CRM 2025: HubSpot or Pipedrive, which deserves a place in your stack?
Choosing the right CRM software can turn a sales team into a closing machine. But how do you choose between HubSpot and Pipedrive, two well-established CRM platforms? One relies on a complete experience and a strong marketing dimension, the other focuses on simplicity, sales process automation and ultra-fluid pipeline management.
Whether you're a sales manager, an entrepreneur or a marketing manager, you need a tool that fits your real needs, not a gas factory or a pretty but hollow gadget. And yet, between customer relations, lead management, customer service, integrated functionalities, integrations and pricing, the differences are sometimes subtle... but decisive.
So, does HubSpot really offer the best solution to support your growth? Or is Pipedrive the intuitive choice for aligning your sales teams with a concrete sales pipeline?
We tested, compared and analyzed. Here's the verdict. 👇
What is HubSpot?
HubSpot overview
HubSpot, originally designed for marketing teams, has established itself over the years as a complete CRM platform, capable of covering the entire sales process, from lead capture to post-sales customer relations.
What HubSpot offers is not just a sales management tool, but a modular ecosystem with several "hubs": Sales, Marketing, Service, CMS and Operations. Everything is designed to align marketing, sales and customer service teams around a single, centralized customer database.
🎯 HubSpot's users range from fast-growing startups and ambitious SMEs to major corporations. HubSpot boasts over 238,000 customers in more than 135 countries, with a strong presence in Europe and North America.
This solution is particularly popular for :
- its ease of use, despite its rich functionality ;
- its intuitive interface (especially for non-techies) ;
- and its "inbound" approach, which allows you to bring customers to you rather than cold calling them.
HubSpot's key features
HubSpot's appeal lies in the fact that it goes far beyond being a simple prospecting CRM. Here are the key features that make it a complete solution for managing your growth:
- visual, customizable sales pipeline management to follow each lead through the sales process, with ultra-clear drag-and-drop columns;
- task automation: follow-up e-mails, status changes, sales team notifications... everything can be automated according to your rules;
- email and call tracking to open the door to proactive customer follow-up with real-time notifications;
- integrated marketing tools: landing pages, e-mail campaigns, forms, workflows, lead scoring and more;
- customized reporting and dashboards to visualize your performance by channel, by sales rep, by period... in just a few clicks;
- integrated customer service and support via the Service Hub to centralize your tickets and track customer satisfaction;
- an extensive integration library with over 1,000 possible integrations (Slack, Gmail, Zoom, Stripe, Shopify...).
HubSpot CRM
Advantages and disadvantages of HubSpot
HubSpot is a dream come true for teams looking for an all-in-one CRM solution. But this wealth of functionality also comes at a price, and not all profiles will find what they're looking for.
✅ Let's start with its strengths:
- a simple, modern interface, accessible even to CRM non-specialists ;
- advanced workflow automation, ideal for saving precious time ;
- a 360° view of the customer, thanks to the centralization of data between the Hubs (sales, marketing, support...);
- powerful, customizable reporting, suitable for all sizes of sales teams;
- a robust free version, perfect for testing the platform without commitment;
- a rich ecosystem of integrations, making it easy to connect with your existing tools.
❌ But before you dive in headlong, here's what may be holding some companies back:
- prices that rise rapidly as soon as you want to go beyond basic functionality ;
- a learning curve that lengthens if you activate several Hubs at once ;
- its limitations in terms of advanced customization for very specific structures;
- a marketing-first approach that may seem too inbound-oriented for purely sales teams.
What is Pipedrive?
Pipedrive overview
Pipedrive is the CRM designed by and for salespeople. Created by salespeople frustrated by overly marketing-oriented gas plants, it focuses on the efficiency of the sales process. There's no blah, blah, blah here, and every click is used to advance the pipeline, convert a prospect or improve customer management.
Pipedrive stands out in the CRM market thanks to its intuitive interface, rapid configuration and, above all, its clear focus on sales team productivity. It's not a marketing CRM, nor a customer service platform, it's a sales tool pure and simple.
🎯 Pipedrive now equips over 100,000 companies in 175 countries, the vast majority of them SMEs and startups. It appeals to teams who want :
- a visual, actionable sales pipeline;
- simple but effective automation;
- a solution that gets straight to the point, without unnecessary complexity.
Pipedrive's key features
Simple in appearance, but formidable in practice, Pipedrive focuses on the essentials: selling more, faster. Here are the features that make it so popular with field teams:
- a visual sales pipeline in which you drag and drop your opportunities from one stage to the next, with perfect visibility of your deals;
- intelligent automation, with automatic reminders, task creation and step changes - all without the headache;
- activity tracking: calls, meetings, e-mails, every interaction with a customer or prospect is recorded;
- simplified lead management with web form, integrated chatbot, automatic capture of incoming contacts;
- customized dashboards and reporting with a focus on sales performance, targets achieved, and conversion rates;
- native integration tools with seamless connectivity to Google Workspace, Outlook, Zapier, Slack, Zoom, etc;
- an efficient mobile app for uncompromising sales management on the move.
Pipedrive
Advantages and disadvantages of Pipedrive
Pipedrive is all about simplicity and sales efficiency. And we have to admit that, for many SMEs, the gamble has paid off: install, configure and sell.
✅ Let's take a look at what makes this CRM so popular with sales teams:
- an ultra-intuitive interface, even for profiles unfamiliar with CRM tools;
- a central sales pipeline, easy to manipulate and adapt to your sales process;
- rapid automation, without the need for an external consultant;
- transparent pricing, with a good features/price ratio right from the 1st plan;
- 100% sales orientation, avoiding functional dispersion;
- responsive customer support, even for small accounts.
❌ But there are also a few limitations to bear in mind:
- less suited to marketing or customer service needs without the addition of third-party tools;
- advanced reporting requires superior plans or paid add-ons;
- less native functionality than HubSpot for content or nurturing;
- an evolutionary curve that may hold back fast-growing or highly structured companies.
HubSpot vs Pipedrive: compare features
| Features | HubSpot | Pipedrive |
| Visual sales pipeline | Yes: customizable by product/service | Yes: ultra-intuitive and easy to configure |
| Task automation | Highly advanced (visual workflows, conditions, deadlines) | Yes: easy to set up |
| Lead management | Scoring, segmentation, integrated nurturing | Capture, qualification, contact history |
| Reporting & dashboards | Comprehensive, customizable, multi-team | Solid, more limited in basic plans |
| Native integrations | +1,000 (Slack, Gmail, Stripe, etc.) | +350 (Google, Outlook, Zapier, etc.) |
| Integrated marketing functions | Yes: emailing, landing pages, marketing automation | ❌ No: to be connected to a third-party tool |
| Customer service functionalities | Yes: via Hub Service (tickets, satisfaction, etc.) | ❌ Not native: possible via integration |
| Mobile app | Yes: complete | Yes: light and efficient |
| Free version | Yes: very functional to start with | ❌ No: 14-day free trial |
Focus on business pipeline management
HubSpot offers a customizable pipeline by team, with :
- filtered views,
- automation at every stage,
- the ability to associate workflows according to a lead's evolution.
Ideal for complex or multi-product organizations. The only hitch: to take full advantage of this flexibility, you need to upgrade to a paid plan.
Pipedrive, on the other hand, relies on immediate readability:
- every stage of the sales process is clear,
- maps can be enriched (value, closing date, upcoming activities),
- everything can be operated from the pipeline.
It's intuitive, fast, efficient... in short, designed with field teams in mind. For many, this is its greatest asset.
👉 In summary: HubSpot for flexibility and segmentation, Pipedrive for speed and clarity.
Focus on task and workflow automation
HubSpot clearly shines in this area. Its visual workflow system is one of the most powerful on the market. Actions (sending e-mails, creating tasks, updating properties) can be triggered according to an infinite number of criteria:
- behavior
- status,
- score,
- date,
- third-party integration, etc.
All in a fluid, intuitive interface, even for non-developers. It's the ideal tool for aligning marketing and sales.
Pipedrive, on the other hand, gets straight to the point:
- automatic reminders,
- step changes,
- task creation,
- notifications.
It's all easy to set up from its interface, without getting bogged down in details. Less advanced than HubSpot, certainly, but sufficient to automate the repetitive actions of a sales rep on a daily basis.
👉 Verdict: Hubspot for teams who want to script everything, Pipedrive for those who just want to automate without complexity.
Focus on reporting and performance visualization
HubSpot offers comprehensive reporting, especially for the Pro plan. You can :
- create customized dashboards,
- cross-reference CRM, marketing and service data,
- track conversion rates by stage,
- analyze ROI for each channel,
- and much more.
It's a strategic tool for growing companies that want to accurately manage their entire customer relationship.
Pipedrive, on the other hand, offers effective, field-oriented operational reporting:
- performance by sales rep,
- pipeline by value or by stage,
- activities per week.
Simple, actionable, but more limited when it comes to cross-referencing complex data or advanced forecasting. To go further, you need to use add-ons or third-party integrations such as Google Data Studio.
👉 To remember: HubSpot for multi-team strategic vision, Pipedrive for fast, no-frills field management.
HubSpot vs Pipedrive: compare prices
Here's a comparison of offers in euros (prices updated to 2025, excluding promotions, invoiced annually):
| Plan | HubSpot | Pipedrive |
| Free | Yes:
|
❌ 14-day free trial |
| Essential / Basic | Starter: from €9 / month
|
Lite : €14 / month / user
|
| Intermediary | ❌ | Growth: €39 / month / user
|
| Advanced / Premium | Pro: from €1283 / month
|
Premium: €49 / month / user
|
| Complete | Enterprise: from €4610 / month
|
Ultimate: €79 / month / user
|
👉 To sum up : HubSpot offers a solid free version, but prices rise quickly as you get more powerful. Pipedrive remains more affordable for small teams with strictly commercial needs.
HubSpot vs Pipedrive: which interface is more intuitive?
You can have the best CRM solution, but if the interface is cumbersome, your teams won't get on board. HubSpot and Pipedrive have understood this, but with different approaches.
| Aspect | HubSpot | Pipedrive |
| Getting started | Fairly quick, but requires a little configuration | Immediate, designed for field sales |
| Overall design | Modern, consistent between modules | Minimalist, easy to read |
| Navigation | By hubs and side menus (denser) | By pipeline and customer files, very linear |
| Mobile app | Complete, multifunctional | Fluid, designed for rapid use on the move |
| View customization | Extensive (tables, columns, properties) | Quick and easy (pipeline phases, fields) |
| Learning curve | Average (especially with several Hubs activated) | Very low |
👉 Pipedrive relies on an intuitive, straightforward interface, designed for a sales team that wants to get straight to the point.
👉 HubSpot, more complete, requires a little more time to adapt, but offers a powerful and coherent working environment.
HubSpot vs Pipedrive: compare integrations
The more easily a CRM integrates with your existing stack, the more freely your data flows between your sales, marketing, customer service and reporting tools. And in a SaaS environment, it's often the quality of integrations that makes (or breaks) the fluidity of the sales process.
👉 Number of available integrations :
- HubSpot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Over 1,000 native integrations on its marketplace: Slack, Gmail, Google Ads, Stripe, Zoom, Calendly, Zapier, Aircall, Shopify, LinkedIn, WordPress, Salesforce... and a well-documented open API. A central solution for complex, multi-channel stacks. - Pipedrive: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Around 350 native integrations: Google Workspace, Outlook, Slack, Zoom, Zapier, Trello, PandaDoc, WhatsApp, Asana, etc. The essentials are covered for a sales team, with a powerful but slightly more technical REST API to exploit.
👉 Ease of configuration:
- HubSpot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Integrations are generally "plug & play", with guided configuration from the marketplace. Some advanced connections (notably ERP or analytics tools) may require a more technical grasp, especially in large accounts. - Pipedrive: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Fast connection, clear and well-documented interface. Integrations are designed to be activated in a few clicks, especially via Zapier. On the other hand, the automation interface remains less rich than HubSpot's.
👉 Customization and automation :
- HubSpot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Connection of conditional integrations in workflows, bi-directional synchronization possible with numerous tools, multi-app triggers... This is a central network in any growth-oriented stack. - Pipedrive: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Automations are possible, but more limited in finesse: no complex multi-condition triggers, and some integrations require third-party solutions to go far (Make, Zapier, Integromat...).
💡 The verdict:
HubSpot clearly dominates on integrations, thanks to a rich, well-maintained ecosystem, and a high level of customization in workflows. A real hub for marketing, sales and support teams looking for centralized management.
The lighter Pipedrive covers classic sales needs perfectly, but will quickly show its limitations in complex or multi-team environments. Perfect for starting up or maintaining a simple CRM, without sacrificing the essentials.
When to choose HubSpot or Pipedrive?
Examples of HubSpot use cases
HubSpot is the ideal solution if :
- you have an in-house marketing team and are looking to align marketing and sales in a single tool;
- you need a complete CRM, capable of covering the entire customer relationship: lead generation, nurturing, sales, follow-up and support;
- you work with multiple channels (SEO, Ads, email, etc.) and are looking for unified reporting;
- you manage an inbound strategy, with content creation, automation, lead scoring... ;
- you are a fast-growing company, with several teams (sales, support, marketing) to coordinate on a common basis.
☝️ Example: a B2B SaaS scale-up with 3 salespeople, 2 marketers and a CSM who wants to centralize everything.
🗣️ Customer story :
We've increased our contact with prospects, while improving the quality of our CRM database, enabling us to segment our audiences and better target our actions.
Marion Lopez, Directrice Communication et Marketing (Senior Partner).
Examples of Pipedrive use cases
Pipedrive is particularly suitable if :
- you're looking for a sales tool that's quick and easy for your sales team to get to grips with;
- you have a straightforward, uncomplicated sales cycle: calls, quotation, follow-up, signature;
- you don 't want to waste time setting up or learning the tool;
- you already have marketing tools on the side (e.g. Mailchimp, Lemlist) and are just looking for a pipeline CRM;
- you're an SME, agency or freelancer looking for a frictionless, no-frills CRM.
☝️ Example: a recruitment agency with 5 sales people who manage their opportunities as they arise.
🗣️ Customer testimonial:
A growing company always struggles to determine what its employees need to know, so silos of information are needlessly formed. So-and-so might know all the details of a partnership, without knowing that someone else needed to know, or I might pick up the phone to call someone, only to realize that I had no notes at all. The same goes for basic forecasts: what sales are we going to make next month? How many new schools do we have in the pipeline? Pipedrive's dashboard helps us to keep track of all upcoming partnerships, and to ensure that our students receive support in line with school board requirements.
Hunter Shelburne, Directeur des partenariats chez Air Tutors
Our final opinion: HubSpot or Pipedrive, which is right for you?
Pipedrive or HubSpot, it's not a question of "best CRM", but of the best CRM for your needs.
If you're looking for a simple, effective tool that boosts your sales without complexity, Pipedrive is a sure bet. It gets straight to the point, with an intuitive interface and express start-up.
But if you're aiming for scalability, sales/marketing alignment, and want a central platform for all your customer relations, then HubSpot offers a more complete solution. It will require a little more time (and investment), but you'll get a 360° view of your leads, customers, campaigns and performance.
👉 To sum up:
- Pipedrive for agile sales teams, SMEs and simple processes ;
- HubSpot for growing, multi-department companies that want to unify sales, marketing and customer service.
And if you're still on the fence, try both. 14 days free with Pipedrive, unlimited free version with HubSpot: at this price, it's your experience in the field that will decide.
FAQ
Hubspot or Pipedrive: which is easier to use?
Pipedrive is generally perceived as simpler to learn, with a straightforward interface focused on the sales pipeline. Hubspot, on the other hand, is more complete and requires a little more configuration, especially if you activate several modules (marketing, service, etc.).
Is Hubspot really free?
Yes, Hubspot offers a very robust free version: contact management, pipeline, emails, reporting, forms... perfect for getting started. But some key features (automation, scoring, priority support) require a paid plan.
Does Pipedrive have a free offer?
No, but you can test it for free for 14 days.
Which CRM is best for a small sales team?
Pipedrive is often preferred by small teams for its simplicity, visual clarity and value for money. It's a tool designed for short-to-medium sales cycles, with no superfluity.
Can Hubspot or Pipedrive be connected to tools like Slack, Gmail or Zapier?
Yes, both CRMs offer native integrations with the most common tools (Slack, Gmail, Outlook, Zapier, Zoom...). Hubspot goes a step further, offering a much broader ecosystem suited to more complex stacks.
Which CRM should you choose for mixed marketing and sales use?
Without hesitation: Hubspot. This is its specialty. It enables you to manage acquisition, nurture, closing and even customer service, all in a single tool.
Article translated from French