Kustomer vs. Pipeline CRM

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Kustomer
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
Kustomer is a customer service CRM platform built for managing high support volume by optimizing experiences throughout the customer service journey. Kustomer was acquired by Facebook in late 2020, but spun out in 2023 and re-launched as an independent entity, Kustomer, LLC.
$89
per month per user
Pipeline CRM
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Founded in 2006, Pipeline CRM (formerly PipelineDeals) is a CRM for small and midsize businesses, empowering sales teams across a breadth of industries to build game changing relationships. Pipeline is built around a customizable user experience, sales focused features, and customer support and service. The vendor, headquartered in Seattle, boasts 18,000 users in 60 countries who use Pipeline to gain visibility into their sales, accelerate opportunities, and close more deals.
$29
per month
Pricing
KustomerPipeline CRM
Editions & Modules
Enterprise
$89
per month, per user
Ultimate
$139
per month, per user
Start
$300
per year per user
Develop
$396
per year per user
Develop
$588
per year per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
KustomerPipeline CRM
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAll plans require an annual subscription and 8 users minimum.
More Pricing Information
Features
KustomerPipeline CRM
Incident and problem management
Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
8.6
17 Ratings
9% above category average
Pipeline CRM
-
Ratings
Organize and prioritize service tickets9.116 Ratings00 Ratings
Expert directory8.314 Ratings00 Ratings
Subscription-based notifications8.513 Ratings00 Ratings
ITSM collaboration and documentation8.013 Ratings00 Ratings
Ticket creation and submission8.417 Ratings00 Ratings
Ticket response9.217 Ratings00 Ratings
Self Help Community
Comparison of Self Help Community features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
7.3
13 Ratings
6% below category average
Pipeline CRM
-
Ratings
External knowledge base8.213 Ratings00 Ratings
Internal knowledge base6.413 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-Channel Help
Comparison of Multi-Channel Help features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
8.6
17 Ratings
11% above category average
Pipeline CRM
-
Ratings
Customer portal8.611 Ratings00 Ratings
IVR8.310 Ratings00 Ratings
Social integration7.614 Ratings00 Ratings
Email support9.217 Ratings00 Ratings
Help Desk CRM integration9.212 Ratings00 Ratings
Sales Force Automation
Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
-
Ratings
Pipeline CRM
6.9
5 Ratings
11% below category average
Customer data management / contact management00 Ratings8.05 Ratings
Workflow management00 Ratings8.05 Ratings
Territory management00 Ratings7.04 Ratings
Opportunity management00 Ratings8.05 Ratings
Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)00 Ratings4.05 Ratings
Contract management00 Ratings5.05 Ratings
Quote & order management00 Ratings6.03 Ratings
Interaction tracking00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
Channel / partner relationship management00 Ratings7.04 Ratings
Customer Service & Support
Comparison of Customer Service & Support features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
-
Ratings
Pipeline CRM
7.8
3 Ratings
4% above category average
Case management00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
Call center management00 Ratings8.21 Ratings
Help desk management00 Ratings8.21 Ratings
Marketing Automation
Comparison of Marketing Automation features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
-
Ratings
Pipeline CRM
5.0
4 Ratings
41% below category average
Lead management00 Ratings8.04 Ratings
Email marketing00 Ratings2.02 Ratings
CRM Project Management
Comparison of CRM Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
-
Ratings
Pipeline CRM
4.5
5 Ratings
51% below category average
Task management00 Ratings3.04 Ratings
Billing and invoicing management00 Ratings5.53 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings5.03 Ratings
CRM Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
-
Ratings
Pipeline CRM
6.7
5 Ratings
13% below category average
Forecasting00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Pipeline visualization00 Ratings5.05 Ratings
Customizable reports00 Ratings7.05 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
-
Ratings
Pipeline CRM
9.5
5 Ratings
23% above category average
Custom fields00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Custom objects00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Scripting environment00 Ratings8.21 Ratings
API for custom integration00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
-
Ratings
Pipeline CRM
6.0
3 Ratings
32% below category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings6.02 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings6.02 Ratings
Social CRM
Comparison of Social CRM features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
-
Ratings
Pipeline CRM
8.1
2 Ratings
11% above category average
Social data00 Ratings8.12 Ratings
Social engagement00 Ratings8.21 Ratings
Integrations with 3rd-party Software
Comparison of Integrations with 3rd-party Software features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
-
Ratings
Pipeline CRM
4.6
3 Ratings
44% below category average
Marketing automation00 Ratings2.03 Ratings
Compensation management00 Ratings7.31 Ratings
Platform
Comparison of Platform features of Product A and Product B
Kustomer
-
Ratings
Pipeline CRM
8.0
5 Ratings
6% above category average
Mobile access00 Ratings8.05 Ratings
Best Alternatives
KustomerPipeline CRM
Small Businesses
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Score 9.0 out of 10
Salesmate
Salesmate
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Score 9.0 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Salesforce Service Cloud
Salesforce Service Cloud
Score 8.7 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
KustomerPipeline CRM
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(38 ratings)
7.0
(6 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.9
(2 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.4
(4 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
6.4
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.9
(7 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.3
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.9
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
7.9
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.7
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
KustomerPipeline CRM
Likelihood to Recommend
Kustomer, LLC
I would say the greatest strength of Kustomer is its flexibility. In the hands of a skilled admin, it can be adapted to tons and tons of different use cases. I've been able to make custom displays for different groups of agents, produce complex cross sections of users, draw interesting data relationships combining marketing contacts and customer-initiated contacts. For example, there's really no other data source in our company which could tell you which users received a specific promo code and checked out with it, received their delivery within 14 days and then can related that to the number of times they contacted us about using our product. At the intersection of communication, marketing, data, and relationship-management, Kustomer shines at the center. I would say it falls short when you are trying to coordinate multiple "side conversations" with multiple sources to resolve an issue. This is a tough task for any type of platform, but if you're maintaining 3 different email chains with a 3PL partner, the customer, and a separate internal conversation, it would be confusing anyway!
Read full review
PipelineDeals
If you have a small business where you are trying to keep things simple, then PipelineDeals is a perfect fit. Once you get to where you are wanting to tie your marketing efforts and create marketing campaigns that are tied to leads, it starts to miss the mark
Read full review
Pros
Kustomer, LLC
  • All customer data (past orders, communication with customer service, rewards account data) is in one place. This helps agents avoid confusion and reduces the number of tabs they need to open.
  • The Knowledge Base (or K Base) is very helpful. Any time we roll out a new policy or have a limited-time promotion, we can add all the relevant information and worksheets there for the convenience of the agents. That way they can stay in a chat while looking up the answer to a question.
  • We can seamlessly move from chat into email if the customer leaves or the queue times are too long. All the interactions will stay on the customer profile page, so they are kept up to date.
Read full review
PipelineDeals
  • Flexibility: It provides the flexibility to set it up how you want to use it. Customization is beyond what you probably want or need.
  • Reporting: We were able to setup all types of reporting and tracking.
  • Ease of Use: While the platform was powerful, it was always easy to use.
Read full review
Cons
Kustomer, LLC
  • Small chat window--maybe the ability to chat in real-time with the person who received your ticket would help.
  • Different teams could have differently colored notes.
  • The notification bell could be a bit bigger. It's hard to keep track sometimes, when a lot of notes pile on.
Read full review
PipelineDeals
  • I wouldn't say no areas for improvement exist, but I will say that PipelineDeals takes customer input, shared product roadmap, and supports what they have very nicely. What they provide works out-of-the-box. Improvements can always be made with respect to pre-packaged integration with 3rd party services/solutions, and with extended attributes, but you also want to avoid something that attempts to boil the ocean.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Kustomer, LLC
I believe at this time, Kustomer is doing a good job. I really love its functionality at the moment.
Read full review
PipelineDeals
If we can integrate and easily export and clean all of our data such that it can be used for multiple purposes, i.e. outreach to guests, sending out newsletters to subscribers, doing research and tracking progress, we will definitely renew
Read full review
Usability
Kustomer, LLC
There is a learning curve, but it is more than worth it, especially to have a dedicated resource pointed at Kustomer and any other software it interacts with. The basic implementation is useful, and powerful - certainly a MASSIVE upgrade over taking care of your customers in an email inbox or shuffling between multiple windows and applications! It is also set up really well to grow and reconfigure with your business. I'm a big fan.
Read full review
PipelineDeals
The user interface is simple and easy to navigate. Anyone who is overwhelmed with some of the more complicated CRM systems will definitely enjoy the simplicity of what PipelineDeals has to offer
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Kustomer, LLC
I gave it a 10 rating because it is very helpful and the availability is there when needed. I have never had issues with application errors or unplanned outages so far.
Read full review
PipelineDeals
No answers on this topic
Performance
Kustomer, LLC
Kustomer Performances need improvement. The pages do load very slowly but that might be because of the information they carry. If Kustomer integrates with other software or systems it does slow the performance. They need to find a solution to this.
Read full review
PipelineDeals
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Kustomer, LLC
I did not reach out to Kustomer support when we had an issue. Still, whenever we provide feedback to our manager regarding what can improve based on our experience using Kustomer, our manager always comments that Kustomer support always replies with some positive feedback based on our suggestions.
Read full review
PipelineDeals
Any time I have had questions or issues that have come up I've always been able to get a quick response and a resolution to what I was needing.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Kustomer, LLC
Because they are very hands-on in training us and very approachable
Read full review
PipelineDeals
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Kustomer, LLC
The best training I did was online. Videos teach as well as explain how everything works and what Kustomer's functions are.
Read full review
PipelineDeals
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Kustomer, LLC
Nothing really because it is easy to use. After an hour of using it, we're already getting the hang of it.
Read full review
PipelineDeals
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Kustomer, LLC
Apps like Intercom, Zendesk, and Gorgios all treat customer inquiries as tickets, just tracking that one issue or interaction with a customer. Kustomer treats each customer as an individual, which allows us to provide top-notch customer service. Customers love that we're able to be more conversational and informal, while still solving their issues quickly. It also helps us build relationships with customers and increases repeat orders.
Read full review
PipelineDeals
The cost is much better and it is much easier to use. Salesforce was way too robust and I never want to hire a consultant to set up a CRM. PipelineDeals CRM has the best visibility of our sales efforts.
Read full review
Scalability
Kustomer, LLC
Because customer is flexible and scalable
Read full review
PipelineDeals
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Kustomer, LLC
  • We’re getting so much positive feedback — which is not something you traditionally associate with a customer care team — because we’re making it effortless for customers to deliver both positive and negative feedback, and we can now resolve the bad feedback really really quickly.
  • Primarily from our increased efficiency with Kustomer, we’ve seen a significant reduction of $3 to $4 for every cost per contact.
Read full review
PipelineDeals
  • Has made us understand sales tactics that are working
  • Easily create forecasting on growth in multiple categories
  • Understand our process and what we need to improve on in closing deals
Read full review
ScreenShots

Kustomer Screenshots

Screenshot of Example of a customer profile within Kustomer.Screenshot of Example of how Kustomer’s automated chats can save agents time by handling less complex requests automatically.