HubSpot vs Insightly: Which is The Best CRM in 2025?

by | Oct 4, 2024

Winner
Hubspot
4.5
  • Marketing
  • Content
  • Automation
  • Commerce
  • Reporting
  • Free Plan Available
  • Paid Plan Starts at $15
Runner Up
Insightly
3.5
  • Pipeline Management
  • Lead Tracking
  • Workflow Automation
  • Project Management
  • Insightly marketing
  • Free trial available
  • Paid Plan Starts at $29
HubSpot vs Insightly

Picking the right CRM is tough, right?

You’re looking at HubSpot vs Insightly, and it feels like comparing apples to oranges. 

Imagine your sales team struggling with clunky software. 

Don’t stress! This article breaks down HubSpot vs Insightly in simple words. 

We’ll look at the key differences, pricing, and who each CRM is best for. 

Overview

We didn’t just read reviews.

Our team dove deep, testing both HubSpot and Insightly. 

We explored their features, tracked user experience, and analyzed real-world scenarios to provide a practical, hands-on comparison.

Hubspot
4.5out of 5

Ready to grow your business with a powerful all-in-one platform? Get started with HubSpot’s tools today.

Pricing: It has a free plan. The premium plan starts at $15/month.

Key Features:

  • CRM
  • Marketing Automation
  • Analytics & Reporting
Insightly
3.5out of 5

Need a CRM that goes beyond sales with robust project management tools? Insightly’s got you covered.

Pricing:ย It has a free trial. The premium plan starts at $29/month.

Key Features:

  • Project Management
  • Workflow Automation
  • Relationship Linking

What is HubSpot?

Okay, so HubSpot. Think of it as your all-in-one business toolbox.

It helps with sales, marketing, and customer service. Basically, it keeps everything organized.

You get a clear view of your customers.

Also, explore our favorite Hubspot alternatives…

What is Hubspot

Our Take

Hubspot

HubSpot is a powerful platform with many features, but you must consider your budget and needs before committing. It’s a good choice for businesses that want a comprehensive solution & are willing to invest in it.

Key Benefits

  • Free CRM: Start with a free plan with basic CRM features.
  • All-in-one platform: Access a marketing, sales, and service tools suite.
  • Extensive community and resources: Benefit from a wealth of knowledge and support.
  • Inbound marketing focus: Attract and engage leads with valuable content.

Pricing

  • Free Tools: Free for up to two users.
  • Marketing Hub Starter: $15/seat/month.
  • Starter Customer Platform: $15/seat/month.
  • Marketing Hub Professional + three seats: $800/month, additional seats at $45/month.
HubSpot Pricing

Pros

  • Comprehensive features and tools.
  • Free CRM option.
  • Strong reputation and brand recognition.
  • Great for inbound marketing.

Cons

  • It can be expensive for small businesses.
  • It can be complex to learn and use.
  • Some features are limited to lower plans.

What is Insightly?

Insightly? It’s more than just a CRM. It blends CRM with project management.

Think of it as keeping your sales and projects in one spot.

It’s built for those who juggle many things.

Also, explore our favorite Insightly alternatives

What is Insightly

Our Take

Insightly

Insightly is a solid choice for businesses that need a scalable CRM with project management capabilities.

Key Benefits

  • Scalable for growth: Adapt the platform as your business expands.
  • Project management features: Keep your projects organized and on track.
  • Customizable dashboards and reports: Get the insights you need to make informed decisions.
  • Integrations with popular apps: Connect with your favorite business tools.

Pricing

  • Plus: $29/user/month.
  • Professional: $49/user/month.
  • Enterprise: $99/user/month.
Insightly Pricing

Pros

  • Scalable for businesses of all sizes.
  • Includes project management features.
  • Customizable dashboards and reports.
  • Integrates with popular apps.

Cons

  • It can be complex to learn and use.
  • Some features are limited to lower plans.
  • It can be expensive for large teams.

Feature Comparison

This evaluation pits HubSpot, the top crm platform known for its integrated marketing tools and scalability.

Insightly, a versatile crm solution praised for its native integrated project management tools.

This comparison will clarify which best crm platform excels at unifying sales pipeline management and lead management with overall company workflow and customer relationships.

1. Core Platform Focus

  • HubSpot: Serves as a comprehensive crm platform designed to be the single source of truth for marketing, sales, and service teams. It excels in lead management and sales pipeline management with a focus on inbound marketing strategies.
  • Insightly: Operates as a versatile crm solution that tightly integrates sales, marketing, and project delivery. Its core strength is bridging the gap between sales and execution through integrated project management tools.

2. Project Management Integration

  • HubSpot: Offers basic integrated project management tools within its Operations Hub, mainly for organizing internal tasks and team collaboration related to a deal or contact. It is not its primary focus.
  • Insightly: Features robust, native integrated project management tools that allow users to automatically create projects when a deal closes. This makes it ideal for teams that need to manage customer relationships from initial contact through to service delivery.

3. Sales Pipeline Management

  • HubSpot: Provides highly visual and intuitive sales pipeline management with drag-and-drop boards. It is excellent for tracking deals and automating follow-ups, essential for effective lead management.
  • Insightly: Also offers strong sales pipeline management features and customization options across its crm systems. It allows for multiple, complex pipelines to manage customer relationships effectively through different stages.

4. Marketing Tools and Automation

  • HubSpot: Offers industry-leading marketing tools through its paid Marketing Hub, including email, landing pages, and sophisticated automation workflows. It is arguably the best crm platform for marketing at scale.
  • Insightly: Provides strong marketing tools for email marketing and campaigns, though its features are generally less expansive than HubSpot’s dedicated marketing hub.

5. Service and Support Tools

  • HubSpot: Includes a dedicated Service Hub with powerful customer service tools for ticket management, a knowledge base, and customer feedback surveys. It focuses on holistic customer relationships management.
  • Insightly: Provides support services and ticketing capabilities, often relying on integrations for high-end customer service tools. Its primary focus remains on sales and project delivery over dedicated, complex support queues.

6. Scalability and Free Tier

  • HubSpot: Offers a perpetual free-for-life crm platform tier and scales well, making it a viable crm solution from startup to enterprise. It is often regarded as the best crm platform for rapid growth.
  • Insightly: Does not offer a true free crm platform tier but scales effectively for small and mid-sized businesses looking for a balance between crm systems and project tracking.

7. Customization

  • HubSpot: Highly customizable with custom objects and fields, allowing businesses to adapt the crm systems to their unique internal processes and manage customer relationships.
  • Insightly: Offers deep customization, particularly around linking contact data with project data. Users can create custom fields and views to tailor the platform as a comprehensive crm solution.

8. Ecosystem and Integrations

  • HubSpot: Features a vast and integrated App Marketplace, easily connecting to other crm systems and marketing tools. It serves as a central hub for multiple crm platforms.
  • Insightly: Offers strong native integrations, particularly with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, making it a convenient crm platform for teams relying on those tools to manage customer relationships.

9. Overall Value Proposition

  • HubSpot CRM: Provides exceptional value due to its free tier, unified hubs, and powerful marketing tools. Itโ€™s the best crm platform for businesses prioritizing inbound growth and integrated marketing.
  • Insightly: Offers strong value by including core integrated project management tools and sales features in one package. It is the ideal crm solution for service-based businesses that need to track project execution alongside sales pipeline management.

What to Look for in a CRM Software?

  • Consider your team’s size and technical skills.
  • Match CRM features to your specific business needs.
  • Evaluate scalability for future growth.
  • Check for mobile accessibility and usability.
  • Ensure seamless integration with existing tools.
  • Assess customer support options and responsiveness.
  • Factor in the total cost of ownership, including training and implementation.
  • Look for security features and data privacy compliance.
  • Determine if the CRM offers industry-specific solutions.
  • Test the software with a free trial or demo before committing.

Final Verdict

So, which one wins? For most, HubSpot edges it out.

Why? It’s a powerful CRM with strong marketing automation platform features.

Plus, HubSpot offers a free plan, which is great for getting started.

It’s super user-friendly, and its reporting tools are top-notch.

Sure, Insightly is strong in project management.

Especially for small businesses, but HubSpot’s overall package is hard to beat. 

We spent hours comparing Insightly and HubSpot’s automation features and closed system integrations, which make it our choice.

More of Hubspot

Hereโ€™s a brief comparison of Hubspot with these software solutions:

  • HubSpot vs GoHighLevel: Hubspot is an all-in-one platform for agencies, with strong marketing automation and white-labeling options.
  • Hubspotย vs Pipedrive:ย It is a sales-focused CRM known for its visual sales pipeline management and intuitive interface, which makes it ideal for tracking deals. Hubspot provides a more comprehensive, all-in-one platform that encompasses sales, marketing, and customer service.
  • Hubspot vs Keap:ย It (formerly Infusionsoft) specializes in CRM and marketing automation, particularly for small businesses looking to streamline sales processes. Hubspot offers a wider range of marketing, sales, and service features.
  • Hubspotย vs ActiveCampaign:ย It excels in email marketing and marketing automation, with advanced segmentation and conditional logic. However, Hubspot provides a more extensive all-in-one platform that encompasses lead generation.
  • Hubspot vs Clickfunnels:ย It is dedicated to creating high-converting sales funnels, focusing on landing pages and sales processes. Hubspot, on the other hand, is a broader marketing and sales automation platform.
  • Hubspotย vs Folk:ย It is a simpler CRM solution that excels in straightforward contact management and organization. It is suitable for small teams that prioritize ease of use.
  • Hubspot vs Instantly:ย It specializes in cold email outreach and lead generation automation. Hubspot provides a much broader suite of tools, including a full CRM, comprehensive email marketing with advanced design capabilities.
  • Hubspotย vs ClickUp:ย It is primarily a project management tool with extensive customization and collaboration features. It allows users to manage tasks, documents, and goals. While it offers some CRM functionalities through custom fields.
  • Hubspotย vs Monday CRM:ย It.com is a work operating system focused on project management, collaboration, and workflow automation. In contrast,
  • Hubspot vs Capsule CRM:ย It is a simpler, user-friendly contact manager and sales tracker, ideal for small businesses needing organized customer information and clear pipeline views.
  • Hubspot vs Insightly:ย It combines CRM with strong project management features, making it versatile for businesses requiring both.
  • Hubspot vs Freshsales CRM:ย It is a sales-focused CRM emphasizing AI-powered lead scoring and sales automation for efficient deal management. Hubspot provides a more extensive all-in-one platform with robust marketing automation features integrated alongside sales and service tools.
  • Hubspot vs Salesforce:ย It is a powerful, highly customizable enterprise-grade CRM with robust reporting and forecasting capabilities, ideal for large organizations with complex needs.
  • Hubspot vs Zendesk:ย It is a specialized customer service and support platform, excelling in omnichannel support, ticketing, and advanced AI capabilities for issue resolution.

More of Insightly

Hereโ€™s a brief comparison of Insightly with these software solutions:

  • Insightly vs Pipedrive: Insightly focuses on CRM with integrated project management; Pipedrive specializes in visual sales pipeline management, often preferred by sales-centric teams.
  • Insightly vs GoHighLevel: Insightly is great for combining CRM with project management. It helps track sales and projects together. GoHighLevel is an all-in-one platform for marketing agency needs. It offers strong marketing and sales automation tools and can manage multiple clients.
  • Insightly vs Keap: Insightly offers a robust CRM with project tracking; Keap provides powerful marketing automation, email campaigns, and comprehensive sales features.
  • Insightly vs ActiveCampaign: Insightly merges CRM with project management capabilities; ActiveCampaign excels in advanced marketing automation, email sequencing, and lead scoring.
  • Insightly vs HubSpot: Insightly offers a strong CRM with project management, while HubSpot provides a vast all-in-one platform for marketing, sales, and customer service.
  • Insightly vs Clickfunnels: Insightly is a CRM with project management; ClickFunnels is primarily a sales funnel builder for creating landing pages and automating sales processes.
  • Insightly vs Folk: Insightly is a comprehensive CRM with project management capabilities; Folk is a more streamlined, collaborative contact management tool.
  • Insightly vs Instantly: Insightly offers a robust CRM and project management solution; Instantly focuses on automated cold email outreach and lead generation.
  • Insightly vs ClickUp: Insightly integrates CRM and project management; ClickUp is a versatile work management platform that can be configured for CRM tasks.
  • Insightly vs Monday: Insightly combines CRM with project management; Monday CRM is a highly customizable work operating system, adaptable for various CRM needs.
  • Insightly vs Capsule CRM: Insightly is a more feature-rich CRM with project management, while Capsule CRM is a simpler, straightforward contact and sales opportunity tracker.
  • Insightly vs Freshsales: Insightly offers a robust CRM with project management; Freshsales CRM provides advanced sales automation, AI insights, and multichannel communication.
  • Insightly vs Salesforce: Insightly is a comprehensive CRM with integrated project management; Salesforce is an enterprise-grade, highly customizable, and expansive CRM solution.
  • Insightly vs Zendesk: Insightly is a CRM with project management features; Zendesk primarily focuses on customer support and service ticketing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is HubSpot better for email marketing than Insightly?

Yes, HubSpot is generally considered superior for email marketing. Its marketing platform offers advanced features and better integration with its CRM. HubSpot’s marketing automation features are more robust, giving you more control over your campaigns.

Which CRM is easier to get up and running?

HubSpot is typically easier to set up and use. Its user-friendly interface and extensive resources make it simpler to learn. If your sales team needs a quick implementation, HubSpot is a better option.

Is Insightly good for sales automation?

While Insightly has sales automation capabilities, HubSpot excels in this area. HubSpot’s tools are more comprehensive, streamlining your sales process effectively. However, if your focus is project-based sales, Insightly may be a good choice.

When did HubSpot start focusing on CRM?

HubSpot started as a marketing automation platform and later moved into the CRM space. This history gives it a strong foundation in contact management and marketing integration, which is a key advantage.

Which CRM should I choose if I’m looking for a powerful CRM?

If you’re looking for a powerful all-in-one CRM, HubSpot is the better choice. Its comprehensive features, strong integrations, and robust marketing automation features make it a top contender. If your company is project-heavy and needs a CRM to match it, Insightly is a good choice.