To move beyond generic rankings, we built a scoring system specifically around marketing agency workflows. Each CRM platform is scored out of 100 across 7 criteria:

Criterion Max score What we evaluated
Client & retainer management 20 Multiple pipelines, retainer tracking, renewal reminders, contract visibility
Communication hub 20 Email + messenger integrations in one client record; full team visibility
Marketing & ad integrations 10 Native or deep integrations with Google Ads, Meta Ads, email platforms, analytics tools
Automation for agency workflows 15 Onboarding automation, approval workflows, retainer reminders, lead assignment
Campaign & project visibility 15 Can you see deal status and delivery status in the same CRM view?
Reporting & client reporting 10 Internal analytics depth + ability to generate or export client-facing reports
Ease of adoption 10 G2 ease of use and setup scores + how quickly a new agency team member can get productive
Total 100

Scores reflect how well each CRM platform serves marketing agency use cases — not general sales teams.

Detailed score breakdown by product

NetHunt CRM — 92/100

Criterion Score Reasoning
Client & retainer management 19/20 Fully customizable multi-pipeline setup — separate pipelines for sales, onboarding, and retainers out of the box. Renewal reminders via automation. Loses one point for no native contract date field.
Communication hub 20/20 The strongest on this list. WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram all log natively into client records alongside email. Full conversation history visible to the entire team in one place.
Marketing & ad integrations 7/10 No native ad platform integration. Connects via Zapier and other tools, which adds friction. Strong native email marketing and sequence tools compensate partially.
Automation for agency workflows 14/15 Robust automation builder covers onboarding checklists, retainer reminders, lead assignment, and approval sequences. Loses one point for no visual workflow canvas — automation is rule-based rather than flowchart-style.
Campaign & project visibility 12/15 Deals and tasks live in the same record, giving good visibility. No dedicated campaign or project board view — agencies with complex delivery workflows may still need a separate PM tool.
Reporting & client reporting 9/10 Strong internal reporting and activity dashboards. Exportable data for client reports. Loses one point for no native client-facing report builder.
Ease of adoption 10/10 (capped at 10) Consistently rated among the highest for ease of setup on G2. Gmail-native interface means most agency teams are productive within a day.
Total 92/100

HubSpot — 83/100

Criterion Score Reasoning
Client & retainer management 16/20 Multiple pipelines supported. Retainer tracking requires custom properties and deal stages — functional but not purpose-built. Renewal management needs manual configuration.
Communication hub 13/20 Excellent email integration. Messenger integrations are limited natively — WhatsApp and Instagram DMs require third-party connectors or higher-tier plans.
Marketing & ad integrations 10/10 Best on this list. Native Google Ads and Meta Ads integration with full lead-to-revenue attribution. Email marketing, landing pages, and campaign tracking all built in.
Automation for agency workflows 13/15 Powerful sequences and workflow builder. Covers most agency automation needs. Loses two points because advanced automation is locked behind higher-tier (expensive) plans.
Campaign & project visibility 12/15 Campaign tracking built into Marketing Hub. Project visibility requires separate configuration or integrations — not native to the CRM layer.
Reporting & client reporting 10/10 Excellent. Custom dashboards, campaign attribution reports, and revenue forecasting all available. One of the strongest reporting suites on this list.
Ease of adoption 9/10 Intuitive interface and strong onboarding resources. Loses one point because the platform's breadth creates initial overwhelm for smaller agency teams.
Total 83/100

GoHighLevel — 83/100

Criterion Score Reasoning
Client & retainer management 15/20 Sub-account structure works well for managing multiple clients. Retainer-specific pipeline management requires custom configuration. Less intuitive for relationship-focused account management.
Communication hub 19/20 Strong multi-channel inbox: SMS, email, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, and Google Business Messages in one place. Loses one point for Gmail not being natively integrated — SMTP only.
Marketing & ad integrations 9/10 Strong ad platform connections and funnel-to-CRM tracking. Loses one point for occasional sync reliability issues reported by users.
Automation for agency workflows 15/15 The strongest automation suite on this list for performance marketing workflows. Visual workflow builder, full-funnel automation, and white-label delivery automation all available natively.
Campaign & project visibility 13/15 Excellent campaign-level dashboards per client sub-account. Project management for internal delivery is weaker — primarily designed for client-facing campaigns, not internal ops.
Reporting & client reporting 9/10 Per-client dashboards and white-label reporting are a genuine differentiator. Loses one point for internal team analytics being less developed.
Ease of adoption 3/10 The weakest score on this criterion across all tools reviewed. GoHighLevel's interface is complex, documentation is dense, and most teams require significant onboarding time. Not suitable for agencies without a dedicated ops person to configure it.
Total 83/100

Salesflare — 69/100

Criterion Score Reasoning
Client & retainer management 14/20 Solid single pipeline management with custom fields. Multiple pipelines supported but not as flexible as NetHunt or HubSpot. Retainer tracking is possible but requires workarounds.
Communication hub 11/20 Strong email integration with automatic logging. No native messenger integrations — WhatsApp and Instagram require third-party tools, which breaks the unified communication record agencies need.
Marketing & ad integrations 6/10 No native ad platform integration. Connects via Zapier. Email sequence tracking is solid but the broader marketing integration layer is limited.
Automation for agency workflows 11/15 Good automation for follow-up sequences and pipeline triggers. Lacks agency-specific automation templates — onboarding checklists and retainer reminders require manual configuration.
Campaign & project visibility 9/15 No native project or campaign tracking. CRM records can be enriched with notes and tasks, but there's no delivery visibility layer. Agencies need a separate PM tool.
Reporting & client reporting 8/10 Solid pipeline and activity reports. No client-facing report builder. Exportable data available.
Ease of adoption 10/10 Highest ease-of-adoption score on this list alongside Copper. Auto-populated fields and a clean interface mean most teams are productive within hours. G2 ease of use scores consistently above 9.0.
Total 69/100

Pipedrive — 68/100

Criterion Score Reasoning
Client & retainer management 13/20 Clean visual pipeline for new business. Multiple pipelines supported. Retainer management requires custom fields and stages — not purpose-built. No native renewal reminders.
Communication hub 16/20 Good email integration. Messenger integrations only via add-ons or third-party tools. Communication history is visible but requires manual input for non-email channels.
Marketing & ad integrations 5/10 Ad integrations via Zapier only. LeadBooster add-on helps with web capture. No native campaign attribution.
Automation for agency workflows 10/15 Solid workflow automation for pipeline triggers and follow-up tasks. Lacks depth for complex agency workflows — onboarding sequences and retainer automation require significant configuration.
Campaign & project visibility 8/15 No native project or campaign visibility. Deals and tasks are connected but there's no delivery layer. Agencies need an external PM tool.
Reporting & client reporting 7/10 Basic pipeline and activity reports. Revenue forecasting available on higher tiers. No client-facing report builder.
Ease of adoption 9/10 Very intuitive interface. One of the fastest CRMs to get productive with. Loses one point because deeper features (automations, integrations) require more setup time than the initial interface suggests.
Total 68/100

Monday CRM — 73/100

Criterion Score Reasoning
Client & retainer management 14/20 Fully customizable boards allow agencies to build any pipeline structure. Retainer tracking is possible. Loses points because CRM-specific features (contact enrichment, deal intelligence) are shallower than dedicated CRM tools.
Communication hub 10/20 Email integration available. No native messenger integrations. Communication history is fragmented compared to dedicated CRM platforms — not a unified client record.
Marketing & ad integrations 6/10 Integrations via third-party connectors. No native ad platform integration. Campaign boards can be built manually but don't connect to live campaign data.
Automation for agency workflows 11/15 Strong visual automation builder. Status-change triggers, assignments, and notifications work well. Agency-specific workflows (retainer reminders, onboarding sequences) require custom configuration.
Campaign & project visibility 15/15 The best on this criterion. Deals and project boards live in the same workspace and can be visually connected. This is Monday's core strength and why it appears on this list.
Reporting & client reporting 8/10 Good dashboard builder combining CRM and project data. No dedicated client-facing report builder but dashboards are exportable.
Ease of adoption 9/10 Clean, visual interface that non-technical team members adapt to quickly. Loses one point because building the right CRM structure from scratch (vs. a pre-configured CRM template) takes time.
Total 73/100

Zoho CRM — 75/100

Criterion Score Reasoning
Client & retainer management 15/20 Highly customizable modules and pipelines. Retainer tracking possible with custom configuration. Renewal automation available. Loses points for requiring significant setup time to get agency workflows right.
Communication hub 16/20 Multi-channel communication including email, phone, live chat, and social. Messenger integrations via Zoho SalesIQ and third-party connectors — functional but not seamless.
Marketing & ad integrations 7/10 Good native integration with Zoho Campaigns, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads via Zoho Marketing Plus. Loses points because full integration value requires subscribing to multiple Zoho products.
Automation for agency workflows 13/15 CommandCenter is a genuine differentiator — visual customer journey automation across multiple stages. Loses points because full automation depth requires higher-tier plans.
Campaign & project visibility 10/15 Campaign data available via Zoho Campaigns integration. Project visibility via Zoho Projects integration. Both require separate product subscriptions and sync configuration — not native to the CRM layer.
Reporting & client reporting 8/10 Strong analytics via Zoho Analytics integration. Loses points for client-facing reporting requiring additional product setup.
Ease of adoption 6/10 The lowest ease-of-adoption score among mid-tier tools. Interface is dense, setup is complex, and new team members typically require formal training. Not suitable for agencies that need quick onboarding.
Total 75/100

Copper CRM — 57/100

Criterion Score Reasoning
Client & retainer management 12/20 Basic pipeline management with Google Workspace data. Retainer tracking requires custom fields. No renewal automation. Better suited for simple relationship management than complex agency pipelines.
Communication hub 12/20 Excellent Gmail and Google Calendar integration — automatically logs all email and meetings. No messenger integrations. For agencies where all communication happens via email, this is sufficient.
Marketing & ad integrations 3/10 Very limited. No native ad platform integrations. Marketing automation requires third-party tools.
Automation for agency workflows 7/15 Basic workflow automation for pipeline triggers and task assignment. Not suitable for complex agency onboarding or retainer workflows.
Campaign & project visibility 6/15 No campaign or project tracking. Purely a contact and pipeline management tool. Agencies need separate tools for everything beyond CRM basics.
Reporting & client reporting 7/10 Basic pipeline and activity reports. No client-facing reporting. Data exportable to Google Sheets for manual report building.
Ease of adoption 10/10 (capped at 10) The easiest CRM on this list to adopt for Google Workspace teams. Zero behavioral change required — it sits inside Gmail and auto-populates from existing data.
Total 57/100

Insightly — 61/100

Criterion Score Reasoning
Client & retainer management 13/20 CRM-to-project pipeline conversion is a genuine strength. Retainer management is limited — the tool is better suited for project-based agencies than ongoing retainer relationships.
Communication hub 10/20 Basic email integration. No messenger integrations. Communication history is less unified than dedicated CRM platforms.
Marketing & ad integrations 3/10 Limited native integrations. Insightly Marketing add-on available at extra cost. No native ad platform connections.
Automation for agency workflows 8/15 Workflow automation available but limited on lower pricing tiers. Project-to-delivery automation is the strongest use case.
Campaign & project visibility 13/15 The core differentiator: converting won deals into delivery projects without data duplication is genuinely useful for project-based agencies. Loses points for limited campaign-level visibility.
Reporting & client reporting 7/10 Standard pipeline and project reports. Dashboard builder available. No client-facing report export feature.
Ease of adoption 7/10 Interface is functional but dated. Setup is straightforward for basic use cases; complex configurations require more time. Mixed G2 ratings on ease of use.
Total 61/100

Salesforce — 77/100

Criterion Score Reasoning
Client & retainer management 17/20 Virtually unlimited customization — any pipeline structure, any retainer workflow, any renewal automation is achievable. Loses points because achieving this requires significant admin time and technical expertise.
Communication hub 16/20 Multi-channel communication via AppExchange integrations. Native email integration strong. Messenger integrations available but require configuration and additional apps.
Marketing & ad integrations 8/10 Strong ad platform integrations via Marketing Cloud and AppExchange. Full attribution reporting available. Loses points for requiring expensive add-ons to unlock the full integration layer.
Automation for agency workflows 13/15 Flow builder is extremely powerful — any automation is theoretically possible. Loses points for requiring dedicated admin resources to build and maintain complex workflows.
Campaign & project visibility 10/15 Campaign management via Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Project tracking via AppExchange apps. Both require significant additional investment and configuration.
Reporting & client reporting 10/10 The strongest reporting suite on this list. Custom dashboards, AI-powered forecasting, and Tableau integration provide enterprise-grade analytics.
Ease of adoption 3/10 The lowest score on this criterion alongside GoHighLevel. Salesforce is notoriously complex to set up and use. Most agencies without a dedicated Salesforce admin will not realize its potential.
Total 77/100

Folk CRM — 50/100

Criterion Score Reasoning
Client & retainer management 10/20 Basic pipeline management. No retainer-specific features, no renewal automation, no multi-pipeline support for complex agency workflows.
Communication hub 11/20 Email sequences and basic email integration. No messenger integrations. Communication history is limited compared to dedicated CRM platforms.
Marketing & ad integrations 3/10 Very limited. No native ad platform integrations. Marketing automation is minimal — primarily outreach sequences.
Automation for agency workflows 5/15 Basic automation for sequences and follow-ups. Not suitable for complex agency workflows — onboarding, retainer management, and approval automation are not supported.
Campaign & project visibility 5/15 No campaign or project tracking. Folk is a relationship intelligence tool, not an operational CRM. Agencies need separate tools for all delivery and campaign management.
Reporting & client reporting 6/10 Basic contact and pipeline analytics. No client-facing reporting. Limited compared to all other tools on this list.
Ease of adoption 10/10 Clean, modern interface that most users find immediately intuitive. Contact enrichment from LinkedIn reduces manual setup time significantly. Strong ease-of-use ratings.
Total 50/100