Methodology
Every number on this site comes from a dated source you can click. Scores are computed in code from documented facts, the same way for every vendor, and the code cannot see what a vendor pays us.
Honesty note: we have not finished hands-on tests of the CRMs on this site yet. Everything published today is source-based research: vendor pricing pages, plan comparisons, help-center and trust pages, each with the date we checked it. Usability, support quality and reliability are therefore not scored. When we complete a hands-on test, the result appears on that CRM's page and in the change log.
What counts as evidence
- Vendor-documented: read on the vendor's own pricing, plan, help-center, legal or trust page on the date shown. This is our default for prices, plan limits and features.
- Third-party: a reputable, dated source from the last 12 months, used only when the vendor does not publish the fact itself. Marked as such in the source list.
- Hands-on: our own test account and test data. Pending for all tools; never claimed before it happens.
If we cannot verify something, we write "not published" or leave it blank. We do not estimate prices, and we do not publish user reviews, star ratings or testimonials we did not collect ourselves.
Right now we track 39 CRMs with 338 cited sources, all checked on or around 2026-10-03.
The provisional fact score (0-10)
The score answers one question: based on what the vendor documents, how much CRM does a small US team get, at what price, and how honestly is it sold? It is calculated by the same function for every tool:
| Part | Weight | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Cost for a small team | 30% | First-year cost for 5 users on the vendor's core plan with annual billing, including mandatory one-time fees (for example required onboarding). Scored on a log scale: $1,200 a year or less earns 10, $15,000 or more earns 1. Quote-only pricing earns 2, because you cannot know the cost before talking to sales. Free self-hosted open-source editions earn 10. |
| Feature coverage on the core plan | 30% | Ten capabilities most small teams ask about: Sales pipeline / deals, Email sync & tracking, Workflow automation, Email marketing, Built-in calling, AI assistant / AI features, Reports & dashboards, Custom objects, API access, Mobile app. Included on the core plan = 1 point, only on a higher plan or as a paid add-on = 0.5, missing or undocumented = 0. |
| Pricing transparency | 20% | Public price list (4 points), monthly billing available (2), no seat minimum (2), no mandatory one-time setup fee on the core plan (2). |
| Risk-free way to start | 10% | Free-forever plan or free self-hosting = 10, free trial without a credit card = 7, trial that asks for a card = 6, demo only = 3. |
| Room to grow | 10% | A higher tier above the core plan, custom objects, and API access - one third each. |
Core plan means the cheapest plan that gives a small sales team a pipeline, automation and reporting. We name it on every CRM page so you can check the choice.
Not scored yet: ease of use, onboarding effort, support responsiveness, reliability and data import quality. These need hands-on testing, and a number we have not earned would be noise.
Industry and topic lists
A single overall score would put the same tool first on every list. So on industry and topic pages, the ranking uses 70% fact score and 30% documented page fit. On topic pages (AI, sales teams, startups, agencies) fit comes from the capability levels on the core plan: included = 10, only on a higher plan or as an add-on = 5, missing or undocumented = 0. On "Best CRM for [industry]" pages, fit is industry fit. Fit is 10 for tools built for that industry (for example MLS/IDX lead sources for realtors, custodian integrations for advisors, donor management for nonprofits), 5 for general CRMs with documented templates or integrations for it, and 0 otherwise. Each pick explains its fit level.
Why commissions cannot change a ranking
Affiliate terms are stored in the same database as product facts, so we made the separation mechanical. The scoring function receives a copy of each CRM's data with the affiliate fields removed, and it refuses to run if they are present. Before every build, a check rewrites all affiliate data with random values and fails the build if a single score or ranking position changes.
We list every vendor's affiliate terms, including the ones that pay us nothing, on How we make money.
How often facts are checked
Every page shows when its facts were last checked. We re-check prices and plan limits for every tracked CRM at least once per quarter and whenever a vendor announces a change. CRM prices move often: per-seat prices, seat minimums and which features sit on which plan all changed for several vendors in 2025 and 2026. Always confirm the final price on the vendor's checkout page.
Use of AI tools
We use AI tools to help collect sources and draft text. Facts are taken from the linked sources and checked against our database before publishing; the scores are computed by code, not written by a model.
Corrections
If a price, limit or feature on this site is wrong, we want to know. Corrections are logged with a date in the change log. Send them to info@fairlycompared.com.