Our Verdict
Insightly’s differentiator is the direct handoff from CRM deal to delivery project in the same platform. When a deal closes, a project is created from the opportunity with all the relevant contacts, documents, and notes already attached – no re-entering information, no tool switch. For consulting firms, agencies, and professional services businesses where every closed deal becomes a managed project, this handoff workflow eliminates significant overhead. The CRM isn’t as deep as HubSpot, and the project management isn’t as feature-rich as Teamwork, but the integration between the two is unique.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
- Businesses that primarily need deep sales CRM - HubSpot or Pipedrive go deeper on sales features
- Teams that need advanced project management - Teamwork's billing integration is more robust
- High-volume outbound sales teams - Close CRM's calling and sequence features are more developed
- Very small businesses - the Free plan's limits are restrictive, and paid tiers start at $29/user/mo
Features Breakdown
CRM & Opportunity Management
Insightly’s CRM manages contacts, organizations, leads, and sales opportunities through a configurable pipeline. Relationships between records are linked – a contact links to their organization, which links to the opportunity, which links to the delivery project. This relationship graph gives a complete picture of every business connection from first contact through project completion.
Deal-to-Project Handoff
When a deal is marked won in Insightly’s CRM, the system automatically creates a delivery project connected to that opportunity. All contacts, documents, notes, and related records from the opportunity carry over to the project – no manual data transfer required. Project templates can be pre-configured for different engagement types, so the project is populated with standard tasks and milestones immediately.
Project Management
Insightly’s project management handles tasks, milestones, Gantt charts, file management, and team assignments. Projects are organized by phases with milestone tracking. Task dependencies allow sequencing that prevents downstream work from starting before prerequisites are complete. Project templates create consistent delivery structures for repeating engagement types – particularly valuable for agencies and consultancies with standardized delivery frameworks.
Automation
Professional plan automation triggers on CRM and project events – deal stage changes, task completions, field updates. Actions include sending notifications, creating follow-up tasks, updating records, and triggering webhooks. Workflow templates cover common automation patterns. The automation depth is solid for most service business needs, though it’s less sophisticated than HubSpot’s enterprise workflow engine.
Insightly Pricing (Verified Apr-26)
Prices verified Apr-26. Always confirm on the vendor's site before purchasing.
| Plan | Type | Starting Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Starter | $0 | 2 users, 2,500 contacts, 3,000 leads, basic CRM and project management |
| Plus | Small Business | $29/user/mo | Unlimited records, business card scanner, custom roles, project templates |
| Professional | Growth | $49/user/mo | Smart workflows, automation, mass email, report builder, custom dashboards |
| Enterprise | Scale | $99/user/mo | Unlimited limits, dedicated support, custom training, SLA |
What We Like
- Direct handoff from CRM opportunity to project - no data re-entry between tools
- Free plan supports 2 users - useful for evaluation
- Project templates speed up delivery for repeating engagement types
- Business card scanner on Plus adds contacts via mobile photo
- Strong relationship linking - contacts, organizations, opportunities, and projects connected
- Insightly Marketing add-on provides email marketing in the same platform
Watch Out For
- CRM features aren't as deep as HubSpot or Salesforce for pure sales teams
- Project management isn't as comprehensive as Teamwork or ClickUp for complex delivery
- Professional plan required for automation - Plus covers basics only
- Marketing features require a separate paid add-on
- Less well-known than major CRM competitors - fewer integrations and community resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Before You Buy — Know This
- The free plan's 2-user limit makes it suitable only for evaluation, not ongoing use for most businesses. Budget for Plus ($29/user/mo) from day one.
- Automation workflows require Professional ($49/user/mo). If automating deal handoffs to projects is the primary use case, evaluate Professional during the trial - not Plus.
- Insightly Marketing is a separate add-on with its own pricing. If email marketing is part of your needs, request a combined quote before comparing against platforms that include email natively.
- The 15% one-time affiliate commission means a referred Professional user generates a single payment at signup - not recurring. High-value plan referrals matter more than volume.