--- title: "Commence Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about Commence Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other CRM products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/576/Commence/" page_type: "product" language: "en" publication_date: "2026-10-19" --- # Commence Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on October 19, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Commence ## What is Commence? Ideal for for businesses of 5 to 50 users looking for an easy to use, customizable solution for managing Sales, Marketing, Customer Service Ticketing and Project Management. Used in 30 industries in a dozen countries around the world. Fully integrated with MS Outlook & Google. Mobile Access included. ## What is Commence used for? [CRM](https://www.capterra.com/customer-relationship-management-software/)[Contact Management](https://www.capterra.com/contact-management-software/)[Insurance CRM](https://www.capterra.com/insurance-crm-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 44 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 98% Neutral 2% Negative 0% Starting price $29 Per User, Per Month Free trial available Free version not included Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Commence?[Manage this product listing](https://www.g2.com/products/commence-crm/claim_requests/new?auto=true) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Commence 4.9 (44) VS. [4.2 (1,009)](https://www.capterra.com/p/113540/Bitrix24/reviews/) Starting Price $29 Per User, Per Month Starting Price $69 Flat Rate, Per Month Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.8 (30) Ease Of Use 4.0 (912) Value For Money 4.7 (20) Value For Money 4.2 (831) Customer Service 4.9 (28) Customer Service 4.0 (851) ## Commence alternatives [4.3 (7,010)](https://www.capterra.com/p/155928/Zoho-CRM/reviews/) Starting price $14.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 85% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.4 (19,024)](https://www.capterra.com/p/61368/Salesforce/reviews/) Starting price $25.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 90% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars Highest Rated [EngageBay CRM](https://www.capterra.com/p/178819/EngageBay-Marketing/) [4.6 (912)](https://www.capterra.com/p/178819/EngageBay-Marketing/reviews/) Starting price $14.99 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 97% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/178819/EngageBay-Marketing/) [Agile CRM](https://www.capterra.com/p/135148/Agile-CRM/) [4.1 (526)](https://www.capterra.com/p/135148/Agile-CRM/reviews/) Starting price $8.99 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 79% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/135148/Agile-CRM/) ## FAQs about Commence Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from Commence? Commence is most used by executive leaders, sales and marketing teams, operations managers, and account managers who need visibility into customer relationships and business activity. Executives track performance and pipeline data, while sales teams manage leads and follow-ups. Operations and technology leaders coordinate processes, reporting, and customer records across departments. Answer based on 28 reviews Overview ### What company size and specific industries is Commence built for? Commence is designed for small to mid-sized businesses with 5 to 100 users that need more than basic tools without the cost and complexity of higher-end systems. It is aimed at organizations seeking an easy-to-use, customizable, and affordable solution rather than a product tied to a specific industry. Features and Usability ### What are the key features of Commence? Commence offers CRM, contact management, and customer database tools for tracking contacts and service history. It also includes ticket management, a customer portal, project management, dashboard reporting, and workflow management, plus lead management, sales pipeline management, email management, and reporting/analytics for sales and customer operations. Pricing ### How much does it cost and what fees or limitations are included? Commence starts at $29 per user/month for SalesCRM, with MarketingCRM at 39, Project Management CRM at 50, and Customer Service CRM at 65 per user/month. A free trial is available. Reviewers describe it as cost-effective and customizable, though one notes it is less customizable than Salesforce. Answer based on 13 reviews Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does Commence integrate with? Commence integrates with Microsoft Outlook for calendar and email workflows, including desktop and laptop synchronization. The catalog data provided here highlights Outlook as the confirmed third-party platform, making it the primary integration to note for Commence users. Answer based on 6 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What training and onboarding options does Commence offer? Commence provides in person training, live online sessions, webinars, documentation, and videos to help teams get started. In person and live online formats support guided setup, webinars offer group instruction, documentation gives written reference material, and videos provide visual, self-paced learning. Answer based on 2 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does Commence offer? Commence provides email/help desk, FAQ/forum, knowledge base, phone support, 24/7 live rep, and chat. Users describe the support team as courteous, prompt, helpful, and knowledgeable, with issues often resolved through direct assistance. Some also note that learning the system can take effort, making support especially important. Answer based on 8 reviews Ease of use ### How easy is Commence CRM to use? Commence provides an intuitive, customizable CRM interface that helps small business sales teams set up workflows, categories, templates, and task automation without coding. Users value its clear navigation and support materials, while solo users may face an initial learning curve and advanced searches can require Boolean-query knowledge. Answer based on 10 reviews ## Features AI summary Based on 14,838 CRM reviews Capterra reviewers highlight these as the CRM features buyers care about most: - **Data Security** (**51%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Customer Database** (**52%**) - **Real-Time Data** (**56%**) Commence includes **Customer Database**, which gives teams a central place to store and manage customer records. However, it does not include **Data Security** or **Real-Time Data**. Instead, the product offers other important CRM features, including **Contact Database** (**47%**), **Search/Filter** (**45%**), and **Contact Management** (**44%**). These features help businesses organize contact information, find records faster, and maintain up-to-date relationship details, allowing teams to work more efficiently with customer data. Contact Management 5.0 (2) 100.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Manage, organize, and store contact information Calendar/Reminder System 5.0 (3) 133.33% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Notifications/alerts for upcoming events or tasks Sales Pipeline Management 5.0 (3) 100.00% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Pipeline view and tracking lead status Email Management 5.0 (2) 100.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Manage, store and organize emails within the system or via third-party apps Interaction Tracking 5.0 (2) 100.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track interaction history by documenting conversations for contacts Lead Management 5.0 (2) 100.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Store information about leads or contacts and track, manage and nurture them throughout the sales process Commence 41 features ### All Features - API: Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases - Calendar/Reminder System: Notifications/alerts for upcoming events or tasks - Campaign Management: Create a collection of marketing actions to complete specific goals and plan and analyze campaign results - Channel Management: Manage various distribution channels, build relations with channel partners, and track their performance - Contact Database: Centralized database of stakeholders and their contact information such as names, address, phone number etc. - Contact Management: Manage, organize, and store contact information - Contract/License Management: Track, store, and access client contracts or licenses - CRM: Built-in customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities or integration with a third-party CRM system - Customer Database: A collection of customer information such as contact details, demographics, previous interactions, etc. - Customer Support: Provide online support for your customers through live chat or help desk functionality - Dashboard: Assembly of graphs and charts for visualizing and tracking statistics/metrics - Data Import/Export: Import and export data to and from software applications - Document Storage: Store and organize documents in a centralized system - Email Management: Manage, store and organize emails within the system or via third-party apps - Email Marketing: Create and send email blasts/campaigns - Field Sales Management: Manage or track sales completed by field teams/employees - For Insurance Industry: Intended to be used by insurers - Forecasting: Form predictions based on past and present data/trends - Interaction Tracking: Track interaction history by documenting conversations for contacts - Internal Chat Integration: Incorporation of a chat or messaging system within an organization's internal communication infrastructure - Lead Generation: Manage the process of attracting and converting business prospects into leads - Lead Management: Store information about leads or contacts and track, manage and nurture them throughout the sales process - Lead Qualification: Score a lead on their quality or likelihood to buy based on certain behaviors - Marketing Automation: Automate workflows and trigger campaigns based on customer actions - Mobile Access: Access software remotely via mobile devices - Opportunity Management: Track all opportunities for potential sales and convert them into recurring revenue - Performance Metrics: A set of indicators that tracks the performance of networks, applications, systems, teams, etc. - Proposal Generation: Create proposals based on costs of labor and materials - Prospecting Tools: Tools designed to streamline the process of lead generation and management for sales teams - Quotes/Estimates: Generate quotes or estimates for customers - Referral Tracking: Log and store the source of contacts/leads - Reporting/Analytics: View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data - Sales Forecasting: Estimate of expected sales revenue within a specific time frame, such as quarterly, monthly or yearly based on past trends and reports. - Sales Pipeline Management: Pipeline view and tracking lead status - Search/Filter: Search and filter data across systems to locate required information by entering keywords or certain criteria - Segmentation: Group leads or contacts based on their specific characteristics - Shared Contacts: Share contacts with other applications like Gmail and CRM - Social Media Integration: Integrate with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. - Task Management: Create, manage and track all task activities and progression - Territory Management: Organize customer data and accounts by user or geography - Workflow Management: Create, design and manage workflows for repetitive tasks --- Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 4.6 (21) 4.6 Based on 21 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.7 (20) Free Trial [View pricing plan details](https://www.capterra.com/p/576/Commence/pricing/) SalesCRM $29.00 Per User,Per Month It includes: - Accounts & Contacts - Assignment - Customizable - Dashboard - E-Mail Integration - Forecast & Reporting - Lead Scoring - Management - Mobile - Sales & Analytics - Sales Opportunity - Task Reminders MarketingCRM $39.00 Per User,Per Month It includes: - Accounts & Contacts - Assignment - Customizable - Dashboard - Document Library - Drip Marketing - E-Mail Integration - Forecast & Reporting - Lead Scoring - Letter Templates - Management - Marketing Analytics - Marketing Automation - Mass Emailing - Mobile - Sales & Analytics - Sales Opportunity - Task Reminders - Web to Lead Capture Project management CRM $50.00 Per User,Per Month It includes: - Accounts & Contacts - Assignment - Customizable - Dashboard - Document Library - Drip Marketing - E-Mail Integration - Forecast & Reporting - Lead Scoring - Letter Templates - Management - Marketing Analytics - Marketing Automation - Mass Emailing - Mobile - Project Dashboard - Project Management - Project Tasks - Sales & Analytics - Sales Opportunity - Task Reminders - Web to Lead Capture Customer Service CRM $65.00 Per User,Per Month It includes: - Accounts & Contacts - Assignment - Customizable - Dashboard - Document Library - Drip Marketing - E-Mail Integration - Forecast & Reporting - Knowledge Base - Lead Scoring - Letter Templates - Management - Marketing Analytics - Marketing Automation - Mass Emailing - Mobile - Project Dashboard - Project Management - Project Tasks - Sales & Analytics - Sales Opportunity - Support Analytics - Support Dashboard - Task Reminders - Web to Lead Capture Value for money 4.7 (20) 4.7 Based on 20 reviews Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.9 (28) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.9 (28) 4.9 Based on 28 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.9 Based on 44 reviews Filter by rating Counts reflect reviews available in this feed. 5(39) 4(4) 3(1) 2(0) 1(0) Mentioned topic Recent reviews first, then most helpful TA Trial Attorney Trial Attorney Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Amazing Software for a Customized Calendar" 5.0 June 15, 2022 I wanted the ability to customize a calendar to handle a very complex schedule. Commence offers a degree of customization which isn't found on other software. And it integrates with Outlook. And it synchronizes across my desktops and laptops and my assistant can seamlessly help. Pros Commence is one of the only items of software on my computers which has worked consistently, correctly and flexibly. The ability to customize the calendar, in so many important ways, using such great tools, makes Commence one of my favorite pieces of software ever. Cons After 15 years, I still don't have any complaints. And that isn't true about any other software I use. P& President & CMO President & CMO Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Very intuitive. Easy to mold to your specific needs. Powerful CRM for multiple needs " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 February 23, 2018 Multiple. It has become my primarty Database and CRM software. For a small business with multiple needs, at an extremely reasonable cost per year. Pros Commence user for 15 yrs. As a marketing consultant and service provider to multiple non-profit clients, Commence is the primary Database/CRM software I use for all my needs. I have created multiple Commence Databases for multiple applications on my own to suit my specific and particular needs. I have created Commence Applications for Client Management, Inventory management and GTD (Getting Things Done) for my day to day handling of projects and tasks. ALong with many applications for Personal use as well. Once you get a hang of it, it is really very easy to set-up for your specific needs, and more importantly, to change things on a fly when you need to implement a change. I do that constantly. You can change the look and feel to what works for you. The Agents creation function (which is like a Macro function is quite strong and powerful, and so is the filtering and sorting capabilities. Have to mention the connectivity function of one category to the other, which is very powerful as well. Bottom line. I am not a programmer, I am a marketer and administrator, and I can create, modify and change Commence to suit my needs. I am sure you can too... Cons I would like Commence to address in their future version of non web based standalone Commence: 1. Allow creation of some sort of Simple Spreadsheet into the DB. Spreadsheet format is something that we are all fond of and comfortable with, and it would be a great boost to have that functionality built in. If this exists already, and I am not aware of it, please let me know? 2. While adding text in notes, it would be great to have some flexibility to change fonts and sizes within the single note itself, that will allow some emphasis to draw attention to it. Right now only one singe font and size is allowed, which is OK, but in a long note, the change in font or the ability to increase/decrease its size or make it italic or underlining it, would make the notes much easier to read and follow. DO Director of Operations Director of Operations Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "We have had employee complaints about redundancy and not as user friendly to navigate through" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 5/10 May 17, 2017 online document storing Pros Easy searchable fields are super helpful in looking up accounts and clients. Other than not, not much else. Cons There does not seem to be duplicate check feature. Meaning before we can create an account, if we type in the name, it should check to make sure there is not one already created. We have to do it manually our selves. OM Operations Manager Operations Manager Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Product flexibility and customizability are 2nd to none." 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 May 23, 2017 Cost effective, configurable, maintainable CRM. Pros As a Manufacturers Representative, we have created an implementation of Commence on which we run almost all of our business operations (Opportunity Management, Sales History, Quotations, Forecasts, Tracking overseas, Leads, Target customer, as well as the usual CRM contact info). We developed this in-house from the ground up to meet our specific needs....and so can you! Why shoe horn your data needs into a non-optimal architecture? Commence RM Desktop is very easily configurable which is a top priority for us as the configuration of incoming and outgoing data requirements seems to change at least quarterly by at least a couple of the Manufacturers we represent. This demands updates to the architecture which would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming if we could not do them in-house. Commence RM Desktop strikes the right balance with flexibility that can be implemented by non-computer scientists (or expert developers). Their top notch support has been invaluable in the 1-2 instances where we ran into some unforeseen glitches (mostly the result of user error). Cons While spreadsheets are the best tool to analyze data, CRMs were never designed to do that. But, the ability to compile reports with totals/summaries is a challenge to implement in Commence RM Desktop (lots of scripting required which we choose not to do due to maintainability concerns). Manually filtering data within Commence (and using the summary button for totals and averages) works great for the most rudimentary tasks, and exporting as tab-delimited TXT takes a few easy steps to get into Excel. DO Director of Technology and Product Development Director of Technology and Product Development Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Commence - Powerful, Customizable and Reliable " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 24, 2020 Commence's capability, flexibility and support has made working with Commence a great experience for us. Pros Commence allows us to customize our critical CRM applications to automate our business processes for efficiency, ease of use and quality control. Also, the ability to deploy custom improvements to our system as needed seamlessly without user interruption is a key feature. Cons Commence offers good balance of features and capability that we rely on to grow our business. It does take determined effort implement a customized solution (with Commence or any other application) but it is worth the investment and critical to our success. DO Director of Sales and Marketing Director of Sales and Marketing Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Excellant Value for the Investment!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 January 22, 2019 We would not have stayed with Commence for so many years if they did not stand behind their product! Their support team are prompt, polite and willling to help, always! MPS tracks just about everything in our Products and Services business with Commence and we are looking to add new capabilites soon, as well! Pros Commence is by far the best and most flexible CRM I have used over the years. We have been a user of the desktop version of Commence since the mid-90's and still find it a relevant and speedy solution. (The search capability is SO FAST!) Being a bit of a techy type Commence allows me to customize where and when I need to in order to manage my company's unique data requirements. As we've grown over the years, so hasn't Commence with expanding features and easy solutions. Cons In the original product, the synchronization of the desktop database could sometimes hiccup, although with the web version, this is no longer a problem. CE CEO CEO Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Cornerstone business product - Since 1994" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 May 22, 2017 I never loose a contact - backup automation to the cloud I never loose a document - access to all documents generated since 1994 I can generate document and letters rapidly It integrates our data right across all platforms It integrates all business activities seamlessly. Pros Excellent and readily customizable GUI. Enormous flexibility and ability to use "agents" to undertake otherwise complex tasks - no coding required. Agents can integrate with everything from Google Earth to Skype and automate backups to the cloud. MS Office integration allows document generation from within the product, seamlessly merging address data and word templates. Integration with Outlook is excellent. Android integration allows contacts, tasks and calendars to be actively synced to you devices. The server application is also robust with numerous syncing options from network to FTP and email. Cloud integration for documents. Commence manages >10,000 contacts >7,000 companies >100 projects and >30,000 documents in a relational database that has >130 Categories (sub-databases) for us. We can near instantly locate any document generated since 1994 and that is from contacts, companies projects etc. Value for money - hard to beat! OW Owner Owner Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Long time satisfied customer" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 February 22, 2022 Personally I have been using this product since 1991. Over that time period I have not found a product in the CRM space that offers anywhere near the features and functionality that Commence offers. In my humble opinion, not a better more flexible CRM in the marketplace today. Pros The product provides the user with an easy to interpret interface which makes customization and automating tasks very straightforward. The ability to add categories with customizable fields, create interconnections between the categories and then create any number of letter templates that create a quote or cover letter with a single click are invaluable Cons initially struggled a bit with Mobile Link -- but once we got up and running has worked great OW Owner Owner Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Recently I upgraded my Jurassic age version of Commence (standalone version) to RM 6.1" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 April 18, 2018 I use Commence for calendaring, contact management, task management and timekeeping. When it comes to personal and professional information management, I essentially "live" in Commence. I cannot imagine working life without it. Pros The upgrade process was efficient, professionally handled and seamless. Commence is extremely customizable. On startup, it loads almost instantly. I have a very small firm, and I use it constantly for calendaring, contact management, task managment and timekeeping. I've used Commence since the early 2000's, and Commence Corp. has consistently supported and improved its products. Cons I rated it tops in Ease of Use, although for a solo user like me there is a learning curve. The User Manual is very good (occasionally a bit technical). RE Reviewer ### "Great Software" 4.0 April 23, 2015 We looked at many CRM programs and we felt that Commence gave us the best bang for the buck for what we needed it to go. Happy with what the program allows us to do and the reports it allows us to create. Pros The customer service that we receive is tremendous. When we started using the program, we did not go through any formal training so we have questions on a regular basis. The service we get is courteous, prompt and always helpful. Especially when we have Flo helping us, she always helps to simply, explain and resolve the issue. Cons If you do not pay for training, you can only get support online. You do not have the ability to speak with someone. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/576/Commence/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.