Freshsales Review: Is This AI-Powered Sales CRM Worth in 2025?

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Freshsales is an AI-powered sales CRM that helps you track and manage customer interactions across channels from a single place.

Freshsales’ parent company, Freshworks, launched the platform in June 2016, with headquarters in the U.S. and offices in India, the UK, Australia, and Germany.

It comes with built-in tools for contact and deal management, workflow automation, omnichannel interactions, sales insights, and more.

In my assessment, startups and small businesses looking to nurture client relationships, especially in real estate, e-commerce, and the SaaS sector, constitute Freshsales most loyal user base.

However, to find out if it’s a good fit for your business, I’m sharing my experience from hands-on testing of the Pro version of Freshsales. I will share my analysis and evaluation of the software’s features, benefits, and drawbacks.

Freshsales Features

• Get access to 360° customer information with dynamic views and filtering options
• Track prospects through their buying journey with unique contact lifecycle stages and substages
• Leverage AI-powered lead scoring, deal forecasting, and customer ratings to identify and prioritize leads
• Built-in CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) to generate and track invoices, quotes, and documents
• Use Shared Inbox to consolidate and collaborate on all your sales communication across voice and digital channels
• Automate repetitive tasks such as updating statutes, sending follow-up emails, and moving cards across the pipeline using custom triggers and action elements

Pros

• Dedicated app marketplace with 1000+ apps
• Built-in telephony, live chat, and communication tools
• Offers relatively affordable pricing, especially for smaller businesses

Cons

• Lacks advanced reporting and customization options
• The mobile app isn’t as feature-rich as the desktop version

What is Freshsales CRM?

Freshsales is an AI-powered sales CRM software that helps you streamline, manage, and automate sales operations.

It offers built-in contact and deal management, lead scoring, user behavior monitoring, omnichannel interactions (voice and digital), and marketing and sales automation – all while keeping AI by your side. 

First introduced in 2016 by Freshworks Inc., Freshsales now has 5400+ customers, including Bank of America, Intuit, Morgan Stanley and other top brands.

Top Features of Freshsales

At its core, Freshsales markets itself as a free, easy-to-use CRM with robust sales automation features.

But there’s more to it. Freshsales offers excellent features in contact and deal management, visual sales pipelines, omnichannel support, automation, sales intelligence, and integrations.

Let’s take a closer look at the features of Freshsales.

1. 360° Customer Information

Freshsales provides a consolidated view of your contacts. From a single panel, you can view all the details, organize them with sort and filtering options, make changes, and even perform bulk actions.

Enterprise Plan users benefit from ‘auto enrichment’ that automatically gathers publicly available information about your contacts to fill any gaps. However, I expect Freshsales to make it available for lower tiers, too.

Depending on your contact list, you can add custom fields for company name, email, personal details, etc., and visualize contact data using different views, such as a Table, List, or Kanban board.

But it gets better:

Freshsales creates individual customer profiles to provide access to 360° customer information under one roof. With every contact profile, you can:

• Send emails, make calls, and book meetings without switching tabs
• Visualize the contact’s stage in the sales pipeline (New, Interested, Qualified, etc.)
• Dive deep into agent-user sales activities, conversations, deals, documents, and more
• View recent discussions, activities, and upcoming events via highlight cards
• Access to contact’s social handles across Facebook, X, and LinkedIn

2. Omnichannel Support

Freshsales lets you connect with customers through their preferred channels, such as phone call, email, website, or chat.  

You can also integrate social channels like Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and more from the Freshsales marketplace.

However, Email and voice capabilities are core to Freshsales. 

I say that because these two are well-built into the interface. With two-way email sync, you can connect your inbox and Freshsales and map incoming emails to the right contacts without much effort.

The convenience of a built-in phone feature allows you to make calls within the app and purges the need for additional telephony software. You can handle inbound and outbound voice interactions, auto-log and record calls, measure outcomes, receive voice mails, route calls, and more.

The same goes with SMS, but for voice and SMS capabilities, you must connect Freshsales with your SMS provider. 

I genuinely like the ‘Shared Inbox’ setting. It enables you to collaborate on customer conversations across channels like WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and LINE.

3. Productivity Automation

Let me ask: do you want your team to spend time writing follow-up emails or concentrate on ACTUAL sales?

Of course, the latter makes more sense and thus counts as more productive. 

Freshsales removes the tedium of repetitive tasks with automation. It offers productivity automation in two folds:

• Basic automation: To automate internal workflows, such as creating tasks, updating records, moving cards, or sending email reminders to sales owners. 
• Advanced automation: To automate external or omnichannel workflows for engaging customers through SMS and email automations triggered at a particular time or event.

If you’re on the Pro tier, you get 50 basic and advanced workflows each, as well as automation templates for everyday tasks.

Using the automation builder, I can either customize these templates or create sophisticated automations from scratch.

Frankly, the builder is easy to use with point-and-click functions. I can use AND/OR conditions, create ‘If-Then’ rules, and trigger workflows for any action.  

I also love how we can test workflows before implementing them into the system. It opens room for experimentation, works like a sandbox environment, and helps learn from a trial-and-error process.

Other CRMs may match the level of Freshsales automation, but Freshsales CRM holds an edge with automated sales sequences.

A sales sequence is a series of steps you can set up to nurture contacts from time to time. A step can be an email, task, call reminder, or SMS. Basically, you can trigger automated sales campaigns across channels based on specific events or days.

Think of this: how do telecom companies start calling you or sending reminders just before your prepaid balance expires?

4. Deal Management

Deal management helps you visualize and track deal progress and status across your sales pipeline. You can drag-and-drop deals as they progress from—New to Discovery, Demo, and Negotiation stages.  

It is possible to create multiple sales pipelines with custom stages, weights, and goals.

Note: With the Pro tier, you can create up to 10 custom deal pipelines.

With Freshsales CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote), it is possible to generate and track invoices, quotes, and documents with custom templates and auto-sync them with deals.

5. Sales Intelligence and AI

Now, this heading could be two different ones, but Freshsales has so well-implemented AI that you can find a bit of it in every function.   

Sales Intelligence is one of them. It integrates Freddy AI to help you make smarter decisions with AI-powered predictions. 

And no, predictions are not out of thin air! 

Take, for example, AI-powered scoring and customer fit ratios. Freddy AI calculates contact score and customer fit by analyzing past contacts, their engagement, and random signals from your admin.

Similarly, Freddy AI-powered Deal Insights predicts if a deal will close or if it’s at risk based on win/loss data from your previous deals.

What’s more, Freddy AI is not limited to sales predictions. You can build and deploy AI Agents and Chatbots across all channels to respond to customer queries.

Freshsales has a gallery of 70+ ready-made chatbot templates, along with the flexibility to customize or create custom chatbots from scratch.

6. Security and Compliance

With Freshsales, you can regulate and manage where your data is stored (US, EU, IN, ANZ) and how you share it across teams and departments.

For example, you can allow ‘C-suite’ executives to change contact information while allowing view-only access for other team members.

Similarly, you can configure how users in different roles can work around data via role-based, field-level, or territory-based permissions.

Even if you mess up, you can use Audit Logs to track and filter all actions, such as edits, deletions, or configuration changes.

7. Mobile-Ready

Freshsales is accessible on the go via a dedicated CRM app for Android or iOS devices.

With Freshsales Mobile CRM, you can:

• Manage contacts, accounts, and deals as you do from the web app
• Make voice and video calls  
• Log calls and add voice notes for context
• Create and access documents such as quotes, invoices, and more
• Get real-time push notifications
• Access data even when you are offline and sync it when back online
• Locate contacts with built-in Google Apps and book Uber on the go

However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Below is a user’s feedback on Freshsales.

Expert Review on Freshsales

Austin Rulfs

Finance & SME Investor

User rating: 4.2/5

It is harder to work on the go because the mobile app is not as flexible as the desktop version. Some parts of the interface are too cluttered and require more steps to find information. It takes time to set up automation, but it is worth it, after all

• What do you like about Freshsales?

  For me, the automation tools assist with follow-ups so that every lead is taken care of. AI lead scoring helps me identify serious borrowers, so I don’t have to guess who will be worth my time. Combining calls, emails, and chats helps keep everything organized and less confusing.

• What do you dislike about Freshsales?

  I believe that detailed reports are harder to base performance on, as you have limited options not to upgrade. Onboarding could also educate users much better about the advanced features. 

8. Integrations

Freshsales is built to integrate with apps you use regularly. It hosts a dedicated app marketplace with hundreds of your most-used apps like Slack, Gong, G Suite, Xero, Outlook, and others.

Using the Freshsales API library, you can create custom integrations to connect third-party applications and data sources.

Our team builds a lot of custom integrations, and Freshsales’ API actually lets us do that without fighting the system. We sync client interactions with our internal knowledge base, so when a sales rep logs a call, the key takeaways are automatically available for the rest of the team.

– Sabas Lin, CTO of Knowee.ai

Freshsales Use Cases

Now that you know everything Freshsales offers, here are some use cases, including real-world examples of retail, e-commerce, and real estate companies— using Freshsales.

Use Case #1. Client Management

Freshsales is a valuable sales CRM for whom every customer or lead matters. For example, brick-and-mortar stores or early SaaS businesses would benefit from Freshsales easy-to-use interface that enables them (regardless of their background) to manage interactions with potential and existing clients. 

For instance: Yorkshire Fabric Shop, a retail store in the United Kingdom, uses Freshsales automated reminders and follow-up email sequences to manage client interactions without fail.

In retail, one missed follow-up can mean losing a high-value client. With Freshsales, automated reminders and email sequences keep things moving, which has personally saved my team from dropping the ball on at least 100 leads in a single quarter.

— Jay Soni, Director of Sales and Marketing, Yorkshire Fabric Shop

Use Case #2. Sales Pipeline

There’s no definite way to close a deal with your customer. That is why most companies create separate sales pipelines, each with customized stages and metrics relevant to their specific processes.

With Freshsales, you can create multiple sales pipelines to accommodate these variations. 

Suppose you have different sales processes with unique deal journeys, you can create multiple pipelines with custom stages and weightage for each stage, and also specify when deals should go stale.

Note: Freshsales allows you to create up to 10 sales pipelines within the Pro plan

Use Case #3. Lead Management

Freshsales visual pipelines, coupled with Freddy AI-powered scoring and customer fit prediction, help you determine which leads to prioritize or stall.

Colorful Socks, a fashion-focused e-commerce brand, needed a better way to track and manage leads. And the lead management solution was Freshsales! 👇

In e-commerce, not every lead is worth chasing, and Freshsales helps separate serious buyers from window shoppers. It assigns scores based on how people interact with your site, like if they open emails, visit certain pages, or abandon their carts. That means your team isn’t wasting time on low-intent leads but focusing on the interested ones.

– Amra Beganovich, founder of Colorful Socks

Use Case #4. WhatsApp Marketing

The WhatsApp integration with Freshsales allows you to respond to customer queries, troubleshoot issues, and provide round-the-clock support on WhatsApp from your Freshsales inbox.

It has several benefits and use cases, such as:

• Let agents manage all WhatsApp messages in one single workspace
• Deploy chatbots within your WhatsApp Business Account to provide instant responses to common repetitive questions
• Use routing rules to move or escalate messages to the correct team or department
• Use automation to bulk-send templated messages with rich text, images, videos, and documents to your messages to add more context
• Expand reach and promote your products via images, videos, and interactive catalog links

Use Case #5. CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote)

With Freshsales’ built-in CPQ, you can create invoices, quotes, onboarding documents, contracts, and other branded documents.

If it were not for this, I would have no option but to rely on third-party apps like PandaDoc or Canva. 

But with the CPQ setting in the Admin Panel, Freshsales lets you build your product catalog, manage prices in multiple currencies, assign products to deals, and create dynamic documents.

Suppose you sell luxury items like premium cars, wine, watches, etc. You can add them to your web app, configure pricing (unit or subscription) currency, and associate the products with their respective deals.

Use Case #6. Workflow Automation

Freshsales lets you automate any task, whether basic ones like moving a card or updating records or advanced workflows such as engaging customers through SMS, WhatsApp, and email automation.

For instance, Michael Nemeroff uses Freshsales’ workflow automation to revive abandoned carts at RushOrderTees.

Freshsales’ automation tools saved our team at least 10 hours per week. We set up workflows to send follow-ups to customers who requested a quote but didn’t place an order within 48 hours. That single automation boosted conversion rates by 12%.

– Michael Nemeroff, Cofounder & CEO, RushOrderTees.com

Freshsales Pricing

When you sign up, you instantly get access to a fully loaded CRM for 21 days. When your trial expires, you can continue with the free plan (limited to 3 agents and basic CRM features). Or choose from a premium plan:

• Growth: Priced at $9/user/month (billed annually), includes AI-powered lead scoring, a built-in phone system, email management, basic workflows, and other advanced features (minimum of 5 seats). However, you’re limited to 500 contacts, 20 basic workflows, 2 GB storage, and limited AI features.
• Pro: Priced at $39/user/month (billed annually), includes workflow automation, advanced customization, and Freddy AI features suitable for growing teams. 
• Enterprise: Priced at $59/user/month (billed annually), the enterprise plan is for large enterprises requiring advanced customization, sales forecasting tools, and more nuanced permission settings, audit logs, and security features.

Let’s quickly compare all three pricing plans:

Freshsales Support 

Freshsales offers 24×5 support through phone, chat, and email:

• Support Ticket: Submit requests through the Freshsales profile panel. Support Tickets allow you to describe the issue in detail and get detailed responses from the team
• Email: For direct inquiries, users can reach out via email at crm-support@freshworks.com
• Knowledge Base: Freshsales Knowledge Base includes articles, guides, and FAQs. Again, you can access it from the profile panel. It covers a range of topics, from troubleshooting to best practices. Indeed, a valuable self-service option for customers seeking quick answers
• Live Chat: For immediate assistance, you can access Live Chat support from the bottom right of the dashboard.

Best Freshsales Alternatives: If not Freshsales, then these

Although Freshsales is among the best CRM software, I’ve come across a few alternatives. Here’s a sneak peak:

1. Salesforce

Salesforce is an enterprise-grade CRM software. It’s most suitable if you deal with a global clientele with a longer and complex sale process. It has advanced analytics, multiple pipeline management, Einstein AI, and deep integration capabilities. While powerful, I feel Salesforce tends to be pricier and complex, often requiring a considerable investment upfront.

2. HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is suitable for teams focusing on inbound marketing strategies. It integrates well with marketing tools, but may lack some sales-specific features found in Freshsales or Salesforce. Unlike Freshsales, which only supports basic “if-then” actions, HubSpot supports advanced branching (for example, “if the lead opens an email but doesn’t click, send a different follow-up”).

3. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a sales CRM targeting small to medium-sized businesses. It features a real-time progress tracker, sales automation tools, process forecasting, and an entire set-up for relationship management. I like the visual clarity of Pipedrive, which is just how I feel about Freshsales. It’s easy to use and implement. However, you will find limited customization options.

4. Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is especially designed for startups and small businesses. It’s easy to use, secure, and demonstrates a 300% improvement in lead conversion rate. If you’re already part of the Zoho app ecosystem, this is the best alternative to Freshsales. Zoho CRM integrates well with other Zoho apps, making data importation quick and easy.

Comparing the Best Freshsales Alternatives

Below is a comparison table of the features of Freshsales and its alternatives at a glance.

Who Should Use Freshsales?

Freshsales is the right choice if you need robust sales automation and customer relationship management without a steep learning curve.

Freshsales is for you if you have a: 

• Sales team looking to automate processes such as email campaigns, call tracking, and lead scoring
• Small businesses looking to manage clients; you’ll benefit from its user-friendly interface and just enough feature set 
• B2B company looking to manage leads and deals, share inboxes, automate routine tasks, etc.

Who Shouldn’t Use Freshsales?

Conversely, Freshsales isn’t the best option for you if you are:

• Micro businesses with minimal CRM needs, invoicing, and billing needs. I recommend Bonsai instead.
• Small businesses looking to consolidate CRM and Project Management solutions. monday.com is the best fit for you.
• Large enterprises looking to manage global clients and sophisticated processes should try enterprise CRM tools such as Salesforce.

Freshsales Verdict

Freshsales stands out because of its user-friendly interface, robust sales automation, and AI features. Its built-in phone and omnichannel capabilities also make it stand out. The range of integration it offers, along with their customizability and cost-effectiveness, make Freshsales a go-to sales CRM for growing companies, and that’s why it receives the Geekflare Innovation Award.

While it may not be the most customizable CRM solution for enterprises, startups and small businesses will benefit from its AI-integrated interface that’s super easy to use for their daily workload.

Other CRMs might match it feature by feature, but what’s particularly commendable is its AI-based lead scoring system, which intelligently prioritizes leads, something not all competitors offer.

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