Salesforce Alternatives: 9 CRM Systems to Consider in UK

Salesforce is one of the most recognised CRM platforms in the market, offering sales automation, reporting, customisation, AI, and a broad ecosystem of applications. However, that does not automatically make it the right CRM for every organisation.

Some businesses need a CRM that fits more naturally into their existing Microsoft environment. Others want simpler pipeline management, closer sales and marketing alignment, lower implementation complexity, or a platform better suited to their budget and growth plans.

That is why evaluating Salesforce alternatives should not simply be about finding a cheaper CRM. The objective is to find a platform that fits your sales processes, users, integrations, reporting requirements, technology ecosystem, and future business needs.

This guide compares nine alternatives to Salesforce that UK businesses should consider in 2026.

9 Salesforce Alternatives to Consider in 2026

Here is a closer look at each Salesforce CRM alternative and where it may fit.

1. Dynamics 365 Sales

Suitable for: Organisations already using Microsoft technology and businesses requiring scalable sales automation.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales is one of the strongest Salesforce alternatives for businesses operating within the Microsoft ecosystem.

It combines customer and opportunity management with sales automation, forecasting, reporting, AI capabilities, and integration with Microsoft business applications.

Dynamics 365 Sales can work particularly well alongside Microsoft 365, Teams, Power Platform, Power BI, Azure, Business Central, and other Dynamics 365 applications.

Microsoft currently lists Dynamics 365 Sales Professional at £50 per user/month, Sales Enterprise at £80.70 per user/month, and Sales Premium at £115.30 per user/month, paid yearly and excluding VAT.

Key strengths:

• Microsoft 365 integration

• Lead and opportunity management

• Sales automation

• Reporting and dashboards

• AI and contextual sales insights

• Power Platform connectivity

• Advanced customisation

• Integration with Dynamics 365 ERP applications

• Enterprise scalability

When should you consider Dynamics 365 Sales?

Dynamics 365 Sales deserves consideration when your business already uses Microsoft applications and wants CRM to become part of a connected business technology environment rather than operate as a standalone application.

It can also suit organisations that expect their CRM requirements to become more sophisticated as the business grows.

For very small teams requiring little more than contact and basic pipeline management, however, a lighter CRM may be quicker to adopt.

2. HubSpot Sales Hub

Suitable for: Growing businesses that want CRM, sales, and marketing capabilities in one ecosystem.

HubSpot is a widely considered alternative to Salesforce, particularly among businesses looking to align marketing and sales activities.

HubSpot provides free CRM tools as well as Starter, Professional, and Enterprise Sales Hub editions. Higher editions introduce broader automation, reporting, sequences, forecasting, and sales management capabilities.

Key strengths:

• Free entry-level CRM tools

• Sales and marketing alignment

• Contact and pipeline management

• Email and prospecting tools

• Sales automation

• Reporting

• Broad HubSpot ecosystem

HubSpot can be attractive to companies that want sales and marketing teams working from connected customer data.

Businesses should, however, compare the functionality and total cost of the editions they actually require rather than judging HubSpot solely on the availability of free CRM tools.

3. Zoho CRM

Suitable for: Small and mid-sized businesses looking for broad functionality and flexible pricing options.

Zoho CRM combines contact and lead management with sales automation, forecasting, dashboards, workflow tools, AI, and customisation.

It also provides a free edition for small teams alongside several paid plans. Zoho's current plans include functionality such as workflows, assignment rules, reports, dashboards, sales forecasting, cadences, and AI agents depending on the selected edition.

Key strengths:

• Free CRM option

• Sales automation

• Reporting and forecasting

• Workflow capabilities

• AI functionality

• Customisation

• Integration with the wider Zoho ecosystem

Zoho CRM can be worth evaluating when your organisation requires more than basic pipeline management but does not necessarily need the scale or wider enterprise ecosystem provided by Salesforce or Dynamics 365.

4. Pipedrive

Suitable for: Sales teams primarily focused on lead, deal, and pipeline management.

Pipedrive takes a focused approach to CRM with a strong emphasis on visual sales pipelines and deal progression.

Sales representatives can manage leads, contacts, activities, deals, and follow-ups through a relatively straightforward sales-oriented interface.

Pipedrive's current Lite plan starts at US$14 per seat/month when billed annually and includes pipeline management, AI-powered report creation, a real-time sales feed, and access to more than 500 integrations. A 14-day trial is also available.

Key strengths:

• Visual sales pipeline

• Lead and deal management

• Activity tracking

• Sales reporting

• AI-assisted features

• Extensive integrations

• Straightforward sales-focused experience

Pipedrive can be a good Salesforce alternative where the main priority is managing the sales pipeline without deploying a broader enterprise CRM platform.

5. Freshsales

Suitable for: Startups, SMEs, and growing sales teams seeking CRM and communication tools.

Freshsales provides contact and account management, deal pipelines, workflows, email, chat, phone capabilities, reporting, and AI functionality.

Freshsales currently offers a free option for up to three users, while its Growth edition starts at US$9 per user/month when billed annually. Higher plans add functionality such as deal insights, sales sequences, territory management, forecasting, custom modules, and more advanced controls.

Key strengths:

• Competitive entry point

• Contact and deal management

• Built-in communication tools

• Sales workflows

• Pipeline management

• Freddy AI capabilities

• Free option for very small teams

Freshsales can suit businesses that want to manage customer relationships and sales communication without implementing a larger enterprise CRM environment.

6. monday CRM

Suitable for: Businesses wanting highly flexible sales processes and custom workflows.

monday CRM takes the flexible workflow model associated with monday.com and applies it to sales and customer relationship management.

Businesses can use it to manage contacts, deals, communications, activities, quotes, dashboards, and sales workflows.

Its Basic CRM plan currently starts at US$12 per seat/month when billed annually, while higher editions increase limits and add more advanced workflow, automation, dashboard, and governance capabilities.

Key strengths:

• Flexible sales workflows

• Customisable boards

• Contact and deal management

• Dashboards

• Automation

• AI capabilities

• Quotes and invoices

monday CRM may be worth considering when workflow flexibility and ease of configuration are greater priorities than operating within a traditional enterprise CRM ecosystem.

7. SugarCRM

Suitable for: B2B businesses requiring flexible sales automation and account management.

SugarCRM offers CRM capabilities for managing complex B2B customer relationships and sales processes. Its current sales product portfolio includes Sugar Sell, with functionality focused on sales automation, account management, forecasting, pipeline visibility, workflows, and customer intelligence.

Key strengths:

• B2B sales focus

• Account management

• Flexible workflows

• Sales forecasting

• CRM customisation

• ERP integration capabilities

• Sales intelligence

SugarCRM can be particularly relevant to established B2B businesses that have more complex relationship-management requirements than a basic pipeline CRM can support.

8. Insightly

Suitable for: Businesses that want CRM and project management capabilities in a connected platform.

Insightly is particularly interesting for project-based organisations because it combines traditional CRM functionality with project management.

This can help businesses manage the transition from winning an opportunity to delivering work for the customer.

Its current CRM Plus plan starts at US$29 per user/month billed annually. Professional adds capabilities including workflow automation and AI Copilot, while Enterprise extends functionality further with sandboxes, products, price books, quotes, and audit logging.

Key strengths:

• Lead and contact management

• Opportunity management

• Project management

• Workflow automation

• Business dashboards

• AI capabilities on higher editions

• Integration capabilities

Insightly may therefore appeal to professional services and other project-driven businesses where customer delivery continues after a deal has been closed.

9. SAP Sales Cloud

Suitable for: Larger organisations and businesses already invested in SAP.

SAP Sales Cloud is an enterprise-focused CRM platform designed to support sales automation, customer and account visibility, mobile selling, analytics, and AI-assisted selling.

SAP positions Sales Cloud around AI and sales automation, a unified customer view, buyer insights, mobile capabilities, and integration with the wider SAP environment.

Key strengths:

• SAP ecosystem alignment

• Enterprise sales automation

• Account and customer visibility

• AI capabilities

• Analytics

• Mobile sales

• Enterprise scalability

SAP Sales Cloud can make particular sense for businesses already using SAP applications and wanting CRM to work within that environment.

For smaller companies with relatively simple sales processes, it may provide more capability than they actually require.

Why Do Businesses Look for Salesforce Alternatives?

Salesforce provides a broad CRM ecosystem and can support highly sophisticated sales organisations. However, CRM selection should be based on business fit rather than market recognition alone.

A business may consider alternatives to Salesforce because it:

• Already uses Microsoft or SAP technology extensively.

• Wants a simpler sales CRM.

• Requires closer CRM and ERP integration.

• Wants another approach to licensing and total cost of ownership.

• Needs stronger alignment between sales and marketing.

• Wants less administration for straightforward sales processes.

• Requires specific workflow or industry functionality.

• Is reconsidering how much CRM customisation it actually needs.

The question should therefore not be "Which CRM is better than Salesforce?"

A more useful question is:

"Which CRM fits our processes, technology, users, budget, and growth strategy better than our current option?"

That leads to a much more useful CRM evaluation.

What Should You Consider When Choosing a Salesforce Alternative?

Moving from Salesforce—or selecting a CRM for the first time—is a significant business decision. The following areas should be assessed before choosing a replacement.

1. Total Cost of Ownership

Licence price is only one part of CRM cost.

Also consider:

• Implementation

• Data migration

• Integrations

• Customisation

• User training

• Administration

• Support

• Additional applications

• Future development

A platform with a lower monthly licence can still become expensive if it requires extensive third-party tools or custom development.

2. Existing Technology Stack

A CRM that fits naturally into your existing technology can reduce unnecessary integration and data duplication.

Businesses heavily invested in Microsoft 365, Power Platform, Power BI, Azure, Business Central, or Dynamics ERP should consider this when comparing Dynamics 365 with Salesforce.

The same principle applies to businesses operating extensively within SAP, HubSpot, Zoho, or another technology ecosystem.

3. Ease of Use and Adoption

CRM success depends on whether salespeople actually use the system consistently.

Evaluate:

• Navigation

• Data entry

• Mobile experience

• Sales activity management

• Dashboards

• Training requirements

• Role-specific interfaces

A CRM packed with functionality has limited value if sales representatives avoid using it.

4. AI and Sales Automation

AI is becoming a core part of modern CRM platforms, but capabilities vary significantly between products and editions.

Look at practical applications such as:

• Lead prioritisation

• Opportunity insights

• Email assistance

• Meeting summaries

• Forecasting

• Recommended actions

• Pipeline analysis

• Automated follow-ups

• Sales research

Focus on capabilities that solve real sales problems rather than choosing a CRM simply because it promotes AI.

5. Integrations

Your CRM may need to exchange information with:

• ERP

• Accounting software

• Microsoft 365

• Marketing automation

• Ecommerce

• Customer service

• Telephony

• Business intelligence

• Document management

• Industry-specific applications

Poor integration creates disconnected information and increases manual work.

6. Reporting and Forecasting

Sales managers need reliable information about pipeline performance, opportunities, conversion, revenue, activities, and forecasts.

Determine whether standard CRM reporting meets your requirements or whether additional analytics tools will be necessary.

7. Scalability

Think beyond current requirements.

Consider whether the CRM will still work when your organisation adds:

• More users

• Additional sales teams

• New regions

• New products

• Multiple business entities

• More complex workflows

• New integrations

Replacing CRM repeatedly can be much more expensive than selecting a scalable platform from the beginning.

8. Data Migration

If you currently use Salesforce, evaluate how much information needs to move.

This can include:

• Accounts

• Contacts

• Leads

• Opportunities

• Activities

• Notes

• Attachments

• Products

• Custom fields

• Custom objects

• Historical records

You should also decide which legacy data is actually worth migrating rather than transferring poor-quality or redundant information into the new CRM.

Which Salesforce Alternative is Right for your business?

The following can help narrow your shortlist:

This should be treated as a starting point rather than a final purchasing decision. CRM requirements should be validated against your actual processes, users, integrations, security requirements, data volumes, and growth plans.

Salesforce vs Dynamics 365: Which Should you Choose?

Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales are both capable CRM platforms. The stronger option depends heavily on the environment in which the CRM will operate.

Salesforce may make sense for businesses already committed to Salesforce products and its wider application ecosystem.

Dynamics 365 Sales can be particularly compelling for organisations already using Microsoft technology because it can connect sales processes with Microsoft 365, Power Platform, Power BI, and other Dynamics 365 applications.

Pricing also differs substantially by edition. Salesforce currently lists Sales Cloud Starter Suite at £20/user/month, Pro Suite at £80, Enterprise at £140, Unlimited at £280, and Agentforce 1 Sales at £440, with annual billing applying to several editions.

Dynamics 365 Sales currently starts at £50/user/month for Sales Professional, with Enterprise at £80.70 and Premium at £115.30, paid yearly and excluding VAT.

However, licence price alone should not determine the decision.

Businesses should compare:

• Required functionality

• Implementation effort

• Existing software

• Integration costs

• Customisation

• AI requirements

• Administration

• Reporting

• Data migration

• Long-term total cost of ownership

Planning to Move from Salesforce to Dynamics 365?

Replacing Salesforce with Dynamics 365 requires more than exporting contacts and importing them into a new CRM.

A Salesforce-to-Dynamics 365 migration should typically evaluate:

• Accounts and contacts

• Leads and opportunities

• Activities and communications

• Products and pricing

• Custom fields and objects

• Workflows and automation

• Security roles

• Integrations

• Reports and dashboards

• Historical records

• Attachments

• Data quality

• User training

• Testing and cutover

Migration is also an opportunity to review existing CRM processes.

Instead of recreating every Salesforce customisation inside Dynamics 365, businesses should identify which processes still add value, which can be simplified, and which can be replaced using standard Dynamics 365 or Power Platform capabilities.

Dynamics Square UK can help you assess whether Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales is suitable for your business, plan your CRM implementation or Salesforce migration, integrate Dynamics 365 with your existing applications, and configure the platform around your sales processes.

If you are evaluating Salesforce alternatives and want to understand whether Dynamics 365 is the right fit, contact trusted Dynamics 365 partner – Dynamics Square UK to discuss your requirements.

Bottom line

Salesforce is a capable CRM platform, but there are several alternatives worth considering before making a long-term CRM decision.

Businesses wanting close alignment with the Microsoft ecosystem should evaluate Dynamics 365 Sales. HubSpot can work well where sales and marketing alignment is important, while Zoho CRM, Pipedrive, Freshsales, and monday CRM provide different options for growing businesses and sales-focused teams.

SugarCRM can suit complex B2B sales environments, Insightly combines CRM with project management, and SAP Sales Cloud can fit enterprise businesses already operating within the SAP ecosystem.

The right CRM is not necessarily the one with the most functionality or the lowest advertised price.

It is the platform that supports your sales processes, integrates with the systems your business depends on, can be adopted successfully by users, and remains suitable as your organisation grows.