startbuddi vs HubSpot: an honest comparison

HubSpot is a CRM with separate paid hubs for marketing, sales, service, content and data, priced per seat and with large steps up to its Professional plans. startbuddi puts a CRM, shared inbox, email and WhatsApp marketing, pages, bookings and invoices in one workspace for small teams; pick HubSpot if you need its depth and app marketplace, and startbuddi if you want one simpler place to run the business.

We make startbuddi, so we're biased. We've tried to be fair: we list where HubSpot is stronger, every fact about HubSpot links to its source, and anything we couldn't confirm on their own site is marked "not published". Checked in September 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.

startbuddi

startbuddi is best for

Small businesses that want CRM, inbox, marketing and invoices in one workspace

HubSpot

HubSpot is best for

Growing teams that want CRM, marketing, sales and service hubs from one vendor

At a glance

Best for

startbuddiSmall businesses that want CRM, inbox, marketing and invoices in one workspace

HubSpotGrowing teams that want CRM, marketing, sales and service hubs from one vendor

Free plan

startbuddiYes, the Free plan

HubSpotYes, Free tools

First paid plan

startbuddiStarter, $29 a month

HubSpotStarter Customer Platform, $20 USD per seat per month

Checked

startbuddiPrice book, October 2026

HubSpotSeptember 2026

Where each one is stronger

The short version. HubSpot first, because it does some things better than we do.

HubSpot is stronger at

Larger free CRMHubSpot's free tools cover 2 users and 1,000 contacts with 2,000 email sends a month.

Native mobile appsHubSpot has a free mobile app on iOS and Android.

Developer platformHubSpot documents a public REST API; startbuddi's API is not available yet.

Depth for larger teamsProfessional and Enterprise hubs go up to 100 and 350 sales pipelines per account.

startbuddi is stronger at

One workspacecontacts, deals, the shared inbox, marketing, pages, bookings and invoices share one customer record.

WhatsApp and Paystack built inWhatsApp sits in the inbox and marketing hub, and invoices can be paid by card, bank transfer or USSD through Paystack.

Invoices move dealswhen an invoice on a deal is paid, the deal is marked won and the move is logged.

Chip on every screenChip drafts replies, follow-ups, emails and pages, and can answer inbox, WhatsApp and live chat messages on the Growth plan.

Feature by feature

Each HubSpot value links to where we found it. Anything their site doesn't state is marked "not published".

Show differences only

startbuddi and HubSpot, feature by feature
Feature	startbuddi	HubSpot
Free planFree plan: 1 seat and 250 contacts	Yes	Yes, 2 users and 1,000 contactsSource (opens in a new tab)
Contacts and companies	Yes	YesSource (opens in a new tab)
Deal pipelinesSeveral pipelines, each with its own stages	Yes	Up to 15 on Sales Hub StarterSource (opens in a new tab)
Shared inboxWhatsApp, email, SMS, web chat, Instagram and Facebook	Yes	Sales Hub Starter and upSource (opens in a new tab)
WhatsApp in the inbox	Starter plan and up	Marketing/Service Hub Professional+Source (opens in a new tab)
Email marketingThe Marketing hub is not on the Free plan	Starter plan and up	Free: 2,000 sends a monthSource (opens in a new tab)
Landing pages	Yes	Free tools: up to 30 pagesSource (opens in a new tab)
Website live chat	Yes	Free, with HubSpot brandingSource (opens in a new tab)
Invoices and online paymentsPaystack or Stripe; a paid invoice marks the deal won	Yes	Starter and upSource (opens in a new tab)
Native mobile appsWeb app only; works in a mobile browser	No	IOS and AndroidSource (opens in a new tab)
Public APINot available yet; startbuddi connects to Zapier	No	YesSource (opens in a new tab)

What each one looks like

Real screens, captured by us or taken from the official press kit, each dated.

startbuddi: Deals on the sales pipeline — **startbuddi** · Deals on the sales pipeline. Captured from our own account, personal details blurred.

startbuddi: Contacts with their full history — **startbuddi** · Contacts with their full history. Captured from our own account, personal details blurred.

startbuddi: One inbox for email, WhatsApp and chat — **startbuddi** · One inbox for email, WhatsApp and chat. Captured from our own account, personal details blurred.

HubSpot's own screens are on HubSpot's website. We don't show another company's product without a dated capture from a trial or its press kit.

Pricing side by side

List prices as each company publishes them. We never convert currencies.

See startbuddi pricing

startbuddi

FreeFree
Starter$29 a month
Growth$79 a month
Scale$199 a month

Prices in US dollars, billed monthly. From our pricing page, updated 3 Oct 2026.

HubSpot

Free toolsFreeSource (opens in a new tab)
Starter Customer Platform$20 USD per seat per monthSource (opens in a new tab)
Sales Hub Professional$90 USD per seat per month, billed annually, plus a one-time $1,500 onboarding feeSource (opens in a new tab)
Sales Hub Enterprise$150 USD per seat per month, plus a one-time $3,500 onboarding feeSource (opens in a new tab)
Marketing Hub Professional$800 USD per month, includes 3 core seats, plus a one-time $3,000 onboarding feeSource (opens in a new tab)
Marketing Hub Enterprise$3,600 USD per month, includes 5 core seats, plus a one-time $7,000 onboarding feeSource (opens in a new tab)

Checked in September 2026. Check HubSpot's site for current plans.

Switching from HubSpot

What moving across involves.

Export your records from HubSpotIn HubSpot, export your contacts as a CSV file. HubSpot emails you a download link. If you export as Excel, save the file as CSV before you import it.
Bring them into startbuddiIn Customers → Contacts, click Import and drop in the CSV (up to 10,000 contacts at a time). Check which column goes to which field, choose whether contacts you already have are updated or left alone, then import. There is no one-click HubSpot connection yet, and deals don't come across in the import, so recreate open deals in your pipeline.
Connect your channelsConnect email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook or website chat so customer messages land in the shared inbox.
Rebuild workflows and templatesHubSpot workflows and email templates don't transfer. Rebuild them in Automations and the email builder, or describe an automation and let Chip draft it.

Sources

Checked in September 2026. startbuddi prices come from our own price book. HubSpot's website.

Questions people ask

Can I move my data from HubSpot to startbuddi?

Yes. Export your contacts from HubSpot as a CSV file and import the spreadsheet into startbuddi in Customers → Contacts. There is no one-click HubSpot connection yet, and deals, workflows and templates need to be recreated.

Does startbuddi have a free plan like HubSpot?

Yes. startbuddi has a Free plan with the CRM, inbox and invoicing, and every paid plan has a 30-day trial. The Marketing hub, Automations, WhatsApp and SMS start on the Starter plan.

Does startbuddi have a mobile app?

Not a native one. startbuddi is a web app that works in a phone's browser, while HubSpot offers iOS and Android apps.

Can I use startbuddi and HubSpot together?

startbuddi has no public API and no HubSpot connection yet, so there is no sync between the two. To move contacts across, export a CSV from HubSpot and import it into startbuddi.