SharpSpring

SharpSpring was a marketing automation and CRM platform for agencies and small businesses. Constant Contact bought it in 2021 and now sells it as Lead Gen & CRM, a name that replaces the SharpSpring brand.

What happened to SharpSpring?

Constant Contact announced the deal on 22 June 2021 and completed the acquisition on 1 September 2021. At the time, SharpSpring described itself as a cloud-based revenue growth platform used by more than 10,000 businesses. Constant Contact later renamed the product Lead Gen & CRM.

According to Constant Contact's knowledge base, existing customers kept access to the same application and functionality. The SharpSpring name still shows up in billing, the API, the knowledge base and some third-party integrations. The old sharpspring.com pricing page now redirects to Constant Contact's Lead Gen & CRM page.

Who is it for?

SharpSpring was built for agencies and small and mid-size businesses. For agencies, its site still lists an agency pricing model, single sign-on, a rebrandable platform and unlimited support. Constant Contact now positions Lead Gen & CRM for teams that need to track sales, build pipelines and manage sales tasks alongside their marketing automation.

What are the main features?

Email marketing, lead scoring and automation

You can create, send and track email campaigns, and the legacy SharpSpring site says email content adapts to each lead's needs and interests. Leads are scored automatically based on what they do, so sales can see who is ready. Customizable automations then handle nurturing and follow-up. Read more about how this works in our guide to drip campaigns.

Built-in CRM and sales follow-up

A central CRM tracks contacts, pipelines and opportunities. The legacy site also lists built-in messaging and task automation for sales follow-up, and says teams can connect a third-party CRM instead.

Social media, retargeting and analytics

You can manage social accounts in one place and show retargeting ads to people who left your site. Reports connect marketing spend to sales results, pipeline and revenue. Constant Contact's demo page describes a "Life of Lead" view that follows each lead from ad impression to closed deal.

How much does it cost?

On 1 November 2026, Constant Contact did not publish a price for Lead Gen & CRM. You book a demo with a certified partner, who discusses pricing on the call. Constant Contact says you pay one up-front monthly price that includes unlimited users and free phone and email support. No free plan or free trial is offered on the product page.

What do users say about it?

There is no clean public review score for Lead Gen & CRM today. G2 now redirects its old SharpSpring listing to a page called Constant Contact Advanced Automation, rated 4.4 out of 5 from 961 reviews. That page also describes Constant Contact's own email and SMS automation and lists its Lite, Standard and Premium prices, so its reviews mix two products. G2's summary of those reviews names ease of use, email marketing and automation as the main strengths, and limited customization and missing features as the main complaints. Capterra has no separate listing for SharpSpring or Lead Gen & CRM.

When should you choose an alternative?

• You mainly need email marketing at a published price. Constant Contact's own Email and Digital Marketing plans start at $10.20 a month billed annually, priced by contacts and sends.
• You want marketing automation built on a widely used CRM. Compare HubSpot, whose marketing software runs on the HubSpot CRM.
• You want email automation with an optional sales CRM. Look at ActiveCampaign, or EngageBay, which adds a help desk and has a free plan.
• You need enterprise B2B automation. Consider Adobe's Marketo or Act-On.
• You are still deciding whether you need automation at all. Read about the advantages and disadvantages of marketing automation.