HubSpot vs Salesforce Sales Cloud
Same data, side by side: what each costs for a small team, which features sit on which plan, and where each one falls short.
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Free CRM for two users plus a broad paid suite; Sales Hub Starter adds workflows and calling, while Professional jumps to $90+ per seat and a required $1,500 onboarding.
- Core plan
- Starter, $20 /user/mo
- 5 users / month
- $100
- Year 1, 5 users
- $1,200
- Free option
- free plan
The enterprise standard, now with a free two-user suite; automation starts on Pro Suite ($100 per user, annual contract) and the full platform on Core ($195).
- Core plan
- Pro Suite, $100 /user/mo
- 5 users / month
- $500
- Year 1, 5 users
- $6,000
- Free option
- free plan
Bottom line
On documented facts, HubSpot scores 9.7 and Salesforce Sales Cloud 7.3 out of 10. For 5 users on each core plan with annual billing, HubSpot costs $1,200 in the first year and Salesforce Sales Cloud $6,000, a difference of $4,800. The biggest gap is in price for a small team.
Where they differ
- Email marketing: Salesforce Sales Cloud ✓ from Pro Suite; HubSpot paid add-on.
- AI assistant / AI features: HubSpot ✓ from Starter; Salesforce Sales Cloud higher plans only.
- Custom objects: Salesforce Sales Cloud ✓ from Pro Suite; HubSpot higher plans only.
- API access: HubSpot ✓ all plans; Salesforce Sales Cloud paid add-on.
Choose HubSpot if
- Teams that want to start on a free 2-user CRM with Gmail/Outlook sync and move up inside one platform later
- Teams that need workflow automation, custom reporting and forecasting and can absorb a $1,500 onboarding fee (Professional, $90/seat annual)
- US teams that need HIPAA-eligible storage of PHI in the CRM (Enterprise only)
Choose Salesforce Sales Cloud if
- Very small teams that want a vendor-backed free start (Free Suite, 2 users) and a $25/user monthly-billed step up (Starter Suite)
- Teams that need custom objects, flows, quotes and a sandbox at $100/user (Pro Suite) and expect to scale into AppExchange and Agentforce
- Mid-size/enterprise sales orgs that want AI, Slack, analytics and Premier support bundled in the per-user price (Core $195 and up)
Full comparison
 HubSpot |  Salesforce Sales Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Fact score | 9.7 / 10 | 7.3 / 10 |
| Type | General CRM | General CRM |
| Company | HubSpot, Inc. · Cambridge, MA, USA | Salesforce, Inc. · San Francisco, CA, USA |
| Price | ||
| Free plan | Free tools / free Smart CRM: up to 2 users, no time limit, no credit card. Limits per catalog: up to 1,000 contacts, 1 pipeline per object type, 10 dashboards, 3 email templates, 200 email-tracking notifications/month, 2,000 marketing email sends/month (HubSpot branding), 1 shared inbox, 1 meeting link. Includes deals, tasks, Gmail/Outlook/Exchange sync, ticketing. | Free Suite: $0, 2 user licenses, no contract or credit card, no expiry as long as a user logs in at least once every 60 days; up to 100 marketing emails/month. Per the edition matrix on the Sales pricing page (source 1) the Free column has no Activity Capture, mobile app, Flow Builder, custom apps or API |
| Free trial | 14 days | 30 days, no card |
| Paid plans from | $20 per user / month | $25 per user / month |
| Core plan | Starter: $20 | Pro Suite: $100 (annual) |
| 5 users, year 1 | $1,200 | $6,000 |
| Seat minimum | none | none |
| Mandatory fees | Required onboarding (Professional): $1,500; Required onboarding (Enterprise): $3,500 | none documented |
| Monthly billing | yes | no, annual only |
| Features | ||
| Sales pipeline / deals | ✓ all plans | ✓ all plans |
| Email sync & tracking | ✓ all plans | ✓ all plans |
| Workflow automation | ✓ from Starter | ✓ from Pro Suite |
| Email marketing | paid add-on | ✓ from Pro Suite |
| Built-in calling | ✓ from Starter | not documented |
| AI assistant / AI features | ✓ from Starter | higher plans only |
| Reports & dashboards | ✓ all plans | ✓ all plans |
| Custom objects | higher plans only | ✓ from Pro Suite |
| API access | ✓ all plans | paid add-on |
| Mobile app | ✓ all plans | ✓ from Pro Suite |
| Compliance & data | ||
| HIPAA BAA | yes (Enterprise tier of the hub in use (Marketing, Sales, Service, Data, Content Hub Enterprise or Smart CRM Enterprise) with the Sensitive Data feature enabled) | yes (No edition floor stated on Salesforce's BAA restrictions page; Sales Cloud and Service Cloud (incl. Field Service) and Lightning Platform are listed HIPAA Covered Services. BAA is contracted through the Salesforce account representative.) |
| Open source | no | no |
| Facts checked | 2026-10-03 | 2026-10-03 |
Sources for every value are on each review: HubSpot · Salesforce Sales Cloud. Add a third CRM in the comparison tool.
FAQ
Is HubSpot or Salesforce Sales Cloud better?
On our fact score, HubSpot ranks higher (9.7 vs 7.3). That does not make it better for everyone: check the capability differences and the "choose it if" lists above.
Is HubSpot cheaper than Salesforce Sales Cloud?
For 5 users on each core plan with annual billing, HubSpot costs $1,200 in the first year and Salesforce Sales Cloud $6,000, a difference of $4,800.
Do HubSpot and Salesforce Sales Cloud have free plans?
HubSpot: yes (Free tools / free Smart CRM: up to 2 users, no time limit, no credit card. Limits per catalog: up to 1,000 contacts, 1 pipeline per object type, 10 dashboards, 3 email templates, 200 email-tracking notifications/month, 2,000 marketing email sends/month (HubSpot branding), 1 shared inbox, 1 meeting link. Includes deals, tasks, Gmail/Outlook/Exchange sync, ticketing.). Salesforce Sales Cloud: yes (Free Suite: $0, 2 user licenses, no contract or credit card, no expiry as long as a user logs in at least once every 60 days; up to 100 marketing emails/month. Per the edition matrix on the Sales pricing page (source 1) the Free column has no Activity Capture, mobile app, Flow Builder, custom apps or API).