We're evaluating a move from our current cobbled-together system (Airtable + email sequences) to a proper CRM. Team is about 40 sales reps, all in B2B tech with longer cycles. The shortlist is down to Pipedrive and Freshsales (Freshworks).
I've seen the public pricing pages, but I'm hunting for the real-world contract details and gotchas you've encountered. Specifically:
* **Seat definitions:** Are "basic" seats actually usable for a full-cycle rep, or are critical features (like workflow automation or lead scoring) pushed to a higher tier? We need email sync, meeting scheduling, and basic automation for everyone.
* **Add-on costs:** Both seem to charge extra for things like advanced support, additional automation limits, or extra data storage. What surprised you on the first invoice?
* **Renewal negotiations:** Has anyone had success getting a discount on annual commitments, or adding in features like built-in phone/SMS without jumping to the highest tier?
Our rough needs:
* 40 user seats
* Email & calendar sync (Google Workspace)
* Basic lead scoring & segmentation
* ~10,000 new contacts/year
* API access for some custom integrations with our product
Any actual quotes or percentage discounts you've secured would be incredibly helpful. Not looking for a "which is better" opinion, but the real pricing and contract structure you've experienced.