Start with the thing clients talk about. If communication centres on leads and follow-up, use a CRM-led tool like GoHighLevel or HubSpot. If it centres on work delivery, a project-led tool such as monday.com, Asana or Teamwork will usually be cleaner.
Check guest access before features. Clients need enough visibility to approve work and answer questions, without seeing internal notes, margins or unrelated projects. A powerful tool with poor permissions creates more admin than it saves.
Map your real channels. GoHighLevel covers CRM, email, SMS, calling, unified conversations, forms, calendars and payments/invoicing from $97. The catch is usage-based wallet services, including phone, email, validation, AI usage and some workflow features, can change the real monthly cost.
Keep CRM context separate from project context. HubSpot is strong when communication needs to sit against contacts, companies, deals, tickets, meetings and live chat. It starts free, then from $15, but agencies should watch hub, seat, payment and contact complexity as they grow.
Do the delivery maths. Teamwork is a better fit when client messages, time logging, retainers and invoices from logged time belong together. The free plan is useful for small teams, but advanced client-work features sit higher in the product line.
Do not overbuy for approvals. Asana is often enough when clients mainly need task comments, status updates, forms and approvals. Its newer Personal plan is tighter for new signups, so check the free-plan limits before building a client workflow around it.