How long does it take to develop a fully functional CRM system?

[Suheb]

If I want to build a complete CRM software (Customer Relationship Management system) from scratch,
how much time will it take to make it ready to use?

[karstenkoehler · Accepted solution]

Hi @Suheb,

This depends a lot on what you consider to be complete and which features that would entail.

If you are aiming for a basic but usable version with contact management, pipeline tracking, and basic reporting, a small team of developers could deliver a minimum viable product in around three to six months, according to generative AI. However, if the CRM needs to support more advanced features like email integration, custom analytics dashboards, automation workflows, and role-based access control, the timeline will stretch significantly.

The time also depends on how much emphasis you place on user experience, scalability, and integration with third-party systems like email clients or marketing tools. A well-designed and reliable CRM that competes with commercial products like HubSpot or Salesforce can take well over a year to build and polish, even with an experienced team. Testing, security, and deployment infrastructure also add substantial time beyond the core feature development.

Hope this helps!

[Nhal]

That’s a huge project to take on, and the timing really depends on how feature-rich you want your CRM to be.

Are you thinking just basic contact and deal tracking to start, or something closer to what tools like HubSpot or Salesforce offer? I once helped on a smaller CRM build for a sales team; it took about 4–6 months with a lean dev crew and limited features.

If you're planning something full-blown with email sync, automation, permissions, and integrations, you’re probably looking at a year or more with a decent-sized team.

[OliverKendrick]

1. Very lean MVP (basic contact, deal pipeline, task reminders): ~3-6 months with a small, well-coordinated team.

2. Mid-market “HubSpot-like” core feature set (emails, automation rules, basic analytics, user roles, API): ~9-15 months.

3. Enterprise-grade platform (multi-tenant architecture, advanced reporting, AI assists, mobile apps, SOC 2 / GDPR compliance, marketplace): 18 months – 2+ years and continuous evolution afterward.

There’s no single “magic number” because the real driver is scope — how many features you commit to up-front and to what level of polish and scalability.

Oliver Kendrick
https://limeup.io/

[kosalaindrasiri]

Hey @Suheb,

If you’re talking about building a full CRM software like HubSpot itself, that’s a huge project. We’re talking years of development, a big team, constant maintenance, security work, and lots of trial and error to get it right.

HubSpot has been evolving for well over a decade, and it shows!

In reality, building something that powerful from scratch could easily take 3–5+ years and a serious budget. And even then, you’d still need to keep improving and fixing it forever to stay competitive.

That’s why most companies skip reinventing the wheel and instead use a proven CRM like HubSpot, then customize it to fit their unique processes. It saves an incredible amount of time and money, plus you get security, integrations, and support right away.

At my company, Sanmark Solutions, we help businesses do exactly that, tweak HubSpot to match how they work, build custom add-ons if needed, and connect everything smoothly. It’s faster, way less stressful, and you start getting value in weeks, not years.

Happy to chat more if you’re curious! 🚀✨

Regards,

[himanshurauthan · Accepted solution]

Hi @Suheb  

I believe there is no definitive answer to this question. The time it will take for you to build a complete CRM software will depend on a lot of factors, such as: 

• Team size and familiarity with CRM systems
• Complexity of what needs to be set up and implemented, including sales pipelines, automations, reporting, integrations, etc. 
• The scale at which you want to build your CRM platform. For instance, if you're looking for an enterprise scale CRM setup, it will take more time, due to the advanced requirements. 

So, giving a clear timeline for building a complete CRM can be tricky. However, if you could elaborate on your goals and scale a little, it might be possible to figure out a tentative timeline. 

[karstenkoehler · Accepted solution]

Hi @Suheb,

This depends a lot on what you consider to be complete and which features that would entail.

If you are aiming for a basic but usable version with contact management, pipeline tracking, and basic reporting, a small team of developers could deliver a minimum viable product in around three to six months, according to generative AI. However, if the CRM needs to support more advanced features like email integration, custom analytics dashboards, automation workflows, and role-based access control, the timeline will stretch significantly.

The time also depends on how much emphasis you place on user experience, scalability, and integration with third-party systems like email clients or marketing tools. A well-designed and reliable CRM that competes with commercial products like HubSpot or Salesforce can take well over a year to build and polish, even with an experienced team. Testing, security, and deployment infrastructure also add substantial time beyond the core feature development.

Hope this helps!