Custom CRM vs HubSpot CRM
Free is expensive when you outgrow it.
HubSpot's genius is the free CRM tier. It gets you in the door with basic contact management, then gradually locks the features you actually need behind paid tiers. By the time you realize the free tier isn't enough, your data is in HubSpot, your team is trained on HubSpot, and migrating feels harder than paying up. It's not a CRM; it's a funnel into HubSpot's marketing and sales platform. That's fine if you want an all-in-one marketing suite. It's a terrible deal if you just need a CRM.
Where HubSpot CRM Falls Short
Common pain points businesses hit with HubSpot CRM, and why they start looking at alternatives.
The Free-to-Expensive Pipeline
HubSpot CRM is free until it isn't. Need custom reporting? Upgrade. Need workflow automation? Upgrade. Need more than 5 email templates? Upgrade. The free tier is a demo, not a product. Professional tier starts at $450/month for 5 users. Enterprise is $1,500/month. You end up paying more than if you'd built custom from the start.
Feature Gates at Every Turn
HubSpot locks features behind tier gates aggressively. Calculated properties? Professional tier. Custom objects? Enterprise only. Predictive lead scoring? Enterprise. A/B testing on emails? Professional. The features exist, but they're just behind a paywall that keeps moving. Custom CRM has every feature you need from day one because it's built for you.
Marketing Platform Lock-In
HubSpot wants you on their marketing hub, their sales hub, their service hub, and their CMS hub. Each is priced separately. The CRM is the gateway drug. Once your marketing team is on HubSpot, switching CRMs means untangling from an entire ecosystem. Custom CRM integrates with whatever marketing tools you choose. No platform lock-in.
One-Size-Fits-All Data Model
HubSpot's data model is fixed: contacts, companies, deals, tickets. Need a custom object type? Enterprise only. Need custom associations between objects? Enterprise only. Your business data shouldn't be forced into someone else's schema. Custom CRM models your data the way your business actually works.
Feature Comparison
How custom CRM stacks up against HubSpot CRM on the things that actually matter.
| Feature | HubSpot CRM | Custom CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Starting cost | Free tier (limited), $450/mo Professional | One-time build cost |
| Custom objects | Enterprise only ($1,500/mo) | Built into data model from start |
| Workflow automation | Professional tier required | Included, custom to your process |
| Custom reporting | Professional+ required | Any report you need, built-in |
| Data model | Fixed: Contacts, Companies, Deals | Modeled to your business |
| Integration approach | HubSpot ecosystem preferred | Any tool via direct API |
| Email templates | 5 on free, more on paid tiers | Unlimited, your design |
| Vendor lock-in | Ecosystem lock-in by design | You own the code and data |
Cost Comparison
The real total cost of ownership, not just the sticker price.
HubSpot CRM
HubSpot Professional (Sales + Marketing): $1,300/month ($15,600/year) for 5 seats. Need more users, custom objects, or advanced features? Enterprise: $5,000+/month. Annual cost for a 15-person team with full features: $50,000-$80,000/year.
Custom CRM
Custom CRM: one-time build. Connect to whatever email marketing platform you want (or build email directly in). No tier upgrades, no feature gates. Every feature available to every user from day one.
When HubSpot CRM Is the Right Choice
HubSpot makes sense for very small teams (1-3 people) who are genuinely okay with the free tier's limitations and want a quick setup with zero budget. For any team that needs custom reporting, automation, or a data model that matches their business, the 'free' CRM becomes very expensive very fast.
The Bottom Line
HubSpot CRM is a marketing funnel disguised as a free product. It's designed to get your data in and your wallet out. If you're evaluating HubSpot, ask yourself: am I choosing this CRM, or am I being funneled into a marketing platform? A custom CRM gives you the contact management, automation, and reporting you need without the tier upgrades, feature gates, and platform lock-in.
What Our Clients Say
“Commercial energy audits, proposal generation, and project tracking all streamlined. We close more deals because prospects see professionalism at every touchpoint.”
Lisa Chen
Account Manager, GreenGrid Utilities
Sacramento, CA
“Event management from lead to invoice. The automated tastings scheduler and proposal generator cut our booking time from 2 weeks to 3 days.”
Robert Campbell
Owner, Campbell Catering Co
Atlanta, GA
“Shopify, Klaviyo, and our custom CRM all talk to each other now. Every customer touchpoint feeds into one profile. Our repeat purchase rate jumped 35% in three months.”
Jason Lee
Founder, Urban Roots Skincare
Brooklyn, NY
“Intake, conflict checking, and matter management in one place. Our paralegals saved 15 hours per week on administrative tasks alone.”
Katherine Wells
Managing Partner, Wells & Associates
Washington, DC
“Customer health scoring, usage analytics, and automated expansion triggers. Our net revenue retention went from 95% to 115% in one year.”
Nathan Briggs
Head of CS, DataPulse Analytics
Austin, TX
“Tracking buyer relationships, crop allocations, and delivery schedules in one system. Our direct-to-restaurant sales grew 50% because we can actually manage the relationships now.”
John Hargrove
Owner, Hargrove Family Farms
Des Moines, IA
“Insurance company integration means estimates go directly into our CRM. Job status updates go to customers automatically. Zero phone tag with adjusters.”
Pete Halloran
Owner, Halloran's Collision Center
Worcester, MA
“We were drowning in spreadsheets and sticky notes. Our custom CRM now pulls leads from Zillow, Realtor.com, and our website into one pipeline. Agent productivity is up 40% in six months.”
Sarah Mitchell
Managing Broker, Pinnacle Realty Group
Austin, TX
Thinking About Switching from HubSpot CRM?
Book a discovery call and we'll walk through your current HubSpot CRM setup, what's not working, and what a custom CRM would look like for your team.