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Salesforce vs. Pipedrive

If you’re considering Salesforce 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 Salesforce and Pipedrive stack up!

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salesforce vs pipedrive

Salesforce vs. Pipedrive comparison

With all the big-name customer relationship management (CRM) platforms on the market today, it can get a little overwhelming. For example, two of the most prominent CRMs out there are Salesforce and Pipedrive. But how do these CRMs compare? Which one is the best option for your business?

That’s the question we’re here to answer. On this page, we’ll cover the pros and cons of Salesforce and Pipedrive, plus we’ll go over how they compare on several key CRM qualities. Keep reading to find out more about Salesforce vs. Pipedrive!

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Salesforce pros

Several qualities help Salesforce stand out as a top CRM. Here are some of the biggest ones:

  • Plan variety: If there’s one thing Salesforce has in spades, it’s plan options. You can choose from over 15 different CRM plans with Salesforce, ranging from very cheap to very costly.
  • Advanced features: One of the best things about Salesforce is that it’s very advanced. It comes with tons of in-depth functionalities, especially with higher-priced plans.
  • Integrations: Salesforce offers a variety of different third-party software integrations, making it easy to connect it with your various data sources.

Salesforce cons

As nice as the advantages of Salesforce are, it also has its downsides. Those downsides include:

  • Vast expenses: Salesforce might be advanced, but that advancement comes at a cost—literally. On top of Salesforce’s steep initial pricing, it also requires tons of setup costs.
  • Hard to learn: Another price of Salesforce’s advancement is that it’s insanely difficult to learn. Many companies even go as far as hiring Salesforce specialists just to keep it running.
  • Data entry: When you first get a CRM, you want to be able to easily merge your existing data with it. However, Salesforce can’t do that very well, so you have to enter a lot of data manually.

Pipedrive pros

Just like Salesforce, Pipedrive has its own set of positive qualities that help it stand out. Those positive qualities include:

  • Sales automation: Most CRMs offer sales automation features, but Pipedrive is especially good in this department. It can automate almost every mundane sales task you could want from it.
  • Reporting: Another strong point for Pipedrive is its reporting, which is very comprehensive and gives you clear insights into your recent activity and results.
  • Intuitive interface: No one wants a CRM that’s hard to navigate, which is why Pipedrive stands out for using a simple and easily navigable interface, complete with a helpful dashboard.
a positive review for pipedrive

Pipedrive cons

Unfortunately, Pipedrive has its share of disadvantages as well. Those disadvantages include:

  • Learning curve: Even though Pipedrive has an easy-to-navigate interface, it still takes quite a while to learn the platform. That means it can be slow to drive results after you first get it.
  •  Overreliance on add-ons: Another flaw of Pipedrive is that many features that are expected from CRMs—like email marketing automation—are only available through add-ons.
  • Customer service: Pipedrive’s customer service is one of the most common reasons for complaints. Customers have reported that it’s unhelpful and slow to respond.
a negative review for pipedrive

 

Salesforce vs. Pipedrive comparison

Now that we’ve explored the pros and cons of both Pipedrive and Salesforce, let’s see how they stack up on some key traits. In this section, we’ll look at five qualities of a good CRM:

  • Pricing
  • Ease of use
  • Reporting
  • Integrations
  • Sales automation

For each of these traits, we’ll compare Salesforce and Pipedrive. These comparisons are summarized in the chart below.

Pricing
Contacts and data storage
Ease of use
Reporting
Integrations
Sales automation
$16-$79 per month
Unlimited
User-friendly, intuitive interface
Included, customizable
Extensive integrations, including native, third-party, and custom options
Yes, fully customizable
$25-$1000+ per month
Limited
Extremely hard to use
Included
2500+ integrations (native and API)
Yes, some customization options
$14.90-$119 per month
Limited
Steep learning curve but intuitive interface
Included
300+ integrations (some native)
Yes, some customization options

Pricing

Pricing for Salesforce can vary wildly depending on which plan you get and how much you have to spend setting it up. The cheapest possible cost is $25 per month, while the most expensive could amount to thousands upon thousands of dollars each month. However, for small- to medium-sized businesses, a good base cost estimate is roughly $75 per month.

Pipedrive, on the other hand, costs only $49 per month. It also doesn’t require as many external setup costs as Salesforce. Overall, Pipedrive is unquestionably the cheaper option.

Ease of use

This is one area where both tools are lacking. Pipedrive, as we mentioned earlier, has a steep learning curve, so it can take a while to figure it out. However, the good news is that it gets easier once you finally get past that initial curve since Pipedrive features a relatively intuitive interface.

Salesforce, on the other hand, ranks very low in this department. As previously noted, many companies have to go out and hire Salesforce specialists just to operate the platform. That means when it comes to ease of use, Pipedrive is the definitive winner.

Reporting

In contrast to the last trait, reporting is actually something that both Salesforce and Pipedrive excel at. As mentioned in the pros and cons section, it’s one of Pipedrive’s strengths.

But with its advanced capabilities, Salesforce actually has even better reporting capabilities than Pipedrive—if you know how to harness them. Not only can it produce basic sales and activity reports, but it also allows you to generate custom reports based on the specific metrics you want to analyze.

Integrations

Salesforce offers over 2500 integration options, making it one of the best CRMs in this category. However, these integrations aren’t native—they happen via application programming interfaces (APIs), which can make things more complicated and lead to potential security concerns.

Pipedrive, on the other hand, is the opposite. It offers far fewer integration options (over 300), but many of those integrations are native and, therefore, easier to manage. Overall, the winner here depends on your preferences—one has quantity while the other has quality.

Sales automation

Finally, we have sales automation. So, does Salesforce or Pipedrive have the edge here?

The answer is: Both. As an enterprise-level CRM, Salesforce offers very in-depth automation capabilities. You can also get Salesforce Pardot, a separate tool that integrates with the CRM, for added marketing automation capabilities.

However, Pipedrive also excels in this category, with its in-depth and customizable sales automation being one of its greatest strengths. So, both tools are great in this category.

Salesforce vs. Pipedrive: Which is better?

Now we finally come to the big question: Should you use Salesforce or Pipedrive?

The answer, of course, is that it depends on your priorities. If you have the budget for Salesforce and you’re looking for a ton of features, that’s probably the way to go. But if you don’t want to shell out as much money or are looking for something easier to use, Pipedrive is better.

Of course, it’s worth pointing out that both Salesforce and Pipedrive share some of the same weaknesses. Pipedrive might be easier to use, but it still has a difficult learning curve. And neither tool is known for its customer service.

That means it may be best for you to choose neither of these tools and instead look for a different CRM entirely.

Upgrade your CRM practices with Nutshell

If you’re starting to think that neither Pipedrive nor Salesforce is right for you, you may be wondering what CRM you should choose. Luckily, we’ve got you covered in that department.

Nutshell is one of the best CRMs on the market and includes features like top-tier sales automation, advanced reporting, and automatic lead attribution. It also comes with the help of an exceptional customer service team to help you through any questions or concerns you may have. Plus, it’s affordable and easy to set up.

Want to see for yourself what Nutshell can do for your business? Start a free 14-day trial today!

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Don’t get sucked in by ‘featureitis.’ Buy what your staff will actually use. Nutshell beat out Insightly, Nimble, Zoho and Salesforce for our needs.

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