Most teams don’t leave HubSpot because it’s bad. They leave because of the bill.
HubSpot’s free CRM and $20/seat Starter plan are easy to love. The trouble starts at Professional: Marketing Hub Professional starts at $800/month, plus a required $3,000 onboarding fee.
This guide compares 18 HubSpot alternatives across sales CRM, marketing automation, all-in-one suites and ecommerce. Every price was checked on the vendor’s official pricing page, and every rating was pulled from Capterra, on 1 October 2026. For the latest numbers, see our monthly-updated CRM pricing tracker.
It’s independent, too. ToolGrowth doesn’t sell a CRM, so nothing here is ranked #1 because we own it, and commissions never change a ranking. Start with the decision table below and you’ll know your shortlist in under a minute.
Which HubSpot Alternative Is Right for You? (Quick Decision Table)
Find the part of HubSpot you actually use. That decides what you should switch to. Full breakdowns of every tool are further down.
| If you mainly use HubSpot for… | Switch to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The free CRM, but you’ve outgrown it | Zoho CRM | Free for 3 users; paid plans add automation from $14/user/mo. |
| Sales Hub (deals and pipeline) | Pipedrive | Visual pipeline sales reps actually enjoy using, from $14/seat. |
| Marketing Hub (emails and automation) | ActiveCampaign | Deep automation: Plus is $49/mo (1,000 contacts) vs $800/mo for Marketing Hub Professional; Starter from $15/mo. |
| Email newsletters on a tight budget | Brevo | Free forever plan; paid from $8.08/mo (billed yearly) with a built-in CRM. |
| Everything (marketing + sales + service) | EngageBay | All three in one app, from $12.74/user/mo (2-year billing). |
| Calling and outbound sales | Close | Built-in calling, SMS and a power dialer. |
| Keeping things dead simple | Less Annoying CRM | One plan, one price: $15/user/mo, everything included. |
| A Shopify or WooCommerce store | Omnisend | Ecommerce email and SMS with a free plan. |
| Courses, memberships or coaching | Ontraport | CRM, automation, payments and membership sites together. |
| A large team that will scale fast | Salesforce Starter | Starts at $25/user and grows into the full Salesforce platform. |
Why Look for a HubSpot Alternative?
HubSpot holds a strong 4.5/5 from 4,489 reviews on Capterra, and our full HubSpot review explains why. But the same reviews keep pointing at one problem: price.
1. The jump from Starter to Professional is huge
Starter is affordable at $20/seat/month. Professional is a different world.
Here’s what HubSpot’s own pricing page showed on 1 October 2026 (annual billing):
- Marketing Hub Professional: $800/month (3 seats, 2,000 marketing contacts), plus a required one-time $3,000 onboarding fee.
- Sales Hub Professional: $90/seat/month, plus a required one-time $1,500 onboarding fee.
- Marketing Hub Enterprise: $3,600/month, plus $7,000 onboarding.
Example: a small team on Marketing Hub Professional pays $9,600 in subscription fees plus $3,000 onboarding. That’s $12,600 in year one. ActiveCampaign’s Plus plan, which covers most of the same automation for a 1,000-contact list, is $49/month ($588/year).
HubSpot Marketing Hub pricing on 1 Oct 2026: Starter $20/seat (promo $7 for new customers), Professional from $800/mo and Enterprise from $3,600/mo, billed annually.
2. Contact-based pricing grows with your list
Marketing Hub plans include a set number of marketing contacts. Grow your list and the bill grows with it, even if your team stays the same size.
3. Promo prices aren’t forever
On 1 October 2026, HubSpot was offering Starter at $7/seat instead of $20 for new customers, for a limited time. That’s a great entry point. Just budget for the full $20 when it ends.
4. You may only need one hub
Many small teams use HubSpot for just one job, like a sales pipeline or email campaigns. A specialist tool usually does that one job just as well for far less.
What HubSpot Still Does Better
To be fair to HubSpot, it still wins in a few areas. Know these before you switch:
- A genuinely useful free CRM. Free for up to 2 users, no credit card.
- One shared database for marketing, sales, service and content, so nothing needs syncing.
- Ease of use. New team members get productive fast.
- A huge ecosystem of integrations, templates and free training (HubSpot Academy).
If you rely on all four, switching may cost you more in time than it saves in money. That’s covered in the stay-or-switch section.
How We Chose and Verified These Tools
- Shortlist: we analysed the pages ranking for “HubSpot alternatives” and combined every tool they recommend. Then we added budget favourites (Bigin, Less Annoying CRM) that small teams often switch to.
- Pricing: captured from each vendor’s official pricing page on 1 October 2026, with a screenshot of every page. Prices are annual billing unless we say otherwise.
- Ratings: Capterra overall rating and review count, pulled the same day. One source for every tool, so the numbers are comparable.
- Grouping: by the HubSpot hub each tool replaces, because that’s how people actually switch.
- Independence: no tool paid for placement, and affiliate commissions never change a ranking. One competing guide ranking for this keyword is written by a CRM vendor that ranks its own product first. We don’t sell a CRM.
We haven’t run all 18 tools side by side for this article. Feature notes come from vendor documentation, published user reviews and our own HubSpot, Zoho CRM and Pipedrive reviews.
HubSpot Alternatives Compared: Price, Free Plan & Ratings
Prices from official pricing pages (annual billing unless noted); ratings from Capterra. Both checked 1 October 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid from | Capterra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot (baseline) | All-in-one, easy to use | Yes — 2 users | $20/seat (Starter) | 4.5 (4,489) |
| Zoho CRM | Best overall CRM | Yes — 3 users | $14/user | 4.3 (7,002) |
| Pipedrive | Visual sales pipeline | No — 14-day trial | $14/seat | 4.5 (3,062) |
| Freshsales | Built-in phone and chat | Limited — 3 users (not on pricing page); 21-day trial | $9/user | 4.5 (623) |
| Bigin by Zoho | Budget pipeline CRM | Yes — 1 user | $7/user | 4.7 (744) |
| Less Annoying CRM | Simplicity, flat price | No — 30-day trial | $15/user | 4.8 (659) |
| Close | Calling-heavy sales | No — free trial | $9 (Solo) · $35/user | 4.7 (164) |
| Nutshell | B2B CRM + email marketing | No — 14-day trial | $13/user | 4.4 (625) |
| monday CRM | Visual, customisable boards | No — 14-day trial | $12/seat | 4.7 (466) |
| Salesforce Starter | Teams that will scale big | No — free trial | $25/user | 4.4 (226) |
| Creatio | No-code process automation | No | $40/user ($10K/yr minimum) | 4.7 (151) |
| ActiveCampaign | Marketing automation | No — 14-day trial | $15/mo (1,000 contacts) | 4.6 (2,570) |
| Brevo | Cheap email + CRM | Yes — free forever | $8.08/mo | 4.6 (3,523) |
| GetResponse | Funnels and creators | No — 14-day trial | $15.58/mo | 4.2 (527) |
| EngageBay | Closest budget all-in-one | Yes — 250 contacts | $12.74/user (2-yr billing) | 4.6 (912) |
| Keap | Service businesses + payments | No | $299/mo (monthly) | 4.1 (1,299) |
| Ontraport | Courses and memberships | No — 14-day trial | $83/mo | 4.2 (89) |
| Omnisend | Ecommerce email + SMS | Yes — 250 contacts | $16/mo (monthly) | 4.7 (837) |
| Drip | Ecommerce automation | No — 14-day trial | $39/mo (2,500 people) | 4.4 (188) |
Capterra ratings are user-submitted and change over time. Ratings built on fewer than 200 reviews (Close, Creatio, Ontraport, Drip) are a weaker signal than ones built on thousands.
Best HubSpot Alternatives for Sales CRM (Replacing Sales Hub)
These tools replace HubSpot’s CRM and Sales Hub: contacts, deals, pipelines and sales follow-ups.
1. Zoho CRM — Best Overall HubSpot Alternative
Verdict: the closest like-for-like replacement for HubSpot’s CRM, at a fraction of the Professional price.
Zoho CRM covers leads, deals, workflows, reports and a mobile app. Its free edition handles 3 users. Paid plans add automation, CPQ and AI tools.
Where it beats HubSpot: price at scale. Zoho’s Professional plan, with automation, is $23/user/month. HubSpot’s Sales Hub Professional is $90/seat plus $1,500 onboarding.
Where HubSpot wins: ease of use. Zoho is more flexible, but it takes longer to set up and learn.
Zoho CRM pricing (annual billing): Standard $14, Professional $23, Enterprise $40 and Ultimate $52 per user/month (checked 1 Oct 2026).
Choose it if you want a full CRM that can grow with you without a price shock. Our Zoho CRM review goes deeper.
2. Pipedrive — Best for Sales Pipelines
Verdict: the best pick if your HubSpot use is mostly deals and follow-ups.
Pipedrive is built around one visual pipeline. You drag deals between stages, and it reminds you of the next action. Sales reps tend to actually keep it updated, which is half the battle with any CRM.
Where it beats HubSpot: focus and price. A 5-rep team on Pipedrive Growth pays $1,440/year. The same team on HubSpot Sales Hub Professional pays $5,400 plus $1,500 onboarding.
Where HubSpot wins: marketing. Pipedrive’s email campaigns are a paid add-on, not a full marketing hub.
Pipedrive pricing (billed annually): Lite $14, Growth $24, Premium $49 and Ultimate $69 per seat/month (checked 1 Oct 2026).
We break down the real cost with add-ons in our Pipedrive review.
3. Freshsales — Best for Built-In Phone, Chat and Email
Verdict: a polished, low-cost CRM with communication channels built in.
Freshsales (from Freshworks) bundles chat, email and phone into the CRM, even on its entry plan. That makes it a good fit for small teams who talk to leads on several channels.
Where it beats HubSpot: entry price. Growth is $9/user/month. Where HubSpot wins: marketing tools and the free plan.
Freshsales pricing (billed annually): Growth $9, Pro $39 and Enterprise $59 per user/month, with paid add-ons listed under each plan.
4. Bigin by Zoho — Best Budget Pipeline CRM
Verdict: the cheapest way to get a proper pipeline CRM.
Bigin is Zoho’s lightweight CRM for small businesses. It keeps only the essentials: pipelines, contacts, activities and simple automation. Capterra users give it 4.7/5, with 98% positive reviews.
Example: a 3-person team on Bigin Premier pays $432/year. On HubSpot Starter at full price it’s $720/year.
Bigin pricing (billed yearly): Free for 1 user, then Express $7, Premier $12 and Bigin 360 $18 per user/month.
5. Less Annoying CRM — Best for Simplicity
Verdict: the easiest CRM on this list, with one honest price.
Less Annoying CRM has no tiers. You pay $15 per user per month and get every feature. It’s the highest-rated tool here on Capterra (4.8/5), with near-perfect scores for ease of use and support.
Where it beats HubSpot: no upsells, ever. Where HubSpot wins: automation, marketing and reporting depth.
Less Annoying CRM: one plan at $15 per user/month with everything included, and a 30-day free trial.
6. Close — Best for Calling and Outbound Sales
Verdict: built for inside sales teams that live on the phone.
Close puts calling, email and SMS inside the CRM. Higher plans add a power dialer and a predictive dialer. Startups and SDR teams rate it highly.
Where it beats HubSpot: built-in calling workflows without extra tools. Where HubSpot wins: marketing, and price at the lower tiers once you need automation.
Close pricing (billed annually): Solo $9, Essentials $35, Growth $99 and Scale $139 per user/month.
7. Nutshell — Best for B2B Teams Wanting CRM + Email Marketing
Verdict: a friendly B2B CRM that bundles basic marketing tools on every plan.
Every Nutshell subscription includes webchat, an AI chatbot, a form builder, landing pages, email marketing and attribution reporting. There are no seat minimums, and live support comes with every plan.
Nutshell pricing (annual): Foundation $13, Growth $25, Pro $42, Business $59 and Enterprise $79 per user/month.
8. monday CRM — Best for Visual, Customisable Workflows
Verdict: great if your team already likes monday.com’s boards.
monday CRM turns your pipeline into colourful, flexible boards. You can track deals next to projects and onboarding in one workspace. Capterra reviewers praise its customisation and automations.
Where it beats HubSpot: flexibility outside pure sales. Where HubSpot wins: a free plan and native marketing tools.
monday CRM pricing (yearly): Basic $12, Standard $17 and Pro $28 per seat/month, down from $18, $25 and $41 on monthly billing.
Already using monday.com for projects? Our monday.com review covers the wider platform.
9. Salesforce Starter — Best If You’ll Scale Into Enterprise
Verdict: an affordable on-ramp to the world’s biggest CRM platform.
Starter Suite gives small teams Salesforce’s CRM with built-in email campaigns, lead scoring and AI, at $25/user/month. If you expect to grow into a large sales organisation, starting here avoids a painful migration later.
Where HubSpot wins: ease of use and setup. Salesforce reviewers mention a learning curve and needing specialists for customisation.
Salesforce small business pricing: Starter Suite $25 and Pro Suite $100 per user/month (Pro billed annually with a contract).
10. Creatio — Best for No-Code Process Automation
Verdict: powerful for mid-sized companies, but not a small-business tool.
Creatio lets you build CRM workflows and business processes without code, with AI built in. Capterra reviewers rate it 4.7/5 for flexibility.
But read the fine print. Creatio’s pricing page says the minimum purchase for new customers is $10,000 per year, with a standard 3-year contract.
Creatio pricing: Growth $40 and Enterprise $75 per user/month, with a $10,000/year minimum and a standard 3-year term for new customers.
Best HubSpot Alternatives for Marketing Automation (Replacing Marketing Hub)
If you mostly use HubSpot for email, forms and automated nurture sequences, these tools do that job for far less.
11. ActiveCampaign — Best for Marketing Automation
Verdict: the strongest Marketing Hub replacement for small businesses.
ActiveCampaign’s automation builder handles branching, scoring and segmentation that rival HubSpot Professional. It connects to over 1,000 apps, and every plan includes marketing automation.
Example: for a 1,000-contact list, ActiveCampaign Plus is $49/month. HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional starts at $800/month plus $3,000 onboarding.
ActiveCampaign pricing for 1,000 contacts (billed annually): Starter $15, Plus $49, Pro $79 and Enterprise $145 per month.
12. Brevo — Best Cheap Email Marketing With a Built-In CRM
Verdict: the best value for small businesses that mainly send newsletters.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) combines email, SMS and a free sales CRM. It prices on emails sent, not contacts stored, so a big list with occasional sends stays cheap.
Brevo pricing (yearly): Starter $8.08, Standard $16.17 and Professional $449.08 per month, plus a free-forever plan.
More detail in our Brevo review.
13. GetResponse — Best for Funnels and Creators
Verdict: email marketing plus funnels, landing pages and tools to sell digital products.
Every GetResponse plan includes unlimited monthly email sends, a landing page builder and signup forms. Marketer adds sales funnels and abandoned-cart recovery; Creator adds tools to monetise your knowledge.
GetResponse pricing (paid annually): Starter $15.58, Marketer $48.38 and Creator $56.58 per month.
14. Keap — Best for Service Businesses That Want Payments Built In
Verdict: powerful automation for coaches, consultants and agencies — at a premium price.
Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) combines CRM, email automation, invoicing and payments. It now sells one all-in plan instead of feature tiers.
Keap pricing: one plan starting at $299/month (billed monthly) for 2 users and 1,500 contacts.
15. Ontraport — Best for Courses, Memberships and Coaching
Verdict: CRM, automation, payments and membership sites in one place.
Ontraport suits online-course creators and membership businesses. Even its Plus plan includes CRM, marketing automation, email and SMS, websites with memberships, and payment management.
Ontraport’s pricing calculator: Pro at $124/month billed yearly for up to 500 contacts, with extra users at $49/month each.
Best All-in-One HubSpot Alternative
16. EngageBay — Closest Budget Replacement for the Whole HubSpot Suite
Verdict: if you want marketing, sales and service in one app like HubSpot, this is the cheapest way to get it.
EngageBay copies HubSpot’s structure: a marketing bay, a CRM and sales bay, and a service bay with a free help desk. It also offers a completely free migration service from any other platform.
Where HubSpot wins: polish, ecosystem and reporting depth. Some Capterra reviewers find EngageBay’s deals setup confusing.
EngageBay All-in-One pricing on 2-year (biennial) billing: Free, Basic $12.74, Growth $55.24 and Pro $101.99 per user/month.
Best HubSpot Alternatives for Ecommerce
Online stores rarely need a full CRM. They need email and SMS that know what customers bought.
17. Omnisend — Best for Shopify and WooCommerce Stores
Verdict: easy ecommerce email and SMS with a genuinely free plan.
Omnisend comes with pre-built flows for abandoned carts, welcome series and order follow-ups. Capterra users rate its ease of use and 24/7 support highly (4.7/5 overall).
Omnisend pricing for 251–500 contacts: Free, Standard $16/mo and Pro $59/mo (shown with a 30% discount for paying 3 months upfront).
18. Drip — Best for Ecommerce Automation on a Flat Price
Verdict: powerful segmentation with simple, list-size pricing.
Drip prices only on list size. Every plan includes unlimited email sends, dynamic segments, onsite campaigns and up to 50 workflows. It’s a favourite of ecommerce brands that want deep personalisation.
Drip pricing: $39/month for up to 2,500 people, with unlimited email sends and a 14-day free trial.
Best Free HubSpot Alternatives
HubSpot’s free CRM is generous, so a free alternative only makes sense if it beats HubSpot on what you need. Here’s what each free plan really includes:
| Free plan | What you get for $0 | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|
| Zoho CRM Free | Leads, deals, workflows, reports and a mobile app | 3 users |
| Bigin Free | One pipeline, contacts and activities | 1 user, 500 records |
| Brevo Free | Email marketing plus a sales CRM | Sending limits apply; automation needs Standard |
| EngageBay Free | Email, autoresponders, landing pages, CRM | 250 contacts |
| Omnisend Free | Ecommerce email and web push | 250 contacts, 500 emails/month |
| HubSpot Free | Free marketing, sales, service and content tools | 2 users |
Our $0 stack: Zoho CRM Free for your sales team plus Brevo Free for newsletters. That covers 3 sales users and basic email marketing without a subscription. Our best free CRM guide compares more options.
Hidden Costs to Check Before You Switch
- Onboarding fees. HubSpot charges a required $3,000 (Marketing Hub Pro) or $1,500 (Sales Hub Pro) on top of the subscription.
- Contact-based pricing. ActiveCampaign, Omnisend, Drip and Ontraport all get more expensive as your list grows.
- Add-ons. Pipedrive (LeadBooster, Campaigns), Freshsales (Freddy AI, branded documents) and Ontraport (inbox, SSO) charge extra for key features.
- Seat bundles and extra users. monday CRM sells seats in bundles; Ontraport charges $49/month per extra user.
- Long contracts and minimums. Creatio requires $10,000/year and a 3-year term for new customers; Salesforce Pro Suite needs an annual contract.
- Promo prices. HubSpot’s $7 Starter offer and EngageBay’s 2-year prices are the lowest you’ll pay, not the long-term price.
How to Switch From HubSpot Without Losing Data
Switching is easier than most people fear, if you plan it. Use this checklist:
- Export your records. Contacts, companies, deals and tickets can be exported from HubSpot as CSV files.
- List your automations. Workflows, sequences and lead scoring don’t transfer. Screenshot each one so you can rebuild it.
- Save your assets. Download email templates, forms and landing page copy before you cancel.
- Map your fields. Match HubSpot properties to fields in the new tool before importing, or data lands in the wrong place.
- Swap tracking codes and forms on your website so new leads go to the new CRM.
- Run both tools in parallel for a week or two before you cancel HubSpot.
Some vendors will do much of this for you. EngageBay advertises free migration from any platform, and Omnisend offers a free 5-day migration.
Other Tools We Considered
- Reevo — ranks itself #1 in its own HubSpot alternatives article. We’d wait for broader independent reviews.
- Wishpond — its pricing page now redirects to a demo booking, so we couldn’t verify current prices.
- Mailchimp — a strong email tool, but its CRM features are lighter than the tools above. See our Mailchimp review.
- Salesflare, Insightly and Copper — solid niche CRMs (Copper is built around Google Workspace) that didn’t beat the picks above on price or breadth for most small teams.
Should You Switch From HubSpot at All?
- You’re facing the jump to a Professional plan
- You only use one hub (sales or marketing)
- Your contact list is growing faster than your revenue
- You run an ecommerce store or a course business
- Your team is small and price matters more than polish
- The free CRM or Starter still covers your needs
- You use marketing, sales and service together every day
- Ease of use for a non-technical team matters most
- You’ve already paid onboarding and built many workflows
- You rely on HubSpot-only integrations
Final Verdict: The Best HubSpot Alternative in 2026
For most small businesses, Zoho CRM is the best HubSpot alternative. It’s a full CRM with a free plan and fair pricing as you grow. Its Capterra rating (4.3) is a little lower than Pipedrive’s or Freshsales’ (4.5), so we picked it on free plan, price and fit for someone leaving HubSpot, not on rating alone.
If you mainly use HubSpot for deals, Pipedrive is the better fit. If you mainly use it for email automation, ActiveCampaign does that for a fraction of Marketing Hub’s price. And if you want everything in one app on a budget, try EngageBay.
- Choose Zoho CRM for the best all-round CRM value.
- Choose Pipedrive if your team lives in the sales pipeline.
- Choose ActiveCampaign to replace Marketing Hub.
- Choose Brevo for cheap email marketing with a free plan.
- Choose EngageBay for a budget all-in-one suite.
- Choose Omnisend if you run an online store.
- Stay on HubSpot if Free or Starter still covers you.
Whichever you pick, start with a free plan or trial and import a small batch of real contacts first. Comparing more CRMs? Our best CRM tools for small businesses guide goes wider, and What is CRM software? covers the basics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best alternative to HubSpot?
For most small businesses, Zoho CRM. It’s free for 3 users and paid plans start at $14/user/month. Pipedrive is better for pure sales pipelines, and ActiveCampaign is better for marketing automation.
Is there a free alternative to HubSpot?
Yes. Zoho CRM Free (3 users), Bigin Free (1 user), Brevo Free (email marketing), EngageBay Free (250 contacts) and Omnisend Free (ecommerce) all cost $0.
Why is HubSpot so expensive?
Mainly at the Professional level. Marketing Hub Professional starts at $800/month plus a required $3,000 onboarding fee, and pricing grows with marketing contacts. Starter is affordable at $20/seat/month.
What is cheaper than HubSpot but similar?
EngageBay is the closest all-in-one match, from $12.74/user/month on 2-year billing, with a free plan. Zoho CRM is the closest CRM match.
Is Pipedrive better than HubSpot?
For sales pipelines, often yes, and it’s cheaper at scale. For marketing, no — HubSpot’s marketing tools are far broader than Pipedrive’s Campaigns add-on.
Is Zoho CRM better than HubSpot?
Zoho is cheaper and more customisable. HubSpot is easier to learn and its free plan is more polished. Teams that need advanced features on a budget usually prefer Zoho.
What is the best HubSpot alternative for marketing?
ActiveCampaign for automation depth, Brevo for low cost, and GetResponse if you also need funnels and landing pages.
What is the best HubSpot alternative for ecommerce?
Omnisend for most Shopify and WooCommerce stores, thanks to its free plan and ready-made flows. Drip suits stores that want deeper segmentation.
Can I export my data from HubSpot?
Yes. Contacts, companies, deals and tickets export as CSV files. Workflows and sequences don’t transfer, so document them before you switch.
Does HubSpot charge an onboarding fee?
On Professional and Enterprise plans, yes. HubSpot’s pricing page lists a required one-time fee of $3,000 for Marketing Hub Professional and $1,500 for Sales Hub Professional (checked 1 October 2026).
