HubSpot vs Zendesk: Which is The Best CRM for 2025?

Picking the right CRM feels like choosing between two awesome video games, right?

You know you need one, but HubSpot vs Zendesk? 

Imagine picking the wrong one.

You’re stuck with a system that’s clunky, hard to use, and doesn’t really fit your needs. 

Good news! We’re going to break down HubSpot vs Zendesk in simple terms.

Overview

We’ve spent considerable time diving into both HubSpot and Zendesk.

Our team rigorously tested each platform, exploring their core features and user interfaces.

This hands-on experience allows us to provide a practical, real-world comparison.

What is HubSpot?

Now, let’s switch gears to HubSpot.

Think of it as your all-in-one growth platform. It’s not just support.

It handles marketing, sales, and service. It helps you attract and keep customers.

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 Zendesk?

Okay, let’s talk about Zendesk. It’s a support powerhouse.

Think of it as a super-organized help desk.

Customers reach out, and Zendesk tracks everything.

It makes handling customer issues much easier.

Also, explore our favorite Zendesk alternatives…

Key Benefits

• Unified Platform: Zendesk brings all your customer conversations into one place, whether it’s email, chat, social media, or phone.
• Ticketing System: It organizes customer inquiries into tickets, helping you track and manage them effectively. No more lost emails!
• Automation: Zendesk allows you to automate repetitive tasks, saving you time and effort. For example, you can automatically route tickets to the right agent.
• Reporting & Analytics: Get insights into your customer service performance with detailed reports and analytics. See what’s working and what’s not.
• Integrations: Zendesk integrates with many other business tools you might already be using.

Pricing

All the plans will be billed annually.

• Support Team: $19/agent/month.
• Suite Team: $55/agent/month.
• Suite Professional: $115/agent/month.
• Suite Enterprise: Talk to sales for custom pricing based on your requirements.

Feature Comparison

Let’s dive into the core differences. We’ll compare key features side by side. 

This helps you see where each platform shines.

Which one will truly elevate your customer service?

1. Ticketing and Support Tickets

• Zendesk: Zendesk is great for managing high volumes of support tickets. Its robust system excels at organizing and tracking customer interactions. Zendesk provides detailed ticket views and efficient workflows.
• HubSpot Service Hub: This HHub also handles tickets within the HubSpot ecosystem. If you’re already using HubSpot, this integration is seamless. HubSpot Service Hub stands out for its connection to the HubSpot CRM, which gives a complete view of the customer.

2. Automation and AI

• Zendesk: Zendesk offers powerful automation and AI features like smart routing and chatbots. Zendesk helps automate responses and improve efficiency.
• HubSpot Service Hub: This service Hub also has AI features, automation, and AI, but it focuses on personalized support. It uses HubSpot CRM data to tailor interactions.

3. Knowledge Base

• Zendesk: Zendesk provides a strong knowledge base platform. It allows for the easy article creation and management, improving self-service options.
• HubSpot Service Hub: HubSpot offers a knowledge base feature that is deeply integrated within HubSpot. This ties into customer feedback and customer engagement metrics.

4. CRM Integration

• Zendesk: While Zendesk integrates with many CRMs, its core strength is not CRM.
• HubSpot Service Hub: The HubSpot CRM is the core of the HubSpot Service Hub. It provides a 360-degree view of customer relationships.

5. Service Analytics

• Zendesk: Zendesk provides in-depth service analytics. It tracks key metrics like customer satisfaction and resolution times.
• HubSpot Service Hub: HubSpot Service Hub also gives service analytics, but it is more focused on overall customer experience and customer success metrics.

6. Omnichannel Support

• Zendesk: Zendesk is great for support across multiple channels. It handles email, chat, social media, and more.
• HubSpot service Hub: This service also offers omnichannel service, but it emphasizes a consistent customer service experience across all HubSpot channels.

7. Support Operations

• Zendesk: Zendesk helps streamline support operations for large service teams. Its focus is on efficiency and scalability.
• HubSpot Service Hub: HubSpot Service Hub focuses on improving customer service experience and customer engagement. It is designed to enhance customer satisfaction and customer relationships.

What to Look For When Choosing CRM Software?

• Scalability: Can it grow with your business?
• Integration: Does it connect with your existing tools?
• Ease of Use: Is it intuitive for your team?
• Reporting: Does it provide actionable insights?
• Customer Support: How reliable is their support?
• Specific Needs: Does it meet industry-specific demands?
• Mobile Access: Can your team access it on the go?
• Scalability: Can it grow with your business?
• Integration: Does it connect with your existing tools?
• Ease of Use: Is it intuitive for your team?
• Reporting: Does it provide actionable insights?
• Customer Support: How reliable is their support?

Final Verdict

So, which Zendesk vs HubSpot wins? It really depends on you.

If you need a powerful customer service platform for lots of tickets, Zendesk is great.

It has strong service tools.

However, HubSpot is a better fit for a system that integrates sales, marketing, and support.

If you are already using Hubspot, then Zendesk and Hubspot service hub is a no-brainer. 

For most businesses, especially those focused on growth.

We lean towards HubSpot. 

You can trust our insights because we’ve been in the trenches, trying these tools ourselves. We know what works.

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 Instantly: Instantly 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, social media integration, and more extensive automation workflows.
• 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.

More of Zendesk

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

• Zendesk vs Gohighlevel: Zendesk focuses on customer support and ticketing, providing multi-channel communication; GoHighLevel is a broader platform offering sales, marketing, and CRM tools, with advanced automation.
• Zendesk vs Pipedrive: Zendesk excels in comprehensive customer service and support, while Pipedrive is a sales-centric CRM with visual pipeline management.
• Zendesk vs Keap: Zendesk specializes in robust customer support and ticketing; Keap offers extensive sales and marketing automation for small businesses.
• Zendesk vs ActiveCampaign: Zendesk is a dedicated customer support platform with ticketing; ActiveCampaign specializes in email marketing automation, lead nurturing, and CRM integration.
• Zendesk vs Clickfunnels: Zendesk is a customer service solution with ticketing and live chat; ClickFunnels is a sales funnel builder for creating landing pages and automating sales.
• Zendesk vs Folk: Zendesk offers powerful customer support for diverse interactions; Folk emphasizes collaborative contact organization and streamlined relationship management.
• Zendesk vs Instantly: Zendesk focuses on customer support and ticket management; Instantly specializes in automated cold email campaigns and lead generation.
• Zendesk vs ClickUp: Zendesk is a customer support system, while ClickUp is a versatile work management platform that can function as a CRM, project management tool, and task tracker.
• Zendesk vs Monday CRM: Zendesk is a customer service platform with ticketing; Monday CRM is a highly visual and customizable workflow management tool with CRM capabilities.
• Zendesk vs Capsule CRM: Zendesk provides robust customer support and ticketing; Capsule CRM is a simplified contact management and sales tracking system.
• Zendesk vs Insightly: Zendesk focuses on customer support and service tickets; Insightly is a more comprehensive CRM with strong sales pipeline and project management features.
• Zendesk vs Freshsales: Zendesk emphasizes strong customer support solutions, while Freshsales CRM is designed for sales automation, deal tracking, and lead management.
• Zendesk vs Salesforce: Zendesk offers a specialized customer service platform; Salesforce is an extensive enterprise-level CRM with broad sales, marketing, and service clouds.

Frequently Asked Questions