Gripp vs Simplicate vs Teamleader: which fits your agency?

Gripp, Simplicate and Teamleader are the three names that come up in almost every Dutch agency once the conversation turns to business software. All three are based in the Netherlands or Belgium, all three have been around for years, and all three promise roughly the same thing: from proposal to invoice in one system. The difference is not in that promise, but in who the package was actually built for.

In short: Gripp is the heaviest and most mature suite, aimed at agencies that want precision in hours, projects and finances. Simplicate sits close to it in design, with a slightly different emphasis on HR and reporting. Teamleader is more accessible and starts with the smaller business owner, with a path upwards to bigger teams. Below is the reasoning, with prices I verified on the vendors' own sites.

What do Gripp, Simplicate and Teamleader actually do?

Gripp is business software for agencies with CRM, time tracking, project management and invoicing in one, recently part of Exact. Simplicate is comparable business software aimed at service providers, with a strong emphasis on reporting and HR alongside CRM and projects. Teamleader is a CRM and invoicing suite that grows from simple client management and invoicing into full project tracking in the higher tiers.

So all three cover roughly the same list: client, proposal, project, hours, invoice. The difference is where the emphasis lies and for whom the entry point makes sense.

What does Gripp cost, what does Simplicate cost, what does Teamleader cost?

This is exactly the question most comparisons dance around, so here are the figures I saw on the sites themselves at the time of checking.

Gripp now operates under the Exact flag, and the pricing page on gripp.com redirects to exact.com. It listed three packages: Starter at 162 euros per month for 3 users (extra user 19 euros per month), Professional at 210 euros per month for 3 users (extra user 25 euros per month) and Premium at 261 euros per month for 3 users (extra user 30 euros per month), all excluding VAT. Premium adds automations and a PowerBI integration, among other things.

Simplicate redirects to simplicate.com, where three paid tiers were listed alongside a free 14-day trial: Organize at 24.50 euros per user per month plus a base licence of 136 euros, Rise at 26 euros per user per month plus a 180 euro base licence, and Optimize at 27 euros per user per month plus a 300 euro base licence. As its own example, the site calculated a team of 5 users: 258.50 euros (Organize), 310 euros (Rise) or 435 euros (Optimize) per month.

Teamleader.eu listed three packages on its pricing page: SMART, GROW and FLOW, starting "from 37.50 euros per month". The exact price per user per package only appears after entering your team size, so it is not listed separately on the page. What is clear: SMART targets independents and small businesses with CRM, time tracking and invoicing, GROW adds automatic payment reminders and more advanced proposals, and FLOW is aimed at teams of 10 and up with leave management, multiple sales pipelines and multiple business entities. Teamleader also offers a 17 percent discount on annual billing and a 50 percent discount from the sixth user onwards.

Note: these are the amounts I saw at the time of checking. All three vendors adjust their prices and packages regularly, so check the current page before you decide.

Which agency does Gripp fit?

Gripp fits agencies that already have a certain size and maturity, and that want precision in hours and finances.

The fact that Gripp now sits under Exact is a telling signal: no longer a young product, but an established system with an entry price from 162 euros per month for a small team. For an agency of ten to fifty people that already knows what it needs, that is a logical investment. For a starting agency of two or three people, it is probably heavier than necessary.

Which agency does Simplicate fit?

Simplicate fits service providers that want to steer on reporting and HR in the same system, alongside projects and invoicing.

The pricing structure of a base licence plus an amount per user makes Simplicate predictable to budget. As with Gripp: the higher the tier, the more guidance and advice comes with it, up to a dedicated contact person in the most expensive package. That fits an agency that wants to grow by the numbers, less so a freelancer who mostly wants to get going quickly.

Which agency does Teamleader fit?

Teamleader fits the independent professional or small agency that mostly needs CRM and invoicing right now, with room to grow later.

The entry point from 37.50 euros per month is clearly lower than Gripp or Simplicate, and the SMART, GROW and FLOW structure shows Teamleader deliberately grows along: from simple client and invoice administration to multiple sales pipelines and business entities in the top package. For an agency planning to scale up over the next few years, that is a pleasant growth path. If you already work with complex project planning today, it can feel like there is still a step missing.

How do you choose in practice?

A few questions that help you hold this list honestly against your own situation:

• How many people work in the system now, and how many in two years? With all three, the price climbs quickly per extra user.
• Do you already need extensive time tracking and project finances, or is CRM plus invoicing enough for now?
• What does implementation cost, on top of the subscription? With heavier suites like Gripp and Simplicate, that counts.

If you want to dig into the real cost question more broadly, I wrote about it earlier in what does a CRM cost for an agency, and about the wider trade-off between tools in what is the best CRM for agencies.

Where does Wecooking sit in this list?

Honestly: nowhere next to these three. Gripp, Simplicate and Teamleader are established, mature suites with years of development behind them, and Wecooking is not. We are a young newcomer, with fewer features and less history.

What we do choose is a different approach: all-in-one, including a client portal and a meeting notetaker that turns conversations into tasks, from €19 per month and currently in free beta. For an agency that is already scaling and needs structure, as I described earlier in how to scale an agency without more chaos, one of these three is probably the more logical choice. If you want to start small and flexible and you see what an all-in-one approach with a client portal and notetaker adds, then trying Wecooking for free is worth considering.