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

Struggling to manage all your customer info? It’s tough, right?

You’ve got leads, emails, and sales to track, and it feels like everything’s scattered.

Losing track of a potential customer?

That’s a real headache. You might miss out on a big sale, and that’s frustrating.

But which one is best? 

Let’s figure out which CRM, HubSpot vs Instantly, will actually make your life easier.

Overview

We’ve spent weeks diving deep into both HubSpot and Instantly.

Our team tested each platform’s features, ran real-world scenarios, and compared their performance side by side. 

What is HubSpot?

HubSpot. It’s a big name in business software.

You’ve probably heard of it. Think of it as a toolbox.

It helps you with sales, marketing, and customer service.

Basically, it keeps all your customer information in one place.

Also, explore our favorite Hubspot alternatives…

Key Benefits

HubSpot shines with its all-in-one approach and robust free plan. Here’s what makes it stand out:

• Free CRM: Yes, you read that right! HubSpot offers a completely free CRM with unlimited users and up to 1 million contacts.
• Marketing Automation: Automate your marketing tasks, such as email campaigns and social media posting, to save time and boost efficiency.
• Sales Pipeline Management: Visualize and track your sales process, making it easier to identify bottlenecks & close deals faster.
• Extensive Integrations: Connect HubSpot with over 1,000 popular business tools to streamline your workflows.

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.

What is Instantly?

Instantly is all about email outreach.

It helps you send lots of emails. Quickly. Think of it as a tool for finding leads.

And then talking to them. It automates your email campaigns. So, you save time.

Also, explore our favorite Instantly alternatives…

Key Benefits

• Boosts deliverability by up to 97%. That means more people see your emails!
• Integrates seamlessly with popular email platforms. No more switching between apps.
• Provides detailed analytics and reporting. Track your progress and see what’s working.
• Offers a spam trigger analysis. Identifies and helps you fix issues that could land you in spam.

Pricing

• Growth CRM: $37.9/month, unlimited seats.
• Hyper CRM: $77.6/month, unlimited seats.

Feature Comparison

Let’s dive into the nitty-gritty.

We’ll compare HubSpot and Instantly feature by feature so you can determine which best suits your needs.

This will help you compare HubSpot and Instantly effectively.

1. CRM and Contact Management

• HubSpot: Offers robust contact management within its CRM. You can track every interaction, from emails to website visits. It’s designed to help you build detailed customer profiles.
• Instantly: This service primarily focuses on email outreach. Its contact management is basic. It’s more about organizing leads for campaigns than detailed customer relationships.

2. Email Marketing Capabilities

• HubSpot provides comprehensive email marketing tools. It allows you to create visually appealing emails, automate campaigns, and analyze performance.
• Instantly: Excels in cold email outreach. It automates sending and follow-ups but lacks the advanced design and marketing features of HubSpot.

3. Social Media Integration

• HubSpot integrates with social media platforms, allowing you to schedule posts, monitor mentions, and analyze performance. Thus, it helps you manage your social presence from within the platform.
• Instantly: It does not offer direct social media integration. Its focus remains strictly on email outreach and lead generation.

4. User-Friendliness

• HubSpot: Offers a user-friendly interface. However, the abundance of features can be overwhelming for some users.
• Instantly is is easier to use for email outreIts. The interface is simple and focuses on core email functions.

5. Automation and Workflows

• HubSpot provides advanced automation workflows. It allows you to automate marketing campaigns, sales processes, and customer service tasks.
• Instantly: This tool focuses on automating email sequences and follow-ups. While efficient, it lacks the broader automation capabilities of HubSpot.

6. Lead Generation and Outreach

• HubSpot offers diverse lead generation tools, including forms, landing pages, and live chat, to help you reach your audience.
• Instantly: Specializes in outbound email lead generation. It is built to connect you with many leads.

7. Integrations and Alternatives

• HubSpot integrates a wide range of apps, including Google, for a seamless workflow. It is a complete business set.
• Instantly: primarily Integrates with other email-related applications. Therefore, if you are looking for an alternative option to a full CRM suite, Instantly would be a good product to look at.

What to Look for When Choosing CRM Software?

• Consider your team’s size and technical expertise.
• Evaluate scalability for future growth.
• Check for mobile accessibility.
• Ensure data security and compliance.
• Look for customer support and training options.
• Test the software with a free trial or demo.
• Determine if you need an all-in-one solution or specialized tools.
• Assess how well it integrates with other essential software.

Final Verdict

So, which one wins? We pick HubSpot.

It’s strong for most businesses. HubSpot does many things well.

You get CRM, marketing, and sales tools all in one spot.

Instantly is great for email. But it’s mostly just for that.

If you need a full CRM, HubSpot is better. Think of it as a full toolbox.

Instantly, it is one good wrench. 

We know this stuff. We’ve seen how these tools work in real life, and we know how to explain each term.

More of Hubspot

We’ve explored several alternatives to Hubspot, each offering distinct strengths.

Here’s a brief comparison of Hubspot with these software solutions:

• Hubspot vs Gohighlevel: GoHighLevel is primarily tailored for marketing agencies, offering an all-in-one platform for managing various digital marketing tasks, including appointment scheduling and social media. Hubspot, conversely, caters to businesses of all sizes, excelling in inbound marketing with a broader set of marketing, sales, and service tools.
• Hubspot vs Pipedrive: Pipedrive 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: Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) specializes in CRM and marketing automation, particularly for small businesses looking to streamline sales processes and contact management. Hubspot offers a wider range of marketing, sales, and service features, often with more robust automation and reporting.
• Hubspot vs ActiveCampaign: ActiveCampaign 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, social media management, and a broader range of automation triggers and actions.
• Hubspot vs Clickfunnels: ClickFunnels 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, offering comprehensive tools beyond just funnel building, including CRM, content management, and SEO.
• Hubspot vs Folk: Folk 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 offers more robust contact management, detailed analytics, and a wider array of marketing and sales features, albeit with a steeper learning curve.
• Hubspot vs ClickUp: ClickUp 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, Hubspot is a dedicated CRM system designed to manage customer relationships and streamline sales processes comprehensively.
• Hubspot vs Monday CRM: Monday.com is a work operating system focused on project management, collaboration, and workflow automation. In contrast, Hubspot is a fully integrated CRM offering deep sales, marketing, and customer service automation. It is designed to drive revenue and scale with businesses.
• Hubspot vs Capsule CRM: Capsule CRM is a simpler, user-friendly contact manager and sales tracker, ideal for small businesses needing organized customer information and clear pipeline views. Hubspot offers a more robust, feature-rich CRM with advanced sales pipelines, comprehensive marketing automation, and extensive integrations.
• Hubspot vs Insightly: Insightly combines CRM with strong project management features, making it versatile for businesses requiring both. Hubspot excels in marketing automation and broader sales features, offering a more comprehensive suite for inbound marketing and lead nurturing.
• Hubspot vs Freshsales CRM: Freshsales CRM 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, making it suitable for more complex sales cycles.
• Hubspot vs Salesforce: Salesforce is a powerful, highly customizable enterprise-grade CRM with robust reporting and forecasting capabilities, ideal for large organizations with complex needs. Hubspot offers a more user-friendly interface and a well-rounded set of marketing and sales tools, particularly appealing to SMBs, with a more accessible pricing model.
• Hubspot vs Zendesk: Zendesk is a specialized customer service and support platform, excelling in omnichannel support, ticketing, and advanced AI capabilities for issue resolution. Hubspot Service Hub offers integrated customer support tools as part of its broader CRM suite, providing seamless data flow between marketing, sales, and service teams, but with less emphasis on advanced AI than Zendesk.

More of Instantly

Here’s a brief comparison of Instantly with these software solutions:

• Instantly vs Gohighlevel: Instantly specializes in cold email outreach and deliverability, while GoHighLevel offers a comprehensive suite for sales, marketing, and lead generation, including broader automation.
• Instantly vs Pipedrive: Instantly focuses on automated email campaigns and deliverability for outbound sales; Pipedrive is a visual sales pipeline management tool designed for tracking deals and optimizing sales processes.
• Instantly vs Keap: Instantly excels at scalable cold email outreach and lead generation, whereas Keap provides an all-in-one platform for sales and marketing automation with CRM capabilities.
• Instantly vs ActiveCampaign: Instantly is primarily for high-volume cold email outreach and deliverability; ActiveCampaign is a robust marketing automation platform with advanced segmentation and CRM features.
• Instantly vs Clickfunnels: Instantly is an email outreach automation tool; ClickFunnels is a sales funnel builder for creating landing pages and automating sales processes.
• Instantly vs Folk: Instantly focuses on automated cold email campaigns and lead generation; Folk is a collaborative contact management CRM that emphasizes easy organization.
• Instantly vs Clickup: Instantly is designed for cold email outreach and deliverability; ClickUp is a versatile workspace for project management, task tracking, and broader team collaboration.
• Instantly vs Monday CRM: Instantly excels in automated outbound email and lead nurturing; Monday CRM provides visual project and workflow management, with integrated CRM features.
• Instantly vs Capsule CRM: Instantly specializes in automated cold email sequences; Capsule CRM is a simple contact management and sales pipeline tool for small businesses.
• Instantly vs Insightly: Instantly streamlines cold email outreach with robust deliverability features; Insightly offers a comprehensive CRM with project management and sales pipeline capabilities.
• Instantly vs Freshsales CRM: Instantly focuses on automated email outreach and lead scoring; Freshsales CRM is a full-featured sales automation and CRM solution with extensive reporting.
• Instantly vs Salesforce: Instantly is a specialized tool for scalable cold email outreach; Salesforce is an enterprise-grade, highly customizable CRM platform for sales, service, and marketing.
• Instantly vs Zendesk: Instantly focuses on lead generation through automated email outreach; Zendesk is a comprehensive customer service and support platform with robust ticketing.

Frequently Asked Questions