Best CRM for freelancers

For freelancers, managing client relationships, projects, and communications efficiently is key to sustaining and growing a successful business. With limited time and resources, having a reliable Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can make all the difference in staying organized and delivering exceptional service. The best CRMs for freelancers are designed to simplify client management, automate routine tasks, and provide insights that help you stay on top of your business.
In this blog post, we'll explore the top CRM options for freelancers, highlighting the ones that are easy to use, affordable, and the essential features they have that can help streamline your workflow and enhance your client interactions.

Why a freelancer might need a CRM

As a freelancer managing multiple projects on top of client relationships, having the right CRM in your tech stack can make a huge difference to your workflow.

1. Challenges without a CRM

Life without a CRM looks a little messy. Below are some common challenges we've noticed that freelancers tend to face.

• Disorganization: Without a CRM, keeping track of multiple freelancers and projects can become chaotic.
• Missed opportunities: Important client interactions and follow-ups can fall through the cracks.
• Inefficient processes: Manual tracking and communication can slow down your workflow.
• Lack of insight: Without data analytics, making informed decisions is challenging.
• Inconsistent communication: Miscommunication can lead to misunderstandings and project delays.

Benefits of a CRM

With a limited budget to think about, the benefits of a CRM need to outweigh the cost of investing in a CRM. Below are a few benefits you should expect to reap from a good CRM system.

• A single source of truth: All client and project data in one place for easy access.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automate repetitive tasks to save time and reduce errors.
• Improved client relationships: Track client interactions in one place to provide personalized service and consistent communication.
• Better decision-making: Use data analytics to make informed business decisions.
• Increased sales: Identify and act on new business opportunities more effectively. Know which contacts you haven't spoken to for a while, and strategically plan when you should follow up.
• Consistent communication: Streamlined communication ensures everyone is on the same page.
  

Key features of a CRM for freelancers

We've rounded up a few key features you should expect of a good CRM just in case it's the first time you're looking at investing in one.

• Automation: Streamlines tasks by automating repetitive workflows.
• Contact enrichment and contact management: Automatically finds leads, customers email addresses and contact information, enhancing efficiency without the manual repetition.
• Structured pipeline: Tracks leads and customers through defined stages, ensuring process clarity and effectiveness.
• Email sequences: Increases communication efficiency with follow-up templates and automated sequences.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly imports Leads, Customers from LinkedIn and tracks conversations within the CRM.
• Analytics: Provides essential data analysis and predictive insights for better planning for your email communications.
  

How to use a CRM to boost your efficiency as a freelancer

There are a few ways you can use a CRM once you find the right one for your tech stack. Below are just some high level ways you can consider to get started with the ones on your shortlist.

1. Map your process

As a freelancer, having a clear roadmap of your workflow is essential. A CRM can help you outline each stage of your process—from initial contact to project completion—allowing you to track progress and identify bottlenecks. Define stages such as "Lead Generation," "Initial Contact," "Proposal Sent," "Project In Progress," and "Project Completed." This structured approach ensures you never miss a step and can easily monitor the status of each client.

2. Lead qualification

Not all leads are created equal. You can use your CRM to score and qualify leads based on criteria such as budget, project scope, and timeline. This helps you prioritize high-value opportunities and focus your efforts where they matter most. Implementing lead scoring models within your CRM can streamline this process, ensuring you invest your time in prospects that are more likely to convert into paying clients.

3. Outreach and follow-up

Consistent outreach is key to maintaining client relationships and securing new projects. You can use your CRM to automate email and LinkedIn campaigns. For example, set up automated follow-up emails for leads who haven't responded within a week, or create LinkedIn messages to reconnect with past clients. Automation ensures no lead falls through the cracks and keeps your communication timely and relevant.

4. Nurture existing client relationships

Your existing clients are a goldmine for new opportunities. You can use a CRM to track client history and identify opportunities for upselling or cross-selling additional services. For instance, if you completed a website design, you might offer ongoing maintenance or SEO services. Regularly update your CRM with client interactions and project details to tailor your offerings and maximize your revenue potential.

How to evaluate and choose a CRM platform

From making sure you're clear about the requirements you need of a CRM to budget considerations, there are a few things you need to consider as you create your shortlist.

1. Define your requirements

Start by identifying the key features that align with your business needs. Essential functionalities might include contact management, task and project tracking, invoicing, and integration with other tools you use daily. Understanding your workflow and pinpointing areas where a CRM can enhance productivity and client management will help you choose the right platform.

2. Budget considerations

While many CRM platforms offer a range of pricing plans, it's crucial to balance cost with return on investment. Look for affordable CRM solutions that offer the necessary features without breaking the bank. Consider whether the platform offers free trials or freemium versions that can grow with your business as your needs evolve.

3. Selection process

Begin your selection process by researching the top CRM tools for freelancers. Check out the CRMs suggested in this blog, look at online reviews of the ones you're interested in, ask for recommendations from fellow freelancers, and explore other comparison articles. Narrow down your options by focusing on vendors that specialize in or offer tailored solutions for freelance professionals.

4. Book demos

Once you've shortlisted potential CRMs, take advantage of free trials or demo versions to evaluate their usability and effectiveness. Compare features, ease of use, and customer support. Pay attention to how well each platform integrates with your existing tools and processes. By thoroughly testing and comparing, you can make an informed decision on the best CRM for your freelance business. Get a demo of folk to see how it can benefit your freelance business here.

3 tips for implementing a CRM

We're excited for you if you manage to get this far - but make sure you follow these three tips to make your implementation process as smooth as possible.

1. Import your data in your new CRM

Transitioning to a new CRM can be seamless if you start by importing your existing data. Most CRMs allow you to export your data as a CSV file from your current system. This ensures that all your client information, project details, and communication history are preserved.

2. Create your first pipeline

Setting up your first pipeline is essential for tracking your freelance projects. Customize the pipeline stages to reflect your workflow, such as "Lead Generation," "Proposal Sent," "In Progress," and "Completed." This helps you visualize your project statuses and manage tasks efficiently, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

3. See if it has a complementary Chrome extension

A lot of CRMs now have complementary Chrome extensions designed with your workflow in mind, so that you do not need to switch context just to manually add contact information into your CRM platform. For instance, folk has a few Chrome extensions designed to help with your social listening, import contact information without leaving your webpage, and turn your comments on LinkedIn into warm leads.

The 5 best CRMs for freelancers

1. folk

folk is a modern CRM platform for managing contacts, workflows, and relationships, offering customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and integrations to enhance deal management and prospecting.

Key features

• Contact enrichment: Automatically enriches contact details by finding emails and LinkedIn URLs, enabling efficient outreach without manual data entry or additional costs for email services.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Email integration: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features, enabling users to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• AI-powered features: AI tools assist in managing contacts and relationships, automating routine tasks, and suggesting actions to improve productivity.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry.

Pros

• Ease of use: folk is praised for its intuitive interface, making it accessible even to non-technical users with quick onboarding and a minimal learning curve.
• All-in-one: folk streamlines your workflow by allowing you to import contacts from LinkedIn, automatically find their emails, reach out through customizable email sequences, and track interactions in a pipeline, eliminating the need for multiple tools and saving time and money.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Customizability: Custom fields, pipelines, and workflows.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry.

Cons

• Reporting: Currently lacks reporting features, but there are plans for future implementation.
  

Price and plans

You can try folk for free with a 14-day free trial. After that, a monthly or annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month
• Premium: $40 per user, per month
• Custom: Starts from $60 per user, per month

2. HubSpot

HubSpot CRM is a user-friendly, scalable platform offering integrated tools for managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations efficiently.

Key features

• Marketing Hub: Includes email marketing, ad tracking, landing pages, and lead generation tools, crucial for freelancers to attract and manage leads.
• Sales Hub: Provides deal tracking, pipeline management, sales automation, and reporting to help freelancers manage client relationships efficiently.
• Service Hub: Offers customer service tools like ticketing and live chat, essential for maintaining strong client communication and support.
• Lead scoring: Prioritize leads with predictive scoring to improve sales efficiency and focus on high-potential clients.
• Customizable dashboard and reports: Allows freelancers to create customized dashboards and reports to track metrics and gain insights into business performance.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: HubSpot is known for its intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible for freelancers with varying levels of CRM experience.
• Comprehensive free plan: Offers a robust free version that includes essential CRM features, making it ideal for freelancers who are just starting out.
• Seamless integration with marketing tools: HubSpot integrates smoothly with its marketing, sales, and service hubs, creating a unified platform for managing client relationships.
• Automation capabilities: Provides powerful automation tools for tasks like email marketing and lead nurturing, helping freelancers save time and improve efficiency.
• Extensive learning resources: HubSpot Academy offers a wealth of free courses, certifications, and resources to help freelancers get the most out of the platform.

Cons

• High cost at higher tiers: HubSpot’s pricing can become expensive as you move to higher tiers, which may be prohibitive for freelancers as they scale their business.
• Limited customization in free plan: The free plan and lower tiers have limited customization options, which can restrict flexibility for growing freelance businesses.
• Complexity in advanced features: Some advanced features, such as custom reporting and workflows, have a steep learning curve and may require additional training.
• Email marketing limits: Email marketing functionality in the free plan is restricted by limits on the number of emails you can send, which can be a drawback for freelancers with larger client lists.
• Additional costs for add-ns: Many useful features, like advanced CRM capabilities and integrations, come as paid add-ons, increasing the overall cost for freelancers.
  

Price and plans

Prices and plans on the CRM suite for an annual subscription are as follows.

• Starter: $15 per user, per month.
• Professional: $450 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $1,500 per user, per month.

3. Zoho

Zoho is a CRM system with a strong sales focus. Its got features such as journey orchestration, sales process management and workflow automation. There's also something for marketing teams, including lead hurting, event management and customer segmentation.

Key features

• Lead and contact management: Manages customer information, tracks interactions, and segments contacts for targeted campaigns, making it easier for freelancers to keep track of leads and clients.
• Customizable dashboards and reports: Allows freelancers to create and customize dashboards and reports for in-depth analytics, helping them understand their business performance better.
• Multi-channel communication: Integrates with email, phone, social media, and live chat to manage customer interactions, ensuring freelancers can communicate effectively with clients across various platforms.
• Sales pipeline management: Visualizes and manages sales pipelines with drag-and-drop functionality, helping freelancers track the progress of their projects and client deals.
• Workflow automation: Automates routine tasks and processes to improve efficiency and reduce manual effort, allowing freelancers to focus more on their core work.

Pros

• Affordability: Zoho CRM offers competitive pricing with various tiers, making it accessible to freelancers and small businesses.
• Integration with Zoho Suite: Seamless integration with other Zoho products creates a comprehensive ecosystem for managing different business functions.
• Mobile accessibility: Zoho CRM offers a robust mobile app, allowing freelancers to manage customer relationships and access data on the go, with offline capabilities.

Cons

• Steep learning curve: The extensive customization options can be overwhelming for new users, requiring a significant time investment to master the platform.
• Complex setup: Initial setup and configuration can be complex, particularly for freelancers without technical expertise or dedicated IT resources.
• Performance issues: Occasional reports of slow performance, especially with large datasets or complex operations, can hinder productivity.
• Limited third-party integrations: While Zoho integrates well with its own suite of products, integration with third-party applications can be limited or require additional effort.
• Feature limitations in lower tiers: The lower-priced plans may lack advanced features, pushing users to upgrade to more expensive tiers for essential functionality.
  

Price and plans

Free plan limited to three users suitable for small businesses. After that, an annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month
• Professional: $35 per user, per month
• Enterprise: $50 per user, per month

4. Less Annoying CRM

Less Annoying CRM is a customer relationship management (CRM) software designed to be simple. It focuses on simplicity and ease of use, providing a straightforward platform for managing contacts, tracking leads, and staying organized.

‍

Key features

• Unlimited contacts and companies: Manage as many leads and customers as needed without worrying about hitting limits.
• Unlimited pipelines: Create multiple sales pipelines to track different projects or client workflows seamlessly.
• Email logging: Automatically log emails to keep all communication with leads and clients in one place.
• Task management: Organize and prioritize tasks to stay on top of deadlines and client deliverables.
• Mobile access: Access your CRM on the go, ensuring you can manage your freelance business from anywhere.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: Easy to navigate, making it perfect for freelancers new to CRM systems.
• Affordable pricing: A flat monthly fee without contracts, ideal for freelancers with limited budgets.
• Cloud-based access: Work from anywhere with internet access, providing flexibility for remote work.
• Excellent customer support: Responsive and friendly support, offering personalized assistance at no extra cost.
• Free trial: A 30-day free trial to explore all features before making a financial commitment.

Cons

• Limited advanced features: Lacks marketing automation and advanced analytics, which may not suit those with complex needs.
• No native mobile app: Accessible via mobile browsers but lacks a dedicated app for a streamlined experience.
• Basic reporting capabilities: Simple reporting features may not meet the needs of freelancers seeking detailed analytics.
• Limited integrations: Fewer third-party app integrations, which might limit utility for those relying on multiple software tools.
• Customization constraints: Limited customization options may be restrictive for freelancers needing a highly tailored CRM solution.
  

Price and plans

There's only one price plan available which is $15 per user, per month.

5. Streak

Streak is a customer relationship management (CRM) tool that integrates directly with Gmail, allowing users to manage their sales pipeline and customer interactions from within their email inbox. Designed to simplify CRM tasks, Streak offers features such as email tracking, mail merge, task management, and pipeline visualization, all seamlessly embedded in Gmail’s interface.

‍

Key features

• Advanced CRM: Manage leads and customers with robust CRM features that cater to freelancers.
• Email tracking and snippets: Track email opens and use pre-written snippets to save time on communication.
• Contacts: Easily manage your leads and customers in one place.
• Google Workspace integrations: Seamlessly integrate with Google Workspace for a unified workflow.
• Mobile access: Access your CRM on the go with mobile support.

Pros

• Seamless Gmail integration: Streak is directly integrated into Gmail, allowing users to manage CRM activities without leaving their email inbox. This integration simplifies the user experience, especially for those already familiar with Gmail.
• User-friendly and intuitive: Because it operates within Gmail, Streak is easy to use and requires minimal training. The familiar interface makes it accessible even to those new to CRM software.
• Customizable pipelines: Streak allows users to create and customize pipelines to fit various workflows, such as managing leads and customers, offering flexibility across different freelance projects.
• Email tracking and automation: Streak includes useful features like email tracking, mail merge, and automated follow-ups, which help freelancers manage communication more effectively and improve response rates.
• Affordable pricing: With different pricing tiers, including a free version for basic use, Streak offers a cost-effective solution for freelancers.

Cons

• Limited advanced CRM features: Compared to standalone CRM platforms, Streak lacks some advanced features like detailed analytics and advanced reporting, which may not meet the needs of freelancers with more complex requirements.
• Reliance on Gmail: As Streak is tied to Gmail, it may not be suitable for freelancers that use other email platforms. This dependency also means that any changes or issues with Gmail could directly impact Streak’s functionality.
• Basic mobile experience: While Streak has a mobile app, it offers a more limited experience compared to its desktop counterpart, which might be inconvenient for freelancers who need comprehensive CRM access on the go.
• Integration limitations: Streak has fewer integrations with other software tools compared to more robust CRM systems, potentially limiting its effectiveness for freelancers who rely heavily on a variety of third-party applications.
• Potential email clutter: Since Streak operates within Gmail, managing a large volume of CRM data within an email interface can lead to clutter and make it harder to maintain a clear, organized inbox.
  

Price and plans

• Pro: Starts from $49 per user, per month.
• Pro +: Starts from $69 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: Starts from $129 per user, per month.

Conclusion

Choosing the best CRM for your freelancing business is a critical decision that can significantly impact your efficiency, client relationships, and overall success. Among the top contenders, platforms like folk, HubSpot, Zoho, Less Annoying CRM, and Streak each offer unique features tailored to different needs and budgets. folk stands out with its modern, AI-driven tools and seamless LinkedIn integration, making it an excellent choice for freelancers looking for a comprehensive, user-friendly solution. HubSpot offers robust marketing and sales features but can be costly at higher tiers. Zoho provides extensive customization and affordability, while Less Annoying CRM and Streak offer simplicity and direct integration with Gmail, respectively. Evaluate your specific requirements, budget, and workflow to determine which CRM aligns best with your business goals. Remember, the right CRM can streamline your processes, improve client communication, and ultimately drive your freelancing business to new heights. Try folk for free here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do freelancers use as a CRM?

Busy freelancers often use CRMs like folk, Hubspot, Zoho, and Less Annoying CRM. These platforms offer varying features to manage client relationships, track projects, and streamline workflows, ensuring efficient business operations.

Do I need a CRM?

Yes, depending on the complexity of your process. If you handle multiple clients, projects, and communications, a CRM can help you stay organized, automate tasks, and improve client management.

How much does a CRM cost?

CRM costs vary widely, typically ranging from $15 to $1500 per user per month, depending on the features and scale of the platform. Some CRMs offer free plans with limited features, while others provide extensive functionalities at higher price points.

Does folk’s CRM respond to freelancers needs?

Yes, folk’s CRM is designed to meet freelancers' needs with features like contact enrichment, LinkedIn integration, customizable pipelines, and AI-powered tools. These functionalities streamline workflows, enhance communication, and improve overall productivity for freelance professionals.