| HubSpot CRM standout features | |
| User interface | Suitable for all levels of users |
| Range of tools | A wide range of multifunctional tools |
| Setup process | Easy step-by-step process for installing |
| Free tools | Each HubSpot tool comes with free version |
| Team invitations | Unlimited user accounts |
| Integrations and apps | Diverse apps and integrations |
| Support | 24/7 email and in-app support available |
What Are the Pros and Cons of HubSpot CRM?
HubSpot is well known for its free tools, flexible pricing plans, ease of use, and scalability, but there are some drawbacks to the pricing and support. Consider how the advantages and disadvantages will impact your business and meet your needs before choosing HubSpot as your CRM software.
Pros of HubSpot CRM
- Workable free plans: Out of the dozens of CRM tools available, HubSpot comes with the most comprehensive free tools available, which include marketing, sales, and other CRM tools.
- Easy interface: Although HubSpot offers many tools and may seem complicated, its interface is easy for everyone to use, which makes it perfect for those who are new to CRM and teams that are continuously adding new members.
- Adapts to your needs: HubSpot is more than just a simple CRM platform; it’s an ecosystem of multiple Software as a service (SaaS) products, making it a perfect long-term solution that won’t outgrow you.
Cons of HubSpot CRM
- Pricing plans can be confusing: HubSpot has a number of pricing plans, custom bundles, and bundles, which can be overwhelming to new users.
- Prices add up quickly: HubSpot offers free tools, but if your business and team grow, your costs will rapidly increase.
- The free plan lacks support: This no-cost plan lacks proper support; instead, it encourages you to seek help from its knowledge base and community forum.
1. A suite of tools for managing all aspects of digital marketing
HubSpot tools are split into five sections: marketing, sales, service, CMS, and the operations hub. Each of these tools has its own purpose, such as running your marketing campaigns, strengthening customer relationships, and creating pipelines.
Here are the different HubSpot tools:
HubSpot Marketing Hub
HubSpot Marketing software makes it easy to reach the right audience, turn visitors into customers, and run effective inbound marketing campaigns. Whatever your business size is, there will be something for you.
Using HubSpot Marketing Hub, you can attract visitors via social media, ads, and blogging; convert visitors into customers through awesome landing pages, and track ROI with advanced analytics.
HubSpot Sales Hub
HubSpot Sales software is an all-in-one sales CRM powerhouse. It is built to help businesses close more deals, strengthen customer relationships, and manage their sales pipelines more efficiently.
It can help you with the following things:
- Connect with prospects: With the aid of tools such as email templates, email and call tracking, and sales automation, establishing connections with prospects is made simpler.
- Deepen customer relationships: Using HubSpot Sales Hub meeting schedulers, live chat tools, and built-in CRM payments, enhancing customer interactions is easy.
- Manage and create pipelines: Promotes effective time management by automating administrative tasks such as onboarding and sales enablement. The tool includes comprehensive reporting and analytics to evaluate business metrics.
The HubSpot Sales hub comes with a Mobile CRM app, allowing you to manage contacts and deals from anywhere in the world.
HubSpot Service Hub
HubSpot customer service software helps you deepen relationships with customers, connect to the front office, and improve team performance. It is connected to the full CRM platform, so I found it easy to get started with and use.
The software can assist you with the following:
- Enhance customer relationships: Create a knowledge base, provide customers with a customer portal, and offer live chat and omnichannel messaging for better customer services.
- Keep track of customer interactions: Integrate multiple platforms like live chat, email, and Facebook Messenger into one inbox to help you monitor customer interactions.
- Enhance your team’s capacity: Create a help desk that prioritizes critical issues, gathers key insights to make your team more effective, and utilizes automation tools to eliminate manual processes.
HubSpot CMS Hub
HubSpot Content Management software allows for the easy creation and management of website pages. With its pre-built themes and drag-and-drop editor, it is easy to design a website that matches your brand. You can easily integrate it with HubSpot CRM to manage other parts of your business.
HubSpot Operations Hub
HubSpot Operations software automates business processes and syncs, cleans, and curates customer data.
The hub can help you to:
- Sync and clean customer data: Compile all your apps and data into one easy package, eliminate time-consuming data cleanup, and understand the health of your data.
- Automate processes: Keep your team efficient by using automation for different business processes like lead rotation, territory management, and renewals.
2. Comprehensive free plan to get you started
HubSpot’s free plan is the most comprehensive of any CRM platform, with dozens of tools available without a subscription.
This plan gives you access to all of the five HubSpot CRM tools, so regardless of whether you need help with marketing, sales, content management, or operational services, there will be something to suit your needs.
The bad news is that the free plan lacks customer support. I didn’t have access to in-app chat or phone support, but had the option to chat with other users in the HubSpot community, and find answers from the HubSpot Knowledge base.
Most of the features of the CRM tools are also locked on the free plan, but it’s definitely enough to help you get started.
Note: The free plan has HubSpot branding on forms, emails, landing pages, and chatbots for the marketing plan, and similar branding for other hubs. Subscribing to an entry-level plan removes those marks.
3. Excellent integrations and app marketplace
The HubSpot App Marketplace is a directory of integrations that connects to your HubSpot account and extends its functionality.
It includes apps for CRM, marketing, sales, service, and e-commerce apps, such as email marketing, and order management. Each app in the marketplace has been vetted by HubSpot and approved for use with its accounts.
The benefits of the marketplace are numerous. Even with the free plan, I was able to use HubSpot’s third-party apps to customize my experience, which makes it a cost-effective option. Rather than purchasing separate software applications for each new team member or department, simply add the necessary apps to your existing HubSpot account.
4. Great customer service to support your growth
All of the paid plans on HubSpot have 24/7 email and chat support, so you can get help whenever you need it.
The customer service was responsive and knowledgeable for me, so you can be sure that any issues will be resolved quickly.
Alternatively, you can chat with an on-page chatbot that can help with your questions. If the chatbot does not know the answer, you will be forwarded to a real person. The free plan comes with this option as well, but you are still encouraged to find your information from the self-service pages.
5. Detailed resources and training materials
HubSpot offers incredible resources and training materials, whether you are new to the platform or an experienced professional. I was impressed by the scope and depth of these materials, and they are well organized so you can quickly and easily find what you need.
Compared to its competitors, HubSpot offers the most comprehensive educational materials.
HubSpot Academy
HubSpot Academy is HubSpot’s free online education platform, offering everything from quick courses to comprehensive certifications. The courses are taught by industry experts and are designed to help businesses grow and scale their marketing efforts.
Whether you’re looking to learn more about inbound marketing or want to take your sales skills to the next level, HubSpot Academy is an ideal place to start.
HubSpot Education
HubSpot offers a wealth of free educational resources on top of its great Academy platform.
The blog posts are particularly helpful, offering insights and tips on a wide range of topics relating to digital marketing. In addition, they also offer guides and e-books which can be downloaded from the website. I found all of these resources extremely helpful and an excellent way for businesses to learn more about effective digital marketing techniques.
HubSpot allows you to create and edit contacts from the Contacts page.
What Are Some Good Alternatives to HubSpot CRM?
Although HubSpot is a great CRM solution, some great alternatives are Zoho CRM, Pipedrive, EngageBay, and Insightly. Carefully studying each company, we tested its services and researched each for hours. We provide objective information about each company so you can choose the one most suitable for your needs.
Check out what the Digital.com team recommends as alternatives to HubSpot CRM:
Frequently Asked Questions About HubSpot CRM
Who created HubSpot?
Who is HubSpot ideal for?
HubSpot is best for small businesses because it offers a comprehensive suite of marketing, sales, and customer service tools. These tools are designed to work together, making it easy for small businesses to attract and retain customers. In addition, HubSpot offers a variety of training and support resources to help small businesses get the most out of their investment.
Also, HubSpot is easy to use and scale as your business grows. That’s why it’s also a good choice for medium and large companies: its powerful features can be customized to meet the needs of any organization, no matter how big or complex.
What makes HubSpot CRM different from other popular CRMs?
While HubSpot’s prices can add up quickly, the company offers many standout features that make the investment worthwhile for businesses that want a long-term and scalable solution.
HubSpot’s features that stand out from its competitors:
- Comprehensive suite of tools that covers all the digital marketing needs
- Built-in A/B testing tools to increase your conversion rates
- Customizable dashboard views with advanced filtering
- Intuitive yet simple-to-use interface
- Over 600 integrations and counting (more than most competitors)
- Flexible reporting tools to help you understand your customer better
Is there a limit to HubSpot CRM users?
What are the best alternatives to HubSpot?
How I Rated HubSpot CRM
As part of our CRM review system, I take a comprehensive approach to evaluating the services offered. HubSpot’s performance is compared to other services by analyzing its different options. To ensure the most accurate results, I ran direct tests as well as tests through third-party services.
Although I evaluated every aspect of HubSpot’s CRM, certain aspects weighed more heavily than others. Among the most important factors are the overall features, ease of use, and interface of the platform, the level of customer service provided, and the cost-effectiveness of the platform.
I gave HubSpot a 4.4/5 based on the CRM offered as a whole. It can be a cost-efficient solution for small and medium-sized businesses and comes with great scalability.