Our honest HubSpot review: features, pricing, and who it's really for

To find out if Hubspot fits your needs, we've put together a complete overview of the software for you. Here, we give you our opinion (objective of course) on Hubspot. Features, prices... Follow the guide!

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Hubspot: what is it?

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Founded in 2006 by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot is a reference in marketing automation. Today, it also offers a CRM, a CMS and other tools. Valued at 18.44 billion dollars and present in 120 countries, it is a leader in its field. Its software, adapted to startups as well as large groups, optimizes marketing and sales processes.

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Hubspot: for whom?

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HubSpot targets startups, SMEs, and large groups with its paid marketing automation software, while its free tools are suitable for all professionals.

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Although efficient, HubSpot is expensive, making the paid option less suitable for small businesses. Rates, which are among the highest on the market, can put off small structures. Optimal software management requires a dedicated team or specialized support.

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At Growth Room, we help you Get the most out of Hubspot, thanks to tailor-made support, deployed by our experts, according to your needs.

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In short, HubSpot is ideal for businesses that prioritize marketing automation, and have the budget and the skills to master it.

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Our Hubspot review: the features

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HubSpot is a multi-functional software. For a clear analysis, we will discuss:

• Free tools;
• HubSpot Marketing Automation;
• HubSpot CRM/Sale;
• HubSpot CMS;
• HubSpot Customer Care.

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Get ready, our Hubspot review promises to be dense.

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Hubspot review: the free tools

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HubSpot excels at offering free tools to initiate prospects and convert them into customers. While these tools are designed to be beneficial for many professionals, they are intentionally limited to encourage purchase.

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In short, HubSpot takes a freemium approach by theme.

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HubSpot also offers free tools for CMS and Operations, but in our opinion, they are too limited to be really interesting.

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HubSpot's free tools are simplified versions of their paid equivalents. You will notice that several of these tools are included in various modules such as:

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• Marketing Hub,
• Sales Hub,
• Hub service.

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In our opinion, free Hubspot has several limitations. Instead of listing them, go to the HubSpot page who details them.

To save you time, here are the most demanding ones:

• Maximum of 2,000 emails per month;
• Chat marked with the HubSpot name;
• Only 1 automated action for emails.

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Our opinion on Hubspot Marketing Automation

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To understand the cost of Hubspot, you need to fully understand its pricing structure. Hubspot prices vary according to:

• The functionalities;
• The number of contacts.

We'll discuss rates later, but be aware that with lots of contacts, costs can soar.

But why HubSpot? Despite a demanding initial handling, the software remains easy to use, especially considering its range of functionalities.

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Our Husbpot review: Email and form automation

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With the Starter, Pro, and Enterprise plans, HubSpot is expanding marketing automation capabilities. The HubSpot logo is no longer present, and your forms become customizable, including:

• adjustable styles;
• dependent fields;
• smart fields;
• Personalized email validation.

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The difference between the free and paid versions is obvious for emailing. The sending limit is increased from 2,000 to a multiple of the number of contacts per month. For example, with 10,000 contacts in a Pro subscription, you can send 100,000 emails. In addition, HubSpot reinforces your email strategy with:

• Adaptive content;
• A/B testing;
• Email templates;
• Shipments according to time zones.

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The Starter subscription seems limited when it comes to marketing automation. We recommend the Pro subscription instead, but be warned: it costs €1283/month for 10,000 contacts.

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Our Husbpot review: Automation and personalization based on engagement

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HubSpot excels at automation with unlimited scenarios. Its workflow editor is visual and easy to use, integrating multiple channels such as emails, SMS, social networks, ads and chat. Thanks to CRM integration, your communications are personalized based on contact data, thus improving the conversion rate.

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HubSpot also offers ABM tools for those targeting businesses with multiple contacts. They strengthened their social media functionalities, allowing for planning, publishing and performance analysis.

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However, at the moment only Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are supported, excluding Tik Tok. Too bad!

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Our Husbpot opinion: optimizing campaigns

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HubSpot's second strength is campaign analysis. It offers tools like:

• A/B testing for emails and landing pages;
• Synchronized scoring based on advertising conversions;
• The choice between 5 attribution models.

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These details, though brief, highlight HubSpot's precision in evaluating marketing campaigns.

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Our Hubspot review: dashboards

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After creation and optimization, HubSpot excels at analysis thanks to customizable, detailed dashboards. Although it differs from Google Analytics, it offers robust web traffic analysis and shows the impact of your content, such as emails or articles, on lead conversion.

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HubSpot's reports are cleverly designed, offering customization, predefined templates and access to a wealth of data.

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Our Hubspot review: integrations

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HubSpot offers many integrations. The most widely used are:

• Salesforce,
• Slack,
• Mailchimp.

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Our Hubspot review: team and customer management

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HubSpot is designed for team collaboration, covering both the marketing and sales departments. It includes a marketing calendar, allows internal comments on campaigns, and lets you organize users by team, region or product. It also makes it easy to customize access rights and actions according to each user's role.

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Our opinion on Hubspot CRM

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HubSpot CRM shares several features with the Marketing Hub, such as:

• Chat,
• ABM tools,
• Custom reports,
• Team management.

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Although its cost is high, it is competitive in the CRM market, rivaling Salesforce, Pipedrive and Sellsy.

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As for the free version of HubSpot CRM, it is widely used and well rated, and is a benchmark among free CRMs. If your needs are basic, consider it.

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Our Hubspot review: the sales process

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Hubspot's Sales Hub makes it easier to organize the sales process through automation. It offers:

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• Automatic lead assignment,
• Configurable tasks,
• Email templates,
• A product library,
• Prospecting playbooks,
• Integration with VoIP software such as Aircall.

You can customize every step of turning a prospect into a customer.

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Our Hubspot review: sales teams

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HubSpot's CRM adapts to your teams, letting you assign leads and create custom reports. Although it does not match Salesforce in complexity, HubSpot focuses on simplicity and automation. Contact records adjust to the prospect's stage, showing relevant information at each step.

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You can also set mandatory fields for your sales reps and build sales forecasts by team.

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Our Hubspot review: personalizing prospecting

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HubSpot applies the key principles of the Marketing Hub to the Sales Hub, with a focus on personalization and automation:

• Automation of tasks and follow-ups;
• Sending LinkedIn InMails from the software;
• Video integration in prospecting;
• Built-in meeting scheduling module;
• Suggestions for optimal send times;
• Automated scoring.

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Our Hubspot review: KPIs

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Sales Hub data is turned into customizable dashboards. You can quickly see

• Revenue,
• Team performance,
• New contacts,
• Emails sent,
• Meetings,
• Forecasts.

All the key figures for your teams are at your fingertips.

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Our opinion on Hubspot CMS

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HubSpot is gaining popularity as an all-in-one tool, notably in the CMS space, where it was not expected. Although the CMS Hub has gaps compared with its rivals, its automation features are appreciated.

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However, its cost rises quickly. The Starter offer at €21 excl. tax/month is competitive, but the Pro offer at €331 excl. tax/month gives pause compared with options like Wordpress or Shopify.

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The high prices are explained by the fact that HubSpot integrates Marketing Hub features to optimize your site. The €21 excl. tax/month offer provides good value for money, including premium hosting, SSL, a page editor and other tools. At this price, it is a simpler alternative to Wordpress. However, the value of the Pro and Enterprise subscriptions remains to be seen.

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Here are the noteworthy features:

• Content adapted to each visitor;
• Password-protected pages;
• Integrated tracking of your CMS in the Marketing Hub.

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Our opinion on Hubspot Customer Service

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Here is our opinion on Hubspot Customer Service. This software manages customer relationships, relying on automation and ease of use. With mid-range pricing, it offers a Starter offer at €46 excl. tax/month for 2 users and a Pro offer at €460 excl. tax/month for 5 users, with no Pro option for just 2 users.

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It offers ticketing tools such as:

• Shared inbox
• Team email
• Ticket pipeline
• Automations
• Bot
• Phone calls
• Email templates
• Automatic ticket assignment
• Knowledge bases
• Investigations
• Dashboards

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This software integrates well with other HubSpot tools. Our recommendation: go for the Service Hub if you already use the Marketing Hub.

Overall, HubSpot excels in marketing automation but can be expensive for some professionals. If you're already using HubSpot Marketing, CRM and Customer Service Hubs are relevant. As for the CMS Hub, the basic offer is valid, but the Pro and Enterprise offers seem expensive compared to the competition.

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Prices on Hubspot

The Hub Marketing Prize

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• Starter offer: 1,000 contacts at 45.99 €excluding tax/month;
• Starter offer: 10,000 contacts at €160/month excluding taxes;
• Pro offer: 2,000 contacts at €823.25 excl. tax/month;
• Pro offer: 12,000 contacts at €1,283.25 excluding tax/month;
• Enterprise offer: 10,000 contacts at €3,300 excluding tax/month;
• Enterprise offer: 50,000 contacts at €3,668 excluding tax/month.

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The price of Hub CRM

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• Starter offer: 2 users at €18.40 excl. tax/month;
• Starter offer: 10 users at €92 excluding tax/month;
• Pro offer: 5 users at €460 excl. tax/month;
• Pro offer: 10 users at €910 excl. tax/month.

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The price of Hub CMS

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• Starter offer: €21 excl. tax/month;
• Pro offer: €331 excl. tax/month;
• Enterprise offer: €1,104 excluding tax/month.

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The price of Hub Customer Service

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• Starter offer: 2 users for €18.40 excl. tax/month;
• Starter offer: 10 users for €92 excluding tax/month;
• Pro offer: 5 users for €460 excl. tax/month;
• Pro offer: 10 users for €910 excluding tax/month.

Adding HubSpot Marketing, CRM, or Customer Service may require an expert agency, increasing the cost of this high-end marketing automation solution.

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In summary: our Hubspot review

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Hubspot justifies its leading position in the market thanks to its ease of use, reliability, and completeness. Where other marketing automation software can be complex, Hubspot prioritizes intuitiveness.

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Both HubSpot CRM and HubSpot Customer Service aren't just extensions: they're triumphs in and of themselves.

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If you are hesitant to get started or want support in setting up the software, you can Contact one of our experts on the subject.

If you want to learn on your own, sign up for our free Hubspot training !