Can the CRM grow with my business?

When you compare customer relationship management software, you must consider scalability. You may be a small business or a startup now, but a reliable CRM should fuel growth for businesses of all sizes, from SMBs to large corporates. To prevent having to switch tools a year or two down the road, see what kinds of features are available across all plans, not just the one you’re interested in now. Popular CRM features include sales automation, lead scoring, email marketing and a selection of add-ons. Tip: Check out a company’s case studies to see if and how they’ve helped businesses like yours grow.

What kind of support does it have?

If a software error might cost you a big deal, you can’t afford to wait five working days for an email response. Look for a tool with a solid reputation that offers live chat or phone support during your business’ operating hours. Tip: Look for a CRM that offers 24/7 support and a handy help desk to be sure it covers your time zone and weekend shifts.

How simple is it to use and train my team to use?

Compared to CRM alternatives like spreadsheets and pen and paper, most CRM systems require some learning curve to suss out. Look for an easy CRM platform that allows you to get more done in less time. The key is finding one that’s powerful and feature-rich yet intuitive. Tools with all the bells and whistles may seem great at first, but if they take your team months to get the hang of, that’s a lot of lost time and productivity. Tip: To see how easy users find a tool, read reviews on sites like Capterra .

What kind of customizations does it offer?

Every CRM will need some customization to make it fit your business and sales process. Creating things like custom fields and sales pipelines is standard, but does it offer automation tools to support your customer lifecycle? There are myriad solutions to automate data entry, generating new leads and other day-to-day sales activities. Look at CRM pricing comparisons to see how much you’ll pay for the customizations you need with different providers. Tip: Browse a CRM’s app marketplace to see if it connects with your other tools.

What kind of reporting capabilities does it have?

Sales reports are crucial for improving your results and motivating your team. Look for a CRM that can pull customer information and generate reports without manual input. Even better, look for a tool with real-time dashboards to keep you on track toward goals. When reports are beautiful and easy to make, you might also find yourself using them more. Tip: Establish a set of essential report metrics you need to track, then look for them in CRMs.

CRM software comparison

Finding the right CRM software or customer relationship management tool can be overwhelming. Our CRM comparison hub gives you the tools you need to choose between Pipedrive – the highest-rated CRM by users – and other CRM alternatives.

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Questions to ask before choosing a CRM

A CRM solution should streamline your sales and marketing operations, fit your business needs and offer the best customer experience. Here are a few questions to help you choose the best CRM software for you:

Can the CRM grow with my business?
When you compare customer relationship management software, you must consider scalability. You may be a small business or a startup now, but a reliable CRM should fuel growth for businesses of all sizes, from SMBs to large corporates. To prevent having to switch tools a year or two down the road, see what kinds of features are available across all plans, not just the one you’re interested in now. Popular CRM features include sales automation, lead scoring, email marketing and a selection of add-ons.

Tip: Check out a company’s case studies to see if and how they’ve helped businesses like yours grow.
What kind of support does it have?
How simple is it to use and train my team to use?
Compared to CRM alternatives like spreadsheets and pen and paper, most CRM systems require some learning curve to suss out. Look for an easy CRM platform that allows you to get more done in less time. The key is finding one that’s powerful and feature-rich yet intuitive. Tools with all the bells and whistles may seem great at first, but if they take your team months to get the hang of, that’s a lot of lost time and productivity.

Tip: To see how easy users find a tool, read reviews on sites like Capterra.
What kind of customizations does it offer?
Every CRM will need some customization to make it fit your business and sales process. Creating things like custom fields and sales pipelines is standard, but does it offer automation tools to support your customer lifecycle? There are myriad solutions to automate data entry, generating new leads and other day-to-day sales activities. Look at CRM pricing comparisons to see how much you’ll pay for the customizations you need with different providers.

Tip: Browse a CRM’s app marketplace to see if it connects with your other tools.
What kind of reporting capabilities does it have?
Sales reports are crucial for improving your results and motivating your team. Look for a CRM that can pull customer information and generate reports without manual input. Even better, look for a tool with real-time dashboards to keep you on track toward goals. When reports are beautiful and easy to make, you might also find yourself using them more.

Tip: Establish a set of essential report metrics you need to track, then look for them in CRMs.

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Compare CRMs

See how Pipedrive measures up against other CRM alternatives

Pipedrive vs Salesforce

Pay less for an intuitive, easier to use CRM you don’t need an IT degree to work

Pipedrive vs HubSpot CRM

Don’t get tied to features you don’t need. Win more deals with less legwork.

Pipedrive vs Copper

Pay less across all plans and fully customize as you go without surprise restrictions or hidden costs

Pipedrive vs Freshworks

Don't let Freshworks hold you back by mandatory field overkill and lack of product inventory

Pipedrive vs Monday

Don’t settle for a project board when you can use a customizable sales CRM

Pipedrive vs Zoho CRM

Easy and customizable from square one. Don’t pay more for essentials like calendar and contact sync

Pipedrive vs Agile CRM

Get an easier-to-use tool with deluxe features like workflow automation to facilitate your growth

Pipedrive vs Nutshell CRM

Benefit from an all-in-one CRM packed with features that offer better value for money

Pipedrive vs Nimble CRM

Opt for a restriction-free CRM with crucial features like customizable reports and products

Pipedrive vs Airtable

Choose a fully customizable CRM with activity management over spreadsheets software

Pipedrive vs Close CRM

Pay almost half the cost for a more extensive, easier CRM with fewer feature limits

Pipedrive Campaigns vs Mailchimp

A powerful email marketing add-on that unifies your sales and marketing data

7 Red Flags To Watch For When You Compare CRMs

Sometimes, the don’ts are just as useful as the dos. Below are a few warning signs to look out for:

Focus on activities that matter

Pipedrive is designed to:

Helps you control complex sales processes
Applies activity-based sales methodology to ensure follow-ups
Offers plenty of highly customizable features
Includes live customer support
Makes scaling up as your team grows a breeze
Seamlessly integrates with your tech stack

Pipeline visibility

Pipedrive CRM combines pipeline visibility and an activity-based sales philosophy with powerful marketing automation features. The result? State-of-the-art pipeline management that boosts customer interactions while nurturing customer journey. This approach ensures your sales team always focuses on the actions that drive deals to close. With Pipedrive, you always know what to do next and can be confident that you’ll never miss an activity.

Features, integrations & API

With full email integration, easy import and export of data and an open API, you always have the right data at your fingertips. Add an extensive set of features designed specifically for salespeople – like forecasting modules and add-ons to support project management and lead management – and you have the perfect tool to help you close deals consistently.

Priced to suit your business

With four pricing tiers and no hidden costs, you can manage your CRM budget reliably and scale up or down at short notice. We also charge per seat, not in user bands like some other CRMs, so you’re paying for exactly the amount of users you have.

Over 3,000 reviews & ratings

Highly rated by thousands of customers all over the world

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4.7/5

Why Pipedrive customers switch from other CRMs

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No good salesperson wants to have their momentum hindered by restrictions and hidden costs. Pipedrive customers who switched from HubSpot cite unnecessary features, complex setup and value for money as key reasons for joining Pipedrive.

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Salesforce switchers regularly mention how difficult it is to use. With Pipedrive, you can get all the information you need quickly from our simple visual deal and product pipelines. Our customers save more time and generate more revenue as a result.

How our customers grow their business with Pipedrive

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Business development consultancy Gray Matters uses Pipedrive to analyze their customers and sales pipeline. With this information, Gray Matters have identified industry trends and created specialized products for creative agencies.

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After adopting Pipedrive as their CRM, Fintech company ‘360 Payments’ increased their net income by a staggering 298% from 2016 to 2018. During that period, they also increased new accounts by 26% while gross revenue grew by 40%.

Like us, Pipedrive is evolving rapidly. We love this and the personal and ultraresponsive support.

Simon SchoopCEO, 4-advice GmbH, Digital. Change. Innovation.

The best thing we love about Pipedrive is it does two-way sync with Google Apps. It has helped us to better organise and keep everything on track.

Nirmal GyanwaliManaging Director, Nirmal Web Studio

Having a powerful CRM tool such as Pipedrive in our arsenal has been essential to the success of our sales team. With its easy-to-use and well-designed interface, it definitely keeps us organized and on track!

Kristel KruustükFounder & Chief Testing Officer, Testlio

Pipedrive CRM comparison FAQ

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