HubSpot
HubSpot connects your marketing, sales, and customer service in one platform so you can grow without juggling disconnected tools.
Overview
HubSpot gives small businesses a free starting point and a clear path to grow. The free plan includes email marketing, live chat, forms, and basic CRM tools with no credit card required. The Starter plan runs $9 per seat per month (billed annually) and adds simple marketing automation, ad management, ad retargeting, and removes HubSpot branding from your emails and chat. Over 288,000 customers across 135 countries use HubSpot. The platform connects marketing, sales, service, content, and data tools in one place, so your team works from the same information. It also connects to over 2,000 apps including Gmail, Shopify, Slack, and Google Ads. The built-in AI agent resolves over 65% of customer inquiries automatically and delivers 39% faster ticket resolution compared to teams not using it. G2 voted HubSpot number one in 526 reports, including Grid Leader for Small Business.
Features
- Free CRM with email marketing and live chat (no credit card required)
- Starter plan at $9 per seat per month with simple marketing automation and ad management
- AI Customer Agent that resolves over 65% of inquiries automatically
- 2,000+ app integrations including Gmail, Shopify, Slack, and Google Ads
- Unified platform covering marketing, sales, service, content, and data
Best for
HubSpot fits small businesses that want one tool to handle marketing, sales, and customer service instead of paying for three separate platforms. It works especially well for owners who want to start free, test the tools, and upgrade only when the business grows.
Why this SMB score
HubSpot earns a strong score because the free plan is genuinely useful, the Starter plan is affordable at $9 per seat per month, and the platform covers nearly every core business function in one place, but the steep jump to Professional pricing limits its score for budget-conscious owners who need more than basic automation.