In this Freshsales review, we explore one of the most popular CRM platforms, discussing its pros and cons, features, and how it stacks up against its competitors. It’s a top choice for businesses of all sizes, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best option for everyone.
Freshsales Pricing
Freshsales offers three paid plans which you can trial for free for 21 days. Here’s a quick look at what you can expect from each plan:
Growth | Pro | Enterprise | |
Starting Price | $9/user/month | $39/user/month | $59/user/month |
User Limit | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Free Trial Period | 21 days | 21 days | 21 days |
Collaboration | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Lead Management | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Opportunities Management | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Lead Scoring | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Automation | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Team Collaboration | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Integrations | 1,000+ | 1,000+ | 1,000+ |
Support | 24/5 phone, chat, email | 24/5 phone, chat, email | 24/5 phone, chat, email + dedicated support manager |
Freshsales CRM’s Key Features
Having given the tool a test run for this Freshsales review, we can confidently say that it offers a lot to like. Here are some of the main USPs we found related to its functionality:
VoIP Functions
Communication features are common in most CRM platforms, but Freshsales does this pretty well. For instance, it comes with a built-in VoIP phone, so you won’t need to buy a separate business phone.
Other CRM providers like HubSpot provide limited calling minutes, for example, and often features like these are missing:
- Call recording and queuing
- Parallel calling (put one customer on hold and attend to another)
- Call masking (hide your identity during a call)
These are features you’ll usually find in the best VoIP services — it’s rare and commendable for a CRM product to offer such a diverse range of calling capabilities.
In fact, you can also set up a chat widget on your website that’ll automatically engage with your visitors when your team is busy.
Deal Management Features
We found that managing deals is ridiculously easy with Freshsales’ deal cards. It reminded us a lot of Monday CRM, as you have the option to choose between Kanban, timeline, and funnel formats.
With this, you can see where each deal stands. Better yet, let’s say you want to see each deal’s estimated revenue and completion date. Opening each deal card to view this is time-consuming.
With Freshsales, you can simply select up to four deal properties to show up on the card face. We liked the Rotten Deals feature, too. This lets you set a time limit on every deal.
Once that time (for example, 30 days) passes, the deal will appear in red in the pipeline. From here, you can choose to either delete the deal or move it to the “lost deal” stage.
Automation Features
We were impressed with how much Freshsales can automate. For instance, its AI chatbots can talk to customers while your agents are busy. These bots are multilingual, too.
It’s also worth noting that these bots can easily detect the intent of each customer before responding, but what we found most impressive was Freddy, the AI-powered assistant.
Freddy offers valuable (and instant) insight into your deals, plus, it’ll identify duplicate entries, remove them, and detect out-of-office emails from leads, so you know when best to follow up.
You can even set up sales sequences—a flow of steps that would be automatically followed after the first contact with a client, and auto-assignment rules for deals and contacts.
Analytics & Insight Tools
We found that Freshsales is thorough with its analytics. You can auto-generate reports for almost every activity. For instance, agent availability reports offer insight into your agent’s availability.
Put simply, this advanced dashboard collates all team performance-related data in one place. You can also keep an eye on the quality of client conversations your agents are having.
This is made possible with the Conversation Overview report, which tells you things like how responsive your team is and how well they handle the call volume.
Freshsales Integrations
Freshsales CRM is just one of the many products offered by Freshworks. Naturally, you can connect to all Freshworks apps—Freshdesk, Freshmarketer, Fresh, Freshconnect, and Freshcaller.
Apart from that, you’ll also have 1,000+ third-party integrations, including Google Calendar, MailChimp, Hubspot, Quickbooks, and Xero. Plus, there’s Zapier, which offers a further 6,000+ options.
Only Salesforce (3,000+) offers more integrations than Freshsales. Other competitors like Monday and Agile CRM fall behind at 200+ and 40+ integrations, respectively.
Freshsales Customer Reviews
Freshsales reviews are predominantly very positive across all leading sites. For example, it’s rated 4.5/ 5 on G2 (1,110+ reviews), Capterra (600+ reviews), and GetApp (600+ reviews).
It’s safe to say that Freshsales CRM is incredibly reliable. Upon further analysis, we found that users appreciated the helpful customer support and detailed documentation.
The interface is another highlight in many Freshsales reviews, where many boast that it’s quite easy to use, even for those who aren’t very technically adept.
Some customers have also praised its tracking tool. Whether it’s a new deal, a bulk email that you sent out, or an upcoming event, you can track it at every step.
However, we did find a few complaints about the customer service. For starters, it’s not 24/7, like Salesforce, for example. Plus, users have pointed out that ticket statuses aren’t updated.
That said, overall, Freshsales has a solid market reputation and has easily secured itself as one of the best enterprise CRMs out there.
What is Freshsales Good For?
If you’re a midsize or large business, you can opt for Freshsales’s higher-end plans, which are more affordable than rivals like HubSpot ($450/month for 5 users), for example.
Freshsales does a good job in the automation domain as well. Its AI bot, Freddy, analyzes heaps of data in seconds and provides valuable insight—it’s like having your own virtual business advisor.
Freshsales Vs Top Competitors
Freshsales, despite being feature-rich, affordable, and scalable, isn’t the best option for every business. If you’re still unsure, here’s how it compares to the market’s top Freshsales alternatives:
CRM | Freshsales | Monday CRM | Salesforce | Pipedrive | HubSpot | Act! CRM |
Best For | Affordable large business plans | Startups | Large organizations | Pipeline management | Enterprise-level features | SMB needs |
Starting Price | $9/user/month | $12/user/month | $25/user/month | $9.90/user/month | $18/month | $30/user/month |
Free Version | 21-day trial | 14-day trial | 30-day trial | 14-day trial | Free plan | 14-day trial |
Compatibility | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, browser | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, browser | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, browser | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, browser | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, browser | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, browser |
Top 3 Features | Contact lifecycle stages, rotten deals, built-in phone | Unlimited free viewers, 200+ templates, mass email tracking | 3,000+ integrations, automated activity capture, AI automation | Contact mapping, 10,000 open deals per company, meeting scheduler | Free tools, 200 shared inboxes, email scheduling | Relationship timeline, Mail merge, automated workflows |
Freshsales Vs Salesforce
Freshsales and Salesforce are both automation-heavy, but if you’re looking for a more affordable CRM platform, we recommend Freshsales. The most expensive plan costs just $59/month.
That said, as our Salesforce review outlined, enterprises should consider Salesforce if they’re after an all-in-one CRM.
You get Einstein AI with valuable deal, lead, and email insights and forecasting—plus advanced pipeline management and unlimited flow builders for automation.
Freshsales Vs Hubspot
HubSpot is a better choice if you’re looking for a completely free CRM software, but if your focus is more on analytics and automation, choose Freshsales.
You get detailed auto-generated reports on your team, deals, and customer satisfaction. Plus, you can use Freddy for automated suggestions based on these reports.
On the other hand, as we saw in our HubSpot review, it’s the better option if you’re after robust email marketing — it offers email automation, tracking, reports, and suggestions for improvement.
Freshsales Vs Pipedrive
Freshsales and Pipedrive are similar in many ways, especially in terms of their deal management tools and AI assistants. That said, when it comes to call capabilities, Freshsales is best.
It comes with a built-in VoIP phone with features like call recording, call masking, and advanced call queues. You also get an AI-powered chatbot to answer customer queries.
Pipedrive, on the other hand, is ideal if you have a larger client base since it offers unlimited pipelines right from the basic plan. Freshsales limits this to just 10, even on the most expensive plan.
Plus, with Pipedrive, you get 24/7 live chat support, which isn’t available at Freshsales. So, a business that needs more touchpoints with the CRM provider will find Pipedrive better.
Related: A Full Pipedrive Review for 2024
Verdict: Is Freshsales CRM Worth It?
Freshsales delivers the most value for mid-sized and large businesses that need an affordable solution.
Plus, you get several VoIP functions at a cheaper price than competitors like Salesforce and HubSpot. Powerful automation features and the AI assistant, Freddy, are the cherry on top.
However, if you have an extensive client list, Freshsales’s 10 sales pipelines, 100 workflows, and 5,000 emails can be insufficient—for this, we recommend HubSpot.
How We Test CRM Services
With over 13 years of experience in the industry, Techopedia’s team of software experts tests every CRM service thoroughly, evaluating various aspects over a 2-week period.
During this, we analyze the efficiency of its features, the usability of its apps, the support, and how it compares to others — this is easier for us, as we’ve tested all the leading CRM solutions on the market.
We also consider the feedback shared by long-term customers online to ensure that we offer an unbiased, solid overview of what you can expect from the platform.
How to Choose the Best CRM Solution
Choosing a CRM is hard work, given the number of options and how they all vary considerably in terms of pricing and features, for example. To help, here are key factors to consider when deciding:
Setting a budget is vital to ensure that you don’t overspend on a CRM. That said, it’s more crucial to consider the value you’re getting for the price.
It’s important to note what features you need, as some may be reserved for higher-end plans. Some may be lacking in terms of VoIP features for sales teams, for example, or on the collaboration front.
Always choose a CRM provider that can accommodate your growing needs so that it remains an ideal fit for you even in the future. At the same time, consider the cost of scalability. Switching CRMs can be a nightmare.
Any platform you choose for your team should be easy to use. There’s no better way to know this than to try the platform yourself using any free trials, plans, or guarantees on offer.
The CRM you choose should offer enough integration options to help you centralize your business. Also, check if the integrations you need are locked behind paywalls.
A CRM platform is only as good as its customer support. Pick a service that has multiple modes of communication (phone, email, and chat) and ample documentation to assist if you ever need the aid.