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CRM

HubSpot

The ultimate all-in-one platform with excellent free CRM, Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, and Service Hub in an integrated ecosystem. Native integration between hubs is a real differentiator. Beware, pricing explodes quickly on advanced features.

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Who's it for?SalesMarketerOpsFounder

Review by a Growth Engineer

My verdict: the mastodon of CRM/Marketing automation.

HubSpot is the ultimate all-in-one platform. The free CRM is generous, but prepare your budget if you want advanced features. The vendor lock-in effect is real: once in, it's complicated to get out.

What I like less: pricing that explodes as soon as you want the good features. The rigidity of certain workflows (HubSpot has its way of doing things). And the "vendor lock-in" effect: once in, it's complicated to get out.

My advice: start with the free CRM to test. If you're an early-stage startup, stay on free as long as possible and use specialized tools alongside. Only move to paid hubs when you really have the budget AND the integration need. Otherwise, alternatives like Pipedrive (CRM) + Lemlist (outreach) + Brevo (marketing) can do the job for less.

Why add it to your stack?

When you have the budget, HubSpot becomes the nerve center of all your marketing and sales operations. Native integration between hubs is a real differentiator vs stacks of separate tools. Everything communicates without friction.

What you can do with it

  • 1Align marketing and sales with lead scoring, automated handoff, and shared visibility on the customer journey
  • 2Automate nurturing with workflows natively connected to the CRM
  • 3Manage email sequences, tracking, templates, and pipeline from a single platform
  • 4Create cross-functional dashboards to see marketing impact through to closing

What it does

  • Free CRM with unlimited contacts
  • Marketing Hub (email, landing pages, SEO, automation)
  • Sales Hub (sequences, tracking, pipeline)
  • Service Hub (customer support, ticketing)
  • Massive integration ecosystem

How much?

Starting at 0

Very generous free CRM. Paid hubs starting at 45 euros/month, but advanced features start at 800+ euros/month.

The detailed verdict

Do I really need this?

For teams that truly adopt it, it becomes the center of everything. Hard to get out once you're in (vendor lock-in effect). That's both its strength and weakness — you become dependent.

Does it play nice with my stack?

That's THE strength of HubSpot: the app ecosystem is immense (1000+ integrations), and native integration between hubs is smooth. Everything talks to each other.

Is it easy to pick up?

Relatively easy to get started with basic functions. Advanced features (complex workflows, custom reporting) require learning or a dedicated admin. Expect training time.

Is the UX any good?

The interface is clean and consistent across all hubs. Not the most modern on the market, but efficient and well organized. You find your way after a few hours of exploration.

Is it worth it?

The free CRM is excellent and sufficient to start. But as soon as you want advanced features (serious marketing automation, custom reporting), it easily explodes to 1000+ euros/month for a team. Value for money degrades quickly and you find yourself trapped.

What I like

  • Perfect for scale-ups and companies that want to centralize everything
  • Ideal for aligning marketing and sales teams
  • Massive integration ecosystem and cross-functional reporting are unbeatable

What I like less

  • Becomes VERY expensive for startups with tight budgets once advanced features are activated
  • Quite rigid for those who want flexibility
  • Overkill if you just need a simple CRM

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