CRM
Salesforce vs HubSpot
Salesforce is the right choice for complex sales processes that need deep customisation and an admin to run it. HubSpot is the right choice for teams that want to be selling within a week without a dedicated administrator.
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Salesforce or HubSpot — which should you use?
Salesforce is the right choice for complex sales processes that need deep customisation and an admin to run it. HubSpot is the right choice for teams that want to be selling within a week without a dedicated administrator. Salesforce starts at Sales Cloud from roughly $25/user/month, rising steeply for higher tiers (free tier: No free plan; free trial only.); HubSpot starts at Starter hubs from roughly $15–20/month per seat (free tier: Free CRM with basic contact and deal management.). Prices are list prices and change, so check the vendor pages before buying.
Last updated 3 August 2026
Salesforce is the default enterprise CRM: extremely customisable, with an enormous ecosystem of apps on its AppExchange, but it typically needs a trained administrator to configure and maintain. HubSpot was built to be usable out of the box, with less configuration but a much gentler learning curve.
Both now cover marketing, sales and service. The difference that persists is who you need on staff to run the thing — Salesforce usually assumes a dedicated admin, HubSpot usually doesn't.
Side by side
Salesforce and HubSpot in short.
Salesforce
The enterprise standard CRM, highly customisable with a vast third-party ecosystem.
- Free
- No free plan; free trial only.
- Paid from
- Sales Cloud from roughly $25/user/month, rising steeply for higher tiers
Good at
- Customisation depth is unmatched — custom objects, workflows and logic for almost any sales process
- AppExchange has thousands of third-party apps and integrations
- Scales to very large, complex sales organisations
Weak at
- Usually needs a dedicated administrator to configure and maintain
- Costs climb quickly once you add users, storage and premium features
HubSpot
CRM platform designed to be usable without dedicated admin staff.
- Free
- Free CRM with basic contact and deal management.
- Paid from
- Starter hubs from roughly $15–20/month per seat
Good at
- Set up and productive in days, not weeks
- Free CRM tier is genuinely usable for a small sales team
- Marketing and sales tools are built to work together out of the box
Weak at
- Less customisable than Salesforce for complex or unusual sales processes
- Professional and Enterprise tiers get expensive per seat
The differences
Where they actually diverge.
| Feature | Salesforce | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Entry price | ~$25/user/month | ~$15–20/user/month |
| Customisation depth | Very high | Moderate |
| Setup time | Weeks, often with a consultant | Days |
| Admin required | Usually, dedicated role | Not usually |
| Third-party app ecosystem | Very large (AppExchange) | Large |
| Marketing tools included | Separate product (Marketing Cloud) | Built in |
| Best for | Complex enterprise sales processes | Teams wanting fast setup |
Pick one
Which one fits you.
Choose Salesforce if
- Your sales process is complex and needs custom objects and logic
- You have or can hire a dedicated Salesforce administrator
- You need the widest possible ecosystem of enterprise integrations
Choose HubSpot if
- You want to be selling from the CRM within a week
- Marketing and sales need to work from the same platform without extra products
- You don't have budget or headcount for a dedicated administrator
When neither is the answer
For a very small team with a simple pipeline, Pipedrive is cheaper than both and easier to set up than either.
Questions
Common questions.
Can HubSpot handle a complex sales process?
To a point — custom properties, pipelines and workflows go reasonably deep, but Salesforce's customisation ceiling is higher for genuinely unusual processes.
Is Salesforce worth it for a small team?
Usually not. The setup and admin overhead outweighs the benefit unless your sales process is already complex.
How different is total cost of ownership?
Salesforce's list price is often close to HubSpot's, but factor in implementation, admin headcount and add-ons — Salesforce's total cost is usually higher.
Can I migrate from Salesforce to HubSpot?
Yes, HubSpot has migration tools and partners for this, though custom Salesforce objects and workflows need to be rebuilt or simplified.
Does HubSpot integrate with Salesforce?
Yes, HubSpot has a native Salesforce integration, which some teams use to run HubSpot marketing alongside a Salesforce sales org.
Prices are list prices published by each vendor and change often — check the linked pricing pages before you buy. We take no affiliate commission and nobody pays to appear here.
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