HubSpot CRM and Sales Hub. What is the difference?

Looking for a professional CRM that will allow you to manage your database more efficiently? Or perhaps you're already at a stage where CRM is the starting point for improving sales efficiency? HubSpot CRM is the space worth starting from, incorporating an additional engine in the form of Sales Hub at the right moment.

HubSpot CRM – the core you get for free

HubSpot CRM is the command center from which all HubSpot Hubs draw information. It stores information about contacts, companies, and transactions. However, it goes beyond that: HubSpot CRM provides integration with marketing, customer service, and business operations, allowing you to operate multidirectionally. I am convinced that anyone who needs to master the abundance of data and distribute them appropriately within the company will appreciate the practical dimension of this CRM.

HubSpot CRM offers a range of extensive features available in different packages. However, many of these features are already offered for free at the basic level. Some of the free features include:

• Contact management
• (limited) ad management
• Integrations with App Marketplace
• Storing company details and communication related to the company
• Activity on contact websites (knowledge of what customers do on your website)
• Transactions (storing, tracking, managing, and reporting on transactions/opportunities)
• Email message templates (creating, tracking, sharing, and reporting)
• Email message tracking and notifications (limited to 200 notifications per month)
• Forms
• Integration with Gmail and Outlook
• HubSpot mobile app
• Meeting scheduling
• Integration with Messenger

In addition to these, in the basic package, you also get a set of free HubSpot Hubs features, such as:

• Conversational bots
• Email marketing
• Landing pages (limited to 20 simple landing pages with the HubSpot logo)
• List segmentation
• Live chat
• Mobile optimization
• Quotes (without connection to the product library, electronic signature, payment integration)
• Team email (connecting the entire team's email with the conversation inbox)
• Reports on closed tickets and time remaining to close them

How does this model work?

There is no catch here. By using HubSpot CRM, you can add up to 1,000,000 contacts and invite any number of users. HubSpot will, of course, encourage you to upgrade to the paid version, but if you don't, nothing will happen. It's not about burning your budget but adapting a specific version to your needs and capabilities.

You can stay on the free version for as long as you want and as long as it works for you. In this basic version, support, considering HubSpot's capabilities, is quite limited, prompting many customers to move up a level. However, if it works for you, there's no reason to force additional investments. Only you know if you have additional needs. I can help you find a solution in HubSpot that meets those needs.

A huge advantage of the entire model is that HubSpot allows combining free CRM users with those on paid versions. Not all your colleagues need to have a paid license if you want to upgrade to Sales Hub or Service Hub. In this case, everyone gets access to the mentioned tools, and paid users gain the ability to use additional features through the upgrade. Here, you genuinely manage IT resources and tools by upgrading where it's genuinely needed.

How does the transition between HubSpot CRM and HubSpot Sales Hub look like? HubSpot Sales Hub is designed as a natural development path for individual customers and sales teams using the free CRM. It is a solution that allows gaining key functionalities to engage customers more effectively and close deals. Here too, the first level is free. The variety of packages allows you to scale HubSpot Sales Hub according to your needs.

When is it worth upgrading to HubSpot Sales Hub?

There's no room for theorizing here. There are specific needs that you must address. They are the best indicator that it's time to consider an upgrade.

If you:

• Strongly focus on increasing revenue, improving sales efficiency, and closing ratios
• Need additional sales pipelines
• Want to build and optimize your sales engine using documents, templates, electronic signatures, sales automation, and lead rotation
• Need more flexibility to customize HubSpot to your needs (multiple currencies, custom reports, etc.)
• Are transitioning from another paid CRM, such as SFDC or similar

then HubSpot Sales Hub is the solution for you. The Starter level gives you increased limits, access to HubSpot support, and simple automation. At the Professional level, the key tools are sales automation and the portal, and the limits are either lifted or significantly increased. Finally, Sales Hub Enterprise offers enterprise-class roles and permissions, SSO, and custom objects. I will tell you more about each package in subsequent blog posts.

What features do free users receive compared to paid users?

There is no need for the entire company to use a paid license in the case of an upgrade. Generally, only sales representatives need to have a paid subscription. If you're not in a role where you're working on transactions and closing deals, having the privileges of a free user should usually be sufficient (just make sure you've set the right user permissions). You can still create workflows, reports, or review transactions, etc.

HubSpot CRM: Summary HubSpot offers a great set of tools for a wide range of companies. The emphasis here is on continually expanding capabilities, and the seamless connection of sales, customer service, and marketing in one view makes HubSpot CRM a tool that should be on the radar of most companies looking to invest in a new CRM. An additional advantage is the ability to smoothly transition to HubSpot Sales Hub, whose plans offer a range of new possibilities to increase potential in customer engagement and deal closure. You can check the HubSpot pricing table for the most up-to-date information on available features.

Going through all the features on your own can be a bit overwhelming, so we would be happy to guide you through them if you need. If you don't want to limit yourself to theory but see how your HubSpot could look like, schedule a 30-minute demo with us, during which we will show you the features that interest you.