Salesforce and HubSpot CRM are industry-leading CRMs, albeit for different reasons. HubSpot CRM has a reputation for being an affordable, accessible option suitable for small businesses that may be new to CRM software. Salesforce is best known for providing large teams with a wealth of customizable, state-of-the-art features. Breaking down the differences between HubSpot CRM and Salesforce will give you clarity in deciding if either is right for your business.
Here are the situations when you want to use either HubSpot CRM or Salesforce:
HubSpot CRM: Best for small-to-medium businesses needing a user-friendly CRM with sales and marketing functionality (free to $1,200 per month for 2 to 10 users)
Salesforce: Best for larger businesses seeking an enriched CRM with advanced analytics, automation, and customization ($25 to $300 per user, per month)
While HubSpot CRM and Salesforce are two industry leaders, they might not be the most ideal solution for you. If you’re looking for other options, check out our articles on the best overall CRMs and the best industry-specific CRM solutions. Otherwise, keep reading for a breakdown of HubSpot CRM vs Salesforce.
Salesforce vs HubSpot CRM at a Glance
Price Range (Annual)
Free to $1,200 per month (2 to 10 users)
$25 to $300 per user, per month
Core Features
Straightforward tools that help sales teams better understand their clients
Advanced tools that offer deep insights into the customer journey
Ease of Use
Accessible to users of all experience levels
Geared toward users already familiar with CRMs
Reporting
Suitable for basic CRM reports
Capable of building any type of CRM report
Sales Automation
Task automation mainly for the sales pipeline
Automates tasks across various functions
Mobile App
Integrates with messaging and calendar apps
Powered by AI and caches data for offline access
App Integrations
Over 1,000 apps, 45 of which are free via HubSpot App Marketplace
Over 7,000 apps, but only 1,200+ are free via AppExchange
Customer Service
24/7 support is standard with all paid plans
All plans include support during local business hours
HubSpot CRM and Salesforce perform many of the same functions, but each platform excels in its own ways. We’ve highlighted these differences by comparing the two platforms based on five key criteria businesses consider most when choosing a CRM. These include costs, features, ease of use, app integrations and customization, and user support.
Evaluation Criteria
We first chose the five main factors most important to determining whether a CRM is right for you, and then weighted each criteria appropriately. Pricing and features led our decision factors. Also included are ease of use, app integrations and overall customizations, as well as user support offered.
Pricing:
25%
Features:
25%
Ease of Use:
20%
Customization:
15%
User Support:
15%
Pricing Overview
We looked at each CRM’s starting cost, availability of free versions, access to add-on features, and monthly/yearly billing plans.
We combed through both platforms for essential CRM features like reporting and sales automation, along with advanced features such as sales forecasting.
This covers each CRM’s available service hours via phone, email, and live chat. We also looked for self-service channels like forums and knowledge bases.
Outside of the weighted criteria above, we separated three core CRM features into their own individual categories below — reporting, sales automation, and mobile app — all of which Salesforce won. We prioritized these features since businesses tend to look for CRM software that will make their processes more efficient and aid them in making well-informed sales decisions.
Best for Pricing: HubSpot CRM
Free-for-Life Option
Yes, with unlimited users
No
Free Trial
No
30 days (14 days with Essentials)
Starting Price (Annual)
$18 per month for 2 users
$25 per user, per month (10-user maximum)
Enterprise Price (Annual)
$1,200 per month for 10 users, then $120 per user, per month
Winner: HubSpot CRM is the more economical choice, especially considering the strength of its free-for-life platform.
HubSpot CRM has the edge over Salesforce when it comes to affordability. HubSpot CRM’s free-for-life platform is an excellent option for budget-conscious small business owners who want a robust set of lead generation and contact management tools. Plus, the free version supports unlimited users so companies can continue to use the software at no cost as they scale. When users are to upgrade their plan, they can do so from HubSpot’s free CRM to Sales Hub.
Salesforce is pricier than HubSpot CRM overall, especially if you opt for any of Salesforce’s myriad add-on features. However, Salesforce’s Essentials plan is $25 per user, per month – only $2 more than the per-user price for HubSpot CRM's lowest paid plan (Sales Hub Starter). Salesforce doesn’t have a free version of its software, but there is a 30-day trial (14 days with Essentials). Salesforce Sales Cloud includes four levels: Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, and Unlimited.
Winner: Salesforce has one of the deepest CRM feature sets we’ve seen and will appeal to businesses seeking advanced sales tools.
HubSpot CRM has a solid feature set to help businesses effectively manage contacts, track opportunities, and generate leads. Many of these tools are available on HubSpot’s free platform; premium upgrades include advanced analytics, sales forecasting, and contact scoring. HubSpot CRM’s core CRM features are straightforward and accessible so anyone can learn how to use them in a short amount of time, regardless of technical skill.
Salesforce, however, boasts powerful features to help sales professionals optimize their workflow, access comprehensive contact information, generate accurate forecasts, and stay on top of every opportunity. Even the base Essentials tier includes custom reports and advanced automation tools. Of course, such high-level features contribute to Salesforce’s steep learning curve – but with proper time and training, sales professionals will see the benefits.
Winner: HubSpot CRM is accessible to users of all experience levels thanks to its intuitive interface and relatively simple setup.
HubSpot CRM is regarded as one of the most user-friendly CRMs. Its guided setup, along with HubSpot’s vast knowledge base and quality customer service, make implementation a fairly simple task that likely won’t require outside assistance. Users appreciate HubSpot CRM’s intuitive interface and how easy it is to add third-party apps, although they wish reporting and customization were more robust.
Salesforcehas plenty to offer when it comes to features and flexibility, but the trade-off is a steep learning curve and a clunky interface. Setup is a time-consuming process due to the malleable nature of the software. Despite that, fans of the Salesforce platform praise its high level of customization, along with its excellent reporting tools and thousands of integrations.
Winner: Salesforce gives businesses the freedom to build any type of CRM report they need to make actionable decisions.
HubSpot CRM includes a wide selection of pre-made report types that users can filter and customize, albeit with limitations. For more granular reporting, HubSpot CRM offers a custom report builder, although it’s only available with its two highest-paid plans. For baseline reports HubSpot CRM is quite reliable, but businesses that require regular deep data dives may want to consider Salesforce instead.
Salesforce offers basic templates and custom reports at all price points. Its higher-tier plans include advanced reporting features such as cross filters and buckets to help businesses better organize and group their data. Salesforce’s custom report builder has more variables than HubSpot CRM, which will allow business owners and sales leaders to build comprehensive reports based on any CRM metrics they wish to track.
Winner: Salesforce is capable of automating a wide variety of simple and complex tasks, which will benefit busy sales teams that need to optimize their processes.
HubSpot CRM’s sales automation features are largely tied to the sales pipeline. For instance, it’s able to automate email follow-ups, data entry, and team-wide notifications when certain actions are taken. Depending on the plan, users can set up as many as 1,000 workflow rules. However, sales automation is noticeably missing from HubSpot’s free CRM.
Salesforce, on the other hand, supports a much broader range of sales automation functions. Its point-and-click Lightning Flow Automation tool enables users to build flows and processes around nearly every function of the CRM. It can also automate internal admin requests such as expense reports and travel approvals. All Salesforce plans include a minimum of five workflows, with unlimited rules reserved for the highest tiers.
Winner: Salesforce gets the victory in this category because of its offline access to key sales data via its mobile CRM.
HubSpot CRM has a mobile app that features many of the user-friendly lead management tools of its parent software. It also includes app-exclusive functions like a business card scanner and the HubSpot Keyboard, which inserts HubSpot CRM contact data into compatible third-party messaging and scheduling apps. However, it falls short when it comes to offline access, a crucial component given how unreliable phone and wireless networks can be while traveling.
Salesforce’s mobile app syncs with the desktop version and allows for data caching of up to seven items at a time, including dashboards and opportunities. (The HubSpot CRM mobile app, on the other hand, only enables offline access for contact data.) The Salesforce mobile app also features AI-powered insights courtesy of Einstein Analytics, along with the ability to customize the app to match company branding.
Winner: Salesforce wins based on the amount of integrations it offers, including the number of free apps available via AppExchange.
HubSpot CRM and Salesforce both support a large volume of third-party applications. The ever-growing HubSpot App Marketplace currently has over 1,000 native integrations. Forty-five of those apps are free – some of which include Gmail, Mailchimp, and Facebook Messenger.
Salesforce AppExchange, meanwhile, boasts more than 7,000 apps that span a range of use cases, although most of them cost money to implement. Among the most popular free integrations in the AppExchange are Zoom, Slack, and Asana.
Winner: HubSpot CRM includes all-hours support as standard in its paid plans – not to mention, its user support team has an excellent reputation.
HubSpot CRM offers its paid Sales Hub subscribers 24/7 access to live chat, phone, and email support. (Note that phone support is not available with the Starter plan.) Users of HubSpot’s free CRM are unable to access these support channels, but they can turn to HubSpot’s active user community and vast knowledge base for help at any time.
All Salesforce plans come with email and live chat support, along with access to Salesforce’s community forums and knowledge base. Premium support plans can be purchased separately, regardless of which Salesforce tier you have. (Pricing for these support plans is available upon request.) They include 24/7 support, one-on-one coaching, and advanced diagnostics.
HubSpot CRM andSalesforce tick the right boxes for a lot of organizations, hence why they’re CRM industry leaders. However, there are reasons not to select HubSpot CRM or Salesforce as your next CRM. These cons don’t take away from the pros of either CRM, but they are important to consider. Ultimately, the best CRM for your business is the one that meets your unique sales needs, and there’s a possibility that HubSpot CRM or Salesforce won’t meet them.
Who Shouldn’t Use HubSpot CRM
The following business types tend not to be a great fit for HubSpot CRM:
Large and Enterprise Companies: HubSpot CRM doesn’t offer enough customizable elements compared to Salesforce, which may hinder big organizations.
Mid-Sized Business on a Budget: HubSpot’s free CRM is strong in its own right, but growing companies will want to scale, and upgrades and add-ons are pricey.
Sales Teams That Need In-Depth Reporting: HubSpot CRM is sufficient when it comes to basic reporting, but its custom reporting tools leave much to be desired.
If you identify with any of the above, don't simply default to Salesforce. For a complete breakdown of the situations where you may want to use or avoid HubSpot, check out our detailed HubSpot CRM review. Then, take a look at who shouldn't use Salesforce below.
Who Shouldn’t Use Salesforce
The businesses and reps below likely won’t get much out of Salesforce:
Small Businesses and Startups: Salesforce’s robust feature set will be too overwhelming (and expensive) for smaller teams and organizations.
Sales Reps New to CRMs: Salesforce has a steep learning curve, even for people who are familiar with CRMs, so it’s not recommended as a first-time CRM for most people.
Companies That Need 24/7 Support: Salesforce offers around-the-clock support, but it costs extra. HubSpot CRM includes this amenity at no additional charge.
However, if these use cases sound like you, don't immediately discount Salesforce. For a full look at Salesforce, check out our detailed and independent Salesforce CRM review.
3 Best Alternatives to Salesforce & HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM and Salesforce do many things well, but there’s the possibility that neither is the right fit for your business needs. Whether you’re seeking a more affordable premium CRM or a particular set of sales tools, there are plenty of other options out there. We find the following three CRMs to be the best alternatives to HubSpot CRM and Salesforce.
Zoho CRM
Freshsales
Pipedrive
Zoho CRM is an affordable and customizable CRM with multichannel touchpoints and tight social media integration. It offers a free-for-life version for three users and premium paid tiers for a mix of powerful sales and marketing tools, including advanced Zia AI features. However, if you need a more intuitive user interface, check out Freshsales or Pipedrive.
Freshsales is rated our best general CRM providing robust AI-powered sales automation at a cost that's lower than most comparable platforms. Its Growth plan (offered free for up to three users) includes smart contact scoring and limited bot sessions using Freddy AI. Freshsales has great features but you need to upgrade to higher tiers to get advanced marketing tools. In this case, try Zoho CRM, which has powerful sales and marketing automations even in lower tiers.
Pipedrive is a user-friendly CRM with visual sales pipelines that make it easy to follow your sales process start to finish. With plans starting at $14.99 per month, you can set up and navigate through the platform quickly as it has a gentle learning curve. Use its kanban-style pipelines to track your sales process and customize them using the drag-and-drop tool. But if you’re looking for a CRM with robust AI-powered tools, look into Freshsales instead.
Check out our lists of the best HubSpot CRM alternatives and the best Salesforce alternatives to learn about their competitors and decide which is right for you. There, you'll find the additional CRM options' use cases, pricing, features, and more.
Bottom Line: Salesforce vs HubSpot CRM
Salesforce is the clear winner when it comes to features and customization, but HubSpot CRM reigns supreme in affordability and usability. Ultimately, the best CRM for your business adequately addresses your pain points, fits within your budget, and is fully adopted by your intended end users. Depending on your circumstances, the best CRM may be HubSpot CRM, Salesforce, or another top CRM altogether.
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