Salesforce vs. HubSpot: Which CRM is Right for Your Business?

In this article, we’ll explore two market leaders in CRM and marketing automation software: Salesforce and HubSpot. Salesforce is the leader in sales CRM. Known for its unparalleled functional depth and a robust ecosystem of integrations and applications, Salesforce excels in meeting the needs of experienced sales teams. It’s a powerful tool but requires a steep learning curve.

Similarly, HubSpot offers a complete, all-in-one CRM solution, rooted in its inbound marketing expertise. With advanced marketing automation and reporting features, HubSpot is also capable of managing substantial data volumes effectively.

In this article, we’ll compare these two solutions across 8 critical criteria:

1. Sales pipeline management: Salesforce adapts seamlessly to complex sales processes.
2. Reporting: Salesforce offers more advanced reporting features.
3. Automation & Documentation: While Salesforce leads in sales automation, HubSpot shines in marketing automation.
4. Ease of use: HubSpot is more user-friendly, whereas Salesforce’s complexity stems from its feature-rich design.
5. Lead management: Salesforce emphasizes the sales process, while HubSpot excels in inbound lead generation.
6. Price: HubSpot is better suited for smaller teams, while Salesforce caters to larger, more complex needs.
7. Integrations: Both platforms offer comparable integration capabilities.
8. Customer support & training: HubSpot is ideal for self-service enthusiasts, whereas Salesforce boasts a vast network of integration partners.

Salesforce vs. HubSpot: Quick Comparison

Feature	Salesforce	HubSpot
Ideal for	Building a 360° customer and lead view	Scalable CRM with strong marketing DNA
Philosophy	Account-centric CRM	Versatile and scalable CRM
Our Take	The gold standard for managing the customer journey	Evolved from a marketing automation platform into a comprehensive CRM solution
Strengths	Vast ecosystem and AppExchange Highly recognized and widely used Einstein AI for smarter CRM	Starter suite at $50/month is unbeatable Strong focus on automation, reporting, and AI Ease of use and quick implementation
Weaknesses	Pricing can be steep for small teams Outdated interface complicates deployment High complexity increases training time	Limited precision in reporting and forecasting Customizations can be challenging Focused more on marketing than CPQ and business processes
Free Trial	Demo video and 30-day free trial	14-day free trial

Salesforce: Our Brief Analysis

Salesforce is a CRM software suite packed with advanced features like reporting, sales forecasting, personalization, and sales force management. It also includes CPQ (Configure Price Quote) capabilities, which streamline the creation of purchase orders, quotes, and more. Salesforce’s customer follow-up tools are among the best available, offering highly personalized support for your clients. This makes it especially effective for those using Account-Based Marketing (ABM).

Salesforce also features an AI-powered sales assistant, Salesforce Einstein. This tool excels in lead evaluation, automated activity tracking, and providing actionable sales advice. However, its extensive capabilities make Salesforce complex to implement, configure, and use. The learning curve is steep, often requiring the assistance of a Salesforce consultant or integrator. We recommend Salesforce for businesses with advanced needs and a well-defined CRM strategy.

HubSpot: Our Brief Analysis

HubSpot provides functionality that rivals Salesforce, particularly in marketing automation and reporting, but it’s more accessible for smaller teams. Its integrations are extensive, deep, and powerful. We recommend HubSpot in two key scenarios:

• For small teams seeking a free, high-quality CRM solution.
• For rapidly growing teams needing a reliable and powerful all-in-one tool to support their expansion.

HubSpot’s free plan is incredibly generous, perfectly suited to small teams. On the paid side, the Starter CRM Suite bundles HubSpot’s CRM Sales with marketing, customer support, and content management tools, starting at $50/month or $360/year.

Salesforce vs. HubSpot: What Customers Say

Last Update: November 21, 2024	Salesforce	HubSpot
G2	4.4 (23,087 reviews)	4.4 (12,024 reviews)
Capterra	4.4 (18,665 reviews)	4.5 (4,248 reviews)
TrustRadius	4.3 (3,265 reviews)	4.2 (4,950 reviews)

Salesforce

• Many users value Salesforce for its depth and robust functionality, enabling them to manage the entire sales process and pipeline in one place. Customizable reports and dashboards offering real-time insights are often highlighted.
• However, some users note a steep learning curve and a complex, overwhelming interface with numerous features to master. The high cost, especially for small businesses, is another common criticism.

HubSpot

• HubSpot is frequently praised for its ease of use and intuitive interface, making daily tasks like contact and opportunity management simple. It effectively covers essential needs for most sales teams.
• However, some users find its reporting and analytics capabilities more limited. Others mention challenges in implementing highly specific sales processes. While the free plan is widely appreciated, accessing advanced features can become costly.

HubSpot CRM vs. Salesforce: Functional Scope

#1 Sales Pipeline Management

Salesforce excels in tracking sales pipelines and monitoring lead progress through your sales funnel. It provides instant visibility into revenue potential and exact sales figures. You can customize it to align with your sales process, deal values, and closing probabilities. Salesforce also automates various stages of the sales cycle.

HubSpot’s sales pipeline tool is reliable but less visually engaging. It allows users to modify and add stages beyond the seven default options (e.g., Appointment, Qualified, Scheduled Presentation, Decision in Progress, Contract Sent, Closed Won/Lost).

#2 Reporting

Salesforce delivers highly effective reporting features, primarily through its AI-driven platform, Einstein Analytics, available with the Salesforce Lightning plan. This tool includes customizable dashboards that help track quarterly or annual performance and detailed pipeline trends. These features enable in-depth data analysis and more effective lead generation.

HubSpot also offers powerful reporting capabilities, especially when using the full HubSpot suite. It allows you to follow the customer journey across sales, marketing, and service activities with specialized reports. However, customization and visualization options are more limited compared to Salesforce.

#3 Automation, Documentation & CPQ

When closing deals, you often need to send, sign, and store multiple documents efficiently. Salesforce simplifies this process by automating complex document workflows and offering integrated cloud storage. Companies with an Essentials license get 1GB of storage, while higher-tier plans provide 2GB per user. Additionally, you can enhance document management by downloading a dedicated app from the Salesforce AppExchange.

Salesforce also includes an automated quote generator, Salesforce CPQ. This tool streamlines pricing configurations for cross-selling, up-selling, contract generation, invoicing, and payment processing.

HubSpot’s workflow automation is available in its Pro and Enterprise plans, but it doesn’t match Salesforce’s depth and flexibility. The free version of HubSpot allows you to upload files up to 250 MB and access five shared documents at a time. While there’s no overall storage limit, larger file sizes require a paid plan.

#4 Ease of Use and Implementation

The core purpose of CRM software is to help you manage and organize customer data, including contacts, leads, and accounts. Ease of use is critical for handling this data effectively. Salesforce is a feature-rich but complex solution, particularly for users unfamiliar with CRM software. However, it has improved with enhanced data visualization and offers engaging online training through Trailhead.

HubSpot, on the other hand, is highly intuitive and can be set up within minutes. The platform also guides users through the HubSpot Academy, offering advice to improve overall sales and marketing strategies.

#5 Lead Management

Lead management is one of the core functions of any CRM. HubSpot excels in inbound and content marketing, offering powerful tools through its marketing automation suite and integrated CMS. For instance, when a prospect fills out a form on your website, HubSpot can trigger automated workflows that send follow-up emails and schedule calls with your sales team. It also supports automated social media campaigns to generate leads.

For additional features, users can pay to use HubSpot as a CMS, enabling blog publishing to attract inbound leads directly into the CRM. Predictive lead scoring is available in the Enterprise plan, providing valuable insights into lead prioritization.

Salesforce takes a different approach with its lead management capabilities, using Pardot, a marketing automation tool integrated with its CRM. Pardot provides workflows, landing pages, email marketing, and AI-powered tools to identify and qualify prospects before passing them to sales. With features like lead assignment rules, automated scoring, and lead nurturing strategies, Salesforce offers unmatched flexibility and customization.

Salesforce vs. HubSpot: Integrations & Philosophy

Salesforce hosts one of the most extensive third-party application marketplaces in the world: the Salesforce AppExchange. Since its launch in 2005, it has grown to include over 5,000 applications.

With Professional, Enterprise, and Unlimited plans, Salesforce provides additional modules for enhanced functionality. Examples include SalesforceIQ Inbox, which integrates email and calendar tools with smart reminders, and Salesforce Billing, which facilitates subscription renewals, contract management, and flexible billing. Salesforce also includes Chatter, a collaboration tool for sharing updates and notes with colleagues.

HubSpot’s marketplace may be smaller than Salesforce’s, but it still offers over 800 integrations, making it one of the most adaptable CRMs for content and online marketing. Its marketplace categorizes apps by purpose, such as marketing, sales, customer service, and productivity. Application pages are user-friendly, with detailed descriptions of features and pricing.

HubSpot also features its own Operations Hub, enabling bidirectional application connections for seamless data synchronization.

HubSpot vs. Salesforce: Pricing

Summary: HubSpot’s pricing model is ideal for small businesses requiring basic CRM functionalities, while Salesforce is a better investment for larger organizations needing advanced features.

Solution	Salesforce	HubSpot
Entry price	$25/user/month (Starter plan)	Free plan available
Rate for 2 users (light usage)	$50/month on Starter plan	$20/month on Starter plan
Rate for 5 users (relatively advanced use)	$4,800/year (Professional plan)	$5,400/year (Professional plan)
Rate for 50 users	$99,000/year on Enterprise plan	$90,000/year on Enterprise plan

Salesforce offers five pricing tiers, starting at $25/user/month and reaching up to $500/user/month for the Unlimited plan, which is designed for large-scale sales organizations.

While Salesforce offers flexible pricing as the number of users increases, you should consider additional costs beyond the license fees. These costs are detailed in our article on the cost of Salesforce. The pricing structure can be complex, but for a team of five with relatively simple needs, expect to pay at least $5,000 in the first year.

HubSpot, on the other hand, provides an appealing free plan for small teams or solopreneurs looking to use basic CRM, marketing, and service tools. However, its free features are somewhat limited.

For more advanced needs, HubSpot offers tiered pricing. The Starter CRM Suite, including all HubSpot tools (marketing automation, sales CRM, helpdesk, CMS, and operations), starts at $50/month. The Professional plan begins at $500/month for 5 users, with capabilities such as up to 100 customized reports, 5,000 email templates, 25 dashboards, and 15 sales pipelines. The Enterprise plan starts at $1,500/month for 10 users, offering up to 500 customized reports, 50 sales pipelines, and extensive scalability options. Detailed pricing is available on the HubSpot pricing page.