People.ai (Backstory) alternatives: 9 tools compared (October 2026)

Avoma is an AI meeting assistant and conversation intelligence platform from a California-based vendor for sales, customer success and RevOps teams. It records and transcribes calls, writes notes and follow-ups, scores calls for coaching and flags deal risks.

Key functions

• AI notes, transcription in more than 70 languages and follow-up emails after every meeting
• Ask Avoma answers questions about one meeting, Global Ask Avoma across many meetings
• AI Call Scoring and coaching recommendations in the Conversation Intelligence add-on

Compared with People.ai (Backstory)

• Publishes a price (from $19 per user/month); People.ai (Backstory) quotes on request.
• Offers a free trial; we found none for People.ai (Backstory).
• Different pricing model: per user instead of usage-based.

Check before buying: All data is hosted on AWS in the USA; the privacy policy references the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework for transfers. Recording laws differ by US state, and some such as California require consent from all parties. AI Call Scoring evaluates employee performance, which can fall under EU AI Act high-risk rules from December 2, 2027. Mutually signed DPAs and SSO are listed for Enterprise only.

HubSpot Sales Hub is the sales module of the HubSpot customer platform, aimed at small and midsize companies, with a free plan, deal pipelines, sequences and AI features that score deals and turn call notes into CRM updates.

Key functions

• Deal Scoring ranks deals by likelihood to close
• HubSpot Notetaker records meetings and prepares customer context
• Deal Progression suggests CRM updates and follow-ups from calls and emails

Compared with People.ai (Backstory)

• Publishes a price (from $7 per user/month); People.ai (Backstory) quotes on request.
• Can store data in the EU; People.ai (Backstory) states no EU option.
• Different pricing model: freemium instead of usage-based.

Check before buying: Account region is assigned by IP location at sign-up, so choose the data center deliberately. Budget the one-time onboarding fees for Professional and Enterprise and the HubSpot Credits that AI features consume. Recording calls with the Notetaker needs consent from participants under US state laws and GDPR.

Gong is a revenue intelligence platform that captures calls, emails and meetings, analyzes them with AI and uses the results for coaching, deal management and forecasting, aimed at midsize and large sales organizations.

Key functions

• Gong Agents automate follow-ups, pipeline edits and forecast corrections
• AI Tracker shows which value propositions resonate with which personas
• AI Trainer creates training scenarios from real customer conversations

Compared with People.ai (Backstory)

• Names 6 security certificates, People.ai (Backstory) 2.
• Strong in the same markets as People.ai (Backstory): United States.

Check before buying: Gong records and analyzes employee conversations, so consent rules for call recording in US states such as California and in the EU apply. Ask where recordings are stored, since hosting regions are not published. Price is by quote with a platform fee.

Outreach is a sales engagement platform for midsize and large revenue teams that runs email and call sequences, records conversations and adds AI agents for meeting preparation, deal questions and workflow automation.

Key functions

• Outreach Omni answers questions and takes actions on accounts and opportunities
• Meeting Prep Agent writes briefings before calls
• Agent Studio builds sales workflows visually

Compared with People.ai (Backstory)

• Can store data in the EU; People.ai (Backstory) states no EU option.
• Names 4 security certificates, People.ai (Backstory) 2.
• Strong in the same markets as People.ai (Backstory): United States.

Check before buying: Estimate AI credit consumption before choosing a package, since actions draw on the pool and extra credits cost more. Data location is set in the data processing terms, and the privacy page states EU data can be hosted in the EU. Call recording needs consent under US state laws and GDPR.

Pipedrive is a pipeline-focused CRM for small and midsize sales teams that tracks deals visually and adds an AI sales assistant, email drafting and summaries, and win probability estimates.

Key functions

• Sales Assistant analyzes sales data and answers questions about it
• AI email generator drafts sales emails from prompts
• AI summaries of email threads

Compared with People.ai (Backstory)

• Publishes a price (from €14 per user/month); People.ai (Backstory) quotes on request.
• Offers a free trial; we found none for People.ai (Backstory).
• Different pricing model: per user instead of usage-based.

Check before buying: Ask where your account data is stored, since the Trust Center names AWS but no region. The privacy documentation states that Gmail data from email sync may be used for AI email features when enabled, so review this setting before connecting mailboxes. No free plan exists, only a 14-day trial.

Salesforce Sales Cloud is a customer relationship management system for sales teams, from a free entry suite for small companies to enterprise editions, with Agentforce AI agents and Einstein analytics built into the pipeline.

Key functions

• Prospecting Agent builds prioritized lists of accounts showing buying signals
• Pipeline Management Agent updates fields such as stage and next steps
• Einstein Call Insights flags objections, competitors and pricing remarks in sales calls

Compared with People.ai (Backstory)

• Publishes a price (from $25 per user/month); People.ai (Backstory) quotes on request.
• Offers a free trial; we found none for People.ai (Backstory).
• Different pricing model: per user instead of usage-based.

Check before buying: Check which edition includes the agents you need and estimate Flex Credit consumption before rollout. Review the infrastructure and sub-processors document for the countries where your data is stored. Sales call recording requires consent under state laws in the US and under GDPR in Europe.

Salesloft is a revenue platform for midsize and large sales organizations that, after merging with Clari in December 2025, combines sales engagement, conversation intelligence and AI forecasting through Clari Forecast.

Key functions

• AI Forecast Agent builds revenue forecasts from deal history and live activity
• Week-over-week pipeline momentum with early risk alerts
• Plain-language questions about revenue data

Compared with People.ai (Backstory)

• Strong in the same markets as People.ai (Backstory): United States.

Check before buying: Ask how the roadmap for the merged products looks and whether your contract covers Salesloft and Clari modules together. Prices are not published. Hosting regions and certifications could not be read in the trust portal without access, so request the documents for your IT team before signing. Call recording needs consent under US state laws and GDPR.

Zoho CRM is a customer relationship management system from Zoho, an Indian software company that has never taken outside investment, with a free edition for small teams, AI agents and the Zia AI assistant for scoring, forecasting and call analysis.

Key functions

• Zia Scores prioritizes prospects most likely to convert
• AI forecasting analyzes sales forecasts and suggests ways to close gaps
• Churn prediction for subscription customers

Compared with People.ai (Backstory)

• Publishes a price (from 800 INR per user/month); People.ai (Backstory) quotes on request.
• Offers a free trial; we found none for People.ai (Backstory).
• Can store data in the EU; People.ai (Backstory) states no EU option.
• Names 6 security certificates, People.ai (Backstory) 2.

Check before buying: Choose the data center region at sign-up, since Zoho runs separate regions such as the EU and India. Prices on the regional pricing page depend on your location and currency, so request a quote in your billing currency. Check which Zia features are included in your edition.