Nexa Lab Blog – If you are looking for customer relationship management software, then HubSpot and Salesforce would be the two that will pop up in your mind. Learn more about how HubSpot CRM vs Salesforce is to help you choosing the right CRM software for your business.
These softwares become well-known due to various reasons, like their powerful features, ease of use interface, and strong integration capabilities.
But when you need to choose one between both, which one is better?
While HubSpot is known for its user-friendliness and focusing on inbound marketing, Salesforce has broad customisation options and is very scalable.
Today we’re going to do a comparison of HubSpot vs. Salesforce.
We aren’t going to talk about which one is better but rather describe their strengths and weaknesses against those two pieces of software.
By the end of this article, we hope you can choose CRM software between these two giants that will suit your needs.
Let’s get to it.
Overview of HubSpot CRM and Salesforce
HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM is a comprehensive customer relationship management platform designed to help businesses attract, engage, and delight customers.
It offers a wide range of features and tools that cater to various aspects of your business, including marketing, sales, and customer service.
HubSpot CRM is known for its user-friendly interface and seamless integration with other HubSpot products.
The platform provides a centralized database for storing and managing customer information, allowing you to track interactions, monitor deal progress, and analyse performance metrics.
HubSpot CRM emphasises ease of use and automation, making it an attractive option for small to medium-sized businesses and those new to CRM systems.
One of the key strengths of HubSpot CRM is its inbound marketing focus.
The platform offers robust tools for content creation, search engine optimisation, and social media management. These features enable you to attract potential customers organically and nurture leads through the sales funnel effectively.
More in Nexalab’s blog: HubSpot CRM Review: The All-in-One Solution for Business Growth
Salesforce
Salesforce is a powerful and highly customisable CRM platform that caters to businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.
It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing customer relationships, sales processes, and marketing campaigns. Salesforce is renowned for its scalability and extensive ecosystem of third-party applications and integrations.
The platform provides a 360-degree view of your customers, allowing you to track interactions across multiple touchpoints and channels.
Salesforce offers advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, enabling you to gain valuable insights into your business performance and make data-driven decisions.
One of the standout features of Salesforce is its AppExchange marketplace, which offers thousands of pre-built applications and integrations. This extensive ecosystem allows you to extend the functionality of the platform and tailor it to your specific business needs.
Features Comparison
When comparing HubSpot CRM and Salesforce, it’s essential to consider the features each platform offers. Both CRM systems provide a wide range of tools to help you manage customer relationships and streamline your sales processes.
HubSpot CRM offers a comprehensive set of features, including contact and company management, deal tracking, task management, and email integration. The platform also provides powerful marketing automation tools, allowing you to create and manage email campaigns, landing pages, and forms. HubSpot CRM’s free version includes many essential features, making it an attractive option for small businesses and startups.
Salesforce, on the other hand, offers a more extensive and customisable feature set. The platform provides advanced sales forecasting, territory management, and opportunity tracking capabilities. Salesforce also offers robust marketing automation tools through its Marketing Cloud product. The platform’s AI-powered Einstein Analytics provides intelligent insights and predictions to help you make informed decisions.
Both HubSpot CRM and Salesforce offer mobile apps, allowing you to access your CRM data on the go. However, Salesforce’s mobile app is generally considered more feature-rich and customisable.
In terms of reporting and analytics, both platforms offer comprehensive tools. HubSpot CRM provides intuitive dashboards and reports, while Salesforce offers more advanced analytics capabilities, especially with its Einstein Analytics add-on.
Pricing and Plans
When considering a CRM platform, pricing is often a crucial factor in the decision-making process.
HubSpot CRM and Salesforce have different pricing structures, which may impact your choice depending on your business size and needs.
Here are HubSpot pricing plans according to the HubSpot official website.
- Free: Basic CRM features, ideal for small businesses
- Starter ($15/month/seat): Adds more marketing and sales features
- Professional ($800/month + 3 seats): Advanced features for growing businesses
- Enterprise ($3,000/month + 5 seats): Full suite of features for large organisations
On the other side, Salesforce’s pricing is quite complicated and complex.
According to the Salesforce official site, there are 4 groups of software with different use cases: small business software, sales cloud software, service cloud software, and marketing cloud software.
Each group has their own pricing. But, in general, it was divided into this tier:
- Essentials ($25/user/month): Basic CRM for up to 10 users
- Professional ($75/user/month): Complete CRM for any size team
- Enterprise ($150/user/month): Deeply customisable CRM for large businesses
- Unlimited ($300/user/month): Unlimited CRM power and support
When comparing pricing, it’s essential to consider the total cost of ownership, including potential implementation and customisation costs, as well as any additional features or integrations you may need.
User Interface and Ease of Use
The user interface and overall ease of use of a CRM platform can significantly impact user adoption and productivity.
Both HubSpot CRM and Salesforce have their strengths in this area, but they cater to different user preferences.
HubSpot CRM is known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface.
The platform’s design focuses on simplicity and ease of navigation, making it accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.
HubSpot CRM’s dashboard provides a clear overview of your sales pipeline, contacts, and tasks. The platform’s drag-and-drop functionality for managing deals and contacts contributes to its ease of use.
Salesforce, while powerful and feature-rich, has a steeper learning curve compared to HubSpot CRM.
The platform’s interface is more complex due to its extensive customisation options and advanced features.
However, Salesforce has made efforts to improve its user experience in recent years, introducing the Lightning Experience interface, which offers a more modern and intuitive design.
Both platforms provide extensive documentation, tutorials, and customer support to help users navigate their systems.
HubSpot offers a comprehensive knowledge base and free online courses through HubSpot Academy. Salesforce provides similar resources through its Trailhead learning platform.
Integration Capabilities
The ability to integrate your CRM with other tools and systems can be important.
Both HubSpot CRM and Salesforce offer extensive integration capabilities, but they approach this aspect differently.
HubSpot CRM provides seamless integration with other HubSpot products, such as Marketing Hub and Service Hub.
This tight integration allows for a smooth flow of data between different aspects of your business. HubSpot also offers a growing marketplace of third-party integrations, including popular tools like Gmail, Outlook, Slack, and various accounting software.
Salesforce, known for its robust ecosystem, offers an unparalleled range of integration options through its AppExchange marketplace.
With thousands of pre-built applications and integrations available, you can extend Salesforce’s functionality to meet almost any business need. The platform also provides powerful APIs for custom integrations.
Both platforms offer native integrations with popular business tools and allow for custom integrations through their respective APIs.
The API availability makes it easy if you want to do custom integration with your software stack, like professional service automation software, for example.
It’s important to note that the integration process might be technical if you decide to use an API and do custom integration. But you don’t need to worry about that since you can always consult with an integration expert like Nexalab.
More in Nexalab’s blog: What is a CRM system, How Does it Enhance Customer Relationships, and How Can it be Integrated?
Conclusion
Choosing between HubSpot CRM vs Salesforce depends on your specific business needs, budget, and technical resources.
HubSpot CRM offers a user-friendly interface, a generous free plan, and strong inbound marketing capabilities, making it an excellent choice for small to medium-sized businesses or those new to CRM systems.
Salesforce, on the other hand, offers unparalleled customisation options, advanced features, and a vast ecosystem of integrations. It’s well-suited for larger enterprises or businesses with complex sales processes that require extensive customisation.
Investing in CRM software like HubSpot or Salesforce is a smart move for any business looking to improve sales, marketing, and customer service.
But to get the most out of your CRM, it needs to work with your other tools.
Nexalab’s App Integration Services can help you integrate HubSpot or Salesforce CRM with other essential platforms, like PSA software, for example. This means you get a complete view of your customer data, automate repetitive tasks, and personalise your customer interactions. It’s a solution that helps you get the most out of your CRM investment. Contact Nexalab today to explore how App Fusion can drive your business forward.
