If you’re looking for business software then you absolutely must visit the Capterra directory (www.capterra.com) used by more than 3 million people every month! The site is now owned by Gartner and is a virtual encyclopedia of business applications. There are more than 34,000 business applications in their directory which ranges from accounting to yoga studios and everything in between. And the directory continues to grow (they added 113 new directory categories in 2017 alone!).
The site is completely free to use and unbiased. Capterra makes their money when vendors pay for hyperlinks from their directory profile on Capterra to their website. But unlike some directories that only list paid advertisers – Capterra lists all vendors in the category even if they haven’t paid for a profile. Paid and free profiles are almost identical providing you with the same information across vendors and applications (unpaid profiles simply don’t have an active hyperlink). If you don’t think that the include all vendors then consider that they have over 450 ERP products, over 600 CRM applications, and over 200 payroll systems in just three of their 500-plus software categories!
The site is growing fast as Gartner is incorporating information in it from it’s sister site SoftwareAdvice.com which is similar in some respects to Capterra but more focused on personalized consultative recommendations for software projects. SoftwareAdvice touts that they helped more than a half million companies to select software based on research on over 2,300 business applications. They tend to focus more in the traditional accounting and ERP business space along with major categories like CRM, HRMS, etc. where software purchases and engagements tend to be higher (as compared to some smaller categories focused on less complex applications or narrowly-focused niche applications.
One of the greatest resources on Capterra’s site is the main category page which offer answers to frequently asked questions, feature guides, pricing guides, fun and informative infographics, buying guides and advise, research reports, and summaries of the most popular products in the category. For example, check out the resource pages for ERP software, non-profit software, medical software, distribution and logistics, and more!
It’s incredibly easy to find software (and their competitors) by searching by category (such as accounting software) or for a specific vendor or product (such as Anytime Collect). There are more than 325,000 user ratings and product reviews helping you understand which products may be better than others and which are more popular (higher number of reviews) than others.
Reviews are rated on multiple levels including overall rating, ease of use, features and functions, customer service, and value for the money on a five-star scale. They also have a likelihood to recommend rating on each review. Each review includes general comments and sections to identify the pros and cons of the product and vendor.
Product and vendor profiles include starting price, availability of free trials, deployment options, training options, support overviews, website and contact information, and access to videos and other resources. Do you need a debt collection system that offers credit bureau reporting and handles payment plans? No problem, use the feature search to filter the search results to narrow the focus to just the right vendor and product.
One tip for using Capterra – by default, sponsored (paid) listings are shown first (higher on the page). You can change this by changing the sort by drop-down to display by “most reviews,” “highest rating,” or “hot products.” Highest rating is a good option but will display companies with only a few reviews if they are all very highly rated. We really like the most reviews sorting option which helps you understand the popularity of the product in the market. After all, the more prolific a product is – the more likely that there is a substantial user base on it.
The site also provides an extensive blog which is well organized into categories such as knocking down doors (for entrepreneurs and business owners, B2B marketing, business intelligence, and major software and industry categories. For example, there’s an awesome blog category called Software Buying Tips that anyone evaluating software should visit for some advice on what to do during the evaluation process.Read more here.
