Imagine boosting your sales conversion rates by 300% or even higher!
The secret — the right CRM software.
But there’s a catch. With a vast range of CRM options, picking the perfect one can feel overwhelming, if not downright daunting.
As someone who is well-versed with Pipedrive, I can certainly vouch for its effectiveness. But there are several instances where Pipedrive just doesn’t seem to cut it!
Whether you need to automate your marketing efforts or are looking for a more budget-friendly option with better integrations, there are several reliable Pipedrive CRM alternatives that you can consider.
10 Pipedrive CRM Alternatives
To present this well-rounded selection of Pipedrive alternatives, I carefully considered their feature set, ensuring each alternative offered customization and automation capabilities.
I also relied on user reviews to seek options with a solid track record and widespread trust. Recommendations from industry peers and experts also provided valuable validation while creating this list.
1. BIGContacts– Best All-in-One CRM for Small Businesses & Startups
Starting with a personal favorite that I have been using for years – BIGContacts. I’ve found it to be an excellent CRM and contact management solution tailored for small businesses and startups.
The first thing you’ll love is its user-friendly interface and the ability to customize pipelines, making deal management a breeze.
The automation feature saves time on repetitive tasks, while the customization options allow me to create a personalized dashboard displaying only the information that matters most. With real-time reporting, I can monitor my team’s performance and understand what drives our revenue.
There’s more! BIGContacts offers drip email marketing, workflow management, helpdesk integration, remote access, and social media tracking to improve your customer relationships further.
And the best part? This Pipedrive alternative won’t break the bank, offering advanced functionalities at highly affordable prices.
What You’ll Like:
- The pipeline has a drag-and-drop interface, with customizable stages and user access control
- Seamless webform connections make it easy to collect leads and their details
- Offers pre-built reports as well as the ability to create custom reports from scratch
- Comprehensive calendar views help you schedule appointments, set reminders, and manage your daily activities efficiently
- Automated and personalized drip email campaigns streamline communication and enhance customer engagement
What You May Not Like:
- The free trial could be short to explore the ins and outs of the tool
- While the tool lets you create email templates, it can be slightly challenging to search through these templates
Pricing:
- Forever free plan for startups with 100 contacts.
- Paid starts at $9.99/month with a 15-day free trial.
2. Zoho CRM– Best for Sales Process Automation
Image Source: Zoho
If you are looking for a CRM that consolidates sales, customer management, and analytics, Zoho CRM is a strong contender.
With a strong focus on sales force automation, Zoho CRM streamlined my contact and account management, contributing to enhanced productivity. I could easily automate repetitive tasks like scheduling meetings, sending follow-ups, and updating records, thereby freeing up a lot of valuable time for my team.
What was even more impressive was its omnichannel capabilities, including email, telephony, social media, and live chat, which allowed me to engage with my customers across multiple platforms — wherever they were!
Another area where Zoho CRM truly shined, in my experience, was providing extensive analytics and reporting features for real-time insights.
AI-powered tools such as Zia Voice Assistant and Anomaly Detection added an extra layer of intelligence to my sales process, making it not just efficient but also incredibly smart.
What You’ll Like:
- Blueprints help define the sales process for the entire team to follow
- A simple drag-and-drop editor to customize the CRM system according to your requirements
- Journey orchestration lets you create personalized customer journeys and visualize them in real time with intuitive maps
- iOS and Android mobile apps to access valuable business data remotely
What You May Not Like:
- It has limited customer support, especially for the free plan
- It has some gaps in application integration, such as with Gmail, Outlook, and Zapier
Pricing:
- Free for 3 users. Paid plans start at $14/user/month.
3. Insightly– Best for Scalability
Image Source: Imgix
If you are a growing business with dynamic needs requiring a tool that does it all, Insightly might be a good choice for you.
I opted for the free version of the tool and found it to be a great boost to my team’s overall productivity. The scalability, ease of use, and affordability of the platform were the perfect match for us.
Automated workflows reduced grunt work and helped me concentrate on strategy. Plus, advanced permissions and validation rules ensure that the data stays clean, accurate, and in the right hands.
Insightly allowed my team to capture every essential detail from every customer interaction, helping build genuine and long-term relationships with our clients.
What You’ll Like:
- Email tracking and synchronization keep your business communication well-organized
- Leads can be prioritized and distributed to sales representatives based on pre-set criteria
- Automation of emails, reminders, etc., contributes to improved efficiency and reduced errors
- Customizable pipelines and milestones aid project management and enhance cross-team collaboration
What You May Not Like:
- Features like custom validation rules, field-based permissions, etc., are only available in the highest-priced version of the tool
- Task organization and linking are not highly efficient
Pricing:
- Free for 2 users. Paid options start at $29/user/month.
4. HubSpot– Best for Unified Sales, Marketing, & Support
Image Source: Imgix
I utilized the free version of HubSpot CRM, available for a single user.
Being an all-in-one tool, it streamlined our contacts, sales processes, and lead generation, unifying sales, marketing, and customer service.
The real-time insights and visual dashboard enabled me to effortlessly track our pipeline and evaluate sales activity. I was notified whenever a prospect opened an email or visited our website, which facilitated prompt follow-ups via live chat, email, or call.
Using HubSpot CRM’s built-in email templates and dynamic drag-and-drop editor, I was able to craft personalized email campaigns that improved engagement. The customer data stored in the CRM helped me create customized customer experiences.
What You’ll Like:
- A visual sales pipeline allows you to view, track, and organize deals with ease
- iOS and Android mobile apps help manage deals while on the move
- Offers detailed reports and dashboards that are highly customizable
- Includes a built-in live chat tool that enables real-time communication with website visitors
What You May Not Like:
- The free plan lacks a lot of essential features like A/B testing, collaboration, and deal scoring
- The pricing structure is steep, making the tool more expensive compared to other alternatives
Pricing:
- Free plan available with limited features and storage capacity. Paid options start at $18/month.
5. Freshsales– Best for Sales Intelligence
Image Source: Freshworks
Compared to Pipedrive, Freshsales is much more advanced when it comes to providing intelligent sales recommendations and predictive deal insights. It offers detailed sales reports and accurate forecasting, making it possible to make better business decisions.
The platform’s AI-powered contact scoring also works well. It facilitates the identification of high-intent leads, optimizing lead prioritization and follow-up.
The software includes intelligent workflow automation, effectively managing menial tasks from lead assignment and email delivery to reminder creation.
The 360-degree view of customer information improves the ability to deliver superior, personalized experiences.
What You’ll Like:
- Kanban boards, highlight cards, and table views for visualizing customer data
- Multi-channel engagement with customers, including email, phone, Zoom, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.
- Automated workflows and auto-profile enrichment enhance productivity
- Multiple sales pipelines can be set up to keep track of deals
What You May Not Like:
- The learning curve makes it complex and intimidating for beginners to grasp
- While it offers a free basic plan, the most useful features come with the premium versions, potentially making it pricey for smaller businesses
Pricing:
- Free for 3 users. Paid options start from $15/user/month.
6. Nutshell-Best for Sales Tracking
Image Source: Imgix
If simple sales tracking is your top priority, Nutshell would be my top recommendation for an alternative to Pipedrive.
The tool is highly flexible, so I was able to view and manage leads in a way that suited me the best. There were multiple pipeline options to choose from — board, list, map, chart, and hot leads.
On top of that, its sales automation features, such as automatic lead assignment and task reminders, freed up a considerable amount of valuable time. I could define a sales process for my team, which ensured consistency and kept us on top of our game!
Adding new contacts to the CRM was pretty easy, whether it was importing existing contacts or scanning business cards. I also liked the ability to put my business outreach on autopilot with this reliable solution.
What You’ll Like:
- New contact records are automatically enriched with information available on the internet
- The ability to set up automated drip email campaigns to improve your engagement with prospects and customers
- Tags and alerts help keep everyone in the team on the same page
- Customizable and engaging forms help convert website visitors into leads
What You May Not Like:
- Customer support is not robust, making it challenging to get assistance when you need it
- Some features are buried under menus, making navigation slightly difficult
Pricing:
- Starts at $16/user/month.
7. ClickUp– Best for Data Visualization
Image Source: Clickup
Having used ClickUp for project management for years, I decided to give its CRM functionality a try. And the results were pretty satisfactory.
It offered a rich suite of features – data visualization, task management, and streamlined workflows, fitting perfectly into our working dynamics.
It provided an easy-to-navigate dashboard, where our team members could track and manage accounts, fostering better collaboration. Additionally, its capability to automate customer workflows resulted in a significant boost in our productivity.
Beyond customer management, ClickUp shines in overall task management.
It helped us centralize all our work – tasks, documents, goals, and more, into one location. The platform also offered forms, time tracking, and whiteboards, among other features, ensuring that our work operations were efficient.
What You’ll Like:
- Visual sales pipelines offer better clarity on progress and potential bottlenecks
- Offers a range of dashboard widgets to help you get started
- Centralized inbox lets you communicate with customers and collaborate with team members with ease
- You can add links between tasks, documents, and other elements to improve business efficiency
What You May Not Like:
- The free version has limited storage, and higher premium tiers can price out small businesses
- It can be overwhelming, especially during the initial setup
Pricing:
- Free plan available with limited storage. Paid options start at $7/user/month.
8. Engagebay– Best for Collaborative Sales & Marketing
Image Source: Engagebay
Misalignment between sales and marketing teams can cause significant harm to productivity and business success. This was a challenge that Engagebay helped me overcome.
The implementation of this platform made it much easier for my sales and marketing teams to communicate, as well as hand over leads seamlessly. All the necessary information could be shared effortlessly, helping my business convert more leads than ever!
I also found the ability to customize email templates with a simple drag-and-drop editor to be a huge time-saver for my business.
On top of that, the tool took care of tedious tasks like targeted marketing, workflow automation, and data entry, allowing my team to focus on building stronger relationships with customers.
What You’ll Like:
- The intuitive drag-and-drop interface of the sales pipeline simplifies moving deals between stages
- Easy appointment scheduling with automatic calendar syncing and custom time slots
- Contact segmentation based on custom fields, tags, previous interactions, and more
- Automated email sequences and targeted marketing campaigns improve customer engagement
What You May Not Like:
- The reporting capabilities of the tool are not very advanced
- The mobile version is not as functional as the desktop version
Pricing:
- Free plan available (lacks automated workflows and other advanced features). Paid options start at $12.74/user/month.
9. Nimble– Best for Data Enrichment
Image Source: Nimble
In my experience, Nimble proved to be a practical CRM tool for business growth. It stood out due to its unique ability to enrich contact records with social and business insights, simplifying relationship management.
I particularly valued Nimble’s social profile matching feature, which automatically gathered relevant information, saving me time.
With its browser and email extensions, I was able to conveniently work across various platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, and other apps.
Its customizable reports feature was advantageous, as were the advanced search automation, forecasting templates, and email tracking. Additionally, Nimble’s workflow and automation capabilities helped run processes between departments, enabling me to replace tedious spreadsheets and manual tasks with more efficient methods.
What You’ll Like:
- Segmentation and targeted emails for improved outreach
- A detailed ‘Today’ page makes it easy to keep track of appointments, pending tasks, pipeline activity, and more
- Nimble automatically matches social and public data for each contact – helping you better understand and connect with customers
- Transforms repetitive administrative tasks into streamlined workflows, creating efficiency between departments
What You May Not Like:
- Lacks advanced features like data visualization, A/B testing, and sales forecasting
- The interface can be a little confusing for beginners
Pricing:
- Starts at $24.90/user/month.
10. Zendesk Sell– Best for Pipeline Visibility & Forecasting
Image Source: Cloudfront
If you are looking to take better control of your sales pipeline, Zendesk Sell is another excellent option to consider.
This Pipedrive alternative helped me attain better visibility of my sales pipeline, making it convenient to track each deal’s status and get real-time updates. Advanced pipeline analytics options made it easy to predict deal volume, identify bottlenecks, and plan ahead.
Zendesk Sell provides a full view of the customer across sales and service platforms, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the customer’s buying process to deliver personalized, conversational experiences.
I was also impressed by the ability to set up email and task sequences, which ensured that we stayed connected to clients at all times.
What You’ll Like:
- Custom triggers and automated workflows keep things moving forward effortlessly
- Accurate forecasting and deal prediction empower you to make better decisions
- iOS and Android mobile applications help stay on top of deals from anywhere
- Smart lists facilitate contact segmentation and enhanced targeting
What You May Not Like:
- Zendesk Sell may have some integration issues with third-party tools that are not part of the Zendesk ecosystem
- Advanced features like lead scoring and sales forecasting are only available in the higher-priced plans
Pricing:
- Starts from $19/agent/month.
Which is the Best Pipedrive Alternative?
When it comes to choosing the right alternative to Pipderive, you must consider various factors, including specific capabilities, ease of usage, integration possibilities, and cost. You can also opt for free trials of these products to get a first-hand experience of how well they fit into your business.
To aid your decision further, here are my three top picks from the list above-
Option 1: BIGContacts
An all-in-one CRM solution, BIGContacts brings varied functionalities under one roof. Ease of use combined with an affordable price point makes the platform accessible for all business sizes. Its scalability means it can grow with your business, ensuring you always have the tools you need. The customizable features allow you to modify the platform to your specific business processes.
Option 2: HubSpot
HubSpot stands out for its host of features and consistent innovation. It provides seamless integration capabilities that connect all your departments and systems for a 360-degree customer view. One of its main selling points is a free CRM that’s a perfect starting point. However, accessing advanced features may come at a significant cost.
Option 3: Nutshell
Engineered for simplicity, Nutshell offers a user-friendly interface, helping sales teams navigate and track their day-to-day operations effectively. It comes with a strong set of features designed to help close deals faster and streamline the sales process.
Remember-
The rule of thumb is to prioritize your specific business needs over the tool’s popularity when choosing a CRM solution!
Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation of products or tools chosen for this article follows an unbiased, systematic approach that ensures a fair, insightful, and well-rounded review. This method employs six key factors:
- User Reviews / Ratings: Direct experiences from users, including ratings and feedback from reputable sites, provide a ground-level perspective. This feedback is critical in understanding overall satisfaction and potential problems.
- Essential Features & Functionality: The value of a product is ascertained by its core features and overall functionality. Through an in-depth exploration of these aspects, the practical usefulness and effectiveness of the tools are carefully evaluated.
- Ease of Use: The user-friendliness of a product or service is assessed, focusing on the design, interface, and navigation. This ensures a positive experience for users of all levels of expertise.
- Customer Support: The quality of customer support is examined, taking into account its efficiency and how well it supports users in different phases – setting up, addressing concerns, and resolving operational issues.
- Value for Money: Value for money is evaluated by comparing the quality, performance, and features. The goal is to help the reader understand whether they would be getting their money’s worth.
- Personal Experience / Experts’ Opinions: This part of the evaluation criteria draws insightful observations from the personal experience of the writer and the opinions of industry experts.
For more information, refer to the FAQs listed below.
Learn More About Pipedrive CRM Competitors
Why should you consider a Pipedrive Alternative?
While Pipedrive is a popular option, it may not offer all the features or scalability you need. Here are some of its limitations:
- Most of the advanced features of Pipedrive, such as automation, forecasting, etc., are only available for the higher-paid versions.
- Pipedrive also does not offer a free plan. If budget is a concern, you should consider more affordable options such as BIGContacts, which provide the same value for significantly lower prices.
- Pipedrive only offers onboarding support for higher-paid versions.
- Some of the reporting features of Pipedrive are not as efficient and intuitive as you would expect.
- There are chances of your team finding the tool restrictive in terms of collaboration.
What are some essential features to look for in Pipedrive Alternatives?
To find a suitable Pipedrive alternative for your business, you need to look for the following features:
- The ability to build a custom pipeline to get a clear picture of all the opportunities your team is working with.
- Custom data fields, views, modules, user roles, etc., can help you adapt the CRM according to your needs.
- Automation of manual tasks like data entry can free up time for more critical tasks.
- The CRM tool should help create a comprehensive database with all essential information, including contact details, address, social media activity, previous engagement, etc.
- A CRM tool that streamlines your workflow and helps keep everything on track can result in improved organizational efficiency.
- The CRM tool should provide you with centralized access to quality leads collected from multiple sources, including websites, emails, social media, etc.
- A powerful CRM tool with email marketing capabilities can help you connect with prospects and customers through personalized emails, driving more conversions.
- With mobile CRM, you can get access to essential contact information anywhere, anytime.
Which type of CRM does your business actually need?
There are multiple types of CRM, viz. Operational CRM, Analytical CRM, and Collaborative CRM. The best type of CRM entirely depends on your specific needs. For example, small businesses might prefer simple, user-friendly systems, while large businesses may require a more sophisticated, customizable offering.
How much should you invest in a CRM?
The cost of CRM depends on several factors, including the size of your business, the number of user licenses required, the platform chosen, and the need for additional features. CRM pricing typically ranges from $9.99 to $200 per user per month.
It’s important to consider not just the initial purchase but also ongoing costs like maintenance, support, and training. Ultimately, the CRM investment should align with your business objectives and budget, ensuring the chosen solution enhances your productivity and ROI.
How can you migrate data from Pipedrive to another CRM?
Data migration from Pipedrive to another CRM is a multi-step process. Firstly, export all the required data from your Pipedrive account through the ‘Settings’ tab.
Secondly, import the data to the new CRM. For instance, if you’re migrating to a tool like BIGContacts, it offers simple import templates and tools that make this step a breeze. Just upload your exported data file and map the columns to the corresponding fields.
How to choose the best Pipedrive Alternatives?
Choosing the best Pipedrive alternatives depends on several factors. Here are some considerations:
- The tool should have the ability to grow with your business. Investing in a scalable CRM can be significantly profitable for your enterprise in the long run.
- Select a CRM offering advanced or similar features as Pipedrive.
- Your CRM software should be easy to implement, navigate, and understand for your entire team.
- The CRM must be within your budget, considering both initial and recurring costs.
- The chosen CRM should have a positive track record and good reviews from current and past users.
Before making a final decision, be sure to perform deep research and test different options to make sure they are the right fit for your business needs. Here’s a video that helped me choose the best CRM for my business-
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