AVG Driver Updater is a device management tool made by AVG Technologies, a company based in the Czech Republic. The company is most famous for itsantivirus software, but it has other product lines, such as itsdriver updater.
AVG Technologies is a leading software company that has existed for three decades. It’s a subsidiary of Avast Software, an organization known for a family of solutions across the Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS operating systems - again, largely focusing on security matters.
This review will take a look at AVG’s Driver Updater specifically taking into account a variety of factors, including the program’s features, user interface, customer support, compatibility, and pricing.
(Image credit: AVG)
AVG Driver Updater: Plans and pricing
The AVG Driver Updater costs $40 per year, which works out to be quite expensive compared to similar products on the market. There’s a free trial version, but it has just a few features compared to the paid version and lasts only a month. Thus, the paid version is the practical option to make the most of the driver updater.
If you do sign up for the paid plan, it’s important to be aware that after your first year is complete, your subscription will automatically renew at the full price annually. Your bank account will automatically be charged for a one-year period, so make sure you are happy to continue subscribing before AVG automatically renews. You will receive an email reminder of your subscription ending up to 65 days in advance but if you don’t want to be charged, make sure you cancel your subscription at least 35 days before your current plan ends. There is also a free trial period of 15 days, however, which you can sign up for without entering any credit card details.
(Image credit: AVG)
Features
AVG Driver Updater contains a number of features to keep your system using the latest drivers and running smoothly:
(Image credit: AVG)
Real-time Scans
You can scan and update your drivers in real time as you perform other functions on your computer. Many driver updaters lack this feature, which means you can carry on with your work, which AVG Driver Updater operates in the background.
Scan Scheduling
You can set schedules and intervals for the AVG Driver Updater to run automatic scans of your PC’s drivers and produce reports. This feature ensures convenience and keeps you always in the loop regarding your driver updates.
Large Driver Database
AVG’s Driver Updater checks your drivers against a database of over 50 million drivers. Such an extensive database contains virtually any driver you may need, making it your one-stop shop for driver downloads and updates. Computer drivers come in various types, including printer, scanner, audio card, video card and graphics card drivers. Whatever driver you are looking to update, AVG will probably be able to find it.
AVG Driver Updater is also especially good if you’re a big consumer of video or gaming content. The updater can optimize your gaming and streaming experience by giving you access to the latest audio and graphics driver downloads.
Driver Backup and Restore
You can backup your drivers with AVG’s Driver Updater and restore them when required. This feature is critical because some driver updates can cause performance issues on your PC. You don’t need to panic in such a case when the software lets you backup and restore older versions of your drivers to avert the issue.
(Image credit: AVG)
Installs Official Drivers
AVG’s Driver Updater can download and install authentic drivers from over 1,300 leading technology brands.
Neat User Interface
This tool has a very well-organized user interface that makes it easy to use and navigate through. It’s uncluttered, and all the functionalities are visible to the user. This neat interface ensures that anyone can use the driver updater regardless of their technical knowledge or experience.
Compatibility
AVG’s Driver Updater is compatible with Windows 7, 8/8.1, 10, and 11.
(Image credit: AVG)
Interface and in use
The interface of this driver updater is very organized and user-friendly - right from the downloading and installation phases. To download AVG Driver Updater, go to the official website and get the executable file (.exe), either for the free or paid version. Then, run it.
After installing and launching the software, you’ll see the friendly, uncluttered interface we’re talking about. There are clear buttons for whichever function you want to pick, with no complexity or opportunity for confusion.
(Image credit: AVG)
Support
AVG offers customer support through email, live chat, and telephone. You can contact the support team directly via phone or live chat for instant answers or use email and wait for a while. The telephone support varies depending on the country you’re calling from, but it’s generally reliable. Due to customer traffic, the live chat and telephone customer support may be unavailable at certain times.
However, there are also a number of tutorials and guides on AVG’s site in case you run into problems. The AVG Driver Updater FAQ will hopefully resolve your issue if it’s a common problem, including how to install and use the driver updater, as well as the usual troubleshooting.
The competition
There are many other competing driver updaters on the market. A few examples are the Ashampoo Driver Updater and Auslogics Driver Updater. AVG’s parent company, Avast, also has its driver updater that’s almost identical except for the name.
Compared to Ashampoo and Auslogics, AVG is the much more expensive option. It costs $40/year, while Ashampoo costs $19 and Auslogics $11.50 for the same period. While all of them have similar functionality, AVG's driver updater certainly draws from an impressively wide database of drivers - more than 50 million, in fact - so if you do need to update a driver, chances are AVG's updater will locate it. The support you receive, both before and after you've updated your drivers, is also impressive.
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Final verdict
AVG’s Driver Updater is a dependable tool for keeping your device drivers healthy and improving your PC’s performance. It’s easy to use and has all the necessary functionality you'd expect from a driver updater. Although it is relatively expensive compared to the competition, it does come from a well-respected brand and take the manual burden out of searching for new drivers.
Having a good PDF editor that does more than just open documents on your phone can make life a whole lot more productive and convenient. You have probably been in a situation where you had to make alterations to a PDF file but couldn’t figure out how. There are various ways to do that, but using good PDF software is perhaps the most professional way to do it.
Readdle’s PDF Expert is a software package that lets you do that and so much more - easily one of the best PDF editors for the Apple ecosystem we’ve come across. If you’ve been trying to be more productive, then chances are you’ve heard of Readdle. It has made quite a name for itself in the productivity software market. The software is only available for the Mac, and iOS platforms, and has features like editing, protecting, organizing, and signing PDF documents.
Readdle PDF Expert: Pricing & plans
The iOS version of PDF Expert automatically offers you a 7-day trial, which is trivial to set up and also offers reminders should you wish to cancel before the trial ends.
The subscription will cost you $80 / £73 a year, and will allow you to use the software on any Apple device you own, and of course get all updates, large or small, as they’re released. The software allows you to edit and add notes to PDF files, convert PDFs into other formats, protect sensitive data, sign documents, and add, delete or extract pages.
For those who don’t like to rent their software, there’s also a ‘Lifetime’ offer, a one-off payment of $140. However, be aware it comes with serious restrictions. For one thing, it will only work on your Mac - iOS devices are out of the loop - you may not be able to download future updates without an additional charge, and PDF Expert’s AI co-pilot is unavailable (although those among us who are wary of the proliferation of AI in everything could see this as a positive). If you purchase a subscription, you also benefit from a 30-day money back guarantee.
Scroll down the main page to see a list of all available tools (Image credit: Readdle)
You’d think PDF Expert would mostly be for business people, but since the PDF format has become ubiquitous, being able to manipulate its content, and otherwise interact with such files has become increasingly popular and necessary for most.
If you’ve explored other PDF services, you’ll find many features are standard across the board. So it’s no surprise you’re able to perform various functions with PDF Expert, such as making annotations, rearranging, deleting, or rotating pages, editing existing text, images, and links, protect sensitive information through redaction, or by adding a password to a document, convert files to a Microsoft Office format, scan documents, have the software recognise the text and make it selectable (through OCR), and fill in forms and sign contracts.
As you can see, PDF Expert has numerous features that make it perfect for people who frequently use PDF files. For those who work in corporate, it’s hands down the most affordable and handy PDF software.
You can sync your work to your Google Drive, Apple iCloud, or Dropbox account so that any changes you make on a PDF file are saved to the cloud, and available on all your devices.
Readdle PDF Expert: Interface and in use
Annotations are very flexible - you can even edit your doodle after the fact: changing its colour, size, position, and even opacity (Image credit: Readdle)
We found the interface to be remarkably clean, simple, well designed, and easy to use. The main functions are listed at the top. Just click on the one you need and further contextual tools appear beneath it in a smaller row of icons. The icons don’t have labels, nor do any appear when you mouse over them which is a bit of a shame. But don’t fret: click on any of them to reveal an Inspector sidebar on the right, with the tool’s name at the top, should the icon itself not have been immediately clear (some of them aren’t at first glance).
The home page also contains a number of tools organised by categories, to help you perform the function you need quickly and easily.
Whichever tool you use, you’ll find it very easy to use. The flexibility is impressive. For instance, you can draw on a page, which you’re then able to resize and reposition, even changing your doodle’s colour, line width and opacity.
Edit a PDF’s existing content is remarkably easy. In fact, it’s one of the features that can often trip up such services, but here, access is smooth. The content is broken down into paragraphs which you can select, resize, reposition, and delete. Edit the original words preserves the text’s font, size, and colour (unless you wish to change it of course). The same applies for images.
Although your export options are limited, the process is very intuitive (Image credit: Readdle)
When it comes to exporting a PDF, you have a handful of options open to you, from Microsoft Office formats (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), plain text, RTF or HTML, to converting the document into an image. It’s all done with a handful of clicks.
If you need to fill in a form, you can do more than just entering text and signing (which it does very well). PDF Expert also offers checkmarks, crosses, stamps and even the ability to add images. And as for scanning, we found PDF Expert’s OCR capabilities to be adequate but not stellar. Although we could accept the odd mistake for unusual names, it seemed to even struggle with some simple words, which was a shame.
And finally, we have AI. This feature is currently in beta, and you can explore it for free (as part of your trial or subscription), and although it’s interesting to see it summarise a document, browse through a handful of questions you can ask it about the document, and even ask your own, it feels more of a fun gimmick than anything else. After all, everything must have AI in it now, right? And this style of using AI to simplify a document for easier digestion is something we’ve seen in other competing services, with similar results.
Readdle PDF Expert: Competition
Editing the PDF’s original content is remarkably versatile, simple to use, and powerful - what more could you ask for? (Image credit: Readdle)
PDF Expert’s biggest competitor is, you guessed it, Adobe Acrobat. As the owners of this format, it’s little surprise that most would flock to them for editing services, but there are other options available. Foxit, for instance is an excellent choice, as is Soda, and EaseUS. The best option is to try them all, as they do offer free trials and some even have limited free versions, to see which one would serve you best.
In terms of interface polish, and being able to work on any device within the Apple ecosystem, PDF Expert does shine brightly as one of the best Adobe Acrobat alternatives we've tried.
Readdle PDF Expert: Final verdict
The OCR results were adequate, although we’ve definitely seen better elsewhere (Image credit: Readdle)
Readdle’s PDF Expert is a PDF software that provides you a wide range of tools for editing, organizing, securing, annotating, and converting PDF documents. It is an iOS-only software which works exceptionally well on the Apple ecosystem, giving you the ability to synchronize your documents and all the changes you make on them across all of your iOS devices.
The software makes it very easy for you to navigate through documents and you can open large PDF files in a matter of seconds. That is not something you can do with other PDF editors so if you have been looking for a new PDF software for your company or for your personal use, maybe you should give PDF Expert a shot!
Ashampoo Driver Updater is a device maintenance tool and driver updater for the Windows operating system. Usually, wrong or old drivers are an enemy of every computer system and can lead to system instability, data loss, or even security vulnerabilities.
Ashampoo Driver Updater keeps track of your drivers and ensures they’re updated when necessary. In doing so, Ashampoo can help guard against frequent system crashes and computer errors, allowing you to optimize productivity levels.
Ashampoo is a software company that develops a broad range of software tools. It maintains its headquarters in Oldenburg, Germany. The organization actually offers a range of different solutions outside of its driver updater program, including video editing software, ad blocker tools, and a file manager.
In this review, however, we'll focus on Ashapoo's driver updater tool. We’ll evaluate Ashampoo Driver Updater based on specific criteria, including pricing, features, compatibility, customer support, and user interface.
While Ashampoo Driver Updater may be discounted, you will need to pay extra for premium support (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Ashampoo Driver Updater: Plans and pricing
Ashampoo Driver Updater is available through an annual subscription. It costs $33 for an annual license covering three personal computers in a downloadable format but keep an an eye out for deals, as we’ve frequently noticed the price being cut in half.
Compared to other competing driver updater tools, Ashampoo is not the cheapest. For instance, both IObit Driver Booster Pro and SlimWare Utilities DriverUpdate are more affordable. However, there is a free tier available for users of Ashampoo Driver Updater but they will have to put up with limited functionality. For example, the free version takes longer to scan and update drivers than the paid version. However, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee allowing you to try the software before committing yourself financially.
Wide device and driver support is one of Ashampoo Driver Updater's best features (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Features
Ashampoo Driver Updater has many of the features you'd expect to find in a driver updater software suite including:
Driver Detection
The Ashampoo Driver Updater can scan all drivers on your computer and identify which ones are outdated or not. The scan is rapid and easy to do. If you wish, you can set the driver updater to run a full scan whenever your PC boots up. Also, as soon as you launch Ashampoo Driver Updater, the software will conduct a scan of your PC for hardware and drivers. Once this is complete, you’ll then be presented with a list of both up-to-date and out-of-date drivers, as well as processor and RAM information.
Ashampoo Driver Updater automatically lets you know when driver updates are available (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Automatic Updates
You can update your drivers with the tool after scanning. Ashampoo uses a colour-coding system to quickly inform you of the status of each driver. A green icon signifies that a driver is up to date, a yellow icon is used for drivers that have had an update available for less than 365 days, and a red icon informs users that a driver has had an update available for more than 365 days. You can then either install updates individually or update all of them with a single click.
There are many benefits of updating your device drivers, including:
Fixes wireless connection, sound, and printer issues
Reduces risk of system crashes and freezes
Improves your gaming experience
Fully optimized system usage
You can also backup up your existing drivers (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Driver Backup and Restore
You can save your driver backups to an external hard drive or DVD and restore them when needed. Sometimes, you’ll need previous versions of your drivers, for example, when an update results in failures. If this happens, it doesn’t mean the end of your PC. Instead, you could get the previous version from a backup and restore it with the Ashampoo Driver Updater.
Compatibility
The driver updater is compatible with Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7. This widespread compatibility makes it a very versatile tool. In fact, it is particularly well-integrated with Windows 10, with notifications appearing in the operating system's Action Center.
Interface and in use
It’s easy to download and use the Ashampoo Driver Updater. To do so, start by visiting the company’s official website. You can pay online and download the software or have it shipped to you in DVD format. Picking the DVD format requires an extra payment.
After downloading, run the installer on your computer. The downloadable file is under 100MB, and its installation doesn’t take long from start to finish. After installing, you can open the driver updater and start using it.
Just hit the scan button to have Ashampoo check your system for outdated drivers (Image credit: Ashampoo)
The user interface is clear and straightforward. You have visible options to scan, backup, or restore. After scanning, it’ll show you the drivers that require updates and those that do not. Admittedly, Ashampoo does lack the interface skins and transparencies that come with Obit Driver Booster Pro but although these are nice touches, they are only aesthetic of course.
More practically, there is a settings section with Ashampoo's software where you have the option to auto-scan your drivers every time you launch the software or whenever your PC boots afresh. The software is also multilingual, supporting over two dozen languages.
Ashampoo's free support resources do leave something to be desired (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Support
There are various support options for the Ashampoo Driver Updater, including email, telephone, and live chat. The live chat and telephone support work pretty well, as did the company's email response. However, you also have the option to pay for premium email support that’ll make Ashampoo treat your inquiries as a top priority. This paid option costs $4.95 for two years.
There’s also an online Frequently Answered Questions (FAQ) page you can consult to resolve common problems, as well as a help desk article that runs through the fundamentals like how to conduct a system scan and update your drivers.
The competition
Ashampoo Driver Updater has many competitors, such as IObit Driver Booster Pro and DriverDoc. Despite having similar features, Ashampoo costs $19 for a download and is more expensive than IObit ($11.50). On the other hand, DriverDoc (costing roughly $40) is more costly than Ashampoo but has more features.
Today, there are a plethora of driver updater tools on the market, including the likes of Auslogics Driver Updater, AVG Driver Updater, and many more. Although many of these may beat Ashampoo in certain areas, from power to speed, Ashampoo Driver Updater is a great all-rounder.
Final verdict
Ashampoo Driver Updater is a tool that lives up to its promise. It’s effortless to use and performs its required functions very well. Its main drawback is the cost, as it’s more expensive than many of its rivals, so it may be a good idea to get to grips with the 30-day free trial to see if you really want to sign up for an annual license.
Ashampoo Driver Updater is a device maintenance tool and driver updater for the Windows operating system. Usually, wrong or old drivers are an enemy of every computer system and can lead to system instability, data loss, or even security vulnerabilities.
Ashampoo Driver Updater keeps track of your drivers and ensures they’re updated when necessary. In doing so, Ashampoo can help guard against frequent system crashes and computer errors, allowing you to optimize productivity levels.
Ashampoo is a software company that develops a broad range of software tools. It maintains its headquarters in Oldenburg, Germany. The organization actually offers a range of different solutions outside of its driver updater program, including video editing software, ad blocker tools, and a file manager.
In this review, however, we'll focus on Ashapoo's driver updater tool. We’ll evaluate Ashampoo Driver Updater based on specific criteria, including pricing, features, compatibility, customer support, and user interface.
While Ashampoo Driver Updater may be discounted, you will need to pay extra for premium support (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Ashampoo Driver Updater: Plans and pricing
Ashampoo Driver Updater is available through an annual subscription. It costs $33 for an annual license covering three personal computers in a downloadable format but keep an an eye out for deals, as we’ve frequently noticed the price being cut in half.
Compared to other competing driver updater tools, Ashampoo is not the cheapest. For instance, both IObit Driver Booster Pro and SlimWare Utilities DriverUpdate are more affordable. However, there is a free tier available for users of Ashampoo Driver Updater but they will have to put up with limited functionality. For example, the free version takes longer to scan and update drivers than the paid version. However, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee allowing you to try the software before committing yourself financially.
Wide device and driver support is one of Ashampoo Driver Updater's best features (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Features
Ashampoo Driver Updater has many of the features you'd expect to find in a driver updater software suite including:
Driver Detection
The Ashampoo Driver Updater can scan all drivers on your computer and identify which ones are outdated or not. The scan is rapid and easy to do. If you wish, you can set the driver updater to run a full scan whenever your PC boots up. Also, as soon as you launch Ashampoo Driver Updater, the software will conduct a scan of your PC for hardware and drivers. Once this is complete, you’ll then be presented with a list of both up-to-date and out-of-date drivers, as well as processor and RAM information.
Ashampoo Driver Updater automatically lets you know when driver updates are available (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Automatic Updates
You can update your drivers with the tool after scanning. Ashampoo uses a colour-coding system to quickly inform you of the status of each driver. A green icon signifies that a driver is up to date, a yellow icon is used for drivers that have had an update available for less than 365 days, and a red icon informs users that a driver has had an update available for more than 365 days. You can then either install updates individually or update all of them with a single click.
There are many benefits of updating your device drivers, including:
Fixes wireless connection, sound, and printer issues
Reduces risk of system crashes and freezes
Improves your gaming experience
Fully optimized system usage
You can also backup up your existing drivers (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Driver Backup and Restore
You can save your driver backups to an external hard drive or DVD and restore them when needed. Sometimes, you’ll need previous versions of your drivers, for example, when an update results in failures. If this happens, it doesn’t mean the end of your PC. Instead, you could get the previous version from a backup and restore it with the Ashampoo Driver Updater.
Compatibility
The driver updater is compatible with Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7. This widespread compatibility makes it a very versatile tool. In fact, it is particularly well-integrated with Windows 10, with notifications appearing in the operating system's Action Center.
Interface and in use
It’s easy to download and use the Ashampoo Driver Updater. To do so, start by visiting the company’s official website. You can pay online and download the software or have it shipped to you in DVD format. Picking the DVD format requires an extra payment.
After downloading, run the installer on your computer. The downloadable file is under 100MB, and its installation doesn’t take long from start to finish. After installing, you can open the driver updater and start using it.
Just hit the scan button to have Ashampoo check your system for outdated drivers (Image credit: Ashampoo)
The user interface is clear and straightforward. You have visible options to scan, backup, or restore. After scanning, it’ll show you the drivers that require updates and those that do not. Admittedly, Ashampoo does lack the interface skins and transparencies that come with Obit Driver Booster Pro but although these are nice touches, they are only aesthetic of course.
More practically, there is a settings section with Ashampoo's software where you have the option to auto-scan your drivers every time you launch the software or whenever your PC boots afresh. The software is also multilingual, supporting over two dozen languages.
Ashampoo's free support resources do leave something to be desired (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Support
There are various support options for the Ashampoo Driver Updater, including email, telephone, and live chat. The live chat and telephone support work pretty well, as did the company's email response. However, you also have the option to pay for premium email support that’ll make Ashampoo treat your inquiries as a top priority. This paid option costs $4.95 for two years.
There’s also an online Frequently Answered Questions (FAQ) page you can consult to resolve common problems, as well as a help desk article that runs through the fundamentals like how to conduct a system scan and update your drivers.
The competition
Ashampoo Driver Updater has many competitors, such as IObit Driver Booster Pro and DriverDoc. Despite having similar features, Ashampoo costs $19 for a download and is more expensive than IObit ($11.50). On the other hand, DriverDoc (costing roughly $40) is more costly than Ashampoo but has more features.
Today, there are a plethora of driver updater tools on the market, including the likes of Auslogics Driver Updater, AVG Driver Updater, and many more. Although many of these may beat Ashampoo in certain areas, from power to speed, Ashampoo Driver Updater is a great all-rounder.
Final verdict
Ashampoo Driver Updater is a tool that lives up to its promise. It’s effortless to use and performs its required functions very well. Its main drawback is the cost, as it’s more expensive than many of its rivals, so it may be a good idea to get to grips with the 30-day free trial to see if you really want to sign up for an annual license.
Ashampoo Driver Updater is a device maintenance tool and driver updater for the Windows operating system. Usually, wrong or old drivers are an enemy of every computer system and can lead to system instability, data loss, or even security vulnerabilities.
Ashampoo Driver Updater keeps track of your drivers and ensures they’re updated when necessary. In doing so, Ashampoo can help guard against frequent system crashes and computer errors, allowing you to optimize productivity levels.
Ashampoo is a software company that develops a broad range of software tools. It maintains its headquarters in Oldenburg, Germany. The organization actually offers a range of different solutions outside of its driver updater program, including video editing software, ad blocker tools, and a file manager.
In this review, however, we'll focus on Ashapoo's driver updater tool. We’ll evaluate Ashampoo Driver Updater based on specific criteria, including pricing, features, compatibility, customer support, and user interface.
While Ashampoo Driver Updater may be discounted, you will need to pay extra for premium support (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Ashampoo Driver Updater: Plans and pricing
Ashampoo Driver Updater is available through an annual subscription. It costs $33 for an annual license covering three personal computers in a downloadable format but keep an an eye out for deals, as we’ve frequently noticed the price being cut in half.
Compared to other competing driver updater tools, Ashampoo is not the cheapest. For instance, both IObit Driver Booster Pro and SlimWare Utilities DriverUpdate are more affordable. However, there is a free tier available for users of Ashampoo Driver Updater but they will have to put up with limited functionality. For example, the free version takes longer to scan and update drivers than the paid version. However, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee allowing you to try the software before committing yourself financially.
Wide device and driver support is one of Ashampoo Driver Updater's best features (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Features
Ashampoo Driver Updater has many of the features you'd expect to find in a driver updater software suite including:
Driver Detection
The Ashampoo Driver Updater can scan all drivers on your computer and identify which ones are outdated or not. The scan is rapid and easy to do. If you wish, you can set the driver updater to run a full scan whenever your PC boots up. Also, as soon as you launch Ashampoo Driver Updater, the software will conduct a scan of your PC for hardware and drivers. Once this is complete, you’ll then be presented with a list of both up-to-date and out-of-date drivers, as well as processor and RAM information.
Ashampoo Driver Updater automatically lets you know when driver updates are available (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Automatic Updates
You can update your drivers with the tool after scanning. Ashampoo uses a colour-coding system to quickly inform you of the status of each driver. A green icon signifies that a driver is up to date, a yellow icon is used for drivers that have had an update available for less than 365 days, and a red icon informs users that a driver has had an update available for more than 365 days. You can then either install updates individually or update all of them with a single click.
There are many benefits of updating your device drivers, including:
Fixes wireless connection, sound, and printer issues
Reduces risk of system crashes and freezes
Improves your gaming experience
Fully optimized system usage
You can also backup up your existing drivers (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Driver Backup and Restore
You can save your driver backups to an external hard drive or DVD and restore them when needed. Sometimes, you’ll need previous versions of your drivers, for example, when an update results in failures. If this happens, it doesn’t mean the end of your PC. Instead, you could get the previous version from a backup and restore it with the Ashampoo Driver Updater.
Compatibility
The driver updater is compatible with Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7. This widespread compatibility makes it a very versatile tool. In fact, it is particularly well-integrated with Windows 10, with notifications appearing in the operating system's Action Center.
Interface and in use
It’s easy to download and use the Ashampoo Driver Updater. To do so, start by visiting the company’s official website. You can pay online and download the software or have it shipped to you in DVD format. Picking the DVD format requires an extra payment.
After downloading, run the installer on your computer. The downloadable file is under 100MB, and its installation doesn’t take long from start to finish. After installing, you can open the driver updater and start using it.
Just hit the scan button to have Ashampoo check your system for outdated drivers (Image credit: Ashampoo)
The user interface is clear and straightforward. You have visible options to scan, backup, or restore. After scanning, it’ll show you the drivers that require updates and those that do not. Admittedly, Ashampoo does lack the interface skins and transparencies that come with Obit Driver Booster Pro but although these are nice touches, they are only aesthetic of course.
More practically, there is a settings section with Ashampoo's software where you have the option to auto-scan your drivers every time you launch the software or whenever your PC boots afresh. The software is also multilingual, supporting over two dozen languages.
Ashampoo's free support resources do leave something to be desired (Image credit: Ashampoo)
Support
There are various support options for the Ashampoo Driver Updater, including email, telephone, and live chat. The live chat and telephone support work pretty well, as did the company's email response. However, you also have the option to pay for premium email support that’ll make Ashampoo treat your inquiries as a top priority. This paid option costs $4.95 for two years.
There’s also an online Frequently Answered Questions (FAQ) page you can consult to resolve common problems, as well as a help desk article that runs through the fundamentals like how to conduct a system scan and update your drivers.
The competition
Ashampoo Driver Updater has many competitors, such as IObit Driver Booster Pro and DriverDoc. Despite having similar features, Ashampoo costs $19 for a download and is more expensive than IObit ($11.50). On the other hand, DriverDoc (costing roughly $40) is more costly than Ashampoo but has more features.
Today, there are a plethora of driver updater tools on the market, including the likes of Auslogics Driver Updater, AVG Driver Updater, and many more. Although many of these may beat Ashampoo in certain areas, from power to speed, Ashampoo Driver Updater is a great all-rounder.
Final verdict
Ashampoo Driver Updater is a tool that lives up to its promise. It’s effortless to use and performs its required functions very well. Its main drawback is the cost, as it’s more expensive than many of its rivals, so it may be a good idea to get to grips with the 30-day free trial to see if you really want to sign up for an annual license.
Servicing your clients' needs is key to running a well-oiled business, but what happens when your customer requires attention from the other end of the globe? Sure, you can communicate all day via email or telephone, but sometimes, there’s only so much you can do without looking at the computer screen on the other end of the call.
That’s where remote access tools like ISL Online come in. The saving grace of every IT department is that ISL allows technicians to tap into client workstations from thousands of miles away, making troubleshooting much easier on both ends.
But is it the ideal choice for your needs? Let’s delve into the pros and cons and explore who could benefit the most from ISL Online.
ISL Online provides plenty of features for IT departments looking to offer support to their organization's employees (Image credit: ISL Online)
ISL Online: Features
ISL Online offers advanced remote support and management capabilities, making it ideal for IT professionals who can efficiently manage or troubleshoot remote devices. Large businesses can use ISL Online to support a wide range of technology, ensuring employees can access systems and support regardless of physical location. Educators and IT staff in schools can also use ISL Online to manage and troubleshoot classroom technology or support remote learning environments. Hospitals and clinics can also take advantage of ISL Online’s secure and reliable platform for managing patient data and supporting telehealth services.
An intuitive remote access software suite with numerous ways to connect and support clients, ISL Online offers a number of unique features to best serve the needs of your IT department and loyal customers. Basic tools include remote control, audio and video calls, file sharing, and messaging.
There are also a number of tools to make remote support easier for both clients and IT admins (Image credit: ISL Online)
Once a remote session is active, technicians are presented with a toolbar with quick-click functions for things like screen sharing, requesting control of a client’s machine, an option for transferring the session to another tech, and a button for inviting extra participants to a session.
On the client end, customers are able to accept and deny remote logins (if unattended access isn’t granted). File transfer permissions and storage locations can also be managed on the client side – although a technician can decide where to send files, too.
ISL Online : Types of remote sessions
Technicians can initiate a remote session in numerous ways. The quickest and most efficient way to jumpstart remote access is by downloading ISL Light to the technician and client machines. When fielding a request for remote support, techs can then launch the app and generate a session code that gets pinged to the client machine. After the client grants permission, the remote session can begin. For unattended machines (client machines that techs are automatically permitted to access), clients must have the ISL AlwaysOn app (for Windows and Mac machines) installed.
Once installed, all the technician has to do is find the client computer in the list of available ISL Light devices and click to start a remote session. “ISL Online” is not only the name of the company’s software suite but a remote access option for clients – with the “Online” aspect of the name referring to ISL’s remote site (islonline.net), where clients can enter session codes to enable remote access. While some users have complained of slower tools and extensions during a web session, it’s still a viable option for clients who do not have ISL Light installed on their machines.
(Image credit: ISL Online)
And not to mention that the web portal is extremely easy to use, with options for sorting AlwaysOn clients into custom groups and sharing permissions for other techs.
Remote access can also be initiated through an invite-only email with an attached session code that automatically downloads ISL Light on your client’s machine, as well as a live chat option that plants a chat button on your site that can be used to initiate a remote session.
ISL Online is available on desktop as well as mobile (Image credit: ISL Online)
ISL Online: Platforms
ISL’s range of remote service tools are compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux desktops, as well as iOS and Android devices. As mentioned, in order for a tech to access a client’s desktop or mobile device, all the client needs to do is install ISL Light on their own desktop or mobile device, or head over to islonline.net to start a browser session.
You can sign up for an annual plan or opt for the pay as you go route (Image credit: ISL Online)
ISL Online: Plans and pricing
ISL Online offers various subscription options tailored to meet the remote access needs of businesses and clients. New subscribers can avail a 15-day free trial to test the software. This trial provides access to all essential features, such as remote desktop control, unattended access for client machines, mobile device support, app customization, and maximum security. The only exclusions for trial members are multi-session and premium phone support.
The standard plan includes unlimited users and devices, mobile device support, connections via RDP, user management, device permissions, and standard customization, priced at $34.90 per concurrent user per month.
For a premium plan at $54.90 per user per month, subscribers get all the standard plan features, along with SSO/SAML and premium support.
Companies with smaller footprints may consider the Pay Per Use plan, priced at $125 per 500 minutes over a year. This plan includes all the standard features with multi-session streams charged per minute.
Enterprise plans start at approximately $24,000 per year.
Not only does ISL Online offer end-to-end encryption but its software also has several security certifications (Image credit: ISL Online)
ISL Online: Privacy
ISL Online is dedicated to maintaining robust security measures. In addition to the end-to-end encryption of all transferred data, the platform employs two-factor authentication (2FA), code signing, port filtering, user access management, and an allowlist/blocklist for controlling which machines ISL Online technicians are permitted to access. Furthermore, the client's ISL AlwaysOn app is secured with password protection, and initial session access is restricted to the technician who initiated the call. These measures collectively ensure high security and control over remote access operations.
ISL Online: Pro and cons
ISL Online has its own set of pros and cons that need to be considered.
Firstly, ISL Online is compatible with various platforms such as Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. This cross-platform functionality ensures that users can offer or receive support, irrespective of the operating system in use.
The platform takes security seriously by using industry-standard encryption protocols to safeguard data transmission. This feature is especially important for businesses that handle sensitive information or operate in regulated industries.
ISL Online has an intuitive interface, making it easy to navigate and use. This ensures that both support technicians and end-users can operate the software smoothly without a steep learning curve.
Businesses using ISL Online have the option to customize the software to their specific needs. This includes custom branding options, which can enhance the support experience for customers and reinforce brand identity.
ISL Online is suitable for freelancers, SMBs, and large corporations as it can scale to meet their requirements. Its pricing structure and feature set cater to a broad range of needs, making it a versatile tool for different business sizes and sectors.
However, the pricing for ISL Online might be a hurdle for individuals or small businesses with limited budgets. The investment is substantial, and potential users must weigh the benefits against the costs.
Although the platform is generally user-friendly, some of its more advanced features may require a learning investment. Users looking to leverage the full suite of tools will need to spend time becoming acquainted with them.
ISL Online's free version is quite limited, offering just a brief trial period to test its capabilities. Businesses looking to extensively test the software before committing might find this period restrictive.
RemotePC by iDrive allows access to up to ten Windows and Mac machines with prices starting at only $4/month and includes file sharing from machines and remote drives, and even includes live video support.
Zoho Assist is another worthy contender. Featuring some of the toughest security features on the market and options for remote printing and custom branding, there are numerous subscription options available for whatever your team may require, with prices starting at $8/month for the Zoho Standard plan.
Final verdict
ISL Online provides many powerful remote access tools, offering multiple ways to support clients across different machines and platforms. The platform emphasizes top-notch security features and permissions tools for both technicians and clients, demonstrating ISL's strong commitment to user data security.
While the cost of Cloud-licensing fees may be high, especially for small businesses, ISL's subscription comes with a wealth of tools, extensions, and add-ons, making it a worthwhile investment. New suite users can also benefit from an excellent built-in support team, facilitating successful integration with ISL Online for the user and their clients.
ISL Online is a powerful, versatile, and secure remote desktop service suitable for a diverse audience, from IT professionals to large enterprises. However, potential users should carefully weigh the platform's cons, such as its cost and the complexity of some features, against their specific needs and the benefits it offers. With its security, support, and scalability strengths, ISL Online is a compelling solution for those seeking reliable and professional remote access tools.
Before making your final decision, consider your organization's specific needs, budget, and the level of support and features required. ISL Online might be the comprehensive tool to elevate your remote access capabilities.
What to look for in a remote desktop solution
When searching for a remote desktop software package, it's crucial to prioritize several key features to ensure a smooth, secure, and efficient remote access experience. The first aspect to consider is security. Given the nature of remote access, the software should have robust encryption standards to protect data during transmission. Features like two-factor authentication and multi-level permission settings offer additional layers of security, ensuring that only authorized users can access the system.
Another critical factor is the ease of use. The software should have an intuitive interface, allowing users to connect to remote devices seamlessly without extensive technical knowledge. It is also important that it supports multiple platforms and devices, providing flexibility to access your desktop from various operating systems like Windows, MacOS, Linux, or through mobile devices running iOS or Android.
Performance is equally vital. The software should offer a smooth, lag-free experience, even with low bandwidth, ensuring that tasks can be performed efficiently without frustration. Look for options that provide a good balance between video quality and transmission speed, minimizing delays in rendering graphics or text.
Compatibility with business tools and scalability are other significant considerations. As businesses grow, their remote desktop needs may evolve. A good remote desktop software should easily integrate with existing IT environments and scale to accommodate additional users or workstations without major overhauls.
Lastly, customer support cannot be overlooked. Reliable customer service is crucial, as it ensures that any technical issues can be promptly addressed. Look for software providers that offer comprehensive support via various channels, including live chat, email, and phone.
In summary, when scouting for a remote desktop software package, prioritize security, ease of use, performance, compatibility and scalability, and customer support. Selecting a software with these features in mind will not only enhance productivity but also safeguard your digital assets, ultimately offering a positive return on investment.
Update - November 2025: Any PDF editor, such as pdfFiller, which relies on the web for its functionality, will benefit from improvements to the network, so if you have a good ISP, and a steady and generous bandwidth, you’ll find pdfFiller to be as good as it’s always been: fast and responsive to the point you easily forget you’re working in a browser window.
In terms of features, there's not been any real changes - your workflow is pretty much the same as it was when we last reviewed the software last year.
Pricing remains a sticking point though. Its month-by-month subscriptions are very high, ranging from $20, $30 and $40 for ‘Basic’, ‘Plus’ and ‘Premium’ respectively. Thankfully, its yearly contracts are more in line with the competition (if on the high side for the top end), dropping the cost to the equivalent of $8, $12, and $15 per month.
Original review follows.
pdfFiller is designed to help businesses deal with PDFs documents, from the basics such as splitting or merging files, to converting files to and from that format, editing PDFs, signing them, password protecting them, and more.
pdfFiller is made by airSlate Inc, an American software company. airSlate maintains its headquarters in the city of Brookline, Massachusetts. This service is part of the airSlate Business Cloud, a software suite for enterprises to create and manage documents. We put the latest version to the test, to see how it compares to the best PDF editor software out there.
pdfFiller: Plans and pricing
You can check out the wares by selecting a subscription plan as this grants you 30 days to explore before the first payment kicks in (Image credit: airSlate)
Various options are open to you, all dependent on price, and the more you pay, the more features you get. No free plan though, but a free 30-day trial should help mitigate that
Since pdfFiller is an online service, you get to access its wares via a subscription. There are no free tiers available, but any plan you choose comes with a free 30-day trial, which should give you enough time to kick her tires and see how she runs.
For $8 a month (on a yearly contract), or $20 on a month-by-month basis, ‘Basic’ gives you, well, the basics: you can edit documents, such as erasing sections, highlighting others, merging files, and converting PDFs to Word; you’re able to access your documents online, or through a desktop app (for Mac and Windows), and have the support staff get back to you in a day.
‘Plus’ take it up a notch for $12 a month for a year, or $30 each month. Its additional features include being able to create templates, insert fillable fields, password protect documents, get access to an iOS and Android app, and have customer support get back to you within 30 minutes.
And finally there’s ‘Premium’ which adds the ability to sign docs and get others to sign them as well, offers a library of US legal forms, manage users and permissions, collect payments, set up custom branding, and gets you instant support, all for $15 a month for a year, or $40 each month.
As mentioned above you can explore these features without giving the company your payment details, but rest assured no money will be taken for the first 30 days.
You can check out pdfFiller from airSlate by clicking here.
Score: 4/5
pdfFiller: Interface
The interface may not be original, but it’s clear and simple to understand (Image credit: airSlate)
A busy, yet easy to navigate interface that makes it easy for you to upload your documents, templates and contacts, and have access to them wherever you are, whether through a web browser, a desktop app or through your iPhone or Android device (as long as you’ve chosen the plan that includes those, of course)
Having logged in, you’ll be able to access pdfFiller either online, or by downloading an app. The concept is pretty much the same, as whichever option you use, your documents will be uploaded to pdfFiller’s servers, enabling you to work on them wherever you have access to a computer or web browser.
Upload a document and you’ll be able to interact with it within seconds. In that respect it makes for a great and easy interface: no matter where you are, as long as your documents are with pdfFiller, you’ll be able to get access to them, online or via a dedicated app.
The sidebar on the left lets you see your documents, templates, contacts and more, while the rest of the interface is dedicated to whichever menu you’ve selected in the sidebar. It’s all pretty simple and straightforward.
You’re able to import your contacts from Google or add them manually, and your documents can be uploaded to pdfFiller as mentioned above, or accessed from one of four online storage solutions: Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, or OneDrive. It shouldn’t take you any time at all to understand your way around.
Score: 4/5
pdfFiller: Tools
You have full editing access to a PDF - you can highlight text, redact paragraphs, edit the original content (one line at a time), and so on (Image credit: airSlate)
All the tools are available in one place, which is great for efficiency and eases workflow. They’re all easy to use, and do their job as expected. A great interface, with good, powerful tools
What we really appreciated is the fact that once you’ve opened a document, you can do pretty much everything you need to directly from there. When you consider the fact that many of pdfFiller’s competitors require you to access specific tools one at a time, having to close the document first, and reopen it in that new tool to continue working, being able to do it all in one go sure feels like a breath of fresh air. It feels like the interface is working for you, rather than you having to work against it.
All the tools you’re looking for are there: you can re-order pages, and delete others straight from the thumbnail sidebar on the left. Should you need additional options, select ‘more’ from any of these thumbnails to reveal the ‘rearrange pages’ popup window from which you can also add and duplicate pages, along with what you could already do in the sidebar.
The rest of the tools can all be found at the top of the page, in a row. You can add text boxes, images, ticks and crosses, draw on the page, and more. It’s all very simple: select the tool, and apply it wherever you wish.
And as with true premium PDF services, you’re able to alter a PDF’s existing content, one line as a time. It’s not ideal as we’d prefer services that allow you to select entire paragraphs instead, but it works fine to change the odd word, or fix a typo here and there. Problems can occur should your alterations need to be more extensive.
Signatures are a simple matter of selecting the ‘sign’ tool, and placing it wherever it needs to be on the page. You can even resize it at will.
When it comes to redaction, you have an ‘Erase’ and a ‘Blackout’ tool. They both do the same thing: block out a portion of the text, either in white or black, preventing a reader from seeing those sections, and more importantly, preventing them from selecting the text that is now redacted.
Even better, your modifications are saved automatically which means that you can make changes on one device, and when you check on the other, those alterations are already reflected there. It makes for a seamless experience.
Score: 4.5/5
Should I buy pdfFiller?
Reordering or deleting pages can be done straight from the thumbnail sidebar or via the ‘Rearrange Pages’ section (Image credit: airSlate)
Buy it if...
You’re looking for a powerful and well implemented PDF editing service which you can access online, via a desktop app, or through your iPhone and Android device.
Don't buy it if...
You don’t need so much control over your PDFs, and you certainly don’t want to be saddled with yet another subscription package.
Square POS, or point of sale system, has a long history dating back to 2009. When a then small start-up called Square (co-founded by Twitter’s Jack Dorsey) devised a simple solution that enabled merchants of all sizes to accept payments on their mobile devices.
By inserting its Square Reader into the 3.5mm headphone jack on a smartphone or tablet, the company allowed users to take payments via its app for the first time on a mobile device.
Square turned the POS system industry upside down with the release of its first product a decade ago, and since then the company has produced new hardware and software to further empower small and medium sized businesses.
Indeed, Square POS recently introduced a new self-service ordering feature that can be used by Square Online sellers, particularly those selling food and drink. So, you may be wondering how the firm stacks up against rivals now, and whether or not Square is the right payments solution for your business. Let’s explore these issues in more detail.
Looking for an alternative to Square POS? Competitor POS (point of sale) systems are offered by the likes of Lightspeed POS, EposNow, First POS, and Shopify.
The Square POS system offers a wide selection of payment tech (Image credit: Square)
Square POS pricing
Square may not charge its users a setup fee or monthly fees but it does take a percentage of each transaction with the rate of the transaction depending on which Square hardware product you decide to use. Here are how the prices shape up depending on your choice of hardware:
Customers with a Square Reader and Stand are charged 2.75 % per transaction.
Customers with a Square Terminal pay 2.6 % plus $0.10 per transaction.
Customers with a Square Register pay 2.5 % plus $0.10 per transaction.
All of these charges occur when a customer pays by tap, dip or swipe for payments taken on Square's hardware.
Square’s prices may be higher than other credit card processing companies, but there are no overhead costs to deal with, and all retail and mobile customers get a Square Reader for free. The company does not charge users a monthly fee and there are no monthly minimums to be met, which makes the service a great fit for businesses that only occasionally need to process credit cards.
Available hardware includes user-friendly POS terminals
Square POS setup
Getting started with Square is a straightforward and simple process. First things first, you will need to register on the company’s site where you’ll be prompted to enter your name, email address and some information about your business.
Next you need to provide your banking details including your routing number so that Square can pay you for sales made using its platform, though note that it can take up to a week to verify your bank account. The company will also send you a free Square Reader in the post in seven to ten business days.
New users will have to set up their account on Square Dashboard which serves as the online headquarters for their business. Here, it is possible to add locations, employees, items and more, as well as taking care of the likes of setting up inventory management.
To get started taking payments, though, you have to download the Square Point of Sale app from either Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play Store depending on your device. Once you’ve downloaded the app, go ahead and sign in to your store (the app also works with multiple stores) and you will be presented with a grid that shows the products you’ve set up on Square Dashboard in the center, with your product categories on the left and the sales receipt on the right.
When you choose a product, a pop-up window lets you specify the size, quantity, taxes and discounts for each item. A button at the top-right of the app labeled Split lets you easily split a bill between customers, and can also come in handy if a customer wants to use several payment methods such as cash plus a gift card.
Once a customer is ready to pay, they can swipe their card or dip their chip depending on which piece of Square’s hardware is being used. If you’re using the app on a tablet, simply turn the device towards your customer so that they can sign and tip, completing the transaction.
The exact setup process will vary depending on which of Square’s systems you’re using, but overall it’s easy enough for any small business owner to get up and running in a short amount of time. The Point of Sale app also guides new users through how to conduct a transaction when they open it for the first time.
Ease of use is one of the most appealing aspects of Square POS (Image credit: Square)
Square POS features
Square POS hardware covers all bases when it comes to taking and processing payments. If you need a fully-integrated point of sale and payments terminal then the Register is ideal, featuring as it does a dedicated customer display. Alternatively, get the Square POS stand and you can simply turn your own iPad into a Square point of sale location.
Meanwhile, the Terminal is a compact device that enables you to accept payments and also print receipts, while the very common readers that are already commonplace offer compact and convenient processing of payments. Square also has numerous accessories to boost the usefulness of its service, with everything from cash drawers and barcode readers through to printers and scales being available.
The Square POS system also bristles with cool features, such as the company’s Card on File which allows users to safely and securely store customer card information. This can be quite useful for repeat customers who are tired of swiping their cards, and because the company hosts and secures this customer data, you are still PCI compliant.
Card on File also works with Square Invoices as well as e-commerce using Square’s APIs. You will have to pay extra to use this feature as Square charges you the keyed entry rate, but it’s still a nice addition.
The Square POS stand is convenient if you use your iPad as point of sale system. (Image credit: Rodnae Productions via Pexels)
Square is also able to operate in an offline mode in the same way that more complex POS systems offer (such as NCR Silver POS). This feature is a godsend for small vendors that need to operate in venues with poor internet connections such as festivals or in remote areas.
Square’s Virtual Terminal gives vendors the ability to enter credit card payments from any internet-connected device with a web browser. This feature is free and retailers only need to pay the processing costs for each transaction just as they normally would. Virtual Terminal can even be used to store card data to charge customers without them having to re-submit their payment information.
Invoicing can be taken care of using Square’s built-in tools, but third-party integration is also supported if you want to use other invoicing software. The company’s invoicing tools support both one-off and recurring invoices as well as installment payments.
There’s even a wide range of templates available for creating contracts with Square POS. Purchase orders, images and other files can easily be attached to your invoices so that you can keep everything neat and tidy in one place.
For merchants that wish to use their funds from Square right away, the company has created the Square Card. This MasterCard debit card gives sellers immediate access to their funds without the need for a bank transfer. The card works at stores, online, and even at ATMs with Square providing an automatic 2.75% discount when you shop with other Square merchants.
As mentioned earlier, Square also recently unveiled a new feature for Square Online sellers that allows businesses to print their own QR codes on signs, tables, menus and so on.
Aimed mainly at food and drink outlets that have suffered badly during the pandemic, it offers a contactless and largely touch-free way of boosting orders. Customers can use Apple Pay, Google Pay or indeed Square Pay to settle up once an order is completed.
Square offers capacity for processing payments when the customer is present
Square POS competition
Square may have shook up the market with its first card reader, but since then other similar services have launched to compete in the mobile payments space. While we could list every one of the company’s competitors, it’s a more worthwhile exercise to highlight a couple of key providers which offer similar solutions geared towards small businesses looking to accept credit cards.
Online payments company PayPal launched its PayPal Here POS service back in 2012. While its Chip Card Reader for $14.99 is not as elegant as the Square Reader, its new Chip and Tap Reader for $59.99 is almost identical to Square’s device, but it comes in black.
PayPal Here simple and versatile payment processing service.
PayPal Here’s standard rate for swipe and dip is 2.7%, although there is an additional cost for processing international cards from outside of the US.
Intuit (of QuickBooks fame) has also released its own mobile payments solution called Intuit GoPayment. If you’re already heavily invested in the QuickBooks ecosystem, then the fact that the company’s mPOS offering integrates perfectly could be a big selling point.
A Windows-only POS system from the accounting software giant, Intuit
The Intuit GoPayment app for Android and iOS is free and the company sends you a free card reader just like Square does. However, you’re probably better off spending $49 for Intuit’s All-in-One reader that accepts chip, swipe and contactless.
Square POS final verdict
Square POS can also be run on your iPad for convenience
The fact that Square provides the necessary software and even the hardware to start accepting card payments means the service’s barrier to entry is quite low. Anyone can register on the site, receive their Square Reader in the mail and start accepting card payments in no time, which is perfect for small businesses looking to try out new ways of taking payments.
However, the company is quite strict when it comes to investigating fraud or other illegal activities on its platform. Just bear in mind this could potentially mean that if a business suddenly starts doing incredibly well, its Square account could be subject to a review, freezing its cashflow.
Mobile vendors or small businesses that want to accept card payments occasionally will likely be quite pleased with Square. However, if your business processes a huge volume of transactions, you’re better off looking for a more advanced POS system better suited to your requirements.
As an all-in-one platform, HubSpot CRM centralizes all your marketing, sales, customer service, and content management needs with a focus on inbound techniques. The platform is considered to be one of the best CRM platforms on the market. Over 30,000 organizations across 90 countries have adopted HubSpot CRM, making it an exceedingly popular choice for companies seeking the best CRM for small businesses.
After putting the CRM through its paces, I've found it to be a robust and intuitive solution for organizing contacts, tracking deals, and gaining visibility into the sales process. The interface is clean and easy to navigate, with helpful features like email tracking, meeting scheduling, and live chat that streamline communication with leads and customers.
If there was one thing to say against HubSpot CRM, it’s the fact that the software can get quite expensive as you scale your business. While the free offering and generous entry-level plans offer a great starting point for new businesses, it’s easy to end up paying for things you don’t need as your business grows.
At TechRadar Pro, our business software experts don’t just read feature lists - we live in the platforms we review. To evaluate HubSpot, our testers spent dozens of hours setting up real-world sales pipelines, importing complex datasets, and stress-testing the automation workflows that define the platform. Our reviews are 100% independent, with assessments based solely on hands-on experience and real-world value for businesses. Keep reading for our detailed thoughts.
HubSpot CRM - Core capabilities
HubSpot CRM delivers the essential features I'd expect from a customer relationship management system.
For starters, I can store up to 1 million free contacts and companies in the CRM thanks to its generous cloud storage, with each record capturing important details like contact info, website, social media profiles, industry, revenue, etc. When you add a contact, HubSpot can also automatically populate key details about their company, saving data entry time.
You can add up to 1 million contacts on the free plan. (Image credit: HubSpot)
Segmenting contacts into lists based on any criteria is simple with HubSpot CRM's powerful filtering tools. I can easily create dynamic lists that automatically update as contact properties change. For example, I set up a list of contacts from companies with 500+ employees who have visited my pricing page in the last month.
The deals dashboard is easy to navigate. (Image credit: HubSpot)
Deals and tasks keep things organized as you manage leads through the sales pipeline. I can create deal stages that mirror my sales process, drag and drop deals from one stage to the next, and easily see the value and quantity of deals in each stage. Tasks ensure critical to-dos never slip through the cracks. I can assign tasks to team members, associate them with specific deals or contacts, and set due dates.
For those who rely strongly on inbound, HubSpot CRM's built-in prospecting tool is useful for lead generation, identifying potential customers who are engaging with your website for the first time. It shows me which companies visited my site, even if they haven't filled out a form yet, and provides key details about those organizations pulled from HubSpot's database. I can review prospects and add promising leads to the CRM with one click.
Reporting features give me a clear picture of my sales pipeline and team performance. The dashboard displays my deal forecast, number of deals created and closed, productivity metrics, and more. I can dig into reports to see deals won and lost, sales leaderboards, and individual rep performance. Reports are easy to filter and customize.
Email tracking and templates help my team communicate efficiently with leads and customers. I can see who opened an email, clicked a link, or downloaded an attachment, then follow up accordingly. Templated emails save time on common messages. The Gmail and Outlook integrations allow me to log emails to the CRM and access templates, tracking, and more without leaving my inbox.
Live chat is another channel for real-time conversations with website visitors. I can configure targeted messages to specific web pages or audience segments. AI chatbots help qualify leads and schedule meetings 24/7. All chat conversations are automatically saved in the CRM.
Finally, the mobile app gives me access to key CRM data and features on the go. I can look up contacts, update deals, track emails, and more from my smartphone. This is invaluable when traveling or walking into a meeting.
Beyond the essentials, HubSpot CRM includes some handy tools that enhance productivity. The email integration with Gmail and Outlook is fantastic - I can track email opens, log sent emails to contact records, and create new contacts directly from my inbox. The meeting scheduler makes it painless for prospects to book time on my calendar, eliminating the usual back-and-forth. I also get a lot of value from the task reminders and automated workflows that keep me on top of follow-ups and outreach.
While the free HubSpot CRM is generous with its features, upgrading to one of the paid Sales Hub plans unlocks even more advanced capabilities like sales automation, predictive lead scoring, smart notifications, custom reporting, and more. But for many small businesses and sales teams, the free version provides the core tools needed to organize customer data and manage deals efficiently in one centralized system.
How easy is HubSpot CRM to use?
From the moment I first logged into HubSpot CRM, I found the dashboard to be clean, well-organized, and easy to understand. Whether working on contacts, deals, tasks, or reports, the layout and controls remain familiar and intuitive. The main navigation menu is clearly labeled and logically structured, making it simple to find the tools and data I need. The design consistency reduces cognitive load and allows me to move between various areas of the CRM without having to relearn the interface each time.
HubSpot CRM provides a wide range of options for tailoring the platform to my specific needs, but it does so in a way that is approachable and straightforward. I can easily add custom fields to contact and deal records, create personalized views, and build custom reports and dashboards without needing extensive technical skills. The drag-and-drop interface for building workflows and deal pipelines is particularly user-friendly, enabling me to automate processes and visualize my sales funnel with minimal effort.
When it comes to onboarding and training, HubSpot CRM offers a wealth of resources to help new users get up to speed quickly. The HubSpot Academy provides a comprehensive library of courses, certifications, and tutorials that cover every aspect of the CRM. I found the courses to be well-structured, engaging, and practical, with a mix of videos, quizzes, and hands-on exercises. The in-app guidance and tooltips are also helpful for discovering new features and understanding best practices.
It's worth noting that HubSpot CRM's ease of use extends beyond the core functionality. The platform's integration with tools like Gmail, Outlook, and Google Calendar is seamless, allowing me to manage my email and schedule without leaving the CRM. The mobile app is also well-designed and provides access to all the essential features, enabling me to stay productive on the go.
Overall, HubSpot CRM really sets the standard for ease of use in the CRM space. Its intuitive interface, consistent design, and customization options make it accessible to users of all skill levels. The comprehensive onboarding resources and rapid time-to-proficiency ensure that teams can start realizing value from the platform quickly. While there may be a learning curve for some of the more advanced features, HubSpot's commitment to usability makes the journey smoother and more enjoyable than with many other CRM systems I've used.
HubSpot CRM - Integrations
You can integrate HubSpot with the business tools you already use - like Gmail. (Image credit: HubSpot)
HubSpot CRM offers a wide range of pre-built integrations with popular business applications, making it easy to connect your customer data with the rest of your tech stack. The HubSpot App Marketplace is a treasure trove of integrations, with over 1,000 apps across various categories like marketing, sales, customer service, and more. I was able to quickly find and set up integrations with Mailchimp, Slack, and Zendesk. Setting up these integrations was a breeze — most required just a few clicks and minimal configuration.
While the pre-built integrations cover a wide range of popular apps, there may be instances where a specific integration is not available out-of-the-box. In such cases, HubSpot's integration with Zapier is a major lifesaver. Zapier is an automation platform that allows for connecting HubSpot CRM with over 3,000 apps. I was able to set up a custom workflow that automatically creates a task in my project management tool whenever a new lead is added in HubSpot, all without writing a single line of code.
For more complex integration needs, HubSpot provides a robust API that allows for custom integrations. API documentation is comprehensive and includes code examples in various programming languages. I also haven't encountered any significant issues with API performance. On the rare occasion when I did need assistance, HubSpot's support team was responsive and helpful in resolving the issue promptly.
Beyond all this, I also appreciate HubSpot's focus on data sync performance. The platform uses a two-way sync that ensures data consistency across integrated apps. Changes made in HubSpot are automatically reflected in the connected tools. I don’t have to worry about manually updating information in multiple places or dealing with conflicting data. Data sync capabilities extend beyond just syncing contact and deal information. For example, the platform also allows for syncing of marketing assets, such as email templates and landing pages.
How good is HubSpot's customer support?
When implementing a new CRM system, having access to responsive and knowledgeable customer support is crucial. During my experience with HubSpot CRM, I appreciated the variety of support channels offered here.
However, it's worth noting that the level of support can vary depending on your subscription tier. While all users have access to the Knowledge Base and Community Forums, live support channels are limited to Professional and Enterprise tiers.
With a Professional or Enterprise subscription, I have access to phone, email, and chat support. The support representatives are friendly, knowledgeable, and always willing to go the extra mile to resolve my issues or answer my questions. The average first response time for support inquiries is impressively short, often within an hour or two for email or chat and immediate for phone support.
Beyond live support, HubSpot offers an extensive library of self-service resources. The HubSpot Academy is a standout, providing a wealth of courses, lessons, and certifications on every aspect of the CRM. I've found the courses to be well-structured, informative, and engaging, with practical examples and hands-on exercises. The Knowledge Base is another powerful self-service resource, offering a searchable database of articles, tutorials, and FAQs.
When these resources prove insufficient, HubSpot also maintains an active community forum where users can ask questions, share best practices, and learn from each other. This is a great place to ask questions that haven’t been covered in the other self-help resources. Personally, I've found the community to be welcoming, knowledgeable, and eager to help.
When it comes to overall customer satisfaction, HubSpot consistently receives high marks. The company is transparent about its customer satisfaction scores (CSAT), which typically fall between 75% and 85%. This is a strong indicator that the majority of users are happy with the support they receive.
What AI features does HubSpot CRM offer?
HubSpot has gone all-in on AI with Breeze, originally launched in late 2024. Right now, you'll find 3 main components working together across the new AI platform.
Breeze Assistant acts as your AI copilot, helping with everyday tasks like drafting emails, summarizing CRM data, and answering questions about your customers. By Q4 2024, Breeze recorded over 75,000 weekly active users.
Breeze Agents take things further by handling complete workflows autonomously. The Customer Agent resolves support inquiries automatically. Prospecting Agent conducts research and writes personalized outreach emails using your CRM data. The Content Agent generates blog posts, landing pages, and social content based on your historical performance and brand guidelines. These agents work around the clock, freeing your team to focus on strategy.
Finally, Breeze Intelligence works behind the scenes to enrich your CRM data. It adds company details like industry and revenue to contact records, identifies buying signals, and flags prospects showing purchase intent. The system analyzes web behavior and engagement patterns to help you prioritize leads more effectively.
Unlike standalone AI tools, Breeze understands your business context because it has access to your entire customer history, conversations, and workflows. You can also customize Breeze Agents and create custom assistants tailored to your specific needs through Breeze Studio.
Breeze features are available across all Hubs, though the most powerful capabilities require Professional or Enterprise subscriptions. Some features like the Customer Agent operate on a credits system, which can add unpredictability to your costs.
HubSpot CRM - Plans and pricing
Plan
Free
Starter
Professional
Enterprise
Price
$0/user/month
$15/user/month
$1450/6 users/month
$4700/8 users/month
Best for
Small businesses or startups testing the waters
Growing businesses seeking basic marketing and sales tools
While it may not be the cheapest option on the market, HubSpot offers a compelling blend of features, flexibility, and scalability that justifies its pricing. That said, prices can add up quickly when you’re on one of the higher-tier plans, so you’d best stick to the features you need.
Unlike many other CRM providers, HubSpot actually offers a fully functional CRM for up to 2 users at no cost, with up to a million contacts. This free tier includes essential features like contact and deal management, email tracking, and live chat. It's a great way for businesses to get started with a CRM without any investment.
Once your business has outgrown the free CRM, you can choose between a range of plans across different modules like the Sales Hub, the Service Hub, or the Marketing Hub. Each plan adds on to the capabilities of the free CRM with enhanced features unique to that module.
For example, Sales Hub Starter includes support for multiple currencies, along with eSign software and the ability to perform simple automations. Similarly, Marketing Hub Starter offers access to live chat integrations and email marketing support. Prices usually start from $15/user/month for the Starter plan for each Hub, going all the way up to several thousand dollars per month for enterprise customers.
For businesses looking to bundle multiple HubSpot products, the Customer Platform offers a discounted price that packs together essential features from the Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, CMS Hub, and Operations Hub into a single plan. This bundle is ideal for enterprise businesses that want to leverage the full power of HubSpot's ecosystem.
For new customers, HubSpot offers a generous 14-day trial, plus discounts and bundles that can provide significant savings. For example, they offer a 25% discount for startups and a 40% discount for nonprofits.
It's also worth noting that in a major shift for 2026, HubSpot has moved away from its previous all-or-nothing seat pricing. You can now mix and match Core Seats (for general users) and Professional/Enterprise Seats (for power users), making it more cost-effective to scale a large team.
HubSpot CRM review - Final verdict
After thoroughly evaluating HubSpot CRM across multiple criteria, I believe that this is a solid CRM for small and medium-sized businesses, offering a robust set of features for contact management, deal tracking, and sales automation.
HubSpot’s user-friendly interface and design make it easy for teams to learn, with responsive live channels and comprehensive self-service resources to iron out any hiccups during initial adoption. I also liked the amount of flexibility offered in integrating the platform with other workplace productivity tools, with options ranging from built-in connectors to iPaaS vendors to a custom API.
However, while this is a solid platform for businesses of any size, it’s not without its shortcomings. For example, the existence of support tiers makes it impossible to receive live assistance as an entry-level paid subscriber. But on higher-tier plans, prices can quickly add up depending on the number of users, making the partnership less than sustainable.
Still, HubSpot CRM should fit the needs of most small-to-medium enterprises, especially with its generous free plan that offers near-unparalleled value in the world of CRMs. For larger organizations, thorough cost calculation is necessary to prevent overspending on unnecessary licenses or features.
HubSpot CRM - FAQ
Is HubSpot really free? What’s the catch?
Well, there’s no catch, per se, but, as always, you should read the fine print. While the core CRM is actually free for an unlimited number oif users and up to one million contacts, the "catch" is that more advanced features, such as advanced automation, custom reporting, and predictive lead scoring, are locked behind paid plans. If you want to access moire advanced features, you may have to fork out for Sales Hub or Marketing Hub - add-ons to the core CRM, which do come with a fee. Having said that, while the functionality of the core plan may be limited compared to the paid tiers, the free version remains generous.
What is the difference between HubSpot CRM and the other HubSpot "Hubs"?
Within the HubSpot ecosystem, the CRM is the free, foundational database. The other "Hubs" are paid subscriptions that add specialized tools and advanced functionality on top of the CRM. For example, Marketing Hub adds email marketing and lead nurturing workflows, while Sales Hub adds sales automation and e-signatures.
What integrations does HubSpot CRM offer?
HubSpot has a vast App Marketplace with over 1,000 pre-built integrations with popular tools like Gmail, Outlook, Slack, and Zendesk. For more complex needs, it offers an API for custom integrations and connects with automation platforms like Zapier.
What are some common use cases for HubSpot CRM?
Common use cases for HubSpot include managing and segmenting contacts, tracking deals through the sales funnel, automating follow-ups, analyzing sales team performance, and providing a centralized platform for sales and marketing teams to collaborate.
Founded in 2010, Pipedrive has grown to serve over 100,000 companies across more than 175 countries. It’s designed to help sales teams manage leads, track deals, and streamline sales processes.
At its heart, Pipedrive CRM offers a visual sales pipeline that lets users easily move deals through different stages by dragging and dropping them. Its intuitive interface is supported by features such as contact management, email integration, reporting tools, and workflow automation. Ultimately, it aims to simplify sales management by providing insights that help teams close more deals, making it one of the best CRM platforms out there.
In this review, I'll take a close look at Pipedrive's key features, usability, pricing, and overall performance to see if it lives up to its reputation as a user-friendly and effective CRM solution. I'll share my hands-on experience with the software and compare it to other CRM solutions in the market to see how it stacks up.
At TechRadar Pro, our business software experts don’t just summarize product pages - we get hands-on with the tools we review. To evaluate Pipedrive, I spent dozens of hours building custom sales pipelines, importing real-world lead data, and testing the platform's automation recipes to see if they truly save time.
Our reviews are 100% independent. We never accept payment for product rankings, ensuring that our verdict on Pipedrive’s ease of use and its sales-first philosophy is based solely on practical performance. When we recommend a feature or highlight a limitation, it is because we have encountered it ourselves during our rigorous testing process.
Pipedrive's core capabilities
(Image credit: Pipedrive)
At the heart of Pipedrive’s system is the contact and lead management feature. I liked how easy it was to import and organize contacts, with the ability to add custom fields to capture specific information relevant to my sales process. The system allows for a comprehensive view of each contact, including communication history, associated deals, and activities.
Pipedrive’s visual pipeline interface is one of its standout features, allowing me to track and move deals through various stages with a simple drag-and-drop action. I found it very easy to maintain a clear overview of my sales pipeline and quickly identify which opportunities needed attention.
There’s a paid LeadBooster add-on that enhances Pipedrive’s lead management capabilities even further. It includes web forms, live chat, and a prospecting tool that can help generate and qualify leads automatically. While these are powerful and well-designed, it's worth noting that they come at an additional cost on top of your base plan.
Pipedrive also offers advanced forecasting capabilities — the platform creates customizable sales forecasts based on the deals in your pipeline, allowing for accurate revenue predictions. I found the ability to create multiple pipelines particularly useful, as it allowed me to customize the sales process for different products or customer segments separately.
Pipedrive's Projects add-on has been overhauled recently, allowing for a seamless transition from Closed-Won to post-sale implementation, including automated task assignment for delivery teams.
While the CRM offers a range of pre-built reports based on various KPIs, Pipedrive’s custom reports are where it really shines. It offers a range of options to measure team efficiency, software effectiveness, and sales performance from a bevy of different angles. The reports themselves are incredibly visual, making it easy to understand the different charts, graphs, and numbers.
You can automate your sales workflows easily with Pipedrive. I found the process of setting up these automations to be straightforward, with a visual builder that made it easy to create complex workflows without needing any coding knowledge. However, there isn’t any support for marketing automation, which can put off some teams.
How easy it Pipedrive CRM to use?
Pipedrive’s minimalist design eliminates clutter, allowing users to focus on what matters most - managing their sales pipeline and customer relationships. The visual pipeline view is particularly user-friendly, offering a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to move deals through various stages.
Something that really impressed me was the smart contact data feature. With a single click, the system can search the internet for information about a prospect and populate records automatically. It saves a lot of time on data entry and research, allowing reps to focus more on actual selling activities.
Customization options on this platform are robust yet straightforward to implement. Pipedrive allows users to tailor fields, pipelines, and workflows to match their specific sales processes. During my testing, I was able to easily add custom fields to capture industry-specific information and create multiple pipelines for different product lines.
Pipedrive offers a variety of learning materials, including video tutorials, webinars, and a knowledge base. Its in-app guidance is particularly noteworthy, providing contextual tips and explanations as users navigate through different features.
Automation features in Pipedrive further enhance its usability. The platform offers a range of pre-built workflow automations that can be easily customized to fit specific needs. They help streamline repetitive tasks, such as follow-up emails or activity creation, allowing sales reps to focus more on building relationships and closing deals.
Similarly with AI, Pipedrive has integrated generative AI directly into its email composer. Unlike generic AI, this tool looks at the history of the specific deal to draft context-aware follow-ups that match the previous tone of the conversation, boosting productivity for sales reps and marketers who need to send a lot of messages.
Pipedrive offers a mobile app for both iOS and Android. It provides a seamless experience, allowing users to update deals, access contact information, and log activities on the go. I found the mobile interface to be just as intuitive as the desktop version, ensuring that sales teams can stay productive even when out of the office. This is an especially helpful feature for businesses with mobile sales teams.
However, I did find that setting up some of the more advanced features, like email sequences and certain automations, required a bit more time and effort to master. Still, Pipedrive offers ample documentation and training resources to get through the initial stages after implementation.
Pipedrive CRM integrations
(Image credit: Pipedrive)
Pipedrive CRM offers a powerful ecosystem that allows users to connect the CRM with a wide array of third-party applications. Pipedrive's Marketplace hosts over 400 out-of-the-box integrations, covering essential business tools across categories like email marketing, document management, project management, analytics, live chat, and accounting.
Connecting Pipedrive with popular tools like Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams was a seamless process, allowing for real-time notifications and improved collaboration. The integration with email platforms like Gmail and Outlook was particularly useful, enabling me to manage emails and CRM data from a single interface. One integration that stood out was the Leadfeeder connection, which automatically transfers website lead data into Pipedrive.
There’s also an open API, which provides developers with the flexibility to create custom integrations when needed. It uses a JSON format for output and supports CORS requests, which adds to its versatility. I was impressed by the comprehensive documentation and developer resources available for API users, making it relatively straightforward for technical teams to extend functionality through custom integrations.
For users who aren't developers, Pipedrive offers integration with Zapier, a popular automation tool that can connect Pipedrive to thousands of other applications without requiring coding skills. This greatly expands the potential for creating automated workflows across different platforms, even if they don't have a direct integration with Pipedrive.
For a smooth flow of information, the platform uses database replicas that sync in real-time, ensuring data continuity and minimizing the risk of data loss. However, for those concerned about data backup, Pipedrive also conducts nightly backups of all database machines and creates encrypted off-site backups of customer databases.
For businesses looking to create more complex integrations or automate specific workflows, Pipedrive's Developer Platform offers additional tools. This includes webhooks, API endpoints, and SDKs, allowing for deeper customization of the CRM experience.
Plus, users will find that Pipedrive has deepened its native integrations recently to include Slack and Microsoft Teams. It's now possible to move deals between stages and update record values directly from a chat window without switching back to the CRM tab
How good is Pipedrive CRM customer support?
(Image credit: Pipedrive)
For all users, regardless of plan, Pipedrive provides 24/7 email and chatbot support. While the latter is a great option for basic queries requiring quick resolution, the former is meant for more complex issues that aren’t so time-sensitive.
Users on the Advanced, Professional, Power, or Enterprise plans have access to human agents during live chat. Response times are quick, usually within a few minutes. Support agents are knowledgeable, and able to address most of my basic queries efficiently. However, for more complex issues, I noticed that the initial response often involved directing me to relevant knowledge base articles rather than providing immediate solutions.
The availability of live chat support depends on your subscription tier. Advanced plan users can access live chat during business hours (9:00 am to 5:00 pm in the user's timezone), while Professional plan subscribers enjoy 24/5 support. Power and Enterprise users benefit from round-the-clock support, seven days a week.
For users on the Power or Enterprise plans, Pipedrive also offers phone support. However, it's worth noting that this service is only available during limited hours - from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm (CET/CEST) for English speakers, and from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm (CET/CEST) for Portuguese speakers.
For self-help purposes, Pipedrive’s knowledge base is extensive and well-organized, covering a wide range of topics from basic setup to advanced features. I found the articles to be clear, concise, and often accompanied by helpful screenshots or video tutorials.
Pipedrive also offers an online learning platform called Pipedrive Academy. This resource provides a series of video courses and tutorials designed to help users master various aspects of the CRM. I found these courses to be well-structured and particularly useful for new users or those looking to expand their knowledge of specific features.
Pipedrive CRM pricing and plans
Plan
Essential
Advanced
Professional
Power
Enterprise
Price
$12/user/month
$24/user/month
$49/user/month
$59/user/month
$79/user/month
Best For
Small teams starting with CRM
Teams scaling sales processes
Larger teams optimizing performance
Big teams with complex needs
Large organizations requiring robust management
Features
Visual sales pipeline; Basic lead management; Simple reporting
Email sync and tracking; Customizable automations; Sales prospecting tools
AI sales assistant; Contract management; Revenue forecasting
Project management; Expanded permissions; 24/7 phone support
Pipedrive’s pricing is competitive and flexible, offering a range of options to suit different business needs and sizes. As of my review, Pipedrive offers five main pricing tiers: Essential, Advanced, Professional, Power, and Enterprise.
The Essential plan starts at $12/user/month, billed yearly. It offers basic CRM features: contact and deal management, customizable pipelines, and simple reporting. This option makes Pipedrive one of the best small business CRM platforms out there. Higher plans add more advanced features.
I found the Advanced plan, at $24/user/month, to be particularly great value. It includes email templates, tracking, and customizable automations, boosting sales team productivity. The Professional plan, priced at $49/user/month adds AI features, revenue forecasting, and e-signatures. It’s perfect for growing businesses.
For larger companies or those needing more complex solutions, the Power and Enterprise plans are available at $59 and $79 per user per month, respectively. These plans include project management, better security, and unlimited custom fields. They also offer incrementally higher limits on deals, reports, and automation workflows.
Across all plans, opting for annual billing instead of monthly can save you up to 17%. Pipedrive also offers a 14-day free trial for all its plans, which is less than some competitors but still reasonable. While the base plans offer comprehensive features, Pipedrive provides several add-ons that can enhance functionality. These include LeadBooster for lead generation (starting at $32.50 per company monthly), Web Visitors Tracking ($41 per company monthly), and Campaigns for email marketing ($13.33 per company monthly).
A potential drawback I noticed is that Pipedrive doesn't offer a free plan beyond the trial period. For very small businesses or solopreneurs looking for a free CRM solution, this could be a limitation. This means Pipedrive isn't necessarily one of the best CRM for start ups on a shoe string budget, although start ups with a small budget could benefit from the affordable Essential plan.
It's also worth mentioning that Pipedrive's pricing can vary depending on your location and the currency you're billed in. I found that prices are often kept at the same numerical value across different currencies (e.g., $99 USD, €99 EUR, £99 GBP), which can result in higher costs for users outside the US.
After thoroughly evaluating Pipedrive across multiple key areas, I believe this is a top-tier CRM platform with its visual pipeline interface and intuitive deal management tools standing out as significant strengths.
With its user-friendly interface and straightforward customization options, companies should have no trouble ensuring a healthy level of adoption even through the early stages of implementation. But while Pipedrive offers a solid range of integrations and a well-documented API, there's room for improvement in terms of advanced marketing automation capabilities. The customer support, though generally responsive and helpful, could benefit from more consistent quality and faster response times for email inquiries.
Overall, Pipedrive CRM is a strong choice for small and midsize businesses looking for an accessible yet feature-rich sales management platform. While there are areas for improvement, it delivers more than its share of value for the price point.
How to pick
To choose the right CRM, a company must decide whether they need a broad business platform or a specialized sales engine. Pipedrive is the latter so if your primary goal is pipeline velocity rather than all-in-one business management, it's a solid pick.
If you need a single tool to handle marketing, customer support, and sales, HubSpot or Zoho may be better solutions, but if your sales team feels overwhelmed by those complex interfaces, Pipedrive is the winner. Similarly, if you have a dedicated IT team to build custom objects and complex logic, Salesforce offers more raw power. But if you need to be up and running in 48 hours without a consultant, Pipedrive’s visual drag-and-drop interface is virtually foolproof.
As always, price is also a consideration. So, before picking, calculate your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). If you need 10 different add-ons, a mid-tier Monday Sales CRM or Freshsales plan might actually be more cost-effective for your 2026 budget.
How we choose
At TechRadar Pro, we don’t just rank software based on market share or name recognition. Our selection process for "Best of" lists and individual reviews like this one follows a weighted evaluation framework designed to separate operational utility from marketing hype. When we choose to feature or recommend a platform like Pipedrive, it is because it has met or exceeded various criteria - from ease-of-use to pricing.
By sticking to our rigorous standards, we ensure that our recommendations - whether for a solo founder or a scaling enterprise - are based on the platform's ability to act as a genuine growth engine for your business.
Pipedrive CRM review: Summary
Pipedrive CRM FAQ
What is Pipedrive's core feature?
At its heart, Pipedrive is built around the visual sales pipeline. This standout feature allows users to easily track and manage deals through different stages with a simple drag-and-drop interface. This makes it incredibly easy to maintain a clear overview of your sales process and quickly identify which opportunities need attention.
Of course, there's much more to Pipedrive too, including lead management and workflow automation features. The latter, for example, centers around a visual builder, which makes it straightforward to set up automations for repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up emails or creating activities. However, it is worth noting that it does not natively support marketing automation, which may be a consideration for some teams.
Can I create my own sales reports with Pipedrive?
Although Pipedrive offers a range of pre-built reports, its custom reporting is where it truly shines. You can create highly visual reports to measure team efficiency, software effectiveness, and sales performance from a variety of angles, making it simple to understand the numbers behind your team's success.
Does Pipedrive have a mobile app?
Yes, Pipedrive offers a mobile app for both iOS and Android. The app provides a seamless experience, allowing sales teams to update deals, access contact information, and log activities on the go, making it an especially helpful feature for businesses with mobile sales teams.
How easy is Pipedrive to use?
Pipedrive's ease of use is one of the platform's core strengths. The CRM is known for its user-friendly interface and minimalist design, which helps users focus on their sales activities without unnecessary clutter. Its visual pipeline and drag-and-drop functionality are particularly intuitive. The platform also includes a smart contact data feature that automatically populates records with information from the internet, saving reps a lot of time on data entry.
