Best CRM with Project Management Software in 2026

I ran a digital marketing agency for six years. We used Pipedrive for sales, Asana for projects, QuickBooks for invoicing, and Slack to yell at each other when things fell through the cracks. Four tools. Four logins. Four monthly bills. And somehow, we still lost track of stuff constantly.

A client would sign a $15,000 retainer, and the handoff from sales to delivery would take three days because someone had to manually create the project, copy over the scope details, set up tasks, and remember to update the deal status in the CRM. By the time the project team got going, the client was already wondering why nobody had contacted them since they signed.

That experience is what pushed me into the world of CRM project management software — platforms that combine client relationship management with the project tracking, task assignment, and collaboration tools that service businesses need to deliver on what they sell.

After two years of testing different solutions across multiple businesses, I can say this with confidence: the companies that run their client management and project management inside one system outperform those that don’t. They close deals faster, deliver projects on time more often, and have dramatically better visibility into their revenue pipeline.

Here’s my complete breakdown of the best options available in 2026.

What Is CRM with Project Management Software?

Most businesses treat CRM and project management as two separate functions. The CRM handles sales — tracking leads, managing contacts, closing deals. The project management tool handles delivery — assigning tasks, tracking deadlines, managing workflows. The two systems rarely talk to each other, and the gap between them is where balls get dropped.

CRM with project management software bridges that gap. It’s a single platform where you can track a client from the first sales conversation all the way through project delivery, invoicing, and ongoing account management. When a deal closes, the project kicks off automatically. When a task gets completed, the client record updates. When an invoice goes out, you know exactly which project it’s tied to.

This matters most for service businesses — agencies, consultancies, IT firms, construction companies, law firms, accounting practices — where the sale and the delivery are deeply connected. If you sell a product and ship it, a standalone CRM is probably fine. But if you sell a service that requires weeks or months of work to deliver, you need a system that connects the promise to the performance.

Top 7 CRM Platforms with Built-In Project Management

I’ve ranked these based on how well they integrate CRM and project management features, overall usability, pricing, and how they perform for real service businesses — not just what the marketing page promises.

1. SMART ERP Suite — Editor’s Choice

SMART ERP Suite sits at the top because it solves the fundamental problem better than anything else I’ve tested: it eliminates the gap between selling and delivering.

When a deal closes in the CRM, a project is automatically created with the scope, timeline, and budget pulled from the deal record. Tasks get assigned to your delivery team. The client gets an automated welcome email. Your accounting module generates the first invoice. All of this happens without a single person copying and pasting between systems.

The project management features are genuinely robust — task dependencies, Gantt charts, time tracking, resource allocation, and milestone tracking. This isn’t a CRM with a tasks list bolted on as an afterthought. The project management module can stand on its own against dedicated tools like Asana or Monday.com.

What really sets it apart is the ERP backbone. Because accounting is built into the same platform, you can see the profitability of every client, every project, and every service line in real time. No more waiting until month-end to find out which projects made money and which ones ate your margin.

The built-in VoIP with softphone means your sales team makes calls right inside the CRM, and every conversation gets logged automatically. For agencies and service firms that rely on phone-based sales, this eliminates a separate phone system subscription.

Pricing starts at $49 per user per month, and they offer a 30-day free trial that gives you enough time to run a meaningful pilot with your team.

2. Monday.com

Monday.com approaches the problem from the project management side. The work management platform is excellent — colorful boards, flexible views, powerful automations, and a user interface that people genuinely enjoy using.

The CRM module was added later and it shows. It handles contacts, deals, and pipelines well enough for straightforward sales processes, but it lacks the depth of a dedicated CRM when it comes to things like lead scoring, advanced email sequences, and detailed sales analytics.

Where Monday.com shines is in creative and marketing agencies where visual project management and team collaboration are priorities. The automations between boards are powerful — when a deal moves to “Won,” a project board can be automatically populated with tasks from a template. Pricing starts at $36 per user per month.

3. ClickUp

ClickUp tries to be everything to everyone, and it comes surprisingly close. The platform offers CRM templates, project management views, document collaboration, whiteboards, goals tracking, and time management — all within a single workspace.

The CRM functionality is built using ClickUp’s native Spaces and custom fields, which means it’s infinitely customizable but requires significant setup time. You’re building your CRM from Lego blocks, which is powerful for teams who know exactly what they want but overwhelming for teams who just need something that works out of the box.

At $7 per user per month, the pricing is hard to argue with. But budget time for the learning curve — most teams take two to three weeks to get fully operational.

4. HubSpot + Asana Integration

If you don’t want to compromise on either CRM or project management quality, combining HubSpot and Asana through their native integration is a legitimate approach. HubSpot is one of the best CRMs on the market. Asana is one of the best project management tools. Together, they cover both sides well.

The native integration syncs deals to projects, creates tasks from deal activities, and keeps contact data accessible in both platforms. It works, though it’s not as seamless as having everything in one system. There are moments where you’re still switching between tabs, and some data lives in one tool but not the other.

The pricing can escalate quickly. HubSpot’s free CRM is generous, but the features most businesses need — sequences, workflows, custom reporting — live in paid tiers that start around $800 per month. Add Asana Premium at $11 per user on top, and you’re looking at a significant combined cost.

5. Zoho One

Zoho One gives you access to over 40 Zoho applications for one monthly price, including Zoho CRM, Zoho Projects, Zoho Books, and dozens of other tools. On paper, it’s the most comprehensive suite on this list.

In practice, the experience depends on how much time you’re willing to invest in configuration. Each Zoho app is good individually but integrating them into a cohesive workflow takes effort. The CRM-to-Projects handoff works, but it doesn’t feel as unified as platforms where CRM and project management were designed as a single product from day one.

The value proposition is strong at $45 per user per month for the entire suite. If your team is tech-comfortable and willing to invest setup time, Zoho One offers capabilities that would cost three to four times as much assembled from separate vendors.

6. Insightly

Insightly was one of the first platforms to combine CRM and project management, and it still does a respectable job. When a deal closes, it converts to a project with one click, carrying over all the relevant details. The relationship linking feature is unique — it maps connections between contacts, organizations, and projects so you always understand the full context.

The project management features are solid but not spectacular. You get task lists, milestones, and pipelines, but you won’t find advanced features like resource management, Gantt dependencies, or time tracking without add-ons. At $29 per user per month, it hits a nice balance for small to mid-size businesses.

7. Salesforce + AppExchange Project Tools

Salesforce is the undisputed champion of CRM, but project management isn’t built into the core platform. You’ll need to add it through AppExchange apps like TaskRay or Inspire Planner. The result can be incredibly powerful, but it requires investment in configuration, consulting, and ongoing administration.

For large organizations with dedicated Salesforce admins and complex enterprise needs, this approach works. For everyone else, the cost and complexity are hard to justify when platforms like SMART ERP Suite deliver a more integrated experience at a fraction of the price. Expect to pay $80 or more per user per month plus consultant fees.

Quick Comparison: CRM + Project Management Platforms

How to Choose the Right CRM with Project Management

Start with your biggest pain point. If you’re losing clients during the handoff from sales to delivery, prioritize platforms with seamless deal-to-project conversion. If profitability is a mystery, look for platforms with built-in accounting like SMART ERP Suite. If your team can’t collaborate effectively, focus on platforms with strong task management and communication tools.

Be realistic about your team’s technical comfort. Some platforms require significant configuration. If your team won’t invest the setup time, choose something that works out of the box. A simple tool that your team actually uses will always outperform a powerful tool that sits half-configured.

Calculate total cost of ownership. A $7 per user CRM that requires a $50 project management add-on, a $30 invoicing tool, and a $40 phone system costs more than a $49 all-in-one platform. Add up what you’re currently spending across all your business tools before comparing prices.

Run a real pilot. Import actual client data. Set up a real project. Have your team use the platform for their daily work for at least two weeks. The tool that feels natural during the pilot is the one that will get adopted long-term.

Who Actually Needs CRM with Project Management?

Professional services firms — consultancies, agencies, accounting practices, law firms — are the sweet spot. You’re selling engagements that require significant delivery work, and the client relationship spans both the sale and the service.

Construction and contracting companies deal with long project timelines, multiple stakeholders, and complex invoicing tied to project milestones. A CRM that tracks the client while the project module tracks the work creates visibility that spreadsheets can’t match.

IT and technology service providers manage ongoing client relationships alongside implementation projects, support tickets, and recurring service agreements. One platform to track it all prevents the information silos that lead to dropped balls.

Growing businesses that are starting to feel the pain of disconnected tools but don’t want to invest in enterprise software are ideal candidates. If you’ve outgrown spreadsheets but aren’t ready for a 12-month Salesforce implementation, the platforms on this list hit the sweet spot.

Final Thoughts: One System Changes Everything

I’ll end with the number that convinced me to consolidate our tools five years ago: we were spending 11 hours per week across our team on what I call “tool tax” — the time spent copying data between systems, updating statuses in multiple places, reconciling information that didn’t match, and hunting for files stored across different platforms.

Eleven hours. Every week. For a 12-person team, that was nearly a full-time employee’s worth of productivity lost to software friction.

When we moved to an integrated platform, that number dropped to under two hours per week. The remaining nine hours went into client work, business development, and the things that actually generated revenue.

My top recommendation for 2026 is SMART ERP Suite. It’s the only platform on this list that genuinely brings CRM, project management, accounting, VoIP calling, and marketing automation together in a way that feels like one product rather than a collection of modules duct-taped together. The 30-day free trial gives you enough time to run a meaningful test with your team.

Whatever you choose, stop paying the tool tax. Your business has better things to do with those hours.