Exphora vs PipedriveWhich CRM actually fits trade show booth builders?
Pipedrive is visual sales pipeline crm for smb. Exphora is the only CRM purpose-built for trade show booth builders — with 30+ booth specs, a free 3D Booth Designer, AI proposals, contracts, and multi-currency invoicing in one tool. Here is the honest, side-by-side breakdown for 2026.
Exphora wins for booth builders. Pipedrive wins for general SMB sales.
Pipedrive is great if you sell something simple and just need a pretty pipeline. Booth builders, however, sell a complex physical product — specs, materials, electrical, render images, contracts, multi-currency invoices. Exphora bakes all of that in at $49–$199/mo flat, while Pipedrive Pro at $49/seat plus add-ons costs more for a fraction of the booth-specific functionality.
Who each platform is built for
Both products are good — at different jobs. Pick the one whose primary customer profile actually matches yours.
Small and mid-sized B2B sales teams who want a clean Kanban pipeline, simple deal tracking, and minimal setup.
Strong general SMB CRM, but lacks any vertical depth for trade show production — no booth fields, no contracts module beyond add-on, no exhibitor database.
- Beautiful, intuitive Kanban pipeline UX
- Quick onboarding — most teams live within a day
- Affordable entry pricing for small teams
- Decent activity reminders and email sync
- Workflow automation on Advanced plan and above
- No native booth specifications, stand design, or render attachments
- Smart Docs (proposals & e-sign) is locked to Professional plan
- No 3D Booth Designer or floorplan tools
- Limited multi-currency invoicing — relies on integrations like QuickBooks
- No trade show / exhibitor signal database
- AI features are basic compared to Exphora’s Claude-powered proposals
Trade show booth builders, stand designers, exhibit fabricators, and event production agencies who need a CRM that already understands booth specs, render galleries, electrical loads, hostess counts, and multi-currency invoicing.
Built around the booth-builder lifecycle: lead → quote → 3D design → contract → fabrication → invoice → repeat.
- 30+ booth specification fields native to proposals & contracts
- Free 3D Booth Designer — share interactive renders with clients
- AI proposal generation powered by Claude
- Multi-currency invoicing with 9 payment methods
- Trade show / exhibitor signal database
Feature-by-feature comparison
18 capabilities booth builders care about — checked against Exphora and Pipedrive.
| Feature | Exphora | Pipedrive |
|---|---|---|
| Core CRM (contacts, companies, deals) | Included | Included |
| Visual Kanban sales pipeline | Included | Included |
| Multiple custom pipelines | Included | Advanced+ |
| Booth specifications (30+ fields) | 30+ specs native | Not available |
| Free 3D Booth Designer | Free, integrated | Not available |
| Render gallery (up to 10 images) | Up to 10 images | File attachments |
| Proposals & quotes (booth-aware) | Booth-aware | Smart Docs (Pro+ add-on) |
| AI proposal generation (Claude) | Claude AI | AI Sales Assistant — generic |
| Contracts with e-signature | Dual e-sign | Smart Docs e-sign |
| Invoicing (proforma + final) | Proforma + final | Via QuickBooks / Xero |
| Multi-currency support (7 currencies) | 7 currencies | Advanced+ |
| 9 payment methods (PayPal, Stripe, Wise…) | 9 methods | Stripe integration |
| Trade show / exhibitor database | Signal database | Not available |
| Multi-channel inbox (WhatsApp, IG, FB, IMAP) | All channels | LeadBooster + Campaigns add-ons |
| AI chat widget (Claude-powered) | Claude widget | LeadBooster Chatbot add-on |
| Email campaigns & sequences | Sequences + tracking | Campaigns add-on |
| Multi-language UI (10+ languages) | 10+ languages | Included |
| Flat pricing (not per-seat) | Flat tiers | Per seat + add-ons |
Comparison data based on publicly available pricing and documentation as of April 2026. Plan names and feature gating may change — always verify on the vendor’s website.
Pricing compared
Exphora charges flat, predictable tiers. Pipedrive charges per seat, often with add-ons that compound.
- Free$0
- Starter$49/mo
- Pro$199/mo
- Enterprise$399/mo
All tiers include the 3D Booth Designer, multi-currency invoicing, and the trade show signal database.
Pipedrive: Essential $14, Advanced $34, Professional $49, Power $64, Enterprise $99 — per seat per month, billed annually. Smart Docs, LeadBooster, and Campaigns are separate paid add-ons.
- You sell a non-physical product (consulting, SaaS, services) where a simple pipeline is enough.
- You want the absolute simplest Kanban CRM and don’t need proposals, contracts, or invoicing in one tool.
- You already pay for QuickBooks, PandaDoc, and Mailchimp and prefer to keep those silos.
- You need booth specs, render galleries, contracts, and invoices in the same tool as your pipeline.
- You want a free 3D Booth Designer to share with clients before signing.
- You bill in multiple currencies and want 9 payment methods built in.
- You want AI-generated booth proposals from a short brief — not just generic email drafts.
Migrating from Pipedrive to Exphora
Most teams are live in under a week. Here is the path.
Export Persons, Organizations, Deals, and Activities as CSV from Pipedrive — Exphora’s wizard maps Organization → Company and Deal → Opportunity automatically.
Attach trade show events to opportunities so your pipeline shows event timing alongside deal value (Pipedrive can’t do this without custom fields).
Cancel Smart Docs, LeadBooster, and Campaigns add-ons once you’re on Exphora Pro — proposals, AI chat, and email campaigns are included.
Frequently asked questions
Is Exphora as easy to use as Pipedrive?
Yes. Exphora keeps the same drag-and-drop Kanban pipeline experience that made Pipedrive popular, and adds booth-builder fields, AI proposals, and a 3D designer on top — without sacrificing simplicity.
Can I send proposals from Pipedrive?
Only via Smart Docs, which is gated to the Professional plan ($49/seat/mo) and limited to simple line items. Exphora includes 30+ booth specification fields, AI generation, render galleries, and client portal approval at $49/mo flat.
Does Pipedrive support multi-currency invoicing?
Pipedrive itself doesn’t invoice — you integrate Xero or QuickBooks. Exphora ships native invoicing in 7 currencies with 9 payment methods (PayPal, Stripe, Wise, Zelle, bank…) at no add-on cost.
Will my Pipedrive automations carry over?
Most simple Pipedrive workflows (assign owner, send email when stage changes, create task) have direct equivalents in Exphora. More advanced cross-app Zapier flows can be re-pointed at Exphora’s API.
How does the 3D Booth Designer help close deals?
Exphora users report that sharing an interactive 3D booth preview before contract — instead of a flat PDF — significantly improves close rates because clients can see, walk through, and request changes to the actual stand design.
Stop bending Pipedrive into a booth-builder CRM.
Start free. Import your contacts in minutes. Ship your first AI-generated booth proposal today — and try the 3D Booth Designer with no credit card.