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What Is Hubspot?

Breaking Down What HubSpot Actually Does And Why It Might Be Right For Your Business

If you're hearing about HubSpot but not totally sure what it is, you're not alone. HubSpot is often called a CRM, but it’s really a full platform made up of different tools that handle marketing, sales, content, service, and operations.

At its core, HubSpot is designed to help businesses grow by centralizing customer data and automating the tasks that move contacts through the funnel. It combines website tools, email automation, lead management, support tickets, and reporting—all in one system.

If you’re building a new site, sending your first newsletter, or scaling a global revenue team, HubSpot gives you one place to manage everything.

What Does HubSpot Include?

HubSpot isn’t just one tool, it’s a platform made of connected “hubs,” each designed for a different part of the customer journey.

  • Marketing Hub: Email, campaigns, workflows, landing pages, lead capture, and attribution
  • Sales Hub: Pipelines, deal tracking, quotes, lead routing, and meeting links
  • Content Hub: Website CMS, blog, smart content, SEO tools, and hosting
  • Service Hub: Help desks, ticket pipelines, knowledge base, live chat, and customer feedback
  • Operations Hub: Data syncing, automation, and custom workflows between apps

These hubs work together inside a shared CRM, so teams can collaborate without switching tools or losing visibility.

How Does HubSpot Work?

HubSpot works by storing your contact, company, and deal data in one central CRM. From there, you can use different hubs to attract, engage, and support those contacts at every stage of their lifecycle.

Everything is tied to real-time contact records. When a lead visits a page, downloads content, opens an email, or books a meeting, it’s logged in their record and becomes usable across automation, reporting, or sales activity.

This makes HubSpot useful for:

  • Running inbound marketing
  • Building nurture campaigns
  • Managing sales pipelines
  • Publishing content
  • Delivering customer support

It’s built to be easy to use for marketers and sales reps, with deeper customization available for developers and RevOps teams.

Who Is HubSpot Best For?

HubSpot is used by solo founders, small teams, and large enterprises, but the platform is especially well-suited for:

  • B2B companies that rely on inbound leads
  • Marketing teams that want visibility into sales results
  • Sales teams that need clean, automated pipelines
  • Companies switching off multiple disconnected tools
  • Agencies supporting multiple client accounts

The platform is flexible enough to support complex automation, while staying user-friendly for non-technical teams.

How Does HubSpot Compare to Other CRMs?

Compared to tools like Salesforce, Zoho, or Pipedrive, HubSpot focuses more on ease of use and marketing + content integration. It’s also modular, so you can start with one hub and expand as needed.

Here’s how HubSpot stacks up:

Feature

HubSpot

Salesforce

WordPress (for CMS)

CRM included

Yes

Yes

No

Website builder

Yes (Content Hub)

No

Yes

Email automation

Yes

Limited (add-ons)

No

Built-in reporting

Yes (customizable)

Yes (customizable)

No

Contact records + tracking

Yes

Yes

No

Usability for marketers

High

Moderate

Depends

While Salesforce is more customizable for enterprise use cases, HubSpot tends to win with mid-sized marketing and sales teams that want to move fast without hiring developers.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Using HubSpot?

Pros:

  • Easy-to-use interface for non-technical users
  • Seamless CRM integration across tools
  • Strong automation and reporting features
  • All-in-one platform that reduces tool sprawl
  • Scales well from startup to enterprise

Cons:

  • Can get expensive at higher tiers or contact volumes
  • Some advanced features locked behind Pro or Enterprise plans
  • CMS (Content Hub) may require developer help for full customization
  • Less backend flexibility than a headless stack or custom solution

Teams should consider their long-term needs before committing to higher-tier subscriptions.

Can You Use Just One Part of HubSpot?

Yes. HubSpot is built to be modular. You can start with one hub (like Marketing Hub Starter) and add others as your team grows.

You don’t need to buy everything at once.

Many teams begin with:

  • Marketing Hub for email and lead capture
  • Sales Hub for pipelines and quotes
  • Content Hub to replace WordPress or Webflow
  • Service Hub to unify support channels

You can mix and match tiers too: for example, running Pro-level marketing with Starter-level sales. It’s one of the more flexible licensing models in the category.

What Does HubSpot Cost?

HubSpot pricing depends on the hub, the tier (Starter, Pro, Enterprise), and your contact volume.

Here’s a rough breakdown (according to their site):

  • Marketing Hub Starter: from $20/month
  • Sales Hub Starter: from $20/month
  • Content Hub Starter: from $25/month
  • Pro tiers: $400–$890/month
  • Enterprise: $1,200–$3,600+/month

Free CRM features are always included, but tools like automation, A/B testing, custom reporting, and sandboxing are tier-gated. You can also bundle hubs for better pricing.

How Does HubSpot Handle Integrations?

HubSpot offers thousands of integrations across categories like CRM, ecommerce, video, chat, advertising, and more.

Popular integrations include:

  • Salesforce
  • Zoom
  • Slack
  • GA4 and Google Ads
  • Shopify
  • Mailchimp (for migrations)

You can connect these via native apps, custom APIs, or middleware tools like Zapier or Make. HubSpot also offers Operations Hub for advanced syncing and automation across systems.

What Migration to HubSpot Looks Like

Moving to HubSpot from another platform (like WordPress, Mailchimp, Salesforce, or Webflow) takes some prep.

Migrations usually include:

  • Rebuilding your site in Content Hub (if applicable)
  • Importing contacts, deals, and email lists
  • Recreating automation workflows and sequences
  • Adjusting tracking and attribution tools
  • Setting up permissions, teams, and reporting

Some tools migrate cleanly, others need manual rebuilds. FMK often runs these transitions for teams moving into HubSpot and can scope what to expect based on your current stack.

Last Word About HubSpot 

HubSpot is a connected platform that helps marketing, sales, and support teams grow without relying on scattered tools or custom builds. Whether you use one hub or all five, it’s designed to scale with you, from your first landing page to enterprise automation.

Need help figuring out how HubSpot fits your tech stack?
FMK helps teams compare platforms, plan clean migrations, and build CRM infrastructure that doesn’t slow you down. Reach out if you want hands-on support or just a second opinion on where to start.