Top 10 Pipedrive Alternatives: Find Your Ideal CRM Solution

Pipedrive users, are you exploring alternative CRM software? Or perhaps you’re embarking on your first customer relationship management purchase? This comprehensive guide to the best Pipedrive alternatives is designed for you.

While Pipedrive is a well-regarded sales CRM platform, it might not be the perfect fit for every business. This article explores why some users seek alternatives and introduces 10 top-tier Pipedrive competitors, detailing their unique offerings.

Pipedrive Alternatives Overview

Pipedrive is a dedicated sales CRM software platform. CRM software helps businesses manage interactions with current and prospective customers, and Pipedrive specifically excels in planning and managing sales processes.

It’s an excellent platform for smaller sales teams, known for its ease of use and good value. However, the CRM market is vast, with many other powerful tools available. If you’re pressed for time, here’s a quick summary of the 10 best Pipedrive alternatives:

Why Consider a Pipedrive Alternative?

Businesses opt for Pipedrive alternatives for various reasons. A primary concern is its focus; Pipedrive isn’t an all-in-one CRM. While excellent for sales pipelines and process management, it often falls short for teams seeking combined sales and marketing functionalities due to limited marketing automation tools.

Even for sales-centric operations, Pipedrive might lack the advanced features and scalability found in other CRMs as a business grows. Furthermore, Pipedrive doesn’t offer a free tier. While a 14-day free trial is available, sole traders or startups may require a long-term free CRM solution that allows them to pay for additional features and support as their business expands.

What to Look for in a Pipedrive Alternative

If Pipedrive is on your radar, you’re likely prioritizing a sales CRM. Any alternative should at least match Pipedrive’s sales management capabilities. Beyond that, consider if you need support for additional business processes, as CRM software can also aid with marketing campaigns, customer service, and project management.

Key features to evaluate in Pipedrive alternatives include:

• Visual Sales Pipeline: Accessible sales data is crucial for efficient deal and lead management. Visual pipelines provide at-a-glance updates, keeping your entire sales team informed.
• Team Collaboration: Customer data should be shared and updated seamlessly across your team. Look for tools offering task creation, activity management, and unified communication.
• Automation: The best CRMs automate repetitive marketing and sales tasks, reducing workloads and improving process efficiency.
• Contact Management: Effective sales and marketing rely on deep customer understanding. Top CRMs simplify gathering and utilizing customer data, with features like segmentation and tagging for personalized campaigns.
• Customization: Every business is unique. Ensure the CRM allows you to build sales pipelines and workflows that accurately reflect your specific operations.
• Reporting and Analytics: Data-driven insights are essential for identifying what works and what needs improvement. Quality reporting and analytics tools provide actionable information for better decision-making.

The 10 Best Pipedrive Alternatives Reviewed

1. Brevo – Great Value CRM with Email Marketing

Brevo stands out as an excellent all-in-one CRM for small businesses, offering a broader range of features compared to Pipedrive. While it allows for building and automating sales pipelines for deals and prospects, Brevo also boasts an impressive marketing platform. It excels in automating email marketing campaigns and transactional emails, and includes a chat feature for direct customer interactions.

Ideal for small and growing businesses, Brevo is user-friendly and affordable. A key advantage is its “free forever” tier, allowing free use of its marketing, sales, chat, and transactional platforms. While there are usage limitations, they are often more generous than other free plans, making it an excellent starting point for integrating sales and marketing CRM.

Brevo supports unlimited contact growth on some paid plans without extra charges. Its contact and lead management features include advanced tagging and segmentation, ensuring contact data is visible across both sales and marketing teams.

Another major strength is Brevo‘s automation options, featuring a user-friendly visual automation builder. This allows for easy creation of workflows that seamlessly connect marketing campaigns to sales conversions.

Brevo has evolved into a multi-channel platform, enabling campaigns via SMS, WhatsApp, and social media. It also offers meeting, video calling, and phone options.

Brevo pricing starts at $25 per user per month, including all CRM features and phone support, making it competitive with Pipedrive’s basic plans. The Marketing Platform can be added for $9 a month.

Try Brevo for free or Visit Brevo

2. ActiveCampaign – Sales & Marketing Automation

ActiveCampaign, initially an email marketing and automation service, now offers a robust CRM and incorporates ecommerce functionalities.

This platform excels in automation, whether for marketing campaigns, sales lead follow-ups, or contact detail updates. Its automation tools surpass Pipedrive’s in both advancement and user-friendliness, offering over 900 pre-made automation ‘recipes’ and an intuitive visual workflow editor for customization or building from scratch.

Crucially, ActiveCampaign enables cross-team automation. Its marketing tools focus on email campaigns, coupled with website activity tracking for targeted messaging and personalized communications.

The sales CRM features standard pipeline and deals options. Automations track and advance leads through pipelines, manage task assignments, and facilitate follow-ups across sales teams. Sales engagement tools create a direct path from marketing campaigns to sales pipelines, while analytics include lead scoring and win probability for every prospect.

ActiveCampaign integrates with ecommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce. Beyond ecommerce, it boasts integrations with over 850 platforms, offering extensive functionality expansion options.

With sales and CRM tools included, ActiveCampaign starts at $49 a month. While more expensive than Pipedrive’s cheapest plans, this price includes advanced automation, marketing, and ecommerce features. All new users get a 14-day free trial.

Try ActiveCampaign for free or Visit ActiveCampaign

3. Folk – Simple No-Frills Pipelines

Folk offers a refreshing, simplified approach to customer relationship management, reminiscent of earlier CRM models focused on centralized, easily accessible customer information. Its primary differentiator from Pipedrive is its straightforward simplicity, emphasizing pipeline building with maximum ease.

At its core, Folk provides customizable templates, essentially databases with pre-formatted viewing options. A single template might offer a table view for all contact data and a pipeline view for tracking engagement. You can also communicate with contacts via email using Folk’s mail merge feature.

Folk offers templates tailored for various purposes, including sales-oriented ones like a prospects pipeline, deal flow CRM, and lightweight sales CRM. Additionally, there are templates for job applications, event invitations, fundraising, PR and media, community management, and investment.

Folk extends its core functionality through integrations. A Zapier integration connects it to over 5000 business apps. Its Google and Outlook integrations are particularly useful, allowing import of up to three years of data from Gmail and Outlook email accounts. Google integration also enables importing contacts and calendar events.

Perhaps the most valuable extension is the FolkX Google Chrome plug-in, which lets you pull in contacts from LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok. This enables centralized messaging management across these platforms and mobile access to your CRM via any browser.

Folk costs $18 per user per month, with a 14-day free trial available.

4. Monday.com – Project & Sales Management

Monday.com offers a distinct approach compared to Pipedrive, integrating customer relationship management as part of its broader functionality. It allows users to create customized digital workspaces, known as ‘boards’.

These boards are based on the Kanban principle, facilitating shared task management for teams. Tasks are visually displayed and organized by completion stage, ensuring everyone has a clear overview of the project. Monday.com boards are categorized into General operations, CRM and marketing, and Software development.

Within each category, various templates provide pre-made visual workflows. CRM boards encompass sales pipelines, contact and lead management, lead capture, marketing, and more.

Boards are highly customizable and flexible, allowing unlimited deal stages in a sales pipeline. Tasks can be automated to streamline workflow between stages. A unique automation feature leverages AI to generate tasks, such as automatically creating follow-up tasks from meeting notes, composing emails, and generating content. It also assists with writing analytics formulas for pipelines.

Monday.com integrates with over 50 tools, including email providers like Gmail and Outlook. Its Zapier connection opens access to more than 5000 other applications.

Monday.com pricing starts at $8 per user a month. While a free plan is available, it focuses on work management and does not include sales and CRM boards. A 14-day free trial provides access to all features.

5. GetResponse – Lead Conversion Tools

GetResponse is widely recognized for its email marketing software, offering a comprehensive suite for building and sending professional-quality email campaigns. It boasts excellent marketing automation features to enhance communication efficiency. Beyond email, it supports outreach via text, push notifications, and live chat tools, alongside other marketing functionalities like paid advertising and website building.

Effective marketing requires growing contact lists, and GetResponse provides tools for this, including sign-up forms and landing page creation.

The platform also offers robust contact management capabilities, such as tagging and segmentation, to identify engaged prospects and deliver personalized messages.

GetResponse extends its functionality into sales CRM with specific tools. Its automation templates include ‘funnel’ options, which are workflows designed to achieve specific outcomes. Examples include opt-in funnels for automated lead capture and lead magnet funnels for managing content or offer distribution in exchange for sign-ups.

Sales funnels within GetResponse operate as automated sales pipelines. They not only visualize prospect and deal stages but also guide leads through an automated series of events to convert sales.

GetResponse also features integrations with ecommerce platforms, allowing data import from site activity for AI-powered product recommendations, retargeting unconverted sales, and generating promo codes.

GetResponse starts at $13.30 per user a month for marketing tools. Access to funnels and advanced automations begins at $59 a month. A free plan is available, but it covers only basic email marketing. All paid plans include a free 30-day trial.

Try GetResponse for free or Visit GetResponse

6. Engagebay – Free Small Business CRM Tools

Engagebay is a feature-rich CRM platform that integrates marketing, sales, and support, making it an excellent all-in-one solution for small businesses.

Operating as a no-frills CRM, Engagebay focuses on providing essential tools for the average small business with an impressive range of features. It includes lead generation and automation tools, SMS outreach capabilities, and push notifications to engage website visitors.

One of Engagebay’s most significant advantages over Pipedrive is its free tier. A sales team of up to 15 members can start using Engagebay for free, with access to list building, lead scoring, email campaigns, and basic automations. It also provides help desk and live chat tools for customer support. While limited to 250 contacts, it serves as an excellent starting point for new businesses.

Marketing features seamlessly connect to the sales CRM, catering to both B2B and B2C sales teams. Lead scoring assesses prospects based on available data and activity, while email and phone integrations unify outgoing communications.

Customer support features include automated ticket routing, macros to automate routine service tasks, and the ability to draw up SLAs for customer reassurance, complete with KPI tracking.

Engagebay pricing starts at $12.74 per user a month for the full suite, which is cheaper than Pipedrive, though it limits you to 500 contacts. You can also select individual marketing, sales, or support options for a lower cost.

Visit Engagebay

7. Hubspot – Scalable CRM Platform

Hubspot is a giant in the CRM software world, making it a compelling option if you seek an all-encompassing CRM platform. Its most significant strength over Pipedrive is its vast array of features, covering standard marketing, sales, and customer service CRM territories, alongside a content management system (CMS) and B2B commerce tools.

Hubspot caters to a broad spectrum of businesses, from large enterprises and busy agencies to small teams and startups. It’s an ideal choice for growing businesses, offering exceptional scalability to match your expansion.

The small business-focused aspect of Hubspot includes a completely free suite of CRM tools. Core features from across its product range are included, albeit with usage limitations. For instance, you can send 2000 marketing emails per month for free or create a single deal pipeline and three reporting dashboards. For tools better suited to SMBs, explore Hubspot CRM.

Hubspot’s modular design allows you to customize a CRM solution. You can opt for the all-in-one Hubspot CRM bundle for a full mix, or choose specific tools like the Marketing Hub or Sales Hub. This flexibility means you only pay for the features you truly need.

As a large platform, Hubspot offers two types of automation to simplify navigation: simple linear automated sequences for various tasks, and more advanced workflows with conditional logic. Hubspot also provides over 800 integrations with other apps, and its own Operations tools can manage data and workflows across multiple applications.

Hubspot CRM pricing starts at $18 a month per user. Individual suites for marketing, sales, and service also cost $18 each per month, with a minimum of two users.

Visit Hubspot

8. Freshsales – Lead Generation and Nurturing

Freshsales is a sales CRM designed specifically for small businesses. It’s user-friendly, beginner-friendly, and affordable, offering more features than its “sales” name might suggest.

Freshsales’ most significant advantage over Pipedrive is its free-forever tier. It provides Kanban boards for contact management and deal tracking, along with AI-powered prompts to guide prospects through the sales stages. Communication with customers is facilitated via phone, email, and live chat.

Strengths of Freshsales include its lead generation and analysis tools. AI chatbots not only assist website visitors but also collect visitor data to generate actionable insights within your CRM. The same AI software scores lead quality based on interaction details.

Visual pipelines boost productivity by allowing flexible automation options, including automated workflows for repetitive tasks and sales sequences. Tasks can be auto-assigned to different teams and team members.

While Freshsales is sales-focused, the Freshsales Suite adds marketing tools, enabling multi-channel marketing campaigns via emails, SMS, WhatsApp, and chat. If you’re looking to add SMS to your CRM, check out our review of Freshdesk alternatives.

Freshsales and Freshsales Suite are part of the broader Freshworks business software family. You can further integrate sales and marketing CRM with internal and external support suites or choose the Customer Service Suite for a complete all-in-one package.

Freshsales and Freshsales Suite both start at $15 per user per month. In addition to the free tier, a 21-day free trial of paid features is available.

9. Zoho CRM – All-In-One CRM and Business Management

The Zoho CRM is a key component of a vast suite of over 40 cloud business software applications. If you’re seeking a comprehensive all-in-one business platform, Zoho is an excellent choice.

Comparing Zoho CRM to Pipedrive, Zoho is a much more generalized CRM tool. This isn’t just due to the extensive app ecosystem; the CRM itself is broader. While Pipedrive specializes as a sales CRM, Zoho CRM encompasses marketing, sales, customer support, team management, and operations management.

This breadth means Zoho CRM provides more tools than most CRMs, supporting eight different communication channels. You can design customer journeys across any of these, with AI tools automating task management and workflows across channels.

For example, you can automate personalization for effective lead nurturing, and segment and score leads to target your most promising prospects. You gain complete control over setting rules for scoring, assignments, and escalations. A seamless flow exists between marketing and sales automation, with the Zia AI offering sales predictions and suggesting follow-ups and optimal contact times for prospects.

Another major strength of Zoho CRM is its analytics, providing data reporting across 11 distinct areas.

Zoho pricing starts at $14 per user per month. There are five fixed ‘editions’ or plans, including a free tier that provides basic pipeline and email tools for three users. The option to build custom bundles with other Zoho products is also available. Every paid plan includes a 14-day free trial.

10. Keap – B2B Sales CRM

Keap is a platform similar to Pipedrive, both serving as SME-focused sales CRMs with integrated marketing tools. Like Pipedrive, Keap is designed to simplify and enhance the efficiency of sales processes, allowing users to build drag-and-drop sales pipelines for lead and deal management, and automate tasks across these pipelines.

Simultaneously, Keap enables the creation and execution of email marketing campaigns, featuring a drag-and-drop editor for HTML emails.

Where Keap differentiates itself from Pipedrive is its broader array of sales and marketing tools. Keap allows for the creation of web forms and landing pages for lead capture, and supports SMS campaigns.

On the sales side, Keap is a superior option for B2B sales, integrating invoicing and payments directly within the platform. It also facilitates automated quote generation and appointment management. These functionalities would typically require external app connections in Pipedrive.

Keap also offers third-party integrations but takes a slightly different approach through a development program for bespoke apps that extend its functionality. Alternatively, users can leverage Zapier to connect with over 5000 apps.

Keap pricing starts at $149 per month for two users, including all automation tools. While there isn’t a free plan, you can start a free trial here.

Pipedrive Alternatives: Which is the Best?

A plethora of alternatives to Pipedrive are available, with the ideal choice depending on your specific customer relationship management needs, business size, and budget.

Pipedrive remains a solid sales CRM for small businesses. However, many organizations require a CRM that also provides robust marketing and customer support tools. Brevo covers all these bases comprehensively for small businesses. ActiveCampaign and GetResponse are primarily marketing-focused platforms that also offer strong sales CRM tools.

For growing businesses, more feature-rich and scalable CRMs often win out. Hubspot and Zoho CRM are prime examples of platforms designed for scaling. On the other end of the spectrum, Brevo and Freshsales offer free tiers, which are excellent for startups.

Folk provides an affordable, user-friendly, and distinctive approach, stripping CRM down to no-frills pipeline and process management. Monday.com offers similar simplicity but with a broader range of options and exceptional automation features. For more options, explore our guide on free CRM software for small business as additional Pipedrive alternatives.

Frequently Asked Questions about Pipedrive Alternatives