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CRM for marketing agencies

Client pipelines, retainers, and delivery visibility — often paired with project tools.

See also: industry overview page

Agencies run two pipelines at once: new business (pitches and proposals) and the far more valuable retainer book that has to be renewed and grown. New logos get the attention; quietly churning retainers do the real damage. Project tools (Asana, Monday) track delivery, but they don't manage the proposal pipeline or flag a retainer that's drifting toward non-renewal.

The CRM picks below focus on new-business pipeline, retainer renewal and upsell tracking, and referral nurturing — usually paired with a PM tool that owns delivery, so the commercial side has its own home.

Ranked comparison

#ToolStarting priceRatingAction
1HubSpotFree4.4/5(11,200)Try HubSpot
2monday.com$9/mo4.7/5(12,000)Try monday.com
3ActiveCampaign$15/mo4.5/5(10,300)Try ActiveCampaign
4Pipedrive$14/mo4.5/5(8,200)Try Pipedrive
5BrevoFree4.5/5(2,200)Try Brevo

What matters for marketing agencies

  • New-business pipeline for pitches and proposals with custom stages
  • Retainer renewal and upsell tracking, not just one-off deal closing
  • Referral and partner-source attribution for agency word-of-mouth
  • Client-health visibility so at-risk retainers surface before they churn
  • Integrates with Asana / Monday-style PM tools that own delivery
#01

HubSpot

All-in-one CRM, marketing, and sales platform.

CRM

HubSpot brings sales, marketing, and customer service teams onto one platform with a generous free CRM and powerful automation as you scale.

4.4(11.2k)
From
Free
#02

monday.com

Work OS — boards for sales, projects, ops, and anything else.

Project management

monday.com started as project management and expanded into a configurable Work OS — including a sales CRM that punches above its weight.

4.7(12.0k)
From
$9/mo
#03

ActiveCampaign

Marketing automation with a real CRM attached.

Marketing automation

ActiveCampaign leads with automation depth — branching workflows, conditional content, and the best automation builder UX in the category.

4.5(10.3k)
From
$15/mo
#04

Pipedrive

Visual sales CRM built for closers.

CRM

Pipedrive is laser-focused on the pipeline view — drag-and-drop deals, simple automation, fair pricing. Designed by salespeople, for salespeople.

4.5(8.2k)
From
$14/mo
#05

Brevo

Affordable all-in-one marketing platform (formerly Sendinblue).

Email marketing

Brevo bundles email, SMS, WhatsApp, chat, and CRM with the most generous free tier in the category.

4.5(2.2k)
From
Free

Common questions

  • We use Asana/Monday already — isn't that enough?

    Those manage delivery, not the commercial pipeline. They won't run your proposal stages, retainer renewals, or referral nurture. Most agencies pair a CRM for sales/retention with a PM tool for execution; the picks below note which integrate well.

  • How does a CRM protect retainer revenue?

    It tracks renewal dates and client-health signals and prompts a check-in or upsell ahead of renewal, so a quietly unhappy retainer gets attention before it cancels — usually the agency's biggest, least-managed revenue risk.

  • Does this replace my industry-specific software?

    Client pipelines, retainers, and delivery visibility — often paired with project tools.

  • What is the #1 pick for marketing agencies?

    We rank HubSpot first for most marketing agencies teams based on adoption, pricing transparency, and fit for follow-up workflows — verify against your existing stack.

  • How much does CRM cost to start?

    Several picks start at $0/mo or include a free tier; budget for SMS and integrations separately.