Key takeaways
- Teams usually look for alternatives when they need less configuration, not fewer capabilities.
- HubSpot Sales Hub and Zoho CRM also pair a CRM with forecasting and a suite of other business apps.
- Pipedrive, Attio and Close trade breadth for a simpler, sales-focused CRM.
- Pebbles Ai is not a Salesforce replacement: its CRM is labelled Beta, has no forecasting and has no native Salesforce sync.
Why do teams look for Salesforce Sales Cloud alternatives
Teams look for alternatives when the CRM they need is smaller than the one they run. Sales Cloud is built for deep customisation, forecasting, pipeline inspection and enterprise administration, with Agentforce AI agents as an add-on or included in its top suite.
That depth pays off for organisations with admins and complex processes. A ten-person sales team with one pipeline may find it maintains more configuration than it uses, and starts asking whether a lighter CRM would do the same job.
What should you look for in a Salesforce alternative
Look for the smallest CRM that still covers your forecasting, reporting and integration needs for the next two years. Moving CRM twice is far more painful than choosing a slightly larger one once.
As an illustration, an invented 30-person firm selling to hospitals might list its must-haves as one pipeline per region, quarterly forecasts for the board and a link to its billing tool. That list rules some options in and others out quickly.
- Data model: the custom objects and fields you depend on today.
- Forecasting and the reports your leadership reads every month.
- Integrations: billing, marketing, support and data tools.
- Admin effort: who will own the CRM, and how many hours they have.
- Migration: how records, history and automations move across.
How do the main Salesforce Sales Cloud alternatives compare
The main alternatives range from broad CRM suites to focused sales CRMs. Test each one with a slice of your own records before you commit.
- HubSpot Sales Hub: a full CRM with forecasting, sequences and calling, part of a wider marketing and service platform, with free tools to start.
- Zoho CRM: a configurable CRM with forecasting, cadences, built-in calling and a free edition, inside the wider Zoho suite.
- Pipedrive: a visual pipeline CRM with automations, forecasting reports and an AI sales assistant.
- Attio: a flexible, data-model-first CRM with enrichment, an API and webhooks, and a free tier.
- Close: a sales CRM for small inside teams, with built-in calling, SMS and a power dialler on higher plans.
- Pebbles Ai: a workspace for research, lead finding and outreach drafts, with a CRM labelled Beta that can sit beside your CRM of record.
How is Pebbles Ai different from Salesforce Sales Cloud
Pebbles Ai is a go-to-market workspace rather than an enterprise CRM. It has a built-in CRM, labelled Beta, with custom fields, deals, Kanban boards, saved views, tasks and notes, but no forecasting or attribution.
Where it helps is the work around the CRM. Assistants research accounts from public sources with citations, find leads at named companies and write outreach from Company Intel, your business knowledge and brand voice. There is no native Salesforce sync; contacts come into the Pebbles Ai CRM by CSV import.
Can you run Pebbles Ai beside Salesforce
Yes: Salesforce stays the record, and Pebbles Ai handles research, leads and drafts, with Salesforce contacts brought into the Pebbles Ai CRM by CSV import when you need them there.
For example, a seller could ask an assistant to research five target accounts, find the heads of finance at them and draft a first email to each, then log the ones that qualify in Salesforce.
Salesforce Sales Cloud alternatives at a glance
Who each option suits and whether its own site lists a free plan.
| Best for | Free plan | |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Sales Hub | Companies that want marketing, sales and service on one CRM, starting from free tools. | Yes |
| Zoho CRM | Companies that want a configurable CRM with forecasting, calling and automation, especially if they already use other Zoho apps. | Yes |
| Pipedrive | Sales teams that manage deals stage by stage on a pipeline board, with automations and an AI sales assistant. | No |
| Attio | Teams that want to shape their own CRM data model, with enrichment, an API and webhooks. | Yes |
| Close | Inside sales teams that sell mostly by phone, SMS and email from the CRM. | No |
| Pebbles Ai | Teams that want research, lead finding and outreach drafts beside a CRM of record; its own CRM is labelled Beta and has no forecasting. | No |
Best for is our own summary of each product's public pages, and the free plan column is what each site lists. Pebbles Ai has no free plan; Pro and Team start with a 1-month free trial. Plans change, so check their sites before you decide.
The products compared
HubSpot Sales Hub
CRM platform with sales software
A CRM-centred sales suite with free tools, seat-based paid tiers, sequences, calling, forecasting, a prospecting agent and AI features, part of HubSpot's wider marketing and service platform.
Best for: Companies that want one mature CRM across marketing, sales and service, with the HubSpot Marketplace of apps and free tools for up to 2 users.
Pricing model: Free tools, then Starter, Professional and Enterprise priced per seat; onboarding fees on higher tiers. Source: HubSpot Sales Hub pricing
Read the comparison with HubSpot Sales Hub Visit HubSpot Sales Hub
Zoho CRM
CRM platform
A per-user CRM from Zoho with a free edition, sales automation, forecasting, cadences, built-in calling and the Zia AI assistant, part of a wider suite of Zoho business apps.
Best for: Small and mid-sized companies that want an affordable, configurable CRM with forecasting, calling and automation, especially if they already use other Zoho apps.
Pricing model: Free, Standard, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate, per user per month, with a discount for yearly billing; CRM Plus is a separate bundle. Source: Zoho CRM pricing
Pipedrive
Pipeline-focused sales CRM
A sales CRM built around visual pipelines, with an AI sales assistant and email writer, automations, forecasting reports and add-ons for lead generation and campaigns.
Best for: Small companies and growing sales teams that track deals on a kanban board and want AI help and task automation without a long set-up.
Pricing model: Plans and prices are on their own pricing page. Source: Pipedrive pricing
Attio
Modern data-driven CRM
A flexible, data-model-first CRM with automatic enrichment, email and calendar sync, sequences and call intelligence on Pro, and a free tier.
Best for: Startups and scale-ups that want a customisable CRM with enrichment and a developer-friendly API.
Pricing model: Free, Plus, Pro and Enterprise, per user, with seat and workspace credits. Source: Attio pricing
Close
Sales CRM with built-in calling
A sales CRM for small teams with built-in calling, a power dialler on higher plans, SMS, pipelines and an AI sales agent named Chloe, priced per seat with a free trial.
Best for: Small inside sales teams that live on the phone and email.
Pricing model: Solo, Essentials, Growth and Scale, per seat, monthly or annual. Source: Close pricing
We make Pebbles Ai. Facts about other products come from their own public pages, checked on .
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityResearch & analysisAsk an assistant to research an account from its website and public sources, with numbered citations you can check before a call.
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsFind leads at up to ten named companies by role and location, kept in a Beta CRM with deals, saved views, tasks and notes, and CSV import.
- FoundationCompany IntelCompany Intel holds your business knowledge and brand voice, so every assistant writes from the same briefing.
Common questions
Is Pebbles Ai a CRM replacement for Salesforce?
No. Its CRM is labelled Beta and has no forecasting or native Salesforce sync. It suits research, lead finding and drafting beside your CRM of record.
Which Salesforce alternatives include forecasting?
HubSpot Sales Hub and Zoho CRM list forecasting, and Pipedrive lists forecasting reports. Check which of your custom objects, reports and automations each can hold before you move.
Does Salesforce have a free option?
Salesforce lists a Free Suite column on its pricing page, with paid suites priced per user per month. Check the limits there before you plan around it.
Can Salesforce teams try Pebbles Ai before paying?
Yes. Pebbles Ai has no free plan; Pro and Team start with a 1-month free trial. The pricing page lists what each plan includes.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
