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Did you know that a reliable CRM tool and its proper utilization can result in a 245% yield in ROI?
Amazing, right?
The sales team in any business organization bridges the gap between the customers and the business. CRM or Customer Relationship Management tools play a crucial role in the success of an organization.
If you are a business executive or an entrepreneur, you may have encountered Pipedrive several times. Pipedrive may have been a great CRM tool ten years back, but not anymore.
Nowadays, most CRM tools are integrated for sales, marketing, and customer support, whereas Pipedrive only focuses on sales. If you are looking for better Pipedrive alternatives for fast-changing business needs, you have come to the right place.
To help you out and save your precious time, I have compiled the 5 best Pipedrive alternatives for sales teams in 2025.
Let's dive in!
Overview of Pipedrive
Pipedrive is a CRM software that automates sales funnel and pipeline, lead generation, communication tracking, insights, and daily reports. The mobile-friendly app makes things easier for small and medium business owners, as they can continue business operations even on the go.
Although it is an excellent CRM tool, it doesn't come with the updated and valuable features that most all-in-one CRMs offer. Pipedrive is easy to use and provides custom reporting and dashboard customization.
According to its website, businesses can increase their sales by 28% with Pipedrive. Despite its long and successful run in sales automation, Pipedrive lacks email campaign automation, one-tap calling, and intuitive revenue forecasting.
Why Is It Important to Look for Pipedrive Alternatives?
1. Affordable Pricing
Pipedrive offers forecasting, automation, and pipeline building only for higher-paid subscriptions. Unlike its competitors, Pipedrive doesn't offer a free subscription plan.
Choosing a relatively affordable CRM would be wise if budget is a constraint. Some of the Pipedrive alternatives offer even better service and seamless outreach automation experience at quite a lower cost.
2. Ease of Operation
Pipedrive is an easy-to-use tool, but it won't be suitable for all kinds of businesses. If you are using Pipedrive CRM, even if it's not ideal for your business, it is bound to decrease productivity.
As Pipedrive offers less customization to the dashboard and lacks many vital sales features, it is inevitable to find a replacement for Pipedrive.
3. Better Client Service
Pipedrive has repeatedly disappointed its users with poor customer service. It only offers after-sales onboarding support for higher-paid subscription plans.
It is one of the significant reasons you should look for Pipedrive alternatives. Most sales automation CRMs offer reliable and fast customer service and user assistance.
4. Intuitive Features
The sales process entirely relays on analysis and forecasting. Pipedrive's reporting and analysis features are less efficient than expected.
Since it takes time to generate custom reports and doesn't offer the forecasting feature for all, you may look for an alternative CRM tool that offers detailed and actionable insights and intuitive predictions for your business.
5. Seamless Collaboration
In time of remote working, collaboration among your teammates is an utmost necessity. In Pipedrive CRM, you will find the feature a bit restraining. In such cases, it is better to opt for a Pipedrive alternative CRM tool.
What to Look for in Pipedrive Alternatives?
Well, if you have already decided to go for a Pipedrive alternative, this question is bound to come to mind. Honestly, there are countless key features to look out for, which is confusing.
To help you guide through it, I have chosen the top picks based on these categories:
- Customizable and predictive pipeline management system
- All-in-one integrated CRM
- Scalable platform for growing businesses
- Workflow automation and management
- Multi-source lead collection and authentication
- Integrated email marketing
- Timely reports and analytics
5 Best Pipedrive Alternatives for Sales Teams in 2025
1. SmartLead
Here I present the first pick for the Pipedrive alternative - Smartlead. This tool is way more affordable than Pipedrive, with many essential features that Pipedrive lacks.
With the Inbuilt CRM, email marketing tools allow you to generate leads, create cold email campaigns, and keep track of them within one platform. It offers detailed reports on sales performance. You can also write personalized email copies for your prospective leads.
Standout Features
- The integrated master mailbox allows you to access all your inboxes from a single window. It ensures a smooth workflow and saves time. You can also set up custom email sending triggers to ensure our emails don't end up in spam folders.
- Smartlead offers unlimited sender accounts to land directly in your prospect's inbox. It means better lead generation and more responses from your leads.
- Creating personalized email content is easy with Smartlead's AI-optimized writing. Also, it offers an impressive email warmup feature to close top deals.
- Smartlead offers all these unique features for sales teams and customer service teams at a low price. Whether it is a small business or a large corporation, Smartlead offers customized pricing plans for all.
- This platform adapts to your changing business needs and offers an immersive after-sales onboarding and sales process to simplify user jobs.
- This feature-rich platform offers workflow management, pipeline building, and email marketing automation. Powered with numerous useful integrations, Smartlead allows you to generate leads from different social media platforms.
- Features like connection requests, follow-ups, SMS, and retweets automate your entire sales process. The prediction-based reports indicate your next move for better conversion as well.
SmartLead Tool Pricing
- Basic Plan: $29/month for 2000 active leads
- Popular Plan: $49/month for 10,000 active leads
- Pro Plan: $94/month for 30,000 active leads
- Custom Plan: As the name suggests; customizable for unlimited users
2. Zoho CRM
The second pick for the Pipedrive alternative is Zoho CRM. It is one of the best sales tools for sales monitoring, lead management, and collaboration.
What sets Zoho apart from other Pipedrive alternatives is its mobile-friendly application. You can connect, operate, and monitor all your business needs, even on the go. Zoho offers AI-based writing assistance to create personalized campaigns, and its prices are affordable for even small-scale businesses.
Standout Features
- Zoho offers multiple-platform access from the master dashboard. It helps you connect with your prospecting leads on various platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.
- This CRM platform offers sales automation features along with custom fields to personalize for an organization's needs. You can track and create reports on campaigns and KPIs.
- Zoho allows multi-channel integrations so that you can connect plugins and cater to your business needs from one platform.
- It offers detailed daily reports and analyses of sales activity. You can also create a sales pipeline funnel for the smooth execution of your email campaigns. Integrations such as Mailchimp and Google Drive make this a perfect Pipedrive alternative.
Zoho Pricing
Free Plan: $0/1 user per month; billed annually
Basic Plan: $49/3 users per month; billed annually
Standard Plan: $99/5 users per month; billed annually
Professional Plan: $249/10 users per month; billed annually
3. HubSpot
HubSpot might be the Pipedrive alternative you have been searching for if you are starting a business or running a startup. You can access most of its basic features with the free plan.
Hubspot helps sales teams to organize leads, send out campaigns, and track their success. It offers integration with different platforms to generate more leads for the business. With its intelligent AI, you can create personalized cold outreach copies and improve conversion rates.
Standout Features
- Hubspot offers a free subscription plan for small and medium-sized businesses. You can access most of its features with the plan. However, Hubspot paid plans are not on the pricey side.
- The live tracking feature lets you track your leads, queries, campaigns, and performances. Your team can also generate tickets and resolve any issue at your earliest convenience.
- With CRM software, you can control and monitor all your business needs within this platform. Also, the opportunity tracking feature guides you on email marketing.
- Features such as email tracking, live chat, prospect tracking, and meeting scheduler work make your job easier. The in-built calling feature lets you connect with your teammates easily for a smooth workflow.
Pricing
- Starter Plan: $45/month for 2 paid users; billed annually
- Professional Plan: $450/month for 5 paid users; billed annually
- Enterprise Plan: $1200/month for 10 paid users; billed annually
4. EngageBay
Although EngageBay is relatively new, it has become a solid Pipedrive alternative throughout the years. It is an email marketing tool and CRM software that fulfills all your sales, marketing, and support needs.
EngageBay is free for 15 users, and you can use all its essential features for free. It makes it an excellent choice for mid and small-scale businesses.
Standout Features
- EngageBay offers unlimited templates to create sign-up pages and landing pages. You can take your sales game up a notch by creating cool GIFs and image templates to add to your email campaigns.
- Besides providing end-to-end email marketing solutions, EngageBay also offers a CRM. You can automate sales by creating a sales funnel pipeline. Also, live updates make lead generation and keeping track of your email marketing campaign easier.
- Just like Smartlead, Engagebay offers outstanding onboarding support for all its users. So, don't spend much time figuring out the application. Instead, you can focus on streamlining the workflow while EngageBay will take care of all your queries.
- The unique live chat feature makes it stand apart from the crowd. Besides sending out email replies, you can also answer your prospects' queries with this software.
- Not only email but EngageBay email marketing tools unify your marketing campaigns by integrating all your social media handles (and, of course, emails) into one space. You can write social media copies and run ad campaigns efficiently with EngageBay.
Pricing
- Free Plan: $0/user per month for 500 contacts
- Basic Plan: $11.99/user per month for 1000 contacts
- Growth Plan: $39.99/user per month for 10,000 contacts
- Pro Plan: $79.99/user per month for unlimited contacts
5. Freshsales
The last Pipedrive alternative for you is Freshsales. With the motto of making it more straightforward and fun for sales teams, Freshsales has developed easy-to-operate CRM software.
Like a few Pipedrive alternatives, Freshsales can also make direct calls to prospective leads and generate ROI for the company. You can automate daily repetitive tasks and focus on essential leads selected by the AI-powered software, Freshsales.
Standout Features
- The all-in-one CRM makes the job easier for sales teams by providing live tracking updates, conversion notifications, lead generation, and Ai-powered writing guidance.
- With the auto-enriched social media social profiles, you can access all your social media handles and social media campaigns in a single space. For better tracking, you will get a daily summary of social media activities, leads, and conversions.
- Freddy, the AI-powered assistant, helps you write unique personalized content and creates a data-driven historical analysis of your sales and marketing results.
- You can set up automated email campaigns, replies, and follow-ups for your prospective leads. The high-tech AI generates email copies based on prospects' behaviors and increases the chances of conversion.
Pricing
- Free plan: $0/month/user; billed annually; 14-day free trial
- Growth Plan: $15/month/user; billed annually
- Pro Plan: $39/month/user; billed annually
- Enterprise Plan: $69/month/user; billed annually
Conclusion
Well, with that, we have reached the end of this article. I hope you have already figured out the best Pipedrive alternative for your sales team.
After studying market reports and talking to customers and industry experts, I have gotten the most positive reviews for Smartlead. The All-in-one (power-packed, I would say) CRM and email marketing software is perfect for sales teams of all capacities.
I suggest you research and choose the platform that suits your business needs.
Alright, folks, I will now take my leave. Take your business to the next level!
Goodbye, see you soon.
FAQs
1. Which one is better - Pipedrive or Smartlead?
Even though Pipedrive has been in the market for a long, Smartlead overpowers it with intelligent technology, valuable features, and integrated marketing and sales automation.
If you are looking for an all-in-one CRM for B2B sales teams, then Smartlead is better than Pipedrive. You can't scale your business in Pipedrive, whereas Smartlead offers unlimited scalability to your business.
It also offers email warmup, an AI-powered writing guide, sales and email marketing pipeline creation, automation of campaigns, an in-built calling system and many more.
2. Which CRM is best for small businesses?
Smartlead is the best CRM for small businesses. It ensures that your email campaigns land directly in your leads' inboxes to gain more replies. The AI personalization feature helps you create follow-ups and replies according to the prospect's response.
Also, it offers a master mailbox for all your email ids so that you can get back to your prospects promptly and increase the chances of conversion. The tracking and reports features give you timely updates and insights on your campaigns' results so that you can take timely actions.
These features help you build credibility and scale your business. That's why Smartlead is the best CRM and email marketing tool for small and medium-scale companies and large organizations.
Author’s Details
Sattwik Das
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Frequently asked questions
What is Smartlead's cold email outreach software?
Smartlead's cold email outreach tool helps businesses scale their outreach efforts seamlessly. With unlimited mailboxes, fully automated email warmup functionality, a multi-channel infrastructure, and a user-friendly unibox, it empowers users to manage their entire revenue cycle in one place. Whether you're looking to streamline cold email campaigns with automated email warmups, personalization fields, automated mailbox rotation, easy integrations, and spintax, improve productivity, or enhance scalability with subsequences based on lead’s intentions, automated replies, and full white-label experience, our cold email tool implifies it in a single solution.
What is Smartlead, and how can it enhance my cold email campaigns?
Smartlead is a robust cold emailing software designed to transform cold emails into reliable revenue streams. Trusted by over 31,000 businesses, Smartlead excels in email deliverability, lead generation, cold email automation, and sales outreach. A unified master inbox streamlines communication management, while built-in email verification reduces bounce rates.
Additionally, Smartlead offers essential tools such as CNAME, SPF Checker, DMARC Checker, Email Verifier, Blacklist Check Tool, and Email Bounce Rate Calculator for optimizing email performance.
How does the "unlimited mailboxes" feature benefit me?
Our "unlimited mailboxes" feature allows you to expand your email communications without restrictions imposed by a mailbox limit. This means you won't be constrained by artificial caps on the number of mailboxes you can connect and use. This feature makes Smartlead the best cold email software and empowers you to reach a wider audience, engage with more potential customers, and manage diverse email campaigns effectively.
How does Smartlead as a cold emailing tool can automate the cold email process?
Smartlead’s robust cold email API and automation infrastructure streamline outbound communication by transforming the campaign creation and management processes. It seamlessly integrates data across software systems using APIs and webhooks, adjusts settings, and leverages AI for personalised content.
The cold emailing tool categorises lead intent, offers comprehensive email management with automated notifications, and integrates smoothly with CRMs like Zapier, Make, N8N, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive. Smartlead supports scalable outreach by rapidly adding mailboxes and drip-feeding leads into active campaigns Sign Up Now!
What do you mean by "unibox to handle your entire revenue cycle"?
The "unibox" is one of the unique features of Smartlead cold email outreach tool, and it's a game-changer when it comes to managing your revenue cycle. The master inbox or the unibox consolidates all your outreach channels, responses, sales follow-ups, and conversions into one centralized, user-friendly mailbox.
With the "unibox," you gain the ability to:
1. Focus on closing deals: You can now say goodbye to the hassle of logging into multiple mailboxes to search for replies. The "unibox" streamlines your sales communication, allowing you to focus on what matters most—closing deals.
2. Centralized lead management: All your leads are managed from one central location, simplifying lead tracking and response management. This ensures you take advantage of every opportunity and efficiently engage with your prospects.
3. Maintain context: The "unibox" provides a 360-degree view of all your customer messages, allowing you to maintain context and deliver more personalized and effective responses.
How does Smartlead ensure my emails don't land in the spam folder?
Smartlead, the best cold email marketing tool, ensures your emails reach the intended recipients' primary inbox rather than the spam folder.
Here's how it works:
1. Our "unlimited warmups" feature is designed to build and maintain a healthy sending reputation for your cold email outreach. Instead of sending a large volume of emails all at once, which can trigger spam filters, we gradually ramp up your sending volume. This gradual approach, combined with positive email interactions, helps boost your email deliverability rates.
2. We deploy high-deliverability IP servers specific to each campaign.
3. The ‘Warmup’ feature replicates humanized email sending patterns, spintax, and smart replies.
4. By establishing a positive sender reputation and gradually increasing the number of sent emails, Smartlead minimizes the risk of your emails being flagged as spam. This way, you can be confident that your messages will consistently land in the primary inbox, increasing the likelihood of engagement and successful communication with your recipients.
Can Smartlead help improve my email deliverability rates?
Yes, our cold emailing software is designed to significantly improve your email deliverability rates. It enhances email deliverability through AI-powered email warmups across providers, unique IP rotating for each campaign, and dynamic ESP matching.
Real-time AI learning refines strategies based on performance, optimizing deliverability without manual adjustments. Smartlead's advanced features and strategies are designed to improve email deliverability rates, making it a robust choice for enhancing cold email campaign success.
What features does Smartlead offer for cold email personalisation?
Smartlead enhances cold email personalisation through advanced AI-driven capabilities and strategic integrations. Partnered with Clay, The cold remaining software facilitates efficient lead list building, enrichment from over 50 data providers, and real-time scraping for precise targeting. Hyper-personalised cold emails crafted in Clay seamlessly integrate with Smartlead campaigns.
Moreover, Smartlead employs humanised, natural email interactions and smart replies to boost engagement and response rates. Additionally, the SmartAI Bot creates persona-specific, high-converting sales copy. Also you can create persona-specific, high-converting sales copy using SmartAI Bot. You can train the AI bot to achieve 100% categorisation accuracy, optimising engagement and conversion rates.
Can I integrate Smartlead with other tools I'm using?
Certainly, Smartlead cold email tool is designed for seamless integration with a wide range of tools and platforms. Smartlead offers integration with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Clay, Listkit, and more. You can leverage webhooks and APIs to integrate the tools you use. Try Now!
Is Smartlead suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises?
Smartlead accommodates both small businesses and large enterprises with flexible pricing and comprehensive features. The Basic Plan at $39/month suits small businesses and solopreneurs, offering 2000 active leads and 6000 monthly emails, alongside essential tools like unlimited email warm-up and detailed analytics.
Marketers and growing businesses benefit from the Pro Plan ($94/month), with 30000 active leads and 150000 monthly emails, plus a custom CRM and active support. Lead generation agencies and large enterprises can opt for the Custom Plan ($174/month), providing up to 12 million active lead credits and 60 million emails, with advanced CRM integration and customisation options.
What type of businesses sees the most success with Smartlead?
No, there are no limitations on the number of channels you can utilize with Smartlead. Our cold email tool offers a multi-channel infrastructure designed to be limitless, allowing you to reach potential customers through multiple avenues without constraints.
This flexibility empowers you to diversify your cold email outreach efforts, connect with your audience through various communication channels, and increase your chances of conversion. Whether email, social media, SMS, or other communication methods, Smartlead's multi-channel capabilities ensure you can choose the channels that best align with your outreach strategy and business goals. This way, you can engage with your prospects effectively and maximize the impact of your email outreach.
How can Smartlead integrate with my existing CRM and other tools?
Smartlead is the cold emailing tool that facilitates seamless integration with existing CRM systems and other tools through robust webhook and API infrastructure. This setup ensures real-time data synchronisation and automated processes without manual intervention. Integration platforms like Zapier, Make, and N8N enable effortless data exchange between Smartlead and various applications, supporting tasks such as lead information syncing and campaign status updates. Additionally, it offers native integrations with major CRM platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive, enhancing overall lead management capabilities and workflow efficiency. Try Now!
Do you provide me with lead sources?
No. Smartlead distinguishes itself from other cold email outreach software by focusing on limitless scalability and seamless integration. While many similar tools restrict your outreach capabilities, Smartlead offers a different approach.
Here's what makes us uniquely the best cold email software:
1. Unlimited Mailboxes: In contrast to platforms that limit mailbox usage, Smartlead provides unlimited mailboxes. This means you can expand your outreach without any arbitrary constraints.
2. Unique IP Servers: Smartlead offers unique IP servers for every campaign it sends out.
3. Sender Reputation Protection: Smartlead protects your sender reputation by auto-moving emails from spam folders to the primary inbox. This tool uses unique identifiers to cloak all warmup emails from being recognized by automation parsers.
4. Automated Warmup: Smartlead’s warmup functionality enhances your sender reputation and improves email deliverability by maintaining humanised email sending patterns and ramping up the sending volume.
How secure is my data with Smartlead?
Ensuring the security of your data is Smartlead's utmost priority. We implement robust encryption methods and stringent security measures to guarantee the continuous protection of your information. Your data's safety is paramount to us, and we are always dedicated to upholding the highest standards of security.
How can I get started with Smartlead?
Getting started with Smartlead is straightforward! Just head over to our sign-up page and follow our easy step-by-step guide. If you ever have any questions or need assistance, our round-the-clock support team is ready to help, standing by to provide you with any assistance you may require. Sign Up Now!
How can I reach the Smartlead team?
We're here to assist you! You can easily get in touch with our dedicated support team on chat. We strive to provide a response within 24 hours to address any inquiries or concerns you may have. You can also reach out to us at support@smartlead.ai
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