Our verdict · 8.8/10 Excellent
The easiest CRM to adopt for teams that also care about inbound marketing. Start free, but budget carefully: the jump to Professional tiers is steep and is where most of the automation lives.
Key takeaways
- Best for: Small teams wanting a free CRM that is easy to adopt.
- Strongest area: Integrations & ecosystem (9.4/10). Weakest: Value for money (8.0/10).
- Price: Free; paid seats from around $15–20 / month — free plan available.
- Watch out for: Steep price increase at Professional tier.
What is HubSpot CRM?
HubSpot's free CRM covers contacts, companies, deals, email tracking and a shared inbox with no time limit, which makes it the default starting point for many small teams. Paid Sales, Marketing and Service Hubs add automation, sequences, forecasting and reporting, with a modular structure that lets you buy only the hubs you need.
HubSpot CRM is made by HubSpot and is reviewed here as a CRM. It is priced on a freemium basis, and our editorial score is 8.8 out of 10, calculated from six weighted criteria.
Who it’s for — and who should skip it
Choose HubSpot CRM if
- Small teams wanting a free CRM that is easy to adopt
- Businesses combining sales with inbound marketing
- Companies that want one vendor for marketing, sales and service
Not for you if
- Teams that need advanced automation on a tight budget
- Highly customised enterprise sales processes
Key features
Visual pipelines with customisable stages and deal properties.
Track opens and clicks from Gmail or Outlook and reuse templates.
Route conversations from email and chat to the right owner.
Automated follow-ups and workflows on paid tiers.
- Gmail
- Outlook
- Slack
- Zoom
- QuickBooks
- Shopify
- Zapier
Pros & cons
What we like
- Generous free plan with unlimited users
- Clean, intuitive interface with fast onboarding
- Large app marketplace and native integrations
- Marketing, sales and service share one database
Watch out for
- Steep price increase at Professional tier
- Many reporting and automation features are paid
- Contact-based marketing pricing can climb quickly
Pricing & true cost
| Plan | Indicative price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | — |
| Starter | ≈ $15 / user / mo | Per seat, billed annually |
| Professional | ≈ $90 / user / mo | Per seat; onboarding fee may apply |
| Enterprise | ≈ $150 / user / mo | Per seat, annual |
Pricing watch-out: Professional tiers cost substantially more and may include onboarding fees.
True cost at 5, 10 and 25 seats
Cheapest paid plan that fits each team size, from indicative list prices checked October 30, 2026. Excludes tax, add-ons, onboarding fees and promotional discounts.
Pricing watch-outs
- Steep tier jump. Moving from Starter to Professional raises the per-user price from $15 to $90 (6.0×). Check which features force the upgrade.
Contract questions to ask before you sign
- Does the plan auto-renew, and how many days’ notice do you need to cancel?
- Is the advertised price for annual billing? What is the month-to-month price?
- Is the first-year price a promotion? What will renewal cost, and is it capped?
- Is there a minimum number of seats, or a charge for inactive users?
- Are onboarding, implementation or premium-support fees extra?
- How do we export all our data if we leave, and in what format?
General questions for any vendor — not findings about this product. Build a full checklist with our requirements builder.
Indicative USD pricing, last checked October 30, 2026. Vendors change prices and promotions often — always confirm on their website. Model your own numbers with our SaaS TCO calculator.
Score breakdown
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Features & fit | 25% | 9.0 | 2.30 | |
| Ease of use | 20% | 9.3 | 1.90 | |
| Value for money | 20% | 8.0 | 1.60 | |
| Support & reliability | 10% | 8.6 | 0.90 | |
| Security & privacy | 10% | 8.4 | 0.80 | |
| Integrations & ecosystem | 15% | 9.4 | 1.40 | |
| Overall | 100% | Weighted for business software products | 8.8 | |
Security & compliance facts
| Item | Status | Question to ask HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-factor authenticationStops most account takeovers from reused or phished passwords. | Not verified by us | Can admins enforce MFA for every user, on every plan? |
| Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC)Lets you remove a leaver’s access everywhere from one place. | Not verified by us | Is SSO included on the plan we are buying, or only on enterprise tiers? |
| SOC 2 Type II reportIndependent audit of the vendor’s security controls — often required by larger customers. | Not verified by us | Can we see your current SOC 2 Type II report (under NDA if needed)? |
| ISO/IEC 27001 certificationInternational standard for running an information-security programme. | Not verified by us | Which legal entity and services does your ISO 27001 certificate cover? |
| GDPR data processing agreementNeeded if you handle personal data of people in the EU/UK. | Not verified by us | Do you offer a signed DPA and list your sub-processors? |
| HIPAA business associate agreementRequired before US healthcare businesses store protected health information. | Not verified by us | Will you sign a BAA, and on which plans? |
We have not yet verified these items for HubSpot CRM against a primary source, so we don’t claim them either way. Check HubSpot’s trust or security page and ask for documents in writing.
Before you buy any CRM
Check HubSpot CRM against the same list we use for every CRM — and confirm each point on the plan you intend to buy, not the top tier.
- Two-way email and calendar sync
- Pipeline view that matches your sales stages
- Automation available on the tier you can afford
- Reporting your managers will actually use
- Clean data export if you ever leave
See every ranked option in CRM Software.
HubSpot CRM alternatives
Pick an alternative by what matters to you
- Cheaper
Copper≈ $90/mo vs $150/mo at 10 users (cheapest paid plans, indicative) - Stronger on securitySSSalesforce Sales CloudSecurity & privacy score 9.0 vs 8.4
Computed from our published scores and indicative pricing for tools in the same category as HubSpot CRM. Scores are editorial; see the methodology.
Editor’s picks
Feature-rich CRM at a price point that is hard to beat, especially inside the Zoho suite.
A sales-first CRM built around the pipeline, loved by small sales teams.
The most configurable CRM on the market, built to scale to the largest sales organisations.
Head-to-head comparisons
vs
HubSpot CRM vs Zoho CRM8.8 · 8.5vsSSHubSpot CRM vs Salesforce8.8 · 8.4vs
HubSpot CRM vs Pipedrive8.8 · 8.4Featured in: Best CRM Software for Small Business, Best Free CRM Software, HubSpot vs Salesforce vs Zoho vs Pipedrive
Review history
- Scored under methodology v2.0 (six weighted criteria, computed overall score).
HubSpot CRM FAQ
Is HubSpot CRM really free?
Yes. The core CRM is free with unlimited users, though advanced features such as sequences, workflows and custom reporting require paid Hubs.
Does HubSpot CRM have a free plan?
Yes. HubSpot CRM offers a free plan. Paid plans start at paid seats from around $15–20 / month (indicative — check the vendor for current pricing).
Who is HubSpot CRM best for?
HubSpot CRM is best for: small teams wanting a free CRM that is easy to adopt; businesses combining sales with inbound marketing; companies that want one vendor for marketing, sales and service.
How much does HubSpot CRM cost for a team of 10?
On indicative list prices, the cheapest paid plan that fits 10 users (Starter) works out at roughly $150 per month, or about $1,800 per year, before tax, add-ons and discounts.
How is the HubSpot CRM score calculated?
The 8.8/10 overall score is a weighted average of six sub-scores — features & fit, ease of use, value, support & reliability, security & privacy, and integrations — using the published weights for software products. Affiliate relationships have no input. See our methodology page for the full rubric.
What are the best alternatives to HubSpot CRM?
Popular alternatives include Zoho CRM, Pipedrive, Salesforce Sales Cloud. See our comparisons for side-by-side verdicts.