We believe there are better options available in this category, read below to learn what this software does well, and what they could do better. ⤵
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The CRM space is probably the largest software category in the world, just ahead of project management. That said, there's 2 types of CRM categories:
Okay, let me explain. Most software will eventually get to a point where they need to determine if they should tack on the "CRM" category to their product offering. And because a CRM at the end of the day is really just a database, most software will justify "adding it" to their toolset.
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The CRM for small + medium teams (200 or less) that use Google Workspace.
If your team is using Google Workspace and you haven't yet considered Copper—take a minute right now to do just that.
Copper spends an absurd amount per-month in server costs alone, just to give you the deepest Google Workspace integration of any CRM out there.
As compared to all of the CRMs on the market, Copper has one of the most user-friendly experiences (which helps with team adoption), as well as a fully baked Chrome extension that allows you to use Copper (view tasks, past activity, and easily add new contacts to the CRM), without ever needing to even leave Gmail or Google Calendar.
It allows for powerful functionality like form integration and email automation functionality. For more details on this, check out the full Copper Review.
We've excessively used the API of all the major CRMs on the market and I'm here to tell you that Copper's API is fantastic. Their API is one of the most powerful and user-friendly to build on, especially as compared to that of HubSpot for which has some incredibly odd API design decisions.
While this might not sound like a big deal, if you ever plan on integrating your CRM (or hiring a company like ours to do it), I'm here to tell you that building the same integration in HubSpot takes 2–3x as long and is more of a pain to maintain. All factors that affect the integration cost at the end of the day, so API design matters and affects you even if you don't think it does. 🤖 Learn more about our top Copper Integrations here.
If you're more technical, they also have a fantastic native Zapier and Make connector which allows you to build custom integrations with other popular tools like PandaDoc and Dialpad.
If you're using Google Workspace at your company and you want a modern CRM for your team, look no further than Copper. Not using Google Workspace? We recommend checking out Pipedrive or HubSpot instead. Just an individual and stumble upon Copper because you were considering either Airtable or Notion as your CRM? Copper would definitely work, but also consider folk in this dedicated Copper vs folk comparison.
For a limited time, we're giving away our paid Copper crash course for free if you use our link to sign up for Copper here. Full details available here: Claim Copper Course.
A shared documentation and note taking tool that tip-toes the line of a flexible no-code platform (for teams of all sizes).
Notion positions itself as an "all-in-one" workspace tool, but that doesn't mean it's ideal for "everything."
At its core, Notion is a knowledge base or wiki, designed for documenting company processes and notes. Over time, Notion has expanded its capabilities, allowing users to link notes, create databases with formulas, and more.
Notion's versatility allows you to customize it into almost anything you need. This flexibility has led teams to use Notion as a CRM, project management tool, task manager, knowledge base, and more. However, just because Notion can be adapted for various purposes doesn't always mean it should be. We often receive feedback from teams who've tried using "Notion for everything", only to find it becoming overwhelming and messy.
If you want to use Notion, use it as a knowledge base/company wiki (or use Slite, our top pick and what we use 😉). For specific business functions like project and task management or CRM, it's usually better to opt for dedicated tools built for the job.
A huge drawback of using Notion for CRM or project management is that you're now building your system from scratch. Even with available templates, you'll find yourself investing a lot of time in learning to configure Notion and tailoring it to your processes.
In contrast, a project management tool that is developed by a team focused solely on creating the best product in that niche, will much more quickly set you up for success.
Just think about it: when you're using a project manager that was built for that function, this means that their entire team focused on building the best project manager out there. So you're already getting a tool with project management features that are useful to thousands of other businesses. While with Notion... well guess who is going to be building said features? YOU 😅
The reality is, we often hear people say "but my business is unique so I need a custom solution, which is why Notion is appealing".
After helping teams of all sizes and in many industries for over a decade, we promise you that business processes are not that unique and 95% of the time can be (and should be) mapped to the structure of existing tools.
Oh and if you're considering using Notion as a CRM, make sure to read this dedicated article as to why we don't recommend that either.
Notion offers a free tier for up to 10 guests, making it accessible if you're curious about its capabilities. Notion has a free tier for up to 10 guests, so if you're curious as to what the hype is about, you can easily sign up and start playing with it yourself. If after a day you start feeling overwhelmed, you're not alone, it's more or less a blank slate after all.
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