Budgets are tightening, and software subscriptions are getting pricier each month. Sales here, marketing there, customers everywhere, and you’re expected to keep it all together without losing your sanity. Most of the businesses are choosing their tools a lot more carefully now.
HubSpot might be popular, but it’s not the most affordable option on the table anymore. Whether you’re a startup in Manchester or an SME in London, finding a CRM that fits both your workflow and your wallet is the real challenge.
Before we dive into the top HubSpot alternatives, it’s worth quickly looking at what HubSpot offers in 2025 and why so many teams are starting to move away from it.
Quick Overview of HubSpot CRM
What HubSpot Does Best
SMes appreciates its quick setup, strong email tools, and extensive library of integrations, and HubSpot stands out for its interface, seamless marketing-sales alignment, and easy-to-use free CRM. For businesses with simple pipelines or those just starting with automation, HubSpot’s onboarding experience remains smooth.
Where HubSpot Falls Short
Though the way its prices jump quickly, it’s the biggest challenge. Many essential features like advanced reporting, automation workflows, and custom fields are locked behind premium tiers.SMEs often realise they’re paying far more per user the moment their team starts to grow. And unless you’re on the higher tiers, the customisation options stay pretty limited, which pushes the cost up even faster.
Who Should Still Use HubSpot
It still works fine for micro-businesses, solo founders, and teams who don’t need heavy automation. If your needs are decent and you’re not planning to scale anytime soon, the free plan and basic tiers can genuinely offer good value.
Why Businesses are Moving to HubSpot Alternatives?
EU/UK Data Compliance Concerns
With GDPR rules set to become stricter in 2025, many companies now prefer their CRMs to offer clearer regional data hosting and more transparency around compliance.
Scaling Costs for Growing Teams
HubSpot becomes more expensive when you add seats and features. What start-ups need is predictable pricing, and a lot of Hubspot alternatives handle this much better.
High Pricing Tiers
Most businesses feel that HubSpot's upper tiers are overpriced, especially for teams that need more seats, proper automation, and deeper customisation.
Limited Customisation in Free Plan
The free version is decent, but once you really need proper control, the restrictions around custom fields, advanced workflows, and personalized reporting start to become a headache that will ultimately force users into costly upgrades.
Top HubSpot CRM Alternatives to Consider
1. Zoho (Best Alternative to HubSpot)
Zoho CRM is a customer relationship management tool through which businesses can track deals, automate sales activities, and gain valuable insights using its AI-driven assistant, Zia.
Best For:
SMEs, teams that invested in the Zoho suite, and businesses wanting enterprise-style customisation without Salesforce pricing.
Key Features:
- AI sales assistant, Zia, provides insights and deal predictions.
- Predictive analytics and sales forecasting.
- Automating Workflows: follow-up emails, scheduling appointments, and managing tasks.
- Collaboration tools: group chat, screen sharing, tags.
- Industry-specific templates through Zoho Creator.
- Live website, lead chat, and call tracking.
- Integration with Zoho Books, Zoho Projects, Zoho Desk, and email marketing apps.
Pros:
- Strong automation and AI features even at lower-tier plans.
- Seamless integration with other Zoho applications to create a unified ecosystem.
- Useful collaboration tools for team efficiency.
Cons:
- The user interface can sometimes feel clunky and visually outdated.
- Mobile app performance lags behind its desktop counterpart.
- Advanced AI features are only available in higher-tier plans.
Pricing:
2. Insightly CRM
A prize tool for those dealing with lead management and project management. Equipped with automation tools, along with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, allows teams to focus on closing deals rather than managing repetitive tasks, making it a strong contender as a HubSpot alternative.
Best For
SMEs require efficient lead routing, automation of tasks, and flexible pipeline management.
Key Features:
- Customisable pipelines to fit team-specific sales processes.
- Automation of repetitive tasks, including follow-up emails and lead assignment.
- Bulk emailing feature to communicate efficiently.
- Business card scanning for automatic contact input.
- Integration with G Suite, Office 365, and Mailchimp.
- Custom user roles to control access to contacts and data.
Pros:
- Powerful automation: reduces manual workload and saves time.
- Intuitive drag-and-drop interface simplifies data organisation.
- Smooth integration with popular applications to ensure non-stop work.
Cons:
- Some users may find the interface cluttered with features.
- Bulk contact imports can be slow and inhibit efficiency.
- Advanced reporting and customisation features are available with higher-tier plans.
Pricing
3. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is an all-in-one, powerful marketing and CRM platform, famous for its advanced automation and email marketing capabilities. It excels at customer segmentation and personalised messaging, making it a go-to choice for targeting certain audiences efficiently.
Best For:
Businesses focused on email marketing, automation, and e-commerce integrations that want to streamline campaigns while keeping customer interactions highly personalised.
Key Features:
- Automating workflows for complicated marketing sequences.
- Segmentation of leads based on actions for targeted messaging.
- Email campaign types include: regular, RSS triggered, autoresponders, and A/B split testing.
- Easy-to-use newsletter creator with built-in templates.
- Win probability feature to assess deals and optimize sales strategy.
- Integration with e-commerce and other tools like Shopify.
Pros:
- Advanced automation saves time and improves campaign efficiency.
- Sturdy customer segmentation and personalisation capabilities.
- Easy-to-use email designer for quick campaign creation.
Cons:
- Steeper learning curve because of the depth of features.
- The user interface can appear cluttered, and navigation is complicated.
- Templates are basic, limiting advanced design customisation.
Pricing:
4. PipeDrive
Pipedrive is the sales-oriented CRM that is centred on a highly visual pipeline system, which enables teams to track deal movement without getting bogged down in unnecessary features. Its interface is very intuitive, and it's crafted in a way that allows sales reps to stay organised and close deals faster.
Best For:
Small to mid-sized businesses that want a simple and efficient, visual CRM for managing sales pipelines without the complexity of enterprise-heavy tools..
Key Features:
- Customisable pipelines to fit your unique sales process.
- Drag-and-drop deal management for swift updates.
- Visual sales dashboards for at-a-glance progress.
- Seamless integrations with Gmail, Trello, Slack, and 400+ tools.
- Quote management that flags outstanding or previously approved quotes.
- Intelligent AI-driven Sales Assistant: provides insights, reminders, and predictions.
- Autofill of contact details to minimize manual input.
- Web forms & chatbots to capture and qualify leads.
- Revenue forecasting and activity tracking.
Pros:
- Exceptionally user-friendly, having a clear visual pipeline.
- Strong automation and AI suggestions help optimize sales activity.
- Integrates easily with commonly used apps to enhance workflow among teams.
- Great for teams that need simplicity and speed rather than complex CRM layers.
Cons:
- The mobile application misses some advanced desktop features.
- Unfortunately, many useful capabilities sit behind the add-ons, making the total cost higher than anticipated.
- Limited customisation for marketing campaigns.
- Lead downloading can be tricky due to specific export settings required.
Pricing:
5. EngageBay
EngageBay is basically the budget-friendly, all-in-one CRM that tries to give you HubSpot-level functionality without the HubSpot-level invoice. It combines marketing, sales, and customer support tools in one clean platform, the best HubSpot alternative for businesses that want automation, email marketing, and CRM management under one roof.
Best For:
SMEs that want an affordable, unified CRM + marketing automation platform with dependable email marketing, helpdesk features, and smooth team collaboration.
Key Features:
- Marketing automation, contact management, and customer support tools all in one workspace.
- Strong email marketing suite: landing pages, autoresponders, broadcasts, and multi-step sequences.
- Extremely fast loading speed due to AWS + CloudFront optimisation (page editor feels smoother than most budget CRMs).
- Built-in helpdesk + live chat for customer support.
- Integrations with Zapier, Mailchimp, Xero, etc.Shared tasks, activity logs, and centralised communication to keep the whole team aligned.
Pros:
- Very fast and straightforward platform experience.
- Strong email marketing tools for the price.
- Smooth collaboration via shared tasks + activity logs.
- Page builder loads quickly (rare for low-cost CRMs).
- Helpdesk + live chat included, making it a true all-in-one tool.
Cons:
- Customisation options are limited (especially dashboards + reporting).
- Email and landing page editors can feel restrictive.
- The mobile app isn’t as stable, with occasional glitches and slowdowns.
Pricing:
6. Freshsales CRM
Freshsales is a part of the Freshworks suite and is a sales-centric CRM, packing in a powerful mix of AI, automation, and built-in communication: phone, email, and chat. Its predictive contact scoring and email/phone tracking really help sales teams prioritise leads and keep conversations tight. It's one of the strongest HubSpot crm alternatives when you care about pipeline management, sales automation, and intelligent lead qualification.
Best For:
SMEs and startups that want a sales-driven system with built-in telephony, email, and smart lead scoring/forecasting minus the enterprise-level price tag.
Key Features:
- AI-powered lead scoring & deal insights via Freddy AI.
- Sales sequences to automate outreach: emails, calls, SMS.
- Visual sales pipeline for full visibility into deals.
- Built-in phone, email, and chat to communicate flawlessly.
- Custom workflows to automate repetitive tasks.
- Custom fields and multiple sales pipelines (on higher plans).
- AI-based forecasting to predict revenue or the closure of the deal.
- Reporting and dashboards to track team performance.
- Mobile application so reps can manage things on the go.
Pros:
- Very intelligent lead prioritization from Freddy AI helps your team focus on the right leads.
- Automation is solid and saves lots of manual effort: sequences + workflows + task automation.
- With the ability to have built-in communications, you don't need to have separate tools for calls or messaging.
- Scalable: as your revenue team grows, you can move to more advanced pipelines and forecasting tools.
Cons:
- Can be a lot to learn: There are a lot of features, which means setup and onboarding take some time.
- Customisation options feel a bit limited compared to heavy-duty CRMs, especially in more complex scenarios.
- Reporting dashboards are good, but for power users, the number of reports you can build/view might feel limited/capped.
- AI and other smart features of Freddy are mostly locked to paid plans. So, you do not get all the AI magic with the free version.
Pricing:
7. Salesforce CRM
Salesforce is built for businesses needing deep automation, advanced analytics, and large-scale customisation. Its tools support complex workflows, automation, and data-driven decisions. Best HubSpot alternative among teams that need serious lead intelligence without getting locked into a particular platform.
Best For:
Businesses requiring enterprise-level CRM capabilities, especially those whose sales team seeks data-driven lead management, complex workflows, and accurate forecasting.
Key Features:
- Rapid lead capture, automated routing, and granular lead scoring.
- Track social media activities to enrich contact profiles.
- Marketing automation for segmented, personalised email journeys.
- Revenue forecasting based on historical trends and insights from artificial intelligence.
- Automation of admin tasks, including data entry, reminders, and follow-ups.
- Extensive customisation of objects, dashboards, workflows, and reports.
Pros:
- Exceptionally strong lead intelligence and segmentation tools.
- Precise forecasting capabilities for revenue planning.
- Powerful automation reduces manual work.
- Works well with a wide range of third-party apps and tools.
Cons:
- For beginners, the interface may seem a little bulky and complicated.
- Data limits may require additional paid storage.
- The deeper the level of customisation, the more it may tend to increase both the cost and setup time.
- Needs a knowledgeable admin for optimal use.
Pricing:
8. Nutshell CRM
Nutshell delivers powerful automation without enterprise complexity. Along with integrating well with Google Workspace, Microsoft Office 365, Mailchimp, Slack, and Zapier. Nutshell is a practical HubSpot alternative that focuses on pipeline management and operational efficiency for organisations.
Best For:
SMEs looking for a sales-first CRM with automated pipelines, reminders, and structured task management, ideal for teams using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 and sales managers needing clear activity tracking and performance reporting.
Key Features:
- Automated lead assignment, follow-up, and Tasks Per Stage for structured workflow
- Two-way email and calendar syncing with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365
- Tag-based segmentation to sort and filter long contact lists.
- Zapier integrations for capturing inbound leads automatically
- Sales-friendly reports on forecasting, pipeline health, and team activity
- Import data easily using spreadsheet-compatible tools.
- Web forms with drop-down fields to capture data quickly
Pros:
- Strong sales automation for predictable and consistent workflows.
- Smooth integration with major productivity tools
- Clear reporting dashboards tailored for sales managers
- The tag system enhances segmentation and list organisation.
- User-friendly interface with minimal onboarding time
Cons:
- Options for customisation are limited compared to Zoho or Salesforce
- Tags need to be created beforehand from contact imports, or uploads fail
- Pipeline structure can sometimes feel rigid for more complex or multi-stage sales cycles.
- Not suitable for companies needing deep conditional automation
Pricing:
9. Keap CRM
Keap is an all-in-one CRM + marketing automation platform that was built for small businesses. It puts together lead and contact management, email marketing, invoicing, and pipeline automation within one system. More than just a sales tool, Keap acts like a business automation engine that's perfect for service businesses, coaches, and consultants.
Best For
SMEs and solopreneurs seeking for a powerful all-in-one system that combines automation, CRM, and payment processing. Perfect for managing bookings, invoicing, marketing, and sales in a single workflow.
Key Features:
- Contact management + segmentation (tags)
- Drag-and-drop automation builder for email, sales, and marketing flows
- Email broadcasts, automated follow-ups, and 1:1 messaging
- Appointment scheduler integrated with the Google or Outlook calendar
- Sales pipeline with quotations, invoices, and order forms
- Invoice & recurring payment support, promo codes
- Landing pages and web forms for lead capture
- Sales & marketing reporting and analytics
- Mobile app to handle tasks, contacts, and communication.
Pros:
- Very strong automation capabilities: Keap has the capability to build complex customer journeys without a separate tool.
- Integrated payment and invoicing features mean fewer apps to manage.
- Good for nurturing both with email and scheduled sales tasks.
- Saves a lot of time for the owners of small businesses by centralising CRM, plus sales and marketing.
Cons:
- Price is high relative to what Keap provides, especially when adding a lot of contacts or users.
- Learning curve: Automation Builder is powerful but may be tricky for non-technical users.
- Interface does feel a bit dated when weighed against newer CRMs.
- Some users report challenges cancelling or trying to deal with support.
Pricing:
10. Microsoft Dynamics 365 (Sales CRM)
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a full-scale business application platform, and its Sales CRM module is built for companies wanting enterprise-grade tools, deep customisation with the Microsoft stack. It's part of a broader ecosystem of business apps (ERP, service, marketing) that scale with very large or complex organisations.
Best For:
Mid-sized to large enterprises or rapidly scaling SMEs, particularly Sales teams already utilizing Microsoft 365, Teams, and Outlook.
Key Features:
- Lead & opportunity routing, scoring, and management.
- AI-driven predictive insights (with higher plans).
- Sales forecasting and pipeline analytics.
- Custom entity design (build custom records and data models).
- Mobile CRM app for on-the-go selling.
- Deep integration with Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Teams.
- Quotes & orders, product catalogues, and price lists.
- Role-based dashboards and reporting.
- Automation for follow-ups, tasks, and notifications.
Pros:
- Extremely powerful and customisable can be tailored to very specific sales processes.
- Native Microsoft 365 ecosystems integration: CRM feels “part of Office/Teams,” not a bolt-on.
- Advanced AI and forecasting for deal predictions.
- Enterprise-grade security, compliance, and governance.
- Good for companies that want a long-term, scalable CRM + business operations platform.
Cons:
- It can be complicated and overwhelming for small or non-technical teams.
- Higher TCO (total cost of ownership) when customising or adding many users.
- Requires careful setup and possibly a dedicated admin or IT resource.
- Some “nice-to-have” features (AI, Copilot) sit in the most premium tier.
Pricing:
Recommendations
If your start-up or business is looking for alternatives to HubSpot before 2025 ends, the smartest thing you can do is pick a CRM that actually matches the way your team works, not by the name everyone is shouting online. Smaller teams that want speed in automation without draining the budget usually end up happiest with either Zoho, Insightly, or EngageBay.
If your team is more sales-driven and just wants a clean, no-nonsense pipeline, then Pipedrive, Keap, or Nutshell will make far more sense.
If forecasting, reporting, and long-term scalability are essential for you, then Freshsales and ActiveCampaign bring that depth you need without the enterprise-level invoice.
Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics 365 is usually more suitable for bigger organizations or start-ups scaling at a high speed due to the stronger customisation and tighter control over data they offer.
Conclusion
There are several Hubspot crm alternatives, from cost-effective options like Zoho and Nutshell to project-friendly Insightly, automation-heavy ActiveCampaign, and enterprise-grade Salesforce and Dynamics 365. There is something for every size. The real trick is in picking out the solution that fits perfectly with your team's workflow, budget, and long-term goals rather than just paying for features you never use.
FAQs
1. What are the best alternatives to HubSpot for SMEs in 2025?
Some good starting points for a small to medium business would be Zoho CRM, Insightly, Pipedrive, ActiveCampaign, and Freshsales.
2. Which CRM is the most affordable but still feature-rich?
Zoho CRM and EngageBay offer the best value, considering the robust feature sets at lower subscription costs.
3. Can I easily swap from HubSpot to another CRM easily?
Yes, most platforms support the import of data from HubSpot, but the planning should consider a period of migration to adapt workflows.
4. Which CRM is right for businesses with high automation?
ActiveCampaign is great for email and marketing automation, while Freshsales offers AI-assisted lead management.
5. Which CRM works best with Microsoft Office/Teams?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 smoothly integrates with Office 365 and Teams, perfect for companies already heavily integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem.
6. Are these CRMs compliant with GDPR?
UK/EU data compliance features are included in most major CRMs, including Salesforce, Zoho, and Dynamics 365.
7. Should small service businesses use Keap or Nutshell?
Keap is better for client-focused, service-based teams that need automation. Nutshell is suited for teams that value simplicity and clarity over complex features.
