Pipedrive vs Salesforce
 Pipedrive |  Salesforce | |
|---|---|---|
| Sentiment | ||
| Score | 32/100 | 21/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 | #4 |
| Rated comments | 27 | 24 |
| Best for | Small sales teams moving off spreadsheets; Sales-only pipeline tracking without marketing automation | Larger sales orgs with an in-house admin to own the system; Companies with complex custom objects, permissions and integrations; Teams that want the CRM with the widest consultant and integration ecosystem |
| Skip it if | Teams that need marketing and sales data in one place; Sales orgs scaling past about a dozen reps; Businesses whose records are not deals, such as commercial real estate | Small teams of under about 20 users without a dedicated admin; Buyers who want to change fields and workflows themselves without consultants; Budget-sensitive teams that need API access or heavier automation on lower tiers |
| Pricing (vendor-stated) | Shown in GBP for a UK visitor: Lite £14, Growth £39, Premium £59, Ultimate £79 per seat/mo billed annually (£24, £49, £79, £99 billed monthly), excluding VAT. 14-day free trial with no card required; no free plan. Paid add-ons include LeadBooster (from £32.50), Projects, Campaigns, Web Visitors and Smart Docs. | Free Suite at $0; Starter Suite $25/user/mo (billed monthly or annually); Pro Suite $100, Core $195 and Advanced $395/user/mo billed annually; Max $550/user/mo through sales. Free trials on Starter through Advanced. |
Independent users describe Pipedrive as a simple, sales-only pipeline tool that small teams actually keep updated, and some have run on it for years. The recurring trade-off is a ceiling: past about a dozen reps, or once marketing data needs to sit in the deal view, several teams moved to HubSpot, and add-ons push the real cost well above the base price. Opinion is genuinely split, and about a third of the 100 comments reviewed were promotional, mostly rival CRMs, custom-CRM builders and sync or lead tools pitching in the threads.
Users like
- Simple enough that reps actually use it; one team switched from HubSpot for that reason[1][2][3][4]
- Nicer to use day to day than HubSpot, according to teams that later moved to HubSpot anyway[1][2]
- Covers straightforward sales needs for years, with gaps filled by integrations or add-ons[1][2][3]
- Per-seat pricing scales linearly without forced plan jumps[1]
Users complain about
- Hits a ceiling as teams grow, especially when sequences, lead scoring or marketing attribution need to live with deal data[1][2][3][4][5]
- Add-ons and higher tiers push real cost well above the headline price; one user puts 12 seats at $700-800/mo all-in[1][2][3]
- Data model bends badly for non-deal records such as properties with multiple owners and units[1][2]
- Reporting can be unreliable: one user saw closed deals missing from reports and a pipeline view that shifts when scrolling[1]
Independent users treat Salesforce as the most capable and customizable CRM but rarely as the right choice for small teams: of 24 non-promotional comments with an opinion, most describe it as overkill, expensive at the tiers that unlock automation and API access, and dependent on paid admins or consultants for routine changes. Its defenders are mostly people who have administered or implemented it alongside Dynamics or Zoho and found it easier or more complete, and several warn that leaving a heavily customized org is slow and costly. The corpus is heavily seeded: 39 of 100 comments were promotional, mostly agencies, freelance admins and rival CRM or custom-build vendors pitching in r/CRM threads from teams trying to leave Salesforce.
Users like
- Users and implementers describe it as able to model almost any process, with more depth than Zoho or HubSpot when heavily customized[1][2][3][4][5]
- People who have administered or implemented both Salesforce and Dynamics 365 say Salesforce is easier and more intuitive to work in[1][2]
- Seen as the mature, industry-standard choice, and a team that moved to Zoho says Zoho does most of the same things less smoothly[1][2][3]
- One user reports Salesforce still gives sizeable discounts and that admin work can now be done through the CLI with AI coding tools, cutting consultant hours[1]
Users complain about
- Widely called overkill for small teams, with admin overhead that forces the business to wrap itself around the tool[1][2][3][4][5]
- Expensive, and the price climbs steeply when a small team needs a higher edition; one 18-person team cut CRM spend from about $90k to under $25k a year by leaving[1][2][3][4][5]
- Routine changes often require a paid consultant; one team reports $200 per hour and three-week turnarounds for small edits[1][2]
- Leaving is slow: users report months-long migrations, painful exports of attachments and email history, and custom flows that must be rebuilt rather than copied[1][2][3]