What does sales pipeline software do?
Sales pipeline software shows every open deal as a card on a board, one column per stage, so you can see what each deal is worth, where it is stuck and what happens next. Our glossary has example pipeline stages and a worked example if you are setting stages up for the first time.
Five features separate a pipeline tool from a contact list. Check each one on the pricing page, because cheaper plans often drop one:
- More than one pipeline. You need a second board once renewals or partner deals follow different steps from new business. Free plans allow one: HubSpot's free tools list "1 HubSpot-provided pipeline per object type".
- Stale-deal alerts. Pipedrive calls this deal rotting. Its pricing page lists it on every plan and says you get notified when a deal stays idle for longer than the rotting period you define.
- A forecast view. A projection of revenue from open deals. This is the feature most often held back for a higher tier (see the table below).
- Stage rules. Checkpoints a deal must pass before it moves. Bigin by Zoho lists stage transition rules on its Premier plan.
- Import and export. Close lists importing from another CRM or a spreadsheet. Test the export yourself during a trial, so you know you can leave.
Which sales pipeline tools should you compare? Prices checked 5 Nov 2026
Here are seven pipeline-first tools, plus one that finds leads too, taken from each vendor's own pricing page on 5 November 2026, in US dollars per user (or seat) per month. Where both are shown, the annual-billing price comes first.
| Tool | Free plan | Cheapest paid plan | Pipelines on that plan | Forecast first listed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipedrive | None; 14-day trial, no card | Lite, $14 per seat billed annually (one payment of $168 a seat a year) or $19 billed monthly | Unlimited, customizable pipelines | Growth, $24 billed annually ($34 monthly) |
| HubSpot Sales Hub | Free tools: up to 2 users, 1 pipeline per object type | Starter, $20 a seat a month list price; the pricing page showed $7 with annual billing, for new customers only | 15 total pipelines | Professional (limited functionality), $100 a seat list ($90 shown with annual billing) plus $1,500 onboarding |
| Bigin by Zoho | Single user, single pipeline, 500 records | Express, $7 billed yearly or $9 monthly | 3 | Not listed by name |
| Capsule | Up to 2 users, 250 contacts, 1 sales pipeline | Starter, $18 billed annually or $22 monthly | Multiple pipelines first listed on Growth, $36 ($40 monthly) | Growth (Advanced Sales Reporting) |
| Close | None; 14-day trial, no card | Solo, $9 billed annually or $19 monthly, one user | Multiple pipelines listed on every plan, Solo included | Plan not stated on the pricing page |
| Freshsales | None listed; 21-day trial | Growth, $9 billed annually or $11 monthly | Not stated; Growth lists Kanban view | Enterprise, $59 billed annually or $71 monthly (forecasting insights) |
| monday CRM | None; 14-day trial | Basic, $12 a seat billed yearly or $18 monthly (seats sold in team sizes from 3) | Not stated; Basic lists 1,000 active contacts and deals | Not listed on the pricing page |
| Siela | $10 of credit once, after onboarding | No plans or seats; credit top-ups from $50 | Visual pipeline in the built-in CRM | Not listed |
Two things the table hides. Billing differs: Pipedrive takes the year in one payment, and HubSpot's pricing page, with annual billing selected, showed Starter at $7 a seat for new customers only (list $20) and Professional at $90 (list $100). The example below uses HubSpot's list prices. And every free plan here stops at one pipeline, so the second pipeline is usually the first thing you pay for. Plans change, so recheck the page on the day you buy.
What does pipeline software cost a 3-person team? A worked example
Example: Northwind Ltd (a sample company) has three sellers and wants two pipelines, one for new business and one for renewals. These are year-one costs on the cheapest tier that meets each need, at annual-billing prices:
| Need | Tool and tier | Arithmetic | Year one |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two pipelines | Bigin Express (3 pipelines) | 3 x $7 x 12 | $252 |
| Two pipelines | Pipedrive Lite | 3 x $168 | $504 |
| Two pipelines | HubSpot Sales Hub Starter | 3 x $20 x 12 | $720 |
| Two pipelines | Close Essentials (Solo is one user only) | 3 x $35 x 12 | $1,260 |
| Two pipelines | Capsule Growth | 3 x $36 x 12 | $1,296 |
| Two pipelines and a forecast | Pipedrive Growth | 3 x $288 | $864 |
| Two pipelines and a forecast | Capsule Growth | Same plan as above | $1,296 |
| Two pipelines and a forecast | HubSpot Sales Hub Professional | 3 x $100 x 12 + $1,500 onboarding | $5,100 |
The spread, $252 to $5,100, is far wider than the entry prices suggest. Adding a forecast moves Pipedrive from $504 to $864, $360 more for three people, and moves HubSpot up a whole tier. Paying Bigin monthly instead of yearly costs 3 x $9 x 12 = $324, which is $72 more.
Before paying for forecasting, check you have enough deals for it to mean anything. Our guide to forecasting with only 20 deals sorts open deals into three buckets (committed, likely and possible) instead of applying stage percentages.
Which CRM is best for pipeline management?
The best one matches your team size and the next feature you will need, at a price you will keep paying. Use the deciding fact in each row (all checked 5 November 2026):
| If you... | Look first at | The deciding fact |
|---|---|---|
| Work alone and want to pay nothing | Bigin Free or HubSpot's free tools | Bigin Free: one user, one pipeline, 500 records. HubSpot: one pipeline per object type |
| Are two people and want to pay nothing | Capsule Free or HubSpot's free tools | Capsule: up to 2 users, 250 contacts, 1 sales pipeline. HubSpot: up to 2 users |
| Need several pipelines on a small budget | Bigin Express | 3 pipelines at $7 a user a month, billed yearly |
| Want a board-first tool with stale-deal alerts | Pipedrive Lite | Unlimited pipelines and deal rotting on every plan, $14 billed annually |
| Sell mostly by phone | Close | Calls, email and SMS in one inbox; Solo is one user at $9 billed annually |
| Already run marketing in HubSpot | HubSpot Sales Hub Starter | 15 pipelines from $20 per Core Seat; the catalog's forecasting row starts at Professional |
| Are short of new leads more than board space | Siela | Lead Finder saves each lead to the built-in CRM with the reason it was picked; HubSpot or Salesforce can be connected |
If you are one person still deciding whether you need any of this, read our guide to when a spreadsheet stops working first. Bigin Free (one user) and HubSpot's free tools (up to two users) cost nothing while one pipeline is enough.
What is the best way to manage your sales pipeline?
Tie each stage to something the buyer did, give every deal a dated next step, and look at the board once a week. Make these five settings on day one, in any tool:
Write an exit rule for each stage
One line per stage, in the stage description. Example: "Proposal sent: pricing and scope are in the buyer's inbox and they have agreed a date to discuss it."
Set a stale-deal period per stage
Use your own numbers. Our example: 7 days in Qualified, 14 in Proposal. In Pipedrive this is the rotting period; elsewhere, a task or reminder rule.
Make the next-step date required
A deal with no next step is a deal nobody owns. If the tool can't force the field, filter for blanks every Monday.
Add a lost reason
A short pick-list: price, timing, no decision, chose a competitor, went silent. After 20 lost deals you will see which stage leaks.
Book a 30-minute weekly review
Same day, same time. Our list of nine questions for a weekly pipeline review keeps it to deals that need a decision.
Whichever tool you pick, the board is only as useful as its data. Our 12 CRM data hygiene rules cover duplicates, owners and the fields worth keeping.
Sales pipeline vs sales funnel, and what is pipeline coverage?
A pipeline lists deals and the next action on each one. A funnel counts how many people move from one step to the next and where they drop out. Our sales funnel vs sales pipeline comparison covers when to use which view.
Pipeline coverage is the value of open deals divided by your target for the same period. The ratio you need is roughly one divided by the share of pipeline value you usually win. Worked example: Northwind's quarterly target is $60,000 and, over its last 20 closed deals, it won 25% of pipeline value. It needs $60,000 / 0.25 = $240,000 of open pipeline, which is 4x coverage. With a 40% win rate it would need $60,000 / 0.40 = $150,000, or 2.5x. So copying someone else's 3x rule can leave you short or overworked.
A 7-day trial checklist for pipeline software
Trial lengths on the pricing pages: 14 days for Pipedrive, Capsule, Close and monday CRM, 15 days for Bigin and 21 days for Freshsales. Run the same test in each tool you shortlist:
Frequently asked questions
Is there free sales pipeline software?
Yes, with one pipeline. On 5 November 2026, HubSpot's free tools allowed one HubSpot-provided pipeline per object type, Bigin's Free plan one pipeline for a single user and 500 records, and Capsule's Free plan one pipeline for up to two users and 250 contacts. Pipedrive, Close and monday CRM offered free trials instead of free plans.
Do I need more than one sales pipeline?
Only when deals follow different steps. New business and renewals usually do. Two products sold the same way usually don't, and a product field keeps one board readable. If a stage makes no sense for half of your deals, that is the sign to split them into a second pipeline.
What is deal rotting in Pipedrive?
It is Pipedrive's name for stale-deal alerts. You set a rotting period, and Pipedrive notifies you when a deal stays idle for longer than that. Its pricing page lists deal rotting on every plan, including Lite. Other tools offer similar reminders under different names, so test the function during a trial rather than looking for the word.
What pipeline coverage ratio should a small team aim for?
Work it out from your own win rate instead of copying 3x. Divide one by the share of pipeline value you usually win: a 25% win rate means about 4x, and a 50% rate about 2x. With fewer than 20 closed deals, treat the answer as a rough guide and recheck it every quarter.
Can pipeline software find leads for me?
Mostly no. Pipeline tools track deals you add or capture through forms and email. Some now add AI agents: Close lists Chloe, an AI sales agent, on every plan, and monday CRM lists a lead sourcer agent on Standard. Check how many AI credits each plan includes before you count on them.
Sources
- Pipedrive pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- HubSpot product and services catalog: products (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- HubSpot product and services catalog: free tools (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Bigin by Zoho pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Capsule CRM pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Close pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Freshsales pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- monday CRM pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- HubSpot Sales Hub pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)