Nova vs. MCP: What's the Difference?
Both Nova and MCP bring AI into Pipedrive, which is why they're easy to mix up. But they solve different problems and were built for different purposes. Most customers use them together rather than choosing one over the other.
The simplest way to think about it
Nova is what Pipedrive builds on top of AI. It's a built-in feature that runs your meeting workflow for you.
MCP is what customers build on top of Pipedrive. It lets you connect your own AI assistant to your Pipedrive data.
A common combo: use Nova to handle daily meeting prep and follow-up, then use MCP to query or export what Nova captures, for example, to build a coaching report across your sales reps.
Full comparison
| Nova (the meeting assistant) | MCP (the AI connector) |
Best for | Reps and managers who want meeting prep and follow-up handled for them | Anyone with an AI assistant who wants to query or update Pipedrive conversationally |
Primary purpose | Runs the meeting lifecycle: preparation, live notes, transcription, post-call summary, and suggested CRM updates | Connects an external AI assistant to Pipedrive so users can ask questions and perform supported actions on demand |
How it's triggered | Automatic: kicks in when a meeting appears on the calendar, takes notes, writes the summary, and suggests CRM updates | On demand: the user connects their AI tool, then asks it to do things ("show me stale deals," "create a follow-up for Monday") |
Data capture | Creates new records and suggests updates directly from meeting content | Reads, creates, and updates records through its tools, but doesn't capture meeting content automatically |
Meeting preparation | Automatically creates preparation briefs | Generates a brief only if the user asks the connected AI assistant to do so |
Live note-taking | Yes, supports live note-taking and transcription during meetings. | No |
Enrichment | Can enrich orgs and attendees using sources like the web or LinkedIn | Works with whatever data and actions its tools expose; doesn't replicate Nova's automatic enrichment |
Scope | Meetings, calls, deals, orgs, and contacts tied to the meeting | Entire CRM surface: deals, activities, pipelines, contacts, orgs, leads, reporting, and bulk workflows |
Privacy, compliance and overhead | Keeps meeting data inside Pipedrive’s Nova workflow across reps and reduces manual prompting after every meeting. | Requires customer-managed external AI tooling and repeated prompting; sensitive CRM context may be handled in individual reps’ AI accounts depending on the customer’s setup. |
AI engine | Uses Pipedrive's own AI | Bring your own AI client and model (must support MCP and OAuth) |
Setup | Built into Pipedrive and included on all plans except Essential, with no separate Nova subscription needed from GA. | Customer configures their own AI tool; no extra Pipedrive subscription, but usage counts against the API token budget |
Cost | Included at no additional cost on all plans except Essential; no seat caps or usage limits for core Nova features. | Variable - no separate MCP subscription cost, but heavy usage can draw down the customer’s API token budget |