HubSpot vs Pipedrive: Which Is Better for You?
Jess served on the founding team of a successful B2B startup and has used a wide range of sales and marketing tools over the course of her 15-year career. She uses her industry knowledge to deliver the best answers to your questions about sales tools and sales management.
Bianca is a staff writer at Fit Small Business who specializes in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
This article is part of a larger series on CRM.
When comparing customer HubSpot vs Pipedrive, the primary differences between the two customer relationship management (CRM) platforms are their pricing structure and inclusion of deal management and marketing tools. HubSpot has a free lead capture and management plan for unlimited users, but requires add-ons for the more advanced sales and contact nurturing features that are included in Pipedrive’s affordable paid plans.
When to use HubSpot or Pipedrive based on specific business use cases:
- HubSpot: Better overall for businesses with shorter sales cycles, or those focusing on inbound lead generation strategies like content sharing and media marketing
- Pipedrive: Better for businesses with longer sales cycles looking for low-cost solutions for forecasting and deal management
If neither HubSpot nor Pipedrive works for you, consider using other general-purpose CRM systems with similar ease of use and capabilities. Check out our guide to the best simple CRMs to read about other options.
HubSpot vs Pipedrive at a Glance
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
Expert Score | 4.75 out of 5 | 4.13 out of 5 |
Starting Price* | Free (unlimited users) or $45 per month (2 users) | $14.90 per user, per month |
Ease of Use | Easy to use, and making updates constantly to make it even better | Intuitive to operate, even early on |
Customer Support | Community forum and knowledge base only for the free plan, 24/7 email and in-app chat on Starter plan and up, phone support for Professional and Enterprise | 24/7 email and chat (all plans) and phone support (Enterprise) |
Reporting & Analytics | Great overall reporting display, especially for social media campaigns and website traffic | Easy to generate, even on the mobile app |
Blog Content Management Tools | ✓ | N/A |
Accounting Software Integrations | ✓ | ✓ |
Payment Processing Capabilities | ✓ | ✓ |
*Based on annual billing. Monthly pricing is also available at slightly higher rates.
Best Value: Tie
| | |
|---|---|---|
Free Option | ✓ | ✕ |
Starting Price | $30 per month (up to 2 users) | $14.90 per user, per month |
Enterprise Level Price | Starts at $1,200 per month for the Sales Hub and $3,600 per month for the Marketing Hub | $99 per user, per month |
Billing Options | Monthly and annually* | Monthly and annually |
*Except for HubSpot’s Enterprise plans
At first glance, HubSpot appears as the more affordable option because of its free plan. However, the features included in the free option are geared more toward capturing leads than customer relationship and deal management. You have to upgrade to either its Sales Hub or Marketing Hub—which both start at $45 per month—for two users. Thus, if you compare HubSpot vs Pipedrive in terms of feature set, HubSpot is more expensive.
In addition, HubSpot’s pricing scheme for its Sales Hub puts a cap on the total number of users ($45 per month for two users and an additional $23 per month for each user under Starter), requiring you to pay at least $23 per month for each additional user. If you’re using the Marketing Hub, there’s no limit to the number of users who can access those tools in your portal. However, you’ll have to pay $45 per month per increment of 1,000 marketing contacts.
Winner: Comparing Pipedrive vs HubSpot in terms of value for money yields a tie. Although Pipedrive does not have a free option, it offers lower prices for both its Starter and Enterprise-level plans. This translates to better value for businesses that need more inclusive CRM software. However, HubSpot’s free plan is an excellent deal for businesses that don’t require a CRM with advanced functionality.
Looking for other free CRMs well-suited for small businesses? Learn about your other options by reading our guide on the best free CRM software.
Best Sales Enablement Features: HubSpot
| | |
|---|---|---|
Quote Generation | ✓ | Yes, on higher pricing tiers |
Invoicing | Offers built-in software and supports third-party integrations | Requires third-party integrations |
Payment Processing | Offers built-in software and supports third-party integrations | Requires third-party integrations |
Sales enablement has three primary functions: generating quotes, invoicing, and payment processing. With HubSpot’s free plan, you can handle all these steps using both its built-in features and third-party integrations. When you upgrade to the Professional level of its Sales Hub, you can access tools for goal setting, automation, field customization, and sales forecasting.
Pipedrive also offers the same sales enablement functions mentioned above. However, its quote generation features are only available with its Professional and Enterprise plans. You also need to integrate this CRM with third-party apps to access invoicing and payment processing tools.
HubSpot’s quote templates (Source: HubSpot)
Winner: HubSpot wins this round because it offers tools for basic sales enablement, such as quote generation, invoicing, and payment processing. Its quote generation tools are also available with the free plan.
Best Marketing Tools: HubSpot
| | |
|---|---|---|
Email Signature Generator | ✓ | ✓ |
Content Management Tools | ✓ | ✕ |
Blog Idea Generator | ✓ | ✕ |
Website Grader | ✓ | ✕ |
Traditional CRMs typically do not include marketing tools, but HubSpot offers such tools for free, including a website grader, blog idea generator, and marketing plan generator. On the other hand, Pipedrive offers internal marketing tools for online web form management. It also integrates with marketing automation software like LeadsBridge and SendPulse. However, it does not have HubSpot’s content or media management tools.
HubSpot’s blog post creator (Source: HubSpot)
Winner: HubSpot offers an array of free marketing tools essential for content generation and media management.
Best Available Integrations: HubSpot
| |
|---|---|
Extensive integration options, many of which are available on the free plan | Extensive integration options |
When comparing HubSpot vs Pipedrive in terms of CRM integrations, both of them directly integrate with a wide range of third-party apps. However, HubSpot has the advantage of offering these integrations with its free plan. These apps include Zoom, Mailchimp, PandaDoc, and Hotjar.
Winner: HubSpot wins in this category because of its integration capabilities on both free and paid plans.
Best User Experience: Tie
|  |
|---|---|
Instinctive for users to navigate, even early on | Intuitive to navigate, especially on the mobile app |
Limited skill required to operate and constantly improving usability | Easy to use due to drag-and-drop capabilities and simplified dashboards |
Pipedrive and HubSpot both scored 5 out of 5 in the ease of use category. They both boast an intuitive interface and utilize drag-and-drop functionality, making it easy for users to learn and navigate the platform. This also makes setup and customization a breeze. Aside from that, each of these providers has a mobile app interface that displays minimal routing buttons and a well-organized information hierarchy.
Winner: Pipedrive and HubSpot are equally easy to learn and operate because of their simple interface. It’s a tie for these two providers under this category.
If you are looking for more customizable and flexible CRMs for your startup, check out our recommended options from our guide to the best CRMs for startups.
Best Customer Service: Pipedrive
| | |
|---|---|---|
Self-help Resources | Knowledge base, Pipedrive Community, and Pipedrive Academy | Knowledge base, HubSpot Community, and HubSpot Academy |
Email Support | 24/7 | 24/7 (paid plans) |
Live Chat Support | 24/7 | 24/7 (paid plans) |
Phone Support | 24/7 (Enterprise) | Daily 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time (Professional and Enterprise) |
Pipedrive and HubSpot both offer the same set of self-help resources for all plans. They also offer 24/7 tier-based customer service. Pipedrive takes the lead in this category because its 24/7 email and live chat support channels are available across all of its plans. HubSpot, on the other hand, only offers the same to paid plan subscribers, and phone support is available during extended hours under the Professional and Enterprise plans only.
Winner: Pipedrive wins here for offering 24/7 customer service across all plans.
Best Alternatives to Pipedrive & HubSpot
Even though Pipedrive and HubSpot are both considered excellent CRM solutions, they aren’t always the best option for every small business. If you prefer to look into other product attributes like a specific app integration or a particular tool your current sales workflow needs, you can explore other platforms.
Here are some of the best alternatives to Pipedrive and HubSpot:
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
Best For | Businesses looking for a solid mix of lead management features and integration capabilities | Organizations that heavily utilize social media marketing | Small ecommerce businesses |
Starting Price* | Free (3 users) or $15 per user, per month | Free (3 users) or $14 per user, per month | Free (unlimited users) or $39 per month (5 users) |
*Based on annual billing. Monthly pricing is also available at slightly higher rates.
Don’t know which CRM is best for you? We invite you to check out our article on the best CRMs for small businesses.
How We Evaluated HubSpot vs Pipedrive
To compare Pipedrive and HubSpot side-by-side, we looked at several essential factors small businesses value when choosing a CRM. We evaluated these two software options according to their pricing, features, ease of use, customer support, and our expert score.
40%
Pricing
20%
General Features
15%
Ease of Use
15%
Help & Support
10%
Expert Score
40% of Overall Score
Total costs, along with a variety of pricing options, are typically the most important criteria for any small business decision. Therefore, it was the most heavily weighted when comparing Pipedrive and HubSpot. These criteria looked at free account availability, a variety of subscription choices, and monthly billing options.
20% of Overall Score
We looked at overall features necessary for CRM software, including mobile application quality, customization ability, third-party integrations, and available built-in tools.
15% of Overall Score
The functions of any application are only as beneficial as they are usable. Therefore, ease of use of the varying CRM software is the next highest weight of criteria. Ease of use was analyzed in terms of the expertise needed to integrate it with other applications, the skill required to operate the built-in features, and the overall interface usability.
15% of Overall Score
Help and support hold the same weight as the ease of use criteria, and we evaluated it in terms of customer service hours as well as the availability of phone support, live chat support, and email support.
10% of Overall Score
In addition to our own experiences with the providers, we looked at reputable review sites and gathered expert opinions from outside sources. We evaluated standout features, overall value for money spent, popularity, and ease of use.
*Percentages of overall score
Bottom Line
Pipedrive and HubSpot are both easy to use even for beginners, but they differ greatly in terms of feature inclusions. If your business requires a CRM system with long-term sales management capabilities, Pipedrive is a great choice with low-cost plan options that start at $14.90 per user, per month. HubSpot, on the other hand, is recommended for businesses that rely heavily on content marketing as it offers free supplemental sales and marketing tools.
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