CiteLadder asked Claude Sonnet 5.5 20 buyer questions about CRM software for small businesses. Each question ran three times in three conditions: from memory, with web search available, and told to search first. HubSpot was the brand Claude named most often in every condition. This page reports what Claude said. It is not a ranking of which CRM is best. Results come from the Anthropic API and can differ from the Claude apps.
What we asked Claude
The 20 prompts cover the ways a small business owner might ask about a CRM. Some ask for a general pick, some describe a specific buyer, some focus on price or a feature, and some ask for a shortlist.
Examples:
- "What's the best CRM for a small business right now?"
- "Good CRM for a home services business like plumbing or HVAC?"
- "Is there a genuinely free CRM that's good enough for a small business?"
Other prompts named a solo real estate agent, a small marketing agency, a nonprofit with a tiny staff and a small insurance agency. Each prompt ran three times per condition, giving 60 answers per condition. The requests gave no current date. Another model listed the brands in each answer, and code counted them.
Brands Claude named from memory
With no tools, Claude named 77 distinct brands across 60 answers, an average of 6.2 brands per answer.
- HubSpot appeared in 86.7% of answers. It was named first 32 times, with an average position of 1.9. It was named in every run for 16 of the 20 prompts.
- Pipedrive appeared in 71.7% of answers and was named first 6 times.
- Zoho appeared in 68.3% of answers and was named first 3 times.
- Capsule appeared in 28.3% and Salesforce in 25%.
Notion and Airtable each appeared in 23.3% of answers. These are not CRM products in the narrow sense, but Claude suggested them as lightweight options for some prompts.
Run agreement was 60.9%, so the three runs of the same prompt shared a good part of their brand lists but not all of it. The top three brands took 36.7% of all mentions.
How often Claude searched when search was available
When web search was available but not required, Claude searched in 3 of 60 answers. It ran 3 searches in total. In practice this condition behaved much like the memory condition.
The brand order stayed close. HubSpot appeared in 90% of answers, Zoho in 76.7%, Pipedrive in 73.3% and Salesforce in 40%. The answers named 88 distinct brands, with an average of 7.1 per answer. In this condition the brand counts list "Capsule CRM" and "Capsule" as separate entries, at 18.3% and 15%.
What changed when Claude was told to search
When the system prompt told Claude to search before answering, it searched in 57 of 60 answers and ran 259 searches.
- The leader held. HubSpot was the leader from memory and when told to search. It appeared in 81.7% of answers and was named first 31 times.
- Four of the top five stayed. HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho and Salesforce were in the top five in both conditions. Zoho appeared in 63.3% of answers and Pipedrive in 60%. Pipedrive was named first 0 times in this condition, against 6 times from memory.
- Capsule left the top five. Its share went from 28.3% from memory to 18.3% when told to search.
- Less Annoying CRM entered the top five at 20%. It was not in the top ten brands from memory. It was named first 3 times.
- Nutshell (13.3%) and NetHunt (8.3%) also appeared in the top ten after search.
Answers got shorter on brands. Claude named 72 distinct brands, with an average of 5.2 per answer. Run agreement dropped to 52.1%. The top three brands took 39.4% of mentions. None of the answers included inline citations.
What Claude searched for
Claude's queries read like a buyer's shortlist research. They often named brands directly and asked about price and trade-offs. Examples:
- "best CRM for small business 2025 comparison HubSpot Zoho Salesforce pros cons"
- "best small business CRM email automation 2025"
- "HubSpot CRM free vs Starter pricing 2025 per seat"
45% of queries contained a year. 120 queries used 2025 and 5 used 2026. Because the requests gave no current date, the year Claude chose likely came from its own sense of the present. 56.5% of queries contained the word "best".
Which sites its searches returned
The sites below were returned most often across the 57 answers that searched:
- monday.com: 27 answers (47.4%)
- techradar.com: 26 answers (45.6%)
- capterra.com: 22 answers (38.6%)
- nethunt.com: 21 answers (36.8%)
- nutshell.com: 20 answers (35.1%)
- innowise.com: 19 answers (33.3%)
remotereps.com, zite.com, forbes.com and g2.com followed. The list mixes review and media sites with vendor sites. nethunt.com and nutshell.com are vendor sites, and NetHunt and Nutshell both appear in the brands Claude named when told to search. The data shows that these sites were returned, not which ones Claude relied on, since answers had no inline citations.
What a CRM brand can take from this
From memory, Claude has a stable core for this category: HubSpot, Pipedrive and Zoho. A brand outside that core starts from a low share in memory answers.
Search opens the list a little. Less Annoying CRM, Nutshell and NetHunt gained visibility when Claude searched. Two of the most returned sites belong to CRM vendors. Publishing clear comparison and pricing pages on your own domain is one way to show up in the results Claude reads.
Practical steps:
- Check whether your brand appears on the review sites Claude's searches returned, such as techradar.com, capterra.com, forbes.com and g2.com.
- Write pages that answer the queries Claude runs: pricing per user, free versus paid plans, pros and cons, and fit for a specific business type.
- Keep dated content current. Many of Claude's queries included a year.
- Measure more than once. Run agreement was 60.9% from memory and 52.1% when told to search, so one answer is not a reliable read. CiteLadder tracks these patterns over repeated runs.
Brand shares in each condition
Share of the 60 answers (20 prompts, three runs) that named each brand. "Prompts named in every run" counts the prompts where the brand appeared in all three runs from memory.
| Brand | From memory | Prompts named in every run | Told to search |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | 86.7% | 16 | 81.7% |
| Pipedrive | 71.7% | 13 | 60% |
| Zoho | 68.3% | 10 | 63.3% |
| Capsule | 28.3% | 2 | 18.3% |
| Salesforce | 25% | 3 | 30% |
| Notion | 23.3% | 2 | not in top 15 |
| Airtable | 23.3% | 4 | not in top 15 |
| Streak | 20% | 2 | not in top 15 |
| Freshsales | 18.3% | 2 | 11.7% |
| Copper | 18.3% | 1 | 11.7% |
| Less Annoying CRM | not in top 15 | 20% | |
| Nutshell | not in top 15 | 13.3% | |
| NetHunt | not in top 15 | 8.3% |
Sites Claude's searches returned
When told to search. Share of answers whose searches returned at least one page from the site.
| Site | Answers | Share of searched answers |
|---|---|---|
| monday.com | 27 | 47.4% |
| techradar.com | 26 | 45.6% |
| capterra.com | 22 | 38.6% |
| nethunt.com | 21 | 36.8% |
| nutshell.com | 20 | 35.1% |
| innowise.com | 19 | 33.3% |
| remotereps.com | 17 | 29.8% |
| zite.com | 16 | 28.1% |
| forbes.com | 15 | 26.3% |
| g2.com | 15 | 26.3% |
The 20 prompts
- What's the best CRM for a small business right now? (best overall)
- Which CRM do most small businesses actually stick with long term? (best overall)
- Top rated CRM software for companies under 20 employees? (best overall)
- What CRM would you recommend for a growing small business? (best overall)
- Best CRM for a solo real estate agent managing leads? (for a specific buyer or use case)
- Which CRM works well for a small marketing agency with retainer clients? (for a specific buyer or use case)
- Good CRM for a home services business like plumbing or HVAC? (for a specific buyer or use case)
- What CRM should a small ecommerce shop use to track customers? (for a specific buyer or use case)
- Best CRM for a nonprofit with a tiny staff and lots of donors? (for a specific buyer or use case)
- Easiest CRM for a non-technical founder who hates complicated software? (for a specific buyer or use case)
- Which CRM suits a small B2B consulting firm with long sales cycles? (for a specific buyer or use case)
- Recommend a CRM for a small insurance agency handling renewals (for a specific buyer or use case)
- Is there a genuinely free CRM that's good enough for a small business? (budget or free)
- Cheapest CRM that doesn't feel limited for a team of five? (budget or free)
- Best low cost CRM for a freelancer just starting out? (budget or free)
- Which small business CRM has the best built-in email automation? (feature-led)
- CRM with a really good mobile app for salespeople on the road? (feature-led)
- What CRM integrates best with my accounting software and Gmail? (feature-led)
- Compare the top 3 CRMs for small businesses, pros and cons (comparison shortlist)
- Shortlist of CRMs worth trialing before switching from spreadsheets? (comparison shortlist)
Frequently asked questions
Which CRM did Claude name most often for small businesses?
HubSpot. It appeared in 86.7% of memory answers, 90% when search was available and 81.7% when Claude was told to search. This shows how often Claude named it, not which CRM is best.
Does Claude search the web on its own for CRM questions?
Rarely in this study. With search available, Claude searched in 3 of 60 answers. When told to search, it searched in 57 of 60 answers.
Which brands gained visibility when Claude searched?
Less Annoying CRM entered the top five at 20% when Claude was told to search. Nutshell and NetHunt also appeared in the top ten in that condition. Capsule dropped out of the top five, from 28.3% to 18.3%.
Will the Claude app give the same answers?
Not necessarily. These results come from the Anthropic API at low effort with no current date in the request. The Claude apps can use different settings and may answer differently.
Track how often Claude recommends you
CiteLadder tracks your brand's mentions, position and sentiment against competitors across Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. Every result is tied to the answer it came from, so you can run buyer questions like these for your own category.
Visibility over time
| Series | 8 Sep | 15 Sep | 22 Sep | 29 Sep | 6 Oct | 13 Oct | 20 Oct | 27 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acme Analytics | 27.9% | 29.6% | 30.2% | 31.8% | 32.5% | 33.1% | 34.2% | 38.4% |
| Northwind | 46.0% | 45.2% | 45.8% | 44.6% | 44.1% | 43.5% | 42.9% | 41.7% |
| Lumen | 30.4% | 31.0% | 29.8% | 30.6% | 29.9% | 29.2% | 28.8% | 27.5% |
412 answers to 120 prompts across 4 engines, week of 27 Oct – 2 Nov 2026
Brands
| Brand | Visibility | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Northwind | 41.7% | down 1.2 pts |
| Acme Analytics | 38.4% | up 4.2 pts |
| Lumen | 27.5% | down 1.3 pts |
| Fathom Labs | 16.9% | down 0.2 pts |
Acme Analytics by engine