Highrise CRM
Highrise CRM is a simple contact-management CRM originally developed by 37signals (the maker of Basecamp) in 2007 and one of the early influential SaaS CRMs of its era. The product was retired from new sales in 2018 when 37signals refocused on Basecamp as its single product, and the existing Highrise customer base was transferred to a legacy operational mode under a separate entity (Highrise HQ) that continues to maintain the service for paying users. New buyers cannot subscribe today — Highrise is profiled here as a reference and migration-target context for DACH SMBs that still operate the product or are evaluating migration to a modern alternative. The product's historical positioning was deliberately minimal: a contact database, communication log, simple task tracking and shared notes for small teams who found Salesforce, HubSpot CRM or the larger platforms too heavy.
Functional scope
Highrise covers contact records, company records, communication history (calls, emails, meetings), tagging, simple deal tracking, task assignment, shared notes and a basic activity feed. The product was deliberately scoped as a minimal CRM with a tight feature set rather than a pipeline-management or marketing-automation platform. Email-forwarding into the contact record was the primary inbound-communication capture mechanism. Reporting was intentionally minimal. The product did not evolve significantly after 2018; the legacy operational mode preserves the existing functionality rather than developing new capabilities.
Migration path for existing users
Existing Highrise customers face a strategic question about migration timing. The legacy operation is stable and the vendor has communicated no end-of-life date, but the product is not gaining features and the integration ecosystem is not being expanded. Typical migration targets for DACH SMBs are HubSpot CRM (free tier sufficient for many ex-Highrise use cases), Pipedrive (similar minimal-CRM philosophy), Zoho CRM (broader feature scope at SMB pricing) or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales (for Microsoft-stack-aligned buyers). Migration tooling is limited and is typically a CSV-export-and-import exercise with manual reconciliation of communication history and tags.
DACH context and GDPR
Highrise was an English-language product without DACH-specific localisation, and the data hosting was historically in the United States. Existing DACH users should evaluate the EU GDPR position of their Highrise data carefully — the standard contractual clauses and the post-Schrems-II data-transfer assessment apply, and the legacy operational mode of the product does not necessarily prioritise EU data-residency improvements. This is a meaningful migration argument for DACH SMBs that prefer EU-hosted CRM alternatives such as HubSpot (with EU hosting tier), Zoho (EU hosting), Pipedrive (EU hosting) or a DACH-native CRM.
Pricing model for legacy users
Existing Highrise customers continue on their original subscription terms under the legacy operational mode. New subscriptions are not available. The historical pricing model was a simple per-account monthly subscription with bundled user seats up to a threshold, well below the per-user pricing of the modern CRM platforms. For DACH SMBs comparing migration cost: modern CRM alternatives in the same minimal-CRM philosophy (HubSpot CRM free tier, Pipedrive starter tier) typically deliver broadly comparable functional coverage at comparable or lower total cost, with the additional benefit of an actively developed product.
Selection considerations
For new buyers, Highrise is not a selectable option — it is not accepting new subscriptions. For existing users, the strategic question is migration timing rather than whether to migrate. The closest functional successors are HubSpot CRM (free tier), Pipedrive and Zoho CRM. Buyers attached to the minimal-CRM philosophy that Highrise represented may also evaluate Streak (Gmail-anchored), Less Annoying CRM or Capsule CRM. For DACH SMBs the EU GDPR data-residency angle is an additional argument for migrating to an EU-hosted alternative sooner rather than later.
Related Topics
Editorial assessment of Highrise CRM — CRM Software Vendors
Schlankes Cloud CRM, ehemals von 37signals/Basecamp — nicht mehr aktiv weiterentwickelt; primär Bestandskunden-Solution.
Strong at
- Einfachheit: Sehr fokussierte UX, schnelle Inbetriebnahme — gut für Freelancer und Mikro-KMU mit minimalen Anforderungen.
- Stabile Datenhaltung: Bestehender Service läuft zuverlässig für aktive End user — für Daten-Archivierungs-Zwecke adequate.
Watch out for
- Keine Neuregistrierungen: Highrise nimmt seit 2018 keine Neukunden mehr an — strategisch keine zukunftssichere Wahl.
- Stagnation der Funktionalität: Keine Innovations-Investitionen mehr — bei Wachstum oder neuen Anforderungen Wechsel zu modernen CRMs (HubSpot, Pipedrive, Capsule) erforderlich.
Editorial assessment by erp-software.org based on publicly available sources, Hersteller-Dokumentation und DACH-Markt-Beobachtung. Last updated: Mai 2026.
Vendor homepage of Highrise CRM
Current view of the website https://highrisehq.com/
Reviews for Highrise CRM
No published reviews yet for Highrise CRM on erp-software.org vor.
Your own review for Highrise CRM schreiben
Write Sie uns Ihre experience with Highrise CRM. We publish reviews after a brief editorial check in 1–3 business days. Fields marked with * are required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still sign up for Highrise CRM?
No. Highrise was retired from new sales in 2018 and the legacy operational mode is available only to customers who held an active subscription at that time. New buyers must select an alternative CRM.
Is Highrise CRM still being developed?
No. The legacy operational mode preserves the existing functionality and keeps the service running for paying customers, but the product is not gaining features and the integration ecosystem is not being expanded.
What is the typical migration target for DACH ex-Highrise users?
HubSpot CRM (free tier), Pipedrive and Zoho CRM are the most common destinations, all of which offer EU-hosting options and broadly cover the minimal-CRM use cases Highrise served. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales is a more enterprise-oriented destination for buyers aligned with the Microsoft stack.
Is Highrise data hosted in the EU?
Historically no — the data hosting was in the United States. DACH users should review the GDPR data-transfer position of their Highrise data and factor that into the migration-timing decision.