CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a strategy for managing an organisation’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. Using the right CRM solution businesses can stay connected to their clientele base and improve their profitability. How does it work? Basically, all customer information is stored in a central database allowing it to be accessible, analysed and monitored by multiple departments/teams in an organisation.
With the number of businesses adopting CRM strategy increasing very quickly third-party access is now very much need. CRM companies have begun to provide APIs (Application Programmable interface) that would help business easy integrate to their platform.
In this article, we created a list of the best CRM APIs currently being used. In coming up with this list we ranked our APIs based on the following criteria
- API features: We evaluated the various features that make the APIs appealing for businesses.
- Ease of use: We assessed the ease of integrating each of the APIs into applications.
- Pricing: We reviewed the cost of integrating the API into your application
Eventually, we came up with the following list of Top 10 best CRM APIs.
Ultimately, we came up with the following list of top 10 best CRM APIs.
- Salesforce API
- Hubspot API
- Zoho API
- Pipedrive API
- Insightly API
- SugarCRM API
- Microsoft Dynamics API
- Ontraport API
- Agile CRM API
- Kloudless API
Top 10 Best CRM APIs
TL;DR: Here’s a table summarizing our findings.
| API | API Features | Ease of Use | Price |
| Salesforce API | Salesforce API provides programmatic access to company/organisation information using a simple, powerful, and secure application programming interface | Easy | Paid |
| Hubspot API | Hubspot API allows developers to easily create and integrate functional features into their applications. | Easy | Free |
| Zoho API | Zoho API allows developer/users to easily fetch CRM data from their Zoho account for analysis. | Easy | Free |
| Pipedrive API | Pipedrive API allows developers to integrate Pipedrive functionalities into their own systems. | Easy | Paid |
| Insightly API | Insightly API allows developers to access and integrate Insightly functionalities into their applications | Easy | Free |
| SugarCRM API | SugarCRM API allows developers to easily integrate their web and mobile apps to access their features. | Easy | Free |
| Microsoft Dynamics API | Microsoft Dynamics API allows developers to manage and query entities, or call unbound functions and actions. | Not Easy | Free |
| Ontraport API | Ontraport API allows developers to automate customer information flow and easily integrate and customize business data into their application | Easy | Free |
| Agile CRM API | With Agile CRM API developers can easily integrate third-party applications into the Agile CRM infrastructure given them access to Agile CRM’s analytics and sentiment-tracking services. | Easy | Free |
| kloudless API | With Kloudless API developers only get to code once and integrate many cloud storage services into their apps | Easy | Free Plan available |
1. Salesforce API
Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM solution that offers an option that helps both enterprises and small businesses develop a consistent e-commerce customer experience and collaborate on campaigns.
API Features: Salesforce API provides programmatic access to company/organisation information using a simple, powerful, and secure application programming interface. Salesforce API is made up of REST API, SOAP API, Bulk API, and Streaming API all together the make the Salesforce DATA API. Compared to other APIs this API allows you to do things like customize page layouts or build custom development tools. Salesforce API allows developers to manipulate subsets of your Salesforce data.
Ease of Use: Easy!! Salesforce has a massive community of developers utilizing their API. In addition to that, they have provided documentation that is easy to understand.
Price: Free
2. Hubspot API
Founded by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah in 2006. Hubspot is a developer and marketer of software products for inbound marketing and sales
API Features: Hubspot API allows developers to easily create and integrate functional features into their applications. Hubspot API is a single purpose API, with two means of authentication, OAuth and API keys. It supports XML, JSON response formats and URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: Easy!! Hubspot has a fast-growing community, with lots of developers looking to integrate with this platform. This API is also well documented.
Price: Free
3. Zoho API
Launched in 2005, Zoho is a CRM solution that provides services like procurement, inventory, and accounting.
API Features: Zoho API allows developer/users to easily fetch CRM data from their Zoho account for analysis. It employs the OAuth 2.0 protocol authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports XML, JSON response formats and URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: Very Easy!! In addition to its wonderful documentation and vibrant developer community, Zoho has gone a step further by providing video tutorials, online webinars and free training materials making it easy for newbies to use their API.
Price: Free
4. Pipedrive API
Pipedrive is a sales management tool designed to help small sales teams manage intricate or lengthy sales processes.
API Features: Pipedrive API allows developers to integrate Pipedrive functionalities into their own systems. This API uses a JSON format for output and is capable of handling CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) requests. The API is stateless implying that all requests are validated against an API token. The API token can be obtained manually from the Pipedrive app, or via fetching the Authorizations objects.
Ease of Use: Pipedrive has a growing community of developers. This company has also ensured that useful training materials are available for developers in addition to its API documentation
Free: Paid
5. Insightly API
With more than 1.5 million users and over 25,000 companies worldwide, Insightly is the world’s most popular CRM software for Google and Office 365 users. Insightly provides customer relationship management software for businesses of all sizes across a range of industries such as manufacturing, consulting, professional services, media and advertising, non-profit, technology and others.
API Features: Insightly API allows developers to access and integrate Insightly functionalities into their applications. Using this API developer can use the API methods to retrieving and managing emails, managing contacts and contact details, and managing attachments and files.Insightly API employs HTTP Basic API key authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports XML, JSON response formats and URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: The Insightly API is well documented, developers can easily reference this documentation with relative ease.
Price: Free
6. SugarCRM API
SugarCRM is currently deployed by more than 2 million individuals in over 120 countries and 26 languages. It enables businesses to create extraordinary customer relationships with the most empowering, adaptable and affordable customer relationship management (CRM) solution on the market.
API Features: SugarCRM API allows developers to easily integrate their web and mobile apps to access their features. It employs HTTP Basic API key authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports XML, JSON response formats and URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: SugarCRM has published in-depth documentation and other useful developer resources to facilitate fast and seamless integration of its APIs.
Price: Free
7.Microsoft Dynamics API
Dynamics 365 unifies the capabilities of CRM business software and ERP systems by providing intelligent applications that seamlessly work together in the cloud.
API Features: Microsoft Dynamics API allows developers to manage and query entities, or call unbound functions and actions. This API uses an OAuth 2 authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports XML response format and JSONP, URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: This API is not very easy to use, with very poor API documentation and very limited resources and materials available to developers. Newbies might find it difficult to use.
Price: Free
8. Ontraport API
Ontraport is a business automation software for entrepreneurs and small businesses that incorporate tools like CRM, marketing automation, ECommerce and reporting.
API Feature: Ontraport API allows developers to automate customer information flow and easily integrate and customize business data into their application. This API uses an API key authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports XML response format and JSONP, URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: The Ontraport API is well documented, developers can easily reference this documentation with relative ease.
Price: Free
9. Agile CRM API
Agile CRM is an All-in-One CRM solution offering Sales, Marketing and Service automation in a single platform.
API Features: With Agile CRM API developers can easily integrate third-party applications into the Agile CRM infrastructure given them access to Agile CRM’s analytics and sentiment-tracking services. This API uses an API key authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports XML response format and JSONP, URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: Easy!! Agile CRM has a fast-growing community, with lots of developers looking to integrate with this platform. This API is also well documented.
Price: Free
10. Kloudless API
Kloudless provides a unified API for a variety of different services. The primary focus is on cloud storage services like Box, Dropbox, Sharepoint Online, and Onedrive for Business.
API Features: With Kloudless API developers only get to code once and integrate many cloud storage services into their apps. This API uses an API key authentication model and is a single purpose API, with a RESTful architecture. It supports XML response format and JSONP, URI Query String/CRUD request format.
Ease of Use: Kloudless has ensured that their API is very easy to use, they have provided materials and video tutorials in addition to Kloudless API documentation
Price: This API offer 3 payment packages
- Growth (Free)
- Development ($850+ per month)
- Enterprise (Quote will be given upon contact)
That’s Rakuten RapidAPI’s list of Top 10 CRM APIs. We hope you’ll find an API that you can integrate into your application.
About Rakuten RapidAPI
Rakuten RapidAPI is the world’s largest API marketplace with 8,000+ third-party APIs and used by over 500,000 active developers. We enable developers to build transformative apps through the power of APIs. Find, test and connect to all the APIs you need in one place!
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