6 Best HubSpot CRM Alternatives & Competitors

Learn about the top HubSpot CRM alternatives and competitors in our independent review, including an overall winner and primary use cases

HubSpot CRM — also known as HubSpot Sales Hub — is a sales pipeline tool built on the same platform as HubSpot's Marketing Hub. HubSpot CRM offers a free version that integrates with its free Marketing and Service Hub tiers; it also offers paid tiers with premium sales features. However, its paid tiers lack some sales and marketing features and they may be pricey for small teams or solo users. To help, we assessed the top alternatives to give you other options.

Here are the top six HubSpot alternatives and competitors that may better suit your needs:

  • Zoho CRM: Best overall HubSpot CRM alternative option (free starting price)
  • Freshsales: Easiest to use alternative with advanced sales features (free starting price)
  • Pipedrive: Best alternative for document and contract management (14-day free trial)
  • Salesforce Essentials: Best for longer or more complex sales pipelines (14-day free trial)
  • Salesflare: Best HubSpot CRM alternative for managing prospect interactions (30-day free trial)
  • Insightly CRM: Best alternative for project management and sales (free starting price)

If you're still wondering whether or not HubSpot is right for you, check out our independent HubSpot CRM review. Otherwise, continue reading for a complete breakdown of the top HubSpot CRM alternatives and why they might be right for you.

How We Evaluated the Best HubSpot Alternatives & Competitors

HubSpot is one of the top CRM options available, but it has its downsides. Its paid tiers can be pricey if you don't have a large team and its missing some advanced sales and marketing features. To help identify the top alternatives and what they do best, we scored each option across six weighted categories to assign them a score out of five. Also considered were primary use cases for each; check out our specific evaluation criteria below:

Evaluation Criteria

When evaluating the top options, we placed the most weight on cost and the features you get for the price. Also considered was ease of use as well as available native and third-party integrations, level of customizations, and customer support offered.

Cost:
25%
Key Features:
25%
Ease of Use:
20%
Integrations:
15%
Customization:
10%
Customer Support:
5%

Note: All per-user prices are with a one-year commitment unless noted

Several CRMs performed well across various scoring criteria. However, as we tallied the results, a winner emerged both in several scoring criteria and in its overall score. That CRM was Zoho CRM. Read below to learn how all the CRMs we evaluated fared as valid alternatives to HubSpot.

Zoho CRM: Best Overall HubSpot Alternative

Zoho CRM offers advanced marketing and sales pipeline features good for multichannel marketing and sales.

Price Range: Free to $52 per user, per month (15+ day trial)

Overall Rating star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Cost star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Key Features star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Ease of Use star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Integrations star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Customization star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Customer Support star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full

Pros:

  • Good customization and integration
  • Product catalogs & invoices
  • Social media management

Cons:

  • UI can be difficult
  • Lower tier plans missing features
  • No native live chat or phone

Zoho CRM has a free plan along with upgrades at competitive prices, all of which enable users to reach leads in several ways. It integrates across all major social media platforms to generate and interact with leads, then it helps users continue to qualify and market to potential customers through email campaigns. It even offers purchase orders, invoicing, and advanced AI-driven sales features that help with forecasting and lead engagement.

While Zoho is a powerful CRM for marketing and sales, its user interface can be clunky and harder to use versus other options. If you're looking for an easier to use CRM with equally powerful sales features at a competitive price, check out Freshsales.

Zoho CRM Pricing

  • Free Version: Support for 3 users
  • Standard: $14 per user, per month
  • Professional: $23 per user, per month
  • Enterprise: $40 per user, per month
  • Ultimate: $52 per user, per month
  • Free Trial: 15 to 30 days for all paid plans

Zoho CRM Key Features

  • Multichannel Lead Engagement: Target sales prospects and customers across a diverse range of platforms and media.
  • AI Automation Tools: Use AI-driven workflow tools to build sales automation processes and engage with prospects automatically.
  • Integrations & Customizations: Plenty of integrations and customization options like custom pipeline fields and data filters.
  • Product Management: Manage a large book of products using a product catalog, purchase orders, invoicing, and more.

Visit Zoho CRM

Freshsales: Best for Sales Features & Usability

Freshsales offers the best mix of sales features, pricing, and overall ease of use when compared to HubSpot CRM.

Price Range: Free to $69 per user, per month (21-day free trial)

Overall Rating star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Cost star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Key Features star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Ease of Use star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Integrations star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Customization star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Customer Support star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full

Pros:

  • Simple and clean UI
  • Proactive AI automation
  • Native phone and live chat

Cons:

  • Growth tier is limited
  • Missing some marketing features
  • Fewer native integrations

Freshsales is a well-priced and well-designed HubSpot CRM alternative offering a free version for three users as well as premium paid tiers with advanced sales features. Its Growth tier includes basic contact management as well as a phone dialer, live chat, and SMS, and its advanced tiers include AI-driven deal and forecasting insights. You can even integrate seamlessly with its Freshdesk help desk, which offers a free tier.

Freshsales provides the best alternative mix of sales features and usability, but it's missing some marketing features as well as sales operations features like invoicing. If you need these things, check out Zoho CRM instead.

Freshsales Pricing

  • Growth: $15 per user, per month (free for 3 users)
  • Pro: $39 per user, per month
  • Enterprise: $69 per user, per month
  • Free Trial: 21 days for all paid tiers

Freshsales Key Features

  • Customization Options: Customize your visual sales pipeline as well as as create custom workflows to manage your pipline.
  • AI-Powered Features: Forecast revenue and automatically engage with prospects using Freshsales' powerful AI features.
  • Workflow Automations: Streamline complex tasks with automations and other sales functionality to manage lead generation and nurturing.
  • Live Chat & Phone: Communicate with customers and prospects via a built in phone dialer, live chat, Facebook Messenger, and more.

freshsales crm example

Visit Freshsales

Pipedrive CRM: Best for Contract Management

Pipedrive is an intuitive pipeline tool offering a la carte feature upgrades as well as Smart Docs document management.

Price Range: $14.90 to $99 per user, per month (14-day trial)

Overall Rating star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Cost star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Key Features star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Ease of Use star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Integrations star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Customization star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Customer Support star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full

Pros:

  • Easy to use interface
  • Add on upgrades
  • E-signature software & more

Cons:

  • Limited sales feature set
  • Add ons can be pricey
  • Missing some marketing features

Pipedrive is a user-friendly CRM that provides a visual interface to simplify pipeline and lead management. It offers a la carte add on upgrades such as Lead Booster and Web Visitor you can purchase which can help you with lead generation and nurturing. You can also purchase its Smart Docs add on to access contract and document management including e-sign software at lower tiers, or get it for free at higher tiers.

While Pipedrive offers a solid user interface and upgrades, it's missing a free version as well as paid tiers with robust out of the box features. If you'd rather have these options, try Zoho CRM.

Pipedrive CRM Pricing

  • Essential: $14.90 per user, per month (Smart Docs costs extra)
  • Advanced: $24.90 per user, per month (Smart Docs costs extra)
  • Professional: $49.90 per user, per month (Smart Docs included)
  • Enterprise: $99 per user, per month (Smart Docs included)
  • Free Trial: 14 days

Pipedrive CRM Key Features

  • Easy to Use Interface: User interface with Kanban-style simplicity to set up and organize sales pipelines with ease.
  • Schedule Sales Activities: Pipedrive schedules sales activities effectively, enhancing the ability to close deals.
  • Easy Progress Tracking: Ability to monitor sales pipelines, plus a deal rotting feature that notifies when a deal stays idle.
  • Document Management: Manage contracts and other documents using its Smart Docs feature, which includes e-sign software.

Pipedrive CRM dashboard example

Visit Pipedrive

Salesforce Essentials: Best for Complex Sales

The small business version of Salesforce with multiple pipelines and advanced reporting for efficient management.

Price Range: $25 per user, per month (14-day free trial)

Overall Rating star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Cost star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Key Features star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Ease of Use star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Integrations star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Customization star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Customer Support star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full

Pros:

  • Multiple pipelines
  • Fewer configuration needs
  • Robust pipeline reporting

Cons:

  • Supports few integrations
  • Upgrades are costly
  • Missing marketing features

Salesforce Essentials is a top-of-the-line CRM for small businesses that want the Salesforce experience. It offers two separate pipelines for leads and opportunities that make it easy to manage longer or more complex sales cycles. Also included are robust reports and dashboards that you can use out of the box or customize to your specific pipeline needs. It even offers advanced features like lead assignment and routing as well as a built-in AI.

Salesforce Essentials Pricing

  • Single-Tier Pricing: $25 per user, per month
  • Free Trial: 14 days

Salesforce Essentials Key Features

  • Built on Salesforce Engine: Reap the advantage of Salesforce’s innovation, flexibility, and expertise in CRM development.
  • AI-Driven Capabilities: Overcome disjointed data with Einstein Activity Capture, an AI system connecting information in one place.
  • Learning and Support: Provides a fun and easy way to learn the CRM with Trailhead, a gamified and interactive platform.
  • Lead Account Management: Powerful lead management solutions (e.g., lead distribution, sales funnel stages) to build effective sales pipelines.

Visit Salesforce Essentials

Salesflare: Best for Prospect Interactions

The only CRM purposefully built for Google Workspace, Copper is familiar to Google users and easy to use.

Price Range: $29 to $99 per user, per month (30-day trial)

Overall Rating star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Cost star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Key Features star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Ease of Use star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Integrations star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Customization star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Customer Support star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full

Pros:

  • Lightweight and simple to use
  • Robust email sync
  • Automatic data entry

Cons:

  • Missing lower-priced tiers
  • Limited marketing features
  • Customization could be better

Salesflare is a robust and intuitive sales pipeline tool that offers powerful B2B sales features good for individuals or teams. It automatically inputs lead data from publicly available information around the web and provides a visual pipeline for easy prospect management. When compared to HubSpot CRM, it offers advanced email syncing and sequencing as well as automatic reminders to help you stay on top of the top prospects.

Even though Salesflare is a great alternative to HubSpot CRM, it's missing a free tier as well as a lower-level paid option. If you need an equally visual and powerful pipeline tool with lower-tier options, check out Freshsales.

Salesflare Pricing

  • Basic: $25 per user, per month
  • Professional: $59 per user, per month
  • Business: $119 per user, per month
  • Free Trial: 14 days

Salesflare Key Features

  • Automatically Inputs Data: Add important lead data automatically from public information sources including email signatures.
  • Email Syncing: Robust two-way email sync for both Gmail and Outlook, and even access an easy to use email sidebar for communication.
  • Email Sequencing: Create robust email sequences that are larger than HubSpot CRMs so you can automate your lead nurturing.
  • Relationship Scoring: Salesflare assigns each lead a relationship score as well as social media activity tracking for efficient follow up.

salesflare pipeline

Visit Salesflare

Insightly: Best CRM for Project Management

Insightly combines marketing, sales, and projects in a unified platform that drives productivity via project management.

Price Range: Free to $99 per user, per month (14-day free trial)

Overall Rating star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Cost star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Key Features star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Ease of Use star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Integrations star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full Customization star-fullstar-fullstar-full star-full Customer Support star-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-fullstar-full

Pros:

  • Efficient and easy to use
  • Creatively adapts to work needs
  • Project management capabilities

Cons:

  • Subpar customer support
  • Pay extra to integrate phone
  • Difficult to scale

Insightly CRM provides users with features that support project management, including a visual representation of their project pipeline that their entire team can access. It offers real-time project updates that show tasks, milestones, and key metrics such as win rate and churn rate, and project reports are easy to build and share with clients. It’s best for businesses that want to streamline their workflow and keep their team and customers in the loop on projects.

Insightly Pricing

  • Free: Supports up to two users
  • Plus: $25 per user, per month
  • Professional: $49 per user, per month
  • Enterprise: $99 per user, per month
  • Free Trial: 14 days for all paid plans

Insightly Key Features

  • Adaptability: Insightly allows SMBs to grow and expand with the range of functionality they need at various stages of their lifecycle.
  • Contact Management Features: Solid contact and lead management features such as mass emailing and automatic duplicate detection.
  • Task Management: Manage individual and team tasks using features like milestone tracking and calendar synching.
  • Project Management: Deliver projects on time with a separate project management pipeline your entire team can use.

Insightly Sales Pipeline Software

Visit Insightly CRM

Bottom Line: HubSpot Alternatives & Competitors

HubSpot CRM is a good choice because it works well and provides you with contact information from its database of over 20 million businesses. However, most salespeople need more than a good lead database. They also need sales-focused tools so they can spend as much time nurturing client relationships and doing what they know how to do best. These six alternative CRM software provide insightful and intelligent sales frameworks at affordable prices.

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