How to use Notion as a CRM: A step-by-step guide and best alternatives

Notion might have been a great solution when you were managing your first ten customers. But as your business grows, keeping track of critical details—such as who needs a follow-up and where each contact stands in your pipeline—becomes more complex. Manually searching for this information can quickly consume time that could be better spent on other essential business priorities.

Once you scale beyond twenty, thirty, or even a hundred customers, the need for a more structured CRM becomes clear. A good CRM can automate repetitive tasks, manage your data more efficiently, and send timely follow-up reminders months in advance. However, not all CRMs cater to solopreneurs or small teams.

To help you find the right solution, we’ll explore some of the best alternatives to Notion and also provide insights on how to make the most of Notion as a CRM if you're not quite ready to scale yet.

CRM Templates: Starting with basic customer data management 

As a starting point, we’ve rounded up some links to popular Notion CRM-ready templates that you can start using. 

• Personal CRM on Notion
• Sales CRM on Notion

How to use Notion as a personal CRM

Notion’s Personal CRM template is ideal for individuals who want to keep track of personal and professional relationships in a structured way. It helps users remember key details about their contacts, schedule follow-ups, and organize relationship-building efforts.

Steps to set up Notion as a personal CRM:

1. Use the Personal CRM template – Notion offers a ready-made template designed for tracking people you meet, conversations, and reminders to stay in touch.
2. Customize contact details – Add fields for names, last contacted date, interests, and relationship notes.
3. Categorize contacts – Use tags such as “Professional,” “Personal,” or “Networking” to segment your relationships.
4. Set reminders for follow-ups – Use Notion’s date properties or integrate with a task management tool to get notified when it’s time to reach out.
5. Enhance with linked notes – Store detailed interaction histories and reference them when reaching out again.

Pros of using Notion as a personal CRM

• Flexible and highly customizable.
• Helps track both professional and personal relationships in one place.
• Easy to use with Notion’s mobile and desktop apps.

Cons of using Notion as a personal CRM

• No automation for reminders; manual updates required.
• Lacks email integration and communication tracking.
• Limited scalability for business-oriented CRM needs.

How to use Notion as a Sales CRM

For those needing a lightweight CRM for sales, Notion’s Sales CRM template provides a structured way to track deals, leads, and customer interactions. It’s best suited for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small teams who need a simple, adaptable system without the complexity of full-scale CRM software and automation.

Steps to set up Notion as a sales CRM

1. Start with the Sales CRM template – This template includes a basic pipeline to track client relationships, deal status, and revenue.
2. Customize deal stages – Adjust pipeline stages (e.g., Lead, Contacted, Proposal Sent, Closed-Won, Closed-Lost) to fit your sales process.
3. Add client data – Include fields such as contact details, deal value, last interaction, and next steps.
4. Use linked databases – Connect deals with meeting notes, contracts, or follow-up tasks within Notion.
5. Track revenue and sales progress – Use formula properties to calculate deal values and expected revenue.

Pros of using Notion as a sales CRM

• Fully customizable to match individual sales processes.
• Visual pipeline view for tracking leads and deals.
• Easy to integrate with Notion’s note-taking and task management tools.

Cons of using Notion as a sales CRM

• No built-in automation for reminders or email tracking.
• Can become cluttered as the number of leads increases.
• Requires manual updates and external integrations for full CRM functionality.

Best Notion CRM alternatives

Looking for an alternative to Notion? We’ve got you covered with some of the best Notion CRM alternatives. 

1. folk

Best for: Teams looking for a user-friendly, customizable CRM with strong contact management.

folk is an intuitive CRM designed for relationship-driven businesses. Thanks to its ability to scale with you, folk can support solopreneurs, small to mid-size companies and large enterprises. It simplifies contact organization, making it easier to track interactions, categorize contacts, and streamline communication. Its automation features reduce manual tasks, ensuring teams can focus on building connections instead of managing spreadsheets.

Key features

• Smart contact grouping: Automatically organizes contacts based on interactions, tags, or filters for easy access.
• Email integration: Send and track emails directly from the CRM, reducing the need for external tools.
• Workflow automation: Set up automated follow-ups, reminders, and notifications to keep engagement consistent without manual effort.
• Capture contacts: Import leads from LinkedIn, Instagram, and X using folkX extension
• Sales research: Find emails in 1 click, identify a lead’s strongest connection, and import data from your prospect’s website with AI
• Personal outreach, at scale: Schedule emails and automate sequences
• 6,000+ Integrations: Connect your emails, calendar, social platforms, and thousands of other tools
• AI follow-ups: Know the best leads to follow-up with based on your past conversations using AI

Pros of folk

• Easy-to-use interface
• LinkedIn extension
• Proactive AI-powered sales features
• Strong integration options

Cons of folk

• Limited advanced features on lower tiers
• Customization options may be limited for larger teams

2. HubSpot CRM

Best for: Businesses needing a full-featured free CRM with marketing and sales automation.

HubSpot CRM is a widely used platform that offers a complete suite of tools for managing customer relationships, automating marketing campaigns, and optimizing sales processes. 

Key features

• Free forever plan: Perfect for solo-preneurs who don’t mind a bit of manual work.
• Email tracking & templates: Monitor when emails are opened and use templates to streamline communication.
• Pipeline management: Organizes leads and deals into structured stages for better sales tracking.
• Marketing automation tools: Automate email campaigns, lead nurturing, and follow-ups to optimize engagement.

Pros of HubSpot CRM

• Free plan with robust features
• Powerful marketing and sales automation
• Seamless integration with other HubSpot tools

Cons of HubSpot CRM

• Can feel overwhelming for solo users
• Advanced features require paid upgrades

3. Pipedrive

Best for: Sales teams focused on deal tracking and pipeline management.

Pipedrive is a CRM designed specifically for sales teams, providing a visual pipeline to manage deals effectively. It focuses on optimizing the sales process by ensuring every lead progresses efficiently through the funnel, helping teams close more deals with minimal effort.

Key features

• Intuitive sales pipeline visualization: Offers a drag-and-drop interface for managing deals at different stages.
• AI-powered deal insights: Provides data-driven recommendations to improve deal conversions.
• Task automation: Automates repetitive tasks like follow-ups, reminders, and deal progression to save time.

Pros of Pipedrive

• Highly visual and intuitive sales pipeline
• AI-powered insights help improve deal conversions
• Customizable automation for repetitive tasks

Cons of Pipedrive

• More suited for teams than solo users
• Limited free plan available for 14 days

4. Airtable

Best for: Users who want spreadsheet-like flexibility with CRM functionality.

Airtable combines the familiarity of spreadsheets with the power of a relational database, allowing users to create a fully customizable CRM. It’s ideal for businesses that need a flexible solution without the constraints of traditional CRM structures.

Key features

• Custom database design: Allows users to build their own CRM structure tailored to their needs.
• Automation options: Set up workflows that trigger actions based on data updates.
• Collaboration-friendly features: Team members can comment, assign tasks, and update records in real time.

Pros of Airtable

• Fully customizable database structure
• Great for organizing diverse datasets
• Collaboration-friendly features

Cons of Airtable

• Steeper learning curve for new users
• Lacks built-in CRM automation

5. Zoho CRM

Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses needing a sales focussed CRM.

Zoho CRM is a comprehensive platform that supports sales automation, customer communication, and AI-powered insights. 

Key features

• Multichannel communication: Connect with customers via email, social media, phone, and live chat from a single platform.
• AI-driven insights: Uses predictive analytics to provide data-driven recommendations for sales and customer engagement.
• Sales automation: Streamlines processes like lead assignment, follow-ups, and approvals to boost efficiency.

Pros of Zoho CRM

• Affordable pricing with a free plan
• Multichannel communication options
• AI-powered insights for better decision-making

Cons of Zoho CRM

• UI can feel outdated compared to competitors
• Setup and customization may take time

Conclusion

Notion can serve as a basic CRM for small teams and individuals looking for flexibility. The Personal CRM template is great for networking and keeping in touch with professional or personal contacts, while the Sales CRM template provides a simple yet effective way to manage deals and sales processes. However, its lack of automation, reporting, and email integration makes it less effective for scaling businesses. If you’re looking for a CRM that balances usability with powerful features, folk is a great alternative, offering seamless contact management and automation. Try folk today, free.

Frequently Asked Questions about using Notion as a CRM

1. Can Notion replace a dedicated CRM?

Notion can function as a lightweight CRM for solopreneurs and small teams, but it lacks automation, reporting, and email integration. For growing businesses, a dedicated CRM like folk, HubSpot, or Pipedrive is a better option.

2. Is Notion CRM free?

Yes, Notion offers free plans, and you can create a CRM system without additional cost. However, advanced features like automation require external integrations or an upgrade to Notion’s paid plans.

3. Can I use Notion CRM for team collaboration?

Yes, Notion allows team collaboration, but it lacks built-in CRM features like role-based access, lead tracking, and automated notifications. For teams, a dedicated CRM offers more structured collaboration.

4. What’s the best Notion CRM alternative?

If you’re looking for an easy-to-use and scalable CRM, folk is a great alternative, offering seamless contact management, email integration, and automation without the limitations of Notion.

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