Once upon a time, the “golden age of CRMs” was all about getting rid of spreadsheets and giving sales teams a place to track deals. That’s the era Pipedrive was born into — a time when having a clean pipeline view felt revolutionary. And to its credit, Pipedrive quickly became one of the most popular CRMs in the world, especially for SMBs.
But the CRM landscape in 2025 looks a little different. The basics are no longer enough. AI is reshaping expectations — automating grunt work, enriching data, and even turning social selling into a built-in workflow.
So how does a long-standing legacy player like Pipedrive stack up against these new-age challengers? Let’s find out.
Pipedrive Review Overview (TL;DR) |
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Pipedrive is a well-established, pipeline-focused CRM designed for small to midsize sales teams that value structure and visibility. It’s great for traditional sales processes — but it’s showing its age in the AI era.
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💡 What is Pipedrive CRM?
Pipedrive is a sales-focused CRM that first hit the market in 2010, created by salespeople for salespeople who wanted a tool that actually matched the way they worked. Instead of overwhelming dashboards or bloated features, Pipedrive introduced a simple, visual pipeline that made tracking deals intuitive.
Over the years, it’s become known for three things in particular:
Pipeline management – a drag-and-drop deal view that’s still one of the best in the industry.
Ease of use – teams can get up and running quickly without heavy onboarding.
Customization – from custom fields to tailored workflows, it’s flexible enough for different sales processes.
Today, Pipedrive is used by SMBs, sales-driven teams, and agencies that want a straightforward way to organize pipelines and track activities without the complexity of enterprise CRMs.
Note: Since its acquisition by a private equity firm, Vista Equity Partners, in 2020, Pipedrive has been moving upmarket. However, its pace of innovation — especially around AI — hasn’t quite kept up with newer, AI-native competitors. More on this later. |
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⚙️ Key Features of Pipedrive
Pipedrive packs a solid range of sales tools designed to help teams stay organized, automate tasks, and close deals faster. Here’s a closer look at the key features that define the Pipedrive experience.
Visual Pipeline Management
Diving right into one of the biggest reasons Pipedrive took off. Instead of endless spreadsheets or clunky deal lists, sales teams got a clean, drag-and-drop board that made it easy to see where every opportunity stood. Today it’s still one of the most intuitive pipeline UIs on the market, with customizable stages and multiple views to fit different teams.
Just as it’s visually simple, Pipedrive also makes it straightforward to customize every stage of your pipeline to fit different sales processes. Each deal card acts as a single source of truth: deal value, contact history, notes, files, tasks, and scheduled activities are all in one place. That means no digging through separate tabs just to get context — a big win when you’re juggling multiple opportunities.
You can even run multiple pipelines in parallel — perfect if you’re managing separate motions like partner sales and direct sales at the same time.
One feature that stands out (literally) is Pipedrive’s rotting feature — designed to alert you when deals have been sitting idle for too long (or as Pipedrive puts it, when they’ve gone “rotten”).
The timeline is completely customizable, so it’s up to you to define how long is too long before a deal is flagged.
Did You Know? | ||
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With Breakcold, you don’t have to manually decide when it’s time to follow up. Depending on the AI Agent you choose, Breakcold automatically tracks lead activity and notifies you when it’s time to re-engage — so no prospect ever slips through the cracks.  | ||
Sales Automations
Pipedrive gives you a solid set of automation tools to save time on repetitive sales tasks. You can build workflow automations for things like sending follow-up reminders, moving deals to the next stage, or assigning tasks to teammates.
Most of Pipedrive’s automations follow the classic trigger-and-action format. Basic workflows are available on mid-tier plans, but if you want to build more advanced sequences, you’ll need to upgrade. Even then, the so-called “complex workflows” hit their limits quickly once you start trying to set up anything beyond the basics.
Did You Know? |
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Pipedrive has a platform cap of 5,000 automation executions per workflow every 10 minutes and a total account limit of 10,000 actions. Now if quick maths aren’t your thing, that might sound like a lot. But in reality, it isn’t. If you're setting up workflows for high-volume outreach, lead scoring, or even data enrichment, it runs out pretty quick. And here’s the kicker: while Pipedrive limits how far you can automate, Breakcold’s Vision Builder removes those restrictions. You can create advanced workflows using simple text prompts — or even let the AI decide the next best step for you. Smarter, faster, and no manual input needed.  |
Lead/Deal Management
At its core, Pipedrive makes it easy to store, organize, qualify, and convert leads so nothing slips through the cracks. You can add key details like deal values, expected close dates, and custom fields to keep track of opportunities in a way that matches your sales process.
For teams focused on capturing new leads, Pipedrive offers the LeadBooster add-on — an extra-cost upgrade that includes:
Chatbots + Live Chats = The Chatbot feature allows prospects to qualify themselves through automated conversations or Live Chats. You can customize these interactions using Playbooks, which act as a script to collect lead information and automatically create leads, deals, or contacts in the CRM.
Prospector = An outbound lead generation tool powered by Cognism giving users access to a database of 400 million profiles and 10 million companies to find the latest leads.
Web forms = Simple, customizable forms you can embed on your site to capture new leads and feed them directly into your Pipedrive pipeline.
Web Visitor Tracker = A tool that identifies which companies visit your website and what pages they interact with, helping your team prioritize outreach.
Another way Pipedrive helps reduce busy work when managing leads is through its Smart Contact Data feature.
Once enabled, Pipedrive automatically gathers publicly available information about your leads and neatly adds it to their profiles. If the details ever look outdated, you can refresh the data to ensure you’re always working with the most current information. While not always perfect, it does save you some time and energy.
Note: Since August of 2025, Pipedrive has only made Smart Contact Data available to Advanced and higher plans. For new users, Pipedrive has recommended using Data Enrichment. |
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Did You Know? | ||
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Breakcold lets you enrich data manually or automatically — because we’ve baked enrichment right into our workflows. That means no more manual inputs or chasing missing info — just clean, enriched data while you focus on what matters most: SELLING.  | ||
Pipedrive AI
Pipedrive has steadily introduced more AI-powered features to help sales teams work smarter. The AI Assistant suggests next steps, flags deal risks, and provides recommendations to help you keep momentum in your pipeline.
Powered by OpenAI, Pipedrive’s AI Assistant can also handle inquiries, summarize content (up to 300 characters), generate text for notes and emails, and even guide you step-by-step through how different Pipedrive features work. It can also answer follow-up questions, making it easier to get quick, relevant support without leaving your workflow.
A standout addition is Pulse, Pipedrive’s dedicated AI toolkit that centralizes insights and helps you focus on high-impact opportunities. With Pulse, you can:
Identify priorities and next steps to stay on top of your deals.
Spot missing data instantly to strengthen your outreach.
Rank deals using custom scoring aligned with your business goals.
Optimize follow-ups with personalized email flows and task reminders.
Pipedrive also includes predictive forecasting based on historical deal data and an AI email generator to streamline communication.
That said, Pipedrive’s AI features are still relatively new and lean more toward suggestions than full automation.
Did You Know? | ||
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Most of Pipedrive’s AI features are locked behind higher pricing tiers — meaning you’ll need to upgrade to access their full potential. With Breakcold, all AI features come standard from day one — no upsells, no hidden tiers, just full access to the tools that actually help you sell smarter.  | ||
Omnichannel Tracking
Pipedrive makes it easy to stay on top of your daily sales activities. You can track email opens, clicks, and replies directly inside the CRM, ensuring you know exactly when a prospect is engaging with your outreach.
Beyond email, Pipedrive lets you log calls, meetings, and notes, giving your team a full record of every touchpoint.
Pipedrive also makes scheduling simple — you can share your availability and let prospects book a time that works for both of you. Whether it’s a phone call or video meeting, Pipedrive logs it automatically so nothing slips through the cracks.
Note: Everything shows up in the daily calendar view, which is really useful for teams that prioritize outreach. |
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While Pipedrive doesn’t include built-in calling capabilities, it integrates with several third-party calling tools, allowing you to place calls directly from within the CRM once connected.
Reporting and Forecasting
Pipedrive understands that tracking progress is one of the most important parts of sales — and that every business measures success differently. That’s why Pipedrive’s reporting tools are fully customizable, letting you tailor insights to match your specific goals.
You can start with default metrics like new deals created or recurring revenue, then add custom fields and filters to surface what matters most to your team. Whether you’re focused on activity performance, deal conversions, or revenue forecasting, Pipedrive’s reports adapt to your workflow.
Here’s a quick look at the types of reports available by category and plan tier:
Report | Category | Required plan |
Activities performance | Activity | Lite |
Emails performance | Activity | Lite |
People | Contact | Lite |
Organizations | Contact | Lite |
Performance | Lead | Lite |
Conversion | Lead | Lite |
Performance | Deal | Lite |
Conversion | Deal | Lite |
Duration | Deal | Lite |
Progress | Deal | Lite |
Products | Deal | Lite |
Product revenue forecast | Revenue forecast | Growth |
Deal revenue forecast | Revenue forecast | Premium |
Campaigns add-on Reports | ||
Campaigns conversion report | Activity | Add-on |
Campaigns performance report | Activity | Add-on |
Pipedrive takes the guesswork out of building reports with its AI-powered report creation feature.
Using a simple text prompt — much like you’d find in other AI tools — you can describe the kind of report you want in plain language. Pipedrive’s Insights AI then automatically generates a customized report based on your input, saving you time and reducing manual setup.
But reports alone aren’t enough — timing matters. Waiting for weekly updates can sometimes cost more deals than it saves. That’s why Pipedrive’s sales dashboards are designed to help managers track team performance, uncover winning strategies, and react to bottlenecks in real time.
To keep teams aligned, Pipedrive’s Goals feature lets you set clear targets that drive focus and accountability. You can create goals based on:
Deals (Added, Progressed, Won)
Activities (Added, Completed)
Forecasts (Revenue Forecast)
Did You Know? | ||
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While Pipedrive’s sales dashboard is great for tracking progress, modern sales teams need more than just visibility — they need intelligence. Breakcold’s AI-powered dashboard doesn’t just show you what’s happening; it tells you what matters most and why. It highlights your top priorities, adds context behind every task, and helps you take action faster — without the guesswork. Also, did we mention that it's also self-updating? 👀 | ||
Marketplace Integrations
While Pipedrive can be lacking in certain aspects, they make up for it by offering 500+ tools to sync with their CRM.
Did You Know? |
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Pipedrive doesn’t offer native LinkedIn integration — and for sales teams who live and breathe on LinkedIn, that’s a bit of a setback. While you can connect Pipedrive to LinkedIn through third-party integrations, choosing the right one can be tricky. Luckily, we’ve already done the legwork and rounded up the best Pipedrive integrations for LinkedIn. But if you’re after built-in LinkedIn accessibility without the extra plugins or setup... well, Breakcold should be your first stop 😉 |
💰 Pipedrive Pricing + Pros + Cons (2025)
Lite | Growth |
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$19/user/mo | $34/user/mo |
Key features:
| Lite plan +
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Premium | Ultimate |
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$64/user/mo | $89/user/mo |
Growth plan +
| Premium plan +
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Pipedrive Add-ons
LeadBooster add-on | Projects add-on | Campaigns add-on |
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Capture more leads Starting from $32.50 | Deliver projects and reach goals faster Starting from $6.67 | Send awesome email marketing campaigns Starting from $13.33 |
Web Visitors add-on | Smart Docs add-on | |
See who's browsing your site Starting from $41 | Manage all your documents in one place Starting from $32.50 | |
Ratings + Pros & Cons
Rating | |
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G2 - 4.3/5 (2,445) | Capterra - 4.5/5 (3047) |
Pros | Cons |
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🚫 Why Pipedrive is a BAD CRM for YOU
For years, Pipedrive was the go-to CRM for SMBs — simple, sales-focused, and built by salespeople, for salespeople.
But that version of Pipedrive doesn’t exist anymore – not really.
Since the founders sold the company to a private equity firm in 2020, Pipedrive has shifted its focus upmarket, aiming to serve larger enterprise clients. In doing so, it’s lost touch with the smaller, fast-moving businesses that made it popular in the first place — and it’s struggling to adapt to the AI-native era.
At Breakcold, we’ve seen this firsthand. Most of our customers come from Pipedrive — some of whom have used Pipedrive for 10+ years and have genuinely loved it. But over time, they realized it no longer fit their needs.
Here’s why.
1️⃣ Steep Learning Curve That’s a Waste of Time
Pipedrive still shines when it comes to classic pipeline management — but let’s be honest, it’s no longer 2010. Sales teams in the 2020s want intuitive, AI-powered tools that help them sell smarter, not harder.
Over the years, Pipedrive has packed its platform with a growing list of features and tools. But despite all those additions, it’s still primarily known for just two things: its clean UI and simple pipeline view.
The problem? Many of Pipedrive’s automations feel too rigid and too shallow. Even if you invest hours learning every tool and workflow, you’ll soon realize they only solve simple problems — not the complex, multi-channel challenges modern sales teams face.
2️⃣ Too Little Advancement for Too Much Admin Work
Thanks to Pipedrive’s new overlords, the CRM is now catering to enterprise-level clients. That means tools and updates that might work for big corporations who can also afford a dedicated onboard specialist to deal with setting it up. But for small businesses, that’s just not realistic.
Your salespeople should be selling, not buried in manual data entry.
And here’s the problem — instead of using AI to automate admin work, Pipedrive focuses on pumping out bloatware or what I call “fluff AI.”
That means things like AI-generated email drafts or AI-created reports — are nice to have, but not game-changing.
Real AI should automate the boring CRM admin tasks, not just add another layer of busywork.
So what’s the solution? We’re just getting to that 😉.
🔁 Alternatives to Pipedrive
If you’re feeling that Pipedrive isn’t quite cutting it anymore, don’t worry — there are several solid alternatives WE THINK is worth considering. Whether you need AI-native automation, social selling tools, or a more modern CRM experience, these options can help you streamline your sales process and close more deals.
🥇 Breakcold
Summary
And that’s exactly why we built Breakcold — the AI-native CRM for modern salespeople that automates the parts of the job that slow you down.
Breakcold doesn’t just track deals — it moves leads automatically, assigns tags, and creates follow-up tasks across Email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Telegram, and soon, Phone.
With AI-native features built into its core, you can describe your business through a simple text prompt or voice recording, and Breakcold Vision will design workflows and pipelines tailored to your exact needs.
From a self-updating dashboard that highlights which leads need follow-ups (and why), to a social engagement stream that keeps you connected to every important lead opportunity — Breakcold brings clarity and automation together in one place.
It’s everything sales teams loved about Pipedrive early on — but rebuilt for the AI era, where selling is fast, personal, and automation-first.
Key Features | |
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Ratings | |
G2 - 4.7/5 (116) | Capterra - 4.8/5 (93) |
Pros | Cons |
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Pricing Plans
CRM Essentials | CRM Pro | CRM Max |
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$29/user/mo | $59/user/mo | $99/user/mo |
What's included:
| All Essentials Features and:
| All Pro features and:
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CRM Essentials | CRM Pro | CRM Max |
|---|---|---|
$29/user/mo | $59/user/mo | $99/user/mo |
What's included:
| All Essentials Features and:
| All Pro features and:
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🥈 Close
Summary
Close is designed for sales teams that live and breathe outbound. It combines calling, emailing, SMS, and pipeline management in one place — so you can sell faster without jumping between tools. Built with efficiency in mind, Close automates follow-ups, logs every interaction, and helps you keep deals moving at high speed.
It’s a great fit for startups and SMBs running fast-paced sales cycles that rely heavily on calls and emails — not spreadsheets.
Key Features | |
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Ratings | |
G2 – 4.7/5 (1,044) | Capterra - 4.7/5 (161) |
Pros | Cons |
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Pricing Plans
Essentials | Growth | Scale |
|---|---|---|
$49/user/mo | $109/user/mo | $149/user/mo |
Included in all Close plans:
| Everything in Essentials plus:
| Everything in Growth plus:
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Solo Plan | ||
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$9/user/mo | ||
Includes everything in Essential, but:
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🥉 Nimble
Summary
Nimble is a relationship-focused CRM that blends contact management, communication, and social insights into one simple platform. It integrates seamlessly with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, automatically enriching contact profiles with data from email, calendar, and social media.
It’s ideal for consultants, solopreneurs, and small teams who value personal connections over complex pipelines.
Key Features | |
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Ratings | |
G2 - 4.5/5 (1,102) | Capterra - 4.4/5 (1883) |
Pros | Cons |
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Pricing Plans
Features | Nimble CRM plan |
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Pricing | $29.90 |
Relationship Management | |
Contact Management | ✅ |
Social Profile Matching & Enrichment | ✅ |
Browser & Email Extensions | ✅ |
Agenda & Activities | ✅ |
Today Page | ✅ |
Marketing & Outreach | |
Web Forms & Lead Capture | ✅ |
Email Marketing | ✅ |
Email Templates | ✅ |
Group Messages | ✅ |
Email Sequences | ✅ |
Sales, Pipelines, Reporting | |
Prospecting | ✅ |
Sales Engagement | ✅ |
Pipeline Management | ✅ |
Prospect Marketing & Outreach | ✅ |
Workflows | ✅ |
Workflows Automations | ✅ |
Works Everywhere | |
Microsoft 365 Integration | ✅ |
Google Workspace Integration | ✅ |
Apple Mail Integration | ✅ |
Integrations | |
App Integration Partners | 100 + Integration Partners |
PhoneBurner Integration | ✅ |
Zapier Integration | 120 + App Integrations |
API Access | ✅ |
Mobile Apps | |
IOS | ✅ |
Android | ✅ |
Customer Support | |
Online & Email Support | ✅ |
Comprehensive Support Center | ✅ |
Daily Live Q&A Sessions | ✅ |
Weekly Training Webinars | ✅ |
Free 1:1 Calls | ✅ |
💭 Final Thoughts
Pipedrive has earned its place as one of the most established CRMs on the market. It’s sales-focused, one of the best visual pipelines on the market, and a solid choice for teams that want a straightforward way to manage deals.
But the CRM world has evolved. Breakcold represents the next generation — an AI-native CRM with built-in prospecting, enrichment, and social selling features that eliminate admin work and keep your pipeline alive with context.
👉 If you’re after a traditional pipeline tool, Pipedrive won’t disappoint. But if you want a CRM designed for 2025 and beyond, Breakcold is built for you.
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