Freshsales vs. Pipedrive

Ease of use

Another key consideration is the ease of use. How user-friendly is each platform?

Freshsales does very well in this category, with users saying that the interface is intuitive and simple. This makes sense since Freshsales is designed with beginners in mind.

Pipedrive also boasts an intuitive “sell-first” interface with drag-and-drop pipelines and distinctive deal stages to help you fill your sales funnel. However, Pipedrive also comes with a steep learning curve, which means it can take a while to learn the ins and outs of the tool and start driving results.

Reviewers who have switched from other CRMs frequently say that Freshsales felt easy to transition into, with support helping them get pipelines and journeys up and running quickly.

That said, both tools receive some criticism here: some Freshsales customers find advanced automations more challenging to configure, while Pipedrive reviewers note a learning curve associated with its more powerful features and automations.

Verdict: Freshsales keeps things beginner-friendly, while Pipedrive demands more learning time despite its intuitive pipeline view.

Integrations

For your CRM to pull data from other tools, it needs to integrate with those tools. Pipedrive definitely does well here, offering over 500+ integration options that are a mix of native and API-based integrations.

On the Freshsales side, one upside is how tightly it connects with other Freshworks tools like Freshdesk and Freshservice, plus built-in email, phone, chat, and social messaging channels. However, it’s a little more complicated than that.

Freshsales offers over 750 integrations through Zapier, but users have reported that its integrations are low in quality, with some of them only working in one direction. So, while it has more integrations than Pipedrive, those integrations may not be the best—And Pipedrive offers integrations with most of the apps SMBs use, despite having a smaller catalog.

Pipedrive reviewers also report occasional integration headaches and note that live chat, chatbots, and some marketing tools require separate add-ons or marketplace apps.

Verdict: This one’s a toss-up—Pipedrive covers most essential SMB tools, while Freshsales promises more connections but with mixed reliability.

Unfortunately, there are also some downsides to Freshsales, including:

• Missing reporting capabilities: While Freshsales’s reporting isn’t outright bad, it’s definitely not the tool’s strong suit. Many users have noted that the reporting isn’t as robust as they’d like it to be.
• Poor customer support: When you use a CRM, you want it to come with a customer support team to walk you through issues. Unfortunately, many people find Freshsales’s support team very unhelpful, with some reporting “script-based” assistance that fails to resolve issues in a timely manner.
• Limited native integrations: Another common complaint about Freshsales is that it doesn’t offer enough built-in integration options. Freshsales offers many app integration options through its marketplace, but reviewers frequently flag limited native integrations and occasional integration issues compared with other CRMs.
• Pricing complexity: Important features—such as advanced reporting or certain automations—are locked behind higher-tier subscriptions, and users have noted that Freshworks has moved features to pricier plans over time. This means growing teams often must upgrade or buy add-ons to get the full functionality.

As nice as the advantages listed above may be, there are also some major downsides to using Pipedrive. Those downsides include:

• Steep learning curve: Pipedrive isn’t so bad once you get the hang of it, but unfortunately, it takes a while to do that. Many users say the tool comes with a steep learning curve that delays results.
• Subpar customer service: Like Freshsales, Pipedrive doesn’t score so well on customer service. Pipedrive’s support team is often slow to respond and not very helpful when they finally do, with reports of extended wait times and unresolved issues.
• Over-reliance on add-ons: Pipedrive’s core platform lacks many features—such as email marketing campaigns or lead generation tools—meaning you have to purchase add-ons to get full functionality. These extras can significantly increase your costs, turning Pipedrive’s initially low price into something much higher.
• Missing built-in marketing tools: Pipedrive also lacks built-in marketing and communication features that many growing teams expect. There are no native email drip campaigns or SMS texting tools—you’ll need their Campaigns add-on for email marketing and an integration for SMS messaging, to engage with customers from one place.
• No built-in calling or chat: Pipedrive’s core plans don’t include native calling or live chat. Teams that are accustomed to making calls or chatting with website visitors directly from their CRM will need additional integrations and add-ons to achieve similar functionality.
• Restricted permissions: Granular permission controls in Pipedrive are only available on its higher plans, which means smaller teams can’t fully customize user roles or data access without upgrading. If you need strict permission settings or multiple visibility groups, Pipedrive’s lower-tier plans might not suffice.