Nutshell vs Redtail CRM (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Nutshell grades higher than Redtail CRM: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Nutshell grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Nutshell
Sales CRM with email marketing, forms and AI built into every plan
Redtail CRM
CRM for financial advisors, with compliant texting and imaging
Which one is for you
Pick Nutshell if
- Fits if you're a small sales team and want lead forms, landing pages and web chat inside the CRM
- Works for teams that want live support and onboarding help, which come on every plan
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're on Foundation, with 100 active leads, 1 pipeline and 10 custom fields
- Pricey if you need sales automation or more than one pipeline, which start on Pro at $42 a user
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there's only the 14-day trial
- Watch out: two-way SMS and social inboxes are $16 a user, and proposals and invoices $79 a month, on top
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $19 a user for Foundation against $13 yearly, and $49 for Pro against $42
Pick Redtail CRM if
- Fits if you are a solo advisor or small advisory practice
- Works for firms that must archive client notes, email and texts
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you grow past 5 users, as Launch caps there
- Skip it if you want workflows or texting on the cheaper plan, because both start on Growth at $59
- Watch out: compliant texting depends on broker-dealer approval
- Watch out: Enterprise has no published price and needs a minimum licence commitment
How we grade them
| 2.4GPANutshellFair | 2.0GPARedtail CRMFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFoundation is $13 a user a month on yearly billing, well below the middle of this category, but 100 active leads and one pipeline is not a sales team's plan. Growth lifts the cap at $25, about the middle, and sales automation and extra pipelines need Pro at $42. | C$39 a user billed yearly ($45 monthly) on Launch and $59 on Growth, where the workflows are. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. The trial is 14 days and asks for no credit card. Every plan does come with 150 free marketing emails a month, but you're paying for the CRM underneath them. | DA 30-day trial of Growth for new users, with no word on a card. No free plan. |
| Features | BA drag-and-drop pipeline, two-way Gmail and Outlook sync, bulk email, reports and quotas, sales automation, AI call and meeting summaries, plus forms, landing pages and web chat on every plan. The sales job covered, with a slice of marketing. SMS and proposals are paid add-ons. | CContacts, accounts, pipeline, reporting and a mobile app. Workflows, imaging and Speak need Growth. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record, and it's a CRM to set up: pipelines, stages, email and calendar sync, forms. What helps is that live support and onboarding help come with every plan, even the $13 one. | CNo store rating on record. Workflows and integrations to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with no desktop app. It connects to Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Aircall, DocuSign, Google Meet and Facebook Messenger, and there's an API. | BWeb and a mobile app, with Orion, Schwab, eMoney, Fidelity, Envestnet and Zapier connections. |
| Best for | small sales teams that want marketing built in | a CRM for solo advisors and small advisory firms |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Nutshell and Redtail CRM. How we grade
Price against what you get
Nutshell starts at $13 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Redtail CRM starts at $39 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Nutshell scores higher and starts $26 a month lower. Of the other CRM tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Nutshell for less, and 30 score higher than Redtail CRM for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Nutshell also covers booking links and forms.
- Redtail CRM also covers calendar, documents and business texting.
At a glance
| Nutshell | Redtail CRM | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $13 per user / month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly) | $39 per user / month, billed yearly ($45 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 30-day free trial of the Growth plan, for new users only |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Nutshell (part of WebFX) | Redtail Technology |
| Price read from | nutshell.com | redtailtechnology.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Nutshell
- There is no free plan; the free trial lasts 14 days.
- Foundation is limited to 100 active leads, 1 pipeline and 10 custom fields.
- Sales automation, multiple pipelines and the meeting scheduler start at Pro, $42 per user / month billed annually.
- Two-way SMS and social inboxes ($16 per user / month) and proposals and invoices ($79 a month) are paid add-ons.
Redtail CRM
- Launch is limited to 5 users and has no workflows, imaging or texting; those start on Growth.
- Compliant texting is subject to broker-dealer approval.
- Enterprise has no published price and needs a minimum license commitment.
- The 30-day trial covers the Growth plan and is for new users only.
Key features
Nutshell
- Leads and pipelines
- A drag-and-drop board shows where each lead stands. Foundation and Growth have one pipeline, Pro has 5, Business 10 and Enterprise unlimited.
- Email and calendar sync
- Two-way sync with Gmail and Outlook keeps emails and calendar events attached to contacts, with email templates and one-click bulk emailing.
- Sales automation
- Growth adds lead assignment rules and custom stage goals, and Pro adds sales automation for routine pipeline tasks.
- Reporting and quotas
- Growth adds activity reports and sales quotas, and Pro unlocks advanced reporting. Enterprise includes read-only SQL access to the data.
- AI outcomes and assists
- AI outcomes cover call and meeting summaries, lead research and email campaign drafts, metered at 10 to 150 per user a month by plan. Lighter AI assists are unlimited.
- Forms, chat and email marketing
- Every plan includes a form builder, landing pages, web chat with an AI chatbot and 150 free marketing emails a month. Larger email volumes and SMS are paid add-ons.
Redtail CRM
- Contacts and accounts
- Contact and account management with user-defined fields, segmentation, compliant note entry and archiving, and customizable database lists.
- Workflows and automation
- Process workflows, automation triggers and templates are listed from the Growth plan.
- Sales pipeline tracker
- A pipeline tracker and seminar and event management sit alongside shareable calendars and automated reports.
- Redtail Imaging
- CRM-integrated document management with audit trails, indexes for searching files and 200 GB of storage, included in Growth.
- Redtail Speak
- Archived, searchable texting for advisors, with scheduling, bulk texting and an AI assistant. The page says it is subject to broker-dealer approval.
- Integrations and mobile app
- The vendor lists more than 100 integrations with advisor tools, plus a secure mobile app on both plans.
Plans
Nutshell
Foundation$13
per user / month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
Unlimited contacts and storage, email and calendar sync, AI chatbot, form builder and landing pages. 1 pipeline and 100 active leads.
Growth$25
per user / month, billed annually ($32 billed monthly)
Adds activity reports, sales quotas, lead assignment rules, custom stage goals and hot leads, with unlimited active leads.
Pro$42
per user / month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
Adds 5 custom pipelines, advanced reporting, sales automation, AI lead recaps and next steps, and a meeting scheduler.
Business$59
per user / month, billed annually ($67 billed monthly)
Adds 10 custom pipelines, the advanced meeting scheduler, audit log and changelog, and additional teams and territories.
Enterprise$79
per user / month, billed annually ($89 billed monthly)
Adds unlimited pipelines and custom fields, enterprise SSO, read-only SQL data access and phone support.
Redtail CRM
Launch$39
per user / month, billed yearly ($45 billed monthly)
Maximum of 5 users. Contact and account management, reporting, segmentation, mobile app and integrations.
Growth$59
per user / month, billed yearly ($65 billed monthly)
Unlimited users. Everything in Launch plus Imaging and Speak, process workflows, automation triggers, permissions and document storage.
EnterpriseCustom
Customizable plans for larger teams and advisor networks, with a minimum license commitment. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Nutshell
- Annual discount
Lower per-user price with annual billing
The pricing toggle advertises 15% off for annual billing. Listed savings run from $6 to $10 per user a month: Foundation is $13 instead of $19, Enterprise $79 instead of $89.
Redtail CRM
- Annual discount
Save with yearly billing
Launch is $39 per user a month billed yearly against $45 billed monthly; Growth is $59 against $65.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Nutshell or Redtail CRM?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Nutshell is cheaper to start with: $13 a month for each person, against $39 a month for each person for Redtail CRM. Nutshell starts at $13 per user / month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly), and Redtail CRM starts at $39 per user / month, billed yearly ($45 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Nutshell or Redtail CRM?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Nutshell nor Redtail CRM has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Nutshell and Redtail CRM run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Nutshell lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.