Theo vs. Copper CRM

Which CRM Is Right for Your Professional Services Firm?

If you're researching CRM options for your accounting practice, consulting firm, or advisory business, you've probably encountered Copper CRM. Formerly known as ProsperWorks, Copper has built a strong reputation as the "CRM for Google Workspace users"—a relationship-focused platform that integrates deeply with Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive.

On the surface, Copper seems like a natural fit for professional services. It's not transactional like Pipedrive. It's not overwhelming like Salesforce. It emphasizes relationships over high-volume sales pipelines. So why would you choose Theo instead?

This guide provides an honest, comprehensive comparison of Theo and Copper CRM. We'll examine what each platform does well, where they fall short, and most importantly, which one actually solves the problems professional services firms face every day.

Feature	Theo	Copper
Starting Price	$19 per month includes all core features	$25 per user/month (Basic)
Full-Featured Plan	$48 Growth plan with all core features and includes up to 3 users	$59 Professional plan required for full features
Setup Time	✓ 10 minutes to full productivity	~ Several days for full configuration
Unified Timeline View	✓ Complete relationship story in chronological context	~ Activity list without narrative context
AI-Powered Data Extraction	✓ Automatically extracts contact & deal info from emails	✗ Manual data entry required
Today Page (Prioritized Actions)	✓ Single view of what needs attention now	✗ Dashboard requires manual configuration
Professional Services Focus	✓ Purpose-built for accountants, consultants, advisors	~ General relationship CRM, not industry-specific
Google Workspace Integration	~ Calendar integration	✓ Deep Gmail sidebar integration
Pipeline Management	✓ Action-based stages optimized for professional services	✓ Highly customizable pipelines
Custom Reporting	✓ Essential reports focused on professional services	✓ Extensive custom reporting (Professional plan)
Mobile App	~ Mobile-responsive web (native app on roadmap)	✓ Full-featured iOS & Android apps
Workflow Automation	✓ AI-powered automation that works in background	✓ Manual workflow builder (requires configuration)
Best For	Accountants, consultants, advisors managing complex client relationships who need clarity without complexity	Google Workspace users who value deep Gmail integration and need extensive customization

Understanding Copper CRM: What It Does Well

Before we dive into comparison, it's important to understand what Copper brings to the table and why it's earned a loyal following.

Deep Google Workspace Integration

Copper's signature strength is its integration with Google Workspace. If your firm lives in Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive, Copper feels native to your workflow. The CRM lives inside Gmail as a sidebar—you can view contact information, log activities, and update deals without leaving your inbox. Calendar events sync automatically. Documents stored in Drive connect to contact records seamlessly.

For teams already committed to the Google ecosystem, this integration reduces friction. You're not constantly switching between tabs or learning a new interface. The CRM comes to you where you're already working.

Relationship-Focused Design

Unlike transactional CRMs built for quick sales cycles, Copper emphasizes relationship management. The platform tracks people and companies, not just deals. You can see relationship history, interaction patterns, and connection strength. This philosophy aligns better with professional services than high-velocity sales tools.

Copper's "relationship intelligence" features surface insights like "you haven't contacted this person in 60 days" or "this contact opened your email three times." For relationship-driven businesses, these nudges can be valuable.

Clean, Modern Interface

Copper invested in user experience. The interface is clean, visually appealing, and relatively intuitive compared to legacy CRMs. The learning curve is gentler than Salesforce or Zoho. New team members can generally navigate the basics within a day or two.

Customizable Pipeline Management

Copper allows you to create custom pipelines with stages that match your sales process. You can track multiple opportunity types (new client acquisition, upsells, renewals) with different pipeline structures. Deals move through stages with drag-and-drop simplicity, and you can set automation rules for stage transitions.

Solid Reporting

Copper provides robust reporting capabilities including pipeline analytics, activity reports, win/loss tracking, and team performance metrics. You can create custom reports, schedule automated delivery, and visualize data through charts and dashboards.

These are genuine strengths. Copper is a capable, well-designed CRM that serves many businesses effectively. So where does it fall short for professional services firms?

Where Copper Falls Short for Professional Services

Price Point That Escalates Quickly

Copper's pricing starts at $25 per user per month for the Basic plan, but this tier is quite limited—only 2,500 contacts, basic reporting, and limited automation. Most professional services firms quickly need the Professional plan at $59 per user per month to get custom fields, advanced reporting, and workflow automation.

Theo offers flat-rate pricing structure. Select the tier for your team size and never pay per user. Pay for the features you need that grow with your company.

For a 5-person firm choosing Copper, that's $295 per month ($3,540 annually) compared to Theo's Firm plan at $119 per month ($1,142 annually) for the same team size. The price difference compounds as teams grow. A 10-person firm pays $590 monthly for Copper Professional versus $299 monthly for Theo Enterprise—nearly 2x more expensive.

Google Workspace Lock-In

Copper's deep Google integration is a strength until it becomes a constraint. The platform assumes you're using Google Workspace for everything. If you use Microsoft 365, Outlook, or other email platforms, Copper's value proposition diminishes significantly.

Even within Google Workspace, Copper's tight integration can feel limiting. The Gmail sidebar takes up screen space. The interface is optimized for Google's design patterns, which may not match how your team actually works. You're adapting to Copper's vision of how Google users should manage relationships rather than using a CRM that adapts to you.

Weak Timeline and Activity History

While Copper tracks interactions, it doesn't provide the unified timeline view that professional services firms need. You can see a list of activities related to a contact or deal, but it doesn't tell the story of the relationship. Emails are logged, yes. But where's the context? Where's the narrative arc of "we first met at the conference, followed up twice, they had budget concerns, we sent a proposal, they went silent, we re-engaged three months later, and now they're ready to move forward"?

Professional services is storytelling business. When a partner asks "where are we with the Anderson account?", you need to see the complete story immediately. Copper shows you data points. It doesn't show you the story.

Limited Professional Services-Specific Features

Copper was built for relationship sales, but not specifically for professional services. There's no native integration with accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero that accountants and consultants rely on. There's no specialized workflow for tracking proposals, engagements, and ongoing client work. There's no "Today" page that prioritizes action based on urgency and impact.

You can customize Copper to work for professional services, but you're adapting a general-purpose tool rather than using something purpose-built. Every workaround requires configuration. Every non-standard use case requires compromise.

AI Features Are Basic

Copper has added some AI capabilities—relationship insights, email suggestions, and predictive analytics—but they're relatively basic compared to what's now possible. You're not getting intelligent data extraction from emails. You're not getting automated contact creation and opportunity tracking. The AI supplements your work but doesn't meaningfully reduce manual busywork.

Activity Tracking Is Manual

Despite the Gmail integration, much of Copper's activity tracking remains manual. You have to remember to log calls. You have to manually add meeting notes. You have to consciously update deal stages. For busy professionals managing client work and business development simultaneously, this manual overhead adds up.

Reporting Complexity

While Copper's reporting is powerful, it's also complex. Creating custom reports requires understanding the data structure, selecting the right fields, and configuring filters. For small firms without dedicated operations people, this complexity often means reports don't get built or used effectively.

How Theo Beats Copper for Professional Services

Theo was designed from the ground up to solve the specific problems professional services firms face. Here's how that purpose-built approach translates to tangible advantages over Copper.

Timeline-First Design Shows the Complete Client Story

Theo's unified timeline is fundamentally different from Copper's activity log. Every client, contact, and opportunity has a timeline showing the complete relationship story in chronological context. Not just "email sent" but the content, the response, the next step that emerged from that conversation.

When you open a client record in Theo, you see: initial inquiry from six months ago, discovery call notes, proposal sent with specific terms discussed, follow-up sequence, concerns about budget timing, re-engagement after fiscal year, contract signed, first invoice paid, kickoff meeting notes, ongoing check-ins, current project status.

This narrative clarity is crucial for professional services. You're not piecing together the story from scattered data points. You're seeing the story, complete and contextualized. This is what Copper's activity list can't deliver.

AI Helper Eliminates Data Entry Busywork

Copper logs emails automatically, but you still do most data entry manually. Theo's AI Helper goes further: it extracts contact information, deal details, and relevant context from your emails and documents, then populates the CRM automatically.

A prospect emails you with their company details, project scope, budget range, and timeline. In Copper, you'd manually create the contact, add the company, create the opportunity, fill in custom fields, and add notes. In Theo, the AI Helper does all of it—you just review and confirm.

This isn't a minor convenience. For firms managing dozens of prospects and clients, this AI-powered data extraction saves hours per week. Time you redirect to actual client work instead of CRM maintenance.

Today Page for Prioritized Action

Copper has dashboards showing pipeline metrics and activity summaries. Theo has the Today page: a single, prioritized view of what needs your attention right now. Follow-ups due today. Deals that have stalled. High-value prospects you haven't contacted in 45 days. Next steps that aren't clear.

You don't build this view. You don't configure it. It's just there every morning, decision-ready. This is what busy professionals actually need—not more data to analyze, but clear direction on where to focus.

Copper makes you work to find what matters. Theo surfaces it automatically.

Pricing That Makes Sense for Small Firms

Copper Professional is $59 per user per month. Theo Growth (which includes all core features most firms need) is $20 per user per month. For equivalent functionality, you're paying roughly one-third the cost with Theo.

This price difference matters significantly for small firms. A 6-person accounting practice pays $354/month for Copper Professional versus $120/month for Theo Growth. That's $2,808 in annual savings—meaningful money for a small business.

Theo's pricing structure is also simpler and more transparent. No surprise costs as you add features. No complicated tier decisions. Clear, predictable pricing that scales with your team size.

Setup in Minutes, Not Days

Copper requires meaningful setup time: configuring pipelines, customizing fields, setting up automation rules, training your team on the Google Workspace integration. You're looking at several days to get Copper working the way you need.

Theo is designed for immediate productivity. Connect Gmail (two clicks), import contacts from CSV (30 seconds), create your pipeline (two minutes), start tracking deals. You're using the system effectively within 15 minutes.

For small firms without dedicated operations people, this setup time difference is crucial. You don't have days to spend configuring a CRM. You need it working today.

No Platform Lock-In

Copper's value proposition depends heavily on Google Workspace. If you ever migrate to Microsoft 365 or another platform, much of Copper's advantage disappears. You're somewhat locked in by integration depth.

Theo works with Google Calendar but isn't dependent on them. If you change calendar systems, Theo adapts. You're not locked into an ecosystem because the CRM dictated it.

Designed for Professional Services, Not Adapted to It

This is the fundamental difference. Copper is a good relationship CRM that can work for professional services if you customize it. Theo is a professional services CRM from the ground up—the interface, features, workflows, and integrations all assume you're an accountant, consultant, or advisor managing complex client relationships.

The difference shows in countless small ways: how opportunities are structured, how follow-ups are surfaced, how client history is displayed, how integrations are designed, how AI assists. Copper makes you adapt. Theo adapts to you.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Let's break down specific features to see how Theo and Copper compare for professional services firms:

Contact & Company Management

Copper: Robust contact and company records with custom fields, relationship insights, and Google Workspace data enrichment. Contact information syncs from Gmail interactions automatically.

Theo: Contact records with unified timeline showing complete relationship history. AI-powered extraction from emails means less manual data entry. Focus on relationship story, not just contact data.

Winner for Professional Services: Theo. The timeline view and AI extraction matter more than extensive custom fields for firms managing ongoing client relationships.

Pipeline & Opportunity Tracking

Copper: Customizable pipelines with drag-and-drop stages, multiple pipelines for different deal types, automation rules for stage transitions, visual pipeline view.

Theo: Action-based pipeline stages that reflect professional services reality (inquiry, discovery, proposal, negotiation, closed). Less customization, more out-of-box usefulness. Integration with client timeline for full context.

Winner for Professional Services: Tie. Copper offers more customization; Theo offers better defaults. Choice depends on whether you value flexibility or immediate fit.

Activity Tracking & Email Integration

Copper: Automatic email logging through Gmail integration, manual call and meeting logging, Gmail sidebar for in-context updates, email templates and tracking.

Theo: AI extraction of relevant information (contact details, deal context, next steps). Calendar integration for automatic meeting capture. Less manual logging required.

Winner for Professional Services: Theo. The AI-powered reduction in manual work is significant for busy practitioners.

Reporting & Analytics

Copper: Robust custom reporting, pipeline analytics, activity reports, team performance tracking, scheduled report delivery, visual dashboards.

Theo: Essential reports focused on what professional services firms need: pipeline value, follow-up tracking, client engagement, conversion rates. Less customization, more clarity.

Winner for Professional Services: Depends. Copper wins for firms that need extensive custom reporting. Theo wins for firms that want essential insights without complexity.

Automation & Workflows

Copper: Workflow automation for stage transitions, task creation, email sequences, field updates. Requires configuration and ongoing management.

Theo: AI-powered automation that works in the background (data extraction, activity logging, follow-up reminders). Less configuration, more "it just works."

Winner for Professional Services: Theo. Professional services firms need automation that helps, not automation they have to build and maintain.

Mobile Experience

Copper: Full-featured mobile apps for iOS and Android with offline access, activity logging, contact management, and pipeline updates.

Theo: Mobile-responsive web interface with essential features accessible on any device. Native mobile apps on roadmap.

Winner for Professional Services: Copper. Better mobile experience currently, though Theo covers essential mobile needs.

Integrations

Copper: Deep Google Workspace integration (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Meet), Slack, Mailchimp, Zapier for other connections. Limited accounting software integration.

Theo: Google Calendar. Focused integrations designed for professional services workflows rather than breadth. Gmail, QuickBooks/Xero, Slack integrations on roadmap.

Winner for Professional Services: Tie. Copper has more integrations; Theo's integrations are more purpose-built for professional services.

Pricing & Value

Copper: $25-$99/user/month depending on tier. Most professional services firms need Professional ($59) or Business ($99) to get necessary features.

Theo: $19-$119 per month and NO per user pricing. Practice tier ($48/month) includes core features most professional services need for a team of 3.

Winner for Professional Services: Theo. Significantly better value for equivalent functionality.

Real-World Scenarios: Theo vs. Copper

Let's look at how each platform handles common professional services situations.

Scenario 1: Managing a Long-Term Client Relationship

You're an accountant with a client you've served for five years across tax prep, bookkeeping, and advisory services. They email asking about expanding to fractional CFO services.

With Copper: You open their contact record in Copper. You see a list of logged activities—emails, meetings, deals. You know you've worked with them for years, but reconstructing the relationship story requires scrolling through activities, opening old emails, checking past deal records. It takes 5-10 minutes to rebuild context before responding.

With Theo: You open their timeline in Theo. You immediately see five years of relationship history: initial engagement, services added over time, invoice payment patterns, past conversations about growth needs, notes from your last check-in mentioning they were exploring expansion. Complete context in 30 seconds. You respond from position of complete information.

Why Theo Wins: The unified timeline shows the relationship story, not just activity data. For professional services where context is everything, this difference is fundamental.

Scenario 2: Tracking Multiple Stakeholders in a Complex Deal

You're a consultant negotiating with a mid-sized company. You've had conversations with the CFO, COO, and project manager. Each has different concerns and priorities.

With Copper: You create contacts for each stakeholder, link them to the company record, and associate them with the opportunity. When preparing for a meeting, you search through activities to find who said what. The relationship between stakeholders and their individual concerns lives in your notes and memory.

With Theo: Each stakeholder has a timeline within the broader opportunity timeline. You can see who you've talked to, what each person said, what concerns they raised, and how those conversations have evolved. The CFO's budget concerns, the COO's timeline pressure, and the project manager's implementation questions are all visible in context.

Why Theo Wins: Multi-stakeholder complexity is common in professional services. Theo's timeline structure handles this naturally while Copper requires you to piece together the narrative.

Scenario 3: Managing Follow-Up Discipline

You have 15 active prospects at various stages. Some need follow-up this week, others next month, others when specific events occur (fiscal year end, funding close, etc.).

With Copper: You set tasks and reminders manually. Copper will notify you when tasks are due, but you have to remember to create them and keep them updated. You can create reports showing overdue tasks, but that requires building the report.

With Theo: The Today page shows you every follow-up that needs attention, automatically prioritized by urgency and impact. Prospects going cold are surfaced. Promised follow-ups are tracked. You don't build this view—it's just there every morning.

Why Theo Wins: Follow-up discipline makes or breaks professional services business development. Theo makes it effortless; Copper makes it manual.

Scenario 4: Handling Email-Heavy Communication

A prospect sends a detailed email outlining their needs, budget, timeline, and decision criteria for an engagement.

With Copper: The email is logged to the contact record automatically through Gmail integration. You manually create or update the opportunity, copy key details into custom fields, add notes about decision criteria. Five minutes of data entry.

With Theo: The AI Helper reads the email, extracts the prospect's needs, creates/updates the opportunity with budget and timeline information, and adds notes about decision criteria. You review it for accuracy (30 seconds) and confirm. Ninety percent of the work is done automatically.

Why Theo Wins: Professional services communication is information-dense. AI-powered extraction is the difference between spending 20 minutes per day on data entry versus 2 minutes.

When You Should Choose Copper Over Theo

Honest comparison requires acknowledging when the alternative is the better choice. Here's when Copper makes more sense than Theo:

You're deeply committed to Google Workspace and want CRM embedded in Gmail. If your team lives in Gmail and the sidebar-based workflow feels natural, Copper's integration depth may be worth the higher price.

You need extensive customization and are willing to invest configuration time. Copper is more flexible than Theo. If you have unique workflow requirements and someone to configure the system, Copper can adapt to complex needs.

You have a larger team with dedicated operations support. Copper's complexity is more manageable when you have someone responsible for CRM administration and optimization.

You're already paying for Copper and it's working. If you've invested time in Copper configuration and your team is using it effectively, the switching cost may not be worth it. Theo is better for new CRM buyers or firms actively frustrated with their current solution.

You need extensive third-party integrations. Copper's Zapier integration and broader ecosystem connectivity may matter if you rely on many specialized tools.

When You Should Choose Theo Over Copper

Theo is the better choice when:

You want to start using a CRM effectively today, not next week. Theo's setup time is measured in minutes. You're productive immediately.

You need enterprise-level insight without enterprise complexity. Theo provides unified timelines, AI assistance, and pipeline clarity without requiring configuration expertise.

Pricing matters and you want predictable costs. Theo costs roughly one-third of Copper for equivalent professional services functionality.

You're an accountant, consultant, or advisor managing complex client relationships. Theo is purpose-built for how professional services firms actually work.

You want AI that reduces busywork, not creates more interfaces. Theo's AI Helper works in the background, eliminating manual data entry without requiring you to learn new features.

You value your time more than customization flexibility. Theo is opinionated and focused. It does fewer things, but the things it does are exactly what professional services firms need.

You integrate with accounting software and need that data visible in your CRM. Theo's QuickBooks/Xero integration is designed for professional services workflows.

The Bottom Line: Which CRM Fits Your Firm?

Copper is a capable, well-designed relationship CRM with deep Google Workspace integration. It serves many businesses well, including some professional services firms. If you value extensive customization, are committed to the Google ecosystem, and have the budget for $59+ per user per month, Copper is a solid choice.

But for most small professional services firms—accountants, consultants, financial advisors, lawyers—Theo is the better fit. It's purpose-built for how you work, costs significantly less, and solves the specific problems you face: fragmented client context, follow-up discipline, manual data entry, scattered information.

The choice comes down to this: do you want a flexible relationship CRM you'll adapt to professional services, or do you want a professional services CRM that works the way you work from day one?

Copper is the first option. Theo is the second.

For firms managing complex, long-term client relationships where context matters, where follow-ups can't slip, where time is precious and busywork is the enemy—Theo delivers enterprise clarity without enterprise friction.

Try Theo Risk-Free

The best way to know if Theo is right for your firm is to try it. Start your 14-day free trial—no credit card required, no pressure, no commitment. Connect Gmail, import contacts, track a few opportunities, and see if Theo's timeline view, Today page, and AI Helper actually solve the problems Copper leaves unsolved.

If Theo doesn't fit, you've lost nothing but 15 minutes of setup time. If it does fit, you've found the CRM professional services firms have been waiting for.

Start your free trial to see Theo and Copper compared side-by-side for your specific needs.