Pipedrive vs HubSpot: Which CRM is Better?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is essential for most businesses, big or small, to manage your leads and sales and keep track of your clients and their interactions with your company. However, it requires in-depth research to know which one would be ideal for the particular needs of your business.
To help you in deciding which CRM software to go with, let me attempt to give you a comparison between two of the best CRM tools available in the market today — Pipedrive and Hubspot — so you can make a well-informed decision and invest in the tool that suits you best.
Let’s have a look.
What do you look for in a CRM software solution?
When you’re trying to decide which CRM software solution is best for your business, there are a few key features you should look for:
- Ease of use: The best CRM solutions are user-friendly and easy to navigate. You don’t want to spend hours learning how to use your CRM software.
- Comprehensive features: The CRM software you choose should have all the features you need to manage your customer relationships effectively.
- Affordable pricing: And, of course, you don’t want to overspend on your CRM solution. Look for a solution that offers the best bang for your buck.
Now that you know what to look for in a CRM software solution, let’s take a closer look at two of the most popular CRM solutions on the market today: Pipedrive and Hubspot.
Pipedrive, in a nutshell
Pipedrive is a cloud-based CRM software solution offering a wide range of features to help businesses manage customer relationships effectively. The software is designed to be user-friendly with a visual sales pipeline that helps users track their deals and progress through the sales process.
They are founded in 2010 by three Estonian entrepreneurs who were looking for a CRM solution that was easy to use and helped them close more deals.
The company is headquartered in New York City but has offices in Estonia, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
HubSpot, in a nutshell
HubSpot, on the other hand, was founded in 2006 by two entrepreneurs looking for a better way to market their software company.
The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has offices in Dublin, Sydney, London, Berlin, Tokyo, and Singapore.
HubSpot is a comprehensive CRM software solution with a range of features to help businesses manage customer relationships effectively. The software is designed to help users track their sales and marketing performance and manage customer relations through a centralized platform.
HubSpot also offers various marketing and sales tools to help businesses close more deals and grow their customer base.
Key differences between Pipedrive and Hubspot
Pipedrive and HubSpot are two of the most popular CRM platforms in the market, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.
Here’s all you need to know about the major differences between Pipedrive and HubSpot so you can choose the ideal one for your business.
1. Ease of use
Both HubSpot and Pipedrive are pretty user-friendly. They both have an intuitive user interface that allows you to track your contacts, projects, tasks easily, leads, etc. They also have a wide range of email templates you can use or modify for your own purposes.
It’s easy to filter through all of your contacts in either software so that you can keep up with things like when they made their last purchase or if they are still using a specific product on their website.
There is a smooth learning curve other than figuring out where things are located on each platform, which is honestly a good thing as it means no training is necessary once you get started.
Verdict:
Hubspot and Pipedrive are both easy to use. You don’t need to learn anything new to use either program.
For easy of use:
- HubSpot – 5/5
- Pipedrive – 5/5
2. Automation
HubSpot is known for its automation capabilities. You can automate tasks like emailing customers when they abandon their shopping carts, sending out follow-up emails to potential customers, or creating workflows to keep track of your sales pipeline. HubSpot’s automation features are one of the main reasons why people choose it over other CRM platforms.
Pipedrive, on the other hand, does not have as many automation features built in. However, they do have extensive APIs that allow you to connect to third-party apps and services to automate tasks like sending out follow-up emails or creating workflows.
Verdict:
Hubspot offers more automation options than Pipedrive. However, Pipedrive’s extensive API lets you connect to third-party apps and services to automate things.
In terms of automation:
- HubSpot – 4/5
- Pipedrive – 3/5
3. Reporting and analytics
HubSpot CRM has more than 150 free report templates. These include sales-related indicators like deals closed and monthly revenue, as well as marketing-related information like website traffic and social media engagements.
By subscribing to Sales Hub Enterprise or Sales Hub Professional, a user will have access to advanced analytics and custom reports, as well as the ability to create up to 10 CRM dashboards.
Pipedrive’s CRM also has a good selection of reports, with over 30 available templates. However, upgrading to a paid plan is necessary to unlock features like custom fields, which can be used to segment data and create more specific reports.
Additionally, the ability to export data into Excel or Google Sheets is a premium feature, as is access to the Pipeline Heatmap report.
Verdict:
Hubspot CRM provides a large number of free report templates (around 150), however, for advanced features such as custom fields, you need to upgrade to a paid plan. Pipedrive CRM offers a smaller number of free report templates (around 30), but you can pay to use more of them.
In terms of reporting and analytics:
- HubSpot – 4/5
- Pipedrive – 4/5
4. Pricing
For HubSpot CRM Sales Hub, there is a free-for-life subscription with limited functionality. This can be upgraded at any time to one of three paid plans – Starter, Professional, or Enterprise.
Pipedrive’s CRM doesn’t offer a free-for-life subscription, but there is a 14-day trial period available for each of its subscription plans. Compared to HubSpot, Pipedrive’s prices are more economical – at $14 seat/month for the Essential plan.
All Pipedrive subscriptions come with an extensive feature set as standard, with the only main differences being the number of users and contacts that can be added to the account, as well as phone support.
Verdict:
HubSpot’s most expensive Sales Hub plan is almost double the price of Pipedrive’s Enterprise offering, making it one of the more costly CRM software solutions on the market.
The main differences between the paid plans of the two tools are the number of users, contacts, and automation workflows that can be added to the account.
When it comes to pricing and affordability:
- HubSpot – 3/5
- Pipedrive – 4/5
5. Core features
CRM software is used to manage customer relationships, sales, and marketing. As such, the core features of a CRM platform will usually include things like contact management, deal tracking, lead capture, and pipeline management. Both HubSpot and Pipedrive offer all of these features and more.
One area where HubSpot shines is in its marketing features. In addition to the core CRM functionality, HubSpot’s Sales Hub also includes features like email tracking, lead scoring, and website visitor tracking. This makes it a great option for businesses that want to get the most out of their CRM investment by using it as an all-in-one platform for sales and marketing.
Pipedrive, on the other hand, is more focused on sales. While it does have some marketing features, such as email integration and lead capture forms, they are not as comprehensive as what HubSpot has to offer. If you’re primarily looking for a CRM to manage your sales pipeline and deals, Pipedrive would be a good option for you.
Verdict:
Hubspot offers a lot of features for both sales and marketing, while Pipedrive focuses on sales.
On the core features:
- HubSpot – 3.5/5
- Pipedrive – 4/5
6. App integrations
HubSpot CRM is connected to the HubSpot App Marketplace, where there are currently over 500 app integrations. Categories include sales, marketing, productivity, finance, and customer service. And better yet, about half of these apps can be obtained for free.
Some examples of these free app integrations include DepositFix, Outreach, and Xero. The HubSpot App Marketplace can be accessed across all four levels of HubSpot CRM – including even in their free version.
Pipedrive also has a good selection of app integrations, with over 350 apps available in their App Store.
Like HubSpot, there is a healthy mix of free and paid app integrations available in the tool. Categories include sales, marketing, productivity, customer service, and accounting.
Some popular app integrations that are available for Pipedrive include Google Calendar, Gmail, and Stripe.
Verdict:
Both HubSpot and Pipedrive offers a good selection of app integrations to extend the functionality of their CRM platforms.
However, HubSpot’s App Marketplace has a slight edge in terms of the number of apps available and the variety of categories covered.
Regarding app integrations:
- HubSpot – 4/5
- Pipedrive – 3.5/5
7. Customer Service
HubSpot’s customer service can be accessed 24/7 via phone, email, or live chat. The company also has an extensive Knowledge Base that includes how-to guides, troubleshooting articles, and product documentation. In addition, HubSpot offers a number of training resources, such as online courses, certification programs, and live events.
Pipedrive’s customer service can also be reached 24/7 via phone, email, or live chat. The company has a searchable Knowledge Base that contains how-to guides and troubleshooting articles. Pipedrive also offers a number of helpful training resources, such as webinars, guides, and live events.
Verdict:
Both HubSpot and Pipedrive offer excellent customer service, with multiple ways to get in touch with a support representative and plenty of helpful training resources.
On customer services:
- HubSpot – 4/5
- Pipedrive – 4/5
Conclusion
HubSpot CRM and Pipedrive are both great options for businesses looking for a sales or marketing-focused CRM solution.
HubSpot has the edge when it comes to marketing features, while Pipedrive is a better choice for businesses that want a more sales-oriented platform. Both platforms offer a good selection of app integrations and excellent customer service.
Which CRM you ultimately choose will depend on your specific business needs. If you’re not sure which one is right for you, we recommend trying out both platforms with their free versions to see which one works better for your team.