Whether you’re managing just a few clients or a rapidly expanding customer base, having the right customer relationship management (CRM) tool is essential. CRMs centralize all your customer data, helping your customer-facing teams nurture those relationships and grow your business.
Capsule and Nutshell are two popular CRMs, both with a wide variety of useful features that can benefit your business.
In this guide, we’ll examine how Capsule and Nutshell compare, giving you a clear picture of how they stack up and which is the best CRM for your business.
Capsule vs Nutshell: Free and starter plans
For startups looking for their first CRM, or small businesses looking for a better way to manage relationships, a free CRM is a great way to try out the software without the upfront investment.
Capsule’s free plan comes with all the features you need to start managing customer relationships effectively, including:
The free plan includes:
- 2 users
- 250 contacts
- 25 custom fields
- 1 fully customizable pipeline
- Repeating tasks Tracks
- Enriched social profiles
- Basic sales automation
- Gmail and Outlook integrations
- Unlimited lists
Nutshell doesn’t currently have a free plan, but you can sign up for a trial account to see if it meets your needs.
Both Capsule and Nutshell offer budget-friendly options with core features to level up your customer management.
| Capsule's Starter plan | Nutshell's Foundation plan |
|---|---|
Starts from £14 p/m per user* | Starts from $13 p/m per user* |
30,000 contacts | Unlimited contacts |
50 custom fields | 10 custom fields |
1 Customizable pipeline | 1 Customizable pipleine |
1 Project management board | Project management board not included |
*Billed annually
As your business scales, both Capsule and Nutshell offer advanced plans that introduce more robust tools and flexibility.
Capsule’s Ultimate plan includes an assigned account manager, custom training sessions and priority support. You also get access to all the features from the lower tiers, such as contact enrichment and workflow automation. Capsule’s Ultimate plan is designed to support businesses that want hands-on assistance while leveraging Capsule’s full potential, all for £60 per user per month.
Nutshell’s Enterprise plan opens up unlimited pipelines, unlimited custom fields and unlimited teams, with a selection of AI-powered features, including lead scoring and predictive analytics, priced at $79 per user per month.
Integrations for SMEs
Capsule is particularly suited to small-to-medium-sized businesses that want simplicity without sacrificing functionality. It includes tools to help manage contacts, pipelines, and customer relationships, all with an easy learning curve.
Capsule’s App Marketplace also offers integrations with your favorite tools, from your Gmail or Outlook inboxes to email marketing software like Transpond and Mailchimp. All your relevant data is in one place, reducing the chance of errors and improving productivity.
Nutshell presents itself as an all-in-one CRM, with a collection of marketing and sales tools for B2B teams. Most of the integrations are made possible through Zapier, while higher-priced plans include native integrations for Mailchimp, Quickbooks and Slack.
Ease of use
Capsule prides itself on making things as simple as possible without compromising on functionality. The user-friendly interface is straightforward to navigate, making it an excellent option for teams just getting started with CRMs or who don’t want to go through days of onboarding and training. Whether you’re logging phone calls with prospects or moving deals through the different stages of the sales process, Capsule makes it easy.
Nutshell is also known as an undemanding CRM that gets easier to use over time. The software has an intuitive dashboard that displays contact history, tasks, activities, and upcoming meetings, so users can see the information they need at a glance.
At the time of writing, Capsule is rated slightly higher for ease of use on Capterra (4.6/5), but both CRMs are solid options for a user-friendly CRM.
Pricing and affordability
Capsule’s free plan is ideal for startups, offering foundational CRM tools without upfront costs. Paid plans are accessible, with the Starter plan beginning at £14 per user per month, making it budget-friendly for small teams. Capsule’s pricing is simple, with no hidden fees, making it easy for businesses to plan and grow without having to worry about sudden increases.
Nutshell’s pricing starts at a competitive rate, with plans designed to support growing teams with specialized sales features. Users may be put off by the lack of a free option, especially those on a tight budget. However, Nutshell’s entry-level paid plans still provide reasonable value for sales and marketing teams.
Customization and flexibility
Any CRM you use should be flexible enough that you can adjust it to suit the unique way you work, rather than forcing you to change the way you work to fit in with the software. Capsule offers extensive customization, with custom fields, customizable sales pipelines and tagging options to help businesses organize and segment contacts effectively.
Nutshell provides some customization through custom fields for a more tailored sales process. There are also custom reports and customizable lead boards (although these are only available on the Pro plan and above). Additionally, its built-in customizable form builder personalizes the lead capture to help you capture the information you need.
Customer support and security
Capsule is known for its responsive customer service, available to all customers on all plans. Capsule’s team is committed to helping small businesses succeed, providing guidance and support to help with troubleshooting and user questions.
Nutshell also offers a wide range of support options, with email support available on all plans and live chat access available on the Growth plan and above.
In terms of security, both Capsule and Nutshell offer reliable security and data protection, with encrypted data and backups. Capsule has a good reputation for dependability and data security, with 99.99% uptime and no history of outages or data breaches.
Which CRM is better for my organization?
Capsule and Nutshell are both strong CRMs that bring strengths that cater to different business needs.
Capsule is great for small to medium-sized businesses who want a simple yet powerful CRM to manage their contacts, move deals through the pipeline and nurture customer relationships. Its user-friendly approach and low entry cost make it an excellent choice for businesses that value simplicity and flexibility.
Nutshell offers an all-in-one platform with additional features like lead forms, while trying to make things easy for customers with intuitive dashboards. However, limited third-party integrations and extra charges for advanced features make it most suitable for businesses seeking basic functionality or those with a budget to cover higher-tier options.
Try any Capsule plan free for 14 days or sign up to our free plan to get started with a straightforward yet sophisticated CRM.
