CRM

Once you lose track of follow-ups, a spreadsheet stops helping. Pipedrive and folk both connect to Gmail, so emails land next to each contact without copying. Attio builds the CRM from your email and calendar and enriches contacts on its own. A free plan from HubSpot or Attio lets you test this before paying.

Yes: HubSpot and Attio each offer a free tier. HubSpot's free CRM keeps contacts, deals and emails on one shared record, and you pay only when you add hubs. Attio's free plan gives you its flexible objects and pipelines. Pipedrive skips the free tier: its plans begin at $14 a month.

Pipedrive is the narrower pick: a visual deal pipeline a small team can adopt in an afternoon. HubSpot adds paid hubs for marketing, service and content on the same customer record. Pick Pipedrive if selling is the whole job. Pick HubSpot if marketing and support also need to see each customer's history.

Close puts calling, SMS and email sequences inside the app. Reps call and follow up without switching tools, and every call lands on the lead's record. That saves a separate phone system for outbound teams. If your sales happen through meetings and email, Pipedrive covers the job with less.

A CRM holds personal data, so you need a data processing agreement with the vendor. Under GDPR you also record why you keep each contact and delete people who ask. The picks here all sell across Europe, including Spain, Germany, France and Italy. Check each vendor's agreement and data location before importing your contact list.