CRM Software · October 2026
HubSpot vs Salesforce: easy to start or built to customise
HubSpot
Salesforce
HubSpot is a CRM platform with a free tier that never expires: up to two users, contact management, deal pipelines, email tracking, live chat and a chatbot builder. Paid hubs for marketing, sales, service, content, data and revenue sit on the same database, the Breeze AI assistant summarises records and preps calls, and more than two thousand apps connect through its marketplace. It runs in the browser and sets up without IT support.
Salesforce is the CRM many large organisations build on. Sales Cloud and Service Cloud are deeply customisable, the AppExchange holds partner-built apps, Agentforce adds AI agents, and reporting scales across a whole company. There is no free plan, but a thirty-day trial needs no card.
The difference is effort versus power: HubSpot is ready in minutes, Salesforce is shaped around you.
| HubSpot Our pick | Salesforce | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 9.6/10 · Outstanding | 9.3/10 · Excellent |
| Rank | #1 in CRM Software | #2 in CRM Software |
| Price | $20.00 | $25.00 |
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| Get Deal | Get Deal |
Our verdict
HubSpot leads for most readers because you can start free, learn it in an afternoon and add paid hubs only when you need them. Marketing, sales and service share one record of each contact, which matters for small and mid-sized teams that do not have a CRM administrator. When you outgrow the free tier, the upgrade path is clear.
Salesforce is the better choice for larger organisations with complex sales processes, many teams or industry-specific requirements. Almost every object, workflow and report can be tailored, its ecosystem of partners and apps is vast, and it scales to any size. That flexibility comes with a learning curve, and most companies use an administrator or partner to set it up.
A practical test: if you can describe your sales process on one page, start with HubSpot. If it needs approvals, territories and custom objects, trial Salesforce.
Get Deal — HubSpotRead the full reviews: HubSpot review · Salesforce review · or see all our CRM Software picks.