Choosing the right CRM can make or break your sales and marketing efforts. With so many options available, deciding between Freshsales and HubSpot can feel overwhelming—especially when both promise to streamline your workflow and boost productivity.
This question matters because the right platform saves you time, money, and headaches down the road. In this article, you’ll discover a clear comparison of Freshsales vs HubSpot, including features, pricing, and which is best for your unique needs.
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Freshsales vs HubSpot: Which CRM Is Right for Your Business?
When it comes to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, two names often rise to the top: Freshsales and HubSpot. Each platform offers powerful tools designed to help businesses nurture leads, retain clients, and streamline sales operations. However, they approach CRM in different ways and cater to varying business needs.
In this article, we’ll break down Freshsales and HubSpot side by side—exploring their core features, unique advantages, potential challenges, pricing insights, and practical tips for making the best choice for your team.
Understanding Freshsales and HubSpot
What is Freshsales?
Freshsales is part of the Freshworks product suite. It’s an all-in-one CRM solution focused on helping small to midsize businesses automate sales processes, manage customer data, and close deals faster. Its user-friendly interface and straightforward setup are points of pride, making it a favorite among fast-growing teams.
What is HubSpot?
HubSpot Sales Hub is one portion of the broader HubSpot ecosystem, which also includes marketing, service, and content management. HubSpot’s CRM is famous for its intuitive design and free entry-level plan, with the ability to expand into powerful automation, analytics, and customization capabilities as businesses grow.
Freshsales vs HubSpot: Side-By-Side Comparison
Let’s compare these platforms across the most important areas for any business owner or sales manager.
1. Core Features
Freshsales
- Contact management: Automatically captures, organizes, and filters leads.
- 360-degree customer view: Stores all customer interactions, emails, calls, notes, and appointment data.
- Built-in phone dialer: Make and log calls directly from the CRM.
- AI-powered insights: Predictive scoring and deal suggestions using machine learning.
- Workflow automation: Automates repetitive tasks like sending emails or scoring leads.
- Visual sales pipeline: Drag-and-drop interface to manage deals at every stage.
HubSpot
- Contact and deal management: Track and nurture leads within a robust, easy-to-use dashboard.
- Email tracking and templates: Receive live notifications when emails are opened and leverage pre-built templates.
- Meeting scheduler: Book appointments that sync with calendars.
- Pipeline management: Visualize sales stages and set up custom sales funnels.
- Comprehensive reporting: Analyze everything from deal velocity to team performance.
- Ready-made integrations: Connect seamlessly to marketing, CMS, and customer service tools.
2. User Experience
- Freshsales delivers a modern, minimalistic interface. New users can get set up quickly with little training.
- HubSpot is known for its attractive, clean dashboard and offers interactive walkthroughs for beginners.
3. Automation & Artificial Intelligence
- Freshsales stands out for built-in AI called “Freddy”, which provides deal insights, next-best actions, and predictive lead scoring.
- HubSpot uses automation as a core feature. While not AI in the strictest sense, its robust workflows let you automate emails, task creation, lead rotations, and much more.
4. Customization
- Freshsales allows you to customize sales pipelines, fields, and workflows, but is designed to “just work” out of the box.
- HubSpot offers deeper customization—especially in paid tiers—enabling the creation of custom properties, automations, and even apps.
5. Integration
- Freshsales connects with core business apps (Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Zapier, etc.), but its app marketplace is smaller.
- HubSpot boasts a vast marketplace of integrations and works especially well if you use multiple HubSpot products (email marketing, landing pages, support, etc.).
6. Analytics & Reporting
- Freshsales provides actionable reports but with a focus on sales operations.
- HubSpot takes the lead here, especially at higher tiers, with advanced dashboards, forecasting, and cross-module analytics.
7. Pricing and Value
- Freshsales: Offers a free plan with essential CRM features. Paid tiers are affordable and scale up with advanced automation, analytics, and telephony.
- HubSpot: Provides a forever-free CRM with deal tracking, contacts, and basic tools. Paid Sales Hub plans offer more customization and automation but can get pricey as you add more users or advanced features.
Benefits of Choosing Freshsales
- Quick setup and an intuitive interface make it easy for teams to adopt.
- Built-in calling and email features reduce the need for extra tools.
- AI-driven insights help prioritize leads and opportunities that are most likely to close.
- Affordable scaling: You get solid functionality without a high price tag.
- Suitable for companies wanting straightforward, sales-centric automation.
Benefits of Choosing HubSpot
- Broad, all-in-one solution that can cover sales, marketing, and support in one.
- Exceptionally user-friendly; even non-tech users feel comfortable.
- Extensive onboarding materials and training resources.
- Robust free version, making it risk-free to start.
- Deep integration ecosystem—works especially well for teams looking to connect with other business systems.
- Flexible as your business grows; add more ‘hubs’ as your needs evolve.
Potential Challenges
With Freshsales
- Fewer integrations than HubSpot, which may affect teams with complex tech stacks.
- Advanced reporting and analytics may require a higher-tier plan.
- AI features, while helpful, are still maturing compared to competitors.
With HubSpot
- Paid plans can become expensive, especially as you need more users or advanced automation.
- Some customization and automation features are locked behind higher pricing tiers.
- With so many available tools, new users can feel overwhelmed.
Practical Tips for Choosing Between Freshsales and HubSpot
- Assess Your Needs
- If your primary focus is sales automation and you want to get up and running quickly, Freshsales might be ideal.
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If you’re seeking a scalable CRM that can grow into a comprehensive marketing, sales, and service platform, HubSpot is worth a close look.
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Evaluate Team Size
- Smaller sales-focused teams often prefer Freshsales for its simplicity.
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Larger teams or those needing cross-departmental collaboration find HubSpot’s all-in-one approach appealing.
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Plan for Growth
- Both CRMs offer free plans, so try them with real data before you commit.
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Consider future feature needs—reporting, automation, integrations—so you don’t outgrow your CRM.
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Check Integration Needs
- Do you already use marketing or customer service tools? HubSpot works well if you plan to run all your communication from one place.
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Freshsales integrates with core business tools but might require third-party connectors for niche applications.
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Budget Wisely
- Factor in the true cost of onboarding, upgrades, and add-ons as your business scales.
- Compare the essential features you need at each price tier—not just the cheapest entry-level plan.
Cost Tips and Considerations
- Start free: Both CRMs offer generous free tiers. Begin with the free version to check core functionality, then upgrade only as needs grow.
- Watch for user-based pricing: HubSpot’s cost rises quickly as you add more seats; Freshsales tends to be more budget-friendly for growing sales teams.
- Look for discounts: Both platforms offer annual payment discounts.
- Monitor add-on costs: Email marketing, customer support, and automation may require additional fees, especially with HubSpot.
- Evaluate ROI: The best CRM is the one that pays for itself by boosting sales productivity and closing more deals.
Best Practices for CRM Success
- Train your team: Even the most user-friendly CRM benefits from some onboarding. Familiarize your team through webinars or help centers.
- Automate, but don’t overdo it: Start with automating basic tasks. Review the impact before rolling out complex workflows.
- Keep your data clean: Regularly deduplicate and update contact records for more accurate insights.
- Track key metrics: Use built-in reports to monitor pipeline health, deal velocity, and team performance.
- Revisit regularly: As your business evolves, review your CRM settings and workflows every quarter.
Conclusion
Freshsales and HubSpot are both top-tier CRM platforms, but one may serve your needs better depending on your business size, growth goals, and budget. Freshsales excels for teams wanting sales-focused, intuitive automation at a lower cost, while HubSpot shines as an all-in-one tool that integrates sales, marketing, and service.
Begin by mapping out your team’s priorities, try out the free plans, and don’t be afraid to ask for demos or advice before making your final choice. A good CRM becomes the backbone of your business—choose wisely, implement thoughtfully, and watch your customer relationships thrive.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the primary difference between Freshsales and HubSpot?
The main difference is approach. Freshsales is focused on efficient sales processes with easy-to-use automation and AI. HubSpot offers a broader, modular system that combines sales, marketing, and service features in one ecosystem.
Is HubSpot really free?
Yes, HubSpot offers a free CRM that covers contacts, deals, limited reporting, and basic email capabilities. However, more advanced features, automation, and integrations require paid plans.
Which CRM is better for small businesses?
Both are strong choices. Freshsales is ideal for small teams wanting straightforward sales automation at a low cost. HubSpot is great if you want to start free and potentially expand into marketing or customer support as you grow.
Can Freshsales or HubSpot integrate with my existing business tools?
Both CRMs integrate with popular business tools like email, scheduling, and communication apps. HubSpot has a larger app marketplace and may better accommodate complex integrations, while Freshsales covers the essentials for most sales teams.
What should I do before switching CRMs?
Before switching, outline your goals, export your current data for safekeeping, test both CRMs using their free plans, and involve your team in evaluating workflows and reporting. Don’t rush—choose the platform that fits your long-term needs, not just today’s requirements.
By considering your specific needs and following best practices, you’ll be well-prepared to make the most of whichever CRM you select—whether it’s Freshsales, HubSpot, or another trusted solution.