Private capital firms need more than Excel spreadsheets or generic CRMs to manage contacts, relationships, and deal flow. With fast-paced deals and growing networks, a CRM tailored to private capital can help you save time, stay organized, and manage your deals more effectively.
But with all the CRM tools on the market, selecting the right one for your team can be overwhelming. There’s a lot to consider: Which features do you need? Which platform is best for private capital firms? What integrations does it include? The list goes on.
Attio is a newer CRM solution that offers tools to help teams keep opportunities moving forward; however, there are many other CRMs available, including ones like Affinity that specialize in relationship intelligence and private capital. In this article, we’ll explore six Attio alternatives to consider:
- Affinity
- Salesforce
- Pipedrive
- Airtable
- 4Degrees
- HubSpot
Read on to take a deeper look at Attio and explore other leading CRM platforms that may meet your team’s needs.
Key takeaways
- There are many alternatives on the market to Attio.
- Private capital firms need a CRM that’s tailored to their workflows.
- Affinity is the leading alternative to Attio, with key features including relationship intelligence and advanced data enrichment.
What is Attio?
Attio is a general-purpose CRM built to give teams control over how they manage contacts, relationships, and workflows. Attio combines the power of a relational database with the simplicity of a spreadsheet, allowing users to customize data structures, pipelines, and views without writing code.
Attio is better suited for smaller teams with simple workflows and teams looking for a lightweight, flexible tool to track deals and contacts without the complexity of enterprise systems.
However, it might not be the best solution for firms that need specific functionality to support complex deal processes and tight security and compliance requirements. While Attio is less focused on relationship insights and data enrichment, it’s a fast, customizable, and modern platform for teams looking to streamline their workflows without being locked into rigid CRM structures.
Key features
- Company profiles built from email and calendar activity.
- Customizable pipelines and data views tailored to deal stage.
- Real-time collaboration and commenting features.
- Smart enrichment and automatic data updates.
- API and integrations with tools like Zapier and Clearbit.
Pros
- Intuitive UI that’s easy for non-technical users.
- Real-time data syncing from communication tools.
- Powerful customization without needing developers.
Cons
- Lacks advanced features for reporting and is known to have performance issues.
- Still maturing compared to more established platforms.
- Less comprehensive data enrichment and a lack of data partnerships with leading vendors.
- Limited native integrations.
- Limited security and compliance controls.
- Low initial pricing that can balloon depending on workflow credit usage.
- Customer support limitations.
Best for
Attio’s CRM platform is best for small sales teams with simple workflows. However, teams with complex deal processes or robust security and compliance needs might find Attio limiting.
Pricing
Attio offers a free plan, while paid plans start at $29 per user per month.
Top 6 Attio CRM Alternatives
Attio is a strong contender in the CRM space, but we recommend comparing alternatives before committing to any platform. Every CRM has its own unique approach to relationship management and deal workflows, and it’s important to find the best one for your team.
Check out this comparison chart to learn more about the top six Attio alternatives.
1. Affinity
Affinity is a CRM that’s purpose-built for private capital firms and powered by relationship intelligence. It automatically captures data from your team’s emails and calendars to create rich contact profiles, track activity, and help you manage deal flow, eliminating hours of manual data entry. With customizable pipeline management and powerful collaboration features, Affinity makes it easy to manage complex deals from a single platform.
What sets Affinity apart is its AI-driven relationship intelligence and tools. It not only shows who knows whom, but also quantifies the strength of those connections to help teams uncover warm introductions and unlock new opportunities. Fast to deploy and easy to customize, Affinity is ideal for deal teams looking to move faster and smarter using the strength of their existing networks.
Key features
- Relationship intelligence scoring to reveal warm introductions.
- Deal pipeline tracking with customizable workflows.
- Shared relationship and activity history across the firm.
- Integrations with tools like Outlook, Google Workspace, and Salesforce.
- Seamless data capture from email, calendar, and meetings.
Pros
- Purpose-built for private capital workflows with advanced data enrichment from 40+ trusted sources.
- Dedicated customer support with a minimal learning curve and easy setup process.
- Automated activity capture and relationship insights that help uncover hidden deals and warm introductions.
- Native, custom, and third-party integrations with leading technology platforms and an intuitive interface.
- Enterprise-grade security, with dedicated CISO, site reliability engineering team, ISO27001 through ISO 27701 and SOC 2 Type 2 certifications, and “white hat” hacker testing.
Cons
- Less suited for teams outside of private capital.
- Certain advanced features are not available on the lowest pricing tier.
Best for
Affinity is ideal for private capital firms and teams in relationship-driven industries seeking to leverage the power of their networks to find, manage, and close more deals. It’s especially useful for teams that value automated data capture and actionable insights from communication history.
Pricing
Affinity offers flexible pricing options to provide teams with the versatility to pick the features they need. Affinity Advanced tier is the most popular offering.
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2. Salesforce Sales Cloud
Salesforce Sales Cloud is a widely used and customizable CRM platform on the market. As a leader in the space, Salesforce offers an extensive range of integrations and add-ons, along with an enthusiastic partner network.
For private capital firms, Salesforce can support highly specific workflows, complex reporting needs, and integrations with virtually any tool. However, that flexibility comes with added cost, and implementation and maintenance overhead.
Key features
- Extensive integration library and partner network.
- Custom objects and workflows to model complex deal flows.
- Advanced reporting and dashboard capabilities.
- Enterprise-grade permissions, security, and compliance.
Pros
- Endlessly flexible and customizable for unique workflows.
- Strong reporting and analytics capabilities.
- Mature ecosystem with solutions for almost every business function.
Cons
- High implementation and maintenance costs.
- Steep learning curve.
- Requires admin or developer resources to customize effectively.
- Can be overkill for lean or early-stage deal teams.
Best for
Salesforce is best suited for large sales teams that require granular control, deep integrations, and robust reporting capabilities. CRM platforms like Affinity integrate seamlessly with other tools in your firm’s tech stack, including Salesforce.
Pricing
Salesforce Sales Cloud starts at $25 per user per month. Custom implementations typically include additional costs.
3. Pipedrive
Pipedrive is a CRM known for its visual pipeline interface and lightweight relationship management experience. With team collaboration features, calendar management, and email solutions, it’s a good solution for logging and tracking deals. Pipedrive also boosts productivity with a mobile app, built-in forecasting, document templates, and integration with messaging platforms.
Pipedrive offers an API and a host of integrations with other tools, including Google Apps, Microsoft Teams, Slack, MailChimp, and Zapier. However, like many simple, traditional CRM tools, Pipedrive lacks relationship intelligence features. Automation is also limited.
Key features
- Visual pipeline management with a drag-and-drop interface.
- Email and activity tracking built into workflows.
- Custom fields and pipelines to fit deal stages.
- Mobile app for deal flow management on the go.
- Marketplace of integrations with email tools, LinkedIn, and more.
Pros
- Fast to set up and easy to learn.
- Affordable for small teams.
- Powerful outbound workflows.
Cons
- Primarily designed for sales-driven workflows.
- Less sophisticated data enrichment.
- Not built with investment use cases in mind.
- Poor customer service and support experiences reported by customers.
Best for
Pipedrive is ideal for sales teams or solo dealmakers who want a no-fuss way to track, outreach, follow-ups, and pipeline status. It’s especially good for teams just starting to formalize their deal sourcing.
Pricing
Plans start at $14.90 per user per month. Optional add-ons for lead generation and automation are available.
4. Airtable
Airtable is a flexible collaboration tool built for teams who need tailored workflows and custom data structures. While Airtable isn’t technically a CRM, many teams use it to effectively manage deal flows, contract cycles, and due diligence processes.
Airtable’s spreadsheet-style interface and low-code features make it easy to build exactly what you need without the overhead of a traditional CRM or development resources. However, because Airtable is so flexible, it lacks specialization in many of the workflows private equity deal teams need.
Key features
- Customizable tables, fields, and views for pipeline tracking.
- Relational databases to link contacts, companies, and deals.
- Collaboration tools like comments, tasks, and activity logs.
- Integrations with tools like Slack and Gmail.
- An interface designer for designing lightweight internal apps.
Pros
- Extremely flexible for building highly customized deal flows.
- CRM and project management hybrid.
- Minimal learning curve, making it easy to transition from spreadsheets.
- Powerful collaboration features.
Cons
- Not a true out-of-the-box CRM platform, and requires setup time to build CRM functionality.
- Lacks native relationship intelligence or network mapping.
- Permissions and reporting are less sophisticated than traditional CRMs.
- Weaker marketing automation compared to competitors.
- Less sophisticated data enrichment.
Best for
Airtable is a great Attio alternative for private equity teams that want a lightweight, highly customizable CRM without the complexity of legacy platforms. It’s especially good for firms that are comfortable building their own systems or managing processes internally.
Pricing
Paid plans start at $20 per user per month. A free plan is available for individuals and small teams.
5. 4Degrees
4Degrees is a CRM platform built for relationship-driven deal teams. It automatically captures relationship data by connecting your email and calendar, scoring connection strength, and surfacing warm paths to targets. 4Degrees helps deal teams save time by reducing manual data entry and populating deals and contact records with key information.
For firms focused on sourcing and managing complex deals, 4Degrees delivers a purpose-built solution that aligns closely with how investment professionals work.
Key features
- Automated relationship tracking and scoring.
- Custom workflows and deal pipelines.
- Email and calendar integration for seamless data capture.
- Industry-specific templates and reporting.
Pros
- Built specifically for relationship-driven industries.
- A lightweight CRM with foundational relationship intelligence.
- Strong contact enrichment from email and calendar data.
Cons
- Smaller integration ecosystem.
- Less customizable than other CRMs with a challenging user interface.
- Heavy reliance on third-party tools for complex workflows.
- New customers cannot access historical information, only information from implementation onward.
- Limited customer success and customer support resources.
- Lacks advanced security certifications and system vulnerability management, such as ISO certification and a bug bounty program.
Best for
4Degrees is best for teams that rely on strong relationships to source and close deals. It performs well for teams that need a lite CRM with network visibility and relationship management. However, it might not be the right fit for firms that need highly customized software to support complex workflows.
Pricing
4Degrees offers custom pricing based on firm size and feature needs. Their website doesn’t include any public pricing information.
6. HubSpot
HubSpot is a popular all-in-one CRM platform that combines contact management, marketing automation, and reporting into a user-friendly interface. While it’s best known for supporting traditional sales and marketing teams, some private equity firms use HubSpot to manage relationships, track deal flows, and organize outreach.
Key features
- Modern, easy-to-use interface.
- Contact and company management with a timeline view.
- Email tracking, sequences, and templates.
- Customizable deal pipelines and reporting dashboards.
- Robust API and large integration library.
Pros
- Easy for non-technical users.
- Scales well across multiple teams.
- Strong email, communication, and marketing automation tools built in.
- Robust free plan ideal for small teams.
Cons
- Not purpose-built for investment workflows.
- Becomes expensive and technical as you scale.
- Overwhelming feature set for relationship-centric workflows.
Best for
HubSpot is best for teams who want a simple, scalable CRM that supports multiple functions, including marketing, sales, and customer service. However, it may not be the best fit for firms that require investment-specific tools, such as relationship scoring or deal origination analytics.
Pricing
A free plan is available with basic features. Paid plans start at $209 per user/month.
Your deal sourcing software can be a differentiator
For larger firms or teams that manage more complex relationships and deal flow, a simple, traditional CRM just won’t cut it. While tools like Attio and others offer varying strengths, Affinity stands out as the leading CRM for private capital.
For a general-purpose CRM, Attio is better suited for sales team productivity and collaboration. It offers a customizable workspace for teams to collaborate and focus on customer relationship management.
If your team is looking for more, Affinity can save you hundreds of hours per year in manual data entry while ensuring your CRM data is complete and accurate. It’s a trusted single source of truth for your entire organization. Combining powerful relationship intelligence with intuitive deal flow management, private capital deal teams can use their networks and long-term relationship-building strategies to win more deals with Affinity.
Affinity automates data capture, provides deep relationship insights, and is easier to deploy than most CRMs. If your team is evaluating CRM platforms and you’re looking for a solution that understands the unique business needs of private equity, venture capital, and M&A workflows, Affinity should be your first stop.
Request a demo today and see how Affinity can help your firm unlock hidden opportunities already in your network.
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Attio vs. Affinity FAQs
Is switching from Attio to another CRM difficult?
Switching CRM platforms can feel daunting, but with the right support, it’s manageable and often worth it. Affinity offers onboarding assistance and data migration tools to make the transition as smooth as possible. If you’re using custom fields in your current CRM, those can typically be mapped over to Affinity’s flexible data structures. The key is having a clear plan for your data and workflows before making the move, and Affinity can help.
What features should I prioritize when evaluating Attio competitors?
For private capital teams, the most important features are relationship intelligence, automated data capture, customizable deal pipelines, and collaboration tools. While Attio offers strong customization and a modern interface, competitors like Affinity go further by automatically enriching contact profiles and scoring relationships, which helps you uncover opportunities for warm introductions.
How do I choose the right Attio alternative for my team?
Start by assessing your current pain points: Are you spending too much time on manual data entry? Are you missing warm leads in your network? Do you need more visibility into team-wide relationships? If your team relies heavily on networking and long-term relationship management, Affinity’s blend of automation, insight, and flexibility makes it a top-tier alternative.
