Keap vs Pipedrive: 6 Key Differences

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By David Borgogni

Last Updated on July 19, 2023 by Ewen Finser

CRM software can save your sales team a lot of time and hassle and may have come across Keap and Pipedrive – two prominent CRM players in that field. The question is, which one is better between Keap vs Pipedrive?

They both have some great features to offer. They’re both surprisingly different, too, which makes this a difficult one to call.

Keap vs Pipedrive Bottom Line Up Front: if we had to choose the better pure CRM, we’d go with Pipedrive for the modern interface and the time-saving automation. We really like Keap though, especially if you are focused on email marketing as a core CRM application!

Keep reading to find out what we think. We’ll start with what sets them apart.

The Main Differences Between Keap vs Pipedrive

There are a few big differences between Keap and Pipedrive:

  • Keap has a built-in email marketing platform, whereas Pipedrive only offers text-based email templates
  • Keap has a basic landing page builder, whereas Pipedrive doesn’t
  • Keap doesn’t have built-in time-saving automation, whereas Pipedrive has chatbots, a sales assistant, and other useful automation
  • Keap’s platform is a bit more basic looking, whereas Pipedrive’s platform looks a bit nicer (except for the calendar/task management system)
  • Keap doesn’t offer in-platform phone calls, whereas Pipedrive does
  • Keap’s pricing isn’t immediately clear without getting a quote, whereas Pipedrive has basic pricing plans you can see before you get started
Our Pick
Why I Prefer Pipedrive

Pipedrive has mastered the art of a CLEAN INTERFACE while still having DEEP FUNCTIONALITY. For a pure CRM, I personally went with Pipedrive here.

Try Now
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Those are the main differences. If you want an email marketing platform and a landing page builder, go for Infusionsoft. If in-platform phone calls and time-saving marketing automation is your thing, go for Pipedrive.

Generally speaking, Keap CRM looks a bit more dated than Pipedrive. Surprisingly, however, Infusionsoft’s calendar/task management area looks nicer (in our opinion) than Pipedrive’s. Also, their email templates are modern and professional.

Pipedrive has much more of a focus on saving time, eliminating pointless tasks so that your team can focus on making phone calls, and sending emails. The deal probability and pipeline ‘health checks’ are great, too.

The Similarities

There are a few similarities:

  • The pipeline builders in both are easy to use
  • They both have great sales pipeline templates to choose from
  • They both allow you to save detailed information on each contact
  • They both sync with other email providers and calendar providers
  • They both have a mobile app
  • They both have decent analytics

Now, let’s take a look at them both in detail.

What is Keap?

Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) is a CRM platform with features including lead capturing, lead management, pipeline building, and analytics. There is a newer version of Infusionsoft, called Keap. Keap is very similar to Infusionsoft, but it has slightly lighter, more streamlined tools. For this comparison, we’ll be looking at the latest iteration of Keap based on the original core Infusionsoft, which is still available to use although seems to be phasing out.

What is Pipedrive?

Pipedrive is a pipeline tool with a lot of features to make life easier and quicker for sales teams. It cuts out a lot of repetitive admin tasks, with a focus on saving time, including automatically booking phone calls and meetings.

Keap – the Main Features

Keap has several tools for sales teams. Let’s take a look at them in more detail.

Dashboard and Navigation

Keap vs Pipedrive

Keap has a simple, easy-to-navigate dashboard. While it’s not the most visually inspiring platform out there, it is really easy to find everything you need, and it has some vital information upfront, including sales and some stats like email open rates.

You can add widgets to your dashboard, rearranging it to suit you – so you won’t have to hunt around for the information you need to see quickly.

You can also see recent activity. For example, if a customer signs up for a free eBook via your landing page, the information Infusionsoft captures will be automatically added to a new contact. These actions will be shown on your dashboard, so you can see what is happening in real-time.

Lead Capturing and Contact Management

Keap allows you to build landing pages, which will automatically capture information into a new contact. You can also add contacts manually or import a .CSV file.

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Each contact has a lot of detailed information, including their contact details, billing address, account summary, and lead score (more on that shortly).

You can even add custom fields if you need to capture information that is specific to your type of business (and size of business, e.g. small business, mid sized business, etc…).

You can add notes for each person, which is ideal if you would like team members to be able to add their own notes to each contact. You can also link each contact to other contacts, allowing you to build ‘networks’ of potential clients.

You can also pull up files, documents, contracts, images, or proposals you’ve sent to a client. This is helpful if there is more than one team member working with a particular client, and it helps to keep your team organized.

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You can organize contacts via segments (sorting contacts by region or demographic) or using tags.

Tags are automatically applied at certain points during their interactions with you – for example, if they fill in their details via a landing page, they will automatically be given a tag. Tags can include age, products they’ve bought, whether or not they’ve had a phone call from your team, and so on. These are customizable, which means you can focus on what makes sense for your small business or large enterprise.

Lead scores are determined by your own parameters. You can choose rules and point values in order to filter through your potential clients. Each contact is scored using a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the most likely to make a purchase or become a client with you. You can assign point values if they make a purchase, if they sign up for your email newsletter, and other criteria.

Pipelines

You can download and install free pipeline templates with Keap. These are easy to install with just a few clicks, and they work quite well if you have no experience in building sales pipelines.

Or, you can use their pipeline builder. This is an easy-to-use, visual builder which allows you to create your own pipelines from scratch.

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You can drag and drop sequences, goals, and triggers, integrating your website and mailing lists. Sequences will link together, and you can customize each stage.

The great thing about this builder is that it is simple to use. It’s easy to understand what each stage means, and it’s helpful to have some flexibility so you can build a pipeline that really works for you.

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Web Form/Landing Page Builder

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You can create your landing pages with Keap. These are pretty basic, although you can include social links, images, and YouTube videos. It’s very easy to use, just like the pipeline builder.

Keap vs Pipedrive

Once you’re done, you can email the web form to your webmaster, copy and paste the HTML by yourself, or use Infusionsoft’s hosting.

Task Management

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Keap makes it very simple for your sales team to prioritize their most important tasks first. Scheduled appointments are shown at the top, so they won’t miss any crucial phone calls or meetings.

Tasks are listed below appointments, with overdue tasks shown first (with a red flag so they won’t be missed). Team members can access their calendars, so they can see what’s coming up, and they can add their tasks manually too.

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This syncs really well with the rest of the platform. For example, if your team member needs to make a phone call with a client, they can click on the task, and the contact information will pop up on the right. They can add notes, send emails, and mark tasks as completed, all in one place.

Keap integrates with Outlook, Gmail, and other email providers, which makes it easy to send emails within the Keap platform.

Email Marketing

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Keap has a great email template library. The emails are simple, clean, and up-to-date, with a variety of different basic types (like welcome emails, notifications of sales, etc). You can create your own templates too.

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The email builder is really simple to use. You can add text, spacers, images, buttons, social links, groups, videos, and insert sections of HTML. It ties in nicely with the rest of the platform – you can use these emails in your pipelines or send email campaigns to certain segments of customers with specific tags.

You can also run split tests on your emails, allowing you to fine-tune them for the best results.

Mobile App

Keap has a mobile app, which we weren’t able to test out ourselves. It allows you to view your contacts, complete tasks, view orders, or even sell products on the go.

Analytics

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The analytics dashboard shows you an overview of some basic stats – total number of added contacts, total added contacts for the month, the total number of emails sent (with open rates), broadcast and campaign email performance, the total number of payments, revenue, and more.

There’s also the contact growth dashboard. This enables you to focus on growing your list, showing how your list is developing day by day.

You can view detailed analytics on emails sent, emails clicked, emails opened, and more. It’s pretty comprehensive and easy to use.

Pipedrive – the Main Features

Now, let’s look at the main features of Pipedrive.

Dashboard and Navigation

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Pipedrive is a bit nicer to look at than Infusionsoft (even with the new Keap rebranding). The platform is easy to navigate, using the buttons along the left-hand side. You can view deals and contacts easily. It was also very simple to sign up for a free trial, which is great.

Communication and Contact Management

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Contact management is nice and easy with Pipedrive.

They have a contact database, an organization database, and a contact timeline, which will give you an idea of how your contact list has grown over time. They can be added manually or imported from Google, Microsoft contacts, or another CRM via integration.

You can add notes to individual contacts so that multiple team members can access information about them. You can also add tasks and deals to each contact or organization, and schedule emails and phone calls too (general appointment scheduling).

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Their web form builder can capture information directly into your contact database.

Pipedrive really shines in terms of communication. You can sync your work email address with Pipedrive, allowing you to send emails within the platform. You will get notifications when contacts open emails, and they even offer email templates.

Although this isn’t the same as the email builder that Keap offers, it does give you a basic email for different types of situations – for example, a cold email template, or a basic follow-up template. This is good for saving a bit of time if you have a lot of contacts to reach out to.

Pipedrive also offers phone calls within their platform. You can make hands-free calls, allowing you to take notes as you go. Call logs are automatically added to contact details, and if a sales team member has a phone call set as a task, once the call hangs up, it will automatically be marked as complete. You can even record and download calls as audio files.

Our Pick
Why I Prefer Pipedrive

Pipedrive has mastered the art of a CLEAN INTERFACE while still having DEEP FUNCTIONALITY. For a pure CRM, I personally went with Pipedrive here.

Try Now
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Pipelines and Deal Management

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You can create customizable pipelines with Pipedrive. They have a good selection of pre-made templates to choose from, including following up on new deals, sending an email each time a person is added to a contact list, creating an activity every time a new deal is added, and so on.

Each one gives you a rough estimate of the time you could save from using it, which is a nice feature. These templates can be customized to suit your needs.

You can also build them from scratch. The drag-and-drop pipeline builder is pretty easy to use.

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You can see the health of your pipeline easily, with Pipedrive alerting you to areas that are being neglected, allowing you to efficiently deploy your sales team to the most necessary tasks in the sales process.

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Deals are easy to add and to assign to different team members. Pipedrive offers deal probability, which allows you to see which ones are the most likely to be won – this could save you some time if you have a large volume of deals to work on. If a deal stays idle for a while, it will alert your team, saving you from losing out on deals you’ve forgotten about.

They also have a product catalog. This is useful, as you can assign products to clients and deals, helping your team to stay organized. The product catalog is useful too.

Task Management and Calendar

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Each sales team member has access to their own calendar. They can set their available hours (which makes organizing meetings much easier) and can sync their calendars to the chatbot (which we’ll talk about in more detail shortly). The calendar syncs with other calendar providers like Google and Outlook.

The ‘calendar’ section isn’t as nice to look at as Keap’s, in our opinion – the new Keap calendar feels a bit friendlier and easier to navigate.

Chatbot and Sales Assistant

To save time, Pipedrive has developed a chatbot. Customers can interact with this chatbot on your website.

The chatbot can point them in the right direction if they need assistance, and can even check your team member’s calendar availability, automatically booking in meetings for you. This saves them time trying to make arrangements.

They have a virtual sales assistant, too. This gives you tips based on the stage of each deal, with ideas on how to move forward.

There are a few other marketing automation, including:

  • Transferring ownership to different sales reps
  • Sending emails automatically when new deals are created
  • Creating new activities when a deal moves forward
  • Creating new deals automatically

This all takes a little time to set up but could save a lot of time in the long run in terms of eliminating admin tasks.

Mobile App

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Pipedrive has a free mobile app. You can use this to access your work inbox, as well as viewing your schedule, deals, and pipelines. It’s very easy to use, with a lot of features laid out simply.

Analytics

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There is a lot of data to look through in Pipedrive. Clicking on the ‘insights’ icon will give you a quick overview of deals started, deals lost, deals won, activities planned and completed, emails sent and received, the value of won deals, deal duration, and more. You can run reports on all of these, with helpful charts and graphs to help you to understand how your team can improve.

You can share these easily with other members of your team, too.

Keap vs Pipedrive – Integrations

Let’s see how they compare in terms of integrations with other platforms.

Keap

Keap has several integrations with some major platforms, including:

  • Gmail
  • Outlook
  • Zapier
  • BigCommerce
  • LeadPages
  • ThriveCart
  • WordPress

Pipedrive

Pipedrive has an app marketplace, which allows you to connect with other services. You can install a variety of apps to work with Pipedrive, including accounting, analytics, messaging, calendar, customer support, data management, email marketing, phone solution, and lead generation apps.

Keap vs Pipedrive – Support

Let’s take a look at the support that both platforms offer:

Keap Support

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Infusionsoft has a knowledge base with some articles on how to use the platform. They also have a fairly active community of users to contact if you have any questions.

If you need support from Keap they have 24/7 chat support, as well as phone support. The customer support team is responsive and helpful, too.

Pipedrive

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Pipedrive has a great knowledge base with in-depth guides, webinars, articles, and videos. It also has a busy forum of users. They have Pipedrive Academy, too – this is a series of courses, aimed at beginners.

If you need specific support from Pipedrive, they offer live chat or email. This varies depending on the pricing plan. Those on a cheaper plan may have to wait a little longer for a response.

Keap vs Infusionsoft: What’s Really Changed?

Right around 2018 Infusionsoft announced a somewhat confusing change to their product lineup.

First up, they rebranded the entire company to now be called “Keap”. At the same time, they re-launched a NEW version of Infusionsoft (Infusionsoft by Keap). 

Second, they launched a new product line just called Keap, aimed at a lower priced point with lightweight features.

So what does all this mean? 

Put simply, Keap is the entry level CRM product while Infusionsoft (by Keap) is the more advanced enterprise-level sales solution.

After all of this, in 2022 their standard offerings have largely removed most references to Infusionsoft and introduced the following plans:

  • Keap ProUp to 1500 contacts and 2 users
  • Keap MaxUp to 2500 contacts and 3 users (also adds Marketing Analytics feature-set)
  • Keap Classic: This is what formerly was Infusionsoft, and is less emphasized on the product map.

Keap vs Pipedrive – Pricing

How do they stack up in terms of pricing?

Keap (Formerly Infusionsoft)

Infusionsoft starts at $100 per month, for 500 contacts and 1 user.

In comparison to the lighter versions of the platform (Keap Grow and Keap Pro), this gives you access to everything they have to offer, including email marketing, the pipeline builder, and the landing page builder. You can find out more about what Infusionsoft has to offer on their pricing page.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive has four basic price plans to choose from:

  • Essential – $15 per month/1 user – this has basic features including deals, contact management, and pipelines
  • Advanced – $24.90 per month/1 user – this includes all the basic features, plus marketing automation
  • Professional – $49.90 per month/1 user – this includes most of the features including deal forecasting
  • Enterprise – $99 per month/1 user – this has custom onboarding and support

They have a couple of add-ons, too, which give you specific extra features for an extra cost. You can find out more on their pricing page.

Keap vs Pipedrive – Software Pros and Cons

Now, we’ll sum up the best and worst parts of each software platform.

Keap

Pros

  • Easy to use pipeline builder, landing page builder, and email builder
  • Great email templates to choose from
  • Task management makes it simple to prioritize tasks
  • Whole platform links together nicely
  • Analytics are useful and in-depth

Cons

  • Not the most visually inspiring platform
  • Bit of a steeper learning curve than Pipedrive

Pipedrive

Pros

  • Intuitive to navigate
  • Pipeline builder is extensive and simple to use
  • Comes with a useful mobile app
  • Communication is very simple
  • Smart workflow automation can save time

Cons

  • The calendar is not the nicest looking
  • Support isn’t as responsive on cheaper plans

Pipedrive and Keap Alternative Substitutes to Consider

There are a few alternatives to try if you want to keep looking for a CRM platform:

  • Zoho CRM – Zoho is a CRM platform with automated workflows and extensive customization features. You can find out more about it in our Zoho vs Freshworks comparison.
  • Insightly – Insightly offers customizable pipelines with deal forecasting. You can find out more about it in our Insightly vs Hubspot comparison.
  • Salesforce – Salesforce is great for larger or more complex businesses (vs a more standardized small business), with a range of tools, but it does have a slightly steeper learning curve. You can find out more about it in our Pipedrive vs Salesforce comparison.

FAQs about Keap vs Pipedrive

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about Infusionsoft and Pipedrive:

Question: Can I get Infusionsoft and Pipedrive’s mobile apps on iOS and Android?

Answer: Yes, they are available for both iOS and Android.

Question: Does Infusionsoft offer a free trail?

Answer: Not exactly. You can try out the ‘lighter’ version of Infusionsoft, Keap for 14 days, although you do have to book a phone call with a sales representative to do so at the time of writing. However, you can access the Infusionsoft demo video, which gives you more of an inside look at their features.

Question: How many people use Infusionsoft and Pipedrive?

Answer: Infusionsoft has over 150,000 users, whereas Pipedrive has 90,000.

Keap vs Pipedrive – The Verdict

We like the latest evolution of Infusionsoft with Keap. Although it does look a little dated in comparison to Pipedrive, it does have some features that Pipedrive hasn’t. The email templates are surprisingly modern-looking, and the email builder is simple to use. We also think that, for your sales team, Infusionsoft’s main task management/calendar page looks a bit more friendly and easy to use.

However, we do think that Pipedrive has a slight edge over Infusionsoft. This is for two reasons – they focus on making it easy to contact clients (via in-platform phone calls and emails), and automation.

The chatbot and sales assistant saves you time capturing details from your customers, and there is a lot of automation designed to link all the areas of the platform together, saving your team from doing constant repetitive admin tasks. We also like the fact that it can record phone calls, and those phone calls can be shared between team members.

The Bottom Line Summary: if we had to choose the better pure CRM, we’d go with Pipedrive for the modern interface and the time-saving automation. We really like Keap though, especially if you are focused on email marketing as a core CRM application!

Both are great though and could make your life much easier if you have a sales team to manage. If you’ve used either, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

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