HubSpot vs Salesforce CRM: which is best for small business?

With business overheads tighter than ever, spending on a top-rate CRM system can be a challenge. Finding the right CRM brand for your organisation also means researching one of the most competitive industries in the world.

HubSpot and Salesforce sit proudly among the most well-known CRM brands in the UK. But how do you know which one is right for your business?

Through first-hand testing and in-depth research, we found that HubSpot is the best fit for small businesses on a budget, as it offers a free CRM platform and a generous amount of features, including marketing, sales and customer service.

On the other hand, Salesforce stands out for its advanced customisation, reporting, and team management tools – ideal for larger businesses with more complex sales processes.

Below, we’ve broken down everything you need to know about HubSpot and Salesforce, helping you to choose the best CRM with confidence.

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Salesforce CRM	HubSpot
Best for: Fast-growth startups	Best for: Building email marketing campaigns
Price per month (billed annually): £20 per user	Price per month (billed annually): Free plan, or from £9 per user
Features: Email marketing and analytics Sales processes Seamless customer service Storefront builder	Features: Send 2,000 emails per month 5 active contact lists for outreach Thorough 12-step onboarding process Chatbots, campaigns, and webforms

Read More About CRM

This page is part of a larger series on CRM. Read more about the top CRM systems in our full guide:

Best CRM Software for Small Businesses

HubSpot vs. Salesforce: which is best for my business?

Here’s a quick overview of where Salesforce and HubSpot excel – and what type of business they are best suited for.

Who is Salesforce CRM best for?

• Large teams: Salesforce’s managerial features makes it best for organising teams with 10+ employees
• Retail chains: Salesforce is excellent for analytics and data storage, two key benefits for large retailers
• Technology, insurance, and banking SMEs: Salesforce is better at customisation, making it a good choice for industries with complex sales needs

Read more: The best CRM systems for retail businesses

Who is HubSpot CRM best for?

• Businesses on a budget: Salesforce is more expensive than HubSpot, which boasts a generous free plan
• Startups: Salesforce is good for large or growing organisations. HubSpot is best for getting up and running
• Marketing SMEs: HubSpot is better-equipped for email outreach and campaigning than Salesforce

Most affordable pricing: HubSpot

Both HubSpot and Salesforce suffer from complicated product lists. There are lots of different CRM ‘editions’ to choose from – all of which have different costs attached depending on your size and billing cycle. Still, in terms of actual expense, Salesforce and HubSpot CRM stand at either end of the spectrum.

Salesforce’s extensive feature list and impressive customisation tools are balanced by a £20 per user, per month price tag, whereas HubSpot is famously affordable and well known for its freemium plan. In fact, it’s our third-best free CRM for small businesses, and is one of the only providers to offer an in-built email campaign feature.

HubSpot’s pricing

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HubSpot Free	HubSpot Marketing Hub (Starter plan)	HubSpot Sales Hub (Starter plan)	HubSpot Service Hub (Starter plan)
Price per month (billed annually) £0	Price per month (billed annually) £9	Price per month (billed annually) £9	Price per month (billed annually) £9
Price per month (billed monthly) £0	Price per month (billed monthly) £14	Price per month (billed monthly) £14	Price per month (billed monthly) £14
Users Unlimited	Users Unlimited	Users Two free users	Users Two free users

Trial HubSpot for free for 14 days Try HubSpot for free

Whether you’re buying HubSpot Marketing, Sales, or Service, you’ll pay £9 upfront per month, billed annually for the Starter plan.

The bad news is that HubSpot CRM is not a very scalable option for long-term growth. The next tier up, HubSpot Professional, costs £85 per month for its Sales and Service Hub, while its Marketing Hub is priced at £780 per month.

This is a pretty considerable and unaffordable jump. It’s also unnecessary, as the freemium and Starter plans are outstanding to begin with. However, HubSpot also offers a Smart CRM suite, which combines marketing, sales, and helpdesk features for £44 a month (or also available with a free plan).

Salesforce’s pricing

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CHEAPEST PLAN
Salesforce Starter Suite	Salesforce Pro Suite	Salesforce Enterprise	Salesforce Unlimited
Price per month (billed annually) £20 per user (starting price)	Price per month (billed annually) £80 per user (starting price)	Price per month (billed annually) £132 per user	Price per month (billed annually) £264 per user
Users Up to 325	Users Over 3,000	Users Unlimited	Users Unlimited

Unlike HubSpot, Salesforce’s prices aren’t as consistent across each package. The Starter Suite (Salesforce’s lowest-tiered plan) costs £20 per user, per month, while Pro’s price jumps to £80 per user, per month.

These are both very expensive price tags for SMEs. In terms of affordability for small businesses, HubSpot is the clear winner.

Do HubSpot or Salesforce have a free plan?

This is an easy win for HubSpot, as Salesforce does not have a freemium tier for SMEs. We gave HubSpot 10/10 for pricing, largely due to its generous free plan.

While you will have to put up with lots of HubSpot branding, it’s a great way for very early-stage firms to begin customer outreach without spending a penny. Businesses will also be able to trial the CRM software free of charge, giving excellent value for money.

HubSpot vs. Salesforce for value for money

Overall, we found HubSpot to be the best CRM in terms of value for money. Considering it is free to get started, SME users benefit from a long list of features that are ideal for marketing and scale-up.

While its cheapest paid plan costs £11 less per month than Salesforce’s, HubSpot has a much wider range of features than Salesforce. HubSpot also has a free plan, whereas Salesforce only offers a 14-day trial.

Easiest to use: HubSpot

• Many of Salesforce’s features are preset, which can make them inflexible
• Importing data is easier with Salesforce than with HubSpot
• HubSpot’s tidy user interface makes for an attractive contact database
• HubSpot’s new deep research connector makes it easy to pull quick answers from outside data, without having to dig through dashboards.

The Salesforce call log makes it simple to personalise each customer profile. Source: Startups.co.uk

According to statistics by The Marketing Centre, only 40% of CRM systems are used effectively. Meanwhile, 77% of users are calling for software that’s easier to use – suggesting that UK SMEs are struggling to fully understand how to use their platform of choice, and that simplicity and a user-friendly design are crucial for most users.

During testing, we found that HubSpot had a quick and easy setup process that’s guided by helpful support boxes. This hands-on guidance can help users avoid getting stuck or overwhelmed, thus making it easier to actually use the system effectively.

What did researcher James Macey say about HubSpot?

``The first part of the onboarding process where you’re following a demo is quite easy to follow and provides hands-on information on how to use the platform.``

In comparison, Salesforce CRM had a slightly clunkier interface that made onboarding difficult. However, once we were set up, we found the platform’s interface straightforward and neatly laid out, making it intuitive to use and navigate.

Our researchers found that Salesforce has an in-depth chart and visualisation builder, which lets users link up all the separate data points to generate powerful insights – making it easier for teams to grasp information quickly.

To reach these results, we asked our testers to carry out basic CRM tasks to see how each brand performed – take a look at how we ranked the top CRM platforms for small businesses.

We were able to create different ‘views’ of our HubSpot contact list in order to segment them by certain characteristics. Source: Startups.co.uk

Most customisable: Salesforce

What did researcher James Macey say about Salesforce?

``In Salesforce, it is quite easy to organise the customer service cases. Each are assigned a specific number automatically and the date at which the case was created is automatically recorded as well.``

Most extensive functionality: Salesforce

Salesforce is undoubtedly a more powerful platform than HubSpot, boasting a much more sophisticated set of features and data storage capabilities. Its latest Agentforce 2.0 feature also brings smarter AI into the mix with its real-time sales coaching and stronger automation.

Sadly, with great power comes poor practicality. On closer inspection, many of Salesforce’s features will be superfluous for small businesses, as they’re better suited for large teams with more than 10 employees.

Here’s what we found during testing:

• Important marketing features for startups – like webforms and an email design editor – are missing.
• We came unstuck several times due to Salesforce’s clunky interface, which overall made the onboarding process very time-consuming.
• Error messages when trying to access settings to edit things like user permissions and email campaigns.

How does HubSpot compare?

While Salesforce was lacking in the marketing department, HubSpot boasted all of the above. Plus, we found it had lots of smart automations that are designed to grow your business while you sleep. Many businesses are seeing the benefit of tools like this, as 91% of marketers say that marketing automation helps them achieve their objective.

We also liked how the platform provides advice on common-sense actions which you’re likely to need. For example, HubSpot sent us email remarketing prompts to send to our most engaged customers.

It’s worth stating that both platforms are excellent for communication and team collaboration. HubSpot provides a surprisingly advanced chatbot feature (unavailable with Salesforce), while Salesforce offers a shared team inbox and internal messaging feature.

Best help and support: Salesforce

We’d prefer to end on a high note. Unfortunately, support tools are where the Salesforce vs HubSpot competition ends, with both platforms dramatically underperforming.

The two platforms are both resource-light, with only a knowledge base and community forum for users to try their luck on should they encounter a problem.

In the end, our testing points out that Salesforce CRM comes out on top. As we’ve mentioned, HubSpot requires a few more workarounds for some functions, and without the help of a service desk, these issues are going to be much more difficult for small businesses to overcome.

Our research methodology: how we tested HubSpot and Salesforce

Since 2017, our experts (alongside a specialist independent researcher) have been working on a rigorous and up-to-date list of the top CRM brands for UK SMEs.

The need for affordable CRM software has skyrocketed as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite. Our most recent round of intensive research took place over a two-month period. We analysed 11 competitors, judging them on five specific categories that our small business readers told us were important for CRM software and managing their sales teams:

1. Usability: user limitations, feature limitations, etc.
2. Customisation: can you tailor your pricing plan and features to your business requirements?
3. Customer service: what help and support options are available?
4. Functionality: depth of features and software specialism
5. Pricing: this includes initial setup costs, any equipment costs, and ongoing service fees

HubSpot vs. Salesforce: at a glance

Once we had assessed the platform on these five metrics, we were able to award scores based on how well they performed in each area. For a quick overview of where HubSpot and Salesforce excelled, you can see their scorecards below.

4.2 out of 5

• Usability
  3.9
• Customisation
  2
• Functionality
  3.5
• Pricing
  3.7
• Help and Support
  2

3.8 out of 5

• Usability
  3.8
• Customisation
  3.3
• Functionality
  3.9
• Pricing
  1.9
• Help and Support
  3

How to switch your CRM software

Maybe you’re debating switching your current CRM software over to HubSpot or Salesforce. Or, perhaps you’re even considering migrating from one to the other.

The process of changing any business tool can be overwhelming. Carrying over huge volumes of data might feel risky, and you want to prioritise minimal disruption to your customers. But despite the potential drawbacks, switching might still be the best way forward. Here are three benefits of finding the right CRM:

1. You can match its feature list to your business objectives, so you won’t lose growth opportunities
2. You could save money by switching to low-cost or even a free plan, like HubSpot
3. A more efficient system means more time and money for improving customer relationships

5 tips for a hassle-free migration

With the right amount of preparation, there’s no reason you can’t make a seamless switch over to a new CRM software. Here are our top five tips for a smooth CRM changeover, without downtime:

1. Keep the entire team involved – getting team buy-in for the new CRM system is crucial to the implementation process. Train managers on the platform first so they can drum up excitement in the workforce. Take advantage of a free trial for this – Salesforce offers a 14-day demo, while HubSpot is entirely free to use.

2. Research, research, research – make sure your new CRM has all the right features to fulfill your business needs. Less is more when it comes to CRM. Before you begin looking for a new system, audit your existing software so you know exactly what you expect your next platform to improve upon.

3. Set a changeover date – be very clear about the exact date that employees must stop using the old CRM and fully migrate onto the new platform. During the first few months, schedule regular meetings or appraisals to review CRM reports, and make sure everyone is developing good data-entry habits.

4. Design a data action plan – transferring data to a new platform is one of the most important stages of any tech migration. Create an action plan that allows ample time for data transfer. Set up all automations, integrations, and customisations so that everything is ready for your sales reps to begin training on.

5. Communicate with clients – if you think the switch might cause disruption to your customers, come up with a custom, clear communication plan together that keeps them in the know. It’s better to be upfront and honest about how the change might impact them. If there are any issues, acknowledge and address them as they arise.

When should you switch your CRM?

Considering switching over to a new CRM, but not sure if it’s the right move for your business? Here are four reasons to consider purchasing new software:

• Your current software is missing key features and hampering your business growth objectives
• You’re consistently running out of features or data before the month ends
• Employees find it hard to use and struggle to onboard new clients
• You’re overspending and think you can find a better deal

Final verdict

HubSpot is the conclusive winner in the Salesforce vs HubSpot CRM battle. Its features are far more oriented towards brand-building and marketing, which is what most small business owners need to focus on during early-stage growth.

Budget is also a big concern for small business owners, and Salesforce’s expensive £20 per user price tag is just no match for HubSpot’s freemium plan. 

Nonetheless, Salesforce is a rare product in that it has excellent usability and is a good choice for growing small businesses. The biggest fans of the platform will be those who might not have a huge IT department, but still want a platform that can cope with a large volume of sales or customer enquiries.