Pipedrive vs Salesforce Essentials comparison

Pipedrive and Salesforce are both solutions in the CRM category. Pipedrive is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.5, while Salesforce is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.3. Pipedrive holds a 1.1% mindshare in CRM, compared to Salesforce’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 78% of Pipedrive users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Salesforce users who would recommend it.

Pipedrive

Read 13 Pipedrive reviews

3,245 Views
2,564 Comparison Views

78% willing to recommend

Salesforce Essentials

Read 14 Salesforce Essentials reviews

1,738 Views
1,738 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Pipedrive

Salesforce Essentials

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Pipedrive and Salesforce Essentials are strong contenders in the CRM market for small to medium businesses. Pipedrive is favored for its pricing and flexibility, while Salesforce Essentials is recognized for its advanced features and robust integration capabilities.

Features: Pipedrive provides valuable customization options, facilitating easy management of sales processes with a user-friendly interface. It supports defining custom data fields, applying automation, and delivering insightful reporting. Salesforce Essentials offers a comprehensive platform with Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, integrating finance and customer support seamlessly while leveraging AI for enhanced customer segmentation and management.

Room for Improvement: Pipedrive could enhance its integration capabilities and offer more comprehensive documentation, particularly for reporting. Its automation, especially in campaign management, could also be improved. Salesforce Essentials users point out a need for better integration with complex ERP systems, improved reporting features, and more flexible licensing options for small teams, along with a UI better suited for non-native English speakers.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Pipedrive offers deployment in Public and Private Cloud environments with generally positive user feedback on its technical support, despite some noted delays. Salesforce Essentials supports On-premises deployments and multiple cloud options, providing solid customer service, though response times can be inconsistent. Both platforms have effective customer engagement, although initial interactions via chatbots may be less satisfactory.

Pricing and ROI: Pipedrive is celebrated for its cost-effectiveness, presenting competitive features at a lower price, ideal for smaller companies. Salesforce Essentials is perceived as more expensive, offering extensive features that may justify the cost for larger teams. However, its pricing model, while reflective of premium features, may deter smaller businesses due to higher costs.

To learn more, read our detailed Pipedrive vs. Salesforce Essentials Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Pipedrive vs. Salesforce Essentials

April 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 894,738 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Pipedrive

Ranking in CRM

19th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Local Government CRM (8th), Opportunity Management (6th), Sales Force Automation (9th)

Salesforce Essentials

Ranking in CRM

16th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the CRM category, the mindshare of Pipedrive is 1.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Essentials is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

CRM Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Salesforce Essentials	0.6%
Pipedrive	1.1%
Other	98.3%

CRM

Featured Reviews

Willem Lambrechts

Managing Director at Drebbel

Offers the ability to create multiple pipelines and the flexibility in filtering and reporting

We do a lot of analytics and reporting ourselves. We don't necessarily use all the features that Pipedrive provides, but it's very helpful at least. It has streamlined our deal-closing process. We use it for everything. When we create a lead, we put it into Pipedrive. That lead can be converted into an opportunity, which we manage through our whole pipeline. This includes having all data related to the opportunity in one place. Once the deal is closed, we use Pipedrive to follow up on the invoices until they are paid. We also manage sales commissions and payments to our salespeople through Pipedrive.

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Attila Aranyos

Head of Commercial Excellence at Sartorius AG

Has provided a reliable service with responsive support and offers valuable features, though pricing could be more affordable

We are a large organization with 14,000 people. As a user, Salesforce Essentials is extremely easy to use. The complete rollout from minimum viable product to final acceptable product took two years for our global deployment. The business operations for our 14,000 people are managed by approximately 10 people on the business side. These business admins are responsible for sales operations, troubleshooting, training, and driving features and requirements from the sales and marketing organizations. Additionally, we work with product owners on the IT side and a team of programmers. Daily operations require about five people for IT work, security programming, system connections, and development execution. For day-to-day user support, we need eight to ten people in the business. We operate on Microsoft Azure private cloud infrastructure. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate Salesforce Essentials a 9 out of 10.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The solution is very stable."

"The solution is pretty easy to use and intuitive."

"It is a stable platform."

"The most useful thing is the ability to create multiple pipelines and the flexibility in filtering and reporting."

"Pipedrive's most valuable feature is reporting and insights. The CRM shows the database and lets the salespeople arrange their daily activities. The insights are essential from a management point of view because it helps the sales staff improve or adjust their whole sales cycle, activities, and quality."

"The biggest and the best feature is the view that you get when you log in. You have a board like Kanban when you log in, and you've got a column on the left and several other columns that move to the right, depending on where you are in a particular deal. If it's a prospect or someone who is just looking, you move it along the process, and it really helps you keep track of where you are."

"Anyone thinking about using this solution should definitely look at it and seriously consider it because it's a very good product."

"Pipedrive's most valuable features are that you can keep the whole information that's related to managing your sales process and you can customize it easily."

More Pipedrive pros

"The product is stable."

"The CRM system has SAP Sales, SAP Service, and SAP Billing, with everything integrated into an on-premise SAP CRM system. Salesforce Essentials replaced this on-premise system, bringing all functionalities onto the cloud platform."

"The combination of product and service are exceptional."

"Their reporting and analytics features have a very significant impact on my company's operational efficiency."

"Salesforce Essentials is a reliable and powerful application."

"We use Salesforce Essentials for everything we do on the sales side."

"I can download the data to Excel, create tables, and do whatever I want. I am very comfortable with the tool's mobile application. Its main benefit is transparency because I can share it with representatives."

"Salesforce provides the best they have with the current version. Most of the features we need are already there, and it's very easy to use."

More Salesforce Essentials pros

Cons

"Pipedrive could be more efficient. I want the management to be more transparent so it's easier to monitor the sales team's activities and results and do business forecasting. It would help them to improve the quality of the sales cycle."

"The platform could be even more robust."

"Areas where the solution could improve are with the easiness of integration with other solutions, as well as the reporting capabilities."

"Pipedrive has some weaknesses against Salesforce. The documentation of Pipedrive could improve. They need more qualified documentation because I had to fix my colleague's work to correct the reports because they did not find how they can do it, or develop reports. There are some misunderstandings about how to do reporting."

"We are using the lowest version of it. As we become more sophisticated, we might outgrow the tool, but there are features that are available in the higher-level versions, which I'm unfamiliar with, that might be able to meet the needs we would have in the future."

"Pipedrive has some weaknesses against Salesforce."

"You must pay more if you need an additional feature."

More Pipedrive cons

"Integrating Salesforce with SAP, considering our business relies heavily on SAP for ERP, has been quite challenging due to the intricate product configurations. Unlike standard products like computers with a few options, our products have hundreds of configurable options, making the integration complex. If such integration were possible, it would have been easier to understand the unique nature of our industry and the limited number of customers who buy steel products, unlike consumer electronics."

"Less integration would be better. It should work independently."

"The cost of running Salesforce Essentials is significant. The licenses are expensive, and the operational costs are considerable, including the necessity to maintain a team of approximately 15 people to run the system."

"When we use mixed languages, it can be uncomfortable because there seems to be no consideration for right-to-left speakers. It feels like these tools were developed by people who only speak left-to-right languages and didn't consider other language types' needs."

"Salesforce Essentials does not contain domain-specific solutions."

"The solution could be cheaper."

"Areas that could be improved or upgraded in the next release include analytics, automation capabilities, and stability."

"The product's reporting area has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required."

More Salesforce Essentials cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is affordable."

"As of now, the pricing and value are quite good."

"We pay $1000 a month for the tool."

"Pipedrive keeps increasing the prices, which is becoming a bit annoying. It was reasonable when we started, but now they're increasing all the time."

"Pipedrive is relatively more affordable than other solutions."

"The product is expensive but provides valuable services."

"The solution's pricing is excellant. It costs 65 dollars a month for top tier plan."

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price, two or three. For us, everything is expensive because this is a startup, but for a normal company, it should be peanuts."

More Pipedrive pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is on the higher side, especially with additional costs for professional services like consultants."

"I rate Salesforce Essentials' pricing an eight out of ten."

"We chose quarterly payments."

"The tool is moderately priced."

"The pricing is a bit on the expensive side."

"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution."

"Salesforce Essentials is quite expensive, almost 10 out of 10. I don't have the exact cost, but we found it to be very expensive based on our budget constraints."

"It's a perpetual license, and the subscription can be expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

22%

Manufacturing Company

Marketing Services Firm

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pipedrive?

The pricing is satisfactory.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pipedrive?

New features sometimes seem bolted on rather than being smooth.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Pipedrive?

I'd recommend Pipedrive since it's easy to use and handles simple processes effectively. I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Essentials?

Salesforce Essentials is very expensive, but it delivers exceptional value. It is a good platform to have if you can afford it because it has numerous add-ons and modules. Anything that Salesforce ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Salesforce Essentials?

The mobile access can be improved in several ways. Salesforce Essentials operates in a table format where the entire user interface is based on tables, more specifically pivot tables. This is not v...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Salesforce Essentials?

I have experience with Salesforce Essentials' Tableau and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, but not extensively. I was more focused on their CRM platform, specifically the core CRM and sales basics. My e...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pipedrive

April 2026

Download Pipedrive product report

Buyer's Guide

Salesforce Essentials

April 2026

Download Salesforce Essentials product report

Overview

Pipedrive offers an intuitive interface for tracking deals with customizable features and extensive reporting to enhance sales management.

Pipedrive is a CRM tool designed to streamline sales processes. Known for its Kanban-style interface, it allows for easy tracking of deals and activities. Users find value in its customizable features, extensive reporting, and ability to manage communication. With flexible data structures, filters, and automation, Pipedrive improves sales management and communication integration. Although users seek better pricing and enhanced features for basic versions, the platform effectively supports tasks like deal tracking, email integration, and client relationship management.

What are the key features of Pipedrive?

Kanban-style interface: Facilitates easy deal tracking.
Customizable features: Allows adaptable data structures and processes.
Extensive reporting: Provides insights into sales activities.
Workflow automation: Enhances efficiency by automating repetitive tasks.
Email integration: Streamlines communication within the platform.

What benefits should users look for in Pipedrive?

Improved sales tracking: Enhances visibility into sales activities and pipelines.
Increased efficiency: Saves time through automation of routine tasks.
Customizability: Supports diverse business needs with flexible setup.
Scalability: Adapts to growing business requirements.
Better communication: Facilitates seamless interaction between team members.

In real estate and other industries, Pipedrive assists in managing client relationships by tracking interactions from introduction to closing. It supports sales funnels, lead capturing, and campaign management, enabling companies to effectively streamline workflows and forecast outcomes.

Pipedrive

Salesforce Essentials is a cloud-based CRM tool for businesses seeking flexible, scalable, and customizable solutions to enhance sales and customer support processes.

Designed for seamless integration across multiple channels, Salesforce Essentials includes Sales and Service Cloud to simplify sales tasks and customer management. It enhances finance, credit, and quality processes with user-friendly AI capabilities and predictive analytics. Despite its strengths, there is room for improvement in SAP integration, interface simplicity, and report generation. Cost-effectiveness and support for diverse languages are also potential upgrade areas. Businesses use this CRM solution for lead management, opportunity tracking, and automating sales workflows, transitioning from paper-based methods to digital efficiency.

What are the essential features of Salesforce Essentials?

Scalability and Flexibility: Accommodates growth and customization needs.
Multiple Channel Integration: Enhances finance and quality processes.
User-Friendly: Easy navigation with AI capabilities.
Cloud Deployment: Includes Sales and Service Cloud features.
Predictive Analytics: Improves productivity and tracking.
Mobile App Support: Facilitates on-the-go access and management.

What benefits or ROI can users expect from Salesforce Essentials?

Improved Productivity: Automation features save time and streamline tasks.
Enhanced Customer Management: Centralizes interaction and data handling.
Ease of Transition: From manual to automated workflows.
Performance Monitoring: Standardizes processes for better oversight.

In the retail industry, businesses employ Salesforce Essentials for customer data management and transparency in order processing. Healthcare providers use it for patient engagement and streamlined communication. Financial services utilize it for billing management and compliance, harnessing automation tools for efficient data handling.

Salesforce

Sample Customers

Samsung, Amazon, SkyScanner, TDW, Vimeo, ReMax, Festo

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Pipedrive vs. Salesforce Essentials

April 2026

Free Report: Pipedrive vs. Salesforce Essentials

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