Are you thinking about buying HubSpot, but you aren’t sure what subscription you need, or if HubSpot is even the right platform for your business? You’ve come to the right place.

Let’s go through a quick overview of the key elements of HubSpot, what’s included for each subscription tier, and some of the system limitations.

Database

A unique feature of HubSpot’s structure is how you manage your database size relative to your subscription tier. You could have a nearly unlimited number of contacts in your database (technical limitation is 15 million “objects” for paid accounts, and contacts fall under “objects”), but HubSpot will only count marketing contacts towards your subscription limit. The Starter plan allows for up to 1,000 marketing contacts, Professional up to 2,000 marketing contacts, and Enterprise up to 10,000 marketing contacts.

If your marketing database size is higher than 10,000, you can pay additional per month for an increased limit. The pricing is tiered dependent on your subscription type. Marketing and non-marketing contacts can’t be updated more than once a month, so if you decide that HubSpot is the platform for you, make sure you are setting up processes to keep your total marketing contacts within your contract limit.

API calls are limited to 250,000 per day for the Starter plan and 500,000 per day for Professional and Enterprise. You can purchase an add-on for an additional $500/month that increases API calls limit to 1,000,000 per day.

Lists are how you can segment your database in HubSpot. Starter allows for 50 active lists and 1,000 static lists. Professional bumps that up to 1,200 active and static lists each, and Enterprise takes it further with 2,000 active and static lists each. For $200 more a month you can get 100 additional active and static lists each.

Integrations

HubSpot can function as a standalone CRM, but if you were hoping to integrate it with Salesforce, you’re going to need the Professional or Enterprise plan to be able to set that up. The Salesforce integration is limited to 1 account, with 500 field mappings and 10,000 Salesforce owners. You are able to have a bidirectional sync of leads/contacts, accounts, opportunities, and tasks, but you cannot configure properties to only include HubSpot values. And if you need a Salesforce custom object sync, that’s only available with the Enterprise plan and only allows for 10 custom objects per account.

HubSpot has an App Marketplace with plenty of out-of-the-box integrations available, including popular tools like Zoom, GoToWebinar, Drift, Outreach, Tableau, DemandBase, Zapier, Workato, and many more. The tools listed here are available for integration with all HubSpot plans, but if you have a specific tool you will need to integrate, we recommend checking the App Marketplace to see what plans it requires.

Automation

Workflows are how you can configure marketing automation processes, and they are only available to those with Professional or Enterprise plans. Professional is limited to 300 workflows for 10 teams, and Enterprise allows for up to 1,000 workflows for 300 teams with some bonus features such as behavioral events, lead scoring, and workflow health monitoring. For an extra $200/month, you can get 100 additional workflows, but you cannot have more than 10,000 workflows per account.

Transactional emails can only be sent from HubSpot if you purchase the Transactional Email add-on for $600/month, and you must have the Professional or Enterprise plan. Transactional (sometimes known as operational) emails are a commonly used asset in some marketing automation processes, so make sure you budget for this add-on if it’s something you will need.

Campaign Management

When it comes to executing marketing campaigns, many basic features are included in all three standard HubSpot Plans. Once you get to more complex features, like A/B testing or dynamic personalization, you’ll need either a Professional or Enterprise plan. To organize your assets into campaigns, you will also need a Professional or Enterprise plan.

Analytics

Reporting is available for every standard HubSpot subscription level. Starter gives you 10 dashboards, Professional allows for 25 dashboards, and Enterprise includes 50 dashboards.

Custom reporting is only available with the Professional and Enterprise plans – Professional has up to 100 custom reports, with Enterprise increasing that to up to 500 custom reports. With the Enterprise plan, you’ll get access to even more analytics – like customer journeys, multi-touch revenue attribution, behavioral events, and predictive lead scoring.

Still have questions?

Deciding which marketing automation platform you should buy is overwhelming – we get it! You can download this easy-to-follow summary of HubSpot’s features and limitations that we put together. If you’re still left scratching your head, give us a shout. We can help answer any lingering questions you might still have.

This information was gathered directly from HubSpot in March 2024 and is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of the time it was written.

Sources:
HubSpot Pricing: https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/marketing/enterprise
HubSpot Product and Services Catalog: https://legal.hubspot.com/hubspot-product-and-services-catalog