Agency CRM: What an Agency Needs and 8 CRMs Compared

An agency CRM is the system that holds your prospects, clients and open deals in one place. Pick HubSpot or Zoho CRM to start on a free plan. Pick Copper if your team works in Google Workspace, Close if you sell by phone and HighLevel if each client needs its own account. Pipedrive, monday CRM and folk pair a pipeline with email sequences.

This page first says what an agency needs from a CRM, then compares 8. It ranks nothing and makes no claim about quality. Every fact about a product comes from that product's own website, read on Nov 10, 2026.

What does an agency need from a CRM?

An agency needs five things from a CRM, and all five concern the deals already in play. This is our own list, written for small agencies that sell to local businesses.

1. One record per business. The owner's name, every email, every call and every note sit in one place.
2. A pipeline with your own stages. Five stages are enough for a small agency, as our guide to the sales pipeline for an agency sets out.
3. Email from your own inbox. A message sent from your address should land on the record without copying.
4. A next step with a date. Every open deal needs one, and the CRM should show the deals that have none.
5. A handoff to delivery. A won deal becomes a project. Some CRMs hold projects themselves, and others pass the client to agency software for projects, time and billing.

A sixth need applies only if you run a CRM on behalf of clients. Then each client needs its own account, and you may want your own brand on it.

A CRM for agencies does not have to be large. A spreadsheet works while you have fewer than 20 open deals, by our rule of thumb. Move to a CRM when two people need to see the same deals.

One thing stays open with every CRM. It holds the businesses you put into it, and where those businesses come from is a separate question. The table below has a column for it.

How do the 8 compare on what an agency needs?

All 8 list deal pipelines and email. They differ in calling, in where new contacts come from and in what they name for agencies. "Not named" means the pages we read do not mention it.

None of the pages we read describes a score for a prospect's website. The fourth column shows what each page names for finding new contacts.

What does each CRM cost on its lowest paid plan?

Three of the 8 showed a price with clear billing words on Nov 10, 2026. For the other five the table points to the pricing page. Each row holds one price, for the lowest paid plan.

Prices change. Each section below links the product's pricing page, or its site where the pricing page did not open.

Which CRMs let an agency start on a free plan?

HubSpot and Zoho CRM each let an agency start on a free plan. HubSpot's free plan covers up to 2 users, and Zoho CRM's free edition covers 3.

HubSpot CRM and Sales Hub

HubSpot's CRM page says its free CRM "unifies all your customer data on one platform". Sales Hub is the paid sales software on top, sold in Starter, Professional and Enterprise editions.

The CRM page lists deal pipelines, email tracking, email templates and a meeting scheduler. Sales Hub adds calling, with 500 minutes on Starter, and email sequences on Professional. A free account can hold 1,000 contacts. The pages we read mention no client sub-accounts and no white labeling.

The CRM page is headed "Free CRM Software for Startups & Small Businesses".

On Nov 10, 2026 the Starter card on the Sales Hub pricing page showed two amounts side by side, and the page says discounts are for new customers only. No price is quoted here, so see its pricing page for the amount that applies to you. The free plan needs no credit card.

HubSpot suits you better than Leadodo when you need a place for contacts and deals today and want to start without paying.

Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is sold in a free edition and four paid editions. Its home page says it is "built to serve business of all kinds", and the pages we read name no client sub-accounts.

The free edition is "Forever free, for 3 users". It holds 5,000 records and the default pipeline. The Standard edition lists 5 sales pipelines, mass email and built-in calling. On paid editions, cadences can follow up by email, task, call or WhatsApp. From Professional up, portals "Extend CRM access to customers, vendors, and other stakeholders."

The pricing page shows an amount per user per month for the Standard, Professional and Enterprise editions. Our check on Nov 10, 2026 could not tell which billing option each amount belongs to, so see the Zoho CRM pricing page.

Zoho CRM suits you better than Leadodo when up to 3 people need a shared CRM at no cost, with paid editions to grow into.

Which CRMs pair a pipeline with email sequences?

Pipedrive, monday CRM and folk each name a pipeline and email sequences on the pages we read. On monday CRM and folk the sequences sit on a higher plan.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a sales CRM. Its home page says it "lets you track your sales pipeline, optimize leads, manage deals with AI". The features page says the product is built "around activity-based selling."

You can customize pipelines and see the sales funnel on a kanban-style dashboard. The home page names two-way email sync and "auto-sequences that trigger based on email interactions." The features page says you can make calls from the app and have them tracked. It also lists Smart Docs, project management software and integrations with "over 500 tools". The pages we read mention no client sub-accounts and no white labeling.

The pricing page did not open in our check on Nov 10, 2026, so no price is quoted here. See the pricing page on Pipedrive's site. The features page says Pipedrive offers a 14-day free trial and that "there isn't a free version."

Its FAQ says Pipedrive is "designed to help small businesses manage leads" and track sales activities. Pipedrive suits you better than Leadodo when replies are coming in and you need a pipeline to move each deal through.

monday CRM

The product page calls monday CRM "a CRM that puts marketing, sales, and delivery on one platform". It says the product manages customer relationships "from pre- to post-sale", and it names a sales pipeline, lead management, account management and forecasting.

The Standard plan adds a comms hub with every email, call, meeting and note for a person in one timeline. The Pro plan adds mass emails and email sequences. Quotes and invoices come with a monthly limit per plan. The pricing page lists a Lead sourcer agent, and the AI versions of its plans list an Outreach caller agent. Marketing agencies are on its industry list.

On Nov 10, 2026 the monday CRM pricing page showed the Basic plan at $12 per seat per month on yearly billing, read at 10 seats. Its FAQ says plans start from 3 users. There is a 14-day trial, and no lasting free plan is shown.

monday CRM suits you better than Leadodo when you want the deal and the delivery work that follows it on one platform.

folk

folk describes itself as "One platform for your entire sales motion." It is a CRM with pipelines, contact enrichment and email sequences.

The Standard plan lists pipeline management, email campaigns, contact enrichment and a LinkedIn extension. It syncs email, calendar and WhatsApp. The Premium plan adds deals, email sequences and dashboards. Email finding is listed at 500 a month on Standard.

The site has a page for agencies. That page does not mention client accounts, a client portal or white labeling. The pricing FAQ says billing is calculated per workspace.

On Nov 10, 2026 the folk pricing page showed the Standard plan at $24 per member per month on annual billing. A 14-day free trial needs no credit card.

folk suits you better than Leadodo when you want pipelines, contact enrichment and email campaigns inside one CRM.

Which CRMs fit one way of working?

Copper and Close each fit one way of working. Copper is built to work inside Google Workspace, and Close builds calling, email and SMS into the CRM.

Copper

Copper's home page says "Copper is a CRM software for relationship-focused service businesses, built to work inside Google Workspace."

The pricing page lists a Chrome extension and sync with Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Contacts and Google Drive. The Basic plan lists pipelines, task automation and project management, with a limit of 2,500 contacts. Professional adds bulk email and workflow automation. Business adds email series.

The home page names agencies among the businesses it serves. The pages we read do not say that Copper places calls itself. They say it logs calls and SMS.

Each plan card showed two amounts above one billing label on Nov 10, 2026, so no price is quoted here. See the Copper pricing page. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, and no free plan is shown.

Copper suits you better than Leadodo when your agency runs on Gmail and Google Calendar and you want deals and projects next to them.

Close

Close is a CRM with calling, email and SMS built in. Its home page calls it "the CRM with a built-in AI teammate", an AI sales agent named Chloe.

The pricing page lists multiple opportunity pipelines and two-way email sync. Calls are made and received in the CRM and charged by usage. The Growth plan lists automated workflows, bulk email and a power dialer. The Solo plan is limited to 1 user and 10k leads. The pages we read mention no client sub-accounts and no white labeling.

The pricing page showed one amount per plan on Nov 10, 2026 and did not say which billing option it belongs to. See the Close pricing page. There is a 14-day free trial with no credit card, and no free plan is shown.

Close suits you better than Leadodo when you sell by phone and want calls, texts and email built into the CRM. The pricing page says Solo is for founders and solo reps and Essentials is for small teams.

Which CRM gives each client its own account?

HighLevel gives each client its own account. On the pages we read, it is the only one of the 8 that describes sub-accounts for an agency's clients.

HighLevel

HighLevel is a CRM and marketing platform. Its pricing FAQ says most users take it in place of their CRM, funnel builder and email marketing software, among other tools.

The Starter plan includes 3 sub-accounts. The Unlimited plan has unlimited sub-accounts and a white-label desktop app, so clients see the agency's logo when they log in. The pricing page says every plan has unlimited contacts and unlimited users. Core features include CRM & Pipelines, 2 way email and SMS, calling and a "Prospecting tool".

The Starter card reads "For one business or a few clients". The Unlimited card reads "For agencies managing unlimited clients".

On Nov 10, 2026 the HighLevel pricing page showed the Starter plan at $97 per month. Usage such as phone numbers, SMS and emails sent is billed on top. There is a 14-day free trial, and no free plan is shown.

HighLevel suits you better than Leadodo when the CRM is something you provide to clients, each in its own account under your brand.

Where does Leadodo fit, and where does it not?

Leadodo fits before the CRM. It is built for one job, finding businesses with weak websites and starting the conversation. In an agency's stack it sits ahead of the 8 products above, and they hold the contacts and deals that follow. If you came for a place to keep deals, pick from the 8.

Leadodo finds businesses with a Google Maps scraper and a database of 460M+ contacts. Twip AI scores every website in a search out of 100 across 10 domains, and sites that score below 40 form the shortlist. Your Outbound Machine runs six steps over 19 working days, and a posted letter arrives on day 1. The sequence stops for a business the moment it replies. Leadodo never contacts anyone itself. You send, under your own name.

Keep your CRM for what follows the reply. Leadodo does not fit every agency. It is software for web design and marketing agencies, and its shortlist holds businesses with weak websites. If a weak website is no reason to buy what you sell, start your search for leads elsewhere. Our guide to agency lead generation covers the work before the reply.

How do you pick a marketing agency CRM?

Pick a CRM for marketing agencies by how you sell, then check the price for your number of seats. The table matches five ways of selling to the products whose sites name them.

Then take five steps before you pay.

1. Count your open deals. Under 20, a spreadsheet still works, by our rule of thumb.
2. Count the seats. Six of the 8 price by seat, user or member. HighLevel charges per plan with unlimited users, and Pipedrive's pricing could not be read.
3. Check how you reach people. By phone, look at the calling each product lists. By email from Gmail, look at the inbox sync.
4. Ask whether clients need a login. On the pages we read, only HighLevel describes client sub-accounts. Zoho CRM lists portals from its Professional edition up.
5. Try it with real deals. Two of the 8 list a free plan, and the other six offer a 14-day trial.

Enter last month's replies during the trial. A marketing agency CRM that makes that entry slow will not be kept up to date.

Questions

What is the best CRM for agencies?

No single product is the best CRM for agencies, and this page ranks none. The fit depends on how you sell and on who needs a login. Start from the five needs above. Then compare only the products that meet them at your number of seats.

What is an agency CRM?

An agency CRM is a customer relationship management system set up for a company that sells client work. It keeps one record per business and shows every open deal by stage. Some products add client accounts, so an agency can run the CRM for its own clients.

Is there a free CRM for agencies?

Two of the 8 listed one on Nov 10, 2026. HubSpot's free plan covers up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts. Zoho CRM's free edition covers 3 users and 5,000 records.

Does a CRM find new clients?

A CRM stores and tracks the contacts you put into it. Some list a prospecting function, such as the "Prospecting tool" in HighLevel and the Lead sourcer agent in monday CRM. Neither pricing page says where those leads come from. Our guide to lead generation software sorts the tools built for finding businesses.

Is HighLevel a CRM?

Yes, among other things. Its pricing page lists CRM & Pipelines as a core feature, next to email and SMS marketing, a website and funnel builder and booking calendars. It also gives agencies sub-accounts, which the pages we read for the other 7 do not describe.

When should an agency move from a spreadsheet to a CRM?

Move when two people need to see the same deals, or when dated next steps start to slip. Below 20 open deals a spreadsheet with one row per deal still works, by our rule of thumb. The CRM sits in a wider stack, and our short list of agency tools worth paying for shows the jobs around it.

Checked on Nov 10, 2026. If a detail about your product is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.

---

Next step. See how Leadodo finds businesses, scores their websites and starts the conversations that end up in your CRM. See the features.