Achieving business success isn't easy. Boosting productivity and sales requires more than just selling relentlessly to customers.
Business success requires a systematic and efficient approach to generating leads, converting sales, and retaining customers. To put it simply, it's all about attracting, engaging, and delighting your customers. That is why we must mention CRM and its valuable contribution to building strong relationships with customers.
There is a heavyweight rivalry between HubSpot and Salesforce that will influence that decision. The purpose of this article is to compare their pricing plans, discuss whether they have good free versions, and compare some of their most important tools and modules side by side.
What is CRM?
Customer relationship management is an approach to managing a company's interaction with current and potential customers. It provides end-to-end user analytics.
It uses data analysis about customers' history with a company to improve business relationships with customers, specifically focusing on customer retention and ultimately driving sales growth.
What is the difference between HubSpot and Salesforce?
For many, the difference between Salesforce and HubSpot is considered to be between an expensive and complex selling system, Salesforce, and a lightweight and affordable marketing and sales tool, HubSpot. It may be accurate in some cases, but not always.
The toolkits of both Salesforce and HubSpot can be used for marketing, sales, customer support, and so much more. Both rank among the best CRM Software out there. As an affordable-yet-powerful CRM tool, HubSpot makes our list of CRM tools for small, medium-sized, and large businesses.
Salesforce is a pioneer of CRM solutions. It really puts sales and ROI as top priorities of its pitch, and aims to be the number one tool in the salesperson’s kit. You can check out our Salesforce review for a thorough rundown of its features.
HubSpot started the industry of inbound marketing, meaning it helps companies create amazing content to attract potential leads. It used to be the only piece of tech modern marketers needed. Our HubSpot review has lots of info on the platform as it is today.
HubSpot vs Salesforce - A battle of 2 giants
Pricing
Salesforce
There are many different product packages and pricing tiers available at Salesforce. Salesforce Sales Cloud pricing ranges from $25 per user per month billed annually to $75, $150, and $300 per user per month billed annually.
Additionally, Marketing Cloud is divided into packages, with Customer 360 Audiences ranging from $12,500 per organization per month billed annually to $50,000 and $65,000 per organization per month billed annually.
The Salesforce Email, Mobile, and Web Marketing package starts at $400, progresses to $1,250, and finally reaches $3,750, billed yearly per organization.
HubSpot
Pricing for HubSpot Marketing Hub starts at $45 per month, and premium plans are $800 per month and $3,200 per month. Most of the time, the cheapest plan is pretty lightweight, and any serious operation will soon need to upgrade to a more expensive premium plan.
A HubSpot Sales Hub subscription starts at $45 per month, goes up to $450 per month, and goes up to $1,200 per month.
The bottom line for you
HubSpot offers free stuff, while Salesforce does not. Simple as that. Additionally, HubSpot users have access to a lot of features and tools through their various free plans, as well as unlimited users (yes, that means unlimited users). By pricing standards, HubSpot is declared a winner in this category.
Implementation
Not all CRM systems and software are created equal when it comes to getting the product up and running. An implementation consists of all the things needed to prepare the software for users and train them: installation, configuration, customization, integration, testing, and training.
SalesForce
According to CRM consultant Ranger Lewis on Quora, Salesforce implementation costs can vary from $5,000 to over $80,000. If you are switching CRMs, Salesforce implementation is likely to be more costly.
If you meet some of the criteria for tough implementations listed above, you may need to prepare to use HubSpot CRM. Your data may need to be reformatted or scrubbed. The integration could require custom development, and some team members may need training.
HubSpot
HubSpot isn't likely to require a consultant unless you're a massive company needing support with change management. That said, this feature can be called a weakness instead of a strong point, as HubSpot has less
The bottom line for you
Who Wins? In this category we'll call it a tie between Salesforce and HubSpot.
Integration
Salesforce
Salesforce integrations can be found on the AppExchange, where sponsored apps are available. Examples include the marketing tool MailChimp or LinkedIn Sales Solutions. In addition, Salesforce integrates with many popular SaaS applications, including Slack, Quickbooks, and Jira.
There are thousands of products and integrations in Salesforce's ecosystem, which can be explored through their Appexchange. There are many Salesforce CRM integrations to choose from, thus providing a variety of options.
HubSpot
Integrations supported by HubSpot include SalesForce, WordPress, SurveyMonkey, Zapier, Google Calendar, Chrome, and Wistia. There are also externally-built integrations available. A growing list of open APIs enables companies to build their own integrations based on this API.
Besides data migration, HubSpot also offers website migration to HubSpot's CMS with the assistance of a Migration Specialist.
The bottom line for you
Take that result with a grain of salt, as this field is pretty subjective. It is difficult to find anything to criticize about Salesforce's integrations.
Ease of use / User Interface
HubSpot
The HubSpot platform is designed to make users feel like they can learn the platform while using it. It has a very intuitive interface and sometimes feels like a game when you master the tools. In most cases, HubSpot users can manage the onboarding process easily.
HubSpot's platform aims to have a minimal, simple user interface, although depending on the tool you are using, this may not always be the case. In spite of that, HubSpot's dashboards always do a great job of presenting the most important data.
Using HubSpot's classroom training is an excellent way to master new features as your use of the platform grows. For tips on boosting your overall sales and marketing strategy, visit the HubSpot Academy.
Salesforce
It might be a little more complicated to use Salesforce than HubSpot. It may seem steeper for those who are new to CRM platforms. However, this doesn't mean the user interface isn't user-friendly at all, just that it needs more work. Salesforce will become easier to use with practice.
The company also offers online training resources under the Trailhead banner, which are well-designed and pedagogically engaging.
The bottom line for you
Overall, HubSpot feels and looks cleaner to the user when it comes to the initial user experience.
It is important to emphasize, however, that Salesforce is not difficult either, and that what it lacks in ease of use it makes up for with robust CRM features.
These days, business SaaS products should be clean, minimal, and simple. HubSpot's dashboard design and user interface do a very good job of this.
Marketing Automation
HubSpot
HubSpot provides automated workflow features for marketing automation. The benefits are not limited to email marketing automation, though drip email marketing is a huge success here.
You can customize your workflows with drag-and-drop functionality and a visualization editor. Workflows can be set up for lead scoring, sending leads from marketing to sales, and sending internal notifications.
Salesforce
Marketing automation at Salesforce is powered by artificial intelligence. They call this tool Pardot. Using Pardot, you can manage all interactions with new leads and prepare them for sales reps.
In addition, it helps qualify those leads, ensuring only the best prospects are included in sales pipelines. The Pardot platform is especially useful for B2B marketing, which means you are targeting other businesses rather than individual consumers.
Social media ads, as well as email marketing and digital marketing, are included in marketing automation.
The bottom line for you
With Salesforce's collection of marketing automation tools, such as Pardot, it is more powerful than its rivals. It's true that HubSpot pioneered inbound marketing, but Salesforce has caught up in that area and has better features for outbound marketing.
Customer support
HubSpot
HubSpot's customer service is based on the package you subscribe to. As an example, the free CRM software only offers community support, while the starter package includes email and live chat support.
Phone support is available for professional and enterprise plans. Users with multiple HubSpot subscriptions will receive support based on their most premium plan.
Salesforce
Customer support sections in Salesforce can be a bit difficult to navigate. The Salesforce 1-800 number is available, but getting to the right support agent can be challenging.
Salesforce encourages its users to use self-service before seeking customer service assistance. Online chat with support is available, but you have to be logged in, which does not help if you need support before subscribing.
The bottom line for you
For the best support, you'll have to sign up for the more premium HubSpot packages, but the rest of HubSpot's customer service is decent.
For high-end plans, Salesforce customer support is great, but if you want support for one of the more economical plans, it can get a bit complicated.
Knowledgebase & learning
HubSpot
There are several resources available on HubSpot for its users to use for self-help. Its knowledge base contains a lot of useful articles that are easy to search.
HubSpot users can exchange tips in the HubSpot community. You can also watch video tutorials at HubSpot Academy. HubSpot provides all API documentation for developers.
Salesforce
Salesforce's knowledge base and self-service features make up for their lack of human customer service. There are docs, videos, and walkthroughs available for various tools.
Learners can follow guided learning paths and interact with interactive tutorials. Salesforce has a community portal where users can ask questions to other Salesforce users. Last but not least, Salesforce offers learning events.
The bottom line for you
Learning resources and knowledge bases aren't easy to answer when deciding whether HubSpot or Salesforce is better. Salesforce takes a slight lead in this category after careful consideration.
Market share
HubSpot
Approximately 137,000 websites use HubSpot, which has a market share of 32%. It is widely considered to be the best software for marketing automation.
Salesforce
At 38%, Salesforce has a slightly higher market share than HubSpot. In spite of the fact that it has a larger market share than HubSpot, it has approximately 100,000 websites. The Salesforce customer relationship management system is considered to be the best in the industry.
The bottom line for you
Keeping track of market share is tricky, since it is always shifting. Salesforce has more market share, but HubSpot has more websites, so we will compare the two equally.
Business intelligence
HubSpot
There are no dedicated modules or tools for advanced business intelligence in HubSpot. Of course, you get great analytics and reporting. You can find BI integrations like Power BI or Hotjar in HubSpot's app marketplace, which are best suited for deeper insights.
Salesforce
There is a dedicated BI tool in Salesforce called Einstein. Einstein is a smart assistant that works across all major departments, from marketing to sales to customer service. It can be used to increase the empathy of sales representatives, as an example, or to increase the productivity of support agents. By combining past data with artificial intelligence, the result is always a more personalized customer experience.
The bottom line for you
Einstein, Salesforce's artificial intelligence tool, is a truly amazing BI tool. In terms of AI virtual assistants that can help with things like empathy for sales reps, HubSpot has nothing really to compare with.
Sales process management
HubSpot
HubSpot's Sales Hub is a very solid platform for managing sales. It provides sales reps with many tools for outreach, including email templates and call tracking.
You can get detailed customer profiles on all your contacts right inside Gmail or Outlook. A meeting scheduler and live chat options are integrated with sales automation.
Scripts and positioning guides are also included in the sales management playbooks. Tracking the progress of sales opportunities in the pipeline is easy with sales pipeline management.
In addition, you'll get a sales analytics tool and a tool for quoting.
Salesforce
Salesforce Sales Cloud is a comprehensive sales solution. By combining contact management and opportunity management, it streamlines prospects into potential deals.
In addition to routing leads to the best possible sales rep, lead management provides great visibility into the sales pipeline of all your leads.
Additionally, you can set up automatic sales reports to be sent via email, and they're easy to customize with drag-and-drop. If your KPIs change, Salesforce has quite flexible revenue forecasting.
The bottom line for you
HubSpot's best sales tools are less cluttered and easier to use than Salesforce's, so your sales team will be able to sell faster. However, after the initial learning phase, this advantage may disappear.
Customer support tools
HubSpot
There are three main functions of HubSpot Customer Service Hub. The tool simplifies the onboarding process for your customers, offers flexible help desk tools, such as ticketing tracking, and makes it easier to build relationships with your regular customers.
A live chat feature and a knowledge base can be used to offer customer service. To avoid overlap, support representatives can use a shared inbox.
Customer feedback surveys, conversation intelligence, and contact scoring are all available. The support reporting dashboards are also quite useful.
Salesforce
To assist users, agents get workspaces and can share workspaces. Automated processes help speed up the ticketing process and other customer support issues.
There is a process called Incident Management for major problems. Incoming communications from any channel, such as chat, email, or social media, are automatically routed to the most qualified sales agent.
The bottom line for you
The HubSpot tools may be fewer, but they're simple and straightforward and do the job with minimal fuss. There are more tools in Salesforce, but there is also more complexity.
Mobile version
HubSpot
Mobile apps for HubSpot can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Most of the basic CRM stuff can be done with it, and it has a clean interface. Using this application, you will be able to set and review tasks, set reminders and work on deals.
All your contact information, including communication histories, is provided to you. Their mobile app offers emailing and outreach features. You can even view caller ID details.
Notes can be dictated using the mobile app using your microphone. Furthermore, it will notify you whenever there is an update among your team or on an open deal in real time.
Salesforce
Salesforce has a mobile app for Android and iOS. As its core characteristic, the app is built for lightning-fast performance, but that will vary depending on your internet connection. Using it, you will have access to comprehensive CRM customer information.
Team collaboration can be streamlined with a number of great mobile tools. This app also offers a to-do task tracker. In addition, you don't need to know any code to customize the app based on your needs or what tools or data you prefer to see at the top.
The bottom line for you
Both mobile apps work well. However, Salesforce's mobile app is more customizable and offers more options than HubSpot's mobile app, in this area of their general comparison.
Also, Salesforce's reporting dashboard looks better than HubSpot's, despite HubSpot's generally better design.
Certifications
HubSpot
HubSpot Academy offers free certification courses that you can complete and showcase on LinkedIn. HubSpot is famous for its inbound sales and content marketing certification programs.
Salesforce
You can also boost your credentials and show off your new skills with Salesforce courses. Some of these certifications work with other SaaS, like a Slack certification, Tableau certification and MuleSoft certification. Various certification paths are available for different roles, such as administrator, developer, or consultant.
Which is best for you?
Salesforce offers a slightly more robust certification program than HubSpot, as well as 3rd party app certification courses. While HubSpot offers the certifications you need, Salesforce offers more.
Which is better, Salesforce CRM or HubSpot CRM? Our final points
So that concludes our CRM platform comparison between Salesforce CRM and HubSpot CRM.
Free versions, a user-friendly interface, and ease of use are among HubSpot's best features. Additionally, HubSpot is more suitable for medium and small businesses.
Salesforce, however, may be viewed as a stronger product due to its slightly more robust complexity.
In the end, it depends on your business needs. Consider your options carefully before committing to a contract. Taking into account factors such as reporting, alignment, and cost can enable you to make an educated decision on how to increase traffic, lead generation, and sales for your business.
In terms of pricing, integration, and features, HubSpot is our preferred choice.