Looking for a smarter CRM? Check out the best Pipedrive alternatives that don't hold you back.

It’s not a secret that Pipedrive was designed with simplicity in mind. It’s easy to set up and quick to adopt. But ... it might not suit everyone. Some sales teams find that Pipedrive can't customize enough for their unique sales processes. Others ditch the tool for the lack of outbound reach features.

Sounds familiar? 🤨

With NetHunt CRM and Pipedrive alternatives alike, you can make customization, robust sales automation, and outbound + inbound reach possible. Just check them out! 👇

This is why businesses switch to Pipedrive competitors

Many sales teams rely on Pipedrive CRM. But, as the market offers various options, Pipedrive limitations are becoming clearer:

  • Lack of customizable elements. Pipedrive is designed with a standard (and pretty rigid) sales pipeline structure. Sure, you can make a few tweaks here and there, but only with costlier plans. Otherwise, you’re stuck with CRM software elements that don’t fully reflect the ins and outs of your business.
  • Limited sales automation features. Complex workflows are tough to create, with few triggers and basic automation rules. Small businesses looking to test the waters might find it sufficient, but if you're a bigger business with complex sales and marketing processes, you might want to look for a Pipedrive alternative with higher levels of automation.
  • Lack of dedicated email sequencing. No multi-step sequences with personalized content and dynamic delays mean less effective lead nurturing.
  • Lack of native integrations. Pipedrive mostly supports Facebook, leaving other platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn out of the loop 😞
  • ‘Unexpected’ price tags. Pipedrive's pricing is quite straightforward if you compare it with other tools on the market. We're looking at you, big enterprise CRMs. Still, this CRM has some essential 'modules' aka LeadBooster and Campaign add-ons which you’ll have to buy eventually.
More automation, more customization, more sales! Don’t let rigid CRMs slow you down.

Now, let’s take a quick look at the best alternatives to Pipedrive that offer greater flexibility, more powerful automations,  and might suit your business needs better.

Top 7 Pipedrive vs. alternatives comparison that offer higher automation and customization

#1: NetHunt CRM — The ultimate Pipedrive alternative

It’s pretty bold of us to kick things off by saying we’re the best on the list. But let’s face it — NetHunt offers a few amazing things that other solutions don’t.

First, NetHunt CRM lives inside your Gmail inbox — it’s an already familiar environment for you, right? So, you don’t need to spend months on learning how to use the platform (psst… we’re talking about HubSpot here 👀).

NetHunt CRM in Gmail — Pipedrive CRM alternative
NetHunt CRM in Gmail — Pipedrive CRM alternative

Second, NetHunt CRM is a CRM like Pipedrive but with WAY more customizations and robust automation.

  • You can use ultracustomizable web forms, folders, and records along fields and pipelines to ensure the system matches all your business needs. You can basically customize any CRM object you need.
Ultra-customizable sales pipelines in NetHunt CRM
Ultra-customizable sales pipelines in NetHunt CRM software
  • You can create complex automation sequences with multiple triggers and rules
  • Capture leads from multiple sources, including web forms, messengers, social media platforms, etc
Communicating with Instagram leads in NetHunt CRM
Communicating with Instagram leads in NetHunt CRM
  • Automatically create customer records (yes, we mean no manual data entry every time you get a new lead) filled with the publicly available data (and if you don’t find the necessary data, we’ve got native integrations with data enrichment tools like Apollo and Hunter)
Customer record and Timeline in NetHunt CRM
Customer record and Timeline in NetHunt CRM
  • Capture leads, add them to the pipeline, distribute new leads among managers and automatically assign tasks based on the deal changes in the pipeline
Switch to NetHunt CRM and automate your workflows from day one!

Third, we don’t discriminate against outbound strategies 😉 One of the top Pipedrive user complaints is that companies have to buy separate tools to manage their cold outreach.

🎉 The good news is that with NetHunt CRM you don’t have to do that — enjoy your multi-channel outreach and lead nurturing instead.

  • Nurture your leads with email campaigns (you can personalize emails with custom fields) and track the campaign performance (opens, clicks, unsubscribes, etc.). Yeap, Pipedrive doesn’t offer multi-step sequences, but we do
  • Set follow-up campaigns to previous campaigns
  • Send/receive messages to/from your social media leads right within the CRM.

As an alternative to Pipedrive, NetHunt CRM offers native integrations with:

  • Gmail and Google Workspace
  • Top social media platforms
  • Messengers like WhatsApp
  • Data enrichment tools, and more

Also, you get what you see — no expensive add-ons on the road to your success; all our plans are all-inclusive and come with transparent pricing.

#2: Pipedrive vs. Monday

Monday CRM interface — Pipedrive CRM alternative
Monday CRM interface — Pipedrive CRM alternative

Monday CRM is more than just a project management system (though back in the day, it surely started as a project management tool with basic workflow automation for improved team performance and collaboration).

Monday CRM tools allow you to manage leads, track deals and customer interactions, and monitor team’s sales activities closely.

Additionally, the system offers comprehensive analytics and custom reports for you to gain sales insights and discover which strategies help you close deals faster.

Pros of Monday CRM:

  • A truly simple CRM solution, which is easy to use and easy to implement
  • Intuitive user friendly interface
  • Team performance tracking capabilities are a step above the usual
  • Offers a desktop version

Cons of Monday CRM

  • The file management system can’t handle some file formats
  • Dashboard customization options might not suit all businesses
  • Lacks some basic contact management features like duplicate management

#3: Pipedrive vs. Salesmate

Salesmate CRM interface - Pipedrive CRM alternative
Salesmate CRM interface - Pipedrive CRM alternative

A CRM like Pipedrive, Salesmate helps automate sales data management and business processes with features for every department in a company. This simple CRM also offers seamless integration with multiple tools from your tech stack.

By the way, we've also written an article about the differences between Salesmate and Pipedrive — so take a look!

Pros of Salesmate

  • According to user reviews, web forms are simple to set up
  • Affordable pricing with no hidden costs
  • Several native integrations with third party tools
  • Quickbooks integration helps keep up with accounting sales data

Cons of Salesmate

  • According to sales reps online, reports are sometimes difficult to interpret
  • Limited native integrations, which means you’ll need Zapier and other third-party connectors for seamless integration with tools you already use

#4: Pipedrive vs. Nutshell

Nutshell CRM interface — Pipedrive CRM alternative
Nutshell CRM interface — Pipedrive CRM alternative

As an important alternative on the Pipedrive vs competitors list, the platform perfectly balances the needs of both sales and marketing teams, offering various features.

This equilibrium is particularly advantageous for SMBs, where collaboration between marketing and sales teams is crucial for generating in, converting, and retaining customers.

Pros of Nutshell CRM

  • Easy to navigate; user friendly interface
  • Has a short learning curve, so you can hit the ground running and close deals ASAP
  • Advanced email marketing functionality, including bulk emailing, sequences, segmentation, and tracking
  • Free 14-day trial (no free plan)

Cons of Nutshell CRM

  • Lacks native integrations
  • Limited number of custom fields
  • Less custom workflows and custom reports compared to other Pipedrive competitors

#5: Pipedrive vs. Streak

Streak CRM interface — Pipedrive CRM alternative
Streak CRM interface — Pipedrive CRM alternative

Streak is the second CRM like Pipedrive on this list that boasts full-scale integration with Gmail. Streak can handle various business processes like sales, customer relationship management, deal flow, partnerships, and hiring.

Although not the best option if you’re looking for lightweight CRM solutions, it’s still a decent traditional CRM competitor on our Pipedrive comparison list.

Pros of Streak CRM

  • Offers free email marketing tools (consider it a basic free plan)
  • Native Gmail integration
  • Great built-in tools for marketing teams — especially ones representing small businesses

Cons of Streak CRM

  • Doesn't allow you to import sales data directly (only with CSV files)
  • Mail merge is limited to 400 emails per day, which is restrictive for large-scale outreach (still, small businesses can benefit from this feature)
  • One sales pipeline per project limit
  • Is closer to basic workflow automation
  • Doesn’t offer native integrations with LinkedIn and social media for multi-channel sales activities
  • No lead nurturing features for the advanced management of customer relationships

#6: Pipedrive vs. HubSpot

Deal management in HubSpot CRM — Pipedrive CRM alternative
Deal management in HubSpot CRM — Pipedrive CRM alternative

A Pipedrive comparison list is only truly complete with HubSpot on it.  

This CRM solution is a titan of the industry that so heavily focuses on customer relationship management; an excellent solution for businesses that have outgrown a traditional CRM like Pipedrive scale-wise.

Compared to most alternatives to Pipedrive CRM solution, HubSpot is the same CRM like Pipedrive when it comes to the cold outreach among sales activities — it’s just not at the core of HubSpot’s philosophy ☹️

The system primarily focuses on your marketing efforts and inbound strategies rather than extensive cold outreach that can potentially help your sales teams fill the pipeline faster. But yes, we all understand the risk of coming off as spammy and all that hard work that your sales and marketing teams have to put into making the strategy work.

Pros of Hubspot CRM

  • A basic free plan is available
  • Highly scalable (Yes, HubSpot is definitely more than a basic contact management tool or a CRM software for building average custom workflows)
  • Robust email marketing functionality like email tracking, templates, and bulk messaging make HubSpot one of the best CRM marketing tools on the market
  • Built-in content and social media management
  • Advanced reports and analytics help teams leverage the existing customer data and gain insights in customer relationship management

Cons of Hubspot CRM

  • The free version is very limited in functionality
  • No outbound marketing focus
  • HubSpot is not a simple CRM, so expect a steep learning curve (yes, it takes time to learn how to manage leads and customer interactions, let alone build custom workflows or gain sales insights)
  • Creating contacts inside deals is fidgety according to some sales reps online
  • HubSpot offers transparent pricing with no hidden costs; but similar to other complex CRM tools, its pricing structure comes with multiple nuances and, in the end, is very cumbersome and misleading

#7: Pipedrive vs. Zoho

Analytics in Zoho CRM — Pipedrive CRM alternative for enterprise
Analytics in Zoho CRM — Pipedrive CRM alternative for enterprise

Zoho CRM is an extensive CRM software when it comes to Piperdrive vs competitors comparison, and that size comes with a lot of hassle. It’s slower, more confusing, and more overpowering than any other CRM on this list. Zoho’s selection of features is so vast that you might not use all of them.

Pros of Zoho

  • Some features are AI-driven
  • Offers a free plan, which is for up to 3 users and comes with the core CRM features (your sales teams will be able to track deals, but you won’t be able to fully avoid manual data entry or enjoy automation features)
  • Scales well with the growth of your business, from a small team all the way to 500+ users
  • Robust reporting functionality to gain insights into customer relationships and team performance
  • Surprisingly affordable for an enterprise-level CRM
  • Offers a desktop version

Сons of Zoho

  • Level of integration with some essential tools is more limited compared to other Pipedrive competitors on the list
  • Some users admit the tool lacks user friendly interface
  • A steep learning curve
  • You will experience an unprecedented amount of lag if multiple users within your sales teams are making changes to customer data at the same time
  • AI features are only available in advanced tiers
  • It’s great that Zoho CRM isn’t a standard contact management system; however, the selection of features is so vast that you might get overwhelmed by them, especially if you’re using CRM for the first time ever

The best Pipedrive alternatives: A side-by-side comparison

We've covered seven Pipedrive CRM alternatives in detail; now let's see how these CRM systems compare with each other in their pros and cons.

Features

NetHunt CRM

Monday CRM

Salesmate

Nutshell CRM

Streak CRM

HubSpot CRM

Zoho CRM

Full CRM functionality inside Gmail inbox

Native-like Gmail integration

Offers an add-on

Sidebar

Sidebar

Fully integrated into Gmail

Sidebar

Sidebar

Ultra-customizable pipelines

Moderate

Moderate

Moderate

Sales automation

Automated lead capture, deal progression; drip campaigns, multi-channel outreach; task assignment, notifications and more

Automatic lead assignment, task creation, and follow-ups

Lead scoring and assignment, task creation

Basic automation features

Basic lead assignment and follow-up automation

Multi-step workflows, lead scoring and grading

Automated task assignment; lead scoring, sales forecasting

Social media and messenger integration

✅ Whatsapp, Instagram, Telegram, Facebook, Viber. Create records, send/receive messages from CRM

✅ Track and manage social media interactions

✅WhatsApp business, after integration messages won’t appear on the phone

✅ Track social media activity, sync contacts

Automated multi-channel outreach

Supports outreach via email and professional network

Email, SMS, and social media, but requires integrations

Email, SMS

Focuses on email-based outreach

Primarily focuses on email-based outreach

Email, SMS, social media

Email, SMS, and social media

Unlimited sales pipelines

Depends on the plan

Depends on the plan

Built-in email functionality

Bulk messaging, dynamic lead segmentation, email templates, campaign performance tracking

Email scheduling and tracking; email templates

Email tracking, templates, automated email sequences

Audience segmentation, automated email sequences, email performance tracking

Offers mail merge, email templates, email tracking, and email scheduling

Comprehensive marketing suite

Automated email sequences and follow-ups

Pricing

Starts at $24/user/month; plans with advanced functionality start at $48

Starts at €12 per user per month

Starts at $23 per user per month

Starts at $16/user/month, affordable for small businesses

Starts at $49/user/month, higher in pricing but feature-rich.

Starts at €15/month

Starts at €14/user/month

Leave rigid systems and overpriced add-ons behind. Switch to NetHunt CRM!

Still on the fence? 🤨 A quick reminder why NetHunt CRM is the best Pipedrive alternative

If you’re looking for a CRM that is built around your unique sales processes and solves Pipedrive limitations from day one  — we’ve got you.

NetHunt CRM offers everything that Pipedrive lacks — and more! 😉

  • Ultra-customizable elements. Say goodbye to rigid pre-built pipelines. With NetHunt, you can tweak any CRM object to mirror your sales process perfectly.
  • Powerful automation. Create advanced workflows with multiple triggers, automate lead assignment, and effortlessly capture & nurture your prospects across multiple channels.
  • Effective outbound reach functionality. We treat inbound and outbound strategies equally. That’s why NetHunt users can manage email campaigns, multi-step sequences, and even Professional Network messages directly from the CRM — no extra tools required.
  • Multiple native integrations. NetHunt CRM natively connects with Gmail, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other platforms that are vital for capturing leads.
  • Transparent pricing from the very beginning. NetHunt CRM offers plans with no hidden fees or unexpected add-ons.

As a leading Pipedrive CRM alternative, NetHunt CRM is quick to set up, easy to use, and packed with advanced features that adapt to your business’s needs.

🔥 Ready to switch to NetHunt CRM? Here are a few quick and easy steps to get started

📁 Step #1. Go to the ‘Deals’ tab in your Pipedrive CRM. Proceed to Settings and select Deals, Contacts, and Companies — in short, all the customer data you’d like to export.

📥 Step #2. Choose the XLSX or CSV format for exporting your data. Review your selection one more time and click the ‘Export’ button.

Step #3. Ensure that your file contains all Deals, Contacts, and Company details. Further, import the CSV or upload the XLSX file into your preferred spreadsheet application.

📑 Step #4. Organize your data into three tabs: Deals, Contacts, and Companies. NetHunt CRM handles each type separately, so this structure is key for a successful import. In the Deals tab, include the Organization and Contact person's name. In the Contacts tab, list the Organization name to ensure proper record linking.

🛠️ Step #5. This is the step where you can use this guide for a few final tweaks to import your data to NetHunt CRM correctly.

Got more questions? Our support team is here to help you and make the data transitioning process as smooth as possible.

Final Thoughts

There you have it! The list of the best Pipedrive alternatives. We’ve done our best to include solutions suited to big and small enterprises that help you close deals with minimum manual data entry and other tedious time-consuming processes.

However, keep in mind that to choose a CRM system, you'll need careful planning and consideration. Be sure to give the systems that interest you a shot. Start the free trial, give it a go for a week or two, and decide whether or not it’s something you’d want to move forward with.

FAQs

Table of Contents