Insightly vs Copper: Which CRM Should Your Team Choose?

In the Insightly vs Copper choice, Copper is my pick for a small team that works in Gmail and Google Calendar and wants month-to-month billing. Insightly fits a team that needs more records and reports from the entry plan and custom objects from Professional, and accepts annual billing.

On the automation plans, five seats cost $49 x 5 x 12 = $2,940 a year on Insightly Professional and $59 x 5 x 12 = $3,540 on Copper Professional, both billed annually. Insightly’s bundle table also labels two service fees “required”, which can reverse that order.

Insightly vs Copper at a Glance

Copper is a Google Workspace CRM sold monthly or annually; Insightly is a customizable CRM sold on annual billing, with paid add-ons.

Sources: Insightly pricing page and Copper pricing page, checked October 2026.

Key Differences Between Insightly and Copper

Four differences decide this choice, and only one of them is the seat price.

The inbox difference matters most to a team that answers clients from Gmail; my full Copper CRM review weighs Copper’s inbox design against its plan limits.

The data difference matters to an agency with years of client history; my Insightly CRM review covers Insightly’s data model in depth.

Project handoff does not separate them: Insightly converts won opportunities to projects, and Copper includes project pipelines, both on every plan.

Insightly vs Copper: Features Compared

Workflow automation is level, because both start it on Professional; Copper leads on Gmail and Calendar work, and Insightly on records, customization and entry-plan reporting.

Both store contacts and deals as records and move deals through pipelines, the core of how CRM software works; the matrix shows which plan unlocks each piece.

Sources: Insightly pricing page and Copper pricing page, checked October 2026.

Google Workspace and email: where each CRM lives

Copper includes its Chrome extension and Gmail, Calendar, Contacts and Drive sync on every plan, with leads and opportunities from Professional, while Insightly names “Google, MS 365 integrations” without saying what they cover.

Copper’s Chrome extension, Gmail sync, Calendar sync and Drive integration all sit on the $23 Basic plan; Professional adds Google Sheets and Looker Studio. Insightly syncs email in both directions on every plan, so open Gmail during its 14-day trial to see how far that reaches.

Pipelines, leads and projects

Insightly Plus covers leads, contacts, opportunities and project management, while Copper Basic has pipelines, deal management and projects but marks Leads and Sales opportunities “Not included”.

Qualifying inbound leads before creating deals works on Insightly’s $29 plan but needs Copper Professional at $59, both per seat per month billed annually. Copper Basic suits a services team that mainly runs client projects.

Automation: which plan runs workflows

Both start workflow automation on Professional: $49 per user per month on Insightly and $59 per seat on Copper, billed annually.

Copper Basic already includes task automation, and Copper Business adds email series, so a nurture sequence stays inside the CRM. Insightly adds webhooks on Professional, but marketing email automation is a separate product, Insightly Marketing, from $99 per account per month, billed annually. Neither vendor’s CRM plan list shows a cap on workflow runs.

Reporting and dashboards

Insightly includes advanced reports and pre-built dashboards on Plus and adds 100 insight cards on Professional, while Copper starts activity and pipeline reports on Professional and keeps custom reports for Business.

For a manager on a budget, the first report costs $29 per user per month on Insightly and $59 per seat on Copper, billed annually.

Customization, records and permissions

Insightly holds more data on the entry and automation plans: custom objects from Professional, and 100,000 records on Plus against 2,500 contacts. Field counts are less settled: Insightly Professional holds 100 custom fields, while Copper Professional shows 50 in its pricing matrix and Unlimited in its help center.

Copper allows 15,000 contacts on Professional and unlimited contacts and custom fields on Business. Insightly Plus allows 2 role-based permissions, while Copper has no team permissions until Professional.

Insightly vs Copper Pricing

Insightly’s CRM plans cost $29, $49 and $99 per user per month, billed annually; Copper’s cost $23, $59 and $99 per seat per month, billed annually. Neither lists a free plan, and both offer a 14-day free trial.

Sources: Insightly pricing page and Copper pricing page (Annual and Monthly views), checked October 2026.

The cheaper seat depends on the tier. Copper Basic undercuts Insightly Plus by $29 – $23 = $6 per seat per month, but lacks leads and opportunities. At the automation tier the order flips: Insightly Professional is $59 – $49 = $10 cheaper per seat per month.

Copper charges for flexibility: monthly billing adds $69 – $59 = $10 per seat per month on Professional and $134 – $99 = $35 on Business. Every Copper plan and fee is covered in Copper’s plans and billing in detail.

Year-One Cost for 5 and 10 Seats

Both teams below are example sizes; every price comes from each vendor’s pricing page. On licenses alone, Insightly Professional is the cheaper automation plan at both team sizes; Insightly’s two labelled fees can reverse that.

Sources: Insightly pricing page, Insightly Premier Support and Success and Copper pricing page, checked October 2026.

Assumptions: list prices in USD, before tax; Premier at its $3,000 annual minimum, because 20% of either license total is lower; no AppConnect, Insightly Marketing or Copper add-ons.

Insightly’s pages support two readings. Its All-in-One bundle table marks Guided product onboarding and Premier support and success “required”. Its CRM FAQ says every user gets phone and email support and can “upgrade” to Premier.

Without the fees, Insightly saves $59 x 5 x 12 – $49 x 5 x 12 = $600 at five seats. With them, $1,500 + $3,000 = $4,500 outweighs that saving, and Copper’s annual plan is cheaper. At ten seats the saving is $59 x 10 x 12 – $49 x 10 x 12 = $1,200, which $4,500 also outweighs.

Ask Insightly’s sales team which reading your quote follows. On Copper the choice is billing: five Professional seats paid monthly cost $69 x 5 x 12 – $59 x 5 x 12 = $600 more a year.

What each plan gates and when you upgrade

Copper’s first upgrade arrives sooner for a sales team, because Basic lacks leads and opportunities; Insightly’s is driven by automation and roles.

Sources: Insightly pricing page and Copper pricing page, checked October 2026.

Copper Basic is a contact-and-project tool, so most sales teams should budget for Professional.

Integrations, Support and Security

Copper connects LinkedIn and Zapier on every plan, and Zapier links it to 5,000+ other apps; Mailchimp, DocuSign, QuickBooks, PandaDoc and Slack join from Professional.

Insightly lists Google, Microsoft 365, PandaDoc, QuickBooks and Xero integrations and a REST API on its CRM plans. Its AppConnect builder is a separate product at $249 per account per month, billed annually, plus a required $3,000 technical setup.

Every Insightly user gets phone support (Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT) and email, with responses typically within 24 hours. Every Copper plan includes live chat, a help center, office hours and webinars.

Where Copper’s own pages disagree, here is what each states:

• Premium support: on the Business card; “Not included” in the plan matrix.
• Personal onboarding: “Not included” in the matrix; “on eligible annual plans” on the homepage.
• Single sign-on: Okta on Business in the matrix; SAML Single Sign-On (Okta) on Basic in the help center plan guide.
• Custom fields: 50 on Professional in the matrix; Unlimited on Professional in the help center.

Insightly’s security and compliance page names a SOC 2 Type II report and HIPAA compliance as a Business Associate. Copper’s security page states encryption in transit and at rest, but names neither.

Insightly vs Copper: Pros and Cons

Each point holds at the plan named.

Insightly pros and cons

Copper pros and cons

Which Is Better for Your Needs?

Match your first priority to a row. If Copper stays on your list beside a different CRM, open HubSpot vs Copper.

Sources: Insightly pricing page and Copper pricing page, checked October 2026.

Skip Insightly if you need monthly billing or cannot absorb $1,500 + $3,000 in first-year fees. Skip Copper if you need a Microsoft 365 integration listed on the pricing page or need leads on the $23 plan.

Leaning toward Copper but want one more matchup? Compare Copper vs Streak before you decide.

Switching Between Insightly and Copper

Moving either way means exporting files and importing them; into Copper, import Companies, then People, then Opportunities. The guides below name the limits: Insightly’s export guide lists what does not export, and Copper’s says activities need a one-time export request to Copper Support.

From Insightly to Copper

1. An admin grants export permission, then each object exports to CSV. Attachments, events, comments and saved emails do not export (Insightly export guide).
2. Create custom fields in Copper first, then import Companies, People and Opportunities in that order, in files up to 3MB. Revert Import undoes a bad run (Copper import guide).

From Copper to Insightly

1. An admin exports people, companies, opportunities, projects, tasks and leads as Excel files; activities need a one-time export from Copper Support (Copper export guide).
2. Import the files into Insightly, up to 25,000 records per import on Plus. Insightly updates existing records by Record ID, never by name (Insightly import guide).

Leaving Insightly loses saved emails, and leaving Copper needs a support request for activities, so run every export before the old subscription ends. Still unsure about leaving Insightly? Read HubSpot vs Insightly first.

How I Compared Insightly and Copper

I read both vendors’ pricing pages, plan matrices, import and export help articles, integrations pages and security pages on October 21, 2026. I compared the first plan with workflow automation on each side, Professional on both, and built the year-one totals from list prices.

The cost math and verdicts are my analysis. Neither vendor’s CRM plan list shows a workflow run limit, Insightly publishes no month-to-month billing price, and Copper publishes no daily bulk-email cap.

FAQ

Does Insightly or Copper have a free plan?

No. Neither pricing page lists a free plan, and both offer a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Copper’s trial runs on its Business plan, so it shows custom reports and email series that Basic and Professional buyers do not keep.

What is Copper most similar to?

Copper is a CRM for relationship-focused service businesses that runs inside Google Workspace, so its closest rivals are inbox-centered CRMs. My ranked list of CRMs that compete with Copper sorts them by why teams leave Copper.

Final Verdict: Insightly or Copper?

There is no overall winner. Copper is the pick for a team that works in Gmail and Calendar and wants monthly billing. Insightly is the pick for a team that needs records, custom objects and reports at a lower annual seat price, and accepts annual billing and the $1,500 + $3,000 fees if its quote includes them.

Neither suits a team that needs a free plan; my ranked list of CRM software widens the shortlist.