Pipedrive vs Proton.ai: which CRM should you choose in 2026?

Pipedrive is a deal-first sales CRM with four published plans; Proton.ai is an ERP-driven platform for distributors, priced by quote. Compared side by side.

Published 6 October 2026. Prices and features from each vendor's own pages.

The short answer

PipedrivePaid from $14/seat

Choose it if you want a CRM you can try for free and price from a page.

Proton.aiPaid from By quote

Choose it if you're a distributor whose customer and order data lives in the ERP.

PromptLabPaid from $11.99/seat

Choose it if you sell products, and deals run on quotes, price lists, samples and orders.

Our pick for product teams

Pipedrive and Proton.ai answer different questions. Pipedrive is one of the easiest sales CRMs to learn, built around the deal pipeline. Proton.ai is built for distributors, plugging into the ERP to tell reps who to call and what to sell.

Below, the two are compared on price, quotes and orders, AI and calls, and messaging. Every figure comes from the vendors' own pricing and product pages; Pipedrive's prices are per user a month, billed annually.

Pipedrive vs Proton.ai at a glance

With PromptLab in the third column, so you can see where it fits.

Pipedrive vs Proton.ai, with PromptLab: prices and features
Checked on 30 September 2026	Pipedrive	Proton.ai	PromptLab
Pricing
Paid plans, a month	$14 – $79per seat	Custom pricing	$11.99 – $99per seat
Number of plans	4	1	3
Free trial
Billing	Billed annually	Priced by quote after a demo	Billed monthly
Import from CSV and Excel
Sales management
Deal pipelines
Quotes	From$59/month
Sales orders
Sample tracking
Price lists
Meetings and calls
Meeting recording and transcripts
AI meeting summaries
AI follow-up email drafts	From$59/month
Meeting scheduler and call dialer	From$39/month		From$23.99/month
AI and automation
CRM fields filled in from calls
Connect Claude or ChatGPT (MCP)
Workflow automation	From$39/month
API and webhooks			From$23.99/month
Conversations
Gmail and Outlook email sync	From$39/month
WhatsApp conversations	From$39/month
Telegram conversations
Save LinkedIn profiles	Via marketplace
Privacy and security
Single sign-on (SSO)			From$99/month

Pricing: $14 to $79 against a quote

Pipedrive publishes four plans, from Lite at $14 to a $79 top plan, with a free trial. Proton.ai gives a price only after a demo, and has no free trial.

Pipedrive's entry price doesn't cover everything: workflows, full email sync and WhatsApp start on Growth at $39, and quotes on Premium at $59. Proton.ai's pricing and packaging come from its team once you've talked through your ERP, catalogue and setup.

The pipeline, or the ERP

Pipedrive is built around the deal pipeline, a view many reps already know, with a marketplace of 500+ apps and mobile apps.

Proton.ai starts from the ERP, from SAP and NetSuite to AS/400 green screens, and works across catalogues as large as 500,000 SKUs. It tells reps who is due to reorder.

Quotes and sales orders

Proton.ai has quotes and sales orders built in, fed by the ERP. Pipedrive adds quotes on Premium at $59, and has no sales orders.

Neither has price lists or sample tracking. Customer-specific prices and trial batches stay outside both.

AI and calls

Pipedrive's AI, Nova, adds pre-call briefs, call recording, meeting summaries and CRM fields filled in from calls from the $14 plan, and follow-up drafts from $59. It also has an MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT.

Proton.ai drafts follow-ups and fills CRM fields from calls too, and its assistant, Pronto, helps reps prepare for calls and log notes by voice. It has no call recording, no meeting summaries and no MCP.

Messaging, email and security

Proton.ai includes workflows and email sync, logging Outlook and Gmail email to customer records, but has no WhatsApp. Neither supports Telegram.

Single sign-on comes with Pipedrive, while Proton.ai doesn't have it. LinkedIn saving needs a marketplace app on Pipedrive, and Proton.ai has none.

We make PromptLab, so here is why product teams pick it over both.

Why PromptLab is the better choice for teams that sell products

PromptLab is a CRM for B2B teams that sell products. On their entry plans, neither Pipedrive nor Proton.ai includes sample tracking, price lists, WhatsApp, Telegram and LinkedIn profile saving. PromptLab has all of them on every plan, from $11.99 a user a month.

Samples and customer prices on the account
We log every sample request on the account and the deal, and keep each customer's price list beside it. Reps quote from agreed prices, not memory, on every plan.
Pipedrive vs PromptLab, in full
Prepared before the meeting, recorded during it
PromptLab writes a brief before each meeting, then records and transcribes it in over 100 languages. Afterwards you get the summary, a follow-up email draft and CRM fields filled in from the call.
Proton.ai vs PromptLab, in full
WhatsApp and Telegram from the first plan
Every plan we offer, from $11.99, puts WhatsApp and Telegram threads in the shared Inbox next to email. Connect your WhatsApp Business number and your company's Telegram bot, and each chat lands on the contact.
Pipedrive vs PromptLab, in full

Try PromptLab free14-day free trial on Basic and Professional.

Which should you choose?

Choose Pipedrive if…

You want a CRM you can try for free and price from a page.
Call recording, summaries and MCP matter, from $14 a seat.
You want a marketplace of 500+ apps and mobile apps.

Choose Proton.ai if…

You're a distributor whose customer and order data lives in the ERP.
You need sales orders alongside quotes.
Reps need prompts on who to call and who is due to reorder.

Choose PromptLab if…

You sell products, and deals run on quotes, price lists, samples and orders.
You want every meeting recorded, summarised and written into the CRM on every plan.
Buyers answer on WhatsApp or Telegram as well as email.

Frequently asked questions

Is Pipedrive cheaper than Proton.ai?

It's hard to say. Pipedrive runs from $14 to $79 a user a month, billed annually. Proton.ai quotes after a demo and doesn't publish prices, so the two can't be compared on list price.

Does Proton.ai have a free trial?

No. You book a demo first and get pricing from its team. Pipedrive offers a free trial.

Does Pipedrive have sales orders?

No. Pipedrive adds quotes on Premium at $59 but has no sales orders. Proton.ai has both quotes and sales orders built in.

Does Pipedrive record calls?

Yes, from its $14 plan, along with meeting summaries and CRM fields filled in from calls. Proton.ai has no call recording.

Is there an alternative to Pipedrive and Proton.ai for teams that sell products?

PromptLab. It is a CRM for B2B teams that sell products, with quotes, price lists, sales orders and sample tracking, recorded and summarised meetings, and email, WhatsApp and Telegram in one inbox, on every plan from $11.99 a user a month with a 14-day free trial.