Folk vs NetHunt CRM vs Pipeline CRM

Folk, NetHunt CRM, and Pipeline CRM all serve small and mid-sized teams that want a lighter alternative to enterprise CRMs, but they emphasize different parts…

Folk

Subscription · From $24/month per member (billed annually)

Best for: Small teams managing relationships across sales, recruiting, or fundraising who want fast LinkedIn contact capture and AI enrichment.

NetHunt CRM

Subscription · From $24/user/month (billed annually)

Best for: Sales teams, agencies, and recruiters already living in Gmail and Google Workspace who want CRM functionality without switching apps, especially early-stage startups eligible for NetHunt's discount program.

Pipeline CRM

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

 FolkNetHunt CRMPipeline CRM
Primary categoryCRMCRMCRM
RatingNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelSubscriptionSubscriptionSubscription
Starting price$24/month per member (billed annually)$24/user/month (billed annually)$25/user/month (billed annually)
Free planYesNot documentedNot documented
Free trialYesYesYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresYesYesYes
Public APIYesYesYes

Standout Differences

Lives inside Gmail versus standalone apps

NetHunt CRM installs as a sidebar directly inside Gmail so reps never switch tools, while Folk and Pipeline CRM are both standalone applications.

NetHunt CRM

LinkedIn capture on two of the three

Folk's folkX extension and NetHunt's LinkedIn integration both pull contact data from LinkedIn profiles into CRM records; Pipeline CRM does not document a LinkedIn capture tool.

Folk, NetHunt CRM

No seat minimums, explicitly

Pipeline CRM specifically advertises no seat minimums and no mandatory onboarding fees as a differentiator, a pricing promise that Folk and NetHunt CRM's per-seat tiers don't make as explicitly.

Pipeline CRM

Project management bundled with Pipeline CRM

Pipeline CRM's Grow tier adds Kanban and Gantt-view project management for tracking post-sale work, which is not part of Folk's or NetHunt's documented feature set.

Pipeline CRM

Discount programs unique to NetHunt

NetHunt CRM offers a 75 percent discount on its Business plan for startups under three years old and a 25 percent discount for registered non-profits; Folk and Pipeline CRM don't document equivalent programs.

NetHunt CRM

Feature-by-Feature

Capture and Integration

FeatureFolkNetHunt CRMPipeline CRM
Native Gmail embeddingLimitedAvailableNot documented
LinkedIn contact captureAvailableAvailableNot documented

Enrichment and Project Tools

FeatureFolkNetHunt CRMPipeline CRM
AI-powered contact enrichmentAvailableNot documentedNot documented
Project management with Kanban and Gantt viewsNot documentedNot documentedAvailable

Pricing and Trial Terms

FeatureFolkNetHunt CRMPipeline CRM
Transparent pricing with no seat minimumsLimitedLimitedAvailable
Startup or non-profit discount programNot documentedAvailableNot documented
Free trial availabilityAvailableAvailableNot documented

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

NetHunt CRM

Basic — $30/user/month (monthly) or ~$24/user/month (annual) Monthly or annual
Basic Plus — $42/user/month Monthly or annual
Business — $60/user/month Monthly or annual
Business Plus — $84/user/month Monthly or annual

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

NetHunt CRM

Pros

  • Deep native integration means reps can work entirely from Gmail without switching tools
  • Lower learning curve for teams already living in Google Workspace
  • Flexible custom fields and folder structures adapt to varied sales processes
  • Discounts available for early-stage startups and non-profits
  • 14-day free trial with no user-count restrictions

Cons

  • Tightly coupled to Gmail and Google Workspace, less useful for Outlook-first teams
  • Per-user pricing rises quickly for larger teams, especially on higher tiers
  • Some advanced automation and reporting features are reserved for Business and Business Plus tiers
  • Smaller company with around 15 employees means a smaller support organization than larger CRM vendors
  • Less name recognition and third-party integration breadth compared to Salesforce or HubSpot

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 NetHunt CRM: Sales teams, agencies, and recruiters already living in Gmail and Google Workspace who want CRM functionality without switching apps, especially early-stage startups eligible for NetHunt's discount program.
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.

NetHunt CRM

  • Gmail-based sales teams — Small and mid-sized sales teams that live in Gmail use NetHunt to manage pipelines without adopting a separate CRM interface.
  • Startup sales operations — Early-stage startups take advantage of NetHunt's startup discount to get an affordable, Gmail-native CRM.
  • Recruitment and partnership pipelines — Teams outside pure sales, such as recruiters or partnership managers, use NetHunt's flexible folders to track candidates or partners inside Gmail.

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

Which of these lives inside Gmail?

NetHunt CRM is built to live inside Gmail as a sidebar, turning email threads and contacts into CRM records. Folk and Pipeline CRM are both standalone applications with their own email integrations.

Which has the most transparent, contract-free pricing?

Pipeline CRM explicitly advertises no seat minimums and no mandatory onboarding fees alongside a published per-user pricing table. Folk and NetHunt CRM also publish clear per-seat tiers but don't make the same no-minimum claim.

Do any of these capture contacts from LinkedIn?

Yes, both Folk, via its folkX browser extension, and NetHunt CRM, via a LinkedIn browser extension, capture LinkedIn profile data into CRM records. Pipeline CRM does not document a LinkedIn capture feature.

Which one includes project management tools?

Pipeline CRM's Grow tier includes project management with Kanban and Gantt views for post-sale work. Folk and NetHunt CRM's documented feature sets do not include project management.

Are there discounts for startups or non-profits?

NetHunt CRM offers a 75 percent discount on its Business plan for startups founded within the last three years and a 25 percent discount for registered non-profits. Folk and Pipeline CRM don't document equivalent discount programs.

How does starting price compare?

Folk starts at $24/member/month billed annually, NetHunt CRM starts around $24/user/month on annual billing, and Pipeline CRM starts at $25/user/month billed annually with published, no-seat-minimum pricing.

Read the full Folk review · Read the full NetHunt CRM review · Read the full Pipeline CRM review