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CRM · head to head

Salesforce vs Scratchpad

Salesforce logo

Salesforce

CRM

World's #1 CRM

From
$25/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Scratchpad logo

Scratchpad

CRM

Faster workspace over Salesforce for sales reps to update pipeline, take notes and manage deals

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Scratchpad has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Salesforce sales Cloud tiers as captured 2 January 2024: Starter Suite $25/user/month, Professional $80/user/month, Enterprise $165/user/month, all USD billed annually; Scratchpad scratchpad works with Salesforce and nothing else, with no HubSpot support, so it is off the shortlist entirely for any company on a different CRM regardless of how good the interface is.
  • They diverge on capability: Salesforce covers Contact management, Scratchpad covers Spreadsheet pipeline views.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Salesforce and Scratchpad actually diverge.

Attributes where Salesforce and Scratchpad differ
AttributeSalesforceScratchpad
Starting price$25/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, Chrome extension
Founded1999Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (CRM).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Salesforce

  • Contact management
  • Opportunity management
  • Lead management
  • Reports & dashboards
  • Email integration
  • Workflow automation
  • Mobile access
  • AppExchange

Only in Scratchpad

  • Spreadsheet pipeline views
  • Call recorder and notetaker
  • AI field updates
  • Deal and account agent
  • Hygiene monitor
  • Notes linked to records
  • Custom prompts
  • Kanban and forecast views

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Salesforce

  • Sales managementnot Scratchpad
  • Customer servicenot Scratchpad
  • Marketing automationnot Scratchpad
  • Lead generationnot Scratchpad
  • Analytics & reportingnot Scratchpad

Scratchpad

  • A 60-rep Salesforce team whose forecast is unreliable because opportunity fields are updated once a week in a panic before the pipeline callnot Salesforce
  • A rep who wants to update twenty opportunities in a grid rather than opening twenty Salesforce recordsnot Salesforce
  • A sales manager wanting stale and incomplete pipeline records flagged automatically instead of chased by emailnot Salesforce
  • A revenue operations lead trialling AI notetaking that writes back to CRM fields before committing budget, using the free tiernot Salesforce

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Salesforce

  • Sales Cloud tiers as captured 2 January 2024: Starter Suite $25/user/month, Professional $80/user/month, Enterprise $165/user/month, all USD billed annually

Scratchpad

  • Scratchpad works with Salesforce and nothing else, with no HubSpot support, so it is off the shortlist entirely for any company on a different CRM regardless of how good the interface is.
  • AI credits are metered per user per month at 400 on Solo and 800 on Team, which means heavy notetaking use pushes teams towards Enterprise for capacity rather than for features.
  • There is no proper native mobile application, so representatives who wanted to update records from a car park between meetings are back in a mobile browser.
  • Sync with Salesforce and call processing can lag, and a pipeline view showing yesterday state during a forecast call undermines the exact meeting the tool was bought to improve.
  • It creates a second notes surface alongside native Salesforce notes, so organisations end up with deal history split across two places unless they explicitly ban one of them.

Pricing, plan by plan

Salesforce

$25/month
  • Essentials$25/month
    • Account & contact management
    • Opportunity tracking
    • Lead management
  • Professional$80/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Complete CRM
    • Lead scoring
  • Enterprise$165/month
    • Everything in Professional
    • Workflow automation
    • Advanced analytics
  • Unlimited$330/month
    • Everything in Enterprise
    • Unlimited customizations
    • 24/7 support

Scratchpad

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Workspace limited to 3 views
    • 10 hours a month of call recording and notetaking
    • AI field updates
  • Solo$19/month
    • Unlimited views with sheets and notes
    • Call recorder and notetaker
    • AI field updates
  • Team$49/month
    • Everything in Solo
    • 800 AI credits per user per month
    • Gong integration
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited AI credits
    • White-glove agent services included
    • Enterprise security and administration

Which should you pick?

Choose Salesforce if

  • You need contact management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want opportunity management.
Salesforce review

Choose Scratchpad if

  • You need spreadsheet pipeline views.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Chrome extension.
  • You also want call recorder and notetaker.
Scratchpad review

Questions people ask

Is Salesforce or Scratchpad better?
Neither clearly leads. Salesforce starts at $25/month and Scratchpad at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Salesforce or Scratchpad?
Scratchpad has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month for Salesforce and Free for Scratchpad.
Does Salesforce or Scratchpad run on more platforms?
Salesforce runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Scratchpad runs on Web, Chrome extension.
Can I use Scratchpad for free?
Yes. Scratchpad has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Salesforce starts at $25/month.
What is Salesforce best used for?
Salesforce is most often used for sales management, customer service, marketing automation, lead generation. Of those, sales management and customer service are not what Scratchpad is typically brought in for.
What can Salesforce do that Scratchpad cannot?
Salesforce covers Contact management, Opportunity management, Lead management, Reports & dashboards. Scratchpad covers Spreadsheet pipeline views, Call recorder and notetaker, AI field updates, Deal and account agent.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Scratchpad: Does Scratchpad work with HubSpot?

No. It is Salesforce-only.

Scratchpad: Is the free plan usable in production?

Yes for an individual: full workspace with three views, 10 hours of recording and 100 AI credits a month. Teams outgrow it on views and credits.

Scratchpad: Does it replace Salesforce licences?

No. Every user still needs their own Salesforce licence; Scratchpad is an interface on top.

Scratchpad: What are AI credits spent on?

Notetaking, summarisation, field update suggestions and agent queries. Enterprise removes the cap.

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