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HubSpot CRM vs. Pipedrive

If you’re considering HubSpot CRM and Pipedrive but struggling to choose between them, you’ve come to the right place. On this page, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of each tool. Then we’ll explore how they compare on several key aspects of a good CRM. Keep reading to learn more about how HubSpot and Pipedrive stack up!

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HubSpot CRM vs. Pipedrive comparison

Having a customer relationship management (CRM) platform is vital for any business that’s interested in learning from their customer data. If that describes you, odds are you’re already in the market for a CRM tool. The question is, which CRM option is best?

Two of the options you may be considering are HubSpot and Pipedrive. But between the two, which is better? That’s just the question we’re here to answer. We’ll begin by covering a few basic pros and cons of each tool, and then we’ll see how they compare on several key features.

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HubSpot pros

There are several advantages to choosing HubSpot as your CRM. Those advantages include:

  • Pricing: Though most of HubSpot’s plans cost significantly more, it does offer a free plan, making it a very affordable option for companies who only need basic CRM features.
  • Customization: HubSpot allows for tons of customization and personalization, with users having the ability to customize just about every reporting field within the platform.
  • Marketing tools: Since HubSpot began as a marketing tool, it has a lot of marketing features still built in. Those features include A/B testing, marketing automation, and more.
a positive review of hubspot sales crm

HubSpot cons

HubSpot also has a few different downsides. Here are some of the biggest ones:

  • Pricing: Wait, wasn’t pricing just listed as a pro? Yes—because of the free version. Unfortunately, the paid versions can get very expensive if you want access to all of the features HubSpot offers.
  • Interface: Though certain aspects of HubSpot are user-friendly, many users say that it’s difficult to navigate, particularly for people who aren’t intimately familiar with CRM tools already.
  • Pipeline management: In part because of HubSpot’s poor user experience, its pipeline management isn’t very good. It can be confusing trying to track leads through the pipeline.
a negative review of hubspot sales crm

Pipedrive pros

Like HubSpot, Pipedrive has its own set of advantages. Those advantages include:

  • Reporting: Pipedrive’s reporting features are extensive, letting you view a variety of different metrics related to the performance of your marketing and sales efforts.
  • Interface: Pipedrive boasts a simple, modern interface that includes an intuitive dashboard to give you fast insights into your current data.
  • Automation: Pipedrive offers an array of marketing and sales automation features that can help you more effectively streamline your processes.
a positive review for pipedrive

Pipedrive cons

Pipedrive has plenty of benefits, but it also has its share of disadvantages. Those disadvantages include:

  • Learning curve: Many users report that Pipedrive takes quite a long time to get familiar with. This steep learning curve means it can take time to get any results from it.
  • Customer service: One big downside for Pipedrive is its customer service. Users say that the customer support team is slow to respond and often unhelpful once it finally does.
  • Overreliance on add-ons: Pipedrive also lacks many CRM features in the core platform, requiring users to get add-ons to access those features. One example of this is email marketing.
a negative review for pipedrive

 

HubSpot CRM vs. Pipedrive comparison

Having examined how HubSpot and Pipedrive stand out in terms of pros and cons, let’s now compare the two tools directly. Specifically, we’re going to look at five key aspects of a good CRM. This comparison is summarized in the chart below.

Pricing
Ease of use
Reporting
Integrations
Sales automation
$16-$79 per month
User-friendly, intuitive interface
Excellent reporting features
Extensive integrations, including native, third-party, and custom options
Yes, fully customizable
$0-$450+ per month
Poor user experience, difficult to navigate
Excellent reporting features
1000+ integrations (native and API)
Yes, some customization options
$14.90-$119 per month
Steep learning curve, but intuitive interface
Excellent reporting features
300+ integrations (some native)
Yes, some customization options

Pricing

Both Pipedrive and HubSpot offer multiple pricing plans. HubSpot’s cheapest option is a free plan, while Pipedrive’s is $14.90 per user per month. That means that if you intend to opt for the cheapest plan possible, HubSpot is the way to go.

Having said that, HubSpot’s paid plans can get much more expensive. Their starter plan is $20 per month, and higher-tier plans can cost over $1000 per month. Pipedrive, on the other hand, only charges $99 per user per month for their most expensive plan.

If you want the bare minimum in terms of your CRM, HubSpot is your best bet. But otherwise, Pipedrive is the clear winner in this department.

Ease of use

Another important quality of a CRM is ease of use. So, which tool scores better in this department—Pipedrive or HubSpot?

This is a weak spot for both tools. HubSpot is user-friendly in some aspects, but as noted earlier on this page, many users find it hard to navigate. Likewise, Pipedrive has a steep learning curve that can delay results significantly.

However, between the two, this point goes to Pipedrive. That’s because at least Pipedrive’s learning curve is temporary—once you get past it, it isn’t so bad. HubSpot, on the other hand, continues to prove difficult to use over the long term.

Reporting

One of the core features of a CRM is generating reports based on customer and sales data. Pipedrive scores quite well in this category, offering customizable reporting and separate dashboards for each sales representative on your team.

HubSpot likewise has excellent reporting capabilities, including over 90 pre-built reports built into the dashboard. Overall, HubSpot is the winner in this category, primarily because it offers more customization options for its reporting.

Integrations

Both Pipedrive and HubSpot offer a wide array of integrations with other apps, which are vital for transferring customer data into the CRM. Pipedrive offers over 300 different integration options, some of which are native and some of which require an application programming interface (API).

HubSpot offers the same thing, except it allows for over 1000 integrations. So, HubSpot wins this round based on sheer numbers.

Sales automation

Finally, we can look at sales automation. Does Pipedrive or HubSpot win out in this category?

Pipedrive definitely fares well in this department, featuring a workflow builder and a variety of pre-built automation workflow options. However, HubSpot’s automation offerings are even better. As with reporting, it provides most of the same things as Pipedrive but offers more customization options for them.

HubSpot CRM vs. Pipedrive: Which is better?

Now that we’ve compared both tools, let’s return to our initial question: Should you get HubSpot or Pipedrive?

The answer depends entirely upon your priorities. If integrations and sales automation are the most important things to you, HubSpot is the best choice. But if your budget is limited and you don’t want to settle for HubSpot’s free plan, Pipedrive is probably the better option.

Of course, it’s possible that you decide that you don’t want to go for Pipedrive or HubSpot but instead opt for a third CRM. Either way, be sure to consider your business’s needs before you make your choice.

Take your CRM practices to new heights with Nutshell

Looking for a CRM that combines ease of use, affordable pricing, and high-quality features like sales automation and user-friendliness? Nutshell could be the platform for you.

In addition to providing top-tier features, Nutshell has an excellent customer service team that provides free live support to all users, white glove data migration, and  automatic data imports (even during your free trial!).

Want to try Nutshell for yourself? Start 14-day free trial today to see what it can do for you!

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