Pipedrive vs Salesforce Sales Cloud
Same data, side by side: what each costs for a small team, which features sit on which plan, and where each one falls short.
Disclosure: We may earn a commission when you sign up through links marked as affiliate links. That never affects scores or order: rankings are computed from documented facts and cannot read affiliate data. What each vendor pays us →
Visual, pipeline-first sales CRM; two-way email sync and automations start on Growth, and the Nova AI assistant is included on every plan.
- Core plan
- Growth, $39 /user/mo
- 5 users / month
- $195
- Year 1, 5 users
- $2,340
- Free option
- 14-day trial
The enterprise standard, now with a free two-user suite; automation starts on Pro Suite ($100 per user, annual contract) and the full platform on Core ($195).
- Core plan
- Pro Suite, $100 /user/mo
- 5 users / month
- $500
- Year 1, 5 users
- $6,000
- Free option
- free plan
Bottom line
On documented facts, Pipedrive scores 7.9 and Salesforce Sales Cloud 7.3 out of 10. For 5 users on each core plan with annual billing, Pipedrive costs $2,340 in the first year and Salesforce Sales Cloud $6,000, a difference of $3,660. The biggest gap is in price for a small team.
Where they differ
- Email marketing: Salesforce Sales Cloud ✓ from Pro Suite; Pipedrive paid add-on.
- AI assistant / AI features: Pipedrive ✓ all plans; Salesforce Sales Cloud higher plans only.
- Custom objects: Salesforce Sales Cloud ✓ from Pro Suite; Pipedrive ✗ no.
- API access: Pipedrive ✓ all plans; Salesforce Sales Cloud paid add-on.
Choose Pipedrive if
- Small sales teams that want a visual pipeline with automations, sequences and forecasting at $39/seat/mo annual (Growth)
- Teams that value free onboarding and a 14-day no-card trial before committing
- Teams that want call recording and AI meeting briefs without paying for an extra tool (Nova on all plans)
Choose Salesforce Sales Cloud if
- Very small teams that want a vendor-backed free start (Free Suite, 2 users) and a $25/user monthly-billed step up (Starter Suite)
- Teams that need custom objects, flows, quotes and a sandbox at $100/user (Pro Suite) and expect to scale into AppExchange and Agentforce
- Mid-size/enterprise sales orgs that want AI, Slack, analytics and Premier support bundled in the per-user price (Core $195 and up)
Full comparison
 Pipedrive |  Salesforce Sales Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Fact score | 7.9 / 10 | 7.3 / 10 |
| Type | General CRM | General CRM |
| Company | Pipedrive · New York, NY, USA (founded in Tallinn, Estonia) | Salesforce, Inc. · San Francisco, CA, USA |
| Price | ||
| Free plan | no | Free Suite: $0, 2 user licenses, no contract or credit card, no expiry as long as a user logs in at least once every 60 days; up to 100 marketing emails/month. Per the edition matrix on the Sales pricing page (source 1) the Free column has no Activity Capture, mobile app, Flow Builder, custom apps or API |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 30 days, no card |
| Paid plans from | $14 per user / month | $25 per user / month |
| Core plan | Growth: $39 (annual) · $49 monthly | Pro Suite: $100 (annual) |
| 5 users, year 1 | $2,340 | $6,000 |
| Seat minimum | none | none |
| Mandatory fees | none documented | none documented |
| Monthly billing | yes | no, annual only |
| Features | ||
| Sales pipeline / deals | ✓ all plans | ✓ all plans |
| Email sync & tracking | ✓ from Growth | ✓ all plans |
| Workflow automation | ✓ from Growth | ✓ from Pro Suite |
| Email marketing | paid add-on | ✓ from Pro Suite |
| Built-in calling | ✗ no | not documented |
| AI assistant / AI features | ✓ all plans | higher plans only |
| Reports & dashboards | ✓ all plans | ✓ all plans |
| Custom objects | ✗ no | ✓ from Pro Suite |
| API access | ✓ all plans | paid add-on |
| Mobile app | ✓ all plans | ✓ from Pro Suite |
| Compliance & data | ||
| HIPAA BAA | no | yes (No edition floor stated on Salesforce's BAA restrictions page; Sales Cloud and Service Cloud (incl. Field Service) and Lightning Platform are listed HIPAA Covered Services. BAA is contracted through the Salesforce account representative.) |
| Open source | no | no |
| Facts checked | 2026-10-03 | 2026-10-03 |
Sources for every value are on each review: Pipedrive · Salesforce Sales Cloud. Add a third CRM in the comparison tool.
FAQ
Is Pipedrive or Salesforce Sales Cloud better?
On our fact score, Pipedrive ranks higher (7.9 vs 7.3). That does not make it better for everyone: check the capability differences and the "choose it if" lists above.
Is Pipedrive cheaper than Salesforce Sales Cloud?
For 5 users on each core plan with annual billing, Pipedrive costs $2,340 in the first year and Salesforce Sales Cloud $6,000, a difference of $3,660.
Do Pipedrive and Salesforce Sales Cloud have free plans?
Pipedrive: no free plan. Salesforce Sales Cloud: yes (Free Suite: $0, 2 user licenses, no contract or credit card, no expiry as long as a user logs in at least once every 60 days; up to 100 marketing emails/month. Per the edition matrix on the Sales pricing page (source 1) the Free column has no Activity Capture, mobile app, Flow Builder, custom apps or API).