Top 10 CRM Software In USA

Top 10 CRM Software in USA

SUMMARY

CRM, short for customer relationship management, helps businesses keep track of their customers, sales, and support conversations in one place. A small group of software companies makes most of the CRM tools used by American businesses today.

Some of these companies started right here in American college dorm rooms and garages. Others came from Europe, India, and Germany before growing into tools used by businesses across the United States.

In this article, we’ll discuss the top 10 CRM software companies used in the United States, based on their history, ownership, and the kind of businesses they are known for serving.

Quick Comparison

Rank	Company	Founded	Owner / Founders	US Headquarters	Core Focus
1	Salesforce	1999	Founded by Marc Benioff & co-founders; publicly listed, led by CEO Marc Benioff	San Francisco, California	Enterprise & Sales CRM
2	HubSpot	2006	Founded by Brian Halligan & Dharmesh Shah; publicly listed, led by CEO Yamini Rangan	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Marketing & Small Business CRM
3	Microsoft Dynamics 365	1975 (Microsoft)	Founded by Bill Gates & Paul Allen; publicly listed, led by CEO Satya Nadella	Redmond, Washington	Enterprise CRM & Business Apps
4	Oracle NetSuite	1998	Founded by Evan Goldberg; part of Oracle, led by Co-CEOs Clay Magouyrk & Mike Sicilia	Austin, Texas	Cloud CRM & ERP
5	Zendesk	2007	Founded by Mikkel Svane, Morten Primdahl & Alexander Aghassipour; privately held, led by CEO Tom Eggemeier	San Francisco, California	Customer Support CRM
6	SAP	1972	Founded by Dietmar Hopp & four co-founders; publicly listed, led by CEO Christian Klein	Newtown Square, Pennsylvania	Enterprise CRM & Business Software
7	Zoho CRM	1996	Founded by Sridhar Vembu & Tony Thomas; privately held, led by CEO Shailesh Kumar Davey	Austin, Texas	Affordable Business CRM
8	Freshworks (Freshsales)	2010	Founded by Girish Mathrubootham & Shan Krishnasamy; publicly listed, led by CEO Dennis Woodside	San Mateo, California	Sales & Support CRM
9	Pipedrive	2010	Founded by Timo Rein & four co-founders; owned by Vista Equity Partners	New York, New York	Sales Pipeline CRM
10	monday.com (monday CRM)	2012 (as dapulse)	Founded by Roy Mann & Eran Zinman; publicly listed, led by Co-CEOs Roy Mann & Eran Zinman	New York, New York	Work Management & CRM

1. Salesforce – The World’s Most Used CRM Platform

Founded: 1999
Owner: Founded by Marc Benioff & co-founders; publicly listed, led by CEO Marc Benioff
Headquarters: San Francisco, California

Salesforce was started in 1999 by Marc Benioff, a former Oracle executive, who had a fairly unusual idea for the time. Instead of selling CRM software that businesses installed on their own computers, Benioff wanted to deliver it entirely over the internet. He built the company’s early team out of his own apartment before Salesforce grew into a major public company.

That internet-based approach, now called cloud computing, helped Salesforce become the top CRM provider worldwide. The company later expanded well beyond sales tools into marketing, customer service, and artificial intelligence features. Marc Benioff still leads Salesforce today as chairman and CEO, over 25 years after founding it.

What Salesforce does: Helps businesses manage sales, customer service, and marketing in one platform.

Services: Sales CRM, customer service tools, marketing automation, and AI-powered business assistants.

2. HubSpot – A Marketing Tool That Grew Into a Full CRM

Founded: 2006
Owner: Founded by Brian Halligan & Dharmesh Shah; publicly listed, led by CEO Yamini Rangan
Headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts

HubSpot was started in 2006 by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, two graduate students who met at MIT. They noticed that customers were tired of being interrupted by ads and cold calls, and wanted helpful information instead. This idea, which they called “inbound marketing,” became the foundation for HubSpot’s early software.

The company later expanded from marketing tools into a full CRM platform covering sales and customer service as well. Brian Halligan led HubSpot as CEO until 2021, when he stepped back to become executive chairman. Yamini Rangan, who had joined as chief customer officer, took over as CEO and continues leading the company today.

3. Microsoft Dynamics 365 – A Software Giant’s Business Software Suite

Founded: 1975 (Microsoft)
Owner: Founded by Bill Gates & Paul Allen; publicly listed, led by CEO Satya Nadella
Headquarters: Redmond, Washington

Microsoft was started in 1975 by childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who wanted to write software for the earliest personal computers. The company became famous for Windows, the operating system used on most computers worldwide. Over time, Microsoft also built business software, eventually growing into its Dynamics 365 product line through acquisitions of companies like Great Plains and Navision.

Dynamics 365 now combines CRM features with broader business management tools used by companies of many sizes. The platform works closely with other Microsoft products like Office and Teams, which many businesses already use daily. Satya Nadella has led Microsoft as CEO since 2014, pushing the company toward cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

What Microsoft Dynamics 365 does: Combines customer relationship management with broader business management tools.

Services: Sales CRM, customer service tools, finance and supply chain management, and AI-powered business insights.

4. Oracle NetSuite – A Cloud Pioneer Now Owned by Oracle

Founded: 1998
Owner: Founded by Evan Goldberg; part of Oracle, led by Co-CEOs Clay Magouyrk & Mike Sicilia
Headquarters: Austin, Texas

NetSuite was started in 1998 by Evan Goldberg, a former Oracle employee, with early backing from Oracle founder Larry Ellison himself. Goldberg’s idea was to combine CRM, financial management, and online store tools into one system delivered entirely over the internet. This all-in-one approach made NetSuite especially popular with growing mid-sized businesses.

The company went public in 2007 and continued growing steadily as a cloud computing pioneer. In 2016, Oracle bought NetSuite entirely for $9.3 billion, bringing it fully under Oracle’s ownership. Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia became Oracle’s co-CEOs in 2025, now overseeing NetSuite alongside Oracle’s other cloud products.

What Oracle NetSuite does: Combines CRM with financial management and e-commerce tools for growing businesses.

Services: Sales CRM, financial management, inventory tracking, and e-commerce store management.

5. Zendesk – A Customer Support Tool Born in a Danish Loft

Founded: 2007
Owner: Founded by Mikkel Svane, Morten Primdahl & Alexander Aghassipour; privately held, led by CEO Tom Eggemeier
Headquarters: San Francisco, California

Zendesk was started in 2007 by three friends, Mikkel Svane, Morten Primdahl, and Alexander Aghassipour, who began developing the software in Svane’s loft in Copenhagen, Denmark. They wanted to replace the complicated, consultant-heavy customer support systems common at the time with something simple and web-based. Within just a few months of launching, the product already had around 1,000 trial customers.

The company moved its headquarters to the United States, first to Boston and later to San Francisco, as it grew. Zendesk expanded from simple support tickets into a broader platform that now includes CRM features as well. Tom Eggemeier currently leads the company as CEO.

What Zendesk does: Helps businesses manage customer support tickets, chats, and relationships.

Services: Customer support ticketing, live chat, knowledge base tools, and CRM features.

6. SAP – A German Software Giant With Deep US Business Ties

Founded: 1972
Owner: Founded by Dietmar Hopp & four co-founders; publicly listed, led by CEO Christian Klein
Headquarters (US): Newtown Square, Pennsylvania

SAP was started in 1972 by five former IBM engineers in Germany, including Dietmar Hopp and Hasso Plattner, after their earlier project at IBM was shelved. The five decided to build their own business software company instead, focused on managing large company operations. That early work grew into one of the biggest enterprise software companies in the world.

SAP’s CRM tools are typically used by very large companies alongside its other business management software. Christian Klein joined SAP as a student in 1999 and worked his way up through the company over two decades. He became sole CEO in 2020 and continues leading SAP today, including its large operations across the United States.

What SAP does: Provides large businesses with CRM tools alongside broader enterprise management software.

Services: Sales CRM, customer experience tools, supply chain management, and financial software.

7. Zoho CRM – A Bootstrapped Software Company Competing With Giants

Founded: 1996
Owner: Founded by Sridhar Vembu & Tony Thomas; privately held, led by CEO Shailesh Kumar Davey
Headquarters (US): Austin, Texas

Zoho was started in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas, working out of a small apartment while building network management software under the name AdventNet. The company later shifted its focus toward business software, launching Zoho CRM in 2005. Unlike most of its competitors, Zoho grew entirely on its own profits, without ever taking outside investor money.

The company renamed itself Zoho Corporation in 2009 and expanded into dozens of business tools beyond just CRM. Sridhar Vembu led the company for decades before stepping back in January 2025 to focus on research as chief scientist. Co-founder Shailesh Kumar Davey then took over as Zoho’s group CEO.

What Zoho CRM does: Provides affordable CRM software alongside a wider suite of business tools.

Services: Sales CRM, email and office tools, accounting software, and IT management systems.

8. Freshworks (Freshsales) – A Former Zoho Team Building Its Own CRM

Founded: 2010
Owner: Founded by Girish Mathrubootham & Shan Krishnasamy; publicly listed, led by CEO Dennis Woodside
Headquarters: San Mateo, California

Freshworks was started in 2010 by Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy, two former Zoho employees who launched the company as Freshdesk, focused on customer support software. The founders later expanded the business into a broader platform covering sales and marketing CRM as well, renaming the company Freshworks. This growth helped the company stand out from its earlier, more narrow customer support roots.

Freshworks went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2021, a major milestone for an Indian-founded software company. Girish Mathrubootham later moved into the role of executive chairman, handing daily leadership to a new CEO. Dennis Woodside now serves as Freshworks’ president and CEO.

What Freshworks does: Provides CRM and customer support software for sales and service teams.

Services: Sales CRM, customer support ticketing, marketing automation, and IT service management.

9. Pipedrive – A Sales-Focused CRM Built by Salespeople

Founded: 2010
Owner: Founded by Timo Rein & four co-founders; owned by Vista Equity Partners
Headquarters: New York, New York

Pipedrive was started in 2010 in Tallinn, Estonia, by five co-founders including Timo Rein, several of whom had spent years working directly in sales. They felt that most CRM tools at the time were built to please company management while ignoring the actual needs of salespeople doing the selling. This led them to design Pipedrive specifically around the visual sales pipeline that salespeople already used to track deals.

The company grew quickly from its early days working out of a summer house, eventually serving more than 90,000 sales teams worldwide. Timo Rein led Pipedrive as CEO for its first decade before moving into the role of board chairman. In 2020, investment firm Vista Equity Partners bought Pipedrive in a deal valued at $1.5 billion.

What Pipedrive does: Helps sales teams track deals through a simple, visual sales pipeline.

Services: Sales CRM, deal tracking, email integration, and sales reporting tools.

10. monday.com (monday CRM) – A Work Management Tool That Added CRM Features

Founded: 2012 (as dapulse)
Owner: Founded by Roy Mann & Eran Zinman; publicly listed, led by Co-CEOs Roy Mann & Eran Zinman
Headquarters: New York, New York

monday.com began in 2012 under the name dapulse, started by Roy Mann and Eran Zinman as a spin-off from the website-building company Wix, which became its first customer. The founders built a colorful, flexible tool for teams to organize projects and tasks together. In 2017, the company renamed itself monday.com and continued expanding its platform.

Over time, monday.com added a dedicated CRM product, letting sales teams track customers using the same flexible, visual style as its project management tools. The company went public on the Nasdaq exchange, growing into a major player in team collaboration software. Roy Mann and Eran Zinman continue to lead the company together today as co-CEOs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Which is the most widely used CRM software in the USA?

Salesforce is one of the leading CRM platforms in the United States and is widely recognized for its customer relationship management solutions, which help businesses manage sales, marketing, customer service, and customer relationships.

2. Which CRM companies started right here in the United States?

Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft, Oracle NetSuite, Zendesk, and monday.com are examples of CRM providers founded in or strongly established in the United States. Freshworks was founded in India before expanding its operations internationally.

3. Which CRM company grew entirely without outside investor funding?

Zoho is known for its bootstrapped business model, having grown primarily through its own revenue rather than relying on traditional venture capital funding. This approach has allowed the company to maintain greater independence over its long-term business decisions.

4. Which CRM company was started by former employees of another CRM company?

Freshworks was founded by Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy in 2010. Mathrubootham previously worked at Zoho, and the company initially focused on customer support software before expanding into a broader business software portfolio.

5. Which CRM company is now owned by a private equity firm?

Pipedrive was acquired by a group led by Vista Equity Partners in 2020. The deal was widely reported at a valuation of approximately $1 billion, although some reports cite different figures. Pipedrive continues to provide sales-focused CRM software for businesses.

6. Which CRM company recently changed to a co-CEO structure?

Oracle announced a co-CEO leadership structure in September 2025, appointing Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia to lead the company together. This leadership arrangement reflects Oracle’s focus on cloud infrastructure, enterprise software, and artificial intelligence.

7. Are CRM software companies in the USA regulated?

Yes, CRM software companies must comply with applicable data privacy, security, and consumer protection laws. Depending on their customers and the information they handle, relevant requirements may include the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and other federal and state regulations.

8. Which CRM company started as a project management tool?

monday.com began as a work management platform called dapulse before being renamed monday.com in 2017. It later expanded its offerings to include monday sales CRM, enabling businesses to manage leads, sales pipelines, customer relationships, and workflows in one platform.

9. Which CRM company was built specifically around how salespeople work?

Pipedrive was designed around a visual sales pipeline that helps salespeople track deals, organize leads, monitor sales activities, and manage opportunities through each stage of the sales process. Its interface emphasizes simplicity and practical sales workflow management.

10. Why do these ten companies matter to everyday businesses?

These CRM companies provide tools that help businesses organize customer information, improve communication, manage sales pipelines, automate repetitive tasks, and deliver better customer support. Their platforms help businesses of different sizes build stronger customer relationships and improve operational efficiency.

Conclusion

America’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software industry is a competitive space that gathers Silicon Valley, European and Indian startups, and major corporations. Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft, Oracle NetSuite, Zendesk, Freshworks, monday.com are local CRM giants whose CRM products and services are mostly created within the U.S. While SAP, Zoho, and Pipedrive are foreign companies established in Germany, India, and Estonia, respectively.

The top 10 firms offer a wide range of products and services helpful in organizing sales, customer support, and managing business contacts. They also play an essential role in the current and future development of American business since modern innovations in artificial intelligence create new ways of interaction.