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With so many different contact management software available, figuring out which is right for your business is tough. You know you want software to help you manage your contact information efficiently, but you need to figure out which tool is best. In this post, I'll help you make your choice easy by sharing my insights on the best contact management software to organize your contact info, track interactions, and maintain strong relationships.

What is Contact Management Software?

Contact management software is a digital tool for storing and managing contact information to make future communication outreach easier. This type of software offers a centralized database for contact details that records interactions and tracks appointments, follow-ups, or other tasks, depending on your business needs. They also integrate with other systems to make your outbound communications easier, with integrated reporting to measure key metrics like bounce vs open rates.

Using contact management software can help your team develop better customer relationships faster by consolidating information into one central location. They also help teams gather more insightful data on each contact to inform future outreach campaigns or provide a more personalized experience for each contact.

Overviews of the 10 Best Contact Management Software

Here’s a brief description of each contact management solution to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the interface.

Engage your contacts on multiple platforms: telephone, email, live chat, and social media

  • 15-day free trial + free plan available
  • From $14/user/month
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Rating: 4/5

The Zoho CRM system is a good solution for startups and other businesses that use small sales teams but want to develop strong relationships with their customers. Thanks to its multichannel communication features, this tool enables a small group of people to manage huge contact lists across multiple online channels.

This software tracks your contacts’ activity on multiple platforms and enables your team to engage them via social media platforms like LinkedIn, live chat, calls, or emails. Every contact file is automatically updated with relevant information, so your customer-facing team can personalize every interaction without having to juggle multiple tools or windows.

One of the things I like about this solution is that it features gamification options, enabling you to reward your team with trophies and badges based on their performance. This can help drive their productivity and close more deals.

Zoho costs from $14/user/month. The platform also offers a free-forever plan for three users and a 15-day free trial.

Cloud collaboration service with spreadsheets, calendars, and lists for fast-moving people operations processes

  • Free plan available
  • From $24/user/month
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Rating: 4.6/5

Airtable is a flexible collaboration and project-planning platform that enables you to create and manage custom databases. Many businesses use Airtable as a workflow management tool, but you can create custom fields for your customers and use it as a contact management solution with great results.

With Airtable, you can create a database from scratch, use templates, or import your data from spreadsheets. Once you have your data, you can create pipelines and automations, leave notes for your collaborators, and segment your list with tags.

One of the things that make Airtable stand out is the fact that it’s very flexible. You can customize every aspect of it without any coding experience, and you can create a tool that’s tailored to your business. Every data field can be customized with character limitations, drop-down menus, icons, color coding, date inputs, and more. All changes made to an entry are logged right in the app for easy auditing.

Airtable costs from $10/user/month. The software also offers a free-forever plan with limited functionalities, but you can upgrade to a paid plan with ease.

Low-code SaaS solution for contact management and people process automations

  • 14-day free trial
  • From $30/user/month
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Rating: 4.6/5

Creatio’s contact management solution is part of their sales platform. Even though this software’s contact management features and current pricing make it a better fit for medium and large enterprises, its low-code build makes it suitable for small businesses as well.

Creatio is easy to configure and use. You can customize the solution to your business needs and create your own dashboards, panels, and graphs without any coding experience. The tool enables you to build comprehensive contact profiles, segment your list, and track the leads as they move through the sales pipeline.

I like the fact that Creatio enables you to simplify your sales process using automation templates. And if you can’t find a suitable template for your business, you can create your own automation process with a click-and-drag builder.

Creatio costs from $30/user/month. There’s also a 14-day free trial available.

Integrate it with your Google-driven business

  • 14-day free trial
  • From $29/user/month
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Rating: 4.5/5

Copper is a great solution for small businesses that rely on Google Workspace. The CRM looks and works like a Google tool, so those who are experienced with Workspace should navigate it with ease.

This tool offers some automation features that enable your team to save time on repetitive data entry tasks like populating contact entries or updating the contact information after an interaction.

Copper CRM helps your team set up custom triggers and reminders, so they can pick up where the conversation left off and move the contact through the service pipeline directly from their Gmail accounts.

I like the fact that Copper makes reporting seem easy. You can customize your dashboard using the drag-and-drop features so you can see the important information at a glance.

Copper costs from $29/user/month. You can also access a free 14-day trial.

Robust contact management with automation and collaboration features built-in

  • 14-day free trial + free plan available
  • From $45/month
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Rating: 4.4/5

Hubspot’s contact management solution is one of the best CRM tools out there. The software enables your team to manage their pipelines efficiently, track the activity of contacts to build better relationships, and ultimately close more deals.

This tool offers a wide range of communication features, from live chat to phone calls and conferencing tools. This helps your team connect with prospects, follow up on leads, and guide them through your service funnel.

Hubspot CRM also has good automation features. The tool automatically syncs your team’s calendar to the platform, so your contacts can only schedule appointments when someone’s available. The live chat conversations are automatically directed to the right salesperson, so your team can develop relationships with customers and prospects.

Hubspot offers a lot of helpful guides and it’s easy to use, so your team can create a great contact management process without prior experience. The tool integrates with Hubspot’s marketing and sales automation tools, creating a complex infrastructure for your team to work on.

Hubspot costs from $45/1,000 contacts per month. The platform also offers a free plan with limited functionalities.

Full customer service suite with a robust contact management module with an apps marketplace for add-ons

  • 14-day free trial
  • From $19/user/month (billed annually)
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Rating: 4.2/5

Zendesk’s contact management software is included in their Zendesk Sell platform. This sales CRM is a great option for businesses of all sizes that want to expand their lead management efforts. From the communication hub, you can track basic contact details, conversation duration, contact response to offers, and even save copies of each communication interaction.

One of the things that make Zendesk stand out from its competitors is the tool’s ease of use. The software has a smooth learning curve. It’s easy to navigate, and your sales team can access most of the features it relies on directly from the dashboard. The pre-defined reports cover most of your business needs, so you don’t have to waste a lot of time customizing them.

I like the fact that Zendesk helps you define your lists and segment them based on the number of leads, companies, phone numbers, contracts, and deals. This allows you to create different automated pipelines to collect customer information and engage with each audience without creating friction.

Zendesk costs from $19/user/month. You can also access a free 14-day trial that includes all the platform’s features.

Contact management connected directly to email, messaging, and landing pages with IF/THEN communication automations

  • 14-day free trial
  • From $169/month
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Rating: 4.2/5

Keap’s CRM is a powerful solution for small to medium businesses. This solution stores and organizes contact data in neat files, so you can keep track of how they interact with your business, guide their customer journey, and create predictable sales pipelines.

The software comes with a useful mobile app that works well on Android and iOS, enabling your team to keep in touch with contacts remotely.

Keap offers some good automation features. I love that you can create automated communication flows and send personalized follow-ups based on existing customer data and recent activity. You can also apply tags to your contacts and transfer them in bulk from one pipeline to another if you want to.

Keap integrates with a lot of applications, such as Microsoft’s Outlook and Excel, Gmail, sales management solutions, or popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify and Woocommerce.

Keap costs from $40/month for 500 contacts and one user. You can access a free 14-day trial.

Web and mobile apps for contact management with activity history, case management, and customer surveys

  • Free trial available
  • From $400/month

Salesforce is a popular CRM solution that’s easy to scale as your contact list grows. Even though this contact management software is suitable for all businesses, its complex features make it ideal for medium and large people-centric organizations.

This solution offers a lot of features, more than other CRM tools that made my list. These features help you create and implement an advanced contact management process. With Salesforce, you can view and update contact data with ease, check their activity and communication history, and collaborate with other members of your team to close gaps in the people operations pipeline.

One of the highlights of this platform is that it offers a lot of integrations. Salesforce’s dedicated marketplace is full of apps that can help you achieve different things, such as building forms, creating marketing presentations for your contacts, signing documents, connecting customers to your support team, or collecting customer feedback. With all this, you can connect your contact management solution directly to your hiring, onboarding, training, and 360-feedback systems.

Salesforce costs from $400/month and offers a free trial.

Best to connect contact records with a broader ERP system

  • Free demo available
  • $999/month

NetSuite CRM is one segment of the SaaS tool's broader functionality and product suite. A complete enterprise resource management (ERP) platform is provided by the company, meaning you can manage not just your contacts but various other aspects of your HR operations in the same system. It also provides accounting tools and a human capital management (HCM) system.

If you're looking for a bespoke, all-in-one solution, this could be a good option for your needs. The software is highly customizable and built for scalability, and can easily cater to the needs of SMBs and enterprise-level businesses alike. Its analytics and reporting functions bring your HR data all together in a centralized location, helping inform your decision making and shape your initiatives.

NetSuite integrates with other software products including Mailchimp, Box, Zendesk, Hubspot, Bill.com, Rippling, A2X, Handshake, DataServ, OnPlan, Bamboo HR, Twilio, Cleo Integration Cloud, and more.

Pricing starts from $999 per month, and a free demo is available.

Intuitive project management solution with CRM templates connected right to your daily task workflow

  • 14-day free trial + free plan available
  • From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats)
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Rating: 4.7/5

Even though most companies use monday.com as a project management software, its contact management tool is top-notch. The tool’s contact management features are customizable. You can build your workplace from scratch, or you can start with a flexible template. And thanks to the tool’s drag-and-drop functionality, you can tailor its rows and columns to your needs.

One of the things I liked about monday sales CRM is that your team can attach a conversation panel to any row they create. This enables them to add notes, files, and other information that’s relevant to the contacts. You can set up custom notifications for status changes, customer interactions, pipeline management tasks, and other activities that can help your team track the contact’s activity and improve your lead generation efforts.

I recommend monday sales CRM to business owners and managers who want to build their own contact management solution. The platform’s customization options and drag-n-drop features enable you to tailor the solution to your needs without coding skills.

Monday CRM costs from $10/user/month billed annually with a minimum of 3 users per subscription. They offer a 14-day free trial. 

10 Best Contact Management Software: Pricing Comparison Chart

This comparison chart summarizes basic details about each of my top contact management software selections. You can view pricing details and the availability of free trials or demos side-by-side to help you find the best software for your budget and business needs.

Tools Price
Zoho CRM From $14/user/month
Airtable From $24/user/month
CRM Creatio From $30/user/month
Copper From $29/user/month
HubSpot From $45/month
Zendesk From $19/user/month (billed annually)
Keap From $169/month
Salesforce From $400/month
NetSuite CRM $999/month
monday.com From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats)
Preview Image - <h2 class="c-block__title b-summary-table__title c-listicle__title h3" > Compare Software Specs Side by Side</h2>

Compare Software Specs Side by Side

Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.

Compare Software

Other Options

  1. Pipedrive CRM

    Best for adding smart data from the web to contact records

  2. Wrike

    Project and task management tool with a simple contact management system using folders, lists, and templates

  3. Less Annoying CRM

    Good contact management solution for non-technical sales teams. The platform offers a 30-day trial.

  4. HoneyBook

    A popular CRM software for businesses of all sizes that’s especially useful for branded contact communications. Free 7-day trial available.

  5. Really Simple Systems

    A CRM that offers great value for small businesses. Free forever plan available.

  6. Freshsales

    CRM with powerful marketing automation, email tracking, and sales management features. Free plan available.

  7. Pobuca Connect

    CRM platform with strong contact research and tagging features. Free forever plan available.

  8. InfoFlo

    A great contact management option for small businesses on a tight budget. Free 30-day trial available.

  9. vCita

    Contact management software that offers all the basic features you need plus some marketing automation. You can try the pro plan for free for 14 days.

Selection Criteria for Contact Management Software

What do I look for when I select the best contact management platform? Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria: 

  • User Interface (UI): I look for solutions that have a clean interface. Your team should be able to access the customer’s data and track emails, deals, and conversations with ease. 
  • Usability: I look for tools that are simple but effective. Your team should be able to use most of the tool’s functions after going through a short onboarding process. 
  • Integrations: I look for tools that integrate with other solutions, such as email & SMS platforms, analytics and reporting tools, calendars, and conferencing tools.  
  • Value for Price: I look for solutions that offer a good variety of features, so you get the most out of your investment.

Key Features for Contact Management Software

  • Real-time data - The solution should record your team’s interactions with prospects and customers and update the contact’s information in real-time whenever necessary. 
  • Segmentation - The software should enable you to segment your contact list based on the contact’s stage of awareness, history, purchases, tickets, or custom tags. 
  • Team Collaboration - Your team should be able to collaborate in order to persuade your leads and customers to take action. 
  • Detailed insights - The software should be able to break down the data and offer your team actionable insights, such as the contact’s level of awareness, individual preferences, or their response to past customer interactions. 
  • Integrations -  Integrations are vital to contact management software because they help the solution collect social and other types of data from external sources. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How does contact management software work?

89.9% of companies use 2 or more tools for contact data and lead enrichment—and you can bet some form of contact management software is one of them. Before you can nurture and chase leads, you have to collect data about your potential customers. And storing information in a pocketbook just doesn’t cut it in today’s hyper-competitive, global, and online business environment.

Contact management software enables your team to keep track of the different stages of awareness a lead may be in, pick up a conversation where it left off, and leverage all the available data to guide the prospect through the sales pipeline without creating friction. (In people management, the “sales pipeline” can be actual sales—B2C or B2B—or it can be selling your company to a desirable job candidate.)

In recent years, most contact management systems transformed into customer relationship management (CRM) platforms. The modern platforms enable you to connect your address book to your customer support system, email marketing tools, and other platforms in your software ecosystem.

Related Read: How Contact Management Software Can Benefit Your Business

Contact Management Solutions Help Grow Your Business 

Greg Greenberger, Partner Program Specialist at Signavio, notes that to make a successful sale or networking connection, you should "Never stop asking for more information on your prospects." Contact management software facilitates the backend of this piece of advice by giving you space to record, store, filter, search, and analyze the prospect information you've collected! Only then can you turn it into something useful and actionable.

For people managers, your need for a contact management solution might be to keep track of business relationships, track qualified and desirable job candidates actively and passively, or to participate in your HR analytics strategies as a cog in a much larger machine. Either way, I hope you found a new tool to add to your tech stack to make your people operations processes easier, smarter, and stronger. 

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By Kim Behnke

Kim Behnke is an HR Tool Expert & Writer for People Managing People. She draws on her 9 years of human resources experience and her keen eye for systematic processes to support her analyses of the top HR tools on the market. She is passionate about maximizing efficiencies and streamlining workflows to ensure internal systems run smoothly. Kim's HR experience includes recruitment, onboarding, performance management, training and development, policy development and enforcement, and HR analytics. She also has degrees in psychology, writing, publishing, and technical communication, and recently completed a Certified Digital HR Specialist program through the Academy to Innovate HR. When away from her desk, she can usually be found outside tending to her ever-expanding garden.