How many contacts can I have in HubSpot free?

If you’re looking to use an all-in-one platform for managing leads, creating sales pipelines, tracking customer interactions, etc., there is no better option than HubSpot.

HubSpot offers everything from email marketing solutions to collaboration tools, analytics, integration features, as well as mobile apps that allow users to work on their computer or via smartphones. The company has been around since 2002, so it's got quite some experience under its belt. In fact, this multi-faceted software was used by over half of Fortune 500 companies before they started using any other system. It also won Best Software Product at the 2016 Cloud Awards.

However, even though HubSpot comes highly recommended, not everyone knows exactly what they get when signing up for HubSpot Premium (the paid version). So we'll help you learn more about the various platforms available through HubSpot. We will cover details such as how much storage space you get, whether your data gets backed up, if you're limited to one phone number, which plans offer unlimited calls and texts, and much more!

Let's dive right into these topics...

What are the limitations of HubSpot?

Limitations exist on both versions of HubSpot. While anyone who uses HubSpot Free should be aware of them, those who pay for HubSpot Pro might want to know about the differences between each plan too. Below we list out some common limitations for both types of accounts.

For starters, while HubSpot Free allows customers to access certain functionalities like lead generation and social media management, it does limit the amount of people you can connect with within a given time frame. For example, if you try to create a new connection with someone who already exists in your database, but cannot do so because you don't meet HubSpot's criteria, you may end up being blocked.

This limitation applies to existing connections only. If you attempt to add someone who doesn't match the necessary requirements, you won't face any issues whatsoever. You can always request another person in your network fill in that role instead. One way to circumvent this restriction would be to share your login credentials with others. However, doing so could put your security at risk. Therefore, you should avoid sharing sensitive user info unless absolutely necessary.

Another drawback of HubSpot Free is that you aren't able to call or text individuals outside of your own country. This means that if you live in America, you can make international calls and receive calls from anywhere in the world, provided you purchase a local SIM card. On the contrary, calling numbers inside the US requires you to subscribe to either Plan A or B. These two options cost $15.99 per line plus taxes and fees.

While you can still reach out to external parties via Skype, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, etc., you need to keep in mind that you are bound to your geographic region. That said, you can choose to upgrade to HubSpot Professional Unlimited anytime without losing your current contacts. As long as you maintain the same telephone number, you can switch to one of the three professional packages offered by HubSpot.

In addition, HubSpot Free subscribers must rely solely on third-party services like MailChimp, Constant Contact, Infusionsoft, etc., to manage their campaigns. They can't simply upload their documents onto HubSpot's servers and expect them to show up automatically. Instead, they'd have to manually insert records for every single campaign.

Lastly, HubSpot Free offers less automation capabilities compared to premium ones. To illustrate, let's say that you've just created a new opportunity and made a followup call to it. With HubSpot Free, you would have to go back to your dashboard and click "Send," whereas in HubSpot Professional Unlimited, you can set up automated responses according to triggers you specify.

How many emails can you send per month with HubSpot?

Here's something worth mentioning regarding sending emails via HubSpot: HubSpot lets you design multiple templates for different scenarios. When composing messages, you can select from several pre-made designs, or input the exact wording yourself. Then, hit Send and watch your message appear on the recipient's inbox.

It's important to note, however, that you're restricted to 10 unique emails sent daily with HubSpot Free. Each template counts towards that total. Also, HubSpot Free subscribers are allowed to create a maximum of five lists on their dashboards. Lists function similarly to folders in Gmail. They contain all of your related content and can be accessed easily whenever you log into your personal account.

With HubSpot's Business Plus package, you can increase your daily email count to 50. Furthermore, you can have 30 active subfolders and 200 total items stored in each folder. Subscribers of the Enterprise level can exceed these limits depending on their needs.

The average monthly billable usage rate for HubSpot Free is 1 GB of data. This includes emails, attachments, video files, audio recordings, images, document sizes, and other file types. All of these elements combined shouldn't take up more than 2% of your allotted bandwidth. Thus, if you use a lot of cloud applications simultaneously, HubSpot Free may prove inadequate for you.

To address this problem, HubSpot Professional Unlimited costs $199 per year for one virtual server. Customers who opt for the enterprise edition can enjoy enhanced service levels, additional private IP addresses, dedicated support team, 24x7 monitoring, and extra storage capacity.

Also, unlike standard accounts, business professionals can store 100 MBs of attachments and video formats per subscriber. Additionally, HubSpot's pricing model scales based on the number of employees working remotely. For instance, if you employ eight remote workers, rather than paying upfront for ten years, you can spread payments across four years.

Finally, HubSpot provides clients with the ability to host their websites on shared hosting, reseller hosting, managed WordPress, Amazon AWS S3, Microsoft Azure, Rackspace Hosting, among others. By opting for the most suitable solution, you can save money.

How many contacts can I have in free HubSpot CRM?

When first starting off, HubSpot's Free Edition allows users to track a maximum of 25 contacts at once. Of course, if you wish to expand your network further, you can always upgrade. Here's what happens when you decide to sign up for HubSpot Premium: after upgrading, you'll gain access to advanced search fields, custom filters, auto responders, workflow functionality, and more.

Furthermore, HubSpot gives you the freedom to import external databases containing thousands of entries. Once you integrate your database(s), you can begin adding relevant prospects to specific projects and start interacting with them accordingly. Afterward, you can assign tasks to members of your team, initiate chats, schedule meetings, etc.

As mentioned earlier, HubSpot's Basic license allows users to build a maximum of five independent campaigns. But here's where you may want to consider expanding beyond that threshold. Since HubSpot Professional Unlimited grants you greater control over your marketing efforts, you can organize numerous campaigns from your desktop and monitor their progress individually.

Additionally, HubSpot's Marketing Automation tool enables you to automate repetitive processes within your organization. For example, you can establish rules based on actions taken by individual recipients, thus saving hours of manual labor.

On the whole, HubSpot makes contacting potential partners easy thanks to its streamlined process. Simply attach a desired title to your email and wait until the prospect opens it. From there, you can ask questions pertaining to job description, salary expectations, availability, etc. Depending on the type of relationship you seek to form, you can customize your approach.

Is HubSpot a Salesforce competitor?

Since 2013, HubSpot has partnered with SalesForce, allowing customers to seamlessly sync their databases. Not surprisingly, HubSpot excels at automating repetitive tasks associated with lead conversion and nurturing. However, the company isn't a direct competitor of the former. Rather, it serves as a supplement to other systems.

Similarly, HubSpot works best when integrated with other popular online tools. For example, you can leverage Zapier to link multiple web apps together. Or perhaps you prefer integrating HubSpot with Slack. Either way, HubSpot complements its competitors' offerings rather than competing against them directly.

HubSpot's popular business marketing platform is now available for everyone to use at no cost thanks to its new HubSpot Community offering. The company also announced that it will be discontinuing its Enterprise product line and moving towards an all-inclusive pricing plan starting at $19 per month for up to five users.

The move comes as more businesses shift their focus from expensive enterprise software subscriptions toward using cloud platforms like HubSpot. And with over 2 million people already registered on HubSpot’s community site alone, there are plenty of reasons why this might appeal to small teams looking to get started or individuals who want to test out the service without committing to a longer term contract. Here we'll explain everything you need to know about how much you're actually paying for HubSpot and what you can do if you decide it isn't worth it anymore.

What are the limits of HubSpot Free CRM?

When signing up for HubSpot, users must first select whether they’d prefer to pay monthly ($9) or annually ($6). If you choose annual billing, you won’t see any restrictions until after 12 months when you renew. Otherwise, you’ll automatically subscribe to one year of HubSpot’s most basic version once you sign up.

If you opt into the Basic Plan (which costs $0 every three years), you’re limited to only 100 active leads, 25 social media connections, 10 email accounts, 5 custom fields, 1 team member, and 5 scheduled meetings. You can add unlimited follow-up emails, phone calls, etc., but those numbers don’t include data tracking features such as reporting tools. This tier also has fewer integrations than other plans, so these may not work well for larger companies that rely heavily on third party products for specific tasks. In addition, while you can store 500 MB of file attachments, you aren’t able to upload files bigger than 4 GB.

For $10 extra each month, you can upgrade to Business Essentials which gives you access to additional features including unlimited lead storage space, 200MB document size limit, 250GB file attachment limit, advanced permissions controls, and 60 minutes of live chat support each month. There’s also a Starter Plus package which costs $20 per month and includes similar perks to the Business Essentials option plus 30 minutes of video conferencing time each month instead of just 15. Finally, for $30 per month, you can purchase Premium Support—the highest level of support offered by HubSpot—to receive 24x7 customer service via toll-free number, priority status during checkout, dedicated technical support staff, and detailed usage reports.

While this should give you an idea of how flexible HubSpot's pricing options are, keep in mind that some paid services come with extras like premium versions of Microsoft Office 365. For example, HubSpot offers a free trial period for both Teams and Sales Navigator, but you’ll need to pay separately for them afterwards.

Also note that even though HubSpot doesn’t offer certain paid tiers like Enterprise Lite, you still have access to those same features through HubSpot Community. So unless you specifically want to buy those upgrades, you shouldn’t feel left out because you didn't opt for a higher price point.

Is HubSpot CRM completely free?

No, but you can try HubSpot out for yourself for free with HubSpot Community. When you create a profile, you’ll notice that the default plan you chose earlier shows under “My Subscription Type." However, the Community Edition allows you to change this setting to either Monthly or Annual depending on your preference.

Once you set the payment type, you’ll get a preview of how much money you could save by opting into HubSpot's Community edition rather than upgrading to the full Platform. But before you go ahead and cancel your current plan, remember that canceling your monthly payments early results in prorated refunds.

In short, this means HubSpot would only refund part of your initial fee based on whatever remaining amount was due at the end of the billing cycle. It’s important to check out exactly how much you’d save overall before making any decisions since HubSpot does not provide estimates for savings.

However, unlike the free version, HubSpot Community supports multiple users across different devices and will allow you to send invites to others to help manage your shared workspace. You can also invite members from outside of HubSpot directly, meaning anyone signed up for your free Community account can join.

Lastly, HubSpot Community also lets you connect your Google Calendar and Slack channels to sync communications between your personal schedule and professional goals.

How many users can you have on a HubSpot account?

Users cannot exceed the total number of users allowed within a single organization. Only admins can edit user settings, so adding another person simply requires inviting someone else. As long as the maximum number hasn't been reached yet, you can easily adjust the user count later.

There is a way around this restriction, however, called HubSpots' "Unlimited Users" feature. By creating a dummy admin user, you can essentially make room for future additions. Just click Manage Users and enter a password that grants administrator privileges. Now, whenever you add a new employee, you’ll assign them an existing username instead. Since you made sure to add enough spaces beforehand, there’s nothing stopping you from assigning ten unique usernames to your employees!

This trick isn't ideal for large organizations where administrators often forget to check off this box, but it works great for smaller startups. After all, nobody wants to deal with hiring new hires and training managers on how to properly administer a system. With HubSpot, you can skip all that hassle and let your employees handle things themselves.

What are the limitations of HubSpot free?

Aside from the aforementioned limitations of HubSpot's free offerings, there are several other factors to consider when deciding whether HubSpot is right for you. Some of these relate to customization, whereas others speak to ease of use. At a minimum, here are two areas you should look at if considering switching to HubSpot's Community edition.

Customization: While HubSpot makes it easy to customize your dashboard and branding, the lack of built-in analytics makes it harder to understand what impact changes are having. That said, if you’re fine with tweaking colors and fonts, you probably don’t care too much about seeing metrics anyway.

Ease of Use: HubSpot’s interface is intuitive and simple to navigate, but if you’re used to interacting with complex systems, it may take some getting used to especially if you’ve worked with other platforms before.

Other considerations include the fact that HubSpot uses its own web browser instead of Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox, or Opera. Also, although HubSpot provides access to Outlook messages, you’ll lose the ability to search Gmail and Yahoo Mail. Lastly, you must download external apps from the App Store or Play Store to conduct mobile surveys, track inventory, or perform remote client visits.

Overall, HubSpot remains a solid choice for growing businesses seeking affordable alternatives to traditional SaaS solutions. Whether you decide to stick with your current provider, switch to HubSpot, or explore HubSpot Community itself further, happy hunting!

HubSpot's free plan has a lot to offer—and it might just be enough for you if you're looking at building out an email marketing strategy without paying anything extra. Here are all the details on what you get with HubSpot Free compared to its paid counterpart.

HubSpot offers two plans: one that includes unlimited users, another that only allows 10 users per company. We'll focus on the latter here as we explain how HubSpot works, but keep this in mind when comparing the pricing between the two options. The other option will allow more users within the same budget. If you want to learn about the full package, check out our comparison of HubSpot vs. MailChimp.

We've also got some tips for getting the most from your free HubSpot experience below.

Who is bigger HubSpot or Salesforce?

Before explaining exactly what HubSpot does, let’s talk about who else provides similar services. As far as enterprise-level tools go, there are few companies like HubSpot.

Salesforce was founded in 1999 by Marc Benioff and Todd Marchant (who now serves as CEO). It became publicly traded in 2004 and currently employs around 4,500 people worldwide. Its products include cloud software such as Chatter and Service Cloud. In addition to providing customer service solutions, Salesforce helps businesses manage their sales teams, track leads, create proposals, collaborate across departments, and provide analytics reports.

In 2015, Forbes valued Salesforce at $5 billion. That figure makes it larger than Google ($4.6B), Facebook ($3.9B), Amazon ($3.8B), Apple ($2.7B) and Microsoft ($1.9B)—but still smaller than IBM ($19.2B) and Oracle ($13.3B).

Like HubSpot, Salesforce doesn't charge customers based on number of employees. Instead, they charge by the month or year. Customers may pay up to $20 per user per month or choose a yearly payment plan starting at $25 per employee per month. A single license costs $150 per month.

If you need help deciding which platform would work best for your needs, read more about why HubSpot isn't a direct competitor to Salesforce.

How do I use HubSpot Free CRM?

So, you've decided you'd rather try HubSpot free first before shelling out any money. How do you actually start using the tool?

When you sign up for HubSpot free, you receive access to HubSpot Community Edition (CE). CE gives you basic functionality to build out your brand's customer relationship management system. You don't have to worry about connecting multiple accounts, designing templates, or setting goals because HubSpot handles everything automatically. This means you can spend less time learning about the tool itself and focusing on growing your business instead.

A great way to familiarize yourself with HubSpot CE is through these five courses offered on Coursera: Introduction To Marketing Automation With Email And Hubspot Course, Digital Business Strategy Using HubSpot CEP Training, Build An Effective Email List With HubSpot Learning Center, Mastering Customer Relationship Management Through HubSpot Academy [No Longer Available], and Complete Guide To Creating Your Own Customizable Lead Generation Forms In HubSpot Learning Center.

Here are three additional ways to explore HubSpot CE:

Try creating new forms via the Dashboard tab on the left side menu bar. Then select New form. From there, click + New Form. Fill out the fields to customize your own lead generation page. Once you finish, hit Save. Now, whenever someone fills out that form, it goes straight into your inbox.

On the dashboard, you'll see "Form Builder" listed under My Apps. Click this icon to open up a new window where you can fill out custom questions or add images and videos to capture potential leads' attention. When finished, press save and send.

To make sure prospects know they filled out a form, make sure you set up auto responders so they can opt-out anytime. On the dashboard, you'll see "Auto Responder" listed under My Apps. Select this, then Add Auto responder. Follow the prompts to complete setup. For example, tell them to reply directly to your specific email address or text message.

Once you've completed your initial setup, remember to share links to your forms with others. This lets them easily fill out the form themselves. Don't forget to give them permission to view your list.

It's worth mentioning that if you decide to upgrade to HubSpot Pro after completing your free trials, you won't lose access to those apps once you cancel your subscription. However, upon canceling HubSpot, you must delete your data manually.

HubSpot used to give away 15 free credits monthly. These were good for 1,000 emails each, plus 100 MB storage space. But since January 2017, HubSpot replaced free credits with free months. So, if you want to continue testing HubSpot free, you should reach out to support. They may refund your unused credit. Otherwise, you could look at alternative platforms.

Now that you understand how to use HubSpot CE, let's take a closer look at what comes standard with HubSpot's free tier. Keep reading to discover what's available.

Download: HubSpot for Android | iOS (Free)

How long is HubSpot free trial?

The HubSpot free trial lasts 30 days, unless canceled early. During this period, you can connect as many clients as you wish for free. After the trial expires, however, you'll need to buy credits to gain more users.

Although you can cancel your free trial at any point during the 30 day period, doing so requires deleting your entire database. This means you cannot reconnect later without purchasing credits again.

What is included in the free version of HubSpot?

There are no limitations on features, integrations, or client numbers. Any type of app development can occur within HubSpot. You can even integrate HubSpot with third-party systems. Plus, you can automate tasks, analyze responses, and personalize interactions through the platform.

For instance, you can use HubSpot to design landing pages, social media posts, website forms, email newsletters, thank you cards, etc. Additionally, you can embed HubSpot onto websites, mobile applications, and desktop programs. Lastly, you can seamlessly sync content and updates between devices.

While HubSpot CE is completely free to use, you may not always need every feature. Some functions require you purchase credits. The average cost per credit varies depending on whether you choose to subscribe annually or monthly.

Annual Subscription: Credits range from $49-$99 per month.

Monthly Subscription: Credits range from $29 -$59 per month.

As mentioned earlier, HubSpot uses a tiered pricing model. While you can use certain tools without upgrading, doing so increases capabilities over time. Thus, if you intend to stay connected longer term, it's recommended you consider buying credits sooner rather than later.

Keep in mind HubSpot charges differently for different types of industries. There are tiers for small businesses, midmarket organizations, and large enterprises. Each tier starts off offering fewer credits per month. As well, there's a difference in price for annual versus monthly subscriptions. Annual prices typically run higher due to discounts.

Overall, HubSpot offers plenty of value for free while charging fairly reasonable rates.

Download: HubSpot for Android | iOS (Free)

Are there hidden fees associated with HubSpot free?

Yes. Depending on your industry, there may be several kinds of fees associated with HubSpot free. Most notably, there's a transaction fee charged when sending emails outside of your domain. Other examples include usage fees for API integration, device synchronization fees, and data transfer fees.

These fees vary slightly among providers. For example, LinkedIn charges $0.005 per sent email whereas Mint charges $0.01 per emailed invoice. Also, HubSpot charges 2 percent of gross revenue for invoices. Meanwhile, PayPal charges 3% and Stripe charges 5%. Fees aren't something to ignore. Make sure to research any provider's policies beforehand.

Is HubSpot cheaper than competitors?

Yes. HubSpot's entry-level pricing structure puts it head-to-head against some of its biggest rivals. According to recent estimates, HubSpot competes with both Sendinblue and Mailchimp. Both of these alternatives are cheaper than HubSpot.

Mailchimp charges $16.95 per month for 20 users, including double Opt-ins, segmented lists, advanced tracking, and autoresponders. Sendinblue charges $12.50 per month for 25 users, including double Opt-Ins, segmented lists, and premium support.

Additionally, HubSpot is often ranked lower than other major players in terms of profit margins. For example, according to ProfitScale, HubSpot generates approximately 0.87 times the net income generated by Mailchimp. Likewise, HubSpot ranks behind HubSpot's closest rival, Constant Contact, in terms of profitability. Overall, HubSpot doesn't beat its competition in terms of profits.