A cookie-cutter CRM doesn’t really work for most businesses. A CRM should fit your exact, specific needs or be customizable enough to cater to most of them.
That’s probably why you’ve landed on this guide in the first place. Between Pipedrive and Salesforce, there might be a CRM that suits your business the most.
And this doesn’t necessarily mean that one is worse than the other. It just means that different CRMs might be better at different things.
For example, even though Pipedrive provides really good email automation, it is better known for its pipeline management.
On the other hand, Salesforce is known best for its extensive features and customizability.
But which of these CRMs should you go with?
Let’s get to that question in just a second. Before that, let me tell you more about Pipedrive and Salesforce.
What is Pipedrive?
Pipedrive is a CRM “built by salespeople, for salespeople.” Started in 2010, this company was created around activity-based selling, an approach that is all about scheduling, tracking, and completing activities.
Pipedrive is used by over 15,000 companies today, with the majority (80%) of their clients being small businesses, mainly IT and software companies. Some SMBs that use this software are MongoDB, Appsitude, and American Cannabis Company. The CRM’s best features include pipeline management, email templates, a work scheduler, and workflow automation.
Who is Pipedrive suited for?
Pipedrive is suited for small B2C companies that are focused on improving sales and don’t require a lot of automation. Also, Pipedrive is better for users who are comfortable with using a CRM since it might be a little complex to use and customize for new users. Pipedrive is an excellent choice if you are a team of around 1-20 employees.
Then, why do companies look at Pipedrive alternatives?
While Pipedrive provides great reporting features, there’s a 5-report limit for each user in its base package. There are similar limitations in its other packages too, with the exception of its enterprise-level feature bundle. Furthermore, reviews have suggested that the CRM does not have enough integrations to support enterprises.
And let’s not get started with the unreliable customer support. These are some reasons why companies look at different Pipedrive alternatives before investing in the CRM.
Next, let’s look at Salesforce.
What is Salesforce Sales Cloud?
Salesforce Sales Cloud is one of the oldest and most established CRMs in the business. Started in 1999, this CRM is mainly used by enterprise-level companies that want extensive features.
A little over two decades later, this US-based CRM giant has over 150,000 customers, including noteworthy clients like Canon and Spotify. It is best known for its automation, real-time analytics with AI, and lead management.
Who is Salesforce best suited for?
Salesforce is a great choice for businesses that want extensive customizability. Since Salesforce doesn’t have ready to use products, it customizes each of its solutions and tailors it to exactly fit a company’s pipeline. If you are a huge enterprise with more than 100,000 employees, then this is a great choice for your business.
But why do companies look at Salesforce Alternatives?
There are three main reasons why companies look for salesforce alternatives:
- It is expensive – This CRM is not designed to be cheap, nor is its focus on SMB businesses. Its feature-extensiveness comes at a very hefty price.
- Long implementation time – Salesforce can take months, and sometimes more than a year to implement, because they don’t have implementable ready-to-use module segments and have to tailor each solution.
- Complexity – Salesforce can take a long time to learn. In fact, one reviewer even wrote that “You must have a PhD to operate Salesforce.” Many companies’ reps don’t have the time to spend ages and ages on learning how to operate a new CRM.
Now before we compare the two, here is a great alternative software that we recommend— LeadSquared — that provides the best of both CRMs.
LeadSquared – An alternative to the Pipedrive vs Salesforce debate
LeadSquared is a highly scalable CRM that provides excellent sales solutions for both SMBs and enterprises. Though young, this GDPR and HIPAA compliant is already servicing notable clients like Manipal Hospitals, Byju’s, Bikes24, and Zoomcar.
Some of the platform’s best features are:
- Lead management
- Lead tracking
- Sales management
- Workflow automation
- Customer service
- Out-of-the-box integrations.
Why is LeadSquared a great alternative to Pipedrive and Salesforce?
LeadSquared is an affordable, user-friendly, and highly scalable CRM that provides end to end sales solutions. Unlike Pipedrive, LeadSquared provides unlimited reporting in all of it’s packages and has great integrations for businesses of all sizes.
Moreover, it is a third the price of Salesforce (Salesforce Sales Cloud Unlimited is $300 and LeadSquared Super is $100) and has a short implementation time (one to three weeks).
Most importantly, even a beginner can learn to use the CRM in just a matter of days.
Now that we’ve discussed the three CRMs, let’s get back to the question posed earlier – Pipedrive vs Salesforce– which of the two is the best for your business? Below is a comparison chart based on pricing, implementation time, best features, and more, that I have created to answer your question. You can use it to decide which product fits your business’ requirements. Don’t forget to download this free resource to share with your team: Pipedrive vs Salesforce: A Software Comparison Guide.
Pipedrive vs Salesforce
Pipedrive | Salesforce Sales Cloud | LeadSquared Sales Execution CRM | |
Pricing |
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Free trial availability | Free trial for 14 days | 30-Day free trial | Upon request |
Implementation time | 14 – 28 days | 14 – 28 days | 5 to 15 days |
Best Features |
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Available on: | |||
Devices | Pipedrive can be accessed through PC and tablet. | Salesforce can be accessed through PC, tablet, and mobile. | LeadSquared is available on PC and mobile. |
Mobile OS | iOS and Android. | iOS and Android. | iOS and Android. |
Search Engines | Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Google Chrome. | Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Google Chrome. | Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Google Chrome. |
Languages supported | English, Dutch, and Portuguese, among many other languages like German, Estonian, Finnish, Italian, Swedish, French, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Indonesian, Turkish, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. | English, German, and Danish, among many other languages like Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Finnish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, and Chinese (Simplified) | Hindi, Spanish, English, and Indonesian, among other languages like Portuguese, Brazilian, and Vietnamese. |
Customizations | You can add custom fields, integrate to other software using APIs, and highly customize each aspect in your pipeline. | You can customize the sales process, pipeline and UI, and build custom integrations. | You can customize dashboards, pipelines, workflow, and processes with zero code. You can also integrate the CRM with over 100 apps to build custom processes. |
Scalability | Pipedrive is not a very scalable solution as there aren’t enough integrations to support enterprise businesses. | A few features, that are essential for companies to scale, are only available at higher packages. Most small and medium-sized businesses find the pricing of these packages to be steep. | LeadSquared was found to be a highly scalable solution at an affordable cost by customers because of its out-of-the-box integrations, and the ability to accommodate any number of users and features. |
Customer support | Implementation support and phone support are provided only in the highest package. | The standard package includes a help portal, | All packages include self-service resources, a help portal, email, tickets, and phone support. |
User Feedback: | |||
Positives: |
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Negatives: | Sometimes slow due to servers being down. | ||
While the above table has a list of parameters in which each CRM is compared, your business requirements might be different. Therefore, you might want to go with another software altogether.
You would’ve realised that choosing a CRM is tough and involves a lot of research. But to make your task a bit easier, we have compiled a CRM Buyer’s Guide, which you can download for free by clicking on the banner.
Here are a few signs that you need to steer clear of a while shortlisting a CRM!
Red Flags to watch for when buying a CRM
1. Little-to-no Credibility
If you are a small business, then investing in a big-named CRM right off the bat might prove to be difficult. With all the budget constraints, it is easy to get attracted to CRMs that provide their service at meager costs. But remember, affordable technology might not always be the best in the long run.
For example, there might be CRMs that don’t allow you to download your lead list to prevent you from shifting to other software. Or, they might not be GDPR-compliant, allowing them to sell your lead list to your rivals.
But are all low-budget CRMs dangerous? Not necessarily. You can determine whether a pocket-friendly CRM is good or not by checking the following:
- Which businesses have they worked with?
- Are they well-reputed, with credible sources?
- Their reviews on credible review sites like Gartner, G2, and Capterra. User feedback is the easiest way to determine how good the CRM is.
2. An unscalable CRM
A lot of companies make this mistake while investing in a CRM. While the software may help your current workforce, you need to find out whether it can still help and improve your sales productivity when your team grows.
You might have 10 leads today, but in the future, it might rise to 100 leads. If your CRM does not have an affordable plan that allows you to handle a higher number of leads in the future, then investing in the software might be a bad idea.
Therefore, you need to check how scalable your CRM is to avoid having to change software at a later stage. This will save you time, money, and effort.
3. Lengthy implementation time
One reason that companies invest in CRMs is that they can help businesses improve their conversion rates.
However, the more time it takes to implement the CRM, the more potential clients you lose. Therefore, when looking for CRMs, note their implementation time. The sooner the CRM is on the road, the faster you can begin converting leads into your customers.
Usually, cloud-based SaaS CRMs can typically be implemented in 2-6 weeks. You might want to reconsider investing in the software if it is any longer than that. Remember, your sales team also needs time to learn how to use the CRM after its implementation.
4. The lack of customer support
Let’s face it, and we’ve all been victims of this at some point. Whether it is your internet service provider or a company you purchased some household items from, we all know how frustrating it is when a company takes ages to respond, or the customer support does not have the answers to your queries.
A solid CRM backed by excellent customer service can make the life of your salespeople easy, especially during the first few weeks.
You can find out how good the customer support of a CRM company is by looking at how quickly they respond to queries, what other customers think about them, or how in-depth their self-help documents are.
These are some points to pay attention to while searching for any CRM. For more insights, be sure to take a look at our E-book.
Since you have stuck around till the end, here’s a bonus red flag to look out for in CRMs – Inflexibility. Nothing is more demoralizing than having a business process that perfectly fits your company, only to discover that your CRM doesn’t fit the structure.
If you’re looking for an easily customizable CRM software that seamlessly connects your teams and business process, you should give LeadSquared a shot! Get in touch with our team for an affordable and effective alternative to both Pipedrive and Salesforce.
FAQs
While both the companies offer great sales products, Salesforce is a little more complex to use when compared to Pipedrive. On the other hand, Pipedrive is more suited for SMBs, whereas Salesforce is more enterprise focused.
Yes, Pipedrive and Salesforce can be integrated with Zapier.
Pipedrive is better than Salesforce in user-friendliness, implementation time, and learning curve. Moreover, Pipedrive is much more affordable when compared to Salesforce.
Pipedrive is better for SMB CRMs that are into Non-Profit, BFSI, and Education sectors whereas Salesforce is better suited for enterprises that range from BFSI and consumer goods all the way to life sciences. Another great alternative to both these is LeadSquared – a CRM that caters to all industries and all sized businesses.
