Detailed Review: Best Personal CRM Software
1. Regards – Best Overall Personal CRM
Regards stands out as having the best feature-set for the price. It is built specifically for relationship-focused professionals who are looking to drive referrals and is meant to work on-the-go.
What I liked:
Regards has a bunch of cool features that made sense for my workflow.
1) It is mobile-first and designed to work for both online and offline networking unlike many other apps. I was ticking tasks off while getting coffee. It links to Linkedin and Facebook sync seems to be coming soon.
2) I loved the AI-powered conversation starters that give you personalized talking points for reach out
3) I just had to leave voice notes. The AI automatically generates follow-up tasks and saves details to the contact profile.
4) Bulk email capability + a briefcase to store most commonly sent matercials helps for business networking.
Regards makes sense for you if you:
Focus on referrals from within your network or want to stay relevant with a group of people
Meet people online & offline and are not just networking on Linkedin
Want a light-weight solution that’s easy to use not a full stack marketing CRM
Like having an AI assistant that does the tasks & thinking for you
Feel strongly about Affordability
Watch out: They’re new so more features will be in the works. User feedback will still be limited.
2. Dex – Best for LinkedIn based networking (With Caveats)
Dex is the oldest in the category and has had the time to develop the most comprehensive personal CRM features. Its also the most affordable app with the Linkedin extension.
What I liked:
Its browser extension for LinkedIn automatically pulls in connections and updating job changes in real-time.
The bulk import was seamless – let me tag and organize contacts easily. BUT a lot of manual work here in setting the reminder cadence
The tool is clean and organized view including a map view of your network for whom this matters
The de-duplication and merge systems helps clean up contacts
Dex makes sense for you if:
Most of your network and networking is on Linkedin. The Linkedin extension is great!
You’re okay committing to an annual plan instead of monthly
You want a simple system to set reminders on when to reach out to people and are not looking for additional nice-to-haves
Watch out: Users complain that the app is buggy with frequent crashes and sync failures. Many reviewers express frustration that the $144 price point doesn't match the unstable performance.
3. Clay – Best for Social Media Enrichment (Privacy Concerns)
Clay differentiates itself with its design interface and automatic enrichment from email, calendar, and social networks.
What I liked:
The interface design is clean and easy to navigate
Nexus AI assistant for meeting preparation
The review dashboard for relationship health
That it pulls information from email and socials to give me a comprehensive history
You should choose Clay if you:
Do most of your work on the desktop and not on mobile
You like their interface
Are okay providing access to all your emails content – many users flag privacy issues here but Clay enriches its data from this level of access
Are comfortable paying $20 per month (a bit expensive for online networking)
Watchouts: The privacy concerns are consistently flagged on product hunt/ app store so be comfortable about this. Also, set up takes >8 hours as it imports ALL contacts without being able to see personal vs professional so that can cause some clutter.
4. Monica CRM – Best for saving info about friends & family
Monica is the only open-source personal CRM on this list, offering complete transparency and the option to self-host for maximum privacy. It focuses on helping you remember personal details about friends, family, and professional contacts.
What I liked:
Its open source which makes the privacy concern a bit better
Its set up for saving little details like what gifts you’ve given someone, their likes etc
Reminders for birthdays and important dates
Private journal feature
Choose Monica if you:
Can self-host (its free!)
Are solving for being better with grandma
Watchouts: This is not for professional networking!
5. Covve
Covve is a lightweight mobile app focused on smart reminders and post-call note-taking. Its news scraper keeps you informed about contacts in the news, providing natural conversation opportunities.
What I liked:
Its mobile first and meant to be used on-the-go
It has the simplest interface and system – contact cards, reminders and you’re good to go
The business card scanner helps for offline networking
The news tab was actually kind of nice
Choose Covve if:
You’re not looking at the latest AI features
You want something that is a starter app that gets the job done
You do your meetings online and offline
Watchouts: App reviews are average with people looking for better functionality but this is best for a simple set up
6. BIGContacts
BIGContacts combines contact management with email marketing automation and sales pipeline features. While not purely a personal CRM, it has several of the features.
What I liked:
Helpful to integrate contact view with email marketing automation
Sales pipeline and custom segmentation
Choose BIGContacts if:
You’re looking for integrated sales & marketing capabilities with contact management (though I’d still say Hubspot’s free tier might do the trick here)
7. LeadDelta – Best for LinkedIn Power Users
LeadDelta is specifically designed for LinkedIn power users who need to organize, enrich, and activate their professional network. It pulls your entire LinkedIn network into a CRM-like interface with powerful filtering and tagging.
What I liked:
Instant sync of entire LinkedIn network with enrichment for business and personal emails/phone numbers
The search and filtering capabilities
Smart inbox for LinkedIn messages
Choose LeadDelta if you:
Have a large Linkedin network and need professional grade organization
Want to make your Linkedin network easier to navigate
Watchouts: The price point at $25 per month is steep for the value in my view
