Back to all posts
Business, CRM

Best 3 Nutshell CRM alternatives

Nutshell not your thing? Find the perfect alternative to help leverage your sales in 2024.

Rose McMillan · January 31, 2024
Best 3 Nutshell CRM alternativesBest 3 Nutshell CRM alternatives

Go to section

Go to section

In 2024, the quest for the ideal CRM solution continues, and while Nutshell has its merits, there are other contenders worth considering. This guide showcases the top three Nutshell CRM alternatives, each offering unique features to help your business needs. Read this blog post to identify which solution works best for you.

What is Nutshell CRM

Nutshell CRM is an all-in-one growth software that combines CRM, email marketing, and contact management, designed to help sales teams close more deals efficiently.

Key features of Nutshell CRM

  1. Contact management: Offers fast access to critical information for every person and business your team interacts with, including free data migration assistance
  2. Pipeline management: Provides a flexible sales tracking platform, allowing sales reps to view, manage, and prioritize leads effectively
  3. Sales automation: Automates routine tasks like lead assignment and advancement, reducing tedious admin and focusing on relationship-building
  4. Marketing and email automation: Integrates sales and marketing with features like webforms, automated email sequences, and direct email marketing within the CRM
  5. Integrations: Nutshell integrates seamlessly with other tech stacks, including native integrations and connections through Zapier and AppConnect
  6. Reporting and analytics: Offers fully customizable reporting tools for detailed insights and performance tracking.
  7. Team collaboration and lead attribution: Enhances team coordination and accurately tracks the source of leads for better strategy formulation.

Why should you look for Nutshell CRM alternatives

Limited customization options

Nutshell CRM, while user-friendly, offers limited options for customization. This can be a drawback for businesses seeking a CRM that can be tailored extensively to their unique processes and workflows, email templates, or automated drip sequences.

Scalability challenges

As companies grow, their needs evolve. Nutshell CRM may not effectively grow with an organization, potentially leading to a search for more scalable alternatives that can accommodate expanding business requirements.

Some of Nutshell’s marketing features are buried under multiple menus, making navigation and accessibility challenging. This can lead to inefficiencies, especially for new users or those who rely on quick access to specific tools.

Restricted social media integration

Nutshell CRM's limited social media capabilities can be a drawback for businesses that rely on social media for marketing and customer engagement, prompting them to look for alternatives with more robust social media integrations.

Limited support hours

Nutshell offers phone and chat support only during specific hours on weekdays. This limited availability can be frustrating, especially for urgent issues that arise outside of these hours, leading businesses to seek alternatives with more comprehensive support options. If you're looking for comprehensive live support, you might be better off using other solutions.

Complex billing with add-ons

The extensive range of add-ons offered by Nutshell CRM, while useful for customization, can lead to a complex and confusing billing structure. This complexity of Nutshell subscription may prompt businesses to consider more straightforward, all-inclusive alternatives. Also, barring the free trial, there’s no free tier of Nutshell.

Best Nutshell Alternatives for 2024

#1 - Capsule

Capsule is a leading CRM solution for small businesses that's both intuitive and effective.

Capsule homepage preview

It helps companies develop customer and prospect relationships and oversee sales pipelines.

Key features

  • Contact management: Capsule excels in organizing contact information, ensuring customer details are easily retrievable
  • Sales pipeline: Its visual sales pipeline feature enables businesses to monitor deal progress through each stage
  • Task management: easily manage and allocate tasks,, guaranteeing follow-ups with prospects and meeting client commitments
  • Customization: Capsule can be tailored to meet specific business needs with customizable fields, tags, custom reports, and dashboards so the CRM can be set up to support your business as you need it
  • Reporting and analytics: This CRM software provides in-depth insights into a company's performance with detailed reports and marketing analytics
  • Email integration: Capsule integrates effortlessly with email services like Transpond, Gmail, Outlook and others, improving productivity with email marketing work
  • Mobile CRM: Capsule's mobile application allows for CRM management on the move, providing complete functionality across various devices. Native iPhone and Android apps are available
  • Data security: Capsule is SOC 2 Type II compliant, underscoring its commitment to data privacy and security, a critical aspect for SaaS companies handling customer data
  • Integration with other apps: The platform supports extensive integration with popular applications such as G Suite, Mailchimp, Quickbooks Online, Google Apps, and Xero, broadening its capabilities
  • Custom lists and filters: Advanced filtering and list creation tools in Capsule enable effective segmentation and management of contact and sales data

Considering these features and benefits, Capsule emerges is a great alternative to Nutshell, especially for small businesses and medium-sized companies seeking an all-in-one CRM with unlimited contacts, robust email marketing capabilities, at a compelling price point.

Pros of Capsule CRM

  • Ease of use: Capsule CRM is renowned for its straightforward and intuitive interface, welcoming users of all skills and ability
  • Adaptability and customization: This CRM stands out for its adaptability, easily conforming to a variety of business requirements and operational flow.
  • Exceptional customer support: The customer support team at Capsule CRM responds quickly and effectively to enquiries.

Helpful reviews

  • Robert M. (Mid-Market): "Capsule has been an amazing addition to our business. It's fully customizable, user-friendly, and the customer support is timely and efficient. The integration with email and the to-do list feature is invaluable for organizing my day."
  • Julie P. (Small-Business): "Capsule offers an excellent range of features - from the simplicity of inputting information to task management and brilliant customer service. The tag facility and email integration are invaluable."
  • Lewis N. (Small-Business): "Capsule CRM is seamless, fast, and constantly updating with useful features. The integration with Xero is fantastic, and customer service is quick to respond."

Best for

  • Small to medium-sized businesses: Capsule is a prime choice for smaller businesses looking for an easy-to-use CRM with all the necessary features to get started quickly.
  • Sales teams: It's an ideal solution for sales teams that require efficient pipeline management, sales analytics, and lead tracking.
  • Businesses seeking customization: For companies needing a CRM that can be specifically tailored to their needs, Capsule is a suitable option.
  • Companies needing strong integration: Businesses that require seamless integration with other tools will find Capsule to be a great fit.
  • Organizations focused on email marketing: Capsule is an excellent option for businesses heavily involved in email marketing, thanks to its powerful integration capabilities.

Pricing

Capsule offers a free CRM plan for up to two users, which makes it a software small businesses would benefit from. The Professional plan is competitively priced, especially with annual plans, providing excellent value for an all-in-one CRM solution. Check out Capsule's pricing plans.

#2 - Copper CRM

Copper CRM stands out as a customer relationship management tool, particularly noted for its comprehensive integration with Google Workspace. This integration ensures a fluid experience for users who are already part of the Google ecosystem.

Key features:

  • Integration with Google Workspace
  • Sophisticated sales analytics
  • Detailed team access controls
  • Broad range of app integrations
  • Automated scheduling for calls, meetings, and follow-ups.

Considerations and challenges:

  • Restricted contact capacity in lower plans: Copper's basic plans cap at 2,500 contacts, while its premium plans expand to 15,000. It might be problematic for companies with larger networks, especially when compared to services like Capsule, which offer up to 240,000 contacts at an extremely affordable price.
  • Limited integration with marketing tools: The more advanced integration features of Copper are reserved for the Professional plan and higher, leaving basic plan users to depend on Zapier for integrations. Capsule, on the other hand, provides these as add-ons in more budget-friendly plans, offering more flexibility and cost efficiency for businesses in need of comprehensive integration solutions for their sales team.
  • Higher cost for the professional plan: The professional plan of Copper, introduces more features, is priced higher than similar plans from Capsule and other competitors. This could be a significant factor for budget-conscious companies or startups that require advanced features without heavy financial investment.

#3 - Insightly CRM

Insightly CRM is recognized as a customer relationship management software with exceptional project management capabilities and great features for integration.

Key features:

  • Integration with project management
  • Advanced reporting and customizable dashboards
  • Tailored workflow automation for salespeople
  • Integration with email marketing platform solutions
  • Efficient lead and contact management to win more deals

Considerations and challenges:

  • Limited contact capacity in the premium plan: Insightly doesn't offer plans with unlimited CRM contacts. The highest plan limits contacts to 25,000, which could be restrictive for companies with large or rapidly expanding customer databases.
  • Cap on custom fields: Insightly allows up to 500 custom fields, which might nt be enough for organizations after extensive customization. It could hinder businesses that depend on unique data fields for capturing specific customer information.
  • Integration via AppConnect: Insightly handles integrations through its AppConnect platform, potentially complicating the integration process.

Pricing

Insightly offers a free version with basic features, but prices can rise to $99 per user per month for advanced functionalities. For those on a strict budget, other HubSpot alternatives might be more suitable.

#4 - Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM stands out as a versatile CRM software option, offering an extensive suite of tools for businesses wanting help with their sales and marketing. It serves as both a customer relationship management solution and a marketing automation platform – making it a great choice for Nutshell CRM alternatives.

Key features:

  • Sales process management tools: Zoho CRM supports sales processes (and broader business processes), helping teams track every stage of closing the deal
  • Advanced marketing automation: Zoho is a marketing automation platform allowing users to automate tedious tasks.
  • Project management capabilities: While not just focused on project management, Zoho CRM offers built-in tools that support task organization and collaboration
  • Customizable CRM features: From tailored workflows to in-depth lead management, Zoho CRM includes CRM features to improve team productivity

Considerations and challenges:

  • Complex onboarding: Zoho CRM requires a complex setup and customization period – which can be time-consuming for new users.
  • Feature rollout delays: Zoho CRM, as part of a larger suite, may also experience delays in rolling out new CRM features.
  • Storage limitations on premium plans: The highest CRM pricing plan provides only 5GB of storage per user, which might be insufficient for businesses managing large volumes of customer data.

Pricing:

Zoho CRM pricing ranges from $18 to $55 per user per month, with annual plans offering cost savings. The platform offers excellent customer service – but businesses should consider potential customization and onboarding costs.

Key takeaways

  • Nutshell CRM, while user-friendly, faces limitations in customization and scalability, prompting the need for alternatives.
  • Capsule CRM excels in contact management and sales pipeline visualization, which is ideal for a small to medium-sized company.
  • Copper CRM offers strong Google Workspace integration and advanced sales analytics, suitable for teams deeply integrated with Google apps.
  • Insightly CRM stands out for its project management features and efficient lead management, beneficial for companies focusing on project-based customer interactions.
  • Capsule CRM's adaptability and customization make it a strong contender for businesses seeking tailored CRM solutions.
  • Copper CRM's limited contact capacity in lower plans may restrict businesses with larger networks.
  • Insightly CRM's cap on custom fields and integration complexities can be challenging for businesses requiring extensive customization.

Select the right Nutshell alternative

For businesses seeking a Nutshell alternative, Capsule CRM comes as a top choice.

Capsule CRM is like a full-time admin for your sales team, simplifying juggling separate sales and marketing tasks. It brings sales automation into play, and makes your team's life easier and more productive. With Capsule, managing sales isn't just efficient – it's a breeze.

To take Capsule for a test drive, try our 14-day trial.

What to read next

CRM vs CMS: What's the difference?CRM vs CMS: What's the difference?

CRM vs CMS: What's the difference?

Small Business Financial Health: A Guide to Balance Sheets & Income StatementsSmall Business Financial Health: A Guide to Balance Sheets & Income Statements

Small Business Financial Health: A Guide to Balance Sheets & Income Statements

Consulting guide: What is consulting, how to start, and how to growConsulting guide: What is consulting, how to start, and how to grow

Consulting guide: What is consulting, how to start, and how to grow

How companies that use CRM transform their operationsHow companies that use CRM transform their operations

How companies that use CRM transform their operations