Introduction
Monday CRM and Pipedrive are two visually-driven CRMs that appeal to startups wanting an intuitive, modern sales tool. But they come from very different backgrounds. Pipedrive was purpose-built as a sales pipeline tool from day one. Monday CRM evolved from the popular Monday.com work management platform, bringing project management DNA into the CRM space.
This difference in origins shapes everything about how these platforms work. Pipedrive thinks in deals and sales stages. Monday CRM thinks in boards, columns, and workflows. For startups deciding between the two, the right choice depends on whether you need a dedicated sales tool or a flexible platform that blends sales with project management.
Pricing
Both CRMs offer straightforward per-user pricing, but with some important structural differences.
Pipedrive offers four plans: Lite at $14 per seat per month (annual billing), Growth at $39 per seat per month, Premium at $49 per seat per month, and Ultimate at $79 per seat per month. Pipedrive bills per seat with no minimum, so a solo founder pays for just one seat. Annual billing saves up to 42% compared to monthly. There is no free plan, but a 14-day trial is available.
Monday CRM offers four plans: Basic at $12 per seat per month (annual billing), Standard at $17 per seat per month, Pro at $28 per seat per month, and Enterprise with custom pricing. Monday requires a minimum of three seats, which means the real starting cost is $36 per month even for a solo founder. Annual billing saves 18% compared to monthly. In 2025, Monday CRM became a standalone product, no longer requiring a Monday Work Management subscription.
For a five-person team on mid-tier plans, Pipedrive Growth would cost $195 per month versus Monday CRM Pro at $140 per month. Monday is more affordable at the mid and upper tiers, though the three-seat minimum can make it less economical for very small teams.
Visual Interface
Both platforms are highly visual, but their interfaces reflect their different philosophies.
Pipedrive's interface is centered on the Kanban pipeline board. Deals appear as cards that you drag between columns representing sales stages. Everything is designed to give you a clear view of your sales funnel at a glance. The interface is focused and uncluttered, with secondary features tucked away in intuitive menus. Most users find Pipedrive's interface self-explanatory within minutes.
Monday CRM offers multiple view options that go beyond the traditional pipeline. You get Kanban boards, table views, timeline (Gantt) charts, calendar views, and chart dashboards. This flexibility is powerful for teams that want to visualize their sales data in different ways. You can create custom boards with columns for any data type, build dashboards that aggregate data across boards, and switch between views depending on what you need to analyze.
Pipedrive's visual interface is superior for pure sales pipeline management. Monday CRM's visual interface is more versatile, offering multiple ways to view and organize your data.
Sales vs Project Focus
This is the fundamental difference between the two platforms.
Pipedrive is a pure sales CRM. Every feature is designed around the sales workflow: deal tracking, activity scheduling, contact management, email integration, sales forecasting, and revenue reporting. Pipedrive's activity-based selling methodology prompts reps to always have a next action scheduled, keeping the pipeline moving. The platform thinks in terms of deals, contacts, organizations, and activities.
Monday CRM blends sales and project management in ways that can be genuinely useful for startups. Because it evolved from a work management platform, Monday CRM naturally supports post-sale workflows. You can track a deal through the pipeline, then seamlessly transition it into a project board for onboarding or delivery. This continuity from sale to fulfillment is something Pipedrive does not offer natively.
However, Monday CRM's sales features are less mature than Pipedrive's. The Basic plan does not include any automation or integrations, which are table stakes for most CRMs. Sales forecasting, email tracking, and email sequences are only available on the Pro plan ($28/seat/month). Pipedrive includes more sales-specific functionality at every tier.
If your startup needs a dedicated sales machine, Pipedrive is the better fit. If you need a platform that bridges sales and project delivery, Monday CRM's hybrid approach offers unique value. Explore our simple CRM category for more options like Monday CRM.
Automation
Both platforms offer automation, but with different strengths.
Pipedrive's automation is available starting on the Growth plan ($39/seat/month). You can build workflow automations triggered by deal stage changes, activity completions, or contact updates. The visual automation builder lets you chain conditions and actions like sending emails, creating tasks, or updating fields. Pipedrive also offers AI-powered sales assistant suggestions based on your activity patterns.
Monday CRM's automation is available starting on the Standard plan ($17/seat/month), which is a lower entry point than Pipedrive. Monday's automation builder uses a recipe-based approach where you combine triggers, conditions, and actions from a library of pre-built templates. The platform supports cross-board automations, which are useful for connecting sales boards with project boards. However, the Standard plan limits you to 250 automations per month, while the Pro plan offers 25,000.
Monday CRM offers automation at a lower price point and with broader cross-board capabilities. Pipedrive's automation is more focused on sales-specific scenarios and generally more polished for CRM workflows.
Integration
Both platforms connect with the tools startups commonly use.
Pipedrive's marketplace includes over 400 integrations covering email, calling, marketing, accounting, and project management. Key integrations include Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Trello, Asana, QuickBooks, and Xero. Zapier and Make extend connectivity to thousands of additional apps. Pipedrive also offers an open API for custom integrations.
Monday CRM benefits from the broader Monday.com integration ecosystem, which includes over 200 native integrations. Key connections include Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Salesforce, HubSpot, and various project management tools. Monday also supports Zapier and offers a robust API. The platform's integration strength is its ability to connect CRM boards with other Monday.com workspaces and products.
Pipedrive has more native CRM-specific integrations. Monday CRM has stronger integrations within its own ecosystem, making it ideal for teams already using Monday.com for work management.
Final Verdict
Monday CRM and Pipedrive are both visually appealing, modern CRMs, but they serve different startup needs.
Choose Pipedrive if your primary goal is closing deals efficiently. Pipedrive's focused design, mature sales features, and activity-based methodology make it the better pure sales CRM. It is ideal for startups with dedicated sales teams that need a tool optimized for pipeline management and deal progression.
Choose Monday CRM if your startup needs a flexible platform that combines sales with project management. Monday CRM's multiple views, cross-board automations, and post-sale workflow capabilities make it ideal for startups where the sales team also manages client onboarding or project delivery. The lower price point at mid-tier plans is also attractive for budget-conscious teams.
For startups that strictly need a sales CRM, Pipedrive delivers more depth. For startups that want a versatile platform bridging sales and operations, Monday CRM's hybrid approach is worth serious consideration.