For those looking to manage the sales process more effectively, Pipedrive CRM software might be the tool they need. Because if you're handling multiple leads or trying to close more deals, having the right customer relationship management tool can make all the difference. So let's explore what the tool really is about, how it works, how you can use Pipedrive, and whether it's the right choice for your business.
What is Pipedrive CRM software?
To put it simple, Pipedrive is a sales-focused CRM platform that helps businesses manage their customer relationships and sales processes through a visual pipeline. Unlike other CRM tools, Pipedrive tries to make it easy and straightforward, with a user-friendly approach to sales management.
The platform centralizes your customer data, communication history, and sales activities in one place. This means no more juggling multiple spreadsheets or losing track of important client conversations. Instead, you get a clear overview of your entire sales process, from initial contact to closing deals.
And how does Pipedrive work?
Considered one of the most simple and easy CRMs, Pipedrive operates on a (very) visual pipeline system, and makes the tracking of sales progress more intuitive than other tools. When you log into Pipedrive, you'll see your deals organized in stages, showing exactly where each potential sale stands. Here's how it works:
- Each deal moves through customizable stages in your pipeline
- You can track all communications with clients in one place
- The system connects with your email and calendar
- Automations handle routine tasks to save time
- Built-in reporting shows your sales performance
Pipedrive: A pipeline CRM
Pipedrive is considered a pipeline CRM. And what’s that, you may wonder? A pipeline CRM like Pipedrive helps you track and manage your sales opportunities as they move through each stage of your sales process. While regular CRMs often focus on storing contact details or running marketing campaigns, pipeline CRMs like Pipedrive put your sales funnel front and center. Think of it as a visual map that shows the journey from lead to customer. With that, sales teams can:
- Quickly spot which potential deals require immediate attention
- Know exactly where each lead stands in your sales process
- Take the right actions to push deals toward closing
- Monitor how close they are to hitting their targets
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Benefits of Pipedrive CRM
Using Pipedrive CRM software can transform how you handle sales in several key ways:
- Better organization of sales data. Having all your customer information in one central location makes a significant difference in how you manage relationships. Pipedrive lets you store contact details, conversation history, and deal information together, ensuring you never miss important details or lose track of where things stand with a client. You can easily find past interactions, documents, and notes, making it simpler to pick up conversations where they left off.
- Improved team collaboration. Sales teams work better when everyone knows what's happening. Pipedrive makes it easy to share information between team members, assign and track tasks, and maintain consistent sales processes. When someone takes over a deal or needs to help a colleague, they can quickly get up to speed by reviewing the complete history and current status of any opportunity.
- Time savings through automation. One of the biggest advantages of using Pipedrive is how it handles routine tasks automatically. Instead of manually sending follow-up emails or remembering to check in with leads, you can set up automated sequences that do this work for you. The system can remind you about important tasks, send scheduled emails, and keep your sales process moving without constant manual intervention.
- Sales visibility. Understanding exactly where you stand with each deal helps make better decisions. Pipedrive CRM provides real-time monitoring of deal progress, letting you track both individual and team performance at a glance. You can generate accurate sales forecasts based on your pipeline, helping you predict revenue and adjust your strategy as needed.
Pipedrive's main features and capabilities
Pipedrive stands out with several key features that transform how sales teams manage their daily work. Let's dive into what makes this CRM particularly effective:
Sales pipeline management
At its core, Pipedrive shines through its visual pipeline management system. Your entire sales process appears in an intuitive layout, with deals neatly organized in stages that you can customize to match your workflow. This visual approach means you'll always know where deals stand, and moving them between stages is as simple as dragging and dropping. Such clarity helps teams focus their efforts where they matter most.
Contact management
Strong relationships drive successful sales, which is why Pipedrive puts significant emphasis on contact management. Every interaction with your contacts, from emails to phone calls, is automatically logged and easily accessible. By adding custom fields that capture the specific information your business needs, you can better segment and manage your relationships. This level of detail ensures no important contact information slips through the cracks.
Automation tools
Time spent on repetitive tasks is time away from selling, and Pipedrive addresses this challenge through smart automation. The system takes care of routine follow-ups, task scheduling, and workflow triggers, freeing up your team to focus on building relationships. When a deal progresses to a new stage, for instance, Pipedrive can automatically trigger a series of actions, from assigning new tasks to sending personalized emails.
Reporting and analytics
Making informed decisions requires good data, and Pipedrive delivers with comprehensive reporting tools. The platform offers clear insights into sales forecasts, team performance, and pipeline health, helping you spot trends and opportunities. Through customizable reports, you can track the specific metrics that drive your business success, turning raw data into actionable insights that guide your sales strategy.
Integration capabilities
A CRM needs to work within your existing business ecosystem, and Pipedrive excels in this area through extensive integration options. With connections to over 400 third-party tools, you can seamlessly link your CRM to essential business applications, from email and calendar tools to marketing platforms. These integrations ensure Pipedrive enhances your current workflow rather than complicating it, making adoption smoother for your entire team.
Pros and cons of Pipedrive CRM Software
Pros
✓ User-friendly interface that's easy to learn
✓ Excellent visual pipeline management
✓ Strong automation capabilities
✓ Comprehensive video tutorials
✓ Wide range of integrations (400+)
✓ Customizable to fit different sales processes
Cons
✗ Learning all features takes time
✗ Limited analytics customization
✗ Basic customer support on lower-tier plans
✗ Add-on pricing can increase costs
✗ No Kanban view for contacts
✗ Some features require additional payments
Pipedrive pricing
To know Pipedrive’s cost, you should first look at their five pricing tiers, with each tier adding more sophisticated features. Please note that these prices are only valid if you go for the annual billing option; if you decide to pay on a monthly basis, prices could increase up to 42%.
- Essential (€14/seat/month): Designed for getting started, includes lead, calendar and pipeline management, seamless data import with 400+ integrations, activity and deal tracking reports, and personalized onboarding. Perfect for teams needing basic sales process organization.
- Advanced (€39/seat/month): Everything in Essential plus full email sync with templates, click tracking, group emailing capabilities, automation builder with email sequences, meeting and video call scheduling features, and live chat support. Ideal for teams focusing on email automation.
- Professional (€49/seat/month): The most popular plan, Pipedrive Professional, includes AI-powered Sales Assistant and emailing tools, contract and proposal management with e-signatures, streamlined lead routing and team management, revenue forecasts, custom field reporting, and extra data quality settings. Now enhanced with AI capabilities.
- Power (€64/seat/month): All Professional features plus project planning with tracking and delivery, increased control over account permissions and visibility settings, 24/7 live chat support, and phone support. Designed for larger teams requiring comprehensive collaboration tools and advanced support.
- Enterprise (€99/seat/month): The complete package offering enhanced security preferences, unlimited reports and customizations, maximum automation and email sync capabilities per seat. Provides the ultimate flexibility and control for enterprise-level organizations.
Each plan includes a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, allowing you to test the features before committing. The Professional plan is marked as "Most Popular," while the Power plan is tagged as "Best Value," suggesting these tiers offer the best balance of features and cost for most businesses.
But beyond these core plans, Pipedrive offers several add-on options too. These include LeadBooster for lead generation (starting at €32.50), Web Visitors for website tracking (from €41), Campaigns for email marketing (from €13.33), Smart Docs for document management (from €32.50), and Projects for project management (from €6.70).
While these add-ons can significantly expand Pipedrive's functionality, remember that they'll increase your total monthly cost. It's worth carefully considering which add-ons are essential for your business needs rather than subscribing to all of them at once.
👉 Read more:
- Pipedrive 2025 pricing guide
- Pipedrive alternatives
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- Pipedrive vs Keap
- Pipedrive vs Trello
- Pipedrive vs Monday
How to use Pipedrive
Getting started with Pipedrive involves these key steps:
1. Set up your account
- Sign up for a plan
- Complete initial setup
- Import your contacts
2. Customize your pipeline
- Define your sales stages
- Set up custom fields
- Create deal rotting rules
3. Connect your tools
- Link your email
- Set up calendar sync
- Add necessary integrations
4. Create your first deals
- Add new opportunities
- Set deal values
- Assign to team members
5. Start tracking activities
- Log calls and meetings
- Set up email tracking
- Create tasks and reminders
Some Pipedrive CRM software alternatives
If Pipedrive doesn't quite match what you're looking for, several other CRM platforms might better suit your needs. Let's explore some leading alternatives and what makes them stand out:
Salesmate
Salesmate emerges as a strong contender, particularly for businesses prioritizing communication features. Unlike Pipedrive's more pipeline-focused approach, Salesmate builds its foundation on robust communication tools. Their platform includes built-in calling, SMS, and email tracking without requiring additional integrations. Starting at $23 per user per month, it sits in a similar price range to Pipedrive's mid-tier plans. Salesmate particularly shines in its automation capabilities, offering advanced workflow features that can help streamline repetitive sales tasks.
Close.io
For teams handling high volumes of sales activities, Close.io provides a compelling alternative. This platform stands out with its powerful built-in calling and SMS features, making it especially valuable for sales teams that rely heavily on phone communication. While its starting price of $59 per user per month makes it more expensive than Pipedrive, Close.io justifies the cost with its comprehensive communication suite and robust lead management system. The platform excels at helping sales teams maintain high-volume outreach without losing the personal touch in their communications.
HubSpot
HubSpot offers a different approach by combining CRM with more extensive marketing capabilities. While Pipedrive focuses primarily on sales, HubSpot provides a complete growth platform that includes marketing, sales, and service tools - for example, you can sign up for their Sales Hub, if that's your main focus. One of its biggest advantages is the free starter plan, which lets teams test the waters before committing to a paid version. This makes it particularly attractive for growing businesses that want to start with basic features and scale up over time. HubSpot's CRM capabilities extend beyond traditional sales management, offering tools for content management, social media marketing, and customer service all in one platform.
Pipedrive CRM FAQ
Is Pipedrive good for small businesses?
Pipedrive is particularly well-suited for small businesses due to its intuitive interface and affordable pricing. The platform offers essential sales management features without overwhelming complexity, and its visual pipeline approach helps small teams stay organized and focused on closing deals.
Can Pipedrive integrate with my email?
Yes, Pipedrive integrates seamlessly with major email providers including Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. You can connect up to five email accounts, track email opens and clicks, use email templates, and sync all your communication history directly within the platform.
Does Pipedrive offer a free trial?
Yes, Pipedrive provides a 14-day free trial for all pricing plans with no credit card required. This gives you full access to the features of your chosen plan, allowing you to thoroughly test the platform before making a commitment.
Can I customize my sales pipeline in Pipedrive?
Absolutely. Pipedrive lets you create custom pipeline stages, add specific fields, and modify workflows to match your sales process. You can set up multiple pipelines for different products or services, and adjust them as your business needs evolve.
What is the main use of Pipedrive?
Pipedrive serves as a comprehensive sales CRM that helps teams manage leads and track sales activities. It centralizes customer data, automates routine tasks, and provides visual pipeline management, enabling sales teams to focus on moving deals forward and closing more sales effectively.
What's the difference between Salesforce and Pipedrive?
While Salesforce offers more extensive features suited for large enterprises, Pipedrive focuses on simplicity and usability for small to medium businesses. Pipedrive provides a more straightforward, cost-effective solution with a shorter learning curve compared to Salesforce's complex ecosystem.
Who owns Pipedrive?
Vista Equity Partners acquired Pipedrive in 2020. Under Vista's ownership, Pipedrive has continued to develop its platform while maintaining its focus on providing user-friendly sales management tools for businesses.
Is Pipedrive easy to use?
Yes, Pipedrive is known for its user-friendly interface and straightforward design. The platform consistently ranks as one of the easiest-to-use CRMs in software reviews, making it particularly appealing for teams new to CRM software.
Where does Pipedrive store data?
Pipedrive stores customer data in AWS data centers located in Europe and the United States. The company maintains strict security protocols, using separate databases for different customers and ensuring compliance with SAS 70 type II standards.
Can Pipedrive be used for account management?
Yes, Pipedrive combines CRM capabilities with account management features, allowing teams to manage both sales and ongoing client relationships. The platform helps track customer interactions, manage accounts, and ensure timely follow-ups with existing clients.
How does Pipedrive track emails?
Pipedrive uses tracking pixels in emails to monitor when recipients open messages or click links. This feature provides real-time notifications and detailed analytics about email engagement, helping sales teams better understand prospect interaction with their communications.
Bottom line
Pipedrive CRM software offers a practical solution for businesses looking to improve their sales process. Its visual pipeline approach, combined with automation features and reasonable pricing, makes it particularly suitable for small to medium-sized businesses focused on sales. While it may lack some advanced features found in enterprise-level CRMs, its strength lies in its simplicity and focus on what matters most: helping teams close more deals efficiently.
Consider starting with Pipedrive's 14-day free trial to see if it matches your needs. Remember that the best CRM is one that your team will actually use, and Pipedrive's user-friendly approach often makes adoption easier than with more complex alternatives.
Sources (last checked on February 10, 2025):
- Pipedrive pricing page
- Pipedrive products pages
