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10 Best Contact Management Software In 2023

The Best Contact Management Software Shortlist

Here’s the list of the best contact management software that I’ll cover in this article.

  1. 1. monday.com — Intuitive project management solution with CRM templates connected right to your daily task workflow
  2. 2. Zoho CRM — Engage your contacts on multiple platforms: telephone, email, live chat, and social media
  3. 3. Airtable — Cloud collaboration service with spreadsheets, calendars, and lists for fast-moving people operations processes
  4. 4. Copper — Integrate it with your Google-driven business
  5. 5. HubSpot — Robust contact management with automation and collaboration features built-in
  6. 6. Zendesk — Full customer service suite with a robust contact management module with an apps marketplace for add-ons
  7. 7. Keap — Contact management connected directly to email, messaging, and landing pages with IF/THEN communication automations
  8. 8. Salesforce — Web and mobile apps for contact management with activity history, case management, and customer surveys
  9. 9. CRM Creatio — Low-code SaaS solution for contact management and people process automations
  10. 10. Pipedrive CRM — Best for adding smart data from the web to contact records

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.  

Read my review to discover the 10 best contact management software on the market right now.

Related Read: How Contact Management Software Can Benefit Your Business

Contact Management Solution: Comparison Criteria

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

  1. 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. 
  2. 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. 
  3. Integrations: I look for tools that integrate with other solutions, such as email & SMS platforms, analytics and reporting tools, calendars, and conferencing tools.  
  4. Value for $: I look for solutions that offer a good variety of features, so you get the most out of your investment. 

Contact Management App Key Features

  1. 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. 
  2. 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. 
  3. Team Collaboration - Your team should be able to collaborate in order to persuade your leads and customers to take action. 
  4. 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. 
  5. Integrations -  Integrations are vital to contact management software because they help the solution collect social and other types of data from external sources. 

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.

1

monday.com

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

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. 

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 8599

14-day free trial + free plan available

From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats)

2

Zoho CRM

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

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.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4 2103

15-day free trial

From $14/user/month

3

Airtable

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

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.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6 1339

Free plan available

From $24/user/month

4

Copper

Integrate it with your Google-driven business

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.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 870

14-day free trial

From $29/user/month

5

HubSpot

Robust contact management with automation and collaboration features built-in

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.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4 10383

14-day free trial + free plan available

From $45/month

6

Zendesk

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

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.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.3 5815

14-day free trial

From $19/user/month (billed annually)

7

Keap

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

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.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 1508

14-day free trial

From $169/month

8

Salesforce

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

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.

Free trial available

From $400/month

9

CRM Creatio

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

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.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6 237

14-day free trial

From $30/user/month

10

Pipedrive CRM

Best for adding smart data from the web to contact records

Pipedrive is a sales-focused customer relationship management (CRM) software that stands out because it's designed for salespeople, by salespeople. It has all the features necessary to help you keep track of your business contacts and manage your sales pipeline effectively.

The software's visual sales pipeline lets you see exactly where each deal is in the sales process. You can drag and drop deals between stages, add notes, and schedule follow-up activities right from your pipeline view. The smart data feature grabs web data about your contacts to add to their profiles, keeping your records up to date and helping you qualify leads.

You can sync your email account with Pipedrive and have all your emails automatically linked to the relevant contacts and deals. The software's reporting and analytics tools also give you a ton of data about your sales performance, like which deals are most likely to close, how long it takes to close a deal, and more.

Pipedrive integrates with other software like Google Meet, Gmail, Xero, Trello, and more. Plans start at $12.50/user/month, and a 14-day free trial is available.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.3 1515

14-day free trial

From $12.50/user/month

Need Expert Help Selecting The Right Contact Center Management Software?

We’ve joined up with Crozdesk.com to give all our readers (yes, you!) access to Crozdesk’s software advisors. Just use the form below to share your needs, and they will contact you at no cost or commitment. You will then be matched and connected to a shortlist of vendors that best fit your company, and you can access exclusive software discounts!

The 10 Best Contact Management Software Summary

Tool Free Option Price
1
monday.com

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) Visit Website
2
Zoho CRM

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

15-day free trial

From $14/user/month Visit Website
3
Airtable

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

Free plan available

From $24/user/month Visit Website
4
Copper

Integrate it with your Google-driven business

14-day free trial

From $29/user/month Visit Website
5
HubSpot

Robust contact management with automation and collaboration features built-in

14-day free trial + free plan available

From $45/month Visit Website
6
Zendesk

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) Visit Website
7
Keap

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

14-day free trial

From $169/month Visit Website
8
Salesforce

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

Free trial available

From $400/month Visit Website
9
CRM Creatio

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

14-day free trial

From $30/user/month Visit Website
10
Pipedrive CRM

Best for adding smart data from the web to contact records

14-day free trial

From $12.50/user/month Visit Website

Other Options

  1. Wrike

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

  2. Less Annoying CRM

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

  3. HoneyBook

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

  4. Freshsales

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

  5. Really Simple Systems

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

  6. 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.

  7. InfoFlo

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

  8. Pobuca Connect

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

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. 

For more thoughts on how to manage people and create a self-sustaining work environment that thrives, subscribe to the People Managing People newsletter.

By Tim Reitsma

Tim is the co-founder and General Manager of People Managing People, an online publication focused on building a better world of work. He is experienced with people & culture, leadership, business strategy and operations with a focus on building great teams who are excited about their craft and their organization. With over 15 years of leadership experience, Tim has always been guided by his core values: faith, family, curiosity, and fun. He is a coach, mentor, speaker, advisor, and an active volunteer in his community. Tim loves spending time outdoors with his wife and two kids as well as mountain biking in the north shore mountains.