Sales CRM · Comparison
Pipedrive vs Salesforce Sales Cloud vs Zoho CRM
3 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Pipedrive | Salesforce Sales Cloud | Zoho CRM |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Easy to adoptA visual sales pipeline with unlimited pipelines, SAML SSO and the API on every plan, and email sync, automations and sequences from $39 a seat. | Saves engineering timeA sales CRM you can shape to your process, with custom objects, quotes and forecasting from Pro Suite, and editions to grow into. | Worth the priceA full sales CRM at $14 a user: pipelines, workflows, cadences, forecasting and custom modules on Standard, with SOC 2, ISO 27001 and a HIPAA path. |
| Overall score | 6.7 | 5.7 | 9.1Best |
| Free option | 14-day free trial | Free plan | Free plan |
| Card to start | No card needed | No card needed | No card needed |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $14/seat/mo | $25/user/mo | $14/user/mo |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat | Per seat |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Billing unit | Per seat per month; add-ons per company | Per user per month; Agentforce usage in Flex Credits | Per user per month |
| Free option | No free plan; 14-day trial, no card | Free Suite for 2 users; 30-day trial of paid editions, no card | Free edition for 3 users; 15-day trial, no card |
| Reference scenario (5 users, annual) | $195/mo on Growth ($39 × 5), computed | $500/mo on Pro Suite ($100 × 5), computed | $70/mo on Standard ($14 × 5), computed |
| Month-to-month price | $49 per seat on Growth ($24 / $49 / $79 / $99) | Starter Suite only ($25); Pro Suite and up are billed annually | $20 per user on Standard ($20 / $35 / $50 / $65) |
| Sequences | From Growth: 5 sequences per company (25 on Premium) | Sales Engagement add-on, $50 per user/mo billed annually, through sales | Cadences from Standard: 20 per module |
| Forecasting and custom objects | Forecast view from Growth; no custom objects listed | From Pro Suite ($100); 50 custom objects | Forecasting and 10 custom modules on Standard |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 (Trust Center) | SOC 2 reports and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 for Sales Cloud; Starter and ProSuite excluded from both | SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO/IEC 27001 (Zoho compliance page) |
| HIPAA BAA | Not offered; terms say the services are not designed for HIPAA | Signed with Salesforce through your account representative | HIPAA settings from Standard; BAA template from Zoho legal |
| EU data hosting | EU sign-ups hosted in the EU (Frankfurt, Dublin) | Hyperforce regions in the EU; EU Operating Zone is a paid offering | EU data center when signing up from an EU country |
| SSO | SAML on every plan | SAML federated authentication in all editions (Help) | SAML through Zoho Directory, reached from CRM setup |
| API | Every plan; 60,000 API tokens per seat a day on Growth | $25 per user/mo add-on on Pro Suite; included from Core | Every edition; up to 100,000 credits a day on Standard |
| Data export | Export all data for each item type, XLSX or CSV | Full CSV export: every 29 days on Pro Suite, weekly from Core | Module exports; 2 free full data backups a month on Standard |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Pipedrive is a straightforward pipeline CRM with SSO and the API on every plan and sales automation on Growth at $39 a seat. It has no custom objects or HIPAA path, and two pages disagree on which plan has the audit log. | From its public pages, Sales Cloud gives a small team custom objects, quotes and forecasting from Pro Suite and a long ladder of editions. The API, sequences and the dialer cost extra below Core, Pro Suite is annual only, and the Suites sit outside its SOC and ISO scope. | From its public pages, Zoho CRM puts the most on its entry plan: pipelines, workflows, cadences, forecasting, custom modules, audit logs and HIPAA settings for $14 a user, with SOC 2 and ISO 27001. Quotes start on Professional, and one older comparison page needs updating. |
Evidence: Pipedrive: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Salesforce Sales Cloud: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Zoho CRM: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our Pipedrive review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Pipedrive when
- You want SAML SSO set up in the CRM itself and a pipeline-first app with limits listed per plan.
- Pick Zoho CRM when
- You need custom modules, a HIPAA path or a lower 5-user cost ($70 a month on Standard, annual).
From our Salesforce Sales Cloud review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Salesforce Sales Cloud when
- You need custom objects and quotes without an add-on, and a full CSV export of the org.
- Pick Pipedrive when
- You want monthly billing, and sequences, forecasting and automations at $39 per seat ($195 a month for 5, annual).
From our Salesforce Sales Cloud review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Salesforce Sales Cloud when
- You expect to grow into larger editions with Agentforce credits, Premier Success and the API included.
- Pick Zoho CRM when
- You want cadences, forecasting and custom modules for $70 a month for 5 users on Standard (annual, computed).
From our Zoho CRM review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Zoho CRM when
- You need custom modules, a HIPAA path or a lower 5-user cost ($70 a month on Standard, annual).
- Pick Pipedrive when
- You want unlimited pipelines and SAML SSO set up in the CRM itself on every plan.
From our Zoho CRM review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Zoho CRM when
- You want forecasting, custom modules and month-to-month billing at a fraction of the Pro Suite price.
- Pick Salesforce Sales Cloud when
- You want quotes on the same plan as custom objects and expect to grow into larger Salesforce editions.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- PipedriveLite$14/seat/moBilled annually; $24 month to month
- Unlimited customizable pipelines
- Products catalog and data import and export
- SAML SSO and API access
- No automations or two-way email sync
- Salesforce Sales CloudStarter Suite$25/user/moBilled monthly or annually; 30-day trial for up to 10 users
- Automatic email and calendar sync (Activity Capture)
- Campaign management and marketing analytics
- No custom objects
- No Flow Builder on the pricing page
- Zoho CRMStandard$14/user/moBilled annually; $20 month to month
- Up to 5 pipelines, email integration and workflows
- Cadences and sales forecasting
- 10 custom modules and built-in calling
- Audit logs, HIPAA settings, 2 data backups a month
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Pipedrive 2026-10-16, Salesforce Sales Cloud 2026-10-16, Zoho CRM 2026-10-16.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- Zoho CRMSelf-serve sign-up, no card needed; the highest score of the 3 self-serve products here (9.1/10).
- If you want to try it without entering a card
- Zoho CRMFree plan, no card needed, and the highest score of the 2 that skip the card (9.1/10).
- Highest overall score
- Zoho CRM9.1/10 (Excellent). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score
Full reviews
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