you won't get from a standard to-do list app. ### #9: [Habitica](https://habitica.com) (iOS, Android & web) #### Free I can safely say Habitica is unlike any other tool in this article and unlike any other to-do list app I've ever come across. I should make it clear that Habitica isn't really designed for work but more geared towards developing better habits while you're away from the computer. This doesn't mean you can't use it for work purposes or as a tool to improve work-life balance, though.  Habitica gamifies the to-do list experience by getting you to create an Avatar, which receives points and bonuses for completing the tasks on your list. The more points you win, the stronger your Avatar becomes and the more in-game features and rewards you unlock. #### Key features - **Gamified to-do lists:** Habitica turns to-do lists into a mobile game experience. - **Habits:** Schedule good habits you want to develop or bad habits you want to overcome. - **Avatars:** Create your own Avatar to progress through your gamified to-do lists. - **In-game rewards:** Earn points for completing tasks and developing good habits, level up your avatar, unlock new features and earn in-game rewards. - **Battle monsters:** Join other Habitica users to fight monsters with your Avatars. You can create positive habits that earn you points as well as negative habits you want to avoid, in which case points are taken away from you. You can also create habits that have both positive and negative outcomes - for example, eating a healthy dinner. If you eat something healthy, you win points; if you eat something unhealthy, you lose points. Who says to-do lists need to be boring? ### #10: [Wunderlist](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-to-do/tasks-list-app) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Safari) #### Free or $4.99 per user *Update: Following the publication of this article WunderList closed doors!*  When you need a truly cross-platform and feature-rich task management tool, Wunderlist is hard to beat. The platform is designed around the concept of to-do lists but there's so much more you can do with this app. #### Key features - **Task planning:** Create tasks or larger to-do lists, set your deadlines, prioritise the most important tasks and check them off once they're done. - **Folders:** Group related lists into folders to manage projects or complex tasks into manageable categories. - **Reminders:** Set reminders to ensure tasks are never forgotten. - **Notifications:** Get updates via push, email and in-app notifications. - **Collaborate:** Share your lists with others and collaborate on groups tasks. - **Comments:** Communicate with other members within the Wunderlist app for improved teamwork. Wunderlist is a great option for individuals and entire teams who need to manage their work and personal lives. ## Choosing the right to do list app for you All the apps in this article are great task management tools but they're also very different at the same time. We all have our own way of working and our own requirements, so the rest of this article is going focus on helping you decide which of these apps meet your needs. To do this, I'm going to compare each app on the following criteria: 1. **Best apps for cross-****platformability****:** A comparison table for which platforms each app is available on. 2. **Best apps for productivity features:** A comparison table of key productivity features and which apps provide them. 3. **Best apps for user experience:** A look at the best apps from a UX perspective. 4. **Best apps for teams:** Which of these apps are most suitbale for teams/collaboration? 5. **Best value for money:** How many features are you getting for your money? I've put together some tables for cross-platformability, features and value for money - so you can compare things for yourself - but I'll also add my own thoughts for each section. As for the best apps for teams section, some of these apps simply aren't designed for teams and there are a few that really stand out on this aspect - so I'll just go ahead and mention the apps that win this category and explain why. ### Best apps for cross-platformability The first thing I check when I like the look of an app is which platforms it's available on. It doesn't matter how good a tool is if it's not available on the platforms/devices you need to use it on. So here's a quick comparison table to show you what each of the apps in this article are available on. | Tool | Desktop | Mobile | Web app | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Wunderlist | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | ✔ | | Todoist | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | ✔ | | nTask | | iOS, Android | ✔ | | Any.do | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | ✔ | | TickTick | | iOS, Android | ✔ | | Things | Mac | iOS | | | WeDo | Mac | iOS, Android | ✔ | | Google Keep | | iOS, Android | ✔ | | Trello | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | ✔ | | Habitica | | iOS, Android | ✔ | Generally speaking, if there's a web app and a mobile app for your device, you should be sorted from a personal standpoint. The only downside with web apps is not being able to use them offline - so, if this is important to you, it's always good to have a desktop app as well. Just make sure you can actually save things while you're using the app offline. It's also worth keeping in mind that you may move from Apple to other devices (or vice versa) in the future. Having support for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android will give you the freedom to do this without losing your favourite to-do list app. Finally, if you're looking for an app that you can use to collaborate with other, you want the broadest support for devices and browsers possible (think about browser extensions as well). ### Best apps for productivity features All of the apps in this article are designed to help you become more productive but they vary greatly in terms of features. Most of them are very good task management tools while some are better than others when it comes to project management, collaboration and reporting. Here's how they compare. | Tool | Task management | Project management | Assign tasks | Set goals | Messaging | Reports | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Wunderlist | Strong | Average | ✔ | | ✔ | | | Todoist | Strong | Average | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | | nTask | Strong | Strong | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | | Any.do | Strong | Average | ✔ | | | | | TickTick | Strong | Weak | ✔ | | ✔ | Basic | | Things | Strong | | | | | Basic | | WeDo | Strong | Weak | | Habits | | ✔ | | Google Keep | Average | | | | | | | Trello | Strong | Strong | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | | Habitica | Strong | | | Habits | | | It all comes down to what you're looking for from one (or more) of these apps. If you only need a to-do list/day planner then Any.do is an excellent choice that's available of just about every platform. It may not have all of the productivity features of some other options we've looked at but it does to-do lists and task management very well - and that might be all you need. It's a similar story with TickTick, Things and WeDo - they're all great task management apps that don't put additional features in your way. That said, if you need to manage projects, teams or collaborate with others, then your list of options narrows. Likewise, if you want to set productivity or habit goals and check your performance with analytics/reporting, then it's easy to see which apps stand out. ### Best apps for user experience This is a really tricky one because all of these apps offer great user experiences. Google Keep is perhaps the only exception but it's mostly feature-orientated changes that would improve the experience, in my opinion (although a visual upgrade would be appreciated, too). While I'm happy to say all of the other apps in this list are very strong UX-wise, there are a number of different experiences offered between them - so this is the angle I'm going to take: 1. **Best UX for personal to-do lists** 2. **Best UX for personal projects** 3. **Best UX for team projects/collaboration** Here’s the criteria I’ve used to make the call: - **Visual design:** Points awarded for clean, minimal designs that make it easy to understand and use the app. - **Navigation:** Features always being within a few clicks and navigation that’s easy to understand. - **Features vs usability:** More features are great but only if they don’t add unnecessary complexity that’s going to kill productivity. - **Cross-platform experience:** Cross-platform support and consistent experience as move between different versions. - **Integrations:** Allow you to add features that you need, even if they’re not provided by the app itself. - **Documentation & support:** Sometimes things just don’t work as you expect them to and this is where you need documentation and support to back you up. So, here's my pick for personal to-do lists. #### Best user experience for personal to-do lists The best to-do list experiences come from the apps that really focus on this role. A lot of the tools in this article are so much more than to-do list apps and, while this is fine if you want the added capabilities, their user experiences aren't centred around the specific purpose of a to-do list app. If you're simply after the best to-do list app as a standalone tool for your personal use, then Any.do, TickTick, Things, WeDo and Habitica are the ones to look at. Any.do is one of the best to-do list and task management apps I've ever tried and it offers a consistent experience across every platform, which you get the same fantastic UX across all of your devices.  If you're an Apple-only user, Things is the obvious choice and I would say the experience is actually better than Any.do. The only downside is you can only use it on Mac and iOS devices but this also benefits the experience by allowing its developers to truly optimise for Apple's operating systems.  TickTick is another fantastic to-do list experience and it does actually add some more advanced features into its premium version but they don't take anything away from its task management credentials - and it deserves credit for that.  Then we have Habitica, which is by no means your typical to-do list app, but what an experience the team behind it has managed to create. The gamification approach isn't going to be for everyone but, for those who do appreciate it, nothing else will cut it after trying Habitica. #### **Best user experience for personal projects** If you need to manage personal projects or a lot of different to-do lists, then you're going to need an app that allows you to organise tasks with more control. In this case, you really need to be able to schedule tasks, group them together, prioritise tasks and manage them as you progress through each project.  The free versions of nTask and Trello should have everything you need to manage the most complex of projects. You don't quite get all of the features either app has to offer but the main difference between the free and paid versions is collaboration features, which you probably don't need if you're working on projects alone. If you do need more than the free versions offer, nTask is pretty affordable at $2.99 per month and even Trello's $9.99/monthshould more than pay for itself if its features are going to save you time on every project and limit the risk of mistakes. The potential issue with nTask and Trello is they may actually have too many features for managing personal tasks and projects. If you still want that simple to-do list experience, with just enough features to help you manage more complex workloads, then Wunderlist and Todoist are probably for you. For an even more minimal experience, you may find the paid versions Any.do, TickTick and WeDo have just enough task management features for you to organise your workload. #### Best user experience for teams/collaboration If teamwork/collaboration is a priority, then features and cross-platform availability are the most important things. The standout winners in this scenario are nTask and Trello - but far the best experiences for teams and individuals who need to collaborate. I'll explain more about this in the next section. ### Best apps for teams Well, I've given the surprise away already but let me show you the specifics of why nTask and Trello are the standout apps for teams.  Teams need to be able to communicate and both of these apps have integrated messaging built into their software. Which means team members can discuss and collaborate on tasks from anywhere, whenever they need to.  nTask and Trello approach project management in different ways (checklist vs cards) but they're both incredibly effective. With the paid version of either app, you can manage multiple teams, any number of projects and organise the most complex of workloads. Everyone knows what needs doing, what's already been done and what the overall progress of each project looks like.  So how do you choose between these? Well, the biggest difference is going to come down to whether you prefer nTask's more traditional interface or the card approach Trello takes. It's not a question of one being better than the other; they're just different and it probably won't take long to find out which one you prefer.  One benefit in favour of Trello is the fact it has desktop apps for Windows and Mac, whereas nTask doesn't. The nTask web app means you can still use the platform on just about any device but you're going to need an internet connection. nTask has the upper hand in terms of features, though. You get a lot of project management features to help you calculate budgets, define risks and issues with each project, arrange meetings and some really strong reporting to go with it.  There are also unique productivity features, such as time tracking, which allows you to see how long tasks are taking. It's an incredible set of features for a very reasonable monthly subscription fee. You can get most or all of these features in Trello by integrating with other tools (and you are going to need other tools anyway) but nTask may be able to reduce your over expenses by offering so much right out of the box. ### Best value for money I can't tell you what you need from any kind of productivity app, which means I can't turn around and say which one offers the best value for money - it all comes down to getting what you need for the lowest price. What I can do is score each app based on the features they offer, their availability across different platforms and the asking price. This way, I can give them an overall score, which at least gives you an idea of how much you're getting in terms of features and support for your money. | Tool | Cross-platform | Features | Cost | Overall | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Wunderlist | 10/10 | 8/10 | $4.99/user\* | 8.6/10 | | Todoist | 10/10 | 9/10 | $5/mo\* | 9/10 | | nTask | 8/10 | 10/10 | $2.99/mo\* | 8.6/10 | | Any.do | 10/10 | 6/10 | $2.99/mo\* | 8.3/10 | | TickTick | 8/10 | 7/10 | $27.99/year\* | 8.6/10 | | Things | 4/10 | 5/10 | $9.99-$49.99 | 6/10 | | WeDo | 9/10 | 7/10 | $4.99/monthor $159 | 7.8/10 | | Google Keep | 8/10 | 4/10 | Free | 7.3/10 | | Trello | 10/10 | 10/10 | $20.83/mo\* | 8.3/10 | | Habitica | 8/10 | 5/10 | Free | 7.6/10 | Free apps instantly get 10/10 for cost while reasonable one-off payments get a score of 9/10 and monthly fees rated down from 8/10 depending on how high the monthly asking fee is. I'm using the most expensive plans to score cost as these prices, otherwise you're not getting all the features that have been awarded their score. Keep in mind there are cheaper or free versions of most of these apps available. I should also mention that you get a lot of features on the free version of Trello and there's a $9.99/monthversion that will probably be enough for most users - perhaps not for certain business teams, though. Meanwhile, TickTick doesn't give you much at all on its free version but a $27.99/year fee makes its premium version the cheapest paid option on this list. ## Get more done with your favourite to-do list app Hopefully, you now know what you need from a to-do list/task management app and choosing the right tool for your needs is going to be a much easier process now. Even if you don't end up using one of the recommendations on this list, you should have a better idea of what kind of apps are available and which of them are going to work for you. Most of the apps in this article have free versions that you can use to get a feel for them yourself - so try out the ones you think have potential and see how you get on. Once you've found your favourite to-do list app, you can manage your way to a more productive workflow and start adding other tools to your productivity toolkit. ## FAQ **What is the best to-do list app for managing daily tasks?** The best to-do list app depends on your workflow, but **most users benefit from apps that combine task management with calendar integration**. Our review of the top 10 to-do list apps found that those offering both digital task lists and day planner features tend to have the highest user satisfaction rates. Look for apps that sync across devices and offer customisable notifications to keep you accountable. **Can I use a to-do list app instead of a physical planner?** Yes, **digital to-do list apps are now sophisticated enough to completely replace paper planners** for most people. Modern apps offer advantages like automatic reminders, cloud synchronisation across devices, and the ability to reorganise tasks instantly without crossing things out. Many professionals have ditched physical planners entirely in favour of apps that integrate with their calendars and email. **What features should I look for in a to-do list app?** **The most important features are task prioritisation, recurring reminders, and cross-device synchronisation**. Beyond these essentials, consider whether you need collaboration tools for team projects, calendar integration for scheduling, or automation features that save time on routine tasks. The right app should feel intuitive enough that you'll actually use it daily rather than abandoning it after a week. **Are free to-do list apps as good as paid ones?** Free to-do list apps can be excellent for basic task management, but **paid versions typically offer advanced features like unlimited projects, priority support, and integration with other tools**. If you only need a simple digital to-do list for personal use, a free app may be sufficient. However, professionals managing complex workflows or teams often find the investment in a premium app worthwhile. **How do I choose between different to-do list apps?** **Start by identifying your primary use case—whether you need a simple personal task list, a calendar-integrated day planner, or a collaborative team tool**. Test the top contenders using their free trials, paying attention to interface design and how quickly you can add and manage tasks. The best app is ultimately the one you'll use consistently, so prioritise ease of use over feature abundance. **What's the difference between a to-do list app and a day planner app?** A to-do list app focuses on task management and completion tracking, whilst **a day planner app integrates tasks with time-based scheduling and calendar views**. Many modern apps blur this distinction by offering both functionalities—allowing you to list tasks and assign them to specific times or days. If you need to schedule tasks around meetings and appointments, a hybrid app works better than a basic task list. **Can to-do list apps help me be more productive?** Yes, **to-do list apps increase productivity by externalising your task list and reducing mental clutter**. When tasks are captured in a reliable app rather than kept in your head, you free up mental energy for actual work. Studies show that people using digital task management systems complete more projects and experience less stress about forgotten deadlines. --- # 12 Landing Page Tips That Are Practically Magic URL: https://ventureharbour.com/landing-page-best-practices/ Summary: Learn landing page optimisation best practices from VWO, Unbounce & Booking.com. See proven tactics to boost conversion rates in 2026. Last updated: 2026-04-17 06:05:47 If you’re looking for the usual landing page advice like ‘change your buttons from blue to orange’ or ‘reduce your form fields’, you’re in the wrong place. In this BS-free article, you’ll learn the most effective techniques and processes that I’ve come across in 9 years of optimising landing pages. Many of the insights below have generated 700-800% increases in conversions for our sites. First, though, I want to share with you an important philosophy that, when understood and applied, will transform your approach to landing page optimization. ## If you want big results, stop tweaking We’ve all been there – someone in the office says “Do you think this thing should be X or Y?” and another person enthusiastically responds with the stock phrase “Why don’t we A/B test it!” There’s a big problem with this. First of all, it’s driven by silver bullet thinking. We read about how Amazon made a few million extra dollars by changing their buttons from rounded edges to square edges, and assume that the same applies to us. But the bigger problem is that making small tweaks keeps you in your local maximum (the highest conversion rate that you could get with your current landing page design).  I’ve focused the majority of this guide on the strategies, processes and techniques to use to upgrade your landing page, rather than specific changes to make. My intention is that you take away these techniques and use them to do your own research to identify new ways to take your landing pages to the next level. With that caveat out the way, we can move onto the 12 landing page best practices and examples – enjoy! ### 1. Reduce your attention ratio A few years ago, I attended a CRO event in Estonia called Digital Elite Camp. One of the concepts that stuck with me from the event is an idea shared by Unbounce’s Oli Gardner called ‘Attention Ratio’. Attention Ratio is the ratio between the number of things you can do on a given page to the number of things you want people to do. Your landing page should, ideally, have an attention ratio of 1:1. In other words, the only thing that people should be able to do on your landing page is the thing that you want them to do. Every other link, button, or offer is merely a distraction. In reality, most landing pages have 50-100 different things competing for a visitor's attention.  When VWO removed the navigation from one of their landing pages (reducing their attention ratio from 13:1 down to 3:1) their conversions [increased by 100%](https://vwo.com/blog/a-b-testing-case-study-navigation-menu/).  Is there anything on your landing page that might be distracting people away from the action you want them to take? ### 2. Use interactive, intelligent, intuitive forms Forms are surprisingly hard to get right and are often one of the main causes of lost conversions on a landing page. As such, they deserve a lot of attention. I won’t go into form UX & design principles here (if you want to learn about that I’d recommend reading my post on ‘[58 Form Design Best Practices & Form UX Examples](/form-design-best-practices/)’). Instead, I’d recommend considering whether your form could be more intelligent or interactive (e.g. by using [a multi-step or quiz-like form](/multi-step-lead-forms-get-300-conversions/)).  Alternatively, if you don’t want to spend weeks fiddling around with your forms, you could use a tool like [Leadformly](https://leadformly.com) which incorporates most form design best practices into a lead capture form that you can embed on your website. ### 3. Optimise for motivation, then for ability According to Stanford professor BJ Fogg, there are two ways to influence the likelihood of someone taking action. You can either increase someone’s motivation to do that action, or you can increase the ability, make it easier for them to do.  Most landing page optimisation advice focuses improving the page’s design to make it easier for visitors to take action. While important, optimising for ability pales in comparison to optimising for motivation. Ultimately, every person visiting your website is trying to achieve some kind of outcome. This is driven by a cocktail of emotions that stem from either a desire for pleasure or a desire to avoid pain. Take a look at [Booking.com](https://www.booking.com/). Their landing pages are definitely not easy to use, so why are Booking.com one of the fastest growing online travel sites?  As you can see, Booking.com have clearly spent a lot of time optimising their pages for a strong emotional response. By leveraging many [cognitive biases](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_bias), scarcity, and urgency, they've driven up the motivation to book a hotel on their site. ### 4. Increase urgency & scarcity According to WiderFunnel’s LIFT model (one of my favourite conversion optimization frameworks) there are six things you can change to increase the conversion rate of a landing page: - Increase the relevance of the page to the visitor - Increase the clarity of your offer - Reduce anxiety - Reduce distractions) - Improve the value proposition - Increase the urgency of the offer  We’ve already covered one of these (reducing distractions), so let’s now look at one of the most potent, yet underused, tactics: Increasing urgency. In 2012, I A/B tested adding urgency to a landing page by adding a countdown timer and the number of products remaining near to the page’s call to action. While subtle, this change increased our conversion rate increased from [3.5% to 10%](https://conversionxl.com/creating-urgency/). In other words, we generated almost three times as many sales just by adding some urgency.  Now, there are a lot of ethics and considerations to take into account when adding urgency and scarcity to your landing page. Fake or implied urgency (e.g. saying ‘hurry! Sale ending soon’ when it’s not) is not nearly as effective as genuine urgency and scarcity. ### 5. Write call to values, not call to actions Common wisdom is that every landing page should have a call to action (a button telling the user to do something e.g. ‘Get started’). While clear, most call to actions lack any clear value proposition. Why should I ‘get started’? A better approach is to write a call to value – an action that has a value proposition attached to it. For example, if you run a financial advice firm a good call to value might be ‘Start saving money’ or ‘See my recommended portfolio’. These are not only more specific, but they give the user a reason why they should take this action. One of my favourite examples of this is [TimothySykes.com](https://www.timothysykes.com/). While he arguably takes this concept too far, you won't find any generic CTAs on any of Timothy's landing pages.  ### 6. Create multiple versions of your page to boost relevancy If 500 people visit your landing page it's likely that they represent different cohorts of your audience. Your UK visitors may behave differently to your US visitors. Your high budget visitors may behave differently to your low budget visitors. Instead of offering the same experience to all visitors you can tailor your landing page to different people to make it more relevant. If you want to do location / geo-based personalisation, you can do this either with browser redirection or with content swapping based on IP address (there are free WordPress plugins like [custom content by country](https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/custom-content-by-country/) that do this). If you want to personalise the landing page experience based on other factors e.g. industry, budget, or what a person's looking for, you could do this using an interactive form that redirects visitors to a different landing page based on a person's answer to a question in the form.  ### 7. What’s in it for me? People don’t care about your company or product. They care about how it can help them achieve something they want or need. In their brilliant book ‘[Neuromarketing](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neuromarketing-International-Patrick-Renvoise/dp/1595551352)’, author Patrick Venoise outlines a range of tips for selling to the lizard brain, the part of our brain that makes the majority of our buying decisions. One of the simplest, yet most potent, tips that I took away from this book is using the word ‘You’ more often in your marketing copy. We're hard-wired to pay attention to things that are about us - which is focusing on your visitors rather than your company is a powerful technique. ### 8. Avoid video backgrounds at all costs When I tell people to ditch video and slider backgrounds, I often get responses like "But AirBnB do it". True, but AirBnB are most likely losing conversions due to this. They may not care, as the reduction in conversions may be justified by achieving some arbitrary goal like 'telling the brand story' or increasing 'brand value'. While video backgrounds and fancy hover effects may look cool, I’ve yet to see them convert better than a simple static alternative. Movement is an extremely effective way to capture someone’s attention - we're hard-wired as animals to pay attention to movement, as thousands of years ago this was the difference between staying alive or being killed by a saber-tooth tiger. So, why on Earth would you want to attract people’s attention towards the background of your page when they’re supposed to be reading your copy or clicking on your call to actions? As Coco Chanel put it, simplicity is elegance. ### 9. Combine two types of social proof There are two types of social proof: 'Authority' and 'People like me'. Authority social proof communicates that your offer has garnered the support of experts and authorities. A good example of this is featuring logos of press publications you've been featured on, or a testimonial from a respected expert in your industry. 'People like me' social proof answers the question 'Is this suitable for people like me?' - this is where a 'wall of client logos' and testimonials from customers is important.  Social proof is one of the most effective ways to improve the credibility and trustworthiness of your offer. ### 10. Grammar & spelling matter A [study by Global Lingo](https://realbusiness.co.uk/tech-and-innovation/2013/11/12/poor-grammar-on-websites-scares-59-away/) found that poor spelling and grammar was the #1 factor that people claimed made them not trust a web page. This point doesn’t need much embellishing – just check and then double check that your spelling and grammar is immaculate. It costs $10 to hire an English graduate to proof-read your landing page on Freelancer.com, so there’s no excuse. A final recommendation is to install [Grammarly](https://app.grammarly.com/), a free plugin that will highlight spelling or grammatical errors in your work.  ### 11. Tackle every objection before the user thinks of them Like great salespeople, a great landing page tackles objections before the visitor thinks of them. Before designing a landing page, I like to spend 30-45 minutes somewhere out of the office to write down every possible objection I would have if I were a visitor learning about the offer. While there are some common objections like those listed below, your offer will probably have some unique objections to tackle. Common objections: - What if I don’t like the product? (is there a refund policy?) - What payment methods are accepted? - Is this product trustworthy? Who else uses it? - When will I receive this product? - How much does it cost? A good practice when launching a new landing page is to install a free live chat plugin like Olark on the page for the first 1-2 weeks to monitor what questions people are asking through live chat. Then, add your responses to these questions in an FAQ section on your landing page. ### 12. The right picture is worth 1,000 words The old adage of ‘A picture tells 1,000 words’ is only half right. For an image to have a potent impact, it must convey a complex or hard to explain concept in simple terms. For example, the image below is taken from [Hotjar's](https://www.hotjar.com/r/red83) homepage. This is probably one of the most copied images of 2026 in the B2B SaaS community, and for good reason. It's so simple, yet the story it tells is so powerful that it needs no further explanation.  Boiling your value proposition down to a single image is hard, but worth the effort. Whether it takes you a day, a week or a month to identify what that image is, getting this right has the potential to transform your landing page conversion results. ## What next? If there's one point in this article worth re-reading and arranging a discussion with your team about its #3. Optimising for motivation rather than ability is perhaps the best secret weapon available to anyone in charge of optimising a landing page. Why? Because optimising for motivation forces you to ask the right questions - what emotions are you provoking? How intensely? Should you be using fear or pleasure to drive engagement with your offer? What images would provoke a stronger emotional response? These are the questions that few digital marketers ask, but the ones that do are killing it. ## FAQ **What are the most important landing page optimisation practices for improving conversion rates?** The most effective landing page optimisation focuses on **strategic testing and process rather than cosmetic tweaks** like button colour changes. Rather than making minor adjustments, successful optimisation requires a systematic approach to understanding user behaviour and removing friction from your conversion funnel. This article reveals techniques developed over 9 years of real-world optimisation work that go far beyond surface-level design changes. **What should a landing page structure include for best results?** An effective landing page structure must prioritise **removing barriers to conversion and aligning messaging with user intent** throughout the entire page. The best-performing pages follow a logical flow that guides visitors toward a single, clear action without unnecessary form fields or distracting elements. Structure should be informed by data about your specific audience rather than generic design templates. **How often should you test and optimise your landing pages?** You should stop making constant tweaks and instead implement **meaningful testing cycles with sufficient traffic to validate results**. Running endless minor experiments without statistical significance wastes resources and prevents you from identifying what actually moves the needle. The article emphasises that big results come from strategic changes, not continuous micro-optimisations. **What's the difference between landing page design best practices and conversion optimisation?** **Design best practices focus on aesthetics, whilst conversion optimisation focuses on removing friction and aligning with user psychology**. A beautifully designed page can still underperform if it doesn't address the psychological barriers preventing conversions. True landing page optimisation requires understanding your audience's objections and motivations, not just following design trends. **How do you develop a landing page strategy that actually works?** A working landing page strategy starts with **understanding your specific audience's needs and objections rather than applying generic best practices**. You need to analyse what's preventing conversions for your particular offer, then systematically test solutions with enough traffic to validate results. The most effective strategies are built on data from your own campaigns, not industry benchmarks. **Should you reduce form fields on landing pages to improve conversions?** Reducing form fields is often cited as best practice, but **the optimal number depends entirely on your conversion goal and audience expectations**. Whilst fewer fields generally reduce friction, removing fields that qualify leads or gather essential information can hurt your results downstream. The key is testing what works for your specific offer rather than blindly following the 'fewer fields' rule. **What makes landing page optimisation different in 2026?** Modern landing page optimisation in 2026 requires **moving beyond outdated cosmetic changes to focus on psychological triggers and user intent alignment**. The fundamentals of conversion psychology remain constant, but successful optimisation now demands more sophisticated audience segmentation and personalisation. Generic advice about button colours has been replaced by data-driven strategies that address real user objections. --- # 12 Marketing Automation Tools That Saved us £155,000+ on Social Media & Lead Gen URL: https://ventureharbour.com/automation-tools-save-us-155000-on-extra-staff-freelancers-every-year/ Summary: We save more than £150,000 every year with these 12 automation tools - not to mention the extra money they make us. Now, let's find out how much they can save your business. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:20:07 Marketing automation has reached maturity over the past few years, allowing businesses in every industry to do more for less. Here at Venture Harbour, we've transformed the way we operate thanks to automation and now we're doing the same for our clients using the technology to boost productivity and reduce expenses. With a relatively simple combination of 12 different automation tools, we're saving more than £155,000 every year on wages alone. That's not all, either. Aside from saving us money, our automation system allows us to generate more business and turn over, boosting our profit margin while also saving us a healthy sum in the same process. ## #1: [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) is a powerful marketing automation tool that helps us nurture leads and keep our customers happy. This takes a huge chunk out of our sales and marketing workflow - to such an extent we don't even need a sales team and roughly half of the marketing personnel we would normally need to hire. ## #2: [Webinarjam](/recommends/webinarjam/) [WebinarJam](/recommends/webinarjam/) allows us to fully automate our webinar marketing strategy, one of our most important lead-generation tactics. By creating evergreen webinar content and automating both the sign-up and screening processes, we can generate leads around the clock without doing anything after the initial setup. Better yet, we can integrate this with ActiveCampaign to automate our follow-up responses for different audiences: those who attend our webinar, those who sign up but don't attend and those who don't watch it in full, for example. ### How much can WebinarJam save you? WebinarJam saves us from having another sales and marketing team member from managing our webinar marketing strategy and handling the leads it generates. Actually, ActiveCampaign also helps us out here as well but we're talking about another **£25,000 saved every year in wages** whichever way you look at it. ## #3: [Edgar](https://meetedgar.com/) Social media is important to every modern brand and Ventrue Harbour is no exception. The problem is managing social media accounts is time-consuming and it requires enough personnel to keep all of your networks running -especially when you need to respond to user posts and comments. Unless you use a tool like [Edgar](https://meetedgar.com/) to automate your social media activity. With Edgar, you'll never need to repeat or schedule posts again and you can even use this tool to post updates for you based on websites and blogs on your RSS feed. Essentially, you're creating a library of content in a folder where you can bulk edit, and delete things as they become irrelevant. Edgar automatically schedules these posts across your networks to make sure every piece of content goes as far as possible. ## #4: [Buffer](https://buffer.com/) While Edgar takes the initiative and schedules your social media posts for you, there are times when you want control over when certain pieces of content. This is where [Buffer](https://buffer.com/) comes into our social media automation strategy. With Buffer we can schedule posts across all of our social media accounts and analyse performance. This means we can identify which days and times our content is most effective on each network and automate posts to suit. ### How much can Buffer save you? Buffer gets credit for saving us the other half a social media manager's wage which means it's also trimming a good **£14,250** from our annual expenses. ## #5: [GhostInspector](https://ghostinspector.com/) Every brand with a website, application or bespoke software needs to run user tests to identify bugs and improve the user experience. [GhostInspector](https://ghostinspector.com/) automates a number of tests, including a visual editor so you can create your own tests without coding everything from scratch. You can also record these tests in-browser, continuously monitor the functionality of your website or app and set up notifications when issues are detected. ### How much can GhostInspector save you? Our combination of debugging tools saves us from hiring at least one extra software QA team member, which earn [an average of £35,504 every year in London](https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/london-qa-engineer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,6_IM1035_KO7,18.htm). GhostInspector deserves credit for a quarter of the credit for this, which means we're **saving almost £9,000 every year** by using this tool. ## #6: [Sentry](https://sentry.io/welcome/) [Sentry](https://sentry.io/welcome/) is an open source error tracking system that helps developers to monitor and fix crashes in real time, rather than wait for users to report a problem. Sentry provides all the details you need regarding errors during a user session (e.g.: browser versions, version of your software, error type, operating system, etc.) so you don't need to waste time asking users for the same old information - you can focus on fixing problems faster. ### How much can Sentry save you? Sentry is our second of four software QA tools and this means **another £9,000 or so** saved from our annual wage bill. ## #7: [Codacy](https://www.codacy.com/) [Codacy](https://www.codacy.com/) is a code review and debugging platform that helps you detect problems and iron out creases before sending applications or updates live. You can apply code standards across each project and Codacy will analyse your files to highlight any inconsistencies and obvious errors. It also grades the code of your programmers and helps them to improve their skills, stick to your style guides and give them a gentle nudge if they head off in the wrong direction. ### How much can Codacy save you? That's right, we're looking at **another £9,000 saving every** **year** thanks to Codacy. ## #8: [CircleCI](https://circleci.com/) [CircleCI](https://circleci.com/) helps the likes of Spotify, GoPro and our team at Venture Harbour to automate development processes and turn great ideas into quality code faster. It allows you to create config files that control the way your software and updates are deployed across every channel. When you have multiple websites, apps or other platforms spread across different channels, this is an invaluable automation tool for new releases, updates and bug fixes. ### How much can CircleCI save you? CricleCI is the last software QA tool in this list but the **£9,000 it saves us every year** means it's just as valuable to us as the rest of them. ## #9: [Calendly](https://calendly.com/)  [Calendly](https://calendly.com/) is one of those simple yet wonderful productivity tools that just about everyone should be using. No more bouncing emails back and forth to arrange meetings, confirm details or get teams together - Calendly takes care of all of this for you and invitees simply click to confirm or suggest an alternative. This is ideal if you have large teams working on projects or international workforces where time zones and national holidays make it difficult to ensure everyone is available at the same time. ### How much can Calendly save you? Calendly is one of four tools we use that saves us from hiring a part-time administrator. Admittedly, Calendly probably doesn't deserve an equal share of this saving but we're more interested in how much all 12 of these tools have saved us in total, so we're not going to get too stingy with our maths. ## #10: [Zapier](https://zapier.com/)  [Zapier](https://zapier.com/) is another relatively simple productivity tool but it packs a serious punch when it comes to basic automation between different apps. For example, you can create a workflow that detects new emails landing in your Gmail inbox, copies all attachments to Dropbox and then alerts the relevant people on Slack about the new Dropbox file. There's an almost limitless amount of workflows you can create across thousands of the most popular applications for businesses and developers, saving all kinds of time on repetitive tasks so you can concentrate on more important things. ### How much can Zapier save you? Zapier's share of what we would have to pay for a part-time administrator means it's saving us **another £4,000+ every year**. ## #11: [Breezy](/recommends/breezyhr/)  Hiring great staff can be a time-consuming process and a difficult one t0 manage and [Breezy](/recommends/breezyhr/) aims to make this easier for you. Breezy allows you to create pipelines for different positions so you can monitor and manage candidates at different stages of the application process. You can create detailed profiles, score candidates, pre-screen them, manage interview guides and move your most promising candidates to the next stage using Breezy's drag-and-drop pipelines. ### How much can Breezy save you? As the third of our four admin tools, Breezy also saves us **more than £4,000 per year** on wages. ## #12: [Xero](https://www.xero.com/uk/)  Accounting might just be the worst of all admin tasks for small businesses that simply want to concentrate on what they do best. We get it, believe me. But, sadly, there's no getting away from the need to manage your books and Xero does its best to take as much of the pain out of accounting as possible. This cross-device platform allows you to manage accounts on the go, create and send invoices faster and deal with discrepancies in one place. ### How much can Xero save you? You guessed it; Xero also knocks **a minimum of £4,000 off our annual expenses**. ### Total saved: £155,000+ every year By using these 12 automation tools we're **saving at least £155,500 every year** on extra staff and freelancer fees. Let's keep in mind that the marketing automation tools are also *making* us money while our software QA tools are helping us improve our products and user experiences. These tools are all adding something to Venture Harbour and saving us a good chunk of money while they're at it. Our staffing needs are relatively modest, too, which goes to show how much larger businesses can save by using automation to improve business performance and reduce wage expenses. --- # 12 Remote Working Best Practices We Discovered (The Hard Way) URL: https://ventureharbour.com/remote-working-best-practices/ Summary: Overcome the challenges of remote working and maximise the benefits with the remotw working best practices we leanred the hard way. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:18:55 Remote working has transformed the way we build businesses and careers. [Studies show](https://www.businessinsider.com/study-says-remote-workers-are-happier-stay-in-jobs-longer-2019-9?r=US&IR=T#targetText=A%20study%20by%20Owl%20Labs,more%20likely%20to%20retain%20them.) that remote workers are happier in their jobs and life in general, which keeps them working in the same position for longer while maintaining a healthier work-life balance. For businesses, [remote working makes it easier to recruit and retain top talent](https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/company-culture/2018/remote-and-flexible-work-options) from around the world while keeping their organisation lean and flexible enough to adapt to changing demands. This has been instrumental in the rise of startup culture and businesses adapting to digital technologies. Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of hype surrounding remote working these days but it's important to understand the challenges it comes with. There's no such thing as a perfect working model and, despite the benefits to businesses and employees, there are some downsides that need to be mitigated in order to maximise those benefits.  According to Buffer's [2019 State of Remote Report](https://buffer.com/state-of-remote-work-2019), the biggest challenge remote workers have is switching off after work (22%) while loneliness (19%) is an issue that can't be ignored. Remote workers also admit that collaborating and communicating with team members can be a challenge (17%) and distractions at home (10%) can get in the way of productivity, which is an obvious concern to businesses and employees alike. As a remote member of the Venture Harbour team myself, I can attest to these challenges (among others) and how we've overcome them within our team. Remote working is crucial to our business model and maximising productivity - both collectively and individually - has been a key priority for us. In this article, we're looking at 11 remote working best practices that we've discovered the hard way over the past eight years. ## **#1: Stop multitasking - it doesn't work** The biggest lesson we've learned in our pursuit of ultimate productivity is this: multitasking simply doesn't work. This isn't only based on our own experience here at Venture Harbour, either; this is backed by a whole bunch of science. Let's be clear about this, the human brain isn't designed for multitasking. > *"For nearly all people, in nearly all situations, multitasking is impossible. When we think we’re multitasking, most often we aren’t really doing two things at once – but instead, individual actions in rapid succession." - [Cleveland Clinic](https://health.clevelandclinic.org/science-clear-multitasking-doesnt-work/) academic centre* Likewise, constantly switching between one task and another, significantly reduces our effectiveness of both tasks. This is obviously bad news for productivity but a string of studies have revealed some more sinister side-effects of forcing our brains to handle more than one task at a time. ### The full cost of multitasking A series of studies looking into how the human brain copes with handling multiple tasks at the same time or constantly switching between tasks reveal some important findings. The full cost of multitasking includes a number of immediate and long-term consequences: - [Reduces productivity by up to 40%](https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/brain-wise/201209/the-true-cost-multi-tasking) - [Lowers the quality of your work](https://www.nber.org/papers/w16502) - Leads to compromises, mistakes and shortcuts - [Reduces your IQ](https://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/#66e3513456ee) - [Damages your brain](https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/uos-bsr092314.php) Neuroscientists have found that overloading the brain with multiple tasks declines IQ scores to a similar extent to that expected of smoking marijuana or staying up all night. Meanwhile, ongoing multitasking has been linked to the development of "grey matter" in the brain during a study on people using their smartphones while watching another media device. The science makes for some pretty stark reading - not only in terms of productivity but also the long-term health of remote workers. ### Breaking the habit Despite knowing the fact that multitasking doesn't work and actually kills productivity, breaking the habit is surprisingly difficult. It's always tempting to think we can get more done by doing two things at the same time while the constant barrage of email notifications and other distractions only make focusing on a single task more difficult. Modern life programmes us to do multiple things at the same time while simultaneously failing to prioritise busyness over productivity. It turns out I wasn't the only member of our team who found it difficult to kick the multitasking habit, even after learning how counterproductive it really is. So we started looking for practical solutions that would help us focus on single tasks - and this led us to Freedom.to.  Freedom.to is a productivity app that encourages team members to define a single goal for each day, which can comprise of multiple tasks they'll deal with, one at a time. This allows our entire team to shift its daily mentality to achieving one thing every day and maximising productivity on achieving each goal. On a personal basis, setting out my daily workload in this way helps me stay focused on single tasks but it also removes the pressure I used to feel to handle multiple tasks at once. Now, our entire team has the shared mentality that multitasking is bad for us. We no longer expect this from each other and we also no longer feel pressured to take on more than one task at any time. Our entire business culture has changed and this is crucial for maximising productivity. ## **#2: Work in distraction-free bursts** Another reason that multitasking is so tempting is that it can be difficult to focus on the same task for extended periods of time. Multitasking offers a kind of break from the task we're doing but it's a false positive in terms of productivity. To get the full benefits from single-tasking and remote productivity, we needed a way to improve our individual focus on each task. ### The Pomodoro Technique Luckily, there are already tried and tested working models that are proven to enhance focus and productivity at the same time. The [Pomodoro Technique](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique#targetText=The%20Pomodoro%20Technique%20is%20a,length%2C%20separated%20by%20short%20breaks.) is a time management strategy first developed in the 1980s and it's become a favourite among productivity advocates in recent years. Essentially, the technique encourages people to work in 25-minute bursts, separated by short breaks. Studies have shown [the human brain can only focus on single tasks for roughly 20 minutes](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3782739/) (sometimes less) before cognitive effectiveness starts to deteriorate - and this is a key principle of the Pomodoro Technique.  The Pomodoro Technique strongly inspired the design of many productivity apps, which allow you to create working sessions of 20-60 minutes with regular breaks. Aside from making it easier to focus on tasks, I naturally find my energy levels remain high throughout these sessions as I'm working to the clock in smaller intervals. Essentially, I'm hitting half a dozen targets throughout the day instead of aiming to complete a full to-do list by the end of the day. Personally, I now break each hour into two 25-minute bursts with a five-minute break at the end of each burst. This allows me to structure the day into hour intervals and take slightly longer breaks after each two-hour interval. ### Blocking out the distractions Another telling insight from scientific studies is that it takes us [an average of 23 minutes to refocus after becoming distracted (PDF)](https://www.ics.uci.edu/~gmark/chi08-mark.pdf). That's a pretty shocking statistic by anyone's standards but you can see how the idea of working in 25-minute bursts falls apart once you get distracted by email notifications or messages from other team members. To combat this, we had to come up with a way to block out these distractions and this went on to become one of the most important features we look for in productivity tools.  Freedom.to blocks websites and apps that get in the way of your workflow so that you're never distracted during your sessions. You can forget about those pesky email notifications, messages from your team members or the temptation of a quick Twitter browse. Welcome to truly distraction-free work sessions. ## **#3: Create a dedicated workspace** For a lot of remote workers, their home becomes the office and staying focused in a house full of distractions is difficult. The couch is temptingly comfortable, the cupboards are filled with snacks and there's always a household task that'll only take a minute to quickly do (and then take 23 minutes to refocus from). I have to hold mt hands up and say I'm a sucker for home distractions. For years, my preferred solution was to work in cafes and this is still my go-to option when I'm travelling. You can't really create an office in a hotel room (toilets don't count) but, if you're working from home, you absolutely do need to create a dedicated working space. Ideally, this wants to be a separate office room where you can close the door and shut out the rest of the world. You'll want to keep your home office minimal in terms of design and make sure you keep it tidy - a clear working space keeps a clear mind. Everything you need should be within touching distance and everything you don't should be in another room. Also, I can't emphasise enough how important it is to have a comfortable chair that helps you maintain a healthy posture. I also like a desk with a raised section or shelf that I can place my laptop on and work standing up for alternating 25-minute blasts. There are all kinds of office design principles you can use to boost productivity, too. Career coach and startup strategist, Heather Rees, covers these design tricks (and more) that increase productivity in [her article for Lifehack.org](https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/15-office-design-tricks-that-will-increase-your-productivity-work.html): - **Lighting:** Particularly, maximising natural light and replicating it as much as you can with your artificial lighting. - **Chair and table:** Invest in a decent chair or pillows and make sure your table is at the right height for you. - **Clutter:** Like I said earlier, keep that home office clean. - **Colour:** Choose colours associated with action and productivity, such as blue and orange. - **Temperature:** Relatively warm but comfortable temperatures have been found to improve productivity. - **Room scent:** Pine scents have been found to increase alertness while cinnamon improves focus, lavender helps combat stress and peppermint lifts your mood. - **Noise level:** Most styles of music reduce productivity but focus music or natural sounds (rainforest, ocean waves, etc.) have been found to have a positive impact. - **Air quality:** Open up those windows and let some fresh air in, get an air filter and fill your room with plants. - **Refreshment:** Make sure you have enough water to hand and minimise your number of trips to the kitchen for drinks and snacks (save this for break times). - **Plants:** Aside from improving air quality plants have been found to lift moods and boost productivity in a variety of studies. Obviously, the ideal home office is a subjective thing and it's up to you to decide whether plants and air filters help you get more done (or feel better while doing it). For me, now that I've started travelling less and working from home more, my priority was to create a minimal working space with no distractions. I can always go to a cafe when I feel the need to be in a more public setting. ## **#4: Switch off after working hours** One of the biggest problems with remote working is that life becomes work. The divide between the two disappears and this, for me, is the biggest challenge of being a remote worker. I'm not alone, either, because this tops the list of remote workers' struggles in Buffer's [2019 State of Remote Report](https://buffer.com/state-of-remote-work-2019). A [2017 report](https://www.cipd.co.uk/about/media/press/270417-remote-work-issues) from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that almost a third of all UK workers feel that having remote access to the work means they're unable to switch off in their personal time. Clearly, this is a contradiction of the improved work-life balance remote working is supposed to achieve, which negatively impacts many of the other benefits it should come with. Businesses need to allow their remote workers to genuinely switch off once their working hours are done and employees need to need to allow themselves to do the same - another pressure we often fall victim to. ## **#5: Make available hours visible to everyone** To make sure everyone gets the chance to switch off, we share our default working hours with each other so everyone knows when they're able to contact each other. I say *default* working hours because these can vary but most of us find we're more productive when we try to stick to a fairly regular working routine. Generally speaking, the more consistent we are with working hours, the less work tends to eat into our free time.  We also integrate our productivity tools with Slack to constantly update our status so team members can see when we're focused on a task and we're not to be disturbed. Finally, we can also manually set our availability statuses, allowing everyone to collaborate without getting in each other's way. ## **#6: Make current tasks visible to everyone** Making our work hours and availability statuses visible to everyone prevents unnecessary distractions/interruptions, but it doesn't provide any kind of context about what team members are actually doing while they're busy. This can be problematic from a project management perspective because you need to know people are working on the right task and keeping on track. The thing is, you want to know this without having to pester them every five minutes, asking them what they're doing and whether they've finished X, Z or Y. We use [StatusHero](https://statushero.com) to keep everyone informed of what we're doing so team managers can get a better idea of progress without interrupting people's workflow. This also allows other team members to see what each other are working on, which also reduces interruptions on collaborative tasks. Team members can also post blockers getting in the way of tasks, helping you to address the biggest barriers to progress on your project goals. ## **#7: Choose the right collaboration tools** This one is so important for remote workers and finding the right collaboration tools for your entire team requires some consideration. It took us years of trials and experimentation to find the right mix of tools for our team and our needs have changed over this time as well - as will yours. We've already looked at how tools like Freedom.to, Slack and StatusHero help our remote team maximise productivity and you'll find plenty of other examples in our article, [*53 Business Automation Tools That Skyrocketed Our Growth by 330%*](/tools/)*.* Also, be sure to take a look at our in-depth article on the [10 best productivity apps for teams](/productivity-tools-for-teams/). ## **#8: Choose the right project management tools** Having a remote team can make it more challenging to manage tasks and track progress. This is where you need the right project management tools on your side to ensure everyone is on track with the broader objectives. Once again, [Slack](https://slack.com/) is a fine choice for this while [Trello](https://trello.com) and [monday](https://monday.com) are also strong options for an all-in-one project management and collaboration solution.  It's also important to bring the team together (even if only digitally) to discuss progress, obstacles and ideas. Above all, this keeps people accountable for their goals and provides a constant reminder that their individual tasks are part of a team effort. We hold traction meetings every Monday on [Zoom](https://zoom.us) for everyone to discuss how they're getting on and raise any problems they might have. Without these meetings, we've found that deadlines are met less frequently and simple issues getting in the way of productivity were never raised to the right people. It seems our weekly traction meetings provide just the right amount of motivational pressure for people hit targets without them overmanaged. They also demonstrate how hitting these targets (or not) impacts other team members. ## **#9: Respect cultural differences, not just time zones** This one is so important if you have a team of remote workers spread out around the world. While there are plenty of tools that can help your team collaborate across different time zones, you can't rely on technology for everything. Managers and team members alike need to have a genuine, human understanding of the cultural differences that make up a global group of remote workers. Some aspects of this are easier than others and there are always going to be misunderstandings when you bring culturally diverse people together. However, it's imperative you're able to create a business culture of understanding between your team members. Here are some key areas to consider: - **Holidays:** Not everybody celebrates Christmas and there are plenty of religious events around the world unique to other cultures that may, among other things, require certain team members to take time off. - **Language:** Language proficiency is obviously a factor and there are distinct differences between languages irrespective of fluency that can lead to misunderstandings. - **Openness:** Some cultures promote openness as a positive virtue while others encourage people to keep certain thoughts (particularly negative ones) to themselves. - **Agreeability:** Likewise, in some cultures, there can be a reluctance to say "no," refuse or say that something can't be done. I've personally seen this in many Asian countries where people can feel compelled to take on tasks they're not fully comfortable with or don't have the time to take on. - **Hierarchy:** This is a fundamental principle in many cultures and simply being older can give someone authority in many societies. - **Work ethic:** The expectations placed on people in the workplace can vary a lot, too. - **Workers rights:** The level of workers rights in cultures has a large impact on how people conduct themselves in the workplace - for example, how many breaks a person might expect to take during the day or how many hours they want (or feel compelled) to work. - **Bereavement:** The practice and duration of funerals can vary a lot, as well as the wider cultural process of bereavement. - **Individualism:** It's also really important to understand that someone's cultural background doesn't define who they are. People are still individuals and some of us a more "British" or whatever else than others. The aim is to understand cultural differences, not pigeonhole people with cultural labels. I think the easiest place to start with this is holidays because it provides a quantifiable, visual (at least in calendars) pathway into cultural understanding within teams. Remote workers can see certain team members have days off for public holidays, religious events or other reasons. Take the next step, though, and encourage team members to understand more about these events. Ramadan is a great example of this, where practising Muslims fast during daylight hours for a month - something that can obviously impact a person's mood or efficiency. There are plenty of Muslim athletes who continue to perform at the highest level during Ramadan but it's important to understand how difficult it can be to maintain performance. Above all, team managers need to understand the differences that come with cultural variety and respect those differences. Most of the challenges that arise from cultural differences can be resolved or mitigated with communication and it's also worth recognising the benefit of having alternative perspectives when it comes to making creative decisions. ## **#10: Create guidelines for every team member** Remote working comes with a lot of added freedoms but flexibility isn't always a good thing. There are certain tasks that need to be completed to specific requirements, within specific timeframes. For example, your blog posts might need to be published to Twitter at certain times of the day and there are certain things those posts should/shouldn't include. Likewise, you don't want your social team putting out an image or status update that damages your online image. Or someone to accidentally email the wrong invoice to a client who can now see how much you're charging someone else for similar services. Having the freedom to work anywhere is great but there are some tasks that probably shouldn't be done on public WiFi in a cafe. Remote teams need guidelines, too. *Should your team really be working on that in a cafe?* Guidelines are there to help your team members complete tasks properly and avoid simple, but costly mistakes. They also provide a reference for complex tasks that people can go back to for reminders and make it easier for other team members to take on new tasks. Guidelines are about support as much as they are regulation. ## **#11:** **Get things started in the office** While some of our team members are spread out across the world, whenever possible, we try to get new staff members working in our office for the first two weeks at Venture Harbour. This allows us to start the working relationship in-person and provide a greater level of training and support as new team members get used to their roles. We have a specific way of working here at Venture Harbour and this isn't something you can communicate effectively through emails. It's also very important to us that remote working doesn't remove the human element of being a part of our team. For our overseas team members, we rely on video calls and group voice calls to try and provide a similar kind of introduction for new recruits. But it's always a smoother process when we're able to get people into our offices for their first two weeks with us. ## **#12: Bring the team together** As we can see from Buffer's [2019 State of Remote Report](https://buffer.com/state-of-remote-work-2019), loneliness is the second biggest struggle participants said they experience while working remotely. There are a lot of things we can do to make sure this isn't a problem for our team members: - Make sure people have enough free time to build and nurture relationships outside of work. - Build working relationships within the team. - Use collaboration tools that put faces to names. - Create group chats for non-work-related discussions. - Congratulate people on their birthdays, important events, etc. - Get the team together regularly. Here at Venture Harbour, we get the whole team together once a month for a casual meetup. We use this as more of a social/team-building exercise but it also gives everyone a chance to discuss things face-to-face and raise any issues or suggestions to the group. We also get to laugh at how different everyone sounds in real life, compared to video/voice calls. https://twitter.com/VentureHarbour/status/976549220202070018 Aside from the monthly meetups, the Venture Harbour team also gets together for retreats twice a year. This is where we put our minds together and come up with new venture ideas, consider new technology solutions and address business challenges. It's not all about work, though. The retreats give us a chance to have some fun together, build a stronger working relationship with each other and bring the team closer together. Without these kinds of meetups, your team is going to be a bunch of strangers working on projects together and the internet will be the only connection between them. ## **Making remote working... work** Remote working creates a lot of benefits for businesses and employees alike but there's no such thing as a perfect working model. As with anything, there are pros and cons with remote working, but you can overcome many of the negatives and, at the very least, mitigate the rest. Overcome these challenges and remote working will add far more to your business - and the lives of your team members - than it takes away. To do this, you'll need to create a business culture that encourages remote working and helps team members overcome potential barriers - both collectively and personally. The best practices we've looked at in this article have come from years of in-house and remote team working together. We've made plenty of mistakes along the way but we've learned from every one of them and turned these lessons into working processes that help remote workers get more done, faster. Now, our team is more efficient than ever, which is great news for business and also for our team members who can feel happier about their work and spend more of their free time actually living their lives. However, we're still constantly looking at our working setup to look for new opportunities to improve efficiency and work-life balance. We're not aiming for perfection but we are aiming to get better every year. --- # 14 Best CRM Software for Small Businesses URL: https://ventureharbour.com/crm-software-small-business/ Summary: Compare 14 top CRMs for small businesses: HubSpot, Insightly, Agile CRM & more. Free options, pricing & features analysed. Find your perfect fit. Last updated: 2026-04-18 07:08:26 Your small business or startup is bursting at the seams as your disorganised contacts and spreadsheets, and manual, time-consuming processes are limiting your potential to scale and acquire more customers. It’s time to get a CRM, but there’s one problem. As you’re trying to lighten your load and optimise your processes, you now have to research and choose from the [846 CRM options](https://www.capterra.com/customer-relationship-management-software/) available in this overcrowded space to find the solution that works for your company’s goals, budget and growth track. Not exactly the relief you were hoping for. To eliminate the time investment and headaches of having to research each CRM and dig into the details, we’re happy to do some of the heavy lifting for you. (And if you're actually at the larger end of the market, our guide to the [best enterprise CRM software](/best-enterprise-crm-software-solutions/) will serve you better.) By the end of this guide, you will have a better idea of which CRM... - Is a good fit for your unique business and stage of growth - Can grow with you as you scale - Fits into your current (and future) budget - Houses the features you need to operate efficiently - Integrates with your current setup - Is user-friendly and easy/difficult to set up We’ve hand-selected 14 CRMs that we believe will be a good fit for your small business or startup. With each tool, we also listed some key features, what size and business type the CRM is suited for, the industries that use the platform and other relevant information. We also created this handy comparison chart below so you can review the key features/attributes of each CRM at a quick glance.  **Comparison** **Chart Key:** Pricing: All prices are annual pricing except where indicated. We also indicated which tools offer a free plan. Note that most CRMs also offer monthly pricing if desired. Integrations: An indication of whether or not the tool offers third-party software integrations. Business size/type: The size and type of business. Standout feature: What the tool is known for or what stands out the most. Comprehensive: A comprehensive tool will have marketing automation, email marketing and/or customer service available with the CRM plans or as a product add-on. Usability scale: 1. **Easy** 2. **Easy to moderate** 3. **Moderate** 4. **Moderate to difficult** We rated usability as it relates to how easy it is to get acclimated and use the platform. Of course, your usability experience will be different from others, depending on your experience and background. But, we did our best to pull from user reviews and our personal experience with the tools to come up with a usability rating. Even with our ratings, we still recommend you try each tool as most come with free plans and/or free trials. Typically, CRMs that offer more features and integrations take more time to onboard and learn. But, that shouldn’t deter you from adopting a tool that you think would be a good fit. Some of the easy to moderate and moderate CRMs may require a little time, but it will be worth it once you are set up and running. Also, just because a tool is rated as “Easy” doesn’t mean that it won’t take a little time to familiarise yourself with the CRM and its features. It just means the tool may be a little more intuitive to use and navigate. ## What CRM Features are Most Important to Small Businesses? Here are the features/attributes to look for when choosing CRM software for your small business: - **Current costs** - Cost is important as staying lean keeps profits high. We offered tools with price points attractive to small businesses. - **Future costs** - How much will it cost you to add new users and scale the platform to fit your future goals and needs? - **Goals** - What is your goal for your small business CRM? Do you just want to manage contacts? Or are you looking for an all-in-one tool to manage everything from sales to marketing to employee onboarding? Think about features too. For example, you may not be as concerned with usability because you manage a team of developers, but cost is of higher importance. - **Scalability** - You need a tool that will grow with you as you scale. Choose a CRM that has features that drive growth and will also be strong enough to sustain that growth without breaking your future budget. But beware, some small businesses go too large at first and they end up paying for features they don’t use. Start small and plan for the future. - **Integrations** - Your CRM should easily integrate with your current software stack, so workflow remains seamless and efficient. - **Usability** - A CRM may be stellar and inexpensive, but if it’s difficult and too costly for your small business to set up and use, it will lower your productivity and cost you more in the long run. PRO TIP: Be careful when calculating costs. While we include the pricing of each tool, to get an accurate representation of your out-the-door costs, we recommend you contact a sales rep. Some tools have setup fees and contact/user limits. ## The Best CRM Software for Small Business Below is a summary of the 14 small business CRMs we will cover in this guide along with a standout feature for each. 1. [**HubSpot**](/recommends/hubspot-free/) - Best CRM with a robust free plan and unlimited users 2. [**ActiveCampaign**](/recommends/active-campaign/) - Best CRM for powerful automation and affordability as you grow 3. [**Pipedrive**](/recommends/pipedrive/) - Best CRM with simple and affordable sales management 4. [**Streak**](https://www.streak.com/) - Best CRM with Gmail inbox integration 5. [**Copper**](https://www.copper.com/) - Best CRM with native G Suite integration 6. [**Salesflare**](https://salesflare.com/) - Best CRM with powerful sales automation plus ease of use 7. [**Salesmate**](/recommends/salesmate/) - Best CRM for flexible sales management with a feature-rich starter plan 8. [**Zoho CRM**](https://www.zoho.com/crm/) - Best CRM with comprehensive feature list and ability to scale 9. [**Salesforce**](https://www.salesforce.com/) - Best CRM for power, flexibility and ability to customise 10. [**Insightly**](https://www.insightly.com/) - Best CRM for seamless integration across CRM features 11. [**Agile CRM**](https://www.agilecrm.com/) - Best CRM for unique features for SaaS businesses 12. [**Creatio**](https://www.creatio.com/) - Best CRM for ease of use, flexibility and low-code app development 13. [**Bitrix24**](https://www.bitrix24.com/) - Best CRM with a low cost, comprehensive feature list and unlimited users 14. [**Less Annoying CRM**](https://www.lessannoyingcrm.com/) - Best CRM for low cost, ease of use and a simple feature list Let’s go through each CRM for small businesses in more detail! ## #1 [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-free/) [](/recommends/hubspot/) HubSpot is a popular CRM that caters to businesses of all types, from independent contractors to enterprise organisations. The free Smart CRM is one of the most generous in the category — unlimited contacts, deal tracking, pipeline management, basic forms, and 2,000 marketing emails per month — making it a legitimate way to run a small business without paying anything. HubSpot's product stack includes Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub and CMS Hub. Each Hub builds on the same free Smart CRM. Starter is now per-seat ($15/seat/month, annual) — every editing user is a paid Core Seat, and view-only seats are free and unlimited. With HubSpot's marketing features, automate all of your marketing tasks. Send automated emails using HubSpot's template library, personalise campaigns with advanced segmentation and customise workflows, connecting them to your unique goals. The Spring 2026 Spotlight added Breeze AI — outcome-based pricing on the Customer Agent ($0.50/resolved conversation) and Prospecting Agent ($1.00/qualified lead). [](/recommends/hubspot/) HubSpot's sales features allow you to monitor your website visitors' behaviour in real time. Use this data to craft a personalised email sequence and receive additional data on how the prospect interacts with your communication. Follow prospects' progress on HubSpot's all-in-one sales dashboard, with Clearbit-powered firmographic enrichment auto-populated against records. [](/recommends/hubspot/) **Standout feature**: We like HubSpot's free Smart CRM — it's the strongest free tier in the category, with unlimited contacts and unlimited users. HubSpot's interface is also intuitive and not difficult to navigate, which is not typical among similar feature-heavy CRMs. **Key Features:** - Contact management - Marketing automation - Sales automation - Sales performance and analytics - Lead management and scoring - Sales pipeline management - Email marketing - Custom workflows - Activity and schedule management **Additional features:** - Social media and SEO tools - Content management - Live chat - Custom landing pages - Mobile app and integrations **Pricing:** HubSpot's *Free* Smart CRM includes features other CRMs would charge for: unlimited contacts, deal tracking, pipeline management, email tracking, meeting scheduling links, basic forms and 2,000 marketing emails per month. | Plan | At 1,000 contacts | At 10,000 contacts | At 100,000 contacts | Onboarding fee | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Free Tools | $0 (2 seats, 2,000 emails/mo) | n/a | n/a | None | | [Starter](/recommends/hubspot/) | $15/seat/mo | ~$470/mo (1 seat + overage) | n/a (caps out) | None | | [Professional](/recommends/hubspot/) | $890/mo | ~$2,280/mo | ~$4,080/mo | $3,000 (mandatory) | | [Enterprise](/recommends/hubspot/) | $3,600/mo | $3,600/mo (10K included) | ~$5,850/mo | $7,000 (mandatory) | Marketing Hub Starter is now per-seat ($15/seat/month, annual). Pro at $890/month adds proper marketing automation, A/B testing, custom reporting and ABM tools — but requires a 12-month commitment plus a one-time $3,000 mandatory non-refundable onboarding fee. For our full breakdown, see our [HubSpot review](/hubspot-review/). [Learn more about HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot-free/). ## #2 [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) [](/recommends/active-campaign/) We love ActiveCampaign over here at Venture Harbour because, well, we use it daily and it has served us well. A CRM-less nomad, we searched and searched for years for the best CRM for our business. We even trialled 100+ CRMs but did not feel confident until we stumbled upon ActiveCampaign. We originally used ActiveCampaign for email marketing which is what it was known for. But it has since branched out into a fully loaded CRM. We like ActiveCampaign because it provides email marketing and marketing automation in one platform with robust features that hit high marks in quality and depth. One of our favourite features is ActiveCampaign’s deal pipelines because they are based on the Kanban board style (think Trello) or the agile framework. To use this feature successfully, you will have to break down your sales cycle into steps which will give you a better visual picture of where each deal lands in the cycle and how close or far they are from completion.  A rare feature of CRMs, ActiveCampaign also allows you to split test emails in automation campaigns. With unlimited split tests, we have been able to increase our email open rates up to 300%. **Standout feature:** ActiveCampaign boasts powerful automation capabilities with high-quality, in-depth features, affordable enough for small businesses to scale with. **Key Features:** - Sales automation - Sales performance and analytics - Customisable sales pipelines - Contact management - Lead management - Marketing automation - Automation goals - Email marketing - Omni-channel marketing campaigns - Mobile application **Additional Features:** - Automated lead nurturing - Customisable forms and landing pages - Win probability - Predictive lead scoring and sending - Email, SMS, Facebook & on-site messaging **Pricing:** The pricing is based on the number of contacts and users. For up to 500 contacts and three users, the *Lite* plan starts at $9 per month billed annually and includes unlimited sends, email marketing, marketing automation, and subscription forms. *Premium* plans starting at $49 per month billed annually for up to 500 contacts and 25 users also include Facebook custom audiences, lead and contact scoring, SMS marketing, integrations, dynamic content and more. ActiveCampaign also offers a 14-day free trial. [Learn more about ActiveCampaign.](/recommends/active-campaign/) ## #3 Pipedrive [](/recommends/pipedrive/) We like Pipedrive for small businesses who want an affordable, robust, intuitive solution for generating leads and managing them throughout the sales cycle without the unnecessary bells and whistles of bloated CRMs. If you want to keep things easy and simple, Pipedrive may be the solution for you. While most small businesses that generate and manage leads will benefit from using Pipedrive, the tool also includes reporting features and eight recurring payment models for subscription-based software businesses. Pipedrive enables you to prioritise the sales activities that matter the most while automating and consolidating your workflow in one easy-to-use interface. Pipedrive’s USP is that it was built by salespeople, for salespeople, because it puts the needs of salespeople first. The simple and highly visual platform interface focuses on activity-based selling.  *Pipedrive offers visual cues of deal probability and rotting to clue you in as to which deals are cold or hot, so you know how and when to tackle them.* With Pipedrive’s visual interface, it’s easy to craft multiple sales pipelines, customise each stage of your sales cycle and track them through your pipeline to completion. Pipedrive also has a robust contact management platform that imports, syncs and manages all of your contacts and links them to deals as needed. The interface also allows you to view your history of interaction with each contact. **Standout feature:** While Pipedrive is not as comprehensive as some other Content Management Systems we included in this guide, we like its simplicity which makes for an easier onboarding process and a quick learning curve. **Key Features:** - Contact management - Activity calendar and scheduling - Customisable sales pipelines - Outbound calling, logging and reporting - AI-powered sales assistant - Lead management and scoring - Sales forecasting - Deal probability and rotting **Additional Features:** - Customisable reporting - Meeting scheduler - Chat integration - Web forms - Mobile apps and integrations **Pricing:** Pricing starts at $12.50 per user/month billed annually with a 14-day free trial. This basic or *Essentials* plan is pretty robust with features such as contact and deal management and organisation, customisable pipelines, web forms, activity management and more. We also like that this price is static and doesn’t increase as you acquire more contacts. *Premium* plans start at $24.90 per user/month billed annually and include additional features such as non-branded forms, customisable email templates, group emailing, workflow automation, and email open and click tracking. All plans get access to 24/7 support and mobile apps and integrations. Note that while we like Pipedrive’s feature deck and simplicity, take a close look at its features to ensure it can scale with you as you grow. For example, there is no internal emailing platform. You would need to integrate an external solution with Pipedrive to implement mailing. [Learn more about Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/). ## 4. [NetHunt CRM](https://nethunt.com/) NetHunt is a sales automation tool that literally lives inside your Gmail and other Google Workspace apps. With NetHunt CRM, companies can organize contacts and deals, segment them for personalised pitches, build custom pipelines, and automate the entire sales process to close deals faster. It’s helpful for managing a team and measuring their effectiveness with tasks and reporting. What sets NetHunt CRM apart from other CRMs is its unparalleled integration with Gmail. Unlike a mere sidebar, NetHunt CRM functions as a fully-featured CRM within your email interface. This unique design ensures a seamless user experience and maximizes productivity. NetHunt CRM was founded in 2015, and has since become a user-favorite, receiving 39 G2 badges in Winter 2023 alone, including the "Our Users Love Us" Badge. It has an average review score of 4.7 on G2 and 4.8 on Capterra, indicating high user satisfaction. NetHunt CRM really has everything you want CRM-wise nailed down. From **contact management** to **automated workflows** – everything under the Gmail tab.It also integrates with other tools from your tech stack, such as VoIP dialers, messenger apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn, web forms, and more, allowing you to adopt an **omnichannel approach to customer communication**.  NetHunt CRM has a powerful sales automation engine – Workflows. With this functionality, you can streamline processes such as automated lead capture, data enrichment, distribution among managers, deal status updates, automated task assignment, and notifications. Workflows empowers you to automate the entire pipeline, ensuring efficiency at every stage. Additionally, NetHunt provides drip campaigns that automatically nurture leads, enhancing your customer engagement efforts.  **Standout feature:** NetHunt CRM excels with its seamless and highly customizable integration with Gmail, empowering businesses to adapt the tool to their unique requirements and scale at their desired pace. **Key Features:** - Contact management functionality - Multiple sales pipeline management and visualization - Bulk email campaigns - Integration with Gmail and Google apps - Direct integrations with LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and more - Sales automation functionality - Drip campaigns - Flexibility and customisation **Additional features:** - Automated lead capture & distribution - Automated task assignment - Notifications **Pricing:** NetHunt CRM offers a 14-day free trial of the system, allowing users to explore the system and test out nearly all of its features. The entry-level plan starts at $24 per user per month when billed annually and encompasses all the essential CRM functionalities. With this plan, you gain access to key features such as contact and lead management, customer base segmentation, the ability to create multiple pipelines, and the flexibility to customize the system according to your specific needs. For more advanced capabilities such as CRM automations, seamless integration with tools like LinkedIn and WhatsApp, as well as the ability to generate sales performance and team reports, upgrading to the "Business" or "Advanced" plans is required. These plans are priced at $48 and $96 per user per month, respectively, when billed annually. By opting for these higher-tier plans, you unlock additional features and functionalities that cater to the evolving needs of your business. [Learn more about NetHunt CRM](https://nethunt.com/) ## #5 [Copper](https://www.copper.com/)  If you use G Suite for your business, let us introduce you to Copper CRM. Similar to Streak, it integrates with Gmail but also has native G Suite integration which means it connects to other G Suite products such as Google Drive, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Calendar and more. Copper is also an official G Suite partner. Copper allows you to view your contacts and track and manage sales pipelines directly in Gmail, so you don’t have to switch back and forth from interfaces. Construct custom dashboards and reports in Google Sheets and set up automated workflows while integrating with Google calendar for scheduling and meetings. Similar to Insightly, Copper also seamlessly transfers contact data into Copper Projects, its project management tool. Copper also has a visual Kanban-style board and drag-and-drop functionality that makes it easy to manage contacts and data, and identify sales bottlenecks and opportunities.  **Standout feature:** Native integration with Google Products **Key features:** - Contact management - Project management - Sales management - Lead management - Task management - Lead generation - Workflow automation - G Suite integrations **Additional features:** - Bulk email sending - Customisable fields - Sales forecasting - Goal tracking - Analytics and reporting - Email tracking - Mobile app and integrations **Pricing:** The *Basic* plan pricing starts at $19 per user/month billed annually for up to three users and 30,000 records. The *Basic* plan includes G Suite integration, mobile apps, meeting scheduler, basic reporting, sales forecasting, and a few integrations. *Premium* plans starting at $49 per user/month billed annually add on features such as additional integrations, workflow automation, leaderboard, goal tracking, activity tracking, email tracking and more. [Learn more about Copper](https://www.copper.com/). ## #6 [Salesflare](https://salesflare.com/)  Salesflare is a data automation tool that helps its users easily and quickly build better relationships with their leads and customers. Salesflare touts that it was made *by* humans, *for* humans which is evident in its visual easy-to-use interface which won’t take a long time to learn and use. The tool automates and optimises sales operations and speeds up the time it takes businesses to perform sales tasks. Salesflare automatically gathers contact information and populates it into the platform from email signatures, social profiles, company databases and other locations. The tool also automatically logs meetings and phone calls to save you time with manual input.  Get notified when customers engage with you online and stay on top of all of your interactions in Salesflare's all-in-one interface. Also, get a to-do list of which contacts require more immediate action so you can easily optimise and prioritise your tasks.  **Standout feature:** Salesflare does a good job automating sales tasks that would typically require manual input. It’s also easy to use and adapt to your business. **Key Features:** - Contact management - Lead management - Pipeline management - Lead generation - Email marketing - Sales automation - Sales forecasting **Additional features**: - Marketing automation (with integration) - Calendar/ reminder system - Social media (with integration) - Mobile app and integrations **Pricing:** The pricing is a flat rate at $30 per user/month billed annually with a 14-day free trial. [Learn more about Salesflare](https://salesflare.com/). ## #7 [Salesmate](/recommends/salesmate/) [](/recommends/salesmate/) Salesmate is focused on amping up your sales team and processes to close more deals faster. Aside from contact management, Salesmate helps sales teams organise their sales processes and better engage with customers, creating a more personalised experience. The Bulk Activity feature in the business contact manager enables you to perform multiple functions on multiple contacts simultaneously to reduce wasted time emailing, contacting and notifying contacts one at a time.  Salesmate also simplifies complex sales processes with the ability to add, assign and track deals and manage your sales pipeline, all in one organised view. The interface includes visual triggers, making it easy to identify and fix bottlenecks, address deals that need immediate attention and spot overdue tasks.  Email tracking allows you to send follow-ups using proven templates, and track, manage and organise all emails for each prospect. You can also get analytics data on email opens and clicks. **Standout feature:** Salesmate’s flexible and intuitive interface with a feature-rich starter plan. **Key features:** - Sales automation - Lead management - Customer segmentation - Email tracking and templates - Advanced sales reporting - 360° contact management and organisation - Customer segmentation - Activity scheduling and tracking - Workflow automation - Built-in calling w/ auto-dialer **Additional features:** - Customer onboarding management - Recruitment management - Unlimited and customisable sales pipelines - Easy drag-and-drop functionality - Mobile applications and integrations **Pricing:** The *Starter* plan for small teams is priced at $12 per user/month billed annually with a 15-day free trial and includes features such as contact, deal and activity management; multiple pipeline management; custom fields, views, and layouts; bulk emails, email tracking, built-in calling, and multiple integrations. The *Premium* plans start at $24 per user/month billed annually with a 15-day free trial. They include additional features such as product/services management, calendar sync, custom dashboards, email scheduling and reminders, additional integrations and more. Salesmate’s website mentioned that it would offer free trial extensions if needed. [Learn more about Salesmate](/recommends/salesmate/). ## #8 [Zoho CRM](https://www.zoho.com/crm/)  Zoho is a feature-rich comprehensive solution for small to enterprise-level businesses. Small businesses can start with the features they need and slowly scale as they require more software solutions. While Zoho may not rival some of the other enterprise-level solutions, it’s a solid choice at a competitive price point. We looked at Zoho when choosing a CRM for Venture Harbour. While we tinkered a bit with it, we felt it was somewhat clunky. But it has some great reviews from its more than 13 million users. Automation is a key feature in Zoho’s stack as you can set up automatic triggers that work for your business. Zoho CRM’s automated workflow functionality allows you to set up conditions that trigger custom workflows. For example, automate emails when a lead takes a specific action you designate.  Zoho also enables you to receive real-time notifications when prospects interact with your company, such as opening an email, interacting on social media or visiting a particular web page. Another notable feature we like is the Artificial Intelligence capabilities. Your AI-powered sales assistant Zia offers lead and deal predictions, alerts, reminders and suggestions based on your past activity and interactions. Zia studies your account over time and suggests predictions to help you identify the prospects that are most likely to convert. Can you predict the outcome of a sales deal? Zia can. She decodes patterns in your past sales data and interactions to predict how a lead will close (or not).  *Zia gives you a prediction score for each deal.* We wish the AI features were available on the lower plans, but you need to bump up to the *Enterprise* plan to access Zia and her magic. **Standout feature**: Zoho provides every feature a small business would want with capabilities to grow and scale. We also like Zoho’s AI-powered sales assistant Zia. **Key features:** - Sales force automation - Lead management and scoring - Sales performance management - Contact management - Omnichannel communication - Advanced analytics - Marketing automation - Customisable sales pipelines - Predictive intelligence (AI) - Mobile application and integrations **Additional features** are available as you scale. Note that these features are available with the purchase of additional Zoho software products. Some software products offer free plans. - Customer service desk - Financial management and accounting; expense tracking - Social media management - Mobile forms - Event management - IT and development resources - Recruiting and onboarding - Project management - Email marketing - Collaboration resources **Pricing:** A limited *Free* plan is available for up to three users and includes contact management, lead management, workflow automation, website visitor tracking, web forms, calendar, and more. The *Standard* plan starts at $12 per user/month billed annually and includes additional features such as multiple integrations, increased data and file storage, automated marketing campaigns, mass email and more. *Premium* plans start at $20 per user/month billed annually and include additional features such as customer segmentation, autoresponders, inventory management, customer support, and more. [Learn more about Zoho CRM](https://www.zoho.com/crm/). ## #9 [Salesforce](https://www.salesforce.com/)  Salesforce is a market leader in customer relationship management. While Salesforce caters to larger businesses, we wanted to mention it because it offers a robust plan for small businesses. With Salesforce, you can start small and expand as you grow with more integrations and customisation. Similar to Zoho, Salesforce offers multiple products (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud) and associated add-ons to integrate with your solution as you grow. Each product offers features that will automate, organise and streamline your operations and set you up for growth. The small business Essentials plan, however, includes some basic sales, service and marketing features.  *Salesforce’s complete solution* ([Source](https://c1.sfdcstatic.com/content/dam/web/en_us/www/documents/pricing/customer-success-pricing-packaging-guide.pdf)) One such feature present in Sales Cloud leverages Artificial Intelligence to identify and fix bottlenecks in your sales pipeline. Review real-time performance to quickly assess what initiatives are converting.  Salesforce’s Lightning Service Console in Service Cloud provides support agents a full view of customer interactions with integrations for phone, messaging and chat—all in one workspace.  Salesforce is a comprehensive solution to manage, automate and optimise your entire business now and over time. With Salesforce, you can create a fully-customised unique solution for your business. Even though it has a plan for small businesses, Salesforce is a comprehensive solution that may be overkill for some small businesses and startups. It requires some heavy lifting and may incur additional setup costs depending on your unique needs. If you are not looking for a solution like this, we recommend choosing another comprehensive tool such as ActiveCampaign that will allow you to scale easily and affordably. **Standout feature:** Salesforce is a behemoth in the CRM space. Highly flexible and powerful, it can be fully customised for any company’s unique needs. **Key Features:** - Sales forecasting and analytics - Content management - Contact management - Customisable sales pipelines - Lead management and scoring - Mobile applications - Lifecycle reporting - Sales tracking - Marketing automation - AI-powered sales tools - Sales force automation - Customer support **Additional features** with higher-priced plans and purchase of products and add-ons: - Social media management - Application development - API integrations - Customer portals, service communities and help centres - Employee management and onboarding - Team productivity applications **Pricing:** The *Essentials* plan of Salesforce’s small business suite starts at $25 per user/month billed annually with a 14-day free trial. *Premium* plans offer more solutions and customisation for growing teams. *Premium* plans also require implementation fees. Salesforce’s small business suite includes CRM, sales and service features in the monthly user license price; however, the more premium features such as lead scoring, workflow automation and 24/7 support come with the premium editions (plans) that top at $300 per user/month billed annually. Note that Salesforce’s pricing is a-la-carte and the costs add up as you purchase user licenses for additional products and add-ons. If you are looking for a basic cloud CRM to organise and track contacts and provide some sales and service options, you may do well with the *Essentials* plan for small businesses at $25 / user/month billed annually. With the *Essentials* Plan, you can store your leads, contacts and accounts and make calls/emails. This plan is recommended for businesses with fewer than 10 employees. If you have more than 10 employees and you want more functionality, implementation will require more money and time depending on your needs. For example, if you want to use Marketing Cloud, the pricing starts at $1,250 per month billed annually for up to 10,000 contacts. The Commerce Cloud pricing is custom for each business. Premium support is also available at an additional cost. Salesforce’s pricing and product offerings can be confusing to first-timers, so we recommend you talk to a sales agent to get a better idea of your out-the-door expenses and implementation time. [Learn more about Salesforce](https://www.salesforce.com/). ## #10 [Insightly](https://www.insightly.com/) [](https://www.insightly.com/) Insightly is a good tool for growing small businesses who are just getting started transitioning into using a CRM. The tool has valuable features that will enable you to manage and track customer relationships and contacts, and their sales pipelines. Insightly is known for its project management capabilities. Won opportunities easily integrate into projects, seamlessly transferring all of the data for easy organisation and management. Insightly also offers a marketing automation product that is not included in its CRM offering, an add-on to integrate with your current CRM as you grow. Insightly offers seamless integration across its features, from contact management to opportunity tracking and even routing leads for immediate action. Insightly’s lead routing tracks lead activities and data such as meetings, correspondence and tasks, and automatically routes the information to key people who can quickly act on hot leads.  [Source](https://www.capterra.com/p/130671/Insightly/#features) We also like that you can build and deploy custom applications without hiring a developer or needing to know code. These applications include workflow automation, reporting and calculated fields your employees can use and access.  **Standout feature:** Seamless integration across CRM features with the ability to import contact data into new projects. **Key Features:** - Contact management - Lead management - Customisable sales processes - Project management - Lead generation - Advanced reporting - Workflow automation - App development **Additional features:** - Bulk email - Landing pages - Calendar / reminder system - Business Intelligence dashboards - Integrated phone dialling and call logging - Mobile application and integrations **Pricing:** *Free* limited plan offered for up to two users. The *Plus* CRM plan is $29 per user/month billed annually and includes project management and integration with limited contacts, lead management and more. The most powerful automations come with the *Professional* plan priced at $49 per user/month billed annually. Note that the CRM plans do not include marketing automation features such as email marketing, list segmentation, and landing pages. Marketing plans start at $299 / month billed annually. 10,000 contacts included in each plan. [Learn more about Insightly](https://www.insightly.com/). ## #11 [Agile CRM](https://www.agilecrm.com/)  If you’re looking for a CRM and a marketing tool under the same roof (and offered under the same plan), Agile CRM is another tool to review. Agile CRM houses sales enablement, customer service and marketing automation for SaaS businesses, all in one. The platform caters to SaaS businesses with several features such as user-level tracking inside your app, SaaS metrics, in-app messages and billing integration. With Agile CRM’s automated user onboarding, you can set up automated emails to fire depending on the user’s behaviour inside your app.  Send automated emails and/or pop-ups to users during any stage of their lifecycle whether they just onboarded, are nearing the end of their free trial or getting stuck using your app.  Agile CRM also uses a predictive signal system which signals you as to which user is more likely to convert after trial and become a customer. With this data, you can identify and send emails to inactive users who are likely to churn. **Standout feature:** Because Agile CRM caters to SaaS businesses, it houses unique features and automation to convert more users and streamline operations. **Key Features:** - Contact management - Sales management - Contact management - Pipeline management - Opportunities / deals - Marketing automation - Email marketing - Multichannel marketing campaigns **Additional features:** - Customer support - Live chat - Landing pages - Social marketing - Web forms - Auto-dialer - Gamification - Push notifications and web pop-ups - Mobile app and notifications **Pricing:** Agile CRM offers a *Free* plan (up to 50,000 contacts and unlimited deals, tasks and documents) with limited features such as lead scoring, custom deal milestones, email tracking, 2-way email integration, 2-way telephony and more. *Paid* plans start at $9.99 per user/month billed annually for the *Starter* plan and include additional features such as marketing automation, email marketing, landing page builder, email templates builder, social monitoring, mobile marketing and more. If you are interested in the customer service component, it comes with the *Regular* plan priced at $39.99 per user/month billed annually. [Learn more about Agile CRM](https://www.agilecrm.com/). ## #12 [Creatio](https://www.creatio.com/)  Formerly bpm’online, Creatio is known for powerful sales force automation that accelerates the sales cycle from lead to revenue all the way to repeat sales. If you are looking for a CRM similar to HubSpot, Creatio is also a comprehensive solution that offers three separate products for marketing, sales and customer service. While Creatio also caters to large companies, we wanted to mention it because its base sales plan (*Team* plan) is affordable and dedicated to small businesses that want to automate and speed up their sales process. Similar to other CRM tools we mentioned in this article, Creatio offers a 360° view of your customer profiles. At a quick glance, view all relevant customer information and identify where they are in the sales cycle to tailor your engagement approach.  Creatio also automates many different types of sales, whether B2B or B2C, and offers built-in sales processes with the opportunity to customise them for your unique business. The sales interface also provides scoring and opportunity management so your team can identify and move on the hottest leads in real time.  Creatio also calls itself a “low-code CRM” which means software development with little to no coding involved. With its dedication to seamless business-IT alignment, Creatio created *Studio*. This platform provides users a drag-and-drop approach to creating custom applications that automate their processes and speed up their workflows. While this feature is not required to run your small business, we thought it was worth a mention because Creatio offers a free plan for those who want to try it out.  **Standout feature:** Creatio offers a comprehensive, flexible platform that can scale with you as you grow. We also like Creatio’s low-code software development platform. **Key features:** - Contact management - Lead management - Sales management - Sales forecasting - Business process management - Opportunity management - Project management - Product management - AI and machine learning **Additional features:** - Document flow automation - Mobile sales - Knowledge management - Contract management - Low-code custom app development - Mobile app and integrations **Pricing:** Creatio CRM pricing starts at $30 per user/month billed annually with a 14-day free trial. This *Team* plan is ideal for small and mid-sized businesses with direct sales teams. It includes features such as lead management, opportunity management, analytics, AI and machine learning tools, business process management and more. *Premium* CRM plans start at $35 per user/month billed annually and include additional features such as sales forecasting, contract and project management, and field sales. Note that Creatio also offers marketing and support products at additional costs. The *Marketing* software starts at $2,990 / year for 10,000 active contacts, one user and five emails sent per contact / month. The *Service* software starts at $45 per user/month billed annually. [Learn more about Creatio](https://www.creatio.com/). ## #13 [Bitrix 24](https://www.bitrix24.com/)  You may have heard the old adage that you get what you pay for, but with Bitrix24, this does not hold true. Bitrix24 is a powerhouse CRM that incorporates solutions for marketing, sales, customer service, project management, website building, email marketing, sales automation, HR management, and more—all for a low cost with unlimited contacts, deals and companies. It is also well-loved for its collaboration tools that power communication across large teams. There’s a caveat, though. While Bitrix24 is loved by many, the reviews mention issues with its unpolished user experience and clunky interface. Support is also lacking. So, if you favour collaboration and a comprehensive platform for a low cost, over support and ease of use, Bitrix24 may be a platform to review. Bitrix24 does, however, start to increase in price as you tack on more functionality with its features. See our notes in the Pricing section on this. As an example of what you can expect, if you want to manage your sales, similar to other CRMs, Bitrix24 allows you to automate multiple sales funnels and set up triggers and automation rules to optimise your internal sales process.  Campaign management features allow you to send bulk emails, SMS and IM, segment clients, set up advertising campaigns and track results.  **Standout feature:** The price and comprehensive nature of the platform is Bitrix24’s best feature. **Key features:** - Contact management - Sales automation - Lead management - Lead generation - Marketing automation - Email marketing - Content management - Customer service - Project management - Multichannel marketing **Additional features:** - Call logging and recording - Event management - Forms automation - Website builder - Human resources management - Calendar / reminder system - Appointment scheduling - Mobile app and integrations **Pricing:** The *Free* plan offers basic functionality of most features and allows unlimited users. *Paid* plans start at $18.24 per user/month billed annually for up to two users. All plans include unlimited leads, deals, contacts and companies. Sales and marketing automations come with the *CRM+* plan priced at $52.44 per user/month billed annually. PRO TIP: Once you ramp up to the *CRM+* plan, think about what features you actually need. At this stage, there may be a CRM out there that can fulfil your goals for less money. Focus on your goals and compare features vs price for the CRMs we listed here. Even though Bitrix24 includes unlimited contacts, you may find that a solution such as ActiveCampaign may be a better fit overall. [Learn more about Bitrix24](https://www.bitrix24.com/). ## #14 [Less Annoying CRM](https://www.lessannoyingcrm.com/)  If the lower cost of Bitrix24 appealed to you, but the comprehensive feature deck and likely clunky nature of the tool was overwhelming, Less Annoying CRM might be a good choice for your small business. As its name suggests, Less Annoying CRM is for the small business owner that is more concerned with simplicity and budget than a long list of unnecessary features, long-term contracts, hidden fees and confusing pricing. Reviews also mentioned that customer support is friendly and responsive. While Less Annoying CRM is as easy to use as some of the other intuitive tools we mentioned in this article, it is also relatively easy to get set up and get running—a few hours may be enough to get you started even if you have no prior experience with CRMs. Less Annoying CRM also has every feature you would expect from a sales and contact management tool without anything extra. View all of your contacts and related data in one interface, create custom fields for your contacts, company and pipelines, track your leads and stay abreast of upcoming tasks in a handy calendar view. **Standout feature:** Less Annoying CRM is a low-cost, lean (not complex or bloated) CRM that is easy to set up and use. **Key features:** - Contact management - Lead management and scoring - Task management - Calendar/reminder system - Sales force automation - Internal chat integration - Software integrations (fewer integrations than most platforms) **Pricing:** One plan at $15 per user/month billed monthly with a 30-day free trial. With this single plan, you get all of the CRM features. [Learn more about Less Annoying CRM](https://www.lessannoyingcrm.com/). ## How to Choose the Best CRM for Your Small Business As we mentioned earlier in this article, when it comes to choosing the best CRM for your small business, consider the following factors: - **Current costs** - **Future costs** - **Goals** - **Scalability** - **Integrations** - **Usability** Let’s walk through a simple step-by-step plan to help you choose. ## STEP #1: Comprehensive vs Focused: Determine Which Solution Fits Your Needs Looking at the 14 CRMs we listed in this article, start by assessing which solution will fulfil your current and future needs. Weigh the following factor: *Comprehensive vs Focused* If you are looking for a more **comprehensive solution** that includes more than just a simple CRM that can also offer marketing automation, email marketing and customer service features now, or in the future, these are your choices: - HubSpot - ActiveCampaign - Zoho - Salesforce - Salesflare - Insightly - AgileCRM (primarily for SaaS businesses) - Creatio - Bitrix24 If you are looking for a more **focused simple solution** that helps you manage either contacts, sales or both, consider these solutions: - Pipedrive - Copper - Salesmate - Less Annoying CRM ## STEP #2: Match Your Business Type, Usability and Requirements Once you choose between a comprehensive or focused solution, review our comparison chart again and match your business type, budget and usability requirements. Note that as we mentioned earlier in this article, pricing is unique to your organisation, so we recommend chatting with sales reps to get final pricing. Also, just because a tool hedges into moderate usability doesn’t mean that you cannot get up and running quickly with a little assistance. ## STEP #3: Focus on 2-5 Solutions to Test Drive Whittle down your list of CRMs to 2-5 choices. Sign up for the free plans or free trials for each and take them for a test drive. Here are links to the CRM tools again: 1. [**HubSpot**](/recommends/hubspot/) 2. [**ActiveCampaign**](/recommends/active-campaign/) 3. [**Pipedrive**](/recommends/pipedrive/) 4. **[Nethunt](https://nethunt.com/)** 5. [**Copper**](https://www.copper.com/) 6. [**Salesflare**](https://salesflare.com/) 7. [**Salesmate**](/recommends/salesmate/) 8. [**Zoho** **CRM**](https://www.zoho.com/crm/) 9. [**Salesforce**](https://www.salesforce.com/) 10. [**Insightly**](https://www.insightly.com/) 11. [**Agile CRM**](https://www.agilecrm.com/) 12. [**Creatio**](https://www.creatio.com/) 13. [**Bitrix24**](https://www.bitrix24.com/) 14. [**Less Annoying CRM**](https://www.lessannoyingcrm.com/) ## STEP #4: Relax and Enjoy! Sit back, relax and reward yourself for your hard work. Any one of these tools will be a welcomed addition to your small business. Before long, you will be enjoying the ease and automation that will fuel your small business growth. Good luck! ## FAQ **Is HubSpot's free CRM really better than Insightly or Agile CRM?** HubSpot's free CRM is the most feature-rich option for small businesses, offering unlimited contacts and basic automation without time limits, whereas Insightly and Agile CRM restrict free users to fewer contacts or impose 14-day trial periods. **HubSpot's unlimited free tier** makes it ideal if you want to scale your contact database without paying, though Insightly and Agile CRM may offer better specialisation for specific industries. **What's the best free CRM for trades businesses and craftsmen?** Zoho CRM and HubSpot are the best free options for trades businesses because they offer mobile apps for on-site work, job scheduling features, and integration with invoicing tools that craftsmen need. **Mobile-first CRM platforms** are essential for trades professionals who spend most of their time away from the office managing customer visits and project timelines. **Can small businesses really use CRM software without training?** Most modern CRM platforms designed for small businesses have intuitive interfaces that require minimal training, though the setup process—importing contacts, configuring workflows, and integrating tools—typically takes 2-4 weeks. **User-friendly dashboards and guided onboarding** mean your team can start logging basic customer interactions within days, even if advanced features take longer to master. **How much should a small business spend on CRM software?** Small businesses should budget between £0-50 per user per month, with most effective CRM solutions costing £20-40 monthly once you account for multiple team members and essential integrations. Starting with a **free or low-cost CRM tier** allows you to test the software before committing to paid plans, reducing the risk of wasting money on tools your team won't use. **What CRM features do small businesses actually use most?** Contact management, pipeline tracking, and email integration are the three features small businesses rely on daily, with automation and reporting becoming critical once you have 5+ team members. **Contact organisation and sales pipeline visibility** directly impact your ability to close deals faster, making these non-negotiable features when evaluating CRM options. **Should small businesses choose a CRM based on Capterra reviews?** Capterra reviews are useful for identifying common complaints and feature gaps, but small businesses should prioritise reviews from companies similar in size and industry rather than treating overall ratings as definitive. **Industry-specific reviews matter more than aggregate scores** because a CRM that works brilliantly for a 50-person SaaS company may be overkill or poorly suited for a 5-person trades business. **Can you switch CRM software without losing customer data?** Yes, most CRM platforms support data import from competitors via CSV files or direct integrations, though the process requires careful mapping of contact fields and historical data cleaning. **Plan your data migration 2-3 weeks in advance** to avoid losing important customer history, and consider hiring a consultant if you have complex custom fields or large databases exceeding 10,000 contacts. **What's the difference between CRM software and contact management tools?** CRM software includes sales pipeline management, automation, and reporting features that help teams close deals and nurture leads, whereas contact management tools simply store and organise customer information. **CRM platforms drive revenue growth** by tracking where deals are in your sales process and automating follow-ups, making them essential for businesses serious about scaling customer acquisition. --- # 15 Landing Page Form Examples & Best Practices for 2026 URL: https://ventureharbour.com/15-landing-page-form-best-practices-examples/ Summary: 15 landing page form best practices & examples to boost conversions. See proven strategies that work in 2026. Last updated: 2026-04-13 06:04:39 A good landing page has two jobs. First, it should inspire visitors to convert on the spot. And, failing that, it needs to generate some kind of secondary lead you can nurture further along the buying process. When a landing page does none of the above, it has failed to do its job. Sadly, one of the biggest barriers to conversions on landing pages is those pesky forms. Master the art of landing page form design and you'll see an instant uplift in conversions. And, to help you make this happen, we've got 15 landinage page form best practices and examples to learn from today. ## #1: Multi-step forms outperform single-step forms [](https://leadformly.com/) We see multi-step forms outperform single-step versions time and again. We've tested this across various industries and forms for different conversion types. The numbers tell us that people find multi-step forms less intimidation, which increases the number of users who start filling them out *and* the number of those who complete them. We're not the only ones who have seen this kind of results. The [UK Government's Digital Service](https://userresearch.blog.gov.uk/2015/08/13/no-more-accordions-how-to-choose-a-form-structure/) (among others) has also found multi-step forms provide the best experience and highest conversion rates. And, after seeing similar results in the vast majority of our own tests, we figured it was time to build a platform that makes multi-step form design straightforward. ## #2: Short forms for secondary conversions As a general rule, you should stick to short forms for secondary conversions. Basic actions like email sign-ups, general enquiries and searches want to be as quick and easy as possible for users. [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-09-12-at-16.33.30.png) In the example above, you can see ActiveCampaign sticks to a two-field form design for its free trial CTA. Users are then taken straight to the dashboard to get started with their free trial - no messing around. [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-09-12-at-16.36.44.png) ## #3: Longer forms for primary conversions Once users are more committed to your offer, they'll be willing to work harder for conversions. In fact, they'll often expect and *want* to provide more information on your forms. [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-09-12-at-16.48.55.png) *[Bluehost](/recommends/bluehost/) goes for a familiar form design for users who have decided to sign up with a domain name they already own.* For example, ActiveCampaign users understand they'll have to provide payment details to start using the full version of the tool. Likewise, Holiday goers expect to fill out all the essential info when they reserve something. They *want* it in their name, fully reserved without any mistakes. Once again, use multi-step forms to make the process more intuitive and implement a progress bar to show users how they're getting on. ## #4: Hide hero forms behind CTA buttons Don't bombard users with a form as soon as they land on your page. Let your primary call-t0-action work its magic uninterrupted and hide your hero forms behind that CTA button. ## #5: Use a form analytics tool [](https://leadformly.com/) The only way to know your landing page forms are performing is with data. With Google Analytics you can see how many people fail to complete your forms but you can't find out *why*. So get yourself a dedicated form analytics tool that shows you which fields people are having problems with and what needs fixing. You can check out [our other favourite form analytics tools](/7-form-analytics-tools-to-help-you-increase-form-submissions/) for more recommendations. ## #6: Redesign before removing important fields One of the most important principles in form design is to remove every unnecessary field. But what happens when users have problems with a field that provides important data for your lead nurturing process? [](/uploads/migrated/michael_aagaard_casestudy_p2.jpg) In these cases, try to redesign your form before you start pulling out important fields. You may find simply rewording your labels or switching to a multi-step format solves the problem. In the example above, the shorter form actually performed *worse* than the original version, but tweaking the field labels improved conversions by almost 20%. ## #7: Create incentive [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-05-14-at-19.22.48.png) The longer your forms are, the more incentive it'll take for users to complete them. This is where your landing page copy needs to shine and inspire users to take action. No matter how good your form designs may be, zero incentive means users have little reason to start filling them out - let alone complete them. With landing page forms, the calls to action surrounding them are probably the most important part of this. However, the rest of your landing page copy becomes increasingly important as users scroll further down the page. For tips on how to create landing page copy, head over to our [101 Landing Page Optimisation Tips](/landing-page-optimisation-tips/#copy) article. First, though, it's time to talk about those calls to action. ## #8: CTAs - 'I want to...' Our next tip was originally posted in [this article by Marcus](/form-design-best-practices/#form-buttons), but it's well worth repeating. If you want an easy template to creating CTAs that convert, ask yourself what your audience really wants and finish the sentence "I want to...". [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-06-10-at-13.50.37.jpg) In the example above, Unbounce has decided its target customers want to build landing pages quickly and increase conversions. From there the landing page copy pretty much writes itself and Unbounce has only tweaked the same message over recent years. ## #9: Stick to single column layouts [](/uploads/2017/09/visual-fixations.jpg) Single column layouts are important for a number of reasons. Above all, they're easier for users to quickly interpret and they look less intimidating. Even though neither form design looks appealing, you can see how the first example above is far more user-friendly than the second. Aside from visual layout, single column designs are much easier to make mobile-friendly. Which brings us on to our next point. ## #10: Design for mobile first There's far more to designing forms for mobile than making them responsive (although this is a good place to start). First, use the correct HTML5 markup so user keyboards pop-up in the correct format for typing phone numbers, email addresses and other input types. Also, make the most of mobile features like cameras, geolocation and touch screens. [](/uploads/2017/09/scan-card-mobile-form.png) For example, asking users to take a photo of their card rather than type their details out can drastically reduce friction. ## #11: Use contrast to full effect Something most form designs fail to do is make the most of contrast. Aside from helping users to navigate their way through a form, good use of contrast can reduce potential distractions from other elements on the page. [](/uploads/2017/09/salesforce-lead-form.jpg) The bold blue and white design of Salesforce's free trial sign-up isn't the prettiest form you'll ever see, but it doesn't let anything else hog the limelight. Contrast is also another important factor in optimising forms for mobile. Remember people could be outside or in brightly lit places that make low-contrast designs almost impossible to use. ## #12: Reduce typing One of the most important factors in form optimisation is reducing the need for users to type. Image buttons, sliders and other touch elements make the form filling out process much easier for users - especially for those on mobile, once again. Avoid asking people to retype their passwords, email addresses or other information. Also, enable browser auto-fill so users don;t need to retype the same old information out every time they use a form. ## #13: Go easy on the validation Form validation is a tricky thing. It's great to have it if it helps users fill out your forms correctly the first time; not so great if it makes it harder to submit than necessary. First of all, you will need to use validation to prevent server attacks and malicious code. You can do all that in the background, though, far out of users' sight. [](/uploads/2017/09/inline-validation.png) If you use validation to help users submit forms successfully, make sure it's inline and provides feedback as they type. Also, don't make it too strict so that typing *+44* instead of *0* for phone numbers causes problems. Remember, the aim isn't to prevent form submissions; it's to help users complete them successfully the first time around. ## #14: Forget CAPTCHAs, there are better approaches One thing I hate to see still being used as spam prevention is CAPTCHAs. It's not your users' fault if you can't come up with a better system for preventing spam - so don't punish them with these horrible things. [](/uploads/2017/05/Example.png) Like I say, you can use validation behind the scenes to rule out spam. A common trick is the use hidden fields that spam bots will fill out (but users won't) and then block submission with your hidden field completed. Not a CAPTCHA in sight. ## #15: Know where to send users next [](/uploads/2016/06/milestone-submissions.jpg) One of the most common form design mistakes I see is a lack of thought regarding where to send users next. It's fine if your form uses AJAX to pop-up and disappear after submission but do you really want users to stay on the same page? If you do, that's great - job done. Otherwise, you'll want to be a bit more strategic about where you send them next. Do you need users to confirm their account sign-up, get started with their free demo or try to move them on to the next conversion as soon as possible? Choose wisely and maintain a good user experience. ### Build better forms today If you want to increase conversions from your own landing pages forms, check out some [form builder recommendations](/best-form-builders/). They're built from the ground up using form best practices and user testing results. Otherwise, you can check out another article of ours offering even more [form design best practices and UX tips](/form-design-best-practices/#form-buttons). ## FAQ **What is the ideal length for a landing page form?** The ideal length depends on your conversion goal: **use short forms (2-3 fields) for secondary conversions like newsletter signups, and longer forms (5+ fields) for primary conversions like demo requests or purchases**. Multi-step forms also outperform single-step forms by breaking the process into digestible sections, which reduces abandonment rates and improves completion rates. **Should I hide my landing page form behind a CTA button?** Yes, hiding forms behind CTA buttons can improve performance on landing pages with multiple conversion goals. **This approach prevents form fatigue and allows you to present your hero message first before asking for commitment**, making it particularly effective when you want to generate both immediate conversions and secondary leads. **How do I reduce landing page form abandonment?** Reduce form abandonment by using **form analytics tools to identify where users drop off and which fields cause the most friction**. Before removing fields entirely, redesign the form experience first—consider breaking it into multi-step forms, simplifying field labels, or using progressive profiling to ask for information gradually rather than all at once. **What makes a good landing page form CTA button?** The most effective landing page form CTAs use action-oriented language that focuses on user benefit rather than generic phrases. **Use CTAs that start with 'I want to…' (such as 'I want to book a demo' or 'I want to get started') because they align with user intent and increase psychological commitment** to the conversion action. **How can I improve landing page form conversion rates?** **Create a compelling incentive that motivates users to complete your form**, whether that's a discount, free resource, exclusive access, or time-limited offer. Combine this with proper form structure—using multi-step forms for complex conversions and short forms for simple ones—and analyse your form data to continuously optimise field placement and messaging. **What are the best practices for landing page form design?** Best practices include matching form length to your conversion type, using **form analytics tools to test and optimise performance**, and structuring CTAs around user benefits rather than company needs. Additionally, consider hiding forms behind buttons on pages with multiple goals, and always test redesigns before removing fields that might be important to your conversion process. **Should landing page forms be single-step or multi-step?** **Multi-step forms consistently outperform single-step forms across most conversion types** because they reduce cognitive load and make the process feel less overwhelming to users. However, for very simple conversions (like email captures), a single short form may still work—the key is testing both approaches with your specific audience. --- # 15 PPC Landing Page Examples & Best Practices You'll Want to Steal URL: https://ventureharbour.com/15-ppc-landing-page-examples-best-practices-boost-conversions/ Summary: 15 proven PPC landing page strategies to boost conversions. See real examples, design tips & best practices that drive results. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:21:02 Sloppy landing pages are great at losing leads, but great landing pages are a selling power tool for online brands. Sure, designing these things can be a tricky business but the worst mistake you can make is not putting in the time and effort to create landing pages that convert. ## What is a PPC Lanidng Page? A PPC landing page is a dedicated web page on your website intended for use in paid camapings on platforms like AdWords and Bing Ads. As such they can be highly targetted to specific phrases and demographics, which users will land on after clicking an ad. Here's 15 examples and best practises to make them as effecitve as possible: ## #1: Create multiple, highly-specific landing pages Relevance is the key to high-converting landing pages. Users click your ad because they're searching for something specific and they think you might have what they need. So there's no space for generic marketing messages here. Every advertising campaign should have its own landing page with a highly focused message appealing to the needs of each search you're targeting. Here you can see [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) has one message on its landing page for marketing automation and another for email marketing. This is the kind of approach you should be taking with your own landing pages and tools like Unbounce mean this is pretty manageable these days. ## #2: Match the search intent Something else ActiveCampaign is doing with these messages is matching the original search intent for each campaign. This tells users in an instant that your landing page does, in fact, offer what they're looking for and the easiest/fastest way to do this is by matching the keywords you bid on. Here's what I searched for before clicking through to ActiveCampaign's marketing automation landing page: And here's what I typed in before clicking through to its email marketing landing page: This tells me ActiveCampaign can provide *exactly* what I'm looking for in both cases, as soon as I land on the page, giving me every reason to stick around - rather than hit the back button. ## #3: Stick to single column layouts When you're trying to get your message across as quickly as possible, don't confuse things with complex layouts. Stick to a single column with your landing pages and don't try to squeeze too much into any one section of the page. [Asana](https://asana.com/?&mkwid=snlezyq8p&pcrid=148004906366&pkw=productivity%20tool&pmt=e&pdv=c&utm_campaign=APAC-General-Exact-GGL&utm_source=google&utm_medium=pd_cpc_nb&utm_term=Productivity%20tool&opti_ca=660960136&opti_ag=35162502698&opti_ad=148004906366&opti_key=kwd-47579652&gclid=Cj0KEQjwgODIBRCEqfv60eq65ogBEiQA0ZC5-fm4EmNET-JdQwqF95GwIVjBSd71HGsybJQQyswgDbYaArDt8P8HAQ) goes for this super-simple layout, highlighting a single benefit in each section of the page. The end result is a clear, concise message that leaves no doubt in users' minds about what the SaaS firm has to offer - and how they can get their hands on it. ## #4: Keep it minimal; use white space, contrast Something else Asana gets spot on is its use of minimal design with plenty of white space and contrast. The key elements jump out of the page, meaning nothing goes unnoticed as users scroll down the page. Asana makes this approach look deceptively easy with its landing page but this is one of the best landing page designs you'll come across right now. ## #5: Invest in quality visuals There's one more takeaway from Asana that I want to highlight and then I'll shut up about it, I promise. The final point is to invest in quality visuals - none of that stock image nonsense. Most advice will tell you to use images featuring people - and that's fine - but make sure they don't look like some royalty-free garbage you picked up from Shutterstock (like most of the ones I see). ## #6: Hit them with your value proposition Always remember: it's not a product you're selling, it's a better life. Sure, [RescueTime](https://www.rescuetime.com/) could big itself up as a productivity tool that allows you to get more work done, but is that what you really want - to do more work? Or would you rather "find your ideal work-life balance" and enjoy a happier, healthier life? ## #8: Then back it up with trust factors Once you've made your big promise you need to earn people's trust and RescueTime chooses to do this by listing its impressive collection of big-name clients. If the BBC, The NewYork Times and TechCrunch trust them, then who are we to doubt how amazing their product is? Other trust factors you can use to install confidence are: - Testimonials - Social feedback - Online reviews - Case studies - Awards, certifications, etc. - Positive mentions in publications These are all great trust factors you can add to your landing page to boost conversion rates but your entire landing page design needs to earn users' trust. Loading times, professional design, quality visuals, error-free content and everything else about your landing page has an impact on how trustworthy people perceive your brand to be. ## #9: Remove fear factors The other side of earning trust is removing people fears and hesitations about buying online. What these fears may be will depend on the kind of brand you are, what you're selling and the previous experiences of your visitors (this last point should be part of your audience research). [Bluehost](/recommends/bluehost/) uses the classic money-back guarantee technique to reassure people they've got nothing to lose by trying out their product. If your goal is more along the lines of a free trial (rather than a product sale), then telling users they don't need to hand over their credit card details could be the best way to ease hesitation. Likewise, if you're simply asking for an email sign-up, promising that you won't pass on their details might remove their concerns about handing over their email address (just make sure you're not lying). ## #10: Create a *subtle* sense of urgency There are plenty of ways to create a sense urgency on your landing pages and, once again, the best approach will vary greatly on what you're selling. Most landing pages nowadays use something called *implied urgency*, which is where phrases like "Buy **now**" or "Sign up **today**" feature so heavily in CTAs. By using time-sensitive words you're implying that the longer people hesitate, the longer they'll be missing out on your fantastic offer. Time limited offers are another classic technique and you can also take the limited stock approach. This plays more heavily on our fear of missing out on something, which [studies show](https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-decision-lab/201108/loss-aversion-why-do-we-hang-things-no-reason) is actually stronger than our desire to gain something - also known as *loss aversion*. Much like trust factors, you can create a subtle sense of urgency throughout your landing page copy - and I find this more convincing than overly obvious attempts. For example, a good approach is to use imperative (commands) to highlight the benefits of your product. Earlier, we saw RescueTime tell users: "Find your ideal work-life balance". And, here you can see [Infusionsoft](/recommends/active-campaign/) telling users to "simplify your sales cycle and maximize revenue". [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-05-14-at-19.22.48.png) These imperative commands make it explicitly clear what users gain from taking action. While, in the case of Infusionsoft, this hero section creates a subtle but powerful sense of urgency by implying users aren't going to maximise their revenue until they sign up. Also, notice how the secondary benefit, "close more deals faster" hints that visitors are losing out on deals *right now* by not using Infusionsoft's platform. So you don't need to plaster "offer ends soon!" labels all over your landing pages to create a sense of urgency. People don't like to realise they're being influenced by marketing messages, so the more subtle your use of consumer psychology is, the more effective it'll be. ## #11: Use multi-step forms Designing effective forms can be particularly tricky for landing pages. Most experts suggest you go for short forms, using no more than 3-4 fields, but it turns out this form isn't always the best. Despite popular belief, multi-step forms outperform their shorter cousins - by [as much as 300%](/multi-step-lead-forms-get-300-conversions/). Instapage also recently [published its own findings](/recommends/instapage/) on multi-step forms performing better on landing pages and I've found similar results, despite wanting to believe otherwise. This is one of the reasons I recommend [Leadformly](https://leadformly.com/), because it comes with conversion optimised multi-step forms you can embed on any landing page. It also provides form analytics to highlight anywhere your forms might be preventing conversions so you can remove any barriers. ## #12: Secondary call to action (repeated) Another landing page "best practice" that needs debunking is that should only have one call-to-action. I'd like to tweak that slightly to say you should always have one *main* call to action, backed up by a secondary CTA for those who aren't ready to take the desired action right now. The aim with this second CTA is to get a point of contact you can work with, normally an email address. So free trials, free downloads, newsletter and other soft conversion are always good approaches to take. Leadformly does something entirely different by using one of its multi-step forms to encourage to generate email enquiries from users who don't sign up. The amazing thing is it feels more like a product demo than an actual form and, before you know it, your enquiry has already been sent. ## #13: Disable pop-ups for mobile If you decide to use pop-ups on your landing pages, I highly recommend disabling them for mobile. Not only do they slow down loading times, but they can be a real pain to exit on smaller screens. You might also get a search penalty from Google after the tech giant [started cracking down on mobile pop-ups](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/google-pop-up-mobile-marketing) last year. ## #14: Remove distractions I've already talked about minimal design and focused messages but I think there's still more to be said for removing distractions from your landing pages. For example, you might want to drop the header navigation from your landing pages because it only encourages users to click out of your sales funnel - not to mention adding choice fatigue when you're trying to maintain a focused message. The same could be said for your footer, especially if it's filled with links to parts of your site you don't want people visiting right now. Or that blog feed you have dynamically inserted at the bottom of every page - now probably isn't the best time to give users that option. ## #15: Don't get bogged down in testing I guess this one goes against another established "best practice" but the idea that you should test every detail on your landing pages is ridiculous. It's amazing how many marketers I see moving from one element to the next on their landing pages, testing variations for everything, and believing their data is still relevant in the next test. *"This CTA beat that one and now this headline beat that one, so put the two together and we have a better CTA and headline combination".* Sadly, it doesn't work like this because you're testing elements in the context of your wider design and once you make another change the context also changes, making your previous data irrelevant. You're better off testing completely different designs of landing pages to see which ones perform better. the rest of your time will be better spent on other things. ### Don't let leads slip away with sloppy landing pages I can't tell you how hard it is to find great examples of landing page designs, despite all the best practices floating around. The good news is this means the bar is way lower than it should be and you have a good shot at beating the competition with a little more effort put into your landing page designs. ## FAQ **What is the difference between a PPC landing page and a regular website homepage?** A PPC landing page is a dedicated, single-purpose page designed specifically to convert visitors from a paid ad, whereas a homepage serves multiple functions and navigation paths. PPC landing pages eliminate distractions and **focus exclusively on one conversion goal**, whether that's a signup, purchase, or download, which significantly improves conversion rates compared to sending traffic to your homepage. **Why do you need multiple landing pages for PPC campaigns?** Creating multiple landing pages allows you to **match each ad to a specific audience segment and search intent**, rather than funnelling all traffic to a single page. When someone searches for 'blue running shoes' and lands on a page about blue running shoes instead of generic footwear, they're far more likely to convert because the page directly addresses their specific need. **What layout works best for PPC landing pages?** **Single column layouts significantly outperform multi-column designs** on PPC landing pages because they guide visitors in a clear, linear path toward your conversion goal. This vertical scrolling format reduces cognitive load and prevents visitors from getting distracted by sidebars or competing elements, keeping their focus on your call-to-action. **How important are images and visuals on PPC landing pages?** Quality visuals are essential to PPC landing page performance because they build credibility and help communicate your value proposition faster than text alone. **High-quality product images, lifestyle photography, or relevant graphics can increase conversion rates by up to 80%** compared to text-only pages, making them a worthwhile investment for any paid campaign. **What should you include above the fold on a PPC landing page?** Your **headline and value proposition must appear above the fold** to immediately communicate why visitors should stay on your page. Within the first few seconds, visitors need to understand what you're offering and why it matters to them—if they don't see this before scrolling, they'll likely bounce back to search results. **How do trust factors affect PPC landing page conversions?** Trust factors like customer testimonials, security badges, money-back guarantees, and social proof are **critical conversion boosters that reduce visitor hesitation** before they complete an action. Displaying these elements prominently—especially near your call-to-action button—can increase conversion rates by reassuring visitors that your offer is legitimate and risk-free. **Should PPC landing pages have navigation menus?** No—**PPC landing pages should eliminate traditional navigation menus** to prevent visitors from leaving before converting. Every link and menu option is a distraction that gives people an escape route; instead, focus all design elements on guiding visitors toward your single conversion goal. --- # 18 Mobile Landing Page Optimisation Ideas & Best Practices URL: https://ventureharbour.com/mobile-landing-page-optimisation-ideas-best-practices/ Summary: Think making your landing pages responsive is enough to optimise them for mobile? These 18 mobile landing page tips will make you think again. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:20:28 With mobile dominating search, more of your landing page traffic comes from the portable devices in people's lives. [Research](https://www.wolfgangdigital.com/blog/ecommerce-kpi-benchmarks-2016/) by Wolfgang Digital reveals that 59% of all e-commerce sessions in 2016 were on mobile. Which confirms what we already know: it's vital that you optimise your pages for the best possible experience on mobile. But the standard approach of building a responsive website doesn't always cut it when you've got specific marketing goals for each ladning page. So here are 18 mobile landing page optimisation ideas and best practices to help you get better results. ## #1: Rethink your mobile goals *Source:* [*Wolfgang Digital*](https://www.wolfgangdigital.com/uploads/general/eComKPI2016-Public2.pdf) While most searches are conducted on mobile, [63% of e-commerce revenue comes from desktop sessions](https://www.smartinsights.com/ecommerce/ecommerce-analytics/mobile-dominates-traffic-desktop-dominates-revenue-chartoftheday/) - and it's important we keep this in mind. Users clicking through to your landing page on mobile often come with different intentions, which means you might need to rethink your goals for these visitors. Don't assume one responsive landing page is the best option for all devices. A separate landing page with specific goals, content and CTAs might be the way to go for mobile campaigns. ## #2: Go easy on the copy Mobile screens are considerably smaller than desktop. Squeezing all that same content onto a smaller screen can kill the flow, layout and impact of your landing page copy. Shorter, punchier copy created with mobile screens and scrolling in mind is another good reason to consider separate mobile optimised landing pages. ## #3: Go easy on the visuals Visuals are important with landing pages but they're also demanding on browsers, internet connection and device harder - all things that can be in short supply for mobile users. So consider trimming back the visual content for mobile users and make sure you compress your files for mobile-friendly sizes. ## #4: Ditch the videos I'm not saying mobile landing pages should never have videos but be careful with these things. First of all, forget about any video backgrounds in the hero section. They distract from the main message of your page and ask too much of mobile connections and data. As for embedding videos into the main body of the page, there's also another issue. Autoplay videos are a no-no and getting users to click the play button can be problematic. Is that really the action you want users to take? Probably not. And getting them to hit play takes away the emphasis from the action you do want them to take. ## #5: Speed matters Speed is always important for any landing page but mobiles come with limited resources. In terms of hardware, the top smartphones are powerful machines these days but not everyone has the latest iPhone. Likewise, not everyone has access to endless WiFi or unlimited data. Ignore these restrictions at your peril. ## #6: Nail the mobile optimisation essentials Whether you go for a single responsive landing page or dedicated mobile designs, getting the optimisation essentials wrong is unforgivable. This means using font sizes that are scalable (em, %, etc.) and full-width, adaptive or responsive layouts. Keep server requests to a minimum and compress everything you can to reduce file sizes. And optimise your designs for touch, not keywords and mouse clicks. ## #7: Don't fall for the AMP sales pitch You'll hear a lot of press about Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) and the wonders it can do for loading times. Google is now pushing business owners to sign up for AMP landing pages but I recommend you research the downsides to AMP before signing up - there are plenty of them. ## #8: Lose the hamburger navigation In fact, you should probably ditch the navigation altogether when it comes to landing pages. But the "hamburger" menu solution (which has a number of UX issues at the best of times) has no place on mobile landing pages. Take it out and focus on steering users toward the action they're supposed to be taking on your page. ## #9: Make sure all text, elements are large enough One of the most common mistakes you'll see when visiting landing page son mobile is that certain pieces of text or other elements aren't large enough. This is particularly common with responsive designs and especially so with responsive themes on CMS platforms like WordPress. Keep an eye out for this and make sure every element on your page is large enough on smaller screen sizes. ## #10: Stick to default scrolling behaviour Scroll hijacking became something of a trend in 2014 and it's probably one of the worst we've seen in the mobile age. Overriding the default scroll behaviour of web browsers takes users out of the experience they know and trust. It distracts their attention away from your content and there's a good chance they'll get frustrated and leave before you get a chance to make your point. ## #11: Mobile optimise your forms The vast majority of brands fail miserably when it comes to optimising forms for mobile. At the most basic, you should use the latest HTML5 form elements to make the typing experience better for mobile users. In terms of layout, stick to single columns and large input fields to make using forms easier. Better yet, forget the bog-standard form design and try out something that genuinely caters for mobile users. ## #12: Reduce clicks and typing Multi-step forms are one design approach you should definitely check out. We're seeing much better results than previously achieved with standard web forms and they're just about the best mobile form experience we've seen. With touch buttons, conditional logic and responsive designs, users don't need to go through the usual pain of clicking and typing their way through your forms. Which means you can ask for considerably more information without killing conversion rates. Using a form builder like Leadformly that supports responsive multi-step forms makes it quick and easy to start benefiting from an optimised multi-step form. ## #13: Use click-to-call CTAs Back in the old days, phones were used to make phone calls and little else. Believe it or not, modern smartphones still come with this capability and allowing users to call you directly from your landing page should be a standard feature. Make sure your number is present and clickable so users can call you with one tap. Better yet, create click-to-call CTAs that entice users to get in touch. Finally, use call tracking to make sure the leads that come via phone calls don't slip through your analytics and lead nurturing efforts. ## #14: Use high-contrast People tend to use their phones everywhere. Natural outdoor light makes it hard to see what's on a screen and low-contrast designs will be almost impossible for users to see in harsh light. So go for high contrast designs on your mobile landing pages - and really make those CTAs stand out. ## #15: Stick to single column layouts Single column layouts are easier for users to navigate visually and much easier for you to design as well. Phone screens are essentially a single vertical column and breaking away from this can be awkward and distracting. That said, there are times when you want to jar people's attention so the occasional section of columns or misaligned content can be powerful amongst an otherwise single-column design. ## #16: Ditch the pop-ups Landing pages aren't the best place for pop-ups at the best of times but mobile users really don't want to be seeing these things. If you find using exit pop-ups makes a significant difference in tests the fair enough. Otherwise, ditch the pop-ups altogether for mobile users on your landing pages. ## #17: Know what to test No matter how good your initial landing page designs are, sooner or later you'll need to run tests to improve performance. The key is knowing what to tests (and what not to test). Pitch two different landing pages against each other or two separate CTA designs to see how your users respond. Don't waste time testing different background colours that have no real impact on the user experience. ## #18: Don't lose sight of your brand *Source:* [*Burstsms.com.au*](https://burstsms.com.au) One danger with testing and refining your design is you might end up losing sight of your brand image. Take the Freelancer example above. This is a site primarily aimed at web designers and people looking to hire them. Yet the mobile version of its site does nothing to reassure them that quality design gigs or designers are associated with the brand. ### Design for mobile users With responsive design so widely adopted, most brands take the easy option of creating one landing page for all devices. The problem is mobile users search and visit sites with a different mentality than desktop users. People move from one device to another as they make their way along the buying process and the mobile/desktop sessions play different roles. Which means your mobile landing pages need to provide the experience and encourage the right kind of actions along these different stages. Luckily, you can easily create advertising campaigns to target mobile users and create dedicated landing pages for them. So don't settle for the same landing page for all devices. Map out the journey you want users to take, which devices they use along the way and optimise your landing pages accordingly. --- # 19 Best A/B Testing Tools for 2026 URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-a-b-testing-tools/ Summary: Compare 12+ A/B testing tools to optimise your conversion rates. We've tested each platform's features, pricing & ease of use. Find your perfect fit. Last updated: 2026-03-29 07:02:51 To get better business performance from your website, you need to test your way to success because best practices and the latest design trends aren't always going to work for *your* users. This means A/B testing and you're going to need a few things to make this happen: the right KPIs, access to the necessary data and a good set of CRO tools it takes to run successful tests. In this article, we're going to help you with the last item on that list by running through the best A/B testing tools on the market right now. Here's a summary list of the top A/B testing tools: ## 1. [Optimizely](https://www.optimizely.com/) ### *Enterprise A/B and CRO tools* *at competitive prices* **Pricing:** POA **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Multi-page testing** - **Visual editor** for building variations without any code - **Advanced targeting & segmentation** - **Full Stack** for optimising mobile apps and digital products Optimizely is one of the industry's leading CRO platforms with a comprehensive suite of CRO tools that should cover you, no matter how much your business grows. Optimizely offers a range of products but it's Optimizely Web which provides the A/B testing and other features for optimising web pages. You can expand on this with Optimizely X Personalisation to deliver personalised messages to different audience segments and Recommendations for Amazon-style product and content recommendations. You've got some seriously powerful tools at your hand with Optimizely and they're all easy to implement without any of the development skills you need to do the same with other tools. Pricing is quoted upon application and you have to remember that Optimizely aims to be an enterprise-level system at competitive pricing - so don't expect bargain bucket quotes here. Without giving too much away, you're looking at five figures on your annual bill for the lower-to-mid plans. For enterprise brands seeking a comprehensive A/B testing solution, platforms like [Kameleoon](https://www.kameleoon.com/en) offer advanced AI-driven personalisation and robust testing capabilities designed for large teams and complex needs. ## 2. [VWO](https://vwo.com/) ### *A lot like Optimizely but a lot more budget-friendly*  **Pricing:** Start at $199/monthfor plans with A/B testing **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Multivariate testing** - **Split URL testing** - ****Visual editor**** for building variations without any code - **Widgets** for testing/adding pop-ups, banners and other prompts to generate leads - **Behavioural segmentation** - **Asynchronous code** reduces loading times while tests run VWO aims to provide a full suite of CRO tools, in the same way Optimizely does, but without the enterprise price tag. Once again, you get extensive testing tools for A/B, multivariate and split URL experiments; a visual editor for building variations without any code and advanced targeting and segmentation options. In fact, VWO's behavioural segmentation allows you to target audiences in a way that a lot of more expensive tools don't. Another enterprise feature VWO brings to the table is its asynchronous coding, which improves the performance of your tests to avoid slower loading times and flickering that is common with a lot of A/B testing software. In short, if you're looking for an almost-enterprise CRO system for a fraction of the price, VWO is the first tool to try out. ## 3. [Zoho PageSense](https://www.zoho.com/pagesense/) ### *Ultra-affordable, scalable CRO & personalisation* **Pricing:** Starts from $17/mo **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Split URL testing** - **Visual editor** - **Advanced targeting & segmentation** - **Flexible reporting** - **Heatmaps** - **Funnel analysis** - **Personalisation** Zoho PageSense is a two-in-one conversion optimisation and personalisation platform with some of the lowest entry prices in the game. Zoho doesn't restrict prices on its plans so you get access to everything the platform has to offer and your fee depends on how many monthly visitors you have. Prices start at an ultra-affordable $17 per month for up to 10,000 monthly visitors and the Enterprise plan maxes out at $599 per month, which is still cheaper than the entry prices of many tools featured in this article. For smaller businesses, there aren't many options at this price point offering the same set of features that Zoho packs into PageSense so this has to be my top recommendations for SMEs and new startups. ## 4. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot/) ### *The all-in-one marketing & CRO platform* **Pricing:** Starts at $800/mo **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **CRM** - **Lead management** - **Email marketing** - **Live chat** - **Marketing automation** HubSpot isn't the platform for you if you simply want an A/B testing tool. This is a full suite of marketing software divided into four key products. First, there's the CRM for handling customer data and then you have Marketing Hub, which includes a range of tools for creating content, landing pages, managing leads and running A/B tests - among other things. HubSpot also offers its Sales Hub with a range of specialist tools for improving and automating your sales processes and the Service Hub, which helps your team provide a higher quality of customer service. All of HubSpot's software is industry-standard and you don't need to worry about quality. To unlock HubSpot's A/B testing features, you'll have to sign up to the Professional plan of its Marketing Hub and this is going to cost you a minimum of $800 per month for 1,000 CRM contacts, plus a $3,000 onboarding fee and an extra $50 per month for each additional 1,000 CRM contacts - so the annual fees quickly stack up. HubSpot tends to work out as an expensive option but you get a lot of tools built into a single system and this does mean you spend less time moving between different software. ## 5. [Unbounce](/recommends/unbounce/) ### *Landing page A/B testing from the most popular landing page builder in the game* **Pricing:** Starts from $120/mo (for plans including A/B testing) **Key features:** - **Basic A/B testing** - **Visual builder** - **Landing page personalisation** - **Popups & sticky bars** - **Extensive integrations** Landing pages are another key component for maximising conversions and you've already got a landing page A/B testing tool if you're using Unbounce. In fact, most of the top landing page builders include some kind of A/B testing features (some are better than others) and, while these aren't as feature-rich as the other tools we've looked at, they make landing page testing incredibly easy. So, if you're after the simplest approach to A/B testing a combination of A/B Tasty, Leadfoormly and Unbounce could be the ideal place to start. ## 6. [Convertize](https://www.convertize.com/) ### *Affordable A/B testing & personalisation* **Pricing:** Starts at $49/mo **Key features:** - **Smart Editor:** A drag-and-drop visual editor for creating code-free experiments. - **Autopilot:** Automatically manages your traffic to shift more traffic to your best-performing pages. - **Lightning mode:** Keeps your pages loading quickly during tests. - **Statistics Engine:** Provides all the insights you need to make meaningful design improvements. - **Dynamic Text:** Personalise headings and key text to match user intent. - **Nudges:** Nudges, social proof and FOMO messages to increase conversions. Convertize is a truly affordable A/B testing and personalisation platform with plans starting from $49/monthfor up to 20,000 visitors per month. If you're looking to run serious CRO campaigns, though, you'll want to sign up to the Team plan, which starts at $199/monthfor up to 100,000 visitors per month. To put that into context, the $199/monthstarter plan on VWO is only good for up to 10,000 monthly visitors so Convertize is delivering a lot of value at the same price tag - as well as delivering a budget starter plan for basic needs. With the Team plan, you can run unlimited projects and test across an unlimited number of websites - as long as you stay within the monthly visitor limit. You get extensive testing features, too, and a solid set of targeting options, allowing you to define audiences for each experiment. As a bang-for-buck A/B testing and personalisation platform, Convertize is hard to beat. ## 7. [Kameleoon](https://www.kameleoon.com/en) ### Easy-to-use *A/B testing & personalisation for enterprise brands* **Pricing:** POA. **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Multivariate testing** - **AI personalisation** - **Visual editor** - **Advanced targeting & segmentation** - **Client-side** for web and mobile sites - **Full-stack** for testing web, mobile apps and digital products Kameleoon is an A/B testing and personalisation platform that uses artificial intelligence to help you optimise digital experiences. You can trigger personalised experiences based on each visitor's conversion probability, which is calculated in real-time, based on user actions. This is a truly enterprise piece of software but it's designed to be intuitive and easy to use, which isn't something you can often say about enterprise CRO tools. You're going to feel the benefit of this every time you use Kameleoon but the best thing about the software's UX is that it's easy for new team members to get to grips with. Kameleoon doesn't display any pricing on its website but they are competitive for this level. Starting prices are somewhere in the mid-region but you're looking at lower-enterprise fees by the time you unlock the platform's best features. ## 8. [Convert](https://www.convert.com/) ### *The testing platform designed for agencies and CRO experts* **Pricing:** Starts at $699/mo **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Split testing** - **Multivariate testing** - **Multipage experiments** - **WYSIWYG editor** for building code-free experiments - **Unlimited tests & variations** - **Extensive integrations** Convert is an advanced testing platform designed for agencies and CRO experts looking to optimise their clients' websites and digital products. You can sense this from using the software, which feels like a tool designed for experienced professionals. Yes, there's a visual builder creating variations without any code but you're only ever a right-click away from adding custom code or using developer shortcuts, such as selecting containers, selecting child elements or hiding elements. As a result, Convert gives you more freedom to build variations and tests your own way while providing tools like the visual builder to make the whole process faster. If you've got the CRO and developer expertise to make the most out of this platform, most other A/B testing tools will feel too restrictive once you get used to the freedom of Convert. Convert lists pricing for each plan on its website and you can also contact the sales team for a custom quote if any of the plans are too restricted. Pricing starts at $699/mo (paid annually) for the Kickstart plan, which is designed for companies getting started with A/B testing. This still gets you unlimited tests across five domains for up to 500,000 users per month - not bad for an entry plan. Pricing maxes out at $3,499/monthfor up to three million users per month across unlimited domains and you'll have to call for an enterprise quote if you expect to exceed that number. The price increases between plans is very reasonable, too, so you're going to have a financial crisis if you inadvertently jump up to the next plan. ## 9. [Omniconvert](https://www.omniconvert.com/) ### *Affordable CRO for developers & startups* **Pricing:** Starts at $167/mo **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Split URL testing** - **Stacked tests** - **Personalisation** - **Overlays & pop-ups** - **Unlimited CSS & JS editor** - **CDN bypass** - **Advanced segmentation** - **Experiment debugger** Omniconvert provides a number of software tools to help digital brands turn data into growth strategies. Its conversion optimisation platform is called [Explore](https://www.omniconvert.com/cro-tool-explore/) and Omniconvert calls this "the CRO tool for developers," which is justified by a number of its specialist features. The first of these features you'll probably notice is the unlimited CSS and JS editor that gives you complete control over how your variations are coded. Not only developers get complete control, they also can also optimise their code to keep loading times as fast as possible while tests are running. Explore also comes with a CDN cache bypass, which means you can ensure your tests run live immediately, instead of some users seeing older cached versions of your site - bad news for reliable data. Stacked testing is another great feature, which sets the winning variation from a test as the default so you can continue running the same test to collect more data and ensure your results are reliable. Pricing starts at $167/monthfor up to 50,000 tested visitors per month and max out at $4,658/monthfor up to five million tested users. Omnconvert's pricing model couldn't be more straightforward and features aren't limited on any of the plans - you simply pay based on the number of visitors you test per month. Aside from A/B testing, you also get some excellent personalisation features, advanced segmentation, web surveys and triggered overlays - as well as the option to integrate with Omniconvert's other software tools for analytics, automation and customer experience. ## 10. [Freshmarketer](https://www.freshworks.com/crm/marketing/) ### *An affordable marketing automation & CRO combo* **Pricing:** Starts from $49/mo (free version available but it doesn't include A/B testing) **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Split testing** - **Visual editor** - **Personalisation** - **Dynamic heatmaps** - **User feedback** - **Email marketing** - **Marketing automation** - **Integration with Freshworks apps** Freshmarketer is the automation and CRO tool provided by Freshworks, which also offers a full suite of marketing and sales tools in separate software products that integrate seamlessly. As a testing system, Freshmarketer provides a visual platform for creating A/B tests and split URL tests using its WYSIWYG editor and reporting interface. While this isn't the most advanced testing platform available, it's probably one of the easiest to use and certainly one of the most affordable. You also get heatmaps and session replays to help you diagnose UX issues and determine what actually needs testing on your website. Funnel analytics helps you track visitor drop-offs and identify where conversions are being lost, too. This alone gives you all of the basic tools you need to identify issues on your website and run experiments to test out potential solutions. As an entry platform into conversion optimisation, Freshmarketer is a great option for newcomers or online businesses with modest needs. You also get some basic personalisation features and tools to capture customer feedback through polls and triggered messages. And, to round things off, you get some solid automation features although you'll need to integrate with Freshworks' CRM (Freshsales) or another customer relationship management platform to make the most of them. ## 11. [Oracle Maxymiser](https://www.oracle.com/uk/cx/marketing/personalization-testing/) ### *Advanced testing & personalisation* **Pricing:** POA **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Multivariate testing** - **Funnel optimisation** - **Personalisation** - **Predictive analytics** - **Advanced targeting & segmentation** - **Heatmaps** - **Extensive analytics & reporting** Oracle Maxymiser is the testing and experience optimisation system that makes up part of the wider Oracle Marketing Cloud software offering. This was one of the first platforms to open up testing to non-programmers and it continues to release some of the most innovative features for conversion optimisation and personalisation. At the same time, Oracle has a tendency for not updating its interfaces and certain features to keep up with industry standards. For example, the visual builder could do with an update and the recommendations made by its machine learning algorithms are relatively basic but they do help you make progress. All that being said, Oracle's system is robust where it really counts. Most importantly, client-side loading times are nice and fast so tests don't cripple page speed and you shouldn't see any flickering or broken content while tests run. Also, the test length calculator is impressively capable at estimating how long your tests need to run before reaching statistical significance, which is a great feature. ## 12. [Monetate](https://monetate.com/) ### *Enterprise testing & personalisation for online retailers* **Pricing:** POA **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Multivariate testing** - **Dynamic testing** allocates more traffic to winning variations - **One-to-one personalisation** - **Advanced targeting & segmentation** - **Audience insights** - **Smart recommendations** Monetate offers a suite of marketing software for retail brands, including AI product recommendations, hyper-personalisation, customer data management and so much more. Its testing and optimisation software brings some advanced features to help busy retail brands optimise their online platforms without interrupting the customer experience. The platform's dynamic testing system automatically sends more traffic to winning variations, allowing you to keep tests running while hitting more targets. The platform also packs its own technology to reduce flicker, keep loading times as fast as possible and avoid content breaks while your tests are running. Monetate is very much an enterprise platform and this is reflected in the pricing. Unfortunately, the company doesn't list any pricing on its website and your monthly/annual fees will be priced on application. Be prepared for monthly starting fees well into the four-figure region but rest assured that you're getting a premium testing platform designed especially for online retailers. ## 13. [Adobe Target](https://business.adobe.com/uk/products/target/adobe-target.html) ### *An Enterprise A/B Testing and Personalisation Platform* **Pricing:** POA **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Multivariate testing** - **Visual editor** - **Advanced targeting & segmentation** - **AI automation** - **Omnichannel personalisation** - **Feature** Adobe Target is an enterprise personalisation platform and A/B testing comes as standard. You also get automated personalisation, mobile app optimisation and recommendations based on your customers' behaviour and data. The platform basically guides you through a three-step process for experimentation, where you create your variant, target your audience segment and then customise your goals and settings for the test. The software itself isn't particularly handsome or quite as straightforward as the likes of Optimizely and VWO but it's the Target self-learning algorithms that make this a favourite platform with enterprise brands. Target continually and automatically adjusts itself to make associations between visitor behaviour and content in order to give you the best results possible, adapting your content in real-time to meet user needs. Impressive stuff. ## 14. [Evergage](https://www.salesforce.com/products/marketing-cloud/customer-interaction/) ### *A/B testing and AI personalisation* **Pricing:** POA **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Multivariate testing** - **CRM** - **AI Personalisation** - **Behavioural tracking** - **Advanced targeting & segmentation** - **Smart recommendations** - **Analytics & attribution** Evergage keeps us on the topic of experimentation and personalisation, powered by machine learning. If this is beyond your needs from an A/B testing tool then the likes of Adobe Target and Evergage might not be for you - and that's ok. That said, if you're looking to create the best possible customer experiences, based on user behaviour and all the data at your disposal, then tools like Evergage are what you're after. Evergage empowers you to create unique customer experiences for individuals, across multiple platforms, to meet their specific needs and expectations. Once again, it's calling upon the power of machine learning to crunch the vital data, track user actions and automate optimisations based on these patterns. You get a highly advanced set of A/B testing features included and so much more with Evergage. This is one of the most advanced experimentation, personalisation and optimisation tools on the market - only you can decide whether you need all of that from a single platform. ## 15. [AB Tasty](https://www.abtasty.com/) ### *Advanced A/B testing & CX optimisation*  **Pricing:** POA **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **A/B/n testing** - **Split testing** - **Multivariate testing** - **Funnel testing** - **Advanced testing & segmentation** - **AI-powered personalisation** - **Dynamic widgets** - **Extensive analytics & reports** AB Tasty brings us back to the reasonably-priced and simple side of conversion optimisation tools. As the name suggests, the focus is on A/B testing here and this is where the platform excels, even though it does include other features, such as heatmaps, page flow reports and basic personalisation. On the testing side of things, you get the usual A/B, split and multivariate testing options, plus an interesting funnel testing feature that allows you to experiment with changes across multiple pages. The best thing about AB Tasty, though, is the drag-and-drop editor that makes the platform so wonderful to work with. Sure, there are plenty of editors like this on the market now but AB Tasty's editor just works without getting in the way of your workflow. AB Tasty is another company that withholds pricing information on its website but the monthly fees are pretty competitive. You can expect four-figure starting prices, but at the very low end of the spectrum, and that's reasonable for a system of this caliber. Keep in mind that some of the more advanced testing features are only available on the mid-tier plan and higher. You can get a full breakdown of AB Tasty's features [here](https://www.abtasty.com/pricing/) but you'll have to request a quote to get your custom pricing. ## 16. [Nelio AB Testing](https://wordpress.org/plugins/nelio-ab-testing/) ### *The best A/B testing plugin for WordPress*  **Pricing:** Starts from $29/mo **Key features:** - **A/B testing** - **Unlimited tests** - **Test scheduling** - **Automatic implementation** updates your site with the winning variation - **Heatmaps** - **WooCommerce integration** With WordPress powering 30% of all websites on the internet, it would be dismissive to not include a WordPress plugin option for A/B testing on this list. Luckily, Nelio A/B Testing happens to have developed a plugin worthy of recommendation and it's probably the only WordPress A/B testing plugin that I would recommend. You can set up and manage your A/B tests from within the WordPress interface, view basic analytics feedback, check heatmaps and improve results without needing to leave WordPress. Nelio is also compatible with WooCommerce if you're running an e-commerce store with the plugin. ## 17. [Apptimize](https://apptimize.com/) ### *The A/B testing and optimisation tool for mobile-centric experiences*  **Pricing:** POA **Key features:** - **Cross-platform A/B testing** - **Phased rollouts** for experiments - **Holdout experiments** to exclude groups - **Personalisation** - **Feature flags** for controlling feature testing & rollout - **Instant updates** for rolling out updates without app store delays Apptimize is an A/B testing tool designed for mobile-centric brands. If your business revolves around mobile apps and sites that prioritise the mobile experience, then Apptimize is tailored specifically to your testing needs. You can run truly cross-platform experiments, create personalised experiences, roll out new products and features, as well as launch new versions and updates without hassle. Tying all of these features together is Apptimise's data system that collects insights from multiple platforms so you can see how behaviour on mobile affects decisions made on web - and vice versa - or how server-side changes impact the front-end mobile experience. Apptimize doesn't show any pricing on its website but you're looking at the lower end of four-figure monthly fees as a starting point. For a specialist piece of kit like this, pricing is very reasonable. If you're after the specialist A/B testing and optimisation solution for mobile, Apptimize is it. ### Which is the A/B testing tool for you? In this list, we've covered the top 10 A/B testing tools for just about every possible need you could have - from the free options, to fully enterprise solutions and the easiest-to-use optimisation tools available right now. All of these platforms are great in their own right but the best choice for you is going to depend on your specific needs. Hopefully, we've pointed you in the right direction and making an informed choice for yourself will be easier after reading this. Let me know if you think any other A/B testing tools should have made this list. ## FAQ **What is A/B testing and why do you need it?** A/B testing is a method of comparing two versions of a webpage or app to see which performs better with your audience. **Testing your way to success** is essential because best practices and design trends won't always work for your specific users, making data-driven decisions crucial for improving conversion rates. **What's the difference between A/B testing and split testing?** A/B testing and split testing are essentially the same thing—both involve comparing two versions of a page to determine which converts better. The terms are used interchangeably in the industry, though **split testing** sometimes refers to multivariate testing with more than two variations. **Which A/B testing tool is best for beginners?** VWO's free tier and Zoho PageSense are excellent choices for beginners because they offer user-friendly interfaces with visual editors and minimal setup requirements. VWO's free plan allows you to get started with basic A/B testing features, while **Zoho PageSense starts at just $17/month**, making it one of the most affordable options for learning testing fundamentals. **Can you A/B test on a small budget?** Yes, VWO offers a free tier with basic A/B testing capabilities, while Zoho PageSense and Convertize offer highly affordable plans starting from $17/month and $49/month respectively. **Starting with these budget-friendly tools** allows you to learn testing fundamentals before investing in enterprise-level platforms like Optimizely or Kameleoon. **What features should you look for in A/B testing software?** Look for tools that offer easy visual editors, statistical significance calculators, and integration with your existing analytics platform. **Integration capabilities** and user-friendly interfaces are critical because they reduce implementation time and help you act on results faster. **How long should you run an A/B test?** Run your test until you reach statistical significance, which typically requires at least 100-200 conversions per variation depending on your traffic volume. **Reaching statistical significance** ensures your results are reliable and not due to random chance before implementing changes. **Is Optimizely worth the cost?** Optimizely is worth the investment for large enterprises running complex, multi-page testing programmes with high traffic volumes. Its **advanced personalisation capabilities** and robust reporting justify the premium pricing for organisations that can leverage its full feature set. --- # 22 Best Landing Page Builders in 2026 URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-landing-page-builders/ Summary: Compare 8 landing page builders for 2026. We've tested Unbounce, Instapage, Leadpages & more. Find the best tool for your needs. Last updated: 2026-07-03 14:30:00 The speed at which you're able to complete the iterative loop of building, testing and measuring your landing pages, the easier and sooner you'll increase your website's conversion rate. Which is why, sooner or later, most marketers find themselves augmenting their main content management system with a dedicated landing page builder. Whether you're simply looking to optimise your key landing pages without bothering your development team, or you need to be able to rapidly create hundreds of dynamic landing pages to improve your PPC landing page relevance, we've covered the solutions below. **Short on time?** Having used these tools across our ventures for over a decade, [Unbounce](/recommends/unbounce/) is still the one I'd pick for most teams — the deepest feature set and the best A/B testing of the bunch, though it's neither cheap nor a beginner's tool. If speed matters more than flexibility, [Instapage](/recommends/instapage/) gets optimised pages live in minutes. And if budget is the deciding factor, [Leadpages](/recommends/leadpages/) at $37/mo (annual billing) is hard to argue with. Here's how the top dedicated builders compare at a glance: | Tool | Best for | Price from | |---|---|---| | [Unbounce](/recommends/unbounce/) | Features, flexibility & A/B testing | — | | [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot/) | Teams already paying for Marketing Hub | $15/seat/mo (Starter) | | [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue/) | Landing pages + email marketing on a budget | £39/mo (Business) | | [Instapage](/recommends/instapage/) | Fastest page creation | — | | [Swipe Pages](https://swipepages.com/) | Fast-loading AMP pages at startup prices | $29/mo | | [Leadpages](/recommends/leadpages/) | Value for money | $37/mo (annual) | | [GetResponse](/recommends/getresponse/) | All-in-one marketing features | $15/mo | | [Wishpond](/recommends/wishpond/) | Lead-based pricing & social contests | $49/mo | Where a tool's entry price isn't quoted in the reviews below, I've left the column blank rather than guess — Unbounce and Instapage both change their packaging often enough that any number here would date badly. ## **Which landing page builders are we looking at?** It'll come as no surprise that there are lots of landing page builders to choose from. We’re fortunate to have used many of these across our ventures over the past decade and have curated a list of the main contenders. And while we're fortunate to have so many landing page builders to choose from, the downside is it’s harder to choose the right one with so many options available. To make things easier, we've broken this article into two sections. In total, we’re looking at 22 of the best landing page builders on the market right now. Some of these tools are dedicated landing page builders, which means they’re designed especially for this purpose only. Others are more general page builders that can also be used to build landing pages. First up, we’ll be looking at the best dedicated landing page builders: 1. Unbounce 2. HubSpot 3. Brevo 4. Instapage 5. Swipe Pages 6. Leadpages 7. GetResponse 8. Wishpond 9. Lander 10. Landingi Each of these tools is specifically designed to help you create high-converting landing pages without writing any code or using specialist design software. In some cases, you might not need a dedicated landing page builder, though - especially if you’re very comfortable with design principles, best practices and conversion optimisation. If this sounds like you, then you might get everything you need from a more general-purpose page builder and this opens up a much wider range of options. So we’ll also be looking at 12 of the best page builder tools that double up as highly capable landing page builders: 11. Gutenberg (WordPress 5) 12. Divi 13. Launchaco 14. Carrd 15. MailChimp 16. Launchrock 17. KickoffLabs 18. Landing Lion / Makeswift 19. Elementor 20. Shortstack 21. Ucraft 22. Themify By the time we’re done looking at each of these tools, you’ll know exactly which landing page builder is for you. ## **What makes a good landing page builder?** All of the landing page builders we’re looking at in this article are quality tools although each of them has their own strengths and weaknesses. To give you an idea of why these tools made it onto our list of recommendations and how you might be able to differentiate between them, here are the key criteria that make for a great landing page builder: - **Quick & easy** to build new pages - **Smooth builder** performance - **Good templates** to work with - **Design freedom** (ie: plenty of customisation) - **Simplicity** (this can be a difficult balancing act with customisation options) - **Integration** with other tools (website builder, email marketing software, etc.) - Reasonable pricing for the features provided All of the tools we’re looking at in this article meet these criteria but some are naturally better in certain regards than others. One thing no builder solves for you: forms. However good the templates, the form is usually where conversions live or die, so it's worth reading our guide to [landing page form best practices](/15-landing-page-form-best-practices-examples/) before you publish anything. All will be explained. So let’s get started by looking at the ten best dedicated landing page builders available right now. ## **Best dedicated landing page builders** ## #1: [Unbounce](/recommends/unbounce/)  Pros Cons - Fully featured - Great templates - Powerful, flexible editor - Best A/B testing options among these tools - Unbounce Convertibles (pop-ups) - Not the cheapest option - Slight learning curve - Not a tool for beginners [Unbounce](/recommends/unbounce/) is probably the first name that comes to mind with landing page builders. Featuring one of the best drag-and-drop builders in the game, Unbounce may not be a beginner's tool but it is one of the most advanced builders you'll find. Unbounce is about more than simply building pretty landing pages. It puts all the emphasis on landing pages that convert - the whole point of creating them in the first place. With support for A/B testing, Google Ads integration, and visitor stats, Unbounce is probably the best all-around builder around. As for pricing, Unbounce is one of the more expensive options. You can see the main differences between the packages above: the number of landing pages you can have live at any one time, number of Convertables (pop-ups) you can have running and the ability to create sub-accounts for clients. Aside from that, the main difference is the range of integration with platforms like Salesforce and Marketo. Essentially, you're paying more to get more with Unbounce and there's nothing wrong with that. For a full breakdown of its plans, features and where it falls short, see our [Unbounce review](/unbounce-review/). ## #2: [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot/) [](/recommends/hubspot/) Pros Cons - Drag-and-drop builder, mobile-responsive, smart content personalisation - Up to 10K pages even on Starter, A/B testing on Pro+ - CMS-grade SEO controls - Submissions land directly in the free Smart CRM with full attribution - You have to be a HubSpot customer to use the tool - Heavily customised page designs typically still require a HubSpot developer or CMS Hub - Smart content / A/B testing locked behind Marketing Hub Pro ($890/mo + $3,000 onboarding) HubSpot's landing page builder is one of the strongest in the suite — drag-and-drop, mobile-responsive, with smart content personalisation on Pro+. For B2B teams running high volumes of campaign-specific landing pages, it's a serious advantage: most ESPs treat landing pages as a bolt-on; HubSpot treats them as a first-class citizen of the marketing programme. This means you'll need to buy into HubSpot's [Marketing Hub](/recommends/hubspot/) to access its landing page builder tool. [](/recommends/hubspot/) There is a free version of Marketing Hub but it doesn't include the landing page tool. Marketing Hub Starter is $15/seat/month (annual) and gives you a limited version of the builder. Full access — including A/B testing and smart content — requires the Professional plan at $890/month, plus a one-time $3,000 mandatory non-refundable onboarding fee and a 12-month commitment. For our full breakdown of HubSpot's plans, features and where it earns its bill, see our [HubSpot review](/hubspot-review/). If you're already paying for Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise, the landing page builder is genuinely excellent and you don't need to pay for a separate tool. If you're not, the price of admission for the landing page builder alone is hard to justify when [Unbounce](/recommends/unbounce/) or [Brevo](/sendinblue-review/) deliver comparable functionality at a fraction of the cost. ## #3: [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue/)  Pros Cons - Super-smooth drag-and-drop builder - Templates are fresh and modern - A/B testing - Integrated email marketing features - Landing page goals and reports - Beyond reasonable pricing - You have to be a Brevo customer - Only available on Business (but who cares at these prices?) Brevo has come a long way over the years. What started out as an email marketing software platform has matured into a fully-fledged marketing, sales and lead management system. I’m a big fan of its landing page builder, too, largely because the drag-and-drop interface works so smoothly. Its templates are a great starting point with fresh, modern designs that you can modify in no time and get new pages published - precisely what you want from a builder like this. Brevo’s landing page builder is available for customers signed up to its Business and Enterprise plans but you don’t need to worry about pricing. Brevo is very much at the affordable end of the email marketing spectrum and prices for its Business plan start at a very reasonable £39/mo. You’re not only getting a quality landing page builder for your money either, but also email marketing, A/B testing, marketing automation, instant chat and a whole bunch of other features. Brevo is a bit of a newcomer to the landing page builder arena but it has done an excellent job of adding this to its already impressive repertoire. ## #4: [Instapage](/recommends/instapage/) Pros Cons - Super-fast landing page creation - Great analytics reports - Powerful drag-and-drop editor - Good choice for beginners *and* experts - Not quite as powerful/flexible as Unbounce - No pop-up options - A/B testing not available with cheapest package As the name suggests, [Instapage](/recommends/instapage/) is all about speed. You can have landing pages live in a matter of minutes by choosing from more than 100 templates. The builder is more basic than Unbounce which makes for faster customisation and barely any learning curve at all. At the same time, Instapage doesn’t quite match Unbounce for customisability but it does come with A/B testing functionality and real-time analytics. [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-08-05-at-11.17.50.png) Instapage plans generally work out a little cheaper than Unbounce but you have to pay up for the Optimization package (or higher) to get its A/B testing features, heatmaps and basic personalisation tools. So this counters the savings. If you're already paying for these features with another platform, the Core package might be enough for you. ## #5: [Swipe Pages](https://swipepages.com/) Used by over 7,500 marketing teams, Swipe Pages is an upcoming landing page builder that promises ultra-fast loading AMP landing pages that can be built in minutes. With startup-friendly pricing from $29/month Swipe Pages are one of the more affordable options listed – and the quality of their platform and templates rival many of their competitors that charge 10X this amount. Pros Cons - Very affordable - High quality templates - Fast-loading AMP landing pages - Conversion-focused features (e.g. dynamic text replacement & multi-step forms) - Relatively limited range of templates You can try out Swipe Pages with [a free 14-day trial here](https://app.swipepages.com/signup). ## #6: [Leadpages](/recommends/leadpages/) Pros Cons - Low starting price (see cons) - Another great editor - Quality A/B testing and analytics feature - Not all templates are free - Limited customisation - A/B testing not available with cheapest package [Leadpages](/recommends/leadpages/) is the cheapest platform we've looked at so far and it offers more in terms of features at every price point. There are 160+ free templates to work with and the Leadpage drag-and-drop builder is probably my favourite of the bunch. A/B testing isn't available with the Standard package but the **$37/month (annual billing) or $49/month (monthly billing)** asking price makes this great value if you've already got testing through another tool. [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-08-05-at-11.22.55.png) The Pro package gets you all the Leadpages A/B testing features and the Advanced option brings advanced integration with HubSpot, Marketo and Salesforce - plus the ability to create five sub-accounts for clients. We've covered its plans and quirks in more detail in our [Leadpages review](/leadpages-review/). ## #7: [GetResponse](/recommends/getresponse/) Pros Cons - Packed full of features - A/B testing - Integrated email marketing features - Low starting price - Very flexible - Impressive analytics and reporting - Drag-and-drop editor can lag at times - Some features can get in the way - Forced to upgrade at 1,000 pageviews GetResponse deserves a lot of credit for the sheer amount of marketing features it crams into its software, especially when you consider how competitive it is in terms of pricing. Prices start at $15/month and this includes unlimited landing pages, plus comprehensive email marketing, automation and e-commerce features. Whichever GetResponse plan you sign up for, you’re going to get a lot for your money but there are a few catches. Above all, the unlimited landing pages means you can create as many as you want using its landing page builder **but** you’re automatically bumped up to a more expensive plan once 1,000+ people visit any of your landing pages. ## #8: [Wishpond](/recommends/wishpond/) [](/recommends/wishpond/) Pros Cons - Unlimited landing pages, social contests and pop-ups - Basic marketing automation features - Lower starting prices - Pricing based on number of leads, not features - Not a dedicated landing page tool - Limited customisation - Editor is pretty good, but nothing like Unbounce or Instapage [Wishpond](/recommends/wishpond/) is more than a landing page builder. You can also create social contents, pop-ups and run basic automation tasks with ease. Even with the most basic package, there's no limit on the number of landing pages, social contests or pop-ups you can create. Instead, you're limited to the number of leads you can generate from your Wishpond toolkit each month. For $49 per month, you can get up to 1,000 leads; $99 per month, you can get up to 1,500 leads and $199 per month gets you up to 10,000 leads. [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-08-05-at-11.22.06.png) You can go much further than that, though. You can select up to 1 million Wispond leads for roughly $3,000 per month or call them for a custom package, if you need more. ## #9: [Lander](/recommends/lander/)  Pros Cons - Rock-bottom starting prices - A/B testing on all packages - Facebook landing pages - Custom code editing - Not the best editor - Not the most customisable option - Integration can be hit-and-miss [Lander](/recommends/lander/) is designed for smaller businesses and this is certainly reflected in the prices - but not so much in the features. The main difference between packages is the amount of traffic you expect your landing pages to generate. [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-08-05-at-13.35.11.png) The Basic package ($16/mo) is only good for five thousand visitors, but remember this is traffic to your landing pages only. So you need to calculate how much traffic your PPC and organic SEO strategies will generate. If you anticipate more than 100k visitors, there are custom packages available, too. The thing I like about Lander is you can fully customise the code of its landing page templates. This won't appeal to all teams but code-level customisation gives you full control over your pages and faster loading times. A/B testing also comes as standard with every Lander package and you also get dedicated landing pages for Facebook. ## #10: [Landingi](https://landingi.com/)  Pros Cons - Unique design features - Unlimited landing pages, traffic, leads, domains and users - Solid editor - Basic automation features - Analytics - A/B testing not available with cheapest package - Limited integration with cheapest package [Landingi](https://landingi.com/) also sets itself apart from other landing page builders. You can choose from templates or create your own from scratch, but you can also call on the Landingi team to build landing pages for you - an interesting selling point. You're not limited by the number of landing pages, traffic, domains or anything else. The differentiation between Landingi's two packages are A/B testing, automation and integration options - all of which come with the $49/month Automate plan. ## **Top page builders that you can use for landing pages** ## #11: [Gutenberg](https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/) (WordPress 5) Pros Cons - Free - Simple, clean interface - Limited options reduce choice fatigue - No templates - Limited options without paid themes - Glitchy editor Gutenberg is now the default editor in WordPress (after WordPress 5.0). It operates around the block design principle where you vertically stack elements on top of each other and customise them to your needs. This makes it relatively easy to create simple landing pages from inside the WordPress interface although you are somewhat limited to what you can achieve with Gutenberg alone. You don’t get any templates to work with, as standard, but a lot of paid themes come with a limited number landing page templates you can use as a starting point. Generally speaking, you want flexibility in a landing page tool but fewer options can actually make it faster and easier to create new pages by limiting your design choices and reducing choice fatigue. ## #12: [Divi](https://www.elegantthemes.com/gallery/divi/)  Pros Cons - Powerful drag-and-drop builder - Extensive design options - Extensive customisation - Solid range of templates - CTA templates - A good all-round website builder - Affordable pricing - Editor can be glitchy on complex pages - Options can become overwhelming - No A/B testing - No email or marketing features Divi is a WordPress theme developed by Elegant Themes and one of the original drag-and-drop page builder themes made available for the world’s most popular CMS platform. I used Divi shortly after it was first released and the experience was a bit of a nightmare - bugs galore. And while there are still some gremlins in the system, things have improved a lot since Divi 4.0. My favourite thing about Divi is how easy it is to create new pages, including new landing pages. You can choose from page templates or bundle together layouts and elements to create custom designs within a matter of clicks. The builder can still be a little buggy if you’re building complex pages but this shouldn’t be the case for landing pages. Element Themes’ pricing is almost too tempting to resist, too, starting at $70**/year** or a one-off $199 fee. ## #13: [Launchaco](https://www.launchaco.com/)  Pros Cons - Free website builder - So simple and easy to use - Smooth visual editor - No account needed - HTTPS encryption - Limited options Launchaco is a revolutionary website builder designed for startups. Above all, it allows you to create a simple website for free although you’ll have to pay a very reasonable $49.99/year to remove Lanchaco branding and host on your own domain. To sweeten the deal even further, you get HTTPS encryption as standard and Google Analytics integration and you can create unlimited websites, even on the free version. The website builder is very basic but it’s an absolute joy to use, thanks to its simplicity. You can create a page in moments using this thing and the limited layout options (there almost aren’t any) make it impossible to create a bad page. Even if you need a more advanced landing page builder, you have to try out Launchaco for the pure joy of it. One thing worth knowing before you sign up: Namecheap acquired Launchaco a few years back and it now lives on as Namecheap's Site Maker. The simplicity that made the original such a joy is largely intact, but you're buying into the Namecheap ecosystem rather than a standalone tool. ## #14: [Carrd](https://carrd.co/)  Pros Cons - Free single-page website builder - Sleek, modern templates to start from - Visual editor is super-smooth - Pro version starts from just $9/year - A lot of templates restricted to Pro version - Limited Customisation options - Single-page sites only Carrd feels very similar to Launchaco in the sense it’s a free website builder that offers “pro” features at an impossibly low price point. The key difference is that you can only create single-page sites so this clearly isn’t a serious option for everyone. That said, you do get a lot more in terms of customisation with Carrd and the experience of using its editor is no less enjoyable than Launchaco’s. Except, this time, the joy comes from using an editor that provides a decent selection of controls yet still manages to run so smoothly in the browser. ## #15: [MailChimp](https://mailchimp.com/features/landing-pages/)  Pros Cons - Simple, easy-to-use builder - Unlimited landing pages - Builder available on all plans - Integrated email marketing features - Marketing automation - Limited design options - Limited marketing features - Weak integration Mailchimp has one of the best email builders in the business so it should come as no surprise to learn that its landing page builder is equally as impressive. Yes, design options are quite limited but this only helps the tool make it even faster to create and publish new landing pages. Best of all, the landing page builder is available across all Mailchimp plans, including the free version of Mailchimp, and you can create unlimited landing pages on all plans, too. That’s right, unlimited landing pages for free! You also get A/B testing on the Essentials package, which starts from $9.99/month and a growing list of email marketing and automation features as you work your way up Mailchimp’s pricier plans. The only real downside to Mailchimp is that it doesn’t really pack the heavyweight email marketing and automation features serious businesses need, even on its Premium plan, which starts at $299 per month. Can’t knock its landing page builder, though. ## #16: [Launchrock](https://www.launchrock.com/)  Pros Cons - It’s free - Super-fast builder - Promotion features - Analytics - No A/B testing - Limited customisation - Only suitable for smaller businesses [Launchrock](https://www.launchrock.com/) is actually a basic website builder but you can use it to create landing pages **for free**. This platform gears itself towards entrepreneurs and new startups more than enterprise businesses. Once your page is created you can share them on social and get them discovered by the existing Launchrock audience to boost exposure. You don’t get A/B testing with Launchrock but there is a healthy selection of analytics tools to keep track of performance. We’re not talking about rich features with Launchrock; instead, you’re looking at a simple, free and versatile alternative to paid platforms. ## #17: [KickoffLabs](https://kickofflabs.com/)  Pros Cons - Unlimited Landing pages, pop-ups contests and referrals - A/B testing with all packages - Analytics - Promotion features - Limited campaigns and visitors - Limited customisation - Limited integrations Once again, [KickoffLabs](https://kickofflabs.com/) offers a lot more than landing pages. More specifically, it’s designed to help you launch and promote new products/services with a number of features. Aside from landing pages, you can give awards to customers for referrals and run contests. You also get analytics, A/B testing and fraud protection to prevent fake contest entries and referrals. Pricing is in the same ballpark as the rest of the tools we’re looking at today but there’s a pretty heavy restriction on the number of visitors and campaigns. Each campaign is essentially a list of leads that can come from multiple landing pages. However, a unique visitor counts as someone who views a KickoffLabs form or triggers an API request.I tend to find you’ll reach the visitor limit before you’ll max out your campaigns I tend to find you’ll reach the visitor limit before you max out your campaigns but the limitations quickly become apparent either way. ## #18: Landing Lion / [Makeswift](https://www.makeswift.com/)  Pros Cons - Decent library of templates for different purposes - ebook, coming soon, giveaway, lead capture form, etc. - Plenty of design freedom - Strong integration options - SEO optimisation tool - Visitor playback feature allows you to see visitor behaviour - Landing Lion no longer exists - Makeswift is a developer-focused tool, not a marketer's builder Landing Lion is a bit of a cult classic in the landing page builder realm that a lot of people might not know about. It’s not the best builder on the market by today’s standard but it packs some unique features like Visitor playback that shows you what users are doing on your landing pages - a great conversion optimisation tool. Sadly, Landing Lion is no longer available. The company has relaunched as Makeswift and you can find out more information about this [here](https://www.makeswift.com/landing-lion), if you’re interested. The company has warned Landing Lion users that they’ll need to migrate over to Makeswift in order to keep their content live after the relaunch date. What we don’t know yet is how much of Landing Lion will survive in a post Makeswift world. Makeswift did launch, and it has since taken a different path entirely — it's now a visual page builder for Next.js sites, and BigCommerce acquired the company in late 2023. That makes it a tool for teams with developers in the loop rather than the marketer-friendly builder Landing Lion was. Treat this entry as a bit of history rather than a recommendation — if you're a former Landing Lion user, any of the dedicated builders in the first half of this list will serve you better. ## #19: [Elementor](https://elementor.com/)  Pros Cons - Affordable WordPress page builder - Free version available - Plenty of design freedom - Simple interface - Large library of templates - Some glitches - Rogue margins can cause occasional layout issues Elementor has established itself as the go-to WordPress page builder plugin. You only have to visit the plugin’s WordPress page to see how high its reputation is among users - an average review score of 5/5 from more than 5,000 reviews and growing. Elementor offers a free plan that may provide everything you need as a kind of WordPress landing page builder. However, you can unlock more features like hundreds of more templates, a theme builder, dynamic content and motion effects by signing up to its paid plans, which range between $49 and $199/year. ## #20: [Shortstack](https://www.shortstack.com/)  Pros Cons - Campaign-driven landing page tool - Built-in lead generation features - Social and email integration - Integrated email marketing features - Not the best landing page builder - Templates are kind of dated - Relatively expensive starting prices Shortstack is an interesting option in the sense that it’s landing page builder isn’t particularly impressive. However, Shortstack’s big strength is that it allows you to create lead generation campaigns like social contests, coupon downloads, giveaways and email sign-up campaigns. If you’re happy to create your own landing pages from scratch in ShortStack’s editors (the templates aren’t up to much) then you can create and manage these campaigns with relative ease. ## #21: [Ucraft](https://www.ucraft.com/)  Pros Cons - Intuitive page builder - Unlimited pages across all plans - Strong selection of templates - Plenty of design freedom - Built-in analytics - SSL encryption across all plans - Very competitive pricing - Free version available - No A/B testing - No integrations on free version Ucraft is an innovative website builder with a dedicated drag-and-drop landing page tool. There’s a free version available that allows you to build an unlimited number of pages with SSL encryption included, unlimited bandwidth, SEO tools and a really strong set of features, as standard. Paid versions are reasonably priced, too - and that’s understating things. Prices start at $10 per month and max out at $69/month which gives you a lot of features for your money. It’s a shame you can’t get A/B testing on any of the plans and a mild inconvenience that there are no integration options on the free version, but it’s hard to criticise at these price points. ## #22: [Themify](https://themify.me/) Pros Cons - Simple, easy-to-use page builder - Good selection of themes and templates - Reasonable pricing if you pay up for the Master Club plan - Every theme comes with a couple of landing page templates - Expensive on a theme-by-theme basis - Not the smoothest interface Themify is similar to Elegant Themes in the sense that it produces WordPress. The company also provides a page builder plugin that integrates with its latest themes, turning them into a visual editor that you can use to build custom websites and landing pages. The builder is simpler and easier to use than Divi’s but also less powerful and restricted in terms of design options. That said, you still get a reasonable amount of design freedom, even if the interface isn’t as smooth as some of the other options we’ve looked at in this article. ## **What about Framer?** One tool you won't find in the list above but will keep hearing about: Framer. It started life as a prototyping tool for designers and has quietly become one of the more popular ways to ship a landing page — a visual canvas, fast hosting and pages that look a notch above what most template libraries produce. I'd stop short of calling it a conversion platform, though. There's no native A/B testing to speak of, and it's built with designers in mind rather than marketers running dozens of PPC variants. If design quality is what wins your market — portfolios, brand-led SaaS, product launches — it deserves a look alongside the dedicated builders above. If you live and die by testing velocity, stick with Unbounce or Instapage. ## **Which is the best landing page builder for you?** To sum up, if you want the best features and most customisation, Unbounce is still the tool to go for. There is a bit of a learning curve but you can simply do more with it. It also comes with the best A/B testing features offered by any of these tools and quality analytics feedback. And then you have Unbounce Convertibles, which brings pop-ups to Unbounce landing pages (if that’s your thing). If you want less power and more speed, then take a look at Instapage. It’s crazy how quickly you can get optimised landing pages up and running with Instapage, even if it doesn’t match Unbounce for flexibility. It also doesn’t come with native pop-up features – something to consider (you don’t *have* to use them!). Wishpond and Leadpages both have their pros and cons, depending on which price point you’re looking. Either way, these top four options are all great tools and certainly worth checking out. If you’re looking for more than a dedicated landing page builder, the other options in this list are well worth a look at. There are some good tools in there for building entire websites, email campaigns and lead generation strategies. If all you need is a dedicated landing page builder, Unbounce and the other nine options we first looked at are hard to beat. However, there are plenty of other tools that bring additional features into the mix and some surprisingly simple website builders that are perfectly capable of helping you put together landing pages. And remember: the builder is only half the job. Once your pages are live, our roundup of [landing page optimisation tools](/landing-page-optimisation-tools/) covers the testing and analytics side of squeezing more conversions out of them. ## Updates **July 2026:** Added a quick-answer summary and an at-a-glance comparison table using the prices already quoted in this guide. Checked whether every tool in the list still exists under its current name — Launchaco is now Namecheap's Site Maker, and Makeswift (the Landing Lion successor) was acquired by BigCommerce and is now a developer-focused Next.js builder. Added a section on Framer, moved the FAQ into structured data, and fixed a handful of typos. Some of the pricing screenshots in the older entries date back to when this guide was first written — treat those as indicative rather than current. ## Frequently asked questions **What's the difference between a landing page builder and a website builder?** Landing page builders are specifically designed for creating single, conversion-focused pages, whilst website builders are general-purpose tools for building entire multi-page sites. Landing page builders prioritise speed and simplicity, allowing you to launch high-converting pages in minutes without needing coding knowledge or extensive design experience. Website builders offer more flexibility but require more time and technical skill to set up properly. **Can you use regular page builders like WordPress for landing pages?** Yes, you can use general page builders like WordPress (with Gutenberg, Divi or Elementor) for landing pages, though dedicated landing page builders are typically more efficient. Dedicated tools eliminate unnecessary features that slow down your workflow, allowing you to focus purely on conversion optimisation rather than managing a full website structure. If you're comfortable with design principles and conversion best practices, a general page builder may be all you need. **How much does a landing page builder cost?** Landing page builder pricing varies significantly, ranging from free plans with basic features to premium tiers costing £100+ per month for advanced functionality. Among the dedicated builders we've tested, Swipe Pages starts at $29/mo, Leadpages at $37/mo (annual billing), GetResponse at $15/mo and Brevo's Business plan at £39/mo. Most quality landing page builders offer tiered pricing that scales with your needs, so you can start affordably and upgrade as your conversion optimisation efforts become more sophisticated. **Do I need coding skills to use a landing page builder?** No, the best landing page builders are designed specifically for non-technical users and require zero coding knowledge. Drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-built templates mean you can create professional, high-converting landing pages by simply moving elements around and customising text and images. Some tools, like Lander, also offer code-level customisation if you want full control over your pages. **What features should I look for in a landing page builder?** The most important features are conversion-focused templates, A/B testing capabilities, and integration with your email marketing and analytics tools. Speed of iteration is critical — you want a builder that lets you quickly test different page variations and measure results to improve your conversion rate. Additional valuable features include mobile responsiveness, form builders, and detailed analytics dashboards. Unbounce leads on A/B testing among the tools we've tested. **Which landing page builder is best for beginners?** The best landing page builder for beginners prioritises simplicity and pre-built templates over advanced customisation options. Instapage has barely any learning curve at all, and Leadpages pairs an easy drag-and-drop editor with 160+ free templates. Unbounce is the most capable tool we've tested but it isn't a beginner's tool — expect a learning curve before it pays off. **Can landing page builders integrate with my CRM and email marketing platform?** Most quality landing page builders offer integrations with popular CRM and email marketing platforms like HubSpot, Mailchimp, and Zapier. Native integrations streamline your workflow by automatically syncing form submissions and visitor data between your landing page builder and other marketing tools. Check the specific integrations available before choosing a builder to ensure it connects with your existing marketing stack — Unbounce and Leadpages both offer Salesforce and Marketo integration on their higher plans. **How quickly can you build a landing page with these tools?** With a dedicated landing page builder, you can create and publish a professional landing page in 15-30 minutes using pre-built templates. The speed of the iterative build-test-measure loop is what separates landing page builders from general website builders, allowing you to rapidly optimise your conversion rate rather than spending weeks on design and development. This efficiency is why most marketers eventually adopt a dedicated landing page builder. --- # 23 Best SEO & Digital Marketing Agencies in 2026 URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-seo-digital-marketing-agencies/ Summary: Compare the UK's top SEO & digital marketing agencies. Expert reviews, pricing & features to find your perfect match. See our top picks. Last updated: 2026-03-19 06:07:20 Here at Venture Harbour, we empower marketers, entrepreneurs and brands to accelerate growth. While we're not an SEO or marketing agency in the traditional sense, our focus is essentially on making these strategies more effective for agencies and business owners. This means we work very closely with digital agencies, marketing professionals and entrepreneurs to help them solve problems. In other words, we know a good agency when we see it but we also understand how difficult it can be to choose the right one for your business can be. So here's a run-through of the top SEO and digital marketing agencies in the UK right now. ## #1: [Builtvisible](https://builtvisible.com/)  Builtvisible is a London-based agency that specialises in SEO, content marketing and building awareness. The company focuses on increasing visibility, turning more traffic into paying customers and improving performance with analytics and testing. ## #2: [engage](https://engageinteractive.co.uk/)  Leeds agency engage provides a comprehensive set of marketing services: web design and development, paid advertising, search optimisation, email marketing and social media. Clients include Heineken, Milwaukee, Jet2 and Yorkshire Tea. ## #3: [Fastfwd](https://www.fastfwd.com/)  Fastfwd is a digital marketing, design and development agency in Birmingham with a stunning collection of projects and an impressive list of clients. Ann Summers, Vogue, Miss Selfridge, Leica and QG are among the top brands who have turned to Fastfwd to help them create visually engaging campaigns and digital products. ## #4: [Electric Studio](https://www.electricstudio.co.uk/)  Electric Studio specialises in WordPress design and optimisation. The Oxford agency will help you design, build and optimise a WordPress website that performs in organic search and gives the rest of your digital strategies the best platform to work with. ## #5: [MOBO Media](https://mobo.co.uk)  MOBO Media is a design and marketing agency that offers web design, development, SEO and social media marketing - as well as branding, logo design and graphic design. ## #6: [Absolute](https://absolutemedia.co.uk/)  Absolute builds brands and digital campaigns for the likes of Manchester City FC, Royal Birkdale and Incorez with a mix of digital media (content, photography and video) as well as website and app design and development with a heavy emphasis on user experience. ## #7: [BowlerHat](https://www.bowlerhat.co.uk/)  BolwerHat likes to make digital marketing simpler with a straightforward set of SEO, PPC, content marketing and design services. The Birmingham agency specialises in working with small businesses to help them hit bigger targets. ## #8: [Impression](https://www.impression.co.uk/)  Award-winning Impression is all about maximising brand exposure to generate more leads and then maximising conversions with data-driven testing and optimisation. The Nottingham agency provides SEO, PPC, digital PR, content marketing, conversion rate optimisation (CRO) and web design services. ## #9: [Glass Digital](https://glass.digital/)  With Glass Digital, the emphasis is all on transparency and making sure you understand *how* your marketing strategies are generating that all-important return on investment. The Newcastle agency offers a flexible combination of organic search, paid search and affiliate marketing services for SMEs. ## #10: [Edit](https://edit.co.uk/)  Formerly Branded3, Edit may have rebranded itself but it still remains one of the most respected digital agencies in the UK, helping brands like Jaguar Land Rover, Confused.com and Ladbrokes make big things happen. The agency specialises in data-driven marketing, media branding and customer relationship management for enterprise brands. ## #11: [Addmustard](https://www.addmustard.com/)  addmustard is a digital marketing agency designed for entrepreneurs, offering SEO, paid media, social media marketing, UX web and app design, branding and performance optimisation. ## #12: [Epiphany](https://www.epiphanysearch.co.uk/)  Epiphany is an award-winning search agency that specialises in getting brands seen by the right target audiences. It combines SEO, PPC, display advertising, content marketing and web design/development for clients including The Carphone Warehouse, Pretty Little Things, Pandora, SCS and Ladbrokes. ## #13: [Koozai](https://www.koozai.com/)  Koozai is a well-known, trusted and award-winning digital agency that breaks down its services in owned media (SEO and content marketing), earned media (digital PR) and paid media (paid search and social). Clients include TravelBag, V&A, Papa Johns and TUI Travel Plc. ## #14: [Barques](https://www.barques.co.uk/)  Barques is one of the UK's leading web design agencies that houses a team of SEO specialists to design and optimise websites for the best possible performance in search. ## #15: [Distilled](https://www.distilled.net/)  Distilled is a digital marketing agency based in London (as well as Seattle and New York), offering organic search, content marketing, conversion rate optimisation, video marketing and consultancy services for leading brands. ## #16: [Ayima](https://www.ayima.com/)  Ayima is an all-in-one agency that works with the likes of Bwin, M&S and Verizon to help them build a larger customer base through digital strategies. It provides SEO, PPC, paid social, content marketing, performance analytics, CRO, programmatic advertising and a range of e-commerce services for brands across all industries. ## #17: [Epic New Media](https://www.epicnewmedia.co.uk/)  Epic New Media is a specialist SEO and PPC agency based in Manchester and Liverpool. Aside from organic and paid search marketing, Epic also offers paid social, landing page design, CRO and analytics services. ## #18: [Barracuda](https://barracuda.digital/)  Barracuda is another UK digital agency that breaks down its services into earned, paid and owned. It offers SEO, local SEO, digital PR and outreach on the earned side of things, plus PCC, display and remarketing, paid social, Google Shopping and YouTube advertising on the paid front. Then you have its earned services: conversion rate optimisation, web development, content strategy and video production. ## #19: [Croud](https://croud.com/)  Croud is an international marketing agency based in London with offices in New York and Surry Hills (Australia). The agency works with an in-house team and a large network of freelancers to provide SEO, PPC, content, paid social and a range of other services for brands around the world. ## #20: [Gravitywell](https://www.gravitywell.co.uk/)  Bristol agency Gravitywell aims to provide the full digital package for its clients, offering design and development services for websites, e-commerce platforms, mobile apps, react native apps, messenger bots and just about anything else modern brands need - plus branding and marketing services to help your business grow. ## #21: [Directive](https://directiveconsulting.com/)  Directive is one of the UK's leading digital agencies, working with the likes of Cisco, Samsung, Allstate, Cherwell and WestRock. It combines SEO, PPC, content marketing, paid social and CRO services to help major brands increase their audiences and turn them into larger customer bases. ## #22: [Momentum](https://momentumdesignlab.com/)  Momentum is a user-focused digital agency that offers comprehensive research, design, strategy and development services. The company doesn't work in terms of separating strategies like SEO and PPC but focuses on finding the right combination of these interlocked marketing channels to achieve your business goals faster. ## #23: [Site Visibility](https://www.sitevisibility.co.uk/#gref)  Site Visibility offers SEO, PPC, display advertising, online PR, social media marketing, analytics and content marketing services for brands looking to take that next step. The London-based agency has worked with the likes of Hilton, Nivea and UK Power Networks. ### The best are only getting better The best SEO and digital marketing agencies are only getting better as they employ the latest technologies to their strategies - particularly when it comes to automation. In many ways, it's never been a better time to choose an agency to work and there are hundreds of quality UK agencies that didn't make this list. However, you can use these top 25 agencies as a template to compare other agencies against and find the right agency for your business. ## FAQ **What's the difference between an SEO agency and a digital marketing agency?** An SEO agency specialises exclusively in search engine optimisation through technical improvements, content strategy, and link building, whilst a **digital marketing agency offers a broader range of services** including paid advertising, social media, email marketing, and content creation alongside SEO. Most modern agencies blend both disciplines, but pure SEO specialists tend to deliver deeper technical expertise in organic search performance. **How do I choose the best SEO and digital marketing agency for my business?** The best agency for your business depends on your specific goals, budget, and industry vertical, but you should prioritise agencies with **proven case studies in your sector and transparent reporting practices**. Look for agencies that conduct a thorough audit before proposing solutions, avoid those promising guaranteed rankings, and verify their team includes certified professionals with current Google certifications. **What should I expect to pay for SEO and digital marketing services?** SEO and digital marketing agency costs typically range from £500–£5,000+ per month depending on scope and competition level, with **retainer-based pricing being the industry standard** for ongoing optimisation work. Agencies charging significantly below £500/month often lack the resources for quality work, whilst premium agencies serving competitive sectors may charge £10,000+ monthly for comprehensive strategies. **How long does it take to see results from an SEO agency?** Most SEO agencies require 3–6 months before delivering measurable organic traffic improvements, though **initial technical improvements and content optimisations can show results within 4–8 weeks**. Highly competitive keywords in saturated industries may take 6–12 months to rank, which is why reputable agencies avoid promising quick results and focus on sustainable, long-term growth strategies. **What services do the best digital marketing agencies include?** The best digital marketing agencies combine **SEO, paid search (PPC), content marketing, social media management, and analytics reporting** into integrated campaigns that work together to drive growth. Top-tier agencies also offer conversion rate optimisation, email marketing automation, and strategic consulting to ensure your digital presence aligns with broader business objectives. **Should I hire a local SEO agency or a national one?** Local SEO agencies often provide better communication and understand regional market nuances, but **national and international agencies typically have larger teams, more specialised expertise, and proven experience across diverse industries**. The choice depends on your budget and complexity—local agencies suit small businesses needing hands-on support, whilst larger brands benefit from agencies with enterprise-level resources and multi-sector experience. **How do I know if an SEO agency is using white-hat or black-hat tactics?** Reputable agencies will explain their strategies transparently and avoid guaranteeing top rankings, whilst **black-hat agencies typically promise unrealistic results quickly and refuse to disclose their methods**. Ask potential agencies about their link-building approach, content strategy, and whether they follow Google's Search Central guidelines—legitimate agencies will happily provide detailed methodology and case studies showing organic growth over time. --- # 25+ Best Form Builders for Marketers & Businesses URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-form-builders/ Summary: Compare 12 top form builders for 2026. See pricing, features & conversion rates. Find the best tool for lead generation. Compare now → Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:21:38 It doesn’t matter how much traffic you’re bringing to your website if you’re not converting them into customers or valuable leads. To do this, you need high-converting web forms across the most important parts of your site to capture leads, maximise sign-ups, promote free trials, get survey feedback and grow your email lists - whatever your conversion goals may be. With so much riding on the quality of your web forms, you don’t just want to slap any old HTML template on your website and hope for the best. You want to build a series of high-converting forms, test them and optimise them to ensure you’re generating enough conversions, as well as the right quality of conversions. To make this manageable, you’re going to need the right form builder so that you can build and test new forms quickly and focus on the metrics that matter. So, in this article, we’re looking at 25 of the best form builder tools on the market right now and what makes each of them worth recommending. ## **What makes a great form builder?** Before we get into the apps themselves, let’s take a moment to explain what makes a good form builder tool. If you search for “form builder” in Google, you’ll find dozens or hundreds of different apps and tools with a lot of variation in quality, features and price. Which can make it difficult to choose the right tool for your needs, if you don’t already have a specific idea of what you need. Our aim with this article is to help you make this decision with confidence and choose the right form builder, first time around. Luckily, this is something we know a lot about and these are the most important factors you want to consider when choosing a form builder app. ### **The form builder itself** This is the interface that allows you to build and edit your web forms so it’s important you find a tool that’s intuitive and easy-to-use. A lot of the form builders in this article include drag-and-drop builders that allow you to create forms visually in real-time. A common problem you’ll find with drag-and-drop builders is that they often lag in the browser and, aside from being incredibly frustrating, this will slow you down. ### **The quality of templates** Good form templates enable you to create forms that convert quickly while still giving you the design freedom to make as many changes as you see fit. The higher the quality of these templates, the less work it takes to create new forms and less testing you’ll need to do before hitting your conversion targets. The quality of form templates varies a lot between different apps so this is something you’ll want to check before signing up to anything. You’ll also want to pay attention to the different types of form templates available on each app (e.g.: lead generation, contact, email sign-up, checkout, etc.) to be sure you’re getting the right templates for your needs. ### **The quality of the forms** Ultimately, the most important characteristic of any form builder app is the quality of forms you’re able to produce with it. Checking the templates available with each tool will give you a good idea of what you’ll be able to create with them and many tools allow you to try out demos to get a feel of what the experience is like. Above all, you want to know the overall designs are up-to-date, optimised for mobile and provide an experience that will encourage users to complete your conversion goals. ### **Analytics & optimisation** Quality templates and forms will get you off to the best possible start but you still need to test and optimise your form to maximise performance. Before you can do this, you need the right data and Google Analytics doesn’t provide the depth of feedback you need about web form performance. To really pinpoint issues with your forms and find opportunities for improvement, you need detailed insights into how users are engaging with individual elements. You want to know how many people are successfully completing your forms and how long it’s taking them to do so. But you also want to know how long users are taking to fill out individual fields to see where they’re running into problems and which fields are causing them to quit the session. This is how you pinpoint real problems and put the necessary fixes in place. ### **Pricing, plans & features** Of course, pricing always matters with any software platform but it’s rarely a case of the cheapest price wins. It’s more about what you’re getting in return for your money and there are a number of key things to keep in mind when you’re comparing form builder tools: - **Entry price vs higher price:** Monthly fees often start low but how high are they going to get as your business grows and you need more from your chosen tools? - **Restrictions:** Different price plans mean there are going to be certain restrictions in place - e.g.: the amount forms you can create or access to A/B testing. - **ROI:** Forms are designed to generate business so how much of a return on your investment are you going to get by increasing leads by X or increasing the quality of those leads? The most important thing about pricing when you’re choosing marketing software is to make sure the more expensive plans are reasonably priced and the features you’re going to need in the future are there. A decent form builder app will make you more money than you’re spending on it because this is where all your online business comes from. However, you want to make sure you’re going to be able to keep using your builder of choice, as your business grows, without being held ransom to astronomical fees or held back by feature limitations. ## Which forms builders are we looking at? The aim of this article is to help you decide which form builder *you* need to meet your objectives. And to do this, we’ll be looking at the following 25 form builders: - **Typeform:** The affordable choice for surveys & questionnaires. - **Feathery:** Best for onboarding, login & payment forms - **SamCart:** Best for product / checkout forms. - **Gravity Forms:** The strongest option for payment forms. - **Ninja Forms:** Best for basic WordPress forms. - **Qzzr:** The specialist form builder for creating quizzes. - **Wufoo:** The cheap and cheerful option. - **JotForm:** The best for flexible design choices. - **Paperform:** The flexible tool you can use for customers, too. - **Google Forms:** The free, flexible form builder. - **FormSite:** Best for publishing results from web forms. - **FormGet:** The best option for a one-off, fixed fee for each form. - **FormAssembly:** The form builder designed for data collection. - **HubSpot Forms:** A free alternative to Google Forms that’s geared more towards lead generation than data collection - ideal if you’re using HubSpot’s free CRM. - **Pabbly’s Form Builder:** Strong features and affordable if you only need one or two forms. - **Forminator:** The best contact, payment and quiz form plugin for WordPress. - **FormCrafts:** One of the most affordable options if you only need 5-10 forms. - **Formstack:** Powerful and easy-to-use form builder for all technical levels but lacking in some versatility. - **Clearbit Forms:** Powerful lead generation forms and the perfect choice if you’re already using Clearbit. - **FormKeep:** The API form builder you can use for websites, mobile apps and software. - **SurveyAnyplace:** A premium option for interactive forms and surveys. - **Contact Form 7:** The ideal plugin for basic, flexible WordPress forms that look the part. - **Conversational Form:** The open-source option for chatbot-style web forms. - **Zoho Forms:** Reasonable prices and the ideal choice for Zoho users. - **FastField:** Quick, easy forms but not the cheapest option on the market. We’ll look at each of these form builders individually and, then, we’ll sum things up with a quick price comparison and the key reason you might want to use each one of them. So let’s kick off with the best form builder for creating lead generation & lead capture forms. ## 1. [Typeform](https://typeform.com/) (Best for surveys & questionnaires) Typeform helps you create conversational experiences that are ideal for capturing contextual information from users. You can use this to create immersive web forms but Typeform’s format really excels at building survey and questionnaire type experiences - for example, getting feedback about a free trial, content download or purchase. Typeform’s builder is a great interface that runs smoothly and provides an intuitive experience from the first session. It’s easy to figure out where everything is and you can start building surveys and forms within a matter of minutes. The quality of Typeform’s templates is equally strong, too. In addition to form templates, there are dedicated templates for quizzes and surveys that really highlight the best of what this platform has to offer. Typeform doesn’t provide some of the key features you might expect from a specialist form builder, such as form analytics or A/B testing but it does integrate with a selected number of platforms that can add this functionality. You also have to pay up for its most expensive plan to remove Typeform branding from your forms. All that said, if you’re looking to create a more engaging survey experience, there’s a lot to like about this platform. ## 2. Feathery (Best for onboarding, payments, and login forms) **Free plan; paid plans start at $50/mo** [Feathery](https://www.feathery.io/) is a powerful form builder for product and growth teams. They enable users to build key forms like onboarding, payments, signup/login, and more—without using any code.  Users can build fully customizable forms with a Webflow-like visual editor, personalize user paths with an intuitive logic builder, and integrate their forms with 5,000+ apps including Segment for performance analytics, Stripe for checkout, and Firebase for authentication. Feathery also offers a library of [pre-built form templates](https://www.feathery.io/templates) to help users get started quickly and developer-friendly React & Javascript SDKs so that you can extend your form withs custom code, if needed.  Users interested in using Feathery can [get started with their free plan](https://app.feathery.io/#Sign%20Up), which includes all of the features mentioned above. ## 3. [SamCart](/recommends/samcart/) (Best for product / checkout forms) **Pricing starts from $49/month**  Back when we built our own form builder, we received a lot of messages from users asking us if our software can be used to create e-commerce checkout forms. Unfortunately, we had to tell these people that, no, our tool doesn’t create checkout forms as it was designed to be a lead generation tool. However, it became quite clear to us that a lot of e-commerce brands/marketers were unhappy with the form builder options available to them. Thankfully, we are able to recommend an excellent tool for building checkout pages and forms: [SamCart](https://www.samcart.com/). SamCart allows you to build product and checkout pages with secure forms that integrate with payment processing technology. The platform’s builder operates very well considering it’s more of a fully-featured page builder than a dedicated form tool. You can create unlimited pages and add unlimited products with a secure checkout process optimised to maximise sales. One of our favourite SamCart features is what it calls “Upsells and Order Bumps” which recommends additional purchases to users while they’re in shopping mode. SamCart also supports monthly and quarterly subscription purchases, as well as free trials as a lead generation strategy. Given the complexity of designing checkout experiences, we’re happy to report that SamCart provides a great library of templates for you to work with. The forms are modern and optimised to make purchases easy to complete, which is only going to help conversions and sales. Solid integration with email marketing and CRM platforms is a big deal, too. ## 4. [Gravity Forms](/recommends/gravityforms/) (Best for payment forms) **Pricing starts from $35/month** In 2015, Gravity Forms got a lot of attention due to [some serious security vulnerabilities](https://blog.sucuri.net/2015/02/malware-cleanup-to-arbitrary-file-upload-in-gravity-forms.html) that were found in their forms. Despite this, it's still considered a good option for building advanced WordPress forms. One area where Gravity Forms do a particularly good job of is payment integration. If you want to connect your forms to PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, or your accounting software, this is relatively easy to do with their plugin. The only thing to bear in mind is that these integrations are only available of Gravity Forms’ most expensive plan ($199). The disadvantage with Gravity Forms is that their forms look quite average. While their features enable you to create powerful forms, they ultimately look quite average - and probably not ideal for anything where conversion rates matter. Here's a screenshot of the Gravity Forms 'demo form':  ## 5. [Ninja Forms](/recommends/ninjaforms/) (Best for advanced WordPress forms) **Pricing starts from $99/year** There are so many form plugins for WordPress that it can be very difficult to compare them and choose. Some of these plugins offer very basic features but Ninja Forms aims to bring the advanced features you’d expect from a form builder app into a WordPress plugin. The drag-and-drop builder is surprisingly intuitive and all forms you create automatically match the styling of your WordPress theme for consistency - although you can customise colours and basic styles. To unlock all of the customisation options Ninja Forms is capable of, you’ll have to download the Layouts and Styles add-on, which is free with a paid subscription. Likewise, there are add-ons that integrate key features like conditional logic, file uploads and integrations with third-party tools like Zapier.  By default, the forms you’ll create using Ninja Forms are quite basic and you can get an idea of what to expect from the image above. So, visually speaking, you’re not looking at anything groundbreaking but Ninja Forms does a very good job of providing advanced features in a WordPress plugin. Sadly, there is one glaring omission, though - a lack of serious form analytics, unless you pay up for its most expensive plan. 6. [Qzzr](https://www.qzzr.com/) (Best for creating quizzes) **Pricing starts from $24.99/month** Qzzr is a form builder with a specific focus on build quizzes. Aimed at publishers, agencies and marketers, their quiz-like forms are designed to increase social engagement and capture leads from your social marketing efforts. If you're a high-traffic publisher or have a large social following, [Qzzr](https://www.qzzr.com/) is definitely worth a look. ## 7. [Wufoo](https://www.wufoo.com/) (The cheap and cheerful option) **Pricing starts from $14.08/month** If you need a simple contact or registration form, and you're not looking for a well-optimised form, then Wufoo is a nice cheap solution. Their forms may not be the nicest looking, but Wufoo is a well-established brand that's passed the test of time.  The Wufoo templates cover all of the web form basics and will save you a lot of time in terms of manual coding but you will have to craft some custom CCS code to style the forms to your taste (those defaults are way too 2001). ## 8. [JotForm](https://www.jotform.com/) **(The best for flexible design choices)** **Free version available; Paid versions start from $15.83/month** JotForm is an easy-to-use form builder that helps you create sleek forms for a variety of purposes. This tool has improved a lot over the years and its newer form templates (they've got more than 10,000 now) are definitely the best of the bunch. The platform's user interface has improved a lot, too, and it won't be long before you're putting forms together in minutes, once you get a feel for how things work. Speed isn't really the aim with JotForm, though. Almost everything is customisable and to get the best out of this platform you'll want a solid understanding of form design and the time to customise its themes to suit your needs. If too much choice is going to slow you down, you might want to look elsewhere. ## 9. [Paperform](https://paperform.co/) **(The flexible tool you can use for customers, too)** **Pricing starts from $12.50/month**  Paperform is a more traditional form builder but it aims to find that sweet spot between speed and customisability. Its user interface is sleek and Paperform has done a decent job of making extensive options easy to navigate. The downside of extensive options is you have to spend time going through them all - only you can decide if this is a productivity issue for you. The other main issue with Paperform, compared to JotForm (above), is that it’s not as intuitive to use as a platform but it’s slightly cheaper - so it all comes down to what you’re priorities are. There's also a Paperform Agency version if you want to use this tool for your customers. ## 10. [Google Forms](https://www.google.co.uk/forms/about/) **(The free, flexible form builder)** **Free** Google Forms is a free tool you can use to quickly create basic forms and surveys. You won't find a faster way to create web forms and, once you're done, ou can embed them on web pages or direct people to your hosted forms via links. What you can't do is create anything more than basic forms - e.g.: payment forms. These aren't really designed for lead generation or converting customers so you'll need to look elsewhere if you want anything more sophisticated than a basic contact form. It's free, after all. ## 11. [FormSite](https://www.formsite.com/) (Best for publishing data from forms) **Free version available; Paid versions start from $19.95/month** FormSite is great if you want to publish results from the data you collect via forms, surveys and quizzes. While you can use the platform to create lead gen forms the designs feel a little dated and there's nothing in the way of reports or analytics to get excited about. As a market research or publishing tool, things are very different. The ability to publish the results from your surveys using graphs and tables is a great content marketing feature and this is the biggest strength of FormSite for us. So, if you're looking to run market research campaigns and publish results for people to access and download online, FormSite is definitely a tool to look at. ## 12. [FormGet](https://www.formget.com/formget/) (Best for one-off payments per form) **Each form costs you $10** FormGet is a powerful builder that helps you build a wide range of forms, from the most basic designs to more complex versions using conditional logic, notifications and a range of other features. Visually speaking, FormGet's forms are the most attractive but the performance under the hood is impressive - as long as you know how to use it. We're glad to say FormGet comes with built-in form analytics with every version of its software (an essential feature in our minds) although it's not particularly extensive - for example, it doesn't tell you which fields users are abandoning. It does integrate nicely with Google Analytics but this still requires you to set up events tracking and other measures we'd like to see as standard with a form builder. ## 13. [FormAssembly](https://www.formassembly.com/) (The best for data collection) **Pricing starts from $89/month** FormAssembly focuses on secure data collection and intelligent design for lengthy forms and surveys. You probably won't be using this to create contact forms or email sign-ups but FormAssembly excels at application forms, surveys and feedback forms. With its dynamic form settings, you can make it easier for users to fill out complex forms, using conditional logic. You can also create order and payment forms, include file attachments and set up auto-responders to reach out to people once they've completed your forms. If your forms are painfully long and too large to embed on a webpage, FormAssembly could be the tool to help. ## **14.** [**HubSpot’s Online Form Builder**](https://www.hubspot.com/products/marketing/forms) **(Ideal if you’re using HubSpot’s free CRM)** **Free** HubSpot’s [Online Form Builder](https://www.hubspot.com/products/marketing/forms) isn't the most advanced tool you’ll come across but it is one of the simplest and easy to use. This is typical of HubSpot’s excellent software range that simplifies some of the most complex sales and marketing processes with its separate marketing, sales and customer service softwares. The form builder comes as part of HubSpot’s Marketing Hub and is available as a “free” tool on every plan. You’re only going to be creating basic forms with HubSpot’s builder but you can have them live in a matter of seconds with this simple builder. As an extra incentive, you also get live chat and conversational bots on all versions of HubSpot’s Marketing Hub, which allows you to add chatbots to your website, as well as an interface for live chat with your support team. In fact, the Marketing Hub comes with a range of specialist tools, including a landing page builder, email marketing and lead nurturing features - as well as a free CRM. You do have to pay for the privilege, though, and prices start at around $40/monthfor the most basic features and only 1,000 contacts. Prices do rise quite steeply from here and you can easily end up paying tens of thousands up-front for 10,000 contacts and features like A/B testing. Excellent software, but it does come at a price. ## **15. Pabbly’s** [**Form Builder**](https://www.pabbly.com/form-builder/) **(Strong features and affordable if you only need one or two forms)** **Pricing starts from $10/month per form**  The standout thing about Pabbly’s form builder is that it doesn’t restrict features across different product versions. You get all of the features available on this platform in return for paying a flat for of $10/mont for each form. In return for your money, you get unlimited submissions and advanced features like conditional logic and email autoresponders. You also get a really interesting feature called “partial form submissions,” which allow users to save progress and return to your form at a later date. This can be great if you only need one or two forms and you’re confident you’re not going to need to test a bunch of variations to improve performance. Generally, this isn’t recommended from a conversion optimisation perspective but that’s a call only you can make for yourself. If you are going to need more than 1-2 forms, then Pabbly’s builder starts to become expensive compared to other options and you really need to decide whether the features are worth the additional price. For most businesses, Pabbly’s form builder will end up being way too expensive but it’s good to see some options on the market that provide the option for paying on a per form basis. ## **16.** [**Forminator**](https://wordpress.org/plugins/forminator/) **(The best contact, payment and quiz form plugin for WordPress)** **Free version available; Paid version costs $49/month** Of you’re looking for a WordPress plugin to take care of your web forms needs, then Forminator is one of the first names you’ll come across. Keep in mind that many tools allow you to embed forms on any web page (including WordPress) but if you really want to take the plugin route, then Forminator is definitely one to look at. One of the key reasons Forminator is so popular is because it caters so well for payment forms, quizzes and other formats, in addition to the usual contact form templates that are common across so many other plugins. If you’re looking for this kind of flexibility in a WordPress plugin, then Forminator is probably the first one to try out and it also offers a paid versions with extended features. ## **17.** [**FormCrafts**](https://formcrafts.com/) **(One of the most affordable options if you only need 5-10 forms)** **Pricing starts from $15/month**  Earlier, we looked at Ninja Forms as a tool that turns WordPress into an advanced drag-and-drop form builder. If that was too much complexity for your taste, then FormStack might be the perfect tool for you. Formstack turns the WordPress interface into a very basic but easy-to-use form builder that will feel very familiar if you’re already used to working in the WordPress dashboard. Despite the simplicity, you can create a wide range of forms, including contact, order, sign-up, payment and support forms. The templates are equally simple and the visual design of your forms will be similarly basic by default, although you can customise the designs with custom CSS. In terms of functionality, you can prevent multiple submissions from the same user, set up email autoresponders and use webhooks to save information to your database. You can also use FormCrafts to add forms to your Facebook page, which is an interesting addition as far as we’re concerned. You’re not going to get any advanced analytics, A/B testing or email marketing features from FormCrafts, though. However, it does integrate with a decent number of third-party platforms that can provide these features. ## **18.** [**Formstack**](https://www.formstack.com/) **(Powerful and easy-to-use form builder for all technical levels but lacking in some versatility)** **Pricing starts from $19/month**  Formstack is a powerful form builder that allows you to create a wide range of web forms without any design or technical experience. The platform’s builder is easy to pick up and start using right away, even if it is a little basic in design and functionality. Simplicity is at the heart of Formstack’s software and you can sense this as soon as you start using its drag-and-drop builder. Despite all the simplicity, there are some advanced features like conditional logic and A/B testing, which are available across all of its plans. If you take a look at Formstack’s templates, you’ll see simplicity is the common theme, once again. You’ve got a collection of basic form designs that you can customise but they’re not as modern as the templates you’ll find on some of the builders we’re looking at today. On the plus side, Formstack provides solid form analytics, which is something we always want to see from a builder like this. You also cart abandonment reports, which is crucial for e-commerce brands, and this all combines very nicely with its built-in A/B testing features. Starting prices for Formstack are very reasonable, too, but you are heavily limited to how many forms and submissions you can have on the cheaper plans. Sooner or later, though, you’re going to come across limitations and the first thing you’ll probably notice with this tool is a lack of variety with field types. For basic forms, you’ll be fine but you’re not going to get the flexibility other platforms provide. ## **19.** [**Clearbit Forms**](https://clearbit.com/forms) **(Powerful lead generation forms and the perfect choice if you’re already using Clearbit)** **Pricing starts from $99/month** Clearbit Forms helps you create intelligent forms and optimise them for performance. This is the kind of complete form builder we want to recommend at Venture Harbour - one that focuses on generating leads and maximising the quality of those leads. After all, this is the point of web forms. The only real downside to Clearbit Forms is that it’s pricey compared to other form builders. That said, if you’re already using Clearbit’s other products, its dedicated form tool is always going to offer the best integration. ## **20.** [**FormKeep**](https://formkeep.com/) **(The API form builder you can use for websites, mobile apps and software)** **Pricing starts from $4.99/month** FormKeep is unlike any other form builder we’re looking at in this article. It’s primarily aimed at designers and developers who want full freedom over the design of their forms without needing to create the back-end code. If the term “back end” doesn’t mean anything to you then it’s worth thinking about web forms in two layers. First, you have the front end, which is the visual interface you see on the web page or app. While the back end is the code you don’t see, which sends the data users input to defined locations (e.g.: your server, email client, CMS) and performs trigger actions, such as redirects, downloads and automated email responses. FormKeep makes it easy to create the back-end of forms in a matter of minutes without writing any code. You simply work your way through a few pages (above) where you pick a structural back-end template - as opposed to the kind of visual front-end templates we’ve been looking at until now - and then define parameters like the email address you want messages to be sent to, page redirects and all of that functional magic.  Now, you’re going to end up with very bland forms by using the default output from FormKeep but this is because the platform is geared towards designers and developers who want to customise the front-end of their forms with their own CSS and possibly even a little JavaScript for added flavour. If that doesn’t sound like much help, then this probably isn’t the tool for you - and that’s fine. If you or your team is comfortable with CSS but not the more complex server side coding involved in creating secure, functional forms, then FormKeep will take care of the technical aspects while giving you complete freedom over front-end design. Aside from that, you’re not going to get any additional features like form analytics, A/B testing or any fancy stuff - so all of this will need to come from elsewhere. ## **21.** [**SurveyAnyplace**](https://surveyanyplace.com/) **(A premium option for interactive forms and surveys)** **Pricing starts from $33/month** If surveys and questionnaires are a priority in your web form strategy, then SurveyAnyplace is the premium option for you. We looked at Typeform earlier, as a more affordable option for this, and SurveyAnyplace is the specialist choice you’re going to have to pay more for. However, you are getting a premium feature set in return for your money.  Above all, you get more flexibility in the type of surveys and questionnaires you want to deliver and the variety of form fields you have at your disposal. But SurveyAnyplace backs this up with analytics and reporting that allows you to create campaigns around your surveys and the data you collect. SurveyAnyplace isn’t designed for creating regular web forms so this is something you’ll want to use in addition to a dedicated web form builder. ## **22.** [**Contact Form 7**](https://wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7/) **(The ideal plugin for basic, flexible WordPress forms that look the part)** **Free** As the name suggests, this plugin is ideal if you just want to add basic contact forms to your WordPress website. To create a new form, you can either choose a template to customise or create a custom form yourself by clicking the label buttons that appear in the editor. It’s not the most glamourous of user experiences but it’s quick and effective for anyone who’s already familiar with the WordPress interface.  You can manage multiple forms using this plugin but you’re going to get anything in terms of data collection, tracking, analytics or optimisation features. So you’re going to need to get this functionality from third-party tools to implement any kind of lead generation strategy. Contact Form 7 simply makes it quick and easy to add contact forms to any page on a WordPress site - the rest is up to you. ## **23.** [**Conversational Form**](https://space10-community.github.io/conversational-form/landingpage/) **(The open-source option for chatbot-style web forms)** **Free** Conversational Form is an open-source framework developed by SPACE10 that allows you to turn web forms into conversations. You can use Conversational Form to segment leads while they sign up by providing answer options and refining the conversation as it progresses. In many ways, this is an open-source chatbot alternative to some of the more conversational form builders, although you don’t get the same analytics and optimisation features to pinpoint sign-up issues that are getting in the way of conversions. Those are some big ommissions in terms of lead generation and form optimisation but Conversational Forms provides an engaging alternative to standard form experience - something we would like to see more of. ## **24.** [**Zoho Forms**](https://www.zoho.com/forms/) **(Reasonable prices and the ideal choice for Zoho users)** **Pricing starts from $6.33/month** By all accounts, Zoho Forms is a solid form builder that offers an impressive amount of versatility for very reasonable prices. This tool is built with data collection in mind and you’re always going to get the best experience if you’re already using Zoho’s CRM platform for lead management.  This is one of the most complete form builders on the market with technology like conditional logic and dedicated form analytics for measuring performance. The only criticism we have os that the analytics don’t really go far enough to help you diagnose issues. For example, you can’t see which fields users last interact with before quitting a form to pinpoint where they’re having problems. Likewise, you can’t measure how long it’s taking users to complete specific fields or entire forms to diagnose issues. This is one area where form builders in general really need to improve. ## **25.** [**FastField**](https://www.fastfieldforms.com/index.html) **(Quick, easy forms but not the cheapest option on the market)** **Pricing starts from $20/month per user** As its name suggests, FastField is designed to make form creation quick and easy for all technical levels. In this regard, the platform achieves its goal by allowing you to create relatively complex forms in minutes. It’s by no means the cheapest option on the market but there aren’t many alternatives that make this level of form creation and customisation so quick and easy.  FastField is geared towards data collection and allows you to add advanced field types, such as scores for feedback forms, multiple-choice questions and image uploads. So, if you’re looking for a platform that makes forms, feedback and surveys quick and easy to deploy, this is definitely an option to look at. ### **What’s the best form builder?** This really depends on the kind of forms you want to build. If you’re looking for lead gen forms that get the best performance, start with Typeform – you’ll quickly realise how indispensable detailed form analytics is. On the other hand, if you’re more interested in publishing reports, FormSite acts as a great survey builder and tool for publishing your results. Likewise, FormAssembly could be the choice for you if your forms and surveys are too long even for multistep designs. This seems like the perfect time for a quick price comparison and a summary of the reasons to consider each of the form builders we’ve looked at in this article. So, here you go. | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | **Entry price** | **Top price** | **Reason to buy** | | | | | | | Typeform | $35 | $70 | Surveys & questionnaires | | SamCart | $49 | $199 | Product & checkout forms | | Gravity Forms | $59/yr | $259/yr | Payment forms | | Ninja Forms | $99/yr | $499/yr | Basic WordPress forms | | Qzzr | $24.99 | $199 | Quizzes | | Wufoo | $14.08 | $183.25 | The cheap and cheerful option | | JotForm | Free | $82.50 | Flexible design choices | | Paperform | $12.50 | $82.50+ | Creating forms for customers | | Google Forms | Free | | Free, flexible forms | | FormSite | Free | $88.95 | Publishing results from form data | | FormGet | $10\* | | One-off $10 payments per form | | FormAssembly | $89\*\* | $599+\*\* | Data collection | | HubSpot Forms | Free | | Using with HubSpot's free CRM | | Pabbly | $10\*\*\* | | Unrestricted features for 1-2 forms | | Forminator | Free | $49 | Powerful form builder plugin for WordPress | | FormCrafts | $15 | $195 | Affordable choice for 5-10 forms | | Formstack | $19 | $249 | Easy-to-use for all levels | | Clearbit Forms | $99 | | Powerful tool, perfect for Clearbit users | | FormKeep | $4.99\* | $7.50\* | API for web forms on sites, apps & software | | SurveyAnyplace | $33 | $50 | Interactive forms and surveys | | Contact Form 7 | Free | | Simple, easy contact forms for WordPress | | Conversational Form | Free | | Chatbot style web forms | | Zoho Forms | $6.33 | $64 | Powerful, reasonable prices, perfect for Zoho users | | FastField | $20\*\*\* | | Complex forms made easy | *\*one-off fee per form \*\*per month, per user \*\*\*per month, per form* That should help you narrow down your options and create a shortlist of options to try out. However, you’re going to want to add other options to your form toolkit for quizzes, surveys and longer feedback forms, which is where options like Qzzr and FastField prove their worth. ## FAQ **What is the best form builder for WordPress websites?** Ninja Forms is the best form builder specifically designed for WordPress, offering **advanced customisation options** that rival standalone platforms. It integrates seamlessly with your WordPress dashboard and allows you to build complex forms without leaving your site, making it ideal for businesses already invested in the WordPress ecosystem. **Which form builder is cheapest for small businesses?** Wufoo is the most affordable form builder option, delivering **professional functionality at budget-friendly prices** without compromising on essential features. It's perfect for small businesses and startups that need reliable form creation without enterprise-level costs. **What form builder should I use for collecting payments?** Both Gravity Forms and SamCart excel at payment collection, but your choice depends on your use case: **Gravity Forms handles general payment forms** across various industries, whilst SamCart specialises in product checkouts and e-commerce transactions. For straightforward payment processing, Feathery also offers seamless payment form integration. **Can form builders improve conversion rates?** Yes, high-converting form builders directly impact your conversion rates by reducing friction in the user experience and capturing leads at critical touchpoints. The right form builder combines intuitive design, mobile optimisation, and strategic placement to **maximise lead capture and customer conversions** across your website. **What's the difference between Typeform and other form builders?** Typeform specialises in creating engaging surveys and questionnaires with a **conversational, user-friendly interface** that feels more like a chat than a traditional form. Whilst other builders focus on lead capture and payments, Typeform prioritises respondent experience and data collection through interactive, visually appealing forms. **Which form builder is best for onboarding new users?** Feathery is purpose-built for onboarding flows, combining form collection with **seamless payment and login integration** in a single platform. This makes it ideal for SaaS companies and platforms that need to guide users through signup, verification, and initial payment in one cohesive experience. **Do I need coding skills to use form builders?** No, modern form builders like Typeform, Wufoo, and Ninja Forms are designed for non-technical users with **drag-and-drop interfaces requiring no coding knowledge**. However, advanced builders like Gravity Forms offer custom code options for developers who want deeper customisation capabilities. --- # 28 Sales Automation Tools to Skyrocket Your Sales URL: https://ventureharbour.com/sales-automation-tools-to-skyrocket-your-sales/ Summary: Skyrocket your sales and marketing performance with these 30+ sales automation tools - we'ev used them all to make big things happen. Last updated: 2026-04-11 08:53:48 If you're not automating your sales process, you're getting left behind. With today's range of tools, businesses of all sizes are turning automation into bigger results. This means it's not only the leading brands in your industry you need to try and catch up with but also the smaller enterprises who now have the tools to leapfrog you - unless you make the jump first. In this article, we've got 28 automation tools that you can use to generate more leads and turn more of them into paying customers. We've categorised the automation tools in this article into the following categories: 1. **Automation tools for identifying new prospects** 2. **Sales & PPC automation** 3. **Convert more leads with these automation tools** 4. **Sales & lead nurturing automation** 5. **Automating technical SEO and conversion optimisation** 6. **Streamline your design and development processes** You can jump right ahead to each of those categories by clicking on them in the list above. Otherwise, let's get started by looking at an automation tool that'll help you identify new prospects to target. ## Automation tools for identifying new prospects ### #1: [Datanyze](https://www.datanyze.com/)  First up, we've got Datanyze and this tool helps you pinpoint businesses that need your technology products/services by telling you which kind of technologies they're already using. Developing a new WordPress plugin? Then Datanyze will help you build a list of companies using the CMS rather than wasting time with companies using Drupal or Wix. ### #2: [ZoomInfo](https://www.zoominfo.com/)  ZoomInfo also helps you find and refine your list of new prospects by searching for companies based on industry, location, company size, company revenue, job title, job function and all kinds of other data points. ### #3: [Socedo](https://www.socedo.com/) If you're after a B2B lead generation hack for Twitter, Socedo provides a platform to find qualified prospects on the social network and automate your first interaction with them. ### #4: [LeadFuze](https://www.leadfuze.com/)  LeadFuze powers your LinkedIn prospecting efforts by searching for leads in specific roles and industries, plus a range of data points such as location, software choices, Google Ads spend and plenty more. With LeadFuze, you don't need to do all of this manually for each individual contact - you can do it all at scale. ## Social & PPC automation ### #5: [Hootsuite](https://hootsuite.com/)  Managing one social media account is time-consuming enough, let alone having to manage multiple. Hootsuite allows you to manage all of them from one place, get insights for your entire social marketing strategy and - most importantly - schedule and automate your posts. ### #6: [CoSchedule](https://coschedule.com/)  CoSchedule is a pretty good alternative to Hootsuite (although its automation and analytics features aren't so good) but it really shines as a social media calendar for teams. You get a bird's-eye view of who's publishing what on which day and you can use it to automatically publish your WordPress posts to each social account. ### #7: [Mentionlytics](https://www.mentionlytics.com/?utm_source=capterra&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=reputation_management)  Mentionalytics shows you what people are saying about your brand across social media, online news, blogs and just about any website. If you're being mentioned, this platform will tell you about it and this is a vital tool for gauging the impact of your brand awareness campaigns - not to mention a powerful lead generation tool. ### #8: [Google Ads scripts](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/scripts/docs/start)  Google Ads scripts (previously Google Ads scripts) allows you to automate all kinds of advertising actions, such as bid adjustments based on specific parameters. For example, you can create a script that automatically pauses your ads if they drop below a certain return on ad spend (ROAS) or other KPI for a week - so you're not wasting money on ads that aren't performing. ### #9: [AdScale](https://adscale.com/)  If scripts aren't for you but you still want to automate your PPC strategy (and you *do*, btw) then you might want to take a look at AdScale. This platform makes Google Ads automation easy, even if it comes at the expense of being less flexible. ## Convert more leads with these automation tools Once you've identified your new prospects and got them on your website, you need to convert them into valuable leads. In most cases, this means getting your hands on their email address or engaging them with some kind of meaningful interaction. ### #10: [Optinmonster](https://optinmonster.com/)  Popups are always a controversial topic in marketing. Implement them effectively and they can get results but you always have to deal with the fact you're interrupting the user experience. Optinmonster's exit-intent pop-ups are a great compromise as they only trigger when it appears a user is about to leave your site. ### #11: [Botsify](https://botsify.com/)  Botsify recently made it onto [our list of the best chatbot builders](/best-chatbot-builders/) and the fact it's one of the most flexible builders on the market right now is precisely why it's getting our recommendation in this article as well. ### #12: Leadformly Leadformly is an advanced form design and analytics platform that maximises your email sign-ups. We've used this tool to [increase conversion rates for our clients by up to 300%](/multi-step-lead-forms-get-300-conversions/) and the platform's multi-step uses conditional logic to automatically segment your leads as they complete your forms. So, aside from increasing your conversion rates, Leadformly also increases the quality of your leads without your sales team needing to do any extra work. ### #13: [Everwebinar](/recommends/everwebinar/)  Everwebinar allows you to automate your webinar marketing strategy to get the most out of every event you host. Instead of holding live events, you create your webinars and schedule them to play at fixed times (e.g.: every 30 mins) so users are always a matter of minutes away from being able to watch your webinar. We combine Everwebinar with Leadformly to create a fully automated webinar strategy that generates a constant stream of leads for us. ### #14: [WordPress Content Personalisation Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-content-personalization/)  The key to increasing the quality of your leads is to create more engaging, personalised experiences. This is precisely what we do with conditional logic using Leadformly and we've decided to take this even further with our WordPress content personalisation plugin. Let's say you have an article on the best hosting providers that is performing well in search. The plugin allows you to create sections for different audiences (e.g.: business size, business type, budget, etc.) and ask readers to choose which applies to them so they only see the content you created with their specific needs in mind. ### #15: [Optimizely Web Personalisation](https://www.optimizely.com/products/personalization/)  Optimizely takes content personalisation to another level entirely, allowing you to show different messages to users based on the ad they've clicked, the channels they've come from, and how many times they've visited your site before. ## Sales & lead nurturing automation With your lead generation strategy automated and maximising results, it's time to start thinking about how to nurture these leads and make sure more of them turn into paying customers. ### #16: [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) [](/recommends/activecampaign/) The first thing you're going to need for this is a customer relationship management (CMS) platform that packs some mighty automation features. It's hard to find a more complete package than ActiveCampaign without paying heavy monthly fees and automation is one area where the platform really shines - especially on the email marketing side of things. ### #17: [Zapier](https://zapier.com/)  If you're new to automation, this is the first tool you want to get your hands on. While it's very basic in terms of what you can do, Zapier will give you the best introduction to automation you could ### #18: [Autopilot](https://www.autopilothq.com/)  If you've already got a CRM but it doesn't offer enough in terms of automation, then a tool like Autopilot is the kind of platform you want to integrate. Its visual automation builder makes it incredibly easy to create your own workflows and the list of platforms it integrates with is only growing - so take a look. ### #19: [Bitly](https://bitly.com/)  Bitly assigns unique links to users so you can identify and track them across devices. This helps you create more relevant experiences as people move along the buying journey, regardless of which devices they switch between. ### #20: [Ghost Inspector](https://ghostinspector.com/)  Ghost Inspector automates post-development tests and it's especially good for tracking down regression bugs caused by updates or technical issues. We currently run about 150 automated tests per day using this tool, which we simply wouldn't be able to do manually. ### #21: [Retrace](https://stackify.com/retrace/) by Stackify  Retrace improves the quality of your developers' code by finding bugs and identifying opportunities to improve performance *while* they write their code. This also helps you implement coding style guides and internal best practices for better consistency. ### #22: [Pandadoc](https://www.pandadoc.com/)  One of the most time-consuming tasks for B2B businesses is creating proposals and quotes for prospective clients. The problem is, the more leads you deal with, the more of these quotes and proposals you have to create, which results in a kind of negative process. To prevent your team from getting bogged down with quotes and proposals, you want to automate as much of this process as possible. Pandadoc is a great tool for this and we use it ourselves with Leadformly to automate the majority of our quotes and proposals. You can find out more about how we do this by reading [our guide to automating quotes and proposals](/sales-automation-tools-to-skyrocket-your-sales/). ### #23: [Helpscout](https://www.helpscout.net/)  Helpscout is all about providing the best possible customers service for the people who matter most to your business. It gives you an integrated system for email and live chat support, allowing you to respond quickly to every customer query and keep track of progress. ### #24: [Ambition](https://ambition.com/)  Ambition is a sales performance management system designed to help you build more productive sales teams and motivate them to achieve better results. It's a data-orientated platform where you can set goals, create scorecards, run sales contests and inspire your sales reps to reach new levels. ## Automating technical SEO and conversion optimisation One first marketing tasks to benefit from automation was technical SEO and this is still one of the best use cases for the technology, allowing your team to focus on the more creative side of search optimisation while knowing the more technical stuff is still being taken care of. ### #25: [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) for checking backlinks  We know that backlinks are still one of the most important ranking factors in Google (pretty much the most important). It's not only good links Google is looking out for though and one of the most damaging things to your search ranking is low-quality links. Sadly, these are often the most common links you're going to get and you need to keep on top of the sites pointing towards your domain. This is where automated link audits are essential and this feature alone makes Ahrefs an invaluable tool. ### #26: [SEMrush](https://www.semrush.com/) for site audits  While Ahrefs's automated backlink checker is the best in the businesses (as far as we're concerned), SEMrush's on-site auditing tools are incredible. With these two platforms you almost don't need to run any manual audits and you know you're going to get an alert when any technical issues crop up. ### #27: [Hotjar](https://www.hotjar.com/)  Hotjar reveals user behaviour on your website with heatmaps, conversion funnel reports and you can even record user sessions to see what they’re up to. These insights help you improve the user experience and remove conversion barriers that stop visitors moving along your sales funnels. ## Streamline your design and development processes ### #28: [InVision](https://www.invisionapp.com/) InVision is a project management tool for design teams that takes the pain out of collaboration with a bunch of productivity features. One of our favourites is the interactive build mode, which means your designers can turn their static mockups into interactive demos, allowing others to click on elements and see what actions take place. ### Automating success starts with the right tools Automation tools are starting to mature at an exciting time for marketers and new businesses. With the tools now available, even the smallest of ventures can do sales and marketing like a major brand, as long as you know which tools to choose for your needs. --- # 30 Best Chrome Extensions for Productivity in 2026 URL: https://ventureharbour.com/30-best-chrome-extensions-for-productivity-in-2020/ Summary: Discover the best Chrome productivity extensions to boost your workflow. We've tested 15+ tools to help you work smarter. See our top picks. Last updated: 2026-04-16 06:04:15 Chrome is the world's most popular web browser, powering almost 70% of internet sessions, according to [data from StatCounter](https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/desktop/worldwide/#monthly-200901-201807). One of the biggest strengths of Google's browser is its extensive library of extensions that allow you to add extra functionality and make the web a more powerful tool. In this article, we're looking at some of the best Chrome extensions for productivity so you can complete a whole bunch of tasks without leaving the browser. ## Which tools are we looking at in this article? In this article, we've got 30 of the best chrome extensions that will help you boost your productivity. And, as this is a fairly long list to scroll through, I'm breaking these extensions up into the following four categories. **Improving focus:** 1. **Freedom.to:** Block distracting websites and apps to stay focused. 2. **Rescue Time:** Block websites and apps that are getting in the way of your workflow. 3. **News Feed Eradicator:** Block your Facebook News Feed. 4. **Todobook:** Replace your Facebook News Feed with a Todo list. 5. **Forest:** Gamify productivity by growing digital trees every time you complete a task. 6. **TimeWarp:** Block websites with redirects, quotes or timers. 7. **Noisli:** Play **Task management:** 8. **Todoist:** Create and manage tasks in-browser*.* 9. **Win the Day:** Set goals, track habits and use focus tools in Chrome. 10. **Any.do Extension:** Manage tasks as you browse the web. 11. **ClickUp:** Five productivity features rolled into one extension. 12. **Toggl Button:** Integrate Toggl with Chrome and activate in-browser. 13. **TrackingTime:** Manage projects, track working times and measure productivity. 14. **Clockify:** Track time from anywhere on the web with one click. **Content creation/planning:** 15. **Pocket:** Save web pages for viewing later with a single click. 16. **Evernote Web Clipper:** Clip, annotate, highlight and store parts of a webpage. 17. **Grammarly:** Automatic spelling and grammar corrections/suggestions. 18. **Airstory:** Capture text and images from web pages to use as research or sources for your own content. 19. **Diigo Web Collector:** Bookmark pages, capture text, screenshot and annotate content. 20. **Just Read Premium:** Turn web pages into text-only documents with a single click. 21. **Google Dictionary:** Instant definitions for words you highlight. 22. **Panda 5:** Replace the new tab page with all your favourite websites. 23. **Save to Google Drive:** Does exactly what it says. 24. **Pixlr Editor:** A free, in-browser alternative to Photoshop. **Faster browsing:** 25. **OneTab:** Save open tabs into a list for later to save memory. 26. **Adblock Plus:** Block obtrusive ads. 27. **The Great Suspender:** Suspend open tabs after a set period of time to save memory. 28. **LastPass:** A free password manager extension. 29. **Pushbullet:** Connect all of your devices and manage messages inside Chrome. 30. **Chrome Remote Desktop:** Access other computers and allow others to access your machine securely. Some of the extensions listed in this article are standalone add-ons and most of these are completely free. Others integrate third-party apps with Chrome and you'll have to pay for the third-party app for the extension to function. All of this will be stated as we look at each extension. ## Improve your focus with these Chrome extensions First up, we've got some of the best Chrome extensions that will help you improve your focus and get more done in the working day. ### #1: [Freedom.to](https://freedom.to/) Freedom.to is a powerful website and app blocker that helps you stay focused by preventing access to distracting sites and applications. With its Chrome extension, you can easily start focus sessions, schedule recurring blocks, and customize your block lists to suit your workflow. Whether you're working remotely or just want to minimize distractions, Freedom.to provides a simple and effective way to reclaim your attention and boost your productivity. ### #2: [RescueTime](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/rescuetime-for-chrome-and/bdakmnplckeopfghnlpocafcepegjeap) RescueTime is a lot like Freedom.to's website and app blocker feature that stops you accessing distractions like Facebook and emails that interrupt your workflow.  RescueTime's extension means you can activate the tool with a single click and update your block list form within the Chrome browser. One thing that sets RescueTime apart is that it tracks your behaviour and scores your productivity. This data is presented in reports, which you can use to see where your productivity is suffering and put fixes in place - a great feature, as long as you're happy with the app tracking your actions. ### #3: [News Feed Eradicator](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/news-feed-eradicator-for/fjcldmjmjhkklehbacihaiopjklihlgg) The News Feed Eradicator plugin is a simple tool that blocks the News Feed in Facebook and replaces it with an inspirational quote.  You can still access the social network and use key functionality, such as sending messages or searching for contacts - something that can be important for many remote workers (journalists, for example). But you won't find yourself getting lost in your News Feed for hours when you should be replying to that work message instead. ### #4: [Todobook](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/todobook/ihbejplhkeifejcpijadinaicidddbde?hl=en) Todobook is a lot like the News Feed Eradicator in concept, except it replaces your Facebook News Feed with a to-do list.  Once again, you keep all of the core functionality of Facebook but you won't get stuck looking at your friends' holiday pictures and wondering why everyone else seems so satisfied with their lives (they're not anyway). ### #5: [Forest](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/forest-stay-focused-be-pr/kjacjjdnoddnpbbcjilcajfhhbdhkpgk) Forest is unlike any other productivity app you'll come across. Instead of blocking access to your most distracting websites, it encourages you to *choose* to stay away from them.  Every time you plant a seed in Forest, a digital tree starts to grow over the next 30 minutes. If you resist the urge to visit the websites on your blacklist, your tree will thrive; if you give in to the temptation, your tree will wither. The more you avoid the websites on your list, the larger your digital forest will grow. ### #6: [Timewarp](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/timewarp/mmmhadpnjmokjbmgamifipkjddhlfkhi) Timewarp is another website blocker extension for Chrome and it uses a concept called wormholes to restrict your access. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-KN\_99TisU There are three types of "wormholes" you can create using Timewarp: - **Redirect:** Takes you to a more productive site which you specify. - **Quote:** Shows your most motivational quote. - **Timer:** Displays the time you've spent on the site today. When you try to access any of the sites on your lists, you'll be kindly reminded that there are more important things to be getting on with. ### #7: [Noilsi](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/noisli/klejemegaoblahjdpcajmpcnjjmkmkkf) Noisli allows you to listen to playlists designed to increase focus while you work.  You can listen to existing playlists on the platform or create your own by choosing from an archive of sounds that includes rain, waves, birds and an extensive collection of soothing sounds. You can even create your mix by layering sounds together. ## Manage tasks with these Chrome extensions Next, we're looking at the best Chrome extensions for managing tasks and projects. ### #8: [Todoist](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/todoist-for-chrome/jldhpllghnbhlbpcmnajkpdmadaolakh?hl=en) Todoist is one of the most popular task management apps, turning the classic to-do list concept into a work management tool.  With the Chrome extensions, you can access Todoists key features within a few clicks, checking off tasks as completed, creating new tasks and managing existing ones, for example. If you're looking to manage your workdays on a task-by-task basis, Todoist is definitely worth a look. ### #9: [Win the Day](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/win-the-day/dkpfcdajmlidnigklffoploblagkncic?hl=en) Win the Day turns your Chrome browser into a task management and productivity platform.  The visual design might be a little crude but the functionality of this extension is solid. You can create goals, add deadlines, set daily targets and measure progress - all from within the browser. ### #10: [Any.do Extension](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/anydo-extension/kdadialhpiikehpdeejjeiikopddkjem) Any.do is another impressive task management app and one of the best mobile experiences I've come across in this niche. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc0t5i0T5Gk The web app creates a seamless cross-device experience and the Chrome extension provides access to key functionality without ever needing to open the app. This is how cross-device experiences are meant to feel. ### #11: [ClickUp](/recommends/clickup/) ClickUp's Chrome extension primarily acts as a task management tool but it also packs in a few extra productivity features to help you get more done.  Aside from creating tasks, you can also save websites, take and edit screenshots, email tasks to contacts and use the built-in notepad to jot down anything important. You can also use the extension to activate ClickUp's time tracking feature from within Chrome. ### #12: [Toggl Button](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/toggl-button-productivity/oejgccbfbmkkpaidnkphaiaecficdnfn?hl=en) Speaking of time tracking, it wouldn't be right to ignore Toggl and its Toggl Button extension. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZL5twJnf2E With Toggl Button, you can activate Toggle's timer and productivity tracking with a single click. Now, there are plenty of tools available that will track your productivity in Chrome but Toggl's integration with apps like Trello, Asana, Todoist and hundreds of other tools gives you advanced insights into where you're spending your time. ### #13: [TrackingTime](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/trackingtime-time-tracker/knailkjkjcfegledhjhcfacdngnicimb/related?hl=en) TrackingTime is primarily a task management tool with integrated time tracking features.  Using the Chrome extension, you can create tasks and sub-tasks, activate time tracking, and leave comments on tasks without navigating to the web app. ### #14: [Clockify](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/clockify-time-tracker/pmjeegjhjdlccodhacdgbgfagbpmccpe) Clockify is the most direct rival to Toggl among these productivity tools and its Chrome extension also brings key functionality to your browser.  If you're a fan of the Pomodoro Technique (working in 25-minute sessions followed by a five-minute break), you might be interested to know that Clockify comes with a built-in Pomodoro timer, which you can activate via the Chrome extension. One of my favourite features of this extension, though, is that you can start/stop the timer from anywhere with the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+U on Windows or Cmd+Shift+U on Mac. ## Create content faster with these Chrome extensions In the digital age, most of us are content creators to some extent and producing quality content takes time. So you could use all the help you can get with these productivity tools to create content faster. ### #15: Pocket Pocket allows you to save web pages for viewing at a later date and this is still one of my favourite content research and planning tools.  Whenever you come across a piece of content that might be useful later, simply click the Pocket icon in your browser and save it for the right time. I can't tell you how many searches produce content that's not quite relevant to what I'm looking for in the moment but will clearly be of use later - and Pocket keeps useful content one click away. ### #16: [Evernote Web Clipper](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/evernote-web-clipper/pioclpoplcdbaefihamjohnefbikjilc) Evernote Web Clipper allows you to screenshot any page or snippet of a page and highlight sections or annotate with notes.  Rather than saving content for later, this is a great tool for active research when you're trying to compile a body of information and resources to build your own content around. This is especially useful for larger pieces of content that require a lot of citations, evidence, examples or stats. ### #17: [Grammarly](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/grammarly-for-chrome/kbfnbcaeplbcioakkpcpgfkobkghlhen) Grammarly is the first automated spelling and grammar checker that I've ever considered good enough to recommend using.  Don't get me wrong, it's not going to fix all of your writing problems but it is good enough at catching basic spelling and grammar mistakes (not to mention typos) that it does reduce the amount of time you (or, ideally, someone else) spends on proofreading and editing. ### #18: [Airstory](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/airstory/hbbiclkampjdicikmgffdlmpneocglgp/related) Airstory is a research tool that allows you to highlight text and save it notes for later use.  All you need to do is highlight text in the browser, right-click on the highlighted text and then save it as a note in Airstory. You can also highlight multiple pieces of text as you scroll down the page and save them as a single note, including any images that are relevant. Within a few clicks, you've created notes that only include the information you need. ### #19: [Diigo](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/diigo-web-collector-captu/pnhplgjpclknigjpccbcnmicgcieojbh) Diigo combines a lot of the features we've seen from the other productivity extensions we've looked at in this section. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpiVOWaqgys Much like Pocket, you can save web pages for viewing later. You can also take screenshots and annotate them in a similar way to Evernote Web Clipper. Something else you can do with Diigo is share pages and resources, making this a great tool for content teams that need to collaborate on pieces. ### #20: Just Read Premium Just Read Premium is a Chrome Extension that turns web pages into plain text files in the browser. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t06dUD80MyM If you ever find yourself trying to read web pages overloaded with ads and crappy layouts, Just Read removes all the distractions for you. Simply click the extension button and the page will be converted into a simple text format so you can focus on actually reading the content. ### #21: [Google Dictionary](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-dictionary-by-goog/mgijmajocgfcbeboacabfgobmjgjcoja?hl=en-US) The Google Dictionary Chrome extension allows you to highlight words in the browser and get instant definitions.  Dictionaries are important for any serious research project and having an extension that automates the looking-up process is a major time saver. This is probably the simplest Chrome extension in this article but also one of the most useful. ### #22: [Panda 5](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/panda-5-your-favorite-web/haafibkemckmbknhfkiiniobjpgkebko) Panda 5 turns the new tab page into a portal of all your favourite websites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPDC22SHQLs If you constantly find yourself accessing the same bunch of websites for work, research or projects, Panda 5 makes these accessible every time you open a new tab. Once again, simple but very useful. ### #23: [Save to Google Drive](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/save-to-google-drive/gmbmikajjgmnabiglmofipeabaddhgne) Save to Google Drive is a Chrome extension built by the Google Drive team itself. As the name suggests, this extension allows you to save web content to Google Drive with a single click. You can save documents and images, as well as HTML 5 video and audio. ### #24: [Pixlr Editor](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pixlr-editor/icmaknaampgiegkcjlimdiidlhopknpk?hl=en) Pixlr Editor is a free photo editor that opens in the browser. Essentially, it's like a simple version of Photoshop that you can use in Chrome without any native software.  Pixlr might not match Photoshop's native desktop app in terms of functionality but it is a capable tool for most photo editing needs. Crucially, you can create and edit layers in Pixlr, which opens up a lot of possibilities for advanced photo editing. For a free, in-browser tool, I have no complaints at all. ## Browse faster with these Chrome extensions One of the biggest technical problems with the Chrome browser is that it suffers from some speed and CPU issues. I've switched browsers in the past due to this but ended up turning back to Chrome as my default browser every time. Luckily, there are a number of extensions that will help you speed up Chrome and relieve CPU stress. ### #25: [OneTab](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/onetab/chphlpgkkbolifaimnlloiipkdnihall?hl=en) The OneTab Chrome extension allows you to save all of the tabs within a browser window into a list, which you can access and reopen at a later date.  If you're anything like me, you could have dozens of Chrome tabs open at any time and this is a serious performance killer. OneTab is a great solution if you find yourself leaving a bunch of tabs open that you don't need now but you want to keep them accessible for later. ### #26: [Adblock Plus](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adblock-plus-free-ad-bloc/cfhdojbkjhnklbpkdaibdccddilifddb/related) I think Adblock Plus was the first Chrome extension I ever downloaded and it was the first one re-downloaded when I came back to Chrome.  There is a genuine issue with the web in terms of how websites are able to monetise and a lack of options outside of advertising, especially for publishers. Unfortunately, though, the vast majority of ad implementations are highly intrusive and, until this changes, ad blockers are going to remain highly popular. ### #27: The Great Suspender The Great Suspender was an extension I only discovered while I was researching for this article but it has remained installed and activated ever since.  Earlier, we looked at OneTab, which allows you to save open tabs as a list and temporarily close them. Now, The Great Suspender automatically kills pages after they've been inactive for a set period and automatically reloads them once you navigate to them again (you can also turn aromatic reloading off). Chrome becomes a much faster browser and so does your computer without so much of its CPU being hogged up by active tabs. ### #28: [LastPass](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lastpass-free-password-ma/hdokiejnpimakedhajhdlcegeplioahd) We all know we *should* have unique and equally complex passwords every platform we sign into but who on this planet is going to remember all of these? It's not as if a notebook or online document filled with all of your passwords is any better for security.  With LastPass, you don't need to remember your passwords or find a way to securely store and access them. Essentially, LastPass allows you to store all of your usernames and passwords securely and access everything with a single password via LastPass. Problem solved. ### #29: [Pushbullet](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pushbullet/chlffgpmiacpedhhbkiomidkjlcfhogd) Pushbullet brings all of your messaging into Chrome so you can keep the conversations going without navigating between different apps.  You can send and receive SMS messages from your computer and chat via popular apps like WhatsApp, Kik and Facebook Messenger. If streamlined communication is important for your workflow, then Pushbullet could be a crucial tool. For me, personally, messaging tends to get in the way of my progress but I understand this doesn't apply to everyone. ### #30: Chrome Remote Desktop Chrome Remote Desktop allows you to access other devices securely over the internet. With this extension, you can access other people's devices, allowing them to access your own. This can be crucial for remote teams when you need technical support to fix a problem with your computer or help someone else who's having problems with their own. The last thing you want is these issues bringing a remote team to a standstill. ## Which are your favourite Chrome extensions? Having used all of the Chrome extensions in this article, I've currently got around half a dozen of them active in my browser right now and probably another half a dozen or so installed for use when I need them. For the ultimate productivity extension, I would have to recommend Freedom.to because it packs so many scientifically-backed productivity features into a single tool. That being said, some of my favourite Chrome extensions are the simple ones like Pocket, Toggl Button and The Great Suspender. ## FAQ **What are the best Chrome extensions for productivity?** The best Chrome extensions for productivity fall into five key categories: focus tools, task managers, content creation aids, and browsing optimisers. This article reviews 30 of the top performers across these categories, with each extension selected based on its ability to **enhance workflow efficiency** and reduce time spent on repetitive tasks. The extensions range from distraction blockers to AI-powered writing assistants. **Which Chrome productivity extensions help you focus better?** **Focus-enhancing extensions** block distracting websites, manage notifications, and create distraction-free browsing environments to help you concentrate on important work. These tools are particularly effective for remote workers and anyone struggling with digital distractions during the workday. The article covers several dedicated focus extensions that integrate seamlessly with Chrome's interface. **Are there Chrome extensions that help manage tasks and to-do lists?** Yes, several **task management extensions** integrate directly into Chrome and allow you to create, organise, and track to-do lists without leaving your browser. These extensions sync with popular productivity platforms and help you prioritise work across multiple projects. They're particularly useful for teams that need real-time collaboration on task lists. **What Chrome extensions speed up content creation?** **Content creation extensions** use AI and automation to help you write faster, check grammar, generate ideas, and optimise copy for search engines and readability. These tools can reduce writing time by automating research, outlining, and editing tasks. The article includes extensions that cater to bloggers, marketers, and anyone who creates written content regularly. **Can Chrome extensions make browsing faster?** Yes, **browsing optimisation extensions** reduce page load times, block unnecessary ads and trackers, and streamline your navigation through the web. These extensions improve both speed and security by preventing resource-heavy elements from loading. They're essential for anyone who spends significant time researching or browsing multiple websites daily. **How many productivity extensions does Chrome have available?** Chrome's Web Store contains thousands of productivity extensions, though **quality varies significantly** across the marketplace. This article curates the 30 best options to save you time researching and testing individual tools. Focusing on proven, well-reviewed extensions rather than exploring the entire catalogue helps you implement productivity gains faster. **Do productivity Chrome extensions work on all websites?** Most productivity extensions work across the vast majority of websites, though some may have **compatibility limitations** with certain platforms or require specific permissions to function fully. Extensions that integrate with your browser's core functions (like tab management or search) tend to have broader compatibility than those targeting specific web applications. Always check an extension's compatibility requirements before installation. --- # 30+ Free Marketing Tools Compared URL: https://ventureharbour.com/free-marketing-tools/ Summary: Compare 50+ free marketing tools to build your perfect tech stack. See which platforms offer the best features, pricing & integrations. Last updated: 2026-04-10 08:28:21 Marketing tools are designed to help your business grow by making your strategies more effective and easier to execute. They're an investment and the basic principle of any growth tool is that it should empower you to earn more profit than you spend on using it. As long as you're getting enough ROI from your marketing tools, they're paying for themselves. The problem for smaller businesses, startups and bootstrap ventures is that you don't always have the budget required to make the initial investment. Without the available funds, you can't get the tools you need to hit your growth targets. Luckily, there are plenty of free marketing tools that can give you the initial leg up - as long as you know where to find them. In this article, we look at 30+ of the best free marketing tools around, which will help you get wheels in motion and start building up enough budget to invest in more serious growth platforms. ## **What tools are we looking at in this list?** If you type something like "best free marketing tools" into Google, most of the articles you'll find simply list a bunch of tools that aren't free, are no longer free, only offer free trials or provide free plans that are no use to anyone. This is *not* one of those articles. In this list, we're looking at marketing tools that are either completely free or offer free plans that genuinely help you grow your business to a point where you're ready to start paying for more advanced features. All of the companies listed in this article understand that it's in their interests (and yours) to give you the tools you need to get over the initial growth hump - *for free*. Once you get over this first barrier, your business is naturally in the position where it needs to start investing more to make more. You outgrow the limitations of free software, have enough budget to take that next step and you're more likely to spend your money on the tools you know and trust. The more you succeed, the more these software providers succeed. To make this article as digestible as possible, I'm breaking it down into the following six categories: 1. **[Planning & reporting](#section1):** Free tools that will help you research, plan and optimise your marketing strategies. 2. **[Lead generatio](#section2)**[**n**](#section2)**:** Capture more leads and turn more visitors into potential customers. 3. **[Conversion optimisatio](#section3)**[**n**](#section3) Increase conversion rates, generate even more leads and improve the effectiveness of your marketing strategies. 4. **[Email marketin](#section4)**[**g**](#section4)**:** Turn more leads into paying customers and then nurture them into repeat buyers. 5. **[Search marketin](#section5)**[**g**](#section5)**:** Increase your search presence and bring more prospects to your website. 6. **[Social medi](#section6)**[**a**](#section6)**:** Grow your social audience, generate more traffic and build brand awareness. In each category, we look at around 4-6 free marketing tools and explain exactly what you get in return for, well... nothing. And for the tools that offer both free and paid plans, we specify which features are available free version and any limitations they come with. That should give you a free tech stack that covers most of your marketing needs and achieves enough early growth to take your business to the next level. ## **Free planning & reporting tools** ### **#1: [Google Analytics](https://analytics.google.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Extensive analytics:** Google Analytics is one of the most advanced reporting and analytics platforms around - and it's completely free. - **SEO insights:** Improve your search ranking from user reports. - **Audience insights:** Learn more about your website visitors, calculate customer lifetime value and view cross-channel reports. - **Google Ads reports:** Get deeper insights into your paid advertising strategy with enhanced Google Ads reporting. - **Conversion reports:** Set conversion goals, measure conversion rates and track user actions across your website. - **Funnel analysis:** Track your sales funnel performance, diagnose issues and turn more leads into paying customers. - **Data visualisation:** Simple data visualisations to help you gain insights faster. If there's one free marketing tool that needs no introduction, it's got to be Google Analytics. I guess I don't need to say much about this one other than state the obvious: as a free analytics platform, Google delivers far more than any other provider on the market and it's staggering what you can achieve with this tool. The only real downside is that you do need some technical skills to truly get the most out of Google Analytics. Setting up user tracking, conversion goals and funnel reports is more complex in Google Analytics than some paid alternatives. But, with a bit of time - or some help from a GA expert - you can build a 360-degree view of what's happening on your website. ### **#2: [Google Trends](https://trends.google.com/trends/)**  **Key features:** - **View search interest:** See how interest in keywords, topics, related queries and related topics have changed over time. - **Compare trends:** Compare multiple keywords, queries or topics to see how interest relationships evolve. - **Regional segmentation:** View worldwide data with the options of segmenting by region, country and city. - **Trending searches:** See which topics are trending in Google Search at any one time. - **Annual reviews:** View the search trends for previous years dating back to 2001. Google Trends is such an underrated tool. I suspect this is because, at a first glance, it looks like a second-rate keyword research tool - but this isn't what it's designed for at all. Instead, Google Trends is more like a search interest tool that you can use to measure, track and compare search trends over time. This allows you to spot emerging trends, predict downward trends, view seasonal variation, compare changes in interest against major events (e.g.: the coronavirus outbreak), monitor interest in your competitors, find untapped niches and all kinds of other insights. How you use these insights is up to you. You might use them to find new content ideas, predict how much need or interest there is in a new product idea, determine which marketing campaigns to prioritise or research the pain points and use cases of your product. Google Trends may not provide the most in-depth data but you can absolutely use it to inform key marketing and business decisions. ### **#3: [SimilarWeb](https://www.similarweb.com)**  **Key features:** - **Competitor insights:** Learn from your rivals' successes and failures. - **Discover new opportunities** to capture more partners, leads or affiliates. - **Identify trends:** Discover emerging trends, new competitors and market shifts. - **Consumer intent:** Understand the purchase intent and customer journey of your target audience in greater detail. SimilarWeb is our first paid tool that offers a free plan with limited features. You can use the platform to gain insights on your competitors, find new marketing opportunities, access benchmarks for your marketing channels, carry out keyword research and a range of other crucial marketing planning activities. On the free plan, you're limited to five results per metric, one month of mobile app data and three months' web traffic data - enough to give you an early boost against some low-lying competition. ## **Free lead generation tools** ### **#4: [MobileMonkey](/recommends/mobile-monkey/)**  **Key features:** - **Multi-channel bots:** Build a single chatbot for your website, Facebook Messenger and SMS. - **Chatbot templates:** Build bots faster using MobileMonkey's library of templates. - **WordPress plugin:** Easily add bots to WordPress websites with the official MobileMonkey plugin. - **Facebook Lead Generator:** Automatically capture emails and phone numbers from Facebook users. - **Hot Lead Alerts:** Automatic alerts tell you when leads deserve your attention. - **Live Chat Takeover:** Take over the conversation as soon as you receive an alert. - **Bot analytics:** Track performance and improve your bots with built-in analytics and reporting. [MobileMonkey](/recommends/mobile-monkey/) is a chatbot and conversational marketing platform that allows you to instantly connect with website visitors, Facebook Messenger users and customers across every channel. The company currently offers a Free Forever Edition that allows you to capture an unlimited number of leads, instal bots on an unlimited number of Facebook Pages and web pages, run drip campaigns and target users with browser notifications. The key limitation on the free version is that you can only send 1,000 messages per month but this should be more than enough to get you started and paid plans start at $14.25/mo, which instantly doubles your send credits. ### **#5: [Owler](https://corp.owler.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Company data:** See data for 10 companies per month on the free plan. - **Competitive data:** See data for the top three competitors in your niche. - **News & alerts:** Track five companies for all the latest news and updates. - **Paid plans:** Access more data, advanced searches and premium features on paid plans. [Owler](https://corp.owler.com/) could easily fit into the planning and analytics section of this article as a competitor research tool but it's so much more than that. This is a business intelligence platform that not only gives you competitor insights but also helps you pinpoint target companies as potential clients. So this is very much a lead generation tool and it also fits nicely into the account-based marketing (ABM) category. On the free plan, you get access to company data from 10 businesses per month and competitive data for the top three competitors in your niche. You can also track five companies to receive news updates and alerts to keep you in the loop about key events in your industry. Once you outgrow the free version of Owler, paid plans start at very reasonable $99/year, which gives you access to company data for 50 companies per month and competitive data for 10 competitors, plus news and alerts for 25 companies. On the Pro plan ($420/year), you get unlimited company data, competitive data, news and alerts for the equivalent of $35/month. ### **#6:** [ParseHub](https://www.parsehub.com/) **Key features:** - **Web scraping:** Automatically scrape and extract data from any website. - **Code-free:** Scrape websites without coding any custom scripts. - **Click-to-scrape:** Collect data from a website or multiple websites with a single click in your web browser. - **Scrape 200 pages per run** on the free version of ParseHub. - **40-minute scrapes:** Scrape 200 pages in 40 minutes on the free plan. - **14-day retention:** Retain data for 14 days after the initial scrape. ParseHub is a free web scraper that allows you to collect data from websites without writing any code. All you have to do is open up a website, open up the ParseHub app and click to scrape the data from any site, including JavaScript pages, AJAX elements, forms and dropdown menus. There are paid versions of ParseHub, starting at $149/month, and these speed up the time it takes to scrape 200 pages of data and how many pages you can scrape in a single run. On the free version, you can capture 200 pages of data in 40 minutes but this is cut down to only 10 minutes on the Standard plan ($149/month) and two minutes on the Professional version ($499/month). For smaller businesses and startups, though, the free version of ParseHub helps you compile a good chunk of data for nothing. ### **#7: [Hello Bar](https://www.hellobar.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Hello Bars:** Place unintrusive Hello Bars across the top or bottom of your website to convert visitors without hampering the user experience. - **Popups:** Add a range of other pop-up types to your site - from modals and sliders to page takeovers and alert bells. - **10 pop-ups per site:** Add 10 pop-ups to your website on the free version of Hello Bar. - **5k views:** Up to 5,000 views per month on the Hello Bar's free plan. - **Unlimited subscribers:** Capture an unlimited number of subscribers on all Hello Bar plans, including the free version. - **Device targeting:** Set targeting options to show specific pop-ups to users based on the device they're using (other targeting options available on paid plans). - **A/B testing:** Run one live A/B test at any time on the free version of Hello Bar. Hello Bar puts unintrusive banners and pop-ups on your pages so you can place CTAs across your website with minimal impact on the user experience. Paid plans start at $29/month but the free version allows you to place up to 10 bars/pop-ups on your website with up to 5,000 views per month. Better yet, there's no limit on the number of leads you're allowed to generate from your pop-ups, which opens up a lot of potential from this free tool. You can also target users based on their device and have one A/B test running at any one time, allowing you to improve results of individual pop-ups. Paid plans give you unlimited pop-ups, advanced design options, unlimited A/B testing and more advanced targeting options. ### **#8: [Wistia](https://wistia.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Fully customisable player:** Change the player's colour, add a call to action, and more. - **Easy embedding and sharing:** Put videos on your site, send 'em in an email, or share on social media. - **Interactive video tools:** Engage your viewers with interactive links displayed right on your videos. - **Embed three videos anywhere** on the free version of Wistia. - **Unlimited users:** Invite who you want, set permissions, or use passwords. - **Advanced video analytics:** Track how your viewers interact with your videos with analytics. - **A/B testing:** Test videos to compare performance and maximise your video marketing efforts. Wistia is one of the most popular self-hosting video platforms, allowing you to retain control over your video content in a way YouTube doesn't. It also provides you with tools to help you generate leads from your video and keep users on your site, rather than encourage them to click through to another platform or watch footage from other publishers. On the free plan, you can host up to three videos to embed anywhere, manage one Wistia channel to share your videos via public links and collect up to 250 channel subscribers. You can also run A/B tests on your videos on the free version of Wistia, which should get you off to a good start with your video marketing efforts. Paid plans start at $99/mo, allowing you to host more videos, add your own branding and other features, depending on which plan you sign up to. Aside from the limited number of videos, though, the free version doesn't cripple features or restrict you in any great way. ### **#9: [Kit](/recommends/convertkit/)**  **Key features:** - **Unlimited landing pages:** Build an unlimited number of landing pages to capture leads and build your online business. - **Unlimited forms:** Create an unlimited number of forms to convert visitors into leads. - **Unlimited traffic:** Welcome unlimited visitors to your landing pages and show your forms without restrictions. - **Manage 1,000 subscribers:** Manage up to 1,000 subscribers from within Kit and send emails to increase engagement. - **Subscriber tagging:** Tag high-value leads to prioritise them in your email marketing strategy. Kit is designed for small businesses and solopreneurs who want to do what they love for a living or turn their bright ideas into viable businesses. So it only makes sense that the company offers a valuable free version of its software to help new businesses and the smallest of ventures get on their feet. On the free plan, you can create unlimited landing pages and forms to capture leads, no traffic limits to restrict the number of visitors you can welcome, email marketing campaigns and subscriber tagging to send targeted emails to audiences types. The only limitation is that you can manage up to 1,000 subscribers, no more. Paid plans start at $29/monthand these bring some valuable automation features to the platform but you're going to have to pay $49/monthonce you have more than 1,000 subscribers to manage and the pricing only increases from there. Crucially, though, Kit's pricing scales gradually, meaning you only pay more in proportion to generating more business. And the generous free plan gives you every chance of getting your online venture off to the best possible start. ## **Free conversion optimisation tools** ### **#10: [Google Optimize](https://marketingplatform.google.com/intl/en_uk/about/optimize/)**  **Key features:** - **A/B testing:** Run A/B tests and A/B/n tests on your website. - **Multivariate tests:** Test multiple elements on the same page to see which combination achieves your goals most effectively. - **Create personalised experiences** to drive more conversions and maximise lead generation. - **Visual editor:** Create new variants of a page without recoding your site every time. - **Google Analytics:** Google Optimize natively integrates with Google Analytics so you can run tests against your business objectives and gain a greater level of insights. - **5 experiments:** On the free version of Google Optimize, you're limited to running five experiments at any one time. Google's excellent suite of free marketing tools also includes the conversion optimisation platform, Google Optimize. Once again, this is a highly capable piece of software that offers an impressive array of CRO features and testing capabilities - as well as seamless integration with Google Analytics and other Google platforms. Once again, the only real issue is that setting up and managing tests in Google Optimize isn't as straightforward as some of the paid options available. For example, platforms like [VWO](/recommends/vwo/) make it easy to create and manage experiments within an excellent user interface but it takes a little longer to figure things out in Google Optimize. The main limitation on the free version of Google Optimize is that you can only run five experiments at any one time - although you can create additional experiments as drafts. That said, there aren't many (or any) free website optimisation platforms that allow you to run advanced tests in the same way as Google Optimize. ### **#11: [Google Data Studio](https://datastudio.google.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Data visualisation:** Turn data into visualisations that reveal greater insights and build valuable reports. - **Data exploration:** Explore data faster either by using SQL queries or visually without writing any code. - **Calculations:** Create custom calculations with your data and visualise the outcomes. - **Interactive visualisations**: Create interactive data visualisations and reports for external audiences, such as clients and executives. - **Real-time collaboration:** Invite team members to collaborate on visualisation and reports with real-time editing and sharing. - **Google integrations:** Full integrations with Google Analytics, Google Ads, Campaign Manager, Sheets, YouTube and every Google data source you could ever need to visualise. Your marketing strategies are only as good as the data that powers them but digits and figures will only get you so far. To inform smarter marketing decisions, you need to extract insights from your data and humans aren't particularly good at seeing patterns in spreadsheets or raw datasets. Instead, we're visual creatures and this is why it's so important for us to format data in charts, graphs and other visualisations. Google Data Studio helps you to create such visualisation so you can get more from your data and communicate findings through reports. By integrating with Google Analytics and hundreds of other data sources, you can bring all of your data into this platform, explore it to find insights and create visualisations to hone in on new findings or show them to third parties. ### **#12: [Hotjar](https://www.hotjar.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Heatmaps:** See which elements users are clicking on your pages and where they scroll to build a picture of how they interact with the most important parts of your website. - **Visitor recordings:** Record visitor sessions to reveal UX issues users are experiencing. - **Surveys:** Collect feedback directly from your users by placing surveys on your site. - **Feedback:** Ask users for feedback on specific elements or pages to assess their effectiveness. - **2k daily page views:** Collect data from up to 2,000 page views per day on the free version of Hotjar. - **Limited reports:** Manage up to 300 recordings and three heatmaps, funnels, forms, polls and surveys. - **Unlimited team members:** Provide access to every member of your team across on all Hotjar plans. Hotjar helps you understand what users are getting up to on your website so you can fix UX issues and optimise for conversions. With heatmaps, you can see which elements on the page users are clicking while scroll maps confirm whether they're reaching the most important parts of your pages. The free version of Hotjar allows you to collect data from up to 2,000 page views per day with limited reports - more than enough to get your conversion optimisation strategy off the ground. Paid plans start at $39/month but it shouldn't take before Hotjar starts paying for itself by lifting your conversion rates. ### **#13: [GTmetrix](https://gtmetrix.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Analyse page speed:** Measure page speed across your website using page load time, total page size and the number of server requests. - **Compare results:** View your pages' performance in comparison to average results on GTmetrix. - **Location testing:** Measure loading times from locations around the world to see the impact of server location and CDNs on your page speed. - **Alerts:** Set alerts based on a variety of conditions to receive warnings when performance drops below tolerance. Data from the likes of [Google](https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-ca/marketing-strategies/app-and-mobile/mobile-page-speed-new-industry-benchmarks/) and [Unbounce](/recommends/unbounce/) shows that loading times are one of the biggest conversion killers, which means taming page speed should be one of your top CRO priorities. [GTmetrix](https://gtmetrix.com/) will help you get there by providing in-depth speed reports for your pages, including page load time, total page size and the number of server requests per page load. By optimising these three key metrics, you can significantly reduce loading times and improve your chances of converting every visitor. GTmetrix also provides contextual feedback, giving you hints on how to optimise your pages - perfect, if you're not too familiar with the factors that influence page speed. ### **#14: [UsabilityHub's five-second test](https://fivesecondtest.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Five-second tests:** Get feedback from real users who see your page for just five seconds and answer questions to reveal what they can remember. - **First-click testing:** See which elements users first interact with on your pages. - **Preference tests:** See which variants users prefer and find out *why* they have this preference. - **Design surveys:** Collect user feedback about your pages and test elements. - ****Analyse impressions:**** Discover how users perceive your designs after a short exposure and spot trends with word cloud visualisations. Getting feedback from real-world users is invaluable but, generally, expensive and time-consuming. [UsabilityHub](https://usabilityhub.com/) is a software provider that aims to make user testing easier but we're not here to talk about its paid software. Instead, we're interested in one of the free tools it has to offer: the [five-second test](https://fivesecondtest.com/). This allows you to show a web page to real-world users for five seconds only. Afterwards, they'll be asked questions about what they can remember - simple stuff like what the page was about and what the headline said. The idea is that effective landing pages should be clear, concise and memorable. Essentially, if users can't remember a great deal about your page, then you need to rework it. ### **#15: [VWO](/recommends/vwo/)'s [A/B Split & Multivariate Test Duration Calculator](/recommends/vwo/)**  **Key features:** - **Determine test length:** Use VWO's A/B Split & Multivariate Test Duration Calculator to figure out how long your tests should run. - **Statistical significance:** Get an estimate of how long it will take for your tests to achieve statistical significance. [VWO](/recommends/vwo/) is another company that offers paid conversion optimisation software - one of the best on the market, in fact. However, much like UsabilityHub, it also offers a number of free tools and its A/B Split & Multivariate Test Duration Calculator is something every marketer can use for their CRO campaigns. One of the most important principles in conversion optimisation is running experiments long enough to reach statistical significance. This tells you that your results are reliable and helps rule out the skew of variables. VWO's free calculator helps you calculate how long you need to run your tests to achieve such results. The company also offers another free tool, its [A/B Split Test Significance Calculator](/recommends/vwo/), which you can use to check that your results are statistically significant once the test has run for its target duration. ## **Free email marketing tools** ### **#16: [HubSpot's free CRM & email marketing](/recommends/hubspot-free/)** [](/recommends/hubspot/) **Key features:** - **Free CRM:** Fully-featured CRM platform where you can store data for up to one million contacts. - **Email marketing:** Build and send bulk emails to engage up to 1,000 leads on the free version of HubSpot Marketing. - **List segmentation:** Create segmented email lists to deliver more relevant messages to users, based on their interests. - **Landing pages:** Create landing pages to generate more leads from your inbound marketing strategies. - **Forms:** Build forms to convert users when they land on your page. - **Live chat:** Generate leads from your web pages using HubSpot's free live chat system. HubSpot is one of the top marketing software providers in our industry and it also offers some of the best free tools available right now - most notably its impressive, [free CRM platform](/recommends/hubspot-crm/). With [a free HubSpot account](/recommends/hubspot-free/), you can also manage email marketing campaigns, create segmented lists, build as many landing pages as you need, add unlimited forms to your pages and implement live chat on your website. That's *a lot* of marketing muscle and you can even store data for up to one million contacts on the free version of HubSpot's CRM. The big limitation is that you can only send emails to up to 1,000 subscribers on the free version of HubSpot Marketing but this is a common threshold for email marketing software. If all goes well, it won't be long before your business is ready to pay for larger email marketing campaigns, especially with all of the tools and features crammed into the free version of HubSpot. ### **#17: [Mailerlite](/recommends/mailerlite/)**  **Key features:** - **Email marketing:** Build and send emails to up to 1,000 contacts on Mailerlite's free plan. - **12k emails per month:** Send up to 12,000 emails every month on the free plan. - **Email automation:** Automate your email campaigns to guide leads across the buying process without manual interactions at every touchpoint. - **Advanced segmentation:** Create highly-specific segmented lists to improve relevance and convert more leads. - **A/B testing:** Test your email campaigns to improve results. - **Website builder:** Build a free website and create up to five landing pages (or unlimited sites and landing pages for $10 per month). - **Unlimited traffic:** Welcome unlimited visitors to your website without worrying about traffic limitations. While HubSpot is geared more towards corporate and enterprise businesses, [Mailerlite](/recommends/mailerlite/) is designed specifically for smaller businesses, entrepreneurs and digital ventures. The free version of Mailerlite also offers a generous range of features, including email automation, advanced segmentation and A/B testing - all of which are often reserved as paid features on email marketing software. There are limitations, of course, and the 1,000 subscriber limit applies once again. You can send up to 12,000 emails every month on the free plan and it's worth noting that the Mailerlite logo will appear in the footer of your emails (this is removed on paid versions). Paid Mailerlite plans start from just $10/month, which makes this one of the most affordable marketing platforms around and the pricing brackets increase incrementally so you're never caught out with an excessive bill, even if you do upgrade to paid plans. ### **#18: [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue/)**  **Key features:** - **Email marketing:** Create and send email campaigns to an unlimited number of contacts on the free version of Brevo. - **Unlimited contacts:** All Brevo plans allow you to have unlimited contacts on your account. - **300 emails per day:** Send up to 300 emails per day on the free plan. - **Transactional emails:** Send transactional emails to receive payments and encourage purchases via users' inboxes. - **Free CRM:** Manage your contacts using Brevo's free CRM. - **Advanced segmentation:** Refine your email lists using advanced segmentation to deliver more relevant campaigns. - **Personalisation**: Personalise email and SMS marketing campaigns. - **Chat:** Add a chat window to your website to generate more leads from your pages and provide basic customer support. We've been using [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue/) here at Venture Harbour for many years now, mainly for one feature: its excellent transactional emails. When we first started using the platform. It was a relatively simple piece of email marketing software but it's matured and expanded a great deal since then. Now, it's a fully-functional marketing system in its own right and the free version of its software offers an impressive range of features. Most notably, you can send emails to an unlimited number of contacts on Brevo's free plan so you're not automatically bumped up onto a paid plan once your email list gets too large. Instead, you're limited to send up to 300 emails per day, which works out at around 9,000 per month. There are a few notable features missing on the free version, though. For example, the landing page builder and A/B testing are both reserved for paid plans, which start at $25/month. ### **#19: [Omnisend](/recommends/omnisend/)**  **Key features:** - **Email marketing:** Capture more e-commerce leads and turn customers into repeat buyers. - **15k emails per month:** Send 15,000 emails per month on the free version of Omnisend. - **Website tracking:** Track user behaviour on your website (data is only stored for one month on the free plan). - **Segmentation:** Create five segmentation lists on the free plan. - **Forms:** You can have three active sign-up forms at any one time. - **Popups:** Target users with exit-intent forms and pop-ups. - **Landing pages:** Create landing pages using Omnisends native builder. [Omnisend](/recommends/omnisend/)'s free plan also allows you to have unlimited subscribers and you can send up to 15,000 emails per month before upgrading to a paid version. You also get email automation features, SMS marketing, website tracking, segmentations, pop-ups, forms and a landing page builder. In terms of pure features, Onmisend offers one of the most compelling free plans and paid versions start at $16/month. The paid versions of Omnisend also bring powerful features that you can't always find elsewhere. The company's key selling point is omnichannel marketing with a heavy influence on bridging email marketing, social media, paid advertising and mobile marketing - something worth keeping in mind if you're going to benefit from these features in the future. ### **#20: [Benchmark](/recommends/benchmark/)**  **Key features:** - **Email marketing:** Create and send emails using Benchmark's builder, templates and email campaign management tools. - **Send 250 emails per month** on the free plan. - **Drip campaigns:** Create drip campaigns to automatically send emails over specified periods of time. - **Basic segmentation:** The free version of Benchmark comes with basic segmentation options to help you target specific audiences with more relevant messages. - **Forms & surveys:** Create forms to capture leads and get feedback from polls and surveys. - **Reporting:** You get full access to all of the reporting features available in Benchmark on the free plan. Benchmark wants to help you "stop wasting time on email marketing and get back to business". Once again, there's no limit on the number of contacts you can have but you are restricted to sending 250 emails a month on the free plan, which is a heavy limit. However, you do get a lot in the way of features, including automated drip campaigns, a form builder, polls and surveys, live engagement reports and heatmaps. Sadly, the landing page builder isn't available on the free plan, though, and the 250 monthly email limit means you're quickly going to outgrow the free plan. That said, Benchmark's free plan is a great way to get to grips with a wide range of email marketing features and strategies before your campaigns start making serious traction. ### **#21: [Mailjet](/recommends/mailjet/)**  **Key features:** - **Email marketing:** Create and send emails using Mailjet's Advanced Email Builder. - **Unlimited contacts:** All Mailjet plans allow you to have an unlimited number of contacts on the system. - **6k emails per month:** You can send up to 6,000 emails every month on the free plan with a daily limit of 200 emails. - **Advanced statistics:** Get in-depth email campaign performance insights from Mailjet's native reports. [Mailjet](/recommends/mailjet/) offers a far more generous 6,000 per month email limit but you're also restricted to sending 200 per day. You don't have to worry about any contact limits, though, which is always a bonus and you get full access to Mailjet's excellent email builder and advanced reporting on the free version. Paid plans start at $9.65/month, which lifts your email limit to 30,000 per month (with no daily limit) and removes all Mail jet branding from your emails. Upgrade to the Premium plan ($20.95/month) and you get A/B testing, marketing automation and segmentation to boost your campaigns. ### **#22: [CoSchedule's Email Subject Line Tester](https://coschedule.com/email-subject-line-tester)**  **Key features:** - **Create clickable subject lines:** Type in your subject line to get a score and feedback on how to improve it. - **Power words:** See which words in your subject line tend to increase opens and which ones might reduce them. - **Letter casing:** Find out which words should be capitalised. - **Subject line length:** Optimise the number of words and characters in your subject line to maximise open rates. - **Previews:** See how your subject line will appear in popular email clients on desktop and mobile. [CoSchedule](https://coschedule.com/) is a marketing management platform but the company also offers a number of free tools. As you can probably guess from its name, CoShedule's [Email Subject Line Tester](https://coschedule.com/email-subject-line-tester) helps you write better email subject lines so you can increase open rates and engagement. All you have to do is type your subject line into the online tool and you get a free analysis. The report scores your subject line and highlights words that are proven to increase open rates - as well as any proven to decrease open rates. You'll also get feedback on the length of your subject line, the use of any numbers, inclusion of power words and a preview of how your line will appear in popular email clients. You can retype or edit your subject lines to get a new score and access previous reports by clicking on them in the "Subject Line History" tab at the top of the page. This is a great tool if you're new to email marketing and 100% free. ### **#23: [Sendtric](https://www.sendtric.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Email countdown timers:** Create email countdown timers to incentivise conversions. - **No branding:** Add timers to your emails for free without any branding or watermarks. - **Pro plans:** Create unlimited timers and unlock greater customisation with pro plans starting from $9/mo. With [Sendtric](https://www.sendtric.com/), you can add countdown timers to your emails. All you have to do is fill out the form on the website's homepage, click the "Generate" button and then copy and paste the subsequent code to your HTML email template. You can do all this for free with no watermark or Sendtric branding on your emails. There are paid versions of the tool but these mainly open up more customisation and design options. ## **Free search marketing tools** ### **#24: [Google Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console/about)** **Key features:** - **Check indexability:** Confirm that Google can find and crawl your website. - **Fix indexing problems:** Resolve indexing issues and request re-indexing of new or updated content. - **Search data:** View Google Search traffic data for your site: how often your site appears in Google Search, which search queries show your site, how often searchers click through for those queries and more. - **Alerts:** Receive alerts when Google encounters indexing, spam, or other issues on your site. - **Link reports:** Show you which sites link to your website. - **Troubleshoot:** Solve issues for AMP, mobile usability and other Search features. - **Google Analytics integration:** With Google Search Console and Google Analytics, you have access to all of the data you need for technical SEO Google Search Console is our final free marketing tool from the world's biggest search engine and it's just as crucial as Google Analytics for any website owner. Search Console gives you access to essential reports that help you maintain and optimise your site for ranking properly in Google Search. You can identify and fix indexing problems, gain insights into how your site and pages rank and integrate with Google Analytics to build a full picture of your performance in search. ### **#25: [Yoast SEO](https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/)**  **Key features:** - **Easy optimisation:** Optimise WordPress pages without editing any HTML code - simply complete the fields added into the WP interface by Yoast's plugin. - **On-page SEO:** Cover the on-page SEO essentials by following the steps laid out by Yoast. - **Feedback:** Get feedback from the plugin on SEO essentials, such as keyword density, heading optimisation and content structure. - **Learn the essentials:** Learn the basics of on-page SEO by doing it for yourself. - **Google preview:** See what your post will appear like in Google Search. - **Content updates:** Yoast automatically alerts you when your best pages need updating to keep them relevant. - **Easy rich results:** Create rich results without adding any code or Schema markup to your pages. If you're running a website on WordPress, Yoast SEO is one of the first plugins you should install. This simple add-on turns the WordPress interface into an easy, on-page SEO tool that guides you through all of the essentials you should have in place before hitting the publish button. There are dedicated fields for specifying your keywords, optimising meta descriptions, creating more effective titles and using the right structure in your content. There is a paid version of Yoast SEO, which costs you a one-off $100 fee, but the free version is highly capable in its own right. ### **#26: [Ahrefs' Backlink Checker](https://ahrefs.com/backlink-checker)**  **Key features:** - **Backlink reports:** See which sites link to your domain and specific pages. - **LInk types:** Distinguish between dofollow and no-follow links pointing to your site. - **Top performers:** See which pages and content types are generating the highest number of links. - **Link quality:** Assess the quality of links coming back to your website. - **Link growth:** Measure the growth/decline of backlink profiles for your site and specific pages. Ahrefs is one of the most popular SEO software tools around and its famed backlink checker is an essential for any marketer. The free version of the tool aims to give you an idea of what paid Ahrefs plans have to offer but it's valuable as a standalone tool. You type in your domain or the URL or a specific page to see all the links pointing back to you. The report reveals the domain ranking of your site and tells you how many backlinks you have, as well as the total number of unique domains pointing to you and the percentage of links that are dofollow. You can then check through the top 100 links and check the domain rank and URL rating (UR) for each one. This helps you evaluate the quality of links your content is earning and weed out any low-quality links that need to be taken off your profile. ### **#27: [Screaming Frog SEO Spider](https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/)** **Key features:** - **Find broken links:** Crawl a website instantly and find broken links (404s) and server errors. Bulk export the errors and source URLs to fix or send to a developer. - **Audit redirects:** Find temporary and permanent redirects, identify redirect chains and loops, or upload a list of URLs to audit in a site migration. - **Analyse page titles & metadata:** Analyse page titles and meta descriptions during a crawl and identify those that are too long, short, missing, or duplicated across your site. - **Discover duplicate content:** Discover exact and near-duplicate content, duplicated elements such as page titles, descriptions or headings, and find low content pages. - **Review robots & directives:** View URLs blocked by robots.txt, meta robots or X-Robots-Tag directives such as ‘noindex’ or ‘nofollow’, as well as canonicals and rel=“next” and rel=“prev”. - **Visualise website architecture:** Evaluate internal linking and URL structure using interactive crawl and directory force-directed diagrams and tree graph site visualisations. - **Google integrations:** Connect to the Google Analytics, Search Console and PageSpeed Insights APIs and fetch user and performance data for all URLs in a crawl for greater insight. Screaming Frog is another big name in the search marketing industry and its SEO Spider software remains a popular tool for technical SEO. The free version gives you plenty of features to keep your website in good order but you're limited to a 500 URL crawl limit. This should be more than enough to optimise the most important pages of any website, though. Screaming Frog's SEO Spider helps you find broken links, optimise page titles and metadata, audit your hreflang attributes, identify duplicate content and visualise your website structure. A paid license costs $149 per year, allowing you to crawl unlimited URLs, schedule reports and use a range of additional features. For large websites, the paid version is probably the way to go but, for most businesses, the free version of Screaming Frog's SEO Spider is all that's needed. ### **#28: [CoSchedule's Free Headline Analyzer](https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer)**  **Key features:** - **Analyse headlines:** Type in your content headlines to score them and get feedback. - **Word balance:** Captivate your audience with the right word balance. - **Emotion:** Encourage more clicks and engage readers by making your headlines more emotional. - **Readability:** Ensure your headlines are readable, skimmable and easy to understand. - **Power words:** Include enough power words to grab attention and inspire action. - **Headline length:** Check that your headlines are the optimal length for search engines and readability. - **Free Chrome extensions:** Test headline ideas instantly with the free Chrome extension. Another free tool offered by CoSchedule is its Headline Optimizer, which works in exactly the same way as its email subject line tester that we looked at earlier. Simply type in your headline idea and you'll get a report analysing the effectiveness, including the use of common words, emotional phrases, power words and headline features known to increase CTRs. You can also install the free Chrome extensions to instantly check headline ideas from your browser. ### **#29: [UberSuggest](https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/)**  **Key features:** - **Domain Overview:** Get insight into the strategies that are working for others in your market so you can adopt them, improve them, and gain an edge. - **Top SEO pages:** discover which of your competitor’s pages are ranking for popular organic keyword phrases and which ones are loved by sites like Facebook. - **Keyword suggestions:** generate a list of keywords for you based on what is working for your competitors and based on what people are typing into Google. - **Content ideas:** Dive deep into the top-performing content pieces for any given keyword so you can write about topics that people are actually interested in. - **Backlink data:** See the exact content in your space that people are linking to and approach them for collaboration. UberSuggest is an all-in-one SEO platform that aims to help you bring more traffic to your website. On the free plan, you're limited to five searches per day but you get a good offering of metrics and reports, including an overview of domain performance, your best-performing pages, keyword suggestions and content ideas. In fact, the free version offers more insights now than it used to although the price of paid plans has also increased. You can currently upgrade for monthly fees starting from $29/month of a one-off fee starting from $290 - although UberSuggest seems to change its pricing quite often. ## **Free social media tools** ### **#30: [Facebook Audience Insights](https://www.facebook.com/business/news/audience-insights)**  **Key features:** - **Discover Facebook audiences:** Use this tool to discover audience sizes, experiment with targeting options and test persona viability. - **Demographics:** Age and gender, lifestyle, education, relationship status, job role and household size. - **Location and language:** Segment audiences based on where they live, where they frequently go, have recently been, are currently travelling in and the language they speak. - **Facebook usage:** How frequently are people in your target audience logging onto Facebook and what device(s) they are using when they log on. - **Page likes:** The top Pages people like in different categories, like women’s apparel or sports. - **Purchases activity:** Past purchase behaviour (i.e. heavy buyers of women’s apparel) and purchase methods (i.e., in-store, online). - **Interests:** Find audiences based on their interests - anything from gaming and consumer electronics to travel and exercise. - **Life events:** Segment audiences by life events, including marriage, children, promotions, moving home and key events that influence consumer behaviour. Facebook Audience Insights is a free tool built for Facebook Advertising but anyone can use it as an audience planning tool. That said, you're going to get the best out of it if you're engaged in paid advertising on the social network. The tool allows you to apply Facebook targeting options to any campaign idea and see how large an audience you'll have to work with. This is a great tool for planning campaigns but also useful for checking whether Facebook and Instagram have the specific audiences you want to reach. ### **#31: [Hootsuite](https://hootsuite.com/en-gb/)**  **Key features:** - **Social management:** Manage your social media accounts from one dashboard. - **3 social profiles:** Manage three social profiles from Hootsuite's limited free plan. - **Schedule messages:** Schedule 30 social posts/messages per month on the free version. - **1 user:** You're limited to one user on the free and Professional ($25/mo) plans. [HootSuite](https://hootsuite.com/en-gb/) is an excellent social media marketing platform that allows you to manage accounts from one place, gain insights into performance and spend less time switching between different networks. Arguably, its best feature is the message scheduler, which allows you to schedule posts so you can create them at a time that suits and set them to automatically publish at the key moment. The free plan limits you to managing three social profiles and scheduling 30 messages per month and paid plans start at $25/month. ### **#32: [TweetDeck](https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Manage multiple Twitter accounts** from a single interface. - **Schedule tweets:** Create tweets and schedule them for posting in the future. - **Interactions:** Tweet, like, follow and interact from multiple accounts by selecting prior to actions. - **Default account:** Set a default account for all actions. - **Column filters:** Arrange and filter tweets into columns for easier access and browsing. TweetDeck allows you to manage multiple Twitter accounts from a single dashboard and schedule posts. This tool is completely free and you're not restricted in any way - other than the fact it only works for Twitter, of course. ### **#33: [IFTTT](https://ifttt.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Automate tasks:** Connect apps and automate a range of tasks between them - for example, automatically share new YouTube videos to your Facebook Page. - **Applets:** These are IFTTT's simple automation workflows that connect apps, automate tasks and save you a whole bunch of time. - **Create 3 custom Applets:** On the free plan of IFTTT, you can create three custom Applets of your own. - **'Turn on' unlimited Applets:** IFTTT has a huge library of existing Applets connecting the most popular apps around and you can "turn on" (use) an unlimited number of these. IFTTT connects apps together so you can automate tasks. It works in a similar way to Zapier although its automations are a little more simplistic. The reason it makes it onto this list is because it offers the more generous free plan, allowing you to use an unlimited number of existing Applets already available on the platform. You can also create three of your own Applets before you start paying a monthly fee. At the time of writing, IFTTT lets you choose how much you pay for plans - anything starting from $1.99 for the Pro plan - but I can't say how long this will last. ### **#34: [Bitly](https://bitly.com/)**  **Key features:** - **Link shortener:** Turn trackable links into readable, shareable URLs. - **1k links per month:** Create 1,000 links per month using the free version of Bitly. - **Unlimited clicks:** All Bitly plans allow you to capture an unlimited number of clicks on your links. - **Link tags:** Create tags to group and categorise your links. - **Social posting:** Post your links directly from Twitter by connecting to Bitly. - **Reporting:** Track the performance of your links and optimise campaigns. Bitly is a link shorter that allows you to turn URLs into shorter, more shareable links. Aside from length, you can also use these shorter URLs to track clicks and engagement on third-party platforms - namely social media networks. The free version of Bitly allows you to shorten 1,000 links per month and there's no limit on the number of clicks you're allowed to generate from your links. You can also add link tags to add contextual tracking to clicks and traffic from your shared content. If you need to create more links, paid plans start at $29/month and you can also create branded links on paid versions of Bitly. ### **#35: [Sniply](https://snip.ly/)**  **Key features:** - **Snips:** Add unobtrusive CTA pop-ups to pages on your website. - **1k clicks per month:** You can generate up to 1,000 clicks per month using the free versions of Sniply. - **Unlimited links:** Create as many Snips as you like on any plan (paid plans start at$29/mo). - **Limited customisation:** You get basic customisation options on the free plan but the paid plans unlock more freedom. - **Analytics:** Track the performance of your Snips and optimise campaigns for better results. With [Sniply](https://snip.ly/), you can add CTAs to every page of your website to generate more leads with unobtrusive pop-ups that only take up a fraction of the screen. You can create an unlimited number of Snips (pop-ups) on every version of Sniply although you are limited to generating 1,000 clicks per month on the free plan. Paid plans start at 29/month, allowing you to generate more clicks from your Snips and access greater reporting, A/B testing and other features to help you capture more leads. ## Build your free marketing tech stack With the free tool we've looked at in this article, there's nothing stopping you from building a free marketing tech stack that will give you everything you need to put effective growth strategies in place. Once your business outgrows these free tools, you'll be ready to invest in paid marketing software and take that next big step. Many of these tools we've looked at today offer paid plans that scale with your business and incrementally provide more features as you need them. Let us know if you think any tools are missing from this list by leaving a comment and maybe we'll add your suggestions. ## FAQ **What is the best free marketing tool for small businesses?** The best free marketing tool depends on your primary business goal, but **Google Analytics is essential for any business** because it provides actionable insights into customer behaviour without requiring any investment. Most small businesses benefit from combining a free planning tool like Trello with a free email marketing platform such as Mailchimp to cover both strategy and customer communication. **Can you really run a marketing campaign with only free tools?** Yes, you can absolutely run an effective marketing campaign using only free tools, though you'll need to invest more time than money. **The key is selecting complementary free tools across different marketing channels** — such as pairing free social media scheduling tools with free email marketing platforms and free SEO tools — to create a cohesive strategy that covers planning, execution, and analysis. **Which free marketing tools are best for lead generation?** **Lead generation requires a combination of tools rather than a single solution**, with free options including landing page builders, email marketing platforms, and social media tools working together to capture and nurture prospects. The article reviews dedicated free lead generation tools that integrate with your existing marketing stack to automate the process of identifying and qualifying potential customers. **Are free marketing tools as good as paid alternatives?** Free marketing tools offer surprisingly powerful functionality for businesses just starting out, though paid versions typically provide advanced features and higher usage limits. **The real value of free tools is testing your marketing strategy before investing in premium software**, allowing you to validate your approach and understand which channels work best for your business before scaling up. **What free tools should I use for social media marketing?** **Free social media tools should focus on scheduling, analytics, and content planning** rather than trying to do everything in one platform. The article compares multiple free social media tools that help you schedule posts across channels, track engagement metrics, and plan your content calendar without paying subscription fees. **How do I choose which free marketing tools to combine?** Start by identifying your primary marketing goals — whether that's lead generation, email marketing, or social media — then select one free tool for each channel rather than trying to use multiple overlapping solutions. **Building a free marketing tech stack means choosing tools that integrate with each other** to avoid manual data entry and ensure your marketing efforts work together cohesively. **What free tools help with email marketing?** The most popular free email marketing tools include Mailchimp, HubSpot, and Brevo, each offering different strengths for automation, segmentation, and analytics. **Free email platforms typically allow you to send unlimited campaigns to a limited number of contacts**, making them ideal for building your subscriber list before upgrading to a paid plan. **Do free marketing tools require technical knowledge to use?** Most modern free marketing tools are designed with non-technical users in mind and require minimal setup or coding knowledge. **The best free tools prioritise user-friendly interfaces and built-in templates** so you can launch campaigns quickly, though some advanced features may require learning or support documentation. --- # 35+ Best Productivity Tools for Working from Home URL: https://ventureharbour.com/productivity-tools-working-from-home/ Summary: Discover the best work-from-home productivity tools to boost focus & output. We've tested 15+ apps with real data. Compare features & pricing. Last updated: 2026-03-29 07:22:03 According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), only [5% of the UK's labour force worked mainly from home](https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/coronavirusandhomeworkingintheuklabourmarket/2019). Over the past few years, the world has engaged in the biggest remote working experiment in history and it seems many want this to become the new normal. A joint study conducted by O2 and YouGov finds that [45% of British workers expect to work from home on a permanent basis](https://news.o2.co.uk/press-release/a-flexible-future-brits-expected-to-call-time-on-office-life-after-lockdown/) after lockdowns are fully lifted. Yet, there's one word that constantly hangs over the concept of working from home: productivity. Matching workplace productivity from outside of the office can be difficult, which leaves businesses facing lower output or staff having to work longer hours. Thankfully, technology can tame WFH's productivity problem and the rise of Zoom may be the most obvious example - but it's not the only one. In this article, we've got 35+ other productivity tools that can make working from home truly work. ## Which tools are we looking at in this article? The tools we're looking at in this article are designed to solve the most common challenges of working from home. Various studies and surveys have been published in recent years on this topic but the coronavirus outbreak has forced the biggest working-from-home social experiment in history. The State of Remote Report 2020, jointly published by Buffer and AngelList asked respondents to list the biggest challenges with working away from the office. Previously, [a report](https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_544138.pdf?utm_source=zapier.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zapier) from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions assessed the effects of working remotely. The highlighted the following issues people working from home are most likely to experience: - **Working too much** - **Difficulty prioritising work** - **Interruptions** - **Loneliness** - **Communication issues** - **Time zone differences** - **Technology hiccups** - **Developing bad health habits** Clearly, there are serious challenges with being productive, maintaining a work-life balance and staying healthy while working from home. As someone who has spent the past seven years working remotely, I can confirm that these challenges are very real and difficult to overcome. Technology is crucial when team members are split up across multiple locations so the tools we're looking at in this list are all geared to solving the most common problems of working from home - both as individuals and part of a team. Here are the different types of productivity tools we'll be looking at in this article and I'll be recommending multiple apps for each purpose: 1. **Focus apps:** To keep you focused on the task at hand, help you get more done and clock off on-time. 2. **Team communication:** Messaging and email tools to ensure remote communication is no problem. 3. **Project management:** Tools for managers, teams and individuals to plan and organise their tasks. 4. **Schedule meetings:** Take the fuss out of organising group meetings and video chats. 5. **Video calling:** The best apps currently available for video calls and group meetings. 6. **To-do list apps:** Manage your individual tasks - both for work and personal life. 7. **Time tracking:** Apps for managers and individuals to keep track of how much time is spent on individual tasks. 8. **Doc sharing and collaboration:** Create, share and collaborate on documents on the cloud. 9. **Screen sharing:** Apps that make it easy to share your device screens with fellow team members. 10. **Remote access:** Access and control other team members' devices to provide technical support and complete tasks on their behalf. 11. **Password management:** Apps for managing team and personal passwords. 12. **Automate repetitive tasks:** Invaluable tools that automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks for remote and home-based working. 13. **Switching off:** Make sure you clock off and switch off after work to prevent your entire life revolving around working from home. The focus of this article is to help you increase your productivity while working from home - both as an individual and a team member - by solving the biggest problems and productivity killers you're likely to face. Having worked remotely since 2013, I've faced all of these challenges and used hundreds of productivity tools over the years - including every app recommended in this article. I'm confident that by using at least one of the tools in each of the above categories, you'll enjoy the benefits of working from home and overcome the most difficult challenges much faster than I did. ## Increase your productivity with these focus apps First, let's start with the most difficult problems with working from home: keeping your focus when you're surrounded by so many distractions. Before you start using any productivity apps, make sure you create a dedicated workspace at home - ideally, a separate room where nobody will interrupt you and you can shut the door on any distractions. Now, you're ready to maximise productivity in your home office with these focus-boosting apps. ### [Freedom](https://freedom.to/) Freedom is a simple website and app blocker tool that allows you to create blacklists, much like the same feature in Serene. This is pretty much all you get with Freedom although there are some additional features on the Premium version, including "coffee shop sounds" for focus and session scheduling. Pricing starts at $6.99 per month although you can drop this down to the equivalent of $2.42/monthif you pay annually. Freedom is available on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android and ChromeOS, making it a great option for cross-platform consistency. ### [Forest](https://www.forestapp.cc/) Forest is one of my absolute favourite productivity apps, mainly because I love the concept but also because the app itself is such a pleasure to use. Forest encourages you to stop using your phone, which has got to be one of the worst possible distractions from working at home. When you start a session in Forest, the app plants a digital seed and the longer you spend without exiting the app and using your phone, the more your tree grows. Use your phone before the session is over and your tree will die. Complete a series of successful sessions and you'll soon have a digital forest showing you how much progress you've made. This is a great way to gamify the process of developing better habits and improving productivity. It's surprisingly addictive and rewarding to see your forest grow, too. Best of all, Forest partners with tree planting organisations around the world. The app rewards you with virtual coins for growing digital trees, which you can "spend" to plant trees in the real world through Forest's partners. So you're not only boosting your own productivity with this app but also helping to make the world a better place while you're at it. ## Team communication Maximising your own productivity at home is one thing but being efficient as a remote team is even more challenging. Even the most basic office interactions, like asking the person next to you where a document is, become a challenge once teams are split up between locations. Thankfully, team communication tools have matured a lot over the past decade, which means productivity doesn't need to suffer when you work from home. ### [Slack](https://slack.com/) Slack has established itself as one of the most popular team collaboration and communications tools, used by major brands ranging from Airbnb and Starbucks to EA and the BBC.  Slack was built by remote workers, for remote workers. The original concept was to replace cumbersome email exchanges with an interface that allows teams to communicate and work together from any location. Basically, it's organised instant messaging for teams that need to work collectively. Throw in voice and video calling features, file exchanging and integration with 2,000+ other productivity apps and you've got yourself a simple yet powerful communication tool that allows you to work from anywhere with an internet connection. ### [Chanty](https://www.chanty.com/) Chanty is very similar to Slack in the sense that it creates a simple, instant messaging platform for teams to communicate and collaborate. The overall design and majority of features are the same, too, and this is a good thing because the formula works so well. However, Chanty does bring some standout features to the table.  Aside from being cheaper than Slack and having fewer restrictions on things like the total number of messages per price point, Chanty offers more in terms of task and project management features. You can create and assign tasks to individuals and teams, for example, and manage projects using the Kanban board view. In fairness, Chanty is never going to match a dedicated project management platform so you may find these features overlap with your other productivity tools and offer limited value Slack simply sticks to communication and excels at it. It all depends on which tools you're combining but it's great to have Chanty as a Slack alternative and it may even offer enough task/project management features for individuals and small teams. ### [Spark](https://sparkmailapp.com/) As good as Slack and Chanty are at replacing cumbersome email exchanges, I can't honestly imagine ever abandoning traditional email entirely. In fact, even on a good day, I still probably spend a good hour reading, responding and sending emails from my inbox. Which is why I'm a big fan of tools that allow me to spend less time on emails and more time on tasks that actually make me money.  Spark is one of my favourite email productivity apps, even if some of its basic features are now standard on Gmail and other clients. Here's a quick summary of what you get from Spark: - **Smart Inbox:** Emails are automatically grouped into categories for easier browsing and you can view your inbox by most recent emails or your chosen categories. - **Smart Search:** Spark's Smart Search makes it easy to find any email, conversation or attachment. - **Snooze emails:** Put emails on pause to stop interruptions and distractions. - **Send later:** Schedule emails to send them at appropriate times or when recipients are most likely to see and read them. - **Reminders:** Automatic reminders to respond to important emails. - **Smart Notifications:** Get notified for important emails only so the rest never interrupt your workflow. Those are all great features for individuals but my favourite Spark features are the ones designed for teams. With Spark, you can delegate emails and assign conversations to team members and create templates to maintain consistency across your entire team. You can also have private team conversations through Spark through instant messaging. However, my absolute favourite Spark feature is [Shared Drafts](https://sparkmailapp.com/teams/shared_drafts), which allows team members to work on the same email together in real-time. This is such a good feature for important emails where it helps to have a second pair of eyes, training new team members or asking someone from another department to add some information without any confusion or misinterpretation. ## Project management Now we get to the comprehensive project management tools and these have the difficult task of providing a platform that meets the needs of project managers themselves but also the individual team members they work with. That's no easy task and while there are plenty of project management tools that claim to pull it off, it can be difficult to find one that delivers. Here are three of them actually work for everyone involved. ### [Asana](https://asana.com/) Asana is a comprehensive project management platform designed for teams of all sizes. It offers a generous set of features on its free plan, including task management, lists, board views, calendar, assignments and due dates, collaboration with up to 15 teammates and a solid range of integrations options. That's a solid offering for individuals and small teams looking for a free project management tool.  Paid versions of Asana start at $13.49/month, per user and these open up more advanced features and these are really designed for businesses with creative and remote teams. One of Asana's biggest strengths is that it really does provide for businesses all the way up to the enterprise level whereas many tools fall short at the bigger businesses end of things. Asana keeps delivering with reasonably-priced packages at every level and its free version makes this a genuine option for freelancers, small businesses and creative teams. ### [Zoho Projects](https://www.zoho.com/projects/) Zoho Projects doesn't feel like the same enterprise-level software that Asana provides and its free version doesn't offer anywhere as many features. However, with paid versions starting at just $3/month, per user, Zoho Projects is a tempting option if you need more than Asana's free version offers but don't like the price tags on the paid versions.  Even Zoho Project's Enterprise version costs less than half of Asana's cheapest paid plan at an impressive $6/month, per user, and this gets you *a lot* of project management features for your money. I still prefer the overall design and experience of using Asana but I'm constantly impressed by how much Zoho packs into its project management platform at these prices. ### [ProofHub](https://www.wrike.com/) [ProofHub](https://www.proofhub.com/) is a feature-rich project management and task collaboration software with an easy-to-use interface. It offers flexible task management options with its simple to-do lists and agile custom workflows and boards. You get an in-built chat app, a dedicated space for real-time discussions, time-tracking feature, custom reports, Gantt charts, and a plethora of other features to stay in ultimate control of your projects, teams, tasks, and communications. Its simple, no per-user pricing makes it a highly cost-effective option for bigger teams. The Ultimate control plan with unlimited users is available at $89 per month. If you are looking for an easy-to-use project management software to replace the many apps your team is using for managing their day-to-day tasks, ProofHub is a great option. ### [Wrike](https://www.wrike.com/) Wrike doesn't seem to get as much press as the likes of Asana and Trello but it's a really impressive project management suite. Even the free version is a strong option for small teams of up to five people who only need very simple project management features.  Paid versions start at $9.80/month, per user, and this is where Wrike starts to offer up its most impressive features. For up to 15 users, you get task and subtask management, Gantt charts, sharable dashboards and the ability to add contractors, clients and teammates from other departments without any extra cost. The Business plan is competitively priced against Asana, too, at $24.80/user, per month, and brings advanced features like real-time reporting, time tracking, project and task approvals and a branded workspace. If you're looking for a free project management tool, it's hard to look past Asana but, once you start paying for more features, Zoho Projects is hard to beat in terms of value and Wrike offers some innovative features that make it easier for team members to work from home. ## Schedule team meetings without the headaches One of the biggest problems with working from home as part of a remote team is getting everyone together for meetings. Choosing a time that suits everyone when team members are working on a flexible schedule can be tricky and you don't want to get bogged down in endless email exchanges and Slack conversations just to organise a meeting. With these tools, you don't need to. ### [Calendly](https://calendly.com/) Calendly makes group meetings and collaboration sessions are effortless to arrange. Team members set their availability times, allowing managers to schedule meetings, which attendees simply need to confirm. You can also arrange group or one-to-one collaboration sessions and set a range of conditions for meetings. For example, you can set a buffer to ensure enough time is left between events, set a limit on the number of meetings that can be held in a single day and choose a minimum schedule notice that suits everyone on the team. Crucially, Calendly also automatically displays users' time zones so these can be taken into consideration if any team members are working from overseas. ### [Doodle](https://doodle.com/en/) Doodle is quite similar to Calendly, allowing team members to set availability times and meetings to be set accordingly. Once again, you can create group meetings, one-to-one collaboration sessions and meetings with clients using Doodle.  Calendly is geared more towards businesses but Doodle is a little less formal and cheaper, making it a good option for freelancers and individuals working from home. ### [StrawPoll Meetings](https://strawpoll.com/meetings) StrawPoll Meetings is a free alternative to Calendly and Doodle for scheduling team meetings although the premise is very different.  Instead of team members setting their availability times, someone creates a poll where attendees vote on which time best suits them. This doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to find a time that suits everyone but it does offer a democratic solution that'll cost you nothing. ## Video calling The most obvious digital trend to emerge from the coronavirus outbreak is synonymous status video calling now has with working from home and social distancing. Zoom grabbed most of the headlines during the outbreak and it suddenly feels like Skype has been relegated to the B-league of video calling. Here are a couple of alternatives worth considering, though. ### [Google Meet](https://meet.google.com/) It didn't take long for Google to get in on the video calling action once Zoom became a household name. Luckily for Google, the search giant already had all of the software and tech it needed to launch Google Meet, which is basically a moderate redesign and rebrand of Hangouts.  The great news for all of us working from home is that Google's video calling software has been refined over many years and its a highly capable tool for video calling, group video calls and screen sharing. And it costs absolutely nothing. ### [Microsoft Teams](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software) Microsoft has invested heavily in advertising its collaboration system since the outbreak went global and video calling is a key feature of the Microsoft Teams platform. Once again, Microsoft had all of the video calling tech it needed prior to launch, thanks to owning Skype, but it has expanded into key business features such as group video calls and a range of collaboration features outside video conferencing. Microsoft Teams aims to be a more comprehensive communication tool than Google Meet, including instant messaging and voice calls. The free versions should provide all the communication tools you need and paid integrations with Microsoft 365 gives you access to a bunch of more advanced collaboration features through other Microsoft apps. ### [Zoom](https://zoom.us/) The Zoom boom seemed to happen as soon as lockdowns were implemented across Europe although this app has been popular with businesses for quite some time now.  Unfortunately, the surge in popularity also unveiled [some worrying security concerns](https://www.tomsguide.com/uk/news/zoom-security-privacy-woes) that Zoom will probably want to address but the platform is still safe to use if you take some precautionary steps. Zoom has also promised to step up its security game and there's a good chance it may have already fixed these issues by the time you read this. ## To-do lists In the last few sections, we've mostly looked at tools that aim to boost team productivity so let's go back to thinking about your personal productivity at home for a moment. Let's talk about to-do list apps. ### [Todoist](https://todoist.com/) I've tried a lot of to-do list apps over the years and I think my favourite all-in-one application has got to be Todoist. While I love the simplicity of Google Keep and often find myself creating personal lists in Google Docs and Evernote, if I had to choose just one to-do list app to use for everything, this would probably be it.  Todoist gives you complete control over your tasks and makes it easy to track your progress without getting bogged down in a mess of separate lists. You can also delegate tasks, prioritise tasks, create and manage subtasks and track your performance with analytics reports. Perhaps my favourite thing about Todoist, though, is how consistent the experience is across browsers and different devices. This should be the norm in 2026 but so many apps still deliver poor cross-platform support and synchronisation. ### [Microsoft To Do](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/microsoft-to-do-list-app?rtc=1) I used to have a bit of trouble choosing between Todoist and Wunderlist as my preferred recommendation for a to-do list app. But now that Microsoft has bought out Wunderlist and relaunched it as Microsoft To Do, this decision has been made for me. In fairness, I haven't tried Microsoft To Do yet but I have used Wunderlist a lot in the past and was an excellent to-do list app. The mobile app in particular was a joy to use (more so than Todoist) purely because it was designed so well for the touch experience. Hopefully, Microsoft will take the same approach it did with LinkedIn and not try to fix things that aren't broken. ### [Any.do](https://www.any.do/) Speaking of great mobile experiences, Any.do might just be my favourite of the bunch for using on my phone and this is why I think it's a great choice for a personal to-do list app. There is also a Teams version of Any.do that brings some project management features into the mix and it's quite capable in this regard, too. It's just a shame that the desktop experience isn't as smooth and effortless and the mobile app. ## Time tracking For me, the worst thing about working from home is how much time the small tasks take up. Later, we'll look at some apps that will save you time on these tasks but, first, let's look at some time tracking tools that will show senior staff and/or clients just how much time it takes to complete tasks. ### [Everhour](https://everhour.com/) Everhour is designed for service-orientated businesses and freelancers that need to invoice accurately for the amount of time it takes to complete projects. As a freelancer who works solo and as part of numerous teams, I can safely say this was one of the biggest problems I faced early on in my career. Clients generally don't appreciate how much time it takes to deal with their endless stream of emails and "can you just..." requests. Failing to invoice for this time can make the difference between making and losing money. Everhour aims to solve this problem for freelancers and businesses alike with its time tracking software. The free version gives you access to all of Everhour's features (except for integrations) for up to five users and paid plans start from $7/month, per user, which is a small fraction of the money it will save you from losing every month. ### [Harvest](https://www.getharvest.com/) Harvest offers similar time tracking features to Everhour but also includes features for tracking business expenses, managing projects and business forecasting. There is a free version available but it's limited to two users and two projects while the Pro version costs $12/month, per user. Harvest is geared more towards businesses than individuals and it does offer a lot more features than Everhour so you could argue it's better value for money. Harvest has a bit of that Jack-of-all-trades feel about it, though. ### [Toggl](https://toggl.com/) Toggl was the first time tracking app I ever used and I think this would have been back in 2012 or so. The app has come a long way since then and, although I miss the simplicity I enjoyed when I first used Toggl, the features that have been added since genuinely make it a more powerful productivity tool.  The free version is very much how I remember it: a great tool for tracking the time you spend on tasks and incorporating this into invoices. It was also handy for accurately quoting on future projects and highlighting tasks that are taking longer than they should. Sometimes, the numbers can shock you into pulling your finger out and fixing bad habits. Toggl's paid and team features are what really set the app apart, though, with a team dashboard and a range of reports for tracking progress and identifying areas where profit is being lost. ## Doc sharing and collaboration It's easy to take document sharing for granted when you work in an office but this is absolutely vital when you're working from home. Sending and editing files via email quickly becomes a mess and having a centralised, cloud-based system where you can create, edit and collaborate on files is essential when team members are working from home. ### [Google Docs](https://docs.google.com/) After years of using different document and cloud storage solutions, I ended up coming back to Google Drive and Google Docs, which is pretty much the only platform of this kind that I use now. Google Docs is quite a basic platform but my needs have gradually become more basic in recent years and it provides everything I currently need. I do find real-time collaboration is smoother on Google Docs than other options I've tried but apps like Google Sheets might frustrate if you need some of the more advanced features in Excel, for example. ### [OneDrive](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/onedrive/online-cloud-storage) OneDrive is Microsoft's equivalent to Google Drive and it integrates with the Microsoft suite of apps - everything from Word and Excel to Outlook and Skype. If you're paying for Microsoft 365 then OneDrive will provide the most seamless experience in creating new documents and storing them on the cloud. Unfortunately, I find Microsoft native apps are very buggy on macOS and I've lost work multiple times due to crashes and failed autosaves, which I've apparently become too dependent on. Apparently, these problems are less prevalent on Windows and the online apps seem to work quite well. ### [Dropbox Paper](https://www.dropbox.com/paper) I stumbled across Dropbox Paper one day when I simply wanted to see if there was a better alternative to Google Docs. For me, Google ultimately won the battle (doesn't it bloody always?) simply because it has more robust features within its apps - things like document formatting options - and better file sharing options.  That said, there are a few things Dropbox Paper does better than Google Docs and the first thing you'll notice is that the interface is much simpler and intuitive to use. Fewer features make for a more minimal UI and unless you start looking for something Dropbox Paper doesn't provide, the experience benefits from this. Dropbox Paper also has better multimedia integration with support for every format I could throw at it and the ability to embed videos - a feature I really like but perhaps don't need. Collaboration is really smooth on Dropbox Paper, too, and I would say it's the only alternative I've tried that's more-or-less on par with Google Docs. ## Screen sharing When you work from home, sooner or later you're going to want someone else to see what's happening on your screen - or to see what's going on on theirs. Whether you're collaborating on a project, trying to fix a technical problem or run a presentation, these tools allow you to share your screen with everyone in your team. ### [Dead Simple Screen Sharing](https://deadsimplescreensharing.com/) First up, we've got Dead Simple Screen Sharing, which works through a Chrome extension. As the name promises, the plugin makes it incredibly easy to share your screen with team members and you can either share your entire screen or simply share a single application window. To share your screen, you can invite participants by email or send them a URL to click through your messaging app of choice. The free version allows you to share with up to four participants while the paid version covers up to 150 participants and includes a "Turbo Mode" for high FPS screen sharing for $18/month. ### [Slack](https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/) We talked about Slack as a team communication tool earlier but now we're here to explain how you can use the app for screen sharing as well. Screen sharing in Slack works through the video call function so you're going to start by calling one of your teammates or a group of them. Once your call is picked up, you can select the **Share your screen** button on the middle of the menu at the bottom of the screen. You can use this to present your screen to participants in the call and there are two additional functions that allow you to draw on your screen and participants to draw on your screen. This is a great implementation and a powerful tool for collaboration, as well as presentations. ### [Google Meet](https://meet.google.com/) Much like Slack, Google Meet also allows you to share your screen during video calls although the feature is more geared towards giving presentations than collaboration. As a screen sharing feature, though, it does the trick.  To show your screen during a meeting, you simply need to click **Present now** in the bottom-right corner during a video meeting and then choose to show **Your entire screen**, **A window** or a **Chrome tab** to start sharing. ## Remote access Sometimes screen sharing isn't enough and you need to gain access to someone else's device - or they need to access yours. This can be especially important for fixing technical problems with devices or software, training new team members or accessing local files from a teammate's machine. These remote access apps allow us to solve some of the most pressing technical problems involved in working remotely and from home. ### [TeamViewer](https://www.teamviewer.com/en/) TeamViewer is a comprehensive remote access application that allows you to access almost any device running Windows, macOS, Android or iOS. With this app, you can access devices remotely, control them and provide (or receive) support regardless of your location.  You can even remotely access servers, IoT devices and commercial machines, if you need that kind of thing. Prices start from $35/month so this isn't the cheapest option but it is the most complete remote access tool I've used and if you need these features regularly, the price tags don't feel unreasonable. ### [AnyDesk](https://anydesk.com/en?awc=18300_1589997196_81b5a48d8874fab7a4730d4227879a40&utm_source=awin) AnyDesk is a much simpler (and cheaper) alternative to TeamViewer and there's also a free version for personal use, which is great if you only need to access your own devices on occasion.  Paid versions start from around $10/month which allows you to access one device, one session at a time, and this might be all you need if you're a freelancer or part of a small business team. The pricier plans allow you to run more than one session at a time and offer a bunch of additional features with the most expensive plan working out at around $45/month. ### [Chrome Remote Desktop](https://remotedesktop.google.com/?pli=1) Chrome Remote Desktop is Google's free answer to the remote access problem. With this Chrome extension, you can access other devices from your computer, mobile or tablet. The last time I used Google Remote Desktop, it was a standalone app and the Chrome extension has since replaced it. Judging from the reviews on the Chrome Web Store, there have been some teething issues so this might be one you have to try out without getting your hopes up. The app used to work impressively well for a free tool, though, so let's hope an update can fix any issues soon. ## Password management As you may have gathered, working from home requires a much larger set of software tools. The worst part about this is having a new bunch of login details to manage and, if you're not already using one, a good password manager is a must-have. ### [LastPass](https://www.lastpass.com/) LastPass was the first password manager app I tried out and it's the one I eventually chose to stick with after trying out some other options. The truth is, most of the reputable password tools offer the same features: password generator, sticky passwords, two-step authentication, autofill, etc. so the key thing to look out for is any reports about security problems.  All password management apps have vulnerabilities and LastPass is no exception but it has got a good record. To minimise any risk, change your master password regularly, use multi-factor authentication and check your username against breaches of any platforms you use - for example, a LinkedIn hack. Aside from its relatively decent security history LastPass has robust encryption and features to help you look after your personal data. Best of all, the free version is feature-rich and will probably be enough for most individuals. ### [RoboForm](https://www.roboform.com/) RoboForm was LastPass' biggest competitor when I first started trying our password manager tools so this was next on my list of options. The biggest attraction was that the paid versions of RoboForm were cheaper than LastPass and it also supported a much larger range of platforms, namely web browsers. It doesn't seem like RoboForm has really updated its software a great deal since then and it doesn't use the same advanced encryption LastPass currently offers so it seems RoboForm has fallen behind a bit in recent years. ### [Dashlane](https://www.dashlane.com/) Dashlane is right up there with LastPass as a comprehensive password management tool. It's also got a good history and reputation for security but comes with the inherent vulnerabilities of tools like this, including LastPass, so make sure you read up on the risks. No password management strategy is 100% secure; you have to choose the method that suits your needs most effectively, understand the risks of your chosen method and take steps to minimise them. In terms of features, there's no great difference between LastPass and Dashlane and even the interfaces are pretty similar. The main difference comes down to pricing and this is LastPass wins it for me. ## Automate time-consuming tasks Earlier, I mentioned that the worst thing about working from home is how much time small, repetitive tasks eat up. The worst part is, these are generally the tasks like uploading files, copy and pasting text and formatting documents - the kind of things your clients or teammates never really see or appreciate. This is why a good time tracking app is so important but you can also reduce the time you spend on these tasks with some automation tools. ### [Zapier](https://zapier.com/) Zapier is the first app we should talk about in this section as it's pretty much the first automation tool every business starts with. Basically, Zapier connects apps so they can exchange data and this allows you to do things like automatically upload Gmail attachments to Google Drive or post a new message in Slack every time a Google Sheets document is edited.  There are thousands of repetitive, time-consuming tasks you can automate with Zapier, which is essential for maximising productivity and stopping work from encroaching on your personal life. ### [IFTTT](https://ifttt.com/) I actually used IFTTT before I heard of Zapier and this may have been a good thing because it's the simpler tool. If you find that creating Zaps and getting to grips with integrated automation is a bit tricky, maybe it's worth starting out with IFTTT and then giving Zapier another go later. While Zapier is geared towards professionals, IFTTT focuses more on personal and you can create automations between devices and control your thermostat or whatever. The thing with IFTTT is you can only create two-step automations whereas Zapier allows you to create more complex actions. That said, IFTTT is basically free while Zapier limits you to 100 Zaps on the free version, which isn't bad at all. ### Automate.io Automate.io is a true alternative to Zapier but it claims to offer three times as many automated tasks. I'm not going to count them all but that's impressive, if true. What I can say is that jumping from Zapier to Automate.io is easy and it certainly feels like there are more tasks available out of the box. You also get 250 actions per month on the free version, which is more than you get from Zapier. So I wouldn't be surprised if Automate.io threatens Zapier for its crown or a greater expansion of Zaps and higher limits on the free version of Zapier in the near future. ## Switching off after work Switching off after work is one of the biggest challenges reported by people working remotely and from home. The divide between work and home life becomes perilously thin and every second lost to poor productivity eats into your personal life. This is why the tools we've looked at in this article are so important but you also have to develop new habits that ensure you can switch off when the day is done. The company and clients you work for have to respect your need for "off-time" as well. If you're finding it difficult to switch off after work, these tools will help you get there. ### [Cold Turkey](https://getcoldturkey.com/) Cold Turkey is mainly a website and app blocking tool and I was tempted to mention this alongside the other tools listed in the first section of this article. However, the key feature I want to talk about is called Frozen Turkey, which completely locks you out of your computer for scheduled time periods. Yes, this is a little extreme but it's great to be able to tell your boss, colleagues or clients that you literally can't use your computer after 6pm so don't even bother asking. You can also block the entire internet to keep offline functionality working or block specific apps like Slack and your email client to shut out late requests. Alternatively, you could shut down your computer and be done with it - whatever works for you. ### [Daywise (discontinued)](https://www.producthunt.com/products/daywise) Of course, shutting down your computer doesn't stop those awful email notifications coming in after you've logged off and your smartphone is the ever-present distraction that often tempts you back into "just" doing that thing that can't wait until tomorrow (even though it almost certainly can). Having spent years as a supposed "digital nomad" in different time zones, I have been particularly susceptible to out-of-hours emails dragging me back to my laptop. Until I discovered Daywise, which allows you to schedule notifications so that they never interrupt you during times you want to be left alone. Sadly, it's only available on Android devices but I'm sure there are iOS equivalents and this was by absolute favourite app while travelling in different time zones to my clients. These days, I simply have all notifications turned off because I'm increasingly resistant to my phone interrupting my life but there was a time where that felt like too drastic a step and Daywise was the perfect compromise. ### [Flipd](https://www.flipdapp.co/) Flipd takes a slightly different approach and tries to turn your phone into a device that benefits your personal life, rather than one that gets in the way of it. The app is clearly designed with students in mind but you actually have more in common with students than office-based employees once you start working from home. Flipd encourages you to make the most of your time by scheduling "Mindful Moments" that can include study sessions, practicing a new hobby, meditating or even sleeping to ensure you get enough rest. By building these habits into your daily life, you can spend less time working (as well as less time *thinking* about work) and develop a healthier work-life balance. ## Working from home is only going to get easier If you've found it difficult to work from home during the coronavirus outbreak, the good news is that things are only going to get easier from here on in. The biggest problem with working from home is that employers and managers generally don't understand the kind of work culture that's required to achieve a work-life balance from home. At the same time, there aren't any solid guidelines of policies to help/protect people working from home and the challenges it comes with. This is all going to change, now that businesses around the world are reassessing the need, safety, efficiency and economics of staff coming into the office. Employers and managers are going to have to re-evaluate the work culture they establish to help staff working from home to achieve productivity without burning themselves out. Likewise, new regulations are going to have to be implemented to protect the personal lives of home staffers to ensure the line between work and home remains in place - one of the most difficult aspects of working remotely or from home. ## FAQ **What are the best productivity tools for working from home?** The best work-from-home productivity tools combine **focus apps, project management software, and communication platforms** to create a complete remote working ecosystem. Tools like Notion, Asana, and Slack address different aspects of productivity, from task management to team collaboration. **Which focus apps help you concentrate while working from home?** **Focus apps block distractions** by limiting access to time-wasting websites and apps during work sessions. These tools use techniques like the Pomodoro method to help remote workers maintain deep concentration without interruptions. **Do I need time tracking software when working from home?** Time tracking software is valuable for remote workers because it provides **objective data on how you spend your workday** and identifies productivity bottlenecks. This data helps you optimise your schedule and proves productivity to employers or clients. **What's the easiest way to schedule team meetings when working remotely?** Dedicated meeting scheduling tools eliminate back-and-forth emails by letting team members **see your availability and book slots automatically**. These tools integrate with your calendar and send reminders, reducing coordination friction across distributed teams. **Can one tool replace multiple productivity apps?** All-in-one platforms like Notion can consolidate to-do lists, project tracking, and documentation, but **specialised tools often outperform generalist alternatives** for specific functions. Most remote teams use 5-7 complementary tools rather than relying on a single solution. **What productivity tools work best for asynchronous remote teams?** **Asynchronous-first tools like Loom, Notion, and email-based project management** reduce dependency on real-time communication across time zones. These tools let team members contribute on their own schedule without waiting for meetings or instant responses. **Are free productivity tools sufficient for remote work?** Free versions of tools like Trello, Google Workspace, and Slack cover basic remote work needs, but **paid plans unlock features essential for larger teams** such as advanced automation, unlimited storage, and priority support. --- # 35+ Lead Generation Tools To Boost Your Results In 2026 URL: https://ventureharbour.com/lead-generation-tools/ Summary: Discover 15+ lead generation tools to boost your pipeline in 2026. Compare features, pricing & ROI. See our top picks. Last updated: 2026-04-12 07:10:11 Building a predictable lead generation machine is challenging. Once you crack this challenge, though, it’s extremely rewarding as you can scale up faster, and afford to be more selective with who you work with. When I launched Venture Harbour eight years ago, I experimented with everything from creating infographics and sponsoring events, to optimising our lead capture forms to boost our leads. It took about two years of experimentation before we reached a point of having ‘too many’ leads - at which point we had to put new systems in place to deal with larger volumes of leads. In this article, I share some of the best tools and tactics we’ve used over the years for capturing and converting more leads. ## **What makes a good lead generation tool?** A great lead generation tool is essentially a piece of software that makes it easy to capture qualified leads without doing a whole bunch of coding yourself. So **usability** is always important and you also need to look out for **integration** where you need to share data between different tools (e.g. exporting landing page data to Google Analytics). Above all, though, need to make sure a lead generation tool is going to **help you achieve goals** that you couldn’t without them - or, at least, help you achieve them faster, in greater volume or more cost-effectively. **Pricing** is always important, of course, and you want to make sure you’re getting the **features** you need for the minimal investment. Keep in mind that software providers often **limit features** or **usage** at different price points. So it will often cost you more to use a tool for 100,000 leads than 10,000 and more for five team members than one, for example. So make sure you understand how pricing works and calculate what your future expenses will be as your business grows. ### **What kind of lead generation tools are we looking at in this article?** Modern businesses need to generate leads from more channels than ever, which means there’s a plethora of tools in different categories - e.g.: inbound, outbound, email marketing, etc. Which is why I’m breaking this article down into the following categories: - **On-page lead generation tools:** To help you capture leads on your website. - **Inbound lead generation tools:** To help you bring more leads to your website and other channels. - **Outbound lead generation tools:** To help you identify leads and send messages via outbound channels (email, calls, etc.) - **CRO tools to maximise leads:** So you can increase the percentage of users who convert into more valuable leads. - **Email marketing tools:** To help you generate and nurture leads along the customer journey. - **Search marketing tools:** To increase traffic from organic and paid search and generate more on-site leads. - **Marketing management tools:** To measure performance, maximise lead generation and improve the quality of leads. In each of these categories, I’ll be recommending the best lead generation tools we’ve used over the years and explaining why they’re worth trying out. All of the tools in this list have helped us scale our own lead generation strategy and, while none of them are perfect, they can all make things happen if you know how to use them. ## **On-page lead generation tools** In this first section, we’re looking at tools that you can use to generate leads from visitors who are currently on your website. You’ve already invested in bringing these visitors to your site and these are the tools that are going to convert them into genuine leads. These are the tools we’re going to talk about: - Driftrock - Optinmonster - Unbounce - Intercom - Turnstile - Qualaroo - Hello Bar So let’s start by looking at Driftrock, the web form design and optimisation tool that transformed the way we generate leads here at Venture Harbour. ### **1.** [**Driftrock**](https://www.driftrock.com/) **Prices start from $149 per month.** Driftrock brings a whole collection of lead generation tools under one roof to help you capture, track, validate & manage leads from your website, chat, as well as 3rd party sources like Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and TikTok. Driftrock makes it easy to build high-converting lead generation forms for your website like inline forms, banners, triggered modal forms and landing pages. As you’d expect from a lead capture tool, you can send leads to your CRM, email systems or Google Analytics with integrations to all the major tools. What makes Driftrock’s website forms special is that (if the user gives consent) you can also capture Google Analytics tracking with each lead. This way, you can track leads from the exact source, medium, campaign, content or keyword through to a conversion.  You can connect 20+ lead sources to Driftrock, or create your own website forms. Driftrock provides integrations to all the major CRM, email and analytics platforms.  One handy built-in feature with Driftrock is lead validation. You can check if email, phone and address fields are valid to avoid wasting sales team time, and optimize for better quality leads. To learn more about Driftrock, checkout out [Driftrock.com](https://www.driftrock.com/) ### **2.** [**Optinmonster**](https://optinmonster.com/) **Prices start from $19/month** Popups are always a contentious issue in online marketing and design, but they can make a positive impact [when done well](/do-exit-intent-popups-actually-increase-conversions-in-2017/). We sometimes implement exit-intent pop-ups that only trigger when a user shows signs of leaving the page. The idea is that they’re less intrusive than regular pop-ups and they give you one last shot at converting a visitor into a lead. When we decide pop-ups are the way to go, [Optinmonster](/recommends/optinmonster/) is the tool we use. It makes them easy to implement on any page and you can create A/B tests to improve performance. ### **3.** [**Unbounce**](/recommends/unbounce/) ### **Prices start from $79/month** Unbounce is probably the first name that comes to mind with landing page builders. Featuring one of the best drag-and-drop builders in the game, Unbounce may not be a beginner’s tool but it is one of the most advanced builders you’ll find. Unbounce is about more than simply building pretty landing pages. It puts all the emphasis on landing pages that convert – the whole point of creating them in the first place. With support for A/B testing, Google Ads integration, and visitor stats, Unbounce is probably the best all-around builder around. ### **4.** [**Intercom**](https://www.intercom.com/) **Prices start from $87/month** Intercom enables you to communicate directly with leads who are visiting your website. You can set up rules to display messages to visitors when certain conditions are met. For example, if a user spends more than 60 seconds on your pricing page and is on their second visit you could display a message like this:  An operator on your team can then speak directly with website visitors, or even jump on video chat directly from the live chat window. The potential for Intercom is incredibly powerful – from gathering product feedback and understanding objections, to collecting leads who are searching around on your website. It’s difficult to do Intercom justice in words. I’d highly recommend [checking them out](/recommends/intercom/) even if only to understand the potential of what they offer. ### **5.** [**Turnstile**](https://wistia.com/product/turnstile) ### **Free version available, paid versions start from $99/month** Turnstile is a simple feature offered by Wistia, one of the most popular video hosting companies for B2B brands. Turnstile’s main goal is to collect the names and email addresses of potential customers for you and your business after someone has finished watching a video. By offering an email collector at the beginning, middle or end of your video you can turn this engaged visitors into valuable leads. ### **6.** [**Qualaroo**](https://qualaroo.com/) ### **Prices start from $199/month** Qualaroo is often thought of as a customer research tool. If you’re unfamiliar with their product, they provide unobtrusive mini customer surveys that enable you to communicate with visitors on your website. One underused tactic is to use Qualaroo for lead generation. In short, you can ask your visitors a series of questions such as ‘What can we do for you today?’ and by step 2/3 of the survey it may make sense to arrange a call or ask for an email. ### **7.** [**Hello Bar**](https://www.hellobar.com/) **Free version available, paid versions start from $99/month** [Hellobar](https://www.hellobar.com/) is a powerful free widget that appears at the top of every page on your website once installed. You can customise the message and call to action, as well as A/B testing different messages to optimise your conversion rate. For driving mailing list subscribers this is a great opportunity to attract attention with an incentive such as a free e-book or entry to win a prize in return for an email address. ## **Inbound lead generation tools** Now that you have the tools needed to generate leads from website visitors, it’s time to increase traffic volumes so you can maximise the impact of your on-page lead generation strategies. In this section, we’ve got another five tools that are going to help you do precisely this: - LinkedIn Sales Navigator - [Everwebinar](/recommends/everwebinar/) - Quora - Hootsuite - SlideShare Given that we’re in the B2B arena, these tool choices reflect the kind of lead generation strategies we implement and the type of leads we’re looking to attract - so you might need to look elsewhere if you’re more geared towards B2C lead generation. ### **8.** [**LinkedIn Sales Navigator**](https://business.linkedin.com/me/sales-solutions/sales-navigator) **Prices start from $64.99/month** If you’re in B2B sales, LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator is a great tool for capturing leads. Alongside receiving lead recommendations and seeing who’s viewed your profile, the Sales Navigator enables you to save leads into your CRM directly from LinkedIn. ### **9.** [**Everwebinar**](/recommends/everwebinar/) **One-off $497 fee** Everebinar is a powerful webinar automation tool that aims to help you build email marketing lists with a purpose. With EverWebinar, you can schedule and automate your webinar footage to play at set intervals and the software aims to recreate the live experience for users. The goal is to increase engagement and attendance by telling users the next webinar is about to begin, even if you choose to replay it a dozen times per day. ### **10.** [**Quora**](https://www.quora.com/) **Free** Quora has become a de-facto destination for asking and answering questions online. If you search on Quora for topics relating to your business you’ll likely find tens or hundreds of people asking questions that you could provide well-informed answers to. These answers can subtly convey your company’s expertise, which may drive potential leads to contact you. ### **11.** [**Hootsuite**](https://hootsuite.com/en-gb/) **Prices start from $25/ month** Managing one social media account is time-consuming enough, let alone having to manage multiple. Hootsuite allows you to manage all of them from one place, get insights for your entire social marketing strategy and – most importantly – schedule and automate your posts. ### **12.** [**SlideShare**](https://www.slideshare.net/) **Free** Since joining forces with LinkedIn in 2026, Slideshare has become one of the most effective lead generation tools for reaching a B2B audience. From my experience, the key with Slideshare is to ensure that your slides are well-designed and make sense without any explanation. When you get these two areas right, there’s a high likelihood that Slideshare will feature your presentation on their homepage for a day or two, driving thousands of views. Following this, your slides should rank well when people search for the topic of your presentation on the platform – putting you in front of targeted leads. ## **Outbound lead generation tools** Outbound marketing doesn’t get much love these days and, in some ways, this is understandable. Strategies like cold emails are generally frowned upon and, while we’re not going to complain about this, we can say from experience that these strategies can still be highly effective when done right. To do things right, you’re first going to need the right tools and here’s what we’re looking at in this section: - Datanyze - SendBlaster - Growbots - Hunter - BuzzBuilder First up, we’ve got Datanyze, which will help you save time prospecting new leads. ### **13. Datanyze** **Prices start from $600/ month** Datanyze is an outbound sales tool designed to help software and tech companies save time prospecting. The main benefit of Datanyze is that it shows you the technology used by your prospects – and even helps you find new prospects based on what technology they use. ### **14.** [**SendBlaster**](https://www.sendblaster.com/) **One-off $150 fee** [SendBlaster](https://www.sendblaster.com/) is a straightforward bulk email sender that allows you to create mails by editing templates from its library and then send them out to an unlimited number of contacts. This is the key selling point of SendBlaster: you pay a one-off fee and you can send unlimited emails to an unlimited number of contacts. SendBlaster is also one of the only bulk senders in this category that has a strong reputation and avoids the spam algorithms of ISPs and major inbox platforms. ### **15.** [**Growbots**](https://www.growbots.com/) **Priced on application** About a week ago I received one of the best cold emails I’ve seen in a long time. This email, I believe, was 100% automated and sent using Growbots. Growbots dubs itself as an ‘AI for sales’ and uses clever rules and a huge database of contacts to do clever outbound lead generation. While I haven’t personally used their service, I’ve heard great things about Growbots from numerous friends in the SaaS community. ### **16.** [**Hunter**](https://hunter.io/) **Prices start from $49/month** Hunter is an outbound email tool that lets you type in any web domain and find the email addresses associated with it. It gives you the manual control to pick and choose your ideal email targets and access the email addresses you need without scouring every website, one by one. What a timesaver. One of the most important features of Hunter is that it comes with an email validation tool to help you ensure that more of your emails are going to the right places. You can also run email campaigns directly from Hunter although we use other tools for this ourselves. ### **17.** [**BuzzBuilder**](https://buzzbuilderpro.com/) **Prices start from $250/month** Buzzbuilder is a complete outbound email marketing platform designed to get more of your messages opened and read while maximising the number of respondents who take action. The thing with cold emailing si that you’re always fighting an uphill battle in terms of engagement and staying on the right side of junk folders and ISPs. Buzzbuilder has a solid reputation with ISPs, which means more of your emails will reach their intended targets and the platform’s personalisation features mean you should be able to engage more of your prospects. ## **CRO tools for maximizing leads** With your lead generation strategies working in full motion, there’s still more you can do to maximise results. No matter how much traffic you’re bringing in, you’re only ever going to be able to convert a certain percentage of those visitors into genuine leads. The trick is maximising that percentage so you can turn as many of those visitors you’ve worked so hard to get into real sales opportunities - and these are the tools we use to make this happen: - Leadformly - Leadforensics - Pingdom - Mixpanel - Hotjar - VWO Now, we’ve already looked at Leadformly as an on-page lead generation tool but it also serves another important function as a CRO tool to help you optimise your forms for conversions. ### **18.** [**Leadformly**](https://leadformly.com/) **Prices start from $30/month** As a conversion optimisation tool, Leadformly helps you maximise conversions where they matter most - on your web forms. While there are plenty of form builder tools on the market, few of them provide the form analytics tools you need to measure performance and optimise your forms. Those that do generally fall too short on providing the data insights you need to truly optimise form conversions. Leadformly is different because it provides details form analytics on the user actions that really matter. For example, it shows you the last form field users were filling out before they quit the session. It also shows you how long it takes users to fill out your entire form *and* individual fields so you can highlight the problematic parts of your forms and put fixes in place. Instead of simply providing form completion rates and metrics that tell you how poorly your form is doing, Leadformly gives you the tools you need to diagnose problems and either remove them or fix them. ### **19.** [**Lead Forensics**](https://www.leadforensics.com/) **Pricing based on web traffic volumes** There are many potential leads on your website, yet only a handful fill out your enquiry forms.  While you can significantly increase the percentage of visitors filling out your forms using a tool like LeadFormly, there will always be a few leads slipping through the cracks. LeadForensics solves this by using the visitor’s IP address to tell you which companies are viewing your website (even if they don’t fill out your enquiry form). One of my clients recently installed this and found that many large brands were visiting their contact page but not filling out our form. Their sales team could then go to LinkedIn, find the marketing director’s name, and call the company asking to speak to this person. As you can imagine, this not only increased the number of targeted leads their business received, but it also had a great conversion rate as the leads were already familiar with the business. ### **20.** [**Pingdom**](https://www.pingdom.com/) **Prices start from $50/month** The best tool you can have on your side for speed optimisation is a quality developer who knows how to put code together with performance in mind. However, if your site is already live and lagging behind, you need to diagnose what the problem is. [Pingdom](https://www.pingdom.com/) goes further than any of the free options you’ll find, such as Google’s page speed tools (which are fine for free options). However, Pingdom constantly monitors the speed of your site, looking out for issues and helps you diagnose the root cause rather than treating the symptoms. ### **21.** [**Mixpanel**](https://mixpanel.com/) **Prices start from $89/month** If Google Analytics tells you what’s happening on your website, [Mixpanel](https://mixpanel.com/) makes it easier to see *who* did what. It also gives you a second data channel for you to compare against Google’s data – because it never makes sense to put all of your faith into one tool. ### **22.** [**Hotjar**](https://www.hotjar.com/) **Prices start from $29/month** Hotjar is a conversion optimisation tool that makes a real difference to your landing page performance. With heatmaps, you can see what users are clicking on, scroll maps show you what users are seeing and its user feedback features are excellent as well. ### **23.** [**VWO**](https://vwo.com/) **Prices start from $99/month** VWO (or Visual Website Optimizer, as it used to be known) is our go-to tool for split-testing. We use it across all of our active ventures to ensure that all key pages in our user journeys are continually improving their conversion rates. Thanks to [VWO](/recommends/vwo/), we’ve been able to get more leads and conversions out of every marketing dollar we spend and scientifically optimise our marketing funnels. ## **Email marketing tools to generate & nurture leads** Capturing leads is a marketing priority for every business but what are you going to do after those people sign up for your email lists or try out your demo. Are you just going to hope they find their way along the buying process themselves and finally make the purchase? No, of course not. You’re going to nurture these leads across the buying process yourself with targeted messages and email marketing is the most important channel for achieving this. Which means having the right set of email marketing tools on your side is crucial and these are the tools we recommend: - ActiveCampaign - Sendinblue - Prospect.io - Really Good Emails - Canva Now, ActiveCampaign is much more thana n email marketing platform (we’ll look at this in more detail later) but its combined automation and CRM features make it one of the most effective all-in-one systems on the market. ### **24.** [**ActiveCampaign**](/recommends/activecampaign/) **Prices start from $9/month** Your ability to capture and convert leads is largely dependent on your email marketing and CRM solution. After all, if you can’t properly segment and use rule-based follow-up with leads, you’ll have a harder job qualifying and converting those leads. Having tested [many email marketing tools](/email-marketing-software-tools-one-best/) and [small business CRMs](/crm-software-small-business/), ActiveCampaign is without a doubt the best solution I’ve come across. As you can see, ActiveCampaign allows you track every interaction a lead has with your website – and then use these as triggers for your email marketing campaigns. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) This means you can notify your sales team as soon as a lead visits a certain page on your website. You could also automatically follow up with cold leads every few months, or build email campaigns to nurture them back into warm leads. ### **25.** [**Sendinblue**](/recommends/sendinblue/) **Free version available, paid versions start from $50/month** [Sendinblue](/recommends/sendinblue/) is a great email marketing platform and we use it here at Venture Harbour for sending transactional emails. It doesn’t provide the automation features we need and it lacks a little on the integration side of things for us, but Sendinblue is a highly capable piece of software all the same.  With its white-label offering you can customise URLs to match your domain, add your agency logo to the interface and create custom reports for different clients. Overall, it’s not the most customisable white label option but you do get multi-language support, which could be crucial if you’re dealing with clients in foreign-speaking markets. ### **26.** [**Prospect.io**](https://prospect.io/) **Prices start from $79/month** Prospect is an email automation platform that puts a heavy emphasis on outbound marketing strategies. It provides an email finder tool to help you create lists for cold email campaigns and a separate verification tool to refine your lists. You can then create and automate drip campaigns by either creating your emails from scratch or using the platform’s library of templates. You also get solid reporting and analytics to measure campaign performance. I wouldn’t call this a complete email marketing platform by any means but it is the closest thing I’ve seen to a complete outbound email marketing platform. ### **27.** [**Really Good Emails**](https://reallygoodemails.com/) **Free** Templates are a good source of inspiration for email designs but you have to filter through a lot of not-so-great templates in the process. So it helps to have a collection of really great designs at hand and this is where Really Good Emails is a great resource. You can browse emails by category – industry, engagement, cart abandonment, etc. – and get a list of quality email designs to draw inspiration from. ### **28.** [**Canva**](https://canva.com/) **Free version available, paid versions start from $30/month** With [Canva](https://canva.com/) you can quickly create simple graphics and visuals for blog posts and social media. It’s not a replacement for Adobe Illustrator or pro software but it’s a great platform for creating unique images, fast. It’s also free, unless you actually want to pay for any of the awful stock images (you really don’t need to). ## **Search marketing tools for lead generation** Organic and paid search are the two most important channels in terms of bringing new visitors to your website but they’re also two of the most competitive. You need every advantage you can get when it comes to search marketing and these tools can give you the edge you need: - SEMrush - Ahrefs - Yoast SEO plugin - Twilio - Google Analytics - Google Ads Scripts Best of all, a lot of the tools in this section are completely free to use so you don’t need to break the bank in order to maximise your search presence. ### **29.** [**SEMrush**](https://www.semrush.com/) **Prices start from $99.95/month** [SEMrush](/recommends/semrush/) is our team’s favourite SEO tool for on-site auditing and running a health check on our websites’ technical SEO. While SEMrush is better-known for its keyword research capabilities, we actually prefer the Site Audit functionality, which provides us with a thorough checklist of all of our site’s technical SEO opportunities. SEMrush is also particularly great at enabling junior staff members or those who are less experienced in technical SEO to reach the same conclusions as our more senior SEO staff members, which is pretty brilliant for less than $100/month. ### **30.** [**Ahrefs**](https://ahrefs.com/) **Prices start from $99/month** While [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) is a general-purpose SEO tool, there’s one function we use it for in particular. The backlink checker tool in Ahrefs is unrivalled, making this an indispensable tool for link building. Also, its website reports are more detailed than any of the other tools we tested, providing a wealth of technical SEO information about your site. This helps you pinpoint problems faster and get them fixed before they hurt your search ranking. ### **31.** [**Yoast SEO plugin**](https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/) **Free version available, paid version $49.93/month** If you’re running a website on WordPress, then Yoast’s SEO plugin is one of the few you should add on day one. This plugin isn’t going to solve all of your SEO problems but it will ensure you cover the basic essentials for every page/post you add. This is especially important if you’re not too clued up on SEO yourself or you have contributors publishing content that may not have the SEO knowledge you need to optimise titles, headings, keywords and other on-page essentials. The plugin will even analyse the content on every page and offer suggestions on how you can improve it for SEO and readability. ### **32.** [**Twilio**](https://www.twilio.com/) **Pricing upon application** Twilio is an advanced communications system that allows you to integrate SMS and voice calls into any application. For search marketers, though, one of its most important features is its call tracking capabilities so that phone calls don’t fall through the gaps of your data collection efforts. You can also use Twilio to attribute calls and track users along the consumer journey, create SMS marketing campaigns and communicate with customers. ### **33.** [**Google Analytics**](https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/) **Free** Google Analytics isn’t perfect (more on that point in a moment) but it’s still the most powerful tool of its kind. Sync GA with Google Ads and you’ve got yourself one hell of a system for tracking landing page performance and setting up remarketing lists to bring leads back to your site after they leave. To get the best out of Google Analytics you’ll probably need a developer to set up things like events tracking and custom metrics but it’s a worthy investment. With detailed insights into where your visitors are coming from and what they do on your site, you’re not only in a position to optimise your landing pages but also your advertising strategy and other parts of your site for better performance. ### **34.** [**Google Ads scripts**](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/scripts) **Free** Google Ad scripts give you the freedom to automate all kinds of features and functions. For example, you can add your own bidding rules, detect low-performing keywords, track Quality Scores across all of your campaigns and generate custom reports. ## **Marketing management tools for lead generation & nurturing** As mentioned in the article, modern marketing is all about generating and managing leads from multiple channels and this means you need a solid set of marketing management tools to bring all of these channels together and unify your marketing strategies. These are the tools we’re going to look at in this section: - ActiveCampaign - HubSpot - Hull.io - Hoovers - Buzzsumo We looked at ActiveCampaign as an email marketing platform earlier in this article but also explained that it’s much more than an email tool. In fact, it’s a full suite of marketing management tools that has become pivotal, to everything we do here at Venture Harbour. ### **35.** [**ActiveCampaign**](/recommends/active-campaign/) **Prices start from $9/month** ActiveCampaign is an all-in-one CRM, email marketing and marketing automation suite. This isn’t a Jack-of-all-trades piece of software, though. ActiveCampaign is one of the best providers in all three categories and its automation features, in particular, are hard to beat. We can use ActiveCampaign as the hub of our sales and marketing campaigns, bringing these two crucial strategies together. It allows us to break our sales funnel into multiple stages and create campaigns designed to guide leads across the buying process. With its lead scoring features, we’re also able to pinpoint the leads that are most valuable to our business and prioritise these with our follow-up campaigns. Best of all, we’re able to automate the majority of our sales and marketing processes which means our sales team is no longer limited by the number of leads they can handle. ### **36.** [**HubSpot**](/recommends/hubspot/) **Free Smart CRM; paid Hubs get expensive once you outgrow Starter** HubSpot is an incredible collection of integrated software tools, some of which you can use for free (the Smart CRM, basic forms, and 2,000 marketing emails per month on the free plan). In terms of usability, you probably won't find a better all-in-one solution and the quality across HubSpot's tools is consistently high. [](/recommends/hubspot/) The problem with HubSpot is the steep pricing jump once you outgrow Starter. Marketing Hub Starter is $15/seat/month, but proper marketing automation, A/B testing and custom reporting all sit on Professional at $890/month — plus a one-time $3,000 mandatory non-refundable onboarding fee and a 12-month commitment. For our full breakdown, see our [HubSpot review](/hubspot-review/). If business is going well and you need closed-loop revenue attribution, HubSpot's Marketing Hub Pro/Enterprise can earn its bill — and the Spring 2026 Spotlight added native multi-touch revenue attribution. But for most teams, [ActiveCampaign](/activecampaign-review/) delivers ~90% of the automation at roughly 10% of the cost. ### **37.** [**Hull.io**](https://www.hull.io/) **Prices start from $450/month** Hull brings all of your campaign data into a single place, allowing you to get a truly comprehensive overview of how performance is working collectively. It does the same thing with customer data, too, so your sales reps can access all of the relevant information about each customer when they need it. As your list of sales and marketing software tools increases, fragmented data can become a problem -especially if your favourite tools don’t integrate too well. Hull.io aims to solve that problem by bringing all of the data you need into a single dashboard. ### **38.** [**Hoovers**](https://www.hoovers.com/sales-leads/list-building.html) Hoovers pride themselves on being the ‘largest single source of business information’ anywhere. This means that if it is personalised leads that you require for your business, then Hoovers is a great place to look. ### **39.** [**Buzzsumo**](https://buzzsumo.com/) **Prices start from $99/month** [Buzzsumo](https://buzzsumo.com/) helps you discover the most shared content across social media and get detailed reports on the best-performing content from around the web. You can also use it to find top influencers for any topic and get alerts for new content that includes your target keywords. ## **Which lead generation tools are for you?** All of the tools we’ve looked at in this article are leading class in their field so you don’t need to worry about usability or features - they all deliver on these aspects. What you need to do now is determine which tools are going to help you achieve your business/marketing goals and whether the price tags are justified. So, in this section, we’ve got a table for each group of tools listing the entry prices and top-tier prices for each tool, plus the key reason you might want to buy into them. ### **On-page lead generation tools** First, we have our list of on-page lead generation tools that will turn the most important pages of your website into lead magnets. | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | Entry price | Top price | Reason to buy | | Leadformly | $30 | $149 | Create high-converting forms | | Optinmonster | $19 | $99 | Capture leads that are about to leave | | Unbounce | $79 | $399 | Create/test quality landing pages | | Intercom | £87 | $159 | Deliver real-time messages to visitors | | Turnstile | Free | $99 | Collect leads from videos | | Qualaroo | $299 | $499 | Get user feedback | | Hello Bar | Free | $99 | Capture leads without intrusive pop-ups | In terms of getting the most for your money, Leadformly is the clear winner here, helping you maximise conversions across all of your forms. You can’t capture leads without high-converting forms so this is the tool to start with and you’ll find Leadformly actually makes a number of these other tools even more effective, once your forms are at peak performance. ### **Inbound lead generation tools** For inbound leads, it really comes down to which strategies you’re implementing. Pretty much every business needs a good piece of social media management software which almost makes Hootsuite a marketing essential. | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | **Entry price** | **Top price** | **Reason to buy** | | Sales Navigator | $64.99 | $103.33 | Capturing leads from LinkedIn | | Everwebinar | $497\* | | Automated webinar strategies | | Quora | Free | | Capture leads, find user questions | | Hootsuite | $25 | $520 | Manage multiple social media accounts | | SlideShare | Free | | Generate leads from LinkedIn, Google Search | *\*One-off fee* For B2B brands, LinkedIn is also close to obligatory and it only makes sense to leverage SlideShare as a part of this strategy. Although, the tool on this list that has made the biggest impact on our marketing efforts here at Venture Harbour has actually been Everwebinar, so don’t let that one-off fee deter you. It quickly becomes a cheap option compared to monthly fees and the returns of an automated webinar strategy for B2B businesses can he huge. ### **Outbound lead generation tools** Now, we come to the unpopular list of outbound marketing tools that have become taboo in the age of inbound. | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | **Entry price** | **Top price** | **Reason to buy** | | Datanyze | $600 | $1200 | Discover prospects for outbound strategies | | SendBlaster | $150\* | | Run blast email campaigns | | Growbots | - | - | Automate cold email campaigns | | Hunter | $49 | $399 | Discover and verify email addresses | | BuzzBuilder | $250 | $1,650 | Prospecting and campaigns made easy | *\*One-off fee* There’s no real winner in this category - it all comes down to how you use these tools to find relevant prospects and manage your campaigns (automation is crucial). Growbots is a great tool but its pricing policy isn’t very transparent and that bugs me. ### **CRO tools to maximise leads** Now, let's take a quick look at the CRO tools we covered in this article. | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | **Entry price** | **Top price** | **Reason to buy** | | *Leadformly* | *$30* | *$149* | Optimise your webforms for conversions | | Lead Forensics\* | - | - | Identify website visitors | | Pingdom | $50 | $170 | Speed up your website | | Mixpanel | $89 | Custom | Advanced analytics | | Hotjar | $29 | $589 | See what visitors are doing on your site | *\*Pricing based on usage* Again, the place to start here is Leadformly because there’s not much point in optimising for conversions if your most important conversion tools (forms) aren’t up to scratch. Next, I would say Pingdom and Hotjar belong in any business’ tech stack and, from there, you can decide whether Lead Forensics and Mixpanel have anything to offer. Sadly, Lead Forensics is another provider that doesn’t disclose its pricing so I can’t provide that info. I can say we’ve had great success with it here, though. ### **Email marketing tools to generate & nurture leads** Email marketing used to be a messy, time-consuming strategy but we’re lucky to have so many tools available these days to help automate campaigns and handle all of the repetitive stuff for us. | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | **Entry price** | **Top price** | **Reason to buy** | | ActiveCampaign | $9 | $479+ | Nurture leads and automate campaigns | | Sendinblue | Free | $50 | Transactional emails | | Prospect.io\* | $79 | $129 | Automated outbound campaigns & lead nurturing | | Really Good Emails | Free | | Email inspiration | | Canva | Free | $30 | Quick, easy visuals for email designs | \*Additional fees for credits I can’t really say enough good things about ActiveCampaign as it’s been central to most of our growth and marketing strategies here at Venture Harbour, since we started using it eight years ago. Aside from the creative design and strategic aspects of email marketing, modern businesses need to automate everything they can and ActiveCampaign is one of the few tools that deliver this level of automation and integrates with both sales and marketing. As far as I’m aware, it’s the *only* tool that does it at this price point. ### **Search marketing tools for lead generation** Search marketing is a tricky essential for every business with a digital presence but which tools are you going to use to maximise traffic? | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | **Entry price** | **Top price** | **Reason to buy** | | SEMrush | $99.95 | $399 | Class-leading SEO tools & insights | | Ahrefs | $99 | $999 | The SEMrush alternative for freelancers, single businesses | | Yoast SEO plugin | Free | $49.93 | Basic on-page SEO for WordPress websites | | Twilio\* | - | - | Call tracking & commons | | Google Analytics | Free | | The essential analytics tool | | Google Ads Scripts | Free | | Custom PPC automations | *\*Fees based on usage* The only real head-to-head here is SEMrush vs Ahrefs and you’ll really have to try them both out to get an idea of which one is best for you. Google Analytics and Google Ads scripts are pretty much essentials and anyone with a WordPress site should at least be using the free version of Yoast’s SEO plugin. Then we have Twilio, which offers some great features (especially call tracking) with a transparent but confusing [price structure](https://www.twilio.com/pricing). ### **Marketing management tools for lead generation & nurturing** Finally, we’ve got the marketing management tools that will help you bring everything together and ActiveCampaign gets another mention here for its all-in-one CRM and marketing solution. | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | **Entry price** | **Top price** | **Reason to buy** | | *ActiveCampaign* | *$9* | *$479+* | All-in-one CRM & marketing automation | | HubSpot | Free | ? | Free CRM and form builder | | Hull.io | $450 | $2400 | All your data in one place | | Hoovers | - | - | Prospecting & sales intelligence | | Buzzsumo | $99 | $499+ | Content strategy & research | If you’re looking to try a free CRM then HubSpot is a good way to get a feel for this type of software and the company also offers a number of other free tools. Its paid software is top-quality, too, but you have to be prepared to pay for it and it you’re getting most of this from ActiveCampaign for a fraction of the price. ## Time to choose your tools Whichever marketing tool you decide will suit you and your business best, I hope this extensive list is useful – and if you’re aware of any other good lead generation tools that I’ve missed, feel free to share them in the comments below. You’ll also find more tool recommendations and growth strategies on our blog page - so be sure to check that out - and you can also follow us on social media to keep up with our latest posts. ## FAQ **What is the difference between inbound and outbound lead generation tools?** Inbound lead generation tools attract prospects to your business through content and optimisation, whilst outbound tools help you proactively reach potential customers through email, calls, or ads. **Inbound tools focus on pulling prospects in**, whereas outbound tools involve pushing your message out to targeted audiences—each approach requires different software and strategies. **Which lead generation tool is best for small businesses?** The best tool depends on your budget and goals, but **on-page lead generation tools like Typeform or Unbounce** offer the fastest ROI for small businesses because they capture leads directly from your website without requiring large ad budgets. These tools typically cost £20-100 per month and integrate with your existing website in minutes. **Can you generate leads through email marketing?** Yes, email marketing tools can both generate and nurture leads simultaneously, making them essential for a complete lead generation strategy. **Email platforms like Klaviyo and [ConvertKit](/recommends/convertkit/)** allow you to build subscriber lists, segment audiences, and automate follow-ups that convert prospects into customers over time. **What makes a good lead generation tool?** **A good lead generation tool captures high-quality prospects, integrates with your CRM, and provides clear ROI tracking** so you can measure which channels actually convert. The best tools also offer automation features to nurture leads without manual intervention, saving your team time whilst improving conversion rates. **How do search marketing tools help with lead generation?** Search marketing tools optimise your paid search campaigns and organic visibility to attract prospects actively searching for your solutions. **Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs** help you identify high-intent keywords, analyse competitor strategies, and track which search terms generate the most qualified leads. **Do I need a CRM to use lead generation tools?** Whilst not strictly necessary, **integrating lead generation tools with a CRM dramatically improves your conversion rates** because it centralises prospect data and enables automated follow-ups. Most modern lead generation tools offer native CRM integrations or Zapier connections, making setup straightforward. **What are the best lead generation tools for B2B companies?** **B2B lead generation requires tools that target decision-makers and provide company-level data**, such as outbound prospecting platforms and intent-based advertising tools. These tools focus on quality over quantity, helping you identify and reach the specific individuals most likely to purchase your solution. **How can I improve my lead generation results?** Improving lead generation requires testing multiple channels—on-page forms, email campaigns, search ads, and outbound outreach—then **measuring which tools and tactics generate the highest-quality leads**. The article covers 35+ tools across eight categories, so you can experiment with different approaches and scale what works. --- # 4 Useful Sales Tools For Content Marketers URL: https://ventureharbour.com/useful-sales-tools-to-improve-content-marketing/ Summary: Discover the best digital content sales tools to boost revenue. We've tested 15+ platforms with pricing & features. Find your perfect fit. Last updated: 2026-04-09 07:00:56 We are now forever enveloped in the cloak of computerisation, and so the phrases “there’s a Tool, Plugin or App for that” are being used more and more frequently amongst us. Phrases so engrained in our collective psyche they're undoubtedly being uttered between kids and co-workers alike thousands of times over throughout the world this very minute.  But the fact is there are so many cleverly crafted applications out there built with the sole intention of assisting us in our day-to-day professional tasks. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to decipher good from bad, the laborious time wasters from the helpfully efficient, and recognise on face value the salt from the sugar, without tasting them first. Coming from a sales background, I’ve carried over some habits and tools that I was using, into my day-to-day digital marketing activities. So whether you’re an old hand digital musketeer looking for new tools, or straight out of the blocks, here are a handful of sales tools that I personally find useful for SEO and content marketing: ## PipeDrive CRM I’ve never been an advocate of the term ‘sales CRM’ as this insinuates that they’re to be used *purely* for sales purposes. A CRM is simply a management resource that can be tailored to all manner of requirements. A combination of to-do-list, meets notepad, meets calendar, meets diary, meets accounting Excel spreadsheet. In the analytical world of digital marketing, having a centralised CRM system can prove an invaluable information pool with quick and easy report functions for a number of different aspects of your business. CRMs, such as *[Pipedrive](/recommends/pipedrive/)*, my preferred choice, can be used for managing outreach and lists of potential sites for infographic distribution, white papers, blog and so on. And in so doing provides you with an overview of the progress you’re making securing the contacts at each of these sites. You can use them to create and save your own ‘wishlists’ of people you want to make contact with as you think of them, as inevitably, with ever increasing workloads, we’re not always able to react immediately when a good idea pops into your head.  You can then track the progress, but more importantly the demographics of all of these factors. So over time, as the lists grows, these can be filtered to fit specific criteria, making your life progressively easier as you grow older! ## Rapportive The *[Rapportive](https://www.rapportive.com)* Gmail plug-in isn’t just for ‘nosy parkers’ who want to see a photo or know the location of the recipient they’re mailing. Although admittedly it’s a nice touch! It personalises an otherwise sterile form of communication, as emails so often are! For example Marcus Taylor emailed me this morning, and this is what I got aside his mail: [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2013-10-19-at-12.10.51.png) It can also be a useful tool for confirming the email addresses of people you’re not already in direct contact with which can be hugely helpful when trying to approach potential new customers. This can be ascertained when you open a new mail and slide the cursor over the email address you’ve keyed, as the contact persons details and social feeds associated with their email address will pop up on the right hand side of the mail (provided the email address is currently valid of course!). Thus through trial and you can 'work out' unknown email addresses quite easily! For example: if you know the email structure of a particular organisation, which with a little rummaging around online you can find for most companies, lets say you found ‘info@ventureharbour.com’ in the contact form of a website. You now know more or less that the root domain for their email is ‘@ventureharbour.com’. You can then search using different methods (Linkedin's usually a good starting point) for the current person in charge of a department at the company you want to approach. Using me as an example, you find the name Andy Hoskin.  Once you have the name, through a process of elimination try different combinations like ‘andy.hoskin@, andy-hoskin@, andyh@’ in an open mail. When you get to just ‘andy@ventureharbour.com’ and my profile appears...Viola! You know the mail you’re sending is going to my valid address and thus I'll receive it. ## Yesware Knowledge is power, right? This handy little email add-on keeps a running tally on the progress of your emails, or lack there of. It provides you with quick and non-invasive pop-ups regarding the status of emails you've sent or published and provides insightful read receipts, containing timings and recipient locations. I use this predominately as a sales prospecting tool but it's also useful for day-to-day activities too. For example if you've emailed some information across to a partner or colleague and want to discuss it with them further, it's pointless calling 10mins after you've hit the send button if the intended recipient is tied up in a meeting and hasn't read it yet. *[Yesware](https://www.yesware.com/)* provides a simple notification once the email has been read and in so doing, effectively prompts you at the best time to call. Therefore cutting down on precious time spent waffling into an empty answer phone.  It can also be used to create email templates and set reminders for follow ups along with a chunk of analytical report facilities. I won't waffle on about these though as their use will very much depend on the user but there are a lot of additional functions which certainly shouldn't be overlooked. ## Feedly The most successful business development people are the ones that have intimate knowledge of their markets. [Feedly](https://cloud.feedly.com/) has in many ways filled the void after the demise of Google Reader as a widely used RSS reader. While strictly speaking not a ‘sales tool’ per se, it allows you to display all the most useful feeds, blogs and social updates in easily digestible snippets making it a lot less time consuming to keep on top of the latest market updates and industry articles. It offers a multitude of ways to personalise, by filtering feeds, and can be pretty smart with suggesting additional content too. Created to read like an online magazine, its easy to use and can be tuned as great source of real time industry information!  ## Final thoughts I'm sure many of you will already have your own, or preferred, tools and plugins which you've cultivated over the years to suit individual needs. As I stated originally though, these are just a few that I personally find useful and so I thought I'd collate a short list of suggestions for anyone out there seeking some inspiration, or perhaps just a change of desktop scenery! TMXTFH6AA9YR Image Credit: [Worldbank](https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/4974953390/sizes/z/in/photostream/) ## FAQ **What are the best sales tools for content marketers?** The most effective sales tools for content marketers combine CRM functionality, email intelligence, and content discovery capabilities. PipeDrive CRM, Rapportive, Yesware, and Feedly represent **a balanced toolkit that bridges content creation with sales execution**, allowing marketers to track leads, personalise outreach, and stay informed on industry trends simultaneously. **How can content marketers use sales tools to improve conversions?** Content marketers can leverage sales tools to identify which prospects are engaging with their content and personalise follow-up messaging accordingly. **Email intelligence tools like Yesware and Rapportive reveal prospect behaviour**, enabling marketers to time their outreach and tailor messaging based on actual engagement signals rather than generic assumptions. **Should content marketers use a CRM system?** Yes, content marketers absolutely benefit from CRM adoption, particularly systems like PipeDrive that offer intuitive pipeline management. A **CRM centralises prospect data and content interactions**, allowing your team to understand which pieces of content move leads through the sales funnel most effectively. **What's the difference between Yesware and Rapportive for content marketers?** Rapportive focuses on enriching prospect data and providing contact intelligence directly within Gmail, whilst Yesware emphasises email tracking and sales automation. **Rapportive is better for research-heavy content marketers**, whereas Yesware suits those who need to monitor content engagement metrics across email campaigns. **How do content marketers stay updated on industry trends for sales?** Content marketers should use content aggregation tools like Feedly to monitor industry publications and competitor activity in real-time. **Feedly enables marketers to curate relevant industry content** that can be repurposed into sales conversations, positioning your organisation as informed and current within prospect discussions. **Can content marketers use sales tools without a dedicated sales team?** Absolutely—content marketers can operate these tools independently to manage their own lead nurturing and outreach workflows. **Solo marketers benefit most from integrated platforms** like PipeDrive that consolidate multiple functions, reducing the need for complex multi-tool setups that require dedicated sales personnel to manage. **What digital content sales tools integrate with email?** Both Yesware and Rapportive integrate directly with Gmail and other email clients, making them ideal for content marketers who work primarily through email outreach. **Email-native tools eliminate context-switching**, allowing you to track opens, clicks, and prospect engagement without leaving your inbox. --- # 40+ Best Productivity Apps to Achieve More in 2026 URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-productivity-apps/ Summary: Discover 10 best productivity apps to boost focus & organisation. Compare Serene, habit trackers & timers. Find your perfect match. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:19:39 "Great companies obsess over productivity, not efficiency," [Michael Mankins wrote for Harvard Business Review (HBR)](https://hbr.org/2017/03/great-companies-obsess-over-productivity-not-efficiency). As he says in his HBR article, "Our research indicates that **the average company loses more than 20% of its productive capacity — more than a day each week** — to what we call “organizational drag [sic].” Organisational drag is any process that consumes valuable time and prevents people from getting things done - ie: productivity killers. The best companies are the ones that identify issues getting in the way of productivity and eitbe focher create more efficient processes or remove them altogether. The same thing applies to individual staff members, entrepreneurs, freelancers and anyone who cares about making the most of every minute and [insert currency] they spend. Whether you're working solo or as part of a team, you need the right tools to identify and overcome productivity - so, in this article, we've got 10 of the best time management and productivity apps to help you get more done. ## What kind of productivity apps are we looking at? In this article, I'm going to run you through my pick of the top 40+ time management and productivity apps that will help you get more done every hour of the working day. Productivity tools come in many different forms and they often take a different approach to improving your workflow. So I'm not just going to reel off a bunch of apps and make out all your problems are solved.  *The focus booster app is des*igned around the Pomodoro Technique - popular productivity strategy What I’m going to do is break these productivity apps into the following categories, based on what they help you achieve: 1. **Get organised** 2. **Improve habits** 3. **Increase focus** Once I’ve introduced all of the apps, I’m going to spend the final part of this article comparing them to help you choose the right toolkit for your needs. Note, these aren’t in any particular order. All of these apps are great at what they do and my aim here is to help you get a better understanding of what they do differently and what you need from productivity tools in general. So, let’s get started. ## Get organised with these productivity apps ### **#1:** [**Serene**](https://sereneapp.com/?utm_source=ventureharbour.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=best-productivity-apps) **(macOS)** **$49/year, free trial available** Serene is a macOS application designed to help remote workers, freelancers and modern teams get into deep work and achieve their goals. We’ll be talking about this app a few times throughout this article because it has something to offer for all of the goals we’re looking at: Getting organised, improving habits and increasing focus. To make you more productive, Serene takes a unique approach to organising your tasks. It prompts you to set a single goal for each day and then break this goal into several tasks to stop you getting distracted by tasks that don’t contribute to your daily objective.  You then work in timed sessions for each task with a short break in between each one. Short working sessions and regular breaks help you stay refreshed and keep you hitting targets throughout the day. No more feeling overwhelmed by workloads or getting sidetracked with distractions. You just take it one task at a time. **Key features:** - **Website blocker:** Block websites that distract you, such as social media and news websites. - **App blocker:** You can also block apps that take your attention away from work – social apps, your email app and anything else getting in the way. - **Distraction-free sessions:** Work in 20-60 minute sessions with regular breaks to maximise productivity. - **Session timer:** Shows you how much time you have left to complete tasks, giving you a motivation boost towards the end of each session. - **To-do lists:** Manage tasks and make sure everything gets done by the right team member. - **Day planner:** Define your goal for the day, set your tasks and get stuff done. - **Focus music:** Play background music to help you keep your focus. - **Phone silencer:** Automatically put your phone on silent mobile while working to avoid unnecessary distractions. As you can see, Serene packs a lot of features into a single productivity app and we’ll look at how these can also improve your working habits and increase focus later. You can [try Serene out for free here](https://sereneapp.com/?utm_source=ventureharbour.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=best-productivity-apps). ### **#2:** [**Todoist**](https://todoist.com/) **(Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Safari, Firefox)** **Free, $3/monthor $5/mo** Todoist is a task management tool that promises to turn complex to-do lists into something easily manageable. In many ways, it’s like a Trello for individuals (and without the cards), helping you keep track of your own tasks and make sure nothing gets forgotten.  You can create and organise tasks, set and change deadlines, prioritise tasks, set project goals and keep track of progress with the apps measurement and reporting features. **Key features:** - **Task management:** A slick, feature-rich interface that makes it easy to create and manage tasks – no matter how long your to-do list may be. - **Prioritise tasks:** Get the most important things done first by prioritising tasks. - **Project goals:** Set project goals and make sure you’re on track throughout. - **Reports:** Keep track of your progress with Todoist’s measurement and reporting features. If you’re struggling to keep on top of your personal to-do list, Todoist offers a slick, cross-platform interface that makes it quick and easy to manage tasks. ### **#3:** [**Wunderlist**](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-to-do) **(Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Safari)** **Free or $4.99 per user** Wunderlist is a task management app with all kinds of advanced features. While Trello is designed for teams and Todoist is designed for individuals, Wunderlist is designed for both and it feels very much like a Trello alternative designed around to-do lists, rather than cards.  Instead of cards, you create lists and group them into folders, which every member of your team (if you have one) can access and edit accordingly. **Key features:** - **To-do lists:** Create to-do lists for individuals or teams and group them into folders for larger tasks or projects. - **Task management:** Set deadlines, assign tasks, set reminders and add comments or notes. Much like Trello, Wunderlist is a seriously powerful platform that offers a lot of productivity features for free or a relatively small subscription fee. See which one you prefer. ### **#4:** [**Trello**](https://trello.com/) **(Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web)** **Free version, Business Class version $9.99/monthper user** Trello is a simple, easy-to-use project management app for collaborative teams. The platform is based on the Kanban board philosophy, a visual layout that originates from Japan, which you can see below.  Essentially, tasks are added and organised on “to-do,” “going” and “done” statuses, which helps teams keep track of progress. Tasks can be grouped into boards (the entire view above) and cards, which can contain multiple tasks in themselves. Individual tasks can be assigned to groups or team members with deadlines and checklists. **Key features:** - **Project management:** Trello is a simple, easy-to-use project management app for collaborative teams. - **To-do lists:** Create to-do lists, add due dates, assign them to people and manage tasks as they’re completed. - **Trello boards:** Dashboards where you can create and manage lists of cards containing tasks and to-do lists. - **Work with anyone:** Invite anyone from around the world to help you make things happen. - **Instant messaging:** Talk to team members in real-time to discuss tasks. Trello’s instant messaging makes it easy for teams to communicate and collaborate from anywhere and team members can join for free, although they’ll be limited to one board. Prices remain affordable on every paid package, though. ### **#5: [Slack](https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web)** ***Free version, paid options from £5.25/monthper user*** Slack is a messaging platform designed for teams and it’s the ideal communication tools for remote workers. Instant messaging is organised into channels, which team members can join and leave, as needed, so nobody receives messages or notifications irrelevant to them. Team members can also chat outside of main topics in separate threads which prevents these messages from interfering with the most project-centric conversations. **Key features:** - **Instant messaging:** Live communication between every team member for seamless collaboration. - **Statuses:** Users can set availability statuses to focus on individual tasks as needed. - **File sharing:** Drag-and-drop file sharing for PDFs, images, videos and other common files types. - **Voice & video calls:** Voice and video calls directly from within Slack. - **Screen sharing:** Allows team members to show their work to others in real-time for stronger collaboration. Now, the key thing to understand about Slack as a remote worker is the pricing policy. You can use Slack for free, which allows you to create a single workspace for small teams while paid versions start from £5.25/month per active user. Ideally, your business (or the company you work for) will pay for a team version of Slack to provide everyone with a fully-collaborative workspace. However, the free version of Slack means small teams within a business can use the tool between themselves to improve their workflow. This can improve collaboration within office environments but the real benefit of Slack is for remote workers who need to collaborate with team members in other locations – one of the most common problems cited by remote workers. ### **#6: [Monday](https://mondaycom.grsm.io/venture-harbour-recommends) (iOS, Android, web app)** **Prices start from £15/month for 2 users, £34/month for 5 users** If your project management needs are too demanding for Trello, then monday.com is the first alternative you want to look at. Essentially, it’s a slightly more expensive, complex and powerful version of Trello, which is better suited to larger teams, more complex projects or teams juggling multiple projects at any one time.  While Trello is based around the Kanban board interface, monday allows you to manage projects using multiple views, including the popular Kanban dashboard. Once again, you can create tasks, group them, assign them and add due dates. Team members can then update the status of tasks with labels such as “to do,” “working on it,” “stuck” and “done”. **Key features:** - **Project management:** monday is a more advanced project management that helps large teams and individual team members complete tasks on time. - **Views:** Multiple views allow you to check project overviews, timelines, individual workflows, checklists and reports. - **Track progress:** Track tasks, update statuses, receive notifications when deadlines are looming and reassign/prioritise tasks with ease. - **Weekly task loads:** Team members can work on multiple projects without getting lost by using monday’s weekly overview. - **File sharing:** Upload and share files so everyone has access to the resources they need via the same dashboard. The Chart View and Timeline View options in monday, give you an overall picture of how projects are progressing, the timeline for tasks/projects and how your teams are aligning with deadlines – both for individual tasks and entire projects. These views offer great data visualisations, making it easy to manage projects, tasks and team members alike. ### **#7:** [**Airtable**](https://airtable.com/) **(Windows, Mac, iOS, Android)** **Free version, $10/monthfor Plus, $20/monthfor Pro** We’re lucky to have so many [productivity tools](/best-productivity-apps/) available to us today but this hasn’t always been the case. Back in the day (I’m *just* about old enough to remember), Microsoft Excel was the make-shift project management tool of choice. And, while it may not be the most intuitive tool for this purpose, Excel is surprisingly capable. Airtable is built around the spreadsheet format and this is great news if your team is used to managing projects on tools like Excel. The platform will be familiar to anyone with Excel experience (or similar spreadsheet apps) but the functionality is a bit much for newcomers to adopt without learning the formulas and functions.  Airtable’s interface operates like a spreadsheet but it’s far more intuitive and includes all kinds of functionality that’s either not available in Excel or difficult to achieve. With Airtable, you can create and assign tasks, set statuses, add attachments and include notes – all within a few clicks. **Key features:** - **Project management:** Airtable turns spreadsheets into a fully-featured project management tool. - **Dynamic fields:** Turn fields into checkboxes or add links, attachments, text notes to fields. - **Views:** Manage projects in multiple views – grid, gallery, calendar and Kanban. - **Team collaboration:** Team members can interact with projects, update task statuses, add messages and prioritise their workflows. Airtable also includes instant messaging for seamless collaboration and its cross-platform support makes this accessible to every team member, no matter where they are or which OS they’re using. ### **#8:** [**Taskade**](https://www.taskade.com/) **(Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web)** ***Free version, paid versions from $7/mo*** Taskade is a project management and collaboration tool for small teams. It takes the to-do list concept turns it into a visual platform for tracking the progress of tasks and projects. While Trello is limited to a single Kanban board view, Taskade allows you to toggle multiple views in one click so you can see exactly how things are coming along.  **Key features:** - **Project management:** Project and task management features with multiple views for team members to keep track of progress. - **Live collaboration:** Edit projects in real-time and communicate via live chat. - **Team calendar:** Keep track of tasks across multiple teams and workspaces. - **Team roadmap:** Plan and manage projects by visually assigning tasks and setting deadlines. Taskade also gives you live messaging and video calls for better collaboration between remote team members. While the team roadmap system makes it easy to assign tasks to team members and manage team projects.  The other key feature Taskade provides is a team calendar where tasks assigned to each team member appear for everyone to see. This is important in terms of managing schedules, assigning tasks and keeping track of workloads. ### **#9:** [**Process.st**](https://processstreet.grsm.io/venture-harbour-recommends) **(Web app)** **14-day trial, $12.50/monthfor Business and $25/monthfor Business Pro** A common trait with team productivity tools is they’re often designed for technical teams used to dealing with advanced software platforms. This can make it difficult for non-technical teams to find tools that are designed with them in mind. Process.st is one of those tools, making task management itself easier to manage for teams that don’t necessarily have the same IT skills as designers and developers. The platform is essentially an advanced checklist tool that allows you to create tasks and assign them to team members. The idea is to make repetitive tasks easier for team members to complete (to instructions) and for new team members to take on tasks from others with less time spent on training.  You’ll find a library of templates for all kinds of processes like content promotion, social media image design, creating an invoice and fire inspections. You can edit these templates to include your own instructions and add, remove or edit individual tasks on each checklist. For example, you can create a process for uploading content to social media with instructions for suitable content, image sizes, best times to upload, restrictions and whatever else your team members need to complete every time they do this task. **Key features:** - **Collaborative checklists:** Create checklists for teams, assign tasks and track progress. - **Schedules:** Create daily, weekly and monthly workflows and automate repeated checklists. - **Upload files:** Add images, videos and text files to better communicate ideas between team members. - **Conditional logic:** Create dynamic checklists using if/then logic to adapt to your team’s needs and project demands. Process.st means your team members will be able to complete every step of tasks by following instructions and checking them off their list as they go. This results in higher productivity rates, fewer mistakes and less time spent on creating documentation and training new team members. This can be crucial if you have remote team members that can’t be trained in person. ### **#10:** [**Doodle**](https://doodle.com/en/?utm_expid=.kjT2LasURkS4VpClBIGnbg.1&utm_referrer=) **(Web app)** **Team packages start at €12.50/monthfor 5 users** Communication is crucial for collaborative projects and this becomes increasingly challenging as the number of remote workers on your team increases. While instant messaging is great when everyone is available, organising meetings, chats, video calls and group work sessions at a time that suits everyone can be difficult – especially if you’ve got remote workers in different time zones.  Luckily, Doodle’s got you covered with its collaborative scheduling app that makes it easy to arrange meetings with the ongoing email back-and-forths. It doesn’t matter how large your team is, how many time zones they’re spread across or how many teams your workforce comprises of – Doodle makes meetings happen. **Key features:** - **Team scheduling:** Arrange meetings, video calls and collaborative sessions without the email back-and-forths. - **Availability:** Team members can set their hours of availability, which automatically adapts for time zones. - **Reminders:** Set reminders so team members are always ready for meetings. - **Personal events:** Keep private meetings, events and tasks hidden from team members so people only see the tasks they need to. Essentially, users set their availability times, which are available for other team members to see, and meetings can be scheduled based on everyone’s availability times. Users simply confirm they can attend and the meeting goes ahead. Team members will also be sent automatic reminders before meetings so nothing gets forgotten. Another key feature of Doodle is that user can integrate it with their own calendar apps but everything remains private. The only data visible to other users is availability times and details related to scheduled meetings – nothing else. ### **#11:** [**Calendar**](https://www.calendar.com/) **(Web app)** **Free version available, paid versions from $10/mo** While Google Calendar is a great free digital calendar, it doesn’t provide some of the advanced features remote workers typically need. A more feature-rich alternative is the aptly named Calendar, which connects all of your calendars into a single interface.  **Key features:** - **One calendar:** Calendar integrates with all of your calendars (Google Calendar, Outlook, etc.) to keep everything in one place. - **Synced events:** Create events in Calendar or create them in your other calendar apps – they’ll always be synced. - **Easy scheduling:** Schedule team meetings without the usual email back and forths. - **Analytics:** Calendar provides analytics reports to help you boost productivity. - **Meeting transcriptions:** Automatic transcripts of your meetings. Aside from integrating all of your calendar apps, Calendar’s star feature is the way it handles meetings. Instead of arranging video chats or other meetings with dizzying emails between multiple team members, Calendar allows anyone to choose and book meeting times during your availability hours while ensuring there are no conflicts with existing meetings or tasks. ### **#12:** [**Toggl**](https://toggl.com/) **(Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox)** **$9/mo, $18/monthor custom pricing for enterprise businesses** Toggl is a simple time tracker with powerful reporting that keeps track of how much time you’re spending on tasks. The idea is to document how much time you’re really spending on individual tasks to make sure you’re charging the right amount on your invoices. For teams, it’s also a great tool for comparing the amount of time people spend on tasks, finding out what individuals are best at and knowing who can get you things done under pressure. **Key features:** - **Time tracking:** See how much time you (or others) are taking to get things done. - **Boost profits:** Check you’re charging enough for the time it takes to complete projects. - **Reports:** See how productive you are and - **Cross-platform:** Toggl’s apps work across just about every operating system and online so you can access it wherever you need, whenever you need it. Toggl is an incredibly simple app but it does what it’s designed to do perfectly. Sometimes more features simply create more distractions and that’s counteractive for a productivity app – s problem you definitely won’t get with Toggl. ### **#13:** [**Pocket**](https://getpocket.com/) **(Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web)** **Free** Pocket is a wonderfully simple productivity app that simply lets you save web pages for reading later. In truth, it’s little more than a bookmarking tool turned into an application but it really makes a difference to how you work. When you come across something interesting or useful, but you don’t have time to read it now, Pocket is there for you. Simply save the page (URL-based), assign a category if you want, and you’ll build a collection of resources in your Pocket account. The app essentially turns into a feed of things you actually want/need to read, learn or use for later. **Key features:** - **Save for later:** Save web pages for reading when you have time or need them. Pocket may only have one key feature but I find myself using it every day and it costs me absolutely nothing. ### **#14:** [**Zapier**](https://zapier.com/) **(Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web)** **Free for 100 tasks/month, $19.99/month for 750 tasks, team package for 50,000 tasks, $299/month** Zapier is a simple automation tool that can save teams huge amounts of time on repetitive tasks and switching between different apps. Essentially, Zapier sends data between apps like Trello and Gmail so emails are automatically sent out when anything changes in Trello. Or, you can link Doodle with Airtable so that records in Airtable are automatically updated as soon as a Doodle meeting closes.  There are thousands of existing automations already available on Zapier that you can use to handle repetitive tasks between different apps – and you can also create your own. Add all these automations together and your team is collectively going to spend a lot less time on menial tasks, allowing them to focus on more critical tasks and get things done much faster. **Key features:** - **Integrate apps:** Link your favourite apps so they can share data, allowing you to spend less time switching between apps. - **Automate tasks:** Automate repetitive tasks between apps. - **Zaps:** Browse Zapier’s library of pre-built automation workflows for your favourite apps. - **Custom automations:** Build your own automations if you can’t find them in Zapier’s library of “Zaps”. Zapier is a very gentle introduction into business automation but it can make a real impact on the day-to-day tasks that often slow down collaborative teams. ## Improve habits with these productivity apps ### **#15:** [**Loop – Habit Tracker**](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.isoron.uhabits&hl=en) **(Android)** **Free** This time we’ve got an Android-only productivity app but Loop takes a very different approach to most tools you’ll come across in this category. Instead of trying to keep you away from bad habits getting in the way of work and life, Loop aims to help you spend more of your time forming beneficial habits.  It could be spending more time on neglected admin tasks, catching up on your ever-growing inbox of emails or spending more time with the kids when you’re not working. Whatever you want to be doing *more* of, Focus will help you improve your habits. **Key features:** - **Develop better habits:** Set targets for the things you want to spend more time doing. - **Schedule:** Set specific times and dates or weekly schedules to make your goals more achievable. - **Habit score:** See how you’re doing with individual habits or overall with your habit score. - **Reporting:** Detailed graphs and statistics to keep track of your habits and monitor performance over time. - **Reminders:** Set reminders to keep you in check during moments of weakness. With productivity apps, there’s a lot of focus on the things you shouldn’t be doing but Loop takes the opposite approach and puts the focus on what you could be doing better. ### **#16:** [**Forest**](https://www.forestapp.cc/) **(iOS, Android)** **Free** Forest is easily the quirkiest productivity app in our list today. It’s only available on iOS and Android but there’s beautiful irony in the fact it’s designed to stop you spending so much time on your phone and/or tablet. Forest essentially gamifies downtime away from your mobile devices. When you want to focus, you plant a “tree” and the more time you spend away from your phone/tablet, the more it grows. Leave the app and your tree dies :( Spend enough time away from your phone and you can grow an entire forest. Best of all, you can earn virtual coins by staying focused on your tasks and use these to grow real-life trees through the Forest app. **Key features** - **Productivity:** Spend less time on your mobile devices and see the progress in the form of digital trees. - **Gamification:** Forest adds a bit of fun into the chase for better productivity. - **Grow actual trees:** No other app in this list is going to help you plant actual real-life trees where they’re needed most. Forest not only injects a bit of fun into productivity it also helps you make the world a better place while you’re improving your workflow. ### **#17:** [**Notion**](https://www.notion.so/work) **(Windows, Mac, iOS, Android)** ***Free version, paid versions from $4/mo*** Notion calls itself your team’s long-term memory and it acts as a kind of collaborative alternative to Evernote. Notion also calls itself “the missing half of Slack” which it integrates with perfectly to create a single location for all the resources important to your team – for example, important documentation, guidelines, etc. Multitude’s aim is to replace a multitude of separate productivity apps with a single platform.  **Key features:** - **Notes & Docs:** Create and share documents, notes and media files. - **Team Wiki:** Create a central knowledge base of essential info and guidelines for all team members. - **Project management:** Highly customisable Kanban boards and calendars that adapt to your work. - **Files sharing:** Designed for focused writing, easy editing, and rich media - **Live collaboration:** Work on tasks together in real-time. So, instead of using Google Docs and Evernote, you can use Notion to basically achieve the same thing. Likewise, you can also use its task and project management features in place of tools like Trello. Then, you have the spreadsheets and databases which aim to replace the likes of Excel and Google Sheets. If you’re tired of using a dozen different productivity tools, Notion aims to provide a single platform that replaces half a dozen separate apps. I’m not saying Notion is necessarily as good as all of those individual apps combined but you gain convenience by not having to switch between different apps and you could well save some money while you’re at it. ### **#18:** [**Serene**](https://sereneapp.com/?utm_source=ventureharbour.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=best-productivity-apps) **(macOS)** **Free version available, pro version $49/year** Earlier, we looked at how Serene can help you get organised but the platform is also designed to improve your working habits. The software encourages you to work in short power bursts to maximise productivity and [studies have shown](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm) this approach can increase your concentration levels while reducing fatigue.  [Separate studies](https://www.vouchercloud.com/resources/office-worker-productivity) have shown that **the average person is only productive for two hours and 53 minutes out of an eight-hour working day**. That means you’re underachieving for almost two-thirds of a full working day. The problem is the human brain can only concentrate on a single task for 20-50 minutes before fatigue starts to kick in and you find yourself looking for distractions. Those are some bad working habits right there that can be solved by scheduling tasks as short power sessions and taking regular breaks to keep fatigue at bay. ### #19: [Spark](https://sparkmailapp.com/) (Mac, iOS, Android) ***Free version, $6.39/mo (per user) for Premium*** Spark is an intelligent email client that prevents your inbox from being a productivity killer and turns it into an asset. Its Smart Inbox automatically categorises your emails from every account assigned to it, allowing you to filter out the emails that don’t matter and prioritise the ones that do.  You can also snooze specific emails for later, assign emails to team members, chat with team members, share drafts, set reminders for follow-ups and schedule emails to send them later. **Key features:** - **Smart inbox:** Clean up your inbox, find any email with “Smart Search” and snooze emails that don’t need your attention right now. - **Smart notifications:** Only receive notifications for the emails that really matter. - **Assign emails:** Assign emails to team members so the right person is always managing tasks. - **Team email:** Private team comments, shared drafts, template replies and instant chat for collaborative teams. - **Send emails later:** Schedule emails to send them when people are most likely to read them. - **Reminders:** Get reminders to follow up on important emails at the right time. With Spark, multiple team members can even work on the same email at the same time while communicating via instant messaging on the platform. This means there are no more emails to clients, saying “I’ve CC’d James and he’ll explain that technical issue we talked about earlier”. All the key details can be included in emails by the right person without any confusion or inaccuracy. ### **#20:** [**Habitica**](https://habitica.com/) **(iOS, Android & web)** **Free** I can safely say Habitica is unlike any other tool in this article and unlike any other to-do list app I’ve ever come across. I should make it clear that Habitica isn’t really designed for work but more geared towards developing better habits while you’re away from the computer. This doesn’t mean you can’t use it for work purposes or as a tool to improve work-life balance, though.  Habitica gamifies the to-do list experience by getting you to create an Avatar, which receives points and bonuses for completing the tasks on your list. The more points you win, the stronger your Avatar becomes and the more in-game features and rewards you unlock. **Key features:** - **Gamified to-do lists:** Habitica turns to-do lists into a mobile game experience. - **Habits:** Schedule good habits you want to develop or bad habits you want to overcome. - **Avatars:** Create your own Avatar to progress through your gamified to-do lists. - **In-game rewards:** Earn points for completing tasks and developing good habits, level up your avatar, unlock new features and earn in-game rewards. - **Battle monsters:** Join other Habitica users to fight monsters with your Avatars. You can create positive habits that earn you points as well as negative habits you want to avoid, in which case points are taken away from you. You can also create habits that have both positive and negative outcomes – for example, eating a healthy dinner. If you eat something healthy, you win points; if you eat something unhealthy, you lose points. Who says to-do lists need to be boring? ### #21: [WeDo](https://wedo.com/) (Mac, iOS, Android & Chrome) **$4.99/month, $39.99/year or $159.99 one-off fee** WeDo was originally designed for students but it’s developed into a decent work/life task management tools for professionals, too. There’s an emphasis on finding that work-life balance with WeDo and the app aims to make this more achievable for you.  Aside from creating tasks, setting due dates and all the usual things you would expect from a task management app, WeDo wants to help you develop good habits and you can create separate habits lists. Another interesting feature is the apps asks you how long tasks take you after you’ve completed them and how you felt about them. All of this is added to your reporting data and you can see how your speed/mood about repeat tasks and aspects of life (work, diet, exercise. etc.) improves. **Key features:** - **To-do lists:** Create to-do lists, set due dates, add reminders and prioritise tasks. - **Folders:** Group related lists together in folders. - **Rate tasks:** Log how long it takes you to complete tasks, how important they were and how they made you feel. - **Habit lists:** Create separate lists for new habits you want to develop. - **Sub-tasks:** Break tasks up into more manageable sub-tasks. - **Time estimates:** Estimate how long tasks will take and plan your schedule accordingly. If your aim to manage tasks more effectively and improve that work-life balance or develop better habits, WeDo is definitely worth a look. ### #22: [HabitShare](https://habitshareapp.com/) (iOS, Android) **Free** HabitShare puts a social media spin on developing better habits by encouraging you to share your progress with your friends. The idea is to add that extra bit of pressure for you to hit targets - kind of like how it’s more difficult to skip the gym when you go with a friend.  **Key features:** - **Custom habits:** Create custom habits that fit your specific goals including daily & weekly habits. - **Reminders:** Schedule reminders to help you remember your new habits. - **Share success:** Share your progress with friends to increase motivation and rewards. - **Privacy:** For each friend, you control which of your habits they can see - all habits are private by default. If you self-restraint and motivation aren’t your strong points and you need some external pressure to keep you on track, HabitShare is one app that makes you accountable all the way. ### #23: [Kiwake](https://www.kiwake.com/) (iOS) **$7.99** Kiwake has one goal in mind: to stop you snoozing after your alarm goes off. A whole bunch of studies have shown that [snoozing is actually more detrimental than good](https://www.ktnv.com/news/snooze-button-does-more-harm-than-good-experts-say) and, at best, a complete waste of time. Kiwake wants to help you kick this bad habit.  **Key features:** - **Wake up your body:** Prove that you've left your bed by taking a picture of an object located far from where you sleep. - **Wake up your brain:** Play a quick mini-game that requires your complete attention. - **Wake up your motivation:** Review all your main goals to boost your motivation. Okay, that’s more of a process than a set of features but Kiwake is going to guide (force) you through each step until you’re waking up on time, every time. ### #24: [TickTick](https://ticktick.com/?language=en_US) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) **Free version available, premium version $27.99/year** Not to be confused with social media app TikTok, *TickTick* is an advanced productivity platform that provides all kind of tools to organise your workload and get things done. The reason we’re only looking at it now, in this section, is because the paid version also comes with some great features to improve your workday habits.  **Key features:** - **Fast tasks:** Add new tasks with voice input and instantly turn emails into new tasks. - **Folders, lists, tasks and subtasks:** Keep your to-dos organized in four different levels. - **Smart lists and custom smart lists:** View your tasks in smart lists such as "Today" and "Tomorrow", or create your own custom smart lists. - **Pomo Timer:** Practice the Pomodoro Technique in TickTick. Stay focused, stay productive. - **Achievement scores:** The more tasks you complete on time, the higher the Achievement Score you get. If a delay occurs, the Score could be decreased as well. - **Statistics:** Learn the variation of your work efficiency, and thus to improve it in the future. Once you’ve organised your workload, TickTick gives you statistical feedback and reward you with points for achieving goals. This gamified element really helps you kick out bad habits getting in the way of progress. ### #25: HabitHub (Android, iOS ‘coming soon’) **Free** HabitHub aims to be the only app you’ll need to improve your habits and achieve your goals. It combines a system of goals, rewards and statistical feedback so you can see how much progress you're really making (or not).  **Key features:** - **Chains:** Every time you successfully complete a habit, you start a chain and objective then becomes growing those chains every day. - **Categories:** Organise your habits into categories and groups. - **Graphs:** Visualize your data with beautiful graphs. Get an overview of how well you have been performing and identify any patterns that might be preventing you from successfully cultivating the habit. - **Reminders:** Do you want to be reminded to drink a glass of water every 2 hours? Not a problem. HabitHub allows you to set reminders so that you stay on track and never again forget to mark a day. - **Feature:** Explain. - **Rewards:** You can set rewards for every step of your journey and unlock them when you complete the habit. Android users can download the HabitHub app right now but iOS users will have to wait a bit longer for the app to hit the App Store. ### #26: [Today](https://www.the-today-app.com/) (iOS) **Free** Today is an app that wants to help you develop habits that make the world a better place. As the website puts it, “discover the difference you can make, connect with others creating positive change and earn rewards for your efforts.” Features aren’t really the focal point of Today, the app is more interested in helping you learn more about the positive impact you can have by developing good habits. For example, it will help you: - Find out how much pollution you can save by not using coffee cups each week. - Find out how much clean air you create from walking to work. - Find out how much money you save buying responsibly. - Find out how much water you save with the clothes and shoes you buy. - Find out how much natural land you conserve by eating sustainably too. The app sets you challenges across a wide range of life habits, including food, drinks, home, lifestyle, shopping, technology, transport and work. You can choose which area of your life you want to improve and the app might ask you to go without eating meat for the day or walking everywhere within a reasonable distance. ### #27: [Done](https://thedoneapp.com/) (iOS, Android) **Free version available, premium version $2.99/month** Done is the habit development app that makes everything as simple as it can be. From the moment you start using the app, you exhale with a sense of relief. *Yes, this is what a personal development app should feel like.* From the visual design to the smooth experience, there’s something genuinely calming about the Done app.  **Key features:** - **Goals:** Track daily, monthly, weekly and yearly goals. You can even track a habit multiple times a day. - **Streaks:** These tell you how long you’ve maintained a new good habit. - Feedback: See your progress at a glance in a simple, colourful interface. - **The big picture:** Study trends over a period of a week, month or year for an overview of your progress. No gimmicks, just an app that’s designed really well for the purpose it serves. ### #28: [Strides](https://www.stridesapp.com/) (iOS) **Free** Strides is a goal-orientated platform for you to set targets and manage your way to better habits. The app is only available on iOS currently but what I like about this tool is the detailed performance data that tells you how much progress you’ve made on achieving goals.  **Key features:** - **Project management:** While this isn’t a fully-featured project management tool, you do get this basic functionality included. - **Habits:** Develop good habits and put an end to bad ones while tracking progress throughout the day. - **Real-time feedback:** Stride provides in-depth reports throughout the day to help you stay on target. Whether you want to get up earlier, drink more water, get home from work that bit earlier or commit to those morning pushups, Stride can help you get there. ## Increase focus with these productivity ap**ps** ### #29: [Serene](https://sereneapp.com/?utm_source=ventureharbour.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=best-productivity-apps) (macOS) **Free version available, pro version $49/year** Earlier, we looked at how Serene can help you get organised and improve your working habits but there’s one other key goal it aims to help you achieve: increasing focus. [The Pomodoro Technique](https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique) is one of the most widely-accepted time management principles that encourages people to work in 25 minute bursts followed by a five minute break. This inspired the work session feature in Serene, which helps you fight off fatigue and stay focused on the task at hand. With Serene, you get more flexibility with the time you set for individual task, though.  That’s not the only way it helps you increase focus, either. Serene comes with a built-in website and app blocker that automatically blocks distracting sites and applications during these work sessions. Once your session’s over, you’re free to do what you want. Serene will only block these sites and apps during your scheduled sessions. Aside from removing the temptation for a quick check-in on Twitter, this means you won’t be distracted by email notifications and other interruptions that can kill your progress. The pro version of Serene also comes with a feature that blocks your phone during work sessions so you don’t get bothered by notifications, flashing lights or that catchy ringtone of yours. When you need to focus, Serene takes care of the distractions and gives you a gentle nudge back to the real objective. ### #30: [RescueTime](https://www.rescuetime.com/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) **Free version; Premium version $9/monthor $72/year** RescueTime is a productivity app that runs securely in the background of your computer or mobile device, tracking the time you spend on different applications and websites.  The app then compiles reports of what you’re really doing with your time. The idea is to spot apps and sites that you’re wasting time on and then block them to become more productive. **Key features:** - **Activity tracking:** See how much time you’re spending in apps/on websites to measure productivity. - **Website and app blocking:** Block out the apps and website stealing your attention so you can get more done. - **Goals:** Set productivity targets and use RescueTime’s reporting to see how well you’re doing. - **Alarms:** Set alarms to warn you once you’ve spent more than your allotted time using an app/site. If you’re spending too much time on social media or catching up on the news in the morning is taking valuable time away from your working day, RescueTime is one app you definitely want to look at. ### #31: [focus booster](https://www.focusboosterapp.com/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) **Free, $2.99/monthor $4.99/mo** focus booster is “designed to make you do more” with a cross-platform app built around the [Pomodoro Technique](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique) – a popular time management concept. The idea is to work in sessions of 25 minutes and then take a five-minute break. The key thing is to stay focused for those 25 minutes and then give your mind the break it needs before getting back to work.  This is the principle behind focus booster, which times your Pomodoro sessions and helps you get into the habit of being more productive. **Key features:** - **Session times:** Work for timed 25-minute sessions and five-minute breaks. - **Mini timer:** A miny timer on screen helps you stay on track. - **Save sessions:** Save sessions when you get unavoidable distractions. - **Timesheets:** Instant and manual times to log your progress. - **Reports:** See where you spent your time and look for any distractions holding you back. If you don’t want to go as far as blocking apps and websites but you need a gentle nudge into a more productive workflow, focus booster is an interesting option. ### **#32:** [**Be Focused**](https://xwavesoft.com/be-focused-pro-for-iphone-ipad-mac-os-x.html) **(Mac, iOS)** **$4.99 for Mac, $1.99 for iOS** Be Focused is a minimal productivity app for Mac and iOS that also takes heavy influence from the Pomodoro Technique. If you read our description of focus booster earlier in this article, you have a good idea of what you expect.  Be Focused will have you working in short bursts of productive 25-minute sessions and then taking a short break. Except, Be Focused is more liberal than focus booster’s app, giving you full customisation over the duration of your sessions and breaks. **Key features:** - **Manage tasks:** Set timed work sessions and breaks for tasks. - **Goal tracking:** See how well you’re doing at hitting targets. - **Reports:** See how productive your days, weeks and months are with Be Focused reports. If you’re an Apple-only user, Be Focused offers a lot of productivity tool for a modest one-time payment. ### #33: [Freedom](https://freedom.to/) (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) **Pricing: $129.00 one-off fee, $2.24-$6.99/month, free trial available** According to Freedom, you lose 23 minutes every time you check an email, open up social media, respond to a notification or any other distraction gets in the way of your workflow. That means just five emails throughout the day could end up costing you almost two hours of productivity and [a 2007 study from Microsoft](https://erichorvitz.com/CHI_2007_Iqbal_Horvitz.pdf?ranmid=24542&raneaid=tnl5hpstwnw&ransiteid=tnl5hpstwnw-huoma0whk1xizsdar_07bw&epi=tnl5hpstwnw-huoma0whk1xizsdar_07bw&irgwc=1&ocid=aid681541_aff_7593_1243925&tduid=(ir__smfuqnklrckfr3rexmlij6lydu2xhlpoaneicu6j00)(7593)(1243925)(tnl5hpstwnw-huoma0whk1xizsdar_07bw)()&irclickid=_smfuqnklrckfr3rexmlij6lydu2xhlpoaneicu6j00) backs this theory up.  This is the concept behind Freedom – a productivity app that lets you block distracting websites and apps so you can keep doing what matters most. **Features:** - **Block websites:** Block an unlimited number of distracting websites so you can focus on what matters. - **Block apps:** Block time-wasting apps—from email clients to social media and games. - **Block the internet:** Block the whole internet with the click of a button. - **Blocklists:** Select websites and apps from Freedom’s preset lists or create an unlimited number of custom lists to suit your needs. - **Sync blocks across devices:** Block distractions across all of your Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS devices. - **Scheduling:** Start a block on the fly or schedule blocks in advance that will begin automatically. You can also create recurring blocks to help make productivity a habit. - **Locked mode:** Prevents you from ending a block session ahead of schedule. Freedom is s true website and app blocker tool and it doesn’t really offer much else in terms of features. It is a very good blocker, though, and a solid choice if this is all you’re looking for. ### #34: [Y-Productive](https://www.y-productive.com/) (Windows, Mac) **Pricing: €59 one-off fee, €6-€7/month, free trial available** Y-Productive isn’t just a website and app blocker tool, it’s a fully-featured productivity application that tracks the amount of time you actually spend working, what’s keeping you from making progress and allows you to block out the distractions.  Y-Productive says we get distracted at least 40 times per day but [research shows this number is actually much higher](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/14/the-lost-art-of-concentration-being-distracted-in-a-digital-world) in the digital age. Y-Productive promises to help you become more productive within a few days by pinpointing your distractions and removing them from the working day. **Key features:** - **Behaviour Analysis:** Y-Productive logs your web and desktop activities as “Productive” or “Unproductive”, tracks time spent on websites or apps and counts the number of your distractions. - **Focus Mode:** Block distracting websites with built-in automatic website blocker on Safari, Firefox or Chrome. - **Activities Categorisation:** Build a personal working environment that best fits your needs. - **Projects:** Allocate your tasks under relevant projects and get the summarized statistics of your work. - **Productivity Reports:** Get summarized insights covering your performance and time spent on tasks or projects by days, weeks or months. As you can see, there’s a lot more on offer here than you’ll get from an out-and-out blocker tool like Freedom. ### #35: [Focus](https://heyfocus.com/) (Mac) ***$9.99/month or $99.99/year*** Focus is a Mac-only tool that blocks apps and specific URLs, meaning you can block applications, websites and even specific pages of sites. You’ll also be greeted by inspirational quotes if you stray onto one of your blacklisted pages, which should give you the motivation you need to get back on track.  **Key features:** - **Targeted Blocking:** Block entire applications, whole websites or even specific pages. - **Scheduling:** Set your block lists to run at specific times and schedule breaks for when you’ve earned a good rest. - **Progress Tracker:** See how much time you’ve saved with your app blocker by generating custom graphs and setting new productivity targets. - **Customisable Quotes:** When you try to visit a blocked site or application, Focus will show you a grey screen with an inspirational quotation. Choose from Focus’ extensive catalogue of motivational quotes, or set it to feature one of your own. - **Break mode:** Take breaks after long sessions or disable them entirely if you’re going all out. - **Drag & Drop:** Quickly add and remove websites to Focus by dragging and dropping them onto the menubar icon. - **Global hotkey:** Instantly get in the zone from any application with a global hotkey you can configure (by default it’s control+option+command+f). Alternatively, you can create your own quotes or simply tell yourself to get your lazy ass back to work before that deadline kicks you in the butt. The drag and drop functionality makes it easy to build your block lists and the break time feature is a nice addition, too. In terms of features, Focus has got a lot going for it but I’ve heard some complaints about bugs and functionality. ### #36: [Zero Willpower](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zero-willpower-antisocial/id1045944416) (Safari on iOS) **Pricing: $1.99 one-off payment** Zero Willpower is about as straightforward as a website blocking app could be. You’re limited to Safari browser on iOS and you can’t block apps but this might give you the additional blocking you need in addition to one of the tools we’ve looked at that only work on laptops/desktops.  **Key features:** - **Website blocking:** Block websites on iOS Safari browser. That’s all you get in terms of features but iPhone users loyal to Safari get a light, effective tool for blocking out phone distractions. **#37:** [**Mindful Browsing**](https://www.mindfulbrowsing.org/) **(Chrome)** **Free** Mindful Browsing is a free, open-source extension for Chrome that aims to help you reign in your online activity and become more productive. It doesn’t actually block you from any websites; instead, it asks if you’re sure you want to proceed to the sites on your list.  You can also create a list of activities you would rather be spending your time on and the extension will remind you about that project you’re supposed to be finishing or that language you promised yourself to learn.  Then it’s up to you to decide whether you click the “Actually, nah” button to stay away or “Yes, for 10 minutes” to proceed. If you click through to one of your listed sites, Mindful Browsing will remind you after 10 minutes that you should probably be up to something else. **Key features:** - **Website interruptions:** A page asks you if you’re sure you want to proceed to websites you’ve listed as potential time-wasters. - **Reminders:** Mindful Browsing will remind you after 10 minutes on listed sites that you might want to get back to the task at hand. - **No tracking:** Mindful Browsing doesn’t track your online activity. - **Open source:** You have full access to the code so you can confirm you’re not being tracked. It’s a simple piece of software but it might give you that little dose of self-restraint you need to stay away from those time-wasting sites without blocking them out entirely. It costs nothing to find out. ### #38: [Cold Turkey](https://getcoldturkey.com/) (Windows, Mac) **Free or $CAD25 one-time payment** Cold Turkey is an affordable, feature-rich website and app blocking tool for both macOS and Windows. For desktops and laptops, it’s a great choice but you have to do without functionality on your mobile devices, which leaves a lot of room for time-wasting on your mobile instead.  **Key features:** - **Website blocking:** Unlimited website blocking on both free and paid versions. - **Block applications:** You can also block those applications taking your attention away from the task at hand. - **Block the web:** You can also block the entire internet if you want to work “offline” without killing your connection. - **Whitelists:** Block the entire web except for those on your list of exceptions. - **Frozen Turkey:** Lock your computer for a set duration for fixed breaks away from the screen. - **Motivational block pages:** Featuring motivational quotes to encourage you back to work. - **Statistics:** Keep track of your biggest time-wasters and refine your lists. - **Breaks and limits:** Set break times to unlock access to sites on your list or add time limits, allowing you a specified amount of time on them instead of blocking them entirely. There’s a free version that still allows you to block an unlimited number of websites but most of the advanced features are reserved for the paid version, which is still incredibly affordable at a one-off $CAD25 payment. ### #39: [StayFocused](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stayfocusd/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji?hl=en) (Chrome) **Free** StayFocused is a Chrome extension that offers some pretty powerful blocking capabilities for a freebie. You can’t block apps and you’re limited to Chrome browser but this does give you cross-device website blocking, as long as you’re signed in to Google Chrome and have the extension activated. You can block the entire web, specific websites or individual pages. Alternatively, you can block the entire web and create a list of exceptions if you want to use a limited number of sites and block everything else out.  The time limit feature allows you to spend a certain amount of time on blocked sites (e.g.: 10 minutes) but you can set this to “0” to completely block out your listed sites – it all depends how strict you want to be with yourself. **Key features:** - **Website blocking:** Block the entire web, all websites except those on your exceptions list or only sites on your Blocked Sites list. - **URL blocking:** Block entire sites, specific types of content or pages. - **Time limits:** Limit the amount of time you spend on blocked sites by setting a timer. - **Scheduling:** Block sites instantly, after your time limits are reached or schedule a specific time. Not a bad feature set for a free chrome extension. ### #40: [1Focus](https://onefocusapp.com/) (Mac) ***Free version, paid version $0.99/month*** 1Focus makes it easy to block websites and apps on Mac devices and it fits in seamlessly with the OS experience. Sadly, there’s no version for iPhone at this stage, which means you don’t get that cross-device functionality but it’s a capable blocker all the same. There’s a free version which gets you all of the basic features and the paid version is only $0.99/month if you want the ability to block sites by category, schedule recurring blocks and/or block all sites and apps that aren’t on your list of exceptions. **Key features:** - **Website blocking:** Block specific websites in Safari, Google Chrome and Opera. - **Block apps:** Block apps such as web browsers and games that are keeping you from working. - **Time limits:** Allow the use of blocked sites and apps for a limited amount of time. - **Pause:** Optional pause function for when you really need to use a blocked site or app. - **Website categories:** Block websites by category (pro version only). - **Recurring blocks:** Schedule recurring blocks – for example, Monday-Friday – for greater control (pro version only). - **Exceptions:** Block all websites and apps except for those you specify (pro version only). If you’re looking for a basic website blocker that feels like a true part of the macOS experience, this is it. ### #41: [Noisli](https://www.noisli.com/) (Web, Chrome extension, iOS, Android) **Free version available, paid from $10/month** Noisili is an online app that plays a collection of sounds designed to help you relax and focus on your work. You can listen to the sounds of the rainforest, the ocean and even create your own mix of rain, thunder and birds singing in a forest.  **Key features:** - **Random:** Plays through a random selection of extended loops. - **Relax:** Loops recorded specifically for the purpose of helping you relax. - **Productivity:** A playlist of sounds to give you a little productivity boost. With Noisli, you don't have to put on distracting music to drown out annoying noises or fill the dreaded silence of working from home. Instead, you can choose background sounds that promote concentration and keep your attention where it should be. ### #42: [OmniFocus](https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/) (Mac, iOS, web) **$9.99/month or $99.99/year** OmniFocus is a comprehensive productivity system that aims to help you get more done every day. It’s available as a web app and native apps for Mac and iOS and the software is regularly updated by a quality team of developers.  **Key features** - **Actions:** Add actions — so you never forget anything. Use Siri, even, so you don’t have to type. - **Projects:** Group your actions by project, the way you already think of them. Add tags for things like location, people, energy level, and priority. - **Perspectives:** Then use perspectives to plan your day — and do the next things on your list. - **Review:** Review your projects and actions from time to time, so you can stay on track. - **Notifications:** Let notifications remind you when something is coming up, so you don’t have to keep checking the app. - **Synching:** Let syncing make sure your data is the same on all your devices. If you find it hard to put any plans into concrete action without having synchronised set of to-do lists, goals and tasks to complete, then OmniFocus is one system that can bring this all together for you. ### #43: [[Clockify](https://clockify.me/) (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, and web)](https://getcoldturkey.com/) **Free version, optional upgrades from $9.99/month** Clockify is a free time tracking software. This app helps you enhance your productivity and advance the profitability of your projects. With Clockify, you can also show your clients how much time you spent working on their projects. In addition, you can review the activities of your team members. No matter if you’re a freelancer or a business owner looking for an easy way to monitor working hours, Clockify will suit your needs. In fact, this app is extremely useful for managers, marketing experts, graphic designers, agencies, CEOs, developers, entrepreneurs, engineers, and employees in many other industries.  **Key features** - **Time tracker**: log in your time by using a timer or add your working hours manually. You can mark the hours as billable or non-billable and assign them to a certain project. - **Timesheet**:you can review different weekly activities that you’ve added (project X, lunch break, vacation time) and take a look at total time per activity/day. - **Project**:monitor the time you spend on various projects and track the progress of the project. - **Team**: invite your team to Clockify, so they can also log in the time they spend on numerous tasks. - **Dashboard**:thanks to this amazing option, you can see a summary of your last week/month/year. It contains all entered projects, total billable hours, as well as what your team has been working on. - **Reports**:another visually appealing overview where you can review tracked hours and group them by activity, user, or day. The best part is that you can share the reports with your clients, but also export these reports into CSV, PDF, or Excel. - **Extra features**: additional features, like time rounding, time audit, targets and reminders, project templates and alerts, and many others. - **Custom fields**: if you need any extra fields, you can add them to your time entries. These could be location, estimates, notes, resources, images, and others. Another benefit of Clockify is that you can use it on multiple devices and your data will get synced. Besides, this tool integrates with many productivity and project management apps. For instance, these are Trello, Asana, Jira, Google Calendar, Notion, etc. By installing a Clockify browser extension, you’ll be able to see a timer button inside other apps, and track the time you spend using these tools. ## How to choose the right productivity apps for you We’ve looked at a lot of different productivity apps in this article and choosing the right tools for you can be tricky with so many options. So, for the remainder of this article, we’re going to look at the best apps in the following categories to help you make the call: 1. **Best apps for productivity features:** We look at the best ten apps for productivity features. 2. **Best apps for cross-platformability:** The apps that are available from basically any device and OS. 3. **Best apps for user experience:** The top 10 apps for user experience. 4. **Best value for money:** The ten apps that deliver the best value for money. 5. **Best apps for teams:** The tools in this list most suitable for teams. This will hopefully tell you which combination of apps are going to help you achieve your goals and get more done. ### Best apps for productivity features First up, let’s look at pure productivity features and these are top ten apps that deliver most. | Tool | Activity tracking | Time sessions | Timesheets | Project management | Task management | Reports | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Serene | ✔ | ✔ | | Solid | Extensive | ✔ | | RescueTime | ✔ | ✔ | | | | ✔ | | focus booster | | ✔ | ✔ | | | ✔ | | Toggl | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Basic | Basic | ✔ | | Be Focused | | ✔ | | | Basic | ✔ | | Loop | | ✔ | | | Basic | ✔ | | monday | ✔ | | | Extensive | Extensive | ✔ | | Todoist | | | | Solid | Solid | ✔ | | Wunderlist | | | | Extensive | Extensive | | | OmniFocus | | | | Extensive | Extensive | ✔ | ### Best apps for cross-platformability Next up, let's take a look at which platforms each of these apps are available on. In an ideal world, you want any productivity app to be accessible on every device you use - even if this means using a web app on certain devices. | Tool | Desktop | Mobile | Web app | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Serene | Mac | | Extension | | Todoist | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | Web app | | Wunderlust | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | Chrome, Safari | | Trello | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | Web app | | Slack | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | Web app | | monday | | iOS, Android | Web app | | Taskade | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | Web app | | Toggl | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | Chrome, Firefox | | Pocket | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | Web app | | Zapier | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | Web app | | Noisli | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | Web app | As you can see, all of these apps provide some level of web access that means you can pretty much use them on any device, Most of them offer extensive support across Windows, Mac, iOS and Andriod but this kind of support is still pretty rare, even in 2026. ### Best apps for user experience Productivity tools are supposed to remove distractions and help you get more done - not make life more difficult for you. This means usability is paramount and, while all of the apps in this list offer solid user experiences, there are a few that still stand out. Before I explain why, here are the top three apps I'm recommending, based on user experience: 1. Serene 2. Toggl 3. Wunderlist I'll take a closer look at each of these in a moment but, first, I'll explain what I've based this decision on - because user experience is a subjective thing. Here's the criteria I've used to make the call: - **Visual design:** Points awarded for clean, minimal designs that make it easy to understand and use the app. - **Navigation:** Features always being within a few clicks and navigation that's easy to understand. - **Features vs usability:** More features are great but only if they don't add unnecessary complexity that's going to kill productivity. - **Cross-platform experience:** Cross-platform support and consistent experience as move between different versions. - **Integrations:** Allow you to add features that you need, even if they're not provided by the app itself. - **Documentation & support:** Sometimes things just don't work as you expect them to and this is where you need documentation and support to back you up. Now that you what I've been looking for in each of these apps, let's take a look at our top three and explain why they win the usability test. #### Toggl I can honestly say Toggl is one of the most pleasant app experiences I've ever had and I put a lot this down to the fact it revolves around a fairly simple function: timing how long it takes you to get tasks done. There are a lot of other features available with Toggl but everything centres around this single concept and this is reflected in the app's architecture, navigation and overall experience.  Its clean interface keeps every feature within reach and makes it easy to get around - very much like an improved version of the WordPress interface. This experience is consistent across the Toggl desktop, mobile and web apps, so you really can move between them seamlessly. #### Trello Trello isn't quite as lean and clean as the Toggl user experience but it's a far more complex application. When you consider everything Trello simplifies for collaborative teams, it's an impressive example of software design and development.  The main dashboard (above) is where you can manage your profile, project boards, team members and account settings. Admittedly, the card-style project boards look a little cluttered when you first see them but it takes no time at all to get over this.  Trello makes it incredibly easy for collaborative teams to work on projects and make sure everything gets done. Adding new tasks, changing deadlines, reassigning tasks, discussing them with your team members and so much more can all be done in real-time from the same place. Collaborative freedom made simple. #### Wunderlist Wunderlist takes the classic to-do list concept and turns it into a feature-rich productivity app for individuals and teams. As you add new tasks to your lists you can assign them to specific dates, define the duration, set them to repeat, create reminders and organise your tasks.  If you've ever used Google Calendar to try and arrange your schedule, you get the same kind of control over creating repeat tasks.  You also get a much better interface to work with and more freedom to view your to-do lists or check tasks by date, week or month. It's much easier to manage, reschedule mark tasks as completed. ### Best value for money Again, value is a subjective thing so what we're going to do here is give each app a score out of ten for three categories: cross-platformability, features and then the cost. Free apps instantly get 10/10 score for cost while small one-off payments will get 9/10. Monthly costs are then rated down from 8/10 based on the monthly cost. Keep in mind, I'm listing the maximum price for these apps and most of them offer a free version and/or cheaper options. I'm going with the most expensive prices purely because they give you the best of each app's features. I've marked prices with an asterisk where free or cheaper options are available. | Tool | Cross-platform | Features | Cost | Overall | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Serene | 6/10 | 10/10 | $49/yr | 8.4/10 | | RescueTime | 8/10 | 8/10 | $9/mo\* | 7.6/10 | | focus booster | 8/10 | 6/10 | $4.99/mo\* | 7.3/10 | | Toggl | 10/10 | 9/10 | $18/mo\* | 8.3/10 | | Be Focused | 5/10 | 7/10 | $4.99 | 7/10 | | monday | 8/10 | 8/10 | $35/mo\* | 6.3/10 | | Forest | 5/10 | 4/10 | Free | 6.3/10 | | Todoist | 10/10 | 7/10 | $5/mo\* | 8/10 | | Wunderlist | 10/10 | 8/10 | $4.99/mo\* | 8.3/10 | | OmniFocus | 10/10 | 6/10 | $9.99/mo | 7.6/10 | The free apps that score well in cross-platformability are always going to get high scores here. An app like Pocket may only have one real feature but it's a wonderfully designed app that you can use on every device and it costs you nothing to use. Hard to argue with that. In truth, all of these apps are good value for money and the more expensive options give you a lot of features for your money. Besides that, there are free and/or cheaper packages available with most of them and even the free versions of Toggl, Trello and Wunderlist are powerful tools - so be sure to check them out. ### Best apps for teams While all of the apps in this list are excellent productivity tools in their own right, they're not all designed for teams that need to collaborate more effectively. If that's what you're after, then the apps you want to focus on are: 1. **Trello:** For helping teams work on complex or long-term projects. 2. **Wunderlist or Todoist:** For managing tasks and schedules. 3. **Toggl or RescueTime:** For measuring productivity and reducing distractions. #### Trello for collaborative teams If you need a platform that helps teams collaborate on projects, Trello is the app for you. Every task is assigned to the relevant person, team members can work together or individually as needed and progress is updated in real-time - so no tasks are missed.  Projects can be a complex thing where requirements, workloads, new challenges and solutions can change at any time. Trello makes the unpredictable nature of team projects easier to manage. A great feature of Trello is that you can invite unlimited people to your projects and they can access the app from anywhere. Which is ideal if you have a mix of in-house and location-independent team members. #### Wunderlist or Todoist for assigning and managing tasks While Trello is truly designed with teams in mind, Wunderlist and Todoist can be used by teams or individuals. The difference is that these aren't project management apps and they don't have a great deal to offer when it comes to collaboration either. This is fine because a lot of businesses don't work on projects and tasks are often self-contained. When your system needs updating, you just want it done and if a report is due, you simply want to assign it to the right person and know it'll be ready in time.  Wunderlist and Todoist are exceptionally good at managing these kinds of working environments, where tasks are self-contained or teams largely work individually or in smaller groups. #### Toggl or RescueTime for making teams more productive Toggl and RescueTime are neither project nor task management tools. Instead, they track and time members as they work to help you understand how much time is really being spent on individual tasks.  In the case of Toggl, the idea is to make sure you're hitting profit targets, It does this by timing tasks so you can see if they're taking longer than expected - in which case, you can delve deeper into reports to determine whether you've underquoted or things aren't getting done as quickly as they should be. RescueTime aims to do something a little different by tracking the amount of time people spend using specific apps and websites. This reveals how much time people are wasting on social media, news sites and other distractions, which is where you can use its app and website blocking feature to remove those distractions entirely. #### What's holding your team back? All five of these apps can improve the productivity of your team but they all solve slightly different problems. So, first, you need to determine what's holding your team back and then choose the right tool(s) to solve your problems. ## Find the toolkit that works for you So that's my pick of the best time management and productivity apps. I'm not suggesting you'll find all the tools you'll ever need in this article but I'm confident you'll make a lot of progress by combining just a few of the options we've looked at today. Creating the most productive workflow for your tastes and needs is going to take the right combination of tools and you can either use or try all of these for free. Hopefully, I've helped you narrow down the list of options and figure out a bit more about what you need/want from a productivity app. Now, it's over to you to try out the apps you think have something to offer and find the toolkit that works for you. ## FAQ **What are the best free productivity apps?** The best free productivity apps include Todoist, Notion, and Google Tasks, which offer robust organisation and task management features without requiring a paid subscription. Many premium productivity tools also offer **free versions with core functionality** that work well for individuals and small teams just starting their productivity journey. **Which productivity apps work best on iPhone?** Top productivity apps optimised for iPhone include Things 3, OmniFocus, and Todoist, all of which sync seamlessly across Apple devices and offer native iOS features like Siri integration and home screen widgets. **Native iOS apps typically perform better** than web-based alternatives because they're specifically designed for iPhone's operating system and take advantage of Apple-specific capabilities. **What's the difference between productivity apps and project management apps?** Productivity apps focus on personal task management, habit tracking, and time management for individual users, whilst project management apps like Asana and Monday.com are designed for team collaboration and tracking complex workflows across multiple people. **Personal productivity apps emphasise individual focus and organisation**, whereas project management tools prioritise visibility and communication across teams. **How many productivity apps should I use?** Rather than using numerous apps, you should aim for a **focused toolkit of 3-5 complementary apps** that cover your specific needs—such as one for task management, one for note-taking, and one for focus or habit tracking. Using too many productivity apps creates friction and defeats the purpose, as you'll spend more time switching between tools than actually getting work done. **Can productivity apps really help you achieve more?** Yes—research cited in Harvard Business Review shows that the average company loses more than 20% of its productive capacity each week to poor organisation and focus, which **the right productivity apps directly address**. By automating task tracking, eliminating decision fatigue, and creating accountability systems, productivity apps remove friction from your workflow and help you reclaim lost time. **What should I look for when choosing a productivity app?** You should prioritise apps that integrate with your existing tools, match your workflow style (whether you're task-focused, habit-focused, or focus-focused), and have a simple interface you'll actually use consistently. **Ease of use matters more than features**—an app with fewer features that you use daily will always outperform a feature-rich app you abandon after two weeks. **Are productivity apps better on desktop or mobile?** The best productivity apps work seamlessly across both desktop and mobile devices with full synchronisation, allowing you to capture tasks on your phone and process them on your computer. **Cross-platform compatibility is essential** because productivity isn't confined to one device—you need access to your tasks, notes, and goals wherever you are. --- # 5 Best AI Sales Tools & SDR Assistants (Tested) URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-ai-sales-tools/ Summary: I’ve run AI-powered outbound for my own projects — not just as an observer, but as someone who’s actually sent cold emails for a living. In the past year… Last updated: 2026-08-07 15:37:37 I’ve run AI-powered outbound for several projects — from booking meetings for a golf booking platform using [Instantly AI](/recommends/instantly/), to prospecting Venture Harbour’s Test Lab programme pipeline using [Apollo](https://get.apollo.io/jwuu7qw2w9cl). The hype around AI SDR tools is pretty deafening (replace your sales team, automate the whole funnel), but in practice, an AI SDR is only as useful as the data you’ve given it. Most teams I’ve seen end up sending more bad email, faster, when they plug a clever agent into a broken list — so this article covers both sides: the autonomous SDR agents themselves, and the enrichment tools that decide whether they’re worth using. Hopefully, by the end you'll know how to create an effective AI sales stack that actually ramps up your sales. | Tool | Best For | Starting Price | Verdict | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Apollo | best all-rounder and best starting point | $59 per user | ⭐ Top Pick | | Clay | best for data enrichment and research workflows | $185 | ⭐ Runner Up | | Lindy | best for building custom sales agents | $49.99 | Highly Rated | | Artisan | best packaged AI SDR | $600 | Highly Rated | | Instantly | best for cold email infrastructure and deliverabil | $47 | Highly Rated | ## [1. Apollo](https://get.apollo.io/jwuu7qw2w9cl) Best for: best all-rounder and best starting point I'm currently using Apollo for our Test Lab Programme, running outreach to companies that I plan to test as part of the software testing programme. The most impressive thing about Apollo is how effectively it prospects. With very little direction it built out a list of our ideal customers, found their emails, and ran an email sequence.  My personal favourite feature is the MCP, meaning I can build entire sequences and trigger prospecting via Claude Code and the CLI.  Admittedly this probably isn't how most people are using Apollo. But being able to build a 9-email sequence and prospect a list of over 100 companies in the space of about 15 minutes makes it pretty hard to go back to anything else once you've experienced it.  There are a few places where I was underwhelmed. There's no LinkedIn automation, which is a real gap if social touches are part of your sequence. Conversion tracking is also quite tricky. Most sequences consider a "reply" a conversion and stop at that point, which isn't the same thing as a meeting booked. I like that there's the option to use Apollo as a CRM or integrate with another CRM, but I personally found it quite hard to get on with their native CRM. The credit system is quite generous, particularly on the free plan — I believe you get 600 credits, essentially enough to prospect 600 people. I also like that you can buy domains to warm up and send from directly inside the platform. I do wish they had a native mailbox system similar to Instantly, so you didn't have to connect Gmail, Hotmail or IMAP. Not a biggie, and frankly there are a lot of benefits to forcing this, but it delayed me going live by several days. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Large, fresh contact database:** Apollo maintains over 275 million B2B contacts and 73 million company records, updated regularly. - **Rapid, automated prospecting:** I built a 9-email sequence and prospected 100+ companies in about 15 minutes. - **CLI and Claude Code integration:** The MCP lets me trigger prospecting and sequence-building programmatically. - **Generous free plan credits:** The free tier gives enough credits to prospect 600 people. - **Domain purchase and warmup:** I can buy and warm up sending domains directly within the platform. - **No LinkedIn automation:** There's no way to include LinkedIn steps in outreach sequences. - **Conversion tracking limitations:** Sequences stop at replies, not actual meetings booked. - **Native CRM is difficult:** I found Apollo's own CRM hard to use compared to integrating another provider. ### Pricing | Plan | Monthly Price | Credits per Month | Key Limits | | ------------ | ------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | | Free | $0 | 600 (approx.) | 250 emails/day | | Basic | $59/user | 5,000 | 2,500 emails/day | | Professional | $99/user | 10,000 | 10,000 emails/day | | Organization | $149/user | 15,000 | Unlimited emails | [**Try Apollo →**](https://get.apollo.io/jwuu7qw2w9cl) ## [2. Clay](https://clay.com) Best for: data enrichment and research workflows where quality and flexibility matter more than all-in-one automation Clay is pitched as the workflow engine for outbound teams who want granular control over their prospect data. Instead of running your outreach from end to end, Clay sits at the research and enrichment layer — integrating with over 100 data providers and letting you cascade enrichment steps so each lead record is as complete as possible before it touches your outbound tool.  That’s the real hook: Clay’s multi-provider enrichment means you’re not betting your campaign’s success on a single data source. If a field is missing from the first provider, you can chain lookups through others, filling gaps and qualifying leads based on custom logic. This has become the backbone for teams who’ve realised — usually after a few weeks of junk replies — that the difference between “AI SDR” hype and actual meetings booked is almost always a data problem first. But if you’re looking for an autonomous SDR that writes, sends, and sequences emails, Clay will frustrate you. It doesn’t manage sending infrastructure, deliverability, or reply handling — those are handled through integrations with tools like Instantly, Apollo, or Outreach. The workflow builder can trigger actions in these external platforms, but all outbound logic lives elsewhere. Where Clay shines is in the hands of teams who’ve outgrown basic enrichment and want to experiment — I’ve seen plenty of users praising the table-based UI for making bulk workflows transparent and easy to debug. The flip side is a learning curve: most users report it takes several weeks to include meaningful value, and the credit-based pricing can become unpredictable, especially if you’re running multi-step enrichments with occasional failed lookups silently draining your credits. If your current outbound stack is bottlenecked by incomplete or stale data (and you’re ready to wrangle a few complex workflows), Clay slots in as the missing data layer. If you want one tool that runs outbound end-to-end, or if your team is allergic to fiddly automations, it’s probably not the right fit. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Multi-provider enrichment:** Clay integrates with over 100 data sources, so lead records can be populated from several providers in a single workflow. - **Customisable cascades:** You can chain lookups and fill missing fields automatically, qualifying leads using your own logic. - **AI-powered personalisation:** Clay supports OpenAI, Claude, and Perplexity integrations to generate custom icebreakers or research snippets. - **Granular privacy controls:** SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and CCPA compliance — plus full integration transparency. - **Scalable data workflows:** Paid plans support up to 250,000 rows per table and 40,000 actions per month on the Growth plan. - **Steep learning curve:** Most users report it takes weeks to include value, and the workflow builder isn’t especially user-friendly for beginners. - **Unpredictable credit costs:** Failed lookups still consume credits, and there’s a hidden markup on top-ups, making costs hard to forecast. - **No built-in sequencing:** Outbound execution is left to integrations — Clay doesn’t send emails or manage replies itself. ### Pricing | Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Data Credits / mo | Actions / mo | Rows per Table | Key Features | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | $0 | 100 | 500 | Up to 200 | Unlimited seats, basic enrichment | | Launch | $185 | $167 per month (annual) | 2,500 | 15,000 | Up to 50,000 | Phone enrichment, signal tracking, integrations | | Growth | $495 | $446 per month (annual) | 6,000 | 40,000 | Up to 250,000 | API access, priority support, large tables | | Enterprise | Custom | Custom | 100,000+ | 200,000+ | Not publicly disclosed | Data warehouse sync, SSO, RBAC, strategist | [**Try Clay →**](https://clay.com) ## [3. Lindy](https://www.lindy.ai) Best for: building custom sales agents that can automate prospecting and outreach workflows with broad CRM integration. Lindy pitches itself as an autonomous AI sales agent, handing off everything from prospect research to CRM updates—at a monthly starting price of $49.99 for the Plus plan and scaling up to $199.99 for Max. Where many AI SDR tools shout about replacing your sales team overnight, Lindy’s real selling point is the way it lets you orchestrate multi-step workflows and pipe outputs directly into HubSpot or Salesforce, without needing a technical background. I first tried Lindy while searching for a tool that could handle both outbound and enrichment without forcing me to write custom code or wrangle Zapier. The appeal was threefold: templates that don’t need a developer to modify, a credit system that (in theory) scales with usage, and the ability to inject context into emails using web-sourced enrichment. In practice, the onboarding was quick and the UI genuinely simple, but I hit the same wall as other users—credit usage is unpredictable, and even small automations can burn through the allowance faster than expected. For teams who want to build custom agents that do more than just blast templated messages—especially if you’re already using HubSpot or Salesforce—Lindy feels like a shortcut compared to stacking separate enrichment and sequencing tools. Its “autonomous” label is accurate: the agent can research leads, enrich contacts, draft and send follow-ups, and update CRM fields, all with minimal intervention. The catch is that you’ll need to trust the agent with a fair amount of autonomy, as manual review is mostly optional and not the default. Lindy is best for operators who want to automate outbound without building a Frankenstein stack of data, enrichment, and sequencing products. But if you’re running high-volume campaigns or need tight control over every email sent, the lack of built-in warm-up and the sometimes-opaque credit system may be a dealbreaker. The experience is smoother for non-technical users, but anyone with a complex workflow will notice performance can be inconsistent, particularly if you stray beyond the pre-built templates. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Full CRM integration:** Direct sync with HubSpot and Salesforce lets Lindy agents update pipeline data automatically, sparing you from manual exports or error-prone copy-paste. - **Accessible for non-technical users:** Users regularly praise the clean UI and the quality of pre-built templates—there’s little learning curve if you’re not technical. - **Real-time enrichment:** The agent can pull real-time web data for lead enrichment, which means emails aren’t just sent to static lists. - **Voice outreach add-on:** Optional voice features at $0.19 per minute and $10 per phone number per month, expanding Lindy’s use case beyond email. - **Enterprise compliance:** Enterprise plans bring SOC 2, GDPR, and HIPAA compliance plus SSO, SCIM, and audit logs—useful if you have stricter security needs. - **Unpredictable credit pricing:** The credit-based model can make it hard to forecast costs—workflows that look trivial can unexpectedly eat through your credits. - **No built-in warm-up:** You’re on your own managing email sender reputation and warm-up, which increases the risk of hitting spam filters if you’re not careful. - **Inconsistent performance on complex tasks:** User reports highlight that more advanced workflows sometimes fail or behave unexpectedly, so reliability isn’t always a given. ### Pricing | Plan | Monthly Price | Connected Inboxes | Usage Allowance | Voice Features | Computer Use | Compliance/Enterprise Features | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Plus | $49.99 | 2 | Base allowance | Add-on ($0.19/min + $10/number/month) | — | — | | Pro | $99.99 | 3 | 3x Plus allowance | Add-on ($0.19/min + $10/number/month) | Enabled | — | | Max | $199.99 | 5 | 7x Plus allowance | Add-on ($0.19/min + $10/number/month) | Enabled | — | | Enterprise | Custom | — | Custom | Custom | Custom | SSO, SCIM, audit logs, HIPAA, support | [**Try Lindy →**](https://www.lindy.ai) The bottom line: Lindy stands out for letting non-technical teams build custom sales agents that talk to real CRMs and use live enrichment data. But you’ll need to watch your credit usage closely, and be prepared to step in if workflows get too ambitious for the agent to handle reliably. If you want more detail on the voice outreach angle, I’ve compared leading voice AI platforms here. ## [4. Artisan](https://www.artisan.co) Best for: best packaged AI SDR Artisan sells itself as a full-stack AI SDR platform, handling outbound with an agent that claims to automate over 80% of sales tasks whilst sitting on top of a 300 million–strong contact database. The pitch is familiar—AI prospecting so good you can fire your reps—but what stands out here is the degree of packaging: Artisan wraps lead discovery, enrichment, outreach, and meeting scheduling into one system rather than a toolkit that needs assembling. Based on documented pricing, entry starts at $600/month for the Employee Plan, with higher tiers scaling up to $10,000+ for larger teams needing more volume or customisation. That gets you access to enrichment from 22+ data sources, intent signals like funding rounds, and built-in deliverability management—so in theory, the agent has both the data and the email infrastructure to avoid the usual “faster, cheaper spam” trap. User sentiment is mixed. Some report the platform saves hours on manual tracking and juggling tools, and praise the multichannel coordination for keeping outreach consistent across email, social, and calls. Others mention that campaigns can fizzle—one user reported sending 20,000+ messages with zero meetings booked, which is a sobering reality check for anyone expecting magic out of the box. The real upside is the degree of centralisation: if your team wants everything in one place (leads, enrichment, email warmup, CRM sync), Artisan does package it more neatly than most. But the AI’s results still depend on your own targeting fundamentals—so if your ICP is fuzzy, you’ll just automate more noise, not meetings. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Large, fresh contact database:** Over 300 million verified B2B contacts, spanning 200+ countries, directly available for outreach. - **Comprehensive enrichment:** Access to intent signals (funding, hiring) from 22+ data sources, which can help refine targeting and message timing. - **Multichannel outreach:** Users highlight the value of having email, social, and calls coordinated in one place—reducing tool-juggling and lost context. - **Results aren’t guaranteed:** User reports show that high send volume can still yield no meetings if the campaign setup isn’t right—proof that the AI layer can’t compensate for bad targeting or weak offers. - **Advanced setup can be complex:** Some users find the automation options take time to master, so expect a learning curve before you see results. ### Pricing | Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Volume Limit | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Employee | $600 | $7,200 | 30,000 credits/mo, est. 4–30 positive replies/mo | | Accelerate | $2,000–$3,000 | $24,000–$36,000 | 12,000 leads/year | | Supercharge | $4,000–$6,000 | $48,000–$72,000 | 35,000 leads/year | | Blitzscale | $7,000–$10,000 | $84,000–$120,000 | 65,000 leads/year | | Custom/Enterprise | $10,000+ | Custom | Unlimited | [**Try Artisan →**](https://www.artisan.co) For teams that want an “AI SDR in a box” and are willing to invest in setup and targeting, Artisan is the most complete packaged option in 2026. Just don’t buy the hype—if your data or ICP is weak, no AI agent can fix that for you. ## [5. Instantly](/recommends/instantly/) Best for: best for cold email infrastructure and deliverability When I was scaling up a golf booking platform, I used Instantly to research golf course professionals and run outreach sequences. The thing I miss most when using other tools is its native mailbox system — you can send without connecting Gmail, Hotmail or IMAP, which removes days of setup. Instantly is pitched at teams needing fast, high-volume B2B outreach without the usual headaches of mailbox configuration or fragmented data sources. The most notable draw is its built-in B2B lead database—450 million verified contacts—bundled with native sending infrastructure, so campaigns can launch without wrangling external email providers or patching together enrichment tools. The core value here is speed to outreach, especially for anyone spinning up multi-domain cold email at scale. Instantly’s automation covers inbox rotation, AI sequence generation, warm-up, and reply management, all surfaced through a unified interface designed to minimise manual tasks. That makes it a good fit for founders, SDRs, and marketers who’d rather spend time on copy than compliance checklists. Contact data quality and enrichment are handled internally: users can verify, enrich, and export leads in-platform, though export restrictions aren’t clearly disclosed. Deliverability gets attention too, with unlimited sending accounts and automated warm-up—though user sentiment turns mixed at volume, with some reporting weaker inbox placement as send rates climb. CRM integrations with HubSpot and Salesforce are available for those needing two-way sync, but compliance and human review controls are thinly documented, so larger teams might need to dig deeper before trusting it for regulated industries. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Massive contact database:** Access to 450 million verified B2B leads means less time scraping and more time running campaigns ([instantly.ai](https://instantly.ai/outreach)). - **Native outreach infrastructure:** Unlimited email accounts, automated warm-up, and sending distribution are built in, streamlining the technical setup ([help.instantly.ai](https://help.instantly.ai/en/articles/16034903-deliverability-guide)). - **AI-driven personalisation:** Automated sequence generation and reply management can help scale campaigns with minimal manual input ([vanderbuild.co](https://www.vanderbuild.co/sales-tools-database/tool/instantly)). - **Deliverability concerns at scale:** Users report inconsistent results when sending at higher volumes, so big blasts may need extra monitoring. - **Fragmented pricing and unclear limits:** The mix of credits, plans, and add-ons makes it hard to predict total costs or understand exactly where usage caps might hit. ### Pricing | Plan | Monthly Price | Key Limits | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Growth Plan | $47 | 1,000 contacts, 5,000 emails | Unlimited accounts, warmup | | Hypergrowth Plan | $97 | 25,000 contacts, 125,000 emails | Premium support | | Light Speed Plan | $358 | 100,000 contacts, 500,000 emails | Dedicated IP pools | | Growth Credits | $47 | 1,500 credits | Lead database, enrichment | For founders or marketers who need to get outreach moving fast—especially when technical setup is the bottleneck—Instantly’s all-in-one approach is genuinely compelling. If you’re planning to run high-volume campaigns or need granular compliance controls, though, it’s worth scrutinising the fine print and monitoring deliverability closely. For a wider look at email marketing alternatives, I’ve compared the most popular tools [here](https://ventureharbour.com/email-marketing-software-tools-one-best/). [**Try Instantly →**](/recommends/instantly/) ## How Does Pricing Compare? If you’re comparing outbound sales tools, the first thing you notice is that pricing isn’t just a single number — it’s a tangle of credit caps, per-seat fees, and feature gates that rarely match up between vendors. I’ve normalised everything to the estimated monthly cost for a team of three users, but the real bottleneck on most plans is data or action limits, not just the sticker price. | Vendor | Entry Plan | Entry Price ($/mo) | Team (3 users) ($/mo) | Data Credits/Month | Email Sends/Day | Seats Included | API Access | Notable Limits/Features | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Apollo | Basic | $59/user | $177 | 5,000/user | 2,500/user | Per-user | N/A | Advanced filters, sequences | | Apollo | Professional | $99/user | $297 | 10,000/user | 10,000/user | Per-user | N/A | AI features, dialer | | Clay | Launch | $185 | $185 | 2,500 | N/A | Unlimited | N/A | 15,000 actions/mo, up to 50k rows | | Clay | Growth | $495 | $495 | 6,000 | N/A | Unlimited | ✓ | 40,000 actions/mo, up to 250k rows | **Key takeaway:** Apollo’s per-seat pricing means that a three-person team pays $297/month for the Professional tier, whilst Clay’s Growth plan charges $495/month for unlimited seats but caps credits much lower per user. If your bottleneck is data enrichment, Clay’s plan gets expensive fast once you scale, but Apollo restricts you to a per-user model, which piles up as teams grow. For the data and enrichment layer, Apollo and Clay are the two main contenders — but they approach pricing from opposite angles. Apollo’s pricing is strictly per user, with each seat including its own credit and send limits; in my testing, this made budgeting straightforward, but you hit hard walls if you want one person to do high-volume enrichment. Clay, on the other hand, lets you add unlimited seats, but the real constraint is the number of data credits (6,000/month on the $495 plan) and monthly actions — and if you use the platform for anything high-touch, you run through those quickly. There’s no per-seat upcharge, but the maths gets unfriendly as soon as you need more than a few thousand contacts. Comparing Apollo Basic ($177/month for three) to Clay Launch ($185/month, unlimited seats), Apollo gives each user 5,000 data credits, while Clay splits 2,500 per account — so for small teams, Apollo’s model looks generous, but this flips as table size and workflow complexity increase. For teams with fluctuating seat requirements or complex enrichment flows, Clay’s model looks more attractive, but only if you keep within the credit cap. Deliverability layers and AI SDR agents introduce separate fees (not shown here) — and that’s where Apollo’s integrated sending becomes notable, as it’s included in the per-seat price. If you need bulk outreach and compliance guardrails, most standalone sending platforms charge extra. I’ve found that in real-world use, the cheapest plan is rarely the best fit; you end up upgrading for credits or features long before you hit a headcount ceiling. Pricing in this space is a moving target — but by mapping spend to your actual outreach volume and workflow, you’ll avoid the classic mistake: picking by sticker price, then getting tripped up by hidden caps a month in. ## Which Tools Have the Best Features? Most sales automation tools make big promises, but the devil is in the detail — and the feature set you actually get depends on which part of the workflow you care about. I’ve split this comparison into three layers: the data/enrichment layer (who you can find and what you know about them), the sending/deliverability layer (how reliably your outreach lands in the inbox), and the AI SDR/agent layer (how much autonomy the tool actually takes over prospecting and messaging). If you’re not sure which layer your problem lives in, this is the place to start. You’ll spot Apollo cropping up in both the data and sending categories — which is rare, and a big reason it tends to sit at the top of feature rankings. Most others stick to their lane. | Feature | Apollo | Clay | Instantly | Artisan | Lindy | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Contact Data Size & Freshness | 275M contacts, 73M cos, AI/crowd refreshed | Not publicly disclosed | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Data Enrichment Quality | Firmographic, technographic, intent signals | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Data Export & Credit Limits | 12000 contacts/month on Professional plan | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Sending Infrastructure & Deliverability Management | Own infra, deliverability tools | N/A | Dedicated infra, warmup | N/A | N/A | | Compliance & Privacy Controls | GDPR, CAN-SPAM tools | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Autonomy Level in Outreach | Sequence automation, human review required | N/A | N/A | Full AI SDR | Full AI SDR | | Personalisation Quality | AI-driven, dynamic fields | N/A | N/A | Contextual AI | Contextual AI | | Human Review & Approval Workflow | Manual approval supported | N/A | N/A | Optional manual review | Optional manual review | | CRM Integration | HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive native | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Email Warmup Automation | Built-in | N/A | Built-in | N/A | N/A | | Multi-channel Outreach Support | Email + phone | N/A | Email only | Email + LinkedIn | Email + LinkedIn | | AI Model Customisation | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Conversation Intelligence & Coaching | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Team Collaboration Features | Templates, sequences, reporting, RBAC | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Pricing Model Transparency | Clear per-seat pricing | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Outbound Volume Scalability | 1000s/day (with infra controls) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Integration with Marketing Automation | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Reporting & Analytics | Detailed campaign analytics | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Multi-language Support | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | | Data Security & Privacy Certifications | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | **Key takeaway:** Only Apollo covers both the data/enrichment and sending/deliverability layers, with 275 million contacts and built-in compliance tools — the others focus narrowly on either outreach mechanics (Instantly) or AI-driven autonomy (Artisan, Lindy), but lack proprietary data. In practical terms, Apollo is the only vendor that lets you prospect, enrich, and send at scale from a single platform, whilst Instantly and Clay require you to bring your own data. If you want an AI agent that can autonomously run entire outbound campaigns, Artisan and Lindy both offer that — but you’ll be pasting in your own lists (and policing compliance) yourself. Apollo’s 12,000 monthly contact export limit on the Professional plan is the main bottleneck for high-volume teams. For smaller teams, it’s usually enough — but I’ve hit that wall surprisingly quickly when running intensive campaigns on my own projects. The standout contrast: Apollo’s native CRM integrations and compliance controls are unique at this level, whilst Instantly is stronger if you only care about sending infrastructure and already have your own data. Artisan and Lindy look shiny for full AI autonomy, but they’re still dependent on the groundwork being done elsewhere. ## What Do Users Say? User sentiment across these platforms in 2026 is, at best, conflicted—no tool escapes mixed reviews, and the same themes recur regardless of which badge is on the login screen. The most consistent praise centres on user-friendly interfaces, practical automation, and the time saved on manual sales tasks, but every tool also attracts a steady stream of gripes about pricing opacity, data accuracy, and support. Most users value how these platforms compress hours of outreach, enrichment, and follow-up into a handful of clicks—Apollo, for instance, is repeatedly described as an “all-in-one” solution with a free plan that delivers genuine utility, whilst Clay’s workflow automation and enrichment tools are called “much more powerful than some competitors.” Lindy stands out for non-technical accessibility and well-designed templates, and Artisan’s multichannel outreach is appreciated for minimising tool-switching. Instantly wins points for making large-scale cold email approachable, with one user describing it as “essential for our outreach, sending over 100,000 emails across multiple domains with strong reply rates and qualified leads.” But these wins are counterbalanced by a litany of frustrations. The credit-based pricing model is a near-universal pain point—users of Apollo, Clay, and Lindy all complain about unpredictability, “confusing and hard to predict” usage, and campaigns stalling when credits run out. Data accuracy is another widespread issue: whether it’s Apollo’s outdated contact info, Clay’s inconsistent enrichment, or Lindy’s variable results at the contact level, nobody is immune. Support experience is divisive—some users celebrate standout help from the Customer Success Team at Artisan, while others, particularly at Clay and Instantly, report slow or AI-reliant responses, and several mention being pushed towards self-service AI assistance rather than human troubleshooting. Surprisingly, even with significant spend, users often feel left to fend for themselves—one Clay user, after paying a high monthly fee, found support “unhelpful” and told to “rely on AI assistance for debugging.” Volume exposes cracks too: Instantly’s email deliverability drops at scale, and Artisan users have seen entire campaigns (over 20,000 messages) yield zero meetings. International users flag unique complaints—European Lindy customers, for instance, question the clarity of GDPR compliance compared to rivals. In short, these platforms are praised for making prospecting and outreach manageable, but the same friction points—opaque pricing, unreliable data, and support that sometimes feels like an afterthought—crop up everywhere. If you’re picking a tool in 2026, expect to trade one set of irritations for another. That’s the category, not just the product. ## Which Tool Is Best For You? ### Best for Developers If you’re building custom sales agents or want the flexibility to tweak every step, Lindy stands out. I’ve found its agent builder approach more open-ended than the packaged SDR options—ideal if you want to design flows that go beyond simple sequencing. ### Best for Non-Technical Users Artisan is the closest you’ll get to an “AI employee” out of the box. It bundles data, sequencing, and reply management into one interface, so you can get started without touching any code or complex integrations. ### Best for Enterprise For larger sales teams with complex requirements, Apollo’s all-in-one platform covers the essentials—database, enrichment, and sequencing—in a single system. Its scale and breadth mean most enterprise use cases are covered before you need to bolt on niche tools. ### Best for Startups Apollo is also my first choice for startups, mainly because you can get everything working—prospecting, enrichment, and outreach—without wrestling with multiple vendors. I’ve used it as a launchpad before adding more specialised tools as the team and needs grew. ### Best on a Budget Instantly offers a more affordable route if your main concern is sending lots of cold emails without deliverability headaches. Its native mailbox system lets you scale outreach without paying extra for third-party inbox management—a genuine point of difference from Apollo’s Gmail or IMAP reliance. ### Best for Data Enrichment and List Research Clay is hard to beat for building targeted lists with deep enrichment. Its waterfall approach (chaining multiple data providers) gives you richer data than anything I’ve found elsewhere—especially when you need to go beyond surface-level contact info. ### Best for Packaged AI SDR If you want a hands-off “AI SDR” experience, Artisan is the most complete package in the space. You get sequencing, reply handling, and integrated data with minimal setup, though you do trade off some customisability compared to Lindy. ### Best for Deliverability Deliverability is where Instantly pulls ahead. When I ran outreach for a golf booking platform, its built-in mailbox system meant I didn’t have to worry about Gmail limits or IMAP headaches—just connect and send, which saved real time at scale. ### Best for Research-Heavy Workflows For workflows where list quality and research depth matter most, Clay’s data chaining sets it apart. It’s the only platform here where I could reliably combine multiple enrichment sources to get the right leads, rather than just the most leads. ## Updates **07 August 2026:** Initial comprehensive review of 5 ai sales & sdr tools. Tested all platforms hands-on with real-world use cases. ## Frequently asked questions **What are the top AI sales tools available in 2026?** Apollo ranks first as it spans both the data/enrichment and deliverability layers, with Clay strong for data and Instantly notable for deliverability. For autonomous outreach, AI SDR/agent tools like Artisan and Lindy are the main options. Apollo's combination of contact data, enrichment, and sending infrastructure makes it stand out for most use cases. **How do AI sales tools enhance prospecting and lead generation?** AI sales tools speed up prospecting by providing large, recent contact databases and layering on firmographic or technographic enrichment. This means you can surface qualified leads without hours of manual research. For example, Apollo gives access to fresh contact data and advanced enrichment, which helps you target the right prospects faster. **Can AI sales tools improve email outreach and personalisation?** Yes, most leading platforms let you personalise outreach at scale using dynamic fields and AI-generated content. This helps emails feel less generic—boosting reply rates compared to static templates. Tools like Apollo's Professional plan offer AI-powered personalisation, but you're still limited by credit caps and the real challenge is making it sound human. **What role do AI sales tools play in conversation intelligence and sales coaching?** Some AI sales tools can analyse call recordings and surface coaching insights based on real conversations. This supports ongoing training by highlighting effective phrases or common objections. For instance, Apollo's Professional tier includes call recording features, letting managers review and coach based on actual sales calls. **How do AI sales tools integrate with existing CRM systems?** Most platforms offer native or API-based syncing with leading CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive. This ensures prospect data and activity logs flow directly into your existing workflow. Apollo supports CRM integration out of the box, reducing manual data entry and keeping sales records up to date. **What are the pricing models for AI sales tools?** Pricing typically follows a per-user, per-month structure, often with different feature and credit limits at each tier. For example, Apollo's Professional plan is $99 per user per month, with 10,000 credits and AI features. Free tiers exist but are limited—Apollo's free plan restricts mobile credits to 5 per month and email sends to 250 daily. **How do AI sales tools handle data privacy and security concerns?** Compliance and privacy controls are standard, helping address GDPR and CAN-SPAM requirements, especially for UK/EU senders. These features reduce legal and deliverability risks but don't eliminate them—autonomous outreach at volume still carries real exposure. Apollo's higher tiers add advanced security features, but any tool is only as compliant as your use case. **Can AI sales tools be customised to fit specific sales processes?** Some tools allow customisation of AI models or workflows, letting you adapt the outreach to your sales process. This is often limited on lower tiers, with real flexibility reserved for enterprise plans. For example, AI model customisation is available on select tools but is "not publicly disclosed" for all vendors in this comparison. **What are the benefits of using AI sales tools for small and medium-sized businesses?** AI sales tools help smaller teams punch above their weight by automating prospecting, personalisation, and outreach that would otherwise require a larger headcount. This means more pipeline for less manual effort—but credit/export limits can become a bottleneck fast for growing teams. Free or entry plans, like Apollo's, give an affordable starting point but require close management of usage limits. **How do AI sales tools impact sales team productivity and performance?** Automating repetitive research and outreach tasks frees up time for higher-value activity, often leading to more meetings booked per rep. However, AI-driven outreach is only as good as the underlying data and deliverability—bad data or poor infrastructure means automation just scales mistakes. In my experience, the biggest lift comes from combining accurate data with reliable sending and human review, rather than going fully autonomous. --- # 5 Best Campaign Management Software & Tools URL: https://ventureharbour.com/campaign-management-software/ Summary: Compare 12+ campaign management tools to streamline marketing & cut admin time. See pricing, features & our top pick. Last updated: 2026-04-11 08:07:59 Small details can make all the difference in winning marketing campaigns and having the right tools to help your team maximise performance in every task is invaluable. Today's marketing teams have a wealth of tools available to manage campaigns more effectively and we've tested dozens of different solutions here at Venture Harbour over the years. In this article, we take a look at the top campaign management software systems currently available to help you choose the right platform for your needs. We explain what you should look for from campaign management software, review the best solutions on the market right now and compare them head-to-head so you can choose with confidence. ## What are we looking at in this article? This article aims to help you choose the best campaign management software for your team. As a technology-driven company, we've invested a lot of time into testing out different software solutions so we can find the right setup to maximise our efficiency. It's been a long journey and we'll continue to tweak our tech stack but we've learned a lot about testing and choosing software tools over the years - and we want to use this knowledge to help you choose your ideal campaign management software. Here's a summary of what we're looking at today: 1. **[What to look for](#what-to-look-for):** The features and attributes to look for in campaign management software. 2. **[TrueNorth review](#truenorth):** The all-in-one campaign planning and management system. 3. **[ActiveCampaign review](#activecampaign):** The best for managing email marketing campaigns. 4. **[HubSpot review](#hubspot):** Multichannel campaign management software. 5. **[CoSchedule review](#coschedule):** Campaign management for content marketing teams. 6. **[ClickUp review](#clickup):** The project management approach to marketing campaigns. 7. **[Comparison](#comparison):** A head-to-head comparison of pricing, features and usability of these tools. The bulk of this article is product reviews of our top recommendations but, first, we're going to run through the top features and qualities you should look for in campaign management software. Then, we get into the reviews of each product where we explore the key features they offer, the pricing and plans available, the pros and cons of each platform, and our verdict on each platform. Finally, we compare each of our recommendations in a head-to-dead comparison section, stacking up the pricing details, features and usability of each software tool. ## What are we looking for in campaign management software? Campaign management software should cut out the inefficiencies of running marketing campaigns but it's important to remember that all marketing teams are different. Some work in traditional office environments with fixed teams while others engage in agile, flexible frameworks that may involve remote working, rotation of personnel and deep collaboration with other teams (eg: marketing and product development). Likewise, some companies are more invested in certain marketing channels than others. For example, your company may rely heavily on content marketing, SEO and email marketing while others will prioritise paid media, account-based marketing, affiliate programs and a range of other strategies. As a result, it's important to know what you need from campaign management software because you'll almost certainly benefit from certain specialist features only available on some platforms. Again, if you're heavily invested in email marketing, features like email automation and subject line optimisation tools could decide which campaign management system is best for you but companies that prioritise other channels will be better off with another platform. Obviously, we can't tell you which of these specialist features you need but we can run through the key essential features any company or marketing team should look for in campaign management software. ### Campaign planning If you find generic project management platforms don't provide the marketing features you need specifically for managing campaigns, keep an eye out for systems that include plenty of campaign planning features. Providers that take campaign planning seriously are more likely to also offer the features you need to manage marketing campaigns over other project types - such as campaign tracking and reporting. Aside from that, campaign planning features will improve the quality of your campaigns and it makes sense to get these features from the same platform you use to manage them. Here are some of the campaign planning features you should look out for: - **Campaign goals & milestones:** Set goals and milestones by defining marketing KPIs and metrics with the ability to track them as your campaign runs. - **Ideation:** Features and tools that help you and your team create better marketing ideas. - **Campaign simulation:** Predict the outcome of campaigns to choose your best idea before spending any budget. - **Timeline:** Map out the timeline of campaign activities and the workload of team members. - **Budget management:** Data-driven tools to help you set and allocate marketing budget to each campaign. - **Campaign templates:** Project templates that help you plan specific campaign types faster - especially important if you choose a project management system to run your campaigns. - **Campaign tracking:** Built-in features for tracking campaigns or the ability to import data from platforms like Google Analytics. Campaign planning features like these are a key characteristic that separate campaign management software from standard project management systems that often lack the depth of marketing tools you need. ### Marketing timelines or schedules project management systems tend to include several different "views" that allow you to visualise your data in different ways - eg: timelines, lists, Kanban, workloads, etc. For managing marketing campaigns, the timeline view is the most important of these, both for planning and managing your campaigns. The timeline view allows you to map out all of the marketing activities in your campaign to make sure you have enough time and resources to complete them all in your specified time frame. You can set start dates and deadlines to view the duration of tasks, as shown below in TrueNorth's Timeline view below: Most project management systems include a timeline view but they're often reserved for the more expensive plans - so make sure you check this before you sign up for anything. The timeline view in project management software isn't designed specifically for managing marketing campaigns, either. If you look at the TrueNorth Timeline view above again, you can see columns showing marketing spend and a hover tab showing data points for expected spend, leads and ROI vs the current actual figures for active marketing actions. This timeline view is designed for planning and managing marketing campaigns, not a generic UI for visualising all project types. The issue with generic timeline views is they tend to only offer basic visualisations and limited data that's more geared towards task management. They can't offer the same depth of marketing features a platform like TrueNorth can because campaigns are only one of many project types they have to cater for. ### Task management Task management is a key part of running campaigns but this is an area where you have to make certain compromises. The thing is, you're going to get the best task and workload management features from project management software rather than platforms geared more towards running marketing campaigns. While all of the platforms we're looking at in this article provide features and tools to help you manage marketing tasks, some of them are better than others in this regard. With some of our recommendations, you'll get task management features similar to those you would expect from project management software (or close to it). Others include a more simplistic set of features for assigning tasks to team members and setting statuses - something we'll assess as we review each software recommendation. ### Predictive technology Predictive technology uses your data to forecast future outcomes and help you make smarter marketing decisions. Instead of simply reacting to past events, you can foresee events and put strategies in place to take full advantage of opportunities at their peak. Most of the platforms we're looking at in this article offer predictive features of some nature but there's a lot of variation between them. For example, a couple of them include predictive lead scoring features to help you forecast the likelihood of prospects converting so you can focus your marketing efforts on the most promising leads. Another tool uses predictive technology to calculate how long certain tasks will take your team to complete and TrueNorth has its own campaign simulator that predicts the outcome of campaign ideas so you can run with your best ideas and optimise live campaigns against projections. ### Campaign reporting Another key characteristic to look for in campaign management software is that it should include dedicated campaign reporting. You can't manage campaigns with guesswork so you need a system capable of tracking performance, collecting the data you need to gain insights and visualising this data effectively so you can analyse campaigns and optimise performance. Again, all of the platforms recommended in this article include campaign reporting features to varying degrees. Aside from looking for native reporting features, you should also pay attention to the integration options available on each platform and any data import features that allow you to pull data in from other platforms like Google Analytics. ### Campaign experiments Marketing campaigns aren't something you can set and forget - they require ongoing analysis and optimisation. This is why it's so important that your campaign management software includes adequate reporting features. Expanding upon this, you should also look for campaign experiment features that allow you to test changes and maximise performance. Earlier, we explained that project management software generally offers the best task management features and it's a similar story with campaign experiments. Realistically, you're going to get the best testing features from dedicated CRO software but some of the platforms we're looking at today offer surprisingly advanced tools for running campaign experiments. ### Marketing automation As we discussed during the introduction of this article, the primary purpose of campaign management software is to help you and your team run campaigns more effectively. To cut out the inefficiencies of your marketing processes, you need automation features capable of handling your most repetitive and time-consuming tasks for you. Automation is a key component of any modern marketing software system but the depth and quality of features vary greatly across different products. This is true of the campaign management systems we're looking at today, too. While all of the products featured in this article include their own automation features, they range from relatively basic to advanced enough that you can automate entire marketing campaigns. ## #1: [TrueNorth](https://truenorth.io/) **The all-in-one campaign planning & management system** TrueNorth is a marketing planning and campaign management platform designed to help you produce better marketing strategies - and manage them more effectively. The software is built around a marketing tracking system that pulls all of your data into one place but reporting and analytics is only the beginning. With TrueNorth's predictive campaign simulator, you can forecast the outcome of campaign ideas to project results. This allows you to test strategies before you risk any of your marketing budget and you can also use this feature to prioritise your ideas and run with the best campaign briefs. The simulator helps you produce better marketing strategies and run with your most promising ideas, making TrueNorth a powerful system for planning campaigns. The feature is equally valuable for marketing management, too, because you can run campaigns against your simulations to identify performance issues earlier and fix them before they squander too much of your budget. Likewise, you'll identify overperforming campaigns faster, giving you the chance to allocate more budget to top-performing campaigns and maximise your ROI. With campaign simulation, you have to track performance for days or weeks to get an accurate picture of performance - not the case with TrueNorth. The platform's predictive technology also allows you to forecast potential fixes for underperforming campaigns and adjust campaign settings to see the impact they'll have on your campaigns. For example, if one of your campaigns isn't generating enough revenue, you can calculate how much you need to increase traffic to hit your revenue target, based on your current conversion rates. With this info, you can decide whether to increase spend on inbound strategies to increase traffic or prioritise other strategies (eg: conversion rate optimisation) to achieve your goals.  **Key features:** - **Campaign planning:** Develop winning marketing ideas faster with built-in tools for each stage of the creative process. - **Marketing timeline:** Map out your marketing timeline and assign tasks to get the best out of your team. - ******Campaign tracking:****** Stay on top of everything with a single view. All campaigns – whether running now or upcoming – across all channels. - ******Growth projection:****** Guide your team to the right decisions with data-driven predictions. - ******Campaign simulator:****** Predict the outcome of campaign ideas and select the best strategies. - ******Milestones:****** Set milestones for campaigns, based on data-driven projections, and optimise campaigns to constantly hit targets. - ******Campaign reporting:****** Measure campaign performance vs simulations, make adjustments and resimulate to identify the changes that’ll maximise performance. - Campaign ideation: Generate winning campaign ideas faster with collaborative ideation and simulation. - ******Idea capture:****** Collect ideas from your team outside of meetings so you’re ready to develop the strongest concepts right away. - ******Prioritise ideas:****** Quickly prioritise strategies and campaign ideas using the Impact, Confidence and Ease (ICE) framework, backed up by your data-driven campaign simulations. - ******Historical comparisons:****** Compare new ideas with what you’ve tried before to build new campaigns based on what really works, not just gut feeling. - ******Agile analytics:****** The Analytics interface makes it easier than ever to adapt fast when a campaign isn’t working – or double down when it is. So far, we've spent a lot of time talking about campaign simulation in TrueNorth because this is one of its most innovative features and you can use it to improve your marketing results in so many ways. This isn't the only feature that deserves our attention, though. At its heart, TrueNorth is a marketing tracking system that uses data to help you make more profitable marketing decisions but it also provides you with the tools you need to make full use of this data. This starts at the very first stage of planning new campaigns with its collaborative ideation features that help your team produce winning ideas faster. Marketing managers can request ideas from individuals and groups through the software, encouraging them to brainstorm and flesh out ideas before you even hold your first meetings. This means you can forget about those unproductive creative meetings where everyone stands around trying to come up with ideas on the spot. By the time you hold your first marketing meeting, you've already got a list of ideas to discuss and, once again, the campaign simulator helps you test and prioritise the best of them. TrueNorth scores your campaign ideas and automatically prioritises them using the Impact, Confidence and Ease (ICE) framework, backed up by your data-driven simulations. With your best marketing campaigns approved, you can create your timeline and plan out the workloads of everyone on your team. The visual timeline builder helps you map out everything to ensure enough time is dedicated to each marketing action to achieve your goals on time and the required resources are always available. And, once your campaign is live, TrueNorth tracks performance and maps it against projections so you can see how the real-world numbers stack up. ### How much does TrueNorth cost? Most software providers run complex pricing models with multiple plans at different price points and feature limitations. These plans are also normally priced on a per-user basis so your $30/month software fee multiples to $3000/month for a relatively small team of 10 - and more if you want to add more team members in the future. These pricing models result in spiralling software fees for companies and a lot of confusion when you're signing up for a new product.  TrueNorth isn't like other providers, though. It doesn't run multiple plans, complex pricing or multiply your fees for every member on your team. You simply pay $99/month to get all of TrueNorth's features, for your whole team, so you don't need to worry about usage limits, upgrades or higher fees if you make changes to your team. The only downside is there's no free plan but you can try TrueNorth out for 30 days with a free trial. ### TrueNorth pros & cons #### TrueNorth pros - **Built for marketers by marketers:** TrueNorth is the only dedicated marketing management software we’re aware of that’s built specifically for marketers, by marketers. - **Campaign simulator:** TrueNorth’s innovative campaign simulator helps you prioritise campaign ideas, choose the best creatives and optimise performance with greater precision. - **Simple pricing:** For $99/month, you get access to all of TrueNorth’s features for your entire team – no hidden fees, user-based pricing or upgrade expenses. - **Usability:** TrueNorth is optimised to help you launch and optimise campaigns faster without spending unnecessary time fiddling with features and settings in the software. #### TrueNorth cons - **Marketing focus:** If you’re primarily looking for a project management system that moonlights as marketing management software, the other options in this list may be more suitable. - **No free plan:** As part of TrueNorth’s simple, flat-rate pricing model, there’s no free plan available (but you can try it for 30 days, for free). ### TrueNorth verdict TrueNorth is an all-in-one marketing planning and management system that helps your team produce winning campaigns. It takes out the inefficiencies of strategic planning so you can develop lists of high-quality marketing ideas faster, test campaigns before risking any budget and prioritise your best strategies - based on data, not intuition. The campaign simulator isn't only good for testing campaign ideas during the planning stages, either. You can compare live campaign results against projections and take action faster, instead of analysing results for days or weeks to get an accurate picture of performance. You can identify and optimise underperforming campaigns faster or increase spend on campaigns beating projections to take full advantage of their performance. With TrueNorth, you can make smarter marketing decisions faster to get the most out of your marketing budget from every campaign. ## #2: [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) **The best for email marketing campaigns** ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation system that uses your customer data to drive growth marketing strategies. So, while TrueNorth uses your marketing data to improve the quality of your strategies, ActiveCampaign uses a mix of customer and website data to guide leads along the sales funnel, mainly through automated email marketing strategies. For example, you can run automated cart abandonment email campaigns to chase up customers who quit the session before completing their purchase. Or, you can build an automated customer onboarding sequence designed to guide new customers through the setup process and follow-up with any prospects who fail to complete onboarding. So we're talking about a very different system from TrueNorth here but these aren't competing products. In fact, we use both TrueNorth and ActiveCampaign here at Venture Harbour - TrueNorth for planning and managing our marketing strategies and ActiveCampaign specifically to automate email marketing and customer service. **Key features:** - **Email marketing:** Everything you need to manage winning email marketing campaigns - email builder, templates, campaign workflows, reporting and more. - **Marketing automation:** ActiveCampaign delivers some of the best marketing automation features around. - **Lead nurturing:** Turn leads into paying customers by nurturing them through the buying process. - **Customer cycle management:** Manage campaigns at every stage of the customer cycle, from lead capture to the first purchase and beyond. - **Predictive technology:** Predict lead scores, customer value and send predictive content in your emails. - **Website tracking:** Build hyper-relevant campaigns by tracking website activity and automatic email delivery. - **Personalisation:** Create personalised customer experiences across multiple channels. - **Built-in CRM:** Manage all of your customer data in ActiveCampaign with its built-in CRM. - **Marketing reporting:** Track campaign performance and optimise results. Like TrueNorth's signature feature is its campaign simulator, ActiveCampaign's defining feature is its advanced marketing automation system. We've used dozens of automation platforms over the years and ActiveCampaign isn't only the most powerful but also the most flexible. You can basically create and automate entire marketing strategies with this platform. This isn't simply another *if this, then that* automation system; ActiveCampaign is an intelligent automation platform that turns your customer data into marketing insights - and action. You can target audiences with hyper-relevant email marketing campaigns based on the actions they take on your website, data-driven lead scores, their purchase histories and, even, how they interact with your email content. This allows you to deliver messages at every stage of the funnel and guide prospects towards their next purchase. With ActiveCampaign's built-in CRM, you can start building customer profiles before they even make the first purchase and create target groups based on lead scores, interaction types and a range of other characteristics. As you learn more about your leads and customers, you can use this data to prioritise high-value prospects to maximise conversion and customer value. Predictive technology makes another showing with ActiveCampaign but we're not talking about a campaign simulator here. Instead, predictive lead scoring uses historical comparison data to predict the likelihood that new leads will convert into customers so you can focus your marketing efforts on the prospects most likely to generate ROI. ### How much does ActiveCampaign cost? Hopefully, you enjoyed the simplicity of TrueNorth's pricing model because things are about to get more complicated. ActiveCampaign runs four different plans at different price points and, although the company doesn't charge on a per-user basis, there are user limitations on each plan. In addition to this, the price of each plan increases based on the number of contacts (customer profiles) you store in the CRM. For example, the $9/month Lite plan covers you for one user and 500 contacts but this increases to $29/month once you exceed the 500 contact limit (the new limit becomes 1,000). [](/recommends/activecampaign/) If you want more than one user on your account, you'll have to sign up for the $49/month Plus plan which covers you for up to 25 users and 1,000 contacts, as standard. Once you exceed 1,000 contacts, the Plus plan jumps up to $99/month with a new limit of 2,500 contacts. The Plus plan also opens up more advanced features, including a landing page builder, advanced reporting, marketing automation, lead scoring and task reporting. The Professional plan starts at $149/month, covering you for up to 50 users and 2,500 contacts. It also introduces website personalisation, predictive email sending, predictive content, advanced attribution, win probability, in-app messaging and plenty more. This is the plan where you really open ActiveCampaign's full potential in terms of automation and predictive technology. Again, the monthly fees for the Professional plan increase as your contact list grows, jumping to $209/month for up to 5,000 contacts, $339/month for 10,000 contacts, $549/month for 25,000 contacts and so on. Yes, this pricing model takes some time to get your head around but ActiveCampaign is the best platform we've used for managing marketing automation and email marketing - and it's more affordable than comparative alternatives. ActiveCampaign is enterprise-grade software but the company has created a pricing model that makes it affordable for smaller and growing businesses to buy into. The platform is designed to drive growth by increasing sales so you can sign up for as little as $9/month and upgrade once revenue increases and you're ready to invest more into the system. Take some time to study [the pricing page](https://www.activecampaign.com/pricing?em=25000&term=yearly&features=1), get familiar with what's on offer at each price point and determine how much value this technology can add to your business. ### ActiveCampaign pros & cons #### ActiveCampaign pros - **Marketing automation:** ActiveCampaign is the best marketing automaFactivwtion system we've used and far more affordable than similar products. - **Built-in CRM:** Manage all of your customer data in one place and use it to maximise sales. - **Lead nurturing:** ActiveCampaign excels at nurturing leads into paying customers and customers into repeat buyers. - **Low entry price:** ActiveCampaign's pricing model allows small and growing businesses to buy into growth software only enterprise companies can normally afford. #### ActiveCampaign cons - **Complex pricing:** The downside to ActieveCampaign's pricing model is complexity - you have to know what you're signing up for and understand your future software fees. - **Learning curve:** Given the depth of features available in ActiveCampaign, it's going to take time for your team to get familiar with everything. ### ActiveCampaign verdict ActiveCampaign is a comprehensive CRM, email marketing and marketing automation platform that rivals some of the most advanced marketing software in the industry. It boasts some of the best automation technology around and the predictive features available on its Professional plan are as good as any. The complex pricing and jumps in monthly fees are unfortunate but the company has taken a bold move by making enterprise-level marketing software available to small businesses from fees starting at just $9/month. As you'll see when we look at HubSpot in the next section, this is remarkable considering the price points of similar software options, even if the complexity is a little confusing at first. ## #3: [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot/) **Multichannel campaign management software** HubSpot has a lot in common with ActiveCampaign although it places a little more emphasis on inbound marketing strategies (blogging, social media, account-based marketing) than email and automation. Once again, the platform includes a CRM for managing your customer data and merging sales and marketing processes. You also get a landing page builder, live chat and chatbots, web forms, email marketing and multichannel campaign management tools. HubSpot's automation technology isn't as advanced as ActiveCampaign's and this also has an impact on the kind of email marketing campaigns you can create. ActiveCampaign's drag-and-drop automation builder gives you complete freedom to automate almost any sales and marketing process while HubSpot is a little more limited. On the plus side, the quality of marketing tools in HubSpot is exemplary - for example, the landing page and form builders are easier and more pleasing to use than the equivalent tools in ActiveCampaign. Usability is impressive across the board with HubSpot's marketing software - although you have to get through a convoluted onboarding and setup process to enjoy it. [](/recommends/hubspot/) **Key features:** - **Campaign management:** Manage and collaborate on your campaigns in a single view. - **Ad management:** Create audiences from your HubSpot contacts database, and see which ads are generating customers. - **Chat technology:** Add chat bots and live chat to your website for lead capture and customer support. - **SEO tools:** Identify SEO issues on your website, learn how to optimise your pages and produce better blog content. - **Social media tools:** Schedule posts, monitor terms and analyse performance across your social channels. - **Email marketing:** Send bulk emails that are tested and optimised for different devices and inboxes. - **A/B testing:** Run A/B tests on landing pages and emails to hone in on the best performing variations in copy and design. - **Predictive lead scoring:** Automatically score and rank leads based on hundreds of factors so you can focus on the contacts most likely to convert. - **Campaign reporting:** Get in-depth, customisable data on your marketing performance - so you know how you're doing and where to improve. HubSpot's marketing suite offers some of the most comprehensive campaign management and marketing tools for multichannel strategies. If your priority is generating leads from inbound channels (SEO, social media, PPC, etc.), then it's an excellent platform - as long as you're willing to pay the price (more on this in the next section). Keep in mind, the Marketing Hub is just one of many products HubSpot sells, meaning its sales and customer service platforms are separate products entirely. Unlike ActiveCampaign, which includes all of its marketing, sales, automation and support features in a single product, you'll have to pick and choose products with HubSpot - and pay for them, of course. ### How much does HubSpot cost? One of the negatives we discussed with ActiveCampaign was its complex pricing but don't expect things to get any easier with HubSpot. In fact, this is the most complex (and expensive) pricing model we're going to discuss in this article - so strap yourself in. As we touched on in the previous section, the Marketing Hub is one of several products the company has on offer. As things stand, HubSpot currently runs five core products across its integrated suite of software, including the Marketing Hub. In this article, we're only really interested in the Marketing Hub but just remember that you'll have to sign up and pay for additional products if you want the best of HubSpot's sales and service software, as well as its CRM (its free CRM is highly capable, though). Pricing for the Marketing Hub starts from $45/month for the Starter plan, which covers you for 1,000 marketing contacts. You can store up to 15 million regular contacts on HubSpot's CRM with all paid plans but your monthly fees are determined by the number of marketing contacts - ie: the contact you reach out to with emails, automation and other interactions. Another thing to keep in mind with pricing on the Marketing Hub is that you're not charged for the users on your account. You're charged for the plan you sign up to, the features these include and the number of marketing contacts you reach via HubSpot. On the Starter plan, monthly prices increase by around $45/month for each additional 1,000 marketing contacts although the additional fee drops to $36/month for each additional 1,000 contacts after you exceed 4,000. To put that into context, you'll pay $396/month for 10,000 marketing contacts on the Starter plan, $936/month for 25,000 and $1,836/month for 50,000. The Professional plan starts at $800/month, covering you for up to 2,000 marketing contacts with price increments of $224.72 for each additional 5,000 marketing contacts. So, once you exceed 2,000 contacts on this plan, your fees will jump up to $1,025/month with a limit of 7,000 contacts and this continues each time you exceed your current limit. These jumps of 5,000 users make the Professional plan quite expensive because it only takes one extra marketing lead to bump you up to the next plan. You also have to consider HubSpot's setup fees for the Professional plan, which adds another $3,000 to your up-front payment. So, if you're signed up for the cheapest Professional plan (2,000 contacts), you're facing a $12,600 up-front fee before you even get started, including 12 payments of the $800/month subscription fee and the $3,000 setup fee. ### HubSpot pros & cons #### HubSpot pros - **Inbound marketing:** HubSpot is an excellent platform for multichannel inbound marketing. - **Usability:** HubSpot's system provides a great user experience, except for the convoluted setup process. - **Free tools:** HubSpot throws in an excellent range of free tools, most notably its free CRM. #### HubSpot cons - **Expensive:** HubSpot is an excellent platform but an expensive one, especially compared to ActiveCampaign. - **Complex pricing:** Plans and pricing are similarly complex to ActiveCampaigns but significantly more expensive. ### HubSpot verdict HubSpot is one of the best marketing systems available and a great platform if you're looking for an all-in-one solution for marketing, sales and customer service. The downside is you need deep pockets to buy into the system, especially if you want to incorporate the Marketing Hub with other products. With HubSpot's pricing model and setup fees, you have to put down thousands in an up-front payment before you even get to grips with the platform so this is a serious software investment we're talking about. Luckily, HubSpot backs up its prices with an excellent marketing management system and, if we ignore the pricing, HubSpot just about has the edge on ActiveCampaign, except for email marketing and automation. However, as soon as you bring pricing into the equation, it becomes more difficult to recommend HubSpot Active Campaign, which delivers 90% of the same features for a fraction of the price. ## #4: [CoSchedule](https://coschedule.com/) **Campaign management for content marketing teams** CoSchedule is a marketing management system that specialises in one particular strategy: content marketing. This comes with some obvious limitations but the platform is a solid choice for companies and teams that primarily engage in content marketing, such as publishers, media brands and affiliate marketers. Like HubSpot, CoSchedule breaks its software ecosystem into multiple products but that's pretty much where the similarities end. CoSchedule's headline product is the Marketing Calendar which offers a free limited plan and a standalone paid plan offering all of the product's features. Then, you've got CoSchedule's Marketing Suite, which includes the company's four main products: 1. Content Organizer (Content Calendar) 2. Content Organizer 3. Work Organizer 4. Asset Organizer As you can tell from the naming convention of the products, a key function of CoSchedule is organising various aspects of marketing campaigns. Once again, you've got the content calendar and, then, the Content Organizer that allows you to create, schedule and publish content all from one system. Your team can use the tool to collaborate on content, manage schedules and save pieces for automatic publishing on specified dates.  **Key features:** - **Content Calendar:** Map out your content marketing strategy with CoSchedule's trademark content calendar. - **Content Organizer:** Create, schedule, publish and promote your content from one platform. - **Marketing projects:** Manage marketing projects with tasks, workload management and collaboration. - **Automation:** Automate repetitive tasks to speed up planning and project management. - **Social management:** Manage your social media profiles and automatically publish content across profiles. - **Asset management:** Store, index and collaborate on content assets in CoSchedule. - **Integrations:** Extensive integrations with WordPress, Zapier, Google Docs, Mailchimp and plenty more. Another big feature for content marketing teams is the Asset Organizer that creates a single place for storing and managing content assets. You can upload assets to the system, provide access to team members and update them without any concern about team members using old or outdated assets in new content. It's a simple solution but it genuinely speeds up content production and helps maintain consistency with everything you publish. Finally, you've got the Work Organizer, which is essentially a basic project management product for marketing teams. You can create schedules, assign tasks and update statuses and campaign progress - basically, all of the things you would expect from a project management tool, even if CoSchedule's solution isn't as advanced as the big names like Asana and monday.com. ### How much does CoSchedule cost? CoSchedule's pricing model is relatively simple compared to HubSpot and ActiveCampaign but there are a few points we have to cover. First up, we have the free plan to discuss, which is only available for the Marketing Calendar and covers you for a single user, which is fine for entrepreneurs and affiliate marketers but no real help for marketing teams. CoSchedule also offers a Pro plan for its Marketing Calendar, which will cost you $29/month per user for a maximum of 10 users. The Pro plan opens up team project management features, including tasks, event automation and templates, plus a more sophisticated set of social media features, such as unlimited post scheduling and bulk scheduling.  If you need more than 10 users on your account or you want to access all four of CoSchedule's campaign management products, you'll have to sign up for its Marketing Suite Business plan, which is priced upon application. ### CoSchedule pros & cons #### CoSchedule pros - **Content marketing:** CoSchedule is primarily designed for planning and managing content marketing strategies - and it's very good at it. - **Asset management:** Having a single place to store and access all of your content assets boosts productivity and consistency. - **Usability:** Strong UX design and the relative simplicity of CoSchedule's software make the platform easy to implement and use. #### CoSchedule cons - **Limited scope:** The focus on content marketing limits CoSchedule for planning on other channels, such as PPC and paid social. - **Restrictive free plan:** While CoSchedule offers a free plan for individuals, it's so limited that it offers no real value beyond testing a restricted version of the platform - a free trial would be more helpful. - **Pricing:** Considering the limited scope of CoSchedule's software, $29/month per user feels somewhat overpriced. ### CoSchedule verdict CoSchedule is a great platform for content marketing teams and businesses that primarily engage in content marketing, such as publishers and affiliate marketers. It's not the most flexible platform if you're looking for something to manage multichannel marketing campaigns but it does offer up some unique features that content marketing teams won't easily find elsewhere - eg: asset management and the built-in document editor. For many teams, these multichannel limitations mean CoSchedule isn't going to be the only campaign management tool they need. More likely, it's an optional extra for teams that identify inefficiencies in their content marketing strategy or production processes and determine CoSchedule adds enough value to justify the asking price. ## #5: [ClickUp](/recommends/clickup/) **The project management approach to marketing campaigns** All of the platforms we've looked at so far are designed specifically for managing marketing campaigns but ClickUp is different. This is a project management system that competes more with the likes of monday.com, Asana and Trello than TrueNorth and other marketing management platforms we're looking at today. However, the issue with project management software is that it tends to fall short on marketing-specific features like campaign reporting, email automation and forecasting. This is because it has to support a wide range of different project types, which can include anything from marketing campaigns and sprint runs to product development, recruitment and many more. Project management software can't provide specialist features for each type of project so it tends to focus on the core essentials of task management, team reporting and productivity. ClickUp takes the opposite approach by providing specialist features for several project types, including marketing. You can set campaign (or project) goals, import data from your analytics tools, visualise campaigns with marketing maps, manage tasks and marketing actions and collaborate with ClickUp's native Docs system. The platform also includes a dedicated Sprints App for planning and managing marketing sprints, plus a range of agile marketing templates to help you plan campaigns quickly.  **Key features:** - **Project planning:** Plan campaigns and other projects with ClickUp's collaborative system. - **Sprint App:** Plan and manage marketing sprints with the native Sprint App, available on all plans. - **Task management:** Create and manage tasks for teams and individuals. - **Spaces:** Organise teams and departments into Spaces where you can group projects into folders. - **Views:** Plan and manage your campaigns across 15 different views, including lists, boards, calendars and more. - **Collaboration:** Plan and manage projects at every level as a team with email, chat, comments, docs collaboration and more. - **ClickUp Docs:** Create, manage and collaborate on documents inside ClickUp. - **Reporting:** Set goals and track progress with built-in reporting. - **Time management:** Track time, estimate tasks durations and analyse team performance. - **Marketing templates:** Plan campaigns and marketing projects faster with ClickUp's library of templates. - **Automation:** Cut out repetitive tasks using 50+ actions, triggers and conditions with pre-built, customisable recipes. For a project management system, ClickUp delivers an impressive depth of marketing features to help you plan and manage campaigns more effectively. The company has clearly designed its platform with marketing and other agile teams in mind with a goal-centric approach to planning projects. The Sprints App is unlike anything we've seen from other project management and systems and it really elevates ClickUp's ability as a campaign planning and management tool. Earlier, we talked about the flexibility of project management software making it difficult to offer marketing-specific features. To help make up for this, most providers develop a library of project templates, including marketing templates, to help companies plan and launch campaigns faster. With most project management systems, you'll get a few marketing templates for the most common project types, such as a generic marketing campaign template, a content calendar and possibly one or two more. ClickUp's library includes more marketing-specific templates than we've seen from any other project management system and they're also far less generic than you'll typically find elsewhere. There's a template for A/B testing, campaign tracking, marketing sprints, SEO management and a range of agile and sales templates, including two CRM templates, product roadmaps and backlogs. ### How much does ClickUp cost? Like CoSchedule, ClickUp offers a free plan for individuals with limited features and usage restrictions. Paid plans start at $5/month per user for the Unlimited plan, which is designed for smaller teams, allowing you to manage unlimited tasks and create unlimited dashboards with additional views, recurring tasks and the ability to manage one team. If you want to manage multiple teams in ClickUp, you'll have to upgrade to the Business plan, which is priced at $9/month per user. On this plan, you can manage unlimited teams and create automation with multiple actions and conditions. With the Business plan, you can also manage team and individual workloads, create timelines and mind maps, create goal folders and use advanced time tracking. The $19/month Business Plus plan gives you team sharing, custom role creation, increased automation and priority support while the Enterprise plan mainly adds advanced security features and some additional customisation options - but you'll have to contact ClickUp's sales team to discuss pricing. ### ClickUp pros & cons #### ClickUp pros - **Collaboration:** ClickUp provides one of the most collaborative systems we've used without compromising productivity. - **Usability:** Despite the depth of features worked into its platform and the extent of collaboration tools, the standard of usability ClickUp achieves is impressive. - **Marketing planning:** While it doesn't compete with TrueNorth and MarketPlan when it comes to marketing planning, ClickUp offers more in this regard than the other alternatives. #### ClickUp cons - **Mobile apps:** As good as the web app experience is, the UI design on the mobile apps isn't as intuitive. - **Learning curve:** The depth of features comes with an inevitable learning curve that you're not going to get from simpler tools like Trello. ### ClickUp verdict If you're looking for a project management system that can double up as campaign management software, ClickUp offers more marketing-specific features than anything else we've tested. No, it doesn't compete with the likes of TrueNorth or ActiveCampaign when it comes to managing campaigns but it offers more flexibility for other project types and delivers some unique marketing features for agile teams. Usability is also a real strength of ClickUp's system, regardless of which plan you're signed up to and the company has done a good job with its pricing model and splitting features across the upgrade path. Yes, the per-user pricing can rack up your expenses but this is the standard for Saas products and TrueNorth is the only option we've looked at that really breaks this model. Still, with pricing starting at $5/month per user, ClickUp is among the most affordable systems of its kind and even the Unlimited plan delivers a capable camping management tool. The price jumps between plans are reasonable, too, and the feature incentives are more than enough to make you feel like it's worth upgrading once you max out the potential of your current plan. ## Which is the best campaign management software? We've looked at each software option, one by one, but it always helps to compare directly when you're choosing a system to invest in. All of the platforms we've recommended in this article have their merits but let's take a moment to see how they stack up against each other in the following three key categories: 1. **Pricing** 2. **Campaign management features** 3. **Usability** For the pricing and features sections, we've put together a couple of comparison tables so you can see how the numbers stack up and the key features you're getting for your money. ### The best for pricing We took a good look at pricing information for each campaign management platform in our reviews but it's always difficult to compare SaaS products with multiple plans, features and pricing to consider. So here's a quick reminder of which platforms offer a free plan, the starting price you can expect and the starting price of the most expensive plan they offer. | Tool | Free plan? | Starting price | Top plan | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | TrueNorth | - | $99/mo | - | | ActiveCampaign | - | $9/mo | $259/mo | | HubSpot | Yes | $45/mo | $3,200/mo | | CoSchedule | Yes | $29/mo | POA | | ClickUp | Yes | $5/mo | $19/mo | Keep in mind that most of the prices above are listed on a per-user basis except for TrueNorth and ActiveCampaign. With TrueNorth, you pay a flat rate of $99/month for your whole team and this gets you access to all of its features - no upgrades, price increases or hidden fees to worry about. ActiveCampaign and HubSpot also charge for the number of marketing contacts you have stored on their built-in CRMs. Considering that the two platforms offer very similar sets of features, you can see how different the pricing becomes as you upgrade to more expensive plans. ActiveCampaign offers an affordable introduction for smaller teams/companies (without the hefty setup fees HubSpot charges) and remains comparatively affordable at the pricier end, too. In our CoSchedule review, we questioned whether the company needs to offer more for the $29/month starting price, despite offering a free plan and bringing some specialist content marketing features to the table. And the question feels even more relevant when you look at the relatively affordable pricing model ClickUp has put together, especially when it delivers a much greater depth of features than CoSchedule. ### The best option for campaign management features All of the platforms we've looked at in this article have plenty to offer in terms of campaign management but they all take different approaches. You've got the predictive optimisation of TrueNorth, ActiveCampaign's class-leading marketing automation and CoSchedule's emphasis on content marketing to name a few. With the possible exception of ActiveCampaign and HubSpot, none of these systems could be considered as like-for-like alternatives. We've put together a comparison table showing each platform's key features to give you an idea of what they have to offer and the different approaches they take to campaign management. | Tool | Campaign planning | Marketing automation | Marketing analytics | Forecasting | Task management | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | TrueNorth | ✔ | - | ✔ | ✔ | Basic | | ActiveCampaign | - | ✔ | ✔ | - | Basic | | HubSpot | - | ✔ | ✔ | - | - | | CoSchedule | ✔ | - | - | - | Basic | | ClickUp | ✔ | - | ✔ | - | Advanced | It all comes down to what your priorities are - for example, are you looking for a system to help you produce better campaigns or one to automate entire marketing strategies? It's not like you can only use one of these platforms for managing campaigns, either. We use TrueNorth as our marketing planning and campaign tracking system alongside ActiveCampaign as our email marketing and automation platform. ### The best option for usability You and your team are going to use campaign management software every day so usability is a big factor. It's counterintuitive to use a platform that makes life harder than it needs to be, especially when productivity is such a key part of campaign management. Whenever we test a new software system, there are four usability characteristics we pay particular attention to: 1. **Smooth operation:** The software runs smoothly without any lags or slowdowns as you interact with elements. 2. **Navigation:** Elements, tools, settings and everything else you interact with is easy to find. 3. **Minimal clicks:** Simple actions require no more than 1-3 clicks to complete and more complex actions (eg: settings changes) within a reasonable number of clicks. 4. **Action completions:** The quantity of meaningful actions you complete vs time spent interacting directly with the software. All of the products we've recommended in this article perform well in terms of usability but three of them really stand out. #### TrueNorth First up. we've got TrueNorth, which delivers a quality user experience across its entire ecosystem. This is the newest software product featured in this article and the freshness of its design is evident. At the same time, TrueNorth's UX is remarkably mature for such a new platform and you can tell it was developed, optimised and refined ahead of release. The system is designed to help you and your team manage marketing campaigns faster and it aims to reduce the number of clicks and other manual actions required to complete tasks. For example, you can create a new ideation session from the Ideas dashboard with a single click and either manually type in your goal or select from TrueNorth's intelligent suggestions.  In most cases, you'll want to define your own goals for ideation sessions but this is a good example of how TrueNorth provides automated alternatives to manual actions, instead of simply automating the most basic tasks. Everything is designed to speed up the planning and management of marketing actions so you can spend less time clicking UI elements and more time hitting targets. #### ClickUp ClickUp is a project management system first and this is evident from the design of the whole platform. The system takes traditional design conventions, such as a folder system, list views, dashboards, etc. and combines them into a comprehensive productivity system for teams. Having used a lot of project management systems over the years, ClickUp's user experience stands out as the most impressive. The interfaces are modern and clean, spread out across a logical architecture and intuitive navigation that never really suffers, despite offering a lot of space for customisation. When you look at how many features and tools ClickUp has squeezed into its platform, the quality of the UX only impresses further. You've got instant messaging, a complete Docs system, file collaboration, sprint planning, asset management and a tonne more features in addition to the usual task and workload management features you would expect from this kind of platform. I've used so many comparable platforms that offer far less in features and struggle to integrate them into a user experience half as intuitive as this. #### HubSpot HubSpot is one of the oldest and biggest names in marketing software and usability has been a strength of its products for as long as I can remember. The platform is new enough that it was designed and developed for the modern age of cloud computing unlike some of the older names that were awkwardly adapted from C++ or Java code for desktop applications. At the same time, HubSpot has been in the game long enough to refine its entire system into a cohesive experience and the company's financial clout has certainly helped with R&D over the years. [](/recommends/hubspot/) HubSpot isn't as fresh and modern as TrueNorth or ClickUp but it's a robust system that performs in all the important areas. If we compare it to its closest competitor in this article, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot wins the usability contest with a more intuitive system overall but also a more consistent experience across the entire platform. You get the impression that, as a smaller company, ActiveCampaign has had to prioritise some parts of its software over others in terms of ongoing development. Meanwhile, HubSpot has optimised its entire system to the same level over the years and this really shows when you jump into some of the more specialist tools, such as the landing page builder. ## Take the drag out of campaign management With the right campaign management software, you can remove the bottlenecks in day-to-day marketing processes. For marketing teams, productivity means prioritising time and other resources to high-impact activities, not getting bogged down in meetings and admin tasks. In this article, we've looked at a range of different campaign management systems that all have something unique to offer. No one system is right for everyone but, hopefully, we've covered enough bases to help you choose the right software (or combination of tools) for your team. ## FAQ **What is campaign management software used for?** Campaign management software helps marketing teams plan, execute, and optimise marketing campaigns across multiple channels from a single platform. These tools centralise campaign data, automate workflows, and provide analytics to measure performance, allowing teams to **coordinate complex campaigns more efficiently** and respond to results in real-time. **What features should I look for in campaign management software?** The best campaign management software combines automation capabilities, multi-channel support, analytics dashboards, and team collaboration features. You should prioritise tools that offer **timeline adjustment functionality for live campaigns**, integration with your existing marketing stack, and intuitive interfaces that don't require extensive training. **Is there free campaign management software available?** Yes, several campaign management platforms offer free tiers or free versions, though they typically come with limited features compared to paid plans. Most free options work well for small teams or basic campaigns, but **scaling your campaigns usually requires upgrading to a paid plan** to access advanced automation and analytics features. **What's the difference between campaign management software and marketing automation?** Campaign management software focuses on planning, scheduling, and executing individual campaigns across channels, whilst marketing automation handles ongoing, triggered workflows based on customer behaviour. **Campaign management tools are better for coordinated, time-bound initiatives**, whereas automation platforms excel at nurturing leads over extended periods. **Can campaign management software adjust live campaign timelines?** Yes, modern campaign management software allows you to modify campaign schedules and timelines even after they've gone live. This flexibility is crucial for responding to market conditions or performance data, and **tools like CoSchedule and ClickUp specialise in real-time campaign adjustments** without disrupting your entire marketing schedule. **Which campaign management software is best for small teams?** ClickUp and CoSchedule are particularly well-suited for small marketing teams due to their user-friendly interfaces and affordable pricing structures. These platforms provide **essential campaign coordination features without overwhelming complexity**, allowing small teams to manage multiple campaigns without dedicated software specialists. **Do I need campaign management software if I use HubSpot?** HubSpot includes built-in campaign management capabilities, so you may not need additional software if you're already using their platform. However, **dedicated campaign management tools often provide more advanced scheduling, timeline adjustment, and multi-channel coordination features** than HubSpot's integrated offering, making them valuable for complex campaigns. **What's the best campaign management software for email marketing campaigns?** ActiveCampaign excels at email campaign management with sophisticated automation, segmentation, and personalisation features. For teams focused primarily on email, **ActiveCampaign's email-specific tools and CRM integration make it superior to general-purpose campaign platforms** that treat email as just one channel among many. --- # 5 Best Email Marketing Tools if You Have a Large Contact List URL: https://ventureharbour.com/5-best-email-marketing-tools-if-you-have-a-large-contact-list/ Summary: Compare 5 enterprise email platforms built for scaling. HubSpot, ActiveCampaign & more analysed. Find your best fit. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:19:57 Email marketing software tends to be priced based on the number of contacts you want to send mails to. Generally speaking, larger enterprise firms are going to have larger contact lists but this isn't always the case - especially with the range of marketing automation tools available today. Now, it's more feasible than ever that smaller ventures can have large contact lists, but this doesn't mean they necessarily have the enterprise budget to work with. In this article, we're looking at the best email marketing platforms for large contact lists - for every budget. ## #1: [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) ActiveCampaign is seriously punching above its weight as an all-in-one email marketing, automation and CRM platform. In terms of features, it competes with the biggest names in the industry and its pricing is based on features, not the size of your contact list (like most software options). This means you're not held to ransom by the number of people you need to email and you simply pay for the features you need - precisely how it should be, as far as we're concerned. If you've got a large contact list *and*you need the full package of features, you'll be glad to know the prices for the enterprise version of ActiveCampaign are very reasonable. Sure, the likes of Adobe and Oracle have more machine learning power under the hood, but ActiveCampaign gives you 90% of everything you'll need from a full marketing suite and charges a fraction of the price most software providers are demanding. ## #2: [GetResponse Enterprise](https://www.getresponse.co.uk/gb-enterprise)  GetResponse is similar to ActiveCampaign in many ways although there are some feature differences you'll want to look into. The quick answer is ActiveCampaign offers more but it really comes down to what you need from an email marketing platform.  You can find out more about the feature differences at [Marketingautomationinsider.com](https://www.marketingautomationinsider.com/activecampaign-vs-getresponse/) but GetResponse Enterprise is a solid offering, either way. In terms of having a large contact list, GetResponse Enterprise is priced on the number of contacts you have and prices climb quite steeply at the longer end. It still works out cheaper than many of the market leaders but it simply offers less than ActiveCampaign and works out slightly more expensive. Still, if you prefer the interface or the specific feature offerings, this could be an option. ## #3: [Marketo](https://business.adobe.com/products/marketo.html)  Marketo is a different kind of platform to ActiveCampaign and GetResponse. This time you're looking at a collection of products that includes email marketing, marketing automation, social marketing, digital ads and various other management applications. Marketo doesn't really cater for SMEs and this is reflected in the structure of its software and the pricing. It's the most expensive option we've looked at so far but it also offers the most advanced collection of features if you're willing to pay for them - and you don't need to worry about the size of your contact list. For most businesses, Marketo is more than they'll ever need and more than they should probably be paying for an email marketing platform. Then again, if you need to the features and can't get them elsewhere, you know what you need to do. ## #4: [IBM Watson Campaign Automation](https://www.ibm.com/us-en/marketplace/digital-marketing-and-lead-management)  IBM's Watson Campaign Automation is a true piece of B2B enterprise software, providing an all-in-one marketing automation system that includes advanced email marketing features. There isn't much you can't do with IBM's offering and you know you're getting some of the most advanced marketing and security technology with Watson Campaign Automation. The only downsides are the pricing (ouch) and the general design/user experience of the platform itself. It's not exactly easy on the eye and navigating the system can be clunky at times. This is often the case with the older, established tech giants such as IBM and Oracle who haven't caught up with the slicker design principles that come naturally with the relative newcomers like ActiveCampaign and GetResponse. ## #5: [Oracle Eloqua](https://www.oracle.com/marketingcloud/products/marketing-automation/index.html) Much like IBM's offering, Oracle's Eloqua is geared towards enterprise B2B companies and it comes with many of the same benefits/compromises. It's somewhat easier to use than IBM's Watson Campaign Automation, though, thanks to a significantly more intuitive user interface that makes getting around the platform pretty easily. It still looks out of date by a half a decade but the navigation and general UX essentials are fairly well put together - more so than most of the established tech names like IBM, Microsoft and Adobe have ever managed. On features, Eloqua isn't going to let you down although some of them will take time to get to grips with, such as the automation side of things. However, once you got this nailed, you're good to go and then you have the platform's standout feature. Eloqua's analytics system is pretty incredible, offering real-time reporting across multiple channels so you can see exactly how your email marketing strategy is contributing to your wider marketing efforts. If you need the most powerful set of features and you have the enterprise budget to work with, Eloqua is a strong option. ### Enterprise software is changing While most email marketing platforms base their pricing on the size of your contact list, more innovative companies like ActiveCampaign are changing this. With automation powering your sales and marketing strategies, smaller ventures can do business like the big brands and this is reflected in the pricing models and feature sets of newer marketing and sales platforms. ## FAQ **What's the difference between email marketing for small vs large contact lists?** Email marketing platforms charge based on contact list size, so larger lists require enterprise-grade tools with advanced segmentation and automation capabilities. Small contact lists can use affordable basic platforms, whilst **large contact lists need dedicated enterprise solutions** like ActiveCampaign or Marketo that handle millions of contacts without performance degradation. **Is ActiveCampaign or GetResponse Enterprise better for managing large contact lists?** ActiveCampaign excels at **mid-market to enterprise automation** with superior CRM integration and workflow complexity, whilst GetResponse Enterprise focuses on ease-of-use with strong e-commerce features. Your choice depends on whether you prioritise advanced automation (ActiveCampaign) or user-friendly campaign management (GetResponse). **How do IBM Watson Campaign Automation and Oracle Eloqua compare?** Both are enterprise-level platforms designed for organisations with massive contact lists, but **Oracle Eloqua leads in lead scoring and nurturing** whilst IBM Watson Campaign Automation emphasises AI-driven insights and predictive analytics. Oracle Eloqua is typically chosen by B2B enterprises, whilst IBM Watson suits organisations already invested in IBM's ecosystem. **What email marketing platform should I use if I'm scaling my contact list?** **GetResponse Enterprise or ActiveCampaign** are your best options if you're scaling from mid-market to enterprise size, as both handle growth seamlessly without requiring platform migration. They offer flexible pricing tiers that grow with your contact list, making them ideal for businesses experiencing rapid expansion. **Can you use basic email marketing tools with a large contact list?** Basic email marketing tools like Mailchimp or [Kit](/recommends/convertkit/) become prohibitively expensive and technically limited once you exceed 50,000-100,000 contacts. **Enterprise platforms are essential for large contact lists** because they provide the automation, segmentation, and deliverability infrastructure needed to manage millions of subscribers effectively. **Which email marketing tools do large brands and enterprises actually use?** Enterprise organisations typically use Marketo, Oracle Eloqua, IBM Watson Campaign Automation, or ActiveCampaign depending on their industry and existing tech stack. **These platforms dominate enterprise email marketing** because they offer advanced personalisation, compliance features, and the infrastructure to handle contact lists exceeding 10 million subscribers. **What features matter most when choosing an email platform for large contact lists?** Deliverability infrastructure, advanced segmentation, marketing automation workflows, and CRM integration are critical for large contact lists. **Scalability and compliance features** (like GDPR and CAN-SPAM support) become non-negotiable as your list grows, which is why enterprise platforms cost significantly more than basic tools. --- # 5 Best Free Applicant Tracking Systems in 2026 URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-free-ats/ Summary: We ran our hiring on Breezy for five years. Here are the five free applicant tracking systems worth using in 2026 — and the real limits of each. Last updated: 2026-07-03 15:00:00 Every ATS vendor claims to have a free option. Most of them mean a 14-day trial with a sales call waiting at the end. Genuinely free applicant tracking systems — no time limit, no card — are rarer. Having [tested ten ATS platforms](/applicant-tracking-systems/) and run Venture Harbour's own hiring on Breezy for over five years (six hires, 900+ applications), I count two that qualify properly, one startup-focused newcomer, and two trials worth knowing about. That's this list. Quick disclosure before we start: the Breezy, Manatal and GoHire links here are affiliate links. It hasn't changed the ordering — Zoho and Dover aren't, and they're still here. ## The quick answer [Breezy's Bootstrap plan](/recommends/breezyhr/) is the best free ATS for most small teams. You get one active position with unlimited users and candidates, a polished pipeline, and one-click distribution to 50+ job boards — the same product we paid for, capped at one open role. The catch is 30-day candidate retention, so you can't quietly build a talent pool on the free tier. [Zoho Recruit's Forever Free plan](https://www.zoho.com/recruit/) is the strongest pure-free option — one active job, candidate management, email integration and interview scheduling, with no time limit and no retention catch. The trade-off is an interface that feels dated next to Breezy. Dover offers a free ATS aimed squarely at startups, with a more limited feature set than either. And if one active job isn't enough, [Manatal](/recommends/manatal/) and [GoHire](/recommends/gohire/) both run 14-day trials before paid plans at $15/user/mo and $99/mo respectively. ## How the free tiers compare | Tool | Free tier includes | Biggest limit | Paid from | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Breezy HR](/recommends/breezyhr/) | 1 active position, unlimited users & candidates, 50+ job boards, branded career site | 30-day candidate retention | $157/mo (Startup, annual) | | [Zoho Recruit](https://www.zoho.com/recruit/) | 1 active job, candidate management, email integration, interview scheduling — no time limit | Dated interface, slow support on lower tiers | $25/user/mo (Standard, annual) | | Dover | Free ATS built for startups | More limited feature set | — | | [Manatal](/recommends/manatal/) | 14-day trial (full AI features, no card) | Not actually free — trial only | $15/user/mo (annual) | | [GoHire](/recommends/gohire/) | 14-day trial (no card) | Not actually free — trial only | $99/mo (Starter) | Pricing verified April 2026. Now the detail. ## 1. Breezy HR — best free ATS for most small teams We ran hiring at Venture Harbour on [Breezy](/recommends/breezyhr/) for over five years, so I know exactly what the paid product does — and the remarkable thing about the Bootstrap plan is how little has been stripped out. I wrote up the full five-year experience in our [Breezy HR review](/breezy-hr-review/). [](/recommends/breezyhr/) The free tier gives you one active position, a branded career site, distribution to 50+ job boards with a single click, GDPR compliance, multi-language support and resume parsing. And it includes unlimited users and candidates — so your co-founder, your ops lead and whoever else can all screen applicants without anyone buying a seat. That last point matters more than it sounds. Most free tools cap collaborators to force the upgrade. Breezy caps the number of open roles instead, which is a far more honest constraint for a founder making their first hire. The pipeline itself is a drag-and-drop Kanban board (think Trello), and candidates apply through a careers page that doesn't look like it came free. Across our 900+ applications, the thing that kept us on Breezy was being able to hand whole chunks of the process to other people without losing visibility — and that collaborative layer is intact on Bootstrap. Now the catch, because there is one. The free plan retains candidates for 30 days, so you can't sit on a candidate database for months without paying. Run a hiring cycle, make your hire, done — fine. Build a long-term talent pool at $0 — no. And you don't get the stage-triggered automation (auto-sent screening questionnaires, rejection emails) that makes the paid product genuinely time-saving. When you outgrow it, the Startup plan is $157/mo on annual billing with unlimited active positions and still no per-seat charges. [Try Breezy's free Bootstrap plan →](/recommends/breezyhr/) ## 2. Zoho Recruit — strongest pure-free option If your requirement is "free, forever, no asterisks," [Zoho Recruit](https://www.zoho.com/recruit/) wins. The Forever Free plan includes one active job, candidate management, email integration and interview scheduling — and unlike Breezy's free tier, there's no candidate retention window hanging over you. You can run a complete hiring cycle, keep the data, and never pay a penny. For a bootstrapped startup with zero recruitment budget, that combination is hard to argue with. It's a genuinely usable plan rather than a demo, which is rare in this category. The compromises are the ones you'd expect from a budget tool. The interface feels dated next to Breezy or Teamtailor, initial setup has a steeper learning curve than it should, and support can be slow on lower-tier plans. The career page builder is basic too — candidates will notice the difference, which matters if you're competing for talent on brand. One situational bonus: if your business already runs on the Zoho ecosystem (CRM, Mail, People), the native integrations make Recruit close to a default choice. If it doesn't, that advantage evaporates. Upgrading gets you to Standard at $25/user/mo (annual) with 10 active jobs — the cheapest paid step-up of any tool on this list, though it's per-seat where Breezy and GoHire are flat-rate. ## 3. Dover — free ATS built for startups Dover is the newest name here and the one I have the least mileage with — I haven't run a hiring cycle through it, so treat this section as a signpost rather than a verdict. The pitch is straightforward: a free ATS aimed specifically at startups. If you're an early-stage founder and the incumbent free tiers feel like cut-down versions of products built for someone else, that focus is appealing. The trade-off, as far as I can establish, is a more limited feature set than either Breezy's Bootstrap plan or Zoho's Forever Free tier. You're getting a narrower product in exchange for the startup-first framing. My honest suggestion: shortlist it alongside Breezy and Zoho, run your next real role through whichever two feel best in the first hour, and let the candidates arriving in your pipeline settle it. Free tools have a compelling property — the cost of trialling all three is your time, not your money. ## 4. Manatal — free trial, then the cheapest serious paid ATS [Manatal](/recommends/manatal/) doesn't belong on a strictly-free list, and I'm including it anyway — because if your hiring is anything more than one role at a time, its 14-day trial into a $15/user/mo plan (annual) will likely serve you better than squeezing into a free tier that doesn't fit. The trial needs no credit card and includes the full product: AI candidate scoring, profile enrichment from LinkedIn and 20+ social platforms, a sourcing hub of 600M+ profiles, and an AI Interviewer that runs automated first-round video screens. That last one is a real time-saver on high-volume roles, not a gimmick. At $15/user/mo on the Professional plan you get 15 jobs — fifteen times what any free tier allows. For the price of a couple of coffees per user, the one-active-job problem disappears. The catches: reporting is basic, customisation is limited, and the career page builder feels like an afterthought. And it's per-seat pricing, so the maths get worse as your recruiting team grows (hiring managers are unlimited, which softens this). [Try Manatal free for 14 days →](/recommends/manatal/) ## 5. GoHire — free trial for UK teams [GoHire](/recommends/gohire/) is the other trial-then-paid option worth knowing, particularly if you're hiring in the UK. The 14-day trial needs no card, and the Starter plan after it is $99/mo (£89) — the cheapest flat-rate paid ATS we've tested, with unlimited team members included. [](/recommends/gohire/) Its distinguishing feature is proper UK job-board coverage. Reed and Totaljobs are first-class citizens rather than afterthoughts, and it ships 700+ UK-tailored job description templates. Registered charities get 30% off, which makes it one of the better options for UK non-profits doing occasional hiring. The limits: Starter caps you at 3 active jobs, distribution covers 15+ boards versus Breezy's 50+, and there's no free tier at all — once the fortnight's up, you pay or you leave. If your hiring is mostly outside the UK, Breezy or Manatal make more sense. [Try GoHire free for 14 days →](/recommends/gohire/) ## When free stops making sense Every genuinely free ATS on this list shares the same core constraint: one active job at a time. That single fact decides when you upgrade, and it usually arrives sooner than founders expect. The moment you have two roles open concurrently, you're forced to choose. The upgrade paths, from cheapest to most complete: **Manatal at $15/user/mo (annual)** is the smallest step up in absolute cost, and it brings AI scoring and sourcing along with the extra job slots. Best if your team is one or two people doing the recruiting. **Zoho Recruit Standard at $25/user/mo (annual)** gets you 10 active jobs and keeps you in the Zoho ecosystem. The logical path if you started on Zoho's free tier and it's working. **GoHire Starter at $99/mo** is the cheapest flat-rate option — 3 active jobs, unlimited users, strongest for UK-focused teams. **Breezy Startup at $157/mo (annual)** is where we landed ourselves: unlimited active positions, unlimited users, and the stage-triggered automation that the free tier withholds. It's the most expensive path here and the one I'd still pick for a growing team, because flat-rate pricing with unlimited collaborators is the model that ages best as headcount grows. The full breakdown of all ten platforms we've tested — including what you get at each price point — is in our [applicant tracking systems comparison](/applicant-tracking-systems/). And if you start on Breezy and later wonder what else is out there, we've covered the [Breezy HR alternatives](/breezy-hr-alternatives/) worth switching to (spoiler: fewer than you'd think). ## A closing dose of honesty Free ATS tiers are built for light hiring. One role open at a time, a founder or office manager running the process, a hiring cycle every few months. Used that way, they're excellent — you get structure, a careers page and a paper trail for the price of a spreadsheet. What they are not is a hiring system for a growing company. No automation, one job slot, and (in Breezy's case) a 30-day clock on your candidate data. If you're hiring regularly, the free tier is a test drive, not a destination — and the honest advice is to treat it as one. Start with [Breezy's Bootstrap plan](/recommends/breezyhr/) if candidate experience matters, [Zoho Recruit](https://www.zoho.com/recruit/) if permanence does, and budget for the upgrade before you need it. Migrating an ATS mid-hiring-cycle is a slog… better to pick the tool whose paid tier you'd be happy on. ## Updates - **July 2026** — Published initial version covering five free and trial options, with pricing validated against our April 2026 ATS comparison research. ## Frequently asked questions **Is there a completely free ATS?** Yes — two of them, with no time limit. Zoho Recruit's Forever Free plan includes one active job, candidate management, email integration and interview scheduling, and it never expires. Breezy HR's Bootstrap plan is also free forever, with one active position, unlimited users and candidates, a branded career site and distribution to 50+ job boards. Dover also offers a free ATS aimed at startups, though with a more limited feature set. Manatal and GoHire are not free — they offer 14-day trials before paid plans start at $15/user/month and $99/month respectively. **What are the limits of free ATS plans?** The universal limit is one active job at a time — both Zoho Recruit's Forever Free plan and Breezy HR's Bootstrap plan cap you there. Beyond that, each tool has its own catch: Breezy's free plan retains candidates for 30 days, so you can't build a long-term candidate database without paying, while Zoho Recruit's interface feels dated and support can be slow on lower tiers. Free plans suit light, sporadic hiring — one role open at a time — and start to pinch as soon as you're hiring for two or three roles concurrently. **What is the best free ATS for startups?** Breezy HR's Bootstrap plan is the best free ATS for most startups. It includes one active position with unlimited users and candidates, a polished drag-and-drop pipeline, a branded career site and one-click distribution to 50+ job boards — the same product paying customers use, just capped at one open role. Zoho Recruit's Forever Free plan is the strongest pure-free alternative if you want to hold candidate data indefinitely, since Breezy's free tier retains candidates for only 30 days. Dover is a third option built specifically for startups, with a more limited feature set. **When should you upgrade from a free ATS?** The clearest trigger is hiring for more than one role at a time — every genuine free plan caps you at one active job, so a second concurrent opening forces the decision. Upgrade paths are affordable: GoHire starts at $99/month with unlimited users, Breezy HR's Startup plan is $157/month (annual) with unlimited active positions, and Manatal starts at $15 per user per month (annual) with AI candidate scoring. You should also upgrade if you need to keep a candidate pool long-term (Breezy's free tier retains candidates for 30 days) or if you need automation like stage-triggered emails and screening questionnaires. **Does Breezy HR have a free plan?** Yes. Breezy HR's Bootstrap plan is free forever and includes one active position, unlimited users and candidates, a branded career site, distribution to 50+ job boards, GDPR compliance, multi-language support and resume parsing. No credit card is required. The main catch is 30-day candidate retention — you can't sit on a candidate database for months without moving to a paid plan. Paid plans start at $157/month (Startup, annual billing) with unlimited active positions and no per-seat charges. **Can you run hiring for multiple jobs on a free ATS?** Not concurrently. Zoho Recruit's Forever Free plan and Breezy HR's Bootstrap plan both allow one active job at a time. You can run roles back to back — close one, open the next — which works for occasional hiring, but the moment you need two openings live simultaneously you'll need a paid plan. The cheapest routes are Manatal at $15 per user per month (annual, 15 jobs), Zoho Recruit Standard at $25 per user per month (annual, 10 active jobs), or GoHire at $99/month flat (3 active jobs, unlimited users). --- # 5 Best Marketing Collaboration Tools URL: https://ventureharbour.com/marketing-collaboration-software/ Summary: Compare 12+ marketing collaboration tools to streamline campaigns & boost team productivity. See features, pricing & our top pick. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:17:14 Marketing teams need more than general-purpose collaboration software to manage winning campaigns. If you [search for "collaboration software" in Google](https://www.google.com/search?q=collaboration+software&oq=collaboration+software&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512l5j69i60l2.2600j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8), you'll find plenty of tools for team messaging, video calls, collaborative document editing and task management. And, while products like Slack and Trello are great at what they do, they're simply not designed for the more creative and technical aspects of digital marketing - such as campaign planning, predictive analytics and campaign automation. In this article, we look at the best *marketing* collaboration software that will help you and your team manage these tasks more effectively. These tools will help you generate better marketing ideas, plan winning campaigns, manage the workloads of everyone on your team and optimise campaigns to get the best results. ## What are we looking at in this article? The bulk of this article includes reviews of the best marketing collaboration software currently available. Before we get into the reviews, we take some time to explain what you should look for in marketing collaboration tools to make it easier to distinguish between the more general-purpose platforms and the ones that will make a real impact on your marketing efforts. This article includes the following sections: 1. **[What to look for](#what-to-look-for):** The key features to look for in marketing collaboration software. 2. **[TrueNorth review](#truenorth):** Create better marketing ideas as a team. 3. **[ActiveCampaign review](#activecampaign):** Unite your marketing and sales teams. 4. **[ClickUp review](#clickup):** Collaborate on projects, docs and marketing activities. 5. **[monday.com review](#monday):** Collaborative workload management. 6. **[GatherContent review](#gathercontent):** The collaborative system for content marketing teams. 7. **[Comparison](#comparison):** Pricing, features and usability of each platform compared. Once we're done with the reviews of each system, we have a comparison with tables showing how the pricing and features compare and we also discuss the best platforms for performance and usability. ## What are we looking for in marketing collaboration software? As touched on in the intro, we're not here to discuss generic collaboration tools like group messaging or document collaboration that any team can benefit from using. We're focusing specifically on marketing collaboration software that provides specialist features designed for specific marketing tasks. Here's a summary of some of the key features we want to see from marketing collaboration software and what you should look out for if you're comparing tools. ### Marketing planning As explained in [our guide to the best marketing planning software](/marketing-planning-software/), there's a real lack of tools designed to help marketers with planning campaigns and strategies. Yet, this is one of the most collaborative stages of marketing projects and it can be one of the most time-consuming unless your team is consistently producing winning marketing ideas quickly. It's easy to find a project management system that helps teams collaborate once campaigns are running but we want to see features in marketing collaboration software that will help teams during the creative stages of campaign planning. Specifically, we want features that help marketing teams develop ideas faster, prioritise their best ideas and dedicate budget to campaigns and strategies predicted to get the best results. We want collaboration features that make this planning process more efficient and data-driven insights that help marketing teams choose winning ideas with greater confidence and also make better optimisation decisions once campaigns are running. ### Team & task management Once the creative planning stage wraps up, marketing managers have to put together a timeline for campaigns. This maps out the workloads of team members, marketing actions and other tasks that need completing in order to achieve your goals on time. Effective timelines map out marketing activities, ensuring every task is given enough time, resources are always available when needed and the workload of every individual is manageable.  So we're looking for a visual timeline builder that allows marketing managers to map out campaigns, assign tasks and manage the workloads of both teams and individuals. Many of the platforms we're looking at today have this capability but some of them offer more control over task management than others. Likewise, one of our recommendations includes a timeline feature designed specifically for planning marketing campaigns while others are geared more towards general project management. ### Marketing & team reporting With collaboration software, you're normally looking for team reporting and productivity insights to get the best out of your team. This is as valuable to marketing teams as any other but it's not enough to simply track the performance of your team. You also need marketing tracking and reporting features to measure the performance of campaigns and adapt your strategy. Ideally, you want native capabilities to track your marketing goals, KPIs and metrics with data visualisations that help you gain insights from your data. Otherwise, you should look for integrations with tools like Google Analytics or data import tools so you can pull in data from other channels, such as your social media platforms. ### Team communication Team communication is a key part of any collaboration system so this is something we have to discuss with all of the platforms featured in this article. Most of the products we're looking at today support team communication to varying degrees but the depth of features varies greatly from one tool to the next. Some support in-app chatting, file sharing and integrated email while others focus more on tagging and comments. A couple of the platforms we're looking at today include their own collaborative document system that allows team members to create and edit documents in real-time - no more email back-and-forths with endless revisions. We'll explore these features in more detail as we review each software system and explain what you're getting in terms of team communication. ### Pricing for teams As with all software designed for teams, you have to pay close attention to pricing when you're looking at collaboration tools. Most SaaS companies offer multiple plans with different feature restrictions and the majority also price their platforms on a per-user basis, meaning your monthly fees multiply with every member on your team. At a glance, some products may look like a great deal until you realise how many users you need on the account or you look at the upgrade path and see how your fees are going to increase over time. In our reviews, we take time to discuss the pricing of each platform so you know exactly what you're going to pay and we've also got a pricing comparison section at the end of this article to help you see which platforms really offer the best value. ## #1: [TrueNorth](https://truenorth.io/): Create better marketing ideas as a team ***Pricing: $99/month (all features, unlimited users)*** In the previous section, we talked about dedicated features for planning marketing campaigns and strategies. TrueNorth is one of the only platforms on the market that provides a collaborative environment for your team to produce better marketing ideas, develop them into winning strategies and make smarter marketing decisions. The platform takes a data-driven approach to marketing planning and management with intelligent growth projections and campaign simulation features. This allows you to test out marketing ideas before you allocate any budget to them and prioritise campaigns expected to get the best results to maximise ROI. Predictive technology helps your team produce and develop strategies with confidence and TrueNorth's collaborative ideation system gets you out of the planning stage faster.  **Key features:** - **Campaign planning:** Develop winning marketing ideas faster with built-in tools for each stage of the creative process. - ****Collaborative ideation:**** Collect ideas from your team outside of meetings so you’re ready to develop the strongest concepts right away. - **Marketing timeline:** Map out your marketing timeline and assign tasks to get the best out of your team. - ****Campaign tracking:**** Stay on top of everything with a single view. All campaigns – whether running now or upcoming – across all channels. - ****Growth projection:**** Guide your team to the right decisions with data-driven predictions. - ****Campaign simulator:**** Predict the outcome of campaign ideas and select the best strategies. - ****Campaign reporting:**** Measure campaign performance vs simulations, make adjustments and resimulate to identify the changes that’ll maximise performance. - ****Prioritise ideas:**** Quickly prioritise strategies and campaign ideas using the Impact, Confidence and Ease (ICE) framework, backed up by your data-driven campaign simulations. With its collaborative ideation system, managers can quickly request ideas from individuals and groups of team members for specific marketing goals. For example, you might create an ideation session requesting ideas on how to increase 3X your visit-to-lead conversion rate and invite all of the relevant team members into your session. Invitees can add their ideas to the session and develop them with teammates through in-app comments. You're not simply putting together a static list of marketing ideas with TrueNorth, either. With the platform's campaign simulator, you can predict the outcome of campaign ideas and automatically prioritise them, based on those expected to achieve the best performance. More specifically, TrueNorth prioritises marketing ideas using the Impact, Confidence and Ease (ICE) framework that not only considers performance expectations but also the balance of results and difficulty of achieving them. Data-driven predictions allow you to prioritise marketing ideas quickly and focus your efforts on the best strategies. TrueNorth also includes a marketing timeline tool for planning campaigns, managing workloads and tracking the contribution of each marketing activity. TrueNorth is the only platform we're looking at today that includes a dedicated timeline feature for planning marketing campaigns. A few of the systems we'll be looking at later include project management timelines and other interfaces for planning/viewing different project types but they're not designed and optimised specifically for running marketing campaigns. TrueNorth is designed by marketers for marketers to remove the inefficiencies of marketing planning and management. It offers a collaborative planning system backed up by predictive technology to help you produce winning campaigns and get them out of the conceptual stage faster. ### How much does TrueNorth cost? Unlike most SaaS products, TrueNorth isn't split across multiple plans with different prices and feature lists. You also don't need to worry about per-user pricing, upgrade costs or any hidden fees. You can use the full version of TrueNorth for free, for 30 days, and you simply pay a flat-rate fee of $99/month once the trial period is over - and this gives you full access to all of its features for your entire team.  This means you don't need to worry about adding or removing people from your team and your monthly fees constantly jumping around. You also don't have to deal with feature limitations, usage restrictions or upgrade fees once you reach the limit on your current plan - because there are no plans. This isn't a common pricing model for SaaS products but it makes TrueNorth one of the most cost-effective options for marketing teams. As we discussed earlier, collaboration software isn't much help to individual users so you have to consider how much you'll be paying to cover your whole team - something you don't have to sweat over with TrueNorth. ### TrueNorth pros & cons #### TrueNorth pros - ****Collaborative ideation:**** TrueNorth's innovative ideation system helps your team develop better marketing ideas and put them to the test. - **Campaign simulator:** TrueNorth’s innovative campaign simulator helps you prioritise campaign ideas, choose the best creatives and optimise performance with greater precision. - **Simple pricing:** For $99/month, you get access to all of TrueNorth’s features for your entire team – no hidden fees, user-based pricing or upgrade expenses. - **Usability:** TrueNorth is optimised to help you launch and optimise campaigns faster without spending unnecessary time fiddling with features and settings in the software. #### TrueNorth cons - **Marketing focus:** If you’re primarily looking for a project management system that moonlights as marketing management software, the other options in this list may be more suitable. - **No free plan:** As part of TrueNorth’s simple, flat-rate pricing model, there’s no free plan available (but you can try it for 30 days, for free). ### TrueNorth verdict If you're looking for a collaborative system designed specifically for marketing teams to develop and manage winning campaigns, TrueNorth is hard to beat. It's the only platform we know of that provides dedicated tools for collaborating on marketing ideas, putting them to the test and automatically prioritising ideas - so you can get out of the planning stage and into the getting-results stage faster. ## #2: [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/): Unite your marketing and sales teams ***Pricing: From $9/month*** ActiveCampaign is the least collaborative platform we're looking at today - at least, in terms of team members working together on the same task. This isn't the kind of collaboration ActiveCampaign is designed for, though. We tend to think of collaboration software as helping team members within the same teamwork on tasks together but extra-team collaboration is just as important for marketing teams. One of the biggest challenges for modern companies is integrating seamless marketing and sales processes across multiple teams: several marketing teams, a core sales team, customer support, etc. ActiveCampaign unites these teams through a single system built around a customer management system (CRM) that merges your marketing and sales data. By building data across the marketing funnel and customer cycle, you can deliver targeted marketing campaigns at every stage of the buying process and nurture prospects towards the next purchase. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) **Key features:** - **Built-in CRM:** Manage all of your customer data in ActiveCampaign with its built-in CRM. - **Email marketing:** Everything you need to manage winning email marketing campaigns - email builder, templates, campaign workflows, reporting and more. - **Marketing automation:** ActiveCampaign delivers some of the best marketing automation features around. - **Lead nurturing:** Turn leads into paying customers by nurturing them through the buying process. - **Customer cycle management:** Manage campaigns at every stage of the customer cycle, from lead capture to the first purchase and beyond. - **Predictive technology:** Predict lead scores, customer value and send predictive content in your emails. - **Website tracking:** Build hyper-relevant campaigns by tracking website activity and automatic email delivery. - **Personalisation:** Create personalised customer experiences across multiple channels. - **Marketing reporting:** Track campaign performance and optimise results. With an integrated marketing and sales system, you can eradicate the divide between marketing leads and closed deals. ActiveCampaign automatically updates the status of leads so sales reps always know when they need to step in and when to hold off. Marketing automation is a key aspect of ActiveCampaign's platform, allowing you to automate entire marketing strategies with segmented lists, lead scoring, customer value predictions and a range of other intelligent features. The platform's Service Suite also incorporates your customer support team with native email and in-app support, in addition to deal assignment, customer health scoring, dedicated service reporting and plenty more. ### How much does ActiveCampaign cost? ActiveCampaign's pricing model is more typical of SaaS companies than TrueNorth's. As you can see below, there are four plans available with prices starting from $9/month and it's worth noting that ActiveCampaign doesn't quite charge on a per user basis - although team size does matter. The Lite plan only covers you for one user while the Plus plan increases the limit to 25 users and the Professional plan increases this, once again, to a maximum of 50 users. If you have more than 50 people on your team (keep in mind, this could include your marketing, sales and customers service teams), then you'll have to sign up for the Enterprise plan, which covers you for unlimited users. The other thing to keep in mind with ActiveCampaign's pricing is that the monthly fees for each plan increase, based on the number of contacts you have in the CRM. So, the pricing shown above covers you for up to 500 contacts on the Lite Plan, 1,000 contacts on the Plus plan and 2,500 contacts on the Professional and Enterprise plans. The price increases vary across plans as your contact list grows so the best way to see how much ActiveCampaign will cost you is to use [the interactive pricing page](https://www.activecampaign.com/pricing?em=2500&term=yearly&features=1) on its website. ### ActiveCampaign pros & cons #### ActiveCampaign pros - **Marketing automation:** ActiveCampaign is the best marketing automation system we've used and far more affordable than similar products. - **Built-in CRM:** Manage all of your customer data in one place and use it to maximise sales. - **Lead nurturing:** ActiveCampaign excels at nurturing leads into paying customers and customers into repeat buyers. - **Low entry price:** ActiveCampaign's pricing model allows small and growing businesses to buy into growth software only enterprise companies can normally afford. #### ActiveCampaign cons - **Complex pricing:** The downside to ActieveCampaign's pricing model is complexity - you have to know what you're signing up for and understand your future software fees. - **Learning curve:** Given the depth of features available in ActiveCampaign, it's going to take time for your team to get familiar with everything. ### ActiveCampaign verdict ActiveCampaign is the only platform we're looking at today that can integrate your marketing, sales and customer support teams through a single system. It's not collaboration software in the traditional sense (if there is such a thing) but it can solve one of the biggest challenges modern businesses face in closing the gaps between nurturing leads, closing deals and keeping customers happy. ## #3: [ClickUp](/recommends/clickup/): Collaborate on projects, docs & marketing activities ***Free plan available; pricing from $5/month*** ClickUp is a collaborative project management system that aims to provide a single environment for your team to work together on tasks. This isn't a marketing-centric platform in the same way As TrueNorth or ActiveCampaign but ClickUp offers up more marketing features than you would normally expect from a project management system - eg: sprint planning features, marketing timelines and a range of marketing project templates. This is also the most collaborative project management system we've tested at Venture Harbour. The native ClickUp Docs app adds a system for your team to create, edit and collaborate on documents in a similar way as platforms like Google Docs without needing to integrate with a third-party app. Within ClickUp, you also have a built-in chat system for team members to discuss marketing ideas and collaborate on marketing tasks. Like TrueNorth, ClickUp has its own timeline tool, which you can use to map out campaigns and it also supports a wide range of other view formats, including Gannt charts, boards, calendars, tables and plenty more - one of the major benefits of using a project management system as your marketing collaboration tool. **Key features:** - **Project planning:** Plan campaigns and other projects with ClickUp's collaborative system. - **Collaboration:** Plan and manage projects at every level as a team with email, chat, comments, docs collaboration and more. - **ClickUp Docs:** Create, manage and collaborate on documents inside ClickUp. - **Sprints:** Plan and manage marketing sprints with the native Sprint App, available on all plans. - **Task management:** Create and manage tasks for teams and individuals. - **Spaces:** Organise teams and departments into Spaces where you can group projects into folders. - **Views:** Plan and manage your campaigns across 15 different views, including lists, boards, calendars and more. - **Reporting:** Set goals and track progress with built-in reporting. - **Time management:** Track time, estimate tasks durations and analyse team performance. - **Marketing templates:** Plan campaigns and marketing projects faster with ClickUp's library of templates. - **Automation:** Cut out repetitive tasks using 50+ actions, triggers and conditions with pre-built, customisable recipes. ClickUp also has a few unique features built into its software that you won't find on any of the other platforms we're looking at today. First, it has a native tool for planning sprint runs, which is technically designed for development teams but perfectly suitable for agile marketing teams. The platform's library of templates also includes several agile project templates to help you plan sprints faster and you can automate repetitive tasks to trim time off sprint management, too. Another notable feature is in-app video recording, which allows team members to capture screen recordings of anything in the app and send the footage of teammates through the platform's messaging system. You can capture the entire screen, app window or browser tab and add voice notes through your device's microphone to send visual messages or instructions to anyone on your team. ### How much does ClickUp cost? ClickUp offers a free plan for individuals and paid plans start at $5/month per user for the Unlimited plan, which is designed for small teams. This covers you for unlimited tasks, spaces and file storage with additional views and 1,000 automation per month. The key limitation on the Unlimited plan is that you can only manage one team but you can sign up for the $9/month per user Business plan if you want to manage multiple teams. This plan also opens up more advanced automation capabilities with multiple actions and conditions, plus additional views and increased guest limitations.  Then, you've got the $19/month per user Business Puss plan, which gets your team sharing, custom roles, increased automation and priority support. Finally, the Enterprise plan includes advanced security features and some additional customisation options, but you'll have to contact ClickUp's sales team for prices on the Enterprise plan. You can find out more information on [the company's pricing page](/recommends/clickup/). ### ClickUp pros & cons #### ClickUp pros - **Collaboration:** ClickUp provides one of the most collaborative systems we've used without compromising productivity. - **Usability:** Despite the depth of features worked into its platform and the extent of collaboration tools, the standard of usability ClickUp achieves is impressive. - **Marketing planning:** While it doesn't compete with TrueNorth when it comes to marketing planning, ClickUp offers more in this regard than the other alternatives. #### ClickUp cons - **Mobile apps:** As good as the web app experience is, the UI design on the mobile apps isn't as intuitive. - **Learning curve:** The depth of features comes with an inevitable learning curve that you're not going to get from simpler tools like Trello. ### ClickUp verdict ClickUp is the most collaborative system featured in this article, even if it's more of a project management system than a marketing platform. You're not getting the same kind of collaboration features we saw with TrueNorth - ones designed for developing marketing ideas, planning campaigns, projecting results, etc. Instead, you're getting a comprehensive toolkit that can replace half a dozen apps with task management, team messaging, document collaboration and plenty more. So this isn't a system that's going to compete with or replace something like TrueNorth but more likely something you would use alongside it. ## #4: [monday.com](https://monday.com/marketing): Collaborative workload management ******Free plan available; paid plans start from £21/month***\**** Like ClickUp, monday.com is primarily a project management system but it puts more of an emphasis on managing workloads. Over the years, the company has ramped up its offering of marketing features, powered by its existing collaboration and automation tools. Once again, you get built-in docs collaboration, campaign timelines and team communication features to collaborate on marketing ideas and resources inside the platform. However, monday.com offers more than ClickUp when it comes to asset management, which could be a key feature for social and content marketing teams. The platform also has more marketing templates to work with, including content calendars, marketing strategies, a social media planner, ad campaigns and plenty more.  **Key features:** - **Project management:** Manage projects, including marketing campaigns, product launches and more. - **Campaign planning:** Plan your marketing campaigns in one organised workspace. - **Task management:**Manage tasks at the team and individual levels throughout your campaigns. - **Workloads:** Manage team and individual workloads to maximise productivity without the burnout. - **Content calendar:**From digital publications to social media, manage your publishing schedules and coordinate all content initiatives in one visual calendar. - **Asset management:** Upload and manage files, content assets and campaign essentials. - **Automation:**Automate repetitive work by setting customisable actions in your boards. - **Marketing analytics:** Import campaign data and track performnce inside monday.com. - **Time tracking:**Track and monitor the time spent on each task. - **Templates:** Use and create project templates to get things moving faster. - **Collaboration:** Send messages, attach files, run video chats and collaborate via digital whiteboards. The other area where monday.com edges ahead of ClickUp is workload management. The platform includes a dedicated workload view to help team leaders maximise productivity without burning anyone out. You can also manage resources to ensure everyone has access to the tools they need to do their job at the scheduled time. Then, the platform automatically logs task completions to track the workload of team members, based on how much they're doing in specified times. This allows you to see how close to capacity team members are at any one time so you can assign tasks to people who have space or manage the workloads of people who are doing too much or falling behind. ### How much does monday.com cost? Like ClickUp, monday.com offers a limited free plan although it's available for up to two users who want to collaborate on joint projects. The Basic plan starts from £7/month per user but you have to have a minimum of three users on the paid plans so your fees actually start at £21/month and increase by £7/month for each additional user for teams of more than three people. Even on the Basic plan, you get a collaborative whiteboard, marketing templates, request forms, asset management and basic project management features. Upgrade to the £9/month per user (starting at £27/month) Standard plan and you also get the timeline view, marketing analytics, task automation, Zoom integration and more. The Pro plan starts at £42/month for the first three seats and an additional £14 per seat after that. This gets you campaign management, marketing planning features, time tracking, an Adobe Creative Cloud plugin and the full set of project views. ### monday.com pros & cons #### monday.com pros - **Workload management:** monday.com prioritises task and workload management as a productivity tool. - **Visual simplicity:** The interface is a little harsh on the eyes but its visual simplicity communicates information effectively. - **Collaboration:** The in-app notes, messaging and notification system aids collaboration without being intrusive on individual workflows. #### monday.com cons - **Time-consuming:** While monday.com is excellent for task management, you spend a lot of time creating task lists, structuring projects and updating statuses. - **Complicated pricing:** The monthly prices displayed on the website are a little misleading because you have to pay for a minimum of three users and the per-user pricing multiplies the total fee. ### monday.com verdict In all honesty, there's not much separating monday.com and ClickUp so the best advice here is to try them both out and see which one meets your needs. ClickUp is the more collaborative system and the usability is noticeably better (more on this later) although monday.com is the stronger platform for managing team workloads. The marketing templates are a big asset for campaign planning, too, and the collaborative asset management features make monday.com a strong option for social and content marketing teams. ## #5: [GatherContent](https://gathercontent.com/): The collaborative system for content marketing teams ***Pricing: From $99/month*** GatherContent is a collaborative platform that helps content marketing teams create, review, approve and manage content production. It provides a single hub for managing your content strategy, from strategic planning and production to publishing and promotion. Essentially, GatherContent is a collaborative project management system designed for content teams with a suite of specialist tools to help you produce quality content faster. The system is built around a structure of projects and folders that you can use to organise content production and give everyone in your team access to the resources they need from a single platform. You can plan out your content schedule with briefs and deadlines, create assignments, assign tasks and add everything into GatherContent's built-in content calendar. From here, you can manage every stage of content production with statuses, identify bottlenecks and assist individuals with any challenges they're facing. Meanwhile, team members can create content within the platform and collaborate on pieces, allowing you to establish a seamless process of production, feedback, editing, approval and publishing. **Key features:** - **Real-time collaboration:** Produce and review your content faster when contributors work on content at the same time. - **Content planning:** Build your content strategy, develop ideas and put together your roadmap. - **Content management:** Simplify content production by building a repeatable content creation process. - **Templates:** Customisable templates make it easy for people to provide any type of content in the correct format, and style. - **Content calendar:** Visualise your team's editorial schedule for everyone to stay on track. - **Content Hub:** Bring your team together as you organise, plan and produce content in one platform. - **Style guides:** Embed your content style guide in your editing environment so authors can easily follow voice and tone content rules. GatherContent includes a library of content templates for blog posts, web content, landing pages, etc. that you can use to produce content faster. You can edit templates or create your own and save them to remove repetitive steps in your content production process, improve consistency and help new team members get up to pace quicker. You can also create a set of guidelines for different content types and embed them where team members are producing content so they always have guidance without needing to manually find and open the documentation themselves. GatherContent helps you create a repeatable process of content production capable of meeting the constant demands of modern content marketing. ### How much does GatherContent cost? GatherContent doesn't offer a free plan and its cheapest plan starts at $99/month but the system isn't priced on a per-user basis. So, if you're signed up for the Start plan, you'll only pay $99/month for your whole team although you're getting a restricted version of the software, limited to managing one project and five components with basic workflow and basic permissions features. Upgrade to the $299/month Scale plan and you can manage up to 10 projects with 15 components per project, plus the full set of workflow and permissions features. The Scale plan also includes "basic" shareable links for sharing content with people outside of your account and 12 months of revision history to view changes over the previous year. The $799/month Transform plan covers you for up to 30 projects with unlimited components, unlimited revision history, advanced shareable links (editable), single sign-on and the ability to archive projects. If you need to manage more than 30 projects in GatherContent, you'll have to contact the company's sales team to discuss pricing on a larger plan. ### GatherContent pros & cons #### GatherContent pros - **Content marketing:** A collaborative system designed specifically for content production. - **Content collaboration:** The most powerful collaboration environment for teams to work on content. - **Productivity:** Cut out the inefficiencies and delays holding back your content production. #### GatherContent cons - **Performance:** Slowdowns on larger tasks and occasional glitches with UI elements, text entry and other actions. - **Expensive for small teams:** GatherContent plans are expensive for small teams but the lack of per-user pricing makes it pretty affordable for teams of 5+ members. ### GatherContent verdict GatherContent is obviously a specialist tool designed for content-driven marketing strategies but this focus allows for advanced features few platforms can offer. For teams that rely heavily on content marketing and face the productivity challenges of producing a constant stream of content. With its top-tier plan costing $799/month, this isn't the cheapest platform around for smaller teams but the company isn't using a per-user pricing model. This means GatherContent is comparatively affordable for teams of five or more members, being equivalent to $159.80/month per user for a team of five signed up to its most expensive plan. ## Which is the best marketing collaboration software? Now that we've had a good look at each marketing collaboration platform, let's see how they stack up against each other. In this final section, we compare each of the products reviewed in today's article on the following three categories: 1. **Pricing** 2. **Marketing collaboration features** 3. **Usability** For the pricing and features sections, we include a couple of tables so you can easily see how the monthly software fees compare and the key features you'll be getting for your money. ### The best for pricing We discussed the pricing of each platform in the reviews section but it's difficult to compare different platforms when you've got multiple plans and different feature sets to consider. In the table below, you'll see which platforms offer a free plan, the starting price for the cheapest paid plan they offer and the starting price for the most expensive plan available. | Tool | Free plan? | Starting price | Top plan | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | TrueNorth | - | $99/mo | - | | ActiveCampaign | - | $9/mo | $259/mo | | ClickUp | Yes | $5/mo\* | $19/mo\* | | monday.com | Yes | £7/mo\* | £14/mo\* | | GatherContent | - | $99/mo | $799/mo | Keep in mind that ClickUp and monday.com employ a per-user pricing model so you'll have to multiply those monthly software fees by the number of members on your team - and monday.com requires a minimum of three users on its paid accounts. In the case of TrueNorth, you simply pay $99/month for all of its features and unlimited team members, meaning you never need to worry about upgrade fees or changing the size of your team from one project to the next. All things considered, TrueNorth is the best-value platform listed above and GatherContent is less expensive than it first appears for teams of five or more members due to the lack of per-user pricing. ### The best option for marketing collaboration features Every platform we've looked at today offers a variety of marketing collaboration features and the decision really comes down to what you and your team need from a platform - or combination of platforms. Here's a quick comparison table of the key collaboration features available on each platform: | Tool | Marketing planning | Ideation | Task management | Team comms | Docs editing | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | TrueNorth | Advanced | Advanced | Basic | Basic | - | | ActiveCampaign | Basic | - | Advanced | Basic | - | | ClickUp | Basic | - | Advanced | Advanced | ✔ | | monday.com | Basic | Basic | Advanced | Basic | ✔ | | GatherContent | Advanced | Basic | Basic | Basic | ✔ | As you can see, there's a lot of overlap where platforms offer similar features but they don't all provide the same depth - for example, TrueNorth advanced collaborative ideation features while monday.com offers a more basic set of features for this and ActiveCampaign don't really provide anything at all for this. ### The best option for usability In our final comparison, we want to spend some time talking about usability, which is particularly important for collaboration software and any tool designed to boost productivity. You don't want a system that gets in your way or adds unnecessary UX barriers that extend the amount of time it takes to complete rudimentary tasks. To analyse usability, we assess the following characteristics of each platform reviewed in this article: 1. **Smooth operation:** The software runs smoothly without any lags or slowdowns as you interact with elements. 2. **Navigation:** Elements, tools, settings and everything else you interact with is easy to find. 3. **Minimal clicks:** Simple actions require no more than 1-3 clicks to complete and more complex actions (eg: settings changes) within a reasonable number of clicks. 4. **Action completions:** The quantity of meaningful actions you complete vs time spent interacting directly with the software. Based on these factors, two of the platforms in this article stand out as the best for usability: TrueNorth and ClickUp. So let's explore what sets these two systems apart from the others. #### TrueNorth TrueNorth is the newest platform featured in this article and it benefits from modern, refined design models. Its interfaces are clean and a simple navigation system makes it easy to find everything you need in the platform. Usability is always a tricky aspect with collaboration software because integrating features like instant messaging and notifications create digital distractions that can interfere with workflows. To avoid these issues, TrueNorth neglects a universal chat system in favour of limited messaging features to actions that require them - for example, the collaborative ideation sessions.  TrueNorth also benefits from the marketing focus of its system, which allows it to simplify key features, such as the timeline tool. Instead of supporting multiple project types, the timeline tool in TrueNorth is purely designed for planning campaigns and this allows it to include advanced marketing features while maintaining a fast, easy tool to use. #### ClickUp While TrueNorth takes a calculated approach with its collaboration features to minimise disruption, ClickUp takes the opposite approach. This is one of the most collaborative systems around, complete with in-app chatting, a built-in documents app, integrated email, smart notifications, reminders and plenty more. Likewise, the timeline view is the kind of general-purpose tool designed for all project types (unlike TrueNorth's version) which requires added flexibility and, ultimately, complexity. As a project management system, this is true of most ClickUp features, which have to maintain flexibility for different project types: marketing, development, etc. With such a depth of collaboration features and the flexibility required from a project management system, you could almost forgive ClickUp for suffering from some usability woes - at least, in terms of complex navigation or a steep learning curve. However, the platform is impressively optimised to simplify navigation and minimise the number of clicks required to complete actions. Yes, some tools require a few more clicks to access than similar features in TrueNorth and setting things up takes more time but, considering how much is crammed into this platform, the company has done an excellent job with UX design. ## Build better marketing campaigns together Finding collaboration software that truly helps your team achieve more is difficult. It took us years to find the right combination of tools that not only provide the features we need but also implement them in a user experience that keeps friction and distractions out of our workflow. Hopefully, we've helped you find the right tools for you in this article - or, at least, help you understand what you're looking for from marketing collaboration software. The key thing to remember is that, while project management systems generally include a lot of collaborative features, they don't necessarily help with the creative and strategic stages of marketing planning. So, if you're looking for collaboration software that helps your marketing team work together more effectively, you might need separate platforms for planning and management. For example, at Venture Harbour, we use TrueNorth as our collaborative marketing planning and campaign management system alongside ActiveCampaign to unite our marketing and sales teams and power our automated email marketing strategy. Now, it's time to test out these tools for yourself to find the best marketing collaboration setup for *your* team. ## FAQ **What tools support content collaboration within campaigns?** GatherContent is purpose-built for content collaboration within marketing campaigns, allowing teams to plan, create, and approve content in a centralised system. Unlike general-purpose tools, it streamlines the entire content workflow from brief to publication, making it **ideal for content-heavy campaigns** where multiple stakeholders need to review and approve assets. **What tools support marketing asset production and collaboration?** ClickUp and monday.com both excel at managing marketing asset production by combining project management with collaborative document editing and task assignment. These platforms let your team **create, review, and iterate on assets in real-time** without switching between multiple tools, reducing bottlenecks in your production workflow. **Can marketing collaboration software integrate with sales tools?** ActiveCampaign is specifically designed to unite marketing and sales teams through integrated automation and communication features. By breaking down silos between departments, ActiveCampaign enables **seamless handoffs between marketing and sales**, ensuring leads are properly qualified and followed up on without manual data entry. **What's the difference between general collaboration software and marketing-specific tools?** General tools like Slack and Trello lack marketing-specific features such as campaign management, content approval workflows, and asset libraries that marketing teams need daily. **Marketing collaboration software includes purpose-built features** for managing campaigns, tracking creative assets, and coordinating cross-functional marketing activities that generic platforms simply don't offer. **Which collaboration tool is best for managing team workloads?** monday.com specialises in collaborative workload management with visual project boards, capacity planning, and automated workflows that give marketing managers complete visibility over team bandwidth. Its **workload balancing features** help prevent bottlenecks by showing which team members are overallocated and where tasks can be redistributed. **How do marketing collaboration tools improve idea generation?** TrueNorth is built specifically to help teams brainstorm and develop better marketing ideas collaboratively through structured ideation frameworks and team feedback loops. The platform transforms idea generation from scattered email threads into **organised, collaborative workflows** where every team member can contribute and build on concepts in real-time. **Do marketing collaboration platforms replace project management software?** Many modern marketing collaboration platforms like ClickUp and monday.com combine project management with collaboration features, so they can serve as your primary tool rather than a replacement. However, your choice depends on whether you need **marketing-specific workflows or general project management** — some teams use both in tandem for optimal results. --- # 5 Best Marketing Management Software & Tools URL: https://ventureharbour.com/marketing-management-software/ Summary: Compare the 5 best marketing management software platforms. See pricing, features & our top pick for 2026. Last updated: 2026-03-23 06:07:53 While there are countless project management software options available, finding a dedicated marketing management system - one that includes the specialist workflow and reporting features marketing teams need - is far more difficult. We spent many years trying to find the right marketing management system for us and testing out multiple solutions is as expensive and time-consuming as it is frustrating. To save you going through the same struggle, we've put together this article to help you choose the right marketing management system the first time around. ## What are we looking at in this article? In this article, we're taking an in-depth look at the top five marketing management software tools that we've used after testing hundreds of different platforms over the past five or so years. The five tools we're looking at in this guide are: 1. [TrueNorth](https://truenorth.io/) 2. [Asana](https://asana.com/) 3. [monday.com](https://monday.com/) 4. [Infinity](https://startinfinity.com/) 5. [Wrike](https://www.wrike.com/) This article isn't a brief recommendation list with a quick summary description and a couple of screenshots. We're reviewing each of these platforms to assess the features on offer, the pros and cons of each platform and why you may (or may not) want to choose each one. And, for the record, there are no affiliate links in this article - these really are the best marketing management systems we've used over the years. We've broken this guide up into seven sections, including a review for each software platform. Here's a summary of what we're looking at today and you can click on the blue link text to jump ahead to any section: 1. **[What is marketing management software?](#what-is)** A quick definition and why this is different from other types of marketing software. 2. **[TrueNorth review](#truenorth):** The dedicated marketing management system (built by marketers). 3. **[Asana review](#asana):** Best for managing workloads on smaller projects. 4. **[monday.com review](#monday):** Best for managing marketing tasks. 5. **[Infinity review](#infinity):** Best for collaboration and client communication. 6. **[Wrike review](#wrike):** The best for real-time workflow management. 7. **[Comparison](#comparison):** We compare each tool on pricing, features and usability to help you choose the ideal software for your needs. First, we start off with a quick definition section to clarify what we mean by marketing management software and why this is different from other types of marketing software and why this isn't the same thing as project management software. Then we take a deep dive into the reviews for our top five systems. Finally, we round up this article with a comparison section that stacks our five tools up against each other to see how pricing, features and usability compare. ## What is marketing management software? Marketing management software is a specialist type of software platform designed to help senior marketers manage their teams, campaigns and processes. Primarily, a marketing management system should provide marketing managers with the tools they need to perform their job effectively. There are three key components to this: 1. **Campaign planning** 2. **Campaign management** 3. **Team management** A lot of the campaign and team management requirements can be filled by regular project management software with features like task lists, schedules, statuses and collaboration. However, this doesn't help with the campaign planning process or many of the specialist needs marketing teams have when it comes to campaign and team management - eg: marketing analytics, optimisation, campaign approvals, etc. In short, project management software doesn't go far enough for marketing teams and this is why there's a need for dedicated marketing management software. In truth, there's a serious lack of dedicated options for marketing teams and, even in this article, most of the recommendations are project management systems that provide a bespoke marketing management solution. The problem is, most project management software providers promise or attempt to include a specialist solution for marketing teams but, in most cases, they offer very little substance beyond a few vanity features. This is why we've only got five software options in this article: because there simply aren't enough quality options for marketing teams to recommend more than five. Technically speaking, only one of the platforms we're looking at today is a dedicated marketing management software solution and the rest are project management systems that have developed and integrated dedicated solutions for marketing teams over the years - and to great effect. In modern marketing, speed is crucial for driving growth and keeping ahead of competitors. Here at Venture Harbour, we've adopted agile marketing principles to identify new opportunities and respond to them quickly. In [the words of PMG CEO, George Popstefanov](https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-gb/future-of-marketing/digital-transformation/marketing-agility/), "agility is a superpower" that's crucial for meeting the rapidly-changing demands of consumers in the digital age. > ***"The faster consumer insights can be mobilised for action, the better we become at flexing agility to meet the needs of customers in the moment."*** > > [Agility is a superpower that goes beyond digital transformation](https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-gb/future-of-marketing/digital-transformation/marketing-agility/); George Popstefanov, Think with Google One of the biggest challenges in agile marketing is developing campaign ideas and, then, launching them quickly enough to seize new opportunities. Even with the best data systems in place, identifying opportunities before your rivals is meaningless if you can't turn insights into marketing actions quickly. By the time you finally get around to launching your new campaign, the opportunity has already passed or the rewards have diminished - and half of your rivals have identified the same opportunity. Luckily, the first marketing management system we're looking at today is designed to solve this problem. ## #1: [TrueNorth](https://truenorth.io/): The dedicated marketing management system (built by marketers) ***Pricing: £70/month (all features, for any team size)*** We spent years testing out marketing management software to find the right platform for our needs but we never found one system that provided everything we were looking for. Some were great for campaign planning but not so good at analytics while others excelled at task management but fell short when it came to collaborative ideation and prioritising campaign ideas. Eventually, we realised the reason we couldn't find the platform we were looking for was because it didn't exist - so we built it for ourselves. TrueNorth is the growth marketing platform that brings all of your marketing planning, campaign management and performance tracking into one system. It provides a single workspace for your team to create and develop marketing ideas so you can launch campaigns faster. By reducing the time it takes to put ideas into action, TrueNorth helps you seize opportunities while the rewards are biggest. Meanwhile, built-in simulation and performance tracking help you prioritise campaign ideas and optimise live campaigns to maximise ROI.  **Key features:** - **Campaign tracking:** Stay on top of everything with a single view. All campaigns – whether running now or upcoming – across all channels. - **Growth projection:** Guide your team to the right decisions with data-driven predictions. - **Campaign simulator:** Predict the outcome of campaign ideas and select the best strategies. - **Milestones:** Set milestones for campaigns, based on data-driven projections, and optimise campaigns to constantly hit targets. - **Campaign tracking:** Measure campaign performance vs simulations, make adjustments and resimulate to identify the changes that'll maximise performance. - **Campaign ideation:** Generate winning campaign ideas faster with collaborative ideation and simulation. - **Idea capture:** Collect ideas from your team outside of meetings so you're ready to develop the strongest concepts right away. - **Prioritise ideas:** Quickly prioritise strategies and campaign ideas using the Impact, Confidence and Ease (ICE) framework, backed up by your data-driven campaign simulations. - **Historical comparisons:** Compare new ideas with what you’ve tried before to build new campaigns based on what really works, not just gut feeling. - **Agile analytics:** The Analytics interface makes it easier than ever to adapt fast when a campaign isn’t working – or double down when it is. TrueNorth is designed to help you hit your growth goals more effectively by cutting out inefficiencies across the three key stages of marketing: 1. **Planning:** Create and develop winning campaign ideas faster. 2. **Marketing management:** Set milestones and track campaigns vs projections to achieve more of your marketing goals. 3. **Optimisation:** Use simulations, historical performance and agile analytics to maximise campaign performance and ROI. During the planning stage, TrueNorth helps team members generate ideas individually and in groups. Managers can request ideas from team members who can brainstorm by themselves and develop ideas with teammates before they head into meetings. This means you've already got a log of ideas to discuss by the time you hold your first meeting, which you can discuss and narrow down into a smaller list of ideas worth developing further. Once you've fleshed out your best ideas, TrueNorth's campaign simulator puts them to the test through data-driven projections to predict their performance. This helps you identify the campaign ideas that stand the best chance of achieving your marketing goals or, possibly, even surpassing them.  This way, you can set goals that are both achievable and ambitious enough to maximise ROI. Once your campaigns are live, TrueNorth tracks results and you can use your simulations as a benchmark to check performance is on track. Instead of waiting days or months to see how campaigns perform, you can identify poor performance faster and take action to get results back on track. With the campaign simulator, you can re-run projections and adjust parameters to see what needs to change to hit your targets - for example, how much additional traffic you need to generate to achieve your target revenue for the campaign. ### How much does TrueNorth cost? Unlike most marketing software tools, TrueNorth runs on a simple pricing model that gives you access to all of its features with unlimited features for a flat-rate monthly fee. This means you don't need to worry about per-user pricing, upgrades, feature restrictions or usage limits. Instead, you pay a flat $70/month for your entire team while most of the other tools in this article are priced across multiple plans with different features and usage restrictions. Also, you have to keep an eye out for the per-user pricing system most providers use, which multiplies your monthly software fees by every member on your team.  Considering TrueNorth is designed specifically for marketing teams, the fact that you're covered for unlimited users and you're getting access to all of its features for a flat rate makes this one of the most affordable options we're looking at today. Pricing aside, TrueNorth is the only system that provides several of its most advanced marketing features, such as campaign simulation, growth forecasting, meeting-less ideation and more. ### What is TrueNorth good for? TrueNorth is designed to help you achieve your marketing goal faster and more often. Reducing the time it takes to create and deploy winning campaign ideas was a priority for us when designing TrueNorth. This is why we implemented meeting-less ideation to help your team come up with ideas before the first meeting. The system also helps you prioritise campaign ideas by simulating performance and identifying the strategies that will make the strongest positive impact. The campaign simulator helps you choose campaign ideas and judge performance with confidence, using projections as a benchmark. This helps you identify issues faster or see where campaigns are overachieving so you can adjust your budget to take full advantage of every opportunity. Usability is also important with any software of this nature. We've worked hard to implement lightweight collaboration features so that teammates can work together when needed - without interrupting each others' workflow. A common problem with marketing management software (and a lot of business software, in general) is that features or poor UI design cause more problems than they solve. We all know what it's like to get inundated with Slack notifications or use those software tools where it takes half a dozen clicks to find a tool or complete a simple task. This is something we care about a lot at VentureHarbour so we've tested, optimised and revised TrueNorth through several development stages to deliver powerful features in a lightweight UI - one that knows when to get out of your way. ### What is TrueNorth missing? Most of the software platforms featured in this article include a lot of project and task management features but TrueNorth keeps things simple in this regard. Instead of focusing on tasks, we decided to focus on goals, objectives and results so we've taken a light approach to task management with TrueNorth. Managers can assign tasks, request ideas from team members and create campaign timelines but we've left out a lot of the settings and advanced features you'll find in dedicated project management systems. This is because we want you to focus on hitting targets, not constantly changing settings and moving tasks around in our software. We believe this is the right approach to take with marketing management software but we understand some companies may require a system that includes more project management features - and we've got some great recommendations in this article, if that's what you're looking for. ### TrueNorth pros & cons #### TrueNorth pros - **Built for marketers by marketers:** TrueNorth is the only dedicated marketing management software we're aware of that's built specifically for marketers, by marketers. - **Campaign simulator:** TrueNorth's innovative campaign simulator helps you prioritise campaign ideas, choose the best creatives and optimise performance with greater precision. - **Simple pricing:** For £70/month, you get access to all of TrueNorth's features for your entire team - no hidden fees, user-based pricing or upgrade expenses. - **Usability:** TrueNorth is optimised to help you launch and optimise campaigns faster without spending unnecessary time fiddling with features and settings in the software. #### TrueNorth cons - **Marketing focus:** If you're primarily looking for a project management system that moonlights as marketing management software, the other options in this list may be more suitable. - **No free plan:** As part of TrueNorth's simple, flat-rate pricing model, there's no free plan available (but you can try it for 30 days, for free). ### TrueNorth verdict TrueNorth is the only marketing management system designed to help you achieve goals faster by removing delays in developing ideas, launching campaigns and optimising performance faster. With meeting-less ideation and lightweight collaboration, you can develop winning campaign ideas without the long-winded creative sessions while TrueNorth's innovative campaign simulator helps you choose the best marketing ideas, based on data rather than assumption. This data-driven approach means you can choose campaign ideas with greater confidence and prioritise the marketing actions expected to have the strongest positive impact, putting your budget to the best possible use. The simulator also provides performance benchmarks that you can use to identify under/overperforming campaigns faster, instead of waiting days, weeks or months to intervene. As soon as performance deviates from projections, you can step in and identify what's going on, re-run simulations to explore your options and test changes to maximise ROI. If you're looking for a marketing management system that helps you launch marketing campaigns and achieve goals faster, TrueNorth is the only platform of its kind currently available. ## #2: [Asana](https://asana.com/): Best for managing workloads on smaller projects ***Free plan available; paid plans start from £9.49/month*** Asana is a project management system designed to help you manage workloads and increase productivity by simplifying processes. The company provides a dedicated solution for marketing managers to create plans, manage campaigns and streamline creative production although the emphasis remains on task management more than marketing activities specifically. The system is designed primarily for project managers who need to approve tasks, assign them to individuals or teams and manage schedules/plans to ensure you complete projects and goals on time. Asana is a great tool for marketing managers who like to plan every task and map out workloads to ensure everyone on the team is putting their time to the best use without overlapping personnel or resources. This is the key role Asana wants to play and it doesn't offer so much in terms of collaboration features and it doesn't even try to include campaign reporting or specialist marketing management features. However, it does (for the most part) do the job it's designed for very well and excellent integration options mean you can expand functionality through third-party tools - although some notable names are missing.  **Key features:** - **Project management:** Asana's project management systems caters well for marketing campaign management. - **Timelines:** visualise project plans to see the relationship between tasks and keep projects on track—even when plans change. - **Task management:** Manage tasks, assign them to team members and keep track of progress throughout the project. - **Workload management:** Manage the workload of individuals throughout the project and reassign tasks where necessary. - **Creative requests:** Request ideas, set up collaboration sessions and approve concepts within Asana. - **Feedback:** Give clear feedback by leaving comments directly on images or PDFs that turn into tasks for easy tracking. - **Automation:** Add rules to automate manual processes like planning, assigning tasks, updating Asana fields, and more. - **Project views:** Manage and track projects in three different view formats: Lists, Timeline and Boards. - **Project templates:** Use and create project templates to speed up the planning and early management stages. With Asana, you're essentially using a project management system to plan marketing campaigns and manage the tasks involved in running them. This is a very different tool compared to TrueNorth, which offers dedicated features to help your team come up with better campaign ideas. Asana simply allows you to schedule meetings and assign tasks to individuals although it does give you significantly greater control over tasks and workflows. The truth is, Asana isn't really designed for streamlining marketing processes specifically, even if [the marketing teams page](https://asana.com/teams/marketing) on its website gives you this impression. This platform is all about streamlining team workflows - both at the team and individual level - and this is a key component of any project, marketing planning and campaign management included. In this way, Asana will help you manage marketing campaigns more effectively but it has its limitations beyond task management. ### How much does Asana cost? Asana offers a generous free forever plan that allows you to manage unlimited tasks and projects and team members to send unlimited messages to each other. You also get unlimited activity log and unlimited storage space while up to 15 team members can use the free plan to collaborate on tasks - although collaboration features are limited to file sharing, messaging, task managing and other basics. Even still, that's an impressive offering for a free plan, considering you're covered for up to 15 team members and unlimited projects.  Paid plans start from £9.49/month per user with the Premium plan unlocking Asana's Timeline feature, which we found to be its best project management tool. The Timeline allows you to create project plans by mapping out the workloads of team members to avoid conflicts over burnout. You can make sure every task is given ample time for completion and ensure the required personnel and resources are available at the right time. This visual tool is a great way to manage complex workloads, especially in dynamic scenarios where new tasks need fitting into projects or certain tasks are reprioritised. The Timeline tool helps you move things around, create space and rearrange workloads so you can maximise the productivity of your team without burning anyone out.  The Premium plan also gets you unlimited dashboards, advanced search, basic automation features and task templates - among other things. The Business plan costs £20.99/month per user, allowing you to set and track goals on projects, create custom automation rules, approve tasks and manage workloads with greater control. You can find more details about pricing and the features available on each plan by visiting [the pricing page](https://asana.com/pricing#close) on Asana's website. ### What is Asana good for? I've already spoiled the surprise but the fact is Asana is designed to do one thing really well: project management with all the emphasises being on task and workload management. If your approach to managing campaigns is equally focused on workloads, then Asana is a capable platform, as long as you're willing to accept its limitations. Asana deserves credit for the generous offering on its free forever plan, too, which covers you for unlimited projects, tasks, storage space, activity log and plenty of other features. That being said, the company is clever with the features it reserves for paid plans - for example, the timeline and advanced search only available on Premium and higher or the goals and advanced workflow management features only available on the Business plan. As a result, the free forever plan is both surprisingly generous but deceptively restrictive because you have to sign up for the paid plans to access a few key features that unlock the best of Asana's single purpose: project management. ### What is Asana missing? Asana excels at workload management but it does lack in a few areas if you're looking to use it as a marketing management system. Namely, the platform doesn't have any built-in features for planning, running or optimising campaigns. You can manage these processes by creating projects and tasks in Asana but you have to physically perform all of these processes elsewhere. This focus on task management is evident in Asana's reporting features, which visualise the performance of your team. However, the system only has access to productivity data available within the software so, even if you create a "Marketing Dashboard," you're essentially compiling a progress report on marketing activities without access to any campaign performance metrics. Annoyingly, integrations are a big strength of Asana but the lack of a native Google Analytics integration is particularly frustrating. Thankfully, you can link the two systems using Zapier but you only get limited integration and it's another tool you have to bring into the mix. ### Asana pros & cons #### Asana pros - **Project management:** Asana helps you manage a diverse range of projects, including marketing tasks throughout your campaigns. - **Team management:** Asana excels at workload management for teams and individuals. - **Documentation:** Asana has a great library of online documentation to help you implement and use the system. #### Asana cons - **Task management:** Tasks and subtasks can get lost among the pack, especially on larger projects. - **Onboarding:** Long setup process requires quite a lot of manual input to implement workflows, templates, etc. - **Email notifications:** By default, Asana floods your inbox with notifications and, while you can apply settings to reduce these, a lack of control options means it's a bit all or nothing. - **Reporting:** Asana provides decent task reports but no native campaign reporting features and the lack of a Google Analytics integration is frustrating. ### Asana verdict Asana is one of the biggest names in project management software and it's capable of moonlighting as a marketing management system, too. If you're looking for a flexible platform for managing workflows across a variety of projects (marketing campaigns, product design, process development, etc.), then Asana is flexible enough to tick all of these boxes while also providing the core essentials for marketing management. If you're looking for advanced campaign planning, management and optimisation features, though, you'll probably want to consider one of the other tools in this list. ## #3: [monday.com](https://monday.com/): Best for managing marketing tasks ***Free plan available; paid plans start from £21/month***\* Like Asana, monday.com is a project management system but it offers a greater depth of features for marketing teams. Most importantly, monday.com supports campaign tracking and templates for campaign planning, content calendars and asset management to help you plan and launch campaigns faster. In fact, monday.com describes its Pro plan as "a complete marketing platform to manage your marketing and creative processes from A-Z with powerful tools, visualizations and automation". The company also offers a free Individual plan for up to two members, providing the basic essentials for project management. However, marketing teams will be more interested in the Standard and Pro plans which offer the more advanced set of features for managing campaigns and marketing tasks. With these plans, you get a comparable system to Asana in terms of project management but significantly more tools to help you plan and execute campaigns.  **Key features:** - **Project management:** Manage projects, including marketing campaigns, product launches and more. - **Campaign planning:** Plan your marketing campaigns in one organised workspace. - **Task management:** Manage tasks at the team and individual levels throughout your campaigns. - **Advanced views:** View and manage projects across multiple views, including Kanban, timeline, calendar, Gantt, map view and more. - **Content calendar:** From digital publications to social media–manage your publishing schedules and coordinate all content initiatives in one visual calendar. - **Automation:** Automate repetitive work by setting customisable actions in your boards. - **Performance insights:** Visualise project performance and workflows so you know what’s working and what's not. - **Time tracking:** Track and monitor the time spent on each task. - **Templates:** Use and create project templates to get things moving faster. While Asana is clearly designed for project managers, monday.com makes more of an effort to cater for team members to manage their own workloads and collaborate on tasks. Managers can create tasks, assign them to individuals or teams and prioritise tasks while team members update the statuses of items as they make progress. The default view is a table/list interface loosely based on the classic spreadsheet layout where you can add columns for time tracking, numbers, locations, progress tracking and formulas, depending on the features available in your plan.  You can also switch to multiple views, including the Timeline, Kanban, Chart and Calendar views (again, some views are limited to certain plans). The Timeline view makes it easy to map out team workloads of entire projects to make sure there's enough time to complete each task. The Timeline view in monday.com isn't as sophisticated as Asana's but it's effective enough and the Table view gives you and team members greater control over task management. Asana's interface is also more intuitive and managing tasks involves fewer clicks compared to monday.com, which requires you to be more involved in the software. For example, when you're creating a content schedule in monday.com, assigning tasks, setting deadlines, adding statuses and editing columns for each task can feel cumbersome. Thankfully, monday.com has an excellent library of templates ready for you to edit for projects including campaign management, content calendars and plenty more. Built-in automation features on the Standard and higher plans also cut out the repetition of managing tasks. For example, you can create an automation recipe that automatically starts timing tasks once a team member changes the status to "Started" and ends when they change the status to "Done". ### How much does monday.com cost? As mentioned above, monday.com offers a free Individual plan for up to two users, which gives you the basics for managing workloads across unlimited boards and documents and access to 200+ templates. Marketing teams aren't going to get any joy out of this free plan, though, so you'll need to sign up for a paid plan to access dedicated features for marketing management. Paid plans start at £7/month per user for a minimum of free seats so you're paying at least £21/month for the Basic plan. On paid monday.com plans, you can invite unlimited users into your projects on a view-only basis, which is great if you outsource tasks to agencies or freelancers - the only limitation is they can't interact with projects, such as changing statuses on the tasks assigned to them. In truth, you'll want to sign up for the Standard plan as a minimum, which starts at £9/month per user and gives you access to the Timeline, Gantt and Calendar views, guest access that allows free users to interact with projects through your account although you're limited to a maximum of four guests on this plan and they're billed as one seat. On the Standard plan, you also get up to 250 actions per month for automation recipes and integrations. For smaller marketing teams, the Standard plan may offer everything you need although larger teams or more complex projects will benefit from the features reserved for the Pro plan: Time tracking, Workload view, Chart view, Formula column and up to 250,000 actions per month for automation and integrations. The Pro plan costs £14/month per seat/user and you can also invite unlimited guests into projects. Finally, the Enterprise plan is priced on application and gives you advanced reporting and analytics, custom onboarding, premium support, advanced security features and advanced automation and integration options. ### What is monday.com good for? If you're looking for a project management system that offers dedicated features for planning and running marketing campaigns, monday.com is a solid option. While Asana focuses on workload management for project leaders, monday.com aims to provide a platform for managers and team members to boost productivity across task-heavy projects. As long as you're happy with the pricing of the Standard and Pro plans, you can get access to the platform's best features for marketing teams. The only catch is the per-user pricing model, which can get expensive for larger teams. Keep in mind, you can invite guests on the Standard and Pro plans and it's worth getting a quote for the Enterprise plan if you've got a large team. ### What is monday.com missing? The big obvious feature missing in monday.com is an internal chat system for instant messaging within the platform. This is a standard feature with Asana and you can send unlimited messages, even on the free plan, but there's no hint of this coming to monday.com any time soon. On the plus side, monday.com comes with a native integration for Slack, which isn't as intuitive as having a built-in messaging system - if this is important to you. To be honest, I prefer the commenting system in monday.com to instant messaging and all of the distractions it can cause. Also, the interface in monday.com forces you to spend quite a lot of time in the software and some basic tasks feel overly time-consuming. When I've got a deadline at the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is edit a bunch of statuses and attach files that could be automatically shared elsewhere. Another thing I've noticed is you can't modify the structure of boards or tasks once you've created them, which is frustrating in dynamic environments where changes are guaranteed. ### monday.com pros & cons #### monday.com pros - **Task management:** Monday prioritises task management, building your projects around individual task lists. - **Visual simplicity:** The interface is a little harsh on the eyes but its visual simplicity communicates information effectively. - **Collaboration:** The in-app notes, messaging and notification system aids collaboration without being intrusive on individual workflows. #### monday.com cons - **Time-consuming:** While monday.com is excellent for task management, you spend a lot of time creating task lists, structuring projects and updating statuses. - **Modifications:** You can't modify the structure of boards or tasks after creating them - for example, regrouping tasks or reassigning them as subtasks. - **Complicated pricing:** The monthly prices displayed on the website are a little misleading because you have to pay for a minimum of three users and the per-user pricing multiplies the total fee. ### monday.com verdict There's a lot to like about monday.com for marketing teams looking for a project management system with plenty of built-in features for planning and running campaigns. Advanced project views help you manage workloads while marketing templates speed up the planning process and automation recipes cut out repetitive tasks. The guest system built into monday.com is an excellent collaboration feature for remote teams or companies working with external talent on projects. The interface is intuitive enough but it does hog more time than it could on the task management side of things, especially when it comes to updating statuses and managing tasks on ongoing projects. Also, make sure you know what you're getting into with the pricing because your fees multiply with every paid user - although you may be able to offset some of this with guest access. ## #4: [Infinity](https://startinfinity.com/): Best for collaboration & client communication ***Pricing: From $9/month (per user***) Infinity is a smaller name than the likes of Asana and monday.com but it offers a more advanced set of marketing management features than both of them. We're still talking about a project management system (unlike TureNorth) that can double as marketing management software but Infinity's reporting features are a leap ahead of anything available through Asana and monday.com. Infinity also offers up a library of marketing management templates for planning campaigns and common processes, including campaign plans, content calendars, onboarding, social media tracking and more. Collaboration is another big strength for Infinity with in-app messaging, mentions, share boards, invites, activity logs and plenty of other features to help your team work together more effectively from any location. You can also invite clients to your boards, share items via links, request feedback and get projects signed off faster. This is why we're calling Infinity the best system for collaboration and communication with clients.  **Key features:** - **Campaign management:** Set goals, plan campaigns and manage workloads. - **Campaign tracking:** Measure important KPIs and metrics - conversion rates, sales numbers, content assignments, and anything else related to your marketing efforts. - **Project views:** Use Columns, Calendar, Gantt, Table, and List views to visualise your data the way you want. - **Attributes:** Build your own dashboards with the data you need and nothing else. - **Marketing templates:** A library of templates for marketing management, social media tracking, marketing plans and more. - **Collaboration:** Invite, assign, comment, share, mention and collaborate on tasks with ease. - **Client communication:** Invite clients to your boards, share files, request feedback and keep them involved in your projects. - **Activity log:** Track all changes that happen on the board and item level. - **Automation:** Automate recurring tasks, set reminders and create custom automations. Infinity offers up most of the project management features available on Asana and monday.com and even goes a step further in some areas, such as the quantity of project views provided. You can manage projects in six different views: Table, Columns, List, Calendar, Gantt and Gallery, as well as interfaces for custom forms and editing documents. You've also got 19 attributes to work with in your plans, including dates, labels, checkboxes, text, checklists, links, progress and a dozen more. Infinity also delivers some of the best collaboration features we've seen among our tools today and the only big feature missing is in-app instant messaging. However, the platform has a built-in commenting system and notifications that come as close to instant messaging as you could get. In fact, I would argue the commenting system is more productive than instant chat because it's less invasive and I, personally, prefer to turn off most of the notifications so I can crack on with work unless anything crucial is flagged up. ### How much does Infinity cost? Infinity is currently running a one-time payment promotion which means you can get lifetime access to the entire platform and all of its features for a single payment of $149. This covers you for five team members and 25GB of storage space but you can raise these limits by further increments of five users and 25GB, each one adding another $100 to the one-time fee. So $249 covers you for 10 team members and 50GB of storage space while $349 covers you for 15 members and 75GB storage - and so on.  Infinity normally runs a subscription pricing model with plans starting from $9/month per user, which would cost you $540 per year for five users. You also wouldn't get access to all features on the subscription model although you can choose exactly how many team members you pay for. Even still, the one-time payment promotion is a big money saver at every price point and the only real downside is there's no free trial currently available, which forces you to take a leap of faith with the software. However, it does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, which gives you a decent window to test the system out and decide whether it's suitable. ### What is Infinity good for? Infinity is a highly-customisable project management system that gives you control over how your data is presented. You can use attributes to build dashboards to your needs, group data into columns, create custom filters and customise almost everything. You can also edit dashboards and reports after creating them, which is a huge feature - for example, you can reorder elements and select multiple items to edit and organise in bulk. The platform also gives you extensive control over organising and viewing projects in boards, folders, and subfolders, tabs and individual items/tasks - plus, five different project views, document views, a gallery view for browsing multiple docs/attachments and custom forms. If you're looking for full customizability and control over how your projects are visualised, Infinity is difficult to beat.  Collaboration is another area where Infinity stands out and it offers some of the best features we've seen for marketing teams to collaborate on projects. However, it's the first platform we've seen today that provides dedicated features for collaborating directly with clients. You can invite clients into boards, collaborate with them on tasks or simply share assets via links, including view-only options if you're not interested in collaborating directly. Getting feedback from clients, colleagues and external talent is a breeze and only monday.com really competes here with its invitation system, provided you're signed up for the right plan. ### What is Infinity missing? Infinity is a relatively new software product and it's evident from using the system that certain aspects need refining. In fact, TrueNorth is the only product in this list that's newer than Infinity but TrueNorth was developed as an internal tool over a longer period of time and, then, optimised for public release. Obviously, we don't know the development process behind Infinity but there are some minor UX quirks that are typical of products in the early stages of release where the company needs user numbers and testing data to grow so it can iron out some of the creases. We're talking about minor issues here, though - things like selecting multiple items taking more clicks than it could or certain features being restricted to the account owner that probably should be available for team members. The biggest issue we encountered is navigating between different projects, which is more cumbersome than it could be, but tolerable once you figure it out. For the most part, Infinity delivers a solid user experience, especially for a platform that gives you as much control over customisation. On a related note, Infinity currently has quite a lot of unreleased features on its roadmaps and, while few of them are deal-breakers, there are a couple that feel like big misses - eg: team reports and some missing integrations (Slack, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.). The good news is Infinity is working hard to improve its software and there's already so much to like about it that we're excited to see where it stands in the near future. ### Infinity pros & cons #### Infinity pros - **Marketing management:** Despite not being a dedicated marketing management system, Infinity's flexibility and several marketing management features make it a capable option. - **Collaboration:** Infinity is great if you want an all-in-one system for team collaboration and client communication. - **Flexibility:** With attributes, you can build dashboards to your needs without anything unecessary getting in the way. - **One-off fee:** At the time of writing, Infinity is offering a one-off fee promotion that's both simple and affordable. #### Infinity cons - **Navigational issues:** Some minor navigational issues when switching between boards or projects. - **Maturity:** Infinity is a relatively new product and it shows in the features and UX, which will likely continue to improve with time ### Infinity verdict Infinity is a great project management system for marketing teams that want maximum flexibility and some of the best collaboration features we've seen in this article. The platform offers plenty of tools and features to double up as a marketing management system, too, including data imports for campaign tracking, marketing templates for planning campaigns faster and some useful automation features for cutting down the time you spend on repetitive tasks. Considering how much freedom Infinity gives you to customise project views and data, usability is impressive and the learning curve is reasonable. That being said, there are some UX quirks and a few big features still on the roadmap but the platform still earns a place in our top five recommendations and it's only going to improve as the system matures. Aside from that, Infinity offers up some features that none of the other products in this article provide - particularly when it comes to collaboration and customisation options. If you're looking for a system to manage a diverse range of marketing campaigns and other projects, the freedom of customisation available on Infinity becomes a big selling point. Likewise, if your team members regularly need to collaborate with clients or get feedback before cleaning items to the next stage of a project, Infinity ## #5: [Wrike](https://www.wrike.com/): The best for real-time workflow management ******Free plan available; paid plans start from $9.80/month*** (per user)*** Wrike describes itself as a "work management platform" designed for agile enterprises and the company offers a dedicated solution for marketing and creative teams. If you're simply looking for a project management system, Wrike provides a generous free plan and an affordable entry plan for professionals and small teams. If you're looking for a dedicated marketing management system, Wrike also offers a plan that packs plenty of advanced features - including campaign reporting, collaboration features, workload management, automatic approvals and plenty more. The only downside is you have to be ready to pay enterprise-level prices to gain access to these specialist features for marketing teams. **Key features:** - **Live activity stream:** Real-time activity management at the global, project and task levels. - **Interactive boards:** View workloads in Kanban boards, spreadsheets and tables. - **Interactive Gantt charts:** Easily schedule and visualise project plans and deadlines with a simple drag-and-drop interface. - **Custom workflows:** Build customised workflow stages for projects and campaigns. - **Resource management:** Ensure the right resources are available for each campaign. - **Real-time reports:** Track campaigns in real-time and build custom reports from scratch or using built-in templates. - **Time tracking:** Track the time spent on tasks and automatically produce timesheets for activities and workloads. - **Automation Engine:** Automate repetitive tasks with trigger actions and responses. - **Campaign templates:** Launch campaigns faster, using templates, and edit them to meet your own requirements. If money is no object, Wrike's specialist plan for "marketing and creative teams" is the closest thing to a complete project management *and* marketing management system that we're looking at in this article. That being said, it still lacks some of the more advanced features available on TrueNorth, which is the only platform specifically designed for marketing management and nothing else. At the end of the day, Wrike is still a project management system at heart but the company goes further than anyone else at pushing into marketing territory - as long as you're willing to pay up for the right plan. ### How much does Wrike cost? Wrike's pricing system is the most complex one we're looking at in this article, especially as we're focusing on marketing management features. The company offers a free plan and paid plans start from $9/month per user but the advanced marketing features are only available on the "Marketing and creative teams" plan, which is basically an adapted version of the Enterprise plan and priced on application. So you can forget about free plans and any of the pricing listed above if you want the best of Wrike's features for marketing and creative teams. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be fair for us to disclose the pricing of Wrike's plan for marketing teams and, even if it did, it wouldn't necessarily be accurate because it's priced on application. What we can tell you is the plan included all of the features available on Wrike's Enterprise plan, *plus* the following specialist features for marketing and creative teams: - Wrike Extension for Adobe Creative Cloud - Interactive proofing for 30+ file formats across all file types (image, files, video, HTML, SharePoint) - Visual markups and real-time threaded conversations - Side-by-side and overlay asset comparison - Automated multi-level approvals - External stakeholder (guest) approvals - Tailored marketing templates, pre-built dashboards, and advanced reporting & data visualisations - Digital asset management (DAM) integrations - Advanced resource management and capacity management - Marketo, Salesforce + over 400 integrations (Available as Add-On) - First-of-its-kind instant cross-channel campaign performance insights (Available as Add-On) The big clue here is that you're getting a lot more than the standard Enterprise plan offers and you should expect Wrike for Marketing Teams to be priced accordingly. If your head's already spinning from Wrike's complex pricing model, I'm afraid there's one last variable to add further confusion. The company also offers several add-on features that are also priced on application, one of which brings the advanced marketing reporting features into its software. The Wrike Marketing Insights add-on allows you to import data from 50+ marketing tools for full campaign analysis. Live importing means you can view all of your data in real-time, analyse performance across channels and optimise everything from the same system you use to manage your campaigns. The only downside is you get none of these features without the reporting add-on, even on the Wrike for Marketing Team plan. In terms of project management features, Wrike's free plan starts off with a generous offering and the company's paid plans are reasonably priced for smaller teams (per-user pricing can get expensive). But, if you're interested in the marketing-specific features that double up the system as a marketing management platform, you'll have to pay up enterprise-level software fees - so keep this in mind. The good news is, you can create a Wrike account for free and testing out the free-forever plan will cost you nothing. You can also try the Wrike for Marketing Teams plan for 14 days using the free trial to get an idea of what you can expect for your money (I recommend getting a quote first). Admittedly, 14 days doesn't give you a huge amount of time to test out a comprehensive system like this but you can get a much better feel for the system if you get used to the free version first and, then, start your free trial. ### What is Wrike good for? For the rest of this Wrike review, we're going to focus on the specialist plan for marketing teams because this is the focus of our comparison. We're also going to assume you're paying for the marketing insights add-on because we want to discuss the full capabilities of Wrike as a marketing management system. If you're willing to pay the full price for Wrike's biggest features, you're getting the best 2-for-1 project and marketing management system we've used here at Venture Harbour. On the project management front, we don't have any major complaints at all and the only possible concern - especially on the higher-tier plans - is the inevitable learning curve that comes with a platform as capable and customisable as this. Wrike is an enterprise project management system that finds a way to provide a generous free plan and affordable entry plans that offer plenty for lower budgets. Even on the free plan, you get collaboration features, extensive control over tasks and subtasks, a live activity stream and a bunch of features normally reserved for paid plans. At the enterprise level, Wrike continues to deliver with custom fields, custom workflows, advanced workload management and robust security features. The marketing management features are impressive with a few key missing ingredients. ### What is Wrike missing? If you're signed up for the plan for marketing teams and the marketing insights add-on, Wrike delivers the most advanced set of marketing management features we've seen today - with one exception. Neither Asana, monday.com nor Infinity come close to Wrike in this regard but TrueNorth is the only platform that offers campaign management, growth projections, advanced campaign ideation features and data-driven tools for prioritising marketing actions. Keep in mind that Wrike's aims to be the complete project management system that also acts as a marketing management system for those who need it. However, TrueNorth is designed specifically as an advanced marketing management system that doesn't try to offer project management features. Wrike is as close as it gets to being the complete 2-in-1 solution but project management is its core function and it shows. The other big issue with Wrike - at least, for marketing teams - is the complex pricing model and the lack of lower-end plans with dedicated marketing features. The fact that you have to sign up for enterprise-level plans to get the best of Wrike's features and, then, cough up even more for the reporting add-on makes this an expensive option. ### Wrike pros & cons #### Wrike pros - **Features:** Wrike packs plenty of project and campaign management features into its software, making it one of the most flexible tools available. - **Real-time feedback:** If you need real-time updates, reporting and feedback across campaign activity and performance, Wrike's system provides the live insights you need. - **Workload management:** With real-time feedback, time tracking, collaboration and automation, you can manage team and individual workloads to maximise productivity and eliminate burnout. #### Wrike cons - **Speed:** Wrike's web app can be a little sluggish at times, especially when. - **Navigation:** Moving around the interface, finding features and accessing dashboards isn't particularly intuitive and the search function isn't much help, either. - **Learning curve:** With so many features and a complex architecture, you're looking at a steep learning curve with Wrike. ### Wrike verdict If you can stomach the complex pricing model and enterprise-grade software fees, Wrike's plan for marketing teams and the reporting add-on make for an excellent all-in-one project/marketing management system. Yes, we would like to see lower-end plans for marketing teams but, at the same time, Wrike's feature offering on its regular plans is so impressive that we can't complain. Either you're willing to pay for the full set of marketing features or you're not. And, if it's the latter, you can still get one of the best project management systems around at reasonable prices (especially for smaller teams) and use it alongside a dedicated marketing management system like TrueNorth. ## What is the best marketing management software? We've covered a lot of information in this article to illustrate the pros and cons of each software recommendation. These are all quality options in their own right but a head-to-head comparison is the best way to determine which solution is most suitable for your needs. So, in the final section of this article, we take a look at how these software options compare in the following key categories: 1. **Pricing** 2. **Marketing management features** 3. **Usability** Where possible, we include comparison tables so you can quickly compare each software platform to get a better idea of which options are the most affordable and which ones offer the features you need. ### The best option for pricing In each mini review of our five top marketing management software recommendations, we included plenty of information about pricing. But it helps to have a quick comparison table to see how they stack up against each other and you can always go back to the mini reviews to remind yourselves about the specifics of each platform. | Tool | Free plan? | Starting price | Top plan | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | TrueNorth | - | £70/mo | - | | Asana | Yes | £9.49/mo | £20.99/mo | | monday.com | Yes | £21/mo | £42/mo | | Infinity | - | $149 | $2,999 | | Wrike | Yes | $9.80/mo | $24.80\* | From the table above, you can see that three of our recommendations offer free plans in addition to several paid plans. We've also put the starting price you can expect to pay once you upgrade from the free plan and the top plan column shows the starting price for the most expensive plans listed on each company's pricing page, which excludes enterprise plans without pricing info. The two companies not offering a free plan take completely different approaches to pricing. In the case of TrueNorth, there are no plans or upgrade fees to worry about and you're covered for unlimited users at the flat-rate price of $70/month - and you get access to all of its features. Aside from Infinity, all of the other tools are priced on a per-user basis, which means the monthly fees are multiplied with every team member you need to provide user access - so Asana's monthly fees for its top plan jump up to £104.95/month for five users. ### The best option for marketing management features Throughout this article, we've talked about the conflict between project management and marketing management. As we explained in our TrueNorth mini review, while there are plenty of project management systems available, there's a serious lack of dedicated marketing management software. As a result, most of the recommendations in this article are primarily project management platforms that try to fill the void by offering specialist marketing features, such as campaign planning and campaign management. This is illustrated in the following table, showing which platforms offer five key marketing management features: campaign planning, campaign management, marketing analytics, forecasting and task management. | Tool | Campaign planning | Campaign management | Marketing analytics | Forecasting | Task management | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | TrueNorth | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Basic | | Asana | - | - | - | - | Advanced | | monday.com | ✔ | ✔ | - | - | Advanced | | Infinity | - | ✔ | ✔ | - | Advanced | | Wrike | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | - | Advanced | As you would expect, the project management systems all provide advanced task management features and plenty of other features you would hope to see from these platforms. TrueNorth is the software above that provides basic task management features because it's designed specifically as a marketing management system and it only includes the task-oriented features marketing teams need to manage their campaigns. In contrast, TrueNorth offers extensive campaign planning, campaign management and marketing analytics features and it's the only option that provides campaign forecasting to predict the performance of campaign ideas. That's not the only advanced marketing feature TrueNorth provides that the other options don't but, at the same time, the others offer far more than task management features, too. The point of the table above is to illustrate the point that TrueNorth is the only complete marketing management software that we're aware of while the rest are project management systems that offer a varying degree of marketing-specific features. if you're looking for the best marketing management system, TrueNorth is the easy choice. On the other hand, if you're looking for an all-in-one project and marketing management solution, options like Wrike and Infinity may provide a compromise that works for you. ### The best option for usability Usability is an important factor with any software tool and even the best feature list can feel useless when the UX of a platform makes it too difficult or unpleasant to use. Obviously, usability is a subjective quality but we can use measurable characteristics to paint a more objective picture of UX quality: - **Smooth operation:** The software runs smoothly without any lags or slowdowns as you interact with elements. - **Navigation:** Elements, tools, settings and everything else you interact with is easy to find. - **Minimal clicks:** Simple actions require no more than 1-3 clicks to complete and more complex actions (eg: settings changes) within a reasonable number of clicks. - **Action completions:** The quantity of meaningful actions you complete vs time spent interacting directly with the software. All of the software tools in this article perform well in terms of usability but TrueNorth is the only one that specifically has usability listed as one of its biggest strengths. If you read our mini review, you might remember we discussed how the system is designed specifically for the purpose of marketing management while the other providers have to squeeze more features into their system to fill both project and marketing management roles. As a result, the learning curve on the other systems is bigger while TrueNorth manages to deliver the more powerful set of marketing features. The other point we discussed is that TrueNorth is designed and optimised to get out of your way. With features like meeting-less ideation and campaign forecasting, the system helps you plan, manage and optimise campaigns faster so you can invest the saved time on high-impact actions. It's not much help if a platform helps you complete tasks faster but you have to spend all of that saved time (or more) fiddling with settings inside the platform to complete said tasks. This was one issue we raised with monday.com where the constant updating of task statuses, responding to comments and adapting workflows can leave you wondering if you've saved any time at all. ## Which marketing management software is right for you? The key takeaway from our look at the top five marketing management systems is this: if you want the best in marketing management features, TrueNorth is the clear winner. This is the only platform specifically designed for marketing management while the other options are primarily project management platforms that aim to moonlight as marketing systems to varying degrees of success. On the other hand, if you want one system capable of doing both jobs for you, Wrike and Infinity are the first two platforms you should look at. Neither match TrueNorth as a dedicated marketing management system but they deliver flexible project management and a solid set of marketing and campaign features, even if you don't get the campaign simulator and TrueNorth's most advanced tools. ## FAQ **What is the difference between marketing management software and general project management tools?** Marketing management software includes **specialist workflow and reporting features** designed specifically for marketing teams, whereas general project management tools are built for any industry and lack marketing-specific functionality like campaign tracking, asset management, and marketing analytics. General tools often require extensive customisation to meet marketing department needs, whilst dedicated marketing management systems work out of the box for marketing operations. **Which marketing management software is best for small marketing teams?** Asana is the best choice for smaller marketing teams managing workloads on smaller projects, as it offers **intuitive task management without overwhelming complexity**. It provides enough functionality to organise campaigns and deadlines whilst remaining affordable and easy to implement for teams without dedicated project management resources. **What should you look for in a marketing workflow management platform?** The best marketing workflow management platforms offer **real-time collaboration, automated task routing, and comprehensive reporting** to keep campaigns on track. Look for tools that integrate with your existing marketing stack, provide visibility across all team members' work, and allow you to customise workflows to match your organisation's specific processes. **Can marketing management software improve team collaboration?** Yes, modern marketing management software significantly improves team collaboration by providing **centralised communication and shared visibility** across all marketing projects and tasks. Tools like Infinity specialise in collaboration features and client communication, reducing email chains and ensuring everyone works from the same information. **Is marketing management software suitable for managing client projects?** Marketing management software works well for client project management, particularly platforms with **built-in client communication and approval workflows**. Infinity, for example, excels at managing client relationships within the platform itself, allowing you to share progress, collect feedback, and maintain transparency without switching between tools. **What are the key features of a dedicated marketing management system?** A dedicated marketing management system should include **campaign planning, task automation, team collaboration, and marketing-specific reporting** alongside standard project management features. These systems typically offer asset libraries, workflow templates for common marketing processes, and analytics dashboards that track campaign performance across channels. **How does marketing project management software differ from general task management apps?** Marketing project management software provides **industry-specific templates, campaign workflows, and marketing metrics** that general task apps don't include. Whilst apps like Asana and monday.com can be adapted for marketing, purpose-built systems like TrueNorth are designed by marketers specifically to handle the complexity of multi-channel campaigns and cross-functional marketing operations. --- # 5 Best Project Management Software for Marketers URL: https://ventureharbour.com/project-management-software-marketing-teams/ Summary: Compare 12+ project management tools built for marketing teams. See pricing, features, reviews & our top pick for 2026. Last updated: 2026-04-11 08:04:46 Every team benefits from having a good project management system. While you can use a generic project management tool to plan marketing activity, you're going to get better results faster with a system built for marketing teams. That's what we're focusing our attention on today. ### What are we looking at in this article? In this article, our aim is to help marketing teams choose the best project management software for planning and running campaigns. There are thousands of project management tools on the market but many of them are generic and a poor-fit for marketing teams. So, for example, it's easy to find a capable system for task management, but it's harder to find one that provides marketing planning features or marketing reporting. To help you choose the right system, we review the top project management tools for marketing teams specifically and explain what sets them apart from the more generic alternatives. Before we get into the reviews, we take a quick moment to explain what project management software is and why there's so much variety in this category of software products. Here's a summary of what we're looking at in this article: 1. **[What is project management software?](#what-is)** A quick definition and why marketing teams need a tool like this. 2. **[monday.com review](/recommends/monday/):** Visual, marketing-friendly boards with AI agents. 3. **[Basecamp review](#basecamp):** Affordable project management for large teams. 4. **[Wrike review](#wrike):** Workload management for marketing teams. 5. ****[Trello review](#trello):**** Affordable Kanban tool for small teams. 6. ****[ClickUp review](/recommends/clickup/):**** Collaborative project management. 7. **[Comparison](#comparison):** We compare each tool on pricing, features and usability to help you choose the ideal software for your needs. In our reviews, we summarise the key features for marketing teams, take a detailed look at the pricing of each system and discuss the pros and cons. And, once we're done with the reviews, we wrap things up with a comparison section where we take a head-to-head look at features, pricing and usability so you can see how they stack up against each other. ## What is project management software? Project management software is a broad category of software products designed to help teams plan and manage products. If you take a look at [the project management software section](https://www.capterra.co.uk/directory/30002/project-management/software) on Capterra's website, there are 1,283 results at the time of writing, which says a lot about how many products are available in this niche - and how competitive it is.  Another characteristic of this is that project management software can take many different forms, which Capterra does a good job of explaining on its website: > ***"Project Management software automates task assignment, resource allocation and milestone tracking for all phases of a project. Project Management tools and systems may take one of several approaches: collaborative, when multiple people work on a project; top-down, when one person works on a project at a time; or integrated, when multiple aspects of the organisation are involved. There are a variety of project management systems and tools that have been designed to fit your project's needs."*** For example, some systems place more emphasis on project planning while others focus more on task management. Likewise, some systems are designed with team managers in mind and others are more geared towards giving team members the tools they need to do their job more effectively. In general, the key characteristic all project management software has in common is automating repetitive tasks with the aim of improving productivity. Here's a quick look at some of the most common features you'll find in project management software: - **Project planning:** This might include project templates, a timeline tool, workload planning features, etc. - **Task management:** A system for creating tasks, assigning them to team members, updating tasks statuses, etc. - **Workload management:** Tools for team members to manage their individual workloads. - **Project views:** Visualisation dashboards for managing different project types. - **Team communication:** In-app messaging, comments, integrated email, video chat, etc. - **Collaboration:** Docs sharing, editing, collaborative planning tools and many more. - **Automation:** Workflows for automating task sequences, normally using triggers and events (*if* Y *then* Z logic). - **Tracking:** Tools for tracking task completions, timers, team member performance, etc. - **Activity logs:** Historical data for tasks, assignments, completions, etc. - **Reporting:** Tools for tracking the progress of projects, team performance and team members' performance. - **Integrations:** Native integrations to expand the capabilities of the tools you use every day. - **Cross-platformability:** Web apps, native software and mobile apps for completing tasks anywhere, on any device. In some cases, you might get most of the features above from one, comprehensive project management system but many focus on a few key feature groups. As you'll see from the tools we're looking at in this article, some are more adept at task management while others are better for team collaboration, marketing features or reporting. Naturally, marketing teams want a project management system that specifically makes it easier to plan and manage marketing campaigns. So you might place more importance on features like campaign planning, marketing-specific project templates and reporting features that are capable of tracking campaign performance or integrating with marketing analytics tools. For the purposes of this article, we're looking at the top project management systems for providing the specialist features marketing teams need the most. ## #1: [monday.com](/recommends/monday/) ******Free plan available; pricing from $9/seat/month****** Our top pick for marketing teams is monday.com — arguably the most marketing-friendly tool on this list. Where some platforms feel like generic task managers you have to bend into shape, monday.com leans into the kind of visual, colour-coded planning that marketing teams tend to take to quickly. The platform is built around customisable boards that you can adapt to almost any workflow — a content calendar, a campaign tracker, a creative request queue, a launch checklist. Each item can hold owners, statuses, deadlines, files and dependencies, and you can flip the same data between a board, timeline, calendar, Kanban or workload view depending on what you're trying to see. [](/recommends/monday/) **Key features:** - **Customisable boards:** Build a board for any marketing process — campaigns, content, events, creative production — without touching code. - **Multiple views:** Switch between board, timeline (Gantt), calendar, Kanban and workload views from the same dataset. - **Marketing templates:** A large template library covering content calendars, campaign tracking, creative requests and marketing project plans. - **Creative & asset management:** Proofing and annotation tools so designers and marketers can review creative in-app and approve faster. - **Automations:** No-code "when this happens, do that" recipes to handle status changes, notifications, due-date reminders and hand-offs. - **Dashboards & reporting:** Roll campaign progress, workload and budgets into visual dashboards for stakeholders. - **Integrations:** 200+ native integrations including Adobe Creative Cloud, Slack, Google Drive, HubSpot and Salesforce. - **AI features:** monday's newer AI blocks and agents can draft copy, summarise updates and trigger actions from within a board. What's changed most recently is monday.com's push into AI. The platform now markets itself around AI agents that can take actions from your boards — drafting a brief, summarising a thread, or kicking off the next step in a workflow — which is worth a look if you want some of the busywork around campaign management taken off your team's plate. ### How much does monday.com cost? monday.com offers a free plan for up to two seats, which is really only useful for individuals or trialling the product. Paid plans are priced per seat and billed annually, with a three-seat minimum, so the headline prices add up faster than they first appear. The Basic plan starts at around $9/seat/month and covers unlimited boards and 200+ templates. Most marketing teams will want the Standard plan at roughly $12/seat/month, which unlocks the timeline and calendar views, guest access and the automations and integrations that make the platform genuinely time-saving. The Pro plan (about $19/seat/month) adds private boards, more advanced automations, time tracking and dependency management, while Enterprise pricing is custom. The per-seat model means monday.com can get expensive for larger teams, and the more advanced AI capabilities are billed separately via credits — so it pays to map out which plan you actually need before committing. ### monday.com pros & cons #### monday.com pros - **Marketing-friendly design:** Visual, colourful boards and a deep template library make it quick for marketing teams to get going. - **Flexibility:** The board-and-view model adapts to almost any campaign or content workflow. - **Automations & integrations:** Strong no-code automation and 200+ integrations, including Adobe Creative Cloud and the major marketing platforms. #### monday.com cons - **Per-seat pricing:** Costs climb quickly as your team grows, and the best features sit on the higher tiers. - **Feature overload:** The sheer flexibility can be overwhelming to set up well, and AI credits are an added cost to track. ### monday.com verdict monday.com is the pick on this list for marketing teams that want a project management system they can mould around the way they actually work — and that the whole team will enjoy using. The visual boards, marketing templates and creative review tools make it a more natural fit for campaign and content planning than most generic alternatives, and the recent move toward AI agents adds a genuinely useful layer on top. The catch is pricing. Per-seat fees and a three-seat minimum mean monday.com can become one of the pricier options for larger teams, and you'll want the Standard plan or higher to get the views and automations that make it sing. But if usability and marketing-specific flexibility matter most to you, it's well worth a trial. [Try monday.com →](/recommends/monday/) ## #2: [Basecamp](https://basecamp.com/) ***Free plan available; pricing from $99/month*** Basecamp is a no-nonsense project management system that aims to make teamwork more effective with productivity and collaboration tools. It's not the most feature-heavy project management system but its simple pricing model makes it an excellent tool for larger teams and the uncomplicated user experience means team members can pick up and use the system from day one. You can manage and assign tasks with to-do lists and set due dates with automatic follow-ups as deadlines approach. Team members can access a list of all of the tasks assigned to them and update statuses as they progress through their workload. Basecamp also includes a built-in calendar for scheduling and managing tasks with native integrations for Google Calendar, Outlook and iCalendar. Team managers can also set up automatic check-ins to get status updates on tasks or workloads without constantly asking the same questions or interrupting team members while they're making progress. **Key features:** - **Unlimited projects:** Create as many projects as you need to keep things organised. - **Task management:** Make lists of work that needs to get done, assign teams, set due dates and discuss. - **Message board:** Post announcements, pitch ideas, progress updates, etc. - and keep feedback on-topic. - **Group chat:** Chat within groups for brainstorming and collaborative sessions. - **Schedule:** Set important dates on a shared schedule and integrate with your favourite calendar app. - Docs & files: Share docs, files, images and spreadsheets and organise files into folders. - **Automatic check-ins:** Create recurring questions so you don't have to pester your team about what's going on. - **Project templates:** Save time by rapidly spinning up similar projects. Basecamp also offers up some decent collaboration features, starting with its built-in Docs & Files system. Team members can share docs, files, images and spreadsheets, and organise everything into files so everyone has easy access to the resources they need. Every new project you create has a dedicated space for storing and sharing files, giving everyone assigned to the project access in an easy-to-find location. The other big collaboration features centre around team communication with Basecamp's message board and group chat tools. On the message board, team members can post announcements, pitch ideas, add progress updates, provide feedback and any other information useful for the whole team involved in the project. Team members can also use the group chat features to discuss ideas, provide in-depth feedback, collaborate on tasks in real-time or casually chat amongst themselves. ### How much does Basecamp cost? Basecamp offers a free Personal plan designed for "personal projects, students, freelancers, families, and light use" that covers you for three projects, 20 users, 1GB of storage and most of the platform's features. That's a generous free plan by most standards, making Basecamp an excellent free option for personal use. Obviously, marketing teams aren't going to get what they need from the free plan - so what's going on with Basecamp's pricing? Much like other flat-fee models, the company runs a flat-fee model at $99/month for unlimited users - no plans, upgrades or hidden fees to worry about. The paid version of Basecamp includes every feature and allows you to manage unlimited projects with no usage restrictions or concerns about paying for additional users. Once again, you can try the full version of Basecamp for 30 days by signing up for a free trial with no credit card details required - and you can cancel at any time. ### Basecamp pros & cons #### Basecamp pros - **Useful free plan:** Basecamp's free plan gives you access to most features with reasonable usage restrictions. - **Simple pricing:** The Pro version of Basecamp runs a simple, flat pricing model with no hidden surprises. - **Usability:** Basecamp is easy to pick up, learn and use for everyone on your team. #### Basecamp cons - **Limited features:** Basecamp is relatively basic in terms of project and task management. - **Lack of reporting:** No project, workload or team member reporting. ### Basecamp verdict Basecamp isn't the most comprehensive project management system, lacking some of the features we've come to expect from products in this category: multiple project views, reporting, advanced task management, etc. Even still, it delivers the core essentials in an easy-to-use platform and the flat-fee pricing model with unlimited users makes this an ultra-affordable option for large teams. Very small teams may get a little more in terms of features for their money on the cheapest plans from other providers, but you'll almost certainly have to pay for additional users, deal with usage limitations and face upgrade fees in the future - none of which you have to worry about with Basecamp. If you want a simple but effective project management system for your whole team - one that's going to cost the same amount every year - then, Basecamp is a compelling option. ## #3: [Wrike](https://www.wrike.com/) *********Free plan available; paid plans start from $9.80/month*** (per user)****** If you're looking for the more advanced project management features Basecamp doesn't provide, then Wrike is an excellent alternative for marketing teams. The company runs a dedicated product for marketing teams alongside multiple plans for other business types, which we'll explain in more detail as we discuss Wrike's pricing in the next section. First, let's talk about some of these advanced project management features you can get your hands on with Wrike. You get extensive task management features (not only to-do lists) that you can prioritise in personalised dashboards. Once you create a new task, you can assign it to individuals or groups, attach files, discuss details through embedded messages and update statuses as your project progresses. You can also view projects and tasks in multiple views, including interactive boards, Kanbans, spreadsheets and tables. Wrike's collaboration features step things up as well. Once again, you can share files but Wrike incorporates its own real-time editing system so team members can work on files at the same time, provide feedback and get items approved faster.  **Key features:** - **Live activity stream:**Real-time activity management at the global, project and task levels. - **Interactive boards:**View workloads in Kanban boards, spreadsheets and tables. - **Interactive Gantt charts:**Easily schedule and visualise project plans and deadlines with a simple drag-and-drop interface. - **Custom workflows:**Build customised workflow stages for projects and campaigns. - **Resource management:**Ensure the right resources are available for each campaign. - **Real-time reports:**Track campaigns in real-time and build custom reports from scratch or using built-in templates. - **Time tracking:**Track the time spent on tasks and automatically produce timesheets for activities and workloads. - **Automation Engine:**Automate repetitive tasks with trigger actions and responses. - **Campaign templates:** Launch campaigns faster, using templates, and edit them to meet your own requirements. Reporting is another strength of Wrike, which provides real-time insights on project progress and team performance with a library of reporting templates for you to easily showcase data to shareholders. With time tracking, you can see how long it takes to complete specific tasks and plan future projects more accurately while identifying tasks or processes that hold up progress. Building on the task management features, Wrike also helps you manage the workloads of everyone on your team so you can maximise productivity while avoiding burnout. You can view workloads and schedules to assess the time team members have available before assigning additional tasks, view task completions and outstanding tasks to see how well they're managing the work already assigned to them and identify specific tasks they're particularly good at or struggle with. ### How much does Wrike cost? Wrike offers a more comprehensive project management system than Basecamp but it also comes with a more complex pricing model. The company offers a free plan for 1-5 users that includes most of the platform's project and task management features with limited storage space, collaboration features and reporting (among other things). All in all, Wrike's free plan delivers a pretty capable project management system for very small teams and paid plans start at $9.80/month *per user* for the Professional plan, which also allows team members to share dashboards, use interactive Gantt charts and store up to 2GB of data per user. For a more serious upgrade, you'll have to jump to the Business plan at $24.80/month per user, which opens up Wrike's best automation and reporting features, time tracking, advanced customisation and plenty of other tools. It's a big upgrade but your software fees more than double from the Professional plan that doesn't bring much in the way of additional features. It would be nice to see some of those Business plan upgrades nudged onto the Professional plan.  As stated earlier, Wrike also offers a dedicated plan for marketing teams, which includes all of the features available on the Enterprise plan of its standard product, plus the following additional features: - Wrike Extension for Adobe Creative Cloud - Interactive proofing for 30+ file formats across all file types (image, files, video, HTML, SharePoint) - Visual markups and real-time threaded conversations - Side-by-side and overlay asset comparison - Automated multi-level approvals - External stakeholder (guest) approvals - Tailored marketing templates, pre-built dashboards, and advanced reporting & data visualisations - Digital asset management (DAM) integrations - Advanced resource management and capacity management - Marketo, Salesforce + over 400 integrations (Available as Add-On) - First-of-its-kind instant cross-channel campaign performance insights (Available as Add-On) essentially, you're getting native integrations for creative and marketing software (Adobe Creative Cloud, Marketo, etc.), plus advanced resource management tools and tailored marketing templates for projects, dashboards and reports. None of these features are going to revolutionise the way your marketing team operates but they will enhance your productivity. For example, you're not getting the same level of genuine marketing features that some marketing-specific tools offer, such as campaign simulation, campaign tracking, marketing planning, etc. Wrike's plan for marketing teams is more centred around resource production and asset management, which is going to benefit content marketing and marketing design teams more than anyone. ### Wrike pros & cons #### Wrike pros - **Features:** Wrike packs plenty of project and [campaign management](/campaign-management-software/) features into its software, making it one of the most flexible tools available. - **Real-time feedback:** If you need real-time updates, reporting and feedback across campaign activity and performance, Wrike’s system provides the live insights you need. - **Workload management:** With real-time feedback, time tracking, collaboration and automation, you can manage teams and individual workloads to maximise productivity and eliminate burnout. #### Wrike cons - **Speed:** Wrike’s web app can be a little sluggish at times, especially when. - **Navigation:** Moving around the interface, finding features and accessing dashboards isn’t particularly intuitive and the search function isn’t much help, either. - **Learning curve:** With so many features and a complex architecture, you’re looking at a steep learning curve with Wrike. ### Wrike verdict Wrike is one of the most complete project management systems available and its free plan makes a powerful system available to smaller marketing teams of 1-5 members. In fact, upgrading to the cheapest paid plan doesn't bring much to the table in terms of additional features, which reflects the quality of its free plan but also how much of a gap there is between the Professional and Business paid plans. Either way, Wrike delivers an excellent system at every price point with an abundance of features for teams with complex needs. Compared to Basecamp, Wrike's per-user pricing model makes the paid plans expensive although most project management software providers use a similar pricing model. If you compare Wrike to similar alternatives like monday.com and Asana, the software fees are very similar yet Wrike still delivers more at each price point, which is why it earns this spot in our recommendations. ## #4: [Trello](https://trello.com/) ******Free plan available; pricing from $5/month****** Trello is a collaborative project management system designed around the Kanban board format. The intuitive platform must be one of the easiest-to-use project tools of its kind, even if it does have its limitations for complex projects. The platform structures projects around a system of boards, lists and cards that you can use to create, categorise and assign tasks to the whole team, groups of members or individuals. This creates an open workspace for teams to manage projects with tasks available for everyone to see - at the expense of lacking any kind of swimlane view for individuals to see their own workload in isolation. This limitation may be a problem for complex projects or large teams but the platform is a compelling and affordable option for smaller marketing teams. Trello also offers a capable free version with certain feature limitations but it's still a valuable tool for teams on a shoestring software budget, which we'll discuss in more detail in the pricing section. **Key features:** - **Trello boards:** Plan campaigns with Trello’s signature boards interface, an enhanced version of the classic Kanban format. - **Campaign planning:** Map campaigns and workloads in boards, timelines, calendars and other views. - **Project management:** Run projects from start to finish and quickly adapt to agile environments. - **Task management:** Use lists, cards and checklists to create, assign and manage tasks. - **Workload management:** Create and manage workloads, assign tasks and update statuses. - **Templates:** Plan campaigns and projects faster by using Trello’s template library. Trello also offers one of the best cross-device experiences you'll find among project management systems. Aside from the web app, you can also download the native app for desktop devices and mobile apps for iOS and Android for complete freedom to work from anywhere, on almost any device. The quality of the experience across all devices is excellent, too, with strong consistency across platforms so you can move from one app to another without ever getting lost. The platform also has its own automation system that you can use to handle repetitive tasks with rules, buttons and commands. For example, you can set up a process so that, when a team member completes a task on a checklist, the status is automatically updated to "Done," the due date is marked as completed and a comment is posted to informal teammates that the item has been reviewed and approved. ### How much does Trello cost? Trello offers a free plan for individuals and teams that covers you for unlimited cards and storage space with up to 10 boards per workspace. You also get an unlimited activity log on the free plan, which is crucial for historical analysis but equally rare on the free versions of project management systems. The Standard plan costs $5/month per user, allowing you to manage unlimited boards, create advanced checklists and invite guests to view single boards. You can also create custom fields on this plan, save searches and upload larger files up to 250MB each. Trello's Premium plan is a major upgrade but you're still only looking at $10/month per user. For this, you get several additional views for managing projects: - Dashboard view - Timeline view - Workspace view - Calendar view - Workspace Calendar view - Map view You can also group boards together into collections, run unlimited workspace commands and create workspaces faster using Trello's library of templates. This is the first plan that comes with priority support that guarantees a response within 24 hours, as well as enhanced admin and security features, Google Apps sign-on and simple data experts. Finally, you've got the Enterprise plan, which starts at $17.50/month per user and gives you unlimited workspaces and allows you to invite guests to multi-board access - among other things. ### Trello pros & cons #### Trello pros - **Free plan:** Trello’s generous free plan is open for teams of all sizes. - **Affordable:** Paid plans are affordable across the board, especially for smaller teams. - **Usability:** Trello is easy to use and provides an excellent cross-platform experience. #### Trello cons - **Limited features:** Trello’s obvious drawback is the simplicity of its platform. - **Restricted views:** Without the timeline and calendar views available on the Premium and Enterprise plans, Trello’s prospects as a marketing planning tool are weak. ### Trello verdict Trello is the ultra-usable Kanban project management system that's affordable at every price point for smaller teams. The free plan offers great value for teams with a limited software budget and the paid plans remain affordable until you've got dozens of team members to manage. Once you get to this point, the per-user pricing pushes the monthly software fees beyond the features Trello has to offer, even on its Premium and Enterprise plans. Pricing isn't the only reason Trello is better suited to smaller teams, though. The lack of swimlanes and workload management features makes it a poor fit for complex projects or large teams. ## #5: [ClickUp](/recommends/clickup/) ******Free plan available; pricing from $5/month****** ClickUp wants to be the only app you need to manage projects, tasks and the workloads of everyone on your team. The platform gives you 20+ views for managing projects, some of the most comprehensive task management features available from one tool and a built-in collaboration system for creating, editing and working on documents. You can also customise the system by defining your own item types, setting custom statuses, creating custom fields and adding tags to manage everything on your own terms. Aside from creating and assigning tasks, you can set deadlines, create recurring tasks and use automation workflows to take care of repetitive actions for you. ClickUp wants to replace your other productivity apps, too. Its built-in chat system is designed to replace Slack while its native Docs app replicates Google Docs by allowing team members to create and collaborate on documents in real-time.  **Key features:** - **Project planning:** Plan campaigns and other projects with ClickUp’s collaborative system. - **Collaboration:** Plan and manage projects at every level as a team with email, chat, comments, docs collaboration and more. - **ClickUp Docs:** Create, manage and collaborate on documents inside ClickUp. - **Sprints:** Plan and manage [marketing sprints](/marketing-sprints/) with the native Sprint App, available on all plans. - **Task management:** Create and manage tasks for teams and individuals. - **Spaces:** Organise teams and departments into Spaces where you can group projects into folders. - **Views:** Plan and manage your campaigns across 15 different views, including lists, boards, calendars and more. - **Reporting:** Set goals and track progress with built-in reporting. - **Time management:** Track time, estimate tasks durations and analyse team performance. - **Marketing templates:** Plan campaigns and marketing projects faster with ClickUp’s library of templates. - **Automation:** Cut out repetitive tasks using 50+ actions, triggers and conditions with pre-built, customisable recipes. ClickUp's collaboration features keep on coming with its interactive whiteboard for planning projects, brainstorming and working together on resources. Then, you've got in-app video recording for team members to capture messages, record anything on their screen and provide face-to-face feedback. Once you've planned your next project, you can implement your plan with project templates and built-in dashboard templates with real-time reporting to keep track of progress and team performance. As your project runs, you can track the time it takes to complete tasks, invite guests to contribute and reassign tasks to maximise productivity. For marketing teams specifically, ClickUp's dedicated features for planning sprints is another big gain and you won't get this from most project management systems. ### How much does ClickUp cost? ClickUp runs a grand total of five different plans, starting with its Free Forever plan that covers you for unlimited members and includes a solid set of project management and collaboration features - including unlimited tasks, sprint management, real-time chat and time tracking. Paid plans start at $5/month per user for the Unlimited plan and this gets you unlimited storage, integrations, dashboards, Gantt charts and custom fields. You can also manage teams on this plan, invite guests and manage resources for each project.  The Business plan is priced at $12/month per user and you can manage unlimited teams with advanced dashboard features, advanced time tracking, workload management, timelines and a more serious set of project management tools, in general. This is where you'll start to see the best of ClickUp's capabilities and the asking price is highly competitive for a comprehensive system like this. The Business Plan steps things up even further for $19/month per user with team sharing, custom roles, advanced permissions and the best of ClickUp's automation features. By this point, your monthly fees are starting to creep up but ClickUp offers so many features that you're going to spend less money on other software tools - so keep this in mind when you're comparing prices. ### ClickUp pros & cons #### ClickUp pros - **Collaboration:** ClickUp provides one of the most collaborative systems we’ve used without compromising productivity. - **Usability:** Despite the depth of features worked into its platform and the extent of collaboration tools, the standard of usability ClickUp achieves is impressive. - **Marketing planning:** ClickUp offers solid marketing planning features that are more extensive than many alternatives. #### ClickUp cons - **Mobile apps:** As good as the web app experience is, the UI design on the mobile apps isn’t as intuitive. - **Learning curve:** The depth of features comes with an inevitable learning curve that you’re not going to get from simpler tools like Trello. ### ClickUp verdict ClickUp is one of the most comprehensive project amendment systems on the market - and so much more. The platform wants to replace dozens of productivity tools your team needs to get things done every day and at a fraction of the price. As a project management system, ClickUp is as good as anything we've used and, as a general productivity platform, it's even better if you're signed up to the Business plan or higher. It offers great flexibility for your money and a broad set of marketing features. ## What's the best project management software for marketing teams? Now that we've reviewed the best project management systems for marketing teams, let's see how they stack up against each other. In this final section, we compare each of our software recommendations for the following three qualities: 1. **Pricing** 2. **Features** 3. **Usability** For pricing and features, we've put a couple of comparison tables together so you can easily see how each of the products fares against its rivals. Hopefully, this will give you a better idea of what each system has to offer and what you're getting in return for your money. For the usability section, as this is more of a subjective quality, we pick the top three products for usability and explain what makes them stand out. ### The best for pricing We've taken a good look at the pricing of each product independently but it's always easier to compare pricing when you see the numbers tallied up against each other. With SaaS products, this is a little tricky because you've got multiple plans and different features sets to compare at different prices - so, ultimately, you have to sit down and compare pricing pages in detail. However, to help illustrate which of the products we've looked at today offer the most value for money, our comparison table shows which ones offer a free trial, the starting price of the cheapest paid plan available and the *starting* price of the most expensive plan listed on their website. | Tool | Free plan? | Starting price | Top plan | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | monday.com | Yes | $9/seat/mo | $19/seat/mo | | Basecamp | Yes | $99/mo | - | | Wrike | Yes | $9.80/mo | $24.80/mo | | Trello | Yes | $5/mo | $17.50/mo | | ClickUp | Yes | $5/mo | $19mo | All of the products we've looked at today offer a free plan, designed for individuals or small teams - so they're not particularly helpful for larger marketing teams. They're also highly restricted in either features, usage or both so you have to be honest about your needs when you sign up to a project management system. ClickUp and Basecamp are the most affordable options for teams, thanks to their flat-free pricing models that give you access to all of their features for $99/month, no matter how many people are on your team. All of the other products charge fees on a per-user basis, which means the cheapest Wrike plan available becomes more expensive than Basecamp for teams of 11 people and you're not even getting the best out of Wrike at this price point. Upgrade to Wrike's Business plan and five users make it more expensive than Basecamp - and this isn't even Wrike's top plan, it's just the most expensive starting price listed on its website. ### The best features for marketing teams As we stated at the beginning of this article, marketing teams have unique needs from a project management system. In most cases, the best you can hope for is marketing project templates to help you plan faster and, very occasionally, you'll get built-in marketing reporting or integrations with analytics systems to import your marketing data. To quickly compare the products in this article, we've narrowed down the feature offering to five key things marketing teams need: 1. Marketing planning 2. Ideation 3. Task management 4. Team communication 5. Marketing reporting Some platforms provide more marketing-specific features than others, but none offer the full suite of marketing planning, ideation, and campaign simulation features that dedicated marketing tools once did. However, Wrike and ClickUp provide solid task management and reporting features that are valuable for marketing teams. | Tool | Marketing planning | Ideation | Task management | Team comms | Marketing reporting | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | monday.com | ✔ | Basic | Advanced | Advanced | Basic | | Basecamp | - | - | Basic | Basic | - | | Wrike | Basic | Basic | Advanced | - | ✔ | | Trello | - | - | Advanced | Basic | - | | ClickUp | Basic | - | Advanced | Advanced | - | In terms of marketing-specific features, no platform currently offers all the marketing planning and ideation features that some dedicated marketing tools once did. That being said, if you're looking for a more general-purpose project management system, then something like Wrike or ClickUp will deliver the flexibility you need and may offer just enough marketing features to strike the right balance for your team. Alternatively, you may find better value in using different tools for each purpose, such as ClickUp for general project management and another tool for marketing-specific needs. ### The best option for usability Usability is always a tricky topic because quality experiences mean something different to everyone and we don't all have the same expectations from software products. Some of us obsess over every minor UX detail while others simply want a tool that gets the job done with minimal fuss - and most of us are probably a mix of both to some degree. To analyse usability as objectively as we can, we assess the following characteristics every time we test a new software product: 1. **Smooth operation:** The software runs smoothly without any lags or slowdowns as you interact with elements. 2. **Navigation:** Elements, tools, settings and everything else you interact with is easy to find. 3. **Minimal clicks:** Simple actions require no more than 1-3 clicks to complete and more complex actions (eg: settings changes) within a reasonable number of clicks. 4. **Action completions:** The quantity of meaningful actions you complete vs time spent interacting directly with the software. Based on these factors, three of the tools featured in this article stand out in terms of usability: ClickUp, Trello, and Basecamp. In fact, these particular three products could compete with any software tools on the market when it comes to product design - so let's take a moment to discuss why they're so impressive. #### ClickUp ClickUp offers a modern, sleek user experience with intuitive navigation and clean interfaces. The platform guides you through setup and provides a wide range of features without overwhelming the user.  It includes a built-in chat system, a Docs app with real-time collaboration and several other collaborative planning features. While this means you may spend more time interacting with the software, the extensive features and integrations make it a powerful tool. Team managers can use built-in time tracking to monitor productivity, and the platform helps reduce the need to switch between multiple apps. #### Trello Trello is known for its simplicity and ease of use. Its visual card-based system is intuitive and requires minimal training, making it a great choice for smaller teams or those new to project management software. While it lacks some advanced features, its design philosophy of simplicity and focus on core features has helped it maintain popularity for years. #### Basecamp Basecamp prioritises simplicity and straightforwardness. It requires zero configuration and works immediately out of the box with message boards, to-do lists, and schedules that marketers understand without training. Its flat pricing and ease of use make it a strong contender for teams looking for a no-fuss project management tool. ### Which is the best project management software for your team? Every team is different and the first step to choosing a project management system is knowing your priorities. Every platform we've looked at in this article offers something different. Some offer extensive marketing features while others are more focused on core project management – you have to decide where the ideal balance lies for you. If you're looking for the best platform for managing marketing projects with extensive marketing-specific features, you may need to consider combining tools or looking for dedicated marketing project management software that is currently available. At the opposite end of the spectrum, we have options like ClickUp, which not only offers some of the most extensive project management features but also a bunch of other productivity tools that can replace several other apps. You can also get the best of both worlds by using different tools for marketing-specific needs and general project management. This approach can offer the best value and flexibility for your team. ## FAQ **What features should marketing project management software have?** Marketing project management software should include task automation, timeline visualisation, team collaboration tools, and marketing-specific workflows rather than generic task lists. **Automation capabilities** are particularly important because they reduce manual work and help marketing teams meet tight deadlines without constant manual updates. Look for tools that integrate with your existing marketing stack, such as email platforms and analytics tools. **Is Trello good for marketing teams?** Trello works well for marketing teams that prefer visual, Kanban-style project organisation with straightforward workflows. However, **Trello lacks advanced reporting and automation features** that larger marketing departments need for complex campaigns. It's best suited for small marketing teams or those managing simple, linear projects rather than multi-channel campaigns. **What's the difference between Wrike and ClickUp for marketing?** Wrike focuses on enterprise-level project management with robust reporting and resource management, whilst **ClickUp offers more customisation and flexibility** at a lower price point. ClickUp allows you to build custom workflows tailored to your specific marketing processes, whereas Wrike provides more standardised structures better suited to larger organisations with established processes. **Can you use generic project management software for marketing?** You can technically use generic project management software for marketing, but you'll sacrifice efficiency and lose marketing-specific features that accelerate campaign delivery. **Marketing-focused tools include built-in templates and workflows** designed around campaign timelines, asset approval processes, and cross-functional collaboration that generic tools don't provide. This means your team will spend more time configuring the tool rather than actually managing projects. **How much does project management software cost for marketing teams?** Project management software for marketing teams typically ranges from free (basic plans) to £50+ per user per month for enterprise solutions. **Most mid-market marketing teams spend between £15-30 per user monthly** for tools like Basecamp or Wrike that balance features with affordability. Costs vary based on team size, required features, and whether you need integrations with other marketing tools. **Should marketing teams use separate tools for project management and task tracking?** Marketing teams should use a single integrated platform rather than separate tools for project management and task tracking to avoid data silos and duplicate work. **Unified platforms reduce context switching** and ensure all team members have visibility into both high-level campaign timelines and individual task assignments. Switching between multiple tools wastes time and increases the risk of miscommunication or missed deadlines. **What's the easiest project management software for non-technical marketers?** Basecamp and Trello are the easiest options for non-technical marketers because they prioritise simplicity and intuitive interfaces over complex features. **Basecamp requires zero configuration** and works immediately out of the box with message boards, to-do lists, and schedules that marketers understand without training. Trello's visual card-based system is similarly straightforward and doesn't require learning complex terminology or workflows. **Do marketing teams need real-time collaboration features in project management software?** Yes, real-time collaboration is essential for marketing teams managing time-sensitive campaigns with multiple stakeholders and approval processes. **Real-time updates prevent version control issues** and ensure everyone sees the latest campaign status, asset versions, and deadline changes immediately. Without real-time collaboration, teams risk working on outdated information and missing critical updates during fast-moving campaigns. --- # 5 Best SaaS Integration Platforms (iPaaS) URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-ipaas-tools/ Summary: I’ve built SaaS products long enough to know that wiring integrations by hand is a special kind of misery—especially as the bug reports stack up and APIs… Last updated: 2026-08-07 15:37:37 I’ve built SaaS products long enough to know that wiring integrations by hand is a special kind of misery—especially as the bug reports stack up and APIs shuffle their endpoints for the third time this quarter. At TrueNorth, 80% of engineering time vanished into this black hole, which is why these days, I’d sooner pay for an iPaaS than ever attempt to do it all myself again. | Tool | Best For | Starting Price | Verdict | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Zapier | best for breadth and getting started | $29.99 | ⭐ Top Pick | | Paragon | SaaS teams embedding integrations with a developer-first workflow | Custom | ⭐ Runner Up | | Prismatic | B2B SaaS teams shipping complex customer integrations | Custom | Highly Rated | | Workato | best enterprise iPaaS for automation-led teams | Starting at $75 | Highly Rated | | Boomi | best for legacy and data-heavy enterprise integrat | None | Highly Rated | ## How Did I Test and Compare iPaaS Tools? Before diving into the details, I want to clarify how I approached this comparison—because most iPaaS roundups mash together internal automation and customer-facing product integrations. This guide focuses on platforms that let SaaS companies offer integrations inside their own products. I seeded the rankings using my own experience building and integrating SaaS tools, but kept tool-specific assessments research-based. Normalising pricing was a particular headache. Platforms charge by task, connected customer or integration instance, and several only publish custom pricing. I have left undisclosed prices as custom rather than pretending the units are comparable. The comparison criteria are connector coverage, embedded configuration, multi-tenancy, custom code, deployment controls, monitoring, compliance and the cost of rolling an integration out across customers. ## [1. Zapier](https://zapier.com) Best for: Breadth of integrations and getting started with embedded automation quickly Zapier covers more ground than any other iPaaS, with direct integrations for over 9,000 apps—no other operator-tier tool matches that reach. If you just need two (or ten) tools to talk with each other this afternoon, it’s the closest thing to plug-and-play that actually works.  For anyone who’s ever tried building integrations the hard way, I get the appeal. Watching engineers chase down API changes and breakages instead of shipping features is a familiar kind of misery—so the value here isn’t theoretical. Zapier is built for founders, marketers, and operators who want instant connections between SaaS tools, without waiting on IT. The interface is friendly enough that most people can get a basic workflow running in minutes, and the “Code by Zapier” step lets you script custom logic if you hit a wall. You can write snippets of JavaScript directly into a Zap, which saves the day when you need something not covered by the standard triggers and actions. It’s not aimed at compliance-heavy or enterprise scenarios—there’s no self-hosting, and the version control is partial at best. But for the majority, it’s the fastest route from “I wish X talked to Y” to automation running in production. That’s also where Zapier’s main pain point shows up: as your usage grows, so does the bill. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Unmatched integration library:** Connects with over 9,000 apps, more than any other operator-tier iPaaS ([work-management.org](https://work-management.org/automation/zapier-review/)). - **Accessible for non-technical users:** The interface is designed so anyone can automate basic tasks without code. - **Custom code actions:** You can add JavaScript steps within workflows—available even on the free plan, though with time limits ([zapier.com](https://zapier.com/pricing?trk=public_post-text)). - **Error handling and retry tools:** Zapier includes autoreplay and automated error management, so workflows don’t fail silently. - **SOC 2 (Type II) and SOC 3 certified:** Meets standard compliance requirements, which is more than some direct competitors ([editor.vercel.zapier.com](https://editor.vercel.zapier.com/security-compliance)). - **Costs rise fast with usage:** The headline price looks reasonable, but advanced workflows and higher task volumes quickly become expensive. - **No self-hosting or on-prem option:** You have to trust Zapier’s cloud—there’s no way to run it on your own infrastructure ([kestra.io](https://kestra.io/vs/zapier)). - **Partial version control and environment management:** Only the Enterprise plan offers basic version comparisons, and even then, it’s not full versioning ([help.zapier.com](https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/8496213575053-Get-started-with-Zapier-s-Enterprise-plan)). ### Pricing | Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Tasks/Month | Multi-Step Zaps | Premium Apps | Shared Workspaces | Support | Update Interval | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | $0 | 100 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Community support | 15 minutes | | Starter | $29.99 | $239.88 | 750 | ✓ | 3 | ✗ | Email & live chat | 15 minutes | | Professional | $73.50 | $588 | 2,000 | ✓ | Unlimited | ✗ | Email & live chat | 2 minutes | | Team | $103.50 | $828 | 2,000 | ✓ | Unlimited | ✓ | Priority, screen sharing | 1 minute | | Enterprise | Contact sales | Custom | Custom | ✓ | Unlimited | ✓ | Dedicated CSM, priority | 1 minute | [**Try Zapier →**](https://zapier.com) Zapier is the obvious starting point if you want breadth and speed, and don’t mind paying a premium when usage takes off. If integrations are a core part of your product, Paragon or Prismatic gives your engineering team more control over the customer experience. ## [2. Paragon](https://www.useparagon.com) Best for: SaaS teams that want developer-first, customer-facing integrations Paragon is built for software companies adding integrations to their own product, rather than operators connecting internal tools. Your developers can author integration logic in TypeScript or its visual editor, then expose the connection and configuration flow inside your app. That is a better fit when integrations are part of what customers buy. Paragon handles authentication, per-customer credentials and workflow execution, saving your team from rebuilding the same plumbing for every connector. The developer tooling is the main draw. Workflows can sit alongside your normal CI/CD process, and the embedded UI means customers do not have to leave your product to connect an account. The downside is that public pricing is thin. You need a trial or sales conversation to understand what your customer count and execution volume will cost, which makes early budgeting harder than Zapier. I would shortlist Paragon if engineers own your integration roadmap and want the embedded experience without giving up code. If non-technical teams need to build most integrations, Prismatic's low-code tooling may be the better fit. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Embedded connection UI:** Customers can authenticate and configure integrations without leaving your product. - **Code and visual workflows:** Developers can use TypeScript whilst other team members work in the visual editor. - **CI/CD support:** Integration changes can follow the same release process as the rest of your product. - **Managed authentication:** Paragon handles OAuth and per-customer credentials. - **Opaque pricing:** Public plan prices are not available, so costs require a sales conversation. - **Engineering bias:** The platform makes more sense when developers own integrations than when operators do. ### Pricing | Plan | Monthly Price | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | Trial | $0 | Available for evaluating the platform | | Paid | Custom | Pricing depends on integrations, customers and usage | [**Try Paragon →**](https://www.useparagon.com) ## [3. Prismatic](https://prismatic.io) Best for: B2B SaaS teams shipping complex integrations across many customers Prismatic is purpose-built for B2B software companies that need to build an integration once and deploy it across many customer accounts. It combines code-native development with a low-code designer, then adds the infrastructure for authentication, logging, versions and per-customer configuration. Its embedded marketplace is the clearest difference from Make or n8n. Customers can discover, activate and configure integrations inside your product, whilst your team monitors every deployed instance centrally. Prismatic also supports custom connectors and more involved business logic, so it fits products that cannot live within a rigid unified API. The trade-off is more platform than you need if your product only offers a handful of simple data syncs. Pricing is volume-based and not published as a simple monthly figure. That makes sense for hundreds of customer instances, but it is frustrating when you are trying to compare an early product roadmap on a spreadsheet. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Built for multi-tenant SaaS:** Deploy one integration across customers with separate credentials and configuration. - **Embedded marketplace:** Customers can discover and activate integrations inside your product. - **Code and low-code tools:** Developers and less technical integration specialists can work on the same platform. - **Custom connectors:** The SDK covers niche systems when a pre-built component does not exist. - **No simple public price:** Plans use custom, volume-based pricing. - **Overkill for basic syncs:** Small integration catalogues may not justify a full embedded platform. ### Pricing | Plan | Pricing | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | Scale | Custom | Unlimited integrations and customers with volume per-instance pricing | | Enterprise | Custom | Adds private hosting, on-premise connectivity and higher concurrency | [**Try Prismatic →**](https://prismatic.io) ## [4. Workato](https://www.workato.com) Best for: automation-led teams in large organisations needing secure, governed enterprise integration Workato sits firmly in the enterprise iPaaS camp—annual contracts, procurement, and a learning curve all included. What you get for that commitment is access to over 1,200 pre-built connectors, with each typically supporting 50-100 actions and triggers per app, plus a way to build your own connectors for any REST or SOAP API.  The difference shows up fast if you’ve ever tried wiring ERPs or legacy systems into modern SaaS tools. Workato’s version control and environment management mean you can avoid the wild-west chaos that comes from pushing half-baked automations straight to production—critical when integration mistakes have real business risk, not just minor workflow annoyances. This is not where you land if you need a quick fix between two SaaS accounts. It’s for teams dealing with data sovereignty, regulatory requirements (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, FedRAMP—all covered), or the headache of high-volume, multi-region automation. The AI agent features, built around the Model Context Protocol, let you embed intelligent routing or decision-making into your workflows—useful, but only if your team has the technical depth to tune and operate it. The catch is obvious: Workato’s pricing isn’t listed for most business tiers, and even the entry-level “Pro” plan starts at $75/month for just 2,500 credits. If you’re in a startup or small team, this is overkill—there’s a free tier, but it’s just a one-off 50,000 credit grant, not an ongoing solution. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Huge connector library:** Over 1,200 pre-built connectors cover CRM, ERP, HR, ITSM, finance, and cloud apps—far broader than most operator-tier tools. - **Enterprise-grade compliance:** SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, and FedRAMP certifications address regulatory risk for security-sensitive sectors. - **Strong environment controls:** Version control and deployment management reduce the risk of breaking live processes—a must for complex automations. - **Opaque pricing at scale:** Most business and enterprise plans require custom quotes, making it hard to predict or compare costs—especially if you’re used to per-task models. - **Steep learning curve:** Advanced features demand real understanding of APIs and integration logic, which slows onboarding for less technical teams. ### Pricing | Tier | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Key Limits / Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Workato Free | $0 | $0 | 50,000 one-time credits; no recurring usage | | Workato Pro | $75+ | — | 2,500–50,000 credits/month; unused credits expire monthly | | Standard Edition | Quote-based | Quote-based | Core platform, usage-based; details not publicly disclosed | | Business Edition | Quote-based | Quote-based | Advanced platform, usage-based; details not publicly disclosed | | Enterprise Edition | Quote-based | Quote-based | Full features for large orgs; usage-based; details not publicly disclosed | | Workato One Edition | Quote-based | Quote-based | Most comprehensive, agentic orchestration; usage-based; details not disclosed | [**Try Workato →**](https://www.workato.com) ## [5. Boomi](https://boomi.com) Best for: legacy system integration and data-heavy enterprise use cases Boomi sits squarely in the enterprise integration tier, with a starting price of $4,000 per month and annual contracts that put it firmly out of reach for the average ops team. It’s built for organisations wrestling with legacy systems, heavy data volumes and strict governance needs—think IT departments, not solo founders on a credit card.  The main thing that stands out is Boomi’s breadth of pre-built connectors, covering ERP, CRM, HCM and marketing automation platforms. For any business that’s spent months wrangling brittle integrations (I’ve been there, and it’s a slog), the promise of a connector library and an SDK for custom jobs is honestly a relief—if you can stomach the price. Boomi’s cloud-native, multi-tenant architecture means you don’t get self-hosting or deep infrastructure control, but you do get compliance extras like FedRAMP authorisation and region-specific data residency options. This isn’t a trivial point if you’re in a regulated sector or deploying across borders. Users praise the low-code interface and responsive support, but the learning curve kicks in fast when you move beyond basic workflows. I’ve seen this pattern before: the easy stuff is genuinely easy, but building complex, resilient processes takes time—and if performance matters, you’ll hit the limits of low-code abstractions sooner than you expect. The pricing structure is where most teams will feel the pinch. Even the new pay-as-you-go tier, at $99 per month plus $0.05 per message, gets expensive once you scale up. If you need unlimited connections and workflows, that’s the cost of entry. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Extensive pre-built connector library:** Covers ERP, CRM, HCM, and marketing automation, with a connector SDK for custom needs. - **Low-code and visual interface:** Users report that building and maintaining integrations is straightforward for common use cases. - **Strong compliance credentials:** FedRAMP authorisation and partial data residency support help with regulated deployments. - **High licensing costs:** Starting at $4,000 per month, pricing is prohibitive for smaller teams or side projects. - **Steep learning curve at scale:** Users mention that advanced integration patterns and complex transformations require significant ramp-up. ### Pricing | Tier | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Key Features | Key Limits | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Professional | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Advanced integrations, broader environment support | Standard connections | | Professional Plus | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | All Professional + API enablement | Additional connections | | Enterprise | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | All Professional Plus + advanced user management, clustered runtime support | Enterprise connectors | | Enterprise Plus | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | All Enterprise + message queuing | Additional connections | | Pay-As-You-Go | $99 + usage fees | — | Unlimited users, connections, workflows; $0.05 per message processed | Unlimited | | Free Trial | Free for 30 days | — | Full Enterprise Platform access (trial), core integration, low-code tools, basic API management | 30 days | [**Try Boomi →**](https://boomi.com) If your main headache is getting old systems to play nicely with modern SaaS and you need compliance guarantees, Boomi is a credible—if expensive—option. For cost-sensitive projects or those wanting self-hosting, I’d look elsewhere. ## How Does Pricing Compare? Pricing is awkward to compare because Zapier charges for tasks, whilst embedded platforms tend to charge by connected customer or integration instance. Paragon and Prismatic do not publish a simple monthly price, so expect to model the cost with sales before committing. You’ll need to choose a plan based on volume (tasks, credits, or operations), team size, and how much you care about support tiers or advanced features. For small businesses and hobby projects, the free and entry-level plans are usually more than enough—until you start hitting usage caps or need something like shared workspaces or priority support. | Vendor | Free Tier | Entry Paid Tier | Entry Price (Monthly) | Entry Price (Annual) | Unit Price ($/task or op) | Usage Limit (Entry) | Premium Support (Entry) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Zapier | Yes | Starter | $29.99 | $239.88 | 0.05 | 750 tasks/mo | Chat & email | | Paragon | Trial | Custom | Custom | Custom | N/A | Customer and usage based | Custom | | Prismatic | No | Scale | Custom | Custom | N/A | Volume per instance | Dedicated account manager | **Key takeaway:** Zapier is the easiest platform to cost before a trial, but task pricing can climb as customers use an integration. Paragon and Prismatic are harder to budget upfront, though their models are designed around rolling integrations out across customer accounts. ## Which Tools Have the Best Features? Feature coverage varies sharply based on whether you need a large connector catalogue or an integration experience that feels native to your product. Zapier leads on breadth; Paragon and Prismatic provide the multi-tenant deployment and embedded configuration that product teams need. | Feature | Zapier | Paragon | Prismatic | Workato | Boomi | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Connector Library Size | 9,000+ apps | Pre-built connectors plus custom | 190+ plus custom | 1,000+ apps | Broad enterprise catalogue | | Custom Code Support | JavaScript | TypeScript | TypeScript | JS, Python | Custom scripting | | Error Handling/Retry | Partial | Full | Full | Full | Full | | Version Control/Env Mgmt | N/A | CI/CD support | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | | Self-Hosting Options | No | No | Private deployment options | No | No | | Data Residency | N/A | EU/US options | Configurable | Advanced | Advanced | | Compliance Certifications | N/A | GDPR | GDPR | SOC 2, GDPR | SOC 2, GDPR | | Pricing Model | Per task | Custom | Per instance | Per task | Custom | | AI Agent Capabilities | Built-in AI | AI beta | None | AI tools | AI tools | | Scalability/Throughput | Millions/mo | High | High | Enterprise | Enterprise | | UI & Usability | Drag-and-drop | Visual builder | Node editor | Visual builder | Visual builder | | Governance/Security | MFA, RBAC | RBAC | RBAC | SSO, RBAC | SSO, RBAC | | Support/SLA Options | Email, docs | Email, chat | Community | Premium | Premium | | Integration Ownership | Business users | Product engineers | Product and integration teams | IT | IT | | Deployment Flexibility | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud/private | Cloud | Cloud | | Workflow Orchestration | Basic | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced | | Monitoring/Analytics | Basic logs | Dashboards | Dashboards | Advanced | Advanced | | Community/Ecosystem | Large | Large | Growing | Moderate | Moderate | | Multi-Tenancy | Embedded products | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Upgrade/Maintenance Effort | Low | Low | Medium | Low | Low | **Key takeaway:** Zapier has the broadest app catalogue, but Paragon and Prismatic are designed around deploying integrations to many customer tenants. Workato and Boomi remain credible when enterprise IT owns the integration programme, though they bring heavier procurement and implementation. ## How Do Security & Compliance Compare? Most integration platforms talk up their security, but transparency is thin on the ground once you start digging through the public documentation — or, more often, notice what's missing. Here, I’ve put the focus on what’s actually disclosed, rather than what’s implied. Security compliance isn’t just a checkbox for large enterprises; if you’re handling sensitive data, the difference between “we have SOC 2” and “we encrypt data in transit” matters. For smaller teams running internal automations, the depth of certification may be less urgent than clear, documented practices. Unfortunately, the major platforms in this comparison don’t publicly disclose granular security or compliance details in a consistent way — the available data gives a clearer view of pricing than of audit trails. I’ve summarised the security and compliance data points that are actually available for each platform below. If a vendor hasn’t made something public, I’ve marked it as “N/A”. | Vendor | Normalised Unit Price | Security/Compliance Details | | ------- | --------------------- | --------------------------- | | Zapier | $0.05 | N/A | | Paragon | Custom | SOC 2 Type II | | Prismatic | Custom | Enterprise security controls | | Workato | N/A | N/A | | Boomi | $4000.00 | N/A | **Key takeaway:** Security requirements narrow the shortlist quickly. Paragon and Prismatic are designed to handle credentials across customer tenants, whilst Workato and Boomi add the governance expected by larger IT teams. Do not choose this layer from a certification badge alone. Ask where credentials are stored, how tenants are isolated, which logs customers can see and whether the platform supports your required hosting region. Frankly, if compliance is a hard requirement, you’ll need to engage each vendor directly — none of them are making it easy to compare on this front. That’s the real gap in this category: pricing wars are loud, but the security conversation is being held behind closed doors. ## What Do Users Say? User sentiment in the automation platform market splits between appreciation for accessible, wide-reaching integrations and frustration with cost or complexity. The feedback I’ve seen isn’t universally glowing—there’s a consistent pattern of praise for ease of use and connectivity, but repeated complaints about pricing and learning curves crop up everywhere. Across these platforms, users value connector coverage and not having to maintain authentication code themselves. Zapier wins praise for breadth, whilst embedded platforms appeal to teams that need customers to configure integrations without leaving their product. Price is the recurring thorn. Zapier's task charges rise with usage, Boomi attracts criticism for high licensing costs, and custom quotes from Paragon, Prismatic and Workato make comparisons difficult before a sales call. There is also a split in ownership. Zapier is approachable for operators, Paragon and Prismatic expect product or engineering involvement, and Workato or Boomi make more sense when an enterprise integration team is already in place. No one vendor gets away without a complaint—if you want straightforward automation with plenty of integrations, you’ll likely pay for it in either pounds or patience. The consensus is clear: flexibility and ease of use are there, but only if you’re willing to navigate the usual trade-offs in price and complexity. ## Which Tool Is Best For You? ### Best for Developers I’d pick Paragon if developers own the integration roadmap and want to keep workflow logic close to their normal code and release process. The downside is custom pricing and more engineering involvement than Zapier. ### Best for Non-Technical Users Zapier still takes the crown for non-technical users. The app directory is far larger than any rival, making it the safe bet when you just want something that works out of the box—especially for oddball apps or quick prototypes. ### Best for Enterprise Workato is the most credible option for enterprise automation-led teams that need reliable governance and security. Its recipe system is approachable, but it is built with the controls and procurement overhead larger businesses expect. ### Best for Startups If I were starting from scratch with limited resources, I would test Zapier's embedded products first. The connector breadth shortens the first build, but task-based pricing needs careful modelling before customers start using it heavily. ### Best on a Budget There is no obvious budget winner for embedded iPaaS. Zapier publishes an entry price, whilst Paragon and Prismatic require quotes that depend on customers and usage—so compare them against the engineering cost of building and maintaining integrations yourself. ### Best for Legacy and Data-Heavy Integration Boomi stands alone when legacy systems, on-premise data, or EDI are part of the equation. It’s not the flashiest platform, but its track record with larger, data-heavy deployments puts it ahead where modern SaaS-first tools struggle. ### Best for Breadth of Integrations Zapier wins for sheer breadth—if the integration exists, it’s almost certainly here. That’s usually the deciding factor when you need to connect something niche or obscure, even if you pay more as you scale. ## Updates **07 August 2026:** Initial comprehensive review of 5 ipaas tools. Tested all platforms hands-on with real-world use cases. ## Frequently asked questions **What is iPaaS and how does it work?** iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) is cloud-based software that connects different applications and automates workflows between them. It works by offering a library of connectors and visual tools so you can build automations without manual coding. For example, you might connect your CRM, email, and finance systems so data moves automatically between them. **What are the top iPaaS platforms available in 2026?** Paragon and Prismatic are purpose-built for customer-facing integrations, whilst Zapier can cover simpler embedded workflows. Workato and Boomi suit larger integration programmes with heavier governance requirements. The right fit depends on whether customers configure integrations themselves and how much control your engineers need. **How do I choose the right iPaaS tool for my business?** Start by matching the tool to your team size, technical skills, and compliance needs. Operator-tier tools like Zapier focus on ease of use and fast deployment, whilst enterprise platforms offer deeper governance, custom code, and self-hosting options. Check for connector coverage, error handling, and pricing model that align with your typical usage. **What are the key features to look for in an iPaaS solution?** Prioritise a broad connector library, strong error handling and retry mechanisms, and support for custom code steps. Look for governance controls like role-based access, audit logs, and enterprise security. If you have compliance requirements, check for certifications (SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA) and data residency options. **How does iPaaS improve business process automation?** iPaaS lets you automate repetitive tasks across your tech stack—so information flows between apps with no manual intervention. This reduces errors and frees up time for more valuable work. For example, you can set up workflows that trigger actions in multiple apps every time a new customer is added. **What are the benefits of using iPaaS for enterprise integration?** iPaaS streamlines integration between hundreds of cloud and on-premises systems, reducing the need for custom development. It enables faster deployment, easier maintenance, and centralised control over data movement and automation. Larger enterprises benefit from enhanced scalability, governance, and compliance controls. **Can iPaaS tools integrate with both cloud-based and on-premises applications?** Most iPaaS vendors support integration with both cloud and on-premises apps via pre-built connectors or agents. This hybrid connectivity is essential for companies with legacy systems or strict data residency needs. The breadth of connector coverage varies by platform, so check that your key apps are supported. **What are the pricing models for iPaaS platforms?** Pricing usually depends on usage—Zapier, for instance, charges per task, with a free tier allowing 100 tasks/month and paid plans scaling up. Other platforms bill by operation, workflow, or number of connected apps. Always review what counts as a "task" or "operation", as definitions differ and directly impact your effective cost. **How do iPaaS solutions handle data security and compliance?** Enterprise iPaaS vendors offer features like role-based access, encryption, and audit logs, plus compliance certifications such as SOC 2 or GDPR. Some platforms also provide controls for data residency and sovereignty to help meet regulatory requirements. Review each vendor's published certifications to confirm coverage for your industry. **What are the deployment options for iPaaS tools?** Most iPaaS tools are cloud-hosted by default, but some enterprise platforms offer self-hosting or private cloud deployment. This is critical if you need to keep data within specific regions or behind your own firewall. The maturity of on-premises deployment varies, so confirm with the vendor before committing. --- # 5 Product Roadmap & Product Management Software URL: https://ventureharbour.com/product-management-software/ Summary: The best product roadmap and product management software - from the best tools for developers to all-in-one systems for the whole team. Last updated: 2026-04-11 07:50:20 Software development is an ongoing process of optimisation, feature rollouts and strategic management. To maximise revenue, you have to win new customers but also hold on to existing ones by keeping them engaged and providing value as their needs become more advanced. This strategic approach is more important than ever in the age of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) where you have to manage features across multiple plans. Product roadmaps play a key role throughout the development cycle, providing a flexible blueprint for new feature ideas, updates and optimisations. In this article, we look at some of the best product roadmap and product management software tools to bring this all together. ## What are we looking at in this article? Most of this article is a series of reviews looking at each product roadmap and product management software tool. Before we start looking at specific products, though, we'll quickly define what product roadmap software and product management software are - just to clarify exactly what we're talking about in this article. Here's a breakdown of what we're looking at today: 1. **What is a product roadmap & product management software?** A quick definition to explain exactly what we're talking about in this article. 2. **Productboard review:** Product management with the best roadmap tool we've used. 3. **Craft review:** Product management for the whole team - and stakeholders. 4. **airfocus review:** The collaborative, modular product management system. 5. **Linear review:** The lightweight issue & bug tracking tool. 6. **GLIDR review:** The evidence-driven product development system. 7. **Comparison:** We compare the pricing, features and usability of each tool to help you choose the best options for your team. Once we've reviewed each product, we'll wrap things up with a comparison section where we compare the pricing of each tool, the features on offer and the usability to help you choose the right tool for your needs. ## What is product roadmap and product management software? If we define product management as a practice, that'll do most of the explaining for us in terms of product roadmap and product management software. A quick Google search finds plenty of solid descriptions of product management and [this one from Hotjar](https://www.hotjar.com/product-management-101/what-is-product-management/#what-product-management-is) is a good example: > ***"Product management is the process of strategically directing every stage of the product lifecycle—from research and development to testing and positioning—to build technically feasible products that fulfill[sic] both user needs and business objectives."*** The same page featuring the above description goes on to discuss the role of product vision and roadmaps. It explains that teams define the product vision "based on user research, business objectives, and technical viability" and, then, "create a roadmap that sets out the main objectives for the product, estimates key milestones in development, and defines Key Performance Indicators". With this information, the roles of product roadmap and product management software are easy to explain. ### What is product roadmap software? Product roadmap software makes it easy for product managers and software teams to create, edit and manage product roadmaps. This normally includes an interface that makes it easy to put roadmaps together, such as a visual drag-and-drop editor for creating and editing roadmaps throughout the product lifecycle. Product roadmap software should also include native features for setting goals, KPIs and other important targets. You want a tool that allows you to schedule key development tasks, such as feature rollouts, product updates and bug fixes - and track the progress of these tasks. ### What is product management software? Product management software is a complete system designed to power every stage of development throughout the product cycle. This should include a product roadmap tool, including everything discussed in the previous definition, as part of a comprehensive system for managing product development and optimisation. Here are some of the most common features you should expect from a product management platform: - Roadmap builder - Feature prioritisation - Feature requests - Spec sheets - Customer feedback - Feedback analysis - Software experiments - Public roadmaps - Task management That's not an exhaustive list but it gives you an idea of what we're looking for in a complete product management system. The platforms reviewed in this article provide most of the features listed above and some offer some unique features that are worth talking about. At the same time, some of them place more emphasis on certain features than others so it all comes down to choosing the right system for your needs. We aim to help you do that with this article. ## #1: [Productboard](https://www.productboard.com/): Product management with the best roadmap tool we've used **Pricing from $20/month** We've used Productboard to manage the development cycle of several products and its roadmap builder is one of the best we've used. The drag-and-drop builder makes it easy to craft roadmaps and the system supports formats for teams, team leaders, stakeholders and customers so you can create and share tailored roadmaps for every audience that needs access to them. Another important characteristic of Productboard's roadmap tool is the filtering system that allows you to group product features by release, sprint, time scale, or now/next/later buckets and view them collectively to manage progress through each stage of development. **Key features:** - **Roadmaps:** Align everyone on your teams and easily tailor roadmaps for anyone in a few clicks. - **Product engagement:** Engage your customers throughout the product lifecycle. - **Product feedback:** Easily capture every product idea, request, and piece of feedback from colleagues and customers in one place. - **Feedback analysis:** Analyse feedback from any angle with granular & high-level views to guide product decisions. - **Feature requests:** Dig deeper to understand why users are requesting certain features so you can deliver the optimal solution. - **Feature validation:** Collect feedback on your ideas from customers and see which ones resonate the most. - **Feature prioritisation:** Use data to help prioritise what’s best for your customers and business. - **Customer portals:** Create multiple portals for different audiences and decide which ideas to post on each. - **Insights:** Understand your customers by centralising all sources of feedback in one place. - **Engagement:** Share what's planned and close the feedback loop with your customers. Productboard calls itself "the customer-centric product management platform," consolidating all of your feedback into a single place. You can view feedback about existing features, feature requests and even get feedback on feature ideas from customers - as well as team members - to inform decisions and prioritise ideas. In all honesty, it would be nice if Productboard allowed you to do more with this data on its cheaper plans. If you sign up for the Enterprise plan, you get smart feature suggestions, advanced insights, trends from feedback and automated feedback insights. We feel that these features should be available on the Pro plan, even if they're restricted to a certain number of customers. As things stand, you have to sign up for the Enterprise plan to remove the manual workload from feedback analysis, which isn't a particularly advanced feature anymore. Hopefully, Productboard will find a way to give customers access to these features on lower-tier plans in the near future. ### How much does Productboard cost? Productboard runs four plans starting from $20/month per "maker," which the company defines as users who have "full access to edit, update, add, create and prioritize feature ideas, insights, and roadmaps". This may sound like a per-user pricing model but it's not, in practice. On every plan, you can have unlimited contributors and viewers. As the Productboard pricing page describes, contributors "can share ideas, requests, and customer feedback and access feature data and roadmaps, but cannot make updates". Meanwhile, viewers can access roadmaps and the portal (if shared with them) on a view-only basis. So, it really comes down to how many "makers" you have on your team.  If you only need 1-3 people to have admin access, Productboard's Essentials and Pro plans are very competitively priced. That being said, the price jump from $20/month to $60/month triples your software fees and the distance between the two plans grows if you have more than a few makers on your account. Productboard justifies the price tag of its Pro plan with some serious feature upgrades, though. You get unlimited customer feedback capture, advanced feature filtering and prioritisation scores, custom fields, access to the Customer Feedback Portal and plenty more. It's a serious upgrade but, again, we feel there's space for an intermediary plan between the Essentials and Pro offerings with limitations on customer feedback, custom fields, etc. This is characteristic of the upgrade path with Productboard. The jump (both in features and pricing) between the Pro and Scale and the Scale and Enterprise plans are steep. As a result, each upgrade is a real commitment - one that rewards you with serious feature upgrades but forces you to really consider your needs. ### Productboard pros & cons **Productboard pros:** - **Product roadmaps:** Productboard makes it easy to create and manage feedback-driven roadmaps. - **Feature prioritisation:** Feature insights help you determine the most important features for your customers. - **Combined feedback:** You can collect feedback and compile feedback from team members and customers in one place. **Productboard cons:** - **Lack of project management:** Productboard is heavy on roadmapping features but light on project management. - **Feedback analysis:** The best feedback insights features are only available on the Enterprise plan. - **Upgrade path:** A reshuffle of features and limitations would create an easier upgrade path with smaller jumps. ### Productboard verdict Productboard is an excellent product management system and it's still our favourite roadmapping tool. The platform provides tools for the whole product cycle, helping you to prioritise the most important features for your customers and your bottom line. Compared to some of the other tools we're looking at today, Productboard is light on task management features but integrations with Jira, Trello and plenty of other tools fill any gaps - the kind of tools most software teams are already using. Aside from that, the only minor issue we've found with Productboard is the upgrade path, which we're convinced could be eased up with a reshuffle of features across plans. Let's give the company the benefit of the doubt and assume its upgrade model is the result of extensive research. But, from the customer's perspective, the jumps between plans are bigger than they could be, especially if you have a lot of team members who need admin accounts. ## #2: [Craft](https://craft.io/): Product management for the whole team - plus stakeholders **Pricing from $39/month** Craft understands that product development is a team effort and its system is designed to help the whole team achieve more together. With product management software, systems are normally built with team managers in mind (for obvious reasons) but Craft wants to provide a platform that meets the needs of everyone - even company stakeholders. The platform's drag-and-drop roadmaps builder gives you complete flexibility to create, edit and manage roadmaps on the fly. The interface is a bit much to take in when you first get started - simply because of how much functionality there is - but an extensive library of templates and elements helps you put complex roadmaps together faster. In the Strategic Inputs dashboard, you can create a central repository for all product information, ideas and feedback - from team members and customers. You can specify your objectives and key results (OKRs), customer personas, key selling points and every other strategic element of product development to align your actions with the broader go-to-market strategy.  **Key features:** - **Product roadmaps:** Create tailored roadmaps that seamlessly connect strategy to features. - **Roadmap views:** Connect strategy to execution with views that allow you to visualise how objectives and key results/KPIs relate to specific features. - **Status monitoring:** Get an instant snapshot of progress status, feature completion, and how features connect to OKRs. - **Prioritisation engine:** Build your own automated prioritisation engine for features, updates, bug fixes and other improvements. - **Strategic input:** Create a central repository of all product information and seamlessly connect each element to your ideation and planning processes. - **Spec editor:** Create detailed product specs that reflect what you’re building, using best-practice templates. - **Tailored stakeholder views:** Customise and share tailored views with stakeholders to get buy-in, communicate updates, and bring clarity to your product decisions. - **Capacity planning:** Manage resource availability, prioritise your most important items and assign tasks without overloading your team. - **Feedback portal:** Capture, organise and connect feedback to epics/features to prioritise what matters most for your customers. Craft's intelligent prioritisation engine allows you to define your own prioritisation model with unlimited custom fields - so you can score feature ideas on your terms. Alternatively, you can use the built-in WSJF, RICE and MoSCoW models to prioritise features for you - or test these frameworks against your own models for comparison. One of Craft's most innovative features is its Capacity Planning tool, which uses real-time tracking of your roadmap to estimate how long future tasks will take and which resources they require - all so it can predict the weight of future tasks for you. With this predictive data, the tool helps you manage workloads by showing you how much time and resources each task will take, allowing you to manage workloads and assign tasks without laying too much on your team at any one time or stretching resources too far. With your product management strategy in full swing, you can also create custom views for stakeholders to show them all of the information they need and nothing they don't. These tailored views will help you get buy-in for key decisions and secure the funding you need to demonstrate the impact of your updates. ### How much does Craft cost? Craft runs three core plans, starting from $39/month per user for the Essential plan and $89/month per user for the Pro plan. Unlike Productboard, this is a true per-user pricing model on the Essential plan, although the Pro and Enterprise plans both allow you to have unlimited contributors and viewers. Craft describes contributors as "any team members who can view and/or comment on any unit built in craft.io (user story/epic/feature/roadmap)". That's a little more restrictive than Productboard's definition of contributors and you can't have any contributors at all on the Essential plan.  With the Essential plan, you also miss out on the bulk of Craft's feedback and ideas features, including the Feedback Portal. You still get access to the Strategic Inputs dashboard but you're unable to integrate with feedback or track and follow ideas. Aside from that, you still get most of the platform's planning and prioritisation features on the Essential plan, including feature prioritisation, story mapping, roadmapping and the drag-and-drop editor. So it's primarily the feedback features you're missing out on with the Essential plan and the ability to have contributors on the system. Upgrading to the Pro plan will get you these and the Enterprise plan provides advanced security and customer support. ### Craft pros & cons **Craft pros:** - **Product management:** Craft is an excellent all-in-one product management system, covering the whole product cycle. - **Roadmap views:** Advanced roadmap views allow you to manage product development by OKRs, KPIs, features and more. - **Resource management:** The Capacity Planning feature helps you maximise the output of your team without overworking them or double booking resources. **Craft cons:** - **Convoluted UI:** The overall architecture of the software produces crowded interfaces with nested menus and too many options within the view at any one time. - **Learning curve:** It will take time for team members to get used to the system and some of its tools, particularly the Specs Editor. ### Craft verdict Craft makes a real effort to provide a complete product management tool for everyone involved in development. With an extensive combination of planning, strategic and collaboration features, the platform makes a strong case for being the control centre of product development, helped by innovative tools, such as intelligent resource management. With all the functionality built into Craft, the main drawback is the learning curve for new users. It's going to take some time to get used to this system and the experience isn't helped by the overall architecture, navigation and UI design of the product itself - for example, all of those nested menus you have to work through to find features/tools and learn where everything is. ## #3: [airfocus](https://airfocus.com/): The collaborative, modular product management system **Pricing from $15/month** If you're looking for a product management system that puts the essential features into a simpler, easier-to-use package, then airfocus could be the system for you. The secret to airfocus' simplicity is its modular design that allows you to piece together the tools you need and forget about the ones you don't. This keeps the system light and free of any features you don't need while providing the flexibility to customise workspaces so they make sense to your team. The same value of simplicity is felt in the platform's features, too, starting with the roadmap builder. It's not as capable as Craft's builder in terms of options, settings and tracking but it's a faster and easier tool to use, as a result. Likewise, when it comes to editing roadmaps, you have fewer options to change (eg: task duration) but it's faster to make changes overall. The downside to this is that airfocus isn't as capable on the workload and task management front as Craft but this is quite common for product management tools. Native integrations with Jira, Trello, Asana and other tools can make up for this.  **Key features:** - **Roadmaps:** Build roadmaps in minutes with airfocus' drag-and-drop roadmap builder. - **Modular workspaces:** Organise your team, product, or unit in workspaces - use views, fields, apps, integrations and permissions to define a home that makes sense for you. - **Custom views:** Create the perfect views that are right for you, whether it is on a table, board, chart, or timeline. - **Prioritisation**: Create a scoring framework that works for your team and allows you to frame your decision-making process into a conversation everyone can join. - Priority Poker: An interactive, collaborative, and inclusive way to prioritise as a group and make decisions in the most time-efficient manner. - **Release timelines:** See how your strategy is developing with a timeline view and move or edit items with the drag-and-drop interface. - **Customer feedback:** Centralise feedback from email, chat, support, and other channels in one organised inbox and turn it into helpful insights. - **Feedback insights:** Highlight and create insights from feedback - link them to ideas and opportunities to inform your discovery while keeping customers at the centre of your product. To prioritise features, you can select from several prioritisation formula templates and customise them to suit your needs - you can find out more information on [this documentation page](https://help.airfocus.com/en/articles/4366583-which-prioritization-method-should-i-choose), if you're interested. Alternatively, you can create your own custom formula from scratch in a process that's essentially a (very) simplified version of creating spreadsheet formulas. Once you've settled on a prioritisation model, you can easily view tasks and feature ideas in key categories: quick wins, strategic, low-value items, items to cut, etc. To boost collaborative ideation, airfocus has come up with a novel feature called Priority Poker. I say novel because it sounds like a gimmick and it's certainly unique but it works surprisingly well as a collaborative tool for assessing items. Basically, you create a session (or game) and invite everyone to provide input on tasks, feature ideas and other items. For example, you can call in software developers to provide input on how long it would take to implement a new feature, sales reps to confirm how much demand exists for the feature and stakeholders to judge its financial potential. You can control the criteria players are able to evaluate (eg: software implications for developers, financial ones for stakeholders, etc.) to ensure feedback is always relevant. With Priority Poker, you can quickly gain informed feedback from internal experts on the value, challenges and time frame of product development actions - not such a novel feature, after all. ### How much does airfocus cost? airfocus runs four plans starting from $15/month per editor for the Essential plan with five contributors included (contributors can read and comment on workspaces). You're limited to one workspace on the Essential plan but you can create unlimited items and share roadmaps and views with unlimited viewers.  Upgrading to the Advanced plan will cost you $49/month per editor but cover you for unlimited contributors and workspaces. You also get airfocus' advanced prioritisation tools with the exception of Priority Poker, which is only available on Pro and Enterprise plans. The Pro plan costs $89/month per editor and also allows you to set goals with OKRs and opens the best of airfocus' collaboration features. You can also create unlimited branded portals on the pro plan and create portfolio views. ### airfocus pros & cons **airfocus pros:** - **Modularity:** The modular architecture of airfocus makes almost everything customisable. - **Usability:** Strong UX design is reinforced with heaps of customisability freedom, creating a clean but capable product management system. - **Priority Poker:** Although the name sounds a bit gimmicky, Priority Poker allows you to create a customised, collaborative system for prioritising ideas and making data-driven decisions. **airfocus cons:** - **Timeline view:** This is a useful tool but setting up a lot of tasks is more cumbersome than it could be - perhaps this will improve with further development. - **Collaboration:** Some standard collaboration features are missing - eg: tagging, comment notifications, etc. ### airfocus verdict If simplicity is a priority but you still want some of the advanced features of modern product management tools (prioritisation models, customer feedback, etc.), then airfocus could strike the right balance for you. It doesn't offer the same depth of features as Productboard or Craft but it delivers a comparable system in a faster, easier-to-use package. The downside of simplicity is fewer controls and you'll notice this in the lack of basic collaboration features like tagging and comment notifications or the manual work involved in creating a lot of tasks at once in the timeline view. In the case of airfocus, less may be more for some teams, while simply not enough for others. ## #4: [Linear](https://linear.app/): The lightweight issue & bug tracking tool **Free plan available; pricing from $8/month** Linear is unlike any of the other tools that we're looking at in this article. All of the other products offer their take on an all-in-one product development but Linear only tries to do one thing and do it very well: issue tracking. That may sound uninspiring compared to the grand offerings from Productboard and the other tools featured in this article but let's not get ahead of ourselves. As [Julien Danjou wrote for Mergify](https://blog.mergify.com/why-we-switched-from-notion-to-linear/) back in 2020, issue tracking is one aspect of product development where you can't accept performance issues. You need a tool that works every time, all the time. And the problem with all-in-one solutions - like Notion and Jira, which he discusses in this article - is they tend to suffer from lag, slowdowns and other issues. The same is true of the other tools we review in this article: they all suffer from lag to varying degrees because of how much code is running in the browser at any one time. > ***"Issue trackers have to be as frictionless as possible to maximize their effectiveness. Slow speed, clumsy interface, or complicated workflow frustrate users, and they then tend to dismiss their usage. As of today, Linear seems to have a head start on this particular use case because of its speed and GitHub integration."*** > > *Julien Danjou, [Why we switched from Notion to Linear](https://blog.mergify.com/why-we-switched-from-notion-to-linear/); [Mergify](https://mergify.com/)* Linear provides a lightning-fast issue tracking system built by software engineers for software engineers - and it shows from the very first session.  **Key features:** - **Roadmap:** Build your roadmap, set milestones and view all projects in one view. - **Project backlog:** An overview of your project ideas, along with the tools you need to plan and prioritise your upcoming work. - **Bug tracking:** Automatically track bugs and issues with your software. - **Velocity & estimates:** Track your team’s workload and velocity throughout the development cycle. - **Shortcuts:** Linear is optimised for efficiency with extensive keyboard shortcuts. - **Command line:** Complete any action within seconds using the command line feature. - **Offline mode:** Access and make changes with or without internet access. Linear's primary functionality is issue and bug tracking but the product has evolved over the years into a decent product development tool. You don't get intelligent feature prioritisation or task management but it does come with a sleek roadmapping tool for visually planning projects with two view options: timeline and list. Team members can collaborate on projects with comments that support full markdown and embedded code blocks, images, videos and other files. Team leaders can create new projects, share roadmaps with multiple teams, create individual and team workflows and track team velocity to view progress in real-time. Linear can use this data to plot project graphs showing scope, velocity and progress over time and even estimate performance on future projects. At its heart, though, Linear is an ultra-fast issue tracking system that developers will love using. With real-time data sync, an abundance of keyboard shortcuts, a built-in command line and Linear's lightweight, high-performance architecture, this is the fastest tool of its kind. ### How much does Linear cost? Linear runs a free plan that covers you for unlimited users with a limit of 10 MB file uploads, 150 MB worth of uploads per month and 250 issues. Paid plans start at $8/month per user for the Standard plan, which gives you unlimited file uploads and issues, private teams, advanced history and admin tools - as well as priority support.  The Plus plan costs $12/month per user and brings advanced authentication tools, audit logs and expanded SSO. ### Linear pros & cons **Linear pros:** - **Built for developers:** Linear is built by software developers for software developers. - **Usability:** Lightweight design, endless shortcuts and intuitive interfaces. - **Speed:** Linear is built for speed and it only gets faster as you master the tool. **Linear cons:** - **Limited features:** Linear is excellent at what it does but it's light on features compared to the other tools in this article. ### Linear verdict If you're looking for an ultra-fast issue tracking system that enables your team to discover, track and solve problems faster, Linear is the tool you want. You're not getting an all-in-one product development system with Linear but you are getting a tool that's engineered to do one thing flawlessly and a few other things really well. ## #5: [GLIDR](https://www.glidr.io/): The evidence-driven product development system **Pricing from $20/month** GLIDR is an evidence-driven product management system that brings all of your product knowledge, research and ideas into a single platform - so you can make informed decisions. The platform is built across two canvases: the Business Canvas and the Product Canvas, which allow you to distinguish between ideas for the company and individual products. You can build your product roadmaps within the Product Canvas with flexible view options, including a timeline, Kanban and group filters for viewing items by status, theme and other criteria. Across the business and product canvases, the platform centres around product management across three key dashboards: Ideas, Evidence and Experiments. Aside from adding ideas at the business or product level, you can also collect and manage evidence and experiments independently for business goals and product objectives.  **Key features:** - **Product roadmaps:** Build data-driven product roadmaps and customise development workflows. - **Feature prioritisation:** Prioritise features confidently with connections between ideas, evidence, and experiments. - **Product specs:** Capture critical features, user stories, epics, or strategies as product ideas. Then connect supporting evidence, and build product specs. - **Customer feedback:** Use evidence of all kinds to support the ideas with promise and bypass the ones without. - **Software experiments:** Test customer behaviour and analyse results with targeted experiments. - **Linked evidence:** Gather knowledge from Intercom, Chrome, interviews, secondary research and experiments. - **Knowledge database:** Keep all of your insights in one searchable location, and use it to spot patterns you might have otherwise missed. - **Public roadmap & portal:** Give your users visibility into your roadmap and capture new ideas or feedback on existing ones. From the Evidence dashboard, you can collect data from customers using the native [Intercom](/recommends/intercom/) integration to pull in feedback, use GLIDR's Chrome extension to capture text from anywhere on the web (product reviews, social posts, etc.) or manually collect data from GLIDR through interviews, surveys, A/B tests and more. This means you'll need to be signed up to [Intercom](/recommends/intercom/) as a chatbot/customer service tool to get the best out of GLIDR. We actually use Intercom at Venture Harbour as the first step in our online customer support so we can vouch for the tool and the GLIDR integration works seamlessly. With your evidence compiled in GLIDR, you can validate your product ideas by analysing feedback and running targeted experiments to see where your customers' priorities align with yours. You can also create a publicly-visible product roadmap for customers to see which direction you're heading in and collect further feedback and ideas to confirm you're taking the right steps. ### How much does GLIDR cost? GLIDR runs four plans, starting from $20/month per user for the Starter plan, which covers you for one project, 5 GB of storage per user and most of the standard features: Business Canvas, Product Canvas, ideas, evidence, experiments, etc. The big feature missing on this plan is feature prioritisation scoring, but GLIDR isn't the only provider to limit this to higher-tier plans, and the Public Portal. All in all, you're getting a lot of product management features for $20/month per user, especially for smaller teams.  The Starter plan costs $50/month per user and this covers you for five projects, increases the storage limit to 20 GB per user and opens up both the feature prioritisation tool and the Public portal. You also get full access to GLIDR's integration options, which include Slack, Trello, Jira, [Intercom](/recommends/intercom/), Zapier and Figma. Upgrading to the Business plan will cost you $100/month per user and cover 15 projects as well as 200 GB of storage for each user. You also get priority support and a few extra features, including access logs and the ability to limit project access. The Enterprise plan opens up all of GLIDR's remaining features and gives you "premium" customer support, starting with a dedicated account manager and a customised onboarding programme. ### GLIDR pros & cons **GLIDR pros:** - **Data-based decisions:** GLIDR puts feedback, research and validation at the centre of your data-driven product development strategy. - **Evidence:** Extensive feedback, research and experiment features allow you to collect evidence across the entire product cycle. - **Public Portal:** This feature allows anyone to check the public roadmap, request features and leave feedback. **GLIDR cons:** - **Pricey:** GLIDR is the most expensive tool we're looking at today when you compare fees vs features. - **Restricted features:** Some features reserved for the enterprise plan feel like they should be accessible on lower tiers - eg: audit logs. ### GLIDR verdict GLIDR is an impressive product management system for agile development teams. It doesn't offer anything revolutionary in terms of features but the system's own product design makes it easy to manage business, project and product goals independently while guiding every decision with evidence, research and feedback. You get access to all of the core features on the Starter plan, too, which means you're not forced to sign up for a more expensive plan to get all of the essentials. Yes, feature prioritisation and the Public Portal are obvious omissions on the Starter plan but they're reasonable sacrifices given the price tag and other features made available. ## What's the best product roadmap & product management system? Now that we've reviewed our favourite product management systems, we like to end these articles with a comparison section so you can see how our recommendations stack up against each other. Hopefully, this will give you a better idea of what you're getting from each platform and which of them are most suitable for your needs. Whenever we test and compare software tools, we always pay attention to the following three qualities: 1. **Pricing** 2. **Features** 3. **Usability** These factors will be the basis of this comparison section and we've put together a couple of tables for pricing and features so you can easily see how the systems compare against each other. That leaves usability, which is a more subjective quality, so we'll simply pick our top products from today's recommendations and explain why we think they perform so well in terms of usability. ### The best for pricing First, let's take a look at the pricing of each platform to provide an overall summary of cost and affordability. Obviously, there's not much point in listing every plan, price and fee for each product because the information overload negates the point of a quick comparison - plus, you can get all of that information by comparing the pricing pages of each product. Instead, we show which products offer a free plan, list the starting price for the cheapest priced plan available and, then, the starting price for the most expensive plan with pricing information listed on the respective company website - so the most expensive monthly fee will be higher, normally on an enterprise plan with no pricing information provided. | Tool | Free plan? | Starting price | Top plan | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Productboard | - | $20/mo | $60/mo\* | | Craft | - | $39/mo | $89/mo | | airfocus | - | $15/mo | $89/mo | | Linear | Yes | $8/mo | $12/mo | | GLIDR | - | $20/mo | $100/mo | As you can see, Linear is the only product we've looked at today that offers a free plan so this instantly stands out if you're on a shoestring budget. It's also the most affordable tool when you look at the pricing across plans but it's the most limited system in many ways, too. Also, keep in mind that Productboard offers *two* plans with no pricing information available: the Scale and Enterprise plans. So, while the "top plan" pricing information in the table above lists the starting price for each company's second-most expensive plan (enterprise pricing isn't listed), Productboard's plans can cost significantly more than $60/month. All things considered, Productboard, airfocus and GLIDR all offer affordable systems at the cheaper end with impressive feature sets on their cheapest plans. It gets more difficult to separate the products as you upgrade, though. Productboard's price increases are quite steep but it delivers the most advanced features as you upgrade while Craft, airfocus and GLIDR all take a different approach to separating features across similarly priced plans. ### The best for features Pricing isn't everything when it comes to choosing software, especially when you're selecting a comprehensive system to manage something as involved as product development. In the last section, you may have noticed the pricing strategy of each company in this article is fairly similar and this pattern is consistent when you look at the feature offerings across plans. In the table below we show which platforms offer the following five key features: 1. Product roadmaps 2. Feature prioritisation scoring 3. Customer feedback 4. Issue tracking 5. Public portal We mark features with an HTML tick icon (✔) where they're provided on the cheapest plan and while features marked with a tick and an asterisk (✔\*) are available through upgrades or signing up to a more expensive plan. | Tool | Product roadmaps | Feature scoring | Feedback | Issue tracking | Public portal | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Productboard | ✔ | ✔\* | ✔\* | - | ✔\* | | Craft | ✔ | ✔ | ✔\* | - | ✔\* | | airfocus | ✔ | ✔\* | ✔\* | - | ✔\* | | Linear | ✔ | - | - | ✔ | - | | GLIDR | ✔ | ✔\* | ✔ | - | ✔\* | All of the systems we've looked at today are capable product roadmap tools and you don't need to worry about upgrades or signing up to a more expensive plan for this particular feature. If this is the main feature you're looking for, Linear's free plan is an excellent choice and it's the best software issue tracking system we've used. In fact, we often use Productboard and Linear alongside each other to get the best out of both systems. Feature prioritisation is always an important feature of product management systems and Craft is the only platform that offers this feature on its cheapest plan. The only problem is, this is the most expensive starter plan we've looked at today - and by quite a distance. Something you can't see from the table above is that Productboard's continues to get more advanced as you upgrade and the other systems start to fall behind by the time you upgrade to its Scale plan and there are still plenty of feature upgrades on the Enterprise plan. Meanwhile, the other providers mainly add advanced security and customer service to their enterprise plans with the odd additional feature here and there. So, if you're looking for the best product management system in terms of features, then Productboard is the easy choice, as long as you're happy to sign up or upgrade to the Scale plan. ### The best for usability Usability is always a challenge in articles like this because everyone has different expectations from software tools and we can only describe our own experiences. The truth is, you have to try systems out for yourself to get a feel for what they're like to use on a daily basis. To be as objective as we possibly can on usability, we assess the following characteristics every time we test a new software product: 1. **Smooth operation:** The software runs smoothly without any lags or slowdowns as you interact with elements. 2. **Navigation:** Elements, tools, settings and everything else you interact with are easy to find. 3. **Minimal clicks:** Simple actions require no more than 1-3 clicks to complete and more complex actions (eg: settings changes) within a reasonable number of clicks. 4. **Action completions:** The quantity of meaningful actions you complete vs time spent interacting directly with the software. Based on these factors, two of the tools recommended in this article stand out to us as the best options for usability: Linear and airfocus. Productboard was close to making the cut and giving us a top three to discuss but a few usability niggles with navigation and the steep learning curve (this second issue is mainly down to the volume of features) means we're only talking about two tools in this section. #### #1: Linear Let's be honest, Linear is the easy winner when it comes to usability and the only reason we really need to talk about other options is because its feature set is so different from the other options we've discussed today. If you're a developer or a UX nerd, you're going to love using Linear; it's just one of those tools where every action feels optimised for convenience and comfort.  I guess I'm one of those UX nerds myself because using Linear for those first couple of weeks reminded me of trying out Sublime Text for the first time, back when text editors were lifeless experiences of endless repetition and copying and pasting. Back then it felt like, finally, developers had built a text editor that was designed and optimised for the job developers have to do on a daily basis - and it's the same with Linear. Linear combines simple, clean interfaces with logical navigation and lightning-fast operation and all of the keyboard shortcuts you could ever need. You'll be learning new shortcuts every day for months to come and each one of them helps you get the job done faster. The only question is whether your fingers can keep up with the pace Linear is capable of working at. #### #2: airfocus While Linear is a developer's tool in every way, airfocus is designed for everyone involved in product management, not only the developers - so we're talking about very different usability priorities here. In this sense, airfocus looks and feels like many other web apps designed for team productivity but every feature is optimised for speed and control. Drag-and-drop editors make it easy to build and edit product roadmaps, sliders help you adjust prioritisation scores without writing any code and intuitive collaboration brings your team members together.  While using airfocus, you quickly realise how much effort the company has put into optimising the system to help you perform tasks with minimal effort. You rarely have to waste clicks or dive through menus to complete actions, which is a common problem with team productivity tools. The modular design of the system enhances its usability even further by allowing you to pick and choose which features and tools you want on your system and exclude whatever you don't need. There's still a learning curve but the modular infrastructure means you won't have anything unnecessary getting in your way once you're familiar with the system. ## Which is the best product management system for your needs? In this article, we've looked at five of the best product management systems for a variety of needs. Productboard wins our top recommendation for its powerful features and competitive pricing but any of the tools we've looked at today could be the right system for you - it all comes down to what your priorities are. If you didn't find what you were looking for in this article and you're interested in more software recommendations, take a look at these articles: - [5 Best Project Management Software for Marketers](/project-management-software-marketing-teams/) - [5 Best Marketing Management Software & Tools](/marketing-management-software/) - [5 Best Campaign Management Software & Tools](/campaign-management-software/) --- # 5 Top Tools To Systemise Your Sales & Marketing URL: https://ventureharbour.com/5-top-tools-to-systemise-your-sales-marketing/ Summary: 5 top tools — including ActiveCampaign and Leadformly — to systemise and automate your sales and marketing workflows so you can scale without more staff. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:20:09 In many ways, marketing automation is the only trend that matters in the industry this year. After years of talking about big data, personalisation and cross-channel marketing, automation is finally making all of these things possible and the best part is it makes them accessible to businesses of all sizes. Thanks to automation, big data doesn't require the programming experts or data scientists it once did and even the smallest brands can now turn large amounts data into more effective business decisions. If you're not already automating as much of your sales and marketing workflows as possible, you're probably not maximising results. And, with this in mind, here are five top tools that to systemise your sales and marketing strategies. ## #1: [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) is a leading email marketing and automation platform that streamlines your sales and lead nurturing processes. Here's a quick look at some of the features on offer to give you an idea of what ActiveCampaign can do: ### Email marketing - Email templates - Drag-and-drop builder - Email segmentation - Subscription forms - Dynamic content - Split testing ### Marketing automation - Site and Event Tracking - Lead & Contact Scoring - Automation Goals - Attribution - SMS Marketing - Site Messaging - Split Action ### Sales and CRM - Sales Automation - Contact Management - Contact and Lead Scoring - Gmail Extension ### How ApproveMe generates 1,600% more profit by using ActiveCampaign Features are one thing but actually using them to transform your marketing results is something else entirely - so let's look at how [ApproveMe.com](https://www.approveme.com/) uses ActiveCampaign to boost its profits by 1,600%. That may sound like a made-up number but it comes from ApproveMe itself and you can read the company's case study on [the ActiveCampaign website](https://www.activecampaign.com/usages/how-approveme-uses-activecampaign-to-generate-1600-more-profit/). Before launching, ApproveMe built and optimised a website asking people to sign up and test a pre-release version of its product. This gave the company a chance to tests and improve its product before fully releasing it but it also helped build the company's first email list which it could use to convert testers into buyers. *Source: [ActiveCampaign](https://www.activecampaign.com/usages/how-approveme-uses-activecampaign-to-generate-1600-more-profit/)* Using ActiveCampaign, ApproveMe was able to build a list of more than 1,000 testers and potential customers before it had even launched (not to mention getting invaluable feedback on how to improve its product). As soon as someone signs up to test the demo, ApproveMe's automated workflow begins and guides users through the sales process, ultimately asking them to buy in to the product for real. Using ActiveCampaign's site tracking feature, ApproveMe can see what users are getting up to on its website and send custom messages based on their actions. Each user action identified by ApproveMe triggers one of four different email responses, calling on them to take the next step. All of this happens in the background without ApproveMe's marketing or sales teams doing anything. For example, when ActiveCampaign detects that a contact has visited ApproveMe's website twice within a short time frame, it sends out a message asking them if they have any questions about the product. Instead of starting out with zero leads on launch day, ApproveMe was proactive in building an audience with purchase potential before its product even went live. With ActiveCampaign powering its marketing smarts, the company says it was able to boost profits by 1,600% and gain invaluable customer insights at the same time. ## #2: [HubSpot](https://www.hubspot.com/) [HubSpot](https://www.hubspot.com/) is one of the leading names in marketing and sales automation. It offers three separates software packages: a free CRM as well as its Marketing Hub and Sales Hub. You can use each product independently or combine them to create a full suite of marketing, sales and CRM tools. ### How I-Vitae increased leads by 43x in four months with HubSpot [I-Vitae](https://www.i-vitae.co/en/) provides diagnostic testing for women with unexplained infertility, hoping to find out potential causes and give them a chance to conceive naturally. When the company changed its business model from B2B to B2C, it needed to reach an entirely different target audience quickly and it turned to HubSpot to help make it happen. In four months, I-Vitae was able to increase leads by 43x, email open rates to 62% and boost blog engagement by 300%. More importantly, 9% of all visitors to I-Vitae's website now convert into fully qualified leads. You can read the full case study over [at HubSpot](https://www.hubspot.com/customers/i-vitae) but let's summarise how the Italian startup pulled it off. First, the company put its entire site on the [HubSpot CMS](https://www.hubspot.com/products/marketing/content-optimization-system) and set up a complete conversion funnel for its new B2C target audience. Next, it ran A/B tests on the call to action on its homepage and different sales funnels to choose the most effective conversion process for its customers. > ***“We use Smart Calls-to-Action and Smart Forms to customise the user experience throughout the site, and we A/B test to see what is working best. We then organise prospects into Smart Lists and nurture them through the marketing pipeline with Workflows.”** - Alessandro Scozzesi, Co-Founder and CEO of I-Vitae* With HubSpot CRM, I-Vitae builds a contact profile for each lead, allowing its sales team to reach out via Sales Hub with targeted messages and interactions, encouraging prospects to take the next step along the sales funnel. ## #3: [Leadformly](https://leadformly.com/) & [Bidsketch](https://www.bidsketch.com/) [Leadformly](https://leadformly.com/) is a multi-step form design and optimisation tool that helps you increase leads and conversion rates on your website. Meanwhile, [Bidsketch](https://www.bidsketch.com/) allows you to automate proposals and bids for new prospective clients. Both of these are great platforms in their own right but they become an automation powertool when you implement them both together. [](/uploads/migrated/9.-workflow-retina.png) [*Bidsketch*](https://www.bidsketch.com/) As we mentioned in a recent article looking at [how to automate quotes and proposals](/sales-automation-tools-to-skyrocket-your-sales/), you can use webhooks to sync your Leadformly leads with Bidsketch and send out customised proposals to different types of customer, based on how they interact with your forms. Using Leadformly's conditional logic features, you can [segment leads](/segment-traffic-buckets-increase-leads-conversions/) *while* they're completing your form and build an accurate picture of what they need from you. From here you can create targeted proposals for each type of lead your forms are going to generate and Bidsketch will automatically send them out to the relevant lead without you needing to do anything. This saves you manually drafting proposals for every lead, segmenting your contact lists from scratch and wasting time with leads that don't materialise. You can also integrate this system with CMR platforms like Salesforce and Infusionsoft to automate follow-up interactions and the rest of your lead nurturing strategy. ## #4: [Infusionsoft](/recommends/infusionsoft/) [Infusionsoft](https://www.infusionsoft.com/) is a complete sales and marketing automation system for businesses of all size. Platforms like this tend to be associated with digital and online brands but Infusionsoft has helped thousands of "offline" businesses grow in an age where every company need to take control of their digital presence. When Cleancorp first started out in Australia in 1995, digital marketing as we know barely even existed but the company adapted and capitalised on the web revolution. It wasn't easy, though. In fact, after initial success, Cleancorp ran into problems with the sales and admin side of the business. In terms of the service it was providing, there were no complaints but scaling the business in a manageable way was proving incredibly difficult. ### How Cleancorp boosted revenue by 275% with Infusionsoft In 2007, Cleancorp turned to Infusionsoft and within 18 months the company had expanded nationally. Dramatic growth boosted revenue by 275% and increased the company's customer lifetime value by 145% turning Cleancrop into a multimillion-dollar brand. So how did it do this? > ***Today, Cleancorp uses Infusionsoft to implement a personalized, automated sales and marketing strategy. They segment prospects by the type of cleaning they want and number of services needed per week, and create highly targeted, location-specific messaging to speak to their needs.*** *-* *[Infusionsoft](https://www.infusionsoft.com/success-stories/cleancorp-cleaning-service)* With Infusionsoft, Cleancorp has been able to create a personal experience that starts online and works its way through to the offline experience of enjoying its services. Customers are greeted with personalised greeting emails introducing them to the leaning professional who will serve their business and the company's support team has all the info they need to hand when a customer calls with a query. Founders Lisa and Hamish Macqueen say Infusionsoft has reduced their working week from 50 hours to 32 hours while boosting their revenue by275% at the same time. ## #5: [Blueshift](https://blueshift.com/) [Blueshift](https://blueshift.com/) is a cross-channel marketing platform that uses artificial intelligence to help you understand leads more effectively and convert the into customers. Blueshift builds consumer journeys across each of your marketing channels, based on data collected from your existing leads and customers, allowing you to apply these insights to new leads. It also automates audience segmentation based on their real-time behaviour, allowing you to send tailored messages to people as their position along the consumer journey changes via email, push notifications and SMS. ### How Vouchercloud increase revenue by 81% in 6 months with Blueshift Vouchercloud is the UK's biggest money-saving app and the company was able to boost its revenue by another 81% within six months of using Blueshift. Vouchercloud used Blueshift to deliver more than 1 billion personalised messages, triggered by user behaviour across multiple channels. The online brand focused its efforts on five key areas: 1. **Segment and target customers:**Segmenting and targeting users based on user actions - e.g.: favouriting a retailer or redeeming an app offer at a specific location. 2. **Personalisation:** Personalising messages based on user behaviour to address their needs as they change. 3. **Unify data from multiple platforms:**Create single user profiles as users move between the Vouchercloud website, mobile app and other channels. 4. **Manage leads in one place:** Blueshift allows Voucherclouds small marketing team to manage all leads from a single platform. 5. **Manage large campaigns:** Events like Black Friday and Christmas can be demanding but Blueshift makes it possible for Vouchercloud's team to manage campaigns for the biggest calendar events. This strategy boosted open rates for Vouchercloud's messages to 40% - more than 3x the previous rate for batch communications and boosted revenue by 81% in six months. All of which happened with a relatively simple automation strategy that works in the background while Vouchercloud concentrates on building a bigger brand. ### Go forth and automate The biggest differentiator between brands over the next few years is going to be their ability to automate as many tasks as possible to free up resources for those that can't be handled by algorithms. As for the losers, these will be the companies, marketing divisions and sales teams that are slow to adopt automation and waste time on inefficient workflows. Make sure you're not the latter. --- # 5 Ways to Get More Product Demos For Your B2B Or Enterprise Software Service URL: https://ventureharbour.com/5-ways-get-product-demos-b2b-enterprise-software-service/ Summary: Boost B2B demo requests with proven lead generation strategies. See real results from our financial software case study. Compare top demo solutions. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:21:34 Last year, I spent a lot of time experimenting with and implementing [lead generation strategies](/b2b-lead-generation-strategies/) for a B2B financial software company. It had its challenges, but I learned some invaluable techniques on how to drive more product demos. Below are five tips that I found useful, and that I hope will enable you to generate more leads for your software service. ## #1 Reduce time from visit-to-demo When someone decides your software might be right for them, they want to see it - now. Instead of playing email ping pong to schedule a demo, only to find that timezones and busy schedules mean that the demo has to be scheduled two weeks from now, use automation to reduce your ‘time to demo’. GoCardless ran [an A/B test](https://gocardless.com/blog/one-word-abtest/) where they replaced ‘request a demo’ with ‘watch a demo now’. Instead of taking leads to a page where they scheduled a demo, GoCardless tested taking leads to a 10-minute video demo of the software. Now, I get that this is a ballsy experiment. A pre-recorded demo makes it harder to address specific objections and it may not feel as tailored. However, the data speaks for itself. For GoCardless, the pre-recorded demo resulted in a 114% improvement in their conversion rate. One piece of advice I would add is that you should always start off by doing manual demos. That way you will understand the common objections your leads have and will be better prepared to put a good pre-recorded demo together. Of course, if your clients are Fortune 500 companies you may need to alter this approach, perhaps by allowing them to schedule a ‘one-to-one call’ after they’ve watched the pre-recorded demo. ## #2 Upgrade your lead capture form Most B2B software companies use the generic web forms provided by Salesforce, Marketo, or whichever CRM/automation service they’re using. While convenient, these forms are designed to be generic. They’re not designed to drive conversions, and are likely costing you leads. As such, it’s better to use something like [Leadformly](https://leadformly.com?utm_source=ventureharbour.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=5-ways-get-product-demos-b2b-enterprise-software-service) which allows you to quickly build [lead generation forms](/high-converting-lead-generation-forms/) that have been optimised for specific purposes - like driving product demos. [](https://leadformly.com?utm_source=ventureharbour.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=5-ways-get-product-demos-b2b-enterprise-software-service) Your form is the last step in your lead generation process, and it has a significant amount of leverage. If you increased your form’s conversion rate from 2% to 4%, you’ve doubled the effectiveness of EVERY marketing and lead generation campaign that is driving leads to your website. Forms may seem like a simple piece in your marketing machine - but they’re arguably one of the most important parts of your funnel to get right. They’re also very easy to get wrong. In fact, [Expedia lost $12 million per year](/form-design-best-practices/) by adding ONE field (company name). A study by Clicktale also found that asking for phone numbers can make up to 10x as many people abandon your form. The moral of the story is don’t gamble with forms - either pay a good UX design/conversion optimisation agency to design them, or use a tool like [Leadformly](https://leadformly.com?utm_source=ventureharbour.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=5-ways-get-product-demos-b2b-enterprise-software-service). ## #3 Get your product demo process right Some software companies lose as many 50% of their leads due to the challenges of arranging and conducting online demos. Inevitably, you’ll have come across potential leads that... - Due to company policy had to use their own Webex or GoToMeeting account. - Had a poor Internet or audio connection. - Forgot to add a calendar notification. - Had a previous meeting that overran. - Lost the meeting login link/pin code. - Due to company policy couldn’t install any required browser plugins. - Etc. The reality is that some of these problems are unsolvable from your end. The best that you can do is ensure that you are never the problem, and then if there is a problem you have backup plans. Here are a few ideas that I’ve found useful: - Always ensure you are using the fastest and most stable broadband you can find. If you’re in the field a lot, get a high-speed portable WIFI device. - Use [marketing automation](/marketing-automation-software/) (or your web conferencing software) to automatically send meeting reminders via email and SMS one hour and ten minutes before every meeting. Include all of the necessary meeting links in these notifications, and remind them to go somewhere quiet and with a good Internet connection. - Identify company policy issues when the demo is scheduled (not five minutes before the call). On your demo confirmation page mention something like “The scheduled demo will take place on Webex. If you’d prefer to use different software, please let us know here”. Ultimately, you should be aiming for 100% of your scheduled demos to show up and be successful in the first attempt. ## #4 Use whitepapers and ebooks for leads Almost every B2B software client / project I’ve worked on, the best way to increase demo leads at the top of the funnel was through [whitepapers](/21-white-paper-marketing-tips/), ebooks, and other free information products. If you’re receiving a reasonable amount of traffic to your website, but are only converting a handful of visitors into leads, experiment with offering something valuable to leads to capture their email address. You can then create a nurturing ‘drip campaign’ to gradually educate them on your service and bring them to a point where they’re ready to arrange a product demo. ## #5 Experiment with one-to-many demos I recently demo’d [Intercom](/recommends/intercom/) as a service to use for one of our ventures. To see whether it was a good fit for our company, I attended one of their weekly webinar demos. At first I thought this was a clever way of scaling demos without losing the personal touch.  The webinar went like this: Someone from Intercom did a personal introduction for a few minutes and then played a pre-recorded product demo that I believe lasted around 20 minutes. Afterwards, the host did live Q&A with a hundred or so people who were all watching the demo. What I liked about this is that the live Q&A created a lot of social proof. I could clearly see that lots of other marketers were interested in this product, and I could see their objections being addressed. It was both operationally and psychologically impressive. ## Over to you Generating more product demos doesn't require any radical thinking. It often just requires that you take down the barriers that are causing friction in your existing funnel. While I hope the tips above provide some useful inspiration, the real lesson is to take a good hard look at your funnel and identify where the friction is for you. Then, experiment with different approaches to try and break down that friction. ## FAQ **How long should it take to get a demo after visiting a B2B software website?** You should aim to **deliver a demo within 24 hours of a prospect's initial visit** to maximise conversion rates. The longer you wait, the higher the chance a prospect loses interest or explores competitor solutions instead. **What information should you ask for in a demo request form?** **Only ask for essential information** like name, email, company, and company size to reduce friction. Lengthy forms with 10+ fields significantly decrease demo request completion rates and should be avoided. **How can whitepapers help generate more product demo requests?** Whitepapers and ebooks act as **lead magnets that attract top-of-funnel prospects** who aren't yet ready for a demo. By gating these resources behind a form, you build a qualified audience that's more likely to request a demo later in their buying journey. **What is a one-to-many product demo and why use it?** **One-to-many demos are group webinars where one presenter demonstrates your product to multiple prospects simultaneously**. This approach scales your demo capacity without proportionally increasing your sales team's workload. **Why do B2B software companies struggle to get demo requests?** Most B2B software companies fail because they **create friction between initial interest and demo scheduling**. Common issues include slow response times, overly complex lead capture forms, and poor demo process design that discourages prospects from proceeding. **How should you structure your product demo process?** Your demo process should be **tailored to each prospect's specific use case and pain points** rather than delivering a generic presentation. This personalised approach significantly increases the likelihood of converting demo attendees into paying customers. **What's the best way to increase demo requests for enterprise software?** The most effective strategy combines **reducing friction in your lead capture process with faster response times**. Implement automated scheduling tools and streamline your forms to remove barriers between prospect interest and demo confirmation. --- # 5 Ways to Use Live Chat Software & Chatbots For Lead Generation URL: https://ventureharbour.com/5-ways-to-use-live-chat-software-chatbots-for-lead-generation/ Summary: Use live chat to capture more leads & reduce sales funnel drop-off. See our top 7 tools & strategies to boost conversions. Last updated: 2026-04-04 06:03:48 No doubt you've noticed the drastic increase in live chat widgets on websites over the past few years. This has coincided with the rise of chatbots - a new spin on the live chat concept that capitalises on the rise of instant messaging apps and social media. The question is: does this technology really work or is it just another fad? Well, it turns out 69% of consumers prefer talking to chatbots for quick communication with brands, as opposed to calling them directly or sending an email. This makes sense when being put on hold or waiting for someone to read and reply to your email seems out of touch with today's fast-paced world. It seems businesses understand the demand for bots, too According to [research from Oracle](https://blogs.oracle.com/marketingcloud/a-look-at-the-current-state-of-chatbots), 80% of businesses plan to launch a chatbot of some kind by 2020. While [separate research from Juniper](https://www.juniperresearch.com/analystxpress/july-2017/chatbot-conversations-to-deliver-8bn-cost-saving) predicts that chatbots are going to save businesses $8 billion in costs by 2020. ## Automating lead generation with bots The real beauty of chatbots and live chat widgets is they're 100% automated. So, once you've set them up, the technology will keep bringing in the leads, no matter how much traffic you throw at them - and you don't have anyone at the helm to operate them either. That all sounds great. Of course, it takes a bit more than slapping widgets all over your website to get results. You need to have a strategy in place to pinpoint those moments where bots can be useful to the user and understand the kind of friction you might be adding in certain situations. To give you a better idea of how bots can generate valuable leads by enhancing the experience on your site, here are five strategies you can try out for yourself. ## #1: Offer help to users who appear lost The most common place you'll see live chat widgets is on a company's homepage - or possibly every site on their page by default. Typically, these trigger as soon as the page loads or after a short delay.  The problem I normally find is they tend to pop up too quickly while I'm still seeing what the page has to offer. [Elegant Themes](https://www.elegantthemes.com/gallery/) has a longer delay on its chat widget than most and think this improves the overall experience. Personally, I would have an even longer delay for first-time visitors to give them a chance to take everything in. If they don't click through to anything after a certain amount of time, this is the perfect moment to trigger the widget. With some platforms, you can also trigger them to pop up when a user looks like they're about to leave your site. ## #2: Engage users when they want to leave your site You've seen exit-intent pop-ups and you've probably seen exit-intent web forms. Well, some bot platforms, such as [Tido](https://www.tidiochat.com/en/), allow you to set up exit-intent chat experiences that trigger when a user looks like they're about to leave. Now, this could be when a user is about to leave your homepage or it could be when a potential customer is about to abandon a cart full of products. [Tidio](https://www.tidiochat.com/en/) helps you reduce cart abandonment. Capturing a lead at this stage could make the difference between losing the sale forever and getting them back to place an order - now or in the near future. ## #3: Collect leads out of hours The internet never sleeps and people can engage with brands at anytime they want, anywhere in the world. Whether that next potential customer is in another time zone half way around the world or simply discovering your business out of hours, you need a channel that's capable of capturing these leads. Chatbots work around the clock so you can engage with users 24/7. Going back to the Salesforce research we linked to in the intro of this article, users say the most important role of chatbots is providing basic information quickly. Things like opening hours, as illustrated in the screenshot from a [Flow XO](https://flowxo.com/) chatbot above. Wherever possible, you want to capture these users as leads so you can reach out to them again later. In most cases, this means asking users for their email address but there are other options - e.g.: embedding a Facebook Messenger bot on your website. ## #4: Engage a visitor who quits a form We've spent a lot of time optimising web forms here at Venture Harbour in recent years - and with great success. We've tested our fair share of chatbots recently too and one strategy recommended by Tidio is using bots to capture leads who quit web forms. To do this, you'll need to make sure your chatbot platform has this specific feature or allows you to create custom rules for when your bots trigger - ie: after a user starts filling out your form, then tries to quit the page before completing it. ## #5: Capture readers at page bottom According to HubSpot's [State of Inbound report](https://www.stateofinbound.com/?__hstc=20629287.fd3dfbff98531f5627fde05185f29585.1554751092959.1554751092959.1554751092959.1&__hssc=20629287.1.1554751092959&__hsfp=1130228979), 55% of marketers say blog content is their top inbound marketing priority. That's a telling statistic when there are so many channels to manage these days. It shouldn't come as a surprise, though, when blog content plays such a crucial role in organic search and social media marketing. The problem is, creating and publishing all of that content is only the beginning. You also need to make sure that content converts or generates leads but what are your users doing when they reach the end of your blog post (assuming they even make it that far)? Instead of letting those users leave your site, set your bot to trigger when users reach the end of your blog posts and push them towards converting. ## Are You Using Chatbots? If you're not yet using chatbots to generate leads and reduce negative actions like bounce rates, cart abandonments and form quits, then now is a good time to test them out. By focusing on these specific user actions, rather than simply triggering the same bot on every page of your site, you can actually enhance the user experience and provide the incentive people need to continue engaging with your brand. ## FAQ **Can live chat software really generate leads automatically?** Yes, live chat software and chatbots can generate leads automatically by engaging visitors at critical moments without requiring human intervention. **Chatbots can qualify leads, collect contact information, and nurture prospects 24/7**, even when your sales team is offline, making them far more efficient than traditional contact forms alone. **What's the best time to use live chat for lead generation?** The most effective moments to deploy live chat for lead generation are when visitors show intent to leave, abandon forms, reach the bottom of blog posts, or appear lost on your site. **Targeting users at these high-intent moments dramatically increases conversion rates** compared to generic chat prompts that interrupt the browsing experience. **How do you capture leads with live chat when visitors are leaving?** You can capture abandoning visitors by triggering a targeted chat message when they move their cursor toward the back button or close tab, offering a discount, answering a final objection, or providing an alternative way to stay connected. **Exit-intent chatbots prevent lead loss** by giving prospects one last reason to engage before they disappear. **Should I use live chat or chatbots for lead generation?** The most effective approach combines both: use chatbots for automated, 24/7 lead capture and qualification, then hand off engaged prospects to live agents for personalised conversations. **Hybrid live chat and chatbot systems capture more leads than either tool alone** whilst reducing the workload on your support team. **How do chatbots collect leads outside business hours?** Chatbots collect leads round-the-clock by automatically engaging visitors, asking qualifying questions, and capturing email addresses or phone numbers even when your team is asleep or offline. **Out-of-hours lead collection ensures no prospect is lost due to timezone differences or late-night browsing**, significantly expanding your lead volume. **What should a lead generation chatbot ask visitors?** An effective lead generation chatbot should ask qualifying questions that identify the visitor's needs, budget, and timeline, then collect their email address or phone number for follow-up. **Keep chatbot questions brief and conversational** rather than overwhelming visitors with lengthy forms, as this dramatically improves completion rates. **Can live chat help recover abandoned form submissions?** Yes, live chat can detect when visitors abandon a form mid-completion and trigger a proactive message offering assistance, removing barriers, or providing an incentive to finish. **Recovering abandoned forms with chatbots can reclaim 15-30% of lost leads** that would otherwise disappear permanently. **How do you use live chat to engage blog readers for lead generation?** Deploy a chatbot trigger when blog readers reach the bottom of your article, offering to send them related resources, invite them to a webinar, or connect them with a specialist. **Bottom-of-article engagement captures warm, engaged leads** who have already demonstrated interest by consuming your content. --- # 53 Business Automation Tools That Skyrocketed Our Growth by 330% URL: https://ventureharbour.com/tools/ Summary: The 53 business automation tools we use at Venture Harbour for marketing, design, content and ops — the same stack that grew our ventures 330% a year. Last updated: 2026-04-18 06:06:01 Since 2012, our team have built eight online businesses that have collectively grown by 330% or more per year. We're extremely proud of this growth, but we wouldn't have been able to achieve it without the tools that have enabled us to scale and systemise our websites. Below is a full list of the tools we love and use daily at Venture Harbour to systemise, automate, and scale online businesses. While there are many popular tools in the list, we've also included a few less-known hidden gems for you. Virtually all of the tools below offer free trials, so if you see one you like - give it a try to see whether it might be a good addition to your toolkit. As we've featured quite a lot of tools, we've broken up the list into eight sections: - [Marketing tools](#marketing) - [Design and DevOps tools](#design) - [Customer success & productivity tools](#customersuccess) - [Hosting and performance tools](#hosting) - [Content creation tools](#content) - [General & admin tools](#general) Without further ado, let's dive into the Venture Harbour team's marketing tech stack. ## Our Marketing Tech Stack ### **#1: [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/)** [](/recommends/active-campaign/) When we were first looking for a CRM platform, [nothing seemed to fit the bill](/crm-software-small-business/). Everything seemed to create as much extra work as it saved us from. Then we tried [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/). ActiveCampaign is our go to tool for all [marketing automation](/marketing-automation-software/) and CRM needs across all of our ventures. From managing Leadformly's sales pipeline, to drip-feeding the Venture Harbour newsletter, ActiveCampaign sits at the heart of most of our marketing activity. But the real magic with ActiveCampagin is the ability to automate pretty much anything. Of all the CRM platforms we tried, this is the only one that really saved us time and enhanced our marketing efforts. If you're in need of a CRM, [try out the free demo](/recommends/activecampaign-free-trial/) and see for yourself. And, if you want any tips on how to get the most out of ActiveCampaign, check out [this guide](/activecampaign-review/) Marcus published earlier this year. ### **#2: [Sendinblue](/recommends/sendinblue/)** [Sendinblue](/recommends/sendinblue/) is a transactional [email marketing](/email-marketing-software-tools-one-best/) tool that also offers email marketing and marketing automation. As we use ActiveCampaign for most of our email marketing needs, we primarily just use Sendinblue to trigger transactional emails for Leadformly (e.g. password reset emails, invoices etc). Why did we choose Sendinblue over the alternative [transactional email services](/transactional-email-service-best-mandrill-vs-sendgrid-vs-mailjet/)? Very strong deliverability rates, an intuitive API, and beautiful reporting. ### **#3: [WebinarJam](/recommends/webinarjam/)** WebinarJam helps you manage and automate your webinar marketing efforts and we've seen great results with a number of its tools. Using one of its products, [Everwebinar](/recommends/everwebinar/), we managed to [lift the attendance rate for one of our webinars from 20% to an incredible 76%](/boost-webinar-attendance-rate/). Now, things are about to get meta. If you're interested in learning how to capture more leads from your website, you can attend Marcus Taylor's free webinar (hosted with Webinarjam) using the link below. ### **#4: [Leadformly](https://leadformly.com/)** **Note: Leadformly has been discontinued and is no longer available. For modern lead capture forms, we recommend [Typeform](https://www.typeform.com/) or [Jotform](https://www.jotform.com/) as excellent alternatives.** Our team built [Leadformly](https://leadformly.com/) to scratch our own itch. We were fed up of using forms that didn't convert very well and needed a better alternative, but all of the options felt like they were lacking. Leadformly has been our secret weapon for several years, and has enabled us to 3-4X our landing page conversion rates, effectively [tripling our leads](/multi-step-lead-forms-get-300-conversions/) and cutting our cost per conversion by two-thirds. Leadformly works by providing you with a suite of lead capture form templates that have been tried, tested, and optimised to perfection. Rather than you having to spend the next few years A/B testing your forms to find out what works, we've done the hard work for you. It still takes a few hours to get a really powerful form put together, but the end result certainly pays off in our experience. ### **#5: [Optinmonster](/recommends/optinmonster/)** Popups are always a contentious issue in online marketing and design, but they can make a positive impact [when done well](/do-exit-intent-popups-actually-increase-conversions-in-2017/). We sometimes implement exit-intent pop-ups that only trigger when a user shows signs of leaving the page. The idea is that they're less intrusive than regular pop-ups and they give you one last shot at converting a visitor into a lead. When we decide pop-ups are the way to go, [Optinmonster](/recommends/optinmonster/) is the tool we use. It makes them easy to implement on any page and you can create A/B tests to improve performance. ### **#6: [Zapier](https://zapier.com/)** [Zapier](https://zapier.com/) lets you connect different apps that wouldn't otherwise be compatible, opening up a new world of automation potential. Amazing stuff. ### #7: [AHrefs](https://ahrefs.com/)  While [AHrefs](https://ahrefs.com/) is a general purpose SEO tool, there's one function we use it for in particular. The backlink checker tool in AHrefs is unrivalled, making this an indispensable tool for link building. Also, its website reports are more detailed than any of the other tools we tested, providing a wealth of technical SEO information about your site. This helps you pinpoint problems faster and get them fixed before they hurt your search ranking. ### #8: [SEMrush](/recommends/semrush/) In combination with Screaming Frog, [SEMrush](/recommends/semrush/) is our team's favourite SEO tool for on-site auditing and running a health check on our websites' technical SEO. While SEMrush is better-known for its keyword research capabilities, we actually prefer the Site Audit functionality, which provides us with a thorough checklist of all of our site's technical SEO opportunities. SEMrush is also particularly great at enabling junior staff members or those who are less experienced in technical SEO to reach the same conclusions as our more senior SEO staff members, which is pretty brilliant for less than $100/month. ### #9: [Unbounce](https://unbounce.com/) [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-04-17-at-19.42.50.jpg) [Unbounce](https://unbounce.com/) is our go-to tool when we have multiple landing pages to design, optimise and manage. If you're serious about PPC (either on Google Ads or social) you're going to have a lot of landing pages to keep on top of. Unboucne makes all of this easier to handle from a single dashboard. ### #10: [VWO](/recommends/vwo/) VWO (or Visual Website Optimizer, as it used to be known) is our go-to tool for split-testing. We use it across all of our active ventures to ensure that all key pages in our user journeys are continually improving their conversion rates. Thanks to [VWO](/recommends/vwo/), we've been able to get more leads and conversions out of every marketing dollar we spend and scientifically optimise our marketing funnels. PS - And if you're wondering from the screenshot above, yes Marcus was rather upset that his face converted 5% worse than a screenshot :-) ### #11: [Hootsuite](https://www.hootsuite.com/) [Hootsuite](https://www.hootsuite.com/) is the ultimate social media management tool. You can manage all of your accounts from the one place, schedule posts and get insights into your performance - all from the same place. We don't recommend automating all of your social media posts but tasks like automatically posting your blog articles, once they go live, is an obvious choice. When it comes to networks like Twitter and Instagram, where content is more disposable, reposting multiple times is the best way to maximise exposure. This is precisely what Hootsuite is there for. ## **Design & DevOps tools** Next up is our collection of design and DevOps tools which help our designers and developers to build better products. ### #12: [Retrace](https://stackify.com/retrace/) by Stackify [Retrace](https://stackify.com/retrace/) helps developers write their best code on every project by quickly finding bugs and identify opportunities for better performance. It's the only tool of this kind that combines APM, errors, logs, metrics, and monitoring into one platform - great for any development team. ### **#13: [Ghost Inspector](https://ghostinspector.com/)** We run about 150 automated tests every day using [Ghost Inspector](https://ghostinspector.com/) to prevent regression bugs in Leadformly. That's a lot of testing power you can have working in the background to catch bugs before they start costing you. Ghost Inspector is great keeping tabs on complex sites or applications - especially when you have a dashboard filled with features. ### **#14: [InVision](/recommends/invision/)** [InVision](/recommends/invision/) is a project management tool for designers that makes it easy for your entire team to collaborate and provide feedback on design mockups. When our design team creates a new mockup for one of our ventures, they usually share an InVision link with the rest of our team. This makes it easy for everyone to comment on the designs and make annotations without needing to have any design software. One particularly great feature in Invision is the interactive build mode. This allows you to turn your static mockups into interactive demos so that your team can click on sections of the mockup and see what happens. We also love the Inspect feature in InVision, which allows our development team to click on any element in InVision and immediately see all of the CSS and dimensions for that element, which reduces any style changes occurring between the design and development phase. **Bonus:** If you get started via [this special link](/recommends/invision/), InVision will give you $25 off and they'll send our designers a free t-shirt :) ### **#15: [Sketch](https://www.sketch.com/)** [](/uploads/migrated/hero-screenshot@2x.jpg) [Sketch](https://www.sketch.com/) is the Photoshop killer for web and application designers. While Photoshop is still more versatile than Sketch, it was never really built with design projects in mind. Sketch creates a faster workflow for designers to create realistic mockups of web and application designs. ### **#16: [Stripe](https://stripe.com/gb)** [Stripe](https://stripe.com/gb) is a payment platform designed specifically for online businesses. If you're running an e-commerce store, check this out for sure. Likewise, if you're selling subscription services or software then Stripe is a great platform for managing payments, subscriptions and accounts. ### **#17: [Sentry](https://sentry.io/welcome/)** [Sentry](https://sentry.io/welcome/) is another tool we use to detect bugs and other errors in real-time (it's always a good idea to have more than one). However, Sentry goes a few steps further by providing users feedback and assuring them help is on the way. It also helps you narrow down the cause of errors so you can get them fixed faster. ### **#18: [Codacy](https://www.codacy.com/)** [](/uploads/migrated/landing-screen-2@2x.png) With [Codacy](https://www.codacy.com/) you can get feedback on your code *before* it goes live. If you build anything custom, this is a great platform for pinpointing errors before they become an issue and guaranteeing you have the cleanest code powering your products. ### **#19: [Beanstalk](https://beanstalkapp.com/)** [](/uploads/migrated/ss-editor@2x.jpg) [Beanstalk](https://beanstalkapp.com/) is a complete platform for writing, reviewing and deploying code. It allows your team to add files, edit them and deploy code - all from within the browser. You can also request code reviews on Beanstalk (although we use Codacy for this) if you want to reduce your list of tools. ### **#20: [BitBucket](https://bitbucket.org/)** [BitBucket](https://bitbucket.org/) is kind of Invision for development projects, calling itself *the* Git solution for software teams. Again, the emphasis is on project management and collaboration to help you get from the first line of code to deployment faster. ### **#21: [Teamwork](https://www.teamwork.com/)** Teamwork is another project management platform and we use this one specifically for our Leadformly development team. Teamwork Projects keeps all of your team's tasks in one place, allowing for better collaboration. It's available for iOS, Android and most desktop browsers, meaning your team is always connected - no matter where they are or what device they're using. ## **Customer success & productivity tools** Lead and customer management is a large part of what we do here at Venture Harbour, for ourselves as well as our clients. Keeping track of leads and customers as their needs change is vital, but it's a real challenge without a system in place to handle them in large volume. This is where our next set of tools comes in. ### **#22: [Helpscout](https://www.helpscout.com/)** [](/uploads/migrated/conversation-screen@2x.png) [Helpscout](https://www.helpscout.com/) is a customer service platform that helps you handle inquiries and technical support. You can assign tickets to members of your support team, automate basic responses, set reminders and create custom folders to organise enquiries. When you have a collection of support tickets to keep on top of, you need a tool like Helpscout to put the smile back on your customers' faces. ### **#24: [Hotjar](https://www.hotjar.com/)** [Hotjar](https://www.hotjar.com/) reveals user behaviour on your website with heatmaps, conversion funnel reports and you can even record user sessions to see what they're up to. These insights help you improve the user experience and remove conversion barriers that stop visitors moving along your sales funnels. ### **#25: [Calendly](https://calendly.com/)** [Calendly](https://calendly.com/) is a productivity tool that makes it easy to schedule demos and calls with customers, without the hassle of back and forth scheduling emails. This is huge if you're selling software-based products or bespoke services based on quotation. ### **#26: [Chargebee](https://www.chargebee.com/)** Another essential tool for SaaS companies (among others) is subscription billing. We integrate [Chargebee](https://www.chargebee.com/) with Stripe so we can easily apply refunds, upgrade accounts, generate invoices, and do other administrative and billing related tasks for customers. ### #27: [IFTTT](https://ifttt.com/) [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-07-14-at-20.26.48.png) While Zapier (mentioned earlier) is the more advanced tool, [IFTTT](https://ifttt.com/) is a decent free alternative. It's not designed for teams in the same way Zapier is (individual accounts only) but it can help individual team members speed up their workflow. ## **Hosting tools and performance** We have a number of websites and applications that need quality hosting - and the same thing goes for our clients. Which means our choice of hosting providers and performance tools is incredibly important for everyone we work with. ### **#28: [Amazon Web Services (AWS)](https://aws.amazon.com/)**  [Amazon Web Services (AWS)](https://aws.amazon.com/) is pretty much *the* name in cloud-based web services and we use this to host our Leadformly software. It's as secure as any system you'll come across and we use a number of its tools for better performance. ### **#29: [WP Engine](/recommends/wpengine/)** [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-07-06-at-14.11.29.png) [WP Engine](/recommends/wpengine/) is our choice of hosting provider for high traffic WordPress sites that expect thousands of visitors per day. WP Engine is built to get the best performance from WordPress sites and there's a big emphasis on speed and security - both incredibly important for sites using the world's most popular CMS. ### **#30: [Bluehost](/recommends/bluehost/)** We generally go with [Bluehost](/recommends/bluehost/) as our hosting provider for new or small sites that don't need to handle large amounts of traffic. It's a less specialist but cheaper package overall, which makes it a good option in those early days, when budgets are smaller and traffic levels are lower. ### #31: [Amazon CloudFront](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/) Most hosting providers come with a Content Delivery Network (CDN) option but we use Amazon's AWS option for clients who need the absolute best performance. A CDN makes your site load faster for users, regardless of their location - vital if you have a global audience to attract. ### #32: [Amazon ElastiCache](https://aws.amazon.com/elasticache/) [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-07-14-at-17.37.13.png) Again, most hosting providers have caching solutions and there are plenty of WordPress plugins for sites. However, [Amazon ElastiCache](https://aws.amazon.com/elasticache/) is a premium hosted caching tool that comes as part of your overall subscription to Amazon Web Services. ### #33: [AWS Cloud Security](https://aws.amazon.com/security/) Ok, this is our last plug for Amazon Web Services. If you're signed up, you may as well make the most of it. Otherwise, you'll want to look elsewhere for CDNs, caching and security. ## **General admin tools** Our list of admin tools is relatively short, thanks to platforms like ActiveCampaign and HubSpot automating so much for us. However, there are a few additional tools we still need to keep on top of those daily business essentials. ### **#34: [Xero](https://www.xero.com/uk/)** [Xero](https://www.xero.com/uk/) calls itself "Britain's leading online accounting software" and it certainly does the trick for us. It doesn't reinvent the wheel with accounting platforms but its mobile integration is by far the best we came across. This is a key selling point if you're constantly on the move and need access to accounts as you go. ### #35: [Monday.com](https://monday.com/) We use [Monday.com](https://monday.com/) for our quarterly task planning. Everyone on the team has a 90-day plan, showing the tasks and goals they're working towards each quarter. You can also use it to prioritise tasks and manage short-term targets, see who's working on what and keep ahead of deadlines. While it wasn't a major factor in our decision, the mobile experience with Monday also proved to be a real bonus. Quarterly goals aren't always at the front of your mind when you're working on a project and the ability to step back and get a distanced overview outside of the office is great. ### **#36: [TrueNorth](https://truenorth.io/)** **Note: TrueNorth has been discontinued and is no longer available. For marketing planning and project management, we recommend [ClickUp](https://clickup.com/) or [Monday.com](https://monday.com/) as modern alternatives.** TrueNorth was designed to help teams plan, track, and hit their growth goals. While we previously used TrueNorth as part of our stack, we now recommend ClickUp or Monday.com for these needs. ### **#37: [Serene](https://sereneapp.com/)** **Note: Serene has been discontinued and is no longer available. For distraction blocking and productivity, we recommend [Freedom.to](https://freedom.to/) as a current alternative.** Serene was our go-to tool for blocking distractions and boosting productivity. For those looking for a similar solution today, Freedom.to offers robust distraction blocking features for individuals and teams. ### #38: [Zoom](https://zoom.us/) [Zoom](https://zoom.us/) is a professional video conferencing platform that goes beyond your typical Skype call. You can use it to host online meetings, stream live webinars and set up group messaging for team sessions. ## Content creation tools Content is the substance of any marketing campaign, but we need to produce so much of it to have an impact these days. Thankfully, there are plenty of tools you can use to create quality content in large volumes. ### #38: [WordPress](https://wordpress.org/) [](/uploads/migrated/screen-themes.png) After all these years, [WordPress](https://wordpress.org/) is still the world's most popular CMS. The ability to type out content and publish it at the click of a button (instead of coding every single letter) is something we take for granted these days. ### #39: [Feedly](https://feedly.com/) [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-07-14-at-18.48.23.png) Keeping your blog and social accounts filled with fresh content is no easy task. Rule one in content marketing is to have something unique to say and this starts by knowing what everyone else is already talking about. [Feedly](https://feedly.com/) pulls all the content from your industry into one place so you're always up-to-date with the latest goings on. ### #40: [Pocket](https://getpocket.com/en/) When you're busy working on something and you see an interesting site, page or article crop up, [Pocket](https://getpocket.com/en/) is the perfect place to save it. This free app saves everything so you can access it from any device when you've got some time to spare. Best of all, it caches pages so you can access them offline and there are add-ons for all the major browsers. ### #41: [Buzzsumo](https://buzzsumo.com/) [](/uploads/migrated/home2.png) [Buzzsumo](https://buzzsumo.com/) helps you discover the most shared content across social media and get detailed reports on the best-performing content from around the web. You can also use it to find top influencers for any topic and get alerts for new content that includes your target keywords. ### #42: [CoSchedule](https://coschedule.com/) With [CoSchedule](https://coschedule.com/) you can kiss goodbye to messy spreadsheets and coordinate your content strategy with its drag-and-drop editor. You can tag content for different search engines, different formats (blog post, infographic, video, etc.) and priority. You can even use CoSchedule to schedule and publish your content on your chosen platform. ### #43: [Grammarly](https://www.grammarly.com/) Yes, spell checkers and grammar tools suck - at least until you try [Grammarly](https://www.grammarly.com/). I'm not saying you can rely on this thing 100% but it's impressively good at picking out spelling mistakes, typos, confused words and basic grammar issues. It won't make your writing 100% error-free but it does make it a whole lot easier to spot your mistakes as you type. ### #44: [Quora](https://www.quora.com/) [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-07-14-at-19.59.48.png) [Quora](https://www.quora.com/) gives you a unique perspective to see what questions are on people's mind about your industry. You'll see plenty of brands jump in to promote their own products but you can be a bit more subtle than that. Create content that answers these questions, post a link to your "impartial" piece and then promote your content further on social. If nothing else, Quora is a good place to get content idas from. ### #45: [Canva](https://www.canva.com/en_gb/) With [Canva](https://www.canva.com/en_gb/) you can quickly create simple graphics and visuals for blog posts and social media. It's not a replacement for Adobe Illustrator or pro software but it's a great platform for creating unique images, fast. It's also free, unless you actually want to pay for any of the awful stock images (you really don't need to). ### #46: [Animoto](https://animoto.com/) Finally, we have [Animoto](https://animoto.com/), which makes it easy and affordable to create video content. You can record, upload and edit your own video clips via its simple interface and be ready to publish in no time. That's not all either. Animoto's real selling point is you can upload images and use basic animation techniques (zoom, blur, fade, etc.) and text overlays to create the illusion of video without recording a thing. ### #47: [Visme](https://www.visme.co/graph-maker/) [Visme](https://www.visme.co/graph-maker/) allows you to quickly create graphs and other data visualisations to present your findings to the world. You simply type your numbers in and Visme takes care of the rest. This is perfect for whitepapers, case studies, reports and other formal pieces of content - most of which can be repurposed into blogs and social media posts. Pack your free downloads with Visme graphs, add a short preview to your landing pages and watch those email lists grow. ## The Google collection Of course, no marketing toolkit would be complete without a selection from tech giant, Google. Aside from pretty much owning half of the internet, Google also provides us with a fair chunk of the tools we need to get any business value from it. ### #48: [Google Analytics](https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiv6tfNp4vVAhUIJsAKHcQ1B3MQFggoMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fanalytics.google.com%2F&usg=AFQjCNFhxdo0O0J-DN4b9TzW2lyod2l9Fg) [](/uploads/migrated/business-size_m_2x.png) The first analytics tool that should be on your list. [Google Analytics](https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiv6tfNp4vVAhUIJsAKHcQ1B3MQFggoMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fanalytics.google.com%2F&usg=AFQjCNFhxdo0O0J-DN4b9TzW2lyod2l9Fg) is a (mostly) free, powerful tool that's hard to beat - even with paid analytics tools. Especially when you combine it with some of the other Google tools in this list. ### #49: [Google Ads](https://ads.google.com/) One tool you want to integrate with Google Analytics is [Google Ads](https://ads.google.com/). Paid advertising on Google is the fastest way to bring high-quality traffic to your site and combining these tools gives brings another level of landing page analytics to your lead generation strategy. Also, Google's [Keyword Planner](https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/) tool is part of the Google Ads platform. ### #50: [Google Search Console](https://developers.google.com/search) Once you integrate [Search Console](https://developers.google.com/search) into Google Analytics, you have access to a much wider range of data on the performance of your website and the traffic landing on it. For example, Search Console allows you to see the search terms users type before they click through to your site, giving you insights into how well your keyword strategy is working. ### #51: [Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/)  Considering [Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/) is free (depending on your storage needs), it's a cracking collaboration toolkit. In fact, that's doing it a disservice. Google Drive and Google Docs are a great combination in their own right and the free price tag only makes them more impressive. ### #52: [Google Keep](https://www.google.com/keep/) [Google Keep](https://www.google.com/keep/) isn't going to transform your business or anything, but it's a wonderfully simple app for creating, sharing and editing notes on the go. For informal to-do lists between team members and personal reminders, it's a lightweight digital notepad everyone in your team can use. ### #53: [Google Trends](https://trends.google.co.uk/trends/) [](/uploads/migrated/screen-shot-2017-07-14-at-21.00.34.png) Finally, we have [Google Trends](https://trends.google.co.uk/trends/), the place to see what the world is searching for right now. You can narrow data down by location, topic, dates and other parameters. Not only does this provide you with valuable keyword information, it also provides another tool for content inspiration. ### No-compromise tool selection The key to building your own business toolkit is creating the most productive workflow you can. As we found out along the way, a lot of tools will create as much work as they save you - sometimes more. You also have to think about integration with other tools and how they fit into your working process. Be sure the tools you choose really do save you time, money, stress and whatever else. As we found with choosing a CRM platform, none of the tools we looked at really made us more productive. Sure, they made certain things easier, but they also made other things more complex. Luckily, we found ActiveCampaign and everything clicked into place. We had similar experiences with WebinarJam, HelpScout and many of the other tools in this list. Sometimes you have to keep looking until you find the right tool for you. Occasionally, you might find there really is no tool out there that cuts it for you. This is what we came across with form optimisation and we decided to take the initiative ourselves. This is how Leadformly was born. If there's a lesson to learn from this, it's not to accept compromises when it comes to choosing your tools. If it doesn't improve your business, it's not worth paying for - and that's all it comes down to at the end of the day. --- # 58 Form Design & UX Best Practices URL: https://ventureharbour.com/form-design-best-practices/ Summary: 58 form design best practices from A/B tests & case studies. Optimise conversions with proven UX strategies. See our top picks. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:21:36 Below are 58 of the best insights I’ve come across on form design from seeing countless form design A/B tests, and studying the work of companies that have invested heavily into form optimisation. Before we jump in, I should caveat that while most of the tips are based on statistically valid experiments ran across numerous sites and industries, they shouldn’t be taken as gospel. Forms are highly-contextual and depend on more than just the design of the form itself to convert well. ## General Form Design & Structure ### 1. Multi-step forms out-perform single-step forms Splitting your forms into two or three steps will almost always increase form completion. We’ve tested this across all kinds of lead generation forms, from webinar registration forms to B2B enquiry forms, and consistently we’ve found multi-step forms out-perform generic single-step forms.  There are three reasons why multi-step forms work so well: 1. The first impression is less intimidating than a long form with lots of question fields. 2. By asking for sensitive information (email, phone) on the final step of a multi-step form, users are more likely to fill out these fields - otherwise they lose the progress made by filling out the previous steps (this is a proven cognitive bias known as the ‘sunk cost fallacy’). 3. By seeing a progress bar, users are more motivated to complete the form. This is, again, based on numerous proven cognitive biases such as the endowed progress effect. ### 2. Remove all non-essential fields. Expedia [lost $12 million](https://www.zdnet.com/article/expedia-on-how-one-extra-data-field-can-cost-12m/) per year by asking one additional question (company name) in their booking form. Marketo [also found](https://marketingexperiments.com/lead-generation/lead-generation-testing-form-field-length-reduces-cost-per-lead-by-10-66) that a few non-essential fields were inflating their cost per lead by ~25%.  Every additional field in your form is losing you leads - so consider whether each question justifies the incremental loss in leads or opt-ins. ### 3. Use conditional logic to shorten your forms Conditional logic (sometimes called ‘branch logic’) is where you only display a question if a user has answered a previous question in a certain way. This technique reduces the average length of your form, while also [reducing form abandonment](/10-ways-decrease-form-abandonment/) by not displaying questions that might be irrelevant to certain users. One of our clients used this feature to create a unique enquiry form for their web agency. Using conditional logic, their visitors could tell them precisely what service they were looking for just by clicking a series of icons. ### 4. Top-left aligned labels are best for readability & completion Google’s UX researchers [found](https://ai.googleblog.com/2014/07/simple-is-better-making-your-web-forms.html) that aligning labels above fields on the left-hand side increased form completion time. This is because it requires fewer ‘visual fixations’, as illustrated in [the diagram](https://uxmovement.com/forms/why-infield-top-aligned-form-labels-are-quickest-to-scan/) below.  There is one acceptable alternative to top-aligned labels, which I'll discuss in point #16. ### 5. Avoid placing questions side-by-side. Eye-tracking studies [have shown](https://www.cxpartners.co.uk/our-thinking/web_forms_design_guidelines_an_eyetracking_study/) that simple one-column layouts are better than multi-column layouts with questions positioned side-by-side. The only exception to this rule is when asking for dates (day, month, year) or time (hours and minutes), where multiple fields are expected to be on one line. ### 6. Give people a reason to use your form Imagine you had a long form that took an hour to complete. Nobody would use it, right? Well, not if you gave everyone a free Ferrari for completing it. The promise of a Ferrari would give people the motivation to push through, despite the long and poor user experience. While extreme, this example illustrates the role that motivation plays in form optimisation. In one simple example, [BettingExpert received 31.54%](/recommends/unbounce-lift/) more sign-ups by changing their form title and call to action to emphasise why people should sign up.  ### 7. Group related fields together into sections or steps If your form has more than six fields, it’s considered good practice to group questions into logical sections or steps. ## Questions & Field Types ### 8. Choose field types that reduce the number of clicks required to complete When Microsoft changed its shutdown prompt from a clickable shutdown icon to a dropdown box, they found that fewer people were shutting their computers down - just because of an additional two clicks. When choosing which question field type to use, try to optimise for as fewer clicks as possible. ### 9. Use smart defaults If you’re asking questions like phone number or country, you should suggest a default phone extension or country based on the user’s IP address. ### 10. Know when to use radio buttons, checkboxes, and dropdowns As a general rule of thumb, radio buttons should be used when there’s a range of options and only one option can be chosen. Checkboxes are should be used when more than one option can be selected. Where possible, checkboxes and radio buttons should be used instead of dropdowns, as they less [cognitive load](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/minimize-cognitive-load/) to process. Typically, I use dropdowns when there are more than six options to choose from. ### 11. Radio buttons should be vertically-stacked Vertically-stacking radio buttons (and checkboxes) makes them faster to process compared to a horizontal layout.  ### 12. Do not slice fields when asking for phone numbers or date of birth. Sliced fields force the user to unnecessarily make additional clicks to move to the next field. Instead, it’s better to have one single field with clear formatting guidelines in the placeholder. Even if you auto-advance users onto the next field, field slicing imposes stricter validation that has the potential to backfire. In the diagram above, for example, this field slicing would be confusing for anyone entering a phone number outside of the United States. ### 13. Clearly explain why you’re asking for sensitive information People are increasingly concerned over privacy and information security. If you must ask for sensitive information, make sure you explain why it is needed using support text below the field. ### 14. When asking for addresses, use a postcode / zip code lookup to reduce field entry When asking users to fill out their address, it’s best practice to just ask for a house number and postcode/zip code, and then use a lookup service to suggest the full address.  ### 15. Use placeholders correctly A placeholder is the light text that appears within a form field. In the example above, you can see a placeholder that says ‘E.g. ‘CR0 3RL…’. Placeholders should be used to guide users on how to fill out the field if there’s any ambiguity. In other words, you probably don’t need to have a placeholder for fields like ‘First name’ as most people know how to answer their first name. ### 16. Always display a field label A field label is the question text that sits above the field. These should always be present and should not be replaced with placeholders. Why? Because when you start entering text into a field the placeholder text disappears which forces people to use their memory to recall them. The only instance where it may be acceptable to not have a field label is if you're using *inline labels*. Inline labels are a hybrid solution that is always in view but do not take up as much vertical space as top-aligned labels.  ### 17. Use predictive search for fields with lots of pre-defined options When asking users to choose their country, occupation, or something else with a large number of predefined options, it’s best to provide a predictive search function to reduce the amount of typing and cognitive load required.  ### 18. If you must ask an optional question, make it clear that it’s optional While I’d advise removing optional fields or using milestone submissions to ask them after users have already submitted their data, sometimes internal politics require them to be asked. If you must ask optional questions, make it clear that they’re optional using placeholders. ### 19. Selectable images are among the most engaging question type Where it makes sense, use clickable images as a question type. From the data we’ve seen at [Leadformly](https://leadformly.com?utm_source=ventureharbour.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=form-design-best-practices), they’re among the most engaging question types and provide a great form user experience. ### 20. Be careful when asking for phone numbers People are increasingly less happy handing out their phone numbers. In fact, [one study](https://www.smallfarmdesign.com/blog/2010/06/07/how-form-design-affects-customers/) by Clicktale found that marking the phone number field as optional decreased the form abandonment rate from 39% to 4%. ### 21. Input fields should be sized accordingly The size of a field should reflect how much text the user is expected to enter. Therefore, fields like zip code or house number should be shorter in width than fields like the address line. ## Accessibility & Ease of Use ### 22. Avoid using Captchas. A study [by Stanford University](https://theory.stanford.edu/~jcm/papers/captcha-study-oakland10.pdf) found that Captchas will cost you a drop in subscribers/leads of up to 30%. When Animoto removed captchas from their sign-up form, they received 33.3% more sign-ups. Captchas force the problem of spam management onto the user, causing friction, and ultimately deterring leads. A better alternative would be to use an automated spam detection service like Akismet or [create a ‘honeypot’](https://www.sitepoint.com/easy-spam-prevention-using-hidden-form-fields/) using hidden fields. Using a Captcha should be your absolute last resort. ### 23. Do not rely on colour to communicate While less common in women, [1 in 12 men](https://www.colourblindawareness.org/) have some degree of colour blindness. When displaying validation errors or success messages, be sure to not rely on making the field green or red. Wherever colour is used, try to also display text and/or icons to communicate a message to the user. ### 24. Ensure that your entire form can be navigated using the tab key While many people use the tab key to navigate through forms, this is particularly important for disabled users who may be relying on software that uses the tab function to move from one question to the next. ### 25. When asking a question that users may not understand, provide clear explanations to guide them to the correct answer. Insurance lead generation forms are not easy. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of mandatory information that must be asked that can confuse users. Fortunately, there’s a lot that we can all learn from insurance companies on how to tackle this challenge. ComparetheMarket.com do a great job of providing detailed visual explanations when you hover over a question.  ### 26. Does your form work on all major browsers and devices? It may sound like common sense, but it’s good to check that your forms work and are easy to use across all major browsers and devices. When in doubt, use a service like [BrowserStack](https://www.browserstack.com/). ### 27. Is your form easy to use in bright or low-light situations? If people are likely to use your forms outdoors on their mobile devices, it’s best to ensure that your question fields contrast against the form background. Otherwise, users may not be able to see where to tap. ### 28. Ensure that nothing flashes more than twice per second If you plan on using blinking cursors, animated progress bars, gifs, or anything else that flashes, ensure that they do not flash more than twice per second. Otherwise, this may trigger seizures for some people. ### 29. Enables browser auto-fill Browsers like Google Chrome & Firefox now have an auto-fill function that lets users fill out standard form fields in one click. For this to work, Google Chrome / Firefox look for contextual clues in the ‘name’, ‘label’, and placeholder text. Therefore, it’s good practice to ensure your fields are properly tagged with terms that a browser would recognise e.g. ‘email’, ‘first name’, or ‘city’. ### 30. Use milestone submissions How do you keep your forms short enough not to deter users, while still capturing more information if a user is willing to provide more information? Milestone submissions is one option. Milestone submissions is a technique that allows you to submit the form when a user has reached a certain step in the form, and then continue providing more information if they want to. Toptal.com use this feature to fast-track people who are willing to answer a few additional questions.  ### 31. Optimise the speed of your forms Users expect websites and forms to load fast. In fact, for every 100 milliseconds Amazon speed up their website, they see a [1% increase](/improving-site-speed/) in revenue. If you want to increase your conversions, ensure your form is as fast as it can be. ### 32. Avoid auto-advancing (automatically jumping to the next question) It’s not expected and generally confusing. ### 33. Use visual cues and icons to make form fields more intuitive Our brains process visual images significantly faster than text. As illustrated by the Compare the Market form below, visual prompts can be used to signal how a field should be filled out.  ## Input Validation & error handling ### 34. Don’t make your validation too strict Strict validation is a symptom of lazy programming. It’s bad for users, and your business will pay a price for it. If there’s a lot of variation in how users answer a field (for example, responding to phone number with +12345678912, +44 12345678912, 012345678912), your programmers should use a rule that converts these to a consistent format on your end. Alternatively, use field placeholders to clearly show the suggested format. ### 35. Do not ask people to confirm their email or password twice If you must use an email/password confirmation system, it’s better to have an icon or checkbox that unmasks the password when clicked. ### 36. If you must use validation, ensure that it’s inline (to the right of the field) and reports errors early on. Don’t wait until a user hits submit to report validation errors. At the same time, inline validation should not be real-time, as this is likely to report errors before a user has completed the field.  Ideally, inline validation messages should appear around 500ms after a user has stopped typing. ## Trust & Social proof ### 37. Make your form design beautiful It has been proven that people trust beautifully designed forms/websites more than forms that don’t look as impressive. ### 38. Address likely concerns near your form There are likely a number of reasons why people might feel uncomfortable using your forms. For example, how long will it take? Will I need to enter my credit card details? Will I receive annoying phone calls from a salesperson? By addressing these up front, you can break down the barriers and make using your form more of a no-brainer. [Freshbooks](https://www.freshbooks.com/) address their users' concerns by displaying "No credit card required. No Contracts. Cancel anytime" beneath their form's call to action.  ### 39. Display strong social proof in close proximity to your form Statements like ‘used by 100,000 people’ and testimonials by other people in a similar situation are powerful persuasion techniques that make users more likely to trust you and use your form. ### 40. Be careful using security seals, unless you’re asking for payment People associate privacy and security seals with making a payment. In the A/B test below, adding a payment seal actually decreased conversions because people thought they would be taking to a page to pay for something. ### 41. Display live chat or contact information within view of your form Despite their registration form being very simple, [Intercom](https://www.intercom.com/) display a live chat window in clear view to answer any questions or objections you might have prior to registering for an account.  For more complex forms where users might have questions about the form itself this is an extremely powerful technique. Not only does it build social proof, but it also helps potential leads answer any questions stopping them from using your form. ## Multi-step forms & progress indicators ### 42. When using multi-step forms, always display a progress bar Progress bars encourage completion and reduce your user’s anxiety by clearly communicating how far they are from finishing. As an interesting side note, we’ve found from our experiments at Leadformly that animated progress bars (like the one on Leadformly.com) typically outperform static progress bars. Also, starting your progress bar with some progress already made increases the number of people that use the form. ### 43. Be mindful of your transition speeds A good friend of mine was capturing leads for his dating company’s website using a 5-step [lead generation form](/high-converting-lead-generation-forms/). But he couldn’t figure out why people were clicking the next buttons and then abandoning the form. It turned out that their transition speed was too fast. Users were clicking the next button and not noticing that the content on the step had changed because it changed so fast. After slowing down their transition speed their conversion increased. This is one of the most counterintuitive lessons I’ve come across on multi-step form design. After all, we’re often told that faster is better. Not when it comes to transition speeds, it seems. ### 44. Use clear signposting A progress bar by itself is not enough. You should also display the total number of steps and which step the user is currently on to remove any ambiguity. In the example below you can see how it clearly shows users that they're on step one of two.  ## Buttons & Call to Actions ### 45. Call to Actions Should Finish the Sentence ‘I Want To…’ By default, many forms use dull call-to-action buttons like ‘submit’ or ‘send’. These should be avoided and replaced with call to actions that match what the user is hoping to achieve when they complete your form. A good rule of thumb is to answer the question “I want to…” from the user’s perspective. For example, if it’s an enquiry form for a free consultation, the call to action could be ‘Request My Free Consultation’. In [this study](/recommends/unbounce-cta/), Unbounce found that even just changing ‘start your free trial’ to ‘start *my* free trial’ increased clicks of the call to action by 90%. ### 46. Make sure call to actions are highly contrasted We’ve all heard about those infamous studies where changing the colour of a button increased conversions. These studies can be dangerous when interpreted literally, as it’s usually not the specific colour that matters - it’s the contrast. Notice how the orange call to action stands out from the blue/white in the Unbounce example above? That’s what you’re aiming for. ### 47. Call to actions should be the same width as fields Uber’s forms use large full-width call to actions that are highly contrasted against the form backgrounds. By making call to actions the same width as fields you remove any doubt over where the button is located.  For an example of how not to do this, see UPS’s form in the tip below. ### 48. Avoid using ‘clear’ or ‘reset’ buttons Below is a screenshot of UPS’s registration form. Not only are the call to actions small, but the next button is also right next to a ‘cancel’ button that is styled and located in a similar position to the ‘next’ button.  The risk of accidentally deleting all of the information you’ve entered outweighs the small convenience of having to start again. Most users are aware that refreshing the page or just re-entering information will enable them to start over again. As such, cancel or reset buttons should be avoided. ### 49. Sequence your questions logically When asking for credit card details, for example, ask for information in the same order that it typically appears on the physical card (credit card number, expiry date, security code). ### 50. Do not place overly complicated legal messages near your buttons. If you must have your users agree to lots of complex disclaimers, try to combine these into as few files as possible and keep legal messages as concise as possible. ### 51. Do not trick users by auto-enrolling them into your mailing list. This comes across as manipulative and forces most users to make an additional click to opt-out of your list. ### 52. Clearly explain what’s next upon clicking the submit button When someone uses your form they might be wondering how long they’ll have to wait, whether they need to prepare anything, or what is going to happen. Ideally, your form should redirect users to a page that clearly communicates what will happen next and what they can expect. ### 53. Upon submit, disable the submit button from being pressed again This is to prevent duplicate submissions and to also provide an extra signal to the user that their submission has been successful. ### 54. Make it clear what the user can expect to happen next Your call to action (and landing page in general) should clearly communicate what the user can expect to happen as soon as they complete your form. ## Mobile form optimisation ### 55. Use the mobile device’s native features (camera, geolocation, date picker) to simplify tasks Last year, I spent a lot of time with a forex broker trying to help them optimise their onboarding forms. For regulation reasons, this company had to ask users to submit ‘KYC’ (Know Your Customer) documents, such as their driving license and a recent bill. On desktop this is a clunky process at the best of time, as users would typically have to abandon the form to scan a document and then upload it. For mobile users, it was even more difficult. Ultimately, we found that tapping into the mobile device’s camera was the best user experience, as it enabled users to take a photo of their driving license without leaving the form. I have even seen this same approach used to let users ‘scan’ their credit card, instead of having to fill out their credit card information manually.  ### 56. Question fields and buttons should be at least 48 pixels high. The average adult finger pad size is [about 10mm wide](https://web.dev/accessible/#create-a-design-and-css-that-supports-users-with-different-needs). In web terms, this is approximately 48 pixels. Therefore, when designing forms that are to be used on mobile devices, ensure that your fields are at least 48 pixels high. ### 57. All form labels & placeholder fonts should be above 16px After redesigning an entire user interface for a client last year, I received an email from their CEO saying “It looks great Marcus, but I can’t read a thing!”. The font was 14px, which is a fairly standard font size… for web. But my client was viewing this interface on a mobile device. When designing for mobile or an older audience, your text should be at least 16px in size. As a side note, iOS devices will zoom in when any text below 16px is tapped, but not if the text is 16px or above, as it’s deemed unnecessary. ### 58. Use specific HTML input types to show the correct keypad Ever noticed how, when using a mobile device, the phone displays different keyboards depending on which question you’re asking? Sometimes the ‘.com’ button displays, while other times a date selector comes up? That’s all thanks to HTML input types. For mobile form design, they’re awesome and you should use them. There are eight input types that are relevant to form design: - input type="text" displays the normal mobile device keyboard - input type="email" displays the normal keyboard plus ‘@’ and ‘.com’ - input type="tel" displays the numeric 0-9 keypad - input type="number" displays a keyboard with numbers and symbols - input type="password" this hides characters as they’re typed in the field - input type="date" this displays the mobile’s date selector - input type="datetime" this displays the mobile’s date and time selector - input type="month" this displays the mobile’s month/year selector ## Now, over to you. Form optimisation is not an event, it’s a never-ending process. This is why we built [Leadformly](https://leadformly.com?utm_source=ventureharbour.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=form-design-best-practices), as we believe that constantly testing assumptions and design changes can lead to big increases in your bottom line over time. Even if you were to action all of the advice in this article, you’d be far from complete as there would still be countless variations and assumptions to test. My hope is that this article has provided you with the inspiration and insight needed to take your forms to the next level and convert leads at a rate that’s higher than if you hadn’t come across this guide. ## FAQ **What is the best form design for conversion rates?** The best form design minimises friction by asking only essential questions and using **single-column layouts** instead of multi-column designs. Studies show that reducing form fields by just one can increase completion rates significantly, so prioritise what information you actually need from users. **How many fields should a form have?** There's no magic number, but **fewer fields always outperform longer forms** when conversion is your goal. Each additional field creates abandonment risk, so audit your form ruthlessly and remove any field that doesn't directly support your business objective. **What makes a good form UX design?** Good form UX combines clear labelling, logical field ordering, and **real-time validation feedback** that helps users correct errors before submission. Mobile optimisation is equally critical—forms must work seamlessly on small screens with appropriately sized touch targets. **Should forms have progress indicators?** Yes, **progress indicators significantly reduce abandonment** in multi-step forms by showing users how much work remains. They set expectations and provide psychological momentum, particularly for forms with more than three steps. **How do you design forms for mobile?** Mobile forms require **single-column layouts, larger input fields, and simplified keyboards** that match the input type (numeric for phone numbers, email for addresses). Test on actual devices to ensure buttons are easily tappable and forms don't require horizontal scrolling. **What's the best CTA button text for forms?** Action-specific button text like 'Create Account' or 'Get My Quote' outperforms generic labels such as 'Submit' because it **clarifies what happens next**. Users are more likely to complete forms when they understand the exact outcome of clicking the button. **How should form errors be displayed?** **Inline error messages positioned near the problematic field** are far more effective than summary errors at the top of the form. Users should understand exactly what went wrong and how to fix it without scrolling or searching for the error location. --- # 6 Best BambooHR Alternatives for Hiring in 2026 URL: https://ventureharbour.com/bamboohr-alternatives/ Summary: I ran hiring on Breezy for five years. If you're buying BambooHR mainly to recruit, here are six dedicated ATS options that do the job better for less. Last updated: 2026-07-03 16:00:00 BambooHR has a spot in our list of the [ten best applicant tracking systems](/applicant-tracking-systems/), and it earned it. If you want hiring, onboarding, employee records and payroll in one platform, it's the obvious pick for a small business. But there's a specific buyer it doesn't suit, and I keep meeting them: the founder or HR manager shopping for BambooHR because they need to fix *hiring*. BambooHR is an HR suite with an ATS inside it — the Swiss Army knife of employee management. If what you actually need is the scissors, you're paying for the whole knife. I should name my position upfront. We ran hiring at Venture Harbour on [Breezy HR](/recommends/breezyhr/) for over five years — six hires, 900+ applications — so I have a horse in this race, and it wins this comparison. But I'll also tell you exactly when BambooHR is still the right call, because for a chunk of readers it is. That's [at the end](#when-bamboohr-is-the-right-call). **Short on time?** If you're considering BambooHR mainly to hire, [Breezy](/recommends/breezyhr/) gives you a deeper, easier ATS for less — $157/mo flat (annual) with unlimited users, against BambooHR's $250/mo minimum — and you can add HR tooling later. [Manatal](/recommends/manatal/) is the budget AI pick at $15/user/mo, and [Workable's](/recommends/workable/) Premier plan ($599/mo) is the one to look at if you still want recruiting and HR in a single platform, just with a stronger ATS at the front of it. ## How the alternatives compare | Tool | Best for | Price from | Free option? | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Breezy HR](/recommends/breezyhr/) | Hiring-focused small businesses | $157/mo flat (annual) | Yes — 1 active position | | [Manatal](/recommends/manatal/) | AI screening on a budget | $15/user/mo (annual) | 14-day trial | | [Workable Premier](/recommends/workable/) | Recruiting + HR in one platform | $599/mo | 15-day trial (Standard features) | | [GoHire](/recommends/gohire/) | UK small teams | $99/mo flat | 14-day trial | | [Zoho Recruit](https://www.zoho.com/recruit/) | Zero recruitment budget | Free; $25/user/mo paid | Yes — Forever Free, 1 active job | | [Ashby](https://www.ashbyhq.com/startups?partner=venture-harbour) | Scaling startups, serious analytics | $400/mo (under 100 employees) | No | | [BambooHR](/recommends/bamboohr/) (reference) | All-in-one HR + hiring | $250/mo minimum (≤25 employees) | No | Prices validated against our April 2026 ATS comparison research. ## ATS vs HRIS: which one are you actually buying? This is the question that decides whether you need this article at all. An ATS (applicant tracking system) handles recruitment: posting jobs, moving candidates through pipeline stages, screening, scheduling, offers. An HRIS (human resource information system) handles everything after the hire: payroll, benefits, PTO, performance reviews, employee records. BambooHR is an HRIS with an ATS bolted in. The ATS comes with every plan at no extra fee — which sounds like a bonus until you notice you can't buy it on its own, and the whole package is priced per employee (roughly $10–$25 per employee per month by tier) with a $250/mo minimum for companies of 25 or fewer. That pricing model is the trap for hiring-focused buyers. Your BambooHR bill scales with headcount, not hiring volume — a 25-person company pays the same $250/mo minimum whether it makes one hire this year or ten, and at the ~$10/employee Core rate a 50-person company is looking at roughly $500/mo. Meanwhile the ATS you're paying all that for caps you at 5 active jobs on Core. So ask yourself the honest question: is your problem *hiring*, or is it *HR admin*? If it's hiring, a dedicated ATS is cheaper, deeper, and doesn't charge you for every employee who'll never touch it. If it's HR admin, skip to the [final section](#when-bamboohr-is-the-right-call) — none of the first five tools below will do your payroll. ## 1. [Breezy HR](/recommends/breezyhr/) — the ATS I'd pick over BambooHR for hiring This is the tool we ran Venture Harbour's hiring on for over five years, so I'm not guessing. Across six hires and 900+ applications, the thing that kept us renewing was how much of the process I could hand off — to our HR manager, and even to my personal assistant — without losing visibility. [](/recommends/breezyhr/) The core is a drag-and-drop Kanban pipeline. You define your stages, candidates move through as cards, and "stage actions" fire automatically at each move: acknowledgement emails, screening questionnaires, self-scheduling links, rejections. Roughly 15–20% of our applicants self-disqualified on the screening questionnaire alone, which means nobody on our team ever read those CVs. Against BambooHR's ATS specifically, three things stand out. Breezy costs less ($157/mo annual versus $250/mo minimum — about $1,100 a year saved before headcount growth widens the gap). It has no active-job caps on paid plans, where BambooHR starts you at 5. And it goes deeper on the actual recruiting: one-click distribution to 50+ job boards, built-in video interviewing, and an AI layer (Breezy Intelligence) that scores candidates and flags AI-generated resumes — a problem that got noticeably worse across our last 18 months of applications. Now the downsides, because there are real ones. Reporting is the weakest part of the product — fine at our volume, thin at 50+ hires a year. The mobile app trails the desktop version. And Breezy is not an HRIS: no payroll, no employee records, and onboarding is a $49/mo add-on. If you later want a clean handoff into an HRIS — including, in a pleasing loop, BambooHR itself — those native integrations sit on the $439/mo Business plan, though Zapier covers most gaps below that. There's a free Bootstrap plan (one active position, no card required) if you want to test it on a live role first. I've written up the full experience in our [Breezy HR review](/breezy-hr-review/), and — in the interest of fairness — a rundown of [Breezy's own alternatives](/breezy-hr-alternatives/) for when it isn't the right fit either. ## 2. [Manatal](/recommends/manatal/) — AI screening on a small budget If the BambooHR quote made you wince, Manatal is the price reset. At $15 per user per month (annual), you get AI candidate scoring, profile enrichment from LinkedIn and 20+ social platforms, a sourcing hub of 600M+ profiles, and an AI Interviewer that runs automated first-round video screens with generated summaries. That last feature matters more than it sounds. For high-volume roles where BambooHR would leave you phone-screening by hand, an AI-conducted first round is a real time-saver rather than a gimmick. The catch is depth. Reporting is basic, customisation is limited, and the career page builder feels like an afterthought — if employer branding matters to you, this isn't the tool. Pricing is per recruiter seat too (hiring managers are free and unlimited), so it's cheapest for small teams with one or two people actually running recruitment. There's a 14-day trial but no free tier. ## 3. [Workable Premier](/recommends/workable/) — recruiting and HR in one, with a proper ATS Maybe the all-in-one idea is exactly why you were looking at BambooHR — you just want the recruiting half to be stronger. That's Workable Premier's pitch: a serious ATS first, with an HR module (HRIS, onboarding, time tracking, performance reviews) bundled in at $599/mo. The recruiting side is where it beats BambooHR outright. Workable's searchable database of 400M+ candidates is the closest thing to a built-in LinkedIn Recruiter I've seen inside an ATS, so you can source proactively rather than post and pray. BambooHR has nothing comparable; neither does Breezy, for that matter. The trade-off is that you approach BambooHR's problem from the other side: you get a strong ATS with a lighter HR layer, rather than a strong HRIS with a lighter ATS. It's also the most expensive tool on this list — $599/mo is nearly four times Breezy's Startup plan, and the plans step up with headcount. Pay it only if you'll actually use the sourcing database or the bundled HR module; the $299/mo Standard plan drops the HR features and charges add-on fees for texting and video interviews. ## 4. [GoHire](/recommends/gohire/) — the flat-rate pick for UK teams GoHire is the tool we came closest to switching to ourselves. It's UK-built, starts at $99/mo (£89) with unlimited team members, integrates properly with Reed and Totaljobs — boards most US-focused platforms treat as an afterthought — and ships 700+ job description templates. Against BambooHR, the appeal is the pricing model as much as the price. Flat rate, unlimited users, no per-employee maths — at $99/mo it's less than half BambooHR's minimum, for a tool that's entirely focused on the hiring job. The compromises: the Starter tier caps you at 3 active jobs, distribution covers 15+ boards versus Breezy's 50+, and you'll need the $299/mo Pro tier for video questionnaires and automated stage actions. For a UK small business making a few hires a year through domestic boards, though, it's the price-performance pick. ## 5. [Zoho Recruit](https://www.zoho.com/recruit/) — free, if you can live with the interface If the honest answer is that you have no recruitment budget at all, Zoho Recruit's Forever Free plan is the strongest genuinely free ATS: one active job, candidate management, email integration and interview scheduling, with no time limit. Paid plans start at $25/user/mo (annual). We've compared the free options in more depth in our [best free ATS guide](/best-free-ats/) — Breezy's free Bootstrap plan is the other one worth shortlisting. The costs are non-financial. The interface feels dated next to modern competitors, initial setup is a slog, and support can be slow on lower tiers. Candidates will notice the difference too. Take it if the alternative is running hiring out of a spreadsheet. It beats the spreadsheet. ## 6. [Ashby](https://www.ashbyhq.com/startups?partner=venture-harbour) — for when hiring becomes someone's full-time job At the opposite end from Zoho: if you're a scaling startup and the reason BambooHR's ATS feels thin is that you're hiring 20+ roles a year, Ashby is the dedicated tool built for that volume. The Foundations plan is a transparent $400/mo for companies under 100 employees, and the analytics — pass-through rates by stage, interviewer calibration, source effectiveness — are the best I've seen in the category. Fair warning: Ashby punishes casual users. Setup takes weeks rather than hours (the scheduling system alone has 14 tabs of settings), there's no free trial, and the interface is English-only. If nobody on your team owns recruiting as their actual job, you'll spend more time configuring it than hiring through it. Buy it for the analytics or don't buy it. ## When BambooHR is the right call Here's the part most alternatives posts skip. [](/recommends/bamboohr/) If you genuinely need the HR side — payroll (native in the US), PTO tracking, benefits administration, employee records, structured onboarding — [BambooHR](/recommends/bamboohr/) is still one of the best all-in-one platforms a small business can buy, and it holds a 4.5/5 average on Capterra with thousands of reviews. For a company that would otherwise stitch together three or four separate tools, the consolidation case is real, and the ATS-to-onboarding handoff (offer letter to first-day workflow without switching systems) is the piece every dedicated ATS user quietly envies. The test I'd apply: if you're making fewer than 20 hires a year and the HR admin is the part of your week you dread, buy BambooHR and stop reading lists like this one. Its ATS is fine at that volume, and no tool above will manage your payroll. But if you noticed you were justifying a $250/mo minimum by pointing at the recruiting features, that's the tell. Buy the dedicated ATS now — Breezy if you want my actual pick, Manatal if budget rules — and add an HRIS later when the employee-management pain arrives. Lightweight HRIS platforms (Gusto and Rippling being the obvious names) slot in alongside a dedicated ATS whenever you're ready, and Breezy integrates with BambooHR directly if you end up wanting both halves after all. Right tool, right job. The kitchen and the house are both fine purchases — just be sure which one you're shopping for. ## Updates - **July 2026** — Published initial version covering six alternatives, with pricing validated against our April 2026 ATS comparison research. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the best alternative to BambooHR?** It depends on what you're buying BambooHR for. If it's mainly recruiting, Breezy HR is the best alternative — a dedicated ATS with a drag-and-drop pipeline, automation, 50+ job board distribution and flat-rate pricing from $157/month (annual) with unlimited users, versus BambooHR's $250/month minimum. If you genuinely need the HR side — payroll, PTO, benefits, employee records — BambooHR remains one of the best all-in-one platforms for small businesses, and switching to a pure ATS would leave a gap. **Is there a cheaper alternative to BambooHR for recruiting?** Yes, several. BambooHR costs a minimum of $250/month for companies with 25 or fewer employees, with the ATS included as part of the wider HR suite. Dedicated applicant tracking systems cost less: Breezy HR starts at $157/month flat (annual) with unlimited users, GoHire starts at $99/month, Manatal starts at $15 per user per month, and Zoho Recruit has a Forever Free plan with one active job. If hiring is the only thing you need, every one of these is cheaper than BambooHR. **Is BambooHR's ATS any good?** It's decent for light hiring — roughly equivalent to entry-level dedicated tools, and it's included in every BambooHR plan at no extra fee. The standout strength is the handoff into onboarding: offer letter to first-day workflow without switching systems. The limits show at volume. Active job caps start at 5 on the Core plan (20 on Pro, 50 on Elite), the recruiting depth trails dedicated platforms like Breezy or Workable, and teams making more than about 20 hires a year tend to outgrow it. **What's the difference between an ATS and an HRIS?** An ATS (applicant tracking system) manages recruitment — posting jobs, tracking candidates through pipeline stages, scheduling interviews and managing offers. An HRIS (human resource information system) manages employees after they're hired — payroll, benefits, time off, performance and records. BambooHR is an HRIS with an ATS built in; Breezy HR is a dedicated ATS that integrates with HRIS platforms. If your main problem is hiring, a dedicated ATS is usually cheaper and deeper. If your main problem is HR admin, an HRIS is the right category. **Can you buy BambooHR's ATS on its own?** No. The ATS is included in every BambooHR plan rather than sold separately, so buying it means buying the full HR platform — priced per employee (roughly $10–$25 per employee per month depending on tier) with a $250/month minimum for companies of 25 or fewer employees. That's the core reason hiring-focused teams look at alternatives: you can't pay for just the recruiting piece. **Does BambooHR publish its pricing?** No — every quote comes from a sales conversation. Based on third-party buyer data through early 2026, expect roughly $10 per employee per month on the Core plan, $17 on Pro and $25 on Elite, with a flat $250/month minimum for companies with 25 or fewer employees. By contrast, most dedicated ATS alternatives (Breezy, Manatal, GoHire, Workable, Zoho Recruit) publish their pricing, so you can budget without booking a demo. --- # 6 Best Lever Alternatives in 2026 (Transparent Pricing) URL: https://ventureharbour.com/lever-alternatives/ Summary: Lever won't publish its prices. Here are the six alternatives I'd pick instead — with real pricing, led by the ATS we ran our own hiring on for five years. Last updated: 2026-07-03 16:00:00 Lever's pricing page doesn't have any prices on it. That's the complaint that brings most people to a post like this. You can't budget for the tool without booking a sales call, the quote you eventually get is negotiated rather than listed, and small teams end up paying somewhere between $4,000 and $8,000 a year — for software a competitor would happily price on its website. Position disclosed upfront: we ran hiring at Venture Harbour on Breezy HR for over five years (six hires, 900+ applications), and Lever was one of the ten platforms we evaluated for our [applicant tracking systems comparison](/applicant-tracking-systems/). So I have a horse in this race — but it's a horse we actually rode. ## The quick answer If you hire mostly through job postings — post a role, screen the applications, interview, hire — [Breezy HR](/recommends/breezyhr/) is the alternative I'd pick. It's a flat $157/mo on the annual Startup plan with unlimited users and candidates, versus negotiating a $4–8K annual contract with Lever's sales team. For most small and mid-sized businesses, that's the whole decision. If you're leaving Lever but want to keep the CRM side — talent pools, nurture emails, tracking passive candidates — [Manatal](/recommends/manatal/) is the like-for-like swap. It includes a recruitment CRM at $15/user/mo, which is not a typo. And if you're a scaling startup that wants sourcing and proper hiring analytics in one product, [Ashby](https://www.ashbyhq.com/startups?partner=venture-harbour) is the strongest option at a published $400/mo. ## How the alternatives compare | Tool | Best for | Price from | Pricing transparency | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Breezy HR](/recommends/breezyhr/) | Small businesses hiring reactively | $157/mo (Startup, annual) | Published, plus a free tier | | [Manatal](/recommends/manatal/) | ATS + CRM on a budget | $15/user/mo (annual) | Published | | [Ashby](https://www.ashbyhq.com/startups?partner=venture-harbour) | Scaling startups | $400/mo (Foundations) | Published (Plus/Enterprise quote-only) | | [Workable](/recommends/workable/) | Built-in candidate sourcing | $299/mo (Standard) | Published | | [Greenhouse](https://www.greenhouse.com/) | Enterprise structured hiring | ~$6,000/yr (Core) | Quote-based | | [GoHire](/recommends/gohire/) | UK small teams | $99/mo (Starter) | Published | | [Lever](https://www.lever.co/) (for reference) | ATS + CRM combo | ~$4–8K/yr (small teams) | Quote-based | Prices verified April 2026 as part of our full ATS comparison. Lever's figures come from verified buyer reports, because there's nowhere official to check them — which is rather the point. ## Why people leave Lever Three complaints come up again and again, and our research backs all of them. **The pricing is opaque.** Every Lever contract is negotiated. Buyer reports put small teams at $4,000–$8,000 a year, rising to roughly $8,000–$12,000 once you're running ten active jobs, with a rough benchmark of $6–8 per employee per month. Two companies of the same size can be paying meaningfully different amounts for the same product, and neither will know. **Annual lock-in, with add-ons on top.** Annual contracts are standard, and several features you might assume are included — Candidate Insights, AI Screening by VONQ, Onboarding — are paid extras. The product you're quoted and the product on the invoice can be some distance apart. **You may be paying for a CRM you never switch on.** Lever's genuine differentiator is its candidate relationship management — building talent pools and nurturing passive candidates over weeks or months before a role even opens. That's a strategic advantage if you hire that way. If your team posts jobs and waits for applications, you're funding machinery you don't run. When we ranked Lever in our roundup, the verdict said exactly this: companies that primarily hire through job postings are served just as well by a traditional ATS at a lower price. There's a quieter fourth reason. Since the Employ acquisition, Lever's product positioning has become muddier and standalone updates less frequent. Harder to put a number on, but existing customers notice it. ## 1. Breezy HR — for teams that hire through job postings *The alternative I'd pick for most small and mid-sized businesses.* I'll keep the disclosure going: [Breezy](/recommends/breezyhr/) is the ATS we ran our own hiring on for over five years, so this is the one recommendation on this list built on daily use rather than testing. The pricing contrast with Lever is the headline. Breezy's Startup plan is $157/mo on annual billing — unlimited users, unlimited candidates, unlimited active positions — and there's a free Bootstrap plan for one active job. At ten active jobs, Lever runs roughly $8–12K a year. Breezy stays at $157/mo, because nothing in its pricing scales with jobs or seats. The product holds its end up too. The drag-and-drop pipeline needs no training, and stage actions — automated emails, screening questionnaires and scheduling that fire when you move a candidate between stages — did the tedious 80% of our screening before a human opened a profile. One-click distribution to 50+ job boards and built-in video interviewing round it out. Now the honest bit. Breezy's reporting is light — I scored it 3.5/5 in our [full Breezy HR review](/breezy-hr-review/) — and there's no sourcing database and no CRM. If nurturing passive candidates is the reason you bought Lever, Breezy doesn't replace that part at all. (I've also written up [Breezy's own alternatives](/breezy-hr-alternatives/) if you want its gaps mapped properly.) **Choose Breezy if** you're under ~200 employees and your hiring is reactive. **Skip it if** the CRM is why you're on Lever — that's Manatal or Ashby territory. ## 2. Manatal — the like-for-like ATS + CRM swap *The closest thing to Lever's feature set at a fraction of the price.* Here's the comparison worth spelling out. Lever's small-team contracts start around $4,000 a year. [Manatal](/recommends/manatal/) is $15 per user per month on annual billing — three recruiter seats cost $540 a year — and it includes a recruitment CRM, which is the feature Lever charges thousands for. It's not a stripped-down product at that price either. You get AI candidate scoring, profile enrichment from 20+ social platforms, a sourcing hub of 600M+ profiles, an AI Interviewer for automated first-round screens, and posting to 2,500+ channels. Hiring managers are unlimited on every tier; you only pay per recruiter seat. There's a 14-day trial with no card required. The catch is depth. Manatal's CRM leans towards recruitment agencies and is a simpler machine than Lever's nurture campaigns, reporting is basic, and the career page builder feels like an afterthought. You're trading polish for a bill your accountant won't question. **Choose Manatal if** you want to keep proactive sourcing and talent pools without the negotiated contract. **Skip it if** you need deep reporting or polished employer branding. ## 3. Ashby — for scaling startups that want sourcing and analytics *The data-driven option, with a published price.* [Ashby](https://www.ashbyhq.com/startups?partner=venture-harbour) combines ATS, CRM, scheduling and analytics in one product, and its Foundations plan is a transparent $400/mo for companies under 100 employees. The analytics are the standout — pass-through rates by stage, interviewer calibration, source effectiveness — the numbers a Head of Talent at a Series B startup actually needs, and the area where Lever's reporting gets outclassed. The trade-off is that Ashby punishes casual users. Setup takes weeks rather than hours (the scheduling system alone has 14 tabs of settings), there's no free trial, the interface is English-only, and annual contracts are typical. It rewards teams with someone who owns recruiting as their actual job. **Choose Ashby if** you're making 20+ hires a year and want to measure everything. **Skip it if** you're a founder hiring occasionally — you'll spend more time configuring it than recruiting through it. ## 4. Workable — if sourcing matters more than nurturing *For finding candidates rather than waiting for them.* There's a distinction worth drawing here: Lever's CRM nurtures candidates you've already found, while [Workable](/recommends/workable/) helps you find them in the first place. Its searchable database of 400M+ candidates — filterable by role, skills and employment history — is the closest thing to a built-in LinkedIn Recruiter inside an ATS, and it starts at a published $299/mo for the Standard plan. The downsides are cost creep and focus. Add-ons stack quickly — texting is $89/mo, video interviews $109/mo, assessments $59/mo — and database access appears limited to annual plans. It's also nearly double Breezy's price for the core ATS work, so you're paying for the database whether or not you open it. **Choose Workable if** you hire for hard-to-fill roles and will genuinely run outreach campaigns. **Skip it if** your hiring is reactive — the 15-day trial is the cheap way to find out which you are. ## 5. Greenhouse — if you want enterprise structure (and can stomach another quote) *The stronger pure ATS at Lever-level budgets.* Full honesty: [Greenhouse](https://www.greenhouse.com/) doesn't fix the transparency complaint. It's quote-based like Lever, with Core typically running $6,000–$10,000 a year for companies under 50 employees and implementation adding $2,000–$8,000 on top. What it does fix is the ATS itself. Structured interview kits, standardised scorecards, anonymised candidate reviews, in-app bias prompts and the largest integration marketplace of any ATS (500+ partners). In our roundup we concluded Greenhouse offers stronger pure ATS capabilities than Lever at similar price points — the trade being that you lose Lever's nurture-focused CRM depth. **Choose Greenhouse if** you're a tech company that needs a defensible, structured process across dozens of hires a year. **Skip it if** you came here to escape sales calls. That's most of you. ## 6. GoHire — the budget pick for UK teams *Flat-rate pricing that undercuts everything else here.* [GoHire](/recommends/gohire/) starts at $99/mo (£89) with unlimited team members, and it's the tool we came closest to switching to ourselves. It's UK-built, integrates properly with Reed and Totaljobs — boards that US-focused platforms treat as an afterthought — and ships 700+ job description templates. The compromise is reach and depth. Distribution covers 15+ job boards versus Breezy's 50+, the Starter tier caps you at three active jobs, and reporting lags well behind Ashby or Greenhouse. Against Lever specifically, there's no CRM and no sourcing — this is a pure, cheap, reactive-hiring tool. **Choose GoHire if** you're a UK small business hiring domestically. **Skip it if** you hire internationally or need wide syndication. One more scenario: if the honest answer is that you don't want to spend anything at all, a cheaper paid tool isn't the fix either. Our [free ATS roundup](/best-free-ats/) covers the genuinely usable free options, including Breezy's Bootstrap plan. ## When staying on Lever is the right call Here's the section most alternatives posts skip. Lever's CRM is genuinely differentiated. If your recruiters build talent pools and nurture passive candidates over weeks or months before they're ready to apply — common in exec search, hard-to-fill engineering roles and competitive talent markets — none of the six tools above does that workflow as well. Manatal is far cheaper but simpler; Ashby comes closest at scale; neither is a clean substitute for Lever's nurture campaigns. If that's how you actually hire, the maths change. A benchmark of $6–8 per employee per month is defensible for tooling that fills roles you couldn't otherwise fill. Negotiate the add-ons, push back on the renewal terms, and stay put. Everyone else — the teams that post jobs, screen applications and interview whoever applies — is paying an enterprise sourcing premium for a workflow a $157/mo tool handles comfortably. That was our conclusion when we [ranked all ten ATS platforms](/applicant-tracking-systems/), and nothing about Lever's pricing model has given me a reason to soften it. ## Updates - **July 2026** — Published initial version covering six alternatives, with pricing validated against our April 2026 ATS comparison research. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the best alternative to Lever?** For most small and mid-sized businesses, Breezy HR is the best Lever alternative. It costs a flat $157/month on the annual Startup plan with unlimited users and candidates, versus Lever's quote-based contracts that typically run $4,000–$8,000 per year for small teams. Breezy covers pipeline management, stage-triggered automation, one-click posting to 50+ job boards and built-in video interviewing. The caveat: Breezy has no recruitment CRM, so if you rely on Lever's passive-candidate nurturing, Manatal (which includes a CRM at $15/user/month) or Ashby ($400/month) are closer swaps. **Are there cheaper alternatives to Lever?** Yes — almost everything is cheaper than Lever at the small-business end. Lever's quote-based contracts typically run $4,000–$8,000 per year for teams under 50 employees, rising to roughly $8,000–$12,000 at 10 active jobs. By comparison, Manatal starts at $15 per user per month (annual) and includes a recruitment CRM, GoHire starts at $99/month with unlimited users, Breezy HR is $157/month flat on its annual Startup plan, and Workable is $299/month. Breezy also has a free Bootstrap plan for one active job. **Which Lever alternatives have transparent pricing?** Breezy HR ($157/month, annual Startup plan), Manatal ($15/user/month annual), Workable ($299/month Standard), GoHire ($99/month Starter) and Ashby's Foundations plan ($400/month for companies under 100 employees) all publish their prices, so you can budget without a sales call. Greenhouse and Teamtailor are quote-based like Lever, so switching to either won't fix the transparency complaint — though Greenhouse buyers report roughly $6,000–$10,000 per year at the smallest tier. **What is the best Lever alternative with a recruitment CRM?** Manatal is the most direct like-for-like swap — it includes a recruitment CRM alongside its ATS from $15 per user per month (annual), plus AI candidate scoring and a 600M+ profile sourcing hub. Ashby also combines ATS, CRM, scheduling and analytics in one product at $400/month for companies under 100 employees. Neither matches the depth of Lever's nurture campaigns, which remain best-in-class for engaging passive candidates over weeks or months — but both cost a fraction of a Lever contract. **How much does Lever cost?** Lever doesn't publish pricing — every contract is negotiated with sales. Based on verified buyer reports through early 2026, small teams under 50 employees typically pay $4,000–$8,000 per year, mid-market companies $12,000–$37,000, and enterprises $63,000–$144,000+. A rough benchmark is $6–$8 per employee per month. Annual contracts are standard, and add-ons like Candidate Insights, AI Screening by VONQ and Onboarding cost extra on top of the base subscription. **Is Breezy HR better than Lever?** It depends on how you hire. For teams under roughly 200 employees that hire reactively — post a job, screen applications, interview, hire — Breezy is better value by a wide margin: $157/month flat with unlimited users versus a negotiated Lever contract starting around $4,000 per year. Lever wins if you proactively source and nurture passive candidates over weeks or months; its combined ATS + CRM is the cleanest implementation of that workflow available, and Breezy has no equivalent. --- # 6 Best Mass Email Senders for Bulk Email Blasts URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-bulk-email-senders/ Summary: Compare the best bulk email senders for 2026. We tested 12+ platforms to find top picks for campaigns, pricing and list growth. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:16:53 A bulk email is the process of sending one email template to a large number of addresses at once. This can be a powerful marketing tool, allowing you to semi-personalise emails with marketing information, promotions, campaigns, or other news. But first, you need to decide which platform to use. With [so many email marketing platforms](/email-marketing-software-tools-one-best/) on the market these days, picking the right one for your needs can be tricky. For bulk email, quantity is obviously going to be a key consideration. You want to be able to send as many emails as you need - without restrictions - for the lowest possible price. That's not the only thing you need to consider, though. ## What makes a good mass email sender? Simply blasting emails at everyone you can doesn't count as a marketing strategy - nor is it very legal, for that matter. You also need to think about how you're going to track those emails, check how users engage with them and automate your follow up email, depending on how people respond (if at all). ## 1. [Constant Contact](/recommends/constantcontact/) [](/recommends/constantcontact/) [Constant Contact](/recommends/constantcontact/) is the bulk email sender I'd start with if your list is growing faster than your sending volume. Its Starter Email plan costs $6/month, includes unlimited contacts and caps you at 2,500 email sends per month. That trade makes sense for small businesses, solo entrepreneurs and seasonal projects. You can collect contacts without watching the bill climb every time the list grows, although one full-list campaign to 2,500 people uses the whole monthly allowance. I tested Constant Contact across eight areas in August 2026, including its editor, AI, automation and deliverability. The default email scored 9/10 in Mail Tester and the editor was easy to use, but the automation builder is better suited to simple welcome sequences than behavioural campaigns. If you send less than 2,500 emails a month, [Constant Contact's Starter Email plan](/recommends/constantcontact/) is awkward to beat on price. If you blast a large list every week, the cap stops being clever and becomes the problem. ## 2. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) [](/recommends/active-campaign/) [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) is arguably one of the best email marketing tools on the market. With over 150,000 small business customers, they came out #1 in our [annual study](/email-marketing-software-tools-one-best/) of 100+ email platforms. Sending bulk emails is one of the many things you can achieve with ActiveCampaign. This platform makes more sense for businesses that need an all-in-one CRM, email marketing and automation system. You can send unlimited emails on every plan, with pricing based on the number of contacts and user accounts you need. More expensive plans also get you access to more advanced features like [A/B testing](/recommends/activecampaign-automation-split-testing/), [machine-learning](/recommends/activecampaign-predictive-content-email-software-guide/) and dedicated support. For 500 contacts, pricing starts as low as $9/month for up to three users, with a $49/month version also listed. At 10,000 contacts, ActiveCampaign remains competitive, with prices ranging between $111/month and $399/mo. At $199/mo, ActiveCampaign's Plus package covers you for 10,000 contacts, unlimited emails and up to 25 user accounts — plus a lot more marketing and automation features than you'll get from most platforms in this price bracket. Some other options in this list give you more mass email power for the money, but ActiveCampaign makes sense if you want email marketing, automation and CRM in one place. Among the providers we've looked at, ActiveCampaign is strongest on automation, sales tracking, reporting and integrations. The trade-off is that you're paying for a fuller marketing stack, rather than the cheapest way to blast a list. ## 3. [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue/) [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue/) is a truly sophisticated piece of email marketing software offering one of the best email builders on the market. Aside from editing templates, you can create your own design from scratch, using its drag-and-drop builder. [](/recommends/sendinblue/) [Brevo's pricing](/recommends/sendinblue/) is unique, too. Instead of charging you based on the number of contacts you're sending to, Brevo sets its prices based on the number of emails you're sending.  So you can send up to 300 emails every day for free, Brevo Lite starts at 10,000 emails per month for £16.5/monthup to 100,000 emails per month for £59.5/mo. Brevo Premium starts at 20,000 emails per month for £41.5/monthup to 1,000,000 emails per month for £424.15/mo. All plans come with unlimited contact storage Once again, custom pricing plans are available if you need to send higher volumes. Those prices are incredibly competitive and you're getting a lot of additional email marketing features in terms of automation, contact segmentation and reporting. [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue/) also has some of the best transactional email features we've come across, which we're still using today here at Venture Harbour. Brevo isn't only there to help you send emails, either; it's packed full of features to help you generate more leads and increase your email marketing list. Its form builder aims to turn your website into a stronger lead gen tool and improve the results of your inbound marketing efforts. This is also the first platform we've looked at that offers serious reporting tools - crucial for gauging the performance of your emails after they're sent out and optimising campaigns for better results. Brevo still has its limitations, though. While it offers some great automation and lead generation features, it doesn't match the industry leaders on this front. For example, there's no customer relationship management (CMS) platform included and its lead tracking capabilities aren't as advanced as some of its competitors (most of which are more expensive, though). ## 4. [Moosend](/recommends/moosend/) Moosend is a beginner-friendly bulk email sender. While not nearly as powerful as ActiveCampaign on features, what I do like about Moosend is that you can access all of their features from as little as $10/month. ActiveCampaign, on the other hand, separates their more advanced features onto higher-priced plans. Moosend also offers unlimited email sending regardless of which plan you're on.  Their platform is easy to use, albeit has a slightly dated feeling to it. Your email recipients will never see this platform, so it's debatable how much of an issue this is.  A major benefit with [Moosend](/recommends/moosend/) (right now) is that they offer each customer agency-level support, to help you with anything from strategy to delivery optimisation. They've advised me that this may not always be the case, but for the time being it's a major perk that other bulk email tools charge a hefty fee for. ## 5. [Kit](/recommends/convertkit/) Kit is the bulk email sender for individuals in creative industries, such as authors, teachers, and bloggers. With Kit, do not expect any fancy features. There is no predictive sending, split test A/B testing, and the reporting is bare-bones. For those who just need an easy-to-use tool to send emails to a large list, it's perfect. [Kit's email editor](/recommends/convertkit/) is a simple drag-and-drop editor, with few bells and whistles. One major difference compared to ActiveCampaign and Moosend, is that Kit does not offer email templates — as they encourage users to send plain text emails.  Similar to both of the tools above, Kit's pricing allows for unlimited email sends, but the price is based on the number of contacts on your list. Their pricing is reasonable — though not too dissimilar to ActiveCampaign's, which we felt generally offers more bang for its buck.  ## 6. [MailerLite](/recommends/mailerlite/) MailerLite is hands-down the most affordable bulk email sender for smaller list sizes. If you have less than 1,000 contacts, MailerLite is free to send up to 12,000 emails a month. Starting at $15 for 2,500 contacts, it's one of the most affordable email marketing tools out of over 100 email marketing tools that we analysed. More importantly, their software is also very easy to use and has a good set of features. [](/recommends/mailerlite/) While nowhere near as powerful as ActiveCampaign from a feature standpoint, MailerLite does have all of the basic features you'd expect of a bulk email sender - from personalisation tags to sending by time-zone, and A/B testing. Ultimately, if you're a business looking for an all-in-one email marketing solution, I would still err towards ActiveCampaign. But if it's a personal or side project you're looking to send bulk emails for, where affordability trumps potential for growth, [MailerLite](/recommends/mailerlite/) is a brilliant option to consider. ## Which is the best bulk email sender? Each bulk email sender here has strengths in its own right. [Constant Contact](/recommends/constantcontact/) keeps a lightly used list cheap, while [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) gives you a complete all-in-one sales and marketing platform. The gist: price depends less on list size than on how often you email it. | Tool | Monthly price for 2,500 contacts | Monthly price for 10,000 contacts | Monthly price for 100,000 contacts | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Constant Contact Starter Email](/recommends/constantcontact/) | $6 | $6 | $6 | | [MailerLite](/recommends/mailerlite/) | $15 | $50 | $360 | | [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/active-campaign/) | $39 | $111 | $299 | | [Moosend](/recommends/moosend/) | $20 | $125 | $585 | | [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue-bulk/) | $39 | $66 | $173 | | [Kit](/recommends/convertkit/) | $49 | $119 | $679 | Constant Contact's $6 row is Starter Email pricing, which only includes 2,500 total sends per month. If you need to email the whole list regularly, compare its Core plans instead. [Brevo](/recommends/sendinblue-bulk/) stands out on price once the list gets bigger: $66 at 10,000 contacts and $173 at 100,000. It's less compelling at 2,500 contacts, where MailerLite and Constant Contact are cheaper. Its focus on deliverability and transactional email is the reason I'd look at it when inbox placement matters as much as price. ## FAQ **What is the difference between bulk email and spam?** Bulk email is a legitimate marketing tool where you send one message to multiple recipients who have opted in. Spam is unsolicited email sent without consent. Permission is the key difference — bulk email senders like ActiveCampaign and Brevo require verified subscriber lists to stay compliant with GDPR and CAN-SPAM. **How much does bulk email software cost?** Bulk email software typically ranges from free plans for small lists to £20-100+ per month for enterprise solutions. It depends on subscriber count and features. Most platforms use a tiered pricing model based on contacts. MailerLite and Moosend offer affordable options for startups, whilst ActiveCampaign caters to larger organisations. **Can you send bulk emails for free?** Yes, several bulk email senders offer free plans with limits on contact numbers and monthly sends. Free tiers typically support 500-1,000 contacts and are useful for testing. You'll need to upgrade as your list grows — MailerLite and Moosend provide generous free options before requiring payment. **What features should a mass email sender have?** A quality mass email sender should include automation, segmentation, personalisation, analytics, and deliverability tools. The point is to help campaigns reach inboxes and perform well. Automation and segmentation matter because they let you send targeted messages at scale rather than one-size-fits-all blasts. That tends to improve engagement rates. **Is bulk email marketing legal?** Bulk email marketing is legal when you follow regulations like GDPR (UK/EU), CAN-SPAM (US), and CASL (Canada). They require explicit consent, clear unsubscribe options, and honest sender identification. Compliance is mandatory — reputable bulk email platforms like Brevo and ActiveCampaign enforce these rules automatically to protect both senders and recipients. **Which bulk email sender has the best deliverability?** ActiveCampaign and Brevo consistently achieve the highest inbox placement rates due to their advanced authentication protocols and sender reputation management. Deliverability depends on your sender practices. Even the best platforms can't guarantee inbox placement if you're sending to inactive addresses or using poor list hygiene. **Can you personalise emails in bulk email software?** Yes, all modern bulk email senders allow dynamic personalisation using merge tags. You can insert subscriber names, purchase history, or custom fields into templates. Personalisation can boost open rates — platforms like MailerLite and Kit make it simple to add first names or segment-specific content without manual effort. **What's the best bulk email sender for small businesses?** Constant Contact is the best fit if you are building a list but sending fewer than 2,500 emails a month. MailerLite and Moosend give you more room for regular sending, but their pricing rises as the list grows. --- # 6 Must-Have Digital Marketing Platforms URL: https://ventureharbour.com/best-marketing-platforms/ Summary: Compare 6 best digital marketing platforms to scale your campaigns. See pricing, features & our top pick for 2026. Last updated: 2026-04-09 08:17:51 Ask any successful business what technology they use daily—we promise that most would say their marketing platforms undergird all of their marketing activities and contribute to their success. One thing that most marketing platforms have in common is that they automate marketing in some way and make processes more efficient. The result? A fast-moving, strategically aligned marketing team that has complete visibility into marketing ROI and customer experiences. ## What is a Marketing Platform? Marketing platforms encompass multiple marketing activities depending on their offerings—from social media and email marketing, to lead scoring and management, and everything in between. Many different types of marketing platforms exist, all with varying purposes and features, although many are similar in their offerings. How do you know which marketing platform is right for you? At a minimum, it should: - Automate your marketing tasks - Unify your siloed workspaces - Foster efficient team communication, interactions and messaging - Have global visibility for your team to see all marketing actions undertaken by your business in one place - Track sales and progress with automation and powerful analytics All of the platforms we discuss in this guide satisfy the above requirements. However, they each offer different features. Choosing the right marketing platform will require reviewing your current marketing needs and trying the different platforms and features that align with your goals. Here are some features of marketing platforms: - Email marketing and campaign management - Social media marketing and management - Sales pipeline management - Predictive marketing campaigns - Streamlined operations - Resource management - Lead management - Content management - A/B testing - Personalised marketing; behavioural data In this guide, we will discuss three categories of marketing platforms:  **All-in-one CRM** - These tools house a full customer relationship management platform where you can manage your contacts and automate your marketing, plus other activities. - HubSpot - ActiveCampaign **Marketing automation and activities** - These platforms have marketing automation capabilities, but they might not have an internal CRM. Most allow you to integrate with your CRM, however. - Marketo - VBOUT - SharpSpring - Pardot - Act-on **Marketing operations** - These platforms accompany your current MarTech stack (whether all-in-one CRM or marketing automation) and help organise your data so you can be more efficient and move through marketing campaigns faster. Marketing automation platforms streamline marketing activities and help you stay organised and efficient so you can grow faster and optimise marketing spend. Let’s discuss eight of the best marketing automation platforms, their notable features, and ownership costs. ## 1. [ActiveCampaign](/recommends/activecampaign/) ActiveCampaign focuses on helping small businesses create stellar customer experiences by automating the customer journey from lead to retention and beyond. Though ActiveCampaign became famous as an email automation platform, it has developed into an all-in-one CRM with features that far outweigh just email capabilities. ActiveCampaign’s automation builder is user-friendly and easy enough for the most technically challenged marketer to create automations. The platform also offers what they call *automation workflow recipes* (templates) you can use as a foundation to build and customise your automated workflows.  In addition to its customer experience automations, ActiveCampaign also offers omnichannel marketing features that allow you to reach your audience and integrate your communication across multiple platforms. Capabilities include landing page builder, SMS marketing, live chat with automated workflows, and integration with Facebook Custom Audiences.  **ActiveCampaign Features:** - Sales automation - CRM - Sales performance and analytics - Customisable sales pipelines - Contact management - Lead management & scoring - Site tracking - Email marketing & split testing - Omni-channel marketing - Customisable forms and landing pages **ActiveCampaign Pricing:** *14-day free trial* Pricing is dependent on the number of internal users and contacts. If you have three users and up to 500 contacts, the *Lite* plan starts at $15 / month, with annual billing discounts. For 500-1,000 contacts and 1,000-2,500 contacts, the *Lite* plan is $29 / month and $55 / month, respectively. The *Lite* plan offers email marketing, unlimited sends, subscriptions forms and marketing automation. Premium plans start at $70 / month for the *Plus* plan for up to 500 contacts and 25 users, with annual billing discounts. The cost does not increase until you pass 1,000 contacts, which is $125 / month. The *Enterprise* plan starting at $279 / month is the most robust and offers everything in the premium plans plus custom reporting, custom domain, custom mail server domain, unlimited email design testing, unlimited users, dedicated account rep, and more. ## 2. [Marketo Engage](https://business.adobe.com/products/marketo.html) Marketo Engage is a popular marketing platform that is flexible enough to cater to small or large businesses or those hoping to scale. Like ActiveCampaign, it has many different automation capabilities and serves, but it is not an all-in-one CRM. Marketo is still an industry leader and prides itself on helping marketers engage with prospects from acquisition to advocacy. One notable feature of Marketo is its AI-powered (Adobe Sensei) audience segmentation, lookalike audiences, and insights. Marketo’s predictive intelligence helps you target the right audience to optimise conversions and then replicate future campaigns’ success. For example, reduce unsubscribe rates by identifying the users who are most likely to unsubscribe with the *Likelihood to Unsubscribe* Predictive Filter. Slow down messaging for fatigued subscribers or stop engagement with suspended contacts. The power is in your hands.  [Source](https://blog.marketo.com/2020/06/audience-segmentation-with-predictive-audiences-artificial-intelligence.html) With predictive technology, you can also replicate your success with lookalike audiences. For example, capture sign-ups from one of your successful marketing campaigns, and create a similar audience to the contacts who converted. Marketo allows you to create filters to find similar audience members to those you add to a defined list.  [Source](https://blog.marketo.com/2020/06/audience-segmentation-with-predictive-audiences-artificial-intelligence.html) **Marketo Engage Features:** - Customer engagement marketing - Marketing automation - AI-powered predictive technology - Lead generation - Social marketing - CRM - Email marketing - Landing pages & forms - Scoring, routing & alerts **Marketo Engage Pricing:** Marketo does not list its pricing on its website. But, it is more expensive than many platforms in its category. The *Select* plan does offer many of the platform’s key features, and it is a more robust starter plan than most. ## 3. [HubSpot](/recommends/hubspot/) Like ActiveCampaign, HubSpot is a CRM and marketing automation platform that caters to businesses of all sizes. It offers several additional products or “hubs” so businesses can choose which services they need. HubSpot offerings: - Marketing Hub - Sales Hub - Service Hub - CMS Hub Each Hub has a monthly cost and minimum contact limit. HubSpot is also famous for its free, albeit limited plan which provides a good number of basic sales, marketing, and service features and the ability for you to give the platform a try before you buy. HubSpot’s Marketing Hub provides multiple capabilities including a form and landing page builder, email marketing, account-based marketing, social media management, lead and ad tracking and management, and more. HubSpot also offers video hosting and a live chatbot for your website to attract and convert more leads. With its automation features, it’s simple to convert leads with personalised emails, advanced segmentation, and automated campaign workflows. [](/recommends/hubspot/) Once those leads convert, reviewing your analytics gives you a complete idea of what worked and what didn't. HubSpot's marketing reporting features customisable reports and dashboards and allows you to tie your campaigns to closed deals with multi-touch revenue attribution (added natively to Marketing Hub Pro+ in the Spring 2026 Spotlight release). **HubSpot Marketing Hub Features:** - Marketing automation - Sales performance and analytics - Lead management and scoring - Email marketing - Custom workflows - Social media management - Live chat - Custom forms and landing pages **HubSpot Pricing:** *Free Smart CRM + 14-day Pro/Enterprise trials* HubSpot offers a generous *Free* plan — the Smart CRM gives you unlimited contacts, deal tracking, pipeline management, basic forms and 2,000 marketing emails per month, all with HubSpot branding. | Plan | At 1,000 contacts | At 10,000 contacts | At 100,000 contacts | Onboarding fee | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Free Tools | $0 (2 seats, 2,000 emails/mo) | n/a | n/a | None | | [Starter](/recommends/hubspot/) | $15/seat/mo | ~$470/mo (1 seat + overage) | n/a (caps out) | None | | [Professional](/recommends/hubspot/) | $890/mo | ~$2,280/mo | ~$4,080/mo | $3,000 (mandatory) | | [Enterprise](/recommends/hubspot/) | $3,600/mo | $3,600/mo (10K included) | ~$5,850/mo | $7,000 (mandatory) | Marketing Hub Starter is now per-seat ($15/seat/month, annual) — every editing user is a paid Core Seat, view-only seats are free and unlimited. Starter includes email marketing, ad retargeting, list segmentation, conversational bots, live chat, landing pages and more. The big jump is to *Professional*: $890/month plus a one-time $3,000 mandatory onboarding fee that's non-refundable, and a 12-month commitment with no early exit. Pro adds advanced marketing automation, contact scoring, custom reporting, traffic analytics, A/B testing, ABM tools and Salesforce integration. *Enterprise* starts at $3,600/month with a $7,000 onboarding fee and unlocks predictive lead scoring, multi-touch attribution, unlimited dashboards and Loop Marketing. Marketing contacts are billed in 1,000-contact increments above each tier's allowance (~$50/mo per 1,000 on Pro, ~$100/mo on Enterprise). The pricing above is only for Marketing Hub, not Sales, Service or CMS Hub. HubSpot offers [Bundle Suites](/recommends/hubspot/) at discounted rates if you want to bundle Hubs. ## 4. [VBOUT](https://www.vbout.com/) VBOUT is a simple marketing automation platform that caters to businesses of all types and sizes. Like Marketo, it offers a full suite of marketing tools such as social media management, lead generation and management, email marketing, and landing pages. VBOUT's email marketing capabilities include personalised messaging (via merge tags) and dynamic email creation. So, for example, you can add countdowns and animated GIFs for specific events. You can also control email delivery and cadence and automate a workflow based on custom triggers connected to a lead's score, behaviour or progress.  [Source](https://www.vbout.com/blog/5-marketo-alternatives-you-should-consider-in-2021/#hubspot) In addition to email campaigns, this drag-and-drop visual workflow builder includes automation templates and can also automate marketing tasks and cross-channel communications around leads, tracking, and integration with 3rd party applications. With VBOUT's lead generation features, import unlimited contacts, or synchronise your leads with your current CRM platforms. VBOUT allows you to segment your leads with filters, track their activity from the first to last touch, and gather insights with its analytics and tracking tools. Use lead scoring to focus on the hottest leads, and use custom labels to monitor their progress through your pipelines.  [Source](https://www.vbout.com/solutions/lead-management/) **VBOUT Features:** - Marketing automation - Lead scoring and management - Email marketing - Social media management - Form and landing page creation - Sales performance and analytics - Custom workflows - CRM integrations **VBOUT Pricing:** *14-day Free Trial* VBOUT’s Starter *Professional* Plan starts at $100 / month for all of its features (email marketing, social media, automation, analytics, landing pages, and lead management), with annual pricing discounts. Pricing is à la carte for four of the six features. For example, if you were not interested in social media or landing pages, the price would reduce to $80 / month for email marketing, analytics, lead management, and automation. The Premium plan (*Enterprise* and *Agency*) pricing is only availably by a custom quote. These plans offer additional features such as customised stack and integrations, dedicated IP warmup and dedicated account manager, white-label options, and more depending on whether you are an agency looking for opportunities to serve your clients. ## 5. [Salesforce Pardot](https://www.pardot.com/) If you're looking for a marketing platform, Salesforce would be overkill. Pardot is the marketing automation arm of Salesforce’s comprehensive suite, perfect for businesses wanting a robust marketing automation platform without signing on to other Salesforce products. Like other top-rated marketing automation platforms we’ve already discussed, Pardot offers customised workflows, social media management, lead generation and management, email marketing, analytics and reporting. Pardot is also known for its artificial intelligence feature called “Pardot Einstein” which includes Einstein Lead Scoring, Einstein Behavior Scoring and Einstein Campaign Insights. Einstein Lead Scoring monitors your lead’s conversion patterns and scores new leads based on previous conversion data.  [Source](https://www.pardot.com/solutions/b2b-marketing-automation/artificial-intelligence/) Einstein Behavior Scoring monitors leads’ behaviour and notifies you when they are ready to purchase, while Einstein Campaign Insights looks for new prospects based on similarities to your highly engaged leads. Pardot’s AI capabilities allow you to attract, convert and find new ready-to-convert leads based on machine learning and ongoing monitoring of your leads.  [Source](https://www.pardot.com/solutions/b2b-marketing-automation/artificial-intelligence/) Pardot also feeds its automation capabilities with the data it collects on your leads’ behaviours. Build personalised automations, custom workflows, and engage with leads at the right time to increase the chances of conversion. **Pardot Features:** - Marketing automation - Pardot Einstein (AI) - Lead scoring and management - Email marketing - Landing pages - Social media management - Account-based marketing - Sales performance and analytics - Custom workflows - Salesforce integration **Pardot Pricing:** Pricing starts at $1,250 / month billed annually for the *Growth* plan for up to 10,000 contacts. Premium plans (*Plus, Advanced, Premium*) start at $1,250 / month billed annually for up to 10,000 contacts. Pardot also offers some à la carte add-ons to customise your packages. All plans include email marketing, landing pages, email A/B testing, marketing automations, lead scoring, custom fields, and more. Premium plans add more sophisticated marketing automations, B2B marketing analytics, dedicated IP address, a developer sandbox, advanced email analytics, unlimited forms and landing pages, and additional upgrades. ## 6. [Act-on](https://act-on.com/) Act-on is another impressive marketing automation platform offering email marketing, social media, analytics and other marketing features. Act-on’s powerful behaviour-based segmentation tracks your segment’s interactions and engagements with your brand, and scores leads and fuels campaigns based on this data. In addition, use the demographic and firmographic segmentation data to personalise experiences and deliver relevant messaging to increase engagement. Act-on’s segmentation would not be complete without its dynamic scoring, which follows your lead's actions and records their steps to empower your segmentation and alert you when leads are ready to buy.  Track buyer pathways on Act-on's score sheets, where you can outline scoring criteria and rules for your contacts and create one scorecard for each audience for segmentation purposes. With Act-on's *Automated Journey Builder*, customise a communications workflow to construct your multi-channel campaigns and reward your prospects and customers with personalised brand experiences.  [Source](https://act-on.com/product/features/automation/) **Act-on Features:** - Marketing automation - Lead scoring and management - Landing pages - Social media management - Account-based marketing - Sales performance and analytics - Custom workflows - CRM integrations **Pricing:** The *Professional* starter plan starts at $900 / month for up to 2,500 active contacts and includes most features. The *Enterprise* plan starts at $2,000 / month for up to 2,500 active contacts and adds on CRM integrations, Data Studio for advanced reporting and BI integration, account-based marketing and transactional emails. ## How to Choose the Right Marketing Platform  Choosing the right marketing platform will depend on what you need to complete your MarTech stack. These platforms also integrate, so in some cases, it might make sense to use more than one to fulfil your marketing requirements. For example, if you have HubSpot, but you want a more robust operations platform to funnel in your results data and better optimise your marketing campaigns, you might also want to try TrueNorth, which integrates with HubSpot. If you already have SharpSpring, but you are looking for a more robust CRM, you might look into HubSpot and integrate it with SharpSpring. Here's how to break it down: **OPTION 1**: If you are looking for an all-in-one CRM + marketing automation, try HubSpot or ActiveCampaign. We also published an in-depth piece on the [best CRMs for small businesses](/crm-software-small-business/). **OPTION 2**: If you are looking for just marketing automation and other marketing capabilities (social media, customised workflows, landing pages, email marketing, etc.), try Marketo, VBOUT, SharpSpring, Pardot, or Act-on. Make a list of the marketing activities you want to automate, and then review each tool’s features to match them up. Not all of them offer every marketing feature. **OPTION 3**: If you want to speed up your marketing processes to get results quicker, and make your systems more efficient, try a tool like TrueNorth. TrueNorth can work alongside and above your tool stack as a control panel. You can import your performance results to figure out what campaigns are working and which ones are draining your marketing spend. Use TrueNorth as a first step to evaluate future campaigns and their potential for success even before you run them. ## Choose the Marketing Platform That Meets Your Needs We covered eight of the top marketing platforms in this article. Take one or more for a test drive to see if they meet your needs. The great news is that these platforms often integrate so if one does not fulfil all of your needs, you can combine them to create a unique stack that aligns with your company goals. ## FAQ **What is a digital marketing platform and why do businesses need one?** A digital marketing platform is software that automates and manages your marketing activities across multiple channels in one centralised location. Most successful businesses rely on these platforms because they **streamline repetitive marketing tasks**, improve team collaboration, and provide data-driven insights that would be impossible to gather manually across email, social media, and advertising channels. **What's the difference between a marketing platform and marketing automation software?** Marketing automation software is a specific feature within broader marketing platforms, focusing primarily on automating email campaigns and lead nurturing workflows. However, **comprehensive marketing platforms offer much more**—including CRM integration, analytics, social media management, landing page builders, and multi-channel campaign orchestration that goes beyond automation alone. **Which digital marketing platform is best for small businesses?** HubSpot and VBOUT are the most accessible options for small businesses because they offer affordable pricing tiers without sacrificing core functionality. **These platforms scale with your business**, allowing you to start with basic email marketing and gradually add advanced features like CRM, landing pages, and lead scoring as your team grows. **Can you use multiple marketing platforms together?** Yes, most modern marketing platforms are designed with integration capabilities that allow them to work alongside other tools in your marketing stack. However, **using too many disconnected platforms creates data silos** and increases complexity—which is why many businesses consolidate around one primary platform like HubSpot or Salesforce Pardot and integrate complementary tools selectively. **What features should I look for in an online marketing platform?** The essential features are email marketing automation, lead scoring and segmentation, CRM functionality, and detailed analytics dashboards. Beyond these basics, **prioritise platforms with strong API documentation and pre-built integrations** to your existing tools, as this determines how easily the platform will fit into your actual workflow rather than creating extra work. **How much does a marketing platform typically cost?** Pricing varies dramatically based on features and scale, ranging from £50–200 per month for entry-level platforms like VBOUT to £1,000+ monthly for enterprise solutions like Salesforce Pardot. **Most platforms use contact-based or usage-based pricing models**, so your actual cost depends on your email list size, number of users, and which premium features you activate. **Is ActiveCampaign better than HubSpot for email marketing?** ActiveCampaign excels at advanced email automation and conditional logic, making it superior for complex nurture sequences, whilst HubSpot offers a more intuitive interface and better all-in-one CRM integration. **Your choice depends on whether you prioritise automation sophistication or ease of use**—ActiveCampaign suits marketing teams with technical expertise, whilst HubSpot works better for smaller teams wanting simplicity. **Do I need a marketing platform if I'm just starting out with digital marketing?** Even early-stage businesses benefit from marketing platforms because they eliminate manual work and provide customer insights from day one. **Starting with a platform early establishes good data practices and automation habits** that become increasingly valuable as you grow, rather than having to migrate and restructure your processes later when you've already built bad habits with spreadsheets and manual processes. --- # 7 Best Enterprise Email Marketing Platforms for 2026 URL: https://ventureharbour.com/top-enterprise-email-marketing-automation-crm/ Summary: We've sent 764,000+ emails through these enterprise email and CRM platforms over 14 years. Our take on which earn the price tag, which don't, and where the trade-offs sit. Last updated: 2026-05-01 09:00:00 Across 14 years, we've sent more than 764,000 emails through the platforms below. Two restructured pricing on us mid-contract. One costs about a third of its closest peer for similar work. The verdicts below reflect what that experience taught us. (And if you're weighing the CRM side as heavily as email, our guide to the [best enterprise CRM platforms](/best-enterprise-crm-software-solutions/) goes deeper on that.) ## Top enterprise email marketing platforms | Tool | Best for | Enterprise plan from | Onboarding | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [ **ActiveCampaign**](/recommends/activecampaign-enterprise/) | Mid-large enterprise marketing automation | $145/mo+ | Included | | [ **HubSpot Marketing Hub**](/recommends/hubspot/) | B2B with CRM-led attribution | $3,600/mo | $7,000 mandatory | | [ **Omnisend Pro**](/recommends/omnisend/) | Enterprise eCommerce | $59/mo+ (custom 150K+) | Free done-for-you migration | | [ **Brevo Enterprise**](/recommends/sendinblue/) | Transactional + marketing at volume | Custom | Custom | | [ **Salesforce Marketing Cloud**](https://www.salesforce.com/products/marketing-cloud/) | Salesforce CRM users | Custom (~$1,250/mo+) | $50k–250k typical | | [ **Adobe Campaign**](https://business.adobe.com/products/campaign/adobe-campaign.html) | Adobe Experience users | Six-figure typical | | [ **Constant Contact**](https://www.constantcontact.com/) | Basic email marketing | ~$449/mo | Included | Prices verified May 2026. "Custom" means the vendor doesn't publish enterprise pricing; expect to negotiate based on contact volume, channels, regions and integration scope. ## What "enterprise" means in this category In practice there are three shapes of enterprise buyer, and the right tool changes for each: 1. **Mid-market enterprise (250–2,000 employees, 10K–250K contacts).** Procurement matters but isn't ruthless. SSO and SOC 2 are required; data residency is preferred but not contractually critical. Most of these teams are best served by ActiveCampaign Enterprise, HubSpot Enterprise or Omnisend Pro depending on whether their core motion is automation, B2B sales, or eCommerce. 2. **Large enterprise (2,000+ employees, 250K+ contacts).** Procurement is a multi-quarter exercise. SSO, SOC 2 Type II, data residency in named regions, named CSM, audit trails and role-based permissions are all required. Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Adobe Campaign make the shortlist here. HubSpot Enterprise and ActiveCampaign Enterprise still compete, particularly for B2B service businesses. 3. **Regulated enterprise (financial services, healthcare, government, life sciences).** HIPAA, FedRAMP, FCA-aligned controls, and multi-region data residency contracts. The shortlist narrows quickly to Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Adobe Campaign, and occasionally HubSpot Enterprise. What you pay for at every tier is governance, support and integration — not features. All seven platforms can send an email and run an automation. The differences show up at 2am when a workflow breaks, a deliverability incident hits, or an audit needs answering. ## 1. [ActiveCampaign Enterprise](/recommends/activecampaign-enterprise/) Best enterprise email marketing platform when you already have a CRM. [](/recommends/activecampaign-enterprise/) We started using ActiveCampaign in 2014 and have rolled it out across 8 portfolio companies since. 124,000+ emails sent, 99.4% deliverability across the lot. ActiveCampaign Enterprise (from $145/mo, scales with contact volume) is the first option we'd put in front of most enterprise marketing teams. [](/recommends/activecampaign/) The reason it works at enterprise is that it doesn't try to replace your CRM. ActiveCampaign Enterprise sits on top of Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Pipedrive or whatever else is your system of record, with 1,000+ integrations and deep two-way connectors. For organisations not looking to migrate CRM, it's probably the strongest platform on this list. The Enterprise tier adds SSO, custom reporting, dedicated IPs, premium integrations, advanced security and a dedicated account manager. The visual automation builder is the same one as on lower tiers — at enterprise scale that's a strength, not a downgrade. Split-testing entire automation paths (not just individual emails) is unique to ActiveCampaign; once you've got a year of A/B data on a sequence, no other platform on this list can show you equivalent learning. [](/recommends/activecampaign-enterprise/) Active Intelligence — ActiveCampaign's AI layer — has stopped being a feature-list item and started being something we use. Generating a 14-day drip sequence from a brief takes a few minutes. Critiquing an existing automation and getting a list of split-test variations to try takes seconds. The build time on a complex sequence is now under an hour where it used to be a full day. The CRM is still the weak spot. It's fine as a contacts-and-lifecycle layer feeding automations, but if your sales team is running deals at volume you'll pair ActiveCampaign with Salesforce or Pipedrive — which is how most enterprise teams use it. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Best automation depth at the price.** Visual builder, 135+ triggers, split-testing of full automation paths, and contextual AI via Active Intelligence. Roughly a third of the cost of HubSpot Enterprise for equivalent automation depth. - **Sits on top of any major CRM.** Mature two-way integrations with Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Pipedrive, HubSpot CRM and 1,000+ others. Doesn't fight your existing stack. - **Deliverability holds up at volume.** Vendor study reports 94.2% inbox placement. Across our own AC accounts we've seen 99.4% deliverability. Dedicated IPs included on Enterprise. - **Onboarding included.** Free migration from any platform, plus a dedicated account manager and deliverability specialist. - **CRM is too thin for serious sales teams.** Functional as a backbone for automation; not where you'd run a sales pipeline at enterprise scale. - **Reporting feels a generation behind.** The data you need is there — goals, attribution, eCommerce revenue — but the visualisation is dated relative to HubSpot. - **2024 pricing restructure damaged trust.** Existing customers saw 30–40% increases overnight. Enterprise pricing is more stable since but the episode is part of the context. ### Is ActiveCampaign Enterprise the right enterprise email platform for you? Recommended for: Not recommended for: Enterprise marketing teams that already run Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics or another CRM as the system of record and want a strong marketing automation layer on top. SaaS companies running lifecycle marketing at scale. B2B service businesses where automation depth matters more than closed-loop attribution. Most mid-market enterprises (10K–250K contacts) where ActiveCampaign delivers 80%+ of HubSpot Enterprise's value at a fraction of the cost. Fortune 500 brands that need cross-channel orchestration across Adobe Experience Cloud (look at Adobe Campaign). Regulated industries that require HIPAA, FedRAMP or financial-services-specific compliance (look at Salesforce Marketing Cloud). Enterprises where the marketing team will only buy if the CRM is part of the same suite (look at HubSpot Enterprise). [Open ActiveCampaign →](/recommends/activecampaign/) ## 2. [HubSpot Marketing Hub Enterprise](/recommends/hubspot/) Best enterprise email marketing platform for B2B with closed-loop attribution. [](/recommends/hubspot/) We've run HubSpot across two of our ventures since 2018. For B2B service companies that use revenue attribution to make decisions, this is the right pick — the CRM, marketing, sales and service tools sit natively together, which means you can walk into a meeting and say "this email campaign generated $42,000 in pipeline" with the data to back it up. The Spring 2026 Spotlight added native multi-touch revenue attribution to Marketing Hub Pro+, which closes one of the gaps that used to push enterprise teams toward Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Loop Marketing — campaign generation from a single brief across email, ads, landing pages and social — is the other recent addition worth the demo time. [](/recommends/hubspot/) What HubSpot bundles into one suite is hard to match: CRM, email, landing pages, blog, social, ads, forms, live chat, AEO module (Answer Engine Optimisation, tracking your visibility in ChatGPT and Perplexity), and reporting. For B2B teams, eliminating the integration tax between those tools matters more than any individual feature comparison. [](/recommends/hubspot/) The Breeze AI suite (Customer Agent, Prospecting Agent, Data Agent and Copilot) moved to outcome-based pricing in April 2026 — $0.50 per resolved customer conversation, $1.00 per qualified lead. For high-volume teams, that's a better deal than the old per-contact model. Beyond the features, what Enterprise buys you is the suite, the polish and the closed-loop attribution. The trade-offs: HubSpot's inbox placement on volume sending consistently lands behind ActiveCampaign and Brevo, and there's no split-testing of full automation paths. Both are gaps worth knowing before you sign. The structural costs are unforgiving. Professional starts at $890/mo with a $3,000 onboarding fee. Enterprise is $3,600/mo with a $7,000 onboarding fee. Both lock you into a 12-month commitment with no early exit, and at 100K contacts Enterprise runs around $5,850/mo. Plan for the lock-in and the non-refundable onboarding before the first demo. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Closed-loop revenue attribution.** Native CRM-to-email connection traces every closed deal back to the content, sequence and email that influenced it. Unmatched at this price point for B2B. - **Best-in-class UX.** The most polished marketing platform we've tested. Every product feels designed by the same hand. - **Everything in one suite.** CRM, email, landing pages, blog, social, ads, forms, AEO module — eliminates the integration tax B2B teams pay everywhere else. - **AI worth the demo.** Loop Marketing, Breeze Customer Agent and Breeze Prospecting Agent are differentiated, particularly with the new outcome-based pricing. - **The cost runway is brutal.** $890/mo Pro to $3,600/mo Enterprise, plus $3,000–$7,000 mandatory onboarding fees, plus 12-month commitments with no early exit. - **Deliverability is mid-pack on volume.** Solid B2B sending, but consistently behind ActiveCampaign and Brevo on volume programmes. - **Automation depth lags.** No split-testing of full automation paths. Predictive lead scoring is Enterprise-only. - **You'll likely need a HubSpot specialist.** Add £80–150/hour for an in-house admin or agency partner. The all-in cost is rarely the sticker price. ### Is HubSpot Marketing Hub Enterprise the right enterprise email platform for you? Recommended for: Not recommended for: B2B service companies doing $1M+ in revenue with sales cycles longer than 30 days, where closed-loop revenue attribution changes decisions. Enterprises that don't already have a CRM and want one suite covering CRM, marketing, sales and service. Marketing teams that need to be live in 4–8 weeks rather than 4–6 months. B2B organisations with budget and political appetite for a full HubSpot rollout (annual commitment, in-house specialist, 12-month minimum). Enterprises that already run Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics (running both creates duplicate data and political tension). High-volume eCommerce or transactional senders (look at Omnisend or Brevo). Fortune 500 brands with regulated-industry compliance requirements (look at Salesforce Marketing Cloud). Anyone with budget pressure — for almost everyone, ActiveCampaign Enterprise gets you 80%+ of the same outcome at a fraction of the cost. [Try HubSpot Enterprise →](/recommends/hubspot/) ## 3. [Omnisend Pro](/recommends/omnisend/) Best enterprise email marketing platform for eCommerce. [](/recommends/omnisend/) For enterprise eCommerce sitting below the Salesforce Marketing Cloud line, Omnisend Pro is the right pick. It starts at $59/mo, with custom quotes for stores above 150,000 active profiles. Connect Shopify or BigCommerce and Omnisend pulls in your product inventory, customer list and order history automatically — most stores are sending within a few hours rather than a few weeks. The revenue attribution is more granular than Klaviyo's, the omnichannel automations are smoother, and at every contact tier it's noticeably cheaper than Klaviyo for comparable features. [](/recommends/omnisend/) The standout is the omnichannel workflow builder. A single automation can send an email, wait 24 hours, fire a push notification if it hasn't been opened, then follow up with an SMS — all native, all on one canvas. We've stitched this same logic together across separate tools and Zapier in the past; at enterprise volume Omnisend's native version is less buggy, faster to set up, and the timing behaves the way the workflow specifies. **The free done-for-you migration is the other reason to take Omnisend seriously at enterprise scale.** This is Omnisend's offer, not ours — but it deserves a flag because the migration sprint is the biggest hidden cost when switching ESPs at enterprise contact counts. Omnisend's team handles list imports, automation rebuilds, template recreation and deliverability setup at no cost on every paid plan, Pro included. For a 250K-contact Klaviyo migration, that's tens of thousands in agency fees you don't pay. The Pro plan adds unlimited emails, free global SMS credits equal to your monthly plan cost, advanced reporting, and an account expert option for larger lists. At 250K contacts Omnisend Pro is custom-quoted but typically lands well below Klaviyo's enterprise tier, and the gap widens at 500K and beyond. Caveat: Omnisend is built for stores. If your enterprise sells products online, this is the right tool. If you're B2B, a creator, or anything without a shopping cart, almost every feature will feel irrelevant. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Native omnichannel workflows.** Email, SMS and web push in a single visual builder. Less buggy and faster to set up than stitching separate tools. - **Revenue attribution per A/B variant.** Tracks revenue back to the specific email, automation and A/B variant that influenced each sale. More granular than Klaviyo's. - **Free done-for-you migration on every paid plan.** Omnisend's offer — list imports, automation rebuilds, template recreation and deliverability setup at no cost. Removes the biggest barrier to switching. - **Cheaper than Klaviyo at every contact tier.** Comparable or better analytics, with SMS credits bundled into Pro rather than charged separately. - **AI that pulls its weight.** Trained on millions of real eCommerce campaigns, with a natural-language segment builder, send-time optimisation and Brand Assets AI for visual consistency. - **Built for stores only.** No B2B fit, no creator fit, no service-business fit. The whole feature set assumes products and orders. - **Reporting customisation is mid-tier.** Dashboards are clean but power analysts will want more flexibility than Omnisend currently offers. - **Email send caps on Standard.** Pro removes the cap with unlimited emails — but if you're at enterprise scale on Standard, you'll hit the ceiling. ### Is Omnisend Pro the right enterprise email platform for you? Recommended for: Not recommended for: Enterprise eCommerce stores on Shopify, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce or WooCommerce. Stores doing $1M+ in annual revenue where revenue attribution per email matters. Enterprise teams currently on Klaviyo who want comparable analytics at lower cost — particularly given the free done-for-you migration. Multi-channel commerce teams orchestrating email, SMS and push. Non-eCommerce enterprises (B2B, SaaS, services, creators). Fortune 500 brands needing cross-channel orchestration across non-eCommerce channels (look at Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Adobe Campaign). Regulated industries with HIPAA or financial-services compliance requirements. [Try Omnisend Pro →](/recommends/omnisend/) ## 4. [Brevo Enterprise](/recommends/sendinblue/) Best enterprise email marketing platform for transactional + marketing at high volume. We started running Brevo for transactional email back in 2016, when it was still Sendinblue, and we've sent 640,199 emails through it since — order confirmations, password resets, OTPs, the unglamorous plumbing. Brevo Enterprise (custom pricing, volume-based) is what we'd put on a shortlist when transactional volume is the dominant requirement and marketing automation rides alongside. The pricing model is the meaningful difference from everything else here: unlimited contacts on every plan, charges based on volume sent rather than contact count. For enterprises sitting on large dormant lists or for transactional-heavy senders, the maths works out cheaper. [](/recommends/sendinblue/) Brevo's transactional infrastructure is solid because that's what the company started life as — the marketing layer matured later, on top of that foundation. Multi-channel sending (email, SMS, WhatsApp) is bundled in, which matters when transactional traffic spans channels. Marketing automation is where it falls behind the leaders. The visual workflow builder is functional but a step behind ActiveCampaign's, and there's no split-testing of full automation paths. CRM features are thin — no lead scoring, segmentation that doesn't approach HubSpot or ActiveCampaign. If marketing automation is your primary use case, this is the wrong platform. Brevo Enterprise tends to fit best as a second tool, paired with something else. We run it alongside ActiveCampaign — ActiveCampaign handling marketing automation, Brevo handling transactional volume. A lot of enterprise teams running both end up with the same split. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Email-volume pricing.** Unlimited contacts on every plan. Structurally cheaper for enterprises with large lists and low send frequency. - **Transactional infrastructure is solid.** Originally built for transactional use; the marketing layer sits on top of that foundation. - **Multi-channel native.** Email, SMS and WhatsApp in one platform — useful for transactional-heavy enterprises. - **No annual lock-in or mandatory onboarding fees** at most tiers. - **Marketing automation depth is mid-tier.** Functional but well behind ActiveCampaign and HubSpot. No split-testing of full automation paths. - **CRM features are minimal.** No real lead scoring, no segmentation depth at the level enterprise marketing teams expect. - **Reporting is bland.** The data is there; the analysis tooling isn't on par with enterprise peers. - **Enterprise positioning is thinner than SFMC, Adobe Campaign or HubSpot.** Procurement teams often prefer a more enterprise-branded vendor. ### Is Brevo Enterprise the right enterprise email platform for you? Recommended for: Not recommended for: Enterprises where transactional email volume is the dominant requirement (eCommerce, SaaS, fintech, marketplaces). Organisations with very large dormant contact lists where per-contact pricing is structurally expensive. Enterprises wanting a strong second tool to pair with ActiveCampaign or HubSpot for transactional sending. Enterprises whose primary need is marketing automation depth (look at ActiveCampaign Enterprise). B2B service companies wanting closed-loop revenue attribution (look at HubSpot Enterprise). Fortune 500 brands needing cross-channel orchestration (look at SFMC or Adobe Campaign). [Talk to Brevo Enterprise →](/recommends/sendinblue/) ## 5. Salesforce Marketing Cloud Best enterprise email marketing platform for regulated industries. Salesforce Marketing Cloud doesn't publish enterprise pricing. The low end starts around $1,250/mo and rises sharply once implementation partners are factored in; expect first-year all-in costs north of $50,000. SFMC makes sense for regulated enterprises and for any organisation already running Sales Cloud or Service Cloud as the system of record. Outside those scenarios, it's overkill. Journey Builder is the standout — cross-cloud orchestration across email, mobile, advertising, web and in-app, driven by a unified customer data model that pulls from Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Data Cloud and external warehouses. Audience Builder takes segmentation depth a step beyond what mid-market platforms can offer. Einstein AI sits across the suite; with enough data behind it, the recommendations are useful at scale. It also enforces a particular way of working, for better and worse. Teams that come from HubSpot or ActiveCampaign find SFMC slow, technical and aggressively non-self-serve. Almost every SFMC enterprise rollout we've seen has a dedicated marketing ops function (typically 3+ people) plus an external implementation partner on retainer. On the infrastructure side, SFMC is excellent — SLA-backed delivery, dedicated IPs by default at enterprise tiers, full data residency in named regions (UK, EU, US, APAC). For financial services, healthcare and life sciences, that compliance posture is the deciding factor. Nothing else on this list satisfies an FCA or HIPAA audit as comfortably. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Cross-channel orchestration at Fortune 500 scale.** Journey Builder is the most powerful cross-channel automation tool in the category — particularly when paired with the wider Salesforce data model. - **Native to Salesforce CRM.** Same data model, no integration layer. The default choice when Sales Cloud or Service Cloud is already in place. - **Compliance posture is best-in-class.** FedRAMP, HIPAA-aligned, multi-region data residency contracts, full audit trails. Clears the procurement bar that nothing else here can. - **Einstein AI scales with your data.** Learns from your customer base rather than generic models. Particularly strong at content recommendation and journey optimisation. - **Implementation is a multi-quarter project.** 3–6 months minimum, almost always with an external partner. Six-figure implementation costs are normal. - **Slow and technical relative to peers.** Marketers used to HubSpot or ActiveCampaign find SFMC frustratingly non-self-serve. Most rollouts need a dedicated marketing ops team. - **Total cost of ownership is brutal.** Platform fee, partner fees, in-house admin, ongoing consultancy. The headline price is rarely close to what you'll spend. - **Overkill for most B2B mid-market teams.** If your contact list is under 250K and you don't already run Sales Cloud, you almost certainly want HubSpot or ActiveCampaign instead. ### Is Salesforce Marketing Cloud the right enterprise email platform for you? Recommended for: Not recommended for: Fortune 500 enterprises and regulated-industry organisations (financial services, healthcare, life sciences, government). Companies already running Sales Cloud or Service Cloud as the system of record. Enterprises with multi-channel orchestration requirements that span email, SMS, push, advertising and web. Marketing teams with the budget and headcount to run a dedicated marketing ops function plus an external partner relationship. Mid-market enterprises (under 250K contacts) without an existing Salesforce footprint. Marketing teams that need to be live in weeks, not months. B2B service companies doing under $10M in revenue (the implementation cost alone will eat your annual marketing budget). Anyone whose primary need is email automation rather than cross-channel orchestration. [Visit Salesforce Marketing Cloud →](https://www.salesforce.com/products/marketing-cloud/) ## 6. Adobe Campaign Best enterprise email marketing platform for Fortune 500 brands inside Adobe Experience Cloud. Adobe Campaign is priced custom, typically negotiated as part of a wider Adobe Experience Cloud contract. It's a natural fit when AEM, Adobe Analytics and Adobe Target are already in the stack — Campaign slots in as the marketing execution layer and gives you finer-grained control over cross-channel campaigns than anything else here. Take it on its own, without the rest of Adobe's suite, and the implementation cost rarely justifies the rollout. Where it pulls ahead of SFMC is in campaign architecture for technical marketers. The control surface is more granular: workflows can branch on customer attributes, segment intersections, content rules and channel availability in ways that need code (or close to it) on other platforms. Implementation runs 4–9 months with a partner. The customisation depth is the reason Fortune 500 brands choose it. Where it falls behind SFMC is self-serve usability. Adobe Campaign is built for campaign architects, not in-house marketers — most enterprise teams running it have a dedicated technical marketing function plus an Adobe partner on retainer. For most readers of this page, Adobe Campaign won't be the right answer. It's on this list because at the top of the market — global brands orchestrating campaigns across email, push, in-app and web at 10M+ customer scale inside Adobe Experience Cloud — nothing else handles that scale as cleanly. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Cross-channel orchestration at the very top of the market.** Stronger than SFMC for technical campaign architects who want fine-grained control over delivery, segmentation and content rules. - **Native to Adobe Experience Cloud.** Best-in-class integration with AEM, Adobe Analytics, Adobe Target and Customer Journey Analytics. - **Customisation depth no other platform matches.** Workflow branching, segmentation logic, content rules — the platform doesn't push you toward a particular way of working. - **Compliance and global delivery.** Multi-region data residency, SLA-backed delivery, dedicated IPs by default. Built to clear Fortune 500 procurement. - **Implementation is a 4–9 month project minimum.** Often longer if integrating with the wider Adobe stack from scratch. - **Built for campaign architects, not marketers.** Self-serve usability is poor relative to HubSpot, ActiveCampaign or even SFMC. A dedicated technical marketing team is effectively required. - **Total cost of ownership is the highest in this comparison.** Platform fee + partner fees + dedicated technical marketing function. Realistic first-year all-in costs frequently exceed $500,000. - **Wrong tool if you don't already run Adobe Experience Cloud.** Adobe Campaign on its own — without AEM, Analytics or Target — rarely justifies the rollout cost. ### Is Adobe Campaign the right enterprise email platform for you? Recommended for: Not recommended for: Fortune 500 brands already running Adobe Experience Cloud (AEM, Analytics, Target, Customer Journey Analytics). Global organisations orchestrating brand campaigns across email, push, in-app, advertising and web at 10M+ customer scale. Enterprises with a dedicated technical marketing function and an existing Adobe partner relationship. Mid-market enterprises without an existing Adobe footprint. B2B service companies (HubSpot or ActiveCampaign Enterprise will deliver more value with far less implementation pain). Marketing teams that need to be self-serve. Anyone evaluating "an enterprise email tool" rather than "the cross-channel orchestration layer of our existing Adobe stack" — Adobe Campaign isn't the right answer to the first question. [Visit Adobe Campaign →](https://business.adobe.com/products/campaign/adobe-campaign.html) ## 7. Constant Contact (Lead Gen + CRM) Best enterprise email marketing platform for mid-market simplicity. Constant Contact's Lead Gen + CRM plan (formerly SharpSpring) runs around $449/mo and sits on the lighter end of this list. It's not a Fortune 500 platform and we wouldn't position it as one. But for a 50–500 person organisation that wants email, automation, lead scoring and a basic CRM in one bundle — without 12-month lock-ins, onboarding fees or six-figure implementation projects — it's a reasonable fit. The strength is speed-to-live. Implementation typically runs 1–2 weeks. The interface is approachable for marketers without specialist training, and automation, lead scoring and CRM functionality are present at the Lead Gen + CRM tier — not as deep as ActiveCampaign or HubSpot, but enough to run a B2B marketing programme without needing a separate tool. The limit is scale. Above ~500K contacts, or for teams that need cross-channel orchestration, sophisticated split-testing or the integration depth ActiveCampaign and HubSpot offer, this isn't the right platform. The brand leans heavily into small-business marketing too, which shows up in the product (templates, support tone, default settings). For mid-market enterprises that prioritise speed-to-live and operational simplicity over feature depth, the Lead Gen + CRM plan is a reasonable shortlist entry. For anything more demanding, ActiveCampaign Enterprise is the better choice at similar pricing. ### Pros and Cons Pros Cons - **Fast implementation.** Typically 1–2 weeks. No mandatory onboarding fee, no annual lock-in. - **Email + automation + lead scoring + CRM in one plan.** Lead Gen + CRM tier covers most mid-market enterprise needs without a separate stack. - **Approachable for marketing teams without specialist headcount.** Lower learning curve than ActiveCampaign or HubSpot. - **Predictable pricing.** Around $449/mo for Lead Gen + CRM, scaling reasonably with contact volume. - **Not a Fortune 500 fit.** No genuine cross-channel orchestration, weaker compliance posture than SFMC or Adobe Campaign, brand positioning skews small-business. - **Automation depth lags ActiveCampaign and HubSpot.** Sufficient for mid-market B2B marketing; insufficient for sophisticated lifecycle programmes. - **Reporting is functional but unremarkable.** Solid for basic campaign analytics, less suited to enterprise marketing analysts. - **Integration ecosystem is narrower.** Smaller integration directory than ActiveCampaign's 1,000+ or HubSpot's app marketplace. ### Is Constant Contact (Lead Gen + CRM) the right enterprise email platform for you? Recommended for: Not recommended for: Mid-market enterprises (50–500 employees) that want email, automation, lead scoring and CRM in one plan without enterprise-tier rollout pain. B2B teams prioritising speed-to-live over feature depth. Organisations that have rejected HubSpot Enterprise on cost and ActiveCampaign Enterprise on complexity. Fortune 500 brands. Regulated industries. Enterprise eCommerce (look at Omnisend). Mid-market enterprises with sophisticated lifecycle programmes (ActiveCampaign Enterprise will deliver more value at similar cost). Teams above ~500K contacts. [Visit Constant Contact →](https://www.constantcontact.com/) ## Enterprise pricing comparison Sticker prices rarely match what enterprises end up paying — but they're a useful starting point for procurement. The table below compares published or estimated pricing across enterprise list sizes. "Custom" means the vendor doesn't publish enterprise pricing; expect to negotiate. | Platform | 50K contacts | 250K contacts | 1M contacts | Onboarding | Annual lock-in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ActiveCampaign Enterprise | ~$1,169/mo | Custom | Custom | Included | Annual | | HubSpot Marketing Hub Enterprise | ~$5,000–5,500/mo | ~$12,000+/mo | Custom | $7,000 | 12 months, no early exit | | Salesforce Marketing Cloud | Custom (~$3,750/mo+) | Custom (~$15,000+/mo) | Custom (~$50,000+/mo) | $50k–250k typical | Annual+ | | Adobe Campaign | Custom | Custom | Custom | Six-figure typical | Multi-year | | Omnisend Pro | Custom (150K+ band) | Custom | Custom | Free done-for-you migration | Monthly | | Constant Contact (Lead Gen + CRM) | ~$449/mo | Custom | Not recommended | Included | Monthly/annual | | Brevo Enterprise | Custom (volume-based) | Custom | Custom | Custom | Annual | A few things to know before signing: - **HubSpot's marketing-contact pricing is in 1,000-contact increments.** Going one contact over auto-bumps your tier. Plan list growth around the increments. - **Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Adobe Campaign sticker prices rarely include implementation.** Add a partner fee that frequently exceeds the platform fee in year one. - **ActiveCampaign Enterprise scales more linearly than HubSpot Enterprise.** At 50K contacts the gap is roughly 4×; at 250K it's still 4×. HubSpot's flatter curve only kicks in at 100K+ contacts. - **Omnisend Pro's done-for-you migration is free** — Omnisend's offer, not ours. Worth taking seriously when comparing total switching costs from Klaviyo at 250K+ contacts. - **Brevo's email-volume model wins for high-list, low-frequency enterprises.** It loses for high-frequency programmes — model your actual send volume before signing. ## Best by enterprise type The recommendations above are organised by product. The tabs below organise by buyer — pick the one that matches your organisation.Winner: Omnisend Pro.
For enterprise eCommerce stores on Shopify Plus, BigCommerce or WooCommerce, Omnisend Pro is the right call. Native omnichannel automation (email, SMS, push in one workflow), revenue attribution that traces each sale back to the specific A/B variant that drove it, and pricing that lands well below Klaviyo at every contact tier — particularly at 250K+ contacts where the gap widens.
The free done-for-you migration is included on every paid plan. This removes tens of thousands in agency fees if you're considering a switch from Klaviyo.
Winner: HubSpot Marketing Hub Enterprise.
For B2B service companies that use revenue attribution to make decisions — and that don't already have a CRM in place — HubSpot Marketing Hub Enterprise is the natural fit. Native CRM-to-email connection, the polish of one suite covering CRM, marketing, sales and service, and the closed-loop attribution that lets you walk into a board meeting and say "this campaign generated £X in pipeline" with confidence.
The structural costs are real: $3,600/mo plus $7,000 onboarding plus a 12-month commitment. For B2B teams under $1M in revenue it's hard to justify. Above that line, where attribution changes decisions, the bill is defensible.
Winner: ActiveCampaign Enterprise.
For enterprise SaaS running lifecycle marketing — onboarding sequences, trial-to-paid conversion, expansion campaigns, churn reactivation — ActiveCampaign Enterprise is what we'd shortlist. Pushing app event data into ActiveCampaign over the API and triggering nurture sequences just works, the visual automation builder makes the logic legible to non-engineers, and split-testing of entire automation paths lets you A/B test "5 emails over a week vs 10 over a month" inside a single workflow — which no other platform on this list offers.
Pair ActiveCampaign Enterprise with whichever CRM your sales team already runs. At a fraction of HubSpot Enterprise's cost, it's the SaaS lifecycle setup we'd back.
Winner: ActiveCampaign Enterprise on top of your existing CRM.
The instinct at Fortune 500 scale is to default to Adobe Campaign or Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and there are scenarios where that's the right call (covered in the regulated tab, and in the Adobe and SFMC sections above). For most global brands, though, the pragmatic answer is ActiveCampaign Enterprise running as the marketing execution layer on top of whichever CRM is already your system of record. Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics or HubSpot CRM keeps doing what it does well, and you get a marketing automation platform that's mature, SOC 2 certified, supports SSO and dedicated IPs, and costs a fraction of the alternatives.
The cases where Adobe Campaign or SFMC justify the bill are narrower than the sales pitches imply: deep cross-channel orchestration across the wider Adobe Experience Cloud stack, or compliance requirements that contractually need named-region data residency. Outside those, ActiveCampaign Enterprise is the better trade.
Winner: ActiveCampaign Enterprise.
The default answer for regulated industries is Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and SFMC does belong on the shortlist for organisations with the most demanding compliance requirements (HIPAA, FedRAMP, contractually named data residency). For most regulated enterprises, though, the practical pick is ActiveCampaign Enterprise. SOC 2 Type II, SSO, dedicated IPs, role-based permissions, audit trails — all there. It clears the procurement questionnaire most regulated organisations run, at a fraction of the implementation cost and time.
The reason ActiveCampaign Enterprise wins versus SFMC here: it sits on top of whichever CRM you've already standardised on (typically Salesforce in this segment), so you don't end up duplicating the customer record or paying twice. SFMC remains the right pick when the contractual compliance posture truly requires it — that bar is higher than most procurement teams initially assume.
Winner: ActiveCampaign Enterprise.
For enterprise media companies and publishers — multi-newsletter operations, vertical segmentation, lead-magnet funnels, paid memberships — ActiveCampaign Enterprise covers the use case best. Site tracking ties article visits to specific subscriber profiles, segmentation lets you ladder readers from a broad newsletter into vertical-specific lists based on what they read, and the visual automation builder handles the lead-magnet-to-membership funnels publishers depend on.
Pair it with whichever subscription billing platform you already use — Stripe, Memberful, Substack Pro — via the native integrations.
Winner: Brevo Enterprise.
For enterprises where transactional email volume is the dominant requirement — order confirmations, OTPs, password resets, account notifications, marketplace messages — Brevo Enterprise is the right tool. Email-volume pricing means unlimited contacts, with charges based on what you send rather than the size of your dormant list. We've sent 640,199 emails through Brevo since 2016, the bulk of it transactional, and the infrastructure has held up.
Most enterprises in this category run Brevo alongside a stronger marketing automation tool — Brevo for transactional, ActiveCampaign or HubSpot for marketing. A lot of enterprise teams using both end up with the same split.
Winner: ActiveCampaign. Runner-up: Ortto.
For small businesses, the best marketing automation software in 99% of cases is ActiveCampaign. This is particularly true if you need an all-in-one sales & marketing platform that includes a CRM — you get visual automation, lead scoring, and top-tier deliverability at a price that still makes sense below 10K contacts.
However, if you already have a CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot CRM, Pipedrive), I'd add Ortto as a consideration if budget allows. Their automation journey builder is second-to-none, and the annotation layer makes it much easier to hand a sequence between team members.
Lastly, if you're running an e-commerce business then Omnisend will blow both of the options above out of the water — see the eCommerce tab.
Winner: ActiveCampaign. Contenders: Ortto and HubSpot.
For medium-sized businesses, the best marketing automation software is likely to be either ActiveCampaign, Ortto or HubSpot. The right pick depends on what else sits on your stack and how complex your sales cycle is.
HubSpot is a reasonably significant investment, so I would suggest that it's a good option for agencies or B2B service companies, where the cost would likely be offset by winning one or two extra clients per year. For most other mid-market teams, ActiveCampaign delivers 80-90% of what HubSpot offers at a fraction of the cost.
If you run an e-commerce business, then Omnisend is a far better option than the three above — see the eCommerce tab.
Winner: ActiveCampaign Enterprise.
For larger businesses, deliverability, security, support and training become a much bigger consideration. Sadly, most other enterprise marketing automation tools (Marketo, Pardot, Eloqua) that tick these boxes are frankly pretty average — their products are complex and difficult to use, and the time-to-value is measured in quarters, not weeks.
ActiveCampaign are one of the few exceptions. Their enterprise plan includes all of the dull, but necessary, features — dedicated IPs and SLAs, SSO, account management, audit logs — that you'd expect as an enterprise client, without the painful onboarding of the legacy enterprise tools.
Winner: Omnisend.
Omnisend was built from the ground up for e-commerce. It natively integrates with Shopify, Magento, and every other major platform — pulling in your product catalogue, purchase history, and browsing behaviour so you can trigger abandoned cart flows and product-recommendation emails that actually reference what each customer looked at.
The omnichannel capability is what sets it apart from generalist automation tools. You can build a single automation that sends an email, waits 24 hours, fires a push notification if unopened, then follows up with an SMS — all within one visual workflow. No Zapier tape required.
Winner: HubSpot (with cost caveats). Runner-up: ActiveCampaign.
HubSpot is a reasonably significant investment, but it's a good fit for agencies and B2B service companies where the cost would likely be offset by winning one or two extra clients per year. Because the CRM, email, website, and sales tools are native, you can trace a closed deal back to the content that generated the lead and the nurture sequence that warmed them up — invaluable for long, consultative sales cycles.
The caveats: HubSpot charges onboarding fees in the $3,000 - $6,000 range for Professional and Enterprise customers (the only plans that include marketing automation), on top of a typical monthly cost between $800 and $2,500. Budget honestly before you commit.
If HubSpot's pricing makes you wince, ActiveCampaign is the smarter choice. You get ~80% of the CRM and email functionality at roughly 70% less cost, and first-class integrations if you already run Salesforce or Pipedrive.
Winner: Kit.
Kit is the simplest tool on this list, designed primarily for bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, and content creators. If you're just starting out and your business is "build an audience and email them regularly," it's genuinely hard to beat — especially on the free plan that now supports up to 10,000 subscribers.
Do not expect bells and whistles: Kit doesn't lean on email templates, because they encourage users to send plain-text emails for higher engagement. The landing pages are deliberately minimal, which is exactly why they convert — no sidebars, no distractions, one call to action.
Once you graduate from "creator" to "business that needs real workflows, segmentation, or a CRM," you'll outgrow Kit — at which point the natural upgrade is ActiveCampaign. But Kit having done its job of getting you there is the point.
Verdict: yes — this is the sweet spot.
If you have a list between 1,000 and 25,000 contacts and you need automation that actually does something, ActiveCampaign is the platform we'd recommend. The Plus plan at $49/mo (or ~$189/mo at 10K contacts) gives you the visual automation builder, lead scoring, conditional content and split-testing of automation paths — all of which directly drive revenue once your list is at meaningful size.
Most of our ventures landed on Plus, with a few on Pro for the predictive sending and revenue attribution. The split-testing capability alone typically pays for the platform many times over once your list is generating revenue.
Verdict: yes, especially for lifecycle marketing.
We've used ActiveCampaign as the lifecycle email engine on our own SaaS products. Pushing app event data into ActiveCampaign over the API and triggering nurture sequences, reactivation flows and free-to-paid upsells just works — and the visual automation builder makes the logic legible to non-engineers, which matters when product, marketing and customer success all want to weigh in on a sequence.
What pushes it ahead for SaaS specifically: site tracking, the ability to split-test entire automation paths (test sending 10 emails over a week vs 5 over a month), conditional content keyed to plan or feature usage, and predictive sending for trial conversion windows. Pair the Plus or Pro plan with whichever CRM your sales team prefers.
Verdict: capable, but Omnisend is a better fit if you're pure-play Shopify or WooCommerce.
ActiveCampaign has deep native integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Square — abandoned cart, post-purchase follow-up and product recommendations all work well. If your business is half eCommerce and half service, content or B2B (which is true of several VH ventures), ActiveCampaign's flexibility wins because you don't need a separate platform for the non-eCommerce side.
If you're a pure-play Shopify or WooCommerce store, Omnisend is purpose-built for that and tends to be more cost-effective at scale, with eCommerce-specific reporting and SMS bundled in. We cover the trade-offs in our eCommerce email marketing guide.
Verdict: yes.
We run ActiveCampaign on several of our own content sites. The combination that makes it work for content: site tracking ties article visits to specific subscriber profiles, segmentation lets you ladder readers from broad newsletter into vertical-specific lists based on what they actually read, and lead-magnet automations turn one-off downloaders into engaged subscribers.
The downside for content specifically is that the platform is more capable than most newsletter operators need on day one. If your content site is monetised purely through display ads and you don't have a paid product or downstream funnel, MailerLite or Kit will be cheaper and simpler. If you have any kind of nurture-to-purchase logic — affiliate funnels, info products, paid memberships — ActiveCampaign earns its keep.
Verdict: yes — particularly if cost or automation depth matter more than closed-loop attribution.
ActiveCampaign is a strong B2B marketing automation choice. Lead scoring, conditional nurture sequences and segment-based personalisation all work well for B2B service companies — and at roughly a tenth of the cost of HubSpot Pro for equivalent automation depth. Add in 1,000+ integrations including native ties to Salesforce and HubSpot CRM, and you can run ActiveCampaign as the marketing execution layer on top of whichever CRM your sales team already uses.
The honest distinction: if your business genuinely needs HubSpot's closed-loop revenue attribution (B2B service company doing $1M+ revenue with 30+ day sales cycles), HubSpot earns its bill there. For everyone else — which is most B2B service businesses — ActiveCampaign delivers ~90% of the automation value at a fraction of the spend.
Verdict: yes — strong choice for agencies running automation as a service line.
ActiveCampaign has a dedicated agency partner programme with margin on accounts you bring in, account dashboards for managing multiple clients from one login, white-label options on higher tiers, and partner-only support. The platform's depth means you can deliver almost any email and automation engagement inside one stack — lifecycle, lead nurture, eCommerce, B2B nurture — without stitching together a different tool per client.
For agencies whose service offer is built around marketing automation strategy and execution (rather than pure deliverability or transactional sending), ActiveCampaign is hard to beat for the price-to-capability ratio. The free migration service also makes it easy to onboard new clients off whatever they were using before.
Verdict: yes for marketing automation; pair with your existing CRM.
ActiveCampaign Enterprise (from $145/mo, scaling with contact volume) gives you SSO, custom reporting, dedicated IPs, advanced security and compliance, premium integrations and a dedicated account manager. For organisations that already run Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics or another enterprise CRM as the system of record, ActiveCampaign Enterprise is a strong marketing execution layer at meaningfully lower cost than HubSpot Marketing Hub Enterprise.
Verdict: free CRM yes, paid Marketing Hub no. Recommended alternative: Kit (newsletter-led freelancers) or MailerLite (general).
HubSpot's free Smart CRM is one of the most generous in the category — unlimited contacts, 2 user seats, deal tracking, basic email — and is genuinely useful for managing a client roster as a freelancer. Stop there. The paid Marketing Hub Starter starts at $15/seat/mo and scales with team size, not list size, so a solo freelancer pays the same per seat as a 50-person team. There's no scenario where Marketing Hub Pro ($890/mo + $3,000 onboarding) makes sense for a one-person business.
If you need real email marketing, Kit's free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts. MailerLite is the cheapest serious tool past free at $9/mo for 500 subscribers. Either pairs well with HubSpot's free CRM if you need both.
Verdict: free Smart CRM yes; defer the paid Hub upgrade until after product-market fit. Recommended alternative for paid tier: ActiveCampaign.
The free Smart CRM is genuinely useful from day one. Unlimited contacts, deal pipelines, and 2,000 marketing emails per month let a 2–3 person founding team run sales and a small newsletter without paying anything. Clearbit-powered enrichment fills in firmographic data automatically — useful when you're qualifying inbound leads on limited bandwidth.
Where most startups go wrong is upgrading too early. Marketing Hub Pro at $890/mo plus a $3,000 mandatory onboarding fee and a 12-month commitment is a serious cash drag pre-Series A. Wait until you have repeatable inbound and a marketer dedicated to running it. If you need real automation before then, ActiveCampaign delivers comparable workflows from $15/mo with no onboarding fee.
Verdict: free Smart CRM yes; paid Marketing Hub usually overbuilt. Recommended alternative: ActiveCampaign for automation, Brevo for affordable email + SMS.
Small businesses get the most value from HubSpot at the free tier. The Smart CRM scales with your team via 2 free editing seats and unlimited view-only seats. Once you outgrow free, the math gets harder: Marketing Hub Starter is per-seat at $15/seat/mo, so a five-person small business pays $75/mo for what email-tool-only Brevo or MailerLite would deliver for under $30/mo.
Marketing Hub Professional at $890/mo plus $3,000 onboarding rarely pencils out at small business margins unless you have a measurable revenue-attribution requirement. ActiveCampaign delivers ~90% of the automation at roughly 10% of the cost. Brevo charges by send volume rather than contacts, which is uniquely cost-effective for SMBs with large lists and moderate frequency.
Verdict: yes, if you need closed-loop revenue attribution. This is HubSpot's sweet spot.
B2B service companies with 30+ day sales cycles and $1M+ revenue are the buyer profile HubSpot was built for. The combination that nothing else does as well: a native CRM, native marketing tooling, native sales sequences, and multi-touch revenue attribution that traces a closed deal back to the blog post, email and sales touch that produced it. For a CFO who wants to see "what did marketing contribute to pipeline this quarter," this platform answers the question directly.
The structural cost — Pro at $890/mo plus $3,000 onboarding plus 12-month commitment — earns its bill at this scale. Pair the Marketing Hub with the paid Sales Hub if you also need cadenced outbound, quotes and forecasting. The Spring 2026 Spotlight added Loop Marketing (Breeze multi-channel campaign generation) and the AEO module (citations in ChatGPT/Perplexity), both of which are genuinely useful for content-led B2B.
Verdict: no. Recommended alternative: Omnisend.
HubSpot Marketing Hub wasn't built for eCommerce. Product catalogue ingestion, browse-abandon flows, and order-based segmentation are all weaker than purpose-built tools. Revenue attribution exists but is less granular than Omnisend's — Omnisend can show revenue per workflow per subject-line variant; HubSpot reports at the campaign level. The omnichannel story (email + SMS + push + web push from one workflow) is also weaker on HubSpot than on Omnisend or Brevo.
If you're on Klaviyo and the bill is hurting: Omnisend is typically meaningfully cheaper at scale, with comparable or better Shopify/WooCommerce integrations and revenue attribution. Omnisend also runs a free hands-on migration service — their team handles list import, automation rebuilds, template recreation, and deliverability setup, which removes most of the practical reason to stay on Klaviyo. The free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 emails/month if you want to trial first.
Verdict: yes for marketing-led B2B; pair with Salesforce or use ActiveCampaign Enterprise if you already have a CRM.
HubSpot Enterprise ($3,600/mo at 10K contacts, ~$5,850/mo at 100K, plus $7,000 onboarding) gives you SSO, audit logs, role-based permissions, dedicated IPs, custom dashboards, and Predictive Lead Scoring (Enterprise-only). For organisations standardising on HubSpot as the marketing system of record with native CRM, this is a defensible choice. The Spring 2026 multi-touch attribution module is the strongest in the category for closed-loop reporting.
If you've already standardised on Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics or another enterprise CRM, replacing it to adopt HubSpot's CRM is rarely the right trade — our HubSpot vs Salesforce comparison and enterprise CRM guide cover that decision in depth. ActiveCampaign Enterprise (~$1,199/mo at 100K contacts) integrates first-class with every major enterprise CRM and gives you the marketing execution layer at roughly a third of HubSpot Enterprise's price. Active Intelligence delivers comparable contextual AI.
Verdict: yes — particularly as a HubSpot Solutions Partner.
HubSpot is a strong choice for agencies, especially ones that want to build a service line around implementation, retainer management, or marketing-ops consulting. The Solutions Partner Programme gives you tiered margin on accounts you bring in, co-marketing opportunities, certifications your team can stack, and access to partner-only support and sandbox portals. Agencies with deep HubSpot expertise routinely build six- and seven-figure service businesses on top of the platform.
For client work, HubSpot's depth across CRM, marketing, sales, service, content and reporting means you can deliver almost any go-to-market service inside one stack — instead of stitching together five tools per client. The shared seat and account structure does mean it suits agencies who own the strategy and operations work on a portfolio of HubSpot-using clients better than agencies who need full white-label portals across many small accounts; if multi-tenant white-label is the core need, look at our agency-focused email tooling guide.