HubSpot CRM is an effective tool that’s also easy to use. It offers both a competitive free plan and incredibly effective paid plans to suit a range of business needs.
Based on our HubSpot CRM review, we can say with confidence that this software offers a robust platform that is simple to use and intuitive, solidifying its place on our list of the top CRM programs for small and midsize businesses that want to combine their sales, marketing, and customer service tools.
We’ll talk about some of HubSpot CRM’s most important attributes and features in this review.
Is HubSpot the best CRM program for you, then?
We’ll provide you with all the information you need to know in our HubSpot CRM review so you can choose wisely.
Review of HubSpot CRM: A Preview
HubSpot is the ideal option for companies looking for robust, simple-to-use CRM software, and the platform is accessible to smaller or more start-up companies thanks to the lightweight but very functional free-forever plan.
Through a variety of complimentary CRM, marketing, sales, and customer service tools from HubSpot, this free plan offers a useful platform for managing and maintaining new leads.
These can be accessed through a straightforward and user-friendly interface and include dashboard reporting, deal tracking, and pipeline management.
It’s important to keep in mind that the free plan has a limited number of customer service options, so you won’t have access to in-app chat or phone support.
Additionally, even though HubSpot users can integrate their accounts with hundreds of third-party applications, some of them do necessitate upgrading to a paid plan.
There are several options available to you if you want to upgrade.
Each of the five HubSpot hubs — Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, CMS, and Operations — offers a Starter, Professional, or Enterprise paid plan and is divided into its own set of tools.
Alternately, you can combine components from each Hub with the CRM Suite upgrade bundle, which starts at $45 per month.
Although Starter plans appear affordable and provide more than enough features for smaller businesses, costs can increase significantly if a Professional plan upgrade is required.
Pricing-wise, rivals like Zoho CRM’s Standard plan are undoubtedly less expensive, particularly if your company is just getting started.
HubSpot CRM’s main features
The ease of use of HubSpot CRM makes it a standout feature at first glance, making it perfect for CRM newbies.
In order to understand how you intend to use the platform, HubSpot poses a number of inquiries during setup and provides a guided tour of each specific section, such as marketing, sales, and customer service. Additional features like the HubSpot Academy, a free online training center with a variety of courses, are also appreciated.
The sheer number of features offered in the free-forever plan is another feature that sets HubSpot apart from its rivals. For instance, the team as a whole has easier access to client communication thanks to the shared inbox feature, which collects all incoming email and live chat correspondence in one location.
Basic email templates can be created and sent quickly, and you have the option to design your email using one of five templates. This allows you to free up time to work on other projects by quickly importing contacts from external mail providers.
The free plan also enables you to add a tracking code and support form to your website so you can monitor visitor activity, record their information in your database, and follow up with them over time.
Within the Sales dashboard, deals can be easily created in under five minutes, and activity reports can be easily created and filtered based on team member or customer engagement level. These can be used outside of the HubSpot environment and downloaded in a variety of formats, such as xlsx or pdf.
Additionally, HubSpot’s free plan streamlines your daily operations in addition to aiding in the organization and automation of sales and marketing tasks. For instance, managers can easily share the deal forecast and dashboard with the touch of a button, customize deal stages to fit existing sales processes, and send notes to salespeople to remind them to follow up with new leads.
Setting up external ad accounts is also very simple. Throughout the process, prompts will show you how to import campaign data from Facebook, Google Ads, or LinkedIn into HubSpot so that it is all in one location. On the free plan, you can link up to two ad accounts.
Teams seeking more specialized platform capabilities can upgrade to the CRM Suite bundle or the Starter plan for individual hubs, which offers more powerful tools. For instance, using segmented lists and the Starter plan of the Marketing hub, you can easily create branded, optimized email campaigns that can be sent in bulk to specific leads.
To further optimize upcoming campaigns, you can also see how and when your customers are responding to your emails. Similar feature upgrades are available with the CRM Suite Starter plan, including extra ad account options, meeting scheduling, two deal pipelines, and 5,000 email templates.
With features like these, HubSpot is easy to use for both new users and established players looking for a new CRM solution, making it a good option for a variety of businesses.
How has HubSpot CRM changed?
The addition of the Operations Hub, which HubSpot claims gives their already powerful software even more power, is one of this year’s most significant product updates. With tools like historical data syncing between HubSpot and dozens of well-known third-party apps and business insights on your clients, this new software aims to help with general operations while streamlining procedures.
The Operations Hub, which can be accessed through the free plan or with additional features as part of the CRM Suite Starter plan, aims to connect apps, clean up your client data, and automate your business processes in one central CRM platform.
Users of HubSpot can now take advantage of campaign data in the custom report builder, which enables users to add specific metrics, such as video plays, page views, and conversions, to custom reports in order to display campaign performance.
The HubSpot sales extension has finally made it possible to create deals directly from Outlook and Gmail. The deal name, stage, amount, and other necessary details can now be entered by salespeople in just a few quick clicks without disrupting their workflow.
Pricing for HubSpot CRM
While HubSpot graciously offers a powerful free-forever plan, the company also offers a variety of paid plans that can be tailored to meet the specific requirements of different types of businesses. The Starter plan, which allows for two paid users, costs $50 per month (or $45 per month if paid annually), making it the most affordable option.
When you upgrade to the Starter plan, you get access to all of the free tools with increased limits, and the HubSpot branding is removed from features such as forms, landing pages, and live chat. Customers on the Starter plan have access to both email and in-app chat support, allowing them to receive assistance much more quickly than users on the free plan.
How straightforward is it to get going with HubSpot CRM right away?
You can create a HubSpot account in fewer than five minutes and without providing any payment information at all. You have the option to start from scratch when creating an account; however, it is much quicker to use an existing Google account.
After you have entered your basic information, HubSpot will ask you a series of questions concerning your job title, industry, company name, size, and your previous experience using CRM platforms. These questions are asked to help tailor your experience and offer demos that are extremely helpful.
How helpful is the customer support offered by HubSpot CRM?
Tools such as HubSpot Academy, an online hub full of courses and workshops to assist you in growing your business, honing your skills, and becoming an expert in the CRM tools required to attract and engage customers, solidify HubSpot’s position as a solid option for CRM newcomers. HubSpot Academy is an online hub full of courses and workshops.
In spite of the fact that the free plan of HubSpot does not come with phone or email support, you are able to engage in conversation with other HubSpot customers in the HubSpot Community and look for solutions in the HubSpot knowledge base.
You also have the choice to interact with the on-page chatbot known as HubBot. This is another alternative. During the course of our test, we were provided with the opportunity to speak with a member of the team in a matter of a few simple clicks; the entire process took slightly more than five minutes. In general, this function seems like it would be of incredible use to professionals who are looking for quick answers without interfering with their workflow.
HubSpot CRM alternatives
Competitors such as Insightly and Zoho CRM may be better suited for certain types of companies, despite the fact that HubSpot offers a multitude of features that have helped it become the frontrunner in the CRM software sector.
Insightly is a robust and flexible customer relationship management (CRM) platform that has established itself as a market leader by offering sophisticated automation tools, robust lead management features, and fully customizable dashboards to assist in the management of deal pipelines. The platform is a worthy competitor to HubSpot because it provides users with a robust selection of features for managing contacts and projects. On the other hand, the absence of a free plan may give the impression that it is inaccessible to smaller businesses.
In a similar vein, Zoho CRM may be unsuitable for larger teams despite its powerful lead capture and management tools, integrated email marketing, and automated workflows. This is due to the lack of customization available for certain features as well as the limited customer support options available. Read our reviews of Insightly and Zoho CRM for further information on the subject.
HubSpot CRM: Final verdict
The most valuable aspect of HubSpot is the sheer generosity of features that are included in the free plan; this makes it a strong contender for the list of best CRM platforms. Users are made to feel valued and supported during the onboarding process through details such as the questions that are asked when setting up this plan, which makes setting it up quickly and easily.
Tools that streamline team workflows include email optimization, a shared inbox, and simple deal and report creation. The quality of the CRM features that are included for free is also unrivaled in terms of simplicity and usability.
Because of this, the platform is ideal for small and medium businesses, as it brings an additional level of transparency to communications with customers, consolidates everything into a single location, and frees up time for teams to focus their efforts on other aspects of the business.
The customer support provided by the free plan may feel somewhat limited at times; however, the HubBot chat feature that is included within the dashboard is user-friendly and efficient. The HubSpot Community and Knowledge Base are two thoughtful finishing touches that offer users a large number of resources to hone their CRM abilities.
While the free plan is great for startups and other small businesses, HubSpot’s premium plans are fantastic for midsize businesses that require more robust or extensive capabilities than those provided by the free plan. Upgrades to the CRM Suite bundle Starter plan’s features, such as one-on-one tech support, additional email marketing send limits, and list segmentation, and up to 10 reporting dashboards, appear to be priced affordably for businesses that are only slightly larger than those covered by the plan.
However, if you upgrade to the Professional plan, the cost jumps up to $1,600 per month for five users. This means that larger teams might want to look into other options.
Pros
- Competitive free-forever plan
- Simple to use and understand
- Over 300 third-party app integrations
Cons
- Premium plans can become expensive
- No telephone support with free plan
