Key Takeaways
Copper CRM offers native Google Workspace integration with a Chrome extension that works directly inside Gmail and Google Calendar, while Insightly no longer supports its CRM Chrome extension.
Copper remains focused exclusively on small businesses, whereas Insightly has shifted toward enterprise features and higher pricing that may not suit smaller companies.
Copper displays opportunities in a visual drag-and-drop pipeline, while Insightly uses a tabular spreadsheet format requiring multiple clicks to update deal stages.
Copper provides an easily customizable setup without IT support and offers round-the-clock customer service, making it accessible for teams without dedicated technical resources.
Switching CRMs isn't something you wake up and decide to do on a random Tuesday. It's usually something that builds over time.
Maybe your team's spending more time updating records than actually talking to clients. Maybe onboarding a new hire into your CRM has turned into a full training program. Or maybe you're bouncing between Gmail and your CRM so often that you start wondering, aren't these supposed to work together?
If you're here, you're probably past the "maybe we should explore other options" phase. You're ready to find something that actually fits how your team works, especially if you're living inside Google Workspace every day.
Here's what makes teams move from Insightly to Copper, and why the switch tends to stick.
1. Native integration with Google Workspace
Copper is designed specifically for Google and was chosen as a Recommended for Google Workspace app. No need to spend hours in training sessions learning a new tool — it feels and looks exactly like the Google applications you already know and love. What this means for you: all your CRM data is now integrated with your calendar, email, contacts, Google Sheets and more. Without you having to lift a finger, Copper can pull emails and files into your contact records and create detailed profiles for all your relationships.
With Insightly CRM, you can only bring over names and email addresses when adding a new contact, so you’ll often need to spend admin time enriching your contact profiles manually.
In addition, the Copper Chrome extension puts Copper CRM where you already work: inside Gmail and Google Calendar. This means you’ll never have to switch tabs to add leads, track email conversations, or manage tasks. You can also look up event details, participants and materials inside Google Calendar without breaking your workflow.
While Insightly has a Google Workspace integration behind the scenes, they no longer support their CRM Chrome extension. This means that you’ll need to do most of your work inside the Insightly app to take advantage of their email features (like templates and bulk emails).
Copper is a preferred choice among Insightly CRM alternatives:
“Love the direct integration with Gmail and being able to stay in Gmail for the majority of my day instead of switching back and forth for mundane tasks.” - G2 user review
Related: Best Insightly CRM alternatives
2. Copper is built for small businesses, not enterprise
At Copper, our goal is to give you a CRM that your team actually loves to adopt and use — so you can focus on growing your relationships — and your business.
We’re clear on our mission of helping small businesses build authentic and lasting relationships so they can win clients for life, and it shows in how we serve our customers. We’re proud to be the CRM for people who care about people.
Insightly also began as a CRM focused on small businesses, but they’ve slowly built enterprise-focused marketing automation and support capabilities over time. The company’s new goal is to secure larger companies that tend to prefer enterprise CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot. Today, Insightly CRM is laser-focused on rolling out complex features that bigger businesses need, while leaving their small businesses customers behind.
One G2 reviewer lamented, “[Insightly] did an awesome job updating and adding features, then they started to charge the hell out of everyone, completely blowing past the price points that were appropriate.”
3. Copper's interface is simpler and easier to navigate
Copper was designed to be easily adaptable to your processes and workflows. We keep it simple, with all your contact’s details on one screen saving you time from clicking around to find what you’re looking for. Plus, our search bar and filters help you narrow your search and save your parameters for next time, which cuts down on tedious repetitive work.
Copper also helps make sales more visual by displaying your opportunities on a pipeline. This way, you can easily see all your opportunities and which stage they’re in, and drag-and-drop opportunities to move them to the next stage.
Insightly’s tabular interface means you have to click three times before you see any relevant information. Did you leave a note on a particular account? You’ll need to click into all the sales notes and read through them to find the one you’re looking for.
Want to see the document a prospect signed? On Insightly, you’ll need at least another two or three clicks to get to the attached files.
In addition, while Insightly has the ability to track opportunities, the only way to see all your opportunities at a glance is the standard list format — just like a spreadsheet. To change the stage of your deal, you’ll need to click into each opportunity, change the status, then click back out again. Without a high-level view of where everything sits, it can be hard to know where you should be focusing your efforts.
5. Support that's actually there when you need it
Switching CRMs is a big decision, and one of the biggest worries is, what happens when something goes wrong?
When you're running a service-based business, downtime or confusion with your CRM doesn't just slow your team down. It can directly impact your client experience. That's why responsive, helpful support isn't optional, it's essential.
Copper offers real, human support to help you get set up, troubleshoot issues, and make the most of the platform. You're not left digging through a forum hoping someone answers your question in a few days. Whether you need help with onboarding, customization, or just figuring out the best way to set up your pipeline, the Copper team is there.
It's one of those things you don't think about until you need it and when you need it, it makes all the difference.
“I have spent weeks of my life searching for a CRM that is the best fit for my business and I can confidently say this is it. Also, their support is amazing! If you really want to voice your opinion on the future development of this software, they absolutely make that happen!” - G2 user review
Thinking about switching from Insightly CRM? Try Copper first.
When it comes down to Insightly vs. Copper, we’re the clear winner for small businesses. If you’re ready to start growing and closing deals with a CRM that's built to grow with your business, give Copper a try free for 14 days, no credit card needed.
