Pipedrive vs HubSpot CRM: Choose Your Best Option 2023

Read our breakdown of Pipedrive vs HubSpot CRM to decide if either of these user-friendly platforms is best for your business.

Pipedrive and HubSpot CRM are two of the most user-friendly platforms on the market. Though they're both easy to use, these industry leaders diverge when it comes to functionality and cost. HubSpot CRM offers a wealth of free sales and marketing tools, with premium (but costly) upgrades. Pipedrive features a range of affordable plans but is laser-focused on sales features. Comparing the two will help you discover if either is right for your business.

Here are the situations when you want to use either HubSpot CRM or Pipedrive:

  • HubSpot CRM: Best for businesses seeking a user-friendly, all-in-one CRM solution for their sales and marketing teams (free to $1,200 per month for 2 to 10 users)
  • Pipedrive: Best for businesses needing a strictly sales-focused CRM that’s affordable and easy to implement ($14.90 to $99 per user, per month)

If you’re interested in comparing other user-friendly CRMs, check out our articles on the best overall CRMs or the best industry-specific CRMs for more detail. Otherwise, continue below for our complete breakdown of HubSpot vs Pipedrive.

Pipedrive vs HubSpot CRM at a Glance

hubspot logoPipedrive Logo
Price Range (Annual)Free to $1,200 per month (2 to 10 users)$14.90 to $99 per user, per month
Core FeaturesA balance of sales and marketing toolsTools are largely sales-focused
Ease of UseWell-organized UI that’s accessible to mostVisual UI that’s simple to learn and navigate
ReportingOver 150 templates; custom reports at higher tiersA dozen templates; custom reports at higher tiers
Sales AutomationUp to 1,000 sales and marketing workflow rulesUp to 100 sales workflow rules
Mobile AppIntegrates with iMessage, WhatsApp, and SlackIntegrates with WhatsApp, Gmail, and Outlook
App IntegrationsOver 1,000 apps
via HubSpot App Marketplace
Over 400 apps
via Pipedrive Marketplace
Customer Service24/7 support plus knowledge base & user forums24/7 support plus knowledge base & user forums
Visit HubSpot CRMVisit Pipedrive

How We Evaluated Pipedrive vs HubSpot

HubSpot CRM and Pipedrive are both renowned for their easy-to-learn user interfaces. Beyond that, each offers something different when it comes to core functionality – HubSpot CRM splits its focus between sales and marketing, and Pipedrive concentrates largely on sales. We compared HubSpot vs Pipedrive based on the five categories businesses emphasize most when choosing a CRM: cost, features, ease of use, customizability and apps, and user support.

Evaluation Criteria

First, we split our scoring criteria into five weighted categories, each of which contained key subcriteria. We then quantified our comparative analysis by assigning each subcriteria a score from 0 to 1 and totaled the scores, which determined an overall winner for that category.

Pricing:
25%
Features:
25%
Ease of Use:
20%
App Integrations & Customization:
15%
User Support:
15%

Meanwhile, we’ve also placed an emphasis on the following three core CRM features: reporting, sales automation, and mobile app. (HubSpot CRM claimed the top spot in all three of those categories.) Most business owners look closely at how well a CRM can optimize workflow (both in and out of the office) and want CRM software that’ll make it easier for them to make the right decisions to benefit their bottom line.

Best for Pricing: Pipedrive

hubspot logoPipedrive Logo
Free-for-Life OptionYes, with unlimited usersNo
Free TrialNo14 days
Starting Price (Annual)$18 per month for 2 users$14.90 per user, per month
Enterprise Price (Annual)$1,200 per month for 10 users; then $120 per user, per month$99 per user, per month
Add-OnsFrom $25 per monthFrom $6.70 per user, per month
Monthly BillingYes (except Enterprise)Yes (all plans)
Visit HubSpot CRMVisit Pipedrive

Winner: Pipedrive’s paid plans are more affordable overall (especially at the enterprise level), despite HubSpot's free CRM. All Pipedrive subscriptions include a 14-day free trial.

HubSpot CRM does not offer a free trial for its Sales Hub, but instead has a free-for-life platform that boasts an array of sales and marketing tools. Plus, HubSpot’s free CRM has no seat limits, so it can scale with companies until they’re ready to pay for an upgrade. Speaking of upgrades, it’s easy to level up to one of HubSpot’s premium Sales Hub tiers from within its free CRM – but that can quickly become very expensive, especially for businesses with smaller budgets.

HubSpot pricing - Pipedrive vs HubSpot

Pipedrive doesn’t have a free-for-life CRM, but it does offer a 14-day trial with every paid plan. Barring HubSpot’s free CRM, Pipedrive is a more economical choice than HubSpot Sales Hub – especially at the enterprise level, as it’s roughly $20 less per user, per month for Pipedrive Enterprise than HubSpot CRM’s equivalent. All Pipedrive subscriptions include access to over 400 app integrations, 24/7 customer support, and the option to pay annually or monthly.

Pipedrive pricing - Pipedrive vs HubSpot

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Best for Core Features: HubSpot CRM

hubspot logoPipedrive Logo
Contact Management1MM contacts; activity trackingUnlimited contact labels; smart contact data
Pipeline ManagementUp to 100 pipelines per accountUnlimited visual pipelines
Lead ManagementEmail reply tracking; lead conversation routing; meeting schedulingColor-coded custom labels; integration with chatbots; LeadBooster add-on
Advanced FeaturesRecurring revenue tracking; predictive lead scoringSecurity dashboard; team management tools
Visit HubSpot CRMVisit Pipedrive

Winner: HubSpot CRM has a more versatile range of features for sales and marketing, eliminating the need for businesses to rely on separate platforms for each.

HubSpot CRM is an ideal solution for companies seeking to boost their sales and marketing efforts. It offers a variety of tools related to inbound lead generation, contact management, and email marketing. All HubSpot CRM tiers include up to one million contact records, email templates, shared inboxes, and chat widgets. Premium Sales Hub upgrades will yield access to A/B testing, predictive lead scoring, and recurring revenue tracking.

HubSpot CRM email marketing

Pipedrive’s feature set is primarily dedicated to the sales process. HubSpot CRM may have more depth thanks to its shared focus on marketing, but Pipedrive has the edge when it comes to offering unlimited contacts and visual pipelines — both of which are standard with every plan. Other core features include deal and activity reporting plus contact mapping via Google Maps. Higher-tier plans come with advanced security functions and team management tools.

Pipedrive activity timeline

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Best for Ease of Use: Pipedrive

hubspot logoPipedrive Logo
Setup TimeMinimalMinimal
User InterfaceStructured and straightforwardSimple and highly visual
Common Positive ReviewsFree platform is excellent; easy to set up and useVery user friendly; superb pipeline management
Common Negative ReviewsSome free tools are limited; upgrades are expensiveNot advanced enough; could be more customizable
Visit HubSpot CRMVisit Pipedrive

Winner: Pipedrive narrowly takes this category, as its visual interface is almost effortless to learn.

HubSpot CRM is often lauded for its ease of use. A straightforward and intuitive interface makes it possible for even the least tech-savvy person to learn HubSpot CRM in little time. It also helps that HubSpot has an extensive knowledge base, active user community, and excellent customer support to guide users along. HubSpot’s free CRM is regarded as a strong platform in its own right — but some functions are limited, and upgrading to premium plans can be pricey.

HubSpot CRM sales pipeline

Pipedrive has a slight advantage over HubSpot CRM since it offers an even cleaner interface that most sales reps should be able to pick up right away. Users can organize Pipedrive’s visual kanban-style pipelines, interactive dashboards, and shared inboxes through drag-and-drop functionality. This simplistic approach will suit businesses that don’t have the bandwidth for extensive CRM training, but it may turn off organizations that need a beefier platform.

Pipedrive sales pipeline

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Best for Reporting: HubSpot CRM

hubspot logoPipedrive Logo
Standard Report TypesSales- and marketing-based (lead sources, ad clicks)Sales performance-based (deals, emails, activities)
Custom ReportingProfessional and EnterpriseProfessional and Enterprise
Advanced ReportingProfessional and EnterpriseProfessional and Enterprise
Number of DashboardsFree: Up to 3
Starter: Up to 10
Professional: Up to 25
Enterprise: Up to 50
Essential: 1
Advanced: 1
Professional: Unlimited
Enterprise: Unlimited
Reports per DashboardUp to 30 reports per dashboardUp to 25 reports per dashboard
Visit HubSpot CRMVisit Pipedrive

Winner: HubSpot CRM offers more variety in reporting out of the box with over 150 ready-made templates for tracking sales and marketing metrics.

HubSpot CRM includes over 150 report templates as standard with every plan. These range from sales-focused CRM metrics (such as deals created and monthly revenue) to marketing-centric data (like website traffic and interactions by social network). Upgrading to either Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise will unlock access to custom reports and advanced analytics, as well as increase the total number of CRM dashboards users can create.

HubSpot CRM dashboard

Pipedrive refers to its reporting as Insights. It only comes with roughly a dozen default report types that are largely concentrated on deal performance, activities, and emails. However, unlike HubSpot CRM, Pipedrive’s higher-tier plans come with unlimited visual dashboards that can support up to 25 CRM reports each, as well as the ability to generate custom Insights.

Pipedrive reporting

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Best for Sales Automation: HubSpot CRM

hubspot logoPipedrive Logo
Workflow Editor InterfaceVisual point-and-clickVisual drag-and-drop
Workflow TypesContact management, lead routing, task creationDeal stage, email sends, teamwide notifications
Workflow Rule LimitsUp to 1,000 rules with all paid Sales Hub plans; no automation with free CRMUp to 100 rules with Advanced and above; no automation with Essential
Workflow Templates
Custom Workflows
Visit HubSpot CRMVisit Pipedrive

Winner: HubSpot CRM has more to offer when it comes to workflow automation — namely the amount of rules allowed and the types of tasks available in its paid plans.

HubSpot CRM includes automation with every paid Sales Hub plan. Users can set up as many as 1,000 workflow rules for email campaigns, lead routing, contact data enrollment, internal team notifications, and many other tasks. Workflows can be created in HubSpot CRM from scratch using its visual point-and-click interface; however, there are workflow templates available to make automating sales and marketing processes even easier.

HubSpot CRM workflow automation

Pipedrive, on the other hand, has a visual drag-and-drop interface that allows you to move deals with the option to start workflows from a template or from scratch. While it may not offer as many rules or tasks as HubSpot CRM, Pipedrive is arguably more user-friendly in its approach. One nifty feature is Pipedrive’s estimation of how much time users can save when automating mundane tasks like adding lead data and pinging reps on Slack when a deal progresses.

Pipedrive workflow automation

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Best Mobile App: HubSpot CRM

hubspot logoPipedrive Logo
Mobile App CostFreeFree
Mobile App PlatformsiOS and AndroidiOS and Android
Mobile Sync With CRM
Offline ModeContacts, notes, dealsContacts, sales data
Other Apps It Syncs WithWhatsApp, iMessage, Slack, LinkedIn, FacebookGoogle Maps, Gmail, WhatsApp, Outlook
Average User Rating4.7/5 stars (Apple App Store)
4.4/5 stars (Google Play)
3.8/5 stars (Apple App Store)
4.3/5 stars (Google Play)
Visit HubSpot CRMVisit Pipedrive

Winner: HubSpot CRM’s mobile app is victorious thanks to its integration with several popular third-party apps plus recent updates that allow for broader offline data access.

HubSpot CRM’s mobile app is an extension of its desktop platform but with several extras baked in. HubSpot CRM mobile app features include a business card scanner, caller ID, and access to customer records from anywhere (online or offline). However, the most noteworthy function here is the HubSpot Keyboard, which syncs with a variety of third-party messaging and productivity apps to insert key contact and sales snippets straight from the CRM.

HubSpot CRM mobile app

Pipedrive’s mobile app follows the lead of its full-fledged CRM counterpart with a streamlined visual interface that’s easy to navigate. One notable app-exclusive feature is Focus, which provides a general overview of daily schedules and important tasks. The Pipedrive mobile app also integrates with third-party messaging and productivity apps for a more cohesive mobile experience — and it even syncs mobile data to the desktop CRM, both offline and online.

Pipedrive mobile app

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Best for App Integrations: HubSpot CRM

hubspot logoPipedrive Logo
App MarketplaceHubSpot App MarketplacePipedrive Marketplace
Number of Total AppsOver 1,000Over 400
Number of Free Apps45Over 100
Notable App IntegrationsZoom, Mailchimp, Calendly, Stripe, Google AdsTrello, Asana, Leadfeeder, Microsoft Teams
Visit HubSpot CRMVisit Pipedrive

Winner: HubSpot CRM offers double the app integrations in its HubSpot App Marketplace, and nearly half of them are available at no cost.

HubSpot CRM is linked to the HubSpot App Marketplace, which is home to over 1,000 app integrations and counting. Categories span sales, marketing, productivity, finance, and customer service. Nearly 50 apps featured on the App Marketplace are available at no cost including integrations like Zoom, Mailchimp, Slack, and WordPress. The HubSpot App Marketplace is accessible across all HubSpot CRM tiers, including HubSpot’s free CRM.

HubSpot app integrations - Pipedrive vs HubSpot

Pipedrive users can scour the Pipedrive Marketplace for third-party integrations. It currently hosts over 400 apps ranging in categories from email marketing and analytics to lead generation and messaging. About one-fourth of those apps are free to download; those include Trello, Asana, Leadfeeder, and Microsoft Teams, among others. There’s even an integration for HubSpot for users who want to imbue Pipedrive with additional marketing automation features.

Pipedrive app integrations - Pipedrive vs HubSpot

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Best for User Support: HubSpot CRM

hubspot logoPipedrive Logo
Standard Business Hours24/724/7
Support ChannelsLive chat, email, phonePhone (Enterprise plan only), email, live chat
Knowledge Base
Community Forums
Certification ProgramsHubSpot AcademyPipedrive Academy
Visit HubSpot CRMVisit Pipedrive

Winner: HubSpot CRM takes this category based on the strength of its user support team, which has overwhelmingly positive reviews.

HubSpot CRM offers free 24/7 live chat and email support to all of its paid Sales Hub subscribers. (Anyone with a Professional or Enterprise plan can also avail of phone support.) As if around-the-clock support weren’t enough, HubSpot’s customer service team is regarded as among the best in the industry. HubSpot’s free CRM does not include any live support options, but users can still access HubSpot’s extensive knowledge base and active community forums.

HubSpot user support - Pipedrive vs HubSpot

Pipedrive also has 24/7 live chat and email support available to all of its users. (Phone support is available, too, but only with the Enterprise plan.) To supplement those support channels is a vast knowledge base, a buzzing community forum, and Pipedrive Academy — which features quick courses and in-depth tutorials. Pipedrive’s quality of customer help is viewed favorably overall, although several users lament a lack of timeliness in sufficiently answering queries.

Pipedrive user support - Pipedrive vs HubSpot

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Who Shouldn’t Use HubSpot CRM & Pipedrive?

HubSpot CRM and Pipedrive are two excellent sales tools, but neither is a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s just as important to consider why businesses may want to look at options other than HubSpot CRM or Pipedrive, which we’ll cover more in-depth in the following section. Below are a few scenarios in which HubSpot CRM and Pipedrive might not be the ideal choice for a sales team or organization.

Who Shouldn’t Use HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM may not be the right fit for the following situations:

  • Companies Seeking an Affordable Premium CRM: Most growing organizations will need capabilities beyond HubSpot’s free CRM, but Sales Hub can be rather costly.
  • Sales Teams That Only Need Sales Tools: HubSpot CRM may be too overwhelming for teams that only need access to a handful of quality sales tools.
  • Data-Driven Organizations: HubSpot’s reporting functionality is by no means bad, but it’ll be too shallow for companies that rely on a vast range of data points.

Of course, you shouldn’t immediately gravitate toward Pipedrive if you identify with one of the points above. For a complete rundown of what businesses should and shouldn't use HubSpot, check out our independent HubSpot CRM review. Otherwise, keep reading to see who shouldn’t use Pipedrive.

Who Shouldn’t Use Pipedrive

Pipedrive may not be well-suited for the following businesses:

  • Companies Needing Sales and Marketing Tools: Pipedrive is virtually absent of native marketing tools; its core functionality is concentrated on sales.
  • Businesses Wanting Advanced Features: Overall, Pipedrive may be too lean for larger businesses that need AI, deeper reporting, and robust sales automation.
  • Startups and Solo Workers Seeking a Free CRM: Outside of a 14-day trial, Pipedrive does not offer a free-for-life platform.

Before deciding that Pipedrive isn't right for you, check out our full Pipedrive review. There, you'll find an editorially-independent analysis as well as a roundup of user reviews. If neither Pipedrive or HubSpot sound right for you, however, check out the alternatives below:

3 Best Alternatives to HubSpot CRM & Pipedrive

HubSpot CRM and Pipedrive are both very capable CRMs, but they may not be what you or your company need to succeed in your overall sales strategy. If your aim is to implement an easy-to-use CRM but you need something more affordable or customizable, here are three options we believe to be the best alternatives to HubSpot CRM and Pipedrive:

Freshsales

Zoho CRM

Salesforce Sales Cloud

Freshsales is our top-rated, sales-focused CRM offering more sales features than both Pipedrive and HubSpot for a reasonable price. The user-interface is intuitive and easy to use, and you can also take advantage of robust lead generation and AI-powered customer engagement tools. However, for advanced marketing tools you might want to try Zoho CRM.

freshsales crm example

Zoho CRM is a robust and affordable sales and marketing CRM offering advanced social media and Google Ads management as well as sales tools like price quotes and product catalogues. They even offer a free tier with a visual pipeline, however, HubSpots free tier is more robust. That said, Zoho's paid tiers are more cost-effective and provide an advanced sales and marketing mix.

Zoho CRM Sales Pipeline Software

Salesforce Sales Cloud is a robust small business pipeline tool great for those with longer or more complex sales cycles. While both Pipedrive and HubSpot offer robust features, they're geared more towards straight-forward sales processes or a mix of sales and marketing functionality. With Salesforce, you can take advantage of multiple pipelines, advanced reporting, and robust communication tools.

Salesforce essentials dashboard example

You can also head over to our lists for the best HubSpot CRM alternatives and the best Pipedrive alternatives to learn more about how their competitors fare when it comes to pricing, functionality, and usability.

Bottom Line: Pipedrive vs HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is the better choice for features, user support, and working on the go. However, if you’re keen to pay for premium functions, Pipedrive is the more affordable option. Of course, both of these CRMs are quite user-friendly — HubSpot CRM succeeds in being structured and straightforward, while Pipedrive stands out for its simple visual-heavy UI. Carefully consider your needs to determine if either one of these top-rated CRMs is right for your business.

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