Side-by-Side Comparison
Salesforce vs HubSpot: Choosing before the per-seat costs climb
Comparing Salesforce and HubSpot before per-seat pricing adds up? See how each CRM stacks up in features and cost, so you can pick the right one the first time.
Updated September 21, 2026
Salesforce
Salesforce is a cloud CRM for sales, service, and marketing teams. It has AI agents (Agentforce), pipeline forecasting, and deep customization, and it scales from a free 2-user plan up to large enterprise setups.
HubSpot
HubSpot is an all-in-one customer platform with a free CRM plus marketing, sales, service and content tools. It's known for being easy to set up, and Breeze AI agents are built into the paid plans.
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.4 | 4.5 |
| Company | Salesforce, Inc. | HubSpot, Inc. |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, USA | Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA |
| Founded | 1999 | 2006 |
| Features |
|
|
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |
| Customer Support | 24x7chatemailphone | 24x7chatemailphone |
| Customization | High | Medium |
| Used By | EnterpriseSMBStartupsDevelopers | SMBStartupsFreelancersEnterpriseAgencies |
| Integrations | Slack (native)Tableau (native)MuleSoft (native)Google Workspace / GmailMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft Teams+2 | GmailGoogle CalendarMicrosoft OutlookOutlook CalendarZapierWordPress |
| Security | SOC2GDPRHIPAAISO 27001 | SOC2GDPRHIPAAISO 27001 |
| Platforms | Web ApplicationIOSAndroid | Web ApplicationIOSAndroid |
| API Available | ||
| Free Trial | ||
| Free Plan | ||
| Screenshots | ||
| Pricing Plans | Free Suite $0/monthly Starter Suite $25/monthly Pro Suite $100/monthly Core $195/monthly Advanced $394.87/monthly | Free Tools $0/monthly Starter Customer Platform $20/monthly Sales Hub ProfessionalPopular $100/monthly Sales Hub Enterprise $150/monthly |
| Visit Salesforce | Visit HubSpot |
Our Analysis
Salesforce and HubSpot both lead the CRM market, but they're built for different buyers.
Salesforce is the more configurable option, with a large ecosystem (AppExchange, Slack, Tableau) that suits teams with complex, multi-department sales processes.
HubSpot is built to be usable out of the box, with a free CRM tier and a bundled platform that covers marketing, sales, service, and content in one login.
The choice mostly comes down to how much setup and customization your team is ready to take on.
Key features
AI tools: Salesforce includes Agentforce AI agents in its Core, Advanced, and Max plans. HubSpot has Breeze AI agents (Customer Agent, Prospecting Agent) on its paid tiers.
Customization: Salesforce allows deeper customization of objects, workflows, and permissions, which is why it needs more setup time. HubSpot favors simpler, guided configuration.
Pricing model: Salesforce prices per user starting at $25/month (Starter Suite) up to $550/user/month (Max), per Salesforce's own pricing page. HubSpot's Starter Customer Platform starts at $20/seat/month ($7/seat on an annual commit), with Sales Hub Professional at $100/seat/month and Enterprise at $150/seat/month, per HubSpot's own pricing page. For the full breakdown of every tier, see our Salesforce pricing and HubSpot pricing guides.
Free tier: Both offer a free plan capped at 2 users.
Integrations: Salesforce integrates natively with Slack, Tableau, and MuleSoft, plus thousands of AppExchange apps. HubSpot integrates with Gmail, Outlook, Zapier, WordPress, and its own App Marketplace.
Support: Salesforce's paid plans include the Premier Success Plan (24/7 support). HubSpot offers email and chat on all paid tiers, with phone support added on Professional and Enterprise.
Salesforce vs HubSpot: Pricing comparison
Tier | Salesforce | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
Free | Free Suite, $0/mo (2 users) | Free Tools, $0/mo (2 users) |
Entry | Starter Suite, $25/user/mo | Starter Customer Platform, $20/seat/mo ($7/seat on annual commit) |
Mid | Pro Suite, $100/user/mo | Sales Hub Professional, $100/seat/mo ($90/seat on annual commit) |
Upper | Core, $195/user/mo | Sales Hub Enterprise, $150/seat/mo |
Advanced | Advanced, $395/user/mo | — |
Top | Max, $550/user/mo | — |
Onboarding fee | Included via Premier Success Plan on Core, Advanced, and Max | $1,500 one-time on Professional, $3,500 one-time on Enterprise |
Prices confirmed directly from Salesforce's and HubSpot's own pricing pages on 17/09/2026. Both vendors change plans and pricing often, so it's worth a quick check against the current page before you commit.
Salesforce vs HubSpot: Security and compliance
Certification | Salesforce | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
SOC 2 | Yes | Yes |
GDPR | Yes | Yes |
HIPAA | Yes | Yes |
ISO 27001 | Yes | No (only its hosting providers hold this, not HubSpot itself) |
PCI DSS | Yes | No |
Salesforce covers all five, which matters more for regulated industries like finance and healthcare. HubSpot covers the three most teams need day to day, but falls short for anyone required to show ISO 27001 or PCI DSS compliance directly from the vendor.
Switching between them
Moving from one to the other later costs more than picking the right one the first time.
A CRM migration means exporting contacts, deals, and custom fields, rebuilding automation and pipeline stages, and retraining the team, which usually takes weeks even for a mid-sized team.
That's the real reason to weigh cost and fit now rather than starting with whichever tool looks cheaper today. Our switch and save calculator runs the real math on seat count and switching costs before you commit.
If neither tool feels like the right fit yet, our Salesforce alternatives and HubSpot alternatives roundups cover other CRMs worth comparing.
Best for, by team and work type
Type of work | Salesforce | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
Sales pipeline and forecasting | Strong, native to Sales Cloud | Good, covered by Sales Hub |
Marketing automation | Needs a separate Marketing Cloud add-on | Strong, built into Marketing Hub |
Customer support and service | Strong, via Service Cloud | Good, via Service Hub |
Small business or startup | Workable, but setup takes more time | Best fit, free plan plus fast setup |
Large or multi-department sales org | Best fit, deep customization | Workable, but costs rise per seat |
Agencies managing multiple clients | Strong, via AppExchange customization | Strong, via App Marketplace |
Developer-built custom workflows | Strong, Apex and Flow support | Limited, more guided configuration |
Salesforce vs HubSpot: Pros and cons
Aspect | Salesforce | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
Ease of setup | Steeper learning curve, needs admin/config work | Faster to set up, more guided |
Customization | Highly customizable objects and workflows | Simpler, less granular customization |
Pricing | Higher cost at the top end ($550/user/mo on Max) | Lower entry cost, per-seat plus contact tiers |
Ecosystem | Large AppExchange marketplace | Smaller but growing App Marketplace |
Best for | Complex, multi-department sales orgs | Teams wanting an all-in-one platform without heavy IT support |
Which CRM is better
There's no single winner; it depends on team size and complexity.
Salesforce is the stronger pick for larger sales organizations that need deep customization and are prepared to invest in setup and administration.
HubSpot fits better for small to mid-sized teams that want marketing, sales, and service running from one platform without a long implementation process.
FAQ
Is HubSpot cheaper than Salesforce?
At the entry level, yes: HubSpot's Starter plan runs $7 to $20 per seat versus Salesforce's $25 per user.
At the top end, it flips, since Salesforce's Max plan reaches $550 per user against HubSpot's Enterprise tier at $150 per seat.
Does Salesforce or HubSpot have a free plan?
Both do. Each caps its free plan at 2 users, so it works for early testing but not for a full team.
Can you switch from HubSpot to Salesforce, or the other way around?
Yes, but it takes real work: exporting your data, rebuilding pipelines and automations, and retraining your team, which is why it's worth comparing fit and cost before you commit rather than after.