Insightly
Insightly is a CRM with built-in project management. The platform combines standard CRM features (contacts, opportunities, pipeline) with project tracking (tasks, milestones, Gantt charts). Insightly is popular with agencies, consultants, and professional services firms that need to track both sales (land new clients) and delivery (manage client projects). The data model links opportunities to projects, so you can see revenue pipeline and project workload in one system. Marketing automation (email campaigns, lead capture) and workflow automation are included.
Why it ranks here
Insightly ranks twelfth because it is the best CRM for teams needing integrated project management. If you sell services (not products) and need to track both deals and project delivery, Insightly removes the need for separate CRM and project tools. Rank 12 (not higher) because it is niche: overkill for product sales teams, and the project management features are basic compared to dedicated tools (Asana, Monday).
Where it sits
Insightly sits at rank 12 in the niche tier. It competes with HubSpot (CRM) + Asana (project management) as a bundled alternative but loses on feature depth in both categories. Most teams choose Insightly when they need one tool for sales and delivery and cannot justify two separate platforms.
How GTM Systems teams use it
Agency and consulting teams use Insightly to track the full client lifecycle: prospect (lead), close (opportunity), deliver (project), and renew (next opportunity). The platform links opportunities to projects automatically, so project managers see which deals turned into active work. Teams use Gantt charts and task management to track project milestones and deliverables. Insightly integrates with Gmail, Outlook, Slack, and Zapier for external workflows. Reporting covers both sales metrics (pipeline, win rate) and project metrics (on-time delivery, resource utilization).
In-depth notes
Pricing is per-user edition tiers: Plus (basic CRM plus projects), Professional (workflows, custom fields, reporting), Enterprise (advanced permissions, API access, custom branding). Free trial is 14 days. Data model supports custom fields and objects but is less flexible than Salesforce or Zoho. API is RESTful and documented. Project management features are functional but basic; dedicated tools (Asana, Monday, ClickUp) offer more depth. Insightly pushes marketing automation (email campaigns, landing pages) on higher tiers; effectiveness is mid-tier compared to HubSpot or Marketo.
Best for
Agencies, consultants, professional services firms, and teams needing integrated CRM and project management in one tool.
Avoid if
You sell products (not services), need deep project management features (use Asana or Monday instead), or require marketing automation depth (HubSpot wins).
The rest of CRM platform
Salesforce Leader Enterprise system of record with deepest object model, territory/sharing logic, and near-infinite customization. #2 
HubSpot Leader Unified CRM with native marketing, sales, and service hubs; best for inbound-led SMB and mid-market teams. #3 
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Leader Enterprise CRM and ERP suite for Microsoft-centric orgs; deep Azure, Office 365, and Power Platform integration. #4 
Zoho CRM Strong Feature-rich CRM for mid-market teams; strong automation, AI, and analytics at a fraction of Salesforce cost. #5 
Pipedrive Strong Sales-first CRM with visual pipeline management; simple, fast, and built for transactional sales teams. #6 
Freshsales Strong Modern CRM from Freshworks with AI, email tracking, and phone; strong mid-market alternative to HubSpot. #7 
SugarCRM Situational Open-source CRM with on-premise and cloud options; strong customization for teams needing full control. #8 
Copper Situational Google Workspace-native CRM with Gmail sidebar UI; built for G Suite teams doing relationship-driven sales. #9 
Attio Situational Modern, flexible CRM with customizable data model; built for product-minded teams needing relational data. #10 
Close Situational Inside sales CRM with built-in calling, SMS, and email; optimized for high-velocity SDR and closing teams. #11 
Creatio Niche Low-code CRM and BPM platform; strong process automation for teams needing custom workflows beyond standard CRM. Learning guide
Setup
Sign up for an Insightly trial (14 days, Professional features) at insightly.com. Connect your Gmail or Outlook inbox for email logging and calendar sync. Import your first 50 contacts and 20 opportunities via CSV (Contact Name, Email, Company, Deal Value, Expected Close Date). Insightly auto-creates Organizations from contact email domains.
First thing to build
Create one opportunity pipeline with 5 stages (Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed Won, Closed Lost). Close 3 test opportunities to Won status, then link each to a new Project. Add tasks and milestones to each project (kickoff call, discovery, delivery, final review) with assigned owners and due dates. Build a Gantt chart view to see project timelines and a dashboard showing deals closed this month and projects in flight.
What actually matters
- CRM and project linkage: Opportunities represent sales pipeline; Projects represent delivery work. Link an Opportunity to a Project to track the full client lifecycle (prospect to close to deliver). Use project categories (consulting, implementation, support) and project states (planned, in progress, completed, on hold) to organize work.
- Custom fields and objects: Add custom fields to Contacts, Organizations, Opportunities, and Projects (no limit on Professional and Enterprise). Insightly supports limited custom objects (called Custom Objects); use them sparingly for niche entities (Partner, Vendor). Avoid adding too many fields; keep data entry lightweight for reps and project managers.
- Task and milestone tracking: Projects contain tasks (action items) and milestones (deliverables with due dates). Tasks can be assigned to users, linked to contacts, and tracked with status (not started, in progress, completed). Use Gantt charts to visualize project timelines and dependencies. Avoid over-engineering task dependencies; Insightly is not Microsoft Project.
- Integrations and automation: Insightly integrates with Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Zapier, and QuickBooks (invoicing). Use workflows to automate lead assignment, deal stage updates, and project creation from won opportunities. API is RESTful and documented. Reporting covers both CRM metrics (pipeline, win rate) and project metrics (on-time delivery, resource utilization).
Watch out
Do not expect Insightly to match dedicated project management tools (Asana, Monday, Jira) in depth. Gantt charts and task tracking are functional but basic; complex dependencies, resource leveling, and capacity planning require external tools. The first mistake is trying to manage software development projects in Insightly; it works for client services (consulting, implementation, support) but not for agile engineering workflows. If you need sprints, backlogs, or burndown charts, use Jira or Linear and sync won deals to it via API.