HubSpot alternative
CubeCRM compared with HubSpot
HubSpot is excellent at marketing. Whether you need to pay for that is the question.
- HubSpot, Inc.
- All-in-one suites
- 01234 672 617
What HubSpot actually is
HubSpot began as an inbound marketing platform and grew into a full CRM suite.
Its free CRM tools are useful, and paid capability is sold as separate hubs - Marketing, Sales, Service and others - each in Starter, Professional and Enterprise tiers, priced by seat and, for marketing, by the number of marketing contacts. It is polished, well documented and has a large app marketplace. For a business whose growth depends on content, inbound marketing and automated nurturing at scale, it is one of the strongest choices available. The conversations we have about it are usually with sales-led businesses whose costs rose as they moved up tiers or added contacts, and who mainly needed a well-run pipeline.
Credit where it is due
What HubSpot does well
These are the real reasons it has the customers it has. If two or more of them describe something you need, weight them heavily.
Market-leading inbound marketing: landing pages, forms, content and automated nurturing in one place.
Free CRM tools that let very small teams start without spending anything.
A polished, approachable interface and a large library of training material.
A big marketplace of integrations and a large community of agencies who know it well.
Side by side
The differences that actually change the decision
Not a feature checklist. These are the structural differences - licensing, scope, who implements it - that determine whether a system fits, and they are the ones nobody tells you until month four.
- Where it startsHubSpotInbound marketing, extended into sales and serviceCubeCRMThe customer record and the sales process, with marketing through Mailchimp
- Tiers and modulesHubSpotSeparate hubs, each in Starter, Professional and Enterprise tiersCubeCRMOne edition. All 12 modules included
- Pricing shapeHubSpotPer seat by hub and tier, plus marketing contact tiers; free tools availableCubeCRMPer named user, everything included, plus a fixed-price setup
- Bulk emailHubSpotBuilt into Marketing HubCubeCRMIntegrated with Mailchimp rather than built in
- HostingHubSpotUS or EU data centresCubeCRMUK data centres managed by the group
- Room to growHubSpotMore hubs and higher tiersCubeCRMUpgrade to CubeERP for orders, stock and operations on the same records
Based on information published by the vendor. Last reviewed 2026-09-24. Check current details with HubSpot, Inc. directly before making a decision.
Worth checking
Questions to put to them before you sign
None of these are faults. They are design decisions with consequences, and every one of them is answerable - so ask.
Tiers and hubs multiply
Many useful sales features sit in Professional tiers rather than Starter, and each hub is priced separately. Work out every hub and tier you would need in a year, as well as the one you start on.
Marketing contacts affect cost
Marketing Hub pricing depends on how many marketing contacts you hold, so a growing database can change the bill. Check how contacts are counted before importing a large list.
Onboarding for higher tiers
Some higher tiers carry a required onboarding fee. Ask whether your chosen configuration does.
Hosting location
HubSpot offers data hosting in the US and EU. If UK hosting matters to your customers or tenders, confirm what is available for your account.
If your growth depends on inbound marketing - content, landing pages, automated nurturing and marketing attribution at scale - HubSpot is very likely the better choice, and we would say so. It is also a sensible starting point for a very small team happy to live within the free tools.
If you do move
What leaving HubSpot actually involves
- 1
Export is straightforward
Contacts, companies, deals, notes and activities can be exported from HubSpot and imported into CubeCRM with properties mapped to fields.
- 2
Decide where marketing lives
If you rely on HubSpot for email campaigns and landing pages, plan where those will run - often Mailchimp and your website - before switching.
- 3
Forms need repointing
Website forms built in HubSpot need replacing or repointing at CubeCRM so enquiries keep flowing on the day you switch.
Questions
What people ask when comparing us with HubSpot
It depends on which hubs, tiers and contact levels you would need. For a sales-led team that needs a Professional-level pipeline and quoting, CubeCRM is often simpler and cheaper. For a team happy with free tools, HubSpot may cost less. Compare the full configuration over three years.
CubeCRM handles segmentation, lead scoring, reminders and campaign tracking, and sends bulk email through Mailchimp. It is not an inbound marketing suite, and if that is what you need, HubSpot is the stronger choice.
It is possible through the API, but two customer databases tend to drift apart. We would normally suggest choosing one system of record.
For a typical small or mid-sized team, a matter of weeks - most of it spent deciding what to bring across and where marketing will run.
Relevant to this comparison
The parts of the platform people are usually weighing up
CRM Software
Contacts, enquiries, pipeline, quotes, follow-ups and service in one shared customer record - built in the UK for growing businesses.
Lead Management Software
Capture, qualify, assign and nurture leads in one place, so sales spends its time on the prospects most likely to buy.
Small Business CRM
A CRM a small team can set up in weeks and actually keep up to date - contacts, enquiries, quotes and follow-ups without the enterprise baggage.
Enquiry Management Software
Every enquiry from the website, email and phone in one queue - assigned, answered and tracked through to a quote, so none of them go cold in a shared mailbox.
Also on the shortlist
Other comparisons people read alongside this one
- Zoho CRM alternativeA broad, highly configurable CRM in several per-user editions, part of a very large suite of Zoho business applications.
- Pipedrive alternativeA pipeline-first CRM loved by sales teams for its visual deal board, sold in per-user tiers with further tools on higher plans or as add-ons.
- Freshsales alternativeFreshworks’ sales CRM, sold in per-user tiers, with built-in phone and email features and links to the wider Freshworks family including Freshdesk.
HubSpot is a trade mark of HubSpot, Inc.. Cube Systems Limited is not affiliated with, endorsed by or a partner of HubSpot, Inc.. This comparison is based on information published by the vendor and was last reviewed on 2026-09-24. Product capabilities and pricing change - verify current details with the vendor before making any decision. If you believe anything here is inaccurate, contact us at hello@cubecrm.co.uk and we will correct it.
HubSpot
Get a straight answer before you commit to either
Tell us what you run now and what is not working. If HubSpot is the better fit we will tell you on the call.
