What CRM should I use for my small business—HubSpot, Airtable, or something else?

Question

Accepted Answer

What CRM should I use for my small business—HubSpot, Airtable, or something else?

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) helps you track leads, manage customers, and organize sales. The right CRM depends on your budget, team size, and how complex your sales process is. HubSpot, Airtable, and other options all serve different needs.

1. HubSpot CRM

HubSpot offers one of the most popular free CRMs for small businesses. It’s easy to use, integrates with email and marketing tools, and scales into a full platform if you need advanced automation later. The downside is that costs can add up quickly once you move into premium tiers.

2. Airtable

Airtable works like a mix of a spreadsheet and a database. It’s great if you want flexibility to build your own lightweight CRM without paying for a heavy system. You can track leads, create custom fields, and even automate tasks. It’s best for businesses that want something simple and customizable.

3. Zoho CRM

Zoho is affordable and feature-rich. It offers sales tracking, reporting, and integrations with other Zoho apps like email and accounting. It’s a good middle-ground option for businesses that want more structure than Airtable but lower costs than HubSpot.

4. Salesforce

Salesforce is the industry leader, but it’s often too complex (and expensive) for small businesses. Unless you have a sales team of 10+ and need enterprise-level features, Salesforce is usually overkill.

5. Other niche CRMs

Pipedrive: Known for simple pipeline management.
Monday.com CRM: Highly visual, great for teams that already use Monday for project management.
Freshsales: Affordable with solid automation tools.

6. How to choose the right CRM

Budget: Start with a free or low-cost option like HubSpot Free or Airtable.
Ease of use: Your team has to actually use it, so pick one with a clean interface.
Integrations: Make sure it connects to your website, email, and marketing tools.
Scalability: If you expect to grow, choose a platform that can grow with you.

Bottom Line

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all CRM. HubSpot is great if you want a free system that can grow with you, Airtable is perfect for flexibility and simplicity, and Zoho offers affordable structure. The right choice comes down to your workflow, budget, and growth plans.

If you’d like help picking the right CRM and setting it up for your business, I can walk you through the options.

Question