Freshsales vs HubSpot Sales Hub
Freshsales vs HubSpot for SMB teams choosing between a low-cost CRM with built-in calling and a broader platform shared with marketing.
Verdict
Freshsales fits phone-heavy inside sales teams that want built-in calling at a low price; HubSpot fits teams whose pipeline starts in marketing. Both publish prices. Freshsales, from Freshworks, lists plans from $9 to $59 per user per month with a 21-day trial. HubSpot has a free CRM and paid tiers from $20 per seat, with forecasting starting at Professional. If you also run Freshdesk for support, or HubSpot for marketing, that existing platform usually settles it.
How Freshsales and HubSpot differ on cost and scope
Freshsales
Good fit for teams that want built-in calling, pipeline views, and practical automation.
Best fit: Growing inside-sales orgs. Category: CRM Software.
HubSpot Sales Hub
Fast time to value for teams that want CRM, automation, and reporting in one cleaner stack.
Best fit: Scaling mid-market teams. Category: CRM Software.
Questions to settle before choosing
How much of the team's day is spent on the phone, and do you want calling inside the CRM?
Does support run on Freshdesk, or does marketing run on HubSpot?
Which plan includes sequences, territory rules, and forecasting in each tool?
What will the CRM cost at your headcount in 18 months?
Which plan would you need for sequences and forecasting in each tool?
Pricing
Freshsales: From $9/user/mo. Checked against the vendor on . Freshsales pricing and plans
HubSpot Sales Hub: Free plan; from $20/user/mo. Checked against the vendor on . HubSpot Sales Hub pricing and plans
Where Freshsales wins
Freshsales fits SMB and lower mid-market inside sales teams that live on the phone. Reps can call, log activity, and move deals without switching tools, and G2 reviewers point to a friendly interface and automation that speeds up lead work.
It pairs with the wider Freshworks suite, so companies on Freshdesk can keep sales and support with one vendor.
Where Freshsales wins: built-in calling and a low entry price. The Growth plan at $9 a user covers pipeline and calling for teams that do not need sequences yet.
Pricing: Growth $9, Pro $39, and Enterprise $59 per user per month billed annually, with a 21-day trial and no free plan listed. Sequences and territory management start at Pro; forecasting insights, sandbox, and audit logs are on Enterprise. The Freddy AI Agent is an add-on at $49 per 100 sessions (checked September 2026 on freshworks.com).
Who it fits best: phone-first sales teams that value a short setup over deep customization.
Where HubSpot Sales Hub wins
HubSpot Sales Hub fits scaling B2B teams that want CRM, sequences, email tracking, and reporting on the same record as marketing.
Its free CRM and large integration catalog make it an easy starting point, and reviewers keep returning to speed of adoption.
Where HubSpot wins: marketing alignment and the size of its integration catalog. Lead scoring, lifecycle stages, and attribution work on one record.
Pricing: Free (up to 2 users), Starter at $20 per seat per month list, Professional at $90 billed annually plus $1,500 onboarding, and Enterprise at $150 plus $3,500. Professional adds forecasting and call recording with transcription (checked September 2026 on hubspot.com).
Who it fits best: teams that need marketing automation and lead handoff in the same system as sales.
Watch-outs
Pricing side by side for 10 reps on annual billing: Freshsales Pro is $4,680 and Enterprise $7,080 a year. HubSpot Starter is $2,400 at list and Professional $12,300 in year one with onboarding. For forecasting, compare Freshsales Enterprise with HubSpot Professional.
Where they overlap: both include visual pipelines, email, workflows, AI assistants, and forecasting on higher tiers. Compare the tier you would need for sequences and forecasting, not the entry price.
Freshsales' outbound tools draw criticism. One MarketBetter review calls it weak on outbound execution, and a Trustpilot reviewer reported more than a week of downtime. Ask about uptime history and backups.
HubSpot's price jump at Professional drives most cost complaints, and quotes moved to Revenue Hub. Budget renewals at list.
Test calling on real numbers and regions before retiring your current dialer, since call quality and logging decide adoption for phone-heavy teams.
Migration note: both import from spreadsheets and other CRMs. Map lifecycle stages and deal stages first, and keep call recordings in a place you can reach after cancelling.
How to run the pilot: run a full calling block and one follow-up sequence in both trials with real reps and numbers, then rebuild the weekly pipeline report. Note which tier each feature required.