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Alternatives

Best Catalyst alternatives in 2026

Data compiled by Toolradar Updated How we rate

Cite this list: Toolradar, best Catalyst alternatives 2026, toolradar.com/alternatives/catalyst

7 direct alternatives to Catalyst, compared on pricing, features, and best-for use cases. Pick the right replacement without the marketing fluff.

Quick answer

  • Gainsight is the top alternative to Catalyst on our list, followed by Planhat CS and ClientSuccess.
  • 1 of the 7 alternatives has a free plan, starting with SmartKarrot.
  • Highest rated: Dooly, 4.7 out of 5 from 200 ratings, Sep 2026.
Publications that cover the tools tracked here
  • TechCrunch
  • Bloomberg
  • The Information
  • Fortune
  • The Verge
  • 7 alternatives
  • 1 with a free plan

Top 3 alternatives to Catalyst

  1. Gainsight logo

    Gainsight

    #1 Top pick

    Unify customer data, predict churn, and automate success

    Pricing

    Contact sales

    4.5 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 1,810 ratings, Sep 2026

    Our take

    Best overall

  2. Planhat CS logo

    The unified customer platform for sales, service, and customer success to drive lifelong revenue growth.

    Pricing

    Not published

    4.5 /5 on G2 · 953 ratings, Sep 2026

  3. ClientSuccess logo

    Simple, powerful software to reduce churn and increase customer revenue.

    Pricing

    Contact sales

    4.3 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 441 ratings, Sep 2026

Catalyst vs 7 alternatives

Catalyst and its alternatives compared on starting price (cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of November 2026), free plan and average user rating.
Catalyst logo
Catalyst Compared tool
Price: Contact sales Free plan: No n/a
Gainsight logo
Gainsight
Price: Contact sales Free plan: No 4.5 out of 5, from 1,810 ratings across G2 and Capterra (1,810)
Planhat CS logo
Planhat CS
Price: Not published Free plan: No 4.5 out of 5, from 953 ratings on G2 (953)
ClientSuccess logo
ClientSuccess
Price: Contact sales Free plan: No 4.3 out of 5, from 441 ratings across G2 and Capterra (441)
Dooly logo
Dooly
Price: Not published Free plan: No 4.7 out of 5, from 200 ratings on G2 (200)
SmartKarrot logo
SmartKarrot
Price: Free + paid Free plan: Yes 4.5 out of 5, from 96 ratings across G2 and Capterra (96)
Kapta logo
Kapta
Price: Not published Free plan: No 4.7 out of 5, from 18 ratings on G2 (18)
Steer logo
Steer
Price: $189/mo Free plan: No 4.0 out of 5, from 28 ratings across G2 and Capterra (28)

Why people consider alternatives to Catalyst

Catalyst is a customer success platform that combines customer 360 views, health scoring, and automation to help teams scale customer success operations.

Teams most often switch away when one of these starts to bite:

  • Pricing at scale as usage or premium tiers add up.
  • Missing integrations with the rest of your stack.
  • Performance or scale limits as your needs grow.
  • A specific feature gap you have hit in crm.

The 7 alternatives below cover the same core job (CRM) with different trade-offs.

Catalyst by the numbers

Toolradar data: It is listed as an alternative to 13 other tools on Toolradar, ranking #6 of 46 in Customer Success. As of Nov 2026.

Catalyst compared with 46 Customer Success tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
Metric Catalyst Peer median Position (1 is best)
Free plan No 7 of 46 have one n/a
Listed as an alternative to 13 tools 1 #6 of 46

Listed as an alternative to: #6 on 2026-10-16 to #6 on 2026-11-02 (rank among 46 tools, 1 is best).

Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. All Customer Success data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position.

Cite this: Toolradar, “Catalyst by the numbers”, Nov 2026.

CRM leaderboards from Toolradar data

Toolradar ranks CRM tools on one measure at a time, only where at least 8 tools have data. As of Nov 2026.

CSV download of these CRM leaderboards, licensed CC BY 4.0

Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit

Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.

Counted among 148 tools with no stated price unit, verified price.

Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit, CRM tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
# Tool Entry plan
1 MyKidReports $0.99/mo, billed monthly
2 Stablebuzz $1.11/mo
3 VSCO Workspace $2.50/mo, billed monthly
4 Rock RMS $4.45/mo
5 ConnectMachine 2.0 $5/mo, billed yearly

Lowest entry price, per-user plans

Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.

Counted among 60 tools priced per user, verified price.

Lowest entry price, per-user plans, CRM tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
# Tool Entry plan
1 Chronock $6.67/user/mo, billed yearly
2 Pixelwand CRM $8/user/mo, billed yearly
3 Bonsai $9/user/mo, billed monthly
3 Close MCP $9/user/mo, billed monthly
3 Freshsales $9/user/mo, billed monthly

Lowest entry price, flat team plans

Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.

Counted among 18 tools priced as a flat team plan, verified price.

Lowest entry price, flat team plans, CRM tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
# Tool Entry plan
1 Paw Partner $10.99/mo flat, billed monthly
2 StyleSeat $19/mo flat, billed monthly
3 Rentec Direct $25/mo flat, billed monthly
4 GlossGenius $28/mo flat, billed monthly
5 Zen Planner $39/mo flat, billed monthly

A position exists only when at least 8 tools have data for that metric. 226 of 514 CRM tools have a verified price; the others publish none we could read (often "contact sales"). Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source. How we compute this. Cite this: Toolradar, “CRM leaderboards”, Nov 2026. Data licensed CC BY 4.0. All CRM statistics.

7 alternatives to Catalyst

Ranked by G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editor review, plus how directly they replace Catalyst.

  1. 1
    Gainsight logo

    Gainsight

    Paid Battle-tested at scale

    Unify customer data, predict churn, and automate success

    4.5 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 1,810 ratings, Sep 2026

    Price not published

  2. 2
    Planhat CS logo

    Planhat CS

    Paid

    The unified customer platform for sales, service, and customer success to drive lifelong revenue growth.

    4.5 /5 on G2 · 953 ratings, Sep 2026

    Price not published

  3. 3
    ClientSuccess logo

    ClientSuccess

    Paid

    Simple, powerful software to reduce churn and increase customer revenue.

    4.3 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 441 ratings, Sep 2026

    Price not published

  4. 4
    Dooly logo

    Dooly

    Paid

    Automate CRM, sales processes, and busywork

    4.7 /5 on G2 · 200 ratings, Sep 2026

    Price not published

  5. 5
    SmartKarrot logo

    SmartKarrot

    Free plan Cheaper than Catalyst

    Drive customer growth and retention through proactive engagement and insights.

    4.5 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 96 ratings, Sep 2026

    Free plan available; paid prices not published

  6. 6
    Kapta logo

    Kapta

    Paid

    The system of action for large account teams to drive customer retention and revenue growth.

    4.7 /5 on G2 · 18 ratings, Mar 2026

    Price not published

  7. 7
    Steer logo

    Steer

    Paid

    Automate customer follow-ups, scheduling, and marketing for auto repair shops to drive repeat business.

    4.0 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 28 ratings, Sep 2026

    From $189/mo, billed monthly

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Catalyst?

Based on real-signal scoring (G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editorial review), the top alternatives to Catalyst are Gainsight, Planhat CS, ClientSuccess. Each solves the same core job with different trade-offs on pricing, features, and integrations.

Is there a free alternative to Catalyst?

There is no fully free alternative in this list. SmartKarrot is freemium: a permanent free tier plus paid plans (Drive customer growth and retention through proactive engagement and insights).

Why do people look for Catalyst alternatives?

Common reasons teams switch away from Catalyst: pricing that scales aggressively, missing integrations with the rest of their stack, performance or scale limits, or a specific feature gap in crm. The alternatives on this page solve the same core problem with different trade-offs.

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