Pipedrive vs Zendesk comparison

Pipedrive and Zendesk are both solutions in the CRM category. Pipedrive is ranked #22 with an average rating of 7.8, while Zendesk is ranked #8 with an average rating of 7.6. Pipedrive holds a 0.9% mindshare in CRM, compared to Zendesk’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 78% of Pipedrive users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Zendesk users who would recommend it.

Pipedrive

Read 13 Pipedrive reviews

1,518 Views
1,063 Comparison Views

78% willing to recommend

Zendesk

Read 68 Zendesk reviews

5,200 Views
1,404 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Pipedrive

Zendesk

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Pipedrive and Zendesk are both prominent tools in the CRM and customer support sectors, respectively. Pipedrive seems to have the upper hand in ease of use and cost-effectiveness, while Zendesk offers superior integration capabilities and customer support features.

Features: Pipedrive is notable for its customizable CRM elements, ease of use, and comprehensive reporting capabilities. The Kanban-style view aids in managing sales processes by allowing users to effectively track deals and activities. Automation tools streamline email and communication management, enhancing productivity. Alternatively, Zendesk provides robust ticket management, extensive integration options, and a reliable self-service portal. It also features powerful reporting tools and SaaS product integrations, catering effectively to customer support management.

Room for Improvement: Pipedrive needs to improve its integration capabilities, documentation, and offer more automation choices. Users would also like to see advancements in reporting and pricing structures. Zendesk could benefit from enhanced customization, better ticket merging, and improved reporting tools. Flexibility in pricing and ease of setup are areas where users see room for development.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Pipedrive is mainly deployed on the public cloud and is recognized for its responsive customer service and technical support. Zendesk offers more varied deployment options, including private and hybrid clouds. Although its customer support is generally rated highly, its responsiveness can vary according to demand.

Pricing and ROI: Pipedrive is viewed as cost-effective, especially for small to medium-sized businesses, and provides substantial ROI despite potential challenges in transition. Conversely, Zendesk is considered more expensive, particularly at the enterprise level, with additional costs for extra features and support. Despite this, its comprehensive customer service capabilities justify the cost for many users, leading to improved efficiency and increased customer satisfaction.

To learn more, read our detailed Pipedrive vs. Zendesk Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Pipedrive vs. Zendesk

January 2026

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Helped 881,082 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

22nd

Ranking in Sales Force Automation

10th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Local Government CRM (9th), Opportunity Management (4th)

Zendesk

Ranking in CRM

8th

Ranking in Sales Force Automation

4th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

CRM Customer Engagement Centers (4th), Help Desk Software (4th), IT Service Management (ITSM) (6th), Reporting (10th), Knowledge Management Software (3rd), Community Platforms (1st), AI Customer Support (7th), AI IT Support (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the CRM category, the mindshare of Pipedrive is 0.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zendesk is 1.2%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

CRM Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Zendesk	1.2%
Pipedrive	0.9%
Other	97.9%

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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AmandaSanchez

Consultant and Startup Founder at AimHi Enterprises

Macros and automation have streamlined workflows and reduced manual effort across support teams

The ability to communicate on the Zendesk ticket through the actual user software, so TOPs, would have been helpful. Somehow seeing a user's ticket history within our app would have been beneficial. That is the only thing that I do not think existed at the time that might have been helpful. Some people struggled with Zendesk, but it was always easy enough to show them how to use it and what they were missing. The only times we really had people report concerns about it was when they did not understand that it could do that or how to use it in that way.

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 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."

"The solution is very stable."

"Pipedrive makes it easy to understand who I'm talking to at a glance. It has all the activities, node features, opportunity interface, deal interface, and time drive deals.The sales process is extremely simple, which saves me time and energy. I can send the document for e-signature and make the most out of my deals. I can automatically send emails and phone calls. You need to do only a little API programming. It offers massive flexibility. You can run an entire enterprise on the platform. The ease of use facilitates huge adoption."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to create timelines and custom fields."

"It's very flexible and we can really fit it into our business model."

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

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

"The initial setup is straightforward."

More Pipedrive pros

"It is very easy to connect back and forth between the requester and the person fulfilling the ticket."

"It's a very stable tool, very powerful."

"I found the user experience with vendors on Zendesk to be straightforward, especially when it comes to understanding and searching for specific tickets. The search and navigation tools are easy to use, and I haven't encountered any issues with delays or communication gaps in ticket resolutions."

"It is a scalable solution."

"Zendesk has had a positive impact on my company by increasing efficiency and also increasing customer satisfaction."

"My advice to others looking into using Zendesk is that if you need an alternative to GitHub Actions or GitHub issues, this is worth looking at."

"The stability has been very good."

"My advice to others looking into using Zendesk is that if you are looking for a tool that is cheaper than others but provides a good solution, I would let them know that Zendesk is the best option."

More Zendesk pros

Cons

"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."

"The form builder works even though it has some shortcomings...Also, the forms don't have the ability to avoid or stop people from signing up if they don't have a corporate email."

"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. They can maybe add some of the features to the basic version or make it more reasonably priced or free."

"The automation process is challenging."

"In future releases, I would like to have a highly intelligent integration service where you can easily connect PipeDrive with other tools, even if you are not a developer."

"The product is expensive."

"Reporting capabilities of the solution could be improved."

"The integration possibilities with other systems could be better as well. We use it in connection with Octopus CRM, and there's room for improvement."

More Pipedrive cons

"Zendesk Guide could be improved by allowing us to put our assets in one location. What happens now for each article, for example, is we have to upload the images for that article to that location, so the image reuse is still not something that they have perfected. If they could allow us to update all the images in one location, and then pull the image from there, it would be easier when working on Multibrand projects. There are no Multibrand updates available—we have to update each brand manually. For my company, I have come up with an API tool which allows me to push the content to multiple brands together, but if you don't have something like that, you have to manually do it."

"The price of the solution should be reduced."

"If I write an article, and I have a team of 30 people, and they all have a Zendesk account, when I write an article, I send them an email. "Hey guys, I just wrote this article. It's one of the most popular topics this month on which we are not covered. Please check it and make sure that you include it in your resolutions". The issue is, once I send it to those 30 people, and they open it, the next morning, that article is the most popular article."

"Report generation is still slightly tricky and not very customizable as per my inquiries."

"I'm going to piggyback on what I said regarding Freshdesk concerning what could be better in Zendesk: incorporate more AI."

"The solution itself wasn't easy to set up."

"I would also mention that the Zendesk app on iOS is not very good."

"The data you get when logged in to Zendesk Support differs from the data you get when you programmatically query Zendesk Support through its API because of a sync time delay."

More Zendesk cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"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."

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

"The product is expensive but provides valuable services."

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

"Pipedrive is the most cost-effective in terms of the balance between cost and features. I would take Pipedrive over HubSpot or Zoho CRM. It's well-positioned on the market."

"Pipedrive is relatively more affordable than other solutions."

"The price of Pipedrive has been reasonable."

More Pipedrive pricing and cost advice

"You have to pay extra for better support. So it's not only the license that you pay for, but you have to pay extra for the support as well."

"We pay for the solution on a yearly basis and my understanding is that the cost is about $30,000. That's the cost for 24 to 25 agents."

"Zendesk's licensing is not cheap. For Enterprise, we are paying $200 per agent. It's a per-month cost, so it's pretty steep. There are some services you need to pay extra for. For example, with Zendesk Guide, we had to buy the most expensive offering in order to get Multibrand and everything. We also had to pay a lot of money for themes."

"From what I hear, Zendesk's pricing is a little expensive."

"The price is very competitive."

"There are different plans that are offered. We are using the entry-level plan. The overall price of the solution should be reduced. The price is too high."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Outsourcing Company

12%

Retailer

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

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	36
Midsize Enterprise	21
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pipedrive?

The most valuable feature is the ability to create timelines and custom fields.

See all answers

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 do you like most about Zendesk Support?

I found the user experience with vendors on Zendesk to be straightforward, especially when it comes to understanding and searching for specific tickets. The search and navigation tools are easy to ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zendesk Support?

From what I recall, the experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Zendesk was quite expensive and that is what prohibited us from expanding usage of it into more users and using more o...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zendesk Support?

I wish there was a more easily dynamic tool. Currently, it is quite difficult because not all the tools are labeled. A feature that would be beneficial is if hovering over an icon would tell you wh...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pipedrive

January 2026

Download Pipedrive product report

Buyer's Guide

Zendesk

January 2026

Download Zendesk product report

Also Known As

No data available

Zendesk Support, Zendesk Guide, Zendesk Sell

Overview

Pipedrive CRM, a SOC 2 Certified Service Provider, is built around activity-based selling. It ensures total visibility through its Pipeline Management tool with a clear visual interface that prompts you to take action, remain organized and stay in control of a complex sales process, Sales Reporting that provides visual report, understands pipeline metrics, tracks and tests sales process and shows sales split by product. Pipedrive CRM boosts productivity, optimizes the Sales Process, It has an import/export feature that safeguards against human error. It is fully customizable, has multiple usage possibilities and can automatically creates contacts in your pipeline.

Pipedrive

Zendesk Support is intuitive, and it's built with support agents in mind. Everything they need lives in a single, dynamic help desk interface so it's easy to be productive and manage customer interactions.

Zendesk

Sample Customers

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

Mailchimp, Tesco, Vimeo, Instacart, Mediaocean, Slack, Uber

Buyer's Guide

Pipedrive vs. Zendesk

January 2026

Free Report: Pipedrive vs. Zendesk

Find out what your peers are saying about Pipedrive vs. Zendesk and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.

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