If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably stared at your screen for hours, bouncing between tabs, trying to figure out which CRM to go with. Should you go for Pipedrive or Salesmate? It’s not an easy choice—both are powerful tools that promise to boost your sales and streamline your customer journey. So, I rolled up my sleeves, got hands-on with both platforms, and put them to the test.
This pipedrive: Salesmate review will walk you through every critical aspect—usability, automation, pricing, reporting, AI capabilities, and more. I’ll also sprinkle in some real insights from testing, so you know exactly what to expect.
Let’s dive in and uncover which CRM suits your business best.
Why CRM Software Is the Heartbeat of Your Sales Team
You wouldn’t build a house without a solid foundation, right? The same goes for running a business. A reliable CRM system is the foundation that keeps your customer relationships from crumbling.
Think about it:
- It helps turn strangers into leads.
- It moves those leads down your sales funnel.
- And it reminds you to follow up, so you don’t lose that hot prospect.
Both Pipedrive and Salesmate check these boxes, but they do it in different ways.
And here’s the kicker: the CRM you choose will not only shape your sales process but also the culture of your sales team. So, let’s break it down.
User Experience: Pipedrive Feels Like Your Favorite App
Let’s face it—user-friendliness matters. If your team dreads logging into your CRM, you’ve already lost the productivity game.
Right off the bat, Pipedrive felt like home. Its interface is clean, intuitive, and dare I say… fun to use. You get vibrant visuals, easy navigation, and tooltips that actually help.
On the other hand, Salesmate is decent—but not quite there. While it tries to keep things simple, there were a few annoying bumps. Like that time I tried naming a shared inbox and got an error with zero clues. (Turns out, apostrophes are forbidden. Who knew?)
Here’s what I noticed during my testing:
| Feature | Pipedrive | Salesmate |
|---|---|---|
| Interface Design | Sleek and modern | Functional but plain |
| Onboarding Help | Great demo videos + quick help tabs | Helpful, but less polished |
| Sample Data | Rich and detailed | Minimal, just enough to get started |
So, if you’re looking for something that feels ready-to-go and friendly for your team, Pipedrive is the smoother ride.
Visual Pipeline Management: It’s a Tie with a Twist
Both tools shine when it comes to visual pipeline management. You can drag and drop deals like you’re playing Tetris—and yes, it’s as satisfying as it sounds.
Pipedrive adds a bit of magic with its Forecast View. Imagine seeing exactly how your open and closed deals impact monthly revenue—all color-coded and easy to digest. It’s like having a GPS for your sales.
Meanwhile, Salesmate offers similar pipeline and board views. You even get to set “win probability” percentages and flag idle deals. But—and this is important—it doesn’t have a Forecast view unless you build a custom report.
Bottom line: Both get the job done, but Pipedrive makes it look and feel better.
Reporting and Dashboards: Looks vs. Limits
Let’s talk reports—the stuff your manager checks while sipping their third coffee.
Here’s where things get interesting. Pipedrive’s dashboards are stunning. You get pie charts, graphs, scorecards—all customizable. You can drag reports onto your dashboard and choose exactly how they look.
But here’s the catch: unless you’re on the expensive Enterprise plan, you’ll hit limits fast. Just 15 reports on the Essential plan? That’s not enough for most growing teams.
Enter Salesmate.
It lets you generate unlimited reports starting from the Basic plan. That’s a massive win for small teams that need insights but don’t want to upgrade every five minutes.
Sure, the visuals aren’t as polished, and dashboards are limited to 10 widgets, but it’s still packed with value.
Takeaway: If you love data and design, go with Pipedrive. If you just want raw reporting power without breaking the bank, Salesmate wins.
Automation: Who Does It Better?
Picture this: You close your laptop at 6 PM, and your CRM keeps working. That’s the beauty of automation.
Pipedrive offers solid automation, but only from the Advanced plan onwards. You can build workflows, automate follow-ups, and even share automation templates with your team.
Salesmate flips the script. It gives you basic automations right from the Basic plan. Yes, you’ll miss out on advanced features like bulk emails or email scheduling unless you upgrade, but it still covers most needs.
Want something fancier? Salesmate’s Automation Journeys (a paid add-on) are like a colorful playground for marketers. It’s a visual builder with smart triggers and conditions. Even better? You can add cute little annotations like emojis and icons. Sounds silly, but it makes the workflow feel alive.
| Automation Feature | Pipedrive (Advanced Plan) | Salesmate (Basic + Add-on) |
|---|---|---|
| Visual Workflow Builder | Yes | Yes (with Automation Journeys add-on) |
| Team Sharing | Available | Limited |
| Entry-Level Automation | Not included | Included from Basic Plan |
So, it really depends. If you want power and polish, Pipedrive’s automations are smoother. But if you’re on a budget and still want control, Salesmate gives more flexibility at lower cost.
Pricing Showdown: Affordability vs. Add-ons
Ah, pricing—the ultimate decision-maker for many small teams.
Let’s get this straight:
- Pipedrive’s base plan is cheaper at just $14/user/month.
- But it’s also severely limited—no automations, capped reports, and only 3,000 open deals.
Meanwhile, Salesmate’s Basic plan costs $23/user/month, but you get:
- Unlimited open deals
- Basic automation
- Team inbox
- Unlimited reports
If you move up the ladder, the gap widens. Pipedrive’s Enterprise plan hits $99/month, while Salesmate’s Business plan stops at $63/month. And you still get more included features.
So, if you’re watching your budget and want more value out of the box, Salesmate is the clear winner. But if you’re okay paying for a more refined experience, Pipedrive might be worth the splurge.
Let me pause here. That’s the first half of your article, covering:
- Introduction
- Importance of CRM
- User experience
- Pipeline management
- Reporting
- Automation
- Pricing
Would you like me to continue with the second half? That will include:
- AI tools
- Integration options
- Real-world use cases
- Pros and cons table
- Final verdict
- FAQs section
Your sales team doesn’t just need a CRM. They need a sidekick. Something smart, intuitive, and reliable — like a friendly co-pilot whispering “next best move” every time a lead shows interest.
That’s where two heavyweights enter the ring: Pipedrive and Salesmate. They’re both designed to make your sales pipeline flow like water, but which one actually helps your team close deals faster without making your budget cry?
I’ve spent hours exploring both tools to help you decide. This Pipedrive: Salesmate review breaks it all down — interface, features, automation, AI, pricing, and more. Whether you’re a startup founder or sales manager, by the end of this article, you’ll know which CRM fits your journey like a glove.
Let’s dive in.
Why Choosing the Right CRM Feels Like Dating
Think of your CRM like a long-term relationship. You’re investing time, money, and energy into a platform that ideally grows with you. You want it to understand your process, adapt to your quirks, and ultimately make life easier.
Both Pipedrive and Salesmate check off the basics:
Visual sales pipelines
Contact and deal management
Workflow automation
Team collaboration
CRM reporting
But how they deliver these features — and what you get for your money — is where things get interesting.
First Impressions: Interface & User Experience
If CRMs were apps on your phone, Pipedrive would feel like the clean, minimalist productivity tool you show off. Salesmate, on the other hand, would feel like a Swiss army knife — packed with features, but maybe a little less polished at first glance.
Pipedrive’s Interface: Clean, Clear, Confident
Using Pipedrive feels like cruising down a well-lit highway. It’s snappy, intuitive, and well-organized. The drag-and-drop pipeline is incredibly satisfying to use, and features like the Forecast View give you real insight into projected revenue.
The platform offers a lot of pre-loaded data, demo videos, and even a Quick Help tab that acts like a friendly assistant on standby. Everything is color-coded and visual — if you’re a visual learner or someone who appreciates “at-a-glance” info, you’ll love it.
And the reports? Chef’s kiss. Aesthetic dashboards with customizable charts, pie graphs, and scorecards. You can even drag and drop reports right into your dashboard. It’s the kind of UI that makes data feel less like homework and more like a progress bar in a game.
Salesmate’s Interface: Functional, Feature-Rich, Slightly Clunky
Salesmate isn’t ugly — let’s be clear. But the first time you open it, you might feel like you’ve walked into a warehouse of features. You get everything you need, but it takes a bit more clicking around to get there.
I ran into a few hiccups — like error messages that weren’t very helpful (turns out, apostrophes aren’t allowed when naming your inbox). But nothing deal-breaking. Once you get your bearings, the tool does shine with functionality. The team inbox, text messaging, and contact journey automation options are impressive — especially considering the price.
Winner for Interface: Pipedrive, hands down. It’s smoother, more polished, and saves you mental bandwidth.
Pipeline Management: Visualize the Journey
Let’s talk pipelines. This is the heart of any CRM. If you can’t visualize your leads’ journey, you’re basically navigating in the dark.
| Feature | Pipedrive | Salesmate |
|---|---|---|
| Pipeline View | Drag-and-drop, colorful, Forecast included | Drag-and-drop, customizable but less visual |
| Idle Deal Alerts | ❌ | ✅ |
| Win Probability % | ❌ | ✅ |
| Forecasting | ✅ | ❌ |
| Board View | ✅ | ✅ |
Pipedrive’s Pipeline: Smooth & Strategic
Using Pipedrive’s pipeline is like organizing your closet with labeled bins — everything is visible, sortable, and movable. You can see your deals by stage, click into each one for full history, and move them forward with a simple drag.
The Forecast View is brilliant. It shows exactly how your current deals contribute to expected revenue, all in a clear, color-coded format. If you’re tracking team performance, that’s gold.
Salesmate’s Pipeline: Strategic with a Side of Smart
Salesmate offers a solid pipeline builder as well. You can build multiple boards, flag idle deals, and assign win probabilities (a great feature for prioritizing follow-ups). However, there’s no built-in Forecast view — you’d need to create a separate report.
Also, the UI isn’t quite as fluid. It’s effective but doesn’t give that same feeling of visual clarity as Pipedrive.
Winner for Pipeline: Pipedrive – its clean visual design and forecasting make sales planning effortless.
Automation: Can You Set It and Forget It?
Automation is like cloning your best salesperson and putting them on autopilot. If your CRM doesn’t let you automate routine tasks, you’re wasting time.
| CRM | Automation Available From | Visual Workflow Builder | Shared Automations | Email Sequences |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipedrive | Advanced Plan ($29/user) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Salesmate | Basic Plan ($23/user) | ✅ (paid add-on) | ❌ | ✅ |
Pipedrive’s Automation: Streamlined & Powerful
Once you upgrade to the Advanced plan, Pipedrive gives you access to a clean workflow builder. It lets you automate tasks like moving deals, sending emails, creating activities, and even sharing sequences with team members.
Everything is super easy to use — no tech skills required.
Salesmate’s Automation: More Affordable, Slightly Less Refined
Salesmate gives you some automation even on the Basic plan. That’s a big win for budget-conscious teams. The Automation Journeys builder is a paid add-on, but it’s colorful, flexible, and even a little fun to use.
It doesn’t offer shared automation sequences like Pipedrive does, but it gets the job done. You can create smart campaigns, trigger reminders, and follow-ups.
Winner for Automation: Tie — Pipedrive has better UX, but Salesmate gives you more for less.
Reporting: Do You Know What’s Actually Working?
What good is a CRM if you can’t measure success? Good reporting = smarter decisions.
Pipedrive’s Reports: Polished but Limited
The dashboard here is stunning — no other word for it. The data visualizations are sleek, easy to customize, and genuinely fun to play with. But the catch? Unless you’re on the Enterprise plan ($99/user), you’re capped on how many reports you can create.
So, while the experience is top-tier, it’s a bit gated.
Salesmate’s Reports: More for Less
Salesmate may not have the eye-candy dashboards Pipedrive has, but it lets you create unlimited reports, even on the Basic plan. The dashboard is limited to 10 widgets, which feels cramped, but you can go wild with the reports themselves.
Also, reports and dashboards live in different places, which isn’t the best UX choice, but again — you get more power for your money.
Winner for Reporting: Salesmate — if you value volume and affordability over visual appeal.
Pricing: Bang for the Buck
Here’s where your CFO leans in.
| Plan | Pipedrive (per user/month) | Salesmate (per user/month) |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-Level | $14 (Essential) | $23 (Basic) |
| Mid-Tier | $29 (Advanced) | $39 (Pro) |
| Premium | $49-$99 | $63+ |