Folk, Kommo, and Pipeline CRM all target small and mid-sized sales teams, but they optimize for very different workflows. Folk is a spreadsheet-style,…
Best for: Sales teams doing high volumes of business over WhatsApp, Instagram, and other messaging channels who want a unified inbox and no-code chatbot automation.
Subscription · From $25/user/month (billed annually)
Best for: Small and mid-sized B2B sales teams that want transparent per-user pricing, no seat minimums, and built-in project management after the deal closes.
At a Glance
Folk
Kommo
Pipeline CRM
Primary category
CRM
CRM
CRM
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Subscription
Subscription
Subscription
Starting price
$24/month per member (billed annually)
$15/user/month
$25/user/month (billed annually)
Free plan
Yes
Not documented
Not documented
Free trial
Yes
Yes
Yes
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
Web, iOS, Android
Web, iOS, Android
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Yes
Yes
Yes
Public API
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standout Differences
Contract terms differ sharply
Pipeline CRM advertises no seat minimums and no mandatory onboarding fees, Folk offers a 14-day no-credit-card trial with flexible monthly or annual billing, while Kommo requires a minimum six-month commitment on every paid plan.
Pipeline CRM, Folk, Kommo
Messaging channels are Kommo's core strength
Kommo unifies WhatsApp, Instagram Direct, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, email, and web chat into a single inbox tied to each deal, a level of native multichannel messaging that neither Folk nor Pipeline CRM's documented feature sets match.
Kommo
LinkedIn-first capture is unique to Folk
Folk's folkX browser extension adds and AI-enriches contacts directly from LinkedIn, Gmail, and Crunchbase with one click, a capture workflow that Kommo and Pipeline CRM don't offer.
Folk
Only one has project management built in
Pipeline CRM's Grow tier adds Kanban and Gantt-view project management for post-sale account work, which is not part of Folk's or Kommo's documented feature set.
Pipeline CRM
AI automation, two different flavors
Folk's AI Assistants and Magic Fields focus on enriching and auto-filling relationship data, while Kommo's AI Agent focuses on drafting chat replies and summarizing conversations; Pipeline CRM's feature set does not document AI capabilities.
Folk, Kommo, Pipeline CRM
Feature-by-Feature
Trial and Contract Terms
Feature
Folk
Kommo
Pipeline CRM
Free trial without credit card
Available
Available
Not documented
No mandatory long-term contract
Available
Unavailable
Available
Communication and Capture
Feature
Folk
Kommo
Pipeline CRM
Native multichannel messaging inbox
Limited
Available
Not documented
No-code chatbot or automation builder
Not documented
Available
Not documented
Browser extension for contact capture
Available
Not documented
Not documented
Automation and Project Tools
Feature
Folk
Kommo
Pipeline CRM
AI-driven automation features
Available
Available
Not documented
Project management with Kanban and Gantt views
Not documented
Not documented
Available
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Folk
Standard — $30/member/month ($24/member/month billed annually) Monthly or Annual
Premium — $60/member/month ($48/member/month billed annually) Monthly or Annual
Enterprise — $100/member/month ($80/member/month billed annually) Monthly or Annual
Kommo
Base — $15/user/month Monthly (min. 6-month commitment)
Pro — $45/user/month Monthly (min. 6-month commitment)
Enterprise — Custom pricing Annual/custom
Pipeline CRM
Start — $25/user/month Annual (billed monthly at $29/user/month)
Develop — $33/user/month Annual (billed monthly at $39/user/month)
Grow — $49/user/month Annual (billed monthly at $59/user/month)
Enterprise — Custom Negotiated
Pros & Cons
Folk
Pros
Fast setup and modern, spreadsheet-like interface that is easier to learn than traditional enterprise CRMs
folkX extension makes capturing and enriching LinkedIn contacts significantly faster than manual data entry
Flexible Table-based data model adapts to sales, recruiting, fundraising, and partnership use cases without heavy customization
Strong AI enrichment and Magic Fields reduce manual research work
Backed by a credible investor (Accel) and the eFounders/Hexa startup studio track record
Cons
No perpetual free plan, only a 14-day trial, unlike some competitors such as HubSpot
Per-seat pricing means costs scale directly with team size, which can get expensive for larger teams
API access, dashboards, and custom objects are gated behind the Premium tier and above
Less mature enterprise sales and marketing automation depth compared to HubSpot or Salesforce
Enrichment and AI field usage are capped by monthly credit limits that vary by plan
Kommo
Pros
Deep native WhatsApp and Instagram integration rather than relying on third-party connectors
No-code Salesbot makes chatbot automation accessible to non-technical sales managers
Unified inbox keeps every channel and the pipeline in one screen
14-day free trial gives full feature access with no credit card required
Mobile apps with a business-card scanner suit field and event-based sales teams
Cons
No permanent free plan; paid plans require a minimum six-month commitment
Advanced automation, Salesbot and the full AI kit are locked behind higher-priced tiers
Per-user pricing can get expensive quickly for larger sales teams
Enterprise pricing is custom and not published, requiring a sales conversation
Some users report a learning curve to configure pipelines and Salesbot flows effectively
Pipeline CRM
Pros
Transparent, publicly published per-user pricing with no seat minimums
No mandatory onboarding fees, making it easy to get started quickly
Simple, sales-native focus without unnecessary marketing or service bloat
Performance Pulse and Map View add useful analytics and routing beyond basic pipeline tracking
Grow tier includes project management, reducing the need for a separate tool
Long operating history dating back to 2006 as PipelineDeals
Cons
Fewer marketing and customer-service features than all-in-one CRM suites
Lower tiers cap the number of pipelines and active deals
Company size and broader corporate details are not publicly disclosed
Smaller ecosystem of third-party integrations compared to larger CRMs like Salesforce or HubSpot
Data enrichment and email validation are separate paid add-ons rather than included features
Less brand recognition than category leaders like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive
Use Cases
Choose Folk: Small teams managing relationships across sales, recruiting, or fundraising who want fast LinkedIn contact capture and AI enrichment.
Choose Kommo: Sales teams doing high volumes of business over WhatsApp, Instagram, and other messaging channels who want a unified inbox and no-code chatbot automation.
Choose Pipeline CRM: Small and mid-sized B2B sales teams that want transparent per-user pricing, no seat minimums, and built-in project management after the deal closes.
Folk
Startup fundraising tracking — Founders use Folk to track investor conversations, capture contacts from LinkedIn, and manage fundraising pipelines from first outreach to closed round.
Lightweight sales CRM for small teams — Small sales teams use Folk as a faster-to-adopt alternative to heavyweight CRMs, relying on folkX to build prospect lists directly from LinkedIn.
Recruiting and candidate pipeline management — Recruiters and hiring teams use Folk's Tables and pipelines to track candidates captured from LinkedIn profiles through interview stages.
Kommo
Messenger-based sales pipelines — Teams that sell primarily over WhatsApp and Instagram use Kommo to manage conversations and pipeline stages in one place.
Automated lead qualification — Marketing and sales teams use Salesbot to automatically qualify inbound leads and route them to reps.
Field sales lead capture — Reps at trade shows and events use the mobile app's business-card scanner to instantly create CRM records.
Pipeline CRM
Replacing spreadsheets for a small sales team — A small B2B sales team moves from spreadsheets to Pipeline CRM's Start plan to get a shared, visual pipeline with basic tracking.
Territory-based field sales — A field sales team uses Map View to plan routes and visualize accounts geographically alongside standard pipeline tracking.
Post-sale account management and onboarding — A sales and customer-success team uses the Grow plan's project management features to track implementation work after a deal closes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Folk, Kommo, or Pipeline CRM have a free plan?
None of the three offers a permanent free plan. Folk and Kommo both provide a 14-day free trial with no credit card required; Pipeline CRM's free trial terms are not documented in the available data.
Which CRM is best for WhatsApp or Instagram-based sales?
Kommo is purpose-built for messaging-driven sales, with a unified inbox spanning WhatsApp, Instagram Direct, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and email. Folk syncs with WhatsApp but is not built around it the way Kommo is, and Pipeline CRM doesn't document native messaging-channel support.
How do the contract terms compare?
Kommo requires a minimum six-month commitment on every paid plan. Pipeline CRM explicitly advertises no seat minimums and no mandatory onboarding fees. Folk offers flexible monthly or annual billing with no stated minimum term.
Which tool has the strongest LinkedIn contact capture?
Folk's folkX Chrome extension is built specifically to add and AI-enrich contacts from LinkedIn, Gmail, Crunchbase, and X with one click. Kommo and Pipeline CRM do not document an equivalent LinkedIn capture tool.
Do any of these include project management features?
Pipeline CRM's Grow tier includes project management with Kanban and Gantt views for tracking post-sale work. Folk and Kommo's documented feature sets do not include project management tools.
How does pricing scale for growing teams?
All three charge per user or per seat. Kommo starts at $15/user/month but requires a six-month minimum commitment. Folk starts at $24/member/month billed annually. Pipeline CRM starts at $25/user/month billed annually, with published pricing and no seat minimums.