Two CRM giants. Neither built for running a service business.
$25/mo
Enterprise sales teams with dedicated admins
$20/mo
Marketing teams with inbound lead funnels
Salesforce ($25/mo) and HubSpot ($20/mo) are both established tools with real user bases, and for most people the honest answer is that either will do the job — the difference shows up in fit, not quality. Over three years the running totals are roughly $1,008 for Salesforce and $806 for HubSpot, because subscription pricing compounds. Read the section below on which one suits your work; the cost table further down shows where the bill actually differs.
| Feature | Salesforce | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $0–$550/mo (typically $25) | $0–$100/mo (typically $20) |
| Primary use | Sales pipeline management | Marketing automation + sales |
| Scheduling | Add-ons required | Meetings (basic) |
| Job management | No (projects via add-ons) | No |
If you are choosing between these two, this is the part that matters. Both are established products and neither is a mistake — the question is which fits how you actually work. We have left ourselves out of this section entirely.
Headline prices rarely survive contact with a real invoice. These are the parts of the bill that move: where the ladder starts and ends, what an extra seat adds, and what comes off the top of money you take through the tool. A dash means we do not have that figure recorded — not that the fee is zero.
| Salesforce | HubSpot | |
|---|---|---|
| How it is priced | Monthly subscription | Monthly subscription |
| Entry price | $0/mo | $0/mo |
| Top published tier | $550/mo | $100/mo |
| Plan people typically land on | $25/mo | $20/mo |
| Per extra user | All plans priced per user/month: Starter Suite $25; Pro Suite $100; Core $195; Advanced $395; Max $550 (Pro Suite and above billed annually only) | Priced per seat: Starter $20/seat/mo monthly; Professional $100/seat/mo monthly ($90 annual); Enterprise $150/seat/mo (annual only) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Three-year total | $900 | $720 |
| Five-year total, with increases | $1,500 | $1,200 |
Starter Suite — the only plan sold month-to-month; covers contacts, leads, pipeline and email for a 1–5 person business (Pro Suite at $100 adds automation/customization)
Sales Hub Starter — $20/seat billed monthly; the first paid tier small teams buy once they outgrow the free CRM
Pricing checked . Vendors change prices without notice — check the vendor before deciding.
Both of these are real products that a lot of businesses run on happily. If a comparison page only tells you what is wrong with the tools it is comparing, it is selling you something. Here is the honest case for each.
Salesforce charges more ($25/mo against $20/mo) and tends to offer more depth for its target market. HubSpot at $20/mo is the accessible option, though it still reaches $240/year. Recurring pricing compounds, so the multi-year figure is the one that decides it.
Whether Salesforce or HubSpot is right for you comes down to the work you actually do rather than the sticker price. The sections above set out where each one is strong, what each really costs, and what operators report about both.
Pricing verified March 2026.