The Best HubSpot Alternatives
Here are my personal recommendations for alternatives to HubSpot’s CRM and marketing automation platform, along with an overview of how they compare:
- Marketo - Best alternative for marketers
- Freshsales Suite - Best for combining sales and marketing
- Salesforce - Best alternative for large sales teams
- SharpSpring - Best alternative for agencies
- ActiveCampaign - Best value HubSpot alternative
- Brevo - Best alternative for customer relationship teams
- Nutshell - Best alternative for better support
- Drip - Best alternative for e-commerce brands
- Pipedrive - Best for replacing HubSpot’s CRM
- Zoho CRM - Best alternative for small businesses
- Ontraport - Best alternative for beginners
- EngageBay - Best alternative for solopreneurs
HubSpot is a popular CRM and marketing automation software with use cases for sales, marketing and customer success teams. It’s incredibly comprehensive, but that doesn’t mean it is the best fit for every business.
If you feel the same, this guide is for you. Below I cover the best HubSpot alternative for a range of different types of teams and business use cases.
Why Look For A HubSpot Alternative?
Whether you’re looking for your first CRM platform or you’ve been a HubSpot customer for years, there are plenty of reasons to look for an alternative. Price is the biggest issue for many businesses looking to migrate. The jump in cost between tiers can be significant and some of the most advanced marketing automation features can be prohibitively expensive.
It’s not just a case of finding a cheaper alternative, however. HubSpot doesn’t have the best reporting features, which means it can be hard to forecast sales, among other things. It can also lack flexibility and be time-consuming to implement.
Overviews of the 12 Best HubSpot Alternatives
Here’s an overview of each HubSpot alternative. I explain how they compare to HubSpot, the benefits of migrating to each tool, how much they cost, and how they integrate into your existing tech stack.
1. Marketo Engage - Best alternative for marketers
Marketo Engage is a pretty comprehensive customer experience platform and is almost a like-for-like replacement for HubSpot’s marketing automation software. You may not be able to use the Marketo Engage as a CRM, too, but it’s the perfect alternative for your marketing team—just as long as you have the budget
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: In my opinion, the platform offers almost all of the same marketing automation functionality as HubSpot. For example, you can create customer segments, personalize campaigns, measure cross-channel engagement, and automate most marketing processes. I think it’s also important to highlight that Marketo Engage even has more native integrations than HubSpot. The only problem you may have is passing on leads to sales. I think Marketo is much better at driving top-of-funnel awareness, but HubSpot is more effective at qualifying prospects and passing them onto sales teams.
Standout Features: Marketo Engage has all of the features you’d expect from a marketing automation tool, from my point of view. I’m a particular fan of the platform’s audience and list building tools, content creation and management capabilities, personalization, and customer journey builder.
Integrations: There are way more integrations available for Marketo Engage than HubSpot. Most business apps are covered, including Salesforce, SAP, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook.
Pricing: Available on request
Free Trial: Demo available
Pros
- Great for mapping out customer journeys
- Powerful automation features
- Great customer support
Cons
- Reporting could be better
- Can be overwhelming
2. Freshsales Suite - Best for combining sales and marketing
Freshsales Suite is an all-in-one CRM software that lets marketing and sales teams work from the same data source. You can nurture MQLs, build customer journeys, and monitor your pipeline without leaving the app. If both sales and marketing teams use HubSpot, this is probably going to be your best alternative.
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: Like HubSpot, Freshworks offers a suite of tools to help marketing, sales and customer service teams. I’ve picked Freshsales Suite because it is their all-in-one offering that's a pretty comprehensive rival to HubSpot’s CRM. You get the same core functionality with both platforms, but I think Freshsales is a much better value. I should note that it lacks some of the marketing automation features of HubSpot, but it’s a better tool for your customer service teams.
Standout Features: Freshsales Suite has the standard features I expect from a CRM-cum-marketing platform, including a 360-degree view of customer interactions and a personalized customer journey workflow builder. What stands out for me, though is that it boasts a couple of features HubSpot lacks, like automated lead assignment, AI capabilities, and web app tracking.
Integrations: A wide range of native integrations are available. These include Google, Mailchimp, QuickBooks, and Facebook. You can also use Zapier to create your own integrations.
Pricing: From $15 per month
Free Trial: 21-day free trial
Pros
- Workflow builder
- Easy to import contacts
- Good report functionality
Cons
- UI could be more intuitive
- Support isn’t great
3. Salesforce - Best alternative for large sales teams
Salesforce is the leading CRM software on the planet. If you currently use HubSpot, you probably looked at Salesforce—and it might be time to look again. Salesforce gives large sales teams more features than HubSpot, but it can be a tad more expensive.
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: If you are purely looking for a CRM and don’t care too much about marketing automation, then I think Salesforce is comfortably a better tool than HubSpot. You’ll get all of the CRM-related features (lead scoring, contact management, automations, etc.), but the platform itself is way more customizable and offers better sales reports. I will say that it may be too complex for smaller teams, however.
Standout Features: I love that Salesforce lets you import data from virtually any source, eliminating data silos. You can then use AI-powered automation features to score and organize leads, as well as set up automated sales workflows. I think businesses will also like how advanced sales reporting and forecasting features are and the fact they are available even on basic plans.
Integrations: Huge range of integrations available. These include Google Workspace, QuickBooks, DocuSign, Jira, and ActiveCampaign
Pricing: From $25 per user per month
Free Trial: 30-day free trial
Pros
- Most comprehensive CRM
- Incredible flexibility
- Very scalable
Cons
- UI could improve
- Customer support isn't amazing
4. SharpSpring - Best alternative for agencies
SharpSpring is a marketing automation and CRM solution that offers a reasonable alternative to HubSpot. It isn’t as powerful as HubSpot, nor does it have as many features, but it is a great alternative for agencies looking to cut costs for their customers and more closely align them with their agency.
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: The platform has a unique offering for agencies that HubSpot and other alternatives struggle to compete with. I chose the platform for its agency pricing model that means your clients can get access to a CRM and marketing automation tool at a fraction of the price, while you receive a revenue share. What also stood out for me is that the platform even integrates with other automation and CRM tools so you don’t have to convince customers to move from their existing tech stacks.
Standout Features: There are plenty of unique features like the ability to rebrand the interface, domain and login screen that I think will be hugely popular with agencies. SSO is also available and you can even create email templates and share them across clients.
Integrations: Dozens of first-party integrations available with leading business apps. Opportunity to create your own using Zapier and Make.
Pricing: From $499 per month
Free Trial: Free demo available
Pros
- Very affordable for agencies
- Robust features
- Easy to use
Cons
- Form building functionality isn’t great
- Can be overwhelming
5. ActiveCampaign - Best value HubSpot alternative
ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform that helps you move customers through each stage of the buyer’s journey. It is a very similar offering to HubSpot’s marketing automation suite of tools, but it’s usually much more affordable. Of course, it doesn’t have any of the CRM features that make HubSpot so popular.
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: Because it’s a robust, powerful and easy-to-use marketing automation tool available for a fraction of the price. I don’t think it has the full range of features that HubSpot does (particularly bottom-of-the-funnel tools that link marketing campaigns to a CRM), but what it does do, it does exceptionally well. I particularly like how easy it is to create and customize user journeys with the drag-and-drop editor.
Standout Features: The drag-and-drop marketing automation builder is ActiveCampaign’s best feature, in my opinion. But I also like that it lets you create customized email campaigns, segment audiences, and send SMS messages. Note, the CMS is nowhere near as powerful as HubSpot.
Integrations: Almost 1000 integrations to choose from, including Salesforce, Shopify, Facebook and WordPress. You can even create your own using Zapier.
Pricing: From $29 per user per month
Free Trial: Free trial available
Pros
- Robust marketing automation
- Easy to use
- Affordable
Cons
- Customization could be better
- Poor template functionality
6. Brevo - Best alternative for customer relationship teams
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is a CRM platform that helps businesses build close relationships with customers. It offers marketing automation and sales-based CRM functionality, but it’s customer success teams who'll really find this a valuable alternative to HubSpot.
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: In general, I think Brevo is an easy-to-use, paired-back version of HubSpot. It offers marketing automation and CRM features, but they aren’t as powerful as HubSpot. I think it makes up for it in value, however. Brevo is a fraction of the price, and you get way more for less. Take email marketing, for example, where you can send 9000 emails a month with Brevo for free compared to HubSpot’s 2000 emails.
Standout features include personalized chat tools that you can create for your website and social channels. I think these really rival HubSpot’s offering and make it easy for your customer success reps to service customers. There’s also all of the email marketing features you’d expect, like templates, workflow builders, and a drag-and-drop editor.
Integrations: Loads available, including WordPress, Shopify, Zenkit, TypeForm, and Mailchimp. You can also use Brevo’s API to create your own.
Pricing: From $25 per month
Free Trial: Free version available
Pros
- Easy to use
- Excellent customer service
- Good emailing functionality
Cons
- Customization could be better
- Templates aren’t great
7. Nutshell - Best alternative for better support
Nutshell is a simple yet powerful CRM that offers most of the features small businesses need at a fraction of the price compared to HubSpot. It's also easier to set up and boasts significantly better customer support. If you need your hand held throughout the process, Nutshell should be your first port of call.
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: If you want some of the advanced marketing automation and CRM features that make HubSpot so popular, I’ll tell you now: Nutshell won’t cut it. But if you just want a simple tool to manage your sales process that's also easy to use, then I think Nutshell is perfect. Unlike HubSpot, Nutshell gives you unlimited contacts and unlimited sales reporting, as well as live customer support regardless of which plan you choose.
Standout features include powerful automation tools that let you create automated workflows for sales and customer support. I appreciate how comprehensive the platform’s reporting capabilities are, too, and there’s even in-app phone dialing and recording for sales teams that never want to leave their CRM.
Integrations: Dozens available, including Outlook, HubSpot, Intercom, Google, and QuickBooks.
Pricing: From $19 per user per month
Free Trial: 14-day free trial
Pros
- Really easy to use
- Good reporting functionality
- Great customer support
Cons
- No desktop app
- Poor quoting interface
8. Drip - Best alternative for e-commerce brands
Drip is an e-commerce marketing automation tool that lets you create personalized experiences for your retail customers. Unlike HubSpot, it doesn’t try to be an all-in-one platform. That means it lacks certain functionality like a CRM, but it’s very good at the features it does offer.
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: If you have an e-commerce store and want a comprehensive platform to manage your marketing campaigns, then Drip is a great choice in my opinion. Like HubSpot, you can use the tool to capture leads (see the screenshot above), create personalized and automated nurturing campaigns, and monitor everything through in-depth reporting. From what I’ve seen, Drip is as easy to use as HubSpot and quicker to set up, and there’s no shortage of integrations, either. There’s even a free migration service to help you move platforms.
Standout features: I particularly like how easy Drip makes it to create an email campaign. The customizable templates (an example of which you cna see in the screenshot above), make it a particularly effective tool for creating high-impact campaigns.
Integrations: There are over 100 integrations with third-party tools, including major e-commerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce, as well as tools Chargify, ActiveCampaign, TypeForm, and Notion.
Pricing: From $39 per month
Free Trial: 14-day free trial
Pros
- Robust email marketing tool
- Loads of integrations
- Simple to use
Cons
- Signup forms aren’t great
- Customer support could be better
9. Pipedrive - Best for replacing HubSpot’s CRM
Pipedrive is a CRM software. It’s more intuitive and visual than with HubSpot or Salesforce, and offers everything most sales teams need to manage their activity and close more deals. It doesn’t try to be anything else, and that means there are very few tools for marketers in comparison to HubSpot.
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: If you just want to replace HubSpot’s CRM with a cheaper (and potentially better) alternative, then Pipedrive is a great shout. I think it’s easier to get to grips with than HubSpot without lacking any functionality. I also like that there are no limits on contacts in Pipedrive, unlike HubSpot. It’s mobile app is to boot.
Standout Features include a visual sales pipeline that'll likely act as your dashboard. I also love the options to customize almost anything, create activity reminders, and segment leads. Reporting functionality is pretty good, too, as are forecasting models.
Integrations: Over 400 integrations, some free, some paid. These include PandaDoc, QuickBooks, and Lemlist. You can also create your own integrations with Zapier.
Pricing: From $14.90 per user per month
Free Trial: 14-day free trial
Pros
- More affordable than HubSpot
- Very user-friendly
- Follow-up reminders
Cons
- Lacks some reporting features
- Deal sorting could be better
10. Zoho CRM - Best alternative for small businesses
Zoho CRM is a CRM software first and foremost. But it's also a customer experience tool that lets you automate large parts of the customer journey. That’s why I think it’s such a good alternative to HubSpot for small businesses. You don’t get all of the advanced features of HubSpot, but you get almost everything you need in one package.
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: I think you get great value for money with Zoho CRM. Most small businesses will be able to get everything they need from Zoho from its free or cheapest plans. You can create contacts, manage deals, track website visitors, create automated campaigns, and report on everything, just as you would in HubSpot. If your needs grow, then Zoho becomes even more affordable. You won’t get all the bells and whistles like you do with HubSpot, but most SMBs don’t need them.
Standout features include robust automated workflows that are even available on the free plan. I think the tools to create marketing automation campaigns are pretty decent. Forecasting and reporting features are very good and comparable to HubSpot, too.
Integrations: Zoho probably integrates with pretty much every app in your arsenal. That includes Google Workspace, Micosoft365, Quickbooks, and Mailchimp.
Pricing: From $14 per month
Free Trial: 15-day free trial
Pros
- Workflow automation
- Easy to use
- Good integrations
Cons
- Lack of reporting functionality
- Support could be better
11. Ontraport - Best alternative for beginners
Ontraport is a sales and marketing platform that provides many of the same tools and features as HubSpot. There’s a CRM for you to record contacts and manage sales, a marketing automation platform to create personalized experiences, and even a CMS to create webpages.
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: Ontraport’s offering is very similar to HubSpot from what I can see. You’ll be able to recreate most of your campaigns and manage leads in the same way. What I think separates the two platform’s is Ontraport’s commitment to your success. The company’s support is exceptional, from the way they get you up and running with the platform to ongoing help. It’s rare for companies to offer 7-day screen sharing support, but that’s what Ontraport does—and it’s why I think it’s such a good platform for first-time marketers to use.
Standout features include a drag-and-drop CRM that's super easy to use in my opinion, automated customer journey mapping, customizable landing pages and lead generation forms, and integrated payment gateways.
Integrations: Dozens of integrations available, including Shopify, Joform, OptinMonster, Freshdesk, and Help Scout. You can also use Zapier to connect your other apps with Ontraport.
Pricing: From $24 per month
Free Trial: 14-day free trial
Pros
- Intuitive UI
- Great customer service
- Solid email capabilities
Cons
- No mobile app
- CRM lacks some advanced features
12. EngageBay - Best alternative for solopreneurs
Engagebay is another all-in-one sales and marketing platform that offers a similar set of features to HubSpot. You get CRM software, marketing automation tools, and live chat and helpdesk software in one package. But you get it for pennies on the dollar.
Why it's a good Hubspot alternative: I think Engagebay’s free plan has everything solopreneurs need to create and manage a CRM. You’ll have to pay extra for marketing automation features, but it’s still a drop in the bucket compared to HubSpot. At the same time, you’ll get access to a very similar set of features. The only thing I think the platform suffers from is a lack of documentation.
Standout features include an email template builder and drag-and-drop customer journey workflow. I love the platform’s comprehensive helpdesk solution, too.
Integrations: First-party integrations available for a range of business apps, including Shopify, Xero, Twilio, Asana, and Zoom. You can also use Zapier to create your own integrations.
Pricing: From $14.99 per user per month
Free Trial: Demo available
Pros
- Solid all-in-one solution
- Great value
- Excellent customer service
Cons
- Email builder isn’t great
- Learning curve can be steep
Other Notable Alternatives to HubSpot
Here are some other HubSpot alternatives you could consider that didn’t make my top 12 list, but that are still useful tools.
- Omnisend - Best alternative for SMS messaging
- Campaign Monitor - Best alternative for email marketing
- Insightly - Best alternative for integrations
- Ortto - Best alternative for in-app messaging
- Keap Max Classic - Best for CRM for automated follow-ups
- Act-on - Best alternative for lead scoring
- Wishpond - Best for creating landing pages
- Eloqua - Best for enterprises
- Mailchimp - Best for pre-built customer journeys
- Pardot - Best for Salesforce users
Selection Criteria for Choosing Alternatives to HubSpot
If you’re wondering how I chose the top HubSpot alternatives, let me elaborate. HubSpot offers certain core functionality (it’s a marketing automation and CRM platform), as well as some key features. For any tool to be considered an alternative, it had to have a reasonable number of those features. I also assessed how the platform’s usability and price compared to HubSpot.
Core Functionality
The first thing I did was assess to what extent these tools could replace HubSpot’s core functionality of a CRM and marketing automation. Specifically, they had to do provide one or more of the following functions:
- Store contact information and automate CRM workflows
- Run automated marketing campaigns
- Create landing pages and run A/B tests
Key Features
In order to deliver one or more of the functionalities above, the tools had to have a few of the following key features:
- A CRM database: It doesn’t have to rival Salesforce, but the platform should provide basic CRM features so sales teams can create and track deals through their pipelines.
- Email list creation and segmentation: Being able to segment email lists is essential to run effective and targeted marketing campaigns. Tools should have a way to collect email addresses, too.
- Automated workflows: Marketing automation alternatives should let marketers create trigger-based workflows that automatically send nurturing emails when customers take specific actions.
- Reporting and analytics: Both sales and marketing teams should be able to generate detailed reports on their efforts and use those reports to forecast future behavior.
Usability
Despite how many products and features it offers, HubSpot remains pretty easy to use. I’ve prioritized tools that are similarly easy to get to grips with and don’t require hours of training.
Integrations
Likewise, HubSpot integrates with almost every marketing and sales tool. Most alternatives don’t offer as many integrations, but I’ve prioritized the ones that do.
Pricing
This is the biggest issue for former HubSpot customers. To that end, I’ve offered alternatives at a range of different price points, but all of which offer value for money. If you just want to replace HubSpot’s CRM functionality, you can expect to pay around $20 per month for a basic solution. Enterprise solutions can quickly reach four figures per month, however.
People Also Ask
Are you still unsure on the best HubSpot alternative? These frequently asked questions will help you in your search.
1. How do I choose the right HubSpot alternative for my business?
2. Are HubSpot alternatives more affordable than HubSpot?
3. Can I switch from HubSpot to a different marketing automation or CRM platform?
Did you find a good alternative?
While HubSpot is a popular and powerful marketing automation tool, it may not be the best fit for every business. I have discussed several HubSpot alternatives offering similar features that may be cheaper, more accessible or integrate better with your business.
I hope my detailed breakdown helps you find the best HubSpot alternative for your business.
If you enjoy reading expert reviews and insights on popular tools like this, be sure to subscribe to our newsletters.