Octopus CRM competitors: the complete comparison + our top choice

Octopus CRM gained traction with simple LinkedIn automation, but its limitations make many teams look for more scalable competitors.

In this guide, discover the top Octopus CRM alternatives in 2025 and why Kanbox stands out as the winning choice.

Try Kanbox for free 15-day trial, no credit card

Octopus CRM at a glance – what it offers and what's missing

What Octopus CRM does well

• Automates connection requests, profile visits, and LinkedIn messages.
• Builds simple outreach sequences with follow-ups.
• Allows campaign targeting with LinkedIn filters (title, company, location).

Why Octopus CRM is attractive for beginners

• Affordable entry-level pricing for small businesses.
• Easy to set up with a Chrome extension.
• Saves time by automating repetitive LinkedIn tasks.

The limitations you can't ignore

• ❌ Not a full CRM: no advanced lead qualification, notes, or pipeline management.
• ❌ Weak multichannel options: almost no email or third-party integrations.
• ❌ Limited user experience: no smart inbox, restricted filters, and basic dashboards.

Top 5 Octopus CRM competitors in 2025

OctopusCRM opened the door to basic LinkedIn automation, but real sales automation requires more powerful tools, safer platforms, and better customer experience. Here are the best alternatives to Octopus CRM in 2025, with their key features, benefits, and drawbacks.

1. Kanbox – the all-in-one competitor for sales & CRM

Features:

• Automates connection requests, personalized messages, and follow-ups.
• Integrated Kanban pipelines to track every prospect and activity.
• Smart Inbox for messaging: tags, notes, reminders, full-screen chat.
• Scraper for up to 75k profiles/month, including email addresses.
• Built-in A/B testing and performance metrics to optimize response rates.

Pricing: €25–€80/month, free 15-day trial (no credit card).

✅ Pros:

• Combines automation + CRM in one modern platform.
• Friendly interface, efficient workflows, easy to use.
• Safe cloud-based design with strong customer support.

❌ Cons:

• Email outreach is planned for 2025, not yet live.

👉 Best for freelancers, professional sales teams, and agencies who need a comprehensive, scalable solution.

Try Kanbox for free 15-day trial, no credit card

2. Expandi – premium cloud-based multichannel competitor

Features:

• Automates LinkedIn + email outreach in the same workflow.
• Cloud-based with dedicated IPs for account safety.
• Personalized campaigns with images, video, and tailored content.
• Detailed analytics to track performance.

Pricing: $99/month per LinkedIn account, 7-day free trial.

✅ Pros:

• Multichannel automation without browser extensions.
• Reliable account safety with warm-up features.
• Designed for agencies handling multiple accounts.

❌ Cons:

• Expensive compared to other competitors.
• Limited CRM functionality (no visual pipelines).

3. LeadDelta – CRM-focused competitor for LinkedIn networks

Features:

• Organize contacts with tags, notes, reminders, and filters.
• Enrich data with verified email addresses and phone numbers.
• Team dashboards for collaboration and tracking activities.

Pricing: $29–33/month, 7-day trial.

✅ Pros:

• Great for managing large LinkedIn accounts efficiently.
• Affordable entry-level option.
• Professional interface tailored to networking.

❌ Cons:

• No automation options (messages must be sent manually).
• Limited for campaign creation and outreach strategy.

4. Meet Alfred – multi-channel competitor for SMEs

Features:

• Automates LinkedIn, email, and Twitter campaigns.
• Built-in CRM with contact history, notes, and activity tracking.
• Pre-built templates for campaign creation.
• Team inbox for shared access and workflow management.

Pricing: $59–79/month, free plan with restrictions.

✅ Pros:

• Affordable compared to Expandi.
• Multichannel outreach with simple integration.
• Includes CRM features for small businesses.

❌ Cons:

• Interface looks outdated.
• Reporting capabilities are basic.

5. Linked Helper – the low-cost, technical competitor

Features:

• Advanced IF/THEN workflows for unlimited campaigns.
• Desktop software with detailed export of profiles and activities.
• Predefined campaign templates for fast setup.
• Can integrate with CRMs like HubSpot, Zoho, Salesforce.

Pricing: $15–45/month, 14-day free trial.

✅ Pros:

• Budget-friendly with powerful automation features.
• Highly customizable campaigns for advanced users.
• Offers comprehensive data export.

❌ Cons:

• Requires installation on PC or VPS.
• Steeper learning curve than cloud-based tools.
• No email or social media channel integration.

Comparison table: Top 5 Octopus CRM competitors

How to choose the best Octopus CRM alternative

Selecting the right LinkedIn automation tool is not only about pricing plans or popularity. The ideal competitor should help users streamline campaign management, automatically send personalized messages, and optimize lead generation with minimal effort.

1. Define your priorities

Not every business needs the same functionality. Before starting, identify your specific goals:

• Simple LinkedIn activities like sending connection requests and follow-ups → Kanbox or Linked Helper.
• A CRM software for managing prospects in pipelines → Kanbox or LeadDelta.
• Multichannel outreach (LinkedIn + email marketing + social media platforms) → Kanbox (2025 roadmap) or Expandi.
• Low-cost starting price with essential features → Kanbox annual plan or Linked Helper.

2. Check scalability

Your chosen platform must grow with your outreach. Review these criteria:

• Lead generation volume: Kanbox supports up to 75k prospects/month, one of the highest rates in the market.
• Multi-account support: Kanbox and Expandi allow agencies to manage several users at once.
• Team collaboration: Kanbox offers team spaces for sales navigator users, while LeadDelta provides dashboards and Meet Alfred offers shared inboxes.

3. Keep it simple

Even the most powerful management software becomes a drawback if users struggle with the interface. Look for:

• Cloud-based automation: Kanbox, Expandi, and Meet Alfred run without keeping a PC on.
• Ease of use: Kanbox offers a modern, friendly interface that lets users create and send campaigns quickly.
• Technical customization options: Linked Helper provides unlimited plans and workflows but requires more effort and technical knowledge.

4. Evaluate safety & support

Account safety is a key concern for every LinkedIn automation software user. When reading reviews on Capterra, users often mention bans or connection limits with less secure tools.

• Kanbox ensures safe automation within LinkedIn limits.
• Cloud competitors like Expandi offer dedicated IPs, reducing the risk of detection.
• Check for responsive customer support to handle issues quickly.

5. Compare features vs. pricing

Finally, balance features, drawbacks, and cost.

• Octopus CRM offers a low starting price but lacks CRM and multichannel features.
• Expandi is powerful but expensive for single accounts.
• Kanbox delivers automation, CRM, Smart Inbox, and analytics at an affordable monthly rate.

👉 Always match the pricing plan to the real value offered: advanced features, efficiency gains, and long-term potential.

Why Kanbox is the best Octopus CRM competitor

Choosing Kanbox means going beyond basic automation. Unlike Octopus CRM, it centralizes every step of your LinkedIn prospecting into a single, efficient platform.

Complete automation without complexity

• Create advanced LinkedIn automation workflows: visits → connection requests → personalized messages → follow-ups.
• Save time with ready-to-use LinkedIn message templates designed for sales, recruitment, or influencer outreach.

Integrated Kanban CRM

• Visualize leads in Kanban pipelines or automated pipelines.
• Move prospects automatically based on activity and status.
• Use pre-built models for sales prospecting and recruitment campaigns.

Smart Inbox that boosts replies

• Manage conversations in one LinkedIn messaging inbox.
• Switch to full-screen LinkedIn chat for distraction-free messaging.
• Add tags, notes, and reminders with the lead manager.

Scalable data scraping + enrichment

• Collect up to 75k profiles/month with the LinkedIn scraper.
• Enrich contact data and verify email addresses with the LinkedIn Email Finder (98% deliverability).
• Perfect for network management and large-scale lead generation.

Continuous optimization

• Monitor performance with detailed campaign metrics.
• Compare strategies with integrated A/B testing.

Transparent pricing

• Starter: $25/month → 300 imports/month.
• Essential: $45/month → 600 imports/month.
• Pro: $80/month → 75k imports/month.
• Agency: custom offer (white-label, multi-account).

👉 Full details available on the pricing page.

✅ In short, Kanbox is the only competitor that combines automation, CRM pipelines, Smart Inbox, scraping, and enrichment into one streamlined solution.

❌ Octopus CRM, Dripify, or Waalaxy each cover parts of the process, but none offer a complete platform.

👉 Explore the comparisons: Kanbox vs LaGrowthMachine, Kanbox vs Waalaxy, Kanbox vs Dripify, Kanbox vs Evaboot.

Which Octopus CRM competitor is right for you?

Octopus CRM is fine for starting out, but growing businesses need more. Kanbox offers automation, CRM pipelines, Smart Inbox, and lead generation in one platform — all at a competitive price.

Try Kanbox for free 15-day trial, no credit card

FAQs about Octopus CRM competitors

What are the best Octopus CRM alternatives?

The top Octopus CRM alternatives in 2025 include Kanbox, Expandi, LeadDelta, Meet Alfred, and Linked Helper. Each tool is designed to help users create more effective outreach campaigns, with different strengths:

• Kanbox: the all-in-one CRM software + automation tool.
• Expandi: premium cloud-based platform for LinkedIn + email.
• LeadDelta: CRM-style software designed for network management.
• Meet Alfred: multi-channel LinkedIn automation tool for SMEs.
• Linked Helper: budget-friendly but technical competitor.

→ Among all competitors, Kanbox stands out as the best alternative to Octopus CRM, offering automation, CRM pipelines, Smart Inbox, and lead generation in a single platform.

How does Dripify compare to Octopus CRM?

When it comes to Dripify vs Octopus CRM, both offer LinkedIn automation, but the features comparison shows major differences.

• Dripify: multichannel workflows, email outreach, and analytics.
• Octopus CRM: limited to basic LinkedIn automation with fewer options.

Dripify compared to Octopus CRM offers more personalization but lacks Kanbox's integrated CRM pipelines and Smart Inbox. For users looking at dripify features compared to Octopus CRM, the key drawback is the absence of full customer relationship management.

→ You can compare Dripify and Octopus CRM directly, but Kanbox remains the stronger competitor for scalable prospecting.

What is the pricing for Octopus CRM alternatives?

Octopus CRM pricing starts at $9.99/month, but its functionality is limited. Other competitors have different pricing plans:

• Expandi: $99/month per account.
• LeadDelta: $29–33/month.
• Meet Alfred: $59–79/month.
• Linked Helper: $15–45/month.
• Kanbox: €25–€80/month, with automation, CRM, and scraping included.

When looking at the cost of Octopus CRM alternatives, Kanbox offers the best value. Its pricing plans ensure users get CRM pipelines, Smart Inbox, and automation features at a fair monthly rate.

What features do Octopus CRM competitors offer?

The features of Octopus CRM alternatives vary, but the most important ones include:

• Automation: automatically send personalized connection requests and follow-ups.
• CRM pipelines: manage every prospect in a visual workflow.
• Messaging: Smart Inboxes for more effective responses.
• Data enrichment: scraping and email finders to add verified contacts.
• Analytics: metrics to optimize campaigns and improve response rates.

→ In the features comparison of Octopus CRM vs competitors, Kanbox leads by combining automation + CRM in a single software designed for both sales and marketing teams.

How to automate LinkedIn outreach with alternatives?

To automate LinkedIn outreach, competitors like Kanbox provide full LinkedIn automation tools that let you:

• Create multi-step campaigns.
• Send personalized messages automatically.
• Manage leads with pipelines and metrics tracking.

Compared to Octopus CRM LinkedIn automation, Kanbox allows highly personalized connection requests and efficient campaign management. It ensures safety within LinkedIn limits while streamlining every step of the outreach strategy.

What are the reviews on Octopus CRM alternatives?

User reviews on Octopus CRM often highlight limitations: basic features, lack of CRM, and poor scalability. On platforms like Capterra, the reviews of Octopus CRM competitors emphasize the added benefits of Kanbox, Expandi, and LeadDelta.

• Kanbox: praised for its intuitive interface and all-in-one functionality.
• Expandi: positive reviews for cloud safety, but considered expensive.
• Linked Helper: reviews mention strong automation but a steep learning curve.

→ Overall, Octopus CRM alternatives reviews confirm that Kanbox offers the best balance between ease of use, powerful features, and efficiency.

What is the user experience with Octopus CRM alternatives?

The Octopus CRM user experience can feel basic, with a limited dashboard and few customization options. By contrast, the user experience with Octopus CRM alternatives is more advanced:

• Kanbox: modern interface, Smart Inbox, and automated pipelines.
• Expandi: cloud-based with account safety features.
• LeadDelta: intuitive for contact organization.
• Meet Alfred: multi-channel but less user-friendly.

→ The Octopus CRM competitors user experience shows that Kanbox is the most efficient platform, allowing businesses to start campaigns easily, personalize outreach, and generate more responses with less effort.