Pipedrive and Freshsales both have contact management, visual sales pipeline tools, and lead scoring features. However, Pipedrive offers lower-priced plans, more integration options, as well as 24/7 chat and email support. In contrast, Freshsales is priced higher but has more customization options, offers in-app calling, and has phone support.
Here’s a quick look at when to use Pipedrive vs. Freshsales:
- Pipedrive: Better choice for sales professionals and teams who need an easy-to-use customer relationship management (CRM) platform with visual sales pipeline tools.
- Freshsales: Better option for businesses that want a scalable CRM with a built-in phone system.
Pipedrive vs Freshsales at a Glance
 |  | |
Expert Score | 4.75 out of 5 | 4.13 out of 5 |
Starting Price* | $12.50 per user, per month | $15 per user, per month |
Ease of Use | Beginner-friendly | Beginner to intermediate |
Lead Management | ✔ | ✔ |
Visual Sales Pipeline | ✔ | ✔ |
Deals | ✔ | ✔ |
Mass Email | ✔ | ✔ |
Lead Scoring | ✔ | ✔ |
Product Catalogs | ✔ | ✔ |
Email Tracking | ✔ | ✔ |
Meeting Scheduler | ✔ | ✔ |
Configure, Price & Quote (CPQ) | ✔ | ✔ |
App-based Calling | N/A | Add-on (Sales and Customer-for-Life clouds) |
Reporting & Analytics | Enterprise plan only | All plans |
Customer Support | All plans offer default deal and activity reports; higher-tier plans offer custom reports and revenue forecasts | Default and custom reports in all plans; deal and email reports in Enterprise plan 24/5 via chat, email, and phone |
Integrations | 2,000+ including QuickBooks, Trello, Mailchimp, Google Workplace, and Zapier | 750+ including Mailchimp, Zapier, Google Workplace, HubSpot, and Freshales ecosystem |
*Based on annual subscription. Monthly pricing is also available at slightly higher rates.
How We Evaluated Pipedrive vs Freshsales
To help you choose which CRM software is the best fit for your business needs, we compared Pipedrive and Freshsales based on several factors, including pricing, ease of use, general features, customer service, and expert score.
Click the tabs below for more information on the criteria we used to evaluate each CRM system:
40% of Overall Score
The costs per user and any upfront costs like CRM customizations, onboarding, and maintenance fees were considered. We also factored in the availability of a free plan and monthly billing option to determine the best value for your money.
20% of Overall Score
We evaluated the overall set of CRM features, including customizable fields, reporting, and analytics. The quality of its contact management capabilities was one of our main deciding factors. In addition, we looked at the availability of a mobile app and third-party integrations.
15% of Overall Score
The best CRM solution should not require technical skills to understand and use, and it should also have an intuitive interface. In determining which software is the best, we considered how easy it is to set up and operate.
15% of Overall Score
Business owners looking for CRM systems for contact management prefer those that come with 24/7 customer service via phone, live chat, and email. We assessed the two providers to see the quality of help and support they offer to their users.
10% of Overall Score
We checked customer reviews on reputable sites to evaluate how satisfied their customers are. We also noted common issues that the users had. Apart from online reviews, we weighed the features that stood out, their value for money, and their popularity.
Let’s take a closer look at Pipedrive vs Freshsales.
Most Affordable: Freshsales
| | |
Starting Price* | $12.50 per user, per month | $15 per user, per month |
Free Trial | Yes, 14 days | Yes, 21 days |
*Based on annual subscription. Monthly pricing is also available at slightly higher rates.
Pipedrive offers four plans starting at $12.50 per user, per month. Its most expensive tier costs $99 per user, per month. Meanwhile, Freshsales offers three plans that range from $15 to $69 per user, per month.
When it comes to the Enterprise plan, Freshsales is more affordable at $69 per user, per month, while Pipedrive costs $99 per user, per month, with a minimum of 10 users.
Pipedrive offers a lead generation toolset add-on at $32.50 per company, per month, and website visitor tracking add-on at $41 per company, per month. These two features are already included in both the Pro and Enterprise plans of Freshsales. To determine the actual value for the price, you need to consider the features you need against the plan that fits your budget.
Winner: Pipedrive’s basic plan is slightly less expensive than Freshsales’ similar plan. However, Freshsales offers a free plan for unlimited users–and their midlevel and enterprise plans are more competitively priced than Pipedrive’s. It’s also worth noting that there are even more affordable CRM systems available. You can learn more about these options in our guide on the best free CRMs.
Most User-friendly: Pipedrive
| |
Simple interface design that beginners can navigate easily | User-friendly interface that suits beginner to intermediate-level users; has more customization options |
Pipedrive and Freshsales are both easy to use and have an intuitive and modern interface. However, Pipedrive’s simpler setup and configuration options make it much easier to navigate because you can see all your options in one glance. With Freshsales, there are more options and information on display:
- Pipedrive: Best for beginners, sales professionals, and smaller sales teams. The clean interface layout gives you a convenient view of your leads, contacts, and deals. It also allows you to migrate easily from another CRM.
- Freshsales: Recommended for beginner to intermediate CRM users. It allows you to switch between its sales, marketing, and service modules easily.
Creating a Contact in Pipedrive
Pipedrive’s contact details view (Source: Pipedrive)
Adding a contact in Pipedrive is simple because its menu is very intuitive. You have to go to the Contacts tab and select the option to add a person. Then, enter the person’s name, organization, phone number, and email address into the form that pops up. Click Save when you’re done.
Creating a Contact in Freshsales
Freshsales’ contact detail view (Source: Freshsales)
Adding a contact in Freshsales is also easy to do and similar to Pipedrive. However, there are more configuration options. Once you click the Add Contact button from the Contacts tab, a form will pop up where you can enter the person’s details, including subscription status and lifecycle stage.
Winner: Pipedrive wins here for its simplicity and better user experience (UX), especially for beginners. Its menus and options are intuitive, making it easier to learn and use, but if you are looking for the simplest CRM, we’ve found that Really Simple Systems is the better option. You can learn more in our guide on the best simple CRMs.
Most Extensive Capabilities: Freshsales
| |
Robust features and an app market with 2,000+ apps | Has more advanced capabilities and an app market with 750+ apps |
Pipedrive allows you to generate custom reports, add custom fields and pipeline stages as well as switch features or modules on and off. With Freshsales, you get more extensive options as it lets you customize modules, sales activities, tags, language, and base currency as well as rename modules. However, you can extend the functionalities of both platforms by integrating them with other apps.
When it comes to CRM integrations, Pipedrive has more edge since all of its plans allow for syncing with more than 200 third-party apps from its Marketplace, plus with more than 2,000 others via Zapier. Meanwhile, Freshsales offers more than 30 third-party app integrations, plus more than 750 more via Zapier. Some of the integrations, like WhatsApp and Apple Business Chat, are available only in the higher tiers.
Winner: Freshsales holds the upper hand when it comes to customizability, but Pipedrive offers more options for third-party app integrations.
Best Mobile App: Freshsales
| | |
Contact, Account & Deal Management | ✔ | ✔ |
Call Tracking | ✔ | ✔ |
Notes | ✔ | ✔ |
Sales Activity Tracking | ✔ | ✔ |
Geolocation & Maps | ✔ | ✔ |
Offline Access | ✔ | ✔ |
In-app Dialer | N/A | ✔ |
Uber Booking | N/A | ✔ |
Both Pipedrive and Freshsales have mobile apps for Android and iOS with offline access, geolocation, call tracking, notes, and sales activity tracking. However, Freshsales makes the mobile experience better because you can make outbound calls directly from the app and book an Uber ride to your on-site meetings.
Winner: Freshsales offers more mobile app advantages with its in-app dialing and Uber booking capabilities.
Best for Help & Support: Pipedrive
| | |
24/7 Support | ✔ | N/A |
Support via Phone | N/A | ✔ |
Support via Chat | ✔ | ✔ |
Support via Email or Tickets | ✔ | ✔ |
When it comes to support, Pipedrive offers more options with its 24/7 support via chat and email, knowledge base, community forum, and tutorial courses via Pipedrive Academy. The only thing missing is phone support.
Freshsales offers 24/5 support via chat, email, and phone as well as a knowledge base and guide articles. Its Enterprise plan includes a dedicated account manager who can resolve CRM issues and relay your feedback to the company.
Winner: Pipedrive wins in this category. While Freshsales offers the phone support that Pipedrive does not have, its customer service is available only during weekdays.
Best Alternatives to Pipedrive & Freshsales
Pipedrive and Freshsales both offer an impressive array of features, but some business needs may not be met completely by either of these providers. If you are looking for a completely different CRM solution, here are some alternatives for you:
- Zoho CRM: Recommended for businesses that need a CRM with inventory management capabilities.
- HubSpot: Ideal for teams that are looking for a free CRM with chat and email marketing features.
- Salesforce: If you need more advanced CRM features like partner management, Salesforce is a terrific choice for you.
Read our guide to the best CRM software for small businesses and determine which option would work best for your specific business needs.
Bottom Line
Pipedrive and Freshsales both offer extensive CRM features, but each of them caters to a different set of users. Pipedrive is more affordable, has a simpler interface design, and has broader integration and customer support options. However, if you are looking for a solution with deeper customization options and in-app calling, Freshsales is the right choice for you.
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