HubSpot vs Salesforce

HubSpot for mid-market sales and marketing; Salesforce for enterprise. HubSpot easier to start; Salesforce for complex needs.

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The verdict Side by side Plans and pricing Who each is for Other options

The verdict

Pick HubSpot if you are a small or growing team that values speed, a free starting point and a CRM you can actually run yourself: it is faster to learn, cheaper to start and the easier tool to recommend to most companies. Pick Salesforce if you are an enterprise with complex processes that need deep customisation, advanced forecasting and the largest app ecosystem in the category, and you have the admin resource to run it. Both are excellent CRMs; the decision is really about whether you are optimising for simplicity (HubSpot) or for power and scale (Salesforce).

What the data says

Both cover 11 of the 11 features we compared.
Both have a free plan, so you can try each before you pay.
Both have an API and an MCP server, so either works with AI employees.
In our CRM ranking, HubSpot places 3 and Salesforce 1 of 20.

Side by side

HubSpot and Salesforce compared
15 points compared	HubSpot	Salesforce
Starts at	$7/mo	€25/mo
Free plan	Yes	Yes
API	Yes	Yes
MCP server	Yes	Yes
Automatic contact capture	Yes	Yes
Built-in calling	Yes	Yes
Contact enrichment	Yes	Yes
Custom objects	Yes	Yes
Email sequences	Yes	Yes
Gmail or Outlook sidebar	Yes	Yes
Lead capture forms	Yes	Yes
Sales goals and quotas	Yes	Yes
Sandbox environment	Yes	Yes
WhatsApp messaging	Yes	Yes
Workflow automation	Yes	Yes
Links	Visit	Visit

Plans and pricing

HubSpot

FreeFree for up to 2 users, no credit card needed.Free
StarterSeen as $7 per seat per month billed annually (promo), regular $20 monthly. Includes 500 HubSpot Credits.$20/mo/seat
ProfessionalPer seat, 3,000 HubSpot Credits, and a $1,500 one-time onboarding fee is required.$100/mo/seat
EnterprisePer seat billed annually (shown per month), 5,000 HubSpot Credits, and a $3,500 one-time onboarding fee is required.$150/yr/seat

Salesforce

Free SuiteFree CRM suite per user per month with basic sales, service and marketing tools.Free
Starter SuiteEUR 25 per user per month, billed monthly or annually.€25/mo/seat
Pro SuiteEUR 100 per user per month, billed annually; more automation, quoting and forecasting.€1,200/yr/seat
Sales Cloud CoreEUR 195 per user per month, billed annually; built-in AI, Slack and Tableau Next.€2,340/yr/seat
Sales Cloud AdvancedEUR 395 per user per month, billed annually; enhanced security and more AI.€4,740/yr/seat
Sales Cloud MaxEUR 550 per user per month, billed annually; full Agentforce for Sales suite.€6,600/yr/seat

Prices as the vendors list them. They change often; the final price is on their sites.

Who each is for

Choose HubSpot if…

Choose Salesforce if you run a large or complex sales organisation that needs deep customisation, advanced reporting and forecasting, and the breadth of the AppExchange (thousands of third-party apps). It scales further than almost anything else and bends to almost any process, provided you have the admin resource and budget to match.

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Choose Salesforce if…

Choose HubSpot if you want a genuinely free CRM to start on, if you want to be productive in days rather than months, or if your team would rather configure marketing, sales and service in one connected, approachable platform without dedicated admins. It is the better fit for small and mid-sized businesses who want power without the overhead.

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