About
The CRM Bench is a CRM guide for freelancers and 1 to 10 person studios, published by Mark Santos. Every CRM gets the same test client. The point is that you can compare what you read here.
Who publishes this
I'm Mark Santos. I run Mark Studios, a video editing studio, and I work as a freelancer full time: inquiries, proposals, contracts, invoices and revisions, every day. I own The CRM Bench. I run my own studio on Workspace369, which is why it carries a "Mark's pick" box on the ranking pages.
Method
Every CRM is held against the same fictional client, Juniper Lane Bakery, and the same eight steps from first inquiry to paid invoice. Each guide shows which plan each step needs, according to the vendor's own pages, and what that plan costs at 1, 3 and 5 seats. Scores come from six published weights and need a hands-on run to measure setup time, client experience and support. A CRM that hasn't had that run shows "Not scored" rather than an estimate. The steps, the weights and the formulas are on How I test.
Prices come only from each vendor's own pricing pages. Every one carries a link to its source and the date I read it.
How the site makes money
It doesn't, for now. The site launched with no affiliate links, no sponsors and no ads. If that ever changes, every page with a paid link will say so in one sentence above the first link, and those links will be marked rel="sponsored nofollow". Scores and order will still come only from the scorecard, and a CRM that fits stays on the list whether or not it pays.
Disclosure
Where I recommend a company I have a tie to, the disclosure sits in the same box as the recommendation.
How AI is used
AI tools research the vendors' pricing and plan pages, draft the guides, and check the site for broken links and stale prices. Every vendor fact links to the page it came from, with the date it was read, so you can check it. Nothing on the site claims a hands-on result that wasn't measured, and the reasons in the "Mark's pick" box are mine.
Update policy
Every price and plan limit is re-read from the vendor's page at least every 30 days. Changes go in the dated update log at the bottom of each page. A score or ranking changes only after a re-test, and the log says what moved and why.
Corrections
If something here is wrong, email corrections@thecrmbench.com. I correct the page, then add a dated line to its update log saying what was wrong.