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Most buyers should pick HubSpot Marketing Hub.
Choose HubSpot Marketing Hub if you need CRM-connected campaigns, email, forms, automation, and funnel reporting; its listed entry price is $7 per seat/month, with a free plan. Choose Hootsuite if the job is social publishing, inbox management, listening, and competitor tracking across networks. Hootsuite Standard starts at $99 per user/month billed annually and has no free plan. Its social toolkit is broader, but the per-user price is much higher. HubSpot's seat and contact costs can also add up.
01Side by side
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | Hootsuite | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; Starter is $7/seat/month | $99/user/month, billed annually |
| Free plan | Yes | No; 14-day free trial |
| Best for | CRM-connected marketing campaigns | Social publishing, monitoring, and replies |
| Core strength | Marketing automation linked to CRM data | Social scheduling, inbox, and listening |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use score: 5 | Ease-of-use score: 6 |
| Integrations/data | CRM records and two-way sync with apps | MCP connectors; Salesforce on Enterprise |
| Team/seat costs | Per-seat pricing; extra seats billed per user | Per-user pricing; extra seats purchased per plan |
| Support | Starter includes email and in-app chat support | Enterprise includes dedicated onboarding and consulting |
HubSpot Marketing Hub Choose HubSpot Marketing Hub if
- Choose HubSpot Marketing Hub if CRM data should connect to campaigns.
- Choose HubSpot Marketing Hub if you want a free plan to start.
- Choose HubSpot Marketing Hub if you need marketing automation beyond social.
Hootsuite Choose Hootsuite if
- Choose Hootsuite if social publishing and scheduling are your main job.
- Choose Hootsuite if one inbox for social messages and comments matters.
- Choose Hootsuite if you need competitor tracking and social trend tools.
02Pricing compared
HubSpot has the lower listed entry price: its free plan costs $0, and Starter is listed at $7 per seat/month. The pricing page defaults to annual billing, but it does not break out separate monthly prices. Professional is $90 per seat/month and Enterprise is $175 per seat/month. HubSpot also sells credits for AI agents and automation, and additional seats are billed per user beyond plan minimums.
Hootsuite has no free plan. Standard starts at $99 per user/month billed annually, with a 14-day free trial; monthly billing is available at a higher rate, but the amount is not published here. Professional is $199 per user/month and Advanced is $399 per user/month, billed annually. Enterprise pricing is custom. Hootsuite’s entry plan costs far more, while HubSpot’s seat and contact costs can add up as teams grow.
03Features and depth
These products overlap on social publishing, but they are built for different jobs. HubSpot connects marketing activity to its CRM, bringing email campaigns, forms, automation, content, and lead data together. Its Professional plan lists advanced workflows, social account management, AI search visibility tools, and the Content Agent. HubSpot also describes marketing analytics and, on its homepage, multi-touch attribution and customer journey reporting.
Hootsuite is more focused on running social accounts. Standard includes up to 10 accounts, unlimited scheduled posts, a unified inbox, and competitor benchmarking against up to five competitors. Professional adds unlimited social accounts, automated inbox workflows, trend forecasting, and scheduled performance reports. Advanced adds approval workflows and message routing. Hootsuite also lists trend tracking, competitor analysis, an AI assistant, and connectors for ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or Gemini.
Pick HubSpot for CRM-connected campaigns and funnel reporting; pick Hootsuite for a deeper social operations toolkit.
04Ease of use and learning curve
The simpler choice depends on the work. Hootsuite concentrates on social planning, publishing, monitoring, and replies in one dashboard, so it is the more direct fit for a team managing social channels. Its more advanced plans add workflows, approvals, and reporting rather than CRM-based campaign tools.
HubSpot combines marketing tools with CRM records, automation, and reporting. That breadth can mean more to configure, especially for teams that only need social publishing. The published reviews score ease of use at 5 for HubSpot and 6 for Hootsuite, though those scores do not explain the rating method. If the team already needs HubSpot’s CRM-connected campaigns, the broader setup may be worthwhile; otherwise, Hootsuite keeps the job more focused.
Questions people ask
Is HubSpot Marketing Hub cheaper than Hootsuite?
At the listed entry prices, yes: HubSpot has a free plan and Starter at $7 per seat/month, while Hootsuite Standard is $99 per user/month billed annually. HubSpot’s pricing page does not separate annual and monthly prices, and seat and contact costs can increase the bill.
Can HubSpot replace Hootsuite for social media management?
HubSpot lists social account management and publishing, monitoring, and responses across channels, so it can cover social work within a CRM-connected marketing setup. Hootsuite offers a more dedicated social toolkit, including competitor benchmarking, trend tracking, and plan-specific inbox and approval features.
Does Hootsuite include CRM and email marketing?
The published Hootsuite feature and pricing information focuses on social scheduling, inbox management, listening, analytics, and competitor tracking. It does not list CRM-connected email campaigns or forms as Hootsuite features. HubSpot’s Marketing Hub is built on its CRM and includes targeted email campaigns.
Does either product have a free plan or trial?
HubSpot lists a free plan, with basic CRM records, data sync, and other included features. Hootsuite has no free plan but lists a 14-day free trial. The published pricing information does not specify a HubSpot free-trial period.