Many organizations that go through a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) selection process include Salesforce and HubSpot on their vendor shortlists.
Multiple available resources on the web take a feature comparison approach to the differences between the two solutions.
Ahref’s web analytics tool indicates that most people’s online search intent is feature-comparison-oriented when looking for information about HubSpot vs. Salesforce.
| Search Intent | Intent’s Traffic Share |
|---|---|
| Feature Comparison | 80% |
| User Experience | 9% |
| Pricing Information | 8% |
| User Reviews & Opinions | 3% |
In this post, we’ll buck the trend and focus mainly on the high-level differences between the two vendors. Here’s why:
Deciding between HubSpot and Salesforce is not as simple as reading feature comparison articles and scheduling sales presentations.
We recommend that mid-sized companies and enterprises follow a structured CRM buying process.
Vendor Overviews
HubSpot and Salesforce are both established powerhouses in the areas of data management and business process automation.
Salesforce was founded in 1999 in San Francisco, California. HubSpot was founded in 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Salesforce began as a Sales Force Automation (SFA) system and eventually became a comprehensive suite of business applications, some of which were gained through acquisitions.
HubSpot began as an inbound marketing and content management platform. The company later added Sales, Service, Operations, and Commerce functionality or ‘hubs’ as HubSpot calls them.
Both companies have seen enterprise adoption in their respective flagship categories.
Like any software platform, having more longevity than competitors cuts both ways. It usually means richer features and functionality.
However, more time in the market can also mean more baggage, such as ongoing transitions from legacy interfaces and dated ways of accomplishing specific administrative tasks.
This means there can be positive longevity effects and adverse longevity effects.
Because of the two companies’ origins, many organizations use both Salesforce and HubSpot — HubSpot for marketing automation and Salesforce for sales, customer support, and custom business applications.
Some companies using both platforms are considering moving entirely to one or the other, and companies that use neither platform may be considering one or the other.
Several high-level differences between Salesforce and HubSpot should be considered when deciding between them.
Scope and Complexity of Business Needs
Generally speaking, Salesforce is well-suited for organizations with many departments, complex record and field visibility requirements (Who Sees What), data-intensive needs, advanced reporting and dashboards, and robust validation rules. It is also well-structured for organizations subject to regulatory requirements such as HIPAA.
HubSpot is often the preferred platform for SMBs looking for integrated sales and marketing functionality. It is easy to get started with, especially for non-technical people and organizations new to CRM.
A Reddit commenter summarized this difference by saying that Hubspot has a higher floor and Salesforce has a significantly higher ceiling.
Native vs. integrated marketing functionality
HubSpot began as a marketing automation platform. When HubSpot introduced Sales Hub, the functionality was added natively to the existing platform.
Because of this unified code base, sales and marketing users can share many of the same properties (fields) rather than an admin having to replicate fields in different systems and then set up mapping and precedence rules.
The entire awareness-to-order journey can all be managed in one container.
Conversely, Salesforce does not have natively-developed marketing automation functionality.
However, Salesforce integrates with several marketing automation systems, including HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and its internal Pardot and Marketing Cloud offerings.
While cloud-to-cloud integrations are better than ever, more ongoing maintenance is required compared to all-in-one systems.
The consultant ecosystems
A positive longevity effect for Salesforce is the sheer volume of worldwide administrators and developers.
So many people are involved with Salesforce that the company has dubbed this global collective the ‘Salesforce Economy.’
While an extensive group of marketing agencies and independent consultants are experts in HubSpot Marketing Hub and CMS Hub, HubSpot’s consultant ecosystem for Sales, Service, Operations, and Commerce Hubs is newer.
The app marketplaces
Third-party CRM apps typically include integrations, add-ons, and natively installed enhanced functionality.
HubSpot’s App Marketplace has over 1,700 apps.
Salesforce’s AppExchange has over 7,000 third-party apps.
HubSpot’s App Marketplace is geared toward ease of use and SMB needs. In contrast, Salesforce’s AppExchange offers a broader, more customizable set of tools, many of which are suited for larger companies seeking extensive functionality.
For example, while HubSpot’s App Marketplace offers integration solutions for various accounting systems, AccountingSeed provides a complete accounting system on the Salesforce platform that can be installed from the AppExchange.
Freemium vs. only pay-for
While Salesforce gives time and money to many organizations and people, it does not provide free licenses to business customers.
On the other hand, HubSpot continues to use an extensive freemium model with ‘lite’ functionality for up to five users at no charge. This pricing model means an extensive try-before-you-buy experience compared to a time-limited free trial.
Vendor prices constantly change, but as of the last update to this article, HubSpot’s Sales Hub Enterprise edition was $150 per user per month, and Salesforce’s Sales Cloud Enterprise Edition was $165 per user per month.
Scope of product offerings
Salesforce’s growth through acquisition strategy means that the company has many different offerings outside of the core CRM platform. While product brand names have changed, past acquisitions include Slack, Tableau, ExactTarget, Pardot, Demandware, SteelBrick, and Own Company.
HubSpot has acquired far fewer companies than Salesforce and tends toward building all functionality in-house and on a single platform.
A product from HubSpot that Salesforce does not offer is a content management system (CMS). Customers can build entire websites on the same platform as the other HubSpot apps they use.
AI features
Salesforce Artificial Intelligence offers advanced analytics, predictive insights, and automation capabilities across various functions, such as email creation, sales forecasting, lead scoring, and customer service. The AI-driven automation tools allow teams to streamline processes and personalize interactions at scale.
Salesforce’s Agentforce lets customers build AI agents, a “proactive, autonomous application that provides specialized, always-on support to employees or customers.”
HubSpot’s Breeze focuses on making AI-driven features more accessible to smaller businesses. Its tools emphasize ease of use, with AI-powered agents for content, social media, prospecting, and interacting with website visitors.
Other Breeze features include data enrichment, buyer intent, and form shortening.
Business Process Automation
Business process automation tools like workflow designers have become indispensable to businesses.
Today, these tools are a must-have for sales, marketing, service, and custom applications.
HubSpot’s Workflows were initially designed for marketing requirements but have been applied to address similar business needs for sales, service, and operations.
Salesforce’s Flows have more design options and are, therefore, more complex to configure than HubSpot’s Workflows. However, HubSpot’s tool is more user-friendly.
The user experience
CRM system user adoption is a perennial challenge. CRM vendors are looking for ways to improve the user experience.
Salesforce uses a traditional ‘lists and forms’ CRM interface for standard objects like Leads, Accounts, Contacts, and Opportunities.
By contrast, the HubSpot record detail view de-emphasizes traditional-looking forms and fields and emphasizes activities more. HubSpot has a robust user interface for companies focusing heavily on sales pursuit and Account-Based Marketing (ABM).
A thorough analysis is critical for the highest CRM success before any significant change in CRM software platforms.
It’s not just about the general differences between the two platforms but how respective platforms address your organization’s unique needs.
