HubSpot CRM vs Pipedrive

Updated October 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

HubSpot CRM

A free CRM that grows into HubSpot's paid sales, marketing and service hubs.

Free plan + paid

Visit HubSpot CRM HubSpot CRM profile

Pipedrive

A visual, pipeline-first sales CRM built around moving deals through stages.

Paid

Visit Pipedrive Pipedrive profile

The short answer

Pick Pipedrive if your team mostly closes deals and you want a simple pipeline board reps will keep up to date. Pick HubSpot if you want a free starting point and plan to run marketing and customer service on the same contact records. The biggest difference is scope: Pipedrive is a focused sales pipeline tool, while HubSpot is a broader platform that grows into marketing and service.

HubSpot CRM or Pipedrive: our take

Pipedrive is built around the deal pipeline: a board of stages where reps drag deals forward while the app prompts them toward the next activity. That focus makes it quick to learn, and many small teams are productive within a day. It covers email sync and tracking, activity scheduling, simple automations, reporting and goals, with paid add-ons for lead generation, project tracking and campaigns. HubSpot CRM is the shared database under HubSpot's sales, marketing and service products, so email campaigns, website visits, support tickets and sales calls sit on one contact timeline.

Pricing starts in different places. HubSpot's free tier has no time limit and covers contacts, companies, deals, tasks, email tracking, meeting links and basic reporting. Paid hubs add sequences, automation and forecasting; Starter editions are cheap, but Professional costs much more and many automation features are locked there. Pipedrive has no free plan, only a 14-day trial with no credit card required, and is priced per seat across several plans, with some useful features sold as add-ons.

Integrations are strong on both. HubSpot lists more than 2,000 marketplace apps; Pipedrive has more than 500 integrations and an API with a developer sandbox. Both run in the browser with iOS and Android apps. Pipedrive is thin on marketing and service tools, and less suited to complex account management, while HubSpot's data modelling is less flexible than heavyweight enterprise CRMs.

For a small or mid-sized team whose job is mainly moving deals to close, Pipedrive tends to be the tool reps actually use. For a company that wants sales, marketing and support connected in one system, or simply wants to start free, HubSpot is the better base, as long as you budget for the jump in price when you need its advanced features.

Choose HubSpot CRM if…

Small and mid-sized teams that want sales and marketing data in one easy CRM
You want a free option (Pipedrive is paid only)
You need Browser extension, which Pipedrive doesn't list
Free tier with no time limit covers the basics well
Sales, marketing and service activity on one contact timeline

Choose Pipedrive if…

Small and mid-sized sales teams focused on closing deals through clear stages
Pipeline board is easy to learn and keep updated
Activity reminders keep reps focused on next steps

What is HubSpot CRM?

HubSpot CRM is the shared contact and deal database underneath HubSpot's sales, marketing and customer service products. The free tier is genuinely usable: contacts, companies, deals, tasks, email tracking, meeting links and basic reporting, with no time limit. Teams then add paid Sales Hub, Marketing Hub or Service Hub editions when they need sequences, automation, forecasting or more seats with advanced permissions. Its main strength is that everything sits on one record, so marketing emails, website visits, support tickets and sales calls show up in the same timeline, and setup is far easier than with enterprise CRMs. The catch is the pricing ladder: Starter editions are cheap, but Professional and Enterprise tiers cost much more and some features only appear there, so the bill can jump when you outgrow the basics. It runs in the browser with iOS and Android apps and a large marketplace of integrations. It suits small and mid-sized companies that want sales and marketing in one system.

What is Pipedrive?

Pipedrive is built around the deal pipeline: a board of stages where reps drag deals forward and the app nudges them toward the next activity. That focus makes it quick to learn, and many small sales teams are productive in it within a day. Beyond the pipeline it covers email sync and tracking, activity scheduling, simple automations, reporting and goals, with add-ons for lead generation forms and chatbots, project tracking, and campaigns. A marketplace of several hundred integrations and a public API cover most other needs. It is less suited to complex account management, marketing or service work; there is no free plan and some features sit behind higher tiers or paid add-ons. Pricing is per seat per month across several plans, with a free trial. It runs in the browser with iOS and Android apps. It is a good match for small and mid-sized teams whose work is mainly closing deals and who want a tool reps will actually keep updated.

Side by side

Attribute	HubSpot CRM	Pipedrive
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android, Browser extension	Web, iOS, Android
Best for	Small and mid-sized teams that want sales and marketing data in one easy CRM	Small and mid-sized sales teams focused on closing deals through clear stages
Status	Active	Active

Verified facts, compared

Facts both apps publish, checked on each vendor's own site.

Fact	HubSpot CRM	Pipedrive
Integrations	2,000+ marketplace apps	500+
Customers	306,000+ in 135+ countries	100,000+ companies
API	Yes	Yes, with developer sandbox