Hubspot vs Zoho CRM: Which is The Best one in 2025?

Picking the right CRM is tough. 

You’re trying to grow your business, but deciding between HubSpot and Zoho CRM can be a daunting task. 

It’s frustrating! You’re worried about wasting money on the wrong tool. 

What if you pick one, and it doesn’t do what you need? 

Don’t stress. We’re going to break down HubSpot vs Zoho CRM in simple terms. 

Overview

We’ve spent considerable time exploring both HubSpot and Zoho CRM.

Diving into their features, user interfaces, and real-world applications.

Our comparison stems from hands-on testing and direct observation, ensuring a practical and informed perspective.

What is Hubspot?

Okay, let’s talk HubSpot. It’s a big player in the CRM world.

Think of it as a hub for all your customer stuff.

It helps with marketing, sales, and service. Pretty handy, right?

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 Zoho CRM?

Now, let’s chat about Zoho CRM. It’s a solid choice, too.

Think of it as a super flexible tool. It can fit many business sizes.

Plus, it’s pretty budget-friendly.

Also, explore our favorite Zoho alternatives…

Key Benefits

• Feature-rich: Zoho CRM’s platform packs a ton of features. It offers sales automation, marketing tools, and even help desk functionality.
• Affordable: Zoho CRM offers a free plan for up to 3 users. Even their paid plans are very competitive.
• Customization options: Tailor Zoho CRM to fit your business needs. You can create custom fields, modules, & workflows.
• Excellent integrations: Zoho CRM integrates with over 500 other apps, including popular tools like Google Workspace and Mailchimp.
• Strong reporting: Get detailed insights into your sales performance with customizable reports and dashboards.

Pricing

All the plans will be billed annually.

• Standard: $14/user/month.
• Professional: $23/user/month.
• Enterprise:$40 /user/month.
• Ultimate: $52/user/month.

Feature Comparison

Let’s break down the core features of these two powerful CRM platforms.

We’ll examine key areas, showing how HubSpot and Zoho CRM stack up.

So you can see which aligns best with your business needs.

1. Sales and Marketing Alignment

• HubSpot:
  • HubSpot’s Sales Hub integrates seamlessly with its marketing hub. This means your sales and marketing teams work from the same data. Running marketing campaigns and tracking their impact on the sales process is streamlined, and HubSpot offers strong alignment.
• Zoho CRM:
  • Zoho CRM offers solid sales and marketing integration, but it might require more setup to achieve the same level of alignment as HubSpot. Zoho has a strong module for each, but the integration is not as seamless as that of Hubspot.

2. Customization

• HubSpot:
  • Offers good customization, particularly in its professional and enterprise plans. However, some deeper customizations might require developer assistance.
• Zoho CRM:
  • Zoho CRM excels in customization. It allows extensive tailoring of fields, modules, and workflows to match unique business needs.

3. Functionality

• HubSpot:
  • Provides robust functionality, especially for inbound marketing and sales. It’s designed to be an all-in-one platform, providing everything you need.
• Zoho CRM:
  • Offers a wide range of functionality, including advanced features like AI-powered insights and inventory management.

4. Productivity

• HubSpot:
  • Focuses on enhancing productivity through automation and streamlined workflows. Its user-friendly interface helps teams quickly adopt and use the system.
• Zoho CRM:
  • It also prioritizes productivity with features like workflow automation and AI-driven assistance.

5. CRM Software User Interface

• HubSpot:
  • Known for its clean and intuitive user interface. It’s designed for ease of use, reducing the learning curve.
• Zoho CRM:
  • While powerful, Zoho CRM’s interface can feel more complex, especially for new users.

6. Customer Relationship Management

• HubSpot:
  • Strong in customer relationship management, with tools for tracking interactions, managing contacts, and providing customer support.
• Zoho CRM:
  • Equally capable in customer relationship management, with features for managing leads, contacts, and customer interactions.

7. Compared to Zoho AI

• HubSpot:
  • While HubSpot has AI elements, it’s not as AI-focused as Zoho. Hubspot relies on strong automation, where Zoho relies on AI.
• Zoho CRM:
  • Zoho CRM leverages its Zia AI, which provides insights, predictions, and automation based on data analysis. This is a significant difference from Zoho.

What to Look For When Choosing CRM Software?

• Scalability: Can the CRM grow with your business?
• Integration: Does it connect with your existing tools?
• Ease of Use: Is the interface intuitive for your team?
• Support: What level of customer support is offered?
• Mobile Access: Can you access it on the go?
• Reporting: Does it provide actionable insights?
• Security: How secure is your customer data?

Final Verdict

So, which one wins? It’s close, but we lean toward Zoho CRM.

Why? It’s super flexible and budget-friendly.

Plus, the AI features are really powerful.

If you need deep customization, Zoho is a great choice.

However, if you want a seamless HubSpot sales hub experience, especially for inbound marketing and sales, HubSpot is solid.

It’s got a clean inbox and strong lead management.

We’ve tested both, and we know what works. Choose the one that best suits your needs. You can’t go wrong.

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.
• 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 Zoho CRM

Here’s a concise comparison of Zoho CRM with its alternatives:

• Zoho CRM vs GoHighLevel: Zoho CRM offers broad traditional CRM features; GoHighLevel specializes in marketing automation for agencies.
• Zoho CRM vs Pipedrive: Zoho CRM is feature-rich and affordable; Pipedrive provides a simpler, visual sales pipeline.
• Zoho CRM vs Keap: Zoho CRM is a holistic CRM; Keap excels in integrated sales and marketing automation.
• Zoho CRM vs ActiveCampaign: Zoho CRM provides comprehensive CRM; ActiveCampaign leads in advanced marketing automation.
• Zoho CRM vs ClickFunnels: Zoho CRM is a complete business management suite; ClickFunnels focuses on building conversion-optimized sales funnels.
• Zoho CRM vs Folk: Zoho CRM is a broad, customizable CRM; Folk is a simpler, collaborative contact management tool.
• Zoho CRM vs Instantly: Zoho CRM provides full-cycle CRM; Instantly specializes in cold email outreach at scale.
• Zoho CRM vs ClickUp: Zoho CRM is a dedicated CRM solution; ClickUp is primarily a versatile project management platform.
• Zoho CRM vs Monday CRM: Zoho CRM offers deep CRM functionality; Monday CRM emphasizes visual workflows within a broader work OS.
• Zoho CRM vs Capsule CRM: Zoho CRM is extensive and customizable; Capsule CRM is known for its simplicity and ease of use.
• Zoho CRM vs Insightly: Zoho CRM provides comprehensive CRM functions; Insightly combines CRM with project management.
• Zoho CRM vs Freshsales CRM: Zoho CRM offers robust automation and customization; Freshsales CRM features an intuitive sales pipeline.
• Zoho CRM vs Salesforce: Zoho CRM is an affordable, feature-packed alternative; Salesforce is a highly customizable, market-leading enterprise solution.

Frequently Asked Questions