HubSpot getting too expensive? Your realistic options
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You started with HubSpot because it felt simple, but now every renewal notice makes you wince. The Starter plan already runs $15/Seat/Monat (jährlich) bzw. $20 (monatlich), and the moment you outgrow it, the jump to Professional at $800/Monat (jährlich) bzw. $890 (monatlich) plus a $3.000 einmaliges Pflicht-Onboarding hits hard. You're not imagining it: the cost curve for HubSpot gets steep fast, and you're wondering if there's a saner way to run marketing without that jump.
Sound familiar?
- Your invoice suddenly lists a $3.000 einmaliges Pflicht-Onboarding fee you didn't budget for when upgrading to Professional.
- Adding one more seat on Starter quietly pushes your monthly bill up by $15-$20 per person, and it adds up faster than expected.
- You're comparing $800/Monat (jährlich) against $890 (monatlich) for Professional and realizing the annual commitment is the only way to avoid paying more.
- Your team keeps asking why a 'marketing tool' costs more than some of your other core software combined.
The facts
- HubSpot Marketing Hub Starter: $15 per seat/month billed annually or $20 billed monthly
- HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional: $800 per month billed annually or $890 monthly, plus a mandatory one-time $3,000 onboarding fee
- Brevo offers email marketing plus CRM with a free tier
Decision guide
- If Your team is small and only uses basic email and contact management. → Stay on HubSpot Marketing Hub Starter or renegotiate your current plan.
- If You need more marketing automation but the jump to HubSpot Professional's $800/Monat (jährlich) bzw. $890 (monatlich) plus the $3.000 einmaliges Pflicht-Onboarding feels too steep. → Switch to Brevo.
- If Your main requirement is sales pipeline management, not marketing automation. → Switch to Pipedrive.
- If You need both solid sales tools and marketing tools but want to avoid HubSpot's Professional tier costs. → Combine Pipedrive and Brevo.
Recommended tools for this situation
HubSpot
6.7/10Starter tiers stay affordable — the cliff is the jump to Professional.
Email marketing plus CRM at a fraction of the Professional price.
Migration checklist
- Export and securely back up all existing HubSpot data — contacts, deals, email templates, workflows, and reporting history — before making any changes.
- Review whether HubSpot Marketing Hub Starter ($15/Seat/Monat billed annually or $20 billed monthly) still covers your needs, or whether it's really the jump to Professional ($800/Monat billed annually or $890 billed monthly, plus a mandatory one-time $3,000 onboarding fee) that's driving the cost problem.
- Shortlist realistic alternatives such as Brevo, which combines email marketing and CRM at a fraction of the Professional price, or Pipedrive, if you mainly need a focused sales CRM without platform overhead.
- Set up the new tool and import your migrated data, rebuilding key workflows, pipelines, and email templates.
- Run the old and new tool in parallel for a trial period to confirm data accuracy, integrations, and team adoption before fully committing.
- Train your team on the new tool and adjust internal processes so daily work no longer depends on HubSpot.
- Check your HubSpot renewal date carefully, then cancel the subscription only once the new setup is confirmed stable — this is the point of no return.
- Do a final data export and formally close out the old HubSpot account once the new tool is fully in use.
Common objections
Why does HubSpot suddenly feel too expensive?
The Starter tier itself stays affordable at $15/Seat/Monat (jährlich) bzw. $20 (monatlich) for Marketing Hub. The real jump happens when you need Professional features, which starts at $800/Monat (jährlich) bzw. $890 (monatlich) plus a mandatory $3.000 onboarding fee. If that cliff is what's driving your search for 'hubspot too expensive', the question is whether you actually need Professional-level functionality or just outgrew Starter's limits.
Is switching away from HubSpot even worth the hassle?
That depends on which features you actually use. If your workflow is mainly email marketing and basic CRM, a tool like Brevo covers that combination without the platform overhead HubSpot Professional adds. If your focus is sales pipeline management, Pipedrive is built specifically for that instead of bundling marketing tools you might not need.
Will I lose my data if I export from HubSpot?
Data export risk exists with any CRM migration, and it's worth checking HubSpot's own export documentation before committing to a switch. Test the export process with a small data subset first to confirm formats and completeness match what your new tool expects. Don't cancel your HubSpot subscription until you've verified the exported data actually imports cleanly elsewhere.
Can I go back to HubSpot if the switch doesn't work out?
Technically yes, since HubSpot's Starter tier remains available as an affordable entry point at $15/Seat/Monat (jährlich) bzw. $20 (monatlich). But re-importing data and rebuilding workflows takes real time, so treat migration as a considered decision rather than a quick trial. Keep your HubSpot export files even after switching, in case you need to reference historical data.
Is it cheaper to just stay on HubSpot Starter instead of switching tools?
If Starter already covers what you need, staying put avoids migration effort entirely and keeps costs at $15/Seat/Monat (jährlich) bzw. $20 (monatlich). The problem arises only if you're being pushed toward Professional's $800/Monat (jährlich) bzw. $890 (monatlich) tier plus its $3.000 onboarding fee. Compare what specific Professional features you'd actually use against what a focused tool like Brevo or Pipedrive offers for your core needs.
