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Exec Tech:  HubSpot vs. Salesforce.com

Written by Craig A Oldham | February 2, 2023

SalesForce and HubSpot are two of the most popular CRM and marketing automation platforms. They both offer a wide range of features and capabilities, but they also have some key differences.

One key difference between SalesForce and HubSpot is that SalesForce is more focused on sales and marketing automation, while HubSpot is more focused on customer engagement and marketing automation. This difference can impact how well each platform works for different types of businesses.

Another key difference between SalesForce and HubSpot is their pricing. SalesForce is more expensive than HubSpot, but it offers a wider range of features and capabilities.

Overall, SalesForce and HubSpot are both very popular CRM and marketing automation platforms. They offer a wide range of features and capabilities, and they both have their own strengths and weaknesses. It's important to choose the platform that best fits your business's needs.

 

What is HubSpot?

HubSpot is a software company that helps business owners and marketers create and manage their online presence. It offers a suite of tools that allow users to create and manage their websites, blogs, social media accounts, and other online assets. HubSpot also offers marketing automation tools that allow users to track and analyze their marketing campaigns, and connect with customers through email marketing, social media, and more.

What is Salesforce?

SalesForce is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) system. It helps companies manage customer relationships by providing a centralized platform for managing customer data, including contact information, leads, and sales activity. SalesForce can also be used to create and manage custom applications that automate business processes.

High-Level Comparison

HubSpot provides a 14-day free trial for their paid plans and offers a free plan for basic CRM needs, whereas Salesforce has a 30-day free trial. Although both platforms offer essential CRM functionality, such as sales forecasting, email marketing and contact/lead management, Salesforce stands out in terms of customization, analytics and advanced features. On the other hand, HubSpot is praised for its user-friendliness and inexpensive plans.

Pricing

HubSpot

Both HubSpot and Salesforce offer a range of app suites at various prices. For instance, the Sales Hub from HubSpot has three tiers ranging from $45 to $1,200 a month. The Marketing Hub has plans starting at $45, with premium plans at $800 and $3,200. Generally, the least expensive option is limited, and businesses may need to upgrade to a more expensive plan to meet their needs.

Salesforce

Salesforce offers a broad variety of products and pricing plans. The Sales Cloud package starts at $25 per user per month billed annually, and goes up to $75, $150 and $300 per user per month billed annually. The Marketing Cloud is further divided into packages, with Customer 360 Audiences ranging from $12,500 to $50,000 and $65,000 per organization per month billed annually. The Email, Mobile and Web Marketing package starts at $400 per organization per month billed annually, with subsequent tiers at $1,250 and $3,750 per organization per month billed annually.

Feature Comparison

Comparison

HubSpot   

Salesforce    

Best

Pricing

 

Salesforce

Free version?

 

HubSpot

Customer support

 

HubSpot

Knowledge base

 

Salesforce

Ease of use

 

HubSpot

Market share

Tie

Overall best CRM

 

HubSpot

User interface

 

HubSpot

Marketing automation

 

Salesforce

Business intelligence

 

Salesforce

Sales process management

 

HubSpot

Customer support tools

 

HubSpot

Mobile

 

Salesforce

Integrations

 

HubSpot

Certifications

 

Salesforce

SOURCE

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

Salesforce offers a wealth of features, making it a premier CRM. Yet, its intricate architecture and costly subscription make it unsuitable for everyone. It is primarily recommended for medium-to-large businesses needing a potent tool for tracking sales leads and analyzing sales prospects. Plus, its collaboration and opportunity evaluation features are a boon for large sales teams. HubSpot is an easy-to-use CRM with a free limited-features plan, making it affordable for startups. Paid plans come with additional features that fulfill most CRM needs. However, it cannot compare to Salesforce in terms of features. Therefore, it is an ideal CRM solution for small-to-medium-sized companies.